Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Boruto
“I didn’t think you’d go this far, Kawaki”.
“I’ll send you where I sent the Seventh Hokage, Boruto”.
“Was this the only possible outcome?”
“Yes, that’s right. The age of shinobi….is over!”
“I’m still a shinobi”.
Boruto was jolted awake by a knock on his bedroom door.
“Oniisan wake up! Sarada and Mitsuki are here” his 14 year old sister chirped from the other side of the door.
Groaning, he rolled onto his side as best he could without aggravating the stitches in the left side of his abdomen. Kawaki had managed to hit him hard enough that the doctors had to cut him open to repair internal damage caused by the chakra infused punch to his side.
“Oniisan!”
“I'm coming Himawari”, Boruto snapped
Knowing she wasn't going to leave him alone until he got up, he gingerly rose out of bed.
They still had an hour to meet with Kohonamaru, he didn't know why Sarada felt the need for her and Mitsuki to hang around him as much as they possibly could.
Glancing down at the sweat soaked shirt he was wearing, he sighed. Damn nightmares. He had been waking up in a cold sweat ever since he woke up after the battle. The result was him having to shower and change his sheets every morning.
He pulled the sheets off the bed and then opened the door only to find his sister bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly.
“Kaachan made pancakes!’’ she exclaimed.
“Let me shower first alright”
“Ok!’’, she chirped and took off down the hall.
At least she's not acting weird around me, Boruto mused. Ever since the battle, everyone had been walking on eggshells around him.
After taking a quick shower, he went back to his room and put on a white T-shirt and black pants. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what remained of his jacket slung over the back of his desk chair. Most of the left sleeve was gone and the entire right side had been ripped off in an explosion. Shaking his head, he made his way downstairs.
Upon entering the kitchen, he muttered a greeting to his teammates and mother before grabbing a plate and loading it up with bacon and pancakes
Walking over to the table, he sat down next to Mitsuki and began devouring the pile of food in front of him.
After a few moments, his mother spoke. “So i'm going to stop by the hospital and visit your dad today..he’d like to see you again Boruto”.
Boruto’s shoulders dropped as he sighed. “I'll see. I wanted to go see Hanabi and the baby after this meeting”.
Seemingly satisfied with his response, his mother dropped the subject.
Breaking the awkward silence, Sarada spoke up; “so let's get going?”
“Yea” he agreed
“Say hi to Hanabi and Little Neji for me”. Hinata called from behind the counter
“I will”, he said. Walking by Himawari, he ruffled her hair on his way out. “See ya later kiddo”.
“Bye oniisan! Bye Mitsuki! Bye Sarada!” she chirped.
Waving, the three started walking to the training grounds.
“I wonder what Konohamaru-sensei wants to talk to us about, mused Sarada. “Maybe a new mission?”
“Boruto is still on medical leave” Mitsuki reminded her. “He wouldn't have asked for Boruto too if it was a mission”.
“As long as he doesnt start with the feelings again, I don't care,'' Boruto grumbled.
“You need to talk about what happened at some point Boruto”,Sarada chided. “And you can't keep lashing out at people when they try to help you”.
“I know I know”, he muttered. “I'm not ready to talk about it is all”.
“But you can't just bottle it up like tha-”
“Maybe we should stop pressing him so much about it Sarada”, the pale shinobi next to them interjected. “I don't know much about grief, but it seems like he needs to process the whole situation before he talks about it”.
Flashing his friend a grateful look, Boruto stuffed his hands in his pockets.
A few minutes later, the trio arrived at the meeting place, only to find their sensei almost jumping up and down in excitement.
“My, My, what took you so long”, the older ninja teased. “Boruto sleep in again?”
“Shut up idiot”, he snapped. “My painkillers screw with my sleep schedule”.
Hanging his head, a now depressed Kohonamaru stared at the ground. What did i do to deserve being disrespected like this, he wondered.
“Boruto you can't just talk to sensei like that!” Sarada exclaimed
“I'll talk to him however the hell I want to if he keeps acting like an idiot” Boruto shot back.
Off to the side, Mitsuki sweatdropped as he watched the situation unfold. Just as Sarada reared her fist back to hit Boruto, he decided it was time to intervene.
“What did you want to talk about Kohonamaru-sensei?”
At his question, Kohonamaru perked up and Sarada and Boruto stopped arguing.
“As you all know, the higher ups of the village took notice of your actions during the battle for Kohona..” He stated
“Get to the point idiot” Boruto deadpanned.
A vein popped up on Kohonamaru’s forehead. “SHUT UP! I'M GETTING THERE!”
“Anyways, the three of you really stood out during the fighting, soooo…” he drawled. “I'm recommending the three of you be made jonin.”
After he and Sarada calmed down (Mitsuki was as straight faced as ever), Boruto excused himself and began walking towards the Hyuuga compound. Despite the good news, he felt guilty for snapping at Konohamaru like that. Blowing up at people had become an unfortunate habit of his after he came to after killing Kawaki. It just bothered him that everyone seemed uncertain of how to act around him. Like they were worried he’d kill them too. Pulling himself out of his self pity, he decided he’d apologize to Konohamaru tomorrow.
Entering the Hyuuga compound, he walked up to his aunt's door and raised his hand to knock.
Suddenly, the door flew open to reveal a beaming Hanabi.
“Did he tell you yet?!!”
“How did you-”.
“He was here earlier,” she interrupted. “Honestly I'm amazed he managed to wait till you all met. Forget Konohamaru I can’t believe Naruto managed to keep that from you this long.”
Scratching the back of his neck, he let out a small laugh.
Hanabi narrowed her eyes at him. “You haven't gone to see him have you?”
Boruto grinned nervously.
“I can explain that?” he offered.
“Boruto, what are we going to do with you?”, his aunt sighed. “Your mom’s probably already lectured you so i’m going to drop it but you really should go visit him”.
“I know...I just can't sit there and listen to him act like he knows what i'm going through because of what happened with him and Sasuke.” he admitted.
Hanabi smiled sympathetically at him. “It's in your dad's nature to fix everyone’s problems. He probably can't stand that you’re struggling with this and he can't help you.”
Before he could respond, an ear piercing wail from down the hall made him jump in surprise.
Holding his ears, Boruto glared at a laughing Hanabi.
“If you think that's bad wait till he does it when you're sound asleep at night,” she chuckled.
Rising to her feet, she walked into one of the rooms. A few moments later, the howling stopped, and his Aunt returned holding a small bundle with a mop of dark hair. Settling the infant and herself on the couch next to Boruto,she slouched dramatically against the cushion.
“Do yourself a favor and get married before you have kids,” she grumbled. “This is easier in shifts.”
“Noted,” he snickered.
Side eyeing him, she smirked. “Here you hold him.”
“Wait what,” he sputtered as she deposited the child into his arms.
“I'm taking a nap,” she announced.
“You can't just force me to take care of your baby for you,” he said indignantly.
“Sure I can, it's called babysitting,” she said as she walked down the hall.
“Babysitters usually get paid” he yelled.
Suddenly, the bundle in his arms started squirming uncomfortably and scrunched up its face.
“Okay okay no more yelling” he panicked.
Staring down at the little monster, he could easily see who the brat’s parents were. Unlike Boruto and Himawari, who looked more like their father and mother respectively, Neji was the perfect blend of Konohamaru and Hanabi. He had the Hyuga's pupiless eyes and dark spiky hair with Hanabi’s nose and mouth and Kohonamaru’s facial structure.
“You're not so bad, are you little guy?”
As if on cue, the little shit let out a scream loud enough to raise the dead.
Later that evening
Boruto massaged his temples as he made his way down the hall to his dad’s hospital room. His mentor’s “spawn’ had decided if Hanabi wasn't holding him he was going to make life miserable for everyone. Even Hiashi hadn't been able to get his youngest grandson to calm down. The end result being that Boruto had one of the worst headaches of his life.
Entering the room, he pulled the curtain back only to find his father snoring away in his hospital bed.
Figures, he laughed to himself. His old man loved sleep more than anything, besides ramen of course.
Speaking of ramen, he placed the cup of Ichiraku instant ramen on the desk next to the bed. It was a new flavor his old man had been dying to try the last few days since it was released. Spotting a pen and pad of paper, he wrote a quick note.
Figured you’d want to have it for breakfast or something.
-B
Tearing the page off, he placed it under the cup of ramen and made his way to the door. Pausing at the threshold, he turned to look at his dad.
“G’night old man” he murmured before leaving the room.