Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

…..

The Many Talents of Uzumaki Boruto

A lot of people have seen great things in the son of the Seventh Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaf, Boruto Uzumaki.

Apart from belonging to two powerful and ancient clans, with one possessing powerful dojutsu and the other unlimited chakra reserves, the student of the Third Hokage's grandson and Naruto's possible successor, and the disciple of the last and most powerful Uchiha, Boruto possessed the qualities of a true and talented shinobi brimming with untapped potential. He may have been notorious as a young troublemaker like his father in his early years, but many could see the intellect and wit for learning justsu that Boruto had which he did not inherit from the hero of the village. In a way, as Boruto's loving mother would fondly put it, he was like a livelier, Naruto-like version of her late cousin Neji, who was a prodigy much like Boruto in every way.

But with all the young ninja's talents for stealth and combat, these weren't the only factors that contributed to his likeness as a prodigy. There are skills that the thirteen-year-old boy possessed that have long been overshadowed by others' expectations for him as a ninja. For a long while now, most of these talents have been overlooked… until, of course, certain circumstances and events have brought his hidden talents to light.

Talents that had brought families and friends closer.

As expected, Hinata Uzumaki was the first to notice.

….

It was during one of those supposed-to-be-date-nights that got canceled because the Hokage was needed for an emergency meeting with the other Kage. From what Hinata had heard, it was a crucial report from Sasuke regarding a possible threat that may potentially be more dangerous than Kaguya. The shinobi world wasn't ready for another war, which required every means necessary to stop danger before it happens.

In light of this, there were three things that Hinata frowned upon. First was that peace would never truly be absolute, second was that her friend Sakura and her precious daughter might not be seeing the man of their family for another few more years, and third was that they might not be seeing more of Naruto in quite a while as well.

And so here she was slicing some potatoes and carrots late in the evening, because she preferred to not order take out, deciding that cooking would distract her from missing her husband or from moping about not getting to wear that sexy black dress or eating at that fancy new restaurant uptown.

It wasn't until she heard the door from the living room open that she stopped her chopping. By instinct, she held the kitchen knife similar to how she would hold an kunai, until she recognized the chakra signature and realized that it was just her precious baby boy.

"Is that you Boruto?" she asked, quite surprised. Boruto and Himawari were supposed to be staying over at the Hyuga compound until date night was over.

"Mom?" Boruto answered back as he stepped into the kitchen to the smell of boiling soup. He regarded her with a puzzled expression, "I thought you and Dad were supposed to be on date night…"

He trailed off, realizing from the slight turn of his mother's head to the forlorn look in her eyes that this was another one of those cancelled date nights that she'd been looking forward to.

"The shitty old man ditched you again?" Boruto asked spitefully.

"Boruto!" she scolded. This made the boy frown, as she was usually stern when she would scold him about language, or about addressing his father. Today she looked tired.

"Sorry," he answered softly, head down.

Hinata let out a sigh and smiled. She left the knife on the countertop and went to embrace her little boy. Somehow she was relieved to have him there, taking comfort in his presence knowing she wouldn't be alone for the night.

Which reminded her…

She held Boruto away from her at arm's length and looked him in the eye.

"Boruto, what are you doing here?" she questioned. "You were supposed to be with Himawari at the Hyuga compound. And it's already past your bedtime! How could've the Hyuga clansmen let you out of their sight?"

Boruto answered her with a proud smirk only a child could have, "Because I'm silent like a true ninja!"

She did not like his answer, "Troublesome child," she berated softly, running her fingers through his fringe. "What if something happened to you?"

The child frowned rolling his eyes, "No one would dare hurt me mom. I'm like the Hokage's son, and it's not like anyone in the village would want to piss off an Uzumaki now would they?"

Boruto's looked down, suddenly finding his toes interesting as he normally would do when he was about to admit something he was embarrassed about.

"Besides, I had a feeling you'd be here by yourself." He admitted. "Didn't want you to be lonely-ttebasa."

In spite of herself, Hinata giggled, to which Boruto returned with a wide grin akin to his father's likeness. "Sometimes, you're too smart for your own good," he lightly flicked his nose. "and sweet."

"Hey!" the boy laughed.

Hinata stood upright and went back to the counter to finish her chopping. "Well, I assume you are too lively to go to bed right now even if I tell you to…"

Boruto's eyes brightened at this.

"So…" Hinata paused for effect, cocking her head towards Boruto. "If you help me with the cooking, we can watch this DVD of Princess Fuu in the Land of Snow and maybe have some cinnamon rolls and ice cream for dessert, hm?"

Boruto didn't need telling twice. Like Naruto, Boruto adored the show in spite of how many times they'd watched it. He went to his mother's side straight away, taking a quick peek at the cook book that lay open beside the chopping board. "What are we making?"

"I'm trying my hand at this beef stew." Hinata murmured. "It's something you don't often see here in Konoha so this will be a first for both of us."

"I think you're already halfway done with it though." Boruto observed as his mother dropped the chopped potatoes in the stew. "What else are we making?"

"Just the cinnamon rolls for now." She smiled. "Which means we'll be baking,"

"Yosh!" the boy answered, pumping his fist in the air.

At first the boy would ask his mother every three minutes which bowl he should be attending to, how much flour he should be mixing with the eggs, whether or not he should be adding white or brown sugar, or how he should be molding the dough. Every now and then they would smear powdered sugar and cinnamon over each other's faces, filling the wide spaces of the kitchen with laughter and warmth. The world outside may have been cold with the night air, but the warm air of a bond between a mother and son kept the atmosphere of the Uzumaki household filled with cozy balminess.

It was not until Hinata excused herself for a few short minutes that Boruto had managed to single-handedly man the whole kitchen like he had been doing it his whole life. He followed every instruction in her cook book with much precision, his brows scrunched together with concentration. He even cleared out the bowls and dishes once he placed the tray inside their oven.

The boy was such a sweetheart even if he would not admit it.

The young mother intended to assist him, but Boruto seemed adamant to finish the baking all on his own. Hinata had to admit, she did not expect that the child would inherit her fancy for baking. She'd felt as proud as the day Boruto got high scores in his entrance test to the academy.

Surprisingly, the rolls came out nicely. They weren't visually perfect, but what it lacked in appearance it made up for the scrumptious flavor. Hinata had the honor of getting the first bite as she tasted heavenly bread while the sugar and cinnamon powder melted on her tongue.

"Well?" Boruto asked her with expectation. "Tastes good?"

Hinata pressed a finger to her lips in mock contemplation. "Hmmm, I don't know…" she lent him a roll. "Why don't you find out for yourself?"

The boy eyed her suspiciously, "Is this a trick mom?"

The pale-eyed mother giggled, ruffling the boy's messy mop of blond hair. "It tastes wonderful! You should be more confident in yourself."

"Of course it's good!" Boruto snorted, albeit trying and failing to hide his embarrassment as he chewed on the soft bread.

A tub of ice cream, three rolls of cinnamon bread, two small bowls of a foreign beef stew and a two hour-long movie later, mother and son lean on each other's sides in a familial embrace across the sofa. Boruto's head lay nestled on her breast, close to her heart, a small trail of saliva trickling at the corner of his lips while he snored softly. Hinata couldn't remember the last time her son held her like this. Most of the time the boy would be his rambunctious self, pulling pranks and wreaking havoc wherever he went in order to win his father's attention. She wouldn't admit it, but there were times Hinata wished that the boy would content himself with just her presence to ease his desire for fatherly attention. Perhaps she was slightly jealous of Naruto on this aspect; as much as she loved and cared for the boy, motherly love was not enough to fill the void of fatherly recognition. She knew it also worked the other way around, but still she craved for moments like these when Boruto could be just her innocent baby boy.

The young mother would softly rake her fingers across his bangs, sometimes tracing the whisker marks on his cheeks in adoration. She also spotted remnants of the surprisingly delicious bread over the neckline of his shirt, and ever so quietly she would hear him murmur "Mom" as he buried himself deeper into her embrace.

Hinata soon felt her husband's chakra signature enter the living room. She doesn't turn her head, but Naruto knows that she's silently acknowledging his presence with a hidden smile. He dips his head over the sofa to plant a soft kiss on Hinata's cheek when he finally notices their firstborn cradled against his wife's bosom like a sleeping babe.

"Tadaima," Naruto murmured, still looking at Boruto in surprise.

"Okaeri," Hinata answered.

Naruto gave her a wry smile, looking dejected as he moved to sit beside his wife "I guess he knew this was another one of those failed date nights huh?"

Hinata leaned her head over his shoulder while keeping an arm circled around Boruto. "He's been very sweet. I'm proud that we've raised such a sweet and loving boy. I'd need to call Father or Hanabi since they don't know that he came back to check on me."

She planted a kiss on her husband's cheek in consolation, "And besides Naruto-kun, you always know that I understand. As much as I would love to keep going on dates with you like we did before, the village needs you more than I do. Especially now that there's news of a possible threat…"

Naruto let out a long sigh, "The kids need me too…. I need my kids too… I need you most of all-ttebayo."

Hinata turned to him with a gaze so wide an ethereal, Naruto almost melted where he sat.

"I know," she murmured. "For me that's more than enough. And luckily… we have a very smart and sweet boy. He may be quite a handful now, but the time will come when he'll understand."

They silently agreed to leave the questions about the meeting for tomorrow. For the meantime, they decided to enjoy the serenity of each other's presence. Naruto leaned his head over Hinata's, letting his large arm drape protectively around her shoulders. His fingers slightly grazed the tips of Boruto's hair, loving the way the strands felt so soft against his skin.

"I like this." He murmured finally. "Let's have more nights like this."

"Let's." Hinata agreed.

Naruto fought a playful smile, "Besides… we rarely get to see this kid act so clingy around you don't we?"

"You know he's going to be really annoyed if you tease him about it in the morning." Hinata giggled.

"He's cute when he's annoyed," Naruto grinned. "Makes me want to pinch him more on the cheeks."

The heiress took the change to give Naruto the news of her discovery. "You should have seen him in the kitchen. Boruto actually agreed to help me with the cooking for the first time in history, and he baked cinnamon rolls all on his own. The rolls actually came out good!"

Naruto raised a brow at this, "Really now?"

His wife could no longer keep wakefulness at bay. A small yawn left her lips as she nestled her head back over Naruto's shoulder.

"Try one," she said, pointing to the living room table with a single roll left on a small plate.

Naruto allowed Hinata to lean on his shoulder as he reached for the bread, careful not to disturb their current position. He eyed the pastry in his hand until he took one contemplating bite and chewed slowly, testing the flavors on his palette.

"Mm, it is good."

...

A/N:

Hi! This will be my first time writing for the Naruto fandom, and I would have to say that Boruto is my favorite character out of the new generation. I love the way that Kishimoto made him so similar yet so different from Naruto, and in spite of what critics say, I actually never saw him as a mere carbon copy of his father.

I just see this kid brimming with potential and imperfections that make him an interesting new protagonist. The fact that Sasuke also becomes his mentor seems to me a major catalyst in shaping who Boruto will become and how he will act especially when the Boruto manga catches up to that fight sequence with that Kawaki guy. I keep looking back on how Naruto seemed to act around the same age as Boruto, and though he may have inherited some mannerisms and naughty antics from his father, Boruto altogether seems a character of his own.

And so in honor of my respect for how this child was conceived by Kishi's brain cells, I decided to create a fic that recognizes Boruto's potential to impact the characters around him through his 'expertise' outside of shinobi training. I personally think Boruto is not just a prodigy in ninja terms. I just feel it in my belly.

My headcanon is that Boruto is super affectionate with his mother when no one is around. He fears yet adores his sister Himawari. He secretly shares his love for gardening and cooking, and may possibly have musical attributes as well. This will be a series showcasing those headcanons and how these characteristics of his leave an impact in his interaction with other characters

I'll follow canon pairings plus some explicit hints of Borusara. If you have any ideas or suggestions on what other talents Boruto may have, please let me know so that I can include that here.

May the fortress be with you