Yeah, it's another one shot. This was inspired by a tumblr headcanon I was given permission to use wherein Himawari idolizes Kushina and wants to grow up to be just like her. It does follow the canon ending so please be respectful.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Enjoy!
"Daddy? Who's this p'etty lady?"
Naruto looked up from the flowerbeds and over to his four-year-old daughter. The little girl stood poised on her tippy toes, her arm just reaching over the wooden surface at an awkward angle. Her tiny fingers were splayed as she tried to reach for the framed photograph resting in its spot of honor on the table. Himawari's bright eyes gazed at him inquisitively as she fell back onto her feet and clasped the edge.
"Hmm?" Naruto looked at the frame, which, from his angle, just looked like a wooden line. "That's mama, sweetheart."
"No~," she giggled. "Not that pi'ture, daddy. This one," and she was reaching again, trying with all her might to point out the correct photograph.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. He took off his gardening gloves and tossed them aside, moving through the open glass doors with curiosity. Reaching his daughter, he crouched down and followed along her line of sight to the picture sitting proudly before them.
He smiled, soft and understanding, as he hoisted Himawari up onto his knee. "This," he began, picking up the frame and bringing it towards her, "is my mom, Uzumaki Kushina. She's your grandma."
"Gran'ma?" She asked, testing the unfamiliar word out on her tongue. "Like 'Nade-baa-chan?"
"Well, almost," he said. "Tsunade-baa-chan is very special to me, but she's not my mom like how mama is to you."
"Oh," her forehead crinkled at this new information. "I think I get it." But she didn't, not really, and Naruto could see how she chewed her little lip in confusion.
He chuckled. "How about this. You know Yoshino-san, right?" Himawari nodded. "Well, she's Shikamaru-ji-chan's mama. And, because of that, she's Shikadai's grandma."
Himawari's eyes widened and they were suddenly alive with excitement. She began to bounce up and down on his knee. "So, so, this lady's like 'Oshino-san, but mine?"
"Yep," Naruto nodded. "This is your grandma, Kushina."
"K'shina," the little girl sounded out, staring at the picture with a new sort of reverence. Her fingers traced over the glass as her eyebrow began to furrow a bit with confusion. "Daddy?" She asked. "Where is K'shina-baa-chan?"
The blond man started. He sagged at the innocence in the question and smiled sadly down at his daughter. His fingers absent-mindedly traced the frame. "Umm, well," he took a deep breath. "Kushina-baa-chan is with Neji-oji-chan. They're both in the sunny place watching and protecting us."
"Can't they come back and visit?"
"Ah, no, sweetheart," he said, pushing past the lump in his throat. "Visiting from there is hard, but they have ways to let us know they're still with us. I know whenever I see a bird flying that it's Neji-oji-chan saying 'hello,' and every time I feel warm sunshine hugging me it's my mom telling me she loves me."
"Gran'ma's the sunshine?"
"Yep, because her smile was bright and warm like sunshine."
"Like your's?"
Naruto laughed. "Even better than mine. Grandma had a smile that made the whole room light up."
"Really?" Himawari looked up at him, excitedly. "What else did she have? Was she as nice as mama? Did-did she like to cook like me? What 'bout-"
"Whoa, slow down, Hima-hime," Naruto chuckled. "One at a time."
"But I wanna know!"
"Well, if you really want to know, your grandma was very kind. She loved her family a lot, so much that she would do anything to protect them. She was one of the best kunoichi in the village and she even had her own nickname: 'The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero.'"
Himawari giggled into her hands. "That's a funny name, daddy."
"You're right, but it fit. She was brave and fierce on the battlefield. No one wanted to mess with your grandma, especially if you hurt someone she loved. She was a bit loud and she liked pulling pranks, but she wasn't mean about it. Your grandma always tried to be kind." A smirked tugged at his lips and he rubbed the top of his head where a phantom pain still arose from time to time; a reminder of his first meeting with his mother. "Unless, of course, the other person wasn't being nice. She didn't like rudeness."
"I don't like ru'ness, too, daddy. It's not nice."
"No it's not. And we've got to tell people when they're not being nice, right? Because it can cause a lot of trouble and we don't want that."
"Right!" She nodded. Her eyes then traveled back to the picture and she puckered her lips. "I like gran'ma's hair, daddy. Can I have red hair, too?"
Naruto was almost sad to let her down. "It is pretty, isn't it? But I like your hair just the way it is. It's like mama's hair and I love mama's hair."
Himawari nodded thoughtfully. "I love mama's hair." And she really did. Mama's hair was so soft and long and she always let Himawari play with it. "B-but I like K'shina-baa-chan's hair, too."
"Well," Naruto mused. "Kushina-baa-chan's hair was really long, like mama's. When you're older, you can grow your hair out. How does that sound?"
"Yeah! And-and I'll be the bestest k'noichi, too. Just like K'shina-baa-chan. I'll be brave and strong and I'll prote't ev'ryone!"
"Everyone?"
"Mmhm," she nodded her head vigorously, almost slapping her father in the face. "I'll prote't Boru-nii, and mama, and daddy, and 'Nabi-ba-chan, and 'Ruka-jiji, and Kaka-jiji, and Sakura-ba-chan, and-and-" Naruto cut her off laughing.
"You're really going to protect all of us? You'll have to work hard and get really strong, 'ttebayo."
"I can do it, daddy. I pr'mise!"
"Well, if you promise then I know you can do it. Because Uzumaki don't-"
"-go back on their word!" The little girl finished with a smile.
Naruto squeezed her tightly, eliciting a peal of giggles from the child. "That's right! We always keep our promises," he said, smoothing he fingers through her dark hair. He placed the picture back on the table as a sneaky smile began to spread itself across his face, though it went unseen by the girl. "And right now," he started, shifting just slightly so as not to raise suspicion, "I think we were supposed to do something for mama, right? What did we promise her?"
"F'owers!"
"Flowers! That's right, 'ttebayo. We can't let mama down."
"Nope! We has to get the f'owers, daddy."
"And where are the flowers?"
"Outside!"
"Outside?" Naruto pretended to look aghast. "But that's so far. How are we going to get all the way out there?"
Himawari struggled to keep the grin down at her daddy's game, but failed and a smile bloomed across her face. Her tiny baby teeth peaked through the gap as she tried not to laugh. "I don't know," she giggled.
"You don't know?"
"No~." Her little body began to tremble with mirth.
"Not even a little idea?"
"No~!"
"Well, how about," he paused dramatically and placed his hands under her armpits, "we fly!" And suddenly, he had Himawari up in the air, her arms and legs spread as she dissolved into laughter, the happy noise filling the living room.
Naruto grinned and laughed right along with her, making swishing noises as he flew her around the room and out the backdoor into the fresh sunshine. He made a lap around the garden before pulling up and stopping in front of the patch of unplanted daylilies. Himawari was still giggling as he gave her a light toss, caught her and then lowered her towards the ground, spinning her around just one more time for good measure.
"Aha! And we have arrived at mama's flowers!" Naruto announced with gusto.
"Yay! Can we fly again?"
Naruto patted her head. "Not just yet, Hima-hime. We have to plant them first. Remember, we promised mama."
"Right!" She said and puffed out her chest.
"Do you want your gloves?" Naruto asked. He pulled tiny pink gloves from where they resided alongside his wife's and son's in the basket and showed them to her.
Himawari nodded her head and held out her hands. "Thank you, daddy!" She exclaimed as Naruto fitted them onto her tiny hands.
"You're welcome. Now, I'm going to dig a hole and I want you to put two seeds in each one, okay."
"Okay," she reached out for the open seed packet and pour the contents into her hand, making sure none fell and clutching them tightly,
"That's my girl," Naruto praised. "Alright, here we go."
The two moved about the dirt for the next few minutes, digging holes and placing the seeds inside them. Birds chirped from up above them and there wasn't even so much as rumble to disrupt the peace surrounding them.
It wasn't until they were getting to the end of the packet that Himawari suddenly twitched and turned around. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, and looked inquisitively up at the sky. Then she smiled.
"Daddy, daddy!" She whirled around and tugged at her father's sleeve.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Daddy, the sun is hugging me! It's hugging me! Is it K'shina-baa-chan? Is she hugging me, too?" Her bright blue eyes stared expectantly up at him and her whole body vibrated in excitement.
For a moment, Naruto was at a loss for what to say, he was so shocked, but then he felt the warmth on his back. It encompassed him, filling him with the same feeling he'd gotten in that only moment he'd shared with his mother. His face softened and he ignored the tightness in his chest. Pressure built up behind his eyes as he pulled his daughter into his lap.
"You know what, Himawari?" He asked gently. "I think she is. I think she's giving you a big hug and telling you that she loves you and that she'll be here to protect you."
"Really? You think so?"
"I do. I think she loves you very much."
Himawari's face lit up. She whirled around to look up at the sky and shouted, "I love you, too, K'shina-baa-chan!" She then turned back to her father and proclaimed, "Daddy, I'm gonna be just like K'shina-baa-chan."
"Just like her?" he choked out.
"Just like her. 'Cause she loves you and I love you and she can show it when she's far away. I wanna do that, too."
"Oh, I don't think I want you to go that far away." Not ever. He didn't think he could deal with that.
Thankfully, Himawari shook her head. "I won't, but if I'm gonna be the bestest k'noichi in the village, then I'm gonna go on big mis'ons, and I won't be here to prote't you. So, I just have to be like K'shina-baa-chan and prote't you from far away."
The pressure was getting hard to ignore. "You'd do that?"
"Mmhm," she affirmed.
"Then I think Kushina-baa-chan would be very happy."
"Me too!" She stated, looking proudly at her father. Her face then morphed into something more questioning. "Daddy? Would mama get mad if we gave some f'owers to K'shina-baa-chan?"
Naruto quickly pushed past the lump in his throat. "No, Hima-hime. I think mama would be very happy if we gave some flowers to Kushina-baa-chan."
"Can we give them to her tomorrow?"
He shook his head. "We have to wait for them to grow first."
"Oh," she looked downcast for a moment. Then, she brightened up and moved from her father's lap to put the remaining two seeds in the last hole. "Then hurry up, daddy! They gotta grow faster!"
Naruto let out a loud guffaw. "I think you're well on your way to being just like your grandma, 'ttebayo."
"Ehh?" She raised her eyebrow, but her father didn't respond when she patted his knee. "What do you mean? Daddy? I don't get it."
He snorted. "I'll tell you when you're older."
"But I wanna know now. Daddy? Daddy!"
Naruto didn't respond. He just smiled cheekily at his daughter as he pulled her back up onto his lap and held her. He could already see Kushina making herself known through the little girl.
"Daddy!"
Now, here's hoping she didn't develop the same verbal tick.
A little shorter than usual, but I felt it better to end here than go on to when she's older. I hope you all enjoyed and please review. I enjoy constructive criticism, but please don't flame. They don't help writers improve. Thank you all for reading and have a wonderful evening!
~Alabaster Ink