Daddy

Black. That was all Naruto could see. He started to wonder if he was dead. Then he felt a subtle pain.

Nope, not dead. It wouldn't hurt if he was dead.

In his hazy mind, he started to remember what he was doing.

He was at the Chunin Exams… The other five Kage came… Boruto won, but… He actually cheated… and then…

Naruto's head hurt. It felt like he had to remember something. Something really important happened and he had to remember!

The Otsutuki… They came… They attacked everyone… The attacked Boruto… But the girl in the hood…

The girl in the hood, the girl in the hood… something about the girl in the hood. Something important.

She fought them… she protected Boruto… she was strong… but something else about her, something Naruto needed to remember!

The Otsutsuki knocked her out…

Naruto felt anger rising, even more than when it happened. Why?

He made shadow clones when they attacked… He protected everyone, including the girl in the hood…

"I should have turned around; I should have looked her over to check on her. Then I would have seen her face." A voice he recognized as his own said.

Then the Otsutsuki created a giant ball of chakra… like a spirit bomb… Naruto had to contain the blast… He had to protect everyone… his family… He heard Boruto shouting.

"Dad, no!"

"Dad, I'm-…"

Naruto remembered another voice. Someone else calling him 'Dad.' But it wasn't Hima, who was it. He had to remember. He tried to focus on that memory as the voice echoed in his mind.

His clone… was focusing…

"Dad I'm-…"

He had to focus… Had to protect her…

"Dad I'm-…"

Someone grabbed his arm and pulled to turn him…

"Dad I'm-…"

What was she doing, why she interrupting him?

"Dad I'm-…"

He was about to ask that until he saw her face… her hood fell off…

"Dad I'm-…"

Hinata? No, not Hinata… Hinata wasn't that young…

"Dad I'm-…"

She looked so much like Hinata… she had white eyes, like the Byakugan… but her hair was red…

"Dad I'm-…"

It couldn't be… It couldn't… she was gone…

"Dad I'm-…"

But she didn't just look like Hinata… like Boruto and Hima… she had whisker shaped birthmarks… But she wasn't a little girl… she was young woman, almost an adult…

"Dad I'm-…"

But if she were alive… Wouldn't she be this age?

"Dad I'm-…"

The bomb exploded. The clone reacted. Covering her with his body to shield her… She whispered the last part of her message as it went off.

"… here."

"No…" Naruto muttered, "It can't be… it can't be…"

He must had been dreaming. He dreamt of Kairi so often. It could only had been a dream.

How can you be such an idiot? Kuruma growled. The next thing Naruto knew, he was standing in front of Kuruma in his inner world.

"No…" Naruto tried to deny, "She's gone… I lost her… because I failed…"

You're going to lose her again if you don't pull yourself together!

"She's… dead… what I saw was a dream…" A dream he wanted so badly to be real. When he lost her, he saw her everywhere? Asleep and awake. Every time her reached out to touch her she vanished. This was no different.

You know it was real.

"What makes you so sure?" Naruto muttered.

Every time, you dreamed of Kairi, she was a little girl. That wasn't a little girl! That was your daughter grown-up.

"I… I imagined Kairi… growing up all the time…"

Your imagination was never that good and you know it! Don't forget, every time you touched a dream, she would vanish. She didn't vanish in fact, she touched you.

Naruto clenched his teeth as an internal battle raged. He wanted it to be real. He wanted it be Kairi so bad. Kuruma was making so much sense, but every time in the past he got his hopes up they were crushed.

The sound of small splashes caught his attention. Naruto looked towards the sound and saw a figure approaching.

Who was that no one should be able to reach this place?

%%%%

Her Mom and little brother were unconscious. Boruto was fine, but her Mom was being treated by Aunt Sakura. Himawari wasn't leaving her side. That's what Kairi's Byakugan showed her from the other side of the wall.

She placed a hand on the wall. She wanted so badly to go to them. She wanted to hold her Mother's hand. She wanted to hold Boruto's hand. She wanted to hug Himawari apologize to her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

But she couldn't… she didn't deserve to be near them. She failed. She didn't stop the Otsutsuki or save her Father. She failed her family. She couldn't face them.

She adjusted her hood and went looking for Riku. They were in the hospital. There were a lot of people who were hurt form the blast wave, but no casualties thankfully. All thanks to her Dad.

Kairi thought back to what she saw. She never knew how powerful the Hokage was. She knew they were a big deal as a child, but never really understood why. Now she did.

Her father was powerful, he stopped the blast of what must had been equal to a nuclear explosion. He was selfless, put the safety of other above defeating the enemy. He could have destroyed that bomb, but it would have detonated early and kill everyone.

Kairi stopped by the bathroom. As she washed her hands, she took her hood off so she could splash some water in her face. She looked into the mirror. At her white eyes that held the Byakugan. Her eyes were hurting. She never used them that much before, she figured that was probably the reason.

Sarada opened the door to leave the stall, so she could open her hands. She wanted to go back to Boruto and check on him. When she looked towards the sinks, she saw another girl was already there.

"My eyes are killing me," the older girl muttered. Wait, it was the girl in the hood. The one that protected Boruto. Her hood was finally off, showing off her short red hair… wait a minute.

Sarada's eyes went to the reflection of the girl's face in the mirror. Sarada's eyes widened. She even activated her Sharingan to make sure it wasn't a genjutsu.

She had whisker marks and white eyes… she looked just like that picture Boruto made Inojin draw.

Sarada quickly closed the door to hide in the stall, but kept it open enough to look at her.

The girl started to rub her eyes, "Stupid Byakugan," after she finished rubbing her eyes. She pulled her hood back up and exited the bathroom. That's when Sarada left the stall, gaping at the door in disbelief.

"No way… Was that?" Sarada left the bathroom and ran back to Boruto's room.

Kairi made her way to front lobby. It was full of injured people. Kairi looked at them with sympathy. She wondered if this was her fault. Did the Otsutsuki follow them to that world?

Kairi shook her head, no, they were surprised to see them. They even thought the Keyblade Wielders were gone wiped out by Master Xehanort. The Keyblade Wielders even thought they were gone. Obviously, they were wrong. How could they not have noticed the Otsutsuki were still around? That was a question she'd have to ask Master Yen Sid.

"Hey!" Kairi heard someone call behind her. She didn't turn around; it probably wasn't for her. Kairi exited the hospital. Riku said he was going to investigate the area where they opened the portal last. Maybe he could open it again and that would take them to her father.

"Hey you!" The voice louder. Kairi glanced behind her to see the man in the dark cape. He was trying to catch up to her.

Kairi swallowed. No, not now; she couldn't talk to anyone. If they saw her face, they would never let her go look for her Dad. Kairi tried to pretend she didn't see him and continued walking, even picking up her pace.

Sasuke quickly caught up to the girl and grabbed her arm, "Didn't you hear me calling?"

The girl kept her face turned away, hidden in her hood, "You said 'you.' That could be anyone."

Sasuke wasn't amused by her sass, "We need to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you, let go," she tried to pull her arm free.

"Too bad," Sasuke didn't release her, "The scroll mentioned you."

"What scroll?"

"It didn't mention you exactly, but your weapon."

The girls stiffened. So, she was hiding something, Sasuke pulled harder. He needed her to face him, "You're going to tell me-…"

"Back off old man!" The next thing Sasuke knew, the girl was pulled from his grasp, and standing between her and him, was a young man with silver hair.

The boy looked towards her, "Are you okay?"

"I fine, thanks Riku."

"Go ahead, I'll catch up later," Riku told her. She nodded and ran.

"Hey, wait," Sasuke called, he tried to run after her, but Riku stood in his way.

"If you want to talk her weapon, you can talk about with me," Riku held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade, "Because I have it too." Riku dismissed it, he wasn't there to fight. However, the man was looking between him and Kairi as she ran.

Kairi ran into the village, away from it all. She really owed Riku for that. When her feet finally stopped. She realized where she was.

She was in front of Hokage Tower. Kairi remembered this place. She remembered how her parents took her here to visit the previous Hokage, Grandpa Kakashi. Now, her Dad worked here.

Before she knew it, Kairi's feet led her inside. The building was empty, no one was inside. They must had been busy with the injured. Kairi didn't want to use her Byakugan to find the Hokage's office, but she still wanted to see it.

Thankfully, there was a directory.

Kairi reached the floor and began making her way to the office.

What am I doing? She thought to herself as she walked.

How did things turn out like this?

How did the world explode on the day she finally found her way home? Now half her family was hurt, the other half was scared or missing; and Kairi didn't know how to make any of this better.

Is there some law in the universe that says, I can't be with my family?

Kairi remembered how her Mother reacted when she saw her.

"Kairi… my baby… Kairi…"

It felt so good to hear that. It felt so good, to have her Mom hug her again.

What about Dad? Would he be happy to see her?

Kairi reached the door to the office and opened it. She blinked in surprise.

Was it always this full of paper?

Stacks of paperwork, that actually reached the ceiling was in the office. Kairi heard of people drowning in their paperwork, but this many paper might actually kill someone!

After the shock from the paperwork subsided, Kairi looked around. Feeling safe, she took off her hood. She noticed; the wall was lined with portraits. She immediately recognized one of the ones in the middle.

"Grandpa," Her paternal grandfather. The one who died before she was born. He looked so much like her father. She recognized Granny Tsunade and Grandpa Kakashi on the right. The other Hokage she knew. Then the other three on the left of her Grandfather, must had been the Hokage before him. The third was an old man. The second was a man with white hair and sharp narrow eyes. The first had long dark hair and tan skin. Kairi briefly wondered why the third's portrait was of him as an old man and not as a young man.

"So, you're all Hokage?" Kairi asked out loud, "Were you all as strong as my Dad?"

Kairi knew they couldn't answer. They were just pictures after all. However, she couldn't help but feel like they were looking at her.

Past leaders, looking at her. Wondering who she was and why this outsider was in their former office. It almost made Kairi wince.

She looked away from them and looked at the desk. Her father's desk.

Slowly, she got closer. It felt… wrong being in there. She felt like she was trespassing. Maybe that's why the portraits looked so hostile.

Once again, Kairi wondered what she was doing? She hadn't been in that world for so long. Everything felt… different. Everything felt alien. She didn't feel like she was home she felt like she was in a strange land.

Her Mom and Boruto were willing to accept her but…

Wait? The next time I see them, what am I supposed to tell them?

Kairi asked a question she realized she should have asked months ago. What could she tell them? What was she supposed to say when they asked the inevitable, "Where have you been?"

She vanished years ago, then suddenly came back. They're gonna want to know where she has been. What could she tell them? Could she tell them the truth? She was on another world and that was why they never found her? But that went against the rule, 'never let on where you're from.' She had to protect the World Order. That was her job as Keyblade Wielder. Kairi couldn't break that for her family, could she?

"What a mess," Kairi muttered as she reached the desk.

The first thing she noticed was a old, beat, orange jacket. Kairi picked it up to look it over. The right sleeve was missing, torn off. Why did her Dad have this? She put it down and sat in his chair. She did a little spin before stopping. She looked over the office, this was what he saw every day.

Kairi saw two photos on the desk. The first had Grandpa Kakashi and three kids. Kairi looked at the kids and recognized him. The one on the right, was her Dad. He was wearing the orange jacket, when it was still new and had both sleeves.

Kairi wondered why he had it. Not only was it too small for him now, it was torn up.

The girl in the middle; it was hard to not recognize the pink hair. It was Aunt Sakura. She was the only one smiling, well Grandpa Kakashi was probably smiling, but he always wore a mask.

The boy on the left, was the guy she ran away from earlier… wait, now she remembered. That man was 'Uncle' Sakuke. Supposedly he was married to Aunt Sakura. Kairi remembered him… she didn't like him. He was so dark and creepy. Thankfully, he left soon after, leaving Aunt Sakura and Sarada… Until now apparently.

Kairi looked at the second photo on the desk. It was her family; her parents and siblings… Kairi also noticed. There weren't any pictures of her.

She sighed as she leaned back. Neji did tell her that, losing her almost killed her parents. It almost caused her Mom to miscarry, and her Dad almost died from malnourishment. It hurt so much, they never brought her up with her siblings… so it would make sense that they wouldn't show any pictures of her.

Kairi told herself that was fair. That they needed to focus on her little brother and sister. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

She looked back at the family photo. She wanted to get a closer look, so she reached out and began to pick it up. As she lifted it, she felt the back suddenly fall off and photo fell free from its frame.

Kairi gasped; she didn't mean to break it. She set the empty frame down and reached for the photo. As her finger began to grasp around it, she felt another piece of paper, under the picture, she even saw the edge of it poke out after she touched it.

"Huh?"

Kairi carefully pushed her family's picture aside, and her eyes widened. It was a second photo, an old photo; of Kairi and her parents.

Kairi picked it up and held it closer. She remembered this day.

"Come on, Kairi we gotta sit still," Daddy said as Kairi began to squirm.

"But I wanna go play with my ball," Kairi whined.

"Kairi," Hinata warned. Kairi knew that tone. So, she sat their pouting. That caused her parents to sigh, they wanted her to smile for the picture.

"How about this Kairi," her mother said, "If you manage to make a good picture; we'll get some ice cream."

"Really?" Kairi's eyes brightened up.

"Really?"

This was the family photo she took with her parents, before Boruto was born. Kairi noticed how the edges of the picture was worn, like it had been held over and over. Kairi looked at the first photo of her family. It was as pristine as the day it was printed.

Kairi looked back at her photo. Her Dad, held this picture several times… just hers…

They loved you Kairi, Neji's voice echoed, So much so, that losing you almost killed them.

Kairi took in a shaky breath. She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt her face get wet.

She gently held the photo to her chest and closed her eyes. The memories of her Dad filled her mind and heart. She remembered how she would run to him every time he came home. How they would eat ramen, even on the days they weren't supposed to. How he let her ride on his shoulders. How he tucked her in at night. How he would let her sleep with him and her Mom when she had a nightmare.

"Dad…" she missed him, she wanted to see him again, "Daddy…"

"She's gone… I lost her… because I failed…"

When she opened her eyes again. Kairi wasn't in her Dad's office anymore. She was standing… somewhere. There was no sky, and no matter where she looked, there was water about an inch deep.

Where was she?

She looked around until she saw a giant, fox creature. It looked like the one her Dad made to protect the village. Kairi decided to take a closer look. She walked closer. Whatever that was, it was connected to her Dad somehow. As she got closer, she began to hear voices.

"I… I imagined Kairi… growing up all the time…" It was her Dad's voice. She looked in front of the fox creature. Standing in front of him, was her Dad. Kairi nearly gasped. Was this real? Was it like with Boruto?

Your imagination was never that good and you know it! Don't forget, every time you touched a dream, she would vanish. She didn't vanish in fact, she touched you. The giant fox growled at him.

A part of Kairi wanted to turn around and run, but Kairi refused. She needed to talk to her Dad. She wasn't going to waste any time. She gathered up all her nerve and forced herself forward.

With every step, Kairi's feet splashed into the water. Her Dad seemed frustrated, looking down gritting his teeth. That didn't make Kairi feel less anxious, but she kept walking.

Her Dad heard her footsteps and looked up in her direction. That made Kairi pause for a second. She was still in the dark, he couldn't see her yet.

She closed her eyes. Took in another breath, then finally opened her eyes and took another step.

Naruto watched the figure enter the light. First her pink dress was visible, then it was the necklace that was just like the one he bought so long ago, then her face. Until all of her was visible.

Kairi stood there. Waiting, she had no idea what to do next. Her Dad was looking at her, eyes wide with disbelief. They were both frozen.

"No," Naruto muttered, "It can't be… It can't… She's dead… It was my fault…"

Kairi's heart broke at her father's words. Not at his disbelief that it was her… that he blamed himself for what happened.

"It's…" Kairi choked out, "It's me… Dad… It is me…" Kairi tried to keep herself calm as she felt her eyes well with tears, "It's Kairi…"

Kuruma didn't say a thing. He just watched as Naruto tried to make sense of the girl in front of him. Kuruma had no idea how she got there, but he did know. It was Kairi.

Naruto looked at the girl… no, the young woman who claimed to be his daughter. He sensed no evil, no trickery, not ill intent from her and Kuruma wasn't reacting to anything. But Naruto was still afraid that this was a dream or another delusion. He reached out towards her but stopped. If this was another dream, then she would vanish when he touched her. He didn't think he could survive that again.

Kairi saw the fear and pain in her Dad's face. It didn't make her tears stop. She was doing this to him, hurting him. She reached out to him, she had to make him feel better somehow. He flinched back for a moment, afraid of her touch. But he forced himself to stay.

With trembling hands, Kairi reached out, and held his right bandaged hand, "Daddy… it's okay," Kairi looked at him, trying with all her might to prove she was real, "I'm here… I'm really here…"

Naruto looked at the delicate hands that clasped his own. She didn't disappear, in fact; her hands were warm. Naruto looked at her face. His left hand reached out and gently placed itself on her cheek, he felt her skin, and the wet tears on her face. They were real. She was real!

Naruto looked at her. He took in every inch of her face… His daughter's beautiful face! Taking in all the things that came from him and Hinata. Until Naruto fully believed it: Kairi was alive, and she was right in front of him!

Without wasting another second, Kairi was pulled into his arms. She was basically crushed into her Dad's trembling body. Kairi didn't waste a moment to wrap her arms around her father's waist.

"K…" Naruto cried, "Kairi… Kairi…" He simply said her name over and over, like prayer. Naruto hadn't felt like this, since the first time he finally met his mother. The cracks in his heart began to finally heal with his daughters' touch. She was really there, he could talk to her, hug her. He had so many things he wanted to say, to ask. He didn't even know where to start. Right now, he just wanted to hold her.

Th-thump, th-thump

Naruto could even feel her heartbeat.

Kairi buried her face into his shoulder as she cried. Both of them feeling the years they spent apart, years they would never get back. However, in that instant none of them mattered, "Dad…"

Suddenly, the subtle pain spiked in Naruto. He was forced to let go of Kairi as he gripped his stomach.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Kairi asked worried. It wasn't just him Kuruma began to growl in pain. Naruto felt it, he was being pulled out of his outer world, he was waking up.

Kairi could feel herself being pulled away from her Dad. No, not yet!

"Dad," Kairi called as everything began to fade. Naruto looked up, still in pain. He reached out to Kairi, but he faded away before they could touch, "Daddy?"

Kairi gasped as her eyes opened. She realized that her face was on her Dad's desk. Did she fall asleep. As she began to sit up, she rubbed her sore eyes. She realized her photo was still in her hand. She looked at the image of her Father.

He was alive, but he was hurting. Kairi clenched her teeth. She wasn't going to leave him like that. She had to find him and save him.

Kairi was startled when the door to the office swung open.

Standing there in the doorway, was Boruto.

Again, not crying. Sweating through my eyes!