Hello, so I just came up with this on a whim with no prompt and sort of liked the idea and now I'm a bit obsessed with it. Anyway, I don't know how many more of these there'll be but I have a lot of ideas, so I hope you guys like it. :3

Characters: Naruto/Hinata, Hikaru, Aito, Raiden, Ayame, Shikamaru

Rating: K

Spoilers: Yes. Just yes. Don't read unless you're all caught up with the manga, or like being given away major plot points. (This applies to all future chapters.)

The Shadows of Storms

chapter one: admiration

by: x sleeping insomniac

-x-

In all her thirteen years, Hikaru has never seen her father raise his voice to her mother. On the other hand, her mother yells almost constantly at him for every such thing, and sometimes Hikaru hears her father mumbling that once, she used to be timid and soft-spoken and he doesn't know what happened in between but even though he doesn't gamble like Granny Tsunade he'd put his money on the kids.

In the past few years since he became Hokage, Hikaru has noticed a change in him. She remembers being little and her father being energetic and optimistic, and while he's still all smiles, she sees a serious look on his face more often than not nowadays. Her mother doesn't yell at him when he has that serious look. She says it's from stress—running a village is hard work.

Hikaru doesn't doubt this, but she wishes her dad would come out to the field and train with her like he used to when she was still in the Academy. And it isn't that she graduated and is a genin now that prevents him from going out with her because Koshiro and now Kenzou are both in the Academy and he trains with them as much as he does with her.

Her mother says he's just busy—running a village is a lot of work.

Hikaru sighs and spins her chopsticks in her ramen. Ayame-san runs Ichiraku ramen now that her father is too old and frail to do it himself but sometimes her younger boy helps her out. She looks pregnant again. Hikaru bets Ayame-san is wishing for a girl.

"Don't look so cheery, jeez," Aito teases her, nudging her ribs with his elbow. Beside him, Raiden looks over curiously.

"Raiden, eat your ramen," Ayame scolds him, pointing a finger at her oldest son. He frowns at her but does as she says. His brother Tadaaki giggles where he's kneading dough.

Hikaru puts her chopsticks down and folds her arms on the counter. "I'm not sad or anything, just thinking too much I guess." She looks up and meets Aito's emerald eyes. They are strikingly sincere and remind her of her father's with their intensity and honesty.

He grins at her, flashing his sharp canines, "Then don't think so much! There's free ramen, Hikaru-chan!"

"You're welcome," Raiden mumbles around a mouthful of noodles.

Aito ignores their teammate, "What're you thinking about that's making you so gloomy?"

"I'm not gloomy!" Hikaru protests, dark eyebrows knitting together. Then she sighs because she knows she's fighting for a lost cause, it's always that way with Aito. His instincts or whatever are too sharp. "I'm just thinking about how my dad used to help me out with kunai and stuff when I was in the Academy, when he first became Hokage."

He looks confused, "That sounds like a happy memory."

"Well, yeah, it is, but he doesn't do it anymore and that's what makes me…gloomy."

"My dad still trains with me," Raiden says, pushing his empty bowl of ramen away from him. Ayame takes it and tries to give him a second bowl but Raiden indicates to his flat stomach and flaps his arms at her. She rolls her eyes and just turns away.

Aito, after watching the strange and silent exchange between mother and son, looks at Raiden, "You're not helping. And besides, that's expected, he's a sensei."

"Your dad trains with you."

"Beside the point!" Aito shouts, turning his back fully to Hikaru so she can only assume he's making all kinds of facial expressions to get his point across to an apathetic-looking Raiden.

"Anyway, neither of our dads are the Hokage," he's saying as he turns back around.

Hikaru sighs again and eats more of her ramen, not wanting Ayame-san to yell at her for wasting any, even though she's not hungry anymore. She thinks that maybe she should bring some home for her dad, he'd appreciate it because he never gets to come to Ichiraku anymore—after all, running a village is dedicated work. "Ayame-san, can I have a bowl to go?"

Ayame offers a warm smile, "Sure! For your dad?" When Hikaru nods, she says, "Tell him I said hello, then. It's on the house, of course."

Aito lifts his bowl to his lips and drains the broth. He slams the bowl back down on the counter and makes a satisfied noise. "Man, how can you be gloomy after ramen like that?"

"Thank you, Aito-kun," Ayame muses.

He grins again, "No problem! But seriously, Hikaru-chan, I know you miss your dad and all, but it's not like you'll see him much anyway when we become chuunin. We'll have too many missions!"

"That was literally no help at all," Raiden comments.

"Oh, shut up, Raiden, try to be sensitive," Aito tells him. Hikaru finishes her ramen just as Ayame hands her a warm to-go box. She slips off her stool and ducks out of the ramen stand.

"Hey, Hikaru-chan, where are you going?" Aito shouts, running after her.

Her brows knit, she figured it was pretty obvious where she was going but then again it was Aito she was talking to, she supposes. "Um, to give this to my dad. Before it gets cold."

"Oh, right, right! We'll come with you!" he exclaims, waving Raiden over.

Raiden is exactly four inches taller than Aito and five taller than Hikaru. You wouldn't know it though, by the way he hunches over when he walks. He sort of resembles and old and bent tree that was stretched too thin.

Aito, as always, points out their teammate's stance, "You have horrible posture, Raiden."

His dark eyes disinterestedly look over Aito and he shrugs, "You're short."

Naturally, Aito bristles over this and Hikaru has to duck out of the way to avoid Aito's lunge at Raiden that would have gotten the ramen spilled. She laughs softly as Raiden has to hold Aito at an arm's length away to keep the shorter genin's hands away from hitting him. He looks terribly bored with the whole ordeal, but keeping Aito at bay requires him to stand at his full height, and Aito recognizes how much of a disadvantage he's at and eventually backs off, arms crossed and grumbling about "tall, dark weirdos."

Hikaru's mother is chatting amiably with one of their neighbors when they reach her house. She spots her daughter and her teammates and waves, pausing in her conversation.

"Hi, honey, say hi to Mrs. Sazaki-san," she says when they're closer.

"Hi, Mrs. Sazaki-san," Hikaru greets dutifully, lifting a corner of her mouth.

The middle-aged woman beams, "Oh, such a sweetheart you are, and so pretty, too. These young boys must be head-over-heels for you, I bet."

Aito blushes approximately sixteen different shades of red and starts to protest but thinks better of it and instead looks at his feet while Raiden just stands there with an awkward look on his face.

"Actually, Mrs. Sazaki-san, we're just friends. Teammates," Hikaru explains, trying to save her friends from the embarrassment. Her mother chuckles to herself.

Mrs. Sazaki just sort of laughs, and then makes up an excuse to hobble back into her house. Hikaru turns to face the boys. "Thanks for walking me home, guys."

Aito brightens and lifts his hand in a wave, "No problem, Hikaru-chan! Cheer up though! Goodbye, Uzumaki-san!" Raiden raises a palm and turns away.

As Hikaru and her mother turn and walk inside, her mother says, "Please tell your friends to call me Hinata. You don't call Kiba-kun Inuzuka-san, do you? He would hate that."

"I don't speak to Inu—I mean, Kiba-san, very often. It's just polite, Mom."

She frowns, "It makes me feel old."

Hikaru wants to tell her that well, she is up there but decides that that may not be the best of ideas and walks without reply into the foyer. She takes off her sandals with her feet as to avoid spilling any more ramen than she probably already has and goes to find her father.

Naturally, he's in his study. She cradles to to-go box in one arm and knocks on his door before entering the room. He looks up blankly for a moment, and then his face breaks into a smile when he sees her. "Hey, Hikaru!"

She can't help but smile back. Hikaru goes to his desk and puts down the box. "I got you this while I was out, Papa," she tells him.

"Don't tell me this is…" he starts to say, opening the box. "Ichiraku!" He takes the plastic bowl out of the box and sets it on his paperwork. Hikaru starts to tell him to be careful because she may have spilt some of it while avoiding Aito's lunge at Raiden but he leans over his desk before she can get the words out and plants a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks, really, this is the best. I haven't had this in…God I can't remember in how long." He grins again and tears the plastic seal off the bowl.

As he shovels a massive amount of noodles and pork into his mouth, Hikaru smiles again and turns to leave, but her father says something unintelligible through his food and she stops, waiting.

He chews vigorously, his face a mixture of concentration and bliss, and then swallows, "Don't leave, kiddo, sit down a sec."

She does as he says and climbs into the chair to the left of his desk. He finishes another mouthful and looks at her, "So, you went to Ichiraku Ramen?"

Hikaru thinks this was rather obvious but she nods to oblige him. "Went with your team?" he's asking her.

"Yes, Papa."

He smiles and looks away, reminiscing, "Oh man, I remember when I used to go at your age. I had the biggest crush on Sakura-chan, you know. I never expected she would get with Kiba. Shame Itachi-kun wasn't assigned to your team, that would've been too perfect, though. Who is on his team? It's so hard to keep track of all these genin, lemme tell ya."

"Yamanaka Keisuke and Rock Nozomi are on Itachi-san's team."

"Right, right. Kiba is their sensei, right?"

Hikaru nods again and her father thoughtfully places a hand on his chin and scratches. "I miss teaching genin. It's a great feeling, having those kids look up to you so much. Course the world was a different place when I was your age training under Kakashi-sensei. D-class missions turned into A-class while we were on them and you never really knew all the ins and outs of a job. Now, everything is laid out, plain and simple." He sort of laughed, but it was bitter. "Makes me almost miss the Akatsuki, and Madara and them. They teach you about those guys in the Academy?"

"Yes, I know all about the Akatsuki, we took an exam on all their personal info and stuff. We also went over a lot about the Fourth Shinobi War." Her grin spreads wide and her cheeks color a little, "They talked on and on about you!"

His smile turns sheepish and she can see his own cheeks starting to turn red. "Aw, that's nice. Glad they're teaching that. It's important to know your history. Koshiro is still on the Third Shinobi War, if I recall. Important stuff. I mean I never paid attention to it much, but still. I wish I had, and I would've if I had known about my dad and Kakashi-sensei and Obito. I tended to do better in school when I could relate."

It's nice to sit and talk with her father. She doesn't get to anymore. She listens intently as he tells her about when he, Sasuke-san and Sakura-san were all genin under Hatake-san. He tells her her favorite story of their trip to the Land of Waves and their run-in with Momochi Zabuza when all they were supposed to be doing was escorting the builder. He tells tales of Sasuke when he was driven by the need to get revenge and how he left the village after the Chuunin Exams to join with Orochimaru and essentially become stronger. He recounts the first time he saw the original Uchiha Itachi, (born June ninth to Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, elder brother of Uchiha Sasuke, former ANBU, murdered entire Uchiha clan, (excluding Sasuke,) and banned from the village while acting under direct orders of the council, killed by Sasuke at twenty-one, Hikaru remembers from her lessons,) when he was a part of the Akatsuki and he and Hoshigaki Kisame, (born March eighteenth in Kirigakure, an original member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, defected after being honored for his loyalty to Kiri due to what he believed were misguided principles, committed suicide to protect Akatsuki secrets at thirty-three,) tried to kidnap him for the Kyuubi.

Hikaru can hear the sadness in his voice when he talks about Jiraiya even before he mentions his death and that makes Hikaru sad, too. But he smiles as he talks, despite the fact that he's digging up painful memories where he failed, as a shinobi and as a friend, as a student. She doesn't really want to hear this. She has never imagined her father, Uzumaki Naruto, the Sixth Hokage, as any sort of failure, and to listen to him recount fallen comrades and failed missions is image altering to her. He tells her about when he lost against Sasuke when they tried to bring him back but she cannot imagine her father facing defeat. Against Uchiha Sasuke of all people.

But he has victories, too. He has achieved unbelievable things, looked death in the face on more than one occasion. Hikaru still admires him and her heart glows as he talks about taking down the traitor Mizuki when he was still in the Academy, his defeat of Gaara and the Shukaku, how he learned the Rasengan technique his father created and defeated Kabuto, how he trained for nearly three years under Jiraiya and became much stronger. She has never heard these tales before and she sits very still and hangs on every word.

Eventually, there is a knock on the door just as her father is getting to his epic battle against Pain after the village was destroyed, and her mother peaks in as if on cue, when her husband is telling their daughter about how quiet little Hyuuga Hinata stood up alone to a man who called himself god. Her pale eyes fall first on Naruto and then on her daughter, "Sorry to interrupt, but it's very late, you should be getting to bed, Hikaru."

"Okay, Mom."

Hinata leaves the study and her father checks the time. "Oh, I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I hope I didn't bore you, got a little carried away, heheh."

Hikaru rises from her chair and makes her way to the door. She stops before she opens it, "Papa? Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure."

She flushes, eerily similar to the way her mother used to when she was the very same age and even starts twiddling her fingers. "I was wondering if you could train with me, like we used to after my Academy lessons."

He stares at her for a moment, expressionless, and then breaks out into his classic cheery smile, "Of course! I didn't know you still wanted my help."

"Of course I do, Papa."

"Good, then. I'll see you tomorrow. You better be ready."

Hikaru's smile is almost too broad for her face but she can't seem to manage to relax her muscles anymore, "I will be." And she turns and leaves the room, closing the door behind her. She crosses through the large house and makes her way to her room. After she slides open the door and changes into her pajamas, she crawls into bed, still smiling.

-x-

The next day, as Hikaru is eating her lunch with Shikamaru-sensei, Aito and Raiden, she notices that she can't stop looking at her sensei because all she can think of are the stories her father told the night before. She knew Shikamaru-sensei was awesome and all, but she never knew just how awesome.

She's thinking about how he single-handedly took down the immortal Akatsuki member Hidan, (born April second in the former shinobi village Yugakure, known follower of the cult-religion Jashinism, buried alive by her sensei himself at the age of twenty-three, (she kind of wants to see where he buried him if she's being honest,)) when he catches her staring and frowns, "Get enough sleep last night, Hikaru-chan?"

She blinks, feeling her cheeks go red half from getting caught staring and half from the dark circles under her eyes being pointed out. "Um, well not really."

Her sensei chews thoughtfully, "And why not? Good sleep is important."

"Yes, I know, Shikamaru-sensei, I just, ah," she pauses while she searches for words that don't include how she was awake half the night because she was thinking of cool things her father had done when he was younger, "I just had a lot of trouble falling asleep. Must've been something in the ramen."

"Oi, don't you talk about my mom's ramen like that," Raiden said, narrowing his dark eyes at her.

Aito joins in, "Yeah and besides, I slept fine and I ordered the same thing as you."

"So it obviously has nothing to do with the ramen," Raiden continues, his stare unforgiving. Hikaru flinches a little from his gaze.

"Quit it with the ramen defense, sheesh," Aito inputs.

Shikamaru-sensei heaves a sigh and holds up one of his broad hands. "Just forget I asked," he tells her. "But don't forget that getting a good night's sleep is important. Just as important as a healthy diet," he eyes Aito's minimal inclusion of vegetables and large portion of chips that are in his lunch tray, "and staying fit and active."

Hikaru nods, "Yes, sensei."

Practice resumes after lunch, and Hikaru gets to sit back and watch Aito and Raiden duel. She fights the winner since she's the best on the team, Shikamaru-sensei told her, which made her smile. Aito excels at taijutsu while Raiden is okay in that area, (mostly because he's tall, lanky and awkward,) but much better when it comes to ninjutsu, genjutsu and chakra control. Aito struggles to get close to Raiden, who has definitely began to develop an expertise in evasion, and is forced to rely mostly on kunai. The match gets close after Aito manages to release the genjutsu he's placed under and closes in on his teammate.

Raiden, who had been sure in his technique, is taken off guard by Aito's kick. Soon, he's cornered, and although Hikaru thinks the win should have rewarded to Raiden for his effort and overall skill, she winds up facing Aito. He grins when she approaches him.

"Please don't kill him, Hikaru-chan," Shikamaru-sensei calls in a bored tone from the sidelines.

She grins, "Hear that, Aito-kun? Sensei is worried for your life."

His brilliant green eyes roll exaggeratedly, "Yeah, yeah. God, I can only imagine if you had the Byakugan."

"Lucky for you I don't."

Aito tries to take her by surprise and launches towards her at full speed, but even though Hikaru lacks the Byakugan she can see his attack easily enough. She ducks and then summons just enough chakra, careful not to use harmful amounts, and while her fist begins to glow a faint blue, she grabs one of Aito's arms and twists it around his back, aiming her chakra-filled palm between his shoulder blades.

"Juuken." Gentle Fist.

Aito collapses at the sudden pain, but quickly rolls away from her second fist that was close to inflicting more damage to his chakra system. His body contorts until he regains balance on his hands and he aims a kick that could have broken her jaw if she hadn't seen it coming.

But she does, of course, she's not the Hokage's daughter for nothing, and blocks it, counter-attacking with a solid elbow to the back of his neck.

Hikaru, after about fifteen minutes of ducking and inflicting wounds on Aito, is declared the winner and flashes a victorious smile Aito's way. Her eyes begin to sting from their keeping them open against the heaviness but despite the dark circles underneath them they shine brightly. Sensei offers a "well done" when they make their way back over to where he and Raiden are standing.

Shikamaru-sensei is commenting on a few things he noticed while they were fighting when the Hokage strolls onto the training field. It's just after six and the sun is beginning to sink in the sky, leaving the horizon a shade of orange. "Hokage-sama," Shikamaru-sensei greets, straightening a little.

Naruto grins and lifts his arm to wave, "Hey, Shikamaru!"

Raiden has his typical expression on his face that could either be read as disinterest or boredom and Aito is nearly gushing at being in the presence of the mighty Hokage of Konohagakure. Naruto finally reaches where they're all standing in the field and puts his fists against his sides. "How'd training go, guys?"

Aito struggles for words worthy of speaking to the Hokage and Raiden shrugs, so Hikaru is the one left to answer. "Well after conditioning and lunch, Aito-kun beat Raiden-kun and then I beat Aito-kun."

Her father's grin spreads, "That's great!" and for a second it's almost like he goes to reach and ruffle Hikaru's hair like he used to, but maybe thinks of her pride or dignity and decides not to embarrass her, (although Aito probably would've been extremely jealous of her and Raiden and Shikamaru-sensei just wouldn't have cared.)

"If you don't mind me asking, Hokage-sama, why are you here?" Shikamaru-sensei asks.

He laughs at her sensei's politeness and attempts his best Shikamaru impression, "Well, Nara-san, if you must inquire, I am here to spend some quality time with my eldest child." He struggles to hold in his laughter and so does Hikaru, although she's blushing fiercely because if you asked her, her father was acting a bit immature.

Sensei just frowns. "Alright then, Naruto. Just wasn't sure if that was…appropriate."

Naruto waves a hand at him, "It's fine, it's fine, we're old friends. I'm just more important than you now."

"Can't argue with that."

Shikamaru is met with a wide grin, "No, you can't. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, by the way."

He shakes his head, "No, just wrapping things up here."

"Good, good. You don't mind if I borrow Hikaru-chan, then, right?" Naruto asks.

Her sensei shakes his head again, "Go right ahead. Not much to comment on, she was practically flawless today."

Aito, his pride wounded finally manages to make words, "No way, Shikamaru-sensei! I got some good hits in!"

Naruto chuckles and puts his arm around Hikaru's shoulders. "Glad to hear that, Shikamaru. You must be training her pretty well."

He shrugs, "I do what I can. These two, on the other hand."

Aito starts to protest again and Raiden heaves a sigh but Shikamaru just holds up a hand to let Aito know that he's not gonna hear it so he better quit now. "Anyway, Hokage-sama—Naruto—whatever—Hikaru-chan, enjoy your evening. We'll be getting going, so the field's yours."

"Thanks."

Shikamaru-sensei and Hikaru's teammates head off back towards the center of Konoha and for a little while, she and her father stand there watching them retreat. Then Naruto lets out a little laugh, "That Aito kid reminds me a lot of myself when I was your age," Hikaru is beginning to believe that "when I was your age" is quickly becoming her father's favorite phrase, "but I guess he's a lot like Kiba, too. You guys all get along?"

Hikaru nods. It's true, the usual bickering being the only exception.

He gives a close-mouthed smile, "That's good. Sasuke and I fought all the time and Sakura-chan was always hitting me. Kakashi-sensei never did much to help, either."

Then he turns and faces her, "Alright, kiddo, ready?"

She nods more enthusiastically then she thinks she's ever nodded in her entire life.

The Hokage of Konohagakure, her father, grins, "Alright then, let's get started."