Chapter 2

While Hinata and her children settled into an old, familiar home, she had flashbacks of her husband. Though she wanted to grieve for his lost, she held on to the strong hope that was he okay. She remembered him comforting her during her father's passing, and prayed that her husband was safe – wherever he was.

The funeral had just ended, and her heart was shattering watching Boruto and Himawari in doing their best not to cry in the rain. Naruto, her husband, had held both their hands after making a somber speech about the man who allowed him to marry his eldest daughter. She knew he didn't want to leave, but understood that this death could put the country into temporary danger. She walked up to Naruto and lightly squeezed his shoulder, urging him to take care of business. Earlier, she had witnessed his tears and thanked him quietly for loving a father that was once so cold to her. After they took the children back into the Hyuuga household, she and Naruto went into her father's private study.

"Are you sure?" he asked while holding her hand. They spoke in hushed voices as if hiding from an enemy. It was important to keep the Hyuuga branches safe, as well as the wife and children of the hokage. Naruto took no chances shortly after hearing of his father-in-law's death and personally asked the Nara family to guard Hyuuga houses.

"Of course, I don't want you to go," Hinata said, gripping her husband's shirt.

"Then I won't."

"But you must. We are at peace for now, but my father's eyes must be disposed of. Please take it. I trust only you with it," Hinata said. Before the tears started to well up again, she felt his lips suddenly on hers and his strong arms encircling her waist. It calmed her – it always did.

"Anything for you," Naruto said. "Please tell Boruto and Himawari that I had to go."

"Of course."

He gave her another firm hug before leaving with Shikamaru.

She could not cry during this time. Crying was for those who were lost – and her husband was the last person who could fall towards such a fate.

As promised, Sasuke arrived home within five days. He immediately noticed the increase in security around various areas of Kohona, and became concerned about the wellness of his family.

"You may go back, Katsuyu. Thank you for your help," Sasuke said as he briefly glanced at the hokage monument. He always had mixed feelings about the leaders of his village, and had hoped for Naruto to fix past mistakes for future generations.

"Are you on your way to visit Sakura-sama?"

"I will go see Naruto's wife and talk to Shikamaru to gather information first." He didn't miss the slug's slight surprise, and knew this would be reported to this wife. Sakura would be furious again, for sure. What father would rush home only to visit his family last? It was a pragmatic choice, Sasuke reasoned. He knew Sarada would be healed, and that Sakura would be busy by this time. Before dissolving into smoke, Katsuyu guarded Sasuke carefully and schooled her tone when speaking.

"Very well. I'm sure Sakura-sama will be pleased to have you home."

While generally seen as subservient and demure, one would think Sakura's summon lacked ability in exercising sophisticated thought. On the contrary, Katsuyu was regarded as one of the most intellectual summons within this lifetime. She was not rash like a certain toad, or bargaining like a certain snake. She was keen in her observations, and gentle in her expressions. Firmness was not needed to convey a message when reality can serve as a better lesson. Katsuyu was often informed of Sasuke's growth from childhood simply through hearing talk from other summons, as well as comparing her notes to her current master's recent rants. It was not hard to see that this man was running away from every difficult responsibility in his life. However, it was not her place to correct such behavior – if she did that, she would have corrected her previous master, Tsunade, from going into depression with alcohol.

But she could certainly give veiled warnings.

Her goodbye message to Sasuke was said gently, but with weariness regarding what would certainly happen today.

Your wife is barely holding on to sanity.

Whether or not Sasuke chose to acknowledge it, Katsuyu did not care. However, she knew that by simply saying such a lie that Sasuke would already be thinking about his wife and child – and reflection, something that was clearly avoided, was all this shinobi needed to grow.

"Sarada, are you okay?"

"I said yes for hundredth time, Boruto," Sarada said dryly. Her mother had brought her to the Hyuuga Main House for a second time, and she was greeted with an ecstatic (though slightly guarded) Himawari and the ever worry-wart Boruto. Since the recent attack on her, she had been moving from house to house for the past five days.

Uchiha Sakura wasted no time being honest with Sarada once she reached 14 years old and took challenges meant for chuunin. Immediately after healing her daughter, Sakura assumed an authoritative, but kind demeanor and warned her daughter that they would moving soon and often. Sarada was well-healed and felt ready to take part in any upcoming battle, but she absolutely refused to say anything her mother about it. She could clearly see the stress in her mother's eyes, and it was hard to miss edge of frantic worry that she and the rest of Konoha had for the missing hokage.

"What about your stomach?" Boruto prodded. While she was aware of Boruto's tendency to be overly-cautious, she sometimes forgot about this keen ability to sense pain in just about anyone. This was the first time he mentioned any thoughts about her not feeling fully well, and he had already deducted what would occasionally ache every 30-40 hours. She had told no one at this point, and made sure to avoid telling her mother any moment of weakness.

"It's not a big deal, it happens just every-"

"-other day, right?" Boruto said. "You should tell your mom. I'm sure she can fix it."

"She's already busy looking for your dad, doofus. She doesn't need me to bother her."

"You're not a bother to her," Boruto replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He had spent enough of his younger years playing at the Uchiha house to know that Auntie Sakura absolutely loved her daughter, and would do her best to remove any and all pain Sarada felt. One time they received various scratches from trying to build a fort using only kunais, and Sakura was quick to reprimand, heal, and reprimand them again.

If only Sasuke-sensei was the same. But Boruto wouldn't dare say anything about his master now.

"She just looks busy, Boruto. You don't need to worry about me," Sarada said.

" –'rada nee-chan," Himawari piped in, "I think you're okay for now." The younger Uzumaki had just entered the room. Her cautiousness was understandable as she was the first one to notice her missing dad. For someone so young as 10 years old, Himawari had a presence of mind that sometimes astounded adults. Quick to assess and act, she was almost a refined version of her brash brother. Absolutely no one would know that unless they were close to her – her cheery attitude was good at hiding her ability to go into quick rage. Since arriving yesterday, Sarada had felt climbs in Himarwari's chakra. It was a clear sign that young girl was understandably troubled.

"What do you mean?" Sarada said with raised brows. She didn't notice Boruto rolling his eyes at his sister.

"She used her byakugan to look at your insides," Boruto said. "Though Mom said she should not use it as often as she does these days. You don't want to go blind doing that crap, do you?"

"This was important – I thought maybe Nee-chan was sick!" Himawari whined.

"I'm not sick," Sarada said, not at all surprised or embarrassed of being looked over by someone she considered her sister. It did feel creepy, though.

"But your abdominal muscles clenched during breakfast when you were eating eggs.

"And?" Sarada asked.

"It's as if you didn't want to eat 'em."

"So?"

"You love eggs," Himawari reasoned, with arms crossed.

There was a huge difference between how the two Uzumakis stated their "facts," Sarada noted. The older one expressed it in a tone that seemed to innocently say "I thought everyone knew that?". It was gentle, but could easily be ignored if one tried hard enough, which is exactly what Sarada did. Boruto lacked the same intensity as his father; those piercing blue eyes did not to make her admit defeat just yet.

The other one, however, expressed her matter-of-fact message with deceiving cheerfulness. That smile clearly said "Don't. Try. Me."

Sarada was not one to admit defeat to this Uzumaki either, but before she could retort with another veiled excuse, she saw a familiar dark cape pass by the window. She held her breath in anticipation and was at lost for words. She dared not to hope, but her thoughts already had her beaten with a painful question.

Was that Papa just now?

When the Uzumaki family arrived at the Main House, Hinata commanded all residents to resume a defense position and sent out a young, unassuming scout to inform Shikamaru of the situation. The young shinobi found Ino Yamanaka, a secondary advisor to Shikamaru, instead. Ino was known for her prowess in telepathy, and immediately put her skills to use by contacting her old teammate.

Shika. Naruto is missing – his family is at the Main Hyuuga House. There are no critical injuries that their healers have not already addressed, she said to Shikamaru.

Contact Sakura to double check their health in case something was laced with the explosion, and then contact all shinobi to resume a defensive position around major Konoha buildings, Shikamaru replied immediately. Years of working together and a war that threatened their lives had allowed them to switch from domestic life to military commands. However, Shikamaru noted Ino's difficulty in maintaining her link. She would need a break immediately after contacting all shinobi forces or she would faint.

Ino, I'm going to Hinata to find more information. Sai is with me right now, and I will send him to retrieve you. Though they only had a telepathic connection, Shikamaru could somehow feel a slight rise in chakra in Ino. He didn't have time to shake his head at the fact that Ino was still an in-love school girl with her husband. Despite being married, he still didn't understand the female mind.

At the very least, she maintained her tone of voice.

Alright. Did you want a team to survey the house? Sai and I can meet and go after I -

No, Ino. We can send another team – you just arrived home an hour ago. We need stability first before addressing anything.

I already have details from the Hyuuga scout to give you.

It's alright – Hinata can tell me more in person rather than the summary. We have time.

After Sakura received Ino's telepathic message, she immediately left Sarada to Shizune and went to see Hinata. Hinata's wounds consisted of mild burns, and her children for the most part were unharmed. They were clearly shocked, but otherwise unharmed. When Shikamaru arrived to ask questions, Sakura was suddenly contacted by Ino again; Sarada had just been attacked at that point.

After healing her daughter, Sakura decided it was best to move from house to house to avoid the young Uchiha from being targeted again. For five days, they moved in this manner and only stayed with members from the original Rookie Nine. Last night was their second time visiting the Hyuugas. Today, Shikamaru had asked to speak to her, Hinata, as well as Ino and Sai. They held the meaning within one of the many rooms of the Branch House. Just as the entire Hyuuga domain, this room was heavily guarded – and all their children stayed at the Main House.

"How is Sarada-chan?," Sai asked. He and Shikamaru had just arrived from a meeting with Naruto's supervisors, as well as the last two hokages.

"She's fine. She's had stomach issues every once in a while, but she hasn't told me yet," Sakura said with a weary smile.

"Goodness, that girl is really a rascal – hiding a stomach ache from the world's top medic-nin," Ino commented dryly. "Stubborn like you, eh Forehead?"

Sakura appreciated the light jab, as Ino knew how afraid Sakura was for her daughter. There was always a chance that someone wanted Uchiha blood, and Sarada could be the target for anything since she had learned how to activate her eyes. Since Naruto's absence, Sakura did not feel that her daughter, or the rest of the village for that matter, was safe. She cursed herself once again on her overreliance on her childhood friend but schooled herself to aid her village once more during this time of crisis.

"This coming from you, Ino-pig?" she responded with a more colorful grin. Sai stood next to his wife, assuming a stiff and yet comfortable position. Like Hinata, he stayed quiet during their banter and would keep a light smile to avoid being caught in the fire.

"That's good at the very least," replied Shikamaru. He locked eyes with Hinata for a brief moment, as if asking for permission about what he was about to say. Hinata nodded lightly in response, with an intensity that he could not quite understand. There was a different air to the hokage's wife, and Shikamaru had initially assumed it was depression. Rather than cry, stutter, or show intense emotions of grief, Uzumaki Hinata almost assumed a military stance when not around her children. It was a departure from the image Shikamaru had of the nurturing, always smiling wife of Naruto. Deciding to steer the conversation to more serious matters, Shikamaru began to speak about his meeting with the kages.

"I called this private meeting because I just met up with the Konoha's top advisors and previous hokages." The aura of the room changed dramatically, as the seasoned shinobi ceased smiling and began to listen intently.

"Tsunade-shishou and Kakaishi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"The very same. There's been debate about who will take over as acting hokages, and both of them refused."

"You're kidding!" Sakura exclaimed. Both her and Hinata noticed the quiet laugh that came from Naruto's advisor. It seemed sardonic at best, which confused Sakura.

"Then you're clearly the next best choice, Shika" Ino said, with arms crossed. "You've already been handling things for the past five days."

"I refused as well, " Shikmaru said. "I heard my dad turn down the position during the war, as it was more important to maintain his supervisor status and do tactical planning. I'm rejecting the title for the same reasons. Right now we need someone who can calm the crowds and facilitate calm, daily living for Konoha citizens. The hokage will still assist in managing shinobi forces, but I know I'm the best suited in that area. And I can't effectively manage the village while being the only one manning the search for the Seventh."

"I see," Sakura said, nodding. Shikamaru was always best at assessing all aspects of the situation. "That makes perfect sense."

"It took a while to weave through potential candidates, but there was a consensus for one person," Shikamaru said. "That's why I called for this meeting."

"So who's it going to be, Shika?" Ino asked, already getting impatient.

Shikamaru turned and looked at the only pink-haired household mom in the room.

"Sakura," he said.