Boruto: Raiden

Ch~2: Snow & Blood

It was snowing.

It had snowed when the orphanage had kicked him out because 'finally the demon child is old enough, we don't have to burden ourselves with him anymore.'

It had snowed when he wondered why he had no parents, when he wondered why  everyone hated him, when he wondered  why Sasuke left the village...

He hated snow... it was the hardest to cope with as a child all alone, the snow didn't get any less harsher over years but he tolerated it. As he grew up and found friendship, peace and love. He tolerated it! 

The first time he liked it was when he saw that memory, that precious memory Hinata had carefully hid in the depths of her heart. 

He liked it then and slowly snow didn't mean harsh coldness of pain and seeping wetness of loneliness. Slowly, it meant date nights with Hinata, it meant cozy nights, it meant slow walks.

It meant cuddling with his kids.

Hima particularly didn't love snow, she enjoyed spring much more. But she was always up for cuddles and some warm eat outs. She once had said that the thing she liked the best about snow was wearing cozy layered clothes and cuddling. She was such a sweet girl.

His boy on the other hand was a different story. Boruto loved snow, he'd gather all his friends and just spend the entire day snow gliding and having snow ball fights. 

When dusk fell, Naruto would drag him back home with promises of playing a game with him or teaching him a new jutsu or anything that would settle his rambunctious body. 

Once they were home, Hinata would check him for any bumps or bruises even though she knew Naruto had already done it and then warm him up with a blanket. 

Then they would talk and laugh and just have a good time over a warm plate of food.

His boy didn't tolerate snow, he never had to. 

Boruto loved snow and he made everyone around him fall in love with it, including him.

~

It was snowing. Naruto's mind supplied to him needlessly through all the ravaging chaos that it was snowing. Naruto would have grimaced if he could, he would have gone over and helped Hinata with whatever she was doing, he would have done something but he just stood there frozen as if his feet were stuck to the ground.

Because this was just like that time, just a few days ago, a week at most, in that damned forest. When... when Boruto died!

When everything was so still because his boy was still, with a hole where his heart should have been.  It was the same now. There was snow, falling from the sky, around him in puddles, around his son, except there... it was stained red.

His son was surrounded by snow and covered in blood, oh kami there was so much blood, he couldn't even see most of him except for his hand but he knew, because his pale lifeless hand was a dead giveaway. It was just like that time.... when he held his son's cold corpse in his arms unable to accept that his boy was gone, begging him to wake up.