HOPE, A THING OF THE PAST – THE FAMILY REUNION
A Hut in the Hidden Leaf's Camp
The interior of the hut is dim, faintly lit by a small fire Naruto created a few moments ago. Insects crawl along the wooden walls and the water seeping through them dampens the room, yet it does not dampen the spirits of those residing within it. This is the hut that will see the Uzumaki-Hyuuga family finally reunited. As the water around the fire slowly evaporates a small ethereal steam fills the room, creating a mystical atmosphere.
Waiting inside the room is a group of six, all close family members. The oldest generation, Minato and Kushina both gathered to informally meet their descendants for the first time. Naruto to find out about his daughter for the first time, Boruto to explain what has happened in this world and Himawari to meet those who paved the way for her. One woman hasn't found what she has come for so far, she hasn't found her sister, that woman is Hyuuga Hinata.
The wooden door begins to open slowly, creaking as a stress is put on its hinges. It opens to reveal the dark sky beyond, though the full-moon is bright enough to show a silhouette to the occupants of the room. The outline is of an aging woman; the outline is of Hinata's sister.
"Hanabi, is that you?" Hinata asks as she gets to her feet and walks over to the door.
Hanabi steps inside, her face emerging into the light of the fire, "Hi sis" she welcomes as she pulls Hinata into a tight hug, "You look so young".
Releasing Hinata from her embrace Hanabi approaches the only vacant chair in the room, her eyes remaining fixed on one person as she walks. "And Naruto, it's good to see you again".
"Yo" Naruto simply replies as mock salutes his sister-in-law.
As Hanabi sits down the smile on her face is more vibrant than it has been for many years. 'Are you watching this Konohamaru… he is here, Uzumaki Naruto. He's been gone for far too long'.
"You better take good care of my sister" Hanabi teases as she points at the 7th Hokage of former years.
"I'll do my best" Naruto promises with a cheesy grin. While he and Hinata have not been together for long he has always had a feeling of closeness around the shy Hyuuga clanswomen. Regardless of what his feelings are or were, he knows that he wants to keep her safe whatever happens.
"His mother would probably beat him up if he didn't" Minato chuckles as he reaches for the back of his head.
"That's enough from you!" Kushina yells as she hits Minato in the back of the head.
'I finally understand where Himawari got her temper from' Boruto notes internally never to get on the bad side of his grandmother.
He thinks back to the day that his father was proclaimed as the 7th Hokage, a day that he had been waiting years for, yet that day his father had not been able to attend his ceremony. No, that day Naruto was too busy defending Boruto from his crazed younger sister. Himawari was a powerful shinobi even at a young age, with a temper you didn't want to be on the receiving end of. It confused him up until now, she didn't inherit that temper from her mother nor her father, she had clearly got it from her grandmother.
"So how are you doing Hanabi" Hinata questions as she sits down on a chair at the poorly constructed table, "Has the war affected you badly".
Hanabi's chest tightens as she thinks back to the day the village was evacuated. So many people died delaying the invading forces that day, so many talented shinobi, so many good friends. Yet when everyone had evacuated two brave shinobi made the decision to stay behind, that if the village was to be destroyed then the enemy should go with it.
After a long pause the younger of the Hyuuga sisters' answers, "My husband died".
"I'm so sorry" Hinata says as she stands up and walks over to Hanabi. Brushing her hand along her sister's arm to comfort her.
An awkward silence descends on the room, what was a happy family reunion only a few seconds ago quickly turned into a mournful occasion. It is important to remember that the family reunion is only possible because one great man gave his life and without that great man the family is not complete.
"Your husband was a member of the Sarutobi clan, that's what I've been told" Minato recites this information that he learned from the Nara clan's latest generation. From Nara Shikadai. "The 8th Hokage if I'm not mistaken.
"Yes" Hanabi nods as she wipes a tear from her eye, "Sarutobi Konohamaru".
"Konohamaru" Naruto gets to his feet as his voice raises in volume, "So it was Konohamaru, he actually managed to become Hokage".
"Yeah" Hanabi smiles despite her tears, "He was a great Hokage".
"He was my sensei as well" Boruto explains. "He was a great sensei, said to be on par with the most successful teachers in history, on a level with his grandfather Sarutobi Hiruzen and on a level with Hatake Kakashi who taught the legendary team 7".
"He didn't even get a proper burial" Himawari tells her father, "Every other Hokage has had a public funeral. When you died, the entire village mourned for a week. Yet he just… he just got left there, buried beneath the debris".
Hearing his daughter's tale angers Naruto, he tightens his fists so much that his hands turn a pale shade of red.
"Naruto…" Hinata stammers.
"I'm going to back to the hidden leaf village" Naruto declares defiantly, "I'm going to get his body".
"You can't do that dad" Himawari calls pleadingly as she grabs her father by the wrist, "The insane ones will have completely overrun the village. There may even be some captains watching over it now". Himawari does not make this statement purely to dissuade her father, this is her analysis from hundreds of battles against the insane warriors, her judgement for years of despair at the hands of an enemy who knows no mercy.
"Then I'm going to fight them" he replies, his fists not loosening at all.
"Naruto, trust me it's not worth the risk", this time Hanabi takes a turn at raising an objection. "We can go back when the village is clear". Although she hasn't been involved in fighting during this war Hanabi has kept track of what has been happening, she didn't have any choice. Most of the time her husband would be away helping organise the war effort, being the 8th Hokage meant he was obliged to, analysing the enemy's movements was one of the few things they could do together.
"I don't care about the risk" Naruto shouts as he turns around, "I am going".
"Dad, we've been fighting for so long without any hope" Himawari pleads, "Now that you are back we finally have that hope, please don't throw your life away so quickly".
Naruto lowers his head and sighs, the room is falls quiet, the only thing preventing silence the crackling of the fire. Naruto closes his eyes and thinks back to his memories of Sarutobi Konohamaru, teaching him techniques that would help him to become Hokage in the future. Teaching him techniques that probably wouldn't help with becoming Hokage. The two spent much time together, bonding over their mutual lack of acknowledgement and their dream to become Hokage.
"I'm normally pretty bad at working these things out" Naruto begins before raising his head and turning to face Hanabi, "But doesn't this make Konohamaru my brother-in-law".
"Still you shouldn't…" Hanabi starts.
"If I am too weak to stand up to these guys what was the point in bringing me here" Naruto shouts as he swings his arm out to his side, his frustration clear to his family members. While many of them had spent so little time with him they all felt that they knew him so well.
"So that you can become stronger still" Himawari notes, "So that you can fight them".
"Doing this is what makes us who we are" Naruto argues, "What is the point in surviving if we lose who we are in the process".
Another period of extended silence falls on the room, nobody knowing how to counter that argument.
Then somebody decides not to.
"He's right" Boruto declares.
"Boruto…" Hanabi starts.
"Dad, I'm coming with you" Boruto decides as he gets to his feet and walks towards the door.
Naruto smiles at the determination his son is displaying. Not a few hours ago Boruto had been in a state of agony and total despair, he had been unable to see any hope whatsoever, yet he adopted something from Naruto's attitude. Even if it was impossible, even if the odds were stacked against him, he still had to try.
"Minato, can't you talk some sense into them" Kushina asks as she turns to her husband.
Chuckling Minato turns to his red-haired wife, "That will be difficult because I'm going with them too".
Sighing Kushina nods gently, "I thought you might".
"Konohamaru, though I never met him, was the 8th Hokage, a child of the village who sacrificed his life to protect it and… a member of this family too. I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try to recover his body". Minato gets to his feet before walking towards the door which Naruto has now opened. As the cold breeze drifts past his face he thinks back to things he learnt from the 3rd Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. About how it was the Hokage's duty to look after the village and everyone within it.
"Look after them" Kushina calls.
"I will" Minato smiles in return.
"Let's go!" Naruto shouts before running out through the door.
Boruto runs after Naruto and Minato is not far behind. In a few seconds the three of them are through the door and on their way, back to the hidden leaf village. To try and stop them would be a futile effort, you would have to catch them first. Naruto and Minato were reputed in the hidden cloud as the only two shinobi to ever dodge an attack from the 4th Raikage. As for Boruto, a master of the wind release, he was not much slower.
"Look at that, three generations of one family" Kushina begins, "And we still haven't gotten rid of the foolish gene".
"I think it's kind of endearing" Hinata replies as she awkwardly fidgets her hands.
Smiling Kushina replies, "I guess you're right".
Elsewhere on Earth
In a dark and largely empty room resides but a single living being. The room is not poorly lit due to lack of choice; it is poorly lit because that is what makes him feel comfortable. Darkness is something close to his heart, something that he is intimately familiar with.
The man sits at a desk, a few pieces of paper before him which he slowly but methodically writes on. What is truly sinister about this man though is his attire. He wears an eloquent silver cloak; his uniform brandishes a number on it just like the rest of the invaders.
Yet the number is different.
The number is 2!
This man is a Colonel!
At the opposite end of the long dark room is a solitary door, which swiftly opens and shuts as a man with a bronze cloak enters. This man is a captain.
"Colonel Peterson" the newcomer calls.
"What is it Davis?" Peterson asks without looking up from his papers.
"Captain Harris died fighting off one of the locals" Davis replies.
Peterson suddenly looks up from is papers, a complicated look on his face as he scrutinizes the sincerity of the last statement. "Someone managed to kill a Captain?".
"Yes" Captain Davis answers with a nod.
"I didn't think the locals had the strength to kill a Captain" Peterson remarks as he rubs his chin, "I had virtually given up on them".
"Sir, how should we proceed" Davis questions.
"Where is the local who did this?".
"To the east sir".
"Defeating a Captain is nothing exceptional but it is starting to show the signs of promise" Peterson remarks as he stands up from his chair, "Who knows, perhaps this world is worth some attention after all".
"That is highly unlikely sir" Davis replies with a shake of his head, "Captain Harris was weak even for a captain".
"I know that of course" Peterson replies with a snarl, "But it's still worth being certain".
"Understood" Davis acknowledges his superior officer with a formal pose.
"I'm going to head east and see who could have defeated Captain Harris" Peterson informs his subordinate, "You wait here and deal with any other problems that come up".
"Yes sir!".
As Peterson walks the length of the corridor he steps onto the sand outside. He looks around at the barren, empty wasteland before him and smiles. With but a thought his body lifts into the air and he begins to fly eastwards.
Peterson laughs in his head, 'You've been boring me for years… now, it's time you showed me interesting'.
'After all, I've got plenty to show you'.