"Haruto, where are you?" asked Hazuki as she looked around the house.
"Haah, that boy, he's hiding somewhere again," she put her fingers to her cheek and looked concerned.
But there was a playful smile on her lips as she looked forward to it.
'I really love to see his little adventures," she started to tiptoe, using all her arsenal of her shinobi life to move as quietly as possible, but the smile on her lips couldn't be hidden.
Ever since she took Haruto under her care, he has continued to surprise her. She never thought that he would become so important in her life. 'He was so adorable when he was little. He used to try to crawl away whenever Izumi or I wasn't around. The way he would take his own little tour on all four limbs was so cute.' She put both hands on her cheeks and smiled brightly.
He keeps doing things that are unusual for a small child and she is fascinated by him for that simple act.
Now Haruto is big enough to walk on his own. But when he was a child, crawling on four legs, it was easy to find him. Hazuki felt nostalgic and remembered the past.
She searched room after room until she found him. He was hiding behind the book shelf and was reading a book.
'No, Hazuki, you have to be patient'. She suppressed her instinct to run to him immediately and hug him in order to have a look at what he was up to.
Haruto seemed to be unaware of her presence and was reading a book. Hazuki saw that it was not just any book but a book about Fuinjutsu. Haruto was reading the book and soon a grimace appeared. She put her hand to her mouth and began to giggle softly.
'Of course, you can't understand this yet. It's an advanced book on fuinjutsu,' she thought.
Haruto always does this. He wanders around the house looking for new information to absorb. All the books he looks for contain information about shinobi. Of course, the books available in this house were too complicated to be read by an infant, so he had a hard time understanding them.
With Izumi's admission to the academy, however, this has begun to change. When she did her homework, he would sit on her lap and watch her.
'At first I wanted to take him away from her... even though he is my favorite son, he should not disturb Izumi when she is studying, but when I tried to take him away he fought back by clinging to Izumi. Izumi also said she wanted him on her side and I reluctantly let him down.'
However, my worries evaporated the moment I saw how Haruto was behaving. He was even more serious than Izumi, concentrating and reading her book.
Seeing this, Hazuki thought only one thing. 'He's a genius!'
She couldn't help but recall the moments of another genius from her own clan, Itachi Uchiha. He is by far one of the greatest geniuses that Konoha has had since its foundation. Even at a young age, he had shown remarkable achievements and had successfully returned from the 3rd Shinobi War at the age of four.
When Hazuki saw how seriously Haruto was reading the book, the image of Itachi overlapped him. "He's made to be a shinobi," she muttered when she saw this, but couldn't help but fear.
As a genius, you always have expectations from others that you have to follow. It is a lonely path where no one understands you and no one can follow you on your way, but you always try to become someone the clan can rely on.
'I heard the news from Uruchi-san at the senbei shop that Itachi is already scheduled to be graduated, just a few months after his entrance ceremony!' As an Uchiha, she rejoices in the fact that we have a splendid heir for the Uchiha Clan, but she can't feel the same for her son.
"Perhaps the Clan will accept Haruto...", she muttered to herself.
Unlike Itachi, Haruto has not been accepted by the Uchiha Clan. When the clan learns of his talent, they may accept him as a special case, because every clan is interested in first-rate shinobi, even more so when they are unpolished diamonds like Haruto.
Even if the idea of her and her children, Izumi and Haruto, being accepted as Uchiha again sounds good, Hazuki herself seems to be unconvinced. 'If we return, he will only be seen as a tool and I would like to prevent that at all costs.'
Hazuki can't help but feel sorry for her clan, she loves her clan and is proud to be an Uchiha, but she decided to protect her son with all her might.
Slowly and steadily, she moved forward and began to embrace Haruto from behind.
"Hazuki," Haruto was startled and turned around.
"Mooh~ Haru, I already told you to call me mummy," she reprimanded him gently while stroking his head.
Hazuki always wondered about this but he always used her name and never called her mummy. She let it go when she realised he wouldn't change. Though as a mother, she will always scold him for it.
She started to kiss his cheek a few times and took him deep into her bosom as she hugged him tightly.
"Haruto, no matter what happens, remember that your mother will always support and protect you," she said with a soothing voice.
'The Uchiha clan has already begun to express their hatred for Konoha and vice versa. I can't involve him in that if he doesn't have the affiliation of an Uchiha. That's why I'm not going to tell Fugaku-sama that he's special like I did with Izumi's Sharingan,' she thought.
Haruto was confused as to why she would say such a thing out of the blue, but when he lifted his head from her soft breasts to look at her face and saw her expression, he seemed to know why.
"Hazuki," he called her.
Hazuki looked at Haruto as he freed himself from her embrace and stood on her lap to meet her eyes. She wanted to rebuke him again for calling her mummy, but his next action surprised her.
Haruto placed his hand on her cheek and moved forward. He closed the distance and soon their lips met.
Hazuki widened her eyes and was startled. She hadn't expected him to kiss her on the mouth and it didn't help that she became aware of his touch.
Haruto broke the kiss with a smile and began to stroke her head.
At this sight, Hazuki couldn't help but blush as she felt her whole head turn red. 'What is this? As a mother, I shouldn't feel like this... But why does it feel so strangely comfortable?' Hazuki did not know what to do with her beating heart and her face turned even more redder.
Soon, something in her head lit up. 'Ah, maybe he saw a couple kissing somewhere in the village and thought it would be taken as affection,' Hazuki slapped her cheek a few times and tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Haruto, thank you for this, it makes mummy happy, but in future you should keep such things for your precious partner and not for your mummy, ok?"
Haruto quickly nodded at her. Hazuki smiled slightly that her smart boy understood very quickly but a part of her was a little frustrated. While she was questioning herself, she was interrupted again.
"Hmm?"
Haruto kissed her on the lips again.
"You're one of my dearest people, so I can kiss you without any problem, right?" Haruto ignored her astonished expression and told her that.
"Huh what?, Haruto I said..." the stunned Hazuki wanted to say something but Haruto beat her to it.
"Don't worry Hazuki, no matter what happens I'll be fine," Haruto said with a reassuring smile.
Those words, as if they could read her heart, calmed her. She closed her eyes, but Haruto didn't miss the chance and pressed another kiss. This time, a longer kiss.
'Ah~ he is indeed a very naughty boy...but to kiss your own son is completely normal to show affection isn't it?…that's why it's okay.' Hazuki justified her thoughts and didn't pull away from the kiss, instead she melted into the situation created by Haruto.
'I thought one day he'll leave his mummy, but maybe not... NO- what I'm thinking, I shouldn't think like that'.
Conflicted, she decided to postpone her decision. 'Anyway, my role doesn't change, I'll look after him and see what his future holds,' she made up her mind, though she became more aware of this little boy in front of her.
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A/N:
After the release of the last chapter I saw that my book was on the 95th ranking. Thank you very much for your support. I hope you like the newest chapter in where Haruto takes his baby steps toward one of his goals.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!