Hey guys! So for reference, this chapter starts off the morning after last chap, and we're gonna go through a mini timeskip within this chapter as well so stay tuned!
And aww Baby Runa + Haru fluff in this art omg!! We're gonna need all of the extra Runa and Haru fluff we could get hehe 🤡☕️
•Runa's POV•
There's absolutely nothing anyone could try to say to me to convince me that waking up could ever be a pleasant experience. No matter how hard I try, I could never get used to the feeling of waking up with the sun in my eyes.
Sure, the lighting could be pretty, but that's as good as it ever gets!
Today was no exception, from the second I tried prying my eyes open, the glowy rays of light shone on my darkened eyes to which I audibly recoiled in disgust.
Grabbing onto my silky purple comforter, I tried hauling it up to cover my face as a shield from the run's harsh morning light.
To my discomfort however, the blanket wouldn't budge!
It was then that I became a bit more aware of my senses, now frustrated with the light in my face and the lack of cooperation from my bed, I then felt a weight on my shoulder.
Turning my head to the side to see just what the hell was going on, my squinted eyes widened at the sight of Haruki sleeping right next to me.
"Ruki?!" I ask, squinting once more and twisting around to face her properly.
Did she sneak in the middle of the night or something?!
She's still dead asleep, not budging even after I disruptively move around and call out her name.
"Ruki? Hellooo?" I ask aloud, now placing a hand on her arm and shaking her a bit. She barely budged however, slowly opening her eyes and blinking groggily at me.
"Good morning." She mumbled sleepily before shutting her eyes once more.
I deadpanned at that, now completely awake and confused.
What on earth has her so tired!?
Haruki's a total morning person, always chipper and excited to start a new day. Not once have I ever been more alert than her after waking up!
So frazzled by our shifts in demeanor, I don't even question why Haruki is in my bed in the first place!
It wouldn't be the first time I woke up with Haruki by my side, but usually she'd sneak into my room for impromptu sleepovers before she got upset with me over the Sumire situation.
Has she gotten over it?
With the thoughts still running through my head, I swing my legs off of the bed, ignoring the goosebumps that arise from my skin
I take a quick shower, scrubbing myself with my rosewater body wash before stepping back out, a fluffy towel wrapped around my body. I leave my bathroom, arching a brow at Haruki who's still dead asleep underneath my numerous blankets.
Eh, I'll give her a couple of moments before waking her up. I think to myself, dropping the towel and swiftly putting on my outfit for the day.
Since there's no class today, I opt for a cute little dress!
With pockets!
I glance back at Haruki one last time just to make sure she's still dozed off, and sure enough, she's sound asleep.
Venturing out into the rest of the house, I pass by Katsuro's room only to note how the door's wide open and he isn't in there.
Shrugging a bit at that, I trot downstairs and frown at the silence. Jeez what is up with today? Everything seems so off!
Normally, my mom would be downstairs cooking breakfast for everybody, or she'd be outside watering the garden!
Or she'd be on one of our couches taking a nap with our breakfast already on the table....
However, right now she's doing none of those things! The first floor of my house resembles a total ghost town! Mom isn't even home from what it looks like...
Did she stay at the hospital last night with Daisuke? I thought he'd be home by now! Whatever's going on with him must be serious, he's been at the hospital for days!
And although it isn't unusual that he spends a night over there, as his older sister I can't help but worry!
I stroll into an empty kitchen, picking up a small note that my mom left on the island.
••
'To whichever one of my beautiful babies that are reading this, don't worry I'm coming home soon! I had to stay overnight with Daisuke, but don't get too anxious. He's getting better I promise!
Katsuro, if this is you, do me a favor and pass by your uncle's house. Sakura told me that Hanako has a cold and I cooked her something last night. Go take it to her!
Haruki if it's you, rest up alright? Last night was a lot to take in but you didn't do anything wrong. We talked earlier but I know your brain runs in circles sometimes! Just relax and take the day to rest.
Runa honey if you're the one seeing this first, then go take some medicine, it's not normal that you'd get up so early without me waking you up first.
Also I found out that you were training with Shinji! Why didn't you tell me?! I could train you way better than that loser! When I get home I am teaching you how to run on water, that idiot couldn't even get you to stand properly I bet-
Oh I gotta go! The doctor's calling me. Don't forget to take that medicine!!'
••
I sweatdrop at her message addressed to me. There's no way I'm taking that medicine!
But it is a little weird that I woke up so early....
I shake off the thoughts before letting my dark eyes glide back over the black inked words in her little note for Haruki.
What the hell happened last night?!
It's in the middle of my numerous thoughts that I hear the shower running upstairs from my room and I arch a brow. Haruki finally woke up!
With the note in my hand, I race back upstairs, eager to find out whatever it is that Haruki possibly could've done to think that she did something wrong in the first place.
By the time I walk into my room, Haruki's already out of the shower with her shiny white hair up in a messy bun.
She's wearing one of my oversized sweaters as she lazily decided against going into her own closet, and the article of clothing barely covers her thighs. It's because of the length of the sweater that I notice bandages wrapped all around Haruki's left thigh.
"Can you help me brush my hair?" She asked nonchalantly, reaching up and letting her messy bun loose, and her hair tumbles down her back.
"Y-yeah of course." I say, eyeing the bandages confusedly and following her back into my bathroom where my vanity is. She sits down at the mirror and sighs quietly, handing me my brush before facing forward.
"What happened to your thigh?" I blurt out, poking at the bandages with my brush and quickly recoiling when she winces a bit.
"I fought Sumire last night, this cut didn't heal all the way through since you know my regeneration isn't as good as mom's." Haruki sighed as I ran my hands through her thick hair, parting it expertly.
My eyes widen like saucers, and my jaw practically drops to the floor. "You fought her?!"
Haruki actually willingly left her house to fight somebody?! Our class rep at that?!
I need those details!
"Yeah, She was the culprit all along like I thought she was." Haruki mumbled, her voice soft as I brush through her hair slowly. I could barely close my mouth from how shocked I am, staring at her face through the mirror.
She seems calm, just a bit more tired than usual. In fact, she's just sitting there with closed eyes, her dark lashes fluttering against her cheekbones as she answers my questions.
"How'd you confront her? Or like how did the fight start?" I ask, turning back to her hair and brushing through the ends softly, watching as they bounced and curled up naturally at the ends.
Unlike my pin-straight hair, Haruki's always had a bit of a wave pattern or curl at the ends of her own hair. My mom's always obsessed over it since she has no idea where it came from in the family tree.
"I went to talk to uncle Naru about it, and he told me that I was right. And then there was this really big burst of chakra at our old clan park, and it was a beast Sumire unleashed! The adults had it under control of course but Sumire was nowhere to be found." She then sighed before continuing.
"That's when I went and found her myself, and the fight started." She said, blinking slowly at the vanity mirror across from her.
"What'd mom say when she found out?!" I can't help but ask, pausing my handiwork on her hair to pay full attention to the story.
God if it were me my mom would've yelled at me like there was no tomorrow. What'd she do to Haruki? Give her a small pat on the back?
"I guess uncle Naru told her to take Sumire, so she showed up after the fight and told me to come home and sleep, so I did. But this morning she was home for a little bit and I was awake then, so then we talked."
She then sighed, fluttering her eyes open before continuing.
"She told me she wasn't mad or anything, and I didn't do anything wrong. But I got upset and asked her why everybody was letting Sumire off the hook, and she told me that in certain situations I have to learn to forgive, this is one of those situations." She mumbles the words almost poutily much to my surprise.
"And you haven't forgiven her?"
"Am I a bad person for not wanting to like a girl who almost killed our baby brother?" She asked quietly. I shake my head, returning to brush through other sections of her hair.
"Not at all, you're usually just so forgiving, it caught me off guard."
"Yeah, mom said the same thing." She sighed, bringing up a hand to her forehead and rubbing at it. "She told me to not be so stubborn, and that I look just like dad whenever I get all upset."
I snort at that, smirking a bit at the small glare on her face "You know from the pictures we've seen of him from when he was a kid, I agree." My smirk turns to a smile when she rolls her eyes lightheartedly.
"It's in the eyes." I went on to muse, to which she shook her head. "Dad looked like a mean kid." She claimed, twisting around and arching a brow at me.
"Do I look mean?" She asked in a mini panic.
"When angry? You're a monster!" I laugh, dodging her hand that attempts to smack my abdomen.
She turns back around and continues rubbing at her head. "So then after we talked mom told me to go back to sleep, and your room is closer than mine so-"
"Oh c'mon just admit you like my bed better than yours!" I scowl, eyeing the little smirk forming on her lips.
This has been an ongoing debate for ages!
Sure, Haruki's bed has the aesthetic going on. It's frilly, pretty, and looks like it belongs in a princess-themed dollhouse just like the rest of her room.
Mine on the other hand?! I've carefully crafted it over the years to be the perfect bed to sleep on!!
When I was little I wasn't a big sleeper like my mom and Katsuro were from the get go, but as I grew up my naps would get longer and longer, so I theorize that those two just somehow rubbed off on me!
My bed is absolutely perfect, it's king sized, luxurious and memory foam, and every single blanket has been picked out for maximum levels of serotonin!
.....and the aesthetic is cute too!
I have to give my mom some credit though, I have at least three blankets that are hers, and I don't think she's noticed I've taken them...
"Your bed is okay." Haruki smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes that has me fuming already.
"One day you'll admit that my bed is superior!" I exclaim, pointing at her through the mirror to which she smiled in amusement. The two of us fall in a comfortable silence as I take another section of her hair and brush through it.
God, Haruki's hair is the true monster here! It reaches her waist and is thick as hell, I don't know how she has the willpower to straighten it herself sometimes.
Before I know it though, I'm suddenly overrun with guilt.
Haruki was right all along, and I didn't believe her!
Biting my inner cheek instinctually, I mentally mule over all of the times I summed up to her anxiousness over being jealous. Fuck, I'm a terrible sister!
"Haruki, I'm really really sorry for not believing you back then. You were right all along and I called you jealous, I'm sorry." I apologize, facepalming at my own actions. I should've trusted her judgment!
"Oh that's fine. Don't worry about it." She smiles gently, letting go of the topic with ease.
Ah, that's the easily forgiving Haruki I know!
But I stayed feeling guilty, knowing I made her feel bad for a while since I didn't believe her. "Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?"
"No, it's okay I promise." She claimed yet again, mindlessly analyzing her pastel blue manicure.
"I'm being serious! I'd do anything just tell me what you want!" I exclaim, lightly tapping her head with the brush in my hand. Haruki never asks me for anything, hell, she never asks anybody for anything! So hopefully I could actually do something for her-
My thoughts are interrupted by the look on her face through the mirror.
The corner of her lips quirked up, only to then morph into a full blown smile going as far as to reveal her extra sharp canines. I don't know what it is that she's thinking, but the look on her face tells me it can't be anything good-
"Bake with me!"
Fuck!
"You know I can't do that!"
"Why not?! You said you'd do anything!" She whined, twirling around on her chair to face me properly rather than speak to me through the mirror.
"I've banned myself from the kitchen ever since....that incident."
"Oh c'mon I always want to bake with you! Without you I'm stuck with Inojin and he doesn't take it seriously!"
"Haruki who are you fooling?! You like it when Inojin acts like that!"
"Wha- I do not!"
I arch a brow at her, only flustering her further.
"Okay maybe I do! But what about it?! I still wanna be able to bake with you!"
"You know I can't."
"Runa, you only burned down the kitchen once before! Mom had people renovate the entire thing in one day it was no big deal!"
"It was traumatizing!"
Unlike Haruki who's been blessed by the baking gods, I swear I can't even touch a piping bag without it exploding in my hands!
I'm so untalented when it comes to cooking and baking, even my mom's given up on trying to teach me!!
I don't blame her though, the kitchen is a scary place...
"Pleaseee? We can make cupcakes for Daisuke and bring them to him today! Wouldn't that be nice?!"
I sigh at that, obviously being tempted by the idea of bringing Daisuke some sweets while he's all alone at the hospital and probably missing home.
But, if I'm anywhere near those cupcakes, I don't think they'd be very edible...
As if she could hear my thoughts, Haruki stands up and takes my hands in hers. "Please Runa? I promise the kitchen won't explode! And we'd be doing something nice for Dai!"
I sweatdrop at the literal sparkles in her eyes, only hesitantly agreeing against my own better judgment.
If our house burns down, I want zero blame this time!
We head downstairs right after I finish up with Haruki's hair, She has excitement laced all over her features and I have dread all over mine.
I'm going to burn down this house and my mom is going to kill me!
To my surprise, baking goes smoothly......
As smoothly as it could get with my involvement!
Did I almost somehow set the icing on fire despite being very far away from the oven? Yes, but Haruki promised she wouldn't tell!
She put me on sprinkles duty, the most low risk task of all once the icing has been successfully piped onto the mini cakes.
I couldn't help but sweatdrop at her with the bottle of rainbow sprinkles in my hand, watching as she swiftly created perfectly iced cupcakes fit for a bake sale. She hummed a random tune as she did so, only adding to the effortless appearance.
Gosh, all those princess movies from when we were really little stuck to her huh?
She then handed me one of the cupcakes, smiling at me encouragingly as I hesitantly held the bottle of sprinkles over it.
"You promise it won't blow up?" I ask, shaking in my non-existent boots at the thought of the fluffy white sweets we (Haruki) worked so hard on combusting in fire.
Haruki giggled at me, clearly not taking my worries seriously.
SHE SHOULD BE TAKING THIS VERY SERIOUSLY!
"I promise there will be zero explosions! Just carefully tilt the bottle-"
The bottle barely even moves by how delicately I tilt it, but to my horror the lid falls off and all of the sprinkles pour over the single cupcake, creating a mountain of rainbow sprinkles and a huge mess.
"........."
"........."
"Um..Runa it's okay! We have more bottles so you could try again!-"
"This is too much for me!" I whine, dropping the empty bottle and slamming my head against our refrigerator, blue sulk lines appearing all over my body.
Haruki stifles a laugh at my misfortune much to my dismay, and she takes over the sprinkles task since I refuse to go anywhere near those cupcakes until they're complete.
A few minutes pass of her flawlessly putting together the last couple of touches, and to my genuine relief, it seems like this nightmare is finally over!!
"Finally we're done! Daisuke's gonna love them!" Haruki exclaimed with one of the extra cupcakes in hand.
I'm not really the biggest fan of so many sweets, so I don't participate in eating the cupcakes, but a small smile does show up on my face knowing Daisuke's gonna be happy with them.
Amongst all of our siblings, Daisuke is totally the one with the sweetest tooth. He loves every sort of candy, cake, dango, and everything in between!
Masahiko and I on the other hand? Not so much. Of course I could eat a couple of sweet things every once in a while, but Masahiko absolutely despises anything on the sweets radar.
Mom swears up and down Masahiko gets it from our dad....it's not like I would know.
Haruki and I fall in a comfortable silence after a while as Haruki munches on her cupcake and I clean up the mess we've made.
Amidst my cleaning, I start thinking about just how silent the house is without my mom. She's usually the one bringing the life to our home, especially whenever my uncle Shinji's around.
Isamu as well, but he's like a grumpy old wolf who only ever has fun whenever Shinji's around!
Within the silence of our own home and the absence of our mother on my mind, a lightbulb practically appears over my head.
With my mom not home, then that would mean that she wouldn't know just what we're up to.....
Right?
A devious smirk suddenly appears on my face, and I'm perking up in my seat at the idea I've come across.
"Hey, let's go upstairs! To the attic!" I suddenly whisper, the smirk on my face practically blaring warning signs in Haruki's brain.
Haruki, clearly confused, turns to me with the cupcake stuffed in her mouth. She tilts her head, both confused and concerned. "What? Why?" She asks after chewing down the fluffy cupcake.
"Don't you wanna go up there? Mom's not here to tell us no!" I exclaim excitedly.
The attic is a place in this home that's seriously off limits, we've never been allowed to go up there as long as our mother's had anything to say about it! I've always been curious, wanting to know just what my mom could be hiding from us!
"You know mom's here in spirit telling us no." She giggles, shaking her head at me before going back to whisking the batter in the bowl. I pout naturally, she's not taking me seriously!
"C'mon Ruki don't tell me you aren't curious." I practically whine, reaching over and tugging at the fabric of her- well, my sweater.
She sighs, shaking her head in dismay. "If mom says don't go up there, it's because there's a good reason for us to not go up there!"
"I just wanna know what she's hiding from us! It must be big even if you aren't allowed up there!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" She frowns, slapping my finger away before it could swipe some icing from her cupcake.
I shrug, not wanting to get into how she's the favorite between the two of us, and therefore if she isn't allowed to do something then that's just exponential to me.
She sighs at my silence, then she goes to shake her head at me. "Runa we could get in so much trouble!"
"Oh my gosh even if we get caught you'll be there so we'll be fine!" I reason.
"Do you think I'm just immune to getting in trouble?!" She asks, exasperated by the thought.
"Yep." I bluntly replied. She deadpans at me, fluffy sprinkled cupcake still in hand.
"Nope, I refuse. We're listening to mom, if she says don't go up there, then I'm not going." She claims, turning her back to me in defiance.
I pout at that. Ugh she's such a sickler for mom's rules, even when mom isn't around!!
"Well, I'm going up there. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wanna know what she's hiding." I claim, hopping off of the stool and jokingly saluting away from her.
Haruki's eyebrows shot up in surprise, panicked that I'm actually heading upstairs.
It's been a well known rule our entire lives that the attic is a big no no place, so to stand by as I actually go out and break said rule has her going through a quarter life crisis.
She glances between the cupcake in her hands and my retreating figure nervously before groaning to herself.
"Runa wait!" She calls out, hastily untying her apron before dashing up the stairs to catch up with me, only wincing a bit at the wound on her thigh.
"I'll go with you." She murmured in shame, ignoring the wide smile that's appeared on my face.
Hehe, Haruki may be my mom's good girl, but there's zero resisting the curiosity amassed over the years! Plus, wherever I go, so does Haruki!
Most of the time anyway...
"Yay!" I laugh, grabbing onto her hand and hauling her up with me. I could practically hear Haruki's worries bursting from her brain despite her not even saying a word.
We reach the attic entrance rather quickly, and before Haruki has the opportunity to cower away and back out, I slam the door open.
Haruki and I blink blankly before glancing at one another in unison. "Is this really a good idea?" She wondered out loud, wearily looking between me and the opened door.
The lights inside the room are turned off, so we can't see much of anything from the hallway except for pure darkness. I bite my inner cheek, staring into the dark room before smiling.
"Of course it is! Just follow my lead." I then grasp her hand in mine.
And so she does, hesitantly following in after me as I walk in the room. Instantly finding the light switch, Haruki and I both gawk at the room we've always been forbidden entry from once the light turns on.
The attic is huge, a vast space with a whole lot of empty space save for a couple of boxes neatly piled in the corner of the room. It's a clean room, not dusty or old or creepy like I somehow thought it would be.
There's also a huge row of windows overlooking Konoha's impressive skyline much to my surprise.
"Oh wow, I wonder why mom doesn't use this space, it's huge!" Haruki says, letting go of my hand and walking towards the window to get a better look of the impressive view.
"I think the reasons in those, whatever she's hiding has to be in there right?" I wonder out loud, closing the door behind me and heading towards the numerous boxes.
"Yeah, we shouldn't open them." Haruki advises, tearing her eyes away from the pretty view to send me a worried look.
"Ruki live a little! Mom isn't here to know what we're doing! And I promise she won't notice!" I exclaim, pleading with her to just let loose for once!!
"It looks like she comes by and cleans here often though, look at the vacuum marks on the carpet!" Haruki exclaims, pointing down at the exquisitely cleaned floor.
I can't help but agree, eyeing the evidence of my mother's recent presence. However, curiosity killed the cat.
Ignoring the blaring warning signs in my head and against Haruki's better judgment, I make my way over to the boxes, picking a random one at the top and taking a hold of it.
I just have to know what's in here! Years and years of being told to not come up here, but why?
My mom never seemed to have a clear answer, always answering questions with questions and expertly shifting the topic to sometimes else whenever the attic was brought up.
Could she really blame me for snooping around?
Haruki watches on wearily as I set the box down on the floor and go to open it. She walks over to where I am and crosses her arms over her chest, staring down at the closed box with a hitched breath.
"Are you gonna try to stop me?" I ask, looking up at her. Her wavering gaze tells me everything I need to know, and I smirk up at her.
"Ah I knew you'd come around!"
"Just shush and open it!" She complained, lightly nudging me with her fluffy sock clad foot.
I waste zero time in turning back to the box and carefully opening the top, feeling my eyes widen at the contents inside.
Pictures?!
"Hey look at you and mom!" Haruki exclaimed, kneeling down beside me and picking up at the picture on top of the huge pile. My eyes zero in on that photo, noting how old the picture must've been.
I look around two years old, and my mom barely looks twenty, but she's always looked younger than her actual age so-
"Why would mom wanna hide this from us?" I frown, taking the picture from Haruki and looking down at it fondly.
I don't have so many pictures where it's just my mom and I, so why wouldn't she have this one out like all the other pictures she has out in the living room?
Haruki picks up yet another picture and smiles at its contents. "Look it's mom and uncle Naru from when they were kids!" She claimed, flipping the picture and showing it to me.
"Is Lord-seventh blushing?" I ask, squinting my eyes a bit at the picture of my mom and our current hokage sitting side by side with her head resting on his shoulder.
Haruki giggled and nodded, flipping the picture back to her so she could analyze it further.
"Maybe auntie Hinata was nearby and he saw her as the picture was being taken!" She exclaimed, suddenly very enthusiastic about seeing all of these pictures.
I quirk a brow, smirking at her excited state. "Hey get your own box! This one's mine!" I jokingly snap, nudging her in the direction of the other boxes.
She goes through a little mental dilemma, wondering if she should really indulge herself in going through the boxes our mom always warned against doing.
However, with my encouraging smile, she sighs and picks up another box, placing it in front of her.
"One wouldn't hurt right?" She asked cautiously, to which I nodded deviously.
"Right!"
And so the two of us went through our respective boxes filled with old pictures.
I don't know how many old pictures I saw of my mom with all of her friends, my mom and dad as toddlers, and even of my grandmother from my moms side.
I looked at one picture in particular of my grandmother, her name was Luna I think? I couldn't help but gawk at the resemblance my mom and even Haruki had to her.
I faltered a bit, silently glancing between Haruki and the picture of my grandma.
Same button nose, same face shape, same hair style, same hair color, same skin tone, same smile, same everything except for the eyes! Biting my inner cheek, my shoulders naturally dropped a bit.
And I look nothing like them...
Sighing, I picked up a photo of my mom from when she was pregnant with Masahiko and compared it to the picture of my grandma. Yep, as expected, they could pass off as identical twins!
I place the two photos on the side with a small pout, silently wishing I resembled them even a tiny bit as well.
It doesn't help that my mom and I don't get along as much as we probably should, I just feel this disconnect with her that's never gone away!
I hate it, I wish we could get along easily but Something always messes us up...
Glancing back inside the box, I arch a brow at the final picture in there. Gosh I feel like I've gone through stacks and stacks of different pictures!
The last one inside was flipped around, so I couldn't tell who was in the picture at first.
Reaching in and grabbing the photo out of curiosity, I flip it around. I quirk a brow, seeing as it's a folded up picture of my dad!
I think he's a teenager in this picture, and it's rare enough to see any of those! The only picture we have of him as a teenager is one mom has upstairs where he's holding Masahiko and Katsuro, but I've never seen one of him alone like this!
He's wearing a black cloak with red clouds much to my curiosity, and he's staring at the camera rather blankly.
I slowly unfold the rest of the picture, only to feel my eyes widen in shock at the sight of the person standing next to my dad.
My eyes latch onto her red hair, and I'm stunned by how familiar she seems.
Then, it hits me.
"Auntie!" I giggled, raising my arms excitedly so that she'd carry me.
"Runa? Look at how big you've gotten!" The woman with glasses smiled, kneeling down to my tiny height and bringing me in her arms.
I gleefully hug her back, my small arms wrapping around her as tightly as possible.
"Take care of her alright? I'll be back soon." I turn around at the sound of my dad's voice, looking up at his blurry figure.
"Of course I will!" She exclaimed, gently toying with my dark hair.
My eyes snap wide open amidst my memories before I glance back down at the photograph and stare deeply into the face of the girl standing right next to my dad.
I know her!! I remember her! Barely, but she took care of me! My memories were hazy, hell I don't even remember her name! But oh my gosh...Who was she?!
And why has my mom never told me about her?!
What happened to her?!
I stare down at the picture with squinted eyes, trying my hardest to regain my memories from when I was only four years old.
••Hazy memories (She barely remembers any of this so it's all blurry)••
"Mommy?" I asked, looking up at the red haired woman with glasses on her face. She gasped, turning to me with widened eyes.
"No honey I'm not your mommy! Your mom is in Konoha, remember? Haru?" She exclaimed softly, much to my dismay.
No, I didn't remember.
At four years old I didn't know my actual mom, all I knew was the white haired woman who was knocked out in a coma-
I knew this woman, the one who my dad would have take care of me-
••
"Did they behave?" My dad asked, taking me from the red haired woman's arms. I whined a bit, reaching over to her since I didn't want her to go.
"Y-yeah! Don't worry about it Sasuke, they were fine." The woman smiled confidently, leaning down and ruffling Haruki's hair as she held my dad's hand.
My dad nodded, going to turn around, but I wasn't having it.
"Daddy! I wanna stay with mommy!" I complained out loud, trying to wiggle my way out of his arms to go to that woman.
My dad froze and so did she, he turned to me in confusion.
"Runa, we're going to go visit your mom now." He claimed softly, confused by my words of 'staying with my mommy'
"No! I meant my mommy!" I exclaimed, pointing to the woman in determination. Her jaw dropped and my dad's eyes widened-
•Memories end•
I could barely remember what happened next, or if anything happened in between at all.
All I knew was that I had a very firm attachment to this woman, how could I have forgotten her?
We were so close! Why hasn't my mom talked to me about her at all?
Although I could barely remember my fathers face, or certain events, I do remember the attachment I had for this woman, It was immense!
I was so close to her, and I don't ever remember being that connected to my own mother....
This is weird....
As I'm sitting and trying to make sense of this woman's presence in my life (And why my mother has decided to erase her from my life as well), Haruki's gasp catches my attention.
I tear my gaze away from the suspicious picture in my hand to face her. "What is it?!" I ask, eyebrows raising at the big smile on her face.
Is it an old baby picture of us? Is it an old picture of us with mom? Is it-
"Runa it's a picture of mom and dad together! And they look way younger!" She exclaimed excitedly, standing up from her position on the carpeted floor to stand by my side.
She flips the picture around, revealing the photograph of my teenage parents. My eyes widen like saucers, never having seen anything like it!
Mom looked so pretty!
I grab the photograph, analyzing it further. He's standing behind her with her arms wrapped around her, and she's holding his hands from her place in front of him.
I smile slightly at the picture, seeing how good they looked together.
"It makes you wonder how they got the way they are now." I say, handing her the photograph before glancing back down at the picture of my dad and the red headed woman.
My mom was nowhere in sight in this picture....Could my dad have been into this woman romantically at one point? Maybe she's his ex... Hmm...
Oh my god, THIS was the secret she kept from us! Maybe dad had another woman in his life, this woman!
"What do you mean?" Haruki asked, looking up from the picture of my mom and dad to face me properly.
"Dad doesn't ever come visit mom, do you really think he still loves her?"
Haruki's jaw drops at the insinuation of my question. "What?! Of course he does!" She exclaims, upset by my doubts.
"Is that how you treat somebody you love? Leaving them for seven years?" I ask, not even noticing her silence.
I sigh before perking up and stacking the rest of the pictures back in the box like I once found them. However, I make sure to leave out the picture of my dad and this mysterious woman.
"D-dad does love mom. He has to! Don't say things like that." Haruki scolds softly, looking away from me with a bowed head, masking the look on her face.
I stay silent, too many thoughts racing through my head to even form a proper opinion on the matter.
She remains quiet as well, still turned away from me as she digs further into her box.
"Girls? I'm home!" My mom's voice suddenly called out, to which Haruki and I froze in fear.
"Weren't you tracking her with your sensory stuff?!" I whisper yell, no longer numbed from the depressing theories about my mom's love life. Haruki shook her head frantically,
"No! Mom always has her chakra hidden crazily well, I'm not at that level yet!" She whisper yells right back.
"What?! She can do that?!" I ask, still in my whispered tone.
"Of course she can! She's super strong!" Haruki exclaims, also still whisper yelling.
I quirk a brow, not really believing her "Since when has mom ever done anything ninja like?"
"Girls? Where are you?" Our mom's voice called out again much to our panicked states.
"We need to get out of here!" I squeak out to her, hastily stacking the boxes on top of each other before grabbing Haruki's hand and hauling her out of the room.
Of course, I make sure the picture of the woman with red hair and my dad is tucked carefully into the pocket of my dress.
She turns off the light, and the two of us dash down the stairs with suspiciously huge smiles on our faces. Hehe, I hope we don't look too suspicious!
Our mom stood at the kitchen, with a frosted cupcake in her hand. Her backs turned to us, and thank god for that because holy shit do we look like we just got caught red handed doing a crime!
Haruki and I hastily fix our frazzled appearances, smoothing down each other's hair and getting rid of our 'I swear I'm not guilty of anything!' smiles.
Our mom turns around, smiling down at us genuinely.
"Haruki you baked these? They're so yummy!" She exclaimed, biting down on the fluffy sweet before walking over to us and placing two greeting kisses on our cheeks.
"We baked extras for Daisuke, we know his favorite flavor is sprinkled birthday cake, so he has a whole bunch of fresh cupcakes to eat." Haruki admitted. Mom's eyebrows shot up and her bright red eyes darted between the two of us.
"We? Runa you baked too?" She asked, gasping when I nodded.
"Honey, did you take that medicine?!" She questioned, immediately bringing the back of her hand to my forehead to test out my temperature.
My cheeks flush and I lightly try slapping her hand away (She doesn't budge though) "Mom I don't need to take anything! I'm fine!"
"Did you get up before Haruki?"
"....Yes."
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Haruki, fetch me the pink bottle from the medicine cabinet-"
"Mom no not the bubblegum flavored one!" I whine, pleading with her desperately. She chuckled at my panicked state, dropping her hand from my forehead but instead using it to pinch at my cheek.
"You're too cute, you know that right?" She smiled much to my disagreement as I tried ripping her hand away from my face.
I clench my jaw a bit when she chuckles and turns around, her back facing me.
I feel the awkward disconnect between the two of us only grow since the red headed woman has returned to my memories.
My mom's been hiding something from us, something big and I have a sneaking suspicion that it has to do with that woman and my dad...
I'm determined to find out just what that something is.
Little did I know however, my mom's secret had very little to do with the red headed woman in my picture, but instead had everything to do with a certain cloak and bingo book hidden away in one of the more well hidden boxes.
••Third person POV, small timeskip••
Haru was minutes, no seconds away from losing her mind. She held it together for the sake of her two daughters, but holy shit was she just ready to scream at the world.
Days passed regarding the moment Haruki and Runa snooped around the attic and found those old pictures.
Runa's doubts about her mother and father's relationship only grew, as did her curiosities regarding the red-headed woman in the picture with her dad.
However, life went on and Runa couldn't sit around and theorize about these blurry memories she had all day!
She and Haruki returned to school, side by side with smiles plastered on their faces as if they never had that awkward moment regarding the doubt of their father's love.
As for Haru, she couldn't possibly imagine the drama running through Runa's mind, not by a long shot.
She was so stressed over the thousands of other issues ruling her life, she has zero capacity left in her brain to even notice the brewing tension forming between herself and Runa.
And there's been tension alright.
The longer Runa's theories ran wild, the more distant the mother daughter duo became, and Haru didn't even notice.
How could she? When she had far more alarming and pressing matters at hand.
"Naruto!" The doors to the Hokage office slammed open, revealing a very concerned looking Haru. Her hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail that swung behind her with every step she took.
"Haru! We actually wanted to talk to you about something." Naruto mentioned, turning to his longtime friend with a smile, happy to see her.
Kakashi was in the room as well, sitting across from Naruto and quirking a brow at the sudden appearance of his former student.
Haru was silent as she walked further along into the room, and she took a seat right beside Kakashi & across from Naruto.
Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kakashi all shared glances of concern at her odd disposition.
She clearly looked stressed about something, and by the way she stormed into the office like a woman on a mission; Naruto was positive she had something of importance to say.
"What is it?" She asked quietly, not even a hint of a smile on her lips as she regarded the blonde. She expertly avoided Kakashi and Shikamaru's concerned gazes in the process.
"Shino, Iruka, Naruto, and I have been wondering about the three-man genin squads for this year's graduating class and we wanted your input on something." Shikamaru then claimed, leaning against the window behind Naruto.
Haru blinked at him almost stupidly, and it was clear that she gave zero fucks about the topic at hand.
"It's about Runa and Haruki." Naruto added on with a hesitant smile, noting that Haru did not look like she was in the best mood.
Haru sighed, leaning back in her chair and rubbing at her temples.
"Sorry guys there's just a lot going on right now. What's up with them?" She asked quietly, mentally beating herself up at the mention of her two girls.
Has she been neglecting them recently? Fuck, she hasn't meant to.
Between the hospital and Masahiko, God she could barely think straight!
"We're thinking about what teams to put them in, Kakashi-sensei's even helping us out!" Naruto smiled, gesturing towards their teacher who still had his analyzing gaze set on Haru.
Haru's forced attempt at a smile didn't go unnoticed, only garnering more concern from the three men around her.
She looked like she was trying really hard to care, but something was still eating away at her.
"Oh, are you discussing who you're gonna add onto Runa and Ruki's team?" Haru asked with the same small, rather forced smile, only feeling the gleeful expression drop when Naruto and Shikamaru share an awkward look.
"We were actually thinking about placing them on different teams. Runa and Boruto are going to be apart of the new team seven-"
"Wait, You guys are actually separating the girls?!" Haru asked, bewildered by the choice. She actually looks invested now, leaning up from the backing of her chair to glance between her two friends.
"When you put it that way you make us sound like bad guys." Naruto chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
"My god- help me understand this madness. Boruto and Runa? How's that a good idea?" Haru asked, genuinely concerned.
Although they were cute and funny together, there was no way in hell they'd make healthy teammates.
"We think that Boruto and Runa's abilities really suit one another." Shikamaru easily replied. Haru blinked at him blankly, unable to hide her look of incredulity.
"I think you're bullshitting Shika."
Naruto sweatdropped at that, letting his chin rest on his hand. "Haru, we really think they'd work well together! They just need to get over their bickering, just look at our team from when we were kids and us now!"
Haru quite literally scoffed, not in any sort of mood to sugarcoat anything.
"Naruto, half of our team went rogue, or did you just forget that?" Haru asked, shaking her head at the blonde Hokage.
"I didn't forget, but look at us all now! We turned out fine!" Naruto exclaimed, and although Haru would happily agree on any other day, she was in no mood to play around.
"Okay, fine. What about Haruki?"
Naruto and Shikamaru shared a look, and Haru heard Kakashi sigh deeply.
Oh great...
"Hear us out on this one Haru! We think Haruki doesn't need to go through the genin three man squad phase. So no team for her!"
"....."
"....."
"....."
"Is that a joke?" She asked seriously, red eyes darting between her three friends before shaking her head.
"No, absolutely not! What the hell guys?!" She exclaimed, angry at the thought of her daughter being left out of a team.
"I told you Haru wouldn't be happy with this." Kakashi stated casually, to which the Senju turned speechless.
"Have you all lost your minds?! Of course I wouldn't!! Naruto, I literally left this fucking village because I felt so left out, I am not afraid of smacking some sense into you-"
"Wait wait we could explain!!" Naruto exclaimed in slight fear, nudging Shikamaru so that he'd explain their reasoning properly.
"Haruki is beyond the level of a genin, normally we'd still place her in a team until the chunin exams come around, but we think it's counterproductive with Haruki as a person. She's just a more efficient and competent kunoichi when solo, her fight with Sumire showed us that." Shikamaru explained thoroughly.
"And I know it's hard to hear, but Runa holds her back." Shikamaru was blunt, but it was something Haru needed to hear.
"We really think that for Haruki's growth as a kunoichi, this is the best route to go through."
"Shika, she's going to feel left out. No, I can't do that to her." Haru responded stubbornly, shaking her head.
"Plus, Sasuke was all about working alone when we were younger, remember that sensei?! But you taught us to be a team, how is this fair to Haruki?" Haru asked with a frown, turning to Kakashi.
Kakashi sighed, nodding to Haru's words. "I agree with Haru there, I think we should add her in a team and give her personal training as well. The last thing we need is Haruki feeling left out. Plus, she needs to learn how to act efficiently in a team setting."
After a bit of open ended discussion, Naruto admitted to Haru that the plans weren't final and that she shouldn't worry too much. At that point, he was far more curious as to what had her so bothered when she first walked in.
"How's Daisuke doing?" He asked, knowing the rinnegan eyed boy was still in the hospital after having a fit of coughs at Ino's house weeks prior. He assumed that she was stressing out over his well being.
Shikamaru and Kakashi turned to Haru, curious to hear the answer.
"Daisuke? He's fine." Haru claimed, avoiding the speculative gazes of her close friends.
"He's scheduled to go into surgery soon." Haru sighed, unable to keep the small fact to herself.
At the mention of her youngest son's condition, she could practically feel the mountain of stress pile up and onto her shoulders even more.
Even then, Daisuke wasn't the one she was truly freaking out over.
Naruto's eyes widen in concern at the news, but Haru shakes her head, clearly stressed out of her mind and not wanting to waste time over what really has her stressed out.
"Look, I'll tell you guys all about that later. He's not the one I came in here to talk about." She claimed softly.
The three men stared at Haru expectantly, realizing she was probably seconds away from having a mental breakdown just from how stressed she looked.
"Naruto, Please tell me you've heard from Masahiko." She pleaded, a frown etched in her face as she looked into her friends blue eyes.
Naruto faltered a bit, confused by her heavy concern.
"I feel like we go through this every time he's out on a mission." Naruto sweatdropped much to Haru's dismay.
"Naruto I'm not playing around, I have a feeling something's wrong." Haru urged, leaning forward in her seat.
"He was supposed to come home last week after a month-long mission and he hasn't." She claimed anxiously.
"Is it possible he met up with Sasuke and has decided to travel with him for a while? He does that all the time." Kakashi asked by her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Naruto nodded along, it was why he wasn't concerned in the first place! Masahiko oftentimes ran into his father during or after his missions and would join him, staying out of the village even after his missions were completed.
Haru sighed, shaking her head. "No way, Sasuke would've let me know, he always does." She claimed, and Kakashi noticed the way she was nervously bouncing her leg.
"Masahiko always let's me know if he's staying outside the village for a bit of extra time as well, so I always get a note from him and Sasuke. But I've gotten nothing from either one of them."
Haru at this point shifted her gaze to the side, unable to look at her friends without bursting into a fit of panicked tears.
Masahiko was her life, as were the rest of her kids, but Masahiko was constantly in harm's way and never home. It was only natural that she'd fret over him just like she would over Katsuro.
However, even with Masahiko it was a bit different.
Haru could sleep with a little peace in her mind (worry still etched in her heart though) Whenever Katsuro was out there with Sasuke. She knew Sasuke was out there protecting him at the end of the day, and she could live with that.
Masahiko on the other hand?
God, her heart ached and her head pounded at the thought of him all alone out there every time he went out on those crazy missions. He had zero protection from anybody, he was truly alone.
This of course drove her insane!!
Was he eating properly? Could he sleep comfortably at night? Was he hurt? Was he scared?
Just thinking about those questions had her eyes tearing up, she didn't care how old he was, Masahiko was her baby!
She absolutely hated not being out there with him and protecting him herself, whenever he was away she could barely hold it together to begin with.
Now that she hasn't heard from him?!
Yeah, she was expecting a heart attack just about any second now.
Kakashi noticed the way she fiddled with her wedding ring, a nervous habit she acquired over the years.
"Hey, when was the last time you got some rest?" He asked, frowning at her state.
"How can I rest when I haven't seen Masahiko in over a month?! He was alone on that mission and he must be alone now! He has to be tired and-" She could barely finish her sentence before choking up and letting her head drop in her hands.
Kakashi, Naruto and Shikamaru shared worried glances, and Shikamaru was quick to stand by his friend's side and place a hand on her shoulder. "Haru, we'll send out a message to him and-"
"I've sent dozens!! I can't count the amount I've sent, and he hasn't replied at all! If it weren't for Daisuke I'd be out there looking for him but I'm only one person! I can't be with Daisuke and I can't be with Masahiko at the same time!" She exclaimed shakily, face still hidden in her hands.
Naruto clenched his jaw, he's always hated seeing Haru cry, so to have her crumble like this in front of him-
"Should I call Sasuke and tell him to come?" He asked softly, sighing when she shook her head in response.
"N-no don't it'd stress him out. I'm just being dramatic." She whimpered. It was very clear to everyone in the room that she was full on crying at that point, and no one really blamed her.
"You aren't being dramatic Haru, you have a lot going on, anybody would be stressed in your place." Kakashi sighed, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair.
She sniffled, clearly overwhelmed with everything hitting her at once.
"I just want him home, I can't do this if I don't know he's okay." She whispered silently, tears dripping down her face and onto her lap. Kakashi sighed, pulling her to his side and letting her cry in his shoulder.
Kakashi saw this coming from miles away, between Daisuke's medical issues starting to really stack up and Haru's two older boys constantly out in harm's way, she was slowly starting to literally lose her mind.
Of course, as Haru is the OG poster child for letting emotions build up until she can't handle them anymore, Kakashi knew he'd be having her cry in his shoulder at one point or another.
Amidst her crying, she peaked up at Naruto through her slim fingers, and his heart ached at the sight of her watery gaze.
"Naruto, please just find him, please."
••••••••••
Under the glittering night skies in a place far far away from Konoha, the clone of the seventh hokage dashed up a grandiose tree, looking to meet his closest friend, Sasuke Uchiha.
Once he reached the designated spot, his blue eyes widened at the sight of the Uchiha.
"Sasuke!"
"You're late." Sasuke bluntly claimed, barely even sparing him a glance as he sat on one of the tree's ridiculously large trunks.
"You know, I may be a clone but it took me a while to get here! I don't even know the way home now, damn it!" Naruto's clone complained before looking around curiously.
"Where are we anyway!?"
"Don't ask me. So, where's the scroll?" Sasuke asked, going straight to business as usual.
Naruto's clone handed the scroll over, and Sasuke was quick to open it & read over its contents.
"It's hard to believe that Danzo got this close to Kaguya's Hidden Jutsu" He murmured out loud as his eyes scanned through the diagrams and information.
"Is that what it is? I didn't get it at all." Naruto mused.
"With this, I may be able to get closer to the time-space where Kaguya existed." Sasuke claimed, standing up with a small sigh.
"You know, Haruki was the one who confronted the girl who unleashed that beast." Naruto said, looking up at his Uchiha friend.
Sasuke quirked a brow and paused, turning to look at Naruto. "Is she alright?" He asked, a barely traceable hint of worry laced in his tone.
"I think the question you should be asking is the other kid alright! Haruki broke fifteen of her bones! Fifteen! Haruki did that! I didn't know she had it in her!" Naruto exclaimed, mentally reliving seeing how beat up Sumire was and how untouched Haruki looked.
Sasuke didn't show much emotion, but the tiny hint of a smirk gave him away. "Haru's been training her well then."
"I'll say, I saw her after the fight you know, and Haruki looks just like you when she's mad." Naruto claimed childishly, nudging Sasuke's side.
"Does she?" Sasuke asked, amused by the thought of Haruki being anything but the sweetheart he knew her to be.
He hasn't seen her since she was a little toddler, so he couldn't possibly imagine what she looked like now.
With the visual of his four year old angry Haruki, he couldn't help but be a bit amused
"Yeah, and Runa looks just like you all the time. No anger needed." Naruto claimed with a chuckle, looking out at the vast space Sasuke chose to meet up at.
Sasuke nodded slowly, silently thinking of his two daughters. "They're genin soon, aren't they?" He asked much to Naruto's surprise.
Normally, Sasuke never really asked too many questions about his kids at home.
"Yeah, they are. You know Haru got upset with Shikamaru and I today over something like that." Naruto admitted, scratching the back of his neck.
"Why?" Sasuke asked, arching a brow at the mention of his wife. He has yet to receive her weekly 'this is everything I've gone through' letter, so he has no clue what to expect.
"We think Haruki shouldn't be placed on a genin squad, there's an uneven number and Haruki works amazingly on her own." Naruto claims, turning to Sasuke.
"Haru doesn't want her feeling left out though." Naruto sighed.
"Well, remember what Haru went through in our team back then. You should've expected that reaction." Sasuke claimed as memories of their old team flooded through his head.
"I know, and I told Shikamaru that but he wouldn't budge. We're also thinking of putting Runa in a team with Boruto."
"Separating the girls?" Sasuke asked, intrigued by the choice. He's not necessarily for or against any of this as of right now, opting to hear the whole story before placing his judgment anywhere.
"Iruka's been evaluating them and it's clear that Haruki behaves differently in group environments, especially when Runa is involved.
She doesn't show her true abilities at all, she just matches up to everybody else then falls back." Naruto said with a small frown, not necessarily liking the idea of 'separating' the twins either
"Runa is more independent, she'll do fine without Haruki. It's Haruki we're worried about. She needs to grow independence. Separating them is for their own benefit."
Sasuke's expression barely even moved as he listened to Naruto speak of the daughter's he hadn't seen in years. "I trust your judgment." Sasuke claimed, turning to Naruto seriously.
"But listen to Haru as well, if she doesn't think that separating them will work then it probably won't."
"Is that you talking as Haru's husband or is that you talking from being a ninja?" Naruto asked with a cheesy smile, one Sasuke rolled his eyes at.
"Both."
Naruto couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head at his old friend. "You know, that wasn't even what she came to us all upset about. Have you heard from Masahiko? She's been freaking out over him not being home in so long"
This piqued Sasuke's interest, he paused and arched his brow at Naruto.
"I ran into him after he finished a mission last week, he told me he was heading to the leaf then, what do you mean he hasn't been home?" Sasuke asked seriously.
It was then Naruto's turn to freeze, looking at Sasuke in shock. "What? He hasn't been to the leaf in weeks!"
Sasuke and Naruto stared at one another for what seemed to be hours, truly only a minute or so, before Sasuke's jaw clenched.
"I'm going to go look for him." He suddenly claimed, more than alarmed with the mysterious nature of his son's whereabouts.
"I'll come with." Naruto immediately replied, only to be stopped by Sasuke. "No, If Haru asks you about him again you'll only stress her out some more. I'm going to go look for him."
"You don't want me to tell her Masahiko is missing?!"
"You want to be the one to give her a heart attack like that?" Sasuke scoffed, just about ready to flip the world upside down to find his son.
"Sasuke...she told me not to tell you but she's been really freaking out over him, you should've seen her today, she was restless! We have to find him." Naruto claimed much to Sasuke's worry.
"And if Masahiko isn't with you, and he isn't home...then where could he be?"
"He was exhausted once he finished that mission you sent him on, I made him rest up a bit but you know how stubborn he could be. He left only after a couple of minutes. He could've been vulnerable to anybody." Sasuke murmured, regret etched in his otherwise monotone features.
Naruto rubbed at his temples, now heavily concerned with the sudden disappearance of Masahiko.
Sasuke clenched his jaw and shook his head. "Tell Haru to not worry for me." He was then off, gone like the wind and in search for his second born son.
Naruto sighed, looking at the vacant space where Sasuke once was.
How the hell was he supposed to tell her to not worry?!
••••••••••
Helloo my lovely readers!
Omg what'd you think of this chap?
We're back to Runa's POV! Did you like her cute little moments with Haruki early on in the chapter?
What'd you think about the attic moment?!
Runa found that picture of Karin and very interesting memories are starting to pop up, what do you guys think about that?!
If you were curious, no, Haru doesn't know Runa accidentally called Karin mom. Karin would not be alive if Haru knew LMFAO
Lmk how you guys think this entire Haru/Sasuke/Runa/Karin situation is gonna go down lmfao
Poor Runa's feeling real insecure about her lack of resemblance to Haru, what'd you guys think abt that? :(
What'd you think about Shikamaru and Naruto's plans for Haruki and Runa's genin teams? 👀
Omg onto our og baby Haru, Do you guys blame her for lowkey not even noticing what's going on between herself and Runa?
She has so much going on!! But at the same time, try to pay attention to Runa Haru! 😭Ugh lmk what you guys think 😭
And omg poor Masahiko! He's disappeared! What's happened to him?!
Haru is .2 seconds from losing her mind, do you think Runa is gonna accidentally push any buttons? 👀
Remember, we haven't seen Runa and haru fight....yet 😏
Omg what'd you think of Sasuke's appearance in this chap?! 👀
Do you have any predictions as to how SasuHaru will react to seeing each other for the first time in seven years? 💖
Omgg lol let me know all about what you guys think! You know I love to hear all of your thoughts and predictions!!
Also, here's the pic of Haru and baby Runa that Runa found earlier in the chap 💖💕
Tysm for reading and I hope to see you all next chap!