DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO.

Tobirama was eating at the Merchant district, which was almost ready. However, the only place that served food was still Ryuuichi's stand, because the other ones planned to do some sort of an opening festival the next Sunday, in a week. He was pretty absorted on his plate, still going through his conversations with Sakura so he didn't realize Hikari approaching until Ryuutaro's son greeted her.

"Oh, hi again Tobirama-san" she said politely. The man stiffened a little

"Hn." He grunted munching his meal 'Great, now she might think I'm angry at her or something' his mind didn't give him a break. He swallowed his food and cleared his throat "you can sit down if you want to" he invited. The kunoichi complied and in a minute she was served with a big plate of sweet dumplings and tea. She had already eaten but thanked anyway and started to drink in silence. 'Her demeanor is weird, she might feel awkward around me' he thought.

"You're awfully silent" the albino said as he kept eating. He heard her sigh. "You know, I am sorry for today. Seems I've over reacted unconsciously because of some issues could never get over through." Hikari was taken aback with his declaration.

"You don't need to apologize about anything" she finally said cryptically.

"I think I must" the man answered "I invited you to spar and end up almost killing you" He saw her nod absentmindly. "You have all rights to be angry at me". That last sentence startled her.

"I'm not angry at you!" the kunoichi said surprised and he blinked, eyes wide open.

"Then what's wrong with you?" he went straight to the point. He felt better she was not angry at him, and he better stopped talking about the issue.

"It seems you're not the only one that needs therapy" Hikari sighed.

"Didn't you have therapy while growing up?" Tobirama enquired knowingly.

"You seem to know me better than I thought" she rose an eyebrow and made a pause. Her expression fell a little and continued "What would you think if someone told you that you always had a demeanor you cannot remember, and they confess that's because someone made you forget about it?"

"What?" He asked confused.

"It seems that my reaction to your attack, that was also a killing intent if you think about it…" She stopped because of his look "Ok, in self-defense, but still…" he rolled his eyes "anyway, I used to react that way when I was a teenager. Every time I got particularly angry and hurt, or felt in danger, I automatically acted that way. I even attacked my cousin and my godfather some times."

The albino kept quiet during her pause, he was lost in his musings.

"Why do you think is that?" He asked simply.

"I don't remember very well…" she said "I recall some images in my mind, of the beast attacking me, but I assume that's when I lost it because everybody goes dark."

"And Sakura-san told you this now" Tobirama concluded and. Hikari was extremely surprised about how bright this man was, and she nodded sadly. After a small pause he added "And she had always knew all this time" Her eyes went wide, and went out of words.

"I-I… can't believe she kept this from me" she answered, and heard him sigh.

"Don't be so harsh. She was probably protecting you, or maybe she had orders for not to tell you. Your village seemed to work in that way, keeping a lot of secrets." He said sympathetically. "She is a good person and cares a lot about you and wouldn't do anything on purpose". Hikari's face lightened up with his words, like she had understood something with that and stood up abruptly surprising the Albino. Ryuiichi approached with a "to go" bag, and a knowing look. Tobirama noticed that and also that he looked past them to greet someone entering the post.

"OI Takato-san" The man greeted. The Uchiha had entered to find something to eat. Hikari and the Senju looked in his direction and he seemed a bit taken aback of finding them there together. Ryuiichi noticed the slight tense air between the two men so he intervened.

"Nee… Hikari-chan, you're going back to Sakura-sensei right?" he said and made the kunoichi looked back at him. She nodded. "Here, take your dumplings to go" he said as he put the food on the bag he had brought "also take some anmitsu for her to go. I know it's her favorite" the Koji man smiled.

"Thank you very much Ryuiichi-san!" the Takishima beamed as she took the bag. "I'll be off then" she looked at Takato and said apologetically "I'm sorry, please don't be offended, I was leaving before you arrived!"

"Ahh… d-don't worry!" he said scratching the back of his head feeling awkward. She smiled at him widely and he blushed a little.

"Tobirama-san, thank you very much for your help! " she bowed and the albino looked away sighing embarrassed "We'll talk later! Ya-ne!" she bid her goodbyes and run towards the hospital with her food bags, leaving a confused Uchiha behind. He got back to his senses and walked towards the Senju and sat on the same spot the kunoichi had just been seating.

"She sure is like a storm" both men heard Ryuiichi say "The man that marries her will never get bored." He laughed, as he witnessed how the two shinobi in front of him blushed, he noticed that the Uchiha blushed harder though.

"Takato-san!" the man said on purpose, and the Uchiha stiffened a bit. "I'll bring you Teriyaki chicken"

"Hn" the Uchiha nodded "Yes thank you Ryuiichi san"

"You sure know what people eats here" Tobirama observed "You actually brought Hikari-san her food without her even asking."

"It's because I got to know her, and Sakura-sensei too" the man said knowingly. "It's been like two months now"

"That much time passed already?" the Uchiha enquired and the man nodded and left to bring his order leaving them alone and awkwardly silent.

"She had a fight with Sakura" Tobirama said after a while breaking the silence "and I just gave her some advice but I am not quite sure what did I say right" he zipped his tea. The other shinobi looked at him not understanding.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"It seemed fitting" the albino answered leaving Takato lost in his thoughts.

Sakura was reading the message again and again

"If you're free this Sunday afternoon, we can meet at the Uchiha lake to start your chakra nature training. Don't worry, it won't take long, so we can enjoy the Merchant district festival.

Madara"

This simple message had her feeling odd. Was he implying they should go to the Festival together? That seemed impossible… She was dwelling on this some more and suddenly Hikari knocked and entered without waiting for the answer. The pinkette immediately hid the piece of parchment and blushed profusely.

"Sakura-chan!" the Takishima said with a grin showing her the 'to go' bags. Her grin changed to a curious look after she realized her friend's demeanor. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Nani?" the medic asked confused, trying not to reveal herself. "It's just… that I'm surprised to see you here so soon" she masked her embarrassment very well. Her friend let that pass for a while.

"Hn… you thought it might take me longer, right?" she joked because didn't know where to start. "I guess I realized something"

"What did you realize?" the pinkette asked.

"I acted like a fool." Hikari sighed "You're my best friend, and you would never do anything intentionally bad to me. If you didn't say something it might be because you were ordered to. Okay I know you told me that, but I didn't get it the first time, sorry!" she added scratching the back of her head.

"Hikari-chan…" Sakura said with teary eyes

"I mean, I bet you felt bad all this years for not telling me that" she smiled sadly and then bowed "I'm sorry for causing such trouble, now and then when you were ordered not to tell that"

The pinkette stood up and ran to hug her friend, she was crying but they were liberating tears.

"Hnnnnnnn" Hikari whimped "You're crushing me" but she returned the hug. When Sakura calmed down, she let her go and cleaned her face with the back of her hand.

"I am the one that is sorry" she bowed "I will never hide anything from you anymore. I promise" she straightened up "That's all I knew. It seems that you have a PTS from Naruto attacking you, but it seems that it was a reactivation"

"What do you mean?" the Takishima asked confused.

"Come, let's seat and eat what you brought while we talk" The medic nin smiled grabbing the food bag. Both sat around the desk and shared the food Ryuuichi-san had given them. "It seems that it comes from the day Naruto was born, the day you confronted the Kyuubi for the first time"

"It comes since that event?" Hikari was surprised "I still don't remember what happened fully." And as a second thought she added "Hn, I thought it might be related with Kokoro being killed by the beasts thought"

"That might be right…" Sakura said tasting her anmitsu "Oh Kami this is delicious!"

"You think so?" Hikari asked surprised that her friend found that plausible. "It was a random thought"

"But it might be right, at first I think" the pinkette said "You don't remember what happened when you were four, but if you kind of awoke those powers it meant you were close enough to your last reincarnation. It is said that younger kids are closer to the 'origin'"

"Origin?" her friend asked

"It's from where we all come, reincarnations and stuff" she answered in a mystic tone waving her hands "like the source of all life" Hikari sweat dropped.

"I was talking seriously" she raised an eyebrow.

"I am talking seriously too" Sakura said "But I make it funnier " she grinned " I know it sounds silly but there are things that even science can't know for sure. And my experience with kids showed me that there are inexplicable situations with them, like anecdotes or reactions and the only logical answer is the esoterica one… Because kids are born like a blank notebook and it fills with information while they grow."

"So if they have attitudes that had never been influenced you actually don't have a logical way to explain them?" the Takishima asked.

"That's right." The pinkette answered " The thing is that you might be the only reincarnation of Kokoro Otsutsuki. If you think of it, you seemed to be the first Namikaze baby girl ever born, so the prophecy had never been fulfilled before. It might be possible that at the age of four you had some sensitivity about your previous life when you saw Kurama, and that's why you accessed almost your full power"

"That's mind-blowing" Hikari sighed, shocked. "Wait, you said that you thought this might be right at first"

"Yes, because your 'pure' reaction was at that age." She explained "But if the Kyuubi attacked you then, it might have triggered other memories making that aspect of your chakra sensitive to its anger."

"And that's why whenever Naruto showed a tail I lost mi grip" the brunette concluded and her friend nodded.

"The times you lost your way when bad things happened, aside of the ninetails, like Jiraiya Sama's death, was a simple human reaction" she added "positively linked with your Uchiha heritage. The emotions run strong in that clan"

"You sure are a Female Shikamaru" she eyed Sakura making her smile. It seemed logical and that made her feel better. "Hey! I almost forget to ask you"

"What?" she said while finishing her anmitsu

"What did you hide when I entered that had flustered you so much?" Hikari asked intrigued and the medic almost choked.

"Hn… I-I…" she cleared her voice. There was no reason to be nervous, it was nothing to be embarrassed of, but the thought of the Takishima making fun of her made her dubious "You'll make fun of me" she finally said.

"Why would I?" the brunette asked "It's something Madara-related, am I Right?" the pink on Sakura's cheeks increased, revealing her friend the unspoken answer. " I promise I will never mock you about this subject anymore. I like him, and I like that you like him. Hey, maybe you find the love that you deserve here"

"I don't know why that feels even worse than if you were mocking me" she was absolute flustered by now. "Anyway" she said and took the parchment with the note "he's asking me if I'm free this Sunday to start my Nature Chakra training"

"WHOA REALLY!?" The Takishima almost jumps off her chair "That's awesome! How would I make fun of that though? Madara is great! And he cares about you. I really approve him" she made a pause "That would have sounded so much weirder two months ago…" and they both burst in laughter

"Anyway, I'm going to tell him that I am free. I really want to learn nature-based jutsu" the pinkette said calmer.

"Wait, but the Merchant district festival is this Sunday!" Hikari said.

"He said that it won't take long, so we can go to the festival" she commented

"So is he inviting you to go with him?" the other one thought out loud.

"I don't think so, but…" she said

"But What?" the Takishima asked

"It would be nice to go with him" Sakura smiled and grabbed a piece of paper to answer to him. It was a smile Hikari had not seen in a long time. In fact, she would have sworn she had never seen that smile before, not even for Sasuke.

"You're falling for him" her friend whispered, smiling too. Silence was the answer, but looking at the pinkette writing on that parchment, she saw her smile increased and that was all the answer she needed.

There were some hours far from the night shift, so the Takishima decided to go and get some rest and a bath. She greeted Sakura and left. It had been odd, a lot had happened in half a day, but then again, it had been so much that no-one wanted to speak further about anything.

That night the shift was smooth and she felt really at ease with her comrades, even with Takato. She thought it might have felt weird since she fell asleep on his back, that was a big awkward moment, and the time they crossed paths in Ryuuichi's shop didn't count. But the Uchiha was like always and he even asked her if she and Sakura were okay. 'Tobirama must told him something' she thought.

Izuna was sad it was the last night they were going to be together.

"Twelve hours a day together for a month!" he complained. "Even though it's been just a month we've been together, it feels like I've known you for a life time, I will miss you!" he said feigning being clingy grabbing Hikari's arm.

"Oh come on, don't be such a cry baby" Takato scolded him.

"Aniki, don't be jealous, Hikari-chan has another arm to cling on" he said deviously, making his brother uncomfortable.

"Cut it out you two. We have a lot of work to do!" Toka finally said. "Plus, is not like we're not seeing her anymore!"

"That's Right Izuna-chan!" the Takishima said "We'll see on shift changes, and also once the Hospital has its stable medic staff we'll have more free time to hang out"

"But I'm going to be one of that stable medic staff" he said a bit droopy, letting her arm go.

"Yes, but you won't be working twelve hours anymore, but eight." She added wisely.

"Really?" the youngest Uchiha blinked surprised.

"Yes, twelve hour shifts are insane, but we have to do this because the Hospital is just starting" she explained. "Also, if we have more medics than expected, shifts could be for six hours, which is actually how they must be so they can have proper physical and mind rest"

"Do you feel better Izuna –chan?" Takato mocked messing with his brothers hair.

"Yes I do" he said "that's why I wont punch you in the face for doing this" he added dead serious, while taking his hand off him.

"Oh, come on, don't get mad at me" his brother complained, and followed him through the corridor "I'm sorry!" he kept saying. Toka and Hikari sweat-dropped.

"I guess they have a healthy brotherly relationship" The Senju said to her friend and they both smiled following her shift-mates.

The next week started with the expected huge change: Takato, Toka and Izuna began the day shift with Sakura and Madara and Hashirama went night watch with Hikari. There were even more ninja starting to learn medic ninjutsu, and Sakura needed Help during mornings, so she had the ex night shifters teaching basics to new civilians students. Also, The Clan Leaders were going to need the mornings for Hokage related work, and during the night shift even Hikari and both shinobi were starting to train some students too. They estimated that by the end of the trimester they will have 20 operative med-nin in the Village, plus the civilian medics that were already learning from theory since a month ago while practicing small procedures treating patients with the shinobi's supervision.

Madara and Hashirama had successfully achieved the Mystic palm with fish, but they were still some lessons far from healing a person so they were going to train that with the Takishima. Ryuuji was starting to heal tissue faster with Chakra, and he had become Sakura's Assistant. Also during the Evenings he had scheduled to spar with his sensei, three days a week. The other days he will continue with a routine to gain more muscle and strength by himself.

Hikari resumed training with Megumi by themselves that very first Monday after the spar, since Tobirama was going to be busy with Takato creating the Academy project. It was odd for her to imagine them working together, given the fact they had had a lot of awkward moments. The little gir was more motivated than ever since she could expel chakra.

Toka and Izuna also scheduled sparring every day after work because he wanted to keep his promise of helping her improve.

It seemed that this new week had been a game changer and everybody started working harder because it had been a month since the Village was created, the Hokage was going to be picked and though lots of stuff needed to be done, lots of new ideas and projects were starting too.

It was Friday night and Hikari was entering the night shift with Madara and Hashirama. She crossed paths with Sakura and her ex teammates.

"Man! Today was hard!" Izuna exclaimed while stretching himself.

"Don't you dare to hung up training on me, it's been only a week!" Toka complained.

"Geeesh woman, I was just relaxing a little bit, I never said I was tired enough not to spar with you" he simply said with his hands behind his head and closing one eye. The Senju kunoichi was about to retort but he interrupted "Okay, let's go before it's dinner time." Hikari laughed at the interaction.

"You sure get along well" she said.

"Yeah… but she's very impatient with training... OUCH" the Uchiha complained. Toka had elbowed him in his ribs.

"He's a very lazy teacher, but I am sure I will kick his butt today." She looked at him and pinched him in his arm "Your pretty eyes won't be useful against me, you'll see". Nobody said anything about the double meaning that statement had. 'Pretty eyes?' Izuna thought with a slight color on his cheeks. "Let's go, Hikari Chan I can't wait for us to hang out soon! I miss you" The Senju said while hugging her friend's arm

"I miss you all too" she looked at Madara and Hashirama that pretended to be offended. "But that duo is a good company too" she winked at them and they smirked. The other Kunoichi looked at them too.

"Hashi please behave!" she said rising an eyebrow making the man exclaimed "WHY ME!" and then waved her hand "We'll be off then, Ya ne!" and she turned back and started to walk towards the forest.

"Hey you silly Senju!" Izuna exclaimed "WAIT FOR ME Teme!" and he waved at everybody and then followed Toka.

"They are a curious duo" Takato said.

"Indeed" Hikari agreed while looking at them get further away. "Okay guys, lets get to work!" she said and Madara and Hashirama motioned to enter the building until they heard Takato speak to her.

"Hikari-chan?" he called. The kunoichi turned to look at him with a curious look.

"Yes?" she asked him, he seem odd.

"Are you free tomorrow at 8pm?" The Uchiha asked. She opened her eyes a little bit wider.

"What are you saying?" she asked confused "You know I am working at that time" She heard some footsteps approaching.

"No you're not, I'm going to cover for you" Sakura said next to her with a knowing look. The Takishima knew she was up to something.

"what is going on with you two?" She asked

"Nothing, I just wanted to take you somewhere." Takato said trying to sound cool, he didn't want her to realize what he was planning.

"Are you inviting me on a date?" Hikari joked, but she was sure her cheeks were slightly pink. He cleared his throat a bit aware. 'WHOA that was pretty straight even for her!' Sakura heard Inner say, and she had to agree with her.

"Whatever you want to think that makes you say yes, you may think of. Please" The Uchiha said confident. He was expecting she was going to joke about something like that, so he had kind of rehearsed that sentence. But he wasn't expecting her to be so blunt. She studied him for a moment before speaking.

"Silly!" the brunette laughed "What's going on?"

"It's a surprise for you" He answered simply rising his shoulders and prayed she stopped with the questionnaire.

"Hn." She said rising an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll meet you here at 8 o'clock".

"Great!" he said cheerful "I'll see you tomorrow then, Ya ne!" and he jumped towards the Hokage Tower where Tobirama was waiting. Leaving a confused Hikari behind, surrounded by a smirking Sakura and two slightly surprised Madara and Hashirama exchanging knowing looks.

At the Hokage Tower.

"You seem in high spirits today" Tobirama said in her signature monotone, he was reading through some papers with diagrams of the soon to be created academy.

"True" Takato answered while leaving a bag with takeaway Ryuuichi's made food over a table near them. "By the way, tomorrow I need to leave early"

"You have plans?" the albino asked. He still didn't know why he did that though. He wasn't a nosy person, but somehow he was developing this sort of friendly talk with this Uchiha. They have talked a little about their life this past two months and he might be the closer thing to a friend he had ever had 'Sakura will want to talk about this in therapy, me being friends with an Uchiha' he joked to himself in his mind.

"Sort of" he answered not revealing much. The Senju respected that, but couldn't help to feel odd.

"It's okay, tomorrow is Saturday anyway. We could use some rest." He said "It's better to work harder today so we can take tomorrow off". Takato nodded smiling, all his aura seemed different, and Tobirama didn't know why, but he thought it was related to a certain Brunette Kunoichi and felt a soft void inside him.

"So, are you going to tell me what is going on?" Hikari asked Sakura.

"Nope" she said closing her eyes and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Brat" the Takishima said snorting, and Sakura grinned. "Okay, we have work to do, let's enter and get our briefing from the boss" she entered to the Hospital

"WAIT Hikari-chan!" Hashirama exclaimed while running behind her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Madara's low voice sounded next to her, he had stayed behind to ask Sakura this. 'CHA! HE'S SO HOT!' Inner thought. Fortunately, she wasn't going to be intimidated by her now.

"Hn…." The pinkette made a pause to think

FLASHBACK

"Sakura-Chan" the middle Uchiha called her.

"Yes Takato-san?" she answered

"I need to ask you a favor" the Kunoichi looked at him curious "I want to take Hikari-chan's to a place tomorrow night. Ahhhh don't get me wrong!" he added nervous as he saw the kunoichi's excited look of joy.

"You're not going to ask her out?" She said bluntly.

"W-WHAT?" he stuttered "W-why would I? No, that's not…" he didn't think this would be so difficult "I mean, I want to take her somewhere as a gift for her help and hard work with us…" 'And with me' he thought the last part but didn't say it.

"For how long is she going to be occupied?" Sakura asked taking Takato aback "I assume you want me to cover for her. Am I right?" The Uchiha Nodded.

"Mmm, maybe for an hour…" he said. Sakura took her time to think and analyzed the shinobi in front her. He was a good young man, and he seemed to have a small crush on her friend. She decided she would help him, but she needed to know something first.

"Okay, I will cover for her, but first you need to tell me what are you up to…" the pinkette demanded.

END FLASHBACK

"I can't" Sakura told Madara "I promised your brother I would not tell, I'm Sorry" the Uchiha looked so defeated that she needed to tell him something. "Ohh, Don't put me that face! I would love to tell you but a promise is a promise. All I can say is that Hikari-Chan will be amazed."

"That is more intriguing than what we just witnessed!" he complained

"Yeah, and that's all you'll get from me" she grinned. "Let's go inside so I can pass your shift and I am free"

"Free!? You love being here all the time" Madara crossed his arms and looked at her with what pretended to be a scolding look.

"I'm starting to value my free time more" she simply said while rising her shoulders and smiled. They walked together inside the Hospital where Hashirama and Hikari were waiting for them.

Saturday 8pm sharp…

Takato was outside of the Hospital as Hikari stepped out of the building feeling aware. She had heard Sakura and Toka and she had arranged herself a bit more neatly, though she was wearing her everyday clothes.

"You look stunning!" he said as he saw her as an icebreaker.

"I'm just regular old me" She said shrugging.

"That's what I said" Takato said a super direct compliment that Hikari failed a bit too late to catch because he continued speaking without giving her the time to process it. "I need to ask you a favor." She looked at him not understanding but she had just got the first statement and blushed a little. "I need you not to be shinobi for a while" he extended his hand. "Please close your eyes and shinobi senses and let me guide you somewhere."

"What?" Hikari asked confused.

"Please, do you trust me?" the Uchiha asked. She was dubious, what was he going to do? What was he thinking? But then again, something on his eyes made her fully trust him. Sighing, she closed her eyes and accepted his hand.

"Okay, I'll trust you on this, Uchiha" she mocked. She couldn't see the beaming smile Takato had on his face at that moment. He grabbed her hand and started walking.

He led her in a hard-to-track route he created through the Village and she was trying hard not to recognize their surroundings. It was also hard because she didn't want to dwell on how warm and right his hand felt.

They stopped in front of a building, Hikari guessed, and the Uchiha moved her a little to face it. Then he asked her to open her eyes.

THE RAMEN SHOP.

Her face was not hard to read. She was stunned, her eyes were widely opened and she was captivated by the candle light that came from inside the shop. It looked the same like the shop she used to go with Naruto. 'No, it doesn't look the same. IT IS THE SAME!" She thought, her heart beating fast.

An elder man exited the shop and greeted them, inviting them to enter. He showed them the menus, and absentmindly Hikari showed him what she wanted as she sat on one bench while Takato sat next to her.

"H-how…" she mumbled, she was out of words.

"Remember that day you stopped when you saw this place? The day after the inauguration?" Takato asked and she nodded without saying a word. "I asked the workers when was this going to be finished, and some days ago I asked them this favor"

"You mean…" Hikari was really out of words

"Yes, they opened just for us one day before de big opening" he grinned "It's a special treat" he winked at her.

The Takishima looked at him confused, like she was trying to solve a very difficult puzzle. How on earth this man in front of her had thought about something like that? Had he thought about this for a month? Why did he go through that trouble? The plates were served and fortunately for Takato, it cut the moment (she had been staring at him for a while and though it wasn't unpleasant, it made him feel uneasy).

He thanked for his plate and started to eat to recover his nerve. He opened his eyes widely as he savored the food.

"Oh, for kami's sake this tastes awesome" the Uchiha said as he slurped his noodles.

"Thank You Uchiha Sama" now an elder woman said with pride. She was the Elder's man wife.

"It's Takato, madam." He smiled at her "Please get rid of the –sama treatment"

"That's fine, Takato-san" she said. "Hikari San, how does yours taste?" the woman asked the Takishima. He noticed she had not touched the plate; she was just looking at it with an expression filled with emotion. She grabbed a spoon and tasted the broth. The Uchiha saw how the girl had also widened her eyes and tears started to form and fall from her right eye.

"Hn… Hikari…" he started. Had he done wrong by taking her there?

"Home" Hikari mumbled interrupting him as she tried and failed wiping her tears. "This tastes like home" And she started to devour her ramen.

The elder woman laughed wholeheartedly. She realized that somehow this had a special meaning to this girl. She looked at Takato, moved her head and winked to tell him to resume eating. In a matter of minutes the Takishima had finished her meal, so the woman approached to get her plate.

"Would you like some more?" she asked the kunoichi. This made her look up and see the elder woman's face. She looked similar to old Teuchi. But it was weird because she remembered the man had founded the shop, but maybe it had been a family tradition and he reopened or something similar. She will never know. And that last thought made tears appear again. "Oh, come on Kid. It wasn't that bad of a taste" the woman joked and caressed the top of her head. The feeling of her warmth made Hikari control her emotions and ceased crying.

"It was delicious, thank you!" she was able to exclaim smiling though her eyes were still shiny.

"That is better" the woman nodded with a grin. "I'll get you some more" she left to prepare another serving.

"Are you all right?" Takato asked her. "I thought this might be a good Idea since tomorrow it will be packed with people."

"I'm fine" she said looking at the empty plate. "It's just… it is still overwhelming." She sighed "some things remember me that I can't go back home anymore. But then again others tell me that I'm home." There was a long pause. The woman was waiting behind the curtains, she wasn't doing that on purpose, and she only didn't want to interrupt them.

"I think I get it" The Uchiha said finally. It was logical what she was feeling. "I'm sorry if this upset you a little, I-I…"

"Please no," Hikari stopped him grabbing his left hand that was over the bar "Do not apologize, this is… This was…" she was out of words, and he was expecting her to elaborate. He couldn't stop the colors to rise on his face though, fortunately the elder woman entered with another plate of ramen. She was sorry to do that in such a moment, but it would be suspicious if she took more time and the food will get cold. The kunoichi realized she was holding Takato's hand and suddenly let go of it. "Thank you!" She said to the woman.

They kept eating in silence, but now it was more comfortable because she was not crying anymore.

"Please, come whenever you want darling!" the woman, named Kaoru was greeting them as they were leaving the shop. Satoshi, his husband –the man that had received them- was next to her.

"We expect you with Sakura-san soon!" he smiled "You too, Master Takato, bring your siblings"

"I will" he said smiling "Thank you for having us today!" he bowed. Kaoru started to laugh from the formality and her husband hugged her.

"Come on anata, we need to prepare everything for tomorrow." she said

"Have a good night you two" the man smiled and entered with his wife again to the shop.

Hikari and Takato stayed standing in front of the shop, and the girl was amazed with its light, as they were dimmed until they were off.

"Okay, we'll have to go back to the Hospital or Sakura will kill me" The Uchiha sweat dropped, and the Takishima laughed and started walking next to him. "This is better"

"What?" She asked

"You, laughing" he said while walking.

"Yeah…. I guess I got pretty emotional" Hikari said a bit awkward.

"No, it was fine" Takato said reassuring her "Though In my mind I have not pictured you crying" he smirked.

"Really?" the brunette asked amused "And what have you pictured?" her question took him aback.

"I-I… Don't know haha" he said scratching the back of his head.

"Then… Why?" Hikari asked with a curious look, he didn't understand the question and they both stopped for a moment just some meters close to the Hospital. "Why did you do this…? How… I mean, you've been planning this for a month I guess…"

"It's difficult to explain" he interrupted. "The only thing that comes first to my mind is… Why not doing this? It was important to you, something you shared with your most precious people. I mean you've experienced loss and pain, and you're far from your home. You can't go back, and then something like this appears. You should be able to enjoy that. I…" he made a pause "I wanted to do this for you, just that"

The kunoichi was out of words again, and she couldn't believe herself because she could feel her heart beating faster. 'This is…' she didn't dare to continue the thought.

"I will never forget this night" that was all she managed to say in a hoarse voice. "You… this is the best thing you could ever do for me. I-I…" she moved without thinking and Takato was now fully taken aback when hugged him. He could feel his heart beating faster, or… 'Is it hers?' he thought. He moved his arms slightly –he was actually imprisoned by her hug, because she had wrapped her arms around him, like a bear hug- and tapped her shoulders softly. It was awkward but fortunately there was nobody in the street to witness that. Suddenly she got back to her senses and let go of him her head read as a tomato.

"I'm sorry, that was so inappropriate" she said embarrassed "I forgot I-I" she stop before she could say something stupid.

"It's okay" he said "Sometimes there are no words to describe emotions, I know" he said knowingly but scratching the back of his head.

"I need to go now…" she said, she needed to pull herself together and walked to the Hospital's entrance, with him following her behind.

"Hikari-san?" he asked again, and she turned back and faced him in a swift movement. Her hair moving with the air, and her face, still flustered, lightened by the dimmed light of the building's entrance made him thought she was actually stunning. He had to reunite all his courage to say what he was going to say and he hoped his voice wouldn't betray him "Never thought a 'Why' anymore. Because it's probable I'll keep inviting you to eat ramen just to remember you you're at home, and you're not alone. Ehhh Aside of Sakura-san, I mean" he added the last part because he got extremely embarrassed by her expression 'Damn it, there goes all my coolness' he thought.

"I will be expecting your invitations, Takato-kun!" she said smiling widely. "Thank you!" she bowed and turned to entered the building.

The Uchiha stayed a bit longer watching the door through which she had entered and finally left thinking how great the –kun sounded by her, next to his name.

Inside the Hospital, Sakura was spying the couple through her window; Madara and Hashirama were with her.

"What are you doing nosy old ladies here?" she told them.

"I am watching my beloved brother" Madara said serious

"I am just curious" Hashirama said "Also I do love romance" he sighed in a fangirl attitude. The kunoichi and the Uchiha looked at each other and sweat dropped.

"Man, you need to find a wife soon" his friend said.

"I know it's not fair that everybody is finding love but not me" the Senju said absentmindly. That got Madara pretty nervous. The pinkette looked at him curious.

"Who is finding love?" she asked. The man was about to say something but the other shinobi interrupted.

"AHHH now who's being nosy?" He said to Sakura.

"Hey! You are the ones that entered here" she complained 'Win' Madara thought and looked at Hashirama.

"Hashi, she's right we should leave" he took him from his shoulders and forced him to leave the room.

"Weirdos" the kunoichi thought when they left. "But Madara looks so cute when he's embarrassed" She had not gotten the meaning behind his embarrassment though.

Hikari entered the building and found her shift mates fighting on the corridor. She waited amused until it was the best moment to intervene.

"Would you just shut up?" Madara was telling Hashirama

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You're just telling that everybody's falling in love!" the Uchiha complained.

"But isn't that right?" the Senju asked innocently,

"Who are falling in love?" Hikari appeared next to them in a swift Hirashin movement.

"AAAGGGHHH!" both men screamed in unison. "Hikari-san stop doing that!" Hashirama said while Madara had just regained his cool. During this week she had formed an habit to appear surprisingly next to the Senju when he was being lazy or not paying attention to something.

"I'm sorry, it was really fun!" She snorted.

"What's going on here?" Sakura opened the door of the room where she was hiding to spy her. "AHH Hikari-Chan! You're here already!"

"Why do you look so nervous?" the Takishima asked curious.

"What? Nonsense!" the pinkette laughed. "So how was the dinner?"

"You knew, didn't you?" her friend said.

"I did" she smiled. "So how was it?"

"I can't believe it's the same place" The brunette commented.

"What place?" Hashirama asked

"I got all emotional" Hikari continued not paying attention to the Senju.

"I asked what place?" he demanded again. He wanted to know where Takato took her.

"You're all acting weird" The Takishima said and then realized something "Oh, I see, you were spying!" she bumped her fist with the palm of her hand like she had found something.

"Why would we spy on you?" Madara said this time

"When did I mentioned you were spying ME?" the kunoichi retorted.

"HN." The Uchiha had been caught.

"For your information we went to a ramen shop, and that was something I used to enjoy with my cousin every day until…" she stopped a moment and added "our village was destroyed" She couldn't say any further. It had been pure luck that their whole chat with Takato didn't spill anything about the past. She made a mental note to be more careful. The men made silence and understood what she meant.

"Oh, I see." Hashirama was the one to talk. "That must have been something really important to you"

"You're right" she agreed,

"Takato sure is a great guy" he added "I mean doing that for you is really special. You must be proud of your brother Madara" Hikari blushed a little at the mention of this, and the Uchiha didn't fail to notice that.

"Yes, my siblings are the best." He said "And Takato is the most sympathetic and considerate of the three of us" It sounded like he was selling his brother. Far away in the Uchiha Compound, Takato Sneezed while entering to their home.

"You don't give yourself much credit then" the Takishima said reading between the lines to stop the joke. "Well, we need to continue working, and you need to go home and rest" she told the last part to Sakura.

"Hai, Hai, I'll leave" the pinkette answered, relieved that the conversation was being left there "Behave you three. See you tomorrow" she greeted and left. The trio put themselves to work and continued their training.

The next day the trio left the Hospital at six am. Ryuuji started his Sunday shift, and he was going to be the Hospital's responsible for that day. He might be Young, but he was really capable. They all bid their goodbyes and left to rest.

It was past noon when Sakura left their home to go training with Madara. He was expecting her next to the Uchiha Lake as they had said. He had been really happy she accepted his invitation and made sure nobody could disturb them –that meant Hashirama.

"Good afternoon Sakura-san" the man greeted.

"Ohaio Madara-San!" The pinkette said with energy.

"Ready to train?" he said grinning.

"Yes I am" she answered waving her fist to the air. 'Man, this is going to be so much fun' the Uchiha thought thrilled.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hello everybody! I know, it's been ages since I last updated. Now I understand the writers I follow that take months to update. I had lots of work, studying online and also working during pandemics. We had to stay isolated because our manager had these hideous disease, and we actually don't know if we caught it or not (the symptoms were extremely subtle and could be taken as an allergy).

So it was pretty stressing. I even had an anxiety episode after they told us we had to stay locked for 10 days for safety. But everything seems fine now, though our city is still a chaos like the whole world, and there are lots of people that think they are immortal and are 0% sympathetic with others.

Anyway. This was a Hikari-centric chapter, with nice dozes of Sakura. I was going to put the training here, but I would become a looooong chapter and now that I'm motivated I want to write that part properly.

Hope you like this. MadaSaku is coming

Be safe. Love, Bella