Epilogue Part 2: Repeating
A/N: Welcome to the finale! Just a reminder like in the previous chapter, Boruto and Himawari will be slightly out of character compared to their canon selves. Now that they're older, the more obvious signs of Jiraiya and Neji's influence in their lives have changed their personalities to match in a way I thought was fitting! Enjoy!
Current Ages:
Boruto-13
Himawari-11
"The job of every generation is to discover the flaws of the one that came before it. That's part of growing up, figuring out all the ways your parents and their friends are broken."
― Justine Larbalestier, Zombies Vs. Unicorns
Boruto
'What's that girl's problem?'
All day she's been watching him like a hawk, seemingly waiting for him to slip up in some way whether it was during joint training classes or during lunch hour. He doesn't recall her being in any of his lectures or outside during the exercise periods so she must be in the class below him.
He recognizes that trademark black hair and dark eyes though, his mentor's daughter.
Sarada Uchiha.
He sighs, crossing his arms behind his head. It's silly to try and hide from him and his byakugan, he thought most everyone here at the Academy knew that.
Well, he supposes the younger students wouldn't know, plus he's set to graduate in the next month putting these days behind him...
He takes to heading outside feeling her eyes track him. It's a relatively clear day he notes, few streaks of white-gray clouds in the sky to hide under from summer's approaching heatwaves and stormy afternoons. Still, it's annoying to be followed around like this, hopping over to the gymnasium building's rooftop.
The metal below is warm; perfect.
Sarada is different from his peers especially if she has the sharingan like her Father, one of his usual traps isn't going to work.
'Well rather as well figure out what she wants.' Boruto decides, pondering on it isn't going to get him anywhere.
He walks around the corner out of her line of vision behind the AC units, waits for her to take a step forward to catch up to him.
"Earth Release: Bog!"
Just as her foot lands on the second piece of metal his sticky trap activates, black sludge coiling around her legs like snakes, warming and hardening in place.
Sarada lets out a yelp, gaping in surprise as brown-black muck clings to her feet trapping her place.
"Can I help you? Are you here for an autograph from my Dad?" Boruto asks, stepping forward.
Sarada scowls, whipping her head straight to him. She looks him over head to toe, perhaps having sought him out based on another rumor from the school about his abilities or looks.
"No! Why would I need Lord Seventh's autograph?!" She snaps indignantly.
Boruto merely blinks, pointing at myself with a slow smile. "Oh, my autograph then?! I didn't know I was getting as popular as my Old Man!"
Sarada rolls her eyes, glare of the sunlight making her glasses glisten briefly hiding her eyes and making Boruto step back. "You...are you really Lord Seventh's son?"
Boruto frowns, out of the all things he thought she would ask about, it wouldn't be the one about his obvious heritage. He draws one hand up brushing his fingers through his reddish-blond locks, arching a brow.
"What gave it away? My eyes, my whiskers, or my hair?" He asks blandly.
Sarada narrows her eyes, scoffing at his tone. "I just wondered is all...we're on the lessons regarding the past Shinobi World Wars with Shino-sensei and the 7th Hokage Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Uzumaki are mentioned frequently in-"
"I know. I received the same lesson last year and at home. Your parents are in those chapters too, you know." He huffs, cutting her off.
'Surely that's not the only reason she came here and ruined by break period?' Boruto considers.
Sarada's glare hardens and he swears he sees a flicker of scarlet in her eyes, impatience rising. "Let me finish idiot; I heard there was more to it than that! That the Hyuga clan collects or had old scrolls that involved the usage and study of time and space."
Boruto arches a brow, this is the first he's hearing of such a thing.
In his brief distraction Sarada unleashes a fireball jutsu, cracking and melting at his sludge trap until only clumps of ash remain.
But Sarada doesn't want a fight, wants him to instead think about what she just said.
Mom, Grandpa, or Uncle would've given him a lesson on the topic if they had such a scroll.
'Right?'
He crosses his arms; thoughtful. "I've never heard any of my Mom's side of the family mention things involving time travel and what not...why would you want to know anyways?"
Sarada pauses, seeming to weigh with how much to tell him, wind scattering up leaves from the surrounding trees seeming to mark the change in them no longer being strangers, making up her mind at his curious expression.
"Secrets. There's things Papa, Mama, and not even Uncle have told me about our clan."
Boruto & Himawari
The migraine he gained over dinner persists throughout the rise of a silver half moon until it disappears into a pink-violet dawn, gray rimmed clouds hovering in the distance, smell of rain coming for later.
He let Sarada's stupid words get into his head like a virus, spreading across his thoughts making him question the past, present, and future, curiosity built up like a slow rising flame.
Mom would have told him and Hima about any scrolls like that in the clan he's sure. Grandpa even made a point that he and Hima would spend at least one hour learning history lessons not only about the Great Clans of Konoha during summer breaks from school, but everything as well they would need to know involving the Hyuga and Uzumaki clans as well.
Ripples of sunlight manage to claw through his blinds, the pain throbs once more before it bursts from the right side of his head downward to his toes.
It's back, he knows it without even looking in his mirror.
A pure white right eye.
'Stop it. You've been through worse pain than this.' Boruto grits his teeth, sitting himself up.
He blinks and rubs at his eyes, manifestation of the strange eye dojutsu gone too fast to grab his phone and snap a picture.
His whole body yells in protest at trying to move, falling back against his pillows as he hears the thump of familiar footsteps coming.
Himawari.
Violet hair obscures his vision a moment later, hands and nails poking and prodding at his cheeks and arms.
"Did your alarm not go off? Come on, we'll be late for school if you don't get a move on, you know!" Himawari orders.
Boruto grunts, turning over. "I don't feel good Hima."
And for once it's not a lie used to just escape the boredom of class or a lesson he's already done with Neji or Hanabi.
Himawari hums, doubt clear in her tone. "This is just like when Ritsuka asked Isamu to take her to bed before she succumbed to illness or maybe that other short story-"
Boruto holds up a hand to make her pause at recognizing this story from Toad Grandpa asking him to review his manuscripts for errors, face wrinkling in disgust.
"Have you been reading Toad Grandpa's books? Mom and Dad said we're not supposed to touch them!" He scolds.
Himawari shrugs, devious grin lighting her face that eerily reminds him of Dad when he's trying and failing to hide he ate ramen before dinner from Mom. "Well...I only glanced once! Maybe twice! Only because he asked me to look for spelling errors and promised me cake!"
'At least he didn't ask her to use her byakugan for his more perverted reasons like he asked with me.' He recalls with a groan.
"What? This could be good practice for when you have to do a spy or undercover mission!" Jiraiya exclaims.
Boruto squirms, unsure. "Then why can't I tell Mama and Papa about this assignment Toad Grandpa?"
He thought they were going somewhere cool like a hideaway in the woods only he and the toads know about or a hidden tunnel in the mountains that hides unspeakable treasures.
But no, it's far from interesting. What mission would even involve the Hot Springs? This is just where old people go to gossip and chat about their bones and muscles not working like they used to.
Jiraiya pauses before beaming once more.
"Well, they don't exactly like my methods of research! Your Mom in particular might render me unable to use my arms!"
Boruto's eyes widen, stunned at the image of his usually docile mother attacking him.
"But, they know I'm with you right now so they'll ask what we did." He goes on.
Jiraiya pats at his arms, calming his nerves. "We're training! After this, I'll show you how I taught your Dad the rasengan! Trust me, it's all connected!"
It was not connected! Water balloons to practice swirling his chakra don't need hot water like Toad Grandpa had so proudly declared.
He's sure Mom or Dad will have a long talk with him when they inevitably find out that he played hooky last week for nothing.
Mom in particular like Jiraiya mentioned may truly use the gentle fist to render his right hand temporarily unusable...
Boruto sighs, head pulsing with pain before he can consider reprimanding Himawari any further and she frowns, cerulean eyes softening.
"You're really not feeling well, are you? Hold on, I'll get Mama or Papa to check on you!" She decides without waiting for his response.
He hears the patter of her footsteps disappear back down the stairs, considers what he'll say.
'Dad's probably already left for the Hokage office so it's going to be Mom as usual taking me to the clinic.' He assumes, swallowing feel the sensation of glass in his throat.
Boruto turns over just as he sees Naruto enter with as much dramatic flair as his sister, blue eyes sharpening on him in concern.
"Hima says you're not feeling well? What's happened?!" Naruto starts as he approaches and Boruto resists the urge to toss his blankets over himself to somehow find his way back asleep.
"I'm fine, just a headache. Don't worry about me." Boruto asserts as Naruto's fingers brush along his forehead.
He smiles, patting at his head. "You feel warm and I hate to say this...look awful. I'll make a phone call to Shikamaru I can't come in. I'll probably need to call that doc Sakura recommended as well; hold on."
"Thanks, but you really don't need to do this Dad-" Boruto begins only for Naruto to retort not to be stubborn.
Boruto sits up as he steps back out of the room, far too fast feeling the world spin. Everything he wants to say gets caught in his chest and throat, akin to the feeling mud as he starts to cough, bile creeping on the back of his tongue.
Sarada's voice abruptly echoes in the back of his mind. This day is a chance he realizes, to ask about his eye, more about his ancestry.
'Secrets. Though I don't know if Mom or Dad have truly kept anything from me and Himawari.' He frowns.
Himawari returns with tea, an ice pack, and a thermometer.
"Papa said to check your temp and ask how long you've been feeling this way." She explains.
She plops into his bed beside him, sticks the thermometer under his tongue giving him a hush signal.
38.1 C (100.5 F).
"Fever. What other symptoms?" She asks.
Boruto shrugs. "I've been feeling this way since last night really. I took some Tylenol before I went to bed, but I woke up with headache and sore throat."
'And my right eye was glowing again.' He adds mentally, though he has no way of properly explaining that to her.
Himawari nods, Naruto popping back in just as he ends another apparent call.
"I got you an appointment at the clinic for 9:30 so get dressed. See if you can get down that tea Hima made." He instructs.
Himawari hops off his bed, squeezes at his hand.
"Feel better! Guess I'll get going before I'm late myself." She realizes.
Boruto nods, managing a small grin at her continued look of concern before she heads out.
This is why he never likes to tell Mom or Dad when he's feeling ill, he's sure this is just some simple cold infection that will pass before the week's end.
Hopefully.
He forces himself out of bed before Naruto returns again, adjusting on his signature Uzumaki black jacket and white shirt.
By the time he gets downstairs Naruto has on his own usual orange jacket, putting on his shoes.
He turns to him, tucks him under his arm in spite of his protest.
"Ready?" Naruto smiles comfortingly.
Boruto nods with what he hopes is a reasonable grin, trying not wince as both his head and stomach churn.
'As I'll ever be.'
Naruto, Hinata, & Boruto
"I wonder if something's been going around the class." Hinata observes.
Like Hima, Mom pokes and taps at each part of him, pearl orbs swirling with concern. Boruto restrains himself from not forcing himself out of her hold, fingertips warm, familiar scent of lily and jasmine wafting around him.
"Well, he does have a fever and he let me carry him part of the way here so he's truly not feeling well, you know!" Naruto adds unhelpfully.
Boruto bristles, sinking down in his chair while Hinata laughs.
He's starting to wish he had just pushed himself to go to school instead.
Naruto lightly grabs at Hinata's hand just as she finishes looking at his eyes.
"You should get going back to work Dear. I'll text you with any updates I get." Naruto advises with a glance to the time.
They should be calling him back any moment.
Boruto peeks up from his own phone, reddens and quickly looks back down at Naruto pecking Hinata lightly on the lips before she twists to go. They share a secretive grin, a silent communication he's seen pass between them again and again throughout the years.
Naruto watches her go, waits until she's completely out of sight before ruffling at his son's hair causing his scowl to deepen.
"What?" Boruto pouts.
Naruto smiles, blue meeting his annoyed purple. "The 'what' is now that your Mom's gone you can tell me what's really bothering you."
Boruto pauses, clicking his tongue. Dad has always been good about reading his or Himawari's moods without them having to speak. He considers if he already knows what's been weighing on his mind, trying to relax his posture.
"Nothing, I'm just tired." He mentions, the lie bitter and warped as soon as it passes his lips.
Naruto shakes his head, presses him close to his chest and Boruto feels reminded of the days he used to eagerly sit in Naruto's lap while he worked or studied, listen to the comforting pulse of his heartbeat lulling him to sleep or calming his anger down...
"You don't have to lie." He asserts and Boruto bites his tongue.
'How would I even explain it?' He sighs.
"Uzumaki!" Nurse Miyoko announces from the front.
Boruto jolts, moving to stand not waiting for Naruto to follow.
Dr. Ashikaga greets them in room 3, bows respectively to the pair in a way that makes Boruto stiffen and Naruto laugh weakly.
"Lord Seventh! Ah, we heard from Sakura that your son is feeling unwell?" He questions. Naruto nods, gesturing with his head to Boruto.
Dr. Ashikaga must be someone from Aunt Sakura's medical days as a kunoichi, maybe one of her mentors besides just Granny Tsunade. His chestnut hair is sprinkled with gray, wrinkles under his amber eyes and cheeks from laughter and long days in the lab or surgical wing.
He scrutinizes his throat and ears, reignites a wave of pain in his head when he presses at a pressure point.
"Alright, so those tonsils of yours indeed look puffy and infected. We'll do a swab for strep and flu to get confirmation and go from there on what medicine to prescribe you." He analyzes once his assessment is done.
Boruto nods, accepting Miyoko's what feels like jabbing at his nose and throat with a grin before telling him it's 15 minutes for the results, turning his gaze to outside as the door clicks shut. The steel gray clouds from earlier have settled over the village now, rain coming down in tiny rivulets against the window.
"...My right eye, the white glow came back to it." Boruto admits once they're alone again.
Naruto instantly looks up from a pamphlet reviewing over common viruses.
"When?" He asks.
"This morning and last month before I went to bed. Ah, but it never lasts more than a few seconds; it always seems to come on after a I studied a lot or did a lot of training that day!" Boruto explains, trying to placate his worry.
Naruto steps close to him, brows furrowing. "Do you remember when you were younger when it occurred? It happened once when you were watching this guy act belligerent around his ex-girlfriend."
Boruto shrugs, memory fuzzy in his mind now. It sounds like the spring festival from years ago, petals of pinks and whites flooding his thoughts. Toad Grandpa pointing out a man who couldn't hold his liquor...
Naruto's expression turns blank as he mulls it over too, one he can't read.
"So much has changed since using that scroll years back." He mutters and Boruto straightens.
'The Hyuga clan had a scroll apparently that was used for time and space.' The words inevitably bubble up to the forefront of his mind.
"What are you talking about Dad?" Boruto questions, stomach flipping at his lack of a response.
Naruto attempts to wave it off, but Boruto grits his teeth.
Sarada is right, there is much he doesn't know, has been so woefully naïve about...
"Tell me! Is it the scroll about time and space? What did you do?!" He hisses, nails digging into the metal of his chair, starting to create a bend.
Naruto holds up his hands defensively, frowning at his sudden temper.
"It wasn't me! It was Mom that stole the scroll in the first place; don't be mad at her though! She did it because she cares about me, you know! The scroll of Ages and Seasons was what she used making us accidentally go the future; saw we were married and what not. Oi, but why are you investigating this all in the first place?" He questions, stopping himself from rambling.
Boruto deflates, anger melting into confusion.
'Mom?'
Mom who helps check patient's eyes and veins at the clinic? Who can outeat Dad in ramen contests?
He hardly hears Dr. Ashikaga come back in to confirm he has a combination of both strep and flu, that he'll need antibiotics for at least 10 days for the strep and plenty of rest.
No, he can't rest knowing there's something his parents did in the past that is currently affecting things in the now.
"Boruto-" Naruto starts in warning knowing he could be about to use a substitution jutsu, transformation jutsu, or smoke bomb to escape him, though he holds up a hand, trying to think before reaching the best option to go with.
"I want answers, so let's go get Mom and then go to the Hyuga compound; together." He determines.
Hinata is getting out of an AV fistula surgery for a man who'll need to start dialysis only for her aides Yua and Aika to urgently pull her aside that her husband and son are waiting at the front desk for her.
Boruto tugs at her arm as soon as she approaches, taking both hers and Naruto's hands leading them into a quieter hallway.
"What did Dr. Ashikaga say?" Hinata asks as she lets herself get pulled along, looking to Naruto to explain.
Naruto sighs. "Flu, strep, and now attitude."
Boruto ignores his comment, gaze turning first to Hinata, takes in her look of concern before pointing at his right eye.
"Dad said you did something with a scroll in the past that might be why my right eye sometimes glows? Is he lying? He's the one known who used to be known as a prankster and for stealing stuff." He asks, directly to the point.
"Oi, you don't have to say it like that, you know! I'm not that boy anymore!" Naruto complains, burying his head into Hinata's shoulder.
Boruto rolls his eyes, could've fooled him.
Hinata giggles, small grin curving at her lips, looking at her husband affectionately before back at Boruto.
"Your Father is telling the truth Boruto. I'm the one who stole the scroll of Ages and Seasons." She confirms.
Sasuke, Sakura, & Sarada
'She's chopping those peppers a bit too much.' Sakura notes with puzzlement, watching bits of tomato and pepper go flying off of Sarada's chopping board.
Onyx eyes remain fixed on her task, oblivious to the results of her work.
Sarada only acts this way when something is bothering her.
She not so subtly nudges at Sasuke to speak up, Sasuke sighing stopping his task of slicing the potatoes.
"Um, Sarada? Is everything going okay with you at school?" He asks.
Dark orbs flash up to him, teeth set together nearly making him withdraw.
"Of course!" She grits out before returning back to tearing a bell pepper to shreds.
Sasuke gives Sakura his 'help me' look and Sakura claps her hands, regaining her attention.
"Alright missy, what's going on that has you giving these vegetables the stink eye?!" Sakura orders.
Sarada blinks, about to form another excuse before sighing, memory arising again.
"I hate this, why are the Uchiha helping with the Police Department?! Why, when people have seen what those eyes of there's can do?" An old man grumbles and Sarada feels her chest lurch, heartbeat ring in her ears.
"Kazuo, stop it! That little girl has nothing to do with her clan's...past!" The woman beside him hisses, perhaps his daughter or granddaughter tugging him along.
She doesn't miss the way his teal-blue eyes settle on her like ice, a look of pained malice...
"You should hate them too Ayaka, after what they did to your Father all those years ago, he's never been the same since that horrid night he had to help in identifying the bodies, the burial."
That had been weeks ago, the catalyst for her wondering.
What exactly is her clan's dark past? Why must it be buried to time?
Even Uncle skirts around the subject everything time she attempts to bring it up, not wanting her to worry about such sad and painful memories.
"Our clan was trying to create a rise up in a way that had to be stopped before things got out of hand." Itachi explains vaguely.
He never said more on the matter beyond that.
All her research in the Central Library of Konoha brought her one thing from quietly scouring banned books and burnt pages: her clan isn't the only one with secrets.
"Boruto Uzumaki? Yeah, isn't he that cute boy in the class above us?! I heard he should already be a chunin with his skills, plus has the looks of Lord Seventh and that Uncle of his Neji Hyuga!" Chocho hums over lunch the next day at her gathering information.
"Right? He's so cool! Did you see the way he won that match against Tezuma the other day? He used one burst of lightning and Tezuma was out just like that!" Emica coos in agreement.
Sarada pinches her nose, she could care less about his looks or skills, she needs to know if his clan has any knowledge of what's happened to her own.
'They have to know something, either the Uzumaki or the Hyuga. Our parents are good friends after all.' She ponders.
She'll just have to corner him.
But it turns out Boruto is just as much in the dark as her, stoic mask he usually carries around the school crumpling hearing about the scroll of time and space the Hyuga clan held onto for generations.
"So you don't know either." Sarada grumbles as she breaks out of Boruto's mud trap.
Boruto shakes his head, eyes narrowing in thought.
"No, but I'm going to find out." He responds.
He looks to her fully then, grins softly and Sarada partially sees why he's so popular from the way the sunlight hits his gold-red locks, forces herself to not be rattled by her heart's lurch and focus.
"You should find out what's going with your clan too, you know." He advises before hopping away to the ground below.
The scroll hadn't come up again in the latest history books she scoured through, meaning something must've happened to the scroll within these last couple of years she imagines.
"Papa. Mama. I want to know more about our clan. And not the 'it's all in the past now' version." Sarada states in a slow breath after gathering her nerves now over dinner.
Sakura's lips tighten in that way when she knows she's trying to decide between the truth or a lie, Sasuke looking impassive as usual save for the slight widening of his eyes.
Sarada waits for one of them to speak, balls her hands into fists when she is only met with silence.
"Do you guys plan to keep lying to me forever or keeping me in the dark?!" She hisses in disbelief.
When she gazes up to them her eyes are a brilliant red, stepping back from the table.
"Fine. I know another way to get the answers I want!" She snaps.
Sakura drops her bowl of washed rice to give chase, Itachi appearing from the foreground.
"Hold on. I'll go after her. You two stay here and finish up dinner so it's ready when we return." Itachi instructs.
Sasuke follows him to the back door, lips set in a flat line.
"How much of the truth are you going to tell her?" He questions.
Itachi half gazes back to him.
"Everything Sasuke. She's old enough now to understand...on top of I've seen what keeping secrets has done to this clan until it becomes too late." He advises.
He takes off then without another word.
Late afternoon light falls against Konoha, last ribbons of reds and violets shining against the greenery of the trees and mountains.
Sarada hasn't gotten too far despite taking the backroads and trails through the woods to try and create a zigzag path, Itachi landing in front of her.
"Where are we off to?" He smiles, paying no mind to Sarada's attempts to walk around him.
"Uncle? I don't want to talk to you either." She gruffs our only for Itachi to gently, but firmly grip at her arm.
"Have you seen your reflection a mirror or puddle?" He asks.
Itachi points downward and Sarada reluctantly follows his gaze to a muddy puddle that reflects the amber skyline.
Crimson eyes gaze back at her.
Sarada startles, stepping back.
"The sharingan typically activates under deep stress or emotional turmoil. This has been bothering you for weeks; hasn't it?" Itachi asks simply.
Sarada nods, swiping angrily at a rise of tears to her eyes.
"I'm just...tired of the lies. What are Papa and Mama even protecting me from?" She sighs.
Itachi motions for her to sit beside him, breath in the woods, dew and moss surrounding them. When her stomach no longer feels as tight she gazes back at him, waits for his explanation.
"The Uchiha clan, our clan, has been involved in so much pain, so much bloodshed. In these times of peace, your parents didn't want to expose you to the grisly past of how they got to here."
"Like in the wars? Or the massacre?" Sarada spits out.
She's heard the whispers said behind her back that the sharingan only causes problems, are twin rubies of hate. Gossip is the one thing her parents can never stop.
Itachi nods. "We planned a coup many years back, so much of the village feared us back then and had kept us isolated and tempers began to flare at the injustice of it all. I was ordered to stop it by Lord Third, however I couldn't bear to kill Sasuke. I thought at the time as retribution he should be the one to kill me for what I did to the clan, but fate an this altered path stopped that death from happening. The sharingan gets stronger via pain yes, watching those you love die or betray you."
Sarada listens carefully, stomach tightening at a sudden thought.
'That's what happened with Papa.' She realizes.
"I'm ashamed to say I played a role in why Sasuke is the way he is now, despite the changes made by Naruto and Hinata's time traveling. I assume he may have gotten worse if not for Sakura's insistence at healing me instead of letting me succumb to my ongoing respiratory ailments." Itachi concludes.
Sarada listens to the rhythm of his breathing as he straightens himself, watches the wildflowers nearby blow in the breeze.
"Do you think that Papa and Mama will be more open with me now?" She breathes out.
Itachi reaches over, taps her forehead in the same affectionate matter that makes her inevitably smile, whole body warm over.
"Of course, because both Sasuke and Sakura love you. And if they don't...well just let me know and I'll bring up some embarrassing memories to get them talking! As long as you don't go running off like that again. Now that your sharingan has activated, you'll need to be on your toes, people will desire our eyes."
Sarada nods, grin widening and Itachi considers this must be the 'Sakura grin' Sasuke described to him.
"Understood!" She chirps out.
Sarada enters back in first, takes in her parents huddled together on the sofa, dinner clearly abandoned.
'Guess we may need to order take-out.' She considers, but that isn't a priority right now.
Sakura notices her first, moving to stand hurriedly. Her eyes must still be a hazy red, match the color of the fading sunset.
"Does it hurt? Are you okay?" She breathes out.
"Well?" Sasuke asks, looking between the pair.
"I'm alright Mom. Uncle told me all I needed to know." Sarada supplies.
And before either can speak she hugs the pair close, startling Sasuke and causing Sakura to laugh in relief.
"Moving forward I want open conversations, the Uchiha clan is not defined by its past and shouldn't be! Deal?" Sarada declares.
Sakura grins, she must've watched some of Lady Tsunade's old speeches to make such a powerful statement.
'She's growing too fast.' Sasuke muses. The world he imagines will never be fully safe as long as people like Danzo or Orochimaru lurk in the shadows coveting powerful eyes...
So Sarada has to learn.
"Deal. We can start training tomorrow." He answers surprising his wife and daughter to be the first to agree.
He taps at both Sakura and Sarada's foreheads flustering them both, a reminder of how far they've all come.
Boruto & Hinata
Raindrops create mini ripples in the pond, aqua-green waters distorting his reflection. Boruto studies the silver-orange koi nipping at the edge before looking down once more at the remnants of a scroll used over a decade ago perfectly preserved in glass, ash marks staining his fingers black from carefully slipping it out of it's frame, keeping it out of the rain's path...
"I suppose some of Naruto's stubbornness rubbed off on Hinata that day she went to the hospital. Don't be mad at her Boruto or your Dad, she was doing at the time what she thought would help make things right. Sasuke had just defected from the village, Naruto had lost to him at the Valley of the End and Hinata wanted to use the Scroll of Ages and Seasons to give Naruto a second chance at the fight, this time he would know what to do to win." Hiashi describes as they watch the rain and wind dance along the garden.
Lightning crosses the sky in the distance, a web of jagged white that equally reflects his foul mood.
"So what happened then? Did they go back to the past?" Boruto asks.
Neji shakes his head from beside him, gaze taking to the sky as a patch of clear sky comes through.
"No, the opposite actually. They ended up in the future for over a year."
He sees a flicker of violet hair approach, sighing and settling back against the wet bark of the trees into the shadows.
"You used to always come out here under the tree with your Uncle when you wanted to think or meditate." Hinata observes, taking a seat beside him.
Boruto hums his agreement, Hinata pushing on. "Are you feeling better?"
He nods slowly then, the antibiotic/anti-inflammatory shot in addition to starting the pills helped.
Her gaze falls to what remains of the scroll of Ages and Seasons, nodding. "That brings back memories. I'm surprised Father kept it after all these years, hardly anything is left of it and the writing is illegible now."
Boruto looks to her slowly, frown still marring his lips hugging the scroll to his chest. "Good or bad memories?"
Hinata follows his approach, leaning back. "Good! Oh, well a mix of good and bad really. So are the consequences for messing with time."
Her expression turns forlorn gazing to the pond, picking up a pebble from the edge skipping it along the water.
"When...When I took the scroll I was being selfish, Naruto was in the hospital after his fight with Sasuke and I just wanted to help him feel better, to bring that bright smile of his back." Hinata starts.
Boruto tries to picture it. He knows his Dad and Sasuke were rivals growing up, knows Mom loved Dad even before he himself realized his own feelings for her, but he didn't know about this side of his Mom, willing to go against the clan's traditions and protocol for Dad who was just known as the village's jinchuriki and problem child at the time.
"And then you ended up burning down his hospital room and getting sent like 10 years in the future?" He supplies.
Hinata nods, leaning her head against her palm.
"You can imagine two 13 years old's seeing a suddenly new and improved Konoha was shocking, familiar faces acting so different from how we knew them just the day before. Ah, then we saw ourselves in our current house, married! It complicated things further from there learning about the rest of the Akatsuki, stopping the Fourth Shinobi World War. We even met you and Himawari, however you had the same blue eyes as your Father. We undid certain deaths like Jiraiya's and Neji's, only to cause others to happen like Iruka-sensei and Shizune."
Boruto swallows, she and Dad have been carrying such burdens around for years...
He points to his right eye. "I know you and Papa get all lovey-dovey when explaining your relationship, but I want to know about this!"
Hinata reddens, not meaning to repeat what he already knows. "Sorry! Well, to cut to the chase there was a man named Toneri from the Otsutsuki clan that approached us right before we got married. He had seen visions of your future in particular, one of them involved you getting an eye that would be nothing like the byakugan."
She sighs, watching the patchwork of blues and grays slip by up above before continuing.
"Your Father and I couldn't be sure if Toneri was telling the truth or lying, it seems it was the former though when you had it come on once at the annual Spring Festival. After that, we weren't sure what exactly triggered it except maybe negative situations you saw or crimes in progress."
Hinata hugs him close then before he can squirm away. "I'm sorry your Father and I never fully explained it. We didn't want to stress you out with possibilities, we wanted you and Hima to not worry about this and have the normal childhood we didn't have. If you have any other questions, let me or Dad know, even Grandpa or Uncle."
Boruto pulls back to look up at her.
"Thank you for telling me."
His chest feels lighter. It's not all the answers, but he's learned a bit more about this weird pure white eye.
And how to handle it moving forward.
Hinata nods, brushes a hand through his wet locks, laughs when he shakes his hair out dampening them both. In the background they here Naruto calling for them to come inside before they both end up sick (or he sicker than he already is).
"Let's get out of the rain, you know! I'm sure Dad made ramen for us!" Boruto jests, moving to stand, holding out a hand, helping her up.
Hinata squeezes his hand in return. Pretty soon he'll be on missions to lands far away from here, will be too embarrassed to hold her hand like this in public.
'Time keeps moving on.' She grins, sharing a secret smile with Naruto as he hugs them both close.
Boruto & Himawari
"Both Mom and Dad saw the future? Really?!" Himawari states between being puzzlement and wonder.
She rolls over in his bed to look at him properly, yawning though still not bothering to head to her own room.
Moonlight highlights her dark hair with silver edges switching her focus at Boruto's lack of response, byakugan pinpointed on the specialized training dummy Neji made for them resting on the opposite side of his room. It's stuffing has been ripped out over and over, stitches carved throughout its figure.
"Lock on." She whispers under her breath, throwing a kunai forward landing right between the doll's eyes.
"Bullseye!" Himawari cheers.
Boruto finally looks up at her commotion from his novel about a ninja who keeps repeating a battle he died in, trying to find a way to stop the loop and his death.
His curiosity in regards to the subject of time has gone beyond just a passing interest.
"Yeah, they had to, you know! Look, Dad even showed me this old Kamen Ninja figure that doesn't look like any of the ones I had growing up. And you know I was crazy about collecting every model and figure back then!" He describes.
Himawari accepts the figure, takes in the smudge of black fingerprints and dust.
Boruto can tell she's still wary though so he shows her the old photo from Mom's album.
"What about this? Be careful with it, but that should be proof enough." He reasons.
Himawari pauses, studies a Boruto who has eyes like hers, Grandpa Minato's, and Dad's instead of Mom's.
She holds it up to the light, makes sure it hasn't been tampered with in someway.
"You should have shown me that first, you know! Wow, hey do you think we can go to the future too?! I want to see if I become a shinobi or something else." She describes excitedly.
Boruto shakes his head, as far as he knows there aren't any other methods that can send one back to the past or future.
At least that's been found or created yet, technology is way more advanced now than when Mom and Dad were their age.
He sits up and Himawari settles beside him.
"We'll see and do so many cool stuff Hima, maybe not going to the future or past necessarily, but it will happen! Either by a mission or journey!" He promises.
He follows her gaze to the photos of their parents throughout the years that sit upon his dresser, Naruto pulling Hinata close for a group shot with the rest of their graduation class.
Naruto posing with Fu and Gaara outside a tower in Suna.
A teenage Naruto and Hinata sharing a secretive laugh together under a sakura tree, unaware of the click of a camera's lens.
Hinata pregnant with Himawari, himself following Naruto's lead to listen for her kick.
Jiraiya reading them age-appropriate bedtime stories, showing them a collection of photos of Kushina, Minato, and Kakashi-sensei when they were young.
And finally at the end, their family photo from when he and Hima were toddlers, resting in their parent's laps, their grandpas, aunt, and uncle situated behind them.
A knock at the door startles the pair, Naruto and Hinata poking their heads in.
"You two should be getting to bed, that's where Mom and I are heading!" Naruto advises.
Himawari nods, sliding off his bed, murmuring a soft goodnight.
"I'll go to bed as soon as I finish this chapter." Boruto mentions, holding up his book.
"Better not be one of Pervy-Sage's books!" Naruto mentions.
"It's not!" Boruto answers dryly, holding it up clearly by the lamp's light for both of them to see.
Hinata hums, gazing to his overhead clock. "Don't stay up too late seeing as it's almost 10:00 pm; I know you have a busy week ahead."
He peeks his head out into the hallway as they walk away, listens to his Mom's soft giggle as Dad presses kisses along her lips down her neck, her hands entangling with his gazing up into his eyes.
He wrinkles his nose, closing back his door glancing to the row of photos once more.
'Just you wait Mom and Dad, I'm going to have my own cool story that will be the highlight of my generation!'
He's sure of it.
-x-
The End.
Acknowledgements:
Well, that's that! A new month as another story reaches it's grand finale! I'd like to once again thank all my silent readers, all my reviewers, favorites, and followers of this story and my other works. I know this wasn't perfect and didn't always follow canon completely for better or worse, but I'm glad I was able to write out the ideas I had.
Look forward to Red Thread returning in the next couple of days/next week as the next chapter just needs a bit of editing along with me eventually posting my next MHA chapter as well. Going on a mini writing break to collect my thoughts/ideas for those stories.
Thank you all once again for reading this story and please let me know if you have any final thoughts or ideas for future works!
With much love and signing off for now,
Midnight Rain19