Sophomore Year: Nine

                                    

                                          
Himawari stood by the window, staring, waiting for Inojin's arrival. It was seven... An hour after dinner usually started and she didn't know what to think about that. Her eyes glued to the window and if you asked Boruto, he would say her face was stuck to the glass. 
                          
"He's gonna be here, Hima. Stop worrying." Hinata said as she walked up to her daughter. She ran a hand through her daughter's hair as she also looked out the window. The youngest Uzumaki shrugged her shoulders as if she were unbotherd but she didn't leave from the window. She felt her heart beating in her throat and she was just about to give up when the doorbell rang. She rushed over and threw the door open with a huge grin, only for it to fall when she saw that it was only Sakura. How she didn't notice the pink hair and pregnant stomach was beyond her. She was obviously going stir crazy.
                          
"Hey, Himawari. Is your brother here?" The older woman asked with a frantic tone to her voice. She may've been smiling but Himawari saw how her fingers were playing with the buttons on her jacket.
                          
"Yeah, he's upstairs." Sakura let out a sigh of relief before she let her arms fall down to her sides. Himawari was confused but gestured for her to enter. Hinata gave her daughter a questioning look but didn't say anything to her. She got up and gave Sakura a hug before leading her to sit on the sofa.
                          
"Sakura, what a surprise. You haven't been over since..." Her voice trailing off but everyone in the room knew she was talking about that awkward dinner. The pregnant woman let out a giggle and waved off the statement. 
                          
"I just came to get Sarada. She texted me saying she was with her friends. I checked with Choji but he said she wasn't there and Mitsuki's out with his family. So, she must be here." Hinata and Himawari looked at each other. 
                          
"Sarada hasn't spoken to Boruto in a while. I'm pretty sure she goes out of her way to not interact with him." Sakura was confused but she didn't say anything. She kept her face neutral as Hinata continued. "She hangs out with Yurui and his friends now. She didn't tell you?" 
                          
"No, Sara tells me everything. It must've slipped my mind. Pregnancy brain..." Sakura's voice trailed off when the doorbell rang. Himawari opened it and Inojin stood there with a bouquet of sunflowers, tied together with a red ribbon, in his hands. "Well, I'll go. See you." Sakura left quickly without another word. 
                          
"Bye!" Hinata yelled after her friend but the green eyed woman was already gone. 
                          
"What was that all about?" Inojin asked as he stood awkwardly by the door with the flowers in his tight grip. Himawari and Hinata turned to him, surprised looks on their faces as if they forgot he was there. 
                          
"It was nothing. Let me take these from you and put them in some water." Hinata smiled as Inojin handed her the bouquet. She turned swiftly leaving Himawari and Inojin alone. They stood there quietly, neither of them saying a word. Time felt like it was moving at a snails pace before the blonde reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Himawari stared but didn't reach out to take it. 
                          
"It's an, um, I just wanted to, uh, apologize for before. I haven't opened your gift yet but it's only fair that I give you one back in return."
                          
"But-"
                          
"I know your gift was a thank you for your garden but I wanted to give you something as a sort of an apology because I definitely owe you for the way I treated you." The Uzumaki slowly took the box in her hand but she didn't move to open it. She lifted her head, her eyes connecting with green. A soft "thank you" was all she could whisper before her brother came running down the stairs. 
____________
                          
Sakura's mind was spinning and her feet were killing her. Sarada never told her about Yurui or that she had new friends. She kept thinking back to Hinata's words.
                          
"Sarada hasn't spoken to Boruto in a while. I'm pretty sure she goes out of her way to not interact with him."
                          
Her princess? The one who used to obsess over him just a few months ago. Her feet were moving faster and farther as she tried to wrap her mind around the situation. She pulled her phone out and dialed for Sarada again but she got no answer. Maybe she was just overreacting. Her baby girl is a teenager now and she had an actual baby to focus on.
                          
"Sarada's responsible, I can trust her. No need to stress myself. Maybe her phone's off." Sakura stopped walking and took in a deep breath. She needed to stop stressing, it wasn't good for the baby. She started to walk again, this time her pace slow. She decided that she would go home and wait for Sarada to come back. Even though that's what she thought she couldn't help the panic in her chest. Sakura sent her daughter one last text before putting her phone and hands in her pockets. It was getting warmer out but it was still chilly at nights. "Maybe it wasn't so smart for me to go out." 
                          
As she was about to round the corner of another block, her phone went off. She answered quickly hoping that it was Sarada. 
                          
"Hello. Sakura?" A familiar voice said to her. A voice she knew well. It was one of the nurses at the hospital.
                          
"What's the emergency? My pager didn't go off." The nurse on the other line let out a shaky sigh.
                          
"It's your daughter. She was just rolled in from an ambulance. She was just rushed into the ICU and-" Sakura felt her whole world spin and everything slowed. She dropped her phone and ran back to Hinata's. She knocked frantically at the door and tears started to blur her vision.
                          
"Sakura wha-" Hinata started as she answered the door only to stop when she saw her best friend hyperventilating with tears streaming down her face.
                          
"Sarada's in the hospital. I-"  A sob cut off the rest of her sentence but she took a breath and continued. "Take me to her please now. My baby." Hinata nodded her head and grabbed her jacket from the coat rack. She took the other women to her car and she sent a quick text to Boruto before driving off. Sakura was curled up in the front seat with her hands clutching her stomach like she would lose it. 
                          
A/N
I'm back...
                          
It's been a while. A long while. Life sucks but hey. Sorry for the cliffhanger and tune in next week for the next chapter. This is the last section in Sophomore Year. I will start junior year after next week's chapter. Did y'all miss me?
                          
Vote, comment, stuff 
~Hume