Itachi was always the well-behaved one. Being quiet, observant, soft-spoken and considerate, Boruto virtually never had to shed a single drop of sweat over the boy. Sarada's father, at times, even likened little Itachi to his own brother.
There were definitely similarities. Like his namesake, little Itachi was a prodigious ninja, mastering the art of Shurikenjustu at a young age, consistently topping his class in the Academy and awakening his Sharingan before graduation. Unlike his namesake, little Itachi's specific traumatic event was not the witnessing of hundreds of deaths in some grim war but rather the fear and agitation he felt when two of his siblings, Asami and Eriko, were kidnapped during a school trip.
After hearing the news from a panting and exhausted Kizumi, the daughter of ChoCho who was the only one to escape, Itachi immediately lost his cool, ran out of his classroom and tried to go after the kidnappers and the kidnapped himself. It was when he encountered two rogue chuunin in the streets and fought them that he felt his vision alter. He put up an admirable fight, taking one of the chuunins down all by himself, yet ultimately, he was overwhelmed by chakra exhaustion and fainted, but not before Boruto noticed the commotion and came to the rescue.
Indeed, like Itachi Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha-Uzumaki would do anything for his siblings.
Except maybe when his siblings were being annoying little pranksters - like when three-year-old Keisuke decided it would be a good idea to replace grandpa Naruto's bowl of ramen with worms from the garden when the man wasn't noticing. Or when Eriko tried to deface the Hokage monument. Brothers have standards.
~X~
Asami was viewed by many as being rather meek, rather shy and rather easily pushed around. Some may even use the word weak.
It was true that she often struggled to articulate her thoughts in front of large groups of people. It was also true that while Eriko would immediately pursue to beat up whoever offended her, Asami preferred to stay away from conflict. It was definitely true that people often compared her with her twin and wonder with bemusement just why they were so different. (Though Aunt Himawari insists that Asami merely took it after her grandmother Hinata.)
But Asami was no weakling, as her former bullies can attest.
Kagami Watanabe was a member of her class. He and his own gang of minions liked to pick on people. They took away lunches, pulled the girls' ponytails (except Eriko's because no one bullied Eriko), beat up boys they didn't like and made rude jokes all the time.
Initially, Kagami saw Asami as an easy target. She was, in his view, far too kind and shy; she was also Eriko's sister, who Kagami was too scared to get at. So they started making fun of her, stealing her bento and calling her 'ugly' and 'stupid.' Kagami always sat behind her and touched her hair, which was very unwarranted.
Asami tried ignoring them at first. Only they simply wouldn't stop and the situation became unbearable. She felt what little confidence she had crumbling. Nothing her friends said made her feel any better.
"I wish I could be more like my sister," Asami muttered to her father one day. "She never had any bullies."
"She had detentions instead," Boruto quipped. "From all the fights and pranks she's been in. Each to their own.
Asami suppressed a chuckle.
"But Kagami never bothered her," Asami replied, downcast. "Why me dad? Why does he always pick on me?"
"Look Asami, there's nothing wrong with you. You're a wonderful girl who's smart, beautiful, talented and kind. Sure, you can be shy at times but there's nothing bad about it. I'm confident you will figure out something to do," Boruto said, comforting her as he prepared the family's dinner.
"Beat him up!" shouted little Keisuke, his voice squeaky. "I hate Kagami! I took my friend's lunch box! And my chocolate cookies!-"
"I do not recall giving you cookies," Boruto interjected, frowning with slight disapproval.
"Aunt Himawari gave them to me!" Keisuke stuck out his tongue.
"Beat him up..." Asami mused. "But I'm not Eriko..."
"Well, some people need to be taught lessons," Boruto said, prodding her gently because, damn it, that Kagami kid sounded like a real jerk and jerks need their comeuppance. "You fight better than him, right? Stand tall and don't give in to bullies. You hear me?" He gave her an encouraging smile. "If mum scolds you, you'll have my full support.
Asami nodded.
The next day, Asami challenged Kagami to a duel in the playground.
From then on, Kagami never bullied her ever again. (Though Kizumi insisted that he had fallen in love with her.)
In fact, no one ever bullied Asami again.
~X~
Sometimes, Eriko hated being the daughter of Boruto Uzumaki. Her dad was very controlling and very protective.
He seemed to have an unjustified dislike of ramen. He also insisted that the whole family eat 'healthy' - whatever the hell that meant. Basically no chocolate, no chips, no ice cream, no ramen and lots and lots of vegetables. Sometimes, even mum was annoyed by this. This was why Eriko loved the weekends she spent at grandpa Naruto's house. The retired Hokage never failed to dote on his grandchildren, much to the chagrin of dad. Eriko would often consume 10 bowls of ramen to make up for the rest of the week.
More than that, Boruto possessed irrational fantasies and fears about them getting kidnapped.
"Your grandpas have many enemies. You're children of the Hokage. People will come after you all." Blah blah blah.
Eriko couldn't care less. She thought her dad was the most insufferable person in the entire world.
All he ever achieved was further fuelling her desire to rebel and do outrageous stuff. Pranks, fights, undone homework - they were all done out of spite.
At least until that fateful day when her whole class was kidnapped during a field trip near the border of the Land of Grass. The kidnapper was the head of a notorious local criminal gang, who wanted to extort money from Konoha's treasuries. He was delighted upon discovering that the Hokage's children were amongst the abducted.
Before that, Eriko had never felt fear her entire life, having been confined to a sheltered existence, pampered by her parents' prestigious status. Running away from her mother's assistants or academy instructors was, naturally, nothing compared to this. She could almost taste death. Her fellow students, her twin sister Asami included, were huddled together, hushed in terror.
"Now, now, who shall I kill first?" A man in a black mask taunted.
No response.
"Not a very brave bunch, are we?"
A bunch of nine-year-olds and a bunch of gangsters. What on earth did the masked moron expect?
She felt her sister's tight clutch.
"AHH-CHOOOO!"
Someone had sneezed, disrupting the silence. It was Kagami, that idiot who used to bully Asami all the time. What a waste of oxygen.
"Well, looks like we have a volunteer," chuckled the man with amusement.
"He sneezed, he did not speak, dumbass," Eriko quipped instinctively, briefly forgetting her perilous situation. "And for the record, your mask is awry. I can see your ugly pimples and acne."
Stunned gasps echoed throughout the room.
Whoops.
Asami looked at her in chastisement.
"Miss... Uzumaki. Would you like to go first then?"
"Nope." She trembled and backed away.
"Tough. You don't get a choice." The man held up a kunai and walked towards Eriko.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
Shitshitshitshitshit.
"Get the hell away from my daughter!"
A familiar voice. Slashing sounds. A decapitated head. Two decapitated heads. Three decapitated heads.
"Dad?!" Eriko blurted out in incredulity. She ran towards him and jumped into his arms, earning a few 'awws' and 'ahhs' from the crowd.
"Yes Eriko, it's me." Boruto gave her a gentle peck on the cheek. He turned around to face everyone else. "Alright, kiddos, you're all free."
"But the mafia boss?" Asami asked nervously.
"Tied up and soon to go to jail. Don't worry girl, I've sent a message to your mum and a group of jonin is on the way as we speak. I'm here to take you all back to safety!" Boruto said before turning around and breaking down the doors with flair.
"So cool!"
"Eriko! Your dad is awesome!"
"Can I have your dad please?"
"Man I wished my dad was like that!"
It was weird hearing the praise from her classmates all of a sudden. Usually, it was her mother Sarada that was the target of everyone's admiration. Eriko felt a sense of pride; she was proud to be Boruto's daughter. (There were also some weird ones like "Is it bad I find your dad extremely sexy in all that blood?")
Ignoring the eccentrics, Eriko grinned and agreed: "Yeah my dad's pretty cool!"
Indeed, no one messed with her family.
A/N: I'm writing this as I say goodbye to my good grades. Oh well, the fun was worth it! :D It's also rather therapeutic, I must admit.
