From the news of her first pregnancy to Himawari's first birthday, Hinata had stopped her ninja activities to be able to take care of her two children with Naruto. She had grown to love spending time with her husband, thing that wasn't given to them when they were younger since they'd only be together during the evening when one was back from a mission and the other ready to leave tomorrow morning.

Him being a hero and her being a Hyuuga with the Byakugan, they were regularly asked for difficult missions. That's the reason why, as soon as her maternity leave was over, Hinata had to return to being one of Konoha kunoichi.

That day, she was happy to be sent back on the field, but at the same time, she felt the same nervosity that had frozen her on the spot the day of her first official mission as a genin.

Fortunately, the presence behind her got rid of her anxiety.

"Everything Himawari needs is on the table." She put her shoes on. "It's normally written on the list, but don't forget to buy nappies tomorrow or you'll have to worry about it the day there won't be any left in stock."

Once back on her feet, she looked at Naruto's wide eyes reading the list she had written. Ok, relax, Naruto, relax, you've done that before. The only difference is that Hinata won't be here. Oh Kami! Ok. You can do it!

Motivated as never before, he shoved the paper into his pocket to be sure to not lose it and to always have it on him just in case even though he knew Hinata had pinned a copy on the fridge.

"You're not allowed to bother your sister during her nap, Boruto. Understood? " Hinata reminded him with her soft voice.

The blond kid nodded before his mother's smile. She knelt to his level to take him in her arms and she squeezed him against her heart as tight as she could. In opposition to what they thought, Boruto seemed to accept that Hinata was leaving. Maybe it was because they had been talking about it to him for days.

"And you behave with tou-chan." He nodded. "You listen to him and you eat your vegetables." He nodded. "And if it's not too much to ask, I have a request..."

Leaning towards them, Naruto tried to listen, but couldn't hear what she was whispering in their son's ears. It intrigued him even more when he saw Boruto stick out his chest as Hinata stood up.

"You can count on me, kaa-chan!"

She sent him a wink before looking at Himawari wriggling in her father's arms. Her big blue eyes weren't leaving her mother, as if she too knew it was time for goodbyes.

"See you soon my sweet Hima. I'll be back soon." She kissed her daughter's forehead.

When it was Naruto's turn, he had a serious look hiding the fact that he was heavy-hearted. He hadn't told his wife because she had to see him strong to not worry during her mission, but each second passing by was making this sensation even worse.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Naruto-kun." she softly caressed his cheek.

As always, she could see right through him.

"Be careful, ok? And come back to us soon... Come back to me soon." he took her in his embrace for one last hug.

Taking advantage of the situation, Himawari caught one of her mother's locks and started chewing it while Boruto hugged his parents' legs, squeezing them with all his strength.

When they stepped back, they all had a big smile on their lips as Hinata waved at them. Without letting her out of his sight, Naruto and Boruto waved back. "What's kaa-chan asked you to do?" he asked, too curious.

"To remind you to not cook ramen every night" Boruto laughed.

At this moment, Naruto couldn't prevent his eyes from watering; he was missing her already.

"Tou-chan? What is it?" Boruto asked, surprised.

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Kaa-chan! Don't go! Tou-chan's hurt."

"Boruto, enough." Naruto whined, embarrassed as Himawari was laughing.

Taking a few more seconds before leaving, Hinata tenderly looked at them being loud before the door closed behind them, making the silence of the street even more heavy.

This same silence was now invading the large Uzumaki house, usually filled with laughters. It was so unusual that it dragged Hinata out of her thoughts. Normally, at that time of the day, shouting would reign, but today, no noise came to her ears.

Looking around her, she noticed it was the end of the afternoon when she saw the last rays of the sun on the Hokage faces, forever carved in the stone of the mountain.

Why didn't her children ask her when they would leave?

Putting her knitting needles on the table, next to three red scarves she had been knitting before getting lost in her memory, Hinata stood up to make her way to the stairs.

Once on the first floor, she opened the first bedroom and found it empty. She frowned. "Are you trying to scare me?" She opened the second bedroom, but it was also empty. "Boruto, Himawari ! It's time to go!"

It would've got them out from their hiding spots so she was expecting to hear rushed footsteps or something like "Boh! Did we scare you, kaa-chan?" but as earlier, only silence answered her.

Where are they? She went downstairs, put her shoes on and went out in the garden. It's at that moment she saw them.

Both kneeling close to the wooden wall, they were watching something, surprising Hinata who had never seen them so focused. Boruto was moving his arms in the air to mime what he was saying and Himawari was nodding from time to time.

Relieved to see them, Hinata went down the front stairs to pick up some flowers. Seeing that they hadn't noticed her, she looked back at her children. "It's time to go you two."

Their heads turned in her direction, blinding her with their toothy smiles and bright eyes.

"Kaa-chan! We just saw a caterpillar turn into a butterfly!" Boruto explained. "It's so beautiful. First a green caterpillar then a blue butterfly."

To confirm her brother's saying, Himawari nodded her head. Unfortunately, the movement was so strong that she lost balance and fell on her bum. Right before she could cry, Boruto caught her hand, asking her if she was hurt.

Despite her trembling lips, his sister answered with a small "No."

"C'mon kaa-chan's called us."

Once he had pulled her back on her feet, he wiped the dust from their clothes before taking her hand again and dragging her along with him as he ran to their mother. Hinata's heart clenched as she heard them laughing.

"Oh, not so fast." The two children were already at the gate. "Where are you two going without your shoes?" Hinata asked, her hands on her hips. "How many times have I told you to not go out on your barefoot?"

"It's onii-chan who said-"

Covering his sister's mouth with his hand, Boruto could believe she was going to put the blame on him. With a grimace, he looked at his mother, murmuring apologies.

"Fine", Hinata sighed. "Hurry up and put your shoes on. We're going to be late."

She didn't have to say it twice. Boruto ran towards the house while his sister was giggling.

Now with their shoes on, Hinata insisted for them to put a jacket on because of the cold wind. Boruto argued he didn't need one because he had his long sleeves one-piece, but his mother wasn't listening to him.

Once the house was locked, Hinata and her two children made their way to the cemetery.

"Kaa-chan, why don't we go to the village gates? We'll miss tou-chan!" Boruto complained while jumping around his mother and his sister.

"Are we going to see Neji-oji-san, mama?" Himawari asked.

Nodding, Hinata smiled and gave two flowers to each of her children.

"I'm sure we're going to miss tou-chan if we walk that slowly." Boruto mumbled.

*****

Eventually, they arrived at the cemetery and Boruto grabbed his mother's skirt, glancing at every dark corner. His attitude softened Hinata's smile. She knew he didn't like to come here and she suspected Shikadai to tell Boruto ghost stories. Many times, her son came into her bedroom with fat tears rolling down his cheeks while asking for his parents to look under his bed.

She recalled one particular night where she had come back home from a mission later than expected and when she stepped in her son's bedroom, she had found Naruto and Boruto both petrified under the blanket, screaming that a ghost was hiding in the closet. So now, it was always Hinata who got up and looked at every corner of the room.

Being Boruto's opposite, Himawari ran with the flowers in her hands. "First!" she screamed when he touched the grave. She then knelt, took the old flowers from the vase and put the new one.

"Hima, we weren't playing." Boruto said once near her. He added his flowers in the vase, then Hinata did the same with four more flowers.

"It's a beautiful bouquet, right mama?"

New smiles and a quiet minute after, Boruto proposed to Himawari to go and throw the old flowers in the bin in order to let their mother alone. As soon as they left, Hinata caressed the cold grave.

"Neji-nii-chan, please, excuse them. They're a little excited today. Their father is coming back today. How can we blame them? Hanabi also apologies. She left for an urgent mission with Father and they couldn't say you goodbye. But I'll try to come a bit more. With Naruto returning, I'll have more time." she added.

Hinata regretted not being able to come as often as before, but with two children, she didn't have the time anymore. She smiled one last time, then turned around, hoping her cousin would understand.

"Kaa-chan! Hurry up. I'm sure tou-chan has already arrived." Boruto and Himawari were impatiently waiting outside the cemetery.

The three Uzumaki could feel Naruto was now closer to home.