It was a full moon that night.
Ichiraku ran a hand through his indigo hair as he sat on his father's stone head at the Hokage Monument, looking up at the silvery orb. He sighed and looked down at the village spread out below him.
"I started today not liking clans like the Hyuuga because they all think they're better than everyone else, not to mention the fact that they all have sticks up their asses. But now…my mom was the friggin' heiress." He felt rather than heard a small whoosh of displaced air as someone landed right next to him.
"Yo."
"Konbanwa, Kakashi-kun," Ichiraku addressed the copy-nin.
"Why the long face? Did Ayame's suddenly go bankrupt or something?" Ichiraku chuckled dryly and looked up.
"Nah…I just found out that my mom was a Hyuuga."
"So?" Kakashi hoped that the clan members he'd spoken to hadn't implanted the idea that his mother was weak into the boy's head. He'd never known Hinata all that well, but he'd heard Naruto ramble about how strong a kunoichi she was enough to know that she wasn't a pushover.
"So…I always thought that members of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga were asses because of the way they treat people." Kakshi chuckled.
"Let me tell you about a friend of mine," he began.
"Don't tell me it was one of my dad's teammates," Ichiraku groaned.
"Nope, this was from when I was being trained."
"You? What was that, a century ago?" Kakashi whacked him on the head with a small orange book.
"I'm not that old…"
"Oh really? Who trained you?"
"Yondaime Hokage."
"Ojii-chan? Really?" Kakashi nodded.
"The other two members of my team were a kunoichi named Rin, and a shinobi named Uchiha Obito." Ichiraku gaped at him.
"You had an Uchiha on your team?" He gave a low whistle.
"Yeah…man, that kid was annoying." Ichiraku couldn't believe his ears.
"Annoying? How?" Kakashi scratched his head.
"He was really loud and hyperactive…but he taught me something important."
"And what would that be?"
"He taught me to always protect one's teammates at the cost of completing the mission. He was the one who taught me that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are lower than trash."
"A hyperactive ninja that chooses teammates over completing the mission? That doesn't sound like an Uchiha to me," Ichiraku asserted.
"That's the point. Just because a person is a member of a certain clan, doesn't mean that they'll automatically act all superior." Ichiraku sighed.
"I guess…"
"So how did you go about finding out your origins?"
"You know the bell test?" Kakashi snorted.
"Your sensei stole my test? I'll have to get him back for that…"
"Okaay…anyway, during the test I figured out how to use the byakugan."
"You ended up getting the byakugan? Really?" Ichiraku nodded. "Hm…If you have a strong bloodline on your side, then I guess there is hope for you as a ninja after all…" Ichiraku swiped at him playfully, but Kakashi dodged at the last second.
"Or perhaps not…" Ichiraku was laughing as he jumped up and began chasing after the copy-nin. Kakashi led him off of the monument and through the main thoroughfares of Konohagakure. He turned around a corner and found Kakashi standing just outside of Ayame's Ramen, and a second later the silver-haired jounin teleported away in a puff of smoke. Ichiraku chuckled to himself as he entered the ramen stand.
"One miso ramen, please," he said.
"Coming right up!" Ayame replied cheerfully as she turned around and began preparing the dish.
"Also one beef ramen, please," said a feminine voice behind Ichiraku. A second later, Ami sat down in the seat next to Ichiraku, Kurenai safely tucked into her jacket.
"Sure!" Ayame said.
"Ami?" Ichiraku asked. "What are you doing here?"
"What? You're not the only person in this entire village who likes ramen, you know." Ichiraku gave a small chuckle.
"I guess that's true." Just then, Ayame placed the two bowls of ramen in front of the genin.
"You know it's true. Anyway, did you find out what was wrong with your eyes?"
"Yeah…turns out that my mom was part of the Hyuuga Clan." Ami's eyes widened.
"The Hyuuga Clan?" Ichiraku nodded.
"Itadakimasu," they chorused, then broke their chopsticks and dug into the ramen. Ichiraku noticed that Ami took out a couple pieces of beef from her ramen and fed them to Kurenai.
"You're a really good pet owner, you know that?" she blushed slightly.
"Thanks…I get a lot of practice. We have so many dogs at my house; I'm always taking care of one or the other."
"But Kurenai is your favorite?"
"Well, yeah…but also my tou-san gave her to me when I graduated from the academy. He says that she's named after his old sensei." She patted the top of Kurenai's head affectionately. Ichiraku nodded. They finished their ramen and each pulled out some money.
"Don't worry about it," Ichiraku asserted. He put enough money for both meals on the counter.
"No way. I'm not letting you pay for me."
"And why not?"
"Because…you don't have to. It's not like we're on a date or anything." Ichiraku shrugged. He stood up, not making any move to take back his money.
"See you tomorrow, Ami," he said with a small smile. He left the stand.
"Come back here right now!" Ami yelled. She stomped past the red flaps to try and grab her teammate by the collar and force him to take back his money, but he'd vanished. Ami growled as she stalked back home.
Ichiraku was chuckling as he leapt off of a nearby rooftop and landed in front of his apartment. He took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
"What an eventful day," he mused as he entered his home.