Boruto was staring at Himawari with an incredulous look on his face. "Shikadai?" he asked again, "You're going to the peace day festival with Shikadai?"

"Yes," Himawari said again, beginning to feel cross.

Her brother stared at her with disbelief, "When did this happen?"

Himawari sighed, "I don't know Boruto, he and I have been hanging out more recently. We like each other."

"You really like that lazy guy?" Boruto asked.

Himawari shot him a glare, "He's not just some lazy guy. He's actually really cool and also really sweet." Himawari took a sip of her tea. Her brother's tea and breakfast had barely been touched, he was apparently too shocked by this news to eat anything. He had only just arrived home from his latest mission last night, and somehow her dad had already told him that she had a date with Shikadai.

"Boruto stop questioning your sister," Hinata said sternly. Naruto then walked into the room, pulling his shirt on over his head. He was in a rush, as usual. "Sit down and have some eggs and toast," Hinata offered.

"Thanks sweetie," Naruto said, sitting for a minute to scarf down the food.

Boruto ignored his mother and continued, "so is he still your teacher too? Or just your boyfriend now?"

"Ugh, enough Boruto," Himawari said, clearly annoyed this time. She noticed that her dad's ears had perked up to listen, "Over the next few weeks I'll be training just with my team, so at the moment he isn't teaching me anything. And he isn't my boyfriend, we're just going on one date so calm down."

Boruto turned and looked at his dad. Naruto drained the rest of his tea and said, "your sister's right Boruto. It's one date, stop worrying about her so much. She's not a little kid anymore. Neither of you are."

Himawari was surprised by his words. Was he really okay with the fact that she was going on a date?

Before she had a moment to say anything to her dad, he got up and said, "have a great day everyone, I have to get going. There's still lots of work to be done for the festival." Naruto kissed Hinata quickly and then waved to his family before heading out the door.

….

Himawari met up with Yuri and Kazuki for their usual training, but today would be different from all their previous practices. The first thing Himawari did when she saw them was apologize- she apologized for trying to take everything on herself for so long, for not trusting them or relying on them for support. She explained to them that she finally understood the importance of teamwork. Yuri and Kazuki seemed shocked by her words at first, but they soon accepted her apologies and agreed with her that they needed to work on their teamwork.

They got to work on training by planning out various problematic scenarios and working out solutions together. Himawari learned how best to use their talents and hers together as they problem solved with each other. She listened to their suggestions, and gave her own recommendations when needed. Instead of dominating the conversations and barking out orders as she had done before, she listened and gave back advice in a way that suited the needs of everyone in the team.

After their practice, the three of them felt renewed, they all knew they had begun towards a path of greatness and strength for their team. Himawari was grinning from ear to ear by how well their first day of true team practice had gone. She walked home feeling both tired from their training but excited and enthused by the endless possibilities for her and her team.

…..

It was almost dark by the time Himawari stepped into her home. She was covered in dust and had a few scrapes on her from training. It had been a long, yet fulfilling day. She was excited to get her cell phone out and text Shikadai about the amazing practice they had had.

"Hi Himawari," her mother called from the kitchen, "dinner is almost ready. Boruto won't be home until late tonight. Your father is out back, can you let him know?"

"Sure," Himawari replied. She looked down at her watch, it was only 6:30pm, her dad usually got back home later than this. As a child, it would have been a true treat for her dad to come home early. She recalled all the times as a child that she would run out back to greet him, and hug him with enthusiasm, begging him to play with her and her brother.

Himawari opened the sliding door to their back porch, where she saw her dad sitting in a wooden lawn chair, looking up at the sky, deep in thought. Himawari stepped closer to him and then took a seat in the chair next to him. He finally turned to her and smiled, "Hey there," was all he said. This was odd to Himawari, she had never known her father to be closed mouthed.

"Hi dad," Himawari replied, "mom says dinner will be ready soon. It smells pretty good in there."

"Yeah," Naruto replied, looking back up at the sky, watching the sun set slowly.

"Are you okay dad?" Himawari asked. He was really being unusually quiet.

"Your brother and Sarada are going to move in with each other," Naruto said, still looking up at the sky. This news jolted Himawari, she remembered Boruto talking about wanting to move into a place with Sarada, but she didn't think they would actually do it anytime soon.

"When?"

"They put a deposit on an apartment today, they move in a month," Naruto replied.

"Wow, he didn't tell me!" Himawari felt a little cross, especially after being berated by her brother about going on a simple date this morning. She felt like he was too harsh on her and should back off sometimes. But, she also felt happy and excited for him.

Her dad chuckled beside her, "I only found out today too. He and Sarada have been saving up their funds for a while now. I guess that's the reason they kept begging me to give them any and every mission. They wanted to prove that they could be self sufficient and responsible."

"So, what do you think about this?" Himawari asked, eyeing her dad carefully. A tiny smile formed upon his lips.

"Well, he and Sarada are both responsible adults now. I told him it was fine, your mother agreed. They're ready to move on to the next chapter in their lives," Naruto said with a hint of sadness behind his voice. He was still smiling, but Himawari could always sense her dad's true feelings.

"But you'll miss him, won't you?"

"Yeah, I will," Naruto agreed, "but I can't keep him here forever, yah know."

Himawari nodded and then watched in silence with her dad as the sun finally departed from the earth, and the stars began to twinkle lightly in the darkening sky. The sight would never cease to amaze Himawari and take her breath away.

"So," Himawari began, breaking their silence, "how did Sarada's dad take this news?"

"Surprisingly well," Naruto said with a chuckle, "Despite the occasional glares he gives Boruto, he actually is quite fond of him. He approved of their relationship a long while ago, although he doesn't show it openly. I spoke with him earlier, I can tell he's excited for them."

"Really?" Himawari laughed a little, she wasn't sure if she had ever seen Sarada's dad look excited before. Another quiet, although not awkward, silence broke between them for a few minutes. Then Himawari's curiosity got the better of her, "Hey dad?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you really think about my date with Shikadai? I mean, are you really okay with it?" Himawari asked him, trying not to blush from embarrassment.

Naruto smiled at her and then placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in to a sideways hug. "Of course I'm okay with it my sunflower," he said. "I was a little shocked at first, but I know you really like him."

Himawari smiled and wrapped her arms around her dad, hugging him back. She always loved hugging her dad as a kid. There was something very comforting about his presence whenever he came home or entered any room. People always looked upon her father with love and respect, and that was something that she really admired in him. He had this sun inside of him and he was able to warm everyone's hearts with it.

Naruto sighed heavily, and Himawari felt something wet drop down on her head. She looked up and was surprised to see tears rolling down her dad's cheeks. "What's wrong dad?"

"You and Boruto are growing up so fast, I just want to hold on to your childhood, but I know I can't. I never knew being a parent would be so tough," he wiped away a tear from his eye and continued, "but it's truly the best job I could ever have. I would trade being hokage for being your father any day, if that was a choice, yah know."

"You worked your whole life to become hokage dad," Himawari said.

"Yeah, and I love my job. But being your father is even more rewarding. I got to see my two beautiful children grow up to become the kindest, bravest and smartest shinobi, and you are both loved by everyone. You both make me so proud," a fresh wave of tears cascaded forward on his whiskered cheeks.

Himawari blinked away the wetness in her own eyes, "dad," she said, rubbing her eyes, "you're gonna make me cry too."

Naruto laughed and pulled her in close for another hug. The tears were now flowing forward fast from Himawari's eyes. They were both a sobbing mess. "I'm so happy for you, and so glad that you finally understand the importance of trusting in your team. If Shikadai can prove that to you, then I trust he'll be good for you," Naruto blabbered on, and Himawari hugged her dad closer, getting his shirt wet with her tears.

They finally parted their heartfelt hug, and Himawari wiped away her tears, laughing a little at the sight of her dad. His face was a mess with tears, he shook his head and rubbed the wetness away with his hands. He laughed with her too, and said, "I'll miss times like this."

"Just because I'm growing up doesn't mean there won't be times like this," Himawari told him, "I'll still be your daughter, no matter how old I get."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "you're right," he blinked away the last few tears from his eyes and then said, "we should probably get inside before your mother's food gets cold. She's probably waiting for us."

"Yeah," Himawari said. They both got up and headed for the sliding door to go in. Himawari turned and looked at her dad again, "I love you dad," she told him. She felt like she hadn't said this to him in a while, and she wanted him to know how much she appreciated everything he did for her. There were no words to describe how grateful Himawari was to her father.

"I love you too sunflower," Naruto said with a wide smile. They both entered the house where Hinata was waiting patiently for them. She didn't even question their teary eyed and puffy faces.