Mirai's Adventures

There, inside the red Hokage building, which overlooked the prosperous city of Konoha from its lofty perch beside the cliff-face, Naruto looked out at the early morning sky, his lips even—which for him, looked more like a frown. Beside him, halfway in the shadow, a groggy Shikamaru sneaked in a yawn.

"What else is there?" Naruto asked his advisor. Shikamaru stifled his yawn without any sense of great urgency.

"Well, we've sorted out Kurama's private funeral for tomorrow. What else? Are you all good providing us the eulogy?"

"Yeah, I will."

"Okay then. Well, that's that." Shikamaru's eyes lit up. "Oh right, I almost forgot—there's another bit of news. I don't think it's related to Kara, but there have been rumours going around the town recently."

The spiky-haired blond turned away from the window, meeting the eyes of his advisor, his face gleaming sunlight, and serious. "What's that?"

"Apparently there have been these unknown broadcasts playing at random across one of our two major TV networks. The rumours are suspecting that it might be related to them: Kara… but it's just some village-folk speculation—I highly doubt it."

"Yeah," Naruto sat down on his Hokage's chair, putting an elbow on his desk, which was stacked with towers of paperwork. "Strange broadcasts? I heard about that too, from Hinata actually. So why don't you think this is related to Kara?"

"I've already checked the rumours for motive, and I found out they dated back to the middle of our fight with Jigen, so it's very unlikely… But…" Shikamaru then sighed, and the hand hovering behind his head brushed up and down the spiky end of his ponytail. "It's a drag, but it would have to be investigated. Any lead to Kara, no matter how unlikely or insignificant it is, must be investigated by us. We can't leave any stone unturned."

Naruto nodded in affirmation, grim and attentive. He faced Konoha again, that same look on his face just ever slightly more ominous.

"Hey, come on now. It's a bit too early in the morning to be thinking all gloomy, don't ya think? It's unlike you," said Shikamaru with a wry smirk, forced. Naruto turned and mirrored his smile halfway, but said nothing. "I heard the good news," the Nara continued. "From yesterday; it seems your son had gotten good results from the test he took last night. I've heard that the Karma's spread may have completely stopped in its tracks."

"It's good news, but it's still too early to say," said the Hokage.

Even Naruto is being pessimistic, thought Shikamaru, but which to him wasn't really a surprise; as much as it was strange, and as much as he didn't like seeing his great, old buddy like this. The advisor sighed, with a lack of anything better to say.

It was only a few days ago when the Kara-defecting scientist Amado had threatened to blow his own son's head off with a bomb collar. Of course, Shikamaru saw the reasoning behind such a ploy, with the power of hindsight, and the collar around Shikadai's neck was very soon proven to be phoney—he knew it was completely and utterly a bluff, and yet... he still felt an irrational hatred towards the man, who rivalled and likely exceeded his intellect. During his interrogation, neither was Shikamaru able to keep his trademark cool and keep his head straight—do what was required of him in such a cut-throat situation.

Suffice to say, whenever a man's son's involved, a man's nature can change drastically no matter how old the dog.

"He keeps bugging us about it,' said Naruto, bringing Shikamaru away from his thoughts. "That he wants to go on missions again with his friends one day." The Nanadaime's blue orbs were distant, not matching the smile below them. "But of course, that can't happen; not anytime soon."

"Yeah," seconded his advisor. "But considering the results of the test, there's probably nothing wrong with Boruto taking on Genin-level missions inside the village, while somewhat under supervision. Mainly for the sake of his mental health. We could get Sarada-san to do that—if that works... All in all, at least things are looking on the up for Boruto. And maybe your wish will come true."

"Yeah. I sincerely hope so," said Naruto.

~ . ---- ---- . ---- ---- . ---- ---- . ---- ---- . ~

Past the dark leaves and branches, there was a waterfall hidden in the forest. At the bottom of it, the outgoing crescent lake circled around the grassy perimeter of a giant, beautiful tree, its pink flowers in full bloom. In the moonlight, bioluminescent beings danced around: little, white fireflies whizzed in amounts across the lake, around the trees, and throughout the long, silver-hemmed grass. Mirai wanted to go there.

The Leaf kunoichi, whose porcelain skin shone in contrast with her dark, boyish hair, and who had fascinating crimson, gem-like eyes, sat at a campfire by the lake, on her lonesome. She spotted a pair of small, beady-eyed rabbits in her periphery. As soon as they noticed her gaze, flustered, did they hop back inside the bushes whence they came. With the sounds of mushy footsteps, soon a familiar presence entered the mini campsite and sat down on a tree trunk near Mirai.

"Hey," spoke the female voice.

The brunette looked over curiously and saw the fire-lit, blonde face of who happened to be Tatsumi: her friend from the Land of Steam, which caused her to wide-eye.

"Tatsumi-chan, what are you doing here?" asked Mirai, in glad wonder.

"Oh, I'm here just to eat," Tatsumi replied as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. She then pulled out a bento box from her knapsack and began untying its ribbons; it was the same box of sushi Mirai usually bought near her home, from a well-liked vendor of hers. With the kunoichi watching her all the while, Tatsumi extended out a baby octopus piece in her direction. Mirai felt it all quite strange, but nevertheless, she indulged in her favourite food: oishii inarizushi.

"Thanks, Tatsumi!"

She ate the sushi, that had pretty sesame seeds atop small but fat, curled tako tails, all succinctly huddled in its tofu; it was delicious.

"Can I have some more please, Tatsumiii?" Mirai asked, feeling hungry.

"No," Tatsumi replied sternly, her light blue eyes narrowed and facing away.

The dark-haired kunoichi felt quite taken aback at this. "Awh," she whimpered, surprised… How she really wanted sushi…

And poof.

In her hands appeared an untarnished, unopened box of sushi. Inside the box of colourful fish and rice were: inari, and uramaki, and sashimi, and nigiri, and mini maki rolls, pickled squid, and shredded carrot… Yum!

Mirai ate a couple, almost drooling from her lips, and then she remembered something. "Tatsumi, here…" She picked out an attractive-looking roll of uramaki before offering it to her, but upon looking up, she saw that her friend wasn't there. "Huh, Tatsumi? Where'd you go?"

"It appeareeeeeeed!" had suddenly boomed a male voice from the earth.

Whoa! With much hesitation, Mirai's shocked eyes darted downwards. There, lying on the ground was none other than the green–jump-suited form of Might Guy–sensei, his leg cast suspended in the air. He had a terrifying and familiar look of shocked horror on his face, of which started pouring out tears.

"It appeareeeeeeeed!" he wailed again.

"Waaaugh!"

Mirai's chest launched forward from her bed. Being too close to its edge, her arms started to flail around—'Waaugh!' she shrieked again, before inevitably tipping over, to a resounding thud. Rising onto her bottom, her maroon eyes were wide, and her breathing was fast in the cold air, but then it stopped. The bed-headed brunette realised that it had all been a dream. Or was it a nightmare?

Why did Guy-sensei have to come out of nowhere just to ruin my dream! And why was I looking forward so much to a dream about sushi, and shredded carrot? …And like a response to her own thoughts, her stomach grumbled for the long while of a few seconds. For Mirai, it felt like a yearning ache.

Oh. She chuckled.

"Mirai," called out her mother. The woman just happened to be outside the bedroom's screen door as seen by her hovering silhouette. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah mom... I just had a bad dream." Kurenai dislodged the door then slid it open, revealing the bright, warm light of a small lantern she held. In her eyes, there was her daughter on the floor, elbows to her knees, wearing banana-coloured pyjamas. The older woman smiled, knelt down and put an arm over her daughter's shoulders. "It's fine," said Mirai, shooing her away gently by pushing out her hands. "The dream wasn't that bad."

"Oh. That's okay then," Kurenai said as she stood up. "What did you dream about?"

"Uhh..."

I definitely don't want to mention the fact that Guy-sensei was in my dream...

In her hesitation, her mother giggled. "You know, I remember the time you used to have those terrible nightmares."

"Yeah, I remember," admitted Mirai as she rose to sit on her bed, her face looking droopy. Her mother followed suit: sitting down next to her. "I still sometimes have nightmares about it." Mirai was about to ask her mother to leave just so she could lie down, until the older woman's hands touched her hair, and started gently clawing. In only a couple of seconds, Mirai was in heaven. Her mother led the weight of her head onto the space below her chin, beside her clavicle and bosom. Mirai never wanted the pleasurable, relaxing sensation to end.

"Yeah, you were having so many terrible nightmares, that I had to ban you from watching that TV show."

"Yeah, I never really liked it anyway. I don't know why I kept on watching it," she mouthed, feeling utmost pleasure upon her scalp.

"Do you remember what it was called?"

"The Toybox of the Terrifying Night Terrors." How could I forget? That show almost practically ruined my childhood. It did worse than the ninja training.

"Oh yeah, that's it," said Kurenai, with widened eyes. "You know, I can't believe they allowed to show such a scary kids TV show."

"Yep, I know,' sounded Mirai. Then, suddenly, she felt Kurenai's fingers stop. "But, you're lucky," she spoke. Her daughter rolled her eyes, but when her mother's fingers started mincing her rough hair again, she intrinsically had to agree with her.

"You know, back in my day we didn't have TVs. And we'd have nightmares about totally different things: like war and death. Kids like us were poor, and our families went through a way lot more hardships. In order to survive, many kids like me were dragged into killing. We didn't have the many gifts that we have given to us today... Given to us without your father."

Mirai knew that her mother was born poor, and her father was raised more like how she was: inside the Sarutobi clan. She's heard it a lot. She knew there were many things to be grateful for, and there were many reasons why her life was 'good'; and that, she had to make the most of it. Great shinobi like her mother, father, her uncle Shikamaru and the Nanadaime, made a peaceful existence like hers possible, for almost all people within Konoha's borders. That was her blessing, one not given to a lot of others.

"Well alright." Kurenai stopped her clawing, and stood up to leave. It left a very vacant, cold space beside Mirai; but mostly, did she yearn for the exquisite playing and pinching of her nest of hair again.

"What's with your face? Do you want more head scratches?"

Mirai nodded, pouting like a baby.

"Well okay then," Kurenai said with a slight mischievous pitch. Suddenly, she leapt onto the pillow-side of the bed, as fast as one seasoned ex-Jounin, whilst grabbing her daughter along with her. The child giggled, and as they unfolded into the bed, her mother lay behind her, cradling her underneath the nice, thick blanket. Supporting Mirai's head was the meaty part of her mother's arm, what was a familiar position for her, whilst the other hand of her mother's went back to work, just where they had left off. Mirai felt bliss yet again, and with a deep breath, she allowed herself to relax within her mother's embrace.

"Goodnight mom," said the daughter, wanting the moment to last.

"Grrrrrrgh," grumbled her belly.

Just as soon, Mirai's eyelids reopened showing two dots: her face a sarcastic brand of defeat. Kurenai's fingers had stopped mincing her daughter's hair, and similarly maroon eyes in the umbra looked curiously over her. "Mirai, are you hungry?"

"I also need to pee," she replied, feeling not only disappointed but also now too awake.