Distance [A NaruHina Short Story]

1 - Naruto

The ink of my pen almost smeared by the speed of my signature. I had another mountain pile of paperwork to go and it's already eight o'clock at night. If I don't finish one more, I will be way behind schedule. As if I'm not already falling behind.

The door of my office opened but I ignored it. In came my advisor, reeking of cigarette smoke and most likely ready to lecture me on trying to finish.

"How's Temari and your boy, Shikamaru?" I intercept him just as I felt his mouth open.

Shikamaru shrugged. "The same as always. I have to head out though. You know how my wife is. She's not gentle and understanding like Hinata. She'd kill me if I'm late for dinner again."

I tried not to smile with the utmost pride for the compliment on my wife. It wasn't a huge one but everybody in the village adored her for her kind nature even though she's from one of the most ferocious clans in all of Konoha.

"As I was about to say before you rudely interrupted me..." damn. Can't ever get anything past him.

"Naruto I think you need to go home."

I shook my head. "No can do, bro. I still have so much work to do."

My advisor crouched down, with his hands resting on my desk. His gesture for saying stop what I'm doing and pay attention to him for a second. I can't afford to so just this once, I let my eyes scan over the paper in front of me.

"When was the last time you were home before midnight?"

My eyes stopped skimming.

I had to actually rake my brain to see if I could remember. The last time I actually made it home before midnight...I know it wasn't anytime this week nor last week. I had to start reading over the applications for the Chunin exams coming up at the end of the month. This year, there amount of participants increased at an amazing rate. Three times more than last year which was absolutely shocking.

"Naruto, you have a family."

"Yeah which is this village, believe it." I cut him off.

"But what about the one in the building a couple blocks from here with the nice big garden?"

A sudden pang hit my heart hard.

He's not wrong.

"What about them?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "When was the last time you played with Himawari? I remembered before you took on this job, you made sure to spend at least three hours with her each day."

The memory of my amazingly beautiful daughter mimicking a deep voice for her panda I got her when she was just a newborn flooded my vision. All the times she made me take over because I have a deeper voice and ended up just falling asleep in my arms after too much playing.

"Or how about the time you attempted to teach Boruto the shadow clone jutsu?"

I blinked again and there I was; standing in the garden while my identical little copy tried to remember the exact jutsu to replicate himself just like me. I had crossed my arms and told him not to rush it. But he's a prodigy, just like his mother. After failing twice, he caught on quickly and before I knew it, there three of him standing in front of me ready to pounce.

"Naruto you are the Hokage so yes, your responsibility is with this village but how about your first responsibility?"

He acts like I don't see it. He thinks I don't understand that I have been basically absent from my immediate family at home. Do I want to sit here all night, cooped up and signing paper after paper with only cups of instant ramen to feed my growling stomach?