NaruHina: Postscripts

Eighty-three

Hello! Hope you're good! May I ask you for an AU  in which Neji spends some time with Boruto and Hima and at the end of the day, he says to Hinata how cute and well raised they are?

Neji stared down at the children, expression cool, byakugan activated, arms folded.

They sat before him, seiza style, looking solemn.

"Rule One," he began. "No sticky fingers. If you eat something and it gets in your hands, you wash it before you touch me."

"Rule Two, you tell me if you want to use the bathroom. If you can wipe your own butt, please do so. But if you require assistance, I will reluctantly do it."

"Rule Three, we eat when we're hungry. And we all eat the same thing. I will not make special meals specifically just for you because you don't like what's on the table."

"Rule Four, no whining. If you don't like anything, do something about it. I do not want to hear your voices in the upper registers."

"Rule Five, no—"

But Neji broke off when he sensed the atmosphere changing. The kids were losing their focus.

"Wooooaaaah! That was so cool and so intimidating and so unfun!" Boruto suddenly yelled. "Thanks for the demonstration, Uncle Neji!"

Himawari was clapping her hands in delight. "Bravo!"

"Unfun?" Neji repeated, his face twisted into a frown. "Really?"

"Yeah," Boruto said, nodding enthusiastically. "The rest of it was really cool. I was scared for a minute because you looked like you really would beat my butt like Kaa-chan, but I love how ice-cold you are!"

"Ice-cold!" Himawari said as she stood up and launched herself into Uncle Neji's arms.

Neji laughed and caught her. Still smiling he asked, "But Himawari, unfun? That kind of hurts."

She nodded sagely, always brutally honest. "Yup. Unfun, Uncle Neji."

Neji sighed dejectedly. "I guess when you guys have Naruto as your dad, it makes sense. I'm never going to be as cool as he is in your eyes."

Boruto shook his head. "No, I never said that. Tou-chan's not cool at all! He's goofy. You're not."

This made Neji laugh. "Fair enough."

He looked at the clock. "Right, intimidation lesson finished. Time to get your suits on. Now let's start with the byakugan training. You have five minutes to get changed."

The children scrambled out of the room quickly. Uncle Neji was a stickler for time. When he said five minutes, he really meant three minutes.

They were back in a flash, suits on, smiles eager. Before they started, Himawari couldn't resist walking up to him and giving him another impulsive hug and then a kiss on his cheek. She loved doing it to Uncle Neji because it always loosened up the fierce expression on his face. Seeing that smile always made her feel happy.

She turned around and joined her brother in the middle of the room, leaving Neji standing on the side, reeling from the show of affection from the little girl.

"Right," he said after clearing his throat. "Show me what you learned last week."

Neji watched with satisfaction as the children held up their arms in identical positions and got ready with their taijutsu forms.

All the while, he tried to compose himself.

Because he still found it a little bit unsettling whenever Himawari would openly hug him or kiss him. He was a Hyuuga, and aside from Hinata and Hanabi, nobody in his family really was as open with their emotions as the children were.

Neji smiled. Good thing they were part Uzumaki then.

By the time their hour was up, Himawari and Boruto were panting with exhaustion. But they were happy because they'd managed to master one of the more difficult techniques. Uncle Neji was smiling, too, which meant he was pleased with their progress.

Disregarding their sweaty, stinky conditions, the kids ran to Neji and bombarded him with hugs. It was easy enough to wrap an arm around his waist, tug at his loose kimono so he could crouch down, and plant a few grateful kisses onto his surprised face.

Himawari especially loved fiddling with his hair. She grinned at him. "My hair will be nice someday, like yours, Uncle Neji."

Disconcerted, Neji attempted a smile. He'd never really thought about his hair. It was just...hair.

But he said, "Thank you, Hima."

She giggled and then pressed her cheek to his neck.

And it was this scene that greeted Hinata when she came into the training room to pick them up.

Himawari saw her and cried out, "Mama!"

She ran to her mother to give her a hug while Neji stood up.

Boruto gave him one last hug. "Thanks, Uncle Neji! See you tomorrow!"

Himawari ran back to him to give him another hug around his waist. She rubbed her face into his tummy and said, "I love you, Uncle Neji!"

Then with a little wave, she ran to catch up with her brother, who was heading to the changing room to pick up their stuff.

Hinata stayed back and walked to Neji. "I hope they didn't give you any trouble today."

Neji smiled and shook his head. "You know they never do, Hinata. And I'm always surprised considering who their father is."

She laughed. "I'm glad, Neji."

He looked serious for a moment then said, "They're affectionate, which always makes me happy, but I admit to being unused to it still."

Hinata nodded in understanding. "That's all Naruto's doing. It took me a while to get used to it, too."

"It's good," Neji added meaningfully. "We don't want them to be too serious. I like it, actually."

"Me, too, Neji," she said softly, laying a hand on his arm.

His eyes became teasing. "We might make them the best Hyuugas of their generation, the strongest in all of Konoha."

"Don't tell Naruto that."

"Okay," he relented. "Hyuuga-Uzumakis, then."

They both laughed.