𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

90

"Hey, that dude's from Konoha. Is Hashirama calling for a meeting with your great-uncle or something?"

Naruto leapt in fright and clutched his chest as [Name] appeared out of nowhere from behind him, right after he had allowed the messenger from Konoha past him at the gate and into the village to find Ashina.

"[Name], you gave me a fright!" exclaimed the Uzumaki, going bright red in the face as [Name] looked down at Himawari and chuckled, squeezing her hand as the little girl giggled. Now settled into her life in Uzushiogakure, [Name] had adjusted well, and Himawari had taken quite a liking to her as well. Boruto was still getting there, but he wasn't as hostile towards [Name] anymore.

"Sorry, sorry," said [Name], waving the Uzumaki's words away. "Himawari, do you have something for your father?"

Himawari nodded and turned around, showing her father the sling on her back.

"You forgot your lunch again, otou-san," said the little girl quietly, letting go of [Name]'s hand and backing up to her father so that he could take his lunchbox.

"Oh, thank you!" laughed the Uzumaki, squatting down and untying the sling from his daughter's back. As he took the cloth and lunchbox in his hands, he placed a hand on Himawari's head as she turned to face him, ruffling her dark hair.

"Thanks, Himawari," beamed the blond brightly, before leaning forward and placing a kiss on his daughter's forehead. Himawari giggled and playfully pushed her father back as he rose to his feet, looking over at [Name] with a small smile.

"Thanks, [Name]," he said kindly, earning a nod from the Kouhage. As he did, his smile momentarily faltered. And it did not go unnoticed.

"Let's talk when you get home," said [Name] softly, sensing something was amiss with the Uzumaki. "Concentrate on your duties for now. Himawari and I will make sure to make something tasty for dinner when you and Boruto come back home. Right, Hima?"

"Yay!"

"It's no big deal, but thank you anyway, [Name]," said Naruto with a sigh, looking at the Kouhage with a wistful look in his eye. Although they had been living together for a while now, their relationship still hadn't reached the point they had been at before the Uchiha had gotten involved. If anything, [Name] seemed reluctant to reenter a romantic relationship with the Uzumaki, but he didn't mind. Considering everything she had already been through, he didn't blame her for believing that everything, including her romances, was fleeting.

"We'll see you at home. Come on, Himawari."

As [Name] walked away from Naruto with Himawari in tow, she let out a frown as she focused her attention on the little girl's hand clutched tightly in her own. Sayuri's birthday had passed a while ago, and although [Name] had quite literally abandoned her daughter, it didn't mean that she had completely forgotten about her.

There was a pang in the Kouhage's heart as she tried recalling her own daughter's face in her mind, but found that her memory of Sayuri was hazy. It had been a year since she had last seen her, and she knew that she must have grown so much in that time. As guilty as it made her feel, whenever [Name] tried to picture Sayuri, Himawari's image was the only one that came to mind, despite the age difference.

"[Name]-chan? Are you okay?"

Himawari's voice broke the saddened Kouhage out of her trance, and she squeezed the little girl's hand reassuringly.

"Yeah," smiled [Name]. "Let's go home and get dinner started, shall we?"

"Okay!"

***