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“Mom, why does Aunt Tenten always visit us here?”
Hinata’s hands stopped moving against the plate, while the water continued to stream down from the faucet. She looked at Boruto, her half-surprised expression meeting her son’s curious gaze. Hinata took a deep breath, and went back to cleaning the last plate in the sink.
“Well, she loves you and Himawari, too, just like Aunt Sakura, Aunt Ino, and your other aunts, too.” She turned off the faucet after placing the utensils on the dryer, dried the edge of the sink with a rug, and took off her apron to hang it on the wall. She sat down on her chair at the table, and as if on cue, her children stood up.
Boruto stood behind her, hands cupping her shoulders. He began massaging them, while Himawari pressed on her hands. They’re so sweet, Hinata smiled as she surrendered to the relief her children were offering her.
“Aunt Tenten always gives us ninja toys,” Himawari beamed and grinned at her mother.
Boruto scoffed and said, “Yeaaaah and then you leave it anywhere and I have to find them for you.”
Himawari pouted. “S’not like I can’t find them on my own, brother!”
Hinata giggled at their exchange. “You guys should help out each other at all times, okay? Like how me and your father always do.”
“Yeah, like you and Aunt Hanabi too, right?” Himawari tilted her head.
“And like you and Uncle Neji!” Boruto exclaimed, a huge, proud grin plastered on his face.
Hinata blinked back and looked at her son from her shoulder.
Boruto continued to massage his mom’s shoulders. “Every time she visits us, Aunt Tenten tells us stories about Uncle Neji. He’s so cool, mom! He even sounds cooler than dad sometimes.” He pressed on.
“W-Well, your father and uncle are both cool in their own ways,” Hinata nervously said.
Himawari didn’t miss the change of her mom’s tone, but decided not to dwell on it as soon as another thought popped in her head. “B-Brother! The homework! You promised me!”
“Ah!” Boruto halted from massaging Hinata’s back, and he quickly said, “Sorry, mom! I promised her I’d help her…” he glanced at her sister for a while. “…or else..” and Boruto showed his thumb slashing his neck.
Hinata’s eyebrows scrunched up, and she smiled, knowing fully well what’s most likely to happen.Nevertheless, I know Boruto would still help Hima even if he isn’t scared of his sister… she giggled with a hand hovering her pursed lips.
“Go on, the two of you. I’ll also go out in a bit, okay? Stay here in the house.”
“Yes, mom! Let’s go, Hima!”
“Un!”
As her children left the kitchen, she stared after them with soft eyes, remembering how their recent conversation went.
Surely, she missed Neji, but after knowing that Tenten has been talking about Neji with Boruto and Hima, she was reminded for the nth time that Tenten has her own way of missing Hinata’s cousin. It was terrible to lose someone that meant the world for a person, and she wouldn’t know herself what would happen to her if Naruto were to be… gone.
Tenten once admitted to her how Neji’s genius seems to have passed on to Boruto, after she saw the young Uzumaki’s performance in Konoha Academy. She might not have intended to feel too sentimental about it, but Hinata didn’t miss how misty Tenten’s eyes were when they talked about Boruto and Neji.
Hinata stood up and fixed herself, and wondered where she could find Tenten and visit her with some dangos in hand. She was sure that the weapons expert wouldn’t mind, too, if they dropped by the Yamanakas to buy flowers that they could offer once they arrive at her cousin’s grave.