🌸The Journey🌸

Day 9

"I'm home!"

"Ah, welcome home!"

"Today was actually a lot more busy than I thought... Kakashi-Sensei sent me all around the village running errands."

"Well, if you're going to be the Hokage someday, you have to be willing to put up with all that work, you know."

"Yeah... And more. Especially since the Hokage does a lot more than that."

Naruto stretched and scratched the back of his neck, "I think I'll go to bed early tonight."

Hinata looked at him and laughed, "darling, it's only two in the afternoon."

He chuckled weakly, "I guess you're right..." He found his wife sitting in the living room knitting what looked like a small, red scarf. From the size of it, it looked to be for a baby, "where is he?"

"He's sleeping." Hinata smiled up at him as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss, "have you heard any news on Sasuke and Sakura?"

Naruto sighed. Before he could say anything, cries erupted from the crib not too far from them, "ooh, did I wake you, buddy? I'm sorry."

"Naruto..." Hinata chuckled as she set her sewing needles down and went to pick up the baby and rock him, "there, there. You're a strong boy, just like you're father. I know someday, you'll be just like him. Maybe you'll be the Hokage too?"

"Heh...." Naruto laughed as he walked up to them, "let him decide that for himself. I won't force it onto him." He smiled at the small baby's face as the child's cries died down and turned into even breathing, "Boruto..."

The baby slowly squinted its eyes and looked up at his parents. The sight of the two made him burst into a fit of tiny laughter as he reached to grab his dad.

"Oh, you want your papa?" Hinata chuckled as she handed the boy over to her husband, "here."

"Wow, Boruto!" Naruto laughed as he held his son high above his head, "when did you get so tall?"

Boruto laughed and held Naruto's hands tight, "da!"

"Do you hear that?" Naruto grinned, "it sounds like a bird swooping in grab you! Swoosh!"

With that, he swung Boruto and held him higher up, making faces and sounds that only made Boruto laugh harder.

Hinata smiled as she took Boruto back and held him close to her, "so, Naruto... Sasuke and Sakura?"

Naruto's smile slowly faded, "Kakashi sent Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino out to help Sasuke."

"What about Sakura?"

"She..." Naruto pursed his lips, "she went missing. They're looking for her now, but the last we heard from them was early this morning."

Hinata's hand covered her mouth as she stared at him in horror, "Sakura's missing?! And they don't know who took her or who's suspected?"

"No."

"She's pregnant! We have to go out and--"

"No, we can't do that."

Hinata looked at him, "why not?"

He didn't even have to answer. They had a new responsibility now, and she was holding it.

Naruto took Hinata's hand, "being who I am, Kakashi-Sensei warned me to stay on my guard. Those attacks on Sasuke and Sakura are only part of it, but that doesn't mean nobody knows who I am. Now that we have Boruto, stakes are even higher than before."

Hinata nodded, "I understand."

Naruto smiled and nodded just before the doorbell rang, "I got it."