A/N-

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DISCLAIMER- I OWN NOTHING AT ALL.

'ITALICS'- THOUGHTS

'BOLD'- POWERFUL BEING/JUTSU

New crossover is out- Naruto x Doki Doki literature club. Check it out!

CH4 of 'Ramen chefs and others' also uploaded, but I got a 503 error afterwards. So, notifying.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"... Please?"

"NO!" Emerald glared as she pushed away the plate of vegetables in front of her, only to have it pushed back by her father.

"Em-chan, you have to eat your vegetables, ya know?"

"But why?" Emerald whined as she warily eyed the greens on the table.

Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead in annoyance. It was a long-standing debate between them; Naruto wanted Emerald to become healthier, and she wanted nothing to do with her vegetables. It really was a challenging job, being a parent. As cute as his daughter was sometimes, she sure could be a handful.

"They're good for your health, Em."

The girl just glared harder at the plate and made gagging sounds. "But they're so gross!"

"Em-chan, don't you want to become a big, strong huntress?" Naruto looked at her pointedly. "You need to eat your veggies for that."

Em straightened up as she thought about it. Papa had started training her in the physical and mental aspects of combat. She had a medium-intensity workout every day, coupled with a balanced diet. She was getting stronger slowly with each passing day, so she should stick to her meal plan. But since when did small children care about logic? Broccoli was gross, simple as that.

"You never eat vegetables, Papa. Only ramen and other junk food." She deadpanned.

"She's got ya there!" Son Goku guffawed.

Emerald was rewarded with a flick to the forehead.

"Oww~." She rubbed her red forehead and glared at him.

"I don't need nutrition to survive anymore, Em." Naruto smirked, "I only eat food because it tastes good." It was a fact which Naruto was very thankful for. Due to him being a chakra entity, Naruto had no requirement of physical sustenance. He only ate or drank because he enjoyed it.

"That's now when you're all magicky." Emerald pouted childishly. She had long since lost count of her father's many abilities and powers. "What about when you were my age?"

"Oh." Chomei winced in his mind. Even if Em didn't intend to hurt him, it still must have stung.

Naruto's mood turned somber as his eyes lost some of their joyful spark. Emerald caught on to the general vibe, but before she could ask further, Naruto spoke in a low voice,

"That was because I had neither any fresh vegetables nor anybody to cook them for me, Em-chan." He looked at her, smiling sadly, "Instant ramen was cheap, and the only thing a small child could easily make."

Naruto was never actually poisoned or starved in his childhood, but many shops treated him unfairly, often selling him rotten produce at high prices. It was no wonder that he had gravitated towards Ichiraku. Warm, home-cooked meals at a discount were any frugal orphan's dream. It also helped that the shop owners didn't actively ignore him.

Em's eyes widened at his answer and the sad look on his face. How could she have forgotten his past? They had formed a soul bond for Gods' sake! Then her eyes widened further as she realized what she'd done; she had hurt her father. The very man who had taken her in from the streets, saved her from the hell of poverty and showed her endless love and affection.

His childhood was just as bad as hers was, in a different way. And now Emerald had gone and brought up painful memories. Naruto might have gotten over it, but she didn't care.

If not for their complete trust in each other, Emerald might have feared for her safety. She would have been afraid of being abandoned or hit for her mistake. But no, Em knew. She understood that Naruto wouldn't leave her or hurt her in any manner whatsoever. If it were someone else, then maybe. But not her, never her. Emerald knew that no matter what she did, Naruto would forgive her, put on a fake grin and move on with their lives. It was the kind of person he was.

And that made her heart hurt even more.

Emerald teared up and looked at Naruto with wide red eyes. "I'm so sorry, Papa! I didn't mean it!" She looked away, too ashamed to even face him. She was the worst daughter ever. Good girls didn't hurt their papas like this!

Em looked up when she felt a hand gently patting her on her head, giving her a sense of comfort that she didn't think she deserved. Naruto was looking at her with his damned understanding gaze, which wasn't helping matters in the slightest.

"I know, sweetie. You don't have to apologize."

Emerald felt no appeasement from Naruto's consolation as she'd expected. She instead felt anger- a sense of suffocating unease, coiling around her little heart. Em was angry at herself for being so tactless and idiotic. She was angry at the world they lived in, for their less than ideal lives. But most of all, she was angry at Naruto. She hated how he would go to any lengths for people important to him, how he would lay down life and limb for them at the drop of a hat. It was how people stabbed you in the back; a sign of weakness.

It was a sudden thought, but Naruto instantly forgiving her sparked something within the little girl. It came out of nowhere- this intense frustration and rage. Any girl would be happy at being let off easily; but not this time. Emerald needed to clear the air.

"...no," Em muttered, looking down.

"Hmm, what was that, Em?"

"I said NO!" Em shouted, surprising Naruto. "No! No! No! You can't just forgive everything everyone does; you can't just let people get away with things!" She had angry tears in her eyes, showing just how frustrated she was. She needed to get her message across, needed to tell him just how stupid he was being. The argument wasn't just about her anymore. It was about his general behaviour.

"What are you-"

"You always do this, Papa!" Em angrily said, rubbing at her eyes. "When you call someone 'precious' to you, you just let them walk all over you! No matter what they do or say, you never hold a grudge!"

"I don't do that, Em." Naruto said, grinning unsurely. He was confused. One moment, they were talking about vegetables, but the conversation seemed to have escalated to a new level.

"Don't lie to me!" She snapped, truly enraged now. She knew exactly the kind of person he was, and he was still lying to her? "Your teammates, teacher, Old Man Hokage, even your godfather!" she shouted, making Naruto wince a little with every new name. "They all treated you badly, but did you hold anything against them?"

When Naruto had told Em about his past, she thought he would be enraged at half the people in his life for how they behaved with him. The Third told him to work to earn the village's approval when he didn't have to. Sasuke stabbed him in the chest, both really and emotionally. Sakura made him promise to bring back a criminal, even going so far as to confess to him falsely. Kakashi did not teach him anything other than tree-walking and the clone method, and Jiraiya didn't visit him even once during his childhood. Needless to say, Emerald was furious at these people for their treatment of her father.

"They were precious to me, Em-chan, of course I didn't." Naruto explained, trying to reason with his daughter. He was grateful for the people in his life, as they saved him from his loneliness. Why would he hold a grudge when they had done so much for him?

"There is a difference between helping people and letting them take advantage of you! It makes you weak."

"But-"

"No. Let me finish!" Emerald bit out.

She was this close to openly crying. She herself didn't know why she was so angry. Her father had always been like this, so what had changed? There was this nagging feeling bubbling up in her chest, and she was feeling lost. Why was he being so difficult? Em wanted to yell at him, she wanted to cry for him, but she also wanted to hug him.

With her limited vocabulary, Emerald couldn't express appropriately that she felt frustrated that Naruto had no self-worth. She wanted to tell Naruto that he had someone who loved him, and he couldn't just go forgiving every single person he came across, as it made him weak. She knew that much from the streets; An eye for an eye was what went on, not turning the other cheek!

Now if only she could identify and articulate those thoughts properly. Em then tried a different angle.

"Who's precious to you now?" She asked.

"The Bijuu and you." Naruto answered instantly. While he was becoming friends with team STRQ, they weren't as close to him as his daughter was.

Emerald nodded, having expected this answer. "And if I steal lots of money from you and run away, what will you do?"

"You won't do that."

"But what if I do?"

"Then I'll bring you back." Naruto grinned.

Emerald gulped, fought back her tears and whispered- "But what If I don't want to come back with you?" she said, "What if, I was just using you?"

She didn't need to look to see the hurt flash across Naruto's eyes; she couldn't. Otherwise, her feeble resistance would break down, and she would start crying as well.

"Then… I would leave you be, after making sure that you were safe." Naruto said with a heavy heart. This conversation, even though hypothetical, was stinging him quite a bit. He knew that Em loved him, but the thought of her just using him and then leaving him was a tough pill to swallow.

"See? This is what I mean! Won't you feel sad, angry, something!" She yelled, tears freely flowing from her eyes.

"Of course I would, ya know!" Naruto too raised his voice, "But if it's what you wanted, I'd let you go!"

Emerald raised her voice as well, so much so that she was screaming. "But what about what YOU want!? Won't you punish me for using you, for taking advantage of you?" She was waving around her hands, frantically.

"No, because I love you! Why would I punish you?"

Emerald was close to tearing out her hair in frustration. "Ugh! You're not getting me!" She shook her head from side to side. Her emotions were all over the place, and Naruto's denseness wasn't helping.

"Then take a deep breath, think about it and explain it to me." Naruto soothed.

Em did just that. "I love you, Papa." She said, making Naruto smile, "And I would never use you like that. But the next person you let in might! And like you said with me, you won't do anything against them! You need to think about yourself too!"

At this point, Em's seven-year-old heart could take no more. The dam burst and her tears sprung forth. She started sobbing in her chair, furiously wiping her eyes clean. She had grown up in a dog eat dog world, so she could not understand Naruto's reasons for acting so selflessly. It was new to her, loving someone so unconditionally as Naruto did. According to her, the next person who Naruto let in might use him for their own benefit and then leave without consequence.

Naruto gently scooped up the crying girl and embraced her, placing her in his lap. He gently started stroking her hair, which made her cry even harder.

"Just like you love me, I love you too!" Emerald yelled between hiccups, "And I care about your happiness too!" She was sobbing by now, unable to form coherent sentences anymore. She clung to him like a lifeline, afraid of losing him.

Naruto just settled for comforting her, stroking her green locks and patting her back softly. "There, there. I'm right here, don't worry." he cooed.

He still didn't understand her point entirely, but luckily he had some advisors.

'What do you guys think? I'm being serious here. Please tell me what I missed.'

"It's simple, brat." Kurama groused. "She has a faint idea of your self-destructive behaviour, and she doesn't like it. Consider it a consequence of your bond." Kurama would usually let Naruto figure out his own mistakes, but he wasn't solely at fault here.

"My behaviour isn't self-destructive, ya know!" Naruto retorted, appearing in his mind, "And what did you mean, consequence?"

Kurama simply gave him a flat look, the other Bijuu watching in silence. "Your behaviour isn't self-destructive now, when you know that not everyone deserves a second chance. But can you seriously tell me that it wasn't in your childhood?" At Naruto's sheepish silence, he continued. "And as for the consequence part, it is an effect of Ninshu."

Naruto looked intrigued at that, eager to learn anything about the lucrative power. "What effect is that?"

"The girl knows your true self, Naruto. She also knows that you would do anything in your power to help her, regardless of your own happiness. If we take her childhood into account, such pure affection is foreign to her."

Naruto hummed in thought at that. So both he and Em were only half-right here? She thought that he would sacrifice his own happiness for strangers, but he wasn't like that anymore. And the idea of loving someone enough to forgive their faults was foreign to her, which she thought of as 'weak', saying that he would be taken advantage of. He needed to explain his point properly to her; he couldn't bear to see his little girl so distressed.

"I think I get it, Kurama. Thanks!" Naruto grinned and vanished from his mind.

Looking at his daughter weeping in his lap, Naruto had to steel himself, lest he start crying as well. He gently nudged Em, who looked up at him with puffy red eyes.

"Papa…?"

Naruto picked her up and sat her down on the table, so she was eye level with him.

"I see your point sweetie, but let me explain something to you, okay?"

Em simply nodded, rubbing at her eyes.

"My actions in my childhood were one thing, but I am not like that anymore. I won't fight for the happiness of others, at the cost of my own." He stopped her retort with a look, "That being said, once someone is precious to me, I will put them ahead of myself because that is what it means to care for someone; you included."

Em went silent at that, mulling over his words. "But what if someone takes advantage of you?" That was her main problem, the thing she couldn't understand.

"That's the thing, Em. You're viewing my childhood as the norm." He chuckled somberly, "My old friends were a poor example for my case. Let me ask you something; Will you ever take advantage of me?"

"No!" Em retorted instantly, hurt at his implication.

Naruto just pinched her cheeks, making her glare at him. "See, I know you won't because I trust you. And only those I can trust become precious to me."

"But how do you know that they won't betray you?"

"Will I ever betray you, Em-chan?"

"No!"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I… trust you…" Em whispered, her eyes widening.

Seeing her speechless state, Naruto pressed on. "Do you get it, sweetie? When you trust someone, you just do. You trust that they won't betray you."

Em looked fit to cry again. "But won't you be the one getting hurt in the end if someone does betray you?" She looked away from him.

That last statement brought a frown from Naruto. There seemed to be more to it than it appeared. "This isn't entirely about me, is it?"

Em flinched, still looking away, some fresh tears slipping from her eyes. She felt Naruto's hands on her shoulder and whispered-

"I just don't want us to be hurt again."

There. Such a simple sentence, but it explained so much to Naruto. Em was having trouble trusting people. She didn't want to let anyone close, as she didn't want to get hurt. Her past life had made her very guarded, and Emerald was worried that she or Naruto would get hurt.

"That's the thing, Em-chan. We never know until we try. Trust doesn't work like that, ya know? It's called a 'leap of faith' for a reason."

Em looked conflicted, but Naruto knew just the thing to say. "That's why we have each other, Em-chan." When she looked to him, he continued.

"You might not forgive them, even if they betray you. But never seek revenge, okay?" His gaze turned hard, making Em straighten up. "That's another reason why I forgave people so easily in the past. Hatred breeds more hatred, and it becomes a cycle. While not for strangers, my code still stands for my precious people."

"I'll never leave you, Emerald. If someone wants to betray you, they'll have to go through me first." He declared, making Em smile slightly, "And you'll do the same for me, won't ya?"

"Hmm!" She nodded fervently, hair bobbing due to the action.

Naruto hugged Emerald again, but this time she was eager to reciprocate. "So don't hesitate to form bonds, okay? And remember, I will always be watching over you." He kissed the top of her head, and he could feel some tears staining his shirt. He smiled, glad that these were happy tears. Naruto simply comforted her as she clung to him, hiccuping softly and wiping her tears.

As Emerald was getting sleepy, Naruto decided to carry her to her bed. This conversation was taxing for both of them, but it was necessary. Em needed to form her own bonds so that she would have friends other than Naruto. While Naruto would love it to be just the two of them, A growing girl needed to have lots of relationships, not only with her father. She could not always rely on him; it wasn't healthy.

They reached Em's bedroom, which was painted green, a slightly darker shade than her hair. Her bed was a soft single bed with pink sheets. Naruto gently placed her in her bed and tucked her in so that just her face was sticking out of the blanket. She looked so adorable, all warm and snuggly like that.

Naruto kissed her forehead, turned off her light and made to leave. Just as he reached the door, he heard a faint whisper.

"G'night Papa, Love you…"

"I love you too, Em-chan. Sleep well."

Once out in the hall, Naruto decided to take matters into his own hands. His little girl needed good friends and fast. Naruto got out his scroll and dialed a number on it. He held it to his ear and smiled as it was answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Summer! It's Naruto. I'd like to take you up on your offer if that's alright?"

"Oh, that? Absolutely! How about this Sunday night, I'll call the team and Glynda as well!" Summer replied on the other end, clearly excited to plan their meeting. The 'plan' in itself was nothing special. Since Summer had two daughters of her own, she had asked Naruto to arrange a playdate between their girls. He was already going to agree, but today's events just emboldened him further. It would be good for Em to make friends with girls close to her own age.

"Great, looking forward to it."

After returning downstairs, Naruto pulled down the shutter and locked all the doors. Since they lived above the shop itself, they had no daily commute.

"You handled that splendidly." Isobu praised. "The old you would have gotten into a heated argument which would have done more harm than good."

Naruto blushed in embarrassment at that; It sounded exactly like him. "But I can't behave like that anymore, ya know? I have a daughter to raise."

"Yes. And she's going to turn into an amazing woman in the future."

"Of course! She's my daughter, after all!" Naruto boasted, puffing out his chest in pride. "She's the best, believe it!"

Matatabi, seeing a chance, pounced on the blonde. "And Em's going to get so many boys vying for her hand~," She teased with a grin. "What shall you do when someone asks her out, I wonder? And what about her first crush, hmm?"

Naruto pummeled the shutter and instantly destroyed it, but it was the last thing on his mind. No. Naruto Uzumaki was angry. He glared at the broken shutter with immense rage, before reducing it to nothing with Amaterasu. Naruto was more furious than he had been in many years, and there was one single thought coursing through his mind. It was a frightening thought, but inevitable. Em was almost eight, and she was growing up so fast. Naruto created a new shutter for the shop, the haunting prospect never leaving him.

"NO BOYS!"

A/N-

The chapter kind of got away from me. It was supposed to be a fluffy vegetable argument, but it snowballed.

Upside- It wasn't forced while writing it.

Downside- It sucks. If I got some reactions wrong, it's probably because they are wrong. I'm bad at writing anything that's not happy fluff.

New crossover is out- Naruto x Doki Doki literature club. Check it out!

CH4 of Ramen chefs and others also uploaded, but I got a 503 error afterwards. So, notifying.

Reviews, please.