Like most of the special moments forever seared into his mind, this started with the batting of eyelashes and a whispered, giddy plea.
"Daddy, Daddy, tell me a story!"
His little girl, whom he had just tucked into bed, had her chubby hands wound around his yukata sleeve.
Inoichi did not have to look down to know that she was sporting a pout, her bottom lip protruding ever so slightly. Or that her nose was scrunched up in childish determination. Or that her cheeks were puffed up. Or that she was blinking up at him rapidly, eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings on her pale skin.
It was, after all, an expression he was quite familiar with – it being Ino's primary weapon (in her endless arsenal of cuteness) when she wanted things to go her way.
And his daughter always got her way.
Well, as far as he was concerned, at least. His wife would never fall for such impish trickery: she would have put a stop to it at once with a well-rehearsed glare and a commanding tone.
But, to his defense, Ino was often too adorable to deny.
Like, right then.
"Daddy!" she called again as her tugging became more insistent. "I'll be a good girl! I'll do all the chores and practice all my katas! I'll water the flowers and help Mommy weed the garden even though all the worms are icky! I promise, Daddy! Please!"
Her girlish voice wafted up to him, and he could feel his heart melting at the sound. He would have acceded to her request in an instant, but a full day at the Intelligence Division takes its toll on even the best of Daddies (and Ino had assured him, many times, that he was the best of the best).
Steeling his resolve, Inoichi was about to say no, honey, Daddy can't tonight when a fairly loud (and deliberate-sounding) whimper suddenly issued from his daughter's mouth.
"Daddy?" she squeaked out, sounding very close to tears. "Please?"
Ah.
That did it.
Displaying much gusto for a man who had claimed earlier that he was "too tired to do the dishes," Inoichi sat on his daughter's side and cleared his throat.
"Well, what kind of story do you want to hear tonight, darling?" he asked, smiling down at his little girl fondly. "More tales about the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, perhaps? Like that time Daddy, Uncle Choza, and Uncle Shikaku defeated a ton of shinobi? Oh, what about the origins of our clan? You do love hearing about how Grandpa Inoshi met a talking boar, right?"
He grinned, remembering how Ino laughed and laughed after first hearing that particular story…
Which, now that he thought about it, was pretty strange. There was nothing remotely funny about a god-like beast bestowing powers on the first Yamanaka. If anything, it was supposed to leave you with a sense of wonder and appreciation of the clan's history, and certainly not with a long fit of giggles…
"No, Daddy," Ino piped up, jarring his thought process. "I want a princess story!"
"A… What now?" Inoichi drew closer, straining his ears to make sure he heard her right.
"A princess story!" she repeated, her forehead creasing slightly. "You know! With princes and dragons and stuff! I want that story, Daddy!"
He leaned back and frowned. This was… new. Sure, Ino was not exactly begging for stories about valiant shinobis saving the day, but she didn't complain either. She always listened intently and nodded, even oohed and aahed at the appropriate sections. When asked later what she thought of them, she would always say, "They're really great stories, Daddy. Thank you." and promptly fall asleep.
"Are you sure?" inquired Inoichi, arching an eyebrow at her. "Because I have another story about Grandpa Inoshi that I'm sure you'll like…"
"Daddy!" she whined, and if she was standing, he was pretty sure she would have stomped her foot too. "Didn't you hear me? I don't want Grandpa Inoshi! I want a princess story!"
Ah, he thought, as he watched her blue eyes narrow, Even her little tantrums were adorable.
"I'm a princess!" Ino shouted as a flash of irritation crossed her face. "So I deserve a princess story, Daddy! Right!?"
"Yes, darling, of course," he answered, patting her head affectionately. "But you'll have to give Daddy a little time to think of a… princess story, okay?"
She gave a tiny gasp of glee. "Oh," she breathed. "Okay!"
As she squirmed in her bed to find a more comfortable position, Inoichi sought his mind for the kind of story she wanted. He, of course, had no idea what she was talking about, having grown up listening exclusively to shinobi legends told by his clan elders and Jonin sensei. The only princess he knew was the Slug Princess Tsunade, granddaughter of the First Hokage – the Fire's Daimyos daughters hardly counted because nothing exciting ever happened in civilian lives – but he had a feeling that wasn't the kind of story his little Ino wanted.
"It's easy, Daddy," she urged. "Every princess story begins with 'Once upon a time.'"
"Of course," replied Inoichi as he strained out a smile. "Daddy knows that."
Satisfied with this answer, Ino took to bunching her hands on the edge of her blanket and whispering animatedly to the stuffed animals by her pillow, as if she was gathering her gaggle of friends to listen to him speak.
"We're ready, Daddy," she informed him sweetly. "You can start anytime."
At that precise moment, as Ino looked up at him expectantly, light pink dusting her cheeks, Inoichi greatly preferred being back at the Intelligence Division and cracking some poor chump's mind to pieces. That was always a grisly and horrible task, but it had nothing on the terror he felt as he slowly realized that there was a chance that he would disappoint his baby girl with his accursed lack of princess stories that night.
And as his gaze shifted to meet hers, he could already imagine the frown that would form on her lips in a little while.
"Well, Daddy?" she piped up, a hint of impatience in her tiny voice. "We're waiting."
"Ah," he exclaimed, trying to will the negativity away. "Of course, darling, of course. I'm just… Let me…" Inoichi cleared his throat loudly. "Hm, let's see, once upon a time, there was a, ah, princess who lived in a beautiful palace…"
Her soft smile let him know that he was on the right track, even though he had no idea what track he was on or where, for that matter, he was headed.
"She had blonde hair and pretty blue eyes that sparkled in the light…"
A giggle bubbled up from Ino.
"And parents who loved her to bits," he added. "She had a garden with many colorful flowers that she tended to carefully. Her favorite flower is..?"
"The cosmos!" she yelled, grinning. "The princess loves the cosmos!"
"Yes, darling, that's right. Her favorite flower is the cosmos, but she also loves the..?"
"Bush clover!"
"Excellent! Now, time for bed, sweetheart, or your Mommy will be cross with—"
"But Daddy," she cut in. "The story's not over yet!"
"Oh? But I'm pretty sure it's—"
"Where's the prince?" she demanded. "I want to know what the prince looks like!"
"The… prince?"
"Yes, Daddy," sighed Ino, clearly exasperated. "You know, her prince charming! Her knight in shining armor! Her one true love! Her savior from the dragon and the evil wizard!"
A slew of heroic deeds followed, and Inoichi felt unease churning in his stomach. His little girl, who was just about to turn seven, was already thinking about… boys? He didn't think he would be dealing with this quandary so early in her growth. He'd assumed – as do most clueless and in denial Daddies – that boys would not even be an issue until Ino was thirteen, an age that she would not reach for a blissfully long while yet.
His daughter was still blabbing about the qualities of the ideal prince, and so the bit of unease morphed into a full-blown pit of despair. Just when Inoichi was secure in the idea that she looked up to him only, here comes this new (and hopefully imaginary) male figure in her life. He wondered where she was getting such ideas and if he would be justified in putting a stop to them immediately…
"So," Ino huffed, apparently done with her list. "What does the prince in the story look like, Daddy?"
"Ah, Ino-chan," he mused, absent-mindedly ignoring her question. "Who told you about this… prince?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. "It doesn't matter, Daddy! I want to know what the prince looks like!"
"But darling—"
"Daddy!"
"Sweetheart, I—"
"Daddy!"
"Ino-chan—"
"MOMMY!"
The change of tack happened so quickly he barely had time to process it before he heard the muffled sound of footsteps approaching the room.
"Inoichi? Is everything okay in here?" his wife asked from the doorway, a blend of worry and puzzlement lining her brow. "I heard Ino calling."
Panicking slightly, he looked down at the determined smirk on his daughter's usually angelic face and knew the fight was over.
"Uh, no, dear, everything is just peachy." He squeezed Ino's hand softly. "Right, Ino?"
"Yes, Daddy," the girl simpered, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
His wife smiled. "Alright, I'll leave you to it then. Don't keep her up too late, though. Remember: she has to be at the Academy by seven. Well, good night, you two."
And as the door clicked shut after his wife, a sudden realization hit: Ino started school one month ago. The source of her new fantasy was no longer as mysterious as before. He supposed he could visit the Academy during his break and ask around.
But knowing brought no relief to him, and Shikaku and Choza's words rang unbidden in his ears.
"Okay, Ino-chan," he sighed as he shook himself free of his teammates' merciless teasing. "I'll tell you the rest of the story."
She squealed in delight. "Oh, thank you, Daddy!"
"Alright, let's see… The prince is tall and smart and kind," began Inoichi, trying to remember the qualities she listed before. "Like a mighty shinobi, he is brave and strong, able to protect his friends and family from harm, and—"
"Tell me about his hair!" demanded Ino excitedly, her large, blue eyes shining. "Is it black, like the night sky, Daddy? Does it stick out like this?" She gestured above her head as she let out a tinkling laugh. "And are his eyes the same color as… as… as shadows?"
"Er, ah, sure, darling, if that's what you want…"
"Ooh! I bet he is very handsome!"
Feeling a little hopeful and cheeky, Inoichi leaned in and whispered, "Just like Daddy then?"
Ino looked confused for a moment, then she wrinkled her nose. "Eww, no! Daddy! What are you saying?!"
He balked. Great, not only does his daughter have some dark-haired, dark-eyed boy in mind, she no longer even considered him good-looking. "But Ino-chan," he ventured. "I thought you said Daddy was the best?"
"Oh, of course Daddy is great and all, but the boy in my year is loads better," she declared in a matter of fact tone, nodding sagely all the while. "He is so very talented and really, really dreamy!" Ino sighed and clapped her hands together in bliss. "Just like a real prince, Daddy!"
Inoichi didn't know what to say. It seemed like his daughter had made up her mind about this boy, and it would be very hard to dissuade her from seeing things differently. He tried to do that once when Ino took to eating pudding after every meal. Inoichi even insisted that the milk would make her fart a lot (and if there's anything little girls hated, it was farting – he knew that much), but she only shot him a childish glare and proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the day. Ino only resumed her normal, affectionate behavior towards him after he apologized profusely and promised that milk did not, in fact, make you fart a lot ("I knew it, Daddy!").
This was not about pudding, however. Oh, no, it was more than that. This was about infatuation, childhood crushes, butterflies in the stomach, talented school boys, and – quite possibly – the trajectory of his precious girl's romantic life… which he honestly did not want to think about just then.
"Daddy?"
But what if she started asking about confessions and love declarations? How would he answer such queries? Perhaps he could redirect the girl to his wife, but shouldn't he – as her father – have a say in it as well?
"Daddy, are you listening to me?"
Ah, now Inoichi was starting to think that maybe – just maybe – having a son was easier. Then he would not have to deal with such complicated matters such as fielding questions about the ideal age for dating, interrogating possible future sons-in-law, or asking whether his daughter was – ahem – seeing someone already.
"Daddy! You're spacing out! Are you using Shintenshin?"
"Daughters," as Shikaku always reminded him, "are a drag." Next time they meet, he would have to reluctantly agree on that statement and maybe shell out a hundred ryo or two for three rounds of sake. Those lazy Naras have a knack for getting things right…
"I'm going to call for Mommy again!"
At the sound of her threat, Inoichi jolted out of his reverie. "Yes, darling?" he hastily asked. "Anything you want?"
"Does the prince and the princess live happily ever after?" questioned Ino, her face aglow. In the dim light of her room, he could see how flushed her cheeks were and how her eyes shone with a strange, hopeful gleam. "Do they… kiss… in the end?"
Well, now he really had to pay her Academy sensei a visit. If they were already teaching prospective kunoichis about kisses, it wouldn't be long before that kind of mission was discussed, and he was pretty sure Ino was too young to know about sedu—
"Well, Daddy? Do they?"
Inoichi thought quickly. "Ah, well, no, they just hug in the end and stay friends," he shrugged. Nice save, Yamanaka. Nice save.
"Oh." Ino looked a little disappointed, but in a few moments, she perked up and turned to him. "But they promise to meet again later, right? When they're older?"
"Yes," he said, seizing the chance. "Yes, they meet when they're older, and if they work really hard on their relationship and—"
"Love each other very much?"
"Yes, and if they love each other very much, the prince and the princess will live happily ever after," he finished, feeling quite proud of the outcome. Then he added, "But the prince has to go through the princess's Daddy first. Daddy has to ask him lots of questions before the prince can even hold the princess's hand, okay, darling?"
Ino tapped her chin, seeming to seriously consider this strange addition to her princess story. Her friends at the Academy didn't mention anything about Daddies talking to princes – only dashing princes saving princesses from peril with lots and lots of brave fighting (just like the shinobis in her Daddy's stories!) and sometimes even magic.
But, well, this was her Daddy talking, and he knew a lot of things her friends didn't know about, like where babies really come from ("from, uh, huge flowers in the mountain") or why trees are so tall ("they listened to their tree-parents and slept before 9 pm, Ino-chan").
So, maybe her Daddy was right.
"Okay, Daddy," answered Ino, offering him a sweet smile in return for this new piece of information. "Thank you for the story! I'm ready to go to sleep now."
Inoichi felt relief rush through him. "Okay," he chuckled, smoothing down her hair. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Good night. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."
She giggled and wished him a whispered good night before closing her eyes and falling into sleep.
Inoichi lingered in her doorway for a few more moments, watching her little chest rise and fall with every breath. He took in her lithe and childish form fondly, knowing full well that it was only a matter of time before he had to set her free to the world…
But, well, there was no use thinking of that now, was there? The two of them, after all, still had plenty of years to go. Smiling to himself, he closed the door to her room and headed to his own.
(And, Inoichi thought much later, like most of the special moments forever seared into his mind, this ended with a little bit of regret and a whole load of hopeful happiness.)
Author's Note: Help! I can't stop writing fluff!.. Just kidding; I love writing fluffy one-shots! And, as I said in my previous fic, dads are awesome. Happy days to you, reader!