Darkseid of the Moon

Naruto

Thirteen: Protect Kobik

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Naruto Uzumaki and Hanabi Hyuuga, both now fully dressed in royal African robes, marched down a large hallway lined with vibranium walls. The young adults nodded at the bald guards as they gazed at the nothingness in front of them. Their only inch of movement was a slight nod when Naruto walked past them.

"Mr Namikaze-Uzumaki."

"Namikaze, Uzumaki, it'd be a lot easier if you picked one," Naruto said, spinning on his heels to look down at the shaved guard.

"My apologies, Mr Namikaze. King T'Challa asked me to call you to his quarters."

"Did he say what for?" Naruto asked. The woman shook her head and shrugged. Naruto glanced at Hanabi. The white-eyed princess looked around. The first person her pale face laid eyes on was the innocent-looking Peter Parker sitting on a ledge, looking a little beat up. Naruto traced her line of sight to the brown-haired New Yorker, "Will you be okay?"

"Mhm," she nodded. Naruto placed his bandaged hand on the Hyuuga's soft brown hair.

"I'll be back," and with that, the young man was gone.

"Hey!" Peter yelled. Hanabi turned sharply, Naruto's amazing speed had left her stunned for a second, until the young superhero flipped across the hallway, and landed at her feet. The Hyuuga clasped her hands together behind her back before leaning on her left foot and dancing her frail right foot around the planted one.

"Hey, Peter… what were you up to?"

"Oh, I was playing with the rhinos."

"Playing with rhinos? That sounds like a death wish," Hanabi giggled.

"No, no, don't worry, they're really friendly," Peter explained.

A guard scoffed, "Master Parker, those rhinos are trained to kill on sight."

Peter paused, "… What?"

"Unless you're one of their trainers or King T'Challa, they've been taught to ram their horns through the legs, stomachs and chests of anyone in their vicinity."

"Holy crap, why?" Peter asked stroking his chest.

"The legs stop people from getting away, the stomach allows people to bleed out and the chest really hurts."

"So… so I could have died out there?"

"Idiot," Hanabi began walking away.

"Hey, wait for me."

"Why, you want me to help you plan your funeral?" Hanabi asked.

"Are you coming with me, I mean us, are you coming with us?" Peter slowed the woman's stride with his words.

"Where to?"

"Space, to go get Thanos."

Hanabi smirked, "As much as I'd like to get my hands on Thanos, I'm not built for space."

"Oh, come on, we'll be gone for months, and I can't spend months alone with adults. Do you hear how boring that sounds?" Peter complained. Hanabi continued to walk, approaching a large wooden door. Peter leapt onto the ceiling, then rocketed down in front of the woman to stand between her and the portal, "I'll protect you."

"You act like I need protecting."

"You said you weren't built for space."

Hanabi folded her arms, "As in, I'm human, my body isn't built like yours."

"I'm human too!" Peter remarked.

"Really, Mr Spider-Man?" she made sure to emphasise the spider more than the man.

"You're not fully human either."

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you level a frickin' alien without even touching them, with that hand-eye thing you do."

Hanabi rolled her eyes, "That's not the same thing, everyone in my universe could do that?"

"The blonde guy can also push people with air?" Peter asked.

"No… well, yes, but actually no, why are you standing in my way?!"

"C'mon, Hanabi, I don't want to stay on a ship alone for months, and I'm sure you don't want to stay in a palace alone for months… Shuri's coming too."

"Why is me coming so important to you?" Hanabi cried.

"I want to get to know you more, you know…"

"Move, pasty lover boy," Shuri roared, shoving the door open, throwing Peter across the room, only for him to land on his feet, "Hanabi, come."

"Where are we going?"

"We need to get your body prepared for outer space," Shuri said.

"Who said I'm coming with you guys?'

Shuri deadpanned, "I did."

"And why-," the African princess shot the Hyuuga heiress in the neck with a dart. Her knees jiggled before folding in on themselves. Hanabi passed out.

"You don't really have a choice, my dear, Peter, carry her for me."

"What did you do to her?" Peter held his hands behind his head hysterically.

Shuri lifted an eyebrow, "Don't act like you're not gonna celebrate the fact that she's coming along the second I turn away."

Peter's voice cracked, "What?"

.

T'Challa heard the door slam shut behind him. Naruto had entered the room. Only then did the guards notice his presence. The king gave the blonde a little smile before turning around and sitting on his desk casually.

"Okoye, can you please excuse us."

"My King," the two guards at the door bowed. The door creaked open. Both women marched out. It shut behind the shinobi.

"Your Highness."

"Don't bow, Naruto," T'Challa laughed. He crossed his arms over his chest and bit his lower lip. T'Challa shook his head before reaching over his desk and grabbing a tablet he'd left back there.

"You need to get ready to fight me, Naruto."

"Fight you?"

"Yes, one-on-one, no magic, so I won't use the Panther's agility and you're not allowed to breathe fire in my face."

The blonde stepped back, "What's this about?"

"I'm not going to chase after Thanos, which is why I'm gonna have to leave Shuri in your hands. It's tradition that when a princess is to be married off to a suitor, the suitor must face her King-Father in hand-to-hand combat, and since father is no longer around that leaves me and you."

"Hold up, did you say marry?" a sweat drop ran down Naruto's temple.

T'Challa's face stiffened into a straight face, "Are you planning to break my sister's heart, Naruto?" he aggressively pushed himself off the table, "Are you saying you want to dump my sister?"

Naruto put his hands up to defend himself in case the black cat attacked, "No, no, of course not, Your Highness, I'd love to marry your daughter."

T'Challa's posture softened, "At ease, soldier," Okoye flung herself through the door, battered and bruised, but T'Challa didn't notice because his back was to the large portal.

"My King."

"General, perfect timing. Prepare Naruto for the Traditional Handing Over Ceremony, suit him up and teach him a trick or t…" he looked back at the woman. Her clothes were tattered, blood ran like a stream from her scalp down her face, over her left eye, she could barely hold the spear in her hand. She was leaning on Naruto for support.

"There's an intruder in the city," Okoye explained.

"The defences?"

"She got through all of them."

Naruto glanced at the king. He nodded. The shinobi was gone. Okoye fell onto the rectangular table. T'Challa threw on his necklace, "Let's go see what this intruder wants, shall we?" the Black Panther suit formed around the African King's figure.

.

"A little girl?" Naruto froze at Carol Danvers' side. The intruder in question was a girl, no older than five, who stood in the middle of the town's square in a one-piece blue body suit, the blue-eyed, white-haired child heard Naruto's calm voice and turned to him with tears in her eyes, "A scared little girl," he began approaching.

"Don't, you see those crystals surrounding her?" Carol asked. Naruto realised that the little girl was surrounded by ten to fifteen crystalline blocks that were about as tall as he was, "Those are people… or at least they were. This little girl is dangerous."

"But, she's still a little girl, and I know a thing or two about babies," Naruto focused his attention on the toddler, who was still staring at him. He took a step closer. She took a step back.

"Go, Stormbreaker!" Thor recklessly chucked the magical axe. It spun with one target in mind. The little girl was too slow.

"Kurama!" The axe hit flesh with a thunk. The dust cleared. Naruto lifted his robes a little to reveal how he'd wrapped his arms around the pale girl. Some of Kurama's essence had leaked out in time to slow down the axe, but some of it had connected, leaving a horrible gash on Naruto's back, "Hey… what's your name, little girl."

"K-Kobik," their blue eyes met. Naruto witnessed an echo of baby Mirai in her eyes. Her innocence, her naivety, her fear. The eyes of a girl lost in a world that will never be the same. He just wanted to tell her she was safe now. So, he did.

"Well, Kobik, you're safe now."

"What is wrong with you, watch where you're swinging that thing," Bruce Banner scolded the Asgardian as he pulled axe from flesh.

"I saw a threat, I went for the head," he slung it over his shoulder and began walking away.

"Are you okay?" Shuri cried.

Naruto grinned, "This is Kobik, I think I'mma keep her."

Carol came down as the Black Panther landed on the scene, "I just saw that thing kill ten people without flinching, do you really want to call it a her?"

"You act like you've never done the same, Ms Marvel."

"You're gonna let it kill your own people?"

"They're not dead… yet, and Shuri's the best medic this side of the equator. Give her enough vibranium and she'll fix them up, my men have suffered through worse," the Black Panther's claws sunk into his suit, "Get these men to my sister's lab," T'Challa shouted as the suit retracted around his body. Ms Marvel shook her head before flying off. Bruce Banner left with Shuri, Hanabi and Peter Parker. Before walking away, T'Challa stopped to stare at Naruto.

The short-haired blonde was slowly standing up to allow the four-year-old to fall asleep in his arms. Naruto glanced at him. T'Challa's teeth clenched, "I'm sticking my neck out for you, Naruto. I should have had her executed on the spot for this… keep her contained."

The shinobi glared. At the end of the day, he was talking about keeping a toddler contained. He was treating an innocent child like some sort of hardened convict. The ninja just exhaled harshly and replied, "Don't worry, I will," The king disappeared into his crowd.

Naruto looked down at the girl. Her hair now midnight black. She felt so fragile in his arms, almost like he could crush her with the flex of a muscle. The warrior lifted his head to glance at the crystalline soldiers surrounding him. Each man frozen in place, with an unfathomable look on fear on their face. Naruto looked back down at the little girl.

"Must protect Kobik. Protect Kobik at all costs," the cerulean swimming in white penetrated the tiny girl's skull, "I'm willing to die for you."