Chapter 31

Brother and Sister

On one of the days, Kotomi was at home preparing lunch while taking care of Kojiro. Her two year old was playing with his toy cars that he loves so much, pretending they had their own unique voices. Her husband was out doing sensei related work.

Kotomi heard the door open, seeing Mitsuki there along with a familiar face. "This is my home, Boruto."

The two boys stepped inside, taking off their shoes. "I know, Mitsuki. I've been here like a million times."

Kotomi shook her head with a smile. Mitsuki had told her that he would bring Boruto over on one of the days since he had visited his house recently. "It's good to see you again, Boruto."

Boruto smiled brightly. "Good to see you too, Nee-san!"

Kotomi looked crossed. "I told you to call me Aunt Kotomi!"

"But you're married to big bro Konohamaru, aren't you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"Since he's like my big bro, you're like my big sis. You gotta problem with that?"

Kotomi raised her fist in anger. "Don't test me, boy! You don't want me disciplining you, do you?!"

Boruto looked like he was remembering something in his past. Kotomi had full permission from both of his parents to spank him if he acts up, which she did and called it Discipline no Jutsu. Shaking in fear, Boruto shook his head. "No, auntie..."

Kotomi smiled sweetly. "Good. So long as you understand."

Boruto still looked scared of Kotomi's glare. He saw Kojiro running up to him with a smile. "Boruto-niichan! Nii-chan!"

Kojiro gave Boruto a tight hug. "It looks like you gotten bigger the last time I've saw you, Kojiro!"

"I did! Guess what? My mommy is making hamburger steak since Nii-chan said he would bring you over today!"

"Really?!" Boruto's eyes sparkled, turning to Kotomi. "Thank you, auntie!"

Kotomi gave him a smile. "No problem."

"Mother." Mitsuki walked up to her, revealing a piece of paper. "Our class is planning to go on a field trip to the Land of Water. We just need our guardian's signature for permission."

Kotomi began reading the permission slip for the class field trip. "This looks exciting! Of course I'll sign it for you, Mitsuki!" Reaching for a pen, Kotomi signed her name on the permission slip, handing it back to him. "Here you are."

"Thank you very much, mother."

"No problem! I'll help pack your things for the field trip, ok?"

Mitsuki nodded. "Understood."

Kojiro was tugging on Mitsuki's hem. "Hey Nii-chan! Can you bring me back a souvenir from your field trip?"

"Souvenir?"

Boruto stepped in. "You can just get him something little kids would like. He'll like it regardless."

Mitsuki looked clueless on what to get Kojiro on his field trip. He would ask more questions about it later when the time comes.

Kotomi started placing plates of hamburger steak on the table. "Lunch is ready, guys!"

The three boys started heading their way towards the table. Kotomi started helping Kojiro cut the steak into tiny little pieces.

Boruto was enjoying the food Kotomi had cooked. "This is so good! Thank you, auntie!"

Kotomi giggled. "You're welcome. Tell me when you want seconds." She looked over at Mitsuki who hasn't touched his food at all. Ever since she took him in, he hasn't ate any kind of food. Since he was a synthetic human, he probably didn't need food. But regardless, Kotomi always cooked for him in case he wanted to try eating one day.

***

Some days has passed. After Kotomi had dropped off Kojiro at daycare, she went back home, double checking Mitsuki's bag for the field trip. "Toothbrush, a set of clothes for each day, an extra pair of clothes just in case..." She was reading off the list she made to make sure Mitsuki had everything he needed.

Once she was done, Kotomi handed Mitsuki his bag. Right after, she handed him some money. "This is for you, and you can use some to buy Kojiro a souvenir while you're over there."

Mitsuki gratefully took it. "Thank you very much, mother."

Watching Mitsuki walk out the door, both Kotomi and Konohamaru were watching him head his way to where his classmates would meet up for the field trip.

Kotomi waved happily, feeling a bit emotional while seeing her foster son looking so grown up at this moment. Looking up, she smiled at her husband. "I hope he has fun."

Konohamaru nodded. "I hope so too." He began smiling nervously. "You know, Kotomi... This is the first time in a while since we've been alone like this."

Kotomi started blushing. "You're right. Our boys aren't home. It feels kind of empty since I'm so used to them with me all the time."

Konohamaru wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I know, kore." Now it was his turn to feel shy. "So, uh... I was wondering if you want to... Um..."

Kotomi blinked. "Want to what?"

He scratched his face shyly. "D-Do you want to-"

Konohamaru was interrupted when he heard someone appear in front of them. Turning his head, he saw Sasuke standing there. "I'm here, imoto."

Kotomi smiled. "Onii-san!" She turned to Konohamaru. "You remember me mentioning that I was going to spend some time with my brother today, right?"

Shifting his eyes, Konohamaru nodded. "Yeah. I remember."

"Ok. What were you going to ask me by the way?"

Konohamaru started blushing once more. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go on a d-date."

Kotomi softly smiled. "I'll make time tonight, ok?" She found it adorable that her husband still gets shy asking her out on a date.

Konohamaru's face perked up. "I look forward to it, kore! Have fun spending time with your brother!"

"I will! What will you do for the time being?"

"It looks like I'll be hanging out with Moegi and Udon."

"Tell them I said hi!"

"I will!"

"Alright!" Kotomi was looking at him with adoring eyes. "So... Are we going to... You know..?" She asked while smiling suggestively.

Konohamaru's face turned brightly red. "But your brother is right there!"

Kotomi shrugged. "It's just my brother. He won't care." She pulled on Konohamaru's scarf, pulling him close to her to kiss him. "I love you."

Konohamaru looked at a daze and giddy from his wife's sudden kiss. "I love you too..."

"See you later!" Kotomi rushed over to Sasuke. "Let's go, Onii-san." Sasuke looked awkwardly around the area before walking away with his sister.

Konoahamaru let out a happy sigh. "Man, I love her..."

***

Sasuke and Kotomi ended up going to a tea house. It was calm, peaceful, quiet. The only sound they heard was a wind chime.

Kotomi sipped her tea, looking at her brother who was sitting at the other side of the table. "So... How is it spending quality time with Sakura and Sarada?"

Sasuke softly smiled. "It's fine. It feels nice to do that every once in a while."

"That just means you need to come to the village a little more often than you used to. How long are you staying?"

"Until the chunin exams are over."

Kotomi smiled brightly. "That's awesome! Are you looking forward to seeing Sarada fight in the chunin exams?"

Sasuke sipped his tea and smiled. "I am."

"I am too! I'm also looking forward to seeing Mitsuki fight as well!"

"Orochimaru's son?" Sasuke was thinking to himself. "I've heard you took him in a while back. How is he?"

"He's a sweet kid. He's clueless about some things, but he's a fast learner. He's super respectful to me. He's only gotten in trouble once."

"What did he do?"

"He ended up writing a fake sick note for himself, Boruto, and Shikadai. I had to apologize to Hinata and Temari that day."

"Imoto." Sasuke spoke up. "Even if Orochimaru has been under the radar for some time, you should keep your guard up around his son. He could be using his son for some kind of plan."

Kotomi creased her eyebrows. "Of course I don't trust Orochimaru, but Mitsuki is his own person. I don't see him as that snake man's son, I see him as my own child."

Seeing the rare mama bear side of Kotomi made Sasuke somewhat intimidated, though he hid it pretty well. "Sorry. I just don't want you to end up hurt."

"I won't. I trust Mitsuki."

Sasuke sipped his tea. "How's your husband and son?"

Kotomi started to smile. "My husband has been so supportive taking care of Kojiro. He's been doing well with being a dad while becoming a sensei to the new squad 7. Kojiro has been potty trained for a while now, and I never felt so proud. He knows his ABC's, numbers, shapes, colors-" Kotomi realized that she was rambling, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry about that. I got carried away talking about Kojiro."

"It's ok. That just proves that you're a true mother."

"Tell me about it. It's like ever since Kojiro was born, my life has been revolving around him. But he's my world." Kotomi sipped her tea. "How's your relationship with your wife and Sarada? Do you feel like you're getting to know a little bit about your daughter?"

Sasuke nodded. "Somewhat. I know it will take some time to know how she really is."

"I know." Kotomi gave Sasuke a teasing smile. "So, Onii-san... When do you plan to give me another niece or nephew?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer that. "I'll have to talk about it with Sakura, but I don't think she wants another child anytime soon."

"Uh... I'm pretty sure she does."

Wanting to change the subject, Sasuke cleared his throat. "Didn't you say you wanted to go on a date with your husband?"

"Of course I do, but right now I'm with you and he's with his friends. We were going to go on a date later."

"But what about your son?"

Kotomi's eyes widen. "Right. I need to find someone to babysit him."

Sasuke stood up from his seat. "I'll be back in five minutes. Wait here." Not even a second later, he vanished from sight.

Kotomi arched an eyebrow. "What is he doing..?"

Exactly five minutes has passed, Sasuke appeared in his seat. "I'm back."

"Where did you go?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Ok..? So, what would you like to do now, Onii-san?"

Sasuke was thinking to himself. "Do you still put pictures together?"

Kotomi nodded happily. "Of course I do! I've been doing it a lot more than I have in the past! Would you like to look at them?"

Sasuke smiled at his sister's excitement. "Sure."

***

Both of the Uchiha siblings went over to Kotomi's house. Sasuke was looking around the room with his eyes. He was looking at the pictures that were out.

There was a picture of Kotomi's family along with pictures of her wedding years ago. There was also a recent picture of both of them. Right near it, it was their old family picture with their parents and brother.

Sasuke smiled bittersweet. "You still have this?"

Kotomi nodded, having quite a few books in her hands. "Of course. I've saved it all this time."

Sasuke picked up the picture, staring at it for a while. "Even after all this time, I still imagine what it would be like if they were still alive. Mother and father would get to see their grandchildren, and I'm sure Nii-san would spoil Sarada and Kojiro."

Kotomi looked like she was holding back tears. "Stop it, Onii-san! You're going to make me cry!"

"Sorry." Sasuke placed the picture back down, walking towards his sister. "You're going to show me all that?"

Kotomi nodded. "Of course!"

Sitting on the couch, Kotomi was talking Sasuke's ear off while showing him the pictures. "Remember back then when you didn't like me too much? Mother always struggled to take a picture of just the two of us since you didn't want to."

Sasuke looked a bit flustered. "It's not that I didn't like you... I was just-"

"Jealous, I know. I would take the attention away from you. I feel bad about it."

Sasuke shook his head. "Don't feel that way. It's all in the past now."

Kotomi giggled. "And now we're inseparable!" Looking through the pictures, Kotomi started cracking up. "Remember your first kiss?"

Twitching his eyebrow, Sasuke closed his eyes. "Why do you still have that?"

"Because it's a wonderful memory! It's also the day you became a ninja!"

"Don't show it to Sarada."

Kotomi averted her gaze while sweatdropping. "Yeah... About that..."

Sasuke's eyes widen. "Did you show her?!"

"When she was little... I don't know if she remembers me showing it to her."

"Let's pray that she doesn't remember."

"I can always refresh her memory!"

"Please don't, imoto."

"I'll think about it." Flipping the pages, it was transitioning to her and Konohamaru when they were first starting to date. "Aww! This is when Konohamaru and I went on our first date!"

Right as she said his name, the door opened. "I'm home!"

Kotomi looked up, seeing Konohamaru and Kojiro sitting on his shoulders. "Mommy! Uncle Sasuke!"

Kotomi closed the book, smiling at her husband and son. "Welcome home, you two."

Konohamaru placed Kojiro down as the two year old rushed towards Kotomi. "Guess what I did today!" He revealed a drawing that he was hiding behind his back. "It's for you!"

Kotomi started getting teary eyed. It was a doodle of her, Kojiro, and Konohamaru holding hands that said I love mommy and daddy. "It's so beautiful! I'll hang it up on the fridge!"

When Kotomi went into the kitchen, Konohamaru walked up to Sasuke. "How have you been, Nii-san?"

Sasuke gave him a small smile. "I'm well." He felt a tug on his sleeve, looking down to a very confused two year old.

Kojiro was waving Sasuke's sleeve like a flag. "Where's your arm, Uncle Sasuke?"

Kotomi came back from the kitchen after hanging up Kojiro's drawing on the fridge, trying to think of a reason. "Your uncle's, uh... Arm got really sick, so... He doesn't have an arm anymore."

Kojiro looked shocked. "I hope my arm doesn't get sick... I like both of my arms."

Kotomi giggled. "Silly, isn't he?"

Sasuke nodded. "Just like you use to be."

"Says the one who was mean to me back in the day."

"Funny, I was going to say that you kept getting me in trouble."

There was silence in the air. Kotomi broke the silence with her laughter. "I'm sorry for laughing! I feel bad!"

Sasuke shook his head with a smile. "Anyway, don't the two of you need to get ready for your date?"

Both Kotomi and Konohamaru blinked. "But Onii-san, who's going to watch Kojiro?" Her eyes widen the next second. "Wait... Are you saying you're going to babysit him?!" She couldn't picture her brother taking care of a kid all by himself.

"That time I vanished for five minutes, I went home and told Sakura that we could watch your son while you're out on a date. She mentioned that he could even spend the night."

Kojiro's eyes sparkled. "I want to spend the night at Aunt Sakura and Uncle Sasuke's house! Mommy, can I?!"

Kotomi had to put her mom face on. "You have to listen to them while you're over there. If I hear that you're not listening to them, you won't get to watch your show for a week. Do you understand?"

Kojiro didn't want to take that risk. He loved his show too much. "I promise I'll be good!"

Kotomi smiled sweetly. "Good." She turned to Sasuke. "I'm going to go pack his bag real quick."

"I'll help, mommy! I want to decide what toy I want to bring!"

"Alright, alright! Let's go to your room."

"Ok!" Kojiro started following Kotomi like a little duckling.

Konohamaru started chuckling to himself. "He's sure excited."

"Konohamaru." Sasuke spoke up, catching his attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute outside?"

Not knowing what he wanted to talk about, Konohamaru nodded. "Sure."

***

Outside, it was early evening. The sun was still high in the sky, but slowly was starting to set. Sasuke had his back turned, trying to think of the right words to say.

Konohamaru was waiting for him to speak. "What did you need to talk about?"

Sasuke was silent for a little bit more. "First, I want to thank you for looking after Sarada as her sensei."

"No problem." He started to rub the back of his head, feeling a bit flustered.

Silent for a moment, Sasuke spoke up. "I also want to thank you for taking good care of my sister all this time."

Konohamaru grunted. "Nii-san..."

"I admit that in the past, I wasn't a good brother to her. I was cold to her, I left her all alone, I even tried to..." He paused, not wanting to continue that part. "But you were always there for her when she needed someone. For that, thank you for being there for her when I wasn't."

Konohamaru smiled at his words. "I will always be here for Kotomi. She's my life partner and the one I love dearly."

That reassurance put Sasuke's mind at ease. Even if Konohamaru couldn't see his expression, he could tell that Sasuke was smiling.

The door opened, revealing Kotomi and Kojiro. "He's all packed and ready to go!"

Sasuke still didn't turn around. "Let's go." He started walking ahead with the family of three following behind.

A/N: We get to see Sasuke and Kotomi spend time with each other as adults! As kids, Sasuke couldn't stand her. As older kids, they got along and took care of each other. As teens, well... Sasuke wasn't around, making her feel lonely and had their bond broken at one point. And as adults, they're closer than they've ever been. These two siblings have come so far. (Credit to Jennapark04)