I guess this seems like an odd choice to post on Naruto's birthday. ^^;; This is solely in Hiashi's point of view, however, it deals with him encountering Naruto at a young age. I like to imagine that he, Minato and Kushina were friends, which is partly why I ended up writing this. The other part...? Wait until the end. I'll explain it there! XD

This actually started a series of ideas where Minato and Kushina's friends meet up with Naruto and each give him something that ends up shaping his personality. However, I haven't finished them yet. I'm working on another fic (I so hope I get to post that! T_T ) and it's kind of taken over everything. I had planned on waiting until I finished all of them to post. I guess that didn't work out too well! XD I'll wait until I finish the others before I post them, but they'll be separate one shots. I get a chance to post fics with Naruto and a minor character; I'm taking it! :p

As I'm sure you can tell, Yukina is the name I chose for Hinata's mother, Hiashi's wife. Since her name hasn't been revealed, I had to use something!

Well...enjoy! :)

Title: Nonsense
Genre: General
Timeline: Pre and Post Manga
Summary: A simple word. A lonely swing. In a moment of grief, Hiashi teaches a young Naruto about his mother. Years later, he meets again with that same boy and comes to terms with the mistakes of his past.
Pairings: Mentions of NaruHina
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it. Perhaps, Yukina's name is the only thing that's mine here!

Hyuuga Hiashi was a rare sight indeed. Emotions were not something that came easily to his clan. More often than not, the world only saw their steely white eyes and impassionate faces. They kept their feelings hidden, as a true Hyuuga was a strong force, an elite warrior, coming from a noble background.

Nevertheless, Hiashi felt none of that on this day. He was still numb with shock over the passing of his beloved wife, Yukina, a few days ago. Barely able to deal with the responsibilities of his position, he had left the Hyuuga compound, dazed with a deep feeling of loss and his eyes…his normally icy glare…defeated and aimless.

The elders of his clan would likely disapprove of his lack of composure. For the past few years, they had looked down at Hinata, his daughter, for her obvious compassion. The Hyuuga frowned upon such traits, especially for the heir. However, Yukina had disregarded all thought to proper Hyuuga ideals and nurtured and cherished that compassion.

And while the elders considered his daughter weak for such emotions, Hiashi tried to push her to be stronger because he knew she could be strong.

Yukina had been strong, although, as she so often reminded him, Hinata needed different ways to grow into a warrior, not the Hyuuga way.

Hiashi paused, his wife's voice echoing in his head. Perhaps I should have been the one who had died…To be struck down by that illness…Yukina would have been better at raising Hinata…not me…

She most certainly would not have left her crying in her room over the death of a parent, alone within the compound with the elders who had always expressed dissatisfaction over such displays of emotion.

Comforting such a grieving child was beyond his abilities. It did not help that looking at Hinata hurt Hiashi for her obvious resemblance, in looks and in personality, to Yukina.

What do I do now? he asked himself. How can I raise two daughters without the guidance of my wife? He had no idea what he needed to do, what he should do. The Hyuuga way stressed to accept emotions with poise and dignity, but Yukina was far more to Hiashi than the Hyuuga way could possibly have prepared him.

So lost in his thoughts, the noise far in front of Hiashi went unnoticed…not until a young child ran right into his legs.

"Ahh!"

Blinking, Hiashi stared down at the boy who had fallen backward on to the ground…and startled. This boy… He had spiky blond hair while the very tips of those odd whisker marks showed up on his cheeks. His clothes were tattered and dirty, but as he looked up, his very blue eyes meeting Hiashi's white ones, he blinked before standing up and taking the Hyuuga leader's hand. "Mister! Help me!" he pleaded.

Very discreetly, Hiashi flinched. It was then he heard the noise from the direction the boy had come from. From the stories he had heard, there was no doubt the boy had preformed some prank on someone, particularly since the tones of the voices were angry and expressed sentiments of 'you're not going to get away with this!'

"Please!" pleaded the boy again. For a brief moment, Hiashi flashed back to another prankster…and a sense of guilt overcame him. Perhaps it was that remorse which prompted him to help the boy or his grief over his wife had caused him to weaken, just as the clan elders had always warned. Perhaps Yukina herself was urging him to do this, but whatever the reason, he tightened his hand around the blond boy's and calmly walked in another direction away from the voices.

_oOo_oOo_

"Where are we going, Mister?"

All these questions! thought Hiashi, irritably, at what had to be the twenty-fifth inquiry. Inwardly, he felt glad Hinata never talked a mile a minute, as Uzumaki Naruto was prone to doing. As he had done before, he ignored the boy's question and instead turned the corner to a once familiar location to him: the Ninja Academy grounds.

Disregarding the new queries into why they were here, Hiashi led Naruto directly to the tree that stood right across from the building and the swing that hung from its branches.

Naruto gazed at the swing curiously for a second before a smile spread over his face. He let go of Hiashi's hand and headed straight for the swing.

As the boy started to move back and forth, a fond look graced Hiashi's face. "You like this swing, do you?" he asked, hint of amusement in his voice.

Naruto suddenly stopped, astonishment in his eyes. "You talked!" he said as he pointed at Hiashi. "I thought you couldn't talk!"

Refraining from laughing, he raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Oh, I can talk," replied Hiashi. "I just know when not to talk."

Naruto looked bewildered, which did not surprise Hiashi in the slightest. He recalled another person who never stopped talking, either. "Huh?" asked Naruto, confusion plastered over his face.

"Nothing." If he's anything like her, explaining the concept will just go to waste. "I said, you like this swing, correct?"

As if the previous conversation had not happened, Naruto nodded his head eagerly. "Yep! Like it a lot! Lots of fun! Why did you bring me here, Mister?"

Memories filtered through Hiashi's mind, preventing him from answering right away. He glanced around the courtyard, remembering the carefree times he and his friends had spent here, in the training fields or elsewhere in Konoha. The times when the stiffness that came with being a Hyuuga would actually melt away, replaced with something that resembled a human.

A more dignified human, but a human nonetheless.

"Mister? You gonna talk again?"

Hiashi repressed the smile that threatened to envelop his face. "I will. There was someone I knew once. She took to this swing many times when we were children." He turned to look at Naruto, but almost seeing a slightly older, long red-haired, girl in his place. "I thought you might appreciate it as well."

The boy blankly stared up at him. "A-pre-she-eight?"

Yukina's gentle voice filled his head. "Hiashi, children won't understand such large words. Use smaller words when you're talking to Hinata."

A sense of loss twisted through him. How was he going to last without her in his life?

"I mean, I thought you might enjoy it." As a dawning look of realization fell upon the boy, Hiashi studied him. Hinata was five now, as painful as it was remember that Yukina had only been his wife for such a short period of time, so that meant Naruto was five, too… "How old are you," he asked.

Naruto quickly held up a hand, five fingers up. "Five, but I'll be six in a few months." He held up another hand, only one finger up this time. A sad expression overcame him. "That'll mean it'll be my birthday…I don't like my birthdays. If people aren't ignoring me, they're looking at me like they hate me."

Again, a sense of guilt threatened to tear him up. This boy, the son of two of his friends, was so alone. He remembered he, along with his other friends, had promised her that they would be her family, a year after her clan had been wiped out.

And despite knowing he could not take care of two daughters, much less another child, he still wished he and his two remaining friends, could come together to take care of this boy. Yukina had often expressed she and Mikoto wished they could help young Naruto, but somehow, a rift had come between them. How it had started, he did not know.

Perhaps it had been after Hizashi had stopped hanging out with them once he had been sealed with the Caged Bird jutsu after Hiashi had been secured as the heir or Minato's appointment to Hokage. All of them had still been friends then, but somehow, distance seemed to seep into their bonds, straining them and splintering. Only Yukina, Kushina and Mikoto had remained deep friends.

Then the Kyuubi attack had happened. The law in place that prevented the knowledge of the Kyuubi and who it was sealed within from being spoken to anyone also had another, more secret provision to it. To anyone who knew, no one could reveal the fact that Naruto was the son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze.

That knowledge was limited to only a few, as far as Hiashi knew of. Himself, Fugaku, Mikoto, Sarutobi, Kakashi and more than likely, Jiraiya. Hizashi and Yukina had also known the secret. Yukina had been the reason a pregnant Kushina had gone on asking her friends what would happen when the Yellow Flash and Red Habanero had a child in the last few months before October tenth.

Both had got their wish. Naruto was certainly turning into a little orange ninja.

And that reminded him of another thing, something he and Hizashi had sworn to do once long ago, when Mikoto and Fugaku had announced their marriage and Kushina had been beside herself in thinking she was going to lose her best friend. Fugaku had tried to get rid of the Uzumaki by making up a story about clan elders believing that the Uzumaki clan would die out since Kushina was obvious not interested in having children.

Kushina had felt challenged by that, Mikoto had made Fugaku talk Kushina out of it and an embarrassed Minato had vowed to continue to use Hiraishin on Fugaku and vow to teach his future child it so to torment Fugaku's future children forever and ever.

"So that is why you play…practical jokes on people, then?" he asked, amusement failing to keep out of his voice.

Naruto gazed up, surprised. "How'd ya know I play pranks?"

"I'm not so inattentive that I would not notice such events occurring." Seeing the boy's confusion again, he quickly focused on the matter at hand. "In any case, that is why you do these things, so people will not ignore you?"

The boy nodded his head, his face gloomy. "Yeah. They're lots of fun to do, but sometimes, it's not enough. People ignore me even when I talk." He looked back up at Hiashi. "Cept they don't make it look like they can't talk."

"I see." For the first time since the death of Hizashi, Hiashi wished his brother could be with him now to contribute to this. "You remember what I said about a friend of mine who liked to frequent this swing?" After a hesitant nod, Hiashi continued, "Well, she also loved to perform practical jokes on people as well." Naruto's eyes lit up. "She also had a word she always said." He chuckled lightly. "It was compulsive and I dare say she hated that she always said it whenever she had an emotional outburst, however, it stood to define her and it made others notice her."

Naruto slid off the swing, staring up at him in eagerness. "What? What? What did she say?"

Hiashi had now stepped upon very tricky ground. Surely, by doing this, it would make the comparisons to Naruto and Kushina even more pronounced. However, if he could not take care of the boy himself or tell him of the parents he obviously needed to know about, the least Hiashi could do was help the boy in trying to gain acknowledgement…like his father did…and in some ways…his mother, too.

"I think you may need a different word then what she used," he continued. "Hers was more feminine and I believe you should be unique in any case."

"Okay." Naruto nodded seriously. "Then what should I say?"

"Hmm…" Hiashi tried to think, folding his arms and patting them. What had been the word he and Hizashi had agreed upon? "Datteba…"

"Datteba…" repeated Naruto, holding his hand under his chin.

Dattebane…dattebane…dattebane…datteba…yo…" Dattebayo...that had been the nonsense word they had come up with. "Ah, dattebayo," he said, feeling satisfied at remembering it. "That seems to be a word that just expresses the concept of 'look at me, everyone."

Naruto mulled over the word. "Dattebayo…dattebayo…" Then he smiled, raised his arms and screamed, "Dattebayo!"

Hiashi could not help but smile as the young blond ran around in circles, yelling, "Dattebayo!" at the top of his lungs. Finally, he stopped in front of Hiashi, a huge grin on his face. "I like it-dattebayo! It's the best word ever!"

Hiashi nodded his head. "Glad you like it." He turned to leave. "Perhaps I'll see you again one day, but I hope you will not be running away from something then."

"Nope! I'll be a sneaky ninja and won't let them catch me."

As long as he doesn't learn Hiraishin, thought Hiashi, the village just might rest in peace…Fugaku, especially.

As he rounded the corner, Naruto oblivious to his surroundings as he swung in his newfound swing and shouted his new nonsense word, he meet up with a very familiar person. "Hokage-sama," he greeted the man, respectfully.

Sarutobi nodded at him in response. He took the pipe out of his mouth and gazed at the wall that hid the blond boy from his view. "I hope you telling him that will not make it clear she is the boy's mother," he said, worry evident in his voice.

A stoic expression slid over his face. "I hope not as well, however, that boy needs to have something of his parents and it might be too soon to give him something of his father's. Since he's so much like his mother now, it makes sense to give him something of hers."

"True." Sarutobi then looked back at Hiashi, humor alit in his eyes. "However, is that the only reason for suggesting such a thing to him? As I recall, she hated the fact she always said that word."

Hiashi smirked. "There was another reason. Hizashi and I said we would get revenge on her once." He shrugged. "We thought it would be perfect retribution to have that word passed on."

Sarutobi laughed. "So that's why I'm hearing her screaming at you from the beyond!"

"I hope I did not overstep my bounds, Hokage-sama," asked Hiashi, returning to the role of a dutiful subject to his village leader.

Sarutobi sighed, smoke coming from his mouth and rising in the air. "I have no intention of punishing you, Hiashi. I admit I am worried about this newfound comparison to her, but you never said anything about them directly, merely in vague allusions. Besides…" He brought his pipe back up to his face. "That part of the law is not quite binding as the unspoken, public one is. It's more of a guide to those who know, a reminder of what's at stake."

Briefly, Hiashi thought back to Hinata's kidnapping over two years ago, ignoring the pain that came with Hizashi's death at thinking about it. Children of famous heroes of Konoha were often targeted for some reason or another. For their abilities or for revenge, sometimes, it was not safe to have a famous parent. "Yes. That's true."

"But if I were you, Hiashi, I would be more worried about something else."

He looked up, confused by what he meant. "Hokage-sama?"

Suddenly, Sarutobi smiled. "I would be more worried about being haunted by her now."

Hiashi blinked before an image of a ghostly Kushina performing ghost pranks on him during council meetings or during training with Hinata or even during his teatime in the afternoons when he expressed not to be disturbed by anything or anyone…and a cold sweat filled him. "Yes…she would find a way to torment me from the afterlife," he said, finally, suppressing the urge to cringe.

And with that, Hiashi walked away, leaving a very amused Sarutobi to turn the corner and meet his young charge. However, soon he remembered why he had been out in the village in the first place and slowed his pace. Yukina…

He wanted so desperately to walk up to the Hyuuga compound and see her greet him with that gentle smile. Now, the only time he would see it would be on Hinata…something she had inherited from her.

I can't be a father to Hinata…I keep seeing Yukina in her. He closed his eyes, guilt creeping up to him at the unspoken admission. He could not be a father to his daughter, the one who likely needed him the most, the one who needed so much encouragement when she failed in his eyes and the eyes of the elders.

He opened his eyes and gazed upward, hopelessly wanting the guidance of his wife…his brother…and the dear friends who had passed so early in their lives. I really need all of you…Yukina…Hizashi…Minato…Kushina…all of you would know what to do.

You would help me when I feel so bound by the rules and strict life of a Hyuuga.

_oOo_oOo_

Hiashi stared at the tombstones with a forlorn expression. Alone in the graveyard, he felt he could finally express emotion. He had not demonstrated such feelings at Fugaku and Mikoto's funeral. Or Minato and Kushina's or at the private memorial for Hizashi. Not even at Yukina's funeral had he allowed himself even a sad look toward the procession.

"It's been about nineteen years, Minato," he said, softly. "Nineteen…" He looked down at the flowers he had gotten for their graves. Not too far away were the obvious indication of other burial places he had visited…Hizashi, Fugaku and Mikoto's graves all had a white wreath of flowers atop the grass.

Only one wreath remained; the one he had planned for Yukina's site.

"You both should see the village now. He's quite the hero." He chuckled. "Already Tsunade-sama's grooming him to be the next Hokage in a few years. I believe he will be our youngest ever, even beating you, Minato. I'm sure that would please you. Both of you."

Hiashi felt the presence once he had entered the graveyard. He could tell exactly where the presence was headed as well, but he remained rooted to where he was. Even though the boy knew who his parents were, Hiashi had not approached him at all. Not when he had started dating his daughter. Not when the knowledge of Naruto's lineage had become public knowledge.

Part of him had been afraid. Afraid of the reaction he would receive. The boy had needed a family and, as Mikoto had once promised Kushina, he already had one, but they had been pulled away from each other…bonds worn down by distance…separated by duty…governed by a law to protect the boy from those who would spill his blood in revenge for his father's actions.

He remembered Yukina once wistfully say one day with deep regret overflowing from her voice, "I wish we could do more, Hiashi… Mikoto and I…we've talked about it over and over again…what's happened to all of us? If we were still friends, I know we could have thought of something to help little Naruto."

At the time, Hiashi had not agreed. He had been unable to see beyond his duty to the Hyuuga, blinded by the elders and their insistence to have a strong and powerful heir.

Then Yukina had died… He had pushed Hinata aside, the pain of her resemblance to her mother made it hurt too much for him to bear. Hanabi, without the guidance of a caring and loving mother, had become far more like the Hyuuga ideal than her older sister, even if the elders had felt she was still weak. Hiashi had thrown himself in his duty in grief, let it consume him…until a match between Neji and Naruto had caused him to change…toward his nephew and his eldest daughter.

He still remembered the day he had taught young Naruto his nonsense word and introduced him to the swing outside the academy. Now he wished he had gone straight to Fugaku and Mikoto, rekindled their friendship, forgot about their duty and the roles that had driven them apart.

Maybe then Naruto's life would have been different; maybe Hinata's life would have been different. Maybe Fugaku and Mikoto would not have died had they been friends again…

"Hiashi?" The Hyuuga leader glanced to his side. Uzumaki Naruto stood there, two bouquets of flowers in his hands, confusion plastered all over his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Visiting," he replied, vaguely, returning to two graves in front of him. He moved to the side a bit, giving the blond some room, however, the boy remained where he was, gazing at the flower wreaths curiously.

Recognition dawned on Naruto and he quickly stared back, almost accusingly in nature. "You knew my parents?" he asked in disbelief.

Not allowing the resigned feeling he felt show, Hiashi simply nodded his head. "Yes…I knew them." He gazed at the graves before he felt compelled to say more. "My wife…" Brief pain sprung up at just saying the word. "…She was friends with your mother. Uchiha Mikoto had been friends with them as well. At some point, I, along with my brother, Hizashi, and Uchiha Fugaku somehow found ourselves friends with her and Minato."

Naruto blinked, a hurt look passing over his face. He tightened his hold on the bouquets. "Why didn't you say something to me?" he said, softly. "I've been over to your house so many times. You've had plenty of chances to tell me." He looked up, not accusing, but clearly upset. "So why…"

"I've been asking myself that for so many years," Hiashi muttered. "Somehow, our friendship drifted apart. I think duty came between us, especially between my brother and me. After Minato became Hokage, I believe it became worse. All of us were so engrossed in running the clans or organization we had been brought up to lead or had strived for to obtain."

"What kind of an excuse is that?" retorted Naruto, cynically, still glaring.

A sad smile overtook Hiashi's mouth. "I never said it was a good one. There was also a silent agreement, a provision, if you will, to the law forbidding anyone from talking about your status as the Kyuubi Junchuuriki to the children your age and younger."

"An agreement?" asked Naruto. "You mean Old Man Hokage told you not to tell anyone because of my dad's enemies?"

Caught off guard, Hiashi turned to the blond in surprise. "Well, yes. That's correct."

The boy frowned. He glanced to the graves of his parents and then walked over to the front. He laid one bouquet on top of one of the wreaths and laid the second bunch on top of the other. "I guess I can understand that." His voice was serious, yet obviously regretfully. "I do forgive you…if I can't forgive this, I couldn't forgive you for anything else you've done. But still…you could have had something to do with me…instead of just leaving me out there alone…"

That one moment he had had with the boy at the swing came to mind. "Actually," he started, amused, "there was one time we interacted…"

Naruto stared at him in disbelief. "You mean before I started dating Hinata?"

Hiashi nodded. "Yes. I suppose you don't remember it; it occurred when you were five, almost six. You ran into me after performing some practical joke of some kind and asked me to help you. I never did understand why you asked me, but I did so anyway and took you to the academy courtyard…"

"That was you?" The blond gazed at him in complete shock. "I remember running into someone and they somehow looked familiar to me. I just felt like that man would help me. And they showed me the swing and told me about that friend of theirs who liked it, too, and she played pranks and said that word…" Quickly, his eyes drifted toward his mother's grave. "That was my mom..?"

Hiashi smirked, yet, in the back of his mind, felt perplexed at his statement of how familiar he had been to Naruto and how the boy felt sure he would help him. "Indeed, it was her I spoke of. I'm surprised you remember, however."

He continued to stare at the grave, the shock giving away to sadness. "I remember a man telling me all that. I didn't know you where a Hyuuga at the time and actually approached the first white eyed man I saw after that." He winced. "That didn't go over too well."

A brief flicker of anger went through Hiashi at hearing that. In the days after the knowledge of Naruto and the Kyuubi had become known, he had gave an order, precise instructions, to leave the boy alone, after seeing the anger in his clansmen's eyes. It was the least he could do for his two friends and their now orphaned son.

He would ask Naruto who he had approached, to punish the man for violating his command, but decided not to. For one, he doubted the boy would know who it had been and there was no point in dragging up something from years ago.

And it was clear the blond had forgiven the village a long, long time ago. If Naruto could forgive everyone for their treatment of him, then Hiashi could forgive an unknown member for one act of disobedience.

"But why did you tell me all that?" asked Naruto. "If you weren't supposed to tell me anything, why did you tell me something that could mean someone would find out who my parents were?"

Hiashi reflected back to that moment. "Guilt, I suppose. For the swing, at least. Your nonsense word had a more interesting reason behind it."

"Nonsense word?" Naruto chuckled. "You mean, dattebayo, right? What's so interesting about it?"

Smirking again, Hiashi decided not to fill the boy in on the incident that had occurred. "I rather not go into details. It mostly consisted of Hizashi and I deciding that the best way to get revenge on Kushina would be pass on the word she hated to use to her future child. I also recall Hizashi saying that you inheriting Kushina's face would be good to torment her as well, but we decided on the word to be safe."

Naruto blinked a few times, staring at the Hyuuga leader in utter disbelief. "You and your brother decided to get revenge on my mom by getting me to say a word based on dattebane?" He burst out laughing. "Man! You're a lot more sneaky than I would have thought of you, Hiashi! I've been thinking you were just this stiff person that resembled more of a brick wall than a human."

This time, Hiashi stared at Naruto in incredulity. Not for the insult, as the boy was quite blunt and hardly knew of a polite way to tell someone they lacked emotions. It was mostly because he had heard that before…

"Boy, Hiashi! Could you stop being that brick wall all you Hyuugas seem to strive to impersonate? I mean, yeah, sure, it'll break that look of all-powerful and strong, but hey, at least you would be friendly toward people then!"

"You're truly like your mother, Uzumaki," replied Hiashi. "She, too, once compared me to a brick wall not long after we had become friends."

The blond just grinned in response, but then he crossed his arms, determination in his eyes. "I've been told that a lot, especially by Kakashi-sensei, but you're not getting away that easily. You haven't told me what led to you and your brother to decide on getting revenge on my mom that way."

"And as I said before, I rather not go into the details. I don't believe you would want to hear what occurred at that time," he replied.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "And why not?" he asked.

How to put this as non-detailed as possible, but letting him know why he would not want to know… He smirked. "Because it happened after Mikoto had become engaged to Fugaku. Kushina was a bit distressed over the idea of losing her best friend and confronted Fugaku over the issue." Naruto nodded, not realizing what could be the matter with that. "And because she was annoying him, Fugaku made mention of something that ended up making Kushina feel challenged."

"And…?" prodded Naruto.

"Well, to put it this way, if Mikoto had not made Fugaku stop your mother, you might have been born eight years earlier."

As he had expected, Naruto's face quickly became surprised and then became deep, dark shade of red. He covered his face with his hands. "Ah! Why did you tell me that? You could have put it another way!"

Hiashi chuckled. "Minato was quite mortified by that event. He had been arguing with Fugaku over whether or not their sparring matches should let him use Hiraishin, mainly because he always used it to beat us. After that, he vowed to make sure all his children knew Hiraishin so to torment Fugaku's future children."

"Ah, man! I didn't need to know any of that! Don't need, don't need, don't need!" Naruto was on the ground, his hands covering his head, but then he caught a glance at his parents' tombstones and pointed at Hiashi. "Tell me what to do to him! I'll do whatever you two think of!"

Chuckling again, Hiashi picked up his box with the remaining wreath and headed toward Yukina's gravesite. "Hey!" called out Naruto. "Where are you going?"

Gazing within at the white flowers, Hiashi said wistfully, "I have one last place to visit."

Naruto came up to him and looked in the box. He glanced around the graveyard, spotting the white wreaths resting upon the graves of his friends. "Could you show me their graves?" he asked, his voice somber. "I want to visit my parents' friends, too. Sasuke's shown me his parents; I knew his mom was friends with mine, but having one of their friends with me, I think that'll be even better."

Hiashi felt his voice catch into his throat. He felt lost at words, but then he nodded. "Yes…I'll be honored to show you."

Naruto smiled. "And you can tell me everything you know about my parents, too. All those stories that friends have about each other. My parents would forgive, you know," added Naruto. "My mom might try to beat you up for awhile, but they both would forgive you." He gazed upward. "Mom and Dad, they couldn't hold a grudge, not against the village and certainly not against their friends."

The two of them started walking down the rows of graves as Hiashi reflected on Naruto's words. He knew, deep down, the boy was right; Minato and Kushina would no doubt forgive him for his obvious lack of friendship, especially toward their son. No doubt, as Naruto had so put it, Kushina would beat him up and then tell him to start acting like a friend would act toward another friend's son.

Minato would just tell him that the only thing that should matter is Hiashi's actions in the future, not what he did in the past. To be regretful, but mindful, forge a path to the future and do what truly matters, that's what Minato would say.

"Yes…" he said as they reached Yukina's grave. "You're absolutely right."

Hiashi laid the final wreath down at the gravesite as Naruto cheerfully introduced himself as Kushina's son and even mentioned he was dating her daughter and asked for her permission. Hiashi simply stood in quiet reflection, only talking when Naruto asked questions or relating stories he knew would interest the boy, promises they had made that somehow had not been kept.

As the two of them left, once going over each grave, they discussed the next time they could visit…reveal what Hiashi knew to the others; Hinata, Sasuke, Neji and Hanabi. As Mikoto had once said, their children would be Kushina's family…and Naruto had decided to keep her at that word and embrace the family he now knew he always had.

And somewhere, Hiashi felt Yukina's comforting hand on his shoulder, her gentle smile she gave only for him and, for the first time since her death…he truly felt at peace.

So...how was it? :) The other part that inspired this fic was Hiashi's story about Fugaku challenging Kushina. The whole thing just appeared in my head one day! Poor Minato! XD I'm mean!

I just hope Hiashi is in character. That's why I put Hiashi in the middle of mourning for his wife. :( I imagine that between the pressure of the Hyuuga clan and later with the death of his wife would change Hiashi, would not only enough to allow him to interact with Naruto briefly, but also negatively causes the problems Hinata had later. :( At the very least, I think that's a big part of Hiashi's problems to begin with. I just hope I wrote Hiashi right. *worry*

Thanks for reading! - NessaMoon