AN: Awww I'm still so happy with the amount of love you guys have for this story! and... I APOLOGISED FOR TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME TO UPDATE THIS STORY HOLY COW. I've been relatively quite busy as of lately and also... losing motivation and muse as I've no idea where this story goes. I constantly been trying to grasp onto that fleeting mini amount of sudden intense inspiration but hasn't been successful... I STILL DO WANT TO KEEP THIS STORY GOING BECAUSE I FEEL THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL TO IT AND SEEING SO MANY FO YOU GUYS LOVING IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I REALLY GOTTA FINISH IT!

I have the rough ending in my head, just that the flow in between is still all over the place. I hope it still flows well though I feel I have screw up the time line a little :( i'm trying to work with whatever I've posted right now and flow with it HEHE. Alright, too much of the word 'FLOW' so let's just enjoy this chapter ayeee!

Let me know in the reviews perhaps how you feel and MAYBE WHAT YOU WISH TO SEE FOR THE ENDING OR EVEN ANYTHING IN YOUR MIND

.::.

Hinata stumbled a little even though she wasn't walking. She pulled herself up and looked towards her son who was currently showing her a face of curiosity and anticipation. All she could managed, despite the insane question was an empathetic smile. Yuu wouldn't have understand things about love anyways.

"Yuu, love is something shared between a family." She said, only to regret a little at the vague explanation. "I mean… I love you. I love Boruto and Himawari. But your dad and I are good friends, so we don't use love in this context."

"But why does Chocho say that her parents love each other? Do you love Boruto's father, the Hokage?"

"Yes, I love Naruto-kun." She replied, brows drooping a little from the overwhelming difficulty in the explanation. "Chocho's parents love each other too. But Yuu, Sasuke-kun and I are good friends in the beginning. I like him, as a friend. He's strong and nice."

"Must people love each other to have… us? Like how you and the Hokage have Boruto and Himawari." Yuu queried.

"Hmmm… that's the way it should be. I suppose." Hinata doubted her words a little. "Unless it's by accident."

"Like me?"

She wasn't directing at him. "You're not an accident, Yuu. You're created by Orochimaru and let say I'm glad he did." She smiled, ruffling his hair a little and continued. "Accidents like… you'll understand when you grow up."

He pouted a little. "When will I grow up?"

"You will, eventually. Everyone does." Hinata spoke, reminiscing a little about the days when they were all still young. "Just like how I grew up too."

"Did tou-san grow up?"

The deeds Sasuke did through the times of his adolescence years to being a young adult flashed through her mind. He did grow up, and he definitely grew as much as how Naruto had grown. From being filled with hatred and revenge to finding a meaning to protect Konoha and having a family, she could not deny that it was a huge change.

"He did." She flashed a weak smile. "He definitely did."

"How was tou-san like when he was young then?" Yuu said, standing up as he followed his mother out of the kitchen. Perhaps it was getting late, and it was about bed time but he wanted to know more about his father, the person who still seemed so mysterious.

"He's…"

It was a fact she hadn't had much interaction with the Uchiha even though both of them came from a prestigious clan. She wondered what could have been different if the downfall did not happen, especially how the Uchiha and the Hyuga were neighbours. Maybe he would have turned out a little softer, a little less aloof and a little more willing to open himself up.

But she was satisfied with the current Sasuke. Not like she had interacted with him often, but knowing that he had Konoha prioritize in his heart made her felt like she saw her husband in him too. They were the heroes, and even with his schedule he still made time to bring Yuu around and aid with the enrolment. It could be obligations, or simply just happen to be on the way but she chose to believe that Sasuke Uchiha was kind at heart.

"A little aloof, but he's tender-hearted." She said, feeling that it was the best way to describe. "He doesn't speak much, or at least to me but I can tell he cares about you and his family."

"Next time when tou-san comes back, can we make onigiris for him like how I make for Boruto and Sarada?"

"Of course you – "

The knock on the door stopped them from taking the first step up the staircase as they simultaneously glanced towards the door where the sound came from. Hinata blinked in confusion. It was almost ten, and Naruto should have his keys. Unless he had decided to go for drinks and had Shikamaru to send him home but usually he would tell her about it whenever he head out with the boys.

Had he forgotten?

"It's late." Hinata muttered as she made her way towards the door.

She waited for a few moment, trying to feel for the chakra behind the door but to no avail. Perhaps it was the idea of how Yuu was someone whom everyone wanted to capture made her slightly more paranoid than usual. She had two of her other children in their room and she was all alone.

Deciding not to delay any longer, she activated her byakugan. A very familiar silhouette but she had her doubts. Shouldn't he already be on his way? Narrowing her eyes, she signalled Yuu to stay still as she allowed her chakra to surround her palm.

Her hand rested slowly onto the door handle as another knock came through. Opening it quickly, she pushed her palm forward and landed right onto the male's shoulder, causing him to step back and perhaps out of reflex, grabbed the hand that attacked him tightly.

She winced, eyes quickly searching for his and realized that he was still Sasuke Uchiha. It wasn't a disguise or a clone.

"What was that?" He questioned sternly, hand still tightly wrapped around her wrist.

"Gomen Sasuke-kun!" She lowered her head and tried to retrieve her hand back but to no avail. She knew she had to explain. "I thought you would be on your way out of Konoha and it's someone coming for Yuu."

When her words were out, she could feel her hand being released from his grip. Sasuke stood there quietly, letting out a sigh and peered over her shoulders to see his son almost smiling.

"Are you going to release my tenketsu then?" He asked, slightly annoyed.

Yuu ran up towards them and greeted. "Tou-san!"

"Gomen," she chortled nervously and poked his shoulders a few times. It was rare that she could attack the Uchiha but she knew it was the given situation that Sasuke had his guard completely down.

"It's fine," he replied and rubbed his shoulder a little. "You pack some strength, Hinata."

A small embarrassed blush covered her cheeks. "I was really worried for Yuu. I wasn't expecting you to still be in K-Konoha."

"I wanted to see you guys before I go," he said and knelt down a little. "But I will be returning in two days time and stay till the Chunin exams."

"Two days? That's a short travel," Hinata said. "The Chunin exams are two weeks away."

Sasuke nodded as he directed a small smile towards Yuu. "I've intended to stay for a while. I will aid Naruto in the preparation, as well as spending time with Sarada and Yuu."

"Tou-san, can you wait for us to make you some onigiri before you go? Kaa-chan was also just telling me about you!"

Sasuke lifted his brows a little. It wasn't surprising that his son would question about him in general. After all, he was his father but what got him curious was how the female Hyuga would describe him to his son. "Really? What did you guys talk about?"

"I was just asking kaa-chan does she love you."

Sasuke instantly pressed his lips. He took a quick breath in and nodded his head slowly. "Ah…," returning his gaze back to the blue head, he received a shrug and a soft chuckle.

"Chocho told me that parents should be in love but kaa-chan says that you two are friends!"

The Uchiha felt like that it was the best way to describe their relationship. "Yes, your kaa-chan is right."

"So friends can't have children together? Then what does a friend do?"

"Friends…," Sasuke knew questions would be overloading from his child, especially how the moment they left Orochimaru's hideout for the first time he was already being bombarded with millions of questions.

A small amount of guilt washed over him when he realized a little part of him was relying on Hinata to feed Yuu's curiosity, even when he had agreed with her towards co-parenting. Maybe it really wasn't in him to be a father, but as everyone progressed with age, priorities had to change some time.

"Well… friends look out for one another and… protect each other," Hinata replied upon noticing that Sasuke was keeping mum. "Right?"

And maybe he was thankful he had good people around him whom he can rely on. Such as his wife too. "Yea," he said, smiling lightly in return.

Hinata smiled, hands held politely together as she looked towards the Uchiha and noticed that he was already carrying a bento wrapped in a pink cloth. Sakura must had prepared for him.

"Yuu, let's prepare some for him when he returns instead, shall we?" Hinata softly suggested, not wanting the Uchiha to be filled with food on hand.

Sasuke could tell the slight disappointment in his son's face. His smile etched its way back to his face as he dug his hand into his waist pouch and pulled out a kunai. "Here," he pushed the weapon towards his son. "Keep this safe till I return, okay?"

Yuu's dark onyx eyes glimmered as he nodded, allowing his long straight hair to sway along.

"Is this the weapon tou-san uses during a fight?"

"Your tou-san uses that instead," Hinata pointed towards the katana that was partially hidden under this thick cloak. "It's a very dangerous weapon if you don't know how to use it."

"Can I have one too?" Yuu requested softly, hands still clutching onto the kunai his father had given him. It was the first gift.

"I will get you one soon, I promise," He smiled, holding out his pinky and waiting for the interlock.

"It's a promise!"

Hinata felt her heart softened a little as she watched the interaction between the duo. It was warming, especially when she had never seen such a tender sight of the Uchiha. She always received stories from Sakura stating some moments like these but being able to witness it first-hand just felt a whole lot different.

She had heard about the stories of Sasuke Uchiha's past, as early as the very next day the downfall happened. Perhaps it was due to them being the children of a prestigious clan's head that she felt a certain amount of connection. It wasn't also unheard of, or perhaps it was the subconscious stories Sakura would tell her about how Sasuke grew up yearning for his father's acknowledgement, something she could deeply relate with.

With that, despite being still foreign towards the grounds of co-parenting, but she definitely knew that both of them would never let Yuu's effort be unrecognised.

.::.

Hinata took a deep breath in as she entered her old compound. There was still a sense of nervousness, even though they had already communicated through the phone regarding Yuu's appearance. Hanabi did not keep her composure when she heard the news, but what worried Hinata the most was her father, and the rest of the Hyuga clan's members.

Hiashi took it calmer than she had expected, but it wasn't like her father was prone to huge emotions anyways other than during the times spent with his grandchildren. Hanabi mentioned that he went to prepare for himself the most expensive tea reserved for guest or special occasions the moment he heard the news. It was odd and Hinata could only wish everything would be okay.

She felt a peace of mind knowing that her husband would be dropping by for a while and that Boruto had promised to walk home with her sister after her school. Things were great.

"Kaa-chan?" Yuu's voice travelled to her ears.

She blinked, snapping herself out of her thoughts and instantly brought a smile to her face, "Remember to greet – "

"Ah!" the door slid opened violently with a brunette standing in front of them, "You guys arrived slightly earlier."

"Hanabi," Hinata chuckled softly and gently pushed Yuu a little forward, "That's your aunt."

"You must be Yuu," Hanabi smiled and lowered herself down to meet him on his level, "Aren't you a handsome boy?"

"Hanabi ne-chan," Yuu greeted, seemingly remembered how Boruto addressed their aunt.

"Are you hungry?" The brunette quizzed.

Yuu nodded slowly, still feeling a little shy towards interacting with a complete stranger despite the fact that they were blood related. His eyes slowly travelled towards the figure appearing behind his aunt. The dark silhouette emanated a strong peculiar vibe, somehow sending chills through his entire body. He stood still, waiting for the figure to finally reveal himself under the sunlight.

Hanabi seemed to have taken notice the stiffness in her nephew. Standing up straight, she briefly turned her head, knowing it must be her father making his presence. He wasn't the most friendliest looking person, especially when he did not put on a smile.

"Otou-sama," Hanabi greeted and nudged him slightly. "Quit being so serious, you're scaring him!"

The eldest male took a deep breath in and locked his eyes with the kid. It was like as if the world was going to collide from the difference in the dojutsu's eye contact. Hiashi took notice of the resemblance with someone who once saved him, the kid's father, Sasuke Uchiha. It was clear that he had inherited the Sharingan instead, despite having Hinata's DNA in him too. Yet, the character and personality took after his eldest daughter.

"Otou-sama," Hinata bowed in respect.

"O-Oji-sama," Yuu stuttered, following his mother.

"Ah, what's your favourite food then? Shall we make something together for dinner?" Hanabi was trying to loosen up the new kid, but her father wasn't exactly helping.

She knew he was putting up a front, perhaps it was because of the fact that Yuu wasn't exactly birthed by Hinata, or the entire idea of synthetic human created using her DNA just felt iniquitous. Genes, especially from those of prestigious should not be easily seized and used freely, without consent. The creation of Yuu would only represent that there could be a possibility of both clan being taken over if even such small profound thing of theirs could not be better protected.

"Otou-sama, do you want to eat anything?" Hinata asked softly as she took a step up the stairs.

"Yuu," the clan's head finally spoke. "Do you like green tea?"

The question broke the sisters a little and they accidentally burst out a quick chuckle. Yuu blinked a few times before settling with an answer, "Kaa-chan made me green tea before and I like it."

Hiashi simply ignored his daughters and nodded, hands placing onto Yuu's shoulder and guided him into the living room. Hinata watched the back view of those two, feeling a sense of relief and… nostalgia. Maybe there were days where Neji would walk beside her father, back when they were little for reason she still could not remember. Perhaps it was for training, or perhaps something else but the sight of those two brought back a memory she never knew she had.

Maybe Yuu's existence had a meaning.

"Are you going to help me cook today?" Hanabi asked.

"Do you need my help?" Hinata replied, smiling as she subconsciously made her way towards the kitchen. "Naruto-kun is dropping by for dinner too, let's make an extra serving."

"Ah, sure. I'll ask the helpers to get extra ingredients for us. You should accompany Yuu before he freaks out over otou-sama's presence," Hanabi snorted. "He still has that intimidating aura."

"Are you ready to lead Yuu, anyways?"

Hanabi stopped just right in front of the kitchen's entrance. She had received the news a couple of days before from Shino that she would be taking her own new nephew in her team. She was a little surprise by the arrangement, mainly because of the fact that they might be a potential conflicting bias. Maybe they really wanted her to guide her nephew in controlling the Byakugan and it was a coincidence that Sumire left the team.

"I mean it's the same as leading a team, right?"

"I guess otou-sama may be putting additional pressure on you to guide Yuu towards controlling of the Byakugan." Hinata said, pressing her lips together as her eyes softened.

When will they ever be relief of pressure?

"He won't be as harsh as before," Hanabi chuckled softly and nudged her sister's elbow. "He's changed. Ever since your birth Boruto."

Hinata could not help but to allow the small little smile to crept upon her face. Her father had indeed changed and it was something everyone could take notice of. She nodded slowly and stepped into the kitchen, intending to aid her sister in preparing for dinner.

"How's Naruto with Yuu, anyways?" Hanabi quizzed.

"Ah… he hasn't really been home much lately so they haven't exactly have the chance to have any proper conversations."

"Are you serious?" The brunette raised her brows a little, surprised that she was appalled by the answer even though it was clear that the Hokage was supposed to be busy. "He hasn't been around you to help you with the appearance of Yuu?"

For some reason, Hinata felt like she needed to defend her husband even though she knew that her sister did not meant it in a bad way. "He has the village to take care of. Such minor things – "

Her sentence was cut off when a crow perched on the window latched. The sisters jumped a little at the rare sight of the bird and directed their attention towards the white rolled up paper that was tied to its feet.

"A message?" Hanabi reached out to untie the string.

Hinata tilted her head and smirked a little, "You been associating with mysterious boys, huh?"

The heiress furrowed her brows a little. It was clear she had suitors but ever since her father gave out clear warnings of sending messages of gifts to their estate, she had stopped receiving anything for some time. Which brave soul would it be?

She opened up the letter and scanned through it quickly before rolling her eyes. "Seems like you're the one who's associating with mysterious boys," she said, pushing the paper to her sister.

Hinata cocked her brows before directing her gaze towards the letter.

I will see you and Yuu tonight at your estate – S.U.

"Didn't he said he will be returning... tomorrow?" Hinata muttered to herself.