Suddenly, just as he is about to place it down carefully, Menma poofs into a cloud of smoke.

Shinachiku immediately startled upright, trying to catch the cake before it fell. For a moment, his fingers successfully captured the tray filled with birthday cake in mid-air. However, because of the severe 90-degree angle, the cake was at when Shinachiku caught it, it slid right off, making a loud SPLAT! Sound that could be heard across the entire room. Upon impact, the precious two-layered cake exploded into a mess of icing, strawberry decoration, and cold fluffiness, the icing also helping put the lit candles out. It splattered all over the floor, Shinachiku’s toes, ankle, and a bit on his pants leg and carpet, even as Shinachiku tried to leap out of the way and not get cake splattered all over him.

For a long while, the family could only all stare in horror at the events that had just occurred. Shinachiku’s hands started to shake as he stared with wide eyes at the ruined cake at his feet and the empty tray in his hands. ‘I… failed…?’ Shinachiku thought as he felt tears forming in his green eyes. ‘I… couldn’t even save the birthday cake…? No….’

Shinachiku then slowly glanced over at the shocked faces of Himawari and Boruto mostly, the immediate look of shock, horror, and heartbreak clear as day on both of their small faces.

“A shadow clone…….” Boruto whispered slowly and deliberately as if tasting the words for the first time. His teeth gnashed together in anger once his brain had entirely registered the words in his head. ‘A goddamn Shadow clone?! Did that bastard really just send a Shadow Clone to his own daughters’ birthday?! Why couldn’t he come here himself?!’ Boruto thought furiously in his mind.

He slammed his hands on the table so hard it knocked away all the silverware meant for eating the cake onto the floor and nearly all the plates before storming out of the house. His hands were clenched tightly into fists, and his teeth, grinding against each other as he made his way out of the dining room.

The sound of stomping footsteps was soon heard by Shinachiku as well as he threw the tray onto the floor and hurried on after Boruto. Hinata quickly reacted, grabbing Boruto by the elbow to stop him going, then attempted to grab Shinachiku as well. However, Shina was ready for her as he made the hand sign for a Substitution Jutsu and quickly swapped places with one of his own Shadow Clones, letting Hinata grab that as Shinachiku promptly sped off towards the Hokage Office.

“Let me go, Mom!!” Boruto cried out, trying to jerk his arm away from her and wanting to catch up with Shinachiku. However, when the clone Shinachiku had left behind poofed, she frowned and only gripped Boruto’s sleeve tighter to prevent him from escaping her too. “That damned- It’s Himawari’s BIRTHDAY! What the hell does he think this is?!” Boruto snapped at his mother unintentionally. “I’ve had enough of him treating us like this!! Aren’t you tired of it too?! Now let me help Shinachiku beat up that loser once and for all!!”

“BORUTO!!” Hinata interrupted, not allowing Boruto to continue talking. Her hand clenched her son's elbow more, “Your father has to work very hard to protect the people of this village! He works daily to protect us all, but it doesn’t automatically mean he’s just forgotten about the two of you!!”

“Oh yeah, then what about us , huh?!” Boruto jerked his hand free before turning on his heels to face her. “Don’t we matter?! Aren’t we a part of the village too?! This is so stupid!!” Boruto stomped his foot on the ground, his body visibly shaking with anger as he glared at his mother. “What, is his own family not good enough or something?!? SCREW THIS  GODDAMN VILLAGE!!!”

“When you’re the Hokage, I guess it’s okay to ignore your family and act like we don’t exist, is that it?! Is that what this is?!” Boruto chastised, not dropping his voice for even a second.

“ Boruto , I understand your frustration, but as I said, he hasn’t forgotten about you two, I swear!!” Hinata tried, raising her hands over her chest to defend herself.

“UGH!! It’s always the same excuse!! I’m sick and TIRED of hearing it!! I’ve heard that lame excuse so many times I’ve lost count, Mom!! Enough already, and just give it to me straight! Why do we have to put up with this crap!?” Boruto scorned, raising his voice somehow more.

Himawari, meanwhile, was just sadly sitting still at the table, listening to her brother and mother argue and trying to fight the urge to cry.

“Boruto….” Hinata gaped, at a loss for words.

“Are the Hokage’s kids supposed to act grateful for being born into this shitty situation!? Why can’t Grandpa be the Hokage instead?! I mean, all Dad does is sit at his desk all day acting bossy. Literally, anybody in the world can do that!!!”

“BORUTO!!!” Hinata berated, tears forming as she looked down at her son. When Boruto saw he was making both his mother and sister start to cry, he began to back off, now speaking in a calmer, softer volume.

“Just… can I tell you something, Mom? Do you want to know what I think about sometimes…? Dad shouldn’t have become Hokage; he should have just… let someone else take that job instead, like Grandpa or Konohamaru-sensei, so he could stay home like some other families' parents and tell us ‘Welcome home,’ or be there on important days like mine and Himawari’s birthday.” Boruto confessed as he lowered his face so his bangs could cover his eyes.

“I mean- Shinachiku… Shinachiku tells me HIS Dad gave up the Hokage position, and HIS father didn’t even have his parents around to teach him anything about being a good parent. He also mentioned that they died the day Naruto was born, sort of like how Auntie Sakura lost her own parents when the 9-tails attacked the village. Shinachiku also tells me that his father was always there for him, his sister, and his mother. And when he couldn’t, because Naruto was away on missions with his squad team for days because he was a Jonin, he’d always try to make up for it by smothering his family to death or spoiling them and buying them lots of presents. Why can’t my Dad be like his, so he could always be home? I mean, Menma and Naruto are the same people, basically, right? So why?”

When Hinata continued to say nothing but listen, Boruto continued.

“.......You know, sometimes… Sometimes I get jealous around Shinachiku because back in his world? He has a better family than we do. I’m sure of it, and whenever he talks about them, he always sounds so proud and happy. But whenever I speak about mines, the only one I feel so glad talking about is Himawari. You’re always making up excuses for Dads’ behavior like they’re not a big deal, and I know you want me to understand him. Still, Dad doesn’t even seem to want to acknowledge me. Whenever I try, he always scolds me and treats me like a little kid. But I’m not. I’m better than that, and I just wish he could see that… So, if he tries to understand me, I’ll try and understand him, but if he doesn’t…? Then, that’s that.”

“.........Being the Hokage is a very difficult job. But, it’s very crucial for the survival of the village.” Hinata explained as tears ran down the sides of her cheeks. “I know it’s hard growing up without your father, but deep down, just understand that he still loves you both very dearly.”

Boruto just sighs and walks away, not wanting to hear it. “Well, it doesn’t feel like he does sometimes, Mom… He should stay home and tell us that he loves us instead of leaving it up to us to determine it or not….” Boruto replies, sounding tired and exhausted. He reaches for the handle to the sliding door that leads to the hallway just outside the kitchen before he stops, “And anyways, it’s not even about me, but Himawari… She needs her father around.”

“Big brother….” Himawari whispered sadly.

The two girls say nothing more as Boruto walks defeatedly up to his room instead of chasing after Shinachiku, who was undoubtedly heading for the Hokage Office to give Menma a piece of his mind.

“Mommy…” Himawari sniffled as she leaned into her mother’s embrace. Hinata gently wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.

“Oh, Himawari…” Hinata whispers as she gently strokes her daughter's hair with her fingers. “I’m so sorry….”

Outside, Shinachiku continued to run, or even ninja hopping onto the roofs of the many houses or poles as he made his way quickly to Hokage’s Office. He was not even caring when his bare feet hit a particularly sharp rock or anything as he made his way there. He had been in such a hurry to get out of the Uzumaki house that he didn’t even bother to put his sandals back on or anything, as he was worried that Hinata might catch up to him and stop him from going.

‘That guy…! Why, why?!’ Shinachiku thought as his teeth gritted in anger, putting a bit more chakra into the soles of his feet as he launched himself forward, ‘Why is Menma like this?! I need to know!!’

Shinachiku growled as he made it to the Hokage Office, and caught Menma on the other side of his desk, slumped over out of exhaustion, and half sprawled on the floor. Shinachiku gritted his teeth as he leaped to one of the windows, pulled the window open, and climbed inside, “MENMA!! We need to talk, dattenaro!!”

“Huh, Shinachiku!?” Menma gasped as Shinachiku was on top of him in a flash.

Shinachiku reached forward, grabbed Menma by the collar, and pulled him onto his feet, “Why, Menma?! Why couldn’t you make it to Himawari’s birthday party?! Didn’t you make a promise that you would go to Boruto?!? Don’t you love your family?!?! Why!? ”

Menma only grunted in response, trying to pry Shinachiku’s hands off him. But this only made Shinachiku grip onto his cloak tighter, even as the older man struggled with the teenager. “It’s none of your concern! You’re not even from this world, so what’s it matter to you anyways!??”

“At least I give a crap about Boruto and the others!!!” Shinachiku screams back, tempted to raise his fist at the Hokage, and punch him out, even if it causes an incident in the Leaf. “At least I’m there, as part of the family!! I care more about Boruto and Himawari than you’ve ever shown the last four years I’ve been stuck here!!!”

Menma continues not to say anything as he, again, grabs at Shinachiku’s wrists and fingers, trying to pull them off. Still, Shinachiku only ended up infusing chakra into his hands so he’d hold on more as he lifted Menma off the ground for a second before slamming his back onto the desk, nearly breaking it from the force.

“It doesn’t take that much effort, you know….” Shinachiku spoke softly and breathly, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him who looked so much like his father. It hurt Shinachiku even more, knowing that. When all Shinachiku saw, whenever he looked into Menma’s face, was his father and how the total opposite Menma was to Naruto. “To just be there. That’s all…. That’s all those kids want… That’s all any kid would ever want. It is to know that you’re there, celebrating with and laughing with them. Talking to them!!”

“My Dad doesn’t even have parents to teach him how to be a good Dad, but knowing he’s at least there, trying his hardest is more than enough. And my Dad acts like a total child sometimes… He’s the biggest knucklehead of a father I’ve ever known, and yet, how is it that Naruto is more of a Dad than YOU? YOU who acts SO HIGH AND MIGHTY, just because you are the Hokage ….” Shinachiku blurts, tears forming in his eyes. For a moment, Menma sees only Sakura Haruno in his features as Shinachiku raises his fist. “I-I’m glad you’re not my father, and I’m not from this damn world because there’s no way in hell I’m ever thinking of you as one. You’re just a coward!!

“ If you weren’t ready for the commitment, you shouldn’t have become a PARENT. ”

Menma gasps just as Choji barges into the Hokage’s Office after hearing all the commotion going on inside, “Lord Seventh, what seems to be the pr-” Choji gasps when he sees Shinachiku standing atop Menma, half of Menma’s body was on the floor and the other half, suspended by the Hokage’s desk.

Choji gritted his teeth as he used the Partial Expansion Jutsu on one of his hands as he reached forward to grab Shinachiku off of Menma and pulled him off.

“Grrrrrr!! Let me go! I’m not finished yet!!!!” Shinachiku gasped as he couldn’t move and struggled against Choji’s grasp as his fingers wrapped entirely around the boy, allowing Menma to stand finally.

“Thanks, Choji…” Menma responds, the words Shinachiku had just told him, cutting in deep as he looked down at the ground and trying not to look at the raging, still struggling teen in Choji’s grasp.

“....Why was your eldest son trying to beat you up?” Choji asks, remembering how Menma and Hinata had both decided to pretend that Shinachiku was theirs, even though he learned from Hinata that Shinachiku had come from a different universe or world altogether that wasn’t Genjutsu.

“......I messed up again, Choji. It was my fault. I… I promised Boruto I’d go to Himawari’s birthday today, but I didn’t.” Menma sighed before scratching the back of his neck with his bandaged arm when his neck was aching from being slammed into the desk just a few seconds ago. “Ow…. Man, you did inherit Sakura’s strength, didn’t you?”

Menma finally looked at the boy, who was now glaring at him as he tried to free his arms, possibly for a Shadow Clone to summon so he could further beat up Menma for what transpired today. However, from what Menma said, Choji immediately knew that Menma was dropping the antics, and he nodded.

“Well… Shinachiku IS the other you and Sakura’s son….” Choji inquired, looking the boy over as he kept a tighter hold on him to keep him from making any hand signs, “Looks like he got your mothers’ attitude as well.”

“Heh, yeah, you got that right, though. I kind of deserve it anyways….” Menma professed, now rubbing his back a bit as he turned around and looked at his desk, which now had a massive crack down the middle, making the desk sink into a V-shape, and all the paperwork, his computer, and things slide down towards the center.

Choji sighed, exasperated, “Let me guess, you sent a Shadow Clone to the house, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… I did….”

“Menma… you’re completely hopeless, you know that? And you’re overdoing it again, as usual, to boot. I know you want to be a good Hokage like all the previous ones before you, but you should be thinking of yourself and your family, too, you idiot. I told you, you should go home already. I’ll handle the cleanup. Alright? Your family, your children matter too, you know?”

“I-I know, it’s just that it was impossible today, dattebayo,” Menma grunted as he helped Choji start by picking up a few of the papers before he heard Shinachiku screaming at them from Choji’s grip.