Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Thirty minutes later, Sarada catches a glimpse of Sai on his ink bird in the distance. As casually as possible, she saunters away from making garden fence repairs and makes her way over to find him when he lands. The spot he chooses is perfect. He remains hidden from view, but he's located just at edge of the forest path, close to the infirmary.
"I'll let them know you're here," Sarada tells him as soon as he's in earshot.
"Thanks," Sai acknowledges. "It's best I wait here, but signal if you need me to come."
"Will do," Sarada agrees, and rushes off to find Shikamaru.
Adrenaline has her heart beating a mile a minute, but she does her best to stroll down the hallway as leisurely as she can, greeting the monks as usual, and desperately hoping no one is the wiser to her internal stress.
As Sarada approaches the infirmary office, a soft, muffled cry is heard through the partially opened door, and she stops. Although she knows it's bad to eavesdrop, a part of her wants to know, needs to know. How bad is he?
"It'll be okay, Hinata," she hears The Seventh say gently. "Ino will take care of him. You know as well as I, she'll treat him as if he was her own child."
"I know," a quiet voice says brokenly. "It's just...I'm sorry," Hinata apologizes, as she starts to break down. "I hate that this happened."
Tears fill Sarada's eyes with Hinata's admission, and when she blinks, a few stray tears of her own escape. The pain in Uzumaki-san's voice squeezes her heart. Oh Boruto.
Sarada's not sure she's ready to face all that she must, but I made a promise, she tells herself, and Sai is waiting. She rubs at her eyes underneath her glasses to clear away her tears and lets determination guide her actions. This is what's best, she repeats as she straightens. Taking in a deep breath, she lightly knocks on the door and pushes it open.
Upon entering, she sees her father standing near the Hokage, arm carefully wrapped around her mother. Concern is palpable as her parents look back at the leader of their Village and his wife. Her father rarely shows emotion in public, and the fact that Sarada can read the sadness in his eyes, pulls at her heartstrings. Eyes fixed on her friends, her mother stares at Ino, kneeling down, and rubbing soothing circles on Hinata's back. The solemn expression she wears catches Sarada by surprise, but she pushes herself to remain calm. Sarada then readies herself to address Shikamaru, currently looking at the floor, lips pressed together in a small frown. You must be strong for them, Sarada repeats in her mind as she steps forward.
"Sai has arrived, Master Shikamaru," she interrupts, drawing attention to herself. Everyone looks up, and Hinata wipes the tears from her eyes, as Naruto helps her and Ino to stand.
"Thank you Sarada," Shikamaru says. "Naruto, with your permission, Sakura and I will get Boruto ready."
Naruto tips his head in acknowledgement, and they move toward the door.
"Thank Sai," Naruto tells Ino, "and keep us posted."
"I'm off to do my best," Ino announces resolutely, giving Hinata a little hug before she steps back and addresses the Uzumaki pair. "Hey guys," she says softly, "it's hard, but you're doing the right thing," she assures. "Don't focus on the bad. You'll see. In a week or so, things will be better. Trust me." Ino gives them her best smile, even though Hinata's devastated look, makes it hard to continue. "Remember," she stresses, "allowing Boruto to come with me, will ensure he won't be bothered with sounds that will disturb the silence and rest he needs to recover. On top of that, I'll be constantly providing a special one and one treatment to help him heal in no time." Before Hinata has a chance to say anything, Ino finishes the conversation. "Sakura and Shikamaru, we'd better get going," the blonde announces. "I'll be in touch," she promises, and turns to head out the door.
Sasuke tugs his wife a little closer when he sees the emotion in her eyes. She's no doubt worried about young Boruto but hides it behind a forced smile. In their momentary glance, they share and understanding, and she nods. "I'll be back later," she tells him.
He lets her go, then finds himself focusing on Sarada. His daughter's safety a blessing, but he begins questioning himself over decisions he's made. Naruto and he were able to get Sarada back unharmed, but at what cost? Had he stayed back with Naruto, would Boruto have been spared? If so, then what would have happened to Sarada had the Itachi imposter gotten to her first?
As he looks to his best friend and his wife, it's difficult for him to watch Hinata wipe her tears away. He's heard from Naruto that Hinata rarely cries. She's a quiet woman of great strength who perseveres. It's wrong to think this, but if things don't work out, will this break her? Sasuke doesn't even want to think about that. Hinata is the rock that grounds Naruto. She's remained his steadfast partner, the pillar behind their Village leader. She's devoted her life to helping Naruto and raising their family. His best friend needs her as much as he needs air. He can't imagine how it must feel for her to have her eldest child in this state. Worse yet, her husband and her best friends have all but ordered her to forego being by Boruto's side, and insisted she do nothing but wait. He wonders how she'll manage, and if things were the other way around, and it was Sarada that was unconscious, how would he and Sakura have reacted? Would he have been able to stay away and do what Hinata's been asked? Guilt stabs relentlessly at his heart, and the concern he carries for Boruto and the Uzumaki family multiplies a hundredfold.
Silence fills air, until a blond-haired teen comes bursting through the door. "Hokage-sama," he interrupts, holding his side and slightly out of breath. Boruto? Hinata's heart jumps at the thought. She rubs furiously at her eyes, but as the blurriness ebbs, her heart sinks yet again. The boy before her is definitely not her son. Her imagination was just playing tricks on her. "My apologies for intruding," the young Chūnin says, "but your help is needed with the injured. Master Sakura said the monastery is unable to function as a hospital, and Master Shikamaru indicated we need to think about transporting the injured back to Konoha."
His voice is shaky, and distress radiates off of the young teen in waves, causing Hinata to reign in her sadness and wipe her remaining tears with her sleeve. "Go," she tells her husband.
"Hinata," he says softly. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
Fear in the eyes of the young, inexperienced Shinobi, is obvious, and it reminds her that other young nin are outside, and likely overwhelmed with the injuries and deaths in the aftermath of the battle. Composing herself, she looks over to Naruto and nods. It's a difficult time for everyone and many need assurance from their Hokage to help make it through the trauma. Boruto is in good hands, she tells herself. After a short pause, her resolve strengthens and she finds her voice. "Naruto, you have to go," she urges. "The injured shinobi need you."
He assesses her carefully, then looks her in the eye. "Hinata, I hate to ask this, especially now, but I need to ask you a favor." Everyone turns their attention to him, and he hesitates briefly, but continues. "We won't be able to tell which Clones have the White Zetsu in them without you and Hanabi, and we'll need to know who is infected to make sure we can keep everyone safe. I wish this could wait, but do you think you'd be up to doing this?"
The silent plea in the eyes of the young Chūnin falls on her. He's visibly shaken, and his worry slowly pushes her past her grief. He's a reminder that uncertainty exists not just for their family, but for everyone, and safety must remain a priority so no one else is injured.
Hinata activates her Byakugan and watches as Sai's ink bird glides away. Her heart lurches, but she trusts Ino and Sai, and knows it's best she keep her mind busy so she doesn't fall back into thinking the worst. Swallowing down her fears, she focuses on what is asked of her.
"Yes," she says, knowing she speaks to her husband as the Seventh Hokage. "Where do you need me to start?"
Author's notes:
Happy New Year everyone! For so many of you who have graciously supported me, and cheered me on, I decided that posting this chapter would be one of the first things I would do in 2017.
The holidays have passed by quickly, but I hope each of you have been able to share some time together with your family and friends and have made some wonderful memories to look back on. Life can sometimes throw the unexpected our way, but I hope for the most part you've enjoyed good health, and it's been a good year. As 2016 came to a close, I was able to catch up on a few stories I've been reading and enjoyed leaving reviews for them. As mentioned before, I am always very appreciative of those who have provided feedback, and, at the start of this year, I want to give a special thumbs up to those of you who have let me know you changed your mindset and now make it a practice to leave reviews. Please continue! It does more good than you know. For those who have loyally provided feedback, know you are truly the special gems on the site. We all appreciate you!
It's time to enjoy the remainder of your weekend everyone. I hope you're off to a great start!
Side note: I just became aware that the statistics function isn't working on the site, but I decided to go ahead with my original intention of posting this chapter and sending warm New Year wishes your way anyway. I'll keep my fingers crossed reviews and PMs can still come through and things aren't down for long. Thanks for reading everyone and take care!