A Different Kind Of Journey 8 Arc 1: Small Reunions Part 2

I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.

Author's note: Hey there, Readers! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!

Beta: Fiddlestickz

(Interview)

"You know, Mom would always say to me that Uncle Neji played a big part in the events that changed her and Dad's life. I heard a lot of stories about him, but I never really believed Mom, since I was a pretty skeptical kid back then. I preferred to see the truth by seeing him in person, but the problem was he was already gone. So, I guess I never really knew him, and expected I never would, but here he is, in the flesh."

-Boruto

Everyone had fallen completely silent, as the Uzumaki and the Hyuuga stared at one another. The whole group glanced at one to the other, feeling uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere.

"Uncle Neji?" Boruto muttered the question to himself loud enough for the brunette to hear him.

"'Uncle'?" Neji asked, raising a questioning brow. Why was he calling him Uncle? He didn't even look old enough to be the his uncle, surely.

A second later, Boruto realized that he had spoken his thoughts aloud, and his uncle had heard him. His mind was falling into panic. How was he going to explain this to him? He didn't want to look like a crazy person, but right now with anxiousness creeping up his throat, he couldn't say anything, but he had to do something.

Neji, put off by his comment, stared at the blonde in offensive. He wondered if this boy was telling the truth about... anything he claimed. Was he really the brother of that unconscious girl? Could he be? He hardly even resembled the girl. He was blonde, first of all, and he wore a white shirt with a black jacket, and black jogging pants. However, on his cheeks, there were two strange patches, which he did share with the young girl. A small part of him wanted to trust the blonde. One of the things that had caught his attention earlier, were his cerulean eyes. It reminded him of an important person and friend.

Just as Boruto was about to say something, he was interrupted by a female voice. The two boys turned to the source of the sound.

The blonde's eyes widened in shock. "Aunt Hanabi," he whispered under his breath, more carefully this time, so no one heard him. He would have to be wary about saying names aloud.

Hanabi shot the blonde a confused look, as she arrived at the unsual scene in front of her. Before she had left, Neji was the only person in the waiting room, but now, there were four new people. Probably led by the blonde, who she figured, was the leader of the pack. He looked like a leader.
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Even though she had just arrived, she could feel the awkward tension between all of them, including her cousin, and she disliked the feeling greatly. She had to do something to allieviate the awkwardness before it drove her crazy.

"Excuse me, but what the h.e.l.l is going on here?" Hanabi asked authoritatively. She needed to be calm right now, rather than completely fly off the handles like she wanted to do.

Meanwhile, the guys simply stared at her. They didn't speak a word nor move a muscle. They just stood there, quietly looking at her, which further irritated the girl.

Boruto couldn't believe his Mother's little sister, Hanabi, was actually right here in front of him. In addition to meeting her, it seemed the rumors he heard about her were true. His aunt was a really mature person at her age.

'So, this is Boruto's aunt?' Sarada thought to herself. She didn't quite understand what was currently happening, but she had a feeling things were about to get interesting.

Tazuna and Inari glanced at one another, wondering if what they were witnessing was real. It felt like a hallucination, or a scene from some sort of soap opera.

Hanabi sighed, and then shook her head, disappointed by their silence. There was only one way to solve this problem.

"You know, guys... rather than just being quiet and staring at each other," she raised the plastic bag in her hand in front of them, "Let's just eat."

(Interview)

"I literally wanted to end the awkwardness once and for all. It was just getting really weird to see eveybody staring at each other as if they were in some kind of Love Trance. Heck! If I find myself being one, I would walked straight out of the door!"

-Hanabi

(LATER ON)

As the day went on, the guys found themselves seated in the waiting area, with the snacks Hanabi brought them. They sit in a confortable quiet, as they ate their food, which consisted of sandwiches and fruit juices in canned drinks.

Sarada was peacefully munching on her sandwich, when she heard her name being called. She looked up, and saw Hanabi looking at her expectingly. Though she wasn't proud of it, Sarada couldn't help but be a bit scared of the girl. The Hyuuga seemed to have a very intimidating personality.

As for Hanabi, the Hyuuga girl stood up from her seat and proceeded over to where the raven haired teen was seated. By the time she reached her, she immediately opened her mouth towards her first question.

"Your name is Sarada, right?" Hanabi asked as she tried her best to give the girl a friendly and polite smile.

"Um, yes, ma'am," Sarada replied automatically, not even realizing she had called her a name which was usually reserved for respect given to elders.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow as she stared puzzlingly at the raven-haired girl. 'Did she just call me ma'am?' she asked herself. She tried to shrug the off color comment off to avoid any additional awkwardness, but she couldn't help but wonder... did she really look like a ma'am to her? Did she have any wrinkles?

"I just wanted to ask if you knew what was going on. Ever since you guys came in, my cousin keeps staring at your blonde friend weirdly," Hanabi explained. She directed the Uchiha's attention to the spot where the two aforementioned boys were located.

Neji was silently eating his sandwich, but at the same time, was staring intently at the blonde as if he was in trouble.

On the other hand, Boruto was just trying his best to ignore Neji, whilst quietly eating his food. Sarada couldn't help but smile at the funny scene.

"I'm sorry about my cousin. I really don't know what has gotten into him," Hanabi sighed. She then stood up from her seat, and began to leave.

The Hyuuga suddenly paused, and turned heel, facing the raven-hair girl with a smile. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" Hanabi asked. In return, Sarada shot her a questioning look, blinking at her a couple times. "I want to have a conversation with you... somewhere away from everyone," Hanabi added, her tone of voice suddenly serious. Hanabi had a lot of questions, and none of them have been answered thus far, and Hanabi knew the quest ones like the Uchiha were the best to ask.

Sarada could only nod in response, wondering why she needed to talk to her, now of all times. However, from the tone of her voice, she knew this would be an important conversation, one she couldn't miss.

After telling the others they were going outside to get a breath of fresh air, the two girls left the waiting area to have a discussion.

(MEANWHILE)

Boruto awkwardly bit into his sandwich. In his peripheral, he could see his uncle's suspicious gaze follow him. He nervously swallowed. Were all the Hyuuga's always this intimidating? He didn't remember his mother being this way.

He tried to make eye contact with his uncle to get him to stop staring, but the latter didn't back down. They just awkwardly stared at each other for a minute or two, until Boruto got tired of the staring contest, and bowed out. However, Neji continued to stare at him, like a tiger stalking it's prey.

As this scene played out, Inari and Tazuna were amusedly observing the show in front of them. The old man drank his cup of coffee, while the young boy drank his apple juice from a small carton. They were officially on a movie set, it seemed. But eventually, the hospital clerk turned the TV on, which drove their attention away the two boys. They preferred to watch the television than the real life soap opera in front of them.

Neji, on the other hand, was fully aware of how awkward he was making things, but he felt his reasons for keeping an eye on the blonde were justified. After all, he had no reason to trust the blonde, and he felt partly responsible for keeping Himawari safe. He had to make sure this stranger was a trustworthy person.

However, there was another reason he was carefully watching him. The boy strangely reminded him of Naruto, but much calmer and more collective. 'It was as if he was a mix of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha', he thought to himself, 'Sasaruto, perhaps?'

Neji shook his head. This observation game was getting him nowhere. He needed to engage him head on. Approaching him and asking him some questions was the only way he would get any answers. He wasn't going to be hostile towards the boy, he thought confidently. He just wanted to know why he would leave his sister at the playground unconscious like that.

As he opened his mouth to finally speak, he was cut off by a familiar female voice interrupting him.

"Excuse me," the girl spoke. All heads turned towards the source of the sound, and saw a certain pink-headed lady, who had just arrived at the scene.

'Aunt Sakura!' Boruto internally screamed. He couldn't believe it; he was staring right at the younger version of his father's teammate. Nothing could make this any better, except maybe if Dad was here to see her right now.

When the pink haired girl arrived, she expected to see only Neji and Hanabi waiting for her but only to discover that he was with another person and Hanabi's whereabouts were gone. She also surveyed her surroundings also to find that two familiar people were in the area as well.

When Sakura arrived, she was shocked to find more than just Neji and Hanabi waiting for her. Multiple new people had shown up, and Hanabi was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the room, and found two familiar faces.

"Inari-kun?! Gigi?!" the pink-haired girl gasped, taken aback by the two.

For, Tazuna and Inari they recognized the familiar voice and turned to see an old friend. They couldn't believe that pink haired girl was also here in the hospital. But what was she doing here by the way?

Tazuna and Inari turned at the sound of their old friend. The two stared at her disbelievingly. They haven't seen their friend in such a long time, but they didn't understand why she was here. 'What is she doing in the hospital?' they wondered in tandem.

"Sakurneesan!" Inari darted out of his seat, and rushed towards her. He immediately gave his friend a hug, to which the rose-haired girl laughed and gladly returned it. Right behind the boy, the older builder followed suit. Sakura bowed her head respectfully towards the old man.

"I didn't expect to see you in place like this, Sakura," Tazuna said, smiling kindly at her. He hadn't seen the girl in years. She had grown so much, it looked like.

Sakura returned the smile. "Well, Lady Hokage a.s.signed me here as a part of my training, and also for me to gain experience," she explained." I'm also just gettting used to the shifts and literally making crazy, if you know what I mean." She gave out a little chuckle.

Tazuna laughed good naturedly. "Welp, we wish you the best of luck then! Don't we Inari?" The young boy enthusiastically agreed. He had wished her luck, but he didn't think she'd need it. He had a good feeling this young lady will do well in the medical field.

Realization suddenly hit Sakura. She had almost forgotten the reason she had come out. She couldn't believe it, her job was to announce to Himawari's family her current condition, and here she was having a conversation! How unprofessional!

Sakura immediately turned her focus back to Neji and his companion. She, of course, recognized Neji, but she had no idea who the person was with him. Though, she supposed it didn't really matter if he was here, she found it strange how familiar he looked. He looked like her teammate, who has been on a two-year training trip. She shrugged it off. Maybe it was just his eyes that reminded her of Naruto.

Sakura walked up to the boys, and sighed, "Alright, guys. Before I make an announcement, I need to know who the family members are—"

Before she could even finish, the two men in front of her abruptly stood up. "I am!" they shouted at her in unison.

Sakura blinked, eyes flickering between the two. She wasn't sure if she should be shocked or laugh at the scene. She decided to shake off the comment, and took a deep breath in order to continue.

"Well, I'm happy to say... she is perfectly fine. We did a thorough check up, and all her vital signs appeared normal," Sakura said confidentially. Upon checking, it appeared the girl has been unconscious for quite some time, and would likely wake up confused and disoriented, but she will be fine, Sakura was confident in this.

Boruto and Neji sighed in relief, a ma.s.sive weight had been lifted off their shoulders. After all this struggle, she was going to be alright.

"Since her condition is stable, you may visit her if you like," Sakura suggested with a smile. Delivering good news to anxious family members was easily the best part of the job, in Sakura's opinion.

The two men stole glances at each other, before they turned back at the pink-haired girl. A hopeful look on both of their faces.

Sakura turned around and gestured them to follow her. She was leading the boys to the hospital room, until she suddenly stopped. She turned heel to face them, and spoke.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you guys. She is already awake."

(LATER ON)

The journey to the room where the lavender-haired girl resided was a relatively quiet one. Boruto and Neji were led by the pink-haired girl as they wandered the corridors of the hospital. Both young men barely paid any attention to where they were going, they were in focused on their own thoughts. What were they to say once they arrive? What were they going to do?

Neji wondered on what will be the girl like when she's already wake. Could she have the same brash and outgoing character just like his cousin? or Maybe a more shy personality like the Hyuuga Heiress? Aside from that, he felt a little nervous as they traverse through the hospital corridors nearing the particular every step they took. The Hyuuga himself kept eye on the blonde teenager, his thoughts still dwell the fact that he looked a lot like Naruto. He never met before, but it felt like he knew him for years which was very strange. Could Hanabi had that same feeling too?

Other than that, Just who was this guy?

As the time got closer, there was a sense of nervousness that was building in the air that was almost palpable. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

"Alright, here we are," Sakura finally said, presenting them the room where the lavender haired girl was currently residing. She went through the door first, and everyone followed behind her. She approached the hospital bed first, and began. "h.e.l.lo, Himawari. There are some people who wanted to see you," Sakura informed her quietly.

For the two, as they entered the room on Sakura's cue, it seemed the world was slowing, and their hearts were beating faster. They had prepared words to say to her, but they fell short upon the sight of her.

Boruto was the first one to see his little sister finally awake. After everything that happened, here she was. The two siblings were back together, and were okay. He felt his eyes forming tears, but he tried to hold them back as best he could.

The now conscious girl's eyes shot from the TV to her older brother. "Boro-niisan!" Himawari cried out, surprised. She had missed her brother immensely. Himawari didn't understand what was going on, and that scared her, so seeing her big brother was everything to her.

Boruto darted over to his sister's side, and immediately embraced her as tightly as he could. He had thought he had lost his little sister. As soon as his younger sister's hands clenched onto his back, the dam stopping his tears broke. He sobbed in the young girl's arms.

Himawari smiled, tearing up as well. "Oh come on, Boro-Niisan! You don't have to cry. I'm perfectly fine," she explained, which only made him cry harder.

Her eyes scanned the room, and she spotted another person standing by her bed. She immediately recognized him as her late uncle, Neji. Himawari's eyes widened at the sight of him. How was he alive? Wasn't he dead? It's absolutely impossible for him to be standing right here, she thought to herself.

Neji smiled at the lavender-haired girl, which he carried for so long on his back. She was incredibly cute, and had the same eyes as her brother. "h.e.l.lo, Himawari."

Himawari returned the smile. Her uncle was really, really here, she figured. He wasn't a ghost. She wondered what he was like, since she had never met him before. Getting to know him face-to-face was far superior than listening to Mom's stories.

(Interview)

"When I saw him, I immediately recognized him as Uncle Neji. I thought I was looking at a photo, but it was really him and I felt this sense of excitement that I wanted to meet him for all these years!

-Himawari

(REVEAL)

Later in the afternoon, the cold breeze began to blow stronger than before. The sun was slowly setting in the distance. Yet still there were a lot of customers having their own great time.

Hanabi stared curiously at the raven-haired girl. She had brought Sarada to a tea house nearby in order to question her. She wanted to get to the bottom of this situation.

The place where this little interview was held was personally chosen by the Hyuuga girl herself, and places like this can be a good spot for any conversation and it would also take all the nervousness and tension away.

On the other side of the table, Sarada was nervous and hesitant, but she tried to enjoy her tea. She was trying her best to answer the girl's questions, but it felt like she was creating more questions rather than answering them.

Hanabi sighed, as she took a deep breath. "Well, to get straight to the point, I just want to know what happened. What happened with you guys and the girl?"

She had a weird vibe about this whole situation. Something was just not adding up.

Sarada debated for a moment, until she finally decided to tell her. It was a long story, but the older girl gave her no choice. She was going to tell Hanabi the story, all while hoping the latter believed her.

Hanabi stared at her expectingly.

"Well, um," she began, "this is going to sound farfetched and ridiculous."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "What you mean?" she asked. Her curiousness was rising.

Sarada sighed. "Well, I was thinking maybe you wouldn't believe me and—"

"You think I haven't heard anything farfetched or ridiculous before? I've seen enough to not be bothered by a weird story, trust me," Hanabi laughed.

"Well, uh, to be honest... w—we don't belong here," she explained vaguely. She can still feel the nervousness creeping up to her.

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked. She was already looking at the raven haired teen straight in the eye, trying to give her a little boost of encouragement.

Quietness took over for a brief moment. Sarada felt her heart beating faster. She didn't know what would be the girl's reaction if she told her the real truth about their current situation. Although, she did managed to gain the courage and finally spill the beans.

"We... don't belong in this time... or era," Sarada replied.

"What do you mean 'not from this era'?" Hanabi asked, more confused than ever. This girl surely wasn't talking about what she thought she was talking about, right?

Sarada looked away, thinking carefully about what she was about to say, until her gaze came back to the Hyuuga in front of her.

"We are from the future."

CHAPTER END.

(Interview)

"I was definitely nervous, I didn't know what to say at first. No one would really believe that we came from the future. Time travel is a very complicated thing. Yet, I had no choice but to just straightforwardly tell her the truth. It was the only way and she was willing to listen.

-Sarada

AN: Thank you for reading the chapter! Thank you also for the likes and follows for the story.