𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 | shisui uchiha

At the Izakaya

"I'm so happy everyone could make it!"

"Agreed. It's not every day we get to enjoy time together like this."

Haruki smiled as she analysed the two tables before her, ecstatic that both sides of the family- plus the Hokage's family- had been able to make it to dinner. She and Shisui had gradually grown accustomed to their new schedule of balancing work with their household responsibilities and childcare, and now that everyone seemed to be settled, they thought it'd be a good idea to reach out to their friends and family for a much needed catch up.

The izakaya their group had chosen to eat in was full of laughter and conversation as family members and friends updated each other on their lives, much to Haruki and Shisui's joy.

"Hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?"

In one corner of the room, Masumi snickered as he jumped onto a scowling Sasuke, pulling at his hair and yanking it with all his might as he ignored his older cousin's commands to stop. In stark contrast, Itachi kept Riku's full undivided attention on the other side of Sasuke with self-proclaimed "magic tricks," enrapturing his young relative.

"Ahh, Hinata-chan! He's so adorable!" 

On the other side of the table, Naruto sat beside a furiously blushing Hinata as she cradled Mamoru in her arms, looking rather abashed at all the attention she was receiving from the Namikaze. "How does it feel to be an aunty at your age? You get to play with the little kids all the time, I'm so jealous!"

"N-Not really... I don't see them as often as you th-think..."

Haruki's gaze trailed to Hanabi on Hinata's other side, as she sat playing hand games- more precisely, trying to teach how to play hand games- to a highly uncoordinated Sora.

"No, Sora, like this... yeah! Perfect!"

"... and how have you two been?" asked Kushina, breaking Haruki's observations.

Haruki refocused her attention on the adults as she let the children keep themselves entertained, facing Minato, Kushina, and Hiashi as they sat across from herself, Shisui, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Namiko.

"We've been good!" answered Haruki brightly, nodding vigorously at Kushina. "We've adjusted well to work. Everything is going great."

"My Haruki, always the hard worker," stated Hiashi gruffly, picking up his drink and nodding at his daughter. "Your mother would be proud of you."

"Most definitely," added Minato softly, smiling at the Hyūga. "And you, Namiko-san? How has life been at home with your four grandsons?"

"Oh, absolutely horrible," chortled Namiko, taking a swig of her beer as she laughed at the Hokage. "Only seeing them before and after daycare is bad enough, but if Haruki-chan happens to leave all four of them at home for a whole day, goodness help me!"

"Okaa-san, they're not that bad!" argued Shisui, eyes widening as he looked over Kushina's shoulder to see Masumi embroiled in a mini tussle with Sasuke. "Well... the twins and Mamoru aren't that bad!"

"Masumi, stop!" called out Haruki, shooting her eldest a stern look of warning. "Masumi's just going through that phase. God knows Hanabi went through the same one when she was his age."

"Every child has had that phase," chuckled Mikoto, nudging her husband in the side. "Right, honey?"

"Shisui included," groaned Namiko, rolling her eyes. "Masumi definitely inherited it from his father."

"Okaa-san!"

"I'm telling the truth. You were horrible to look after as a child."

The adults burst out into laughter at Namiko's statement, causing Shisui to frown and cross his arms.

"Aww, is widdle Shisui angwy?" cooed Haruki playfully, reaching out and pinching her husband's cheeks. Shisui's frown immediately transformed into a grin, and he leaned over and pulled Haruki towards him for a hug. As the young couple teased each other, the other adults got to talking with each other.

"Fugaku-san, all is well within the clan, I take it?" asked Minato, glancing at the Uchiha clan leader.

"All is well, Hokage-sama. The council is pleased that you have Itachi and Shisui working so highly within the village ranks. They have hope that there will be the possibility of an Uchiha Hokage some time in the future," answered Fugaku, raising his glass of beer to the Hokage. "We can only hope for the best."

"Once you instate an Uchiha Hokage, you can be assured that we'll be having a Hyūga one next," added Hiashi, letting out a deep laugh. "After Itachi or Shisui, look forward to seeing Hanabi's face on the Hokage Rock!"

"So many children have shown interest in striving towards becoming Hokage," said Minato, looking over at his son. "I honestly don't know what to think of it. I'm happy, of course, but it just makes choosing a successor so much harder!"

"You aren't planning on retiring just yet, are you?" quipped Namiko, leaning over the table with her curiosity piqued. "You're still young! And yet to hit your forties!"

"I'm still going strong," reassured Minato, holding up his hands in defence. "But it's definitely something I need to start considering."

At this point Haruki and Shisui had both upped and relocated themselves to the children's table so that they could catch up with the younger ones, leaving the older adults plenty of space to talk privately.

"And may we ask who you've been considering?" asked Hiashi coyly, exchanging a look with Fugaku and knowing that the Uchiha was just dying to ask.

"Originally, I had two candidates in mind, but due to certain circumstances... one seems to have a higher chance than the other."

"All the best of luck to that candidate, then," said Fugaku offhandedly, raising his glass. "Cheers to whoever the Hokage's successor is going to be!"

"Cheers!"