73 Arc 4: Sunflowers

Name：A Different Kind Of Journey Author：Dom2040
+ - Turn off Reset
Arc 4: Sunflowers



"Thank you for coming along Neji-nii!"

Himawari was full on smiles as she walked along the streets of the village along with the brown haired Hyuga. The sun was on it's peak and combined with the busy atmosphere, it was just perfect for the two.

"You're welcome Hima, It's the least I can do for awhile." Neji replied, taking a brief glance at the time through his small wrist watch." Before, I head back for training." He finished his statement with somewhat of a bored tone.

The Uzumaki girl took noticed of the expression and she immediately asked." Is being part of Team Gai really that bad for you?" She said with curiousity.

Now this made Neji widened his eyes, turning to the younger teen." Well, not that bad, I mean if you're a member of that team, you're gonna need to drink lots of energy boosters." He explained, trying to warn to his niece.

Himawari raised both eyebrows." Energy Boosters? I guess it would be really fun to be a member of your team" She said, before continuing on." And I guess Grandpa Gai is really is dedicated on the team." She added.

Neji gave a slight cringed. The thought of the training sessions began to fill his mind. The endless chicken chase segment and the long running marathons and the continous push-ups, were the ones that continue to bring him down. Although, no matter what happens, he's still not going to give up.

"Yeah, he is really dedicated." Neji commented, before continuing." Without his "Youth" Philosophy, I'm not sure whether if I can be fast as Lee nowadays." He gave a slight chuckle, he recalled how those two somehow share the same the spirit, which really baffled him.

Himawari nodded in understanding." Oh I see." She said." I wonder how that Philosophy works?" She wondered before continuing." Aside from that, Uncle Lee really is the spitting image of Metal Lee, or maybe the other way around?" She said.

"Metal Who?"

Neji was caught by curiousity as he immediately turned to his niece. He was now interested to learn more about this Metal Lee character that the girl had mentioned.

"Metal Lee." Himawari simply said, but by the time she focused her eyes on the brown haired Hyuga, she received confusion." Oh, I guess, I haven't told you about him yet." She added.

Neji raised both eyebrows." What about him though?" He asked, wanting to know more information.

Himawari nodded and smiled." Well, Metal Lee is kind of his son in the future." She replied back, expecting a certain reaction from the Hyuga.

Neji instead of giving another suprised." He has a son!?" He reacted inside his mind instead before proceeding to the next expression, He sighed.' Well, there's no doubt that he would have a son just like himself someday." He commented.

"Oh I see." Himawari simply nodded." It's probably in the genes, they say that a father always has the stronger genes than a mother but it really depends." She explained." At least for me, I got this whiskers from my dad and this hair colour from my mom." She chuckled.

Neji gave a smile, before following up another question." Say Hima, What about me?" He asked." Do I finally get someone's heart in the future?" He asked, in the most figurative statement so far.

This time around Himawari became silent about the certain topic. Although the fact that she was expecting for the man to ask another question regarding the future once more, somehow still suprised her in a way. Another problem is that she hasn't prepared any fabricated story about her curious teenage uncle and just to answer him, she was going to make another story again on the spot.

"Oh man, Nii-chan is better at this." The Uzumaki girl thought. She could feel a little sweat falling from her head as she attempted to think of a reasonable story to let out.

The whole fabricating process was unexpectedly a tough one. In the girl's respective mind, there were these different imaginative scenarios flashing before her eyes. Scenes like Neji getting different girlfriends all over or him remaining completely single and untouched and then would go on living a very uneventful life.

There were just a lot of ways to interpret it. Himawari did in fact came up with a solution and she was going to tell him that he had gotten a certain girl with two buns in the future.

(Interview)

"I was going to actually tell him that he married Aunt Tenten in the future, because that's what my mom and Aunt Hanabi would always talk about regarding Uncle Neji, that he secretly had feelings for her, and I'm not really sure if that was all true."

-Himawari

It was an inside urban legend among the family and she would frequently hear the story a lot of times from relatives and family friends. It was mystery that she had took interest years ago and it continued to mesmerised her until now. She realized that she had the opportunity to finally know the real truth behind the story.

As she was about to open her lips and ask the question, she was suddenly beaten to it by the brown haired teen.

"Uhmm, Nevermind about that." Neji gave a sigh. His instincts telling him to forget the the topic since learning more information about the future could cause unexpected ripples in time.

This also gave Himawari a breath of relief as she wouldn't have to entertain the topic throughout the journey instead she had received a much more simple question from her teenage uncle.

"So where are we heading off to by the way?" Neji asked, finally changing the topic for good. All this time, he had forgotten the destination that they are heading off to.

There was a brief of moment of quietness for the lavender haired teen as she stopped her tracks to a certain area on the village where several flower shops lined up on a certain small street.

Her eyes began to moved around as she surveyed the area, looking for a specific flower shop, which brought up the memories when she was just a little girl.

As for Neji, the man was a little confused, first off, why would the girl head to the only district in the village where the flower shops were all located? From what he remembered her niece had already bought a lot of sets not too long ago and he was the one that accompanied her.

There were so many question running around inside his head and he really tried to figure it all out.

(Interview)

"I'm really not sure what has gotten into Hima, but I'm getting worried that she'd turned into a sunflower herself if she keeps that flower obssesion."

-Neji

There was a slight ache on his head as the stress got up to him. He quickly realized that the best way for him to figure this out was to just ask the question for him to get the answer.

Yes! That was in fact the only way. He just have to do it now. He took a deep breath as he gathered himself before releasing his words.

"Uhmmmm, Himawari I just wanted to ask you something, I-" Neji did't expected his sentence cut along the way as the girl suddenly made a little run towards the street.

"Found the shop!" Himawari exclaimed as she immediately made a little run for it. Her excitement had caught her in the nick of time.

As for Neji, he was left there speechless for a few moments." What in the..." He trailed off as he couldn't believed that his niece would do that to him. Hanabi would also do it sometimes during her shopping sprees." Oh kami please help!" The brown haired Hyuga muttered aloud as he too made a run for it just to catch up with her.

The little chase was uneventful yet unexpected for some of the passers by and citizens. They were confused on why two teenagers were running around the area. They mostly took pity on the brown haired Hyuga, who felt like a babysitter right now.

"Hima, Please slow down!"

Neji kept calling out to the girl as they passed through the street. His voice trying its best to get the girl's attention but the growing crowd was preventing him from attaining his desired objective.

"Hima!"

He kept calling again and it wasn't just working at all. At this time around, his concern was growing and he pushed himself again as it seemed that he was being separated from the girl even more. There was this little struggle that he chose to not bother and show.

There was this small pathway amongst the crowd that somehow helped him to move through. It also helped him to not lose sight of Himawari, who was now just a few distances away from him and at this moment in time he raised his right hand to reach her.

"Himawari!" He called up her name again.

At this moment in time, he felt a slight dizziness in his head and he closed his eyes for a brief moment, by the time he opened it again, he saw something very unexpecting at least for him.

It was not too far away from reality and it was revealed to be a kind of memory or perhaps a vision of somesort.

The scenario remained as it is but the surroundings slightly had changed. They were still at the same street but the area had somewhat had undergo a transformation. The whole area looked as if it had a twenty year progression. It looked more modern and futuristic to the teen's eyes to which brought up confusion and surprise.

"What the..." Neji trailed off in this thoughts. His attention was caught as he focused on a certain little lavender haired girl in front of him.

"Hurry up, Neji-nii! the flowers are waiting!"

The little girl exclaimed as she turned around to face the teen.

Neji widened his eyes surprised" Himawari?" He muttered aloud. His eyes were now observing the little girl, who turned out to be a younger Himawari, she had this cute little smile which would make anyone's day happy.

The question was, why he was seeing this right now? It doesn't really make sense does it?

Sensing strange tiredness, Neji stopped his tracks once more. He was breathing in and out, trying to catch up his breath. He stopped on a certain spot where a glass window stood on his right. Somehow, a part of him was telling him to look on his right and he eventually did.

By the time he had turned to his right, he saw the glass window and his own reflection, which startled him.

In front of him, was a reflection of himself but older. He had aged and looked like he was in his early 30's. He wore a similar clothing to what he was wearing right now but more simple and had a darker colour.

For about several seconds, he stared at himself mesmerized and confused. Was this really real? an illusion? one of his normal daydreams? or something else?

(Interview)

"My gut is telling me that it was a vision, but sometimes these visions are just made up inside our minds, But I still wonder if that my future or just a fabricated one."

-Neji

It was at this time that the dizziness began to fade away and moments later, he was finally brought back to his own reality.

"Neji-niisan..."

The faint familiar voice of Himawari was now calling him. The Older Hyuga immediately opened his eyes and saw the Uzumaki girl's concerned eyes.

"Himawari?" He muttered the name. He was just trying to make if this was his niece and yes it was really her to his own relief.

Several minutes had passed since her young uncle had suddenly felt dizzy, with the help of perfect timing, Himawari was able to catch him from falling to the ground. In her own eyes, she thought the man was going to faint right on the spot but to her own relief, he was alright and conscious.

"Are you okay Neji-nii?" She asked again.

Neji gave a slight groan, before he could let out his words." Hima, please don't go running off all a sudden." He told the girl.

Himawari was confused. What was he trying say? In truth, she didn't ran off suddenly, in fact she was just walking albeit in a more fast manner. It was a good thing, since that she sensed something was off and it was her young uncle.

As she was about to speak up, the brown haired Hyuga had waved her off as a sign that there's no importance in this current scene as of now.

"Nevermind me, I am alright." Neji assured the girl with a small smile as he began to recover up while the girl assisted her.

Himawari's worry slowly vanished as she continued to observed the older teen." Are you sure?" She asked for one more time.

Neji sighed but gave the girl an assuring nodded." Yes." He replied, before deciding to change the topic.

"So why do you want to buy flowers again?"

(FLOWERS)



Business was often booming for the Yamanaka business. They were a clan of clever spies, who surprisingly operated a humble flower shop in one of the commercial streets of the village. Even though it was just only one shop, customers still flocked to buy flowers and it could go well for one certain light blonde haired teenage girl.

The shop was filled with customers and as usual she was the one considered as a frontliner to handle them one by one. It wasn't just the normal norm of barcoding every single set of flowers, she also had to deal with every little complains of some customers and also the physical task of keeping the area clean from any dust and dirt.

After most of the customers left the shop, the inside area now looked as if a storm had passed through it. In every moment like this she would gave a sigh and will right away grab the necesarry things to clean the place up once more before the second wave.

"The daylight's fading slowly

The time with you is standing still

I'm waiting for you only

The slightest touch and I feel weak"

The speakers were up and alive as it let through the music of a certain song which was currently on the charts.

"I cannot lie

From you I can not hide

I'm losing will to try

Can't hide it

Can't fight it"

With the song was a certain voice of Ino Yamanaka, who was singing along with the tune while sweeping the dirt on the floor with a broom stick and a dustpan.

"So go on, go on

Come on leave me breathless

Tempt me, tease me

'Till I can't deny this

Loving feeling

Let me long for your kiss

Go on, go on

Yeah come on"

It was good thing that she temporarily brought the shop window coverings down for awhile just to sweep the floor and also hide herself from singing in her imaginative concert. She was slightly dancing around while getting the dirty particles on the dust pan.

Another reason for her singing was that she wanted to impress someone, there was no specific person but she just wanted to showcase her voice to the person, who would eventually become her boyfriend, but she really had no idea on who would be that dream boy of hers.

The only Uchiha in the village had left a long time ago and that really changed her perspective and she was now looking for a person with a quality attitude and not just coming from the looks.

As time passed by, the teenage Yamanaka had been in a zone as she kept herself on the flow. Unbeknowst to her, two certain individuals had entered the shop.

(INTERVIEW)

"Despite the current position that I'm in now, I kind of actually like it!"

-Ino

"So this is the shop that you were talking about Hima?"

"Yup! This is the one Neji-niisan."

"Why does this shop look familiar to me?

Neji's mind was put into another guessing game once again. Besides being greeted by a very familiar ambience, the Hyuga continued to ponder the identity of this flower shop. He knew the smell of these flowers, the colors of the walls, it's like he had been here before.

Was is it an extreme case of De ja vu or a mere coincidence?

(INTERVIEW)

"I've been into every flower shop in the village because of Hima, and maybe it was just a case of bad memory that I can't even remember this particular flower shop."

-Neji

As soon as they further explored the shop, they finally reached the main area where the only counter and cashier was stationed, they would find themselves being greeted by a very weird but familiar scene.

"It's like a dream

Although I'm not asleep

I never want to wake up

Don't lose it

Don't leave it

"So go on, go on

Come on leave me breathless

Tempt me, tease me

'Till I can't deny this

Loving feeling

Let me long for your kiss

Go on, go on

Yeah come on"

Right in front of them was the one and only Ino Yamanaka singing, dancing, and sweeping the floor at the same time. Himawari and Neji both raised their eyebrows in surpised, soon their own reactions began to surface.

Himawari was amused, she immediately recognized the voice by the time she entered the premises and it was none other than her Aunt Ino, who was Inojin's mother back in the future. Now, she was just surprise to see her in an energetic mood.

As for Neji, the man was just wide eye staring at the blonde. This had to be the first time that he had seen her like that. He would soon then began to slowly cringed.

As for Ino, she finally finished the song at the same time. By the time the song ended, she gave this one final pose which caused unexpected applause in front of her.

She widened her eyes in surprised as she realized that there was someone already inside the shop. She quickly went away from her pose as she stood up straight with a slightly embarassed face.

She now stood facing one familiar individual and a certain girl.

"Neji? What a suprise!" The awkwardness immediately disappeared as she headed and greeted the Hyuga with a warm hug.

Neji gave a slight sigh and nodded." Yeah, it's me Ino." He replied back, while turning his eyes towards the lavender haired teen, giving her a weird look.

Himawari gave a small smile in response.

"What brings you here by the way?" The blonde girl asked with curiousity.

Neji gave a slight shrugged." Well, just here to buy some flowers." He simply said, causing the blonde girl to react.

"Flowers? But I thought you grow your own?" Ino asked with both eyebrows raised.

"Well, yes I do grow my own plants and flowers but I'm just here to accompany my friend here." Neji replied as he introduced the lavender haired girl to her.

Himawari gave a smile and offer a hand as a sign of greeting." Hello, I am Himawari, but you can call me Hima for short." She finally got to join the conversation.

Ino warmly smiled back." It's nice to meet you, Hima." She said as she shook hands with the lavender haired girl." You can call me Ino by the way." She slightly chuckled.

"Nice to meet you too Ino-san!" Himawari smiled.

"So what type of flowers are you looking for?" Ino asked as she led the way to entertain her new customer.

"Well, actually I'm looking for something bright and yellowish.." Himawari explained as she too followed the blonde.

All that was left was Neji as the man found himself together with silence once more. His eyes focused on two and especially her niece, whom he was glad that she had finally met a new friend.

(INTERVIEW)

"Well, I actually had this plan on slowly introducing them to the rest, but I shelved it a long time ago since life has gotten busy. Although, I'm always prepared for an opportunity and I wish Hanabi was also here to help."

-Neji

(MEANWHILE)

Finding the flowers was just an easy task for the blonde Yamanaka. She was used to seeing flowers everyday even since she was a child. She was just naturally trained for this kind of thing.

From what is to be just a brief shopping of flowers had unexpectedly turned into something more.

As time passed by, the two girls quickly became friends. The combination of Himawari's ability to keep the conversation on a higher note and Ino's endless story telling had really made the day something else.

It was actually Ino, who had the most stories to tell and there was a reason for it after all.

"I'm sorry for being so talkative right now." Ino apologized with a small humble grin." It's just that It's been so long since I've actually had a very long talk with someone." She explained as she and the girl were heading back to the main area.

Himawari gave a surprised look." Oh I see." She said, before continuing." It's alright Ino-san, I actually like long conversations to be honest." She added with a smile.

Ino smiled back." Thank you so much!" She said." It's getting a bit boring here at the shop, there's no team trainings yet nor any new activities at the clinic."

Himawari nodded in understanding." It's boring alright." She commented, she just learned how Inojin's mom was this simple teenage girl, who is in-charge of handling the daily activities at the flower shop. Contrast to her future counterpart where she was a jack of all trades and a master at multi-tasking.

Her adult counterpart was the head of her own clan, a medical executive at the children's hospital, a business woman, and a team instructor. These were the things that that would popped up into her mind, everytime she meets the blonde back in her time.

It was so amazing on how in a short span of time that she would achieved all of those things. There must be an event that gave her so much maturity.

"You know Himawari-san, It's really tough having to balance your activities." Ino said, causing the other girl raised both eyebrows.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, before this break, I've found myself being overwhelmed by all these activities." Ino explained." Being a Flower shop girl, a Shinobi, and a Medic-nin student at the same time is challenging." She gave a slight chuckle.

"It really brought me to tears at one point, but as time passes by, I began to realized that all of these things were important and also for my development as a person, as the saying goes." She added.

"So how are you doing nowadays? Himawari asked.

Ino gave a smile." I'm actually doing good so far, I'm really thankful to have this short break." She explained." It gives me time to prepare myself for future events." She added.

The Uzumaki girl nodded." That's great! I hope you can achieve your goal." She said.

"Thank you Hima!" Ino smiled back.

"You're welcome!"

Neji can been standing in front of the magazine stand, near the counter, as he held a random magazine, to which he was reading it's contents out of curiosity. He would soon turn his attention towards the two girls, who had now arrived back from their long journey of finding the flowers.

As the two girls emerged from a certain pathway, still conversing, they were now interrupted by the man himself.

"So how did the flower shopping go?" He asked.

Himawari smiled." Well, finally got them!" She replied as she presented the flowers which was revealed to be a bouquet of sunflowers with a yellowish tint on its sides. As Ino headed to the counter, the conversation had transferred towards the niece and uncle.

"Sunflowers? really fits you to be honest." Neji commented, giving a slight chuckle.

Himawari gave a playful smile." Oh like I heard that before from Boru-nii." She commented.

Neji shook his head and gave a pass. It's only joke that he could think off right now.

(INTERVIEW)

"I'm not really good at making jokes but is the least I can do to add humour in the story."

-Neji

"Well, I do find it funny." An amused Ino spoke this time garnering the attention of the two.

Neji gave a pout while Himawari grinned.

"He's improving." The lavender haired teen commented as she placed the bouquet of sunflowers on the counter.

Ino on the other hand, smiled." I can see that." She said, before continuing." May I ask, what are you going to do with these sunflowers?"

There was a brief moment of silence that took over. Himawari didn't knew how to explain the main reason as she headed for the simplest answer that she could think off.

"Well, it's for my mom and dad." She simply said, causing the other two to look at her in surprised, especially Neji.

"What do you mean?" A confused Neji asked.

Ino would soon get the statement." Oh I see." She said." I hope everything is alright." She smiled as she handed the bouquet of sunflowers now inside a brown paper bag.

Himawari gave a small smile." Don't worry, everything's fine." She said, before continuing." I guess, we'll see you again sometime." She added, as she proceeded to head towards exit door.

"Take care!" Ino waved her goodbye while a slightly dumbfounded Neji was left with a still very confused expression." Wait a sec, what do you mean by "Everything is Alright." He said.

As for Ino, the girl just gave a shrug." Well, I think it's better for you to ask her about it." She replied with a smile.

Neji gave a sigh as the brown haired teen turned his attention towards the window, where the other girl was now waiting for him. For a few moments he decided to dive into his thoughts as he wondered about those flowers.

(INTERVIEW)

"I really didn't get the whole purpose of the flowers to be honest, I wish I could've figured it out like Ino did back there and I really hope everything is really alright."

-Neji

"Well, I'm a bit feeling guilty for not telling him but I might as well show Neji-nii the place."

-Himawari

(MEANWHILE)



"Thank you so much for bringing back my pet!"

Yet another praise was heard for the twentieth time in a day. The client was overjoyed as she thanked the services of a certain boy, who stood in front of them all.

Konohamaru was scratching the back of his head and had a huge shy but humble grin as the praises just overwhelmed his ears. It was streak not to be forgotten and it was the first time a Genin had completed twenty straight D-rank missions in one day.

A new record.

In a Hokage office occupied by the fifth herself, Team Ebisu, and their latest client, who was another wealthy business woman, who had lost her pet chihuahua, while walking along the busy streets of the village.

"I must admit you're team is the best in the village!" The overjoyed woman commented." I'll make sure you three will get free lunch today at the restaurant!" She added.

Konohamaru stood a little ahead of his teammates, who somehow had a amused expression towards him, as he gave slight humble grin to the woman." It's no big deal Ma'am! We're just doing our jobs that all hehe." He gave a sheepishly chuckle while throwing a littke elbow on his back pack.

"Stop it!"

There was a faint voice which can be heard echoing from the bag.

Moegi narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the boy while Udon gave a sleepy yawn as usual. Ebisu was as his usual self of being goofy and dumbfounded, proudly commending the team for a great run once again.

The business woman nodded in understanding but still kept the happy smile." Oh I see, but still if you three need a free eat, just head to the restaurant and I'll take care all of it!" She explained before picking up her pet chihuahua and headed towards the door." Thank you again for your service!"

The door slammed shut as silence took over once more.

"That's the twentieth time you guys accomplished D- rank mission today." Tsunade commented, giving an amused smile." I'm impressed!" She added.

Konohamaru gave a smile." Well, It's take hardwork and dedication to accomplished it all!" He said with a little bit of confidence in his voice, gripping the handles of his backpack.

"Am I right guys!" He then turned around to face his teammates, who were in a very unprepared and awkward manner.

Moegi rolled her eyes in response." Whatever..." She replied.

"Zzzzzzzz, I-I mean Yes I agree with ya!" Udon, who had apparently fallen to a short nap, suddenly woke up and replied to the boy's question.

His lips slowly came into an awkward grin." Oh I guess, I'll take that as as Yes." Konohamaru said as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Ahem!"

Tsunade then interrupted the whole conversation to get the rest of everyone's attention once more.

"Anyways, to conclude this meeting, I'm giving your team a day's off tomorrow since you guys have taken up the D- rank missions originally for that day itself." She explained, looking at a certain couple of documents. She was amazed the fact that all these D-rank missions were also a bit tough for the other upcoming Genin teams and that Team Ebisu itself managed to do accomplished all twenty of it in one day.

"That's cool!" Konohamaru reacted, his lips turning into a wide grin." You're really the best Granny Hokage!" He commented, making a fist in the air.

Tsunade's nerve slight twitched, yet she managed to control herself from reacting and instead a force a smile." Yeah I heard that." She said, before giving a sigh." Anyways, you're all dismissed for today." She added.

"Yes!" All of the boys exclaimed in unison, it seemed that their excitement had gotten the best of them.

In less than seconds, Team Ebisu immediately left the office as everybody seemed to have their own business as well. Quietness took charged once more when they left leaving the older blonde with her thoughts.

Tsunade rested on her seat and turned around to face the open window behind her. Her eyes were greeted by the bright sunlight. She checked the time and it was already in the late morning.

She took a deep breath as her thoughts wandered off again. This time she focused herself on wondering about a certain team." How are they?" She asked herself, going a bit into worry. She was having second thoughts lately about sending the two teens again on this S-rank mission of retrieving the Uchiha back.

There was a part of her that kept blaming herself for sending the two to unknown territories, yet she could only hope for the best results whether they succeeded or not, she wanted them to arrive home safely.

Besides Himawari, she had already viewed the two as family. Boruto was already like a second Nawaki to her or basically a grandson and as for Sarada, she planned on taking her as her student once there's an opportunity when they arrived back.

She was aware what Miyuki had told her about the trio. It sounded a bit far fetched in the beginning but somehow, slowly it really did made sense that they were the only hopes of saving everything

She didn't want to think about the possiblity of her role being reduced and she promised to herself that she will do everything she can to just to protect them. These three arrived from a broken future, they don't want anything anymore but to just start a new life and live peacefully. They were alright of having a small apartment as their new home, they were the ones that went through great pain yet they still were nice and kind to anyone.

They were the ones that were slowly changing things around and even also to her life.

(INTERVIEW)

"I swore to myself that If anyone were to hurt them, I'll make sure they're going to feel the wrath of the fifth! they're going to have to answer me!

-Tsunade

(LATER ON)



"Alright Konohamaru, mind telling me what's going on with you lately?"

It was the question that gave the boy a little bit of nervousness inside him. Walking ahead of his two teammates, he stopped his tracks and turned to face a very suspicious Moegi and a curious Udon, their instructor had left for a meeting leaving them the only ones outside the building.

"What do you mean?" Konohamaru raised both eyebrows." Of course, everything is alright with me." He gave a slight chuckle to an unfazed girl.

"No! nothing is alright when I'm trapped inside this backpack!"

There was a husky voice that interrupted the conversation and the source came from the back pack itself. Konohamaru was quick to react as he secretly gave his back pack a smack from behind. causing the voice to go "Oof!"

"Be quiet man!" Konohamaru secretly whispered before turning his attention back to them once more with a slightly nervous grin.

Moegi raised an eyebrow." You know nowadays, everytime we begin the mission, you already seemed to catch those cats and dogs in less than two minutes." She explained." Mind telling us on what kind of weird techniques are you using?" She asked, folding her arms. She wanted to know the truth if her teammate was cheating their way out of the missions.

"Yeah, and why do you always talk to your backpack? Can you get me one too?" A smiling Udon spoke this time with curiosity and interest.

Moegi gave a more suspicious look, eyeing the backpack itself." What's inside that backpack?" She asked, wanting to know its mysterious contents.

Konohamaru slightly gulped. He was finding the best excuses as of now to leave the scene yet, he was already too late. He could feel a sweat falling from his forehead.

At the same time, his back pack was now slowly getting out of control a certain fox was trying to force his way out causing another struggle for the boy.

With the combination of his teammates curiosity, Kurama's annoying struggle, and the pressure that he was receiving right now, the young Sarutobi decided to just scram his way out of here.

Although, as he was about to make a run for it, he suddenly felt an extreme heatness from his backpack. His back now felt as if he was laying on a very hot frying pan. Meanwhile inside the backpack, was Kurama, with a devious looking smile as he was the one responsible for that surprising heat.

(INTERVIEW)

"Oh boy, I really did enjoyed it! I knew it would be childish to do so but It felt really good to prank the kid while he's cornered." (Chuckles)

-Kurama

It seemed that Naruto's pranking habits had gotten into him as he used little furry fingers to channel a little bit of his chakra to produce heat and he placed it on the soft fibre materials of the backpack.

The fox was laughing all the way in triumph. This was the only way for him to get out of this inferious backpack and he was expecting victory soon.

Although, it wasn't the results that he had expected. In some way, he was able to received the passage out yet the way he would get out was different altogether.

Meanwhile, the heat was overwhelming that it almost turned Konohamaru into a fried bacon, that he immediately remove the back pack without hesitating, and threw it on the ground. As he threw it on the ground, the main compartment of the backpack opened and there a little furry fox came out of it and hit the ground hard.

Kurama was expecting to get his head landing on the ground. Several seconds ago he was laughing his butt off, now he was cringing in pain as he found himself rubbing his head in front of the trio.

"Dammit Kid! I was just playing with you!" The fox was exclaiming as if he was the victim. He gave a furious but cute expression towards the boy." It's your fault that I hit my head!"

Konohamaru was a bit taken aback." Woah, Now it's my fault?" He replied back." You were the one that started it furball!"

"FYI, It was a prank! P-R-A-N-K, a prank." Kurama argued back. He won't be backing down just yet.

"Wow, I've been pranked by Kuu-chan! How cool is that! I guess it's lame!" The boy fired back.

As the argument continued on, Moegi and Udon found themselves watching the scene unfold. Both of them were very much shocked and surprised that there was a talking fox, arguing with the boy, in front of them. Both were wondering why their teammate has been keeping that fox for a very long time inside his backpack and was it really responsible for the twenty successful D-rank mission?

"Man, never seen a talking fox before." Udon commented, before giving an interested grin." But, it's cool by the way!" He added." What about you Moegi?" He asked.

As for Moegi, she was in a mysterious mood. She just stared and observed them, especially the fox himself. A little later passed, she headed towards the main scene with a surprising intention.

As their argument continued on, both Konohamaru and Kurama were unaware that the girl was approaching them.

I thought we talked about this Kuu-chan? If they saw you, we'll get in trouble!"

"Come on Konohamaru, you don't need to worry about tha-" Kurama was about to finish his sentence when he was suddenly whisked away by unexpected hands.

Konohamaru was too taken by surprised as he looked up to see his teammate, who was now cuddling the poor dumbfounded fox." What the heck Moegi!?" He exclaimed.

"Awwww, He's sooooo cute!" A very Kawaii affected Moegi commented, as she was now cuddling the poor crimson fox nonstop.

Both Konohamaru and Udon were dumbfounded as they found themselves watching a new scene. Both weren't sure on what to do as of now since things had gotten different a new.

(INTERVIEW)

"Well, I didn't expect that this would turned out very awkward, but still Kuu-chan started and he deserved that Karma!""

-Konohamaru

"Oh man, where did Konohamaru get the talking fox? I want one too!"

-Udon

"I don't know what to say right now, I guess the kid got the last laugh."

Kurama

(MEANWHILE)

Passing by the busy and noisy streets was a normal routine for Neji. He walked alongside the lavender haired teen heading towards a certain destination to which he yet to know about.

For that duration of the time, he was observing his niece, trying to figure out the reason why she needed flowers at a time where she doesn't really need it all. There were a couple of things that came into him as ideas. One is that the girl bought the flowers to give it to an important person and other ome is that flowers were for a certain grave at the local memorial park.

It could be either of those two but he still was unsure of it.

Another thought came again and he wondered about the vision that he saw awhile ago. He was still confused by it. He didn't know what was really happening. Only the most craziest thing that he could think off was that he was in between reality and the next.

(INTERVIEW)

"Well due to overthinking, I guess that caused me to see things that I wasn't supposed to see. Maybe next time, I would see my own death played in the near future."

-Neji

He secretly sighed to himself. Why was he still pondering about the possible scenarios that he will eventually see it for himself. He sometimes disliked himself for overthinking too much even the smallest things. No wonder why Hanabi would sometimes call him "Oldie Neji" because he would looked like he had aged forty years just the fact he was thinking a lot of things.

But then there was this certain smile that would somehow calmed his mind.

"Uncle Neji?"

Then a familiar voice brought him back to reality and he saw Himawari with that certain smile. He blinked a couple times before realizing that he was now in a different place far away from the crowded and busy streets. Instead, he found himself facing a certain area old pathway near a local public park.

"

We're here." Himawari said as the girl nodded as a sign that he should follow her thereafter.



The pathway which led to a main area was calmly quiet. The trees surrounding place were rustling due to the windy weather as they walked through that certain path.

Neji was now becoming observant once more. He couldn't help but move his eyes around just to survey area, if anyone were to ask him why, he would just tell anyone that he was just making sure that the place was safe and clear.

As for Himawari, she was aware of what her teenage uncle had been doing recently and she just felt a little bit guilty for making him to think too much. She was finally glad that they finally arrived at the said place.

She stopped her tracks at the said spot as she focused her eyes on a certain stone placed under a tree. As the sunlight had penetrated through the leaves and branches, shining upon the stone revealing a set of characters engraved on the stone itself.

It read "Home" as a whole.

Himawari smiled as she slowly headed towards the tree, with a contained excitement. Neji also followed from behind, Once she got there, she reached for the stone and touched upper part.

"Hello, Mama and Papa, sorry I haven't got a chance to visit in awhile." The Uzumaki girl said, as she dusted of some leaves that were on the stone itself.

Holding the bouquet of sunflowers, she placed them on the grassy ground near the stone. For about a few moments, she closed her eyes and said a faint little prayer while the wind blew passed by.

There was silence that took over area. Neji stood in front of the spot as he observed the scene unfolding.

(INTERVIEW)

"I stood there watching Hima conversing with the stone itself. I eventually was beginning to realized on what was this all about."

-Neji

Himawari stood up as she finally finished saying her little prayer. She gave her teenage uncle a smile and she was now prepared to explain everything about the stone.

She took a deep breath and opened her lips" I guess, you've been wondering why there's a marker here in the middle of a training ground." She said, with a slight chuckle while Neji nodded.

"It was actually Nii-chan that made all of this." Himawari explained." During the first few weeks of settling down, he came home to the apartment, excited and eager to show me and Sarada-nee something." She continued." And He brought us all the way over here."

Neji nodded" I see, but what's the stone for?" He asked, curious and interested on learning the story.

Himawari took a deep breath as she observed the stone." Well, it's kind of hard to explain but this stone actually represents our home, the future that we lived in." She explained, as the memories came up to her mind once more.

"But why does it looked so much like a grave?" Neji asked, observing the stone.

Himawari gave a little chuckle." That's what we thought when we first saw it, but Nii-chan explained to us that this stone is a reminder for us on what we are here to protect." She explained.

"To protect what?" Neji asked.

For a few moments, the Uzumaki girl stayed quiet. She closed her eyes as she remembered all the wonderful times that she had spent with her family, friend, and the home to which she grew up in.

"Our Future." Himawari simply said, before continuing on." We made a promised on that day, and that promise is to protect this village so that you all may have a better future." She said.

It was at this time that tears began to fell from her eyes and she began to sob.

Neji, whose instincts quickly took over, as he rushed towards the girl." Hima." He said her name as he pulled her into a hug.

"W-We were supposed to die back home." Himawari said." I still wonder why we were spared, I'm not like the rest, I'm just a girl, who just wanted to have a normal life." She added, remembering the fateful day when here "Home" had died and a certain person to which she treated as a big brother was the one responsible for it.

"B-But I'm still thankful that Kami-sama had given us a second chance to start again."

Neji stared at the girl right through the eyes, giving a sad smile, he comforted her." Hima, you don't have to think all about this, the past is the past, now you look forward for a brighter future." He said as the girl looked up to him.

He continued." If you're job is to protect us so that we may have a future, then I guess it's also our job too to make sure that you guys will live a normal life here." He explained, placing his hand on her shoulders.

He then smiled." Don't worry, your Aunt Hanabi and I we'll always be there for you, your big brother and Sarada-san." He added." And we'll make sure that we'll reached the finish line together." He said.

There was quietness that took over once more. Himawari wiped the tears from her eyes as she then went for the another hug towards her Uncle.

"Thank you, Neji-nii!" Himawari said while hugging the man.

Neji smiled as she accepted the girl's hug. In that stretch of moments, his thoughts came into the picture once more. He was glad to have the opportunity to see his niece once more after a very busy stretch of team training and activities. He did hope for the same with his cousin, that they will eventually find the time to bond with the girl.

It was at time too that another small vision had slipped once again. This time he saw Himawari but as a little girl looking up to him with a big smile on her face. This time the brown haired Hyuga didn't bother it but he chose to understand what the vision was trying to tell him.



(INTERVIEW)

"I felt really proud to have this role right now. I can't speak for Hanabi, but she's also proud for being young Aunt, we're going to be by their side until the end and I hope whatever this visions are I'm glad that their on a positive note."

-Neji

"In these kinds of situations, I'm very much lucky to have these people, who continue to understand and support, Uncle Neji was that kind of person.

-Himawari

(MEANWHILE)



It had been a long time since Kurama was bombarded by endless words. These words were not deadly, not offending, but a little bit annoying. Sitting down on a certain sofa seat, he found himself observing two familiar kids in the form of Moegi and Udon, who had been staring at him for quiet sometime now. Along with them was their unlimited stories and questions to which they couldn't stop sharing to him.

In the midst of that, the crimson fox turned his gaze towards his right to see Konohamaru had not returned to his yet, since he had to go to the restroom to released something that would save the rest of his time.

He turned his attention back to the two and they were still doing what they were commonly doing. The fox gave a sigh as he finally decided to entertain them for awhile.

"You know, you do looked like my previous pet to be honest." Udon commented, still observing the fox.

Kurama gave him a bored stare." And what kind of that pet is that four eyes kid?" He asked.

Udon scratched his chin as he tried to remember his particular pet." Well, it looked like a dog, behaved like a cat, and sounded like a dolphin when she barks... So what was it called again?" He began to wonder.

Kurama raised an eyebrow." You mean a fox?" He asked, to which suprised the kid.

"Yeah! that's it! Haru-chan was a fox!" Udon finally remembered with the help of the other. He remembered how his pet was the best friend that he never expected.

Kurama raised an eyebrow, the fox was a bit curious." You talk as if your pet is gone." He commented.

Udon gave a sigh." Yeah, Haru-chan was the best pet I've ever had since but she was gone too soon." He said.

"Wait on a sec, What happened to her?" Kurama fired another curious question.

The boy once again stared at the ceiling for a few moments before he finally was able to recall a memory again." Well, she didn't passed away or something but I think she just ran off to nowhere one morning." He explained.

Kurama gave the boy an amused expression." Oh I see." He commented before asking another question." What does she looked like by the way?" He asked." Is she crimson just like me?"

"Well, she's pure white and beautiful to be honest." Udon replied back. There was a slight blush that appeared on his cheeks.

Kurama's curious and amused look disappeared as he then went into his bored expression once more." Just get a dog or a cat." He replied." It suits you better."

Udon thought about it for a few seconds before nodding in realization." You're right though." He then added." But still, I am confused that you can really talk!"

Kurama sighed." It's because I'm a special fox that no one has seen before." He replied, with a little smirk." And no one will ever get!" He added.

His attention then switched towards the girl this time and he saw Moegi, with a kawaii smile towards him. Kurama gave another boring look." Now, what's your issue?" He asked.

As for Moegi, the girl just shook her head and continued to stare at the fox." Nah, I'm just wondering on why you're so cute!" She cooed.

Kurama could only sigh and shook his head." You know what? Nevermind." He said, as the conversation had suddenly ended.

It was at this time that the brown haired boy had came back from his journey. Konohamaru appeared from the right side as he greeted the rest of everyone.

"Sorry it took a long time at the restroom." He informed the rest with a grin." Didn't expect the lines would be that long." He added with a chuckle, while the rest just stared at him.

"So what did I miss?" He then asked, as he sat down on the restaurant couch.

Kurama sigh as he was the first one to speak." Well just entertaining these kids, nothing much." He replied with a snarky tone.

"Oh cool! What did you tell them?" The boy then asked, while the fox slighly rolled his eyes.

Udon smiled as he spoke." You really got a good fox there that talks!" He commented, before continuing." Where you did you get him by the way?" He asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long story but Kuu-chan actually saved me while I was being chased by dogs and-" He was suddenly cut by his friend.

"Chase? Don't tell me you went through that shortcut again, people really don't go there anymore." Udon explained, with a surprised expression.

Konohamaru then sighed." Well, I was eager to get home as fast as possible, so yeah." He replied back.

Udon nodded." Well, I guess you wouldn't have met him if you didn't go there." He said.

A smile then went up along the boy's lips." Well, what can I say? Kurama-chan is my new best buddy right now hehe." He gave a grin as slightly petted the fox on his head.

Kurama didn't react but only made his usual deadpanned look. Yet, secretly he actually liked it. It was just that he wasn't good on showing his other emotions or rather a side of him that majority of everybody doesn't know.

His mind slowly wandered along with his eyes as he turned his attention slowly gazing towards the glass window. The huge number of citizen caught his attention as he continued to observed the busy scenery.

It was then that the memories came flooding back once again. The memories of the village's last stand before being consumed by destruction. He could hear the cries and screams of innocent people being slaughtered by the many forces of that bastard Otsutsuki.

He had seen a lot of tragic events in his life but he had never witnessed this kind.

He shook his head once more to bring himself back to reality. He blamed his mind for ruining the mood a bit but he look forward to enjoy the rest of the day without any unexpected interruptions.

He turned his focus back on the main scene and saw the three kids happily bonding and chatting. A small smile went across his lips as he felt encouraged once more to join them and enjoy the moment.

(INTERVIEW)

"The chance of returning back home had already left the building, it seems that I'll live the rest of my life here from now on, which is a good thing since I'm grateful to have this opportunity to find myself once again.

-Kurama

(MEANWHILE)



The smell of ramen was overwhelming as of now. Itachi, for the countless number of time has found himself once more back at the ramen shop eating his lunch along with his blue skinned partner, who had apparently mysteriously fallen in love with the ramen.

To be honest, he couldn't really predict his friend's interests. Sometimes he would just see him hating a certain food or object and the next time, he was already liking it to which to him, was unexpected.

Kisame on the other hand, was enjoying his ramen again. He had two big bowls already and he was finishing his third, which means he was already on his first three-peat. He didn't even care since his stomach was a freak of different nature and he ate like a shark literally.

Itachi focused back on his meal as he continued to eat while his thoughts ponder about his current objective. He was here in the shop once again because of a certain lavender haired teen, to whom he thought would come back.

He wasn't sure if she would come but he would take the chance just to meet her. He wanted to know more about Sarada, that through this girl named" Himawari", who had the whole story.

As time passed by, he waited and waited, trying to catch the glimpse of the lavender haired teen yet, he would soon realized that luck might not be on his side this time. Although, Itachi himself was not quitter, he will wait all day no matter what it takes.

As he ponder with his thoughts, there was a certain little girl that walked up to the shop, his eyes. caught a glimpse but he didn't bother.

"Miss Miyuki! It's nice to see you again!" Ayame's voice could be heard in big delight.

"The usual Ayame-san." Then the little girl replied, speaking with a tone, much mature for her age.

Itachi walked away from his thoughts, turning to the main scene out of surprise and curiousity. By the time, he got there, he found himself staring at the little girl. She had dark blue eyes, short black hair, and bangs and donned a light green dress with white bloomers underneath and brown boots to complete her attire.

He blinked a couple of times wondering about the girl and continued observing her. What caugh his attention was that he could feel something mysterious about her. It felt like she wasn't just an ordinary kid

It was at this time that the girl had finally noticed him. Her dark blue eyes now staring straight to the eyes of the Uchiha. As for him, he was caught by surprise for the first time, becuse he saw something about that girl, something really different that he can't figure out.

As for Miyuki, she felt weirded out. Again, she had another person staring at her with big huge eyes. She narrowed her eyes and released a huge chunk of her snark and sassiness.

"What are you looking at wrinkles?

(INTERVIEW)

"He seemed so familiar when I first saw him, then I eventually figured out that he was in fact an Uchiha, and he looked stressed as hell."

-Miyuki

"I'm not sure about this little girl, she seemed so mysterious as if she had gone through a lot of events and why did she called me wrinkles? Am I that old looking? or Do I need another long vacation?"

-Itachi

I'm going to go one at the time in this Arc slowly, since anything can happen. So far these two arcs, which is the Sora Arc, and the Hidan and Kakazu arc are the possible candidates for Arc 4, which Arc do you think is better to tackle?

So far the main plot of the story goes like these: Boruto and co. are sent back to the past without knowledge of what was realñy going on, soon they would discover that are powerful forces behind this and they unexpected newcomers into this big conspiracy that has been happening for a thousand years.

The events in the original timeline (Shippuden and way back.) Had been fixed or manipulated by certain forces, the goal of these certain forces are still unknown but the general idea is that they wanted to take charge of everything believing that everything in world, universe, realms are already hopeless (Since Kami is dead and there's no proper balance and order).

Now, Miyuki, who discovered the conspiracy, had decided to take action and learning that she had no chance of fighting the enemy, sought out simple key individuals in the form of Boruto and friends (Via time travel) because she knew that they had the potential to save lives and even the world.And with the game of chess finally beginning, she now has these simple pieces to stop the main enemy's grand plan.

This is the best thing I can do summarize the plot so far. It also has the concept of defying fate or destiny similar to the ideas of Final Fantasy games such as the current plot of FF7 Remake.

I would also like to thank the readers for continuing to support the story, This story will be nothing, without you guys!