“I heard you were being released today,” he said. “I came to check in on you before I set out.”
“Thank you!” Konohamaru replied. “I’ll be back at work tomorrow!”
“Oh?”
“Old Man Sasuke, you want a strawberry daifuku?!” Boruto immediately offered him the last cake, and Konohamaru very nearly screamed.
Boruto…That’s my daifuku!
“No, I’ll pass.” Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t care for sweets.”
“Or natto,” Sarada added.
“Oh yeah? Too bad. Okay then, I guess I’ll eat it.” The words had no sooner left his mouth than Boruto was tossing the daifuku into his mouth.
Konohamaru groaned. Boruto was already chewing, swallowing. My strawberry daifuku…
He only allowed himself to despair for an instant. When Uchiha Sasuke comes to visit, it is not time to fixate on daifuku. He quickly pulled himself together.
“You heading out again?” Boruto asked.
“Mm.” Sasuke nodded. “This mission looks like it will go long.”
“Be careful, okay, Dad?” Sarada said brightly and grabbed the edge of Sasuke’s cloak. She was proud of her father and the way he kept the village safe, but her cheerfulness was half-faked.
She no longer felt anxious about her father’s absences the way she used to as a child. She understood that the protection he offered them was the reason the village of Konoha was at last at peace. Even so, she couldn’t help feeling sad about the fact that she couldn’t be with her father, even if it was for the sake of his missions. She looked up at his expressionless face with envy.
I wish we could talk more when you actually are at home. Your face is always blank. I can’t really tell if you’re kind or not. Seriously, Dad. What are you thinking about all the time?
“Dad?”
“Hm?”
Overtaken by a sudden mischievous impulse, Sarada tugged on Sasuke’s cloak. “You’ve got Mom’s lipstick on your mouth.”
After a brief silence, Sasuke rubbed his lips—which were entirely free of lipstick—still stony-faced. He seemed to have an inkling of how lipstick could have gotten there.
“I’m kidding. Mom doesn’t even wear lipstick.”
A trace of a grimace appeared on Sasuke’s face as he lowered his arm. He was as strong as a demon in battle, and yet a little lie like this tripped him up. Sarada felt a surge of love for her father.
My dad’s cooler than anyone else, but he’s just a little bit cute, too.
“So, Dad, you actually really care about Mom, huh?”
“Sarada.” Sasuke squatted down in front of her, looking slightly troubled, and poked her forehead with a finger. “We’ll talk about that next time.”
While he was at it, he also wiped away the daifuku filling sticking to the corners of her mouth. She grinned in delight and pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Ah!” Boruto peered into the box of daifuku and let out an anguished cry. “Ah, dangit! We only bought four today, so there’s none left for Master Konohamaru!”
Konohamaru slumped as Boruto realized this bit of information too late. “Aah, it’s fine.” He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve already given up on you kids ever letting me have one. I’ll go buy some myself.”
But Boruto leaped to his feet, practically knocking over the chair. “We’ll go buy more!” he insisted. “If we line up now, we can still make it!”
“Whoa, whoa, simmer down. I’m fi—”
“It’s okay. We haven’t had our fill of them yet either!” Sarada said, and looked back at Mitsuki. “Let’s go, Mitsuki!”
You’re going to have more? These growing children seemed to have bottomless pits in the place of stomachs. Konohamaru rolled his eyes as his students trotted out of the hospital room. The two grown-ups were suddenly left alone, and the room fell silent.
Konohamaru sipped at his ice-cold coffee and looked at Sasuke with a wry smile. “They’re a noisy bunch. Having them as students must have worn you out.”
“No.” Sasuke looked over at the door and a rare gentle smile came across his face. “I had a fairly good time trying to pass on my own knowledge to the next generation. Although I don’t know what they thought of the experience.”
“You’re too modest,” Konohamaru insisted. “I’m sure it was the ultimate experience for them.”
Sasuke’s face abruptly softened. Strong like a demon, always cool and collected, the legendary ninja of the village of Konohagakure, Uchiha Sasuke. Konohamaru couldn’t help but think perhaps, just maybe, he was the slightest bit mellower than he used to be.
“Sasuke. Take care on your next mission.”
“Look after them,” the other man replied, pulling his cloak around him. He started to walk out of the room and something slammed into him. When he lowered his gaze, he found Boruto standing before him. “What? Forget something?”
“Nah, I didn’t forget a thing. I just… I wanted to say something.” Boruto averted his eyes. It seemed that whatever he had to say, it wasn’t easy for him to do it.
This boy was always cutting straight to the heart of things. What on earth could he be hesitating about now? Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Does your stomach hurt?”
“Of course not! It’s not that. Um…” Boruto took a deep breath and looked up at Sasuke. “So, okay, like…I still haven’t learned enough from you, Old Man Sasuke. When you come back, I want you to be my teacher again!”
Sasuke widened his eyes, surprised by these unexpected words. He saw the features of his lifelong friend in the small face looking up at him. “Mm. I’ll definitely be back. So you—”
“Of course! I’m totally gonna get strong! I’ll be waiting for you!”
They met each other’s eyes and grinned.
Sasuke was off to his new mission, Boruto to his days of training. They would take all the things they’d gotten from each other to maintain peace in the village of Konohagakure in their own ways. With that shared devotion, whether they were near or far apart, the time would come when their paths would cross again, no doubt as master and student once more.