"Hikaru!" Naruto grabbed his shoulder, surprising the dark head. Hikaru turned and saw the grinning face and couldn't help but grin along. The blonde took a seat beside him and ordered a bowl of ramen. "Sorry I'm late, Hika-chan. I had some stuff I had to take care of." He apologized as he slurped the hot noodles. The young boy smiled and assured him that it's okay. He then told Naruto about his success earlier. As he had expected, Naruto looked at him proudly and said, "That's great, Hika-chan! I knew you could do it! Yosh! Yosh!" he ruffled up Hikaru's hair. No matter how much he hates people messing up his hair, Hikaru just can't get angry at Naruto for doing it. Instead he gave Naruto a wide grin which was reciprocated by the blonde.
"Neh, Hika-chan." Naruto's sudden call caught the laughing boy's attention. He looked at Naruto while the blonde just stared into his ramen bowl. "I want to ask you something. You don't have to answers if you don't want to, though." he added, sneaking a look at the boy beside him. Hikaru shrugged and turned his full attention to Naruto. The blonde cleared his throat and exhaled a nervous breath. Here goes nothing… "I just noticed. You never ask about your dad at all. You do know who he is, right?" Hikaru almost laughed at the expression spread over Naruto's face. "Duh. He used to be your instructor, right. Back when Sasuke nii-san~ uh!" he clamped his hand over his mouth and stared at his feet. Naruto's surprised expression softened as he gently ruffled the smaller boy's head. "It's okay. Whatever happened in the past was something neither of us had expected. But life goes on. And I believe, well, all of us believe that Sasuke will come back one day." He ended that sentence with pained expression. Hikaru bit his lip and tried to think of something that will take his favorite uncle's mind off the current topic. "Aren't ya worried?" he asked cheekily, nudging Naruto. The taller man looked blankly at Hikaru and scratched his head. The Uchiha grinned and replied, "If Sasuke nii-san DOES come back wouldn't that mean that Sakura nee-san won't hang around with you anymore? Everyone knows how much she luuurrvves him. Hee~"he added making a face at the blushing Uzumaki. He then danced around Naruto as the blonde shouted abuse at the prancing boy.
Twenty minutes later, Hikaru had already stopped teasing and yet Naruto was still looking sour. The raven haired boy winced at the lack of words from his usually chatty uncle. 'Guess I crossed the line…' he thought regretfully. Mustering up his courage and hoping it might be enough to make Naruto 'normal' again. "Ne, Naruto nii-chan." Hikaru pulled at his sleeve. Naruto stopped walking and turned to look down at Hikaru. "I'm sorry for what I said. Even if Sasuke nii-san comes back, Sakura-nee would still choose you. I would." He added in a small voice. Naruto stared wide-eyed at the boy. He didn't realize that his silence was misinterpreted by Hikaru. He cleared his throat and said that it was about time that Hikaru noticed. He chuckled when he saw Hikaru stare guiltily down at his feet. Naruto crouched down to the shorter boy. "I was joking Hika-chan!" he ruffled the boy's head. When he got no response from the Uchiha, he held the boy's shoulders and looked straight at his face. When Hikaru looked up to him, he gave the biggest grin he could manage. "Datebayo! Why the serious face?" he tickled the boy until they were both rolling on the ground. Several bystanders smiled at their antics. Both boys sat up on the pavement, remnants of their laughs still etched on their faces. "If you weren't upset, then why were you suddenly quiet?" Hikaru asked massaging his red cheeks. Naruto sighed and hugged his knees. "I just couldn't forget the look on your mom's face when Sasuke walked away. And it wasn't just Kyora nee-chan. Sakura-chan… that bastard took away our friend and caused Konoha to lose a member of its family." Hikaru blinked at the passion that Naruto displayed. He never thought that the loss of one person could affect so many people. Sure, he didn't really know much about his uncle Sasuke. Hikaru was born years after that fight with Madara. He only knew Sasuke from the pictures that Kyora kept. One of them was the same one that Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi kept. The photo of the three genins with their instructor. He used to ask his mom about his uncle (and sometimes his dad too). But he stopped asking when he saw the sad look on Kyora's face every time she told him. "Does it hurt that bad?" he asked earnestly. Naruto smiled sadly, "Like hell. Sasuke was my first friend. In a way, he was part of my family." he said, finally standing up. "Anyway, I thought this discussion was supposed to be about your dad. How did we end up talking about that show-off?" he joked, poking a grinning Hikaru. The boy replied saying that Naruto was the one that strayed off topic, not him. The pair walked along until they reached the blonde's apartment.
"Yosh! Welcome back, Hika-chan!" Naruto said as he swung open the door with flourish. Right onto Kiba's grinning face. His painful howls made the blonde panic and ask what he was doing behind his door. Kiba shakily pointed to the rest of the room as Akamaru tried to comfort his injured master. Hikaru smiled happily as all the Konoha shinobis he knew greeted him warmly. His best moment however, was when Sai and Sakura emerged from the kitchen. Sai came over and enveloped him in a bear hug while Sakura stood by the door, wiping her hands in her apron and shouting 'Okairi Hikaru!'. Then Naruto would come over and push Sai aside which made the whole room laugh at the blonde's jealousy. These small things were why Hikaru was always more than happy to stay over at Naruto's place. Everyone made an effort to stop by. Even Shikamaru who always said that it was troublesome and Neji who usually avoided gatherings like this would be there when Hikaru came.
"Ne, Hikaru. Why don't you go and freshen up first? I heard that you did an amazing feat today." Sakura winked at him as she took his bag. Hikaru looked at her, confused and then realized that Ino must have told her about his fire ball jutsu. He nodded and raced to his 'room'. He can't wait to be back out with all his 'uncles' and 'aunts'. They made him like feel a part of a very big extended family. When he came back out, the kunoichis were busy setting up the table. Shikamaru and Neji were engaged in a deep conversation of about the recent mission they went on. Choji and Kiba were comparing new ninjutsu out on the balcony while Lee was helping Sai carry out the dishes. Hikaru looked around the room. Where are Naruto nii-chan and Sakura nee-chan? He walked further and found them both in the kitchen.
"Why did you have to invite EVERYBODY?"The blonde complained as Sakura continued to stir the curry. She rolled her eyes and told him that it wasn't a big deal. Each and every one of them was somewhat involved in Hikaru's life, growing up Konoha. Of course they would want to come over and see him. "You can't have him all to yourself, Naruto." She added, tasting the curry. Almost done. She turned and saw Naruto pouting by the refrigerator. She sighed and brought over a spoon to get him to taste the finished food. When he turned away, refusing to taste it, Sakura gently gripped his chin with her other hand and turned his face towards her. "If it would make you feel any better, you've always been number one to Hikaru." she smiled as he hastily gulped down the sample on the spoon. She gave a small laugh when he mumbled 'It's delicious…' and surprised him further when she hugged his arm. "So stop being selfish, neh? There's enough of him to go around." She said jokingly. Naruto finally grinned and rubbed the back of head as he apologized for being so childish. A muffled laugh made them move away from each other and turn towards the sound. Hikaru was struggling to control his expression when they both turned to look at him. "Oops~" he said bashfully. He had watched their entire conversation and couldn't help love them.
Sakura would always change the topic whenever Hikaru hinted that the two would eventually get married, but who wouldn't? Not that the pink haired kunoichi would ever admit it, but she always had this gentle look in her eyes whenever she looked at Naruto or when Naruto's name would come up in a conversation. Hikaru grinned widely at the pair and as he anticipated, they weren't angry that he eavesdropped on them. "Hikaru…" Naruto smiled back at the boy. Sakura turned back to her cooking and asked the boys to carry the last of the dishes out. Naruto and Hikaru slowly carried the two pots of curry while Sakura followed behind them, carrying the rice. "Well everybody, dig in!" she said as she started to scoop out the rice. "Itadakimasu~"
After the meal, Hikaru was whisked off by his 'uncles' who would often teach him new techniques and train him. The female shinobis on the other hand sat by, catching up with the latest gossip and cheered Hikaru whenever he succeeded in a new jutsu. Not far from the scene another pair of eyes was also observing the lively group. A warm smile adorned the hidden shinobi's face as she watched the little Uchiha being surrounded by the people who absolutely adored him.