AN: Ahhh! I'm still so happy so many of you guys enjoy this story! I apologize for the long update since the plot of this particular story is still very very blur. And I've been relatively busy to the point some days I just do not have inspirations to write :( Perhaps you guys can suggest some ideas HEHE. I really hope I will finish this story since I really love the outlook of it, the overall plot and how canon possible it can be!

Anyways, do review and hope you guys enjoy it! My other story is coming to an end soon, hireath. do check it out too!

.::.

"Do you think you like it?" Hinata questioned as she adjusted the new top her son was wearing.

It was simple, nothing too fancy or intricate. A rather simple dark mauve high collar tank top that fitted him just right. She smiled, tugging the hem of his shirt as she even out the little creases that she did not manage to iron out.

The morning got a lot quieter the moment Boruto left for school and Hanabi picked Himawari up. It wasn't a surprise that Naruto did not return home the night before, but she thought he would at least show up since she had already informed him that yesterday would be the first day where Yuu would be staying with them.

The plan for today was enrolling Yuu to Konoha Academy. The morning spent between them was nice, as usually the kids would either be rushing to school or back to her household for training. It was a slow companied morning, and it had been quite some time since she had someone around with her after breakfast.

"I like it!" The boy beamed, adjusting his black baggy pants that fell just right above his ankle.

"It suits you." Hinata giggled and handled him a white ribbon. "Here, use this to tie your hair up instead. The band I gave you earlier on isn't good for your hair."

Yuu took the ribbon band from his mother's hand and placed it between his lips as he pulled out the tie that was holding his hair up. Indeed, as he pulled a few strands of hair followed, tangled by the band. He winced a little as Hinata took the band from him. He pulled his hair up messily and struggled to tie it, only to earn a chuckle from his mother.

"You seem like you need some help." Hinata teased and took the ribbon from him.

"I always have my hair down." Yuu argued mildly as he sat there patiently, appreciating the touch of his mother.

Combing his hair with her fingers, she continued. "Do you like your hair long?"

"Hmm… I never thought about cutting it. Do you think I should cut it?" Yuu quizzed.

"Long hair suits you too." She patted his head when she finished. His long straight hair reminded her so much of her cousin.

"Kaa-chan use to have long hair too, right?" He grinned. "I saw your pictures! Boruto showed it to me earlier on."

So they had gotten comfortable with each other. Hinata knew deep down Boruto was a kind kid by nature. He just had the habit of putting up a front. "You two are getting well along?"

"I guess so. Boruto didn't say much this morning before he left for school." Yuu muttered as he tapped his chin. "But yesterday he did tell me goodnight!"

"That's good. He's a little hard headed at times but he's a good kid. You have to tolerate him, alright? You're the older one here." Hinata said, smiling as she stood up. "Shall we go to school? We can surprise Boruto and Sarada too. They should be ending class soon."

"Hai!" The boy jumped and made his way towards the kitchen counter. "Do you think the onigiri I made for them is nice?"

Hinata peered over his mini shoulders and caught sight of four star shaped onigiri. She giggled. "I'm sure they will love it. It came out better than we expected."

"I spend some time trying to make them better." His eyes crinkled in happiness. "Can we pack this?"

Pulling out two pieces of paper bag, Hinata transferred the onigiri in before they made their way out of the house. The sun was blazing hot, but this time round she was thankful she had finally bought a new umbrella. The memory of the Uchiha wearing her bright yellow tinted sun hat made her laughed internally.

She glanced over at her son for a brief moment, wondering when would it be the next time he would get to see his father again. Sarada had only met her father twice in twelve years and she thought Yuu might have to go through the exact same thing. She had to find some time to explain it to him eventually.

"How does the school works?" Yuu gripped onto her skirt.

"You have to pass certain test to become a shinobi like your father. There's different levels, and each level determine how capable you will be." Hinata explained, remembering her status of simply just being a Chunin whereas for everyone else, they had been promoted to at least a Jounin.

"At what stage do I have to be so I can follow tou-san then?"

"Hmm…" Hinata pressed her lips. "It depends. You have to be really strong. Your father is doing really dangerous mission."

"When will he come back again?"

She finally understood how Sakura felt. The question that seemingly left a boulder on her chest and as if her vocal chords decided to fail on her, she could not find a way to speak. There was no definitive answer and there wasn't even a range she could provide. "He… will be back sooner than you expect."

"Okay." Yuu exhaled softly. "I thought we can spend more time together."

"He will spend time with you when he's back, I promise you that. In the meantime, we can have some time together with Boruto, Himawari and Sarada."

Hinata noticed how easy it was to persuade Yuu. Maybe he was just an understanding kid, a trait so similar to Himawari and she felt a sense of relief. Three kids on hand was after all tough, especially one whom she could not even openly acknowledged.

They stood at the entrance of the academy, waiting for the school bell to ring and for the kids to dash out just like everyone used to do when they were young. She turned herself slightly to look at the swing that was surprisingly still attached to the tree branch, a solemn place. A small smile adorned her face as she briefly got reminded of the days where she used to watch her husband sit by the swing.

Time really flew and in a blink of an eye, their kids were going to be genin soon. She exhaled internally, feeling thankful that the kids of this generation did not have to live through the era of wars.

"Yuu – ah, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata jumped a little when she took notice of the surprise appearance of the Uchiha.

He stood there silently, as if joining them in the observation of the academy gates.

"Otou-san!" Yuu exclaimed, eyes widened in awe. "Since when did you appear?"

Sasuke smiled lightly and took a quick glance towards the female. "Not long. But it took you long enough to notice me."

Hinata chuckled a little. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you to still be in Konoha. Didn't you left yesterday?"

"I intend to leave tonight. I think spending some time with Sarada and Sakura is nice. Plus I can help out with the enrolment." Sasuke said. "Have you talk to Shino about it?"

Hinata had almost forgotten that she once felt intimidated by the Uchiha's presence and disposition despite him being the best of friend with her husband. They rarely spoke, and even if they did it was always about Naruto. She smiled to herself internally, feeling that perhaps all that face value appearance and idea of Sasuke was completely different from how he was like as a person.

Or else, why would Sakura like him anyways?

She gave a curt nod. "Yea. I spoke to him briefly and he said he's able to enrol him into the academy and allow him to just join the rest without retaining. He just has to pass the genin exams by the end of this and he will be placed in a team."

"I heard the Chunin exams are already next week," Sasuke mentioned, remembering what Sakura had told him. "Would it be too rush?"

"Hmm," Hinata looked down towards Yuu and smiled, patting his head lightly. "A little I guess. We will see how it goes for him. If he can't take the stress of it, we can always take it slow. There's no rush."

"Otou-san! You should have told me and kaa-chan that you're still here." Yuu grabbed onto his cloak and shook him a little. "I thought we can have burgers together."

Maybe it was the long hair, especially how it was being tied up at the moment or perhaps the features that it brought back a huge sense of nostalgia for him. Yuu just reminded him of his brother. Sasuke knelt down with a smile and brought his fingers up to poke his forehead, a classic gesture Itachi always did to him. "Next time, alright?"

"If the next time I can catch your presence, can I follow you?" Yuu questioned, smiling innocently a little as he rubbed his forehead.

Hinata took notice of the eagerness in Yuu to follow his father around. She never doubted the love Yuu had for the both of them, but she assumed it could be just in his nature to be curious about the outside world. After all, he had been living in the hideout for his entire life.

"Sure." Sasuke replied and stood back up when the school bell went off. He tucked his single hand into his pocket and waited patiently as he watched the kids exiting the school one by one.

Soon enough, it was as if a zombie hoard was dashing passed them. Hinata held Yuu a little closer and darted her eyes around in search for her son. It wasn't hard to miss, especially when her kid had such bright coloured hair.

Sarada appeared in front of Sasuke in an instant the moment she took notice of him, with Boruto following behind slowly as he strolled towards them, hands resting behind his head.

"Tou-san, did you come and pick me up today?" Sarada beamed.

"I had some discussion to do with the principal and your sensei." Sasuke said gently. "Your mum say we will be having an early dinner today before I go."

"You're staying for dinner?" Her eyes lit up as she jumped a little. "Me and the rest are intending to head towards the fast food place first!"

"Fast food?" Hinata asked sternly as she eyed her son. "How many times have you been visiting there?"

"Ah!" Boruto chuckled nervously as she slapped Sarada's arm, causing her to click her tongue. "I'm not eating much! Right, Sarada? She has dinner with…" His eyes laid onto the adult Uchiha. "Her father." He finished, feeling slightly intimated yet intrigued by the cool disposition of his friend's dad.

"You were challenging Chocho into a burger – "

"Kaa-chan, I will be back for dinner!" Boruto cut Sarada off quickly and flashed her a look that yearned for help. "I won't eat much." He emphasized.

Sarada rolled her eyes as she averted her attention towards the new brother she had known just a couple of days ago. She still wasn't use to having a sibling, even though she had thought about the greatness of it. "Yuu, you're here to enrol? Is that why tou-san is here too?"

"H-Hai!" He stuttered, feeling slightly out of place from the entire conversation they just had. It was as if he felt disconnected, not belonging with them.

"He wants to be a shinobi." Sasuke said, wondering should he bring up the way Sarada was addressing her brother but chose not to. He could understand why.

Sarada nodded slowly as she observed the male. He was standing close to Boruto's mother, as if using her as a shield to protect himself from any bad happenings, or perhaps just not being comfortable with them. At that instant, she felt a sense of guilt. He was after all, created the same way as how Mitsuki was created. It wasn't his choice to be existing anyways, and it wasn't even his choice to possess her father's blood.

"Do you want to join us to the fast food restaurant?" Sarada questioned, brows raising a little as she smiled assuredly.

Yuu perked up a little. "Can I?"

"There's no reason you can't." Boruto shrugged. "Chocho and Mitsuki will be there too. Some of our other friends might join too."

"Do you want to join them after your enrolment?" Hinata quizzed.

Yuu nodded his head happily, as if finding a pot of gold. She couldn't help but to smile, yet at the same time feeling restrained by the restrictions she had with her son. There was so many things she couldn't say to him in public.

"We will see you at the restaurant then." Boruto said, before narrowing his eyes. "If you did not turn up, this time round I will not let you sleep in my room."

Yuu let out a soft laugh. "I promise to be there!"

The kids ran off in the direction of the restaurant, leaving the three of them alone. Sasuke watched till all of them disappeared as he remembered about the days when him, Sakura and Naruto would race to Ichiraku even though he hated greasy noodles. As much as he hated to admit then, and even perhaps now, he still enjoyed having some form of company.

He turned to face the female Hyuga, almost chuckling to himself. "You're a strict mother." He said, implying on the way she spoke to Boruto about fast food.

She let out a embarrassed chuckle. "Really? I just think they shouldn't be having too much f-fast food."

"They shouldn't." He said, looking down at Yuu. "You should listen to your mother too."

"But they are very nice." Yuu pouted and whined a little. "Can I at least have the fries later with Sarada and the rest?"

"Ask your mother." Sasuke shrugged as he knew who had the better say in this whole parenting situation. He hadn't been present for most of Sarada's life anyways. "If she allows, I will agree with her."

"Sasuke-kun." Hinata inhaled, brows knitted a little. "Do you think Yuu should be allowed to fast food?"

Was this the beginning of co-parenting? Why did he feel like he was afraid of the blue head? "I guess once in a while is fine, don't you think?"

Yuu had already subconsciously moved closer to his father, obviously choosing his sides. "Yea! Once in a while, kaa-chan." He pleaded.

"We just had it two days ago, Yuu." Hinata said sternly. "Do you think that's once in a while?"

Sasuke let out a small chuckle and rested his hand on Yuu's shoulder. "Alright, you can join them for lunch but try not to eat too much of the junk."

The Uchiha had to admit he definitely didn't know the right way to parent, but was there exactly a right way? Yuu turned out still fine despite being hidden in the hideout for almost a year, and it wasn't like Suigetsu, Jugo or even Karin whom he hung out with frequently had any parental experience.

He thought perhaps just spending time with the kid would be enough as a parent, something he obviously had not been doing. His thoughts was interrupted when the former teammate of the blue head turned up.

"Ah, sorry to keep you guys waiting." Shino panted a little as he adjusted his cyclops eye wear.

The Aburame turned his attention towards the mini version of both the Hyuga and the Uchiha. Slight shiver sent down his spine when the kid made eye contact, even though he knew he could not tell through the eye wear he had on. He still couldn't comprehend the idea of how Hinata had a kid with Sasuke, even though it was a clone creation.

"Hinata, have you brought the documents for the enrolment?" He asked. "You must be Yuu." A small smile appeared on his face as he bend down a little. "I heard from your mother that you want to be a shinobi."

"Hai!" He nodded happily.

"Shino-kun, sorry to be troubling you with this arrangement." Hinata drooped her eyebrows a little and pulled out the file of document on Yuu's identity Sasuke had passed her. "I'm sure you've to go through a lot."

"No worries, Iruka has been helping out with this too." He smiled, assuring his former teammate as he accepted the files from her.

"Who else in the academy knows about Yuu?" Sasuke questioned.

"Just me and Iruka." Shino spoke, nodding. "Naruto and Hinata have told me about it. We won't tell it to the rest."

"When can I start?" Yuu asked eagerly. "Will I be in the same class as Boruto?"

"Shino-kun, can you arrange for that too?" Hinata felt safer to have someone to look out for Yuu, especially for someone who had not really quite seen the world yet.

"Boruto and the rest are genins now, so they already have their team assigned. We will specially arrange the graduation test for him next week, would that be too rush? If he pass the test, he can be allocated to teams too." The sensei explained. "But I won't be able to put him in Team 7."

Sasuke mentally smiled to himself. Team 7 indeed brought back loads of memories. "Will you be okay with this, Hinata?"

Shino thought it was rare that the Uchiha was requesting opinion from someone. But it was also perhaps he hadn't really seen him around with Sakura at the parent teacher meeting. It was still an odd sight for him.

"Yea, that's great." Hinata smiled.

Shino nodded and pulled some of the documents out of the file to briefly study it, only to realize that the kid had no last name. "So, Is he a Hyuga, or an Uchiha?"

"Ah." Both Hinata and Sasuke said in unison.

"Hyuga."

"Uchiha."

Shino cocked his brows.

They should have a discussion based on this.