𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Reunion

The atmosphere was warm and friendly as Kannon and I entered the restaurant where the others all waited for us. It was totally empty save for the staff and our group, and several of the rectangular tables had been pushed together in the center of the room to accommodate the large number. Avoiding staring at the crowd, I tried not to let it overwhelm me as I looked for Gaara.

"Kannon! Amaterasu! I saved your seats here!"

Located further down the long table, Gaara waved at us from the head, indicating the two seats on his right. Upon seeing him, I moved briskly with Ayumi's pram and made my way to his side.

"Hey," I greeted, parking Ayumi's pram and sitting to his right. Kannon followed suit and sat right next to him, playfully punching him in the arm.

"What's up, Kazekage-sama?" she asked freely, making Gaara chuckle.

"As usual, nothing much," he replied. "How was today?"

As he engaged Kannon in conversation, my eyes wandered around the table to see just how many people there were. At the opposite end of the table, Tsunade sat flanked by Naruto on her left, who was enthusiastically talking to Hinata beside him. Coming down from Hinata, it went Neji, Asuma, Kurenai, and then me. Sitting at the head of our end of the table were Gaara and Kannon, and then down to her left sat Kankuro, Temari, two new men who I was unfamiliar with, and Kakashi right down Tsunade's end.

I sat quietly as I analysed everyone's interactions. While Gaara and Kannon were occupied with their own talk, so too were Kurenai and Asuma, as well as Gaara's siblings and the man with spiky hair who sat next to Temari. Naruto had Hinata's undivided attention, while Neji was busy speaking with the chubby man sitting between Kakashi and his spiky haired comrade.

As I looked around, I briefly made eye contact with Tsunade, who shot me a small grin before turning to her side and striking up conversation from a previously silent Kakashi.

It was then that Ayumi started crying from her pram, and I immediately reached over to pick her up. As I rested her on my knee, Kurenai turned away from Asuma to look at her and said, "My! She's grown since I last saw her!"

"Time flies, right?" I said weakly, reaching into the bottom of her pram and pulling out her teething ring for her to chew on. "She's growing up fast- she's started teething and eating solids just recently."

"Ah, she's adorable," cooed Kurenai, holding out her finger to Ayumi. "Hello! How have you been?"

Ayumi gurgled happily as she bit down on her toy, whacking Kurenai with her other hand.

"I can't imagine how hard it's been for you to raise her on your own," said Kurenai seriously, looking at me with a frown. I shook my head and smiled, patting Ayumi's thigh.

"Oh, I've had plenty of help," I said, looking towards Gaara and Kannon. "Really."

"That's good," said Kurenai, still smiling brightly at Ayumi. I lifted her up and held her out, saying, "Do you want to hold her?"

"Of course!" Without a second thought, Kurenai had snatched Ayumi up and had her in her lap, showing her off to Asuma. "Asuma, look- isn't she just so precious?"

"Oh, she's so cute-"

I watched as everyone's attention suddenly diverted towards Ayumi, and she was passed down from Kurenai all the way to Naruto. As he took her in his arms, his mouth was agape as he sat her on his lap.

"Woah, she looks more like duckbutt these days! But with different coloured hair!"

The table erupted into laughter at the Uzumaki's response, me included. It was then that he looked down towards me, and greeted me loudly.