lostmoonchild: Hooray it's Friday or Saturday in some parts of the world. After nearly dying of laughter on Thursday after watching a fourway wrestling match and watching three of my little cousins defend their mom by sitting on our younger cousin (their older cousin), I decided it'd be wise to get these chapters uploaded before I actually did die of laughter. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Six
It was amazing to him how quickly she had fallen asleep and as Naruto carefully tucked the girl into his bed, it was even more amazing to him that he had been allowed to finally bring her home. Naruto glanced at the old picture of Team Seven and picked it up before hiding it in a drawer. He didn't want her to know just yet that they had been teammates with Sasuke once upon a time. When she did find out, Naruto wanted it to be on his terms and when he knew that she was ready to know.
No matter what anybody said, Naruto knew that Hisoka was his little girl. He'd prove that ends would meet one way or another even if he were given a crappy salary. He wouldn't die on any missions and he'd be sure to avoid getting sent to the hospital during training sessions gone too far. Everything that could be done he'd make sure to do right.
The blonde sighed as he went into the living room and began picking up various articles of clothing that had been left lying around before going to the kitchen to see what they were all missing. He hadn't really thought about his eating habits until right now and he was almost shocked to realize that he wasn't the healthiest eater. While he hated vegetables, he knew that he had to suck it up if he expected Hisoka to eat.
As he flopped onto the couch, Naruto had the sinking feeling that his days as a carefree eater was now done and that his diet would now consist of everything that was actually on that pyramid of foods Sakura was trying to beat into his head. With a groan, he closed his eyes before smiling faintly to himself. Everything would be okay now even if he didn't have a real good idea as to what he was doing. Besides, he mused, wasn't that what teachers and good friends were for?
Chuckling softly to himself, Naruto slowly drifted off to sleep knowing that after tomorrow his wallet was going to be a lot lighter and his trips to the ramen stand would drop quite a bit.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
The woman with long dark hair and the same gray eyes as her smiled warmly as she stared into the distance. "There's ten of them, little one. Long ago, a great man divided a single demon into ten individual demons. Nine of them lingered on this land while the tenth and most powerful was sealed within the moon." The woman said softly. "They'll respond to your presence. Their chakra, their essence, will be yours to do with as you please."
Why? Never once did she have to open her mouth to ask in her dreams. She just needed to think the words and everybody knew. Just like Naruto always seemed to know what she wanted.
"You're special and there will be people that will fear and hate you because of it. They destroyed us once. Each of the five nations destroyed us after our home was destroyed."
Home?
The woman looked at her and knelt down so they were face to face. "It exists no more just as we exist no more. You are the last and he will not let you die." The woman told her patiently.
Hisoka turned and stared with wide eyes at a large demon with nine tails. He looked like a fox but no fox could get that large or have so many tails. "He is Kyuubi, little one. He is their king." The woman told her as she calmly stood. "Already his chakra is dwelling within your body, feeding you what has been denied."
Will Naruto leave me? I don't want my Naruto to leave me alone. Fear and anxiety began to fill her being as she reached towards the large demon. She didn't want Naruto to abandon her because of the demon king. She wanted Naruto to stay with her forever.
When she looked to see if the woman had heard her, she stared upon realizing that the woman had vanished. Slowly her hand dropped as the world began to shift and fade away to nothing with the demon's image the last to leave.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
Hisoka slowly opened her eyes and stared at her new surroundings. Panic held her for a moment before she remembered what had happened the night before. She had been kicked out again and this time Tsunade had sent her to live with Naruto for a little while. This must have been where Naruto slept but if this was his room then where was he?
Carefully she slipped out of bed and left the room, cautiously taking in her surroundings and finding safe places to hide if strangers came in. She stared when she saw Naruto sound asleep on the couch, his tall form pouring over the arms of the worn couch. Why had he given up such a comfortable bed when he knew that he didn't fit the couch?
Remembering that she should always be cautious when waking up a shinobi, she began poking his ankle and ducked when he jumped awake. "Hi-Hi… Good morning." Naruto said with a grin. "Did you sleep okay?"
Hisoka nodded slowly as she stepped into his line of vision and rubbed her stomach. "Oh, you're hungry? Sure. Then we'll get changed and go shopping cause we need some stuff." Naruto told her as he got up. "I'll take care of you the best I know how. I didn't have a mom or a dad growing up so we're just gonna have to wing this whole family thing."
He always talked about random things but she liked hearing him tell her about what was going on in his mind. Most of it was funny while the rest told her that he knew more than what he let on around everybody else. "Okay, let's eat." Naruto said brightly as he set a plate of eggs down in front of her. "Enjoy."
If she wasn't absolutely certain that people would let her starve again, Hisoka would have cared that the eggs didn't taste like he made them often. Actually, she was almost certain that he didn't cook his own food that often since she had seen those cups of ramen in an open cabinet. Did he really just eat that ramen stuff?
Once breakfast was done she ran back to Naruto's room and grabbed a change of clothes as he came in to grab some clean clothes. "We gotta brush our teeth and brush your hair too." Naruto told her. "Then it's off to the store!"
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
Naruto was silent as he carefully looked at the vegetables, feeling Hisoka hide herself from the other customers that were watching with varying degrees of curiosity and disgust. "What's he doing with a kid? Did he kidnap her or something?" Somebody whispered.
Hisoka pulled on his jacket, her eyes full of confusion and worry. "N-A-R-U-T-O. H-O-M-E." Hisoka spelled slowly with her fingers. She loved those two words and had made it a point to practice them every single chance she got.
"We'll go home as soon as we get some groceries."
"R-A-M-E-N?"
"Do you want some?"
Hisoka shook her head before making a face. Naruto laughed a bit and ruffled her hair. "How in the world can you like not like ramen? It's the best food on the planet." Naruto said with a grin.
Hisoka wrinkled her nose in disgust before giving him a playful grin. "Naruto!" A familiar voice called.
A grin spread across Naruto's face as he saw Kiba coming towards them with a bright smile on his face. Hisoka stared for a moment before hiding behind Naruto, her small fingers clinging tightly to the orange pants. "Hey, Kiba. What'cha doing here?" Naruto questioned.
"Ah, Hana's being a pain in my ass again so I decided to pick up something for a snack later on." Kiba said before noticing Hisoka. "That the kid that you found? Tiny, ain't she?"
"She'll grow! Hisoka, this is my friend Kiba. Kiba, this is Hisoka."
While he knew he could easily pry her out from behind him, Naruto knew it'd be a good idea to let the little girl do what she felt would keep her safe. "Hey there." Kiba said with a grin. "How are you doing?"
Hisoka stared at him before hiding her face again. "She's still skittish around people." Naruto said as they walked towards the checkout. "So we're running a few errands."
"Hell, a bunch of us is getting together for lunch if you two aren't busy." Kiba told him. "Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Sakura, Sai, and me. You and Hisoka are more than welcome to join us."
Naruto watched with a careful eye to make sure that the fruits weren't bruised and that the meat wasn't switched for the rotten stuff. He had a kid to think about now and he didn't want to have to resort to switching the rotten crap for the edible stuff in front of her. He looked down when he felt Hisoka pull on his jacket again and saw the look in her eyes. "S-A-K-U-R-A." Hisoka slowly spelled.
"You wanna see Sakura-chan?" Naruto guessed and knelt down when she nodded. "You know there's going to be new people and Sai there, right?"
While she couldn't honestly say that she liked Sai very much she also couldn't say that he had done anything to hurt her. He always kept his distance and when he did get close to her, he never once touched her. When she nodded again, Naruto smiled a little in response. She knew full well that Naruto wouldn't let anybody hurt her or anything and she also knew that he wanted her to get used to his friends. If she did that then maybe he wouldn't get rid of her like everybody else had.
Taking his large hand in her own small hand, Hisoka followed him and Kiba out of the store before darting behind Naruto when a large dog started barking happily. "This is Akamaru. Don't worry, he's a big softie." Kiba said with a grin.
Maybe she should just tell Naruto that she wanted to go back home. She wasn't entirely sure she liked the dog too much despite Kiba's assurances. Looking up at Naruto she could see that he wasn't at all worried about the dog but rather her own reactions. "He's okay." Naruto promised with a smile. "You don't have to pet him if you don't want to."
She remembered one of the experiments that Orochimaru had done on her that involved wild dogs. He had let the dogs into the same room as her after starving them and when she could see again, the dogs were all mangled and bloody. After that…
Tears gathered in her eyes before she pressed her face against Naruto's hip, trying desperately to hide her tears. "Whoa, how come she's crying?" Kiba asked, startled by the sudden onslaught.
Naruto knelt down and soothingly rubbed small circles on her back, whispering soft words of comfort. He didn't know what had set off the tears but he knew he had to make them stop somehow. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay now." Naruto said soothingly. "Shush now, Hisoka, I'm here. Whatever that snake bastard did to you is done now. He can't hurt you."
Slowly she began to calm down until only small hiccups shook her body. "What in the world was that?" Kiba questioned as they walked back towards the apartment.
"Some things just set her off. I think there's only a few things she's not terrified of or associates with what that damned snake bastard did." Naruto told him. "Even S-A-S-U-K-E did something to her cause she's terrified of Sai for some reason. I'm actually worried about what she'll do when she's around people that have bloodline abilities focused in their eyes."
"Shit." Kiba swore softly. "How do you think she's going to react to Hinata or Neji?"
"I don't know." Naruto offered a small smile at Hisoka and watched as she returned the smile before cautiously watching Akamaru. "I'm actually prepared to book it from the restaurant if she starts to get upset and take her home."
As Kiba stared at the blonde before he looked at the little girl, he found himself wondering how Naruto could possibly be so patient and willing to sacrifice so much. He knew what set the little girl off and did his best to keep her away from them or at least expose her to them in small amounts for only a short time. "Has Kakashi-sensei used any of his dog-nin around her?" Kiba questioned.
"Nope."
"Damn."
"I figure when it comes to dogs just put her around one that's a hell of a lot smaller than her."
Hisoka frowned slightly and pulled on Naruto's jacket before shaking her head. She didn't want to be around any dogs for any reason. It was only because this dog was with Kiba and Naruto was talking to Kiba that she was even being the slightest bit tolerant of the dog. "I don't know, Naruto. Some kids are just spooked of dogs and even as adults don't care much for them." Kiba told him. "Although that's just weird to me. Dogs are the best."
It was official, Hisoka decided once the groceries had been put away and they were on their way to the restaurant. If her Naruto had one weird friend, he was bound to have more and she was fairly certain that she was about to meet them.
lostmoonchild: So yeah. Right now it's 12:43 Friday morning and I've got Bo Burnham's "My Whole Family" playing since it's on my playlist and I wanted something fun to listen to. Um, read and review and I'll see you guys next Friday. Ja ne!