Boruto's friends and family were finally able to see him again late in the morning after the Rogue Ninja incident and his surgery. The news had shifted from Boruto's attack to his attacker. The Rogue Ninja Jiro was now being held in civilian jail like a common criminal, instead of the ninja prison. Naruto wanted to meet him, but he heard that Jiro was humiliated to be treated as such. Good. He was a common criminal, and one who hurt children, even if they could fight back. He deserved this utter humiliation, Naruto told himself. But he also wanted to know more about Jiro.
Getting back to Boruto, his back was still stiff the next morning. But when he tried to sit up without thinking, he found that he could sit up, but just barely, before the stiffness and pain stopped him. He could only sit up a couple centimeters before he collapsed—for lack of a better term—back onto the bed. He groaned.
The door opened. A nurse walked in, carrying a couple instruments with her. "Good morning," she said. "Sleep well last night?"
"Yeah," he answered.
"How's your back?"
"Still stiff."
"That's normal," she said. "Think you're ready for visitors?"
"Dr. Uchiha visited me last night," he answered.
"That's nice," she said.
"Where is she?"
"She's not here," the nurse said, keeping her tone upbeat but her overall demeanor was clearly unhappy. "Lately, she only comes in once a week. I don't know why. If you ask me, it's because the Chief of Medicine is a stuck-up old fool who hates her name."
"Her name?"
"You don't know what Sasuke Uchiha did, do you?"
"I know my dad told me he once defected from the village," said Boruto. "He also told me he attacked the Five Kage Summit once."
"And other things," the nurse sighed.
"Like not visiting Dr. Uchiha for 12 years," said Boruto.
"How do you know that—oh, of course, her daughter's your teammate. I'm sorry." Boruto didn't answer. But his silence allowed the nurse to remember something. "Oh! I almost forgot. We're going to let you see some visitors today. I'm sure your friends will be thrilled to see you're alright!"
"Why didn't I see them last night?"
"Because visiting hours were over and you were super tired," the nurse answered.
"Oh."
"But they're about to start letting visitors in. You'll know when they show up."
"Okay."
"Can you remind me what happened?" the nurse asked, jotting some notes down and simultaneously prepping an IV bag.
"Some rogue ninjas jumped us," Boruto answered. "One kicked me in the back."
"Oh, that sounds bad," she said. She wasn't looking at him, so Boruto wasn't sure if she meant that his injury sounded bad, or that his fight sounded bad. To be honest, he didn't make himself look good. If he told Konohamaru, he'd probably say those were the least of his worries, but Boruto didn't see it that way. "Are you alright, sweetie? Is something wrong? Well, besides your back."
"No!" Boruto snapped.
"Do you feel… angry?"
"NO!"
"I'll take that as a yes," said the nurse. "It's understandable to feel angry after you get hurt like this. And from what I hear… sorry. I don't want to rub it in."
Boruto huffed and turned his head away from the nurse. That didn't stop her from doing her tests, he figured out when he felt her playing with something in his inner elbow. Looking over at his left arm, he could see her remove something from his IV tube, only to replace it with another one.
"We'll have you started on physical therapy as soon as you're ready," the nurse continued. "You just need to put as much effort as you've put into your ninja training, and you'll be as good as new. It'll take a while, so be patient. Now, I've heard that you're a very impatient boy, so, even though I hate saying this… this might be for the best."
"SHUT UP!" Boruto snapped, whipping his head back to the window. The nurse sighed and continued her work.
"Of course," she said. "I sincerely apologize if I hurt your feelings.
"But you CAN get better. You just need to put in the time and effort, and you can do it. That's how your father did it, after all."
"Don't talk to me about him."
The nurse pursed her lips, took a deep breath, sighed, and went back to work. She told herself that she shouldn't be surprised anymore, not when Boruto was still in an awful mood. Though he did cooperate with her as she ran a few more tests on him and changed his catheter. The sheer look of embarrassment on his face made her chuckle, but not at him, as she was forced to explain. To be specific, it was necessary for someone in his condition, and it was alright to be embarrassed at having to use such an intrusive device.
"You should be able to stop using it when you've regained some mobility," she finished. Blushing, Boruto tried to remove his pillow, but settled for covering his face with his hands, instead. He remained in that position until she finally finished changing the bag and left. He was in the middle of figuring out how to hide the bag when three people burst into his room. He almost caught the bag, juggled it, and stuffed it under his covers, where they'd already been. To his relief, Sarada, Mitsuki and Himawari didn't notice it.
"Big brother!" Himawari happily bellowed, jumping into the bed. It ended about as well as one would expect. Boruto had to gingerly push his sister off his stomach while trying not to make his back hurt even more.
"Hi-ma-wa-ri!" he grunted. Mitsuki leaned forward and pulled Himawari off him. But, he pulled her off like he was ripping a band-aid off, and Boruto felt the agony shoot through his spine when he rebounded off the bed. He lay there, waiting for the pain to subside, unable to look at Sarada shoving Mitsuki to the floor. Not that it mattered, but he would've laughed.
He noticed Konohamaru-sensei entering through the corner of his left eye. Freyja was with him, but not her husband, whose name escaped Boruto. His teacher had never looked both so relieved, nor guilty before. Boruto opened his mouth to speak, but Konohamaru held his hand up, stopping him from speaking. "How are you, Boruto?"
"Still stiff," Boruto answered.
"Thanks to my mom, you'll be good as new, back to your old annoying self," Sarada said haughtily.
"Sarada…" Konohamaru groaned. Unable to contain himself, Konohamaru snapped his feet together and bowed so low that his forehead was parallel to the floor. "Boruto, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Sensei!" Sarada gasped.
"What!?" Freyja gasped as well.
"We were warned of the threat! I should've had us take the train back into Konoha! I should've been more careful! This is all my fault, and the Hokage's son is cripped!"
"Konohamaru, get a hold of yourself!" Freyja gapsed.
"Freyja, it is my fault!" Konohamaru snapped back. "I don't deserve to call myself a teacher! And it's because of me that Boruto's in such bad shape!"
"Sensei, we're not mad at you!" said Sarada.
"Konohamaru, just be glad the Allfather thought to spare Boruto's life," said Freyja, "Now all we must do is to pray to Eir to speed his recovery." She paused, noticing that everyone else was staring at her. "My gods!" she gasped.
"Ooooh, her gods!" said Mitsuki.
"Well, I said it last night, and I will say it again; war is no place for children," she said. "I am glad my country did away with such a barbarous practice."
"Freyja, please," Konohamaru pleaded, "That's very rude."
"Yes, yes, I know," she said. "I am sorry."
"So, anyway, you should thank my mom for helping you out," Sarada said, continuing in her haughty tone.
"I think I did," Boruto answered. "She was here last night."
"Well, that's just like her," said Sarada.
"And she said she was proud of me and kissed my forehead."
"Yep, that's my mom, alri—WHAT!?"
"Yeah, she kissed me goodnight!" Boruto teased back. "She tucked me in and everything!"
"She's my mom, you brat!" she hissed. "You already have a good one!"
"Guys, stop!" Konohamaru begged, getting between the two and nudging Sarada away from the bed.
"Where is she?" Boruto asked, obviously referring to Sakura.
"She's not here today," said Sarada. "I don't know why, but she hasn't been going to work as much. Then she got the job at the Mrs Yamanaka's flower shop."
"What… why isn't she working here?" Boruto asked.
"I don't know," Sarada sighed. "All I know is that things have gotten worse since then. She tries to look brave, but I can see that she's in really bad shape."
"I don't think she told me that," Boruto said.
"I think she's keeping more from me," said Sarada, "Besides the possibility that we could lose our house."
"How do you know that?" Mitsuki asked. He'd been looking for an excuse—er, reason—to inject himself into the conversation for the past few minutes.
"A woman's intuition," Sarada answered while doing yet another haughty hair flip.
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"But it doesn't have to be terrifying. And because of the situation you're in, you don't have to go blabbering on and on about it to everyone you know."
"I already told my top advisor," Naruto interrupted.
"… Okay, then… most of the people you know. Again, the good thing is, everything that happens in this room is confidential. I won't tell anybody, and I'll keep it that way unless you decide to share this with any divorce attorneys. Speaking of which, I can recommend some for you if you need them." He looked back at his notes. "Boy, you two got a lot of your chests today. But, something tells me this isn't the end of it. And I'm always here to talk if you need it."
"Thanks," said Naruto.
"Thank you so much," said Hinata.
"Any time," said the counsellor. "I guess you're going to see your son now?"
"Are we already done?" Naruto asked.
"Like I said, if you want to end early, we most certainly can. I think Boruto will be thrilled to see you. Go to him. That's more important right now."
Naruto paused and nervously stared at the marriage counsellor, who was already packing his things up. Hinata had already gotten up to leave, but stopped when she noticed that her soon-to-be ex-husband was staring off into space. Aware of common accusations against her of being a vapid, one-note character, she lightly smacked his arm, bringing him back into reality. But she immediately saw the tears beginning to form in his eyes. Feeling immediately guilty, she left her hand on his left shoulder. "We're going to see our son," she said.
The marriage counsellor looked up from his work, unaware that Naruto had been staring off into space. "Oh yeah, visiting hours should have started by now," he said.
"We should go," said Naruto. "And we'll have to stop by the Yamanaka flower shop to pick something up for him."
"Great idea," said the marriage counsellor. "Don't wait for me. My next appointment isn't for another half-hour."
"Thank you for all your work," Naruto said, bowing to him, along with Hinata, before they both left the office.
True to Naruto's words, the Yamanaka flower shop was the first place they stopped. All it took to turn a simple visit into an event was one person, who looked up from some native flowers, gasped and announced, "It's the Hokage!" Quickly, everyone in the store stopped what they were doing, and turned to the couple of the hour. While they, the customers, maybe 10 or less, were in awe of the Hokage's presence, the latter and his wife simply felt awkward. They obviously had not prepared for the possibility of causing a scene. Worsening the awkwardness, this would probably be one of the final times they would be seen in public as a married couple. Knowing they had to keep up the noh act—again—they bowed to the customers, thanked them and gestured to be left alone. The customers immediately returned to their previous activities, allowing the both of them to enter the store to begin shopping.
Even Sakura and Ino, both standing behind the counter, stopped their paperwork to see the Hokage and his wife. Although both were surprised to see him, Sakura was even more surprised, but not to Ino's surprise. She stared at Naruto, surprised at first, and then fondly when she saw him getting nervous. Ino noticed Sakura's stare and grinned. She grinned wider when Sakura chuckled at how he bowed to the customers. Such a gesture wasn't entirely necessary, but it was totally the newer, more mature Naruto.
She watched them wandering the store, occasionally running into customers who profusely apologized for getting in their way. Naruto could only quietly urge them not to bother him, as his son's injury was finally being reported on the news. This was enough to get people to give the couple the necessary space.
Sakura was so caught up in watching the Hokage that she almost didn't notice a customer come forward to buy some flowers. It embarrassed her a little, but she laughed it off.
"Sakura, why don't you water some of the flowers?" Ino asked. Her tone sounded pleasant, and it was. But Sakura could also hear a little annoyance. Translation? Stop staring at the Hokage.
"Yeah, sure," Sakura answered before stepping aside to water the flowers. Simultaneously, Naruto stepped away from his wife to look at some flowers. Their paths met near some roses that Sakura had stopped to inspect. Naruto almost bumped into her, but stopped himself. He was very delighted to see her, and so was she to him.
"Sakura!" he said enthusiastically. Then, he remembered his propriety, and bowed to her. "I mean, thank you, Dr. Uchiha, for saving my son."
Sakura returned the bow. "Just doing my duty, Lord Hokage," she replied.
Hinata soon joined her husband, and bowed, as well. "Thank you, Dr. Uchiha," she said. "How can I ever repay you for saving my son?"
"You don't have to," Sakura answered. "As I told the Lord Hokage, it's my duty as a doctor to help my patients. Will you be visiting him?"
"Yes," said Hinata. "We are just here to find a gift for him."
"Oh, there should be something over by the end of the wall," Sakura said, pointing at a gift rack.
"Thank you," said Hinata. "And… what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Sakura answered. "Please, continue shopping." Hinata bowed and then walked over to the gift stand at the wall, but remained within earshot. But Naruto lingered.
"I mean it," he said, "Thank you so much."
"I told you, think nothing of it," she said. She smiled, causing his heart to skip a beat.
"You look great!" Naruto told her. Her heart also skipped a beat. He meant it as a normal compliment, but Ino and Hinata could hear something else. Somewhere, deep down, old feelings had stirred. It would be a while before they resurfaced, but for now, they were just talking as friends.
"Thank you," she replied, a small blush appearing in her cheeks.
"Naruto," Hinata said, drawing his attention away from Sakura.
"Sorry, Hinata," Naruto told her. He turned back to Sakura. "I mean it. Thank you for saving my son."
"You should be happier," she said, as if to finish a sentence he was thinking about.
"Something's telling me that this is my fault," he said.
"Maybe because it is?" Sakura asked. "Sorry. It's not my place."
Naruto paused, turned to Hinata and asked, "Do you think Boruto's injury was my fault?"
"I don't think so," Hinata answered. "It was out of your control, was it not?"
Visibly reluctant to question the Hokage's wife, Sakura scrunched her lips. Noticing Ino staring at her, she went back to watering the flowers. "All I know is that you promised to change the system," she said.
"Maybe that's it," said Naruto. He paused, and let himself get lost in his own thoughts. "Where did I go wrong, Sakura?" he asked. Her smile faded. She became serious. "When did I become the very thing I hated? When did I become worse than scum?"
"You have to answer that yourself," she answered.
"Did I already ask you that?"
"I think it needs repeating," she answered.
"I've made so many mistakes, but I don't know where to begin," he said. "And I lied to myself."
"I'm glad you admit it," she said.
"And now I have to fix my mistakes."
"I'm sure you will," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Ino clearly wants me to get back to work."
"Oh. Sorry!"
"Naruto?" Hinata asked, walking up to him and holding something in her hand. "I found something. What do you think?"
Naruto took a short, but careful look at the item, and then nodded his head. "He'll love it," he said.
They paid at the counter. Ino thanked them both for coming, complete with a bow. As they were leaving, Sakura walked up to them. "I visited Boruto after the surgery last night," Sakura told the both of them. "He'll need a few months of physical therapy. But, you'll be happy to know that he's still the same bratty kid he was before."
"That sounds just like him," said Hinata.
"Yep," said Naruto.
"Please, take care of yourselves," Sakura told them. "I wish you the best of luck."
"Thanks," Naruto said before he and Hinata departed the flower shop. Watching him, Sakura marveled how he could get his act together so well… while she still couldn't. her gaze remained on Naruto for several seconds before she heard Ino clear her throat.
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"So you can't move?"
"No, Chocho," Boruto grumbled.
"How do you go to the bathroom?" Inojin asked.
"I'm not answering that."
"Why did you even think of that?" Shikadai asked.
"I'm curious!" Inojin whined.
"Do not worry, Boruto! You'll be good as new in no time!" Metal declared, making one of the silliest poses Boruto had ever seen.
"Gee, thanks," Boruto said flatly. He'd thought that his friends coming to see him would be better than this, but it wasn't what he expected, as has been shown. Of all the questions they should be asking…
"Can I see your scar, big brother?" Himawari asked.
"I can't move!" Boruto repeated.
"Everyone, please," Konohamaru sheepishly begged, "You don't have to ask questions he doesn't want to answer."
"But our youthful curiosity must be quenched!" Metal declared. It didn't need to be said, because it's been repeated ad nauseum, but he was his father's spitting image, Konohamaru mused.
"Come on guys, that's enough," Sarada announced. "We're just here to show Boruto that we've got his back." She shot him a smug grin. Groaning, he covered his face.
The door opened. Everyone turned to see Hinata first gingerly step inside, then run to Boruto, throwing her arms around him, crying about how her baby was okay. "Mom! Mom!" he grunted, forcing her to let him go.
"Are you alright?" she asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes so they could get a better look at each other.
"The doctor said I'll be fine, with some physical therapy," he answered.
"We saw Dr. Uchiha earlier," said Hinata, "She told us the same thing. And she said she visited you last night."
"Yeah, she did," said Boruto. Now it was his turn to give Sarada a smug grin.
"I'm just so relieved you'll be fine," she sighed.
They heard the door open again. The room instantly silenced as Naruto stepped inside, his Hokage cape dramatically blowing behind him. Everyone except for Hinata and Sarada stepped aside to give the Hokage and his son a way to look at each other. Stopping a couple of steps into the room, he set his gaze on Boruto. Boruto returned it. Father and son sized each other up for a couple minutes, as if waiting to strike. Boruto would have struck first. He glared at his father, and would have turned his head away, had he not been immobile, and his mother at his bedside. But Naruto… Naruto's expression told a different story. At first he stood tall and stoic, but he was fiddling with a gift in his hands. It dawned on Boruto that his father wasn't glaring at him, and so Boruto's expression eased, as well.
Suddenly, Naruto dropped to his knees into a seiza position, then bent forward, bowing. Everyone gasped.
"Boruto!" he cried, "Please, forgive me!"
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Hello, everyone! Sorry this took so long to finish! I've been busy, and have had to force myself to write sometimes. Even though I've written a lot of Voltron fics lately… Writer's block is a bitch. There isn't much I can say, other than I wish this was a better chapter, but this is what happens when you practically force yourself to write.
I'll try to get the next chapter up, but please tell me how I did! I know it wasn't the best chapter so far, but I still appreciate honest, constructive feedback.
