Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.
Harold of Konoha
Chapter twenty-four: A long overdue return home (AKA It's always a big help to have a Granny Classic around during the holidays)
One morning in the village of Konohagakure, Sophia Fisher was having some morning tea with two of her friends; Michelle Yamanaka, who is roughly the same age as Sophia, and Tenten, who is much younger than the other two women. Tenten is also somewhat more…well-fed…than the other two women, which is part of why, in recent events, Tenten has started a diet and exercise regimen.
Surprisingly, the respective husbands of Sophia and Michelle, Harold and Inoichi, along with Harold and Inoichi's friend Tsume Inuzuka, have been helping with Tenten's weight loss efforts. Their idea of having Tenten 'dance the fat away', while seeming like one of their usual bouts of stupidity, has actually had some results.
Thus, Tenten was in the kitchen of Inoichi and Michelle's residence, sitting at the table with Michelle and Sophia as the three women waited for Inoichi and his friends to get done changing into whatever outfit was required for today's dance number; another part of the 'dance the fat away' idea was that they would try a different dance every few days or so, to keep things from becoming boring.
"So what dance do you suppose our husbands have in store for Tenten today?" Michelle asked Sophia as the Fisher matriarch lifted a mug of tea to her lips.
After taking a quiet sip and setting her mug back down, Sophia replied, "I have no idea. But Harold and the others do seem to know what they're doing, so we should trust in them."
"Boy, I'll say," Tenten remarked, "At first I thought that their idea of making me dance was just them being stupid again. But after I weighed myself and saw I was down twenty pounds, I decided to go out and buy a proper pair of dance shoes."
"Yeah, we're going to be providing the shoes you'll be wearing for today's dance," Harold's voice said from behind Tenten. When Tenten and the two older women turned their attention to the direction that Harold spoke from, to say they were stunned into silence was a…mild understatement.
Harold, Inoichi and Tsume were all wearing identical outfits that consisted of black shoes, black dress pants, powder-blue tuxes, and sunglasses. Kuromaru, Tsume's talking ninja dog, could be seen peeking into the kitchen from the doorway; he was shaking his head in shame.
"THE HELL ARE YOU ALL WEARING?!" Tenten exclaimed.
"This is the outfit that's required for today's dance," Tsume explained, "It's a very popular dance, Ten-ton."
"You honestly don't expect me to wear an outfit like that, do you?" Tenten asked in a mildly worried tone.
"Actually, we had a very easy time finding a copy of this outfit for women your size," Inoichi remarked. (1)
"…Seriously?" Tenten asked, looking mildly off guard.
Nodding in the affirmative, Harold said, "The tricky part was finding two copies of this outfit sized to fit guys like me and Inoichi, and one copy sized to fit women like Tsume."
"A damn shame they didn't have a copy of the outfit made to fit dogs the size of Kuromaru," Tsume said with a shrug.
"I wouldn't even want it," Kuromaru remarked from the living room.
"Well then dear, the boys and I will be taking Tenten off your hands for the time being," Harold said as he walked up to Sophia. Giving his wife an affectionate peck on the cheek, Harold said, "Mmm…sexy lady."
"Oh stop, you!" Sophia giggled, blushing profusely. Inoichi proceeded to do the same with Michelle that Harold just did with Sophia, making the older Yamanaka woman react much the same way that her Fisher friend did.
Over at Konoha General, Sakura Uchiha was in the hospital room of a patient that had been at Konoha General for a very long time. Looking to the bed in which the patient laid, Sakura saw a woman of notable age; the woman was at least as old as Sakura's mother Mebuki. The woman had long, dark-colored hair, the shade and style of said hair making the woman resemble a much older version of Sakura's friend, Hinata Uzumaki. Looking at the clip board she was holding, Sakura said quietly to herself as she looked back at the older woman, "…Wow. She really has been here for quite some-"
"Dr. Uchiha?" an older man's voice called out, getting Sakura to turn and face the direction of the hospital room's doorway. Standing in the open doorway was Hiashi Hyuga, holding a bouquet of flowers that, though modest, was still lovely all the same. In fact, one could make the argument that Hiashi getting this particular bouquet was a more heartfelt gesture than if he had gotten the biggest, most impressive bouquet of flowers he found at the flower shop.
Seeing this bouquet that Hiashi was holding, Sakura gave a small smile. "White lilies are Mrs. Hyuga's favorites," Sakura remarked as she greeted the older Hyuga clan lord, "Hinata told me."
"She always appreciates any show of love that I show her," Hiashi said as he moved to put the bouquet of lilies in a vase on the bedside table next to the hospital bed; the vase, a small, light blue vase just large enough to hold the lilies Hiashi got sat next to a pair of glasses (which resembled the pair that Hinata wore) that rested on the nightstand. As he put the lilies in the vase, Hiashi continued, "Although overly extravagant shows then to overwhelm her. I've had to learn to tone things down around her."
Watching as Hiashi put the lilies in the vase, Sakura said, "I see where Hinata gets that part of her attitude from, then."
After he was done with his task, Hiashi turned to face Sakura. "…I'm going to assume that she'll be stuck here for another Thanksgiving?" Hiashi asked in a tone that like he knew what the answer was going to be but Hiashi was still hopeful all the same.
Looking at the clip board, Sakura sighed and said, "If these numbers are true, then not only with Mrs. Hyuga spend another Thanksgiving here at Konoha General, but she'll also be spending Christmas-"
"Hanukkah," Hiashi corrected automatically.
"…Sorry," Sakura replied, "The point remains that your wife will be spending a bit more-"
"…Mmm…" a voice mumbled in the room; though weak, it was loud enough for Sakura and Hiashi to hear. Startled, both of them turned to face the older woman lying in the hospital bed. To their shock, she was slowly moving around, as if she was just a normal person shifting around in their sleep.
Seeing this, both Sakura and Hiashi went wide-eyed with shock. "…How can this even be…?" Sakura said quietly, "…She should have…" Quickly, Sakura turned to face Hiashi.
"Mr. Hyuga, I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside," Sakura said, "I need to contact Lady Tsunade about this pronto!" Without any amount of argument, Hiashi let Sakura more or less push him out of the room. As Sakura ran down the hallway, Hiashi sat down in a chair that was located next to the doorway of the hospital room that he and Sakura were just in. Turning to face the little nametag of the patient that was in the room, Hiashi read what it said: Hyuga, Omiyo.
As he looked at the nametag next to the doorway of the hospital room, Hiashi could not help but let a tear roll down his face. With a small smile, Hiashi said quietly to himself, "It looks like you will be able to come home for the holidays after all, Omiyo."
A few hours later, the older woman lying in the hospital bed, who had started to come to, was just waking up fully. Opening her eyes, which were Byakugan eyes, the older woman slowly started trying to sit up in bed, only for someone's hand to gently lay itself on her shoulder. Looking in the appropriate direction, the older woman saw Hiashi looking at her, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "It certainly has been a while, Omiyo," Hiashi said.
Smiling at Hiashi, the older woman, named Omiyo, said as tears started to well up in her eyes, "I'd certainly have to agree with that, Hiashi dear."
"You must take it easy," Hiashi said as he gently patted Omiyo's shoulder that he had his hand on, "You only just woke up."
"How long have I been stuck here?" asked the older Hyuga woman.
"Years, sadly enough," Hiashi replied. With a slight chuckle, Hiashi added with a small smile, "But with the way things are looking, it seems that you'll finally be able to come home."
Returning the smile, Omiyo replied, "Well I certainly do miss being with you. I also miss seeing our daughters. Tell me, how are Hinata and Hanabi doing?"
"They're both doing very well," Hiashi explained with another slight chuckle, "Both the girls are grown and are married to fine men."
"A shame I couldn't go to their weddings," Omiyo remarked, "I would have loved to-"
"Sorry we took so long," a familiar voice called out from behind Hiashi and his wife. The two older Hyuga turned to face the direction the talking came from; they saw Tsunade and Sakura enter the hospital room (it had been Tsunade who called out). "When Sakura told me that Omiyo Hyuga started coming to, I couldn't believe it," Tsunade said as she looked at a clipboard. Lowering the clipboard to look at Hiashi and Omiyo, Tsunade said, "But now that I Mrs. Hyuga what are you doing?!"
Confused by what Tsunade said, Hiashi and Sakura both turned to look at Omiyo; despite being a woman of at least sixty years of age who had been more or less bedridden in a hospital for who knows how long, Omiyo had not only gotten out of her hospital bed, but was now on her hands and knees and bowing her head to Tsunade. It was a gesture that conveyed an ultimate level of respect. Seeing such a respectful gesture being shown to Tsunade, Hiashi turned to face the older medic ninja and said, "Sakura did tell you that my wife is extremely respectful to the office of Hokage and those who hold it, right?"
"Well I'm no longer the Hokage," Tsunade replied, "Well not the active one, anyway." As Sakura helped Omiyo up off of the floor, Tsunade said to the older Hyuga couple, "Well no one expected Omiyo to recover this early. The fact that she's so eligible for release this close to a major holiday is nothing short of a miracle."
"Holiday?" Omiyo repeated.
"Yes, Mrs. Hyuga," Sakura replied with a nod, "Thanksgiving is this Thursday."
"As per usual, the rest of the Hyuga clan and I have been preparing for our big Thanksgiving get together," Hiashi said to his wife, "Lady Tsunade was right when she said that you recovering so close to the holidays is nothing short of a miracle."
"…Well I do enjoy helping the other Hyuga women with cooking everything," Omiyo replied, and with a slight giggle added, "I bet everyone misses the way I made stuffing."
"Oh yeah, a lot of the men in the clan that have had your stuffing remark every Thanksgiving that your recipe is better than what we had every year since you were hospitalized," Hiashi said with a laugh, "In fact, I bet that Naruto, Tenten and Udon will love your stuffing just as much as the rest of us."
"Keep in mind that Tenten's on a diet, Mr. Hyuga," Sakura pointed out.
With a slightly confused look on her face, Omiyo said, "Who are those people that you just mentioned, Hiashi dear?"
"Our son-in-law, niece-in-law and other son-in-law respectively," Hiashi explained to his wife, "You'll see them at the Hyuga Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday."
With a slight chuckle, Sakura whispered to Tsunade, "Wait until Mrs. Hyuga meets Naruto."
"Oh yeah, that will be fun to watch," Tsunade whispered back to her apprentice.
The next day, Omiyo was sitting up in her hospital bed, reading a book; Omiyo was wearing the pair of glasses that was on the bedside table. Despite looking perfectly calm, the older Hyuga woman was very excited, as today was the day that she would be officially released from Konoha General. Knowing her husband, Omiyo bet that Hiashi would have some sort of big celebration planned for her return home. Omiyo also expected that Hiashi would run himself ragged trying to make everything as perfect as possible for her return; Omiyo wished that Hiashi wouldn't stress himself out for her sake.
As Omiyo flipped the page in the book she was reading, Harold walked into the hospital room with Inoichi, Tsume and Kuromaru. "Woah ho, long time no see," Harold greeted the older Hyuga woman. Looking to see her visitors, Omiyo gave them a mildly confused look.
"…Aren't you three Harold Fisher, Inoichi Yamanaka and Tsume Inuzuka?" Omiyo asked. Pointing to Kuromaru, Omiyo added, "And isn't this Tsume's ninja dog Kuromaru?"
"Well I'm glad that all of these years stuck in the hospital didn't make you forget that the ninja dogs of house Inuzuka are equal and valued members, same as the ninja," Tsume remarked.
Walking up to Omiyo's hospital bed, Kuromaru said, "I'm certainly glad to see that you're finally recovered enough to leave Konoha General." Smiling, Omiyo reached her hand out to ruffle the top of Kuromaru's head. As Omiyo ruffled the top of Kuromaru's head, the large ninja dog started wagging his tail.
"So what brings all of you by?" Omiyo asked Harold and the others.
"As you already know, today's the day you're released," Tsume began.
With a nod showing that she was following along, Omiyo replied, "Go on."
"And Hiashi, excited that you'll finally be back home, is preparing something special," Inoichi continued.
After Omiyo gave another nod, Harold said, "However, Ko and Neji accidentally dropped something they were carrying in preparation for your return home. As such, Hiashi had to stay to help fix it, as he wants everything to be perfect for your return."
"Well that's Hiashi for you," Omiyo said in a 'I knew this would happen' kind of tone.
"Since Hiashi wants to make sure that everything is perfect for you, the guys and I volunteered to escort you from Konoha General to the Hyuga clan estate," Harold explained.
"The man wanted to escort you home himself, but given that he was stressing over whether to stay to help make things absolutely perfect for your arrival or whether to go and pick you up, the boys and I told him to chillax and let us handle the pick-up," Inoichi went on, "After a minute or so, the man finally relented."
"…I'm surprised that you managed to convince him to let you all handle bringing me home," Omiyo replied, "I'd have thought that he would have ask you to handle overseeing things while he comes here to pick me up."
"Well given that this is Harold, Inoichi and Tsume that we're talking about here, you can understand why your husband would want to do the overseeing rather than delegate it to them," Kuromaru pointed out.
"Umm…well alright then," Omiyo replied after a short few seconds of silence. After some assistance in getting out of her hospital bed, Omiyo went into a private bathroom that was part of the hospital room she was in so she could change into a regular outfit. When she came out, Omiyo was dressed, wearing a simple, somewhat loose-fitting lavender long-sleeved blouse and a cream-colored skirt that reached her ankles; the older Hyuga woman also wore a pair of shinobi sandals on her feet. Omiyo also wore a Konoha shinobi headband around her neck, which is the exact same manner Hinata wears her headband. To complete her look, Omiyo was carrying a purse, its long strap going over her right shoulder.
"A classic look," Kuromaru remarked, "I'm surprised that you still wear your headband, though. Most shinobi your age stop wearing the headband, assuming they're still active shinobi."
"Hey, the boys and I are all active," Harold remarked, "Although I'm curious as to why Tsume doesn't wear her headband anymore."
"I lost it," Tsume explained casually.
"Then why don't you go and get a replacement?" Kuromaru asked.
"Do you know how much it would cost to get a new one?" Tsume snapped.
"About the same as the average price for a used 3DS game," Kuromaru replied, "It's not all that expensive." (2)
Holding her hand to the metal plate of her headband, Omiyo said with a slight smile and a laugh, "Oh, I've long since stopped being an active shinobi. Given my age and how long I've been in the hospital, I doubt that I'd be allowed back into active duty anyway. To be completely honest, it's mostly out of force of habit that I still wear my headband. I would have this sort of naked feeling if I wasn't wearing my headband."
"I completely understand that feeling," Harold remarked. Holding up one of his hands, Harold pointed to a ring on one of the fingers and said, "I'd have that same naked feeling that you just described if I'm not wearing my wedding ring."
Smiling, Omiyo said, "I'm glad to see that one of you gets what I'm saying. Even Hiashi does not understand why I insist on wearing my headband, though I am no longer active as a shinobi."
"Anywho folks, we got to get going," Tsume said to the group as she clapped her hands together, "We got a nice old lady here to escort back to one of the largest households in the entire frigg'en village. We do have folks waiting on us, after all."
As Harold led the others out of the hospital room and Konoha General as a whole, Kuromaru looked up to Omiyo as the group walked and said, "So are you, like, an older Hinata, or what?"
Even though Harold and company were escorting someone from one place to another, they thought that it would be a good idea to stop off at the Akimichi clan-owned diner for their morning cups of coffee first. Thus, the four older ninja and one ninja dog stopped off, with Harold and his friends getting a mug of coffee each; Omiyo preferred getting a mug of tea instead. "So what have you guys been up to recently?" Omiyo asked.
"Oh a little bit of this," Tsume replied casually, "A little bit of that."
"Umm…" Omiyo replied at length, "…I would appreciate it if I got an answer that wasn't so vague."
"Well I would have love to have given you a clearer answer, but Hiashi asked the boys and I to be as gentle as we can with you," Tsume explained.
Nodding in agreement, Harold said, "The shenanigans that we usually get up to can be quite overwhelming for those who, unlike the boys and I, aren't as…"
"Stupid?" Kuromaru suggested.
"Awesome, yeah! That's it!" Harold declared.
Giving a small chuckle, Omiyo replied, "I bet that if any of you have any grandkids, you get along with them very well."
"Well I have a grandnephew, actually," Harold pointed out, "But yeah. Haru does respects me."
"Haru?" Omiyo repeated in a mildly confused tone.
"Yeah, that's the name of my grandnephew," Harold said, "Haru Uchiha."
"Uchiha?!" Omiyo repeated in a mildly louder, mildly alarmed tone.
"Yeah, Harold's niece Sakura hooked up with that Sasuke turd," Tsume explained, "It was going to be either Harold's niece or Inoichi's daughter that would have ended up with Uchiha."
"Eh," Inoichi said in an indifferent tone as he picked up his mug of coffee, "Better Uchiha than some artsy son of a bitch."
"So yeah, my grandnephew is a Uchiha, and as such he got these dank, magical red eyes," Harold said to Omiyo as he continued his line of conversation.
"…You mean the Sharingan?" Omiyo asked.
"Yeah, that thing," Harold replied as he pointed to Omiyo.
"The kid's actually a pretty good ninja for his age," Inoichi said, "He's got all of the skill, strength and promise that his dad showed at that age, but with none of the angsty emo crap. That Haru kid is a kind, helpful, upstanding young man."
"Well, if you're being so insistent about it, then I suppose I shouldn't be so weary of the child," Omiyo replied as she sat her mug of tea down.
"Oh come on now, don't tell me you're one of those people who think the Uchiha are a race of boogeymen!" Harold exclaimed.
"Well they do have sort of a reputation that makes people see them as such," Omiyo defended.
"Omiyo, dude, trust me," Tsume said in a casual tone, "The Uchiha have mellowed out. There's no need to worry."
"Besides, Haru is the only kid that my niece had with Sasuke," Harold added, "I'm pretty sure there's no chance of another incident like the Uchiha Massacre." (3)
"Well…if you all say so," Omiyo replied at length, still looking mildly unsure.
"We KNOW so," Inoichi declared confidently.
"Pfft, like you guys ever know anything," Kuromaru remarked to himself.
"Well now back to the subject at hand," Inoichi said, "Grandkids, or grandnephew if you're Harold."
Nodding in agreement, Tsume turned to Omiyo and said, "I myself have a grandson named Bankai. He's around the same age as Harold's grandnephew. The boys get along swimmingly with each other."
"As they do with my grandson Shikaru," Inoichi remarked with a confident nod.
"…Shikaru? That doesn't sound like a Yamanaka name," Omiyo noted.
"You remember Shikaku's son Shikamaru, right?" Inoichi replied, and after Omiyo nodded in the affirmative Inoichi continued, "Well, Shikamaru married my daughter Ino."
"Ah, that would explain it," the older Hyuga woman remarked with a nod.
"My grandson Shikaru is around the same age as Haru and Bankai," Inoichi went on, "Same as their pals Choba Akimichi and Shibei Aburame."
Nodding along, Omiyo said, "I bet their grandfathers must be proud of them."
"Oh, Inoichi here also has a granddaughter," Harold added.
"Oh yeah!" Inoichi said, "I almost forgot! Yeah, in addition to my grandson Shikaru, I also have a four-year-old granddaughter named Inohime. Here, I'll show you a picture." Without waiting for a response from anyone, Inoichi pulled out a wallet and opened it, allowing photos that were in a line of sleeves in the wallet to trail out. Pointing to one of the photos, Inoichi said, "This here is Shikaru with his little sister."
With a mildly confused look on her face, Omiyo asked as she leaned in to take a closer look, "What's with that bunny dressed as a police officer?"
"That's one of Inohime's favorite toys," Inoichi explained as he folded the line of photos back into the wallet, "It's a stuffed animal of a character from a movie that's popular with kids."
"Oh, it must be the picture from when Ino and her family moved into their new house," Tsume said as she picked her mug of coffee back up, "The plushy of the pink horse on drugs was still packed in a box at the time, and she hadn't gotten a new doll of that queen with magical ice powers."
"I'm a little lost here. What are you talking about?" Omiyo asked.
"Oh, a while ago, my daughter's family's house burned down do to some malfunctioning stove or whatever," Inoichi explained, "Luckily for them, me and the rest of Konoha had their back. It helps that my son-in-law is one of Lord Sixth's advisors, not to mention a close friend of his."
"I assume that Lord Sixth is the current Hokage?" Omiyo asked.
"Totally," Harold said, "Lord Sixth is a surprisingly rocking dude."
"You're just saying that because he allowed you and the others to keep the supercar," Kuromaru remarked.
"Supercar?" Omiyo repeated in a confused manner.
"Oh, we had a supercar but it crashed a while ago so we no longer have it," Harold replied in a slightly depressed tone.
"It was the coolest car in the history of cars," Inoichi said as he made a saluting gesture, as if he were saluting a comrade that was being buried.
"…I see…" Omiyo replied, mostly unsure how to even react.
"Well anywho, we should probably get you home now," Tsume said as she sat her now empty mug of coffee on the table, "We can't keep your family waiting forever."
"Really, are you sure?" Kuromaru said in a sarcastic tone, "Because I could have sworn that that's what you and the others were going for."
"Oh shut up, you," Tsume replied in a mildly annoyed tone.
A short while later, Harold and company had brought Omiyo to the front door of the Hyuga clan estate. "Next stop, Hyuga central!" Harold announced as if he were a guy working on a train (you know the one). Looking up at the tall main building of the estate, Omiyo could not help but smile.
"…It certainly has been a while since I was home," Omiyo remarked, "I wonder how the Hyuga clan is doing."
"Oh they're doing quite well," Inoichi remarked, "Hiashi has made sure of that. And it helps that the Hyuga clan has some serious backing."
"What do you mean by that?" Omiyo asked.
Smiling somewhat mischievously, Harold replied, "You'll see what Inoichi's talking about once we get you inside."
Before the group proceeded, Tsume knocked on the front double doors of the estate while shouting, "Oi, Hiashi! We brought the woman like we said we would!"
"I seriously cannot believe that Lord Hiashi would seriously send you, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Yamanaka to go and pick up Lady Omiyo from the hospital," a male voice that wasn't Hiashi's shouted back. Before anyone could ask who it was that had responded, the double doors opened, revealing Neji and Ko as the ones who opened the double doors (it was Ko who had shouted).
"Oh boo hoo to you," Tsume replied in a sarcastic monotone.
To Omiyo, Neji said, "Forgive us if your trip here was…less that pleasant, Lady Omiyo. Rest assured that if we had been informed of your need for an escort from the hospital, Ko and I would have instantly volunteered for the job."
"And you would have brought her straight home, rather than stop off at the Akimichi clan diner first for our morning mugs of coffee," Harold said.
"Yes we would have gotten her home right away!" Ko insisted.
"While running the risk of Hiashi not having everything ready for his wife's arrival home," Inoichi continued.
"Yes we…" Ko continued, but stopped midsentence as he thought about what Inoichi and the others were getting at. "…You deliberately stalled for time so that Lord Hiashi would have everything ready?" Ko asked, looking mildly stunned.
As Inoichi and his friends gave the two cadet branch Hyuga knowing smiles, Neji leaned somewhat towards Ko and whispered to him, "We underestimated them."
"Well then, we got a nice old lady to get inside, don't we?" Tsume said to the younger Hyuga men as she clapped her hands together.
And so, Harold and his friends, with Neji and Ko following along, led Omiyo into the Hyuga clan estate, walking her through its various hallways and eventually leading her to one particular door. "Well then, Lady Omiyo," Neji said as he gestured to the door, "Would you care to do the honors?"
"I suppose so," replied the older Hyuga woman as she grabbed ahold of the doorknob and turned it.
After she had opened the door, the great number of people that were waiting in the large room shouted, "WELCOME HOME!"
When Omiyo got a good look at what waited for her inside, she was truly shocked; at least twenty people were inside, and not all of them were Hyuga. There were also tables lined against the walls, loaded with various refreshments. It was quite the welcoming party, and for the modest and humble older woman, it was a tad overwhelming. But given that all these people had gotten together for a welcoming party for her, she had to try and accept so much attention. Although the familiar sight of Hiashi, who stood front and center in front of the large gathering, was a relief to Omiyo. With a small but sincere smile, Hiashi said, "Welcome home, dear."
"I-it's great to be home," Omiyo replied, stammering slightly out of nervousness over all of the attention she was receiving all at once.
Looking around, Tsume said, "Yo Hiashi, where's your youngest daughter?"
"Hanabi is right there, next to Hinata," Hiashi replied as he gestured to two Hyuga women, both wearing traditional Hyuga clan robes.
"…That can't be Hanabi," Tsume said as she pointed to the younger Hyuga woman that didn't wear glasses, "She's not wearing a shirt that exposes her midriff."
"Father insisted that I 'dress properly' for the welcome home party for mother," Hanabi replied, her tone sounding just a little bit annoyed. As he looked around the party, Harold spotted Naruto in the crowd (Tenten and Udon were also in the crowd, but they weren't the focus of Harold's attention).
To Hiashi, Harold said, "Dude, I wasn't aware you let Lord Sixth attend the party."
"Well, why wouldn't I?" Hiashi replied, "I mean, he is-"
"The Hokage is here?" Omiyo said, interrupting her husband out of shock.
"Yeah dude," Tsume said. Pointing out Naruto in the crowd, Tsume said to Omiyo, "You see that tall dude with the long, spiky blonde hair?" After the older Hyuga woman nodded in the affirmative, Tsume said, "Yeah, that's Lord Sixth."
"Yo Lord Sixth, come over here!" Harold called out, getting Naruto to walk over.
"The hell are you up to, Mr. Fisher?" Naruto asked as he came up to Harold and company.
"Well I just figured that Omiyo here would want to get to meet her son-in-law," Harold explained causally.
To Naruto, Omiyo said in a nervous manner, "Well, umm, Lord Sixth, umm, this is certainly a great wait what was that last thing that Harold said?"
"Oh, the boys and I forgot to mention this," Tsume said, "Lord Sixth here is your son-in-law. He's married to your oldest daughter."
Silence fell upon the room as Omiyo was processing what she had just been told. After about, say, ten or so seconds, Omiyo fainted and fell over. "And it's good!" Tsume cheered, throwing both hands up into the air.
Giving the Inuzuka matriarch a look that could kill, Hiashi said, "I so hate you right now, Tsume."
"Bite me," Tsume replied with a smirk.
That Thursday, Omiyo was sitting in a comfortable armchair in a den room at the Hyuga clan estate; a number of other Hyuga women, plus Tenten (who's married to Neji) had the TV on and were watching some special parade that was being broadcasted on the channel they had the TV set to. Omiyo wasn't so much paying attention to the parade as she was currently reading a book, but she did appreciate having the background noise going on. "So Mrs. Hyuga," Tenten said, getting the older Hyuga woman's attention.
Putting a bookmark in the book she was reading to mark her place, Omiyo replied, "Yes, Tenten?"
"I just want to know how you feel about Tenji," Tenten replied, "I mean, I know she's not in the Hyuga clan's main branch, and that I, who isn't even a Hyuga, am Tenji's mother."
Smiling, Omiyo replied, "And you're worried that everything you just listed might make me think less of Tenji. Well Tenten, rest assured that I'm not all that big on status or whatever. Tenji is my grandniece, and as such I love her all the same, regardless of her birthright."
"What does nice old lady think of Hachiko?" a male and somewhat simple-sounding voice spoke up, getting the two women to turn their heads in the direction the voice came from; as such, they came face to face with Hachiko, Tenten's talking Akita.
"Oh yeah, Mr. Hyuga repealed the Hyuga clan's ban on pets a while ago," Tenten said to the older Hyuga woman, "As such, practically the entire clan, and non Hyugas related to the clan such as myself, were able to get pets. This here is Hachiko, my Akita. The reason why he can talk is because he was bred from Inuzuka clan ninja dogs."
"Hachiko has never seen nice old lady before," Hachiko continued as he wagged his tail, "Hachiko wishes to sniff nice old lady's face and then lick it."
After a brief pause, due to being at a loss for words, Omiyo said, "Well, umm…I'm glad to see that you're a friendly dog, Hachiko."
"Is the object you are holding edible?" Hachiko asked Omiyo, "Hachiko smells lots of good smells, which make Hachiko hungry."
"Hey, if I have to wait to eat, you have to wait as well," Tenten said to her talking dog.
As Hachiko started to whine over having to wait for food, Omiyo was mildly startled when a black cat leapt up into her lap. "Oh, this is Pantherlily," Tenten explained to Omiyo, "He is a talking cat that Hinata got for her daughter Natsu."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, good miss," Pantherlily said to the older Hyuga woman, "My owner, who I am told is your granddaughter, is very excited to finally see you out of the hospital, out and about and doing well."
The talking cat then proceeded to rub his head against Omiyo's right arm (Omiyo was resting it on the right armrest of the armchair she sat in) as he purred, hoping to get Omiyo to pet him. Smiling kindly, the older Hyuga woman proceeded to gently scratch the top of the cat's head, which made the purring take on a content-sounding tone. "Mmm, that is just where I like being scratched," Pantherlily purred as his tail swished back and forth, making Omiyo giggle softly.
And so Omiyo enjoyed her return to the Hyuga clan estate, where she was surrounded by a loyal clan, talking pets, and most importantly of all, a loving family. Omiyo could not help but feel overly blessed to have so much; it was much more than what the older Hyuga woman could have ever asked for, but it was hers nonetheless.
Also, her son-in-law's the Hokage. If that's not worth some bragging rights, Omiyo doesn't know what is.
END, CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Author's Notes:
(1) They found the outfit for Tenten at the first shop that they went to.
(2) Given the cost to make one, and the fact that you get one for free when you graduate from the local ninja academy, it's a relatively reasonable price for a ninja headband.
(3) Why else do you think Haru is an only child?
Hinata's mother, much like the mothers of most of the characters from the series proper, hadn't been given a proper name, so I decided to cover that messy business. In retrospect, this isn't too much of a Thanksgiving-themed chapter, but I did manage to sneak a bit or two of the holiday in there. With that being said, I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Try not to fill up on bread rolls.