𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Picnic

"Wow. I didn't even think it was possible for you guys to have cherry blossoms here."

I looked around in amazement at the indoor garden of cherry blossom trees as Kannon brought Ayumi in behind me, surprised by the amount of lush life situated right in the center of the barren, arid desert. It was like an oasis of cherry blossoms, right here for us to enjoy. A man-made pond took up much of the space in front of us, with a single bridge being the only way across towards the rest of the garden.

"Tera! Kannon!"

I squinted my eyes to see a certain blond haired man waving at Kannon and I from across the water, sitting at a bunch of picnic tables scattered across the grass with a few other people.

"Huh? Oh- I didn't realise Naruto and them would be here," I said as I made my way across the bridge, smiling and waving at the shinobi I saw gathered in the picnic area. Off the top of my head, I could identify Naruto, Hinata, and Neji. And just like at the welcoming party, there were more new faces for me to see.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that two of the picnic tables that had been pushed end to end were laden with food and small plates, with a big box in the middle serving as the centerpiece.

"Surprise!"

I was almost knocked off of my feet as Naruto hurdled towards me, not even realising that it was him until he threw his arms around my shoulders with a loud laugh, careful to avoid my bump.

"Oh- what's all this?"

"I found out baby number two is due this week, so I wanted to do something for you!" grinned the Uzumaki, holding his arms wide open. "Call it a delayed baby shower, if you want! Congratulations!"

"Oh... wow," I stuttered, taken aback by his proclamation. "I didn't even- this is so unexpected."

"Heh, you must think I'm crazy, right?" chuckled Naruto, nervously scratching the back of his head. "Doing this out of the blue. I know we barely know each other, but I know Sasuke. Since he isn't here to celebrate with you about the special gift you're carrying in your womb, I've decided to take on that role myself. I might be overstepping my boundaries, but I already think of myself as an uncle to your kids, both of them. Sasuke is my good friend, and since he can't be here to protect and watch over his precious children, I feel like I need to up my game on his behalf and do as much as I can for you guys. I'm sorry it's been so late, too- I tried to find a day where most of us were free so that we could all celebrate together! A few couldn't come today, but Gaara told me he and his siblings would try to drop by! The more the merrier, right?"

"Ah, no need for an apology!" I insisted, flustered by Naruto's thoughtfulness. "Really- thank you! I'm so happy you thought of something like this!"

"Haha! I'm glad you like it!" winked the Uzumaki, putting an arm behind me and ushering me towards the shinobi who were huddled around the tables, waiting for Kannon and I to join them before taking their seats. "I know you really should be resting at this point in time, but I mean, it's better now than never, right? Let me introduce you to Kiba, Shino, Tenten, and Lee!"

He pointed towards his three friends who I hadn't met before; one of them was notably shorter than the other guys, with red markings on both his cheeks, and eyes with slit-like pupils- he had a white dog by his side, which he was patting on the head. Another was a man with thick eyebrows and a bowl haircut, wearing a green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers. The final man that stood with them was fully covered- and I mean, fully covered. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a knee length hooded jacket with another jacket under it that covered his mouth, although he pulled it down when Naruto began speaking to them. The last person was the only girl, who waved at me meekly. She had her dark brown hair up in space buns, wearing a long sleeved white blouse with puffy maroon pants.