The afternoon sun was beginning to dye the rooftops of Konoha orange, but the day's heat still clung to their clothes. Naruto walked with his hands clasped behind his head, elbows pointing outward, kicking a stone with his sandal every three steps.
Beside him, Hinata maintained a distance of half a meter that seemed to shrink and stretch according to her nerves, though her steps were much lighter.
"So, Tenten stayed back counting kunais in the warehouse like they were gold coins," Naruto said, breaking the silence with a sigh so exaggerated it puffed out his cheeks. "And Sakura-chan is with Karin reviewing medicinal herbs and arguing about the difference between a mint leaf and a poisonous one. How boring."
Hinata glanced at him sideways, with a shy half-smile.
"It's... it's important, Naruto-kun. Shizune-san said medical supplies are low after... well, after everything."
"I know, I know. I understand the logic. But being locked up smelling like rubbing alcohol, old bandages, and moldy scrolls isn't my idea of a free afternoon." Naruto stopped and looked at the sky, where the first stars were starting to fight with the sunset orange. "Besides, I had to get out. The house... the Senju fortress... sometimes it feels full of people, but other times..."
He fell silent, frowning. Hinata stopped too, turning toward him with curiosity.
"Other times?"
"Nothing. Just my stuff." Naruto shook his head, as if shooing away a fly, and gave her a quick smile. "Hey, Hinata."
"Y-yes?"
"About what I said the other night. On the roof. When you fainted and I almost had a heart attack thinking I'd broken your brain."
Hinata's face went from its natural pale color to an intense red in a second. She lowered her gaze to her own feet, playing with her index fingers.
"Ah... that."
"I didn't mean to scare you," Naruto said, scratching his cheek, uncomfortable, looking away. "It's just that... sometimes those memories feel so real that I forget they haven't happened. Or that they aren't going to happen the same way."
"B-Boruto... and Himawari," she whispered.
"Yeah. Them." Naruto leaned against a wooden fence that marked a construction lot. "They were... well, they were a disaster. In a good way. But a disaster nonetheless."
Hinata looked up, curiosity winning over embarrassment.
"What... what were they like? For real. Not just what you said about the pranks and the paint. What were their... personalities like?"
Naruto smiled, and this time the smile was soft, nostalgic.
"Boruto was just like me. Loud, stubborn, always yelling. He always wanted to prove he was strong, that he wasn't just 'the Hokage's son'. He got into trouble just so I would look at him, so I would put down the papers and pay attention to him." Naruto let out a short laugh, almost a snort. "I guess he got that from me. From my need to paint monuments. But he had your gentleness, Hinata. Deep down, he worried a lot about his friends. If he saw someone alone, he'd go and sit next to them. That was yours."
Hinata absorbed the words. The idea of a boy who screamed for attention but had a kind heart capable of seeing the loneliness of others made her feel a strange, pleasant warmth in her chest.
"And... the girl?" she asked, taking an almost imperceptible step toward him.
"Hima... she was the boss," Naruto said, laughing harder. "She had your eyes. And your hair. But when she smiled, she had these marks on her cheeks, like me. Two fox whiskers. She was... she was the cutest thing I've ever seen. She liked sunflowers. And drawing."
Naruto pushed off the fence and took a step toward her, lowering his voice.
"Once, she brought me a drawing. It was the four of us. You, me, and them. And she said: 'Daddy, this is my happy family'." Naruto's voice trembled slightly. "In that other life... I was very busy. I was Hokage. Sometimes I didn't have time. Sometimes I was a bad father. But she never got angry. She just smiled and said she understood."
Hinata felt her eyes getting moist from the intensity of the image Naruto was painting with just words. She could see it.
"It sounds... it sounds wonderful, Naruto-kun."
"It was." Naruto stared at her. "But that future... had bad things too. Dark things. Things I don't want to happen. That's why I'm here. That's why we're doing all this. That's why I train until my knuckles bleed."
"To protect them," Hinata said, completing the thought with a certainty that surprised her.
"Yeah. To protect that drawing." Naruto reached out and, with a hesitant gesture that wasn't like him, touched her shoulder. "I know it sounds crazy. That I, the class idiot, the one who paints stone faces, am talking to you about kids and family."
"No," Hinata interrupted, looking up and meeting his eyes. "You're not an idiot. And it doesn't sound crazy. It sounds... like a goal. The most important goal."
Naruto blinked, surprised by the strength in her voice. Then, his smile returned to its normal size, the one that took up half his face and made his eyes close.
"Exactly! A goal! The best goal, really!" He turned around and started walking again, with more energy, almost bouncing. "Let's go! Kurenai-sensei must be bored to death in that hospital! We have to go save her from boredom before she starts using genjutsu on the nurses!"
Hinata followed him, her heart beating fast against her ribs. She walked a little taller. The image of a girl with her eyes and Naruto's marks remained etched in her mind.
The Konoha General Hospital was unusually quiet. Naruto entered like a whirlwind.
"Hello! I'm here to see the coolest patient in the building!"
The receptionist didn't even look up from her papers, ignoring him olympically.
"The elevator is for the old and injured," declared Naruto, turning toward the stairs. "And we are young and filled with the Flame of Youth, as Bushy Brows would say."
Hinata followed him at a more normal pace, trying not to make noise.
"Naruto-kun, we shouldn't run. It's a hospital. There are people sleeping."
"I'm not running, it's an accelerated tactical march of noisy stealth." He reached the third floor skipping the last two steps and turned into the hallway. "Room 304. This is it."
He stopped in front of the door, smoothed his orange jacket, and grabbed the handle. He pushed the door open without knocking, of course.
"Hello! The cavalry has arrived! And we brought smiles because we ran out of money for flowers!"
Inside the room, Kurenai was turning the page of a small book slowly. She was sitting up in bed, her torso bandaged and several pillows supporting her back. Her gaze, however, wasn't on her reading, but wandering toward the window.
Hearing the crash of Naruto's entrance, Kurenai jumped a little, bringing a hand to her chest, and then sighed, a mix of relief and exasperation.
"Naruto." Her voice was soft, but it had that scolding teacher tone. "Do you know that doors were invented to be knocked on before entering?"
"Details are for people with time, Sensei!" Naruto protested, walking into the room and leaving the door open for Hinata, performing an exaggerated bow. "I'm a Secret Advisor! My time is gold! I don't knock on doors, I open them to the future!"
"Sure, sure. Advisor." Kurenai let out a raspy giggle that ended in a grimace of pain. "Hello, Hinata. Come in, please. Ignore the orange earthquake."
Hinata entered, bowed respectfully, and then approached her teacher's bed, examining her with concern.
"Good afternoon, Kurenai-sensei. How are you feeling today? Has the pain gone down?"
Kurenai closed the book and placed it on the nightstand. She gave her student a tired but warm smile.
"Better, Hinata. Although the doctors say my ribs need 'silence and absolute rest'. They are tyrants." She looked at Naruto significantly, raising an eyebrow. "Something I see is going to be hard to get now that the hurricane has entered the room. Where is the rest of your team, Naruto? Or did they kick you out for being too loud?"
"Silence is overrated," Naruto said, dragging a noisy metal chair toward the bed. He sat backward, arms resting on the backrest and his chin on his arms. "It brings bad thoughts. What you need is distraction. Quality noise. And the rest are busy being boring. Sakura is studying and Sasuke is... being Sasuke in some dark place."
"I understand," Kurenai said. She looked toward the empty door. "Asuma was here a while ago, but he had to leave. Shikaku called him to organize the guard rotations. Apparently, security is a nightmare. So I was getting quite bored."
"I knew it!" Naruto pointed at Hinata. "I told you she needed us! I have a sixth sense for other people's boredom!"
"Or you just didn't have anything better to do," Kurenai noted, amused.
"Lies! I have a super tight schedule! But I made a hole in my VIP calendar to come see you." Naruto leaned forward, lowering his voice. "And to bring you this."
Naruto reached into his pocket and, with a theatrical gesture worthy of a magician, pulled out a somewhat worn deck of cards. He slammed it onto the nightstand dramatically, as if it were a legendary weapon capable of ending wars.
"Game night. Or game afternoon. Whatever. Loser treats for ramen when you get out of here."
Kurenai looked at the cards and then at her two students. Her red eyes shone with interest.
"Games? I should be resting, Naruto."
"You can rest while you play. Besides, gambling is good for mental reflexes. Keeps the brain sharp. Grandma Tsunade told me. Well, she said 'gambling is life and sake is water', but I interpreted it as professional medical advice."
Kurenai laughed, and this time she held back the rib pain.
"Alright," she agreed, adjusting herself better on the pillows with a small groan. "I accept the challenge. But I warn you both. I'm a genjutsu specialist. I know how to read people better than anyone. I know when they lie, I know when they're scared, and I know when they have a bad hand."
"That's not fair!" Naruto complained as he grabbed the cards and started shuffling them clumsily, dropping a couple on the floor. "No jutsus! Just pure skill and luck! Hinata, if she uses the Sharingan or something like that, tell me."
"Kurenai-sensei doesn't have the Sharingan, Naruto-kun," Hinata said patiently, taking a chair and sitting on the other side of the bed, picking up the cards Naruto dropped. "And her eyes are naturally red."
"You get me! No ninja tricks! Just instinct and courage!"
Naruto dealt the cards. Five for each. He did it fast, trying to imitate the croupiers he had seen in the Tanzaku casinos, but one card flew out and landed softly on Kurenai's forehead.
There was a second of silence.
"Sorry," Naruto said.
"Just play, Naruto," Kurenai said, peeling the card off her forehead with a resigned smile.
"What are we playing?" Hinata asked, organizing her hand carefully, making sure no one could see her cards.
"Ninja Poker." Naruto looked at his cards. "Whoever has the best hand wins. Aces are kunais, they're worth more. And Kings are Kages. If you have a joker, it's a Jinchuriki, it beats everything."
Kurenai looked at her cards. A pair of Kings and nothing else. A decent hand, but not spectacular. She looked at Naruto. The boy was vibrating, his leg bouncing up and down like a piston. He was trying not to smile.
"I'm going in with two rocks," Naruto said, reaching into his other pocket and pulling out two smooth gray pebbles that he placed on the white sheet with solemnity.
"We're betting rocks?" Hinata asked, confused, looking at the stones.
"They symbolize money. Lots of money!" Naruto opened his eyes wide. "Imagine they are gold ingots! Pure gold from a secret mine I found on a mission! They're worth millions!"
"Alright. I see your two imaginary gold ingots," Kurenai said, playing along. She took two empty medicine bottle caps from the table and put them in the center. "And I raise you one. These are diamonds."
Hinata looked at her cards. She had a straight. She didn't know much about poker, but she remembered the basic rules Kiba mentioned sometimes when he tried to teach Akamaru how to play. She looked at Kurenai, calm and serene. Then she looked at Naruto. Naruto was sweating. He was biting his lower lip. He looked at his cards, then looked at the stones, then looked at the ceiling.
"I... I'm in too," Hinata said. She searched in her pocket and pulled out a wrapped candy. "This is a ruby."
"Ha!" Naruto shouted, hitting the bed with his fist. "I change three cards! I'm feeling lucky! Destiny is smiling at me!"
He left three cards on the bed and took three from the deck. He looked at them one by one, turning them over slowly, creating suspense. His eyes widened like saucers. Then, a foxy smile, from ear to ear, spread across his face. It was impossible for him to have a bad hand with that face.
"Heh, heh. You guys are finished. Prepare for total and humiliating defeat."
"I change one," Kurenai said, discarding a useless card with elegance.
"I... I'll stay with these," Hinata said quietly.
Naruto stared at her, squinting, getting close to her face.
"You're not changing any? Hinata, that's suspicious. Are you bluffing? Did Tsunade teach you how to bluff? Is it an advanced psychological tactic of the Hyuga clan?"
"I-I don't know how to bluff, Naruto-kun. Just... I like my cards. They look pretty together. The numbers are consecutive."
"Hmm..." Naruto studied her, looking for a sign. Hinata blinked innocently. "Okay. Let's see those hands! The moment of truth!"
Naruto threw his cards onto the sheet with excessive flourish.
"Three of a kind! Fours! Take that! The power of youth and Uzumaki luck!"
Kurenai sighed and showed her hand calmly.
"Pair of Kings. You won this one, Naruto. Good game. I'll retire to lick my wounds."
"YES!" Naruto raised his arms, victorious. "I am the king of the game! Tremble, Tsunade! I am unstoppable! Hinata, show your defeat before the master!"
Hinata turned her cards over shyly, one by one, aligning them perfectly.
"Straight... to the ace."
Naruto froze, arms still up in a sign of victory. He looked at Hinata's cards. He looked at his own. He looked at Hinata. He blinked.
"Straight?" he asked, his voice high-pitched and cracking. "Does that beat three of a kind?"
"In almost any universe, yes, Naruto," Kurenai said, laughing and coughing a little. "Looks like Hinata cleaned you out. You're out of ingots."
"Beginner's luck!" Naruto shouted, gathering the cards frantically and mixing them again. "Another round! This time I'm serious! No mercy! Now I'm activating my serious mode!"
They played for an hour. Naruto lost almost every hand. He tried to cheat once, hiding an ace in his sleeve, but it fell out when he tried to scratch his nose to dissimulate. The card landed in Kurenai's lap. She laughed so hard she had to ask for water because her ribs actually hurt.
Hinata, for her part, played with a methodical calm. She didn't need the Byakugan. She simply observed. She saw how Naruto's left eyebrow twitched when he had a bad hand. She saw how Kurenai smiled a millisecond before betting big, a sign of confidence. She won most of the time simply by having good cards and not giving herself away with premature victory shouts.
"This is rigged," Naruto muttered, looking with desolation at his lack of "rocks" and the mountain of imaginary wealth in front of Hinata. "It's the Byakugan. You're looking through the cards. It's cheating! Referee!"
"I-I'm not using the Byakugan, Naruto-kun!" Hinata protested, though she was smiling, amused by the accusation. "I promised I wouldn't. It would be dishonest."
"It's your face, Naruto," Kurenai said, wiping a tear of laughter. "You have the worst poker face in the history of ninjas. You're an open book written in giant neon letters. When you have something good, your ears turn red like tomatoes. When you have something bad, you scrunch up your nose."
Naruto instantly covered his ears with his hands.
"Lies! That is slander! My ears are normal! They are stoic ninja ears!"
A nurse entered with a cart full of bottles, looking unfriendly.
"Time for medicine and rest. Visiting hours are over. Everyone out."
Naruto sighed and stood up, stretching until his back popped.
"Well, I guess I was saved from paying for ramen today because I lost all my imaginary 'gold'. I'm technically bankrupt."
"I'll collect tomorrow," Hinata said, putting the cards carefully back in the box. "I accept dango invitations too. Or cinnamon rolls."
"We'll see about that." Naruto looked at Kurenai, getting a bit more serious. "Sensei, rest. We need you out of that bed. Team 8 needs you. And Kiba is unbearable without you."
Kurenai nodded, her expression becoming softer, maternal.
"Thanks for coming, you guys. Really. I needed to laugh. I was... thinking too much. Be careful on your way back."
"We'll be back tomorrow," Naruto promised. "And I'll bring new cards. These are marked, I'm sure. They have bad luck impregnated in them."
"Goodbye, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said, bowing deeply. "Rest well."
They went out into the hallway. The hospital was quieter now, the artificial lights humming softly. They walked toward the exit in a comfortable silence, different from the one on the way there.
"Hey, Hinata," Naruto said when they reached the main door and the fresh night air hit their faces.
"Yes?"
"You're good at this. At games. And talking to Kurenai-sensei. You seemed... relaxed. You didn't stutter once. You're... cool."
Hinata looked toward the street, where the streetlights were starting to turn on one by one.
"It's easy to be relaxed when... when you're with friends. Before, I always thought I had to be perfect. That if I said something wrong, or if I lost, everyone would judge me. That I would be a disappointment to the clan, to my father... to everyone."
She stopped and looked Naruto in the eyes.
"But with you... and with Kurenai-sensei... I feel like I can be myself. Even if I win. Even if I lose. I don't have to pretend to be strong or perfect. Just... Hinata."
Naruto looked at her. He saw the strength in her posture, the calm in her white eyes reflecting the streetlights.
"I like it when you're yourself," he said, simple and direct, without thinking too much. It was the truth. "It's... cool."
Hinata felt the heat rise to her cheeks, but she didn't lower her gaze this time.
"Me too."
They walked together toward the village center. Naruto started talking about a new technique to eat ramen faster using shadow clones to cool the broth, gesturing wildly, and Hinata listened, laughing at the right moments.
"By the way," Naruto said suddenly, stopping at a corner under a streetlight. "About Boruto and Himawari."
Hinata almost tripped over her own feet at the sudden mention.
"Y-yes?"
"If it ever happens..." Naruto looked at the starry sky, scratching the back of his head with a smile. "I hope they get your smarts for cards. If they get mine, we're going to lose a lot of money. And I don't want Himawari to lose her teddy bears in a bet."
Hinata stood there for a second, processing the phrase. If it ever happens. Not when. But not never either. It was a possibility. An open door in the future that Naruto wasn't closing. It was an invitation to imagine.
She smiled, a wide, radiant smile that made Naruto stop to look at her, forgetting for a moment what he was going to say.
"I'll make sure to teach them well, Naruto-kun. They'll be the best players in Konoha."
Naruto returned the smile, and for a moment, in the middle of a rebuilding village, the future didn't seem like something terrifying or distant, full of enemies and pain. It seemed like something they could build, step by step, card by card, laugh by laugh.
"Let's go!" Naruto said, suddenly taking off running, breaking the moment with his usual energy. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"
"That's not fair!" Hinata shouted, running after him, laughing as the wind hit her face. "Wait for me!"
******
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