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N is fornurturing, to all that needs helpO is foroutstanding, the excellence that you performH is forhope, the encouragement that you give.A is foramiable, for friendliness and for being pleasantR is forrealist, someone who solves problems in a practical wayA is foraccountable, someone to be counted onx

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To be honest, he was feeling lonely. Shusuke and Kanata were busy because of clan problems, Eita-sensei was being asked for help in the T I, Kakashi-oyaji is back in ANBU to help Itachi; Shikanai, Chomi and Inoue are busy with missions (unsurprisingly, Shikanai was put into their team and the Academy had let her graduate for this particular reason).

Then, Naru-chan attends the Academy now so Ren wasn't able to hang out with the boy for a while. And there's also the fact that the Hokage had told him to take it easy for the next few days and to not take any missions from the missions desk. Everyone was busy and he was not. He had just finished visiting his Okaa-san's grave and the cenotaph.

Currently, he was walking back home, hands tucked inside his shorts' pockets. He decided to stop by a Sushi stall and buy himself a lunch. He was too lazy to make his own lunch anyways. As he enters the shoo, the first thing he noticed is the lack of decoration but the simple furniture made the place quite homey. There were quite a handful of people here, he mused.

He approached the counter and noticed the old man, around his late fifties, using the knife in his hands with what looks like years of practice.The old man raised his head from slicing the roll of sushi and noticed Ren. "Oh, new here?" He nodded. "Well, we've got quite the variety, take your pick." Ren slightly grinned at how easy going this man is. He'll surely be a regular here from now on.

"I think I'll pick Chirashizushi, Ojii-san."

With a nod, the man quickly whipped up a bowl, sushi rice and nine different toppings to put on top. Thanking for the food, Ren took a bite and, to the man's surprise, Ren devoured, devoured, the sushi in less than five seconds. There were rice sticking on his cheeks, making the man chuckle in amusement. "From the looks of it, you want another bowl, kid?"

With a childish grin, Ren beamed at him and said, "Yes please, Ojii-san."

And that was his morning.

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When he was walking around the village after eating ten bowls of Chirashizushi (wherein the occupants of the stall stared at him with wide eyes, some jaws touching the ground in disbelief), he saw someone by the bench reading a medical book. His interest piqued, he approached the reader. The owner of the book seemed to be a little older than himself, maybe around ten or twelve?

The owner had short black hair and mocha brown eyes. He wore a simple black shirt and black shorts. "Excuse me..." Ren excused, the boy looking up from his book, acknowledging the Nohara's presence. "... um, this... er, this might sound strange but... er, what kind of medical book is that?" Ren blushed in embarrassment. He's not, after all, very social and on most missions, it was Kanata who did the talking.

"Medical Psychology."

"Really?!"

Ren's excited expression turned timid as he averted his gaze away from the boy, who looked amused by the sight in front of him. "O-Oh, um, Wh-What I meant was... er, really?" The Nohara cringed at his own voice, why did his voice have to squeak?! It was so embarrassing that he might dig a hole and hide in there for forever. "There's no need to be embarrassed."

Ren looked at the boy again, this time, with his shyness dissipating and was replaced with curiosity. Now that he had taken abgood look at the boy in front of him, he somehow reminds someone. Ren just can't out a finger on it. The boy in front of him is extremely familiar. "... o-oh. Sorry about that. I just haven't bought a book lately." Maybe he should go to the bookstore later to buy some.

As the two talk, Ren's thoughts still ran. He, even though he just met him, enjoys his company more than he imagined. Ren only thought that they were going to talk about medical related things (something that they have in common with each other) but the conversation lead to that to another topic. Mostly about what they were doing before, or why Ren's new friend decided to stay as a civilian even though he had shinobi background.

After those kind of questions, the topic turned into things they do daily or what color, food, stuff like that that they like. Ren, also, told stories of his missions to his new friend, ones that weren't as classified as A-Rank missions. Ren' favorite were those that he and his team took in the village because he can hang out with them, his friends and his father at the same time. Besides, he's also helping the village.

"Um, come to think of it, with everything that we've talked about, we haven't introduced ourselves." It him that noticed it, his new friend. It was only then that Ren realized that what he said is true and blushed in embarrassment. Basically, they were still strangers to each other. "R-Right." Ren, then, smiled at his new friend.

"I'm Hatake-Nohara Ren but I prefer Nohara or Ren more. I'm still not used to being called Hatake yet, even though years had passed since I received the name." Truthfully, he thinks he would never get used to it. No offence or anything but Hatake just doesn't suit him, he prefers the name Nohara more over it bbut to be fully integrated into Kakashi's life and to be seen as his official son, Ren had taken the name.

He was happy, but he's just not used to it.

"Nice to meet you, Ren-kun. My name's Uchi-to O-uya."

Ren beamed, ignoring his his friend paused in some syllables. He has found a new friend.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ouya-kun."

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As much as Obito hates it, he had to deceive Ren in order to get near him. "Nice to meet you, Ren-kun. My name's Uchi-to O-uya." Dang it! He was about to say 'Uchiha Obito' and it was such a close call. And Uchito Ouya?! What kind of name is that?! He's such an idiot?! A moron! "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ouya-kun." Obito snapped out of his internal turmoil when he heard Ren speak.

He thought, Wow. He's so formal. He smiled and shook the hand Ren outstretched for him with such firmness. This boy, in front of him, reminds him of her so much. Especially Ren's eyes. No matter how much it hurts him to look at the boy, he knew he wants to see him. Obito just wanted to snatch Ren out of Kakashi's grasp once and for all.

Unfortunately, he can't exactly do that. If Obito can describe Ren with one word, it would be extremely intelligent. If he decided to do anything, Ren might notice in an instant. And if it turns out that Ren might hate him, Obito couldn't bear knowing that the only person related to his loved one hates him with a passion.

"Hey, where's your Otou-san anyways?" Obito asked. He hasn't seen that bastard around Ren lately. The whole time he's been at the village, he has been looking over Ren. Sure, call him creepy, he doesn't care. Obito saw the way Ren's hazel eyes dimmed for a second before light returned back. "He's really busy these days and sometimes, our schedules clash so we don't see each other as much as we used to."

The Uchiha frowned and cursed Kakashi in his head. That bastard should be taking care of Rin's nephew properly! The guy already failed to protect Rin, the least he could do was properly take care of Ren. Obito looked at Ren, whose gaze glued to the patch of grass below them. "Sorry if this question offends you a bit but... is your Otou-san taking care of you properly?"

Ren jolted from his seat and stared at him with wide shocked eyes. "O-Of course he is!" Ren must have realized he had shouted because the next thing Obito knew, the Nohara talked in a quiet voice. "I mean, sure, we haven't been spending time with each other lately but... but when we do, we make the most out of it." The graceful smile plastered on his lips had taken Obito off guard.

It looks so much like hers, Obito thought in nostalgia. "S-Sorry for snapping at you." Obito waved it off as nothing. "It's okay, I deserved that. Anyways, do you want to meet up here tomorrow?" Obito was hoping Ren would say yes because hey, he had fun talking lots of things with him. The Uchiha knew more things about him because of today but Obito wanted to know who Nohara Ren is and not just the things he likes and stuff.

He watched as his hazel eyes sparkled in delight. "I would live to, Ouya-kun! Around two?" Obito grinned and nodded. "Sure thing!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ouya-kun!"

"See ya, Ren-kun!"

Obito watches as Rin's nephew runs back to his home with a slight skip with each step he takes.

He's so cute, Obito thought with a chuckle.

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When Ren got home, he was surprised to see the lights on the porch. With excitement pouring out of his pores, he swang the door open and said, "I'm home, Kakashi-oyaji!" He quickly went to the living room and found his father and Itachi. Nothing can dampen Ren's mood today, nothing. "Oyaji! I made a new friend!"

The Nohara threw himself to Kakashi, who was startled but was able to catch his son in time thanks to his years of training. A chuckle escaped the silver haired man's lips. "Really? And what is this person's name?"

"Uchito Ouya-kun."

Upon hearing the name, he knew something was wrong but decided not to ruin his son's happy mood. "And I'm gonna meet up with him tomorrow! So, I'm gonna make some dinner now and sleep early, Oyaji!" Planting a sloppy kiss on Kakashi's masked cheek, Ren raced to the kitchen and prepared their dinner. Kakashi smiled, his son is so adorable~

However, his dark orbs found Itachi's onyx eyes and asked the question that bothered them both. "Have there ever been an 'Uchito' in the village?" Itachi frowned and shook his head. "No, I don't think so, Kakashi-senpai." The older man clicked his tongue in annoyance. If this person that Ren talked about doesn't even exist in the village archives, then Orochimaru must be making his moves by sending a spy.

"I don't like this."

"Why not, senpai?"

"What I'm about to tell you is not to be told to anyone." The way Kakashi looked and said that, Itachi tried to refrain himself from asking questions and nodded instead. The Hatake took a deep breath and looked around and made sure that Ren can't hear what they were about to talk about before speaking.

"A few years ago, three to be exact, while on a mission, Team Twelve encountered an enemy of the Leaf." Kakashi massaged both his temple with the tip of his fingers. "Orochimaru had tried to kidnap my son but didn't take him. He said to Ren's sensei that he will be back for him, though, not specifying when." Itachi's eyes widened. To encounter such an infamous shinobi and somehow, Ren's sensei managed to survive, he couldn't imagine what his senpai is feeling right now.

"It's the reason why my son has a hard time befriending others and right now, I'm concerned about who this friend he's talking about."

"I... see. If you would like, I wouldn't mind looking through the village archives while you look over Nohara-kun, senpai."

"Are you sure? I've noticed how stressed you've been, kid."

"It's no worries, senpai. It's the least that I could do for taking your precious time away from your son."

"Thank you, Itachi."

Behind the kitchen door, Ren frowned but felt touched. Touched because he didn't know Itachi cared that much. Displeased because his Otou-san might β€” will β€” spy on him and his new friend tomorrow. On the other hand, he doesn't need to worry. Ouya-kun can be trusted, he just knows that his new friend wouldn't do anything bad.

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"Eddie! Wake up! It's time for school!""Ugh, shut it, Lizzie. And I know for a fact that it's Saturday today.""Oh come on, big sissy just wants to spend time with little Eddie.""I'm not little!""Oh yes you are! What, you're thirteen already and you're just a hundred and forty-nine centimeters. You're always mistaken as an elementary school kid.""Ugh~ don't remind me."xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"Help! Help!""Dammit! Hold my hand!""Th-Thank you, mister!""Just use this float and go back to the beach. Stupid lifeguard not doing his job properly. Go alβ€” u-ugh!""M-Mister! Someone, help! Th-The mister s drowning!"Alas, no one came.

Ren shot up from his bed, a thin sheet of sweat glistening on his forehead. It has been... so long. He had forgotten his big sister all this time. "Lizzie..." He took a deep breath and hugged a pillow as he lied back down.

"Tooku ni ite mo kimi ni todoku darou

Kono boku ga kokoro kome okuru messeeji

Kibou koso rashinban sa Ai wo yubisasu yo

Nemure Sotto nemure Asu wa yume tairiku

Kodoku ni obiete ita yuube no kimi

Boku no na wo yonde 'ta ne Mune ni terepashii

Kiseki nanka ja nai Towa ni ai wa enajii da kara

Nemure Sotto nemure Kanashimi wo wasurete

Jidai wa umi ni shizumu yuuhi no you sa

Hoshizora wo tobikoete kimi wo mukae ni yuku

Hoshizora wo tobikoete kimi wo mukae ni yuku."

As he finish the lullaby, he soundly fell asleep with no more dreams. Just pure, comforting darkness.