"Young Daddy, what's wrong?"
Himawari and her young father had been playing on the grass in the garden when she noticed Naruto's gaze turn distant, as if his mind had traveled somewhere else. She reached out with one small hand and tugged on his sleeve.
Naruto's attention snapped back to her. He smiled and patted her head gently. "Dad was just thinking about giving your brother a surprise when school gets out."
"A surprise?! Daddy's so nice to Brother!" Himawari's face lit up with delight.
"Daddy's nice to Himawari too." Naruto scooped her up and lifted her high overhead. "Come on, let's go fly."
Himawari squealed with happiness. She thought "flying" meant being lifted up and down, so she spread her arms wide like wings, mimicking the movements of birds. "I'm flying! I'm flying, Daddy! Look!"
This daughter might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, Naruto thought with fond amusement. I said I'd take you flying, not pretend to fly.
Without warning, Naruto stepped forward and appeared several meters in the air.
One second, Himawari was "flying" with her arms outstretched on solid ground. The next, she looked down and saw the garden far below her feet.
She froze, eyes wide as saucers.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, joy exploded across her face. "AHH! Daddy! I'm really flying! I'm really, really flying!"
"Are you happy?" Naruto asked, holding her securely.
"Happy! Super duper happy!" Himawari nodded so hard her whole body bounced.
"Good. Then let's go even higher." Naruto stepped upward into the sky, each stride covering hundreds of meters in what looked like a casual walk.
The combination of his Heavenly Steps technique and Instantaneous Movement made distance meaningless.
Within minutes, Himawari found herself surrounded by clouds at several kilometers altitude. Her amazement had progressed from squeals to awed silence, her mouth hanging open as fluffy white formations drifted past.
Naruto stopped climbing here. Any higher would put them in the troposphere, where temperatures and air pressure would be dangerous even for Himawari's Uzumaki constitution. Fortunately, she'd inherited that bloodline's remarkable resilience. An ordinary child would already be suffering from the altitude.
"Wow, clouds!" Himawari reached out, trying to hug the white puffs. But instead of the cotton candy texture she'd imagined, her hands passed right through. When she pulled them back, her fingers were damp with condensation.
The disappointment lasted only a moment before wonder replaced it. "They're wet! Daddy, the clouds are wet!"
They played among the clouds until Himawari started to tire. Naruto descended smoothly, returning to the garden grass and setting her down gently.
Within moments, the exhausted little girl had curled up on the soft grass and fallen asleep, her peaceful face turned toward the sun.
Naruto watched her for a moment, warmth filling his chest. Someday, he'd have a daughter just as lovely with his own Hinata. As for sons...
His mind flashed back to the image of Boruto following his classmates out the Academy's back door.
When I have a son, Naruto thought firmly, I'll train him from early childhood. Make sure he turns out right.
With Himawari sleeping peacefully, Naruto stood and began his own training. Golden light flickered around his knuckles as he worked on condensing the marks that would eventually form his Indestructible Golden Body.
Time always passed quickly during training. If not for Himawari's sudden cry, Naruto wouldn't have noticed hours slipping by.
He stopped immediately and turned. Himawari sat up on the grass, her eyes red and brimming with tears. The look of pure distress on her small face made his chest tighten.
"Himawari, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" The question came from experience. When Sasuke first moved in after the massacre, he'd suffered frequent nightmares, often crying out in his sleep.
Himawari threw herself into Naruto's arms, her voice breaking. "Young Daddy, I thought you disappeared!"
Her nightmare had been vivid and terrible. She'd dreamed of waking up to find the young father gone, vanished as mysteriously as he'd appeared. In the dream, she'd become a child without a father again, forever.
Her small body shook with sobs. "Young Daddy, please don't leave Himawari, okay?"
"Don't worry." Naruto held her close, his voice gentle but firm. "Dad will always be by your side from now on."
He wasn't lying, not really. He would leave this world eventually, but her dad—her real dad—would be there for her. The Seventh Hokage had promised to change, and Naruto would make sure that promise held.
It just wouldn't be this dad. But a dad nonetheless.
Since meeting Himawari, Naruto had assumed she was different from Boruto. That she didn't suffer from the same resentment, the same pain from their father's absence. She always smiled, always seemed content.
But clearly, even though Himawari kept a bright expression, she longed for her father's love and attention just as desperately as her brother.
When Himawari's sobbing finally quieted, Naruto stroked her hair. "Himawari, you've always been just like your brother, haven't you? Longing for Dad to spend time with you?"
Himawari nodded slightly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I do want Daddy's company. But his work is so busy. Even on my birthday, Dad doesn't have time to come..."
She sighed, the sound heartbreakingly adult coming from such a small child.
"But when I grow up, I need to be understanding. I can't be angry like Brother, just because Dad's busy with work. Dad is busy because everyone needs him. He's the greatest hero in the ninja world, Konoha's Hokage. Everyone's hopes rest on his shoulders."
"Dad can't disappoint everyone's expectations, so he has to be very busy."
"I understand how hard Dad works, so whenever he and Brother get angry at each other, I try to make them both feel better."
The words hit Naruto like physical blows. This little girl, barely past kindergarten age, had taken the weight of family peace onto her tiny shoulders. She'd learned to swallow her own needs to keep others happy.
Naruto pulled her close again, emotion thick in his throat. "Himawari is such a good, understanding child. From now on, Dad will be with you. Every birthday you have in the future, Dad won't miss a single one."
Even if it was just for Himawari's sake, Naruto would reform the Seventh Hokage. And Boruto would learn to become a good boy, whether he liked the process or not.
Lunchtime arrived faster than expected.
Normally, Hinata would pack a lunch and take it to the Hokage Building. But today, the Seventh Hokage came home during his lunch break to eat with his family.
The joy on Hinata's face was impossible to miss.
Himawari practically glowed with happiness.
When afternoon came, Naruto announced he was going to pick up Boruto from school. Himawari immediately wanted to come along, but Naruto gently refused.
"Himawari, stay home and help Mom cook. When I bring your brother back, we'll all have dinner together right away."
"Okay..." Himawari pouted but nodded. "Then I'll help Mom cook!"
She shook her head—her signature gesture when accepting something reluctantly—and trotted toward the kitchen.
Naruto watched her go, feeling a pang of guilt. Truthfully, he could have brought Himawari along. But Boruto had skipped class today, and the boy needed to feel some fatherly love about that decision.
Having Himawari witness her brother's "lesson" wouldn't be appropriate.
With that settled, Naruto left the house and headed for the Academy.
He arrived just as school let out. Students poured through the gates in chattering groups, their voices raised in the particular brand of chaos only children could create.
Naruto spotted Boruto immediately, walking out with his two friends. He called out, "Boruto!"
Boruto's head snapped up. When he saw Naruto standing at the gate, surprise and delight flashed across his face.
"Dad!" He waved, breaking away from Shikadai and Mitsuki to jog over.
The boy had no idea what was coming.
Naruto smiled warmly, waiting for Boruto to reach him.
Blissfully ignorant, Naruto thought, his smile taking on a certain quality that would have made anyone who knew him very, very nervous.
Enjoy these last few moments of peace, Boruto.