The Mother He Never Had

16

Haru's POV

I blankly stared at the apples I was planning to buy as my mind was somewhere else. "I wish I could..." I trailed off as my vision began to blur a little. "Haru?"

I gasped, startled, and dropped the basket of groceries I was holding. "I'm very sorry! I must've dozed off! I'll get out of your way immediately!" I apologized to whoever. I quickly dropped to the ground and began picking up the items I had dropped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realized I had startled you." The person said as they kneeled down and helped me. I lifted my head, noticing it was Kakashi who had scared me. "Kakashi? What are you doing here?" I asked. 

"I thought you could use some help with your shopping, seeing how Iruka isn't here with you. Where is he, anyway? I thought he was going to help you with your shopping?" Kakashi said.

"Huh? Oh! You see, Iruka had some work to do for the Hokage, so I decided I could handle this on my own," I grabbed a piece of garlic that had rolled away and placed it back in the basket. "Hey, did you follow me here to the market?" I asked Kakashi.

"I might have." He admitted, making me giggle softly. Should I tell him how I saw him near the house last night? Probably not. No need for an awkward conversation.

After collecting the items I had dropped, Kakashi and I rose to our feet. "Um... Thank you." I mumbled, softly. "No problem. Would you like me to help you with the rest of your shopping?" Kakashi offered. "Oh, no. You don't have to do that. I can manage the rest from here." I said. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I gave a quick bow and finished the rest of my shopping. Once I was done, I went home and put the groceries away. I tended my flowers until I heard a knock at the door. "Just a second," I called. "Hello?"

I opened the door slightly and noticed no one was there. "Hello?" I repeated, opening the door a bit widely and looking around. "Maybe one of the kids are playing a prank on me." I realized. I looked down, noticing there was a small vase with a red rose inside. 

"This is out of the ordinary." I said, bending down to pick up the item. I held the vase in my hands before looking around, trying to see who had dropped it off. 'I guess someone's just trying to be nice.' I thought.

I went back inside the house, closed the door, and decided to put the rose in some water. If I recall correctly, I believe the first part of the exam was a written exam. "Oh, Naruto... I really hope you studied instead of reading manga," I prayed with a sigh.

But I helped him study most of the time, so he should have this down easily. "No, I'm sure he's fine. I have faith in Naruto. After all, I've helped him study for this exam. I'm sure he'll pass."

Naruto's POV

Oh man! This is impossible! I'm so screwed! I mentally slapped myself just so I could calm down. 'Okay, Naruto. You got this. You can pass this. You can do it!' I tried encouraging myself. 

Come on, use that brain! I can't give up now! Mom would encourage me to keep going! Wait, that's it! All the studying we did together! I remember it all! I quickly grabbed my test and began looking over the questions. 

Yeah, Mom taught me all of this! In fact, all of these questions look like the practice test Mom made for me! There's no way I can lose! Bring it on, Chunin Exams!

*Time skip* Haru's POV

*****

"Don't! No! Please let me out!"

"You can't do this!"

"Please, have mercy!"

"No, please!"

"Dad!"

"Honey!"

"Mom, I'm scared!"

"It's okay, Haru. It'll all be over soon."

"Unforgiveable. I'll never forgive you... I'll never forgive you! You'll all pay! I'll make you all suffer for what you've done!"

"Mom! Mom, wake up! Mom!"

*****

"Huh?" I slowly opened my eyes as I found Naruto in front of me, gently shaking my shoulder. "Naruto...?" I whispered. "Hey!" He greeted. "You're home." I stated as I sat up. "Yeah! Are you okay?" Naruto asked. 

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were whimpering in your sleep. Were you having a bad dream?"

"I guess so. But enough about me. How were the exams?"

"I'm pretty sure I aced it!"

"Oh, really?" I smiled at him. "That's good." I said. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! Tomorrow, I'm supposed to meet near the woods." Naruto informed. "The woods?" I repeated. "Uh-huh. A forest, maybe. That's where the next part of the exam will be held." He said. 

"I see. Well, in that case, we need to make sure you have all the energy you can get. Tonight, I'll be making you a special dinner!" I announced. "All right!" Naruto cheered as he hugged me. I smiled and gently hugged him back.