Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Whew! sorry for the long wait, but inspiration was really hard to come by. there's going to be another long absence after this coz my new semester starts next week but i'll try to update real soon. I feel like a dreaded writer's block coming up so wish me luck and thanks to everyone who left reviews. I am forever grateful.

"Kakashi-sensei?"Hikaru abruptly stopped talking and just stood in place. He heard footsteps walking closer to where he stood and couldn't find the

will to turn around and face the stranger. Kyora smiled at her nervous son and held him by his shoulders. She slowly turned him around and made him

face the silver haired man. "Hikaru, don't you want you meet your father?" she asked gently. The small boy locked gazes with Kakashi, his pitch black

eyes growing wider by the minute. The tall jounin crouched down to be at eye level with the boy and smiled through his mask. "Yo Hikaru."

Without so much as a heads up, Hikaru launched himself onto Kakashi, wrapping his small arms as far as he could around the man. It took Kakashi

several minutes to recover from the shock to realize that the young boy was crying. Kyora smiled sadly she looked on the reunion between her son and

his father. Sakura clung on to Naruto's arm when she felt the tears that threatened to fall as she heard Hikaru repeatedly call Kakashi 'otou-chan'.

Surprisingly the heartbreaking scene had also triggered an effect in the usually unemotional Sai. Naruto had been turning his head up to the ceiling,

relief washing over his face. 'Thank you… for giving Hikaru his wish…' he silently prayed. Kakashi slowly broke the embrace, a sad smile forming behind

his mask and looked at the quietly sobbing boy. "Gomen neh." He apologized. Hikaru blinked back the remaining tears and asked him why. Kakashi

replied, "For everything."

Kyora suddenly cleared her throat and asked if they had any leftovers from the party. Sakura immediately understood that it was their cue to leave the

father and son to some much needed quality time together. So, dragging a protesting Naruto between them, Sai and Sakura led Kyora to the kitchen.

"Why do I have to come too?" Naruto asked perching on the counter. Sai poured a cup of apple juice from the refrigerator and handed it to the smiling

Uchiha kunoichi. Sakura plated some rice and meat and set them in front of Kyora. "Naruto, Hikaru needs time to be with his father." She said softly.

The blonde shinobi lowered his gaze, silently agreeing. "But why now?" he asked the question that was persistently lingering in everyone's heads.

Kyora stopped drinking and started into her cup. She admitted to the three younger shinobis that she had no idea why either. Seeing her sad face,

Sakura stopped the other two from asking again. She understood how Kyora must have felt.

The three of them have been the most involved in raising Hikaru. They were there when he took his first steps, said his first words. It was Sakura who

walked with Hikaru on his first day at the academy. It was Sai who had first taught him to use a kunai. And it was Naruto who was always there for him

every step of the way. In a way Sakura felt bad for her former instructor because he had missed out on so many of Hikaru's firsts. But she was still a bit

angry at Kakashi for not even attempting to get involved. Kyora had never said it out loud, but Sakura knows that she misses that perverted masked

shinobi as well. The inner Sakura was already flaming up, screaming 'I'd break his bones piece by piece if I were Kyora nee-san! Shannaro!' She gripped

the plate she was holding in response to her inner self's silent outburst.

Seeing Sakura look so serious, Kyora decided that it was best that she reveal to the three young adults, whom she regarded as her own siblings, a

little bit about her mission. At least they can be prepared, in case the worse happens. "The mission that I'm going on, well, Kakashi's a part of it too."

She continued when she saw the inquiring looks from the young jounin (plus one former ANBU), "Our intelligence unit managed to track down Madara."

Sakura dropped the plates she was carrying as a storm of emotions crossed her face. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto held her hands to stop her from picking

up the broken pieces of the plates off the floor. Sai stood against the doorframe, "And… Sasuke?" he asked, still eyeballing his blonde friend who

looked almost as terrified as the pink-haired kunoichi. Kyora sighed, "We have reason to believe that he's still with Madara. It is the Hokage-sama's

express order that both of them be taken back to Konoha." Sai immediately recognized this as a dead-or-alive mission. There was no way Madara

would surrender peacefully to the Konoha nins. Despite the very experienced shinobis that were being sent, one can't forget that the slippery and sly

Uchiha had evaded capture for decades. "We'll bring him back…"Kyora said quietly, almost to herself. Naruto gritted his teeth and looked down to the

floor, trying to avoid looking at Sakura. Seeing the worried expression on Naruto's face, Sakura grasped his hand and smiled when she got him to look

at her. It's going to be alright. No words were needed to convey that thought and the blonde's face visibly relaxed as his signature grin replaced the

frown. Sai chuckled to himself, thinking how the violent Sakura was the only one who could calm Naruto's nerves. Talk about ironic.

After all these years, he still can't even begin to understand the pink haired kunoichi. Even with the help of a certain book that had been passed down

to him by Kakashi. He still flips through it sometimes, not really reading its contents but more to annoy Sakura whose anger will then be redirected at

the blonde when Sai deliberately uses him as a shield. Naruto and his clone helped clean up the last of the broken plates as Sakura asked Kyora of the

duration of the mission. "Oh, don't worry. If anything does happen, my will is in the front pocket of Hikaru's bag." She said, sipping her drink. Sai and

Sakura immediately froze and Naruto sputtered out incoherent sentences at the smiling woman who seemed unaffected by their reactions. "And you

call yourselves shinobis?" she asked, reaching up to poke Sakura's frozen stature. "I was joking. But things happen when you least expect them to. I

need to know that someone will be watching over my precious boy. " she stood up and looked at each of them in turn, "Despite who I was, who I am,

there will always be a possibility that the day I leave for my missions will be the last day I set eyes on Hikaru," she said, touching her head protector

that was tied to her right arm. "The thought of leaving your child behind is something that even the most experienced shinobi can't be prepared for."

She added. Sai drew in a sharp breath. Sakura bit her lip as she shifted uncomfortably on the spot. Kyora's words had truth in them. Their missions

always had risks, some even more than others. And taking into account of Kyora's past as one of Konoha's top ANBU, she was usually assigned to A

class and S class missions. The hokage rarely sent her on anything below that. And yes, she does come back safely, usually with barely a scratch on

her but Sakura knows better. The kunoichi is an exceptionally accomplished medic nin and she would always patch herself up before returning to the

village. To avoid the fuss, she says. But it's more to avoid Hikaru seeing her hurt. Not that the young boy hasn't seen her in battle mode before.

Hikaru was a major fan of Kyora's ANBU past and would always ask Naruto and the blonde's friends about how awesomely awesome his mother is.

Honestly, who else in the entire academy could boast of a more amazing family? Being an Uchiha had already made him a somebody in the village.

Adding that to the fact that the two remaining members of the oh-so-famous Team 7 were his godparents and that even the Hokage seemed to have a

soft spot for him, pretty much made him a well known figure among his classmates. Yeah, both his uncles' betrayal did somewhat put a dent into the

otherwise perfect family tree but then again, he was the only kid in the whole village with such a colourful background story.

A muffled call brought their attention back to the living room. "Kakashi?" Kyora stepped ahead to find an amusing scene. The silver haired jounin was

apparently stuck to the arm chair, Hikaru's sleeping form somehow weighing him down. "Kakashi-sensei~~" Sakura tried to hold in her laughter as to

not awaken the sleeping boy. Sai managed to appear blank as usual while Naruto was practically rolling on the floor, laughing violently silent. Kakashi

seemed flustered and kept pointing at Hikaru, obviously not knowing what to do. Kyora massaged her temples thinking how he could, very easily care

for his genins and yet become totally useless when it comes to caring for his own kid. She walked up to the struggling jounin. Just when he thought

that she was going to take Hikaru, Kyora arranged their son's sleeping position and beckoned him to stand up. "Eh? Um, Kyora?" stuttered the silver

haired man. Kyora looked back from the hallway, "Weren't you taught to finish what you started?" she asked, her soft brown eyes twinkling as Naruto

sniggered behind him. Sakura finally stepped up to Kakashi and brought up his arm to support Hikaru's head, "You'll drop him otherwise, sensei." She

said and she gave him a gentle push towards his waiting wife. Kakashi walked awkwardly to the room where the slender Uchiha was standing at, "Oh?

So you do know how to handle him," she said, not unkindly. Together, they set down their sleeping boy onto the bed. Kyora tucked back several

strands of Hikaru's hair that strayed across his forehead. Kakashi watched with awe, the motherly expression that graced her face. He had never seen

it up close and it caused a whirlwind of emotions to build up inside him. To be honest, this was the first time she had ever stayed so close to him

whenever he came to see Hikaru. "Sweet dreams, Hikaru." she murmured softly at the sleeping boy.

She noticed that Hikaru still had a firm grip on Kakashi's sleeve so she gently pried his little fingers open. "I'm sorry." The sudden apology that left the

silver haired jounin's lips startled the young mother. Kyora turned to face her husband. He pulled up Hikaru's covers and met her gaze, "I thought by

doing this, Hikaru can have a safer life. A normal life, without having to deal with my past and my enemies. I never thought that I'd actually hurt him

that way." He said in a regretful tone. Kyora smiled. Did this guy seriously think Hikaru can grow up normally just by letting him have her name?

"Did you meet Hikaru's godparents? I have to warn you, he has more than one of each and every one of them madder than the rest." She joked

looking at the silent jounin. "His family can never be complete without you. Haven't you any idea why Hikaru always tries his best at the academy?"

Kakashi looked at her intently as she gingerly fingered the simple gold band that hung from her necklace. "He's hoping that when he's good enough,

you'll come home to him. He thinks that you stayed away because you're ashamed of him." That last comment made Kakashi lower his gaze in shame.

"I never said that." He protested. Kyora slightly grunted. "No. that's just what he assumes." She stood up to leave but Kakashi's grip on her wrist

stopped her. "Why don't you tell him otherwise? I have never been ashamed of him, much less stayed away because of it." The young woman stared

at him in disbelief. How on earth did she convince herself to marry such a dense man? She must have been drunk or something.

"Do you seriously think I haven't? That's what I've been telling him since the first time he asked for you. For years I've tried to make him see that even

if you never came to him, you would always think of him. You would never stop loving him even if he failed to master a jutsu. Even if his Sharingan

won't activate, you would never think less of him." her voice was slightly rising and she started pacing the room to calm her nerves. "Is it my fault if he

comes home, sad that his classmates' fathers came to congratulate them on excelling their exams but his own was never there? Is it my fault that he

trains himself late at night, secretly wishing that you were the one coaching and encouraging him instead of just me? Is it my fault that our son, OUR

SON, Kakashi cries himself to sleep after every birthday for the past eight years because the one person he wants to be there isn't? Just because the

Hikaru you spy on everyday has a smile on his face doesn't mean the same is reflected in his heart. For heaven's sake, you're his father! He needs you!

Why on earth can't you see that?" The three teens eavesdropping outside were startled by Kyora's outburst. The kunoichi they knew was always in

control of her emotions. She had this reassuring and calming aura about her. She seemed to have lost all control tonight which just shows how much

she has been keeping in all this while. "That's almost 8 years of anger and frustration being hurled at Kakashi sensei. Well, it was about time."Sakura

pushed down Naruto's head to hear better through the door. Sai peered through the tiny opening of the door and marveled at how Hikaru was

sleeping through his parents' argument. The little boy even had this… contentedly peaceful expression on his face. Amazing.

Then they heard Kakashi defending himself, emphasizing on how kidnappings and even assassination attempts have been made on Hikaru and that

was all based on his enemies' suspicions on their relationship. "You of all people should understand that! I'm doing this to protect him, to protect you."

he said softly staring at Kyora's back. "Understand? I don't want to understand!" with that she launched herself at the surprised jounin. She landed on

top of him and started pummeling him. If she was in serious fighting mode, those punches might take him to the afterlife, but these punches hurt in

another way. "I don't need you to protect me!" she punched his head again. "I don't need you to protect Hikaru!" her blows were getting slower but

Kakashi did nothing except to shield himself against them. "I just… I just…" she stopped throwing punches, her hands falling to her sides. Her head

was bowed down and tears splashed onto Kakashi's face. Kyora finally cried. 8 years worth of tears, of longing for her husband, of keeping strong. Her

walls crashed down as she tried in vain to get back in control. Kakashi sat up, one arm supporting his weight and the other around his sobbing wife.

Her hands were frozen by her side as she cried out her angers, frustrations, loneliness, every damn feeling she had suppressed since he left. Naruto

stared at the floor. He now understood why that dear godson of his never asks about Kakashi from Kyora. The sound of Kyora's soft sobs seemed to

eat into his heart. Unbelievable as it sounds, but Kyora really loves Kakashi. Despite being the irresponsible loner that he is, she still yearns for him. He

glanced at Sakura. She should know how that felt.

Loving Sasuke with all her heart, she endured his snide comments, his ignorance towards her. She experienced hell when he left, became stronger to

get him back. And finally became strong enough to let go. Naruto was genuinely proud of her. 'She had gone a long way…' he got startled when Sakura

suddenly turned to him. "Did you say something?" she whispered. Embarrassed, he fervently shook his head. "Uh-oh…" Sai pointed into the room.

Hikaru had woken up.

Plx R&R.

~sorry for the occasional grammaticals errors throughout the chapter.