The peak of the busy season that year had passed, and for the first time in a long time, Naruto sat down to enjoy his beloved wife’s cooking.
“Aaaah. Dinner at home really is the best, huh?”
The dining table was filled with rice, grilled fish, and a number of side dishes, for a simple Japanese meal. The eggplant, lightly stewed with konbu seaweed and a splash of mirin, had been left to chill overnight in the fridge and had thickened up delightfully. The dark purple of the skin transferred to the pale green of the flesh and deepened the flavor. It went perfectly with the smooth white rice.
A flyer for the fireworks festival was sitting on the table. The number of fireworks set off this year would be significantly greater than the five hundred of the previous year, up to an impressive six thousand. The pluripotent applicator Chihare developed had officially been adopted as the triggering explosive for the fireworks, and the result was a dramatic decrease in the cost per firework.
Even now, Chihare was continuing her research at the Kengakuin research institute. Her impressive accomplishments made her the most promising candidate for the next director, but she herself had zero interest in the role.
“I absolutely could not manage human resources or do any of those leadership things. I’m fine being a rank-and-file scientist my whole life, so please give me my own space instead.”
Naruto smiled, remembering the tone of her voice. When the Five Kages met and Furieh was arrested, Chihare had been asked if she would be interested in taking over the now vacant director’s seat, and she had made that declaration quite flatly. The Five Kages didn’t have the authority to assign the labs at the institute, but fortunately, Chihare had been given the private space she wished for and now spent her days immersed in her research, doing whatever she pleased. It seemed that this only exacerbated her disinclination to have anything to do with other people, but the fruits of her research were improving society and having an impact on people.
“Naruto, take your time today, okay?”
“We’ll see you later, Daddy!”
Naruto waved goodbye to Hinata and Himawari as they left dressed in summer yukata. Then he checked the time.
“Yikes,” he said quietly. He had enjoyed Hinata’s cooking a little too much.
I better hurry and get going too. I’m already late.
“Back in the day, there was this weird rumor that the fireworks used people’s souls for fuel or something.”
“I remember that. Kiba’s the one who started that.”
Naruto could hear voices talking above him. He carefully climbed the ladder one step at a time but got annoyed halfway up and leaped the rest of the way in a single bound.
“Sorry I’m late!” he said.
“Oh, you’re finally here.” Sakura pulled a chilled can of cider out of the bag of ice and lobbed it to him. She looked the same as always, having come from work, but Kakashi and Sasuke were in short sleeves, an unusual fashion choice for both of them.
Well, it is hot.
Naruto sat down cross-legged on the roof tiles. He pulled on the tab of the can, and froth came fizzing up and pouring out. He hurried to bring the can to his lips and let the cold liquid trickle down his throat with a satisfying fizz.
“Aah,” he sighed happily. “That’s the stuff.”
“Honestly! You sound like an old man.”
Says the woman who’s got a skewer of grilled chicken hearts in her right hand and a hunk of dried stingray in her left and four hastily downed and empty cans lined up in front of her, he was about to snark in reply when he heard a whistling sound, so he hurriedly turned his eyes toward the sky.
Boom!
A large circle of red fireworks popped out of the sky and exploded. Thousands of little droplets of flame scattered and spread out before disappearing, tails trailing behind them.
“Where’s Hinata?” Kakashi asked as he chewed on a piece of dried stingray.
“She’s going to the temple festival with Himawari and her mom friends. She was very excited about catching a lot of goldfish.”
“Hinata was? Or Himawari?”
“Both!”
When the goggles broke, the power of the Byakugan returned to Hinata, but unfortunately, ocular jutsu was prohibited at temple festivals in Konoha. Hinata could be surprisingly clumsy, and she always broke the paper goldfish scoop too fast. He wondered how many goldfish she’d come home with that year. He would put some glass beads in the bottom of the fish bowl for her.
Naruto flopped backwards. The roof tiles under his arms were comfortably cool.
The roof of the shed built on the roof of the academy building. He’d passed by this place a few years earlier while playing tag with Boruto and suspected the views would be great from here. It had become the custom for them to have a party here on the night of the fireworks festival. Since no outside personnel were allowed in this place, each of them made maximal use of their ninjutsu to sneak in. If Principal Iruka found them, he would no doubt rap each of them on the head with a heavy fist, but if that happened, then so be it.
After all, this was an incredibly good spot. With no buildings in the way, the whole sky was on beautiful display.
“I ran into Commander Yamato on my way here,” he remarked. “Said he was going to guard the gallery seats.”
“Sai’s on guard duty too. It’s a shame he can’t come.”
Red fireworks spread out above him like an umbrella opening. They kept going up one after another, with barely a space to breathe in between. Blue, white, green, blue. The skyscrapers in the new part of the city reflected the light of the fireworks, each from a slightly different angle, like a kaleidoscope.
“So, listen.” Still lying down, Naruto spoke quietly to the backs of the other three. “All of you, thanks. For everything.”
No one said anything. The fireworks were loud, so maybe they hadn’t heard him.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, his profile illuminated by the lights in the sky. The area around his right cheekbone was still a little bruised.
That day, after being showered by the ultra particles and returning to the ground, Naruto had forgotten his joy from his chakra returning, grabbed hold of Sasuke, and sobbed.
What were you thinking? You gotta be kidding me. You think I’d be happy with you doing something like that?
Sasuke had quietly allowed himself to be punched, and Kakashi and Yamato—or even Sakura—hadn’t tried to stop Naruto, so the shape of a fist was still clear in the bruise on Sasuke’s cheek.
Naruto had felt like he would never be able to forgive Sasuke.
However.
He guzzled his carbonated beverage and let out a small burp.
The truth was, he couldn’t be angry with Sasuke.
I mean, if someone here was in a serious situation, I’d throw down my life for them too. I can’t help it. I need them all. Just like they all need me.
Several big fireworks shot up in succession, and then, as if waiting for a brief lull in the smoky sky, a single black kite flew in, a plastic bag hanging from its painted beak. Supplies from Sai.
“Ooh! Beer from the Land of Waves!” Sakura pulled a chilled bottle from the bag and grinned. It was from Ino’s current favorite brewer. She quickly poured it into small cups so they could toast, and the tiny heads of foam popped coolly.
“Tell him thanks for us?”
The kite understood Kakashi’s words and nodded before spreading its wings and returning to its master.
As if to paint over that figure, another firework shot up into the air. Gold, so bright it made his eyes hurt, popped out all at once and trailed down through the sky like a weeping willow before disappearing.
Boom, boom, boom.
The fireworks kept going up like they were desperately trying to fill the darkness, flashing brightly before fading away.
Naruto threw himself into a sitting position, crushed the empty can, and rolled it behind him.
A warm breeze made Sasuke’s long hair dance. Sakura sat hugging her knees to her chest like a child. Master Kakashi was stooped over, the way he always was, standing or sitting.
Naruto would be watching the fireworks with them again next year for sure. And the year after that, and the one after that too. Definitely.
The colors of the fireworks scattered, sank into the night, and vanished.
The foursome clinked the small cups together.