lostmoonchild: Hey, everybody! Thanks for the review! Busy week and probably the one incident that make me go "What the hell?" was when I was messing with my horse. Now he's a couple years old, gonna be three come June and he's Arabian so he's not going to be very big. He pulled me off my feet twice (and I'm not exactly light) so I'm laughing and have a deeper respect for my little horse's strength.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto so don't sue.

Chapter Thirty Nine

Gaara was silent as he listened to one of the many stories his goddaughter enjoyed telling, wondering if there wasn't some truth in some of them. "So then this huge snake showed up and said, 'I am the king of snakes! Fear me!' and the ninja prince answered, 'Let my village go or you will die!' The snake laughed and said that he wasn't going to and that he was going to eat the ninja prince." Hisoka's eyes focused on Gaara's face, seeing the interest in his eyes. "You wanna know what happened next?"

"What?"

"The snake was poisonous so the ninja prince had to be really careful. They fought for three days straight!"

"Three days? Impressive."

"Yeah, and the ninja prince was so tired that he thought he was gonna die but then he got this idea so he grabbed a paper bomb and tuck it to the cliff before calling the snake. When the snake went to attack, the bomb went off and the snake was crushed to death." Hisoka looked pleased. "So the ninja prince went into the snake's lair and freed the entire village. Then they all lived happily ever after."

Gaara allowed himself to smile faintly at the child's story, knowing full well that she loved telling them stories. He'd be surprised if the girl didn't grow up to be an author like Naruto's godfather had been but he wouldn't be pleased if the girl wrote those same smut stories. "That's good." Gaara responded. "People should be allowed to have happy times in their lives."

Hisoka nodded in agreement and smiled as she hugged his arm tightly. Suddenly a serious expression appeared on her face and she tugged his shirt a little. "How come Daddy wants Sasuke back so bad?" Hisoka finally asked.

"Naruto and Sasuke were friends when they were Gennin. When Sasuke left, Naruto made a promise to bring him back."

"So that's why Daddy went on that training trip with Ero-sennin?"

Naruto really needed to watch what he called people around his daughter. Gaara knew the blonde knew that the girl was repeating what he said but it remained to be seen if Naruto really cared. "Yes." Gaara responded.

"So what if Sasuke does come back? What'll happen then?"

Likely he'd be executed but Naruto seemed to think that the council wouldn't do much to the Uchiha. "You'll come to stay here for a while until things get figured out." Gaara responded.

"They're not gonna kill him. They're gonna make it seem like it's my fault cause I'm dirty."

Gaara looked at the girl and saw the sadness in her eyes. "What makes you think you're dirty?" Gaara questioned as he knelt down in front of her.

"One of the grownups said that I'm dirty cause I'm not a virgin."

"Here?"

Slowly Hisoka nodded. "It's okay though. Daddy's not throwing me away cause he loves me and all our friends like me even though I'm dirty."

Gaara gave her a stern look before answering, "Hisoka Uzumaki, you are by no means dirty. Do you understand me?"

"Uh huh. But how come I got called dirty just because I'm not a virgin? What's a virgin? Is it something good? It's gotta be."

Gaara sighed a little before answering, "You'll understand when you're older."

"Is it good?"

"I suppose. I never really thought about it."

Hisoka gave him a questioning look before answering, "How come? Don't grownups make a big deal over it?"

"Most grownups, I suppose."

Deciding that maybe she should let the conversation drop, Hisoka hugged his arm again. "Is that boy doing okay? Ichi-kun said he'd let the boy sleep for a few hours so he didn't get a messed up attic."

Gaara paused a moment as his thoughts went back to the teenage boy they had found a short while from Suna. His village had been more than eager to get rid of him, thinking that he had committed some crime in Suna and had finally been found. It was almost as if the boy had been a Jinchuuriki before actually having the demon sealed within him. Then upon seeing Hisoka for the first time, the boy had been naturally drawn to her and hadn't reacted at all when she poked him with some of the demon's chakra.

It bothered Naruto when he realized what his daughter was basically going to be doing and Gaara even admitted that it bothered him. While he was more than willing to take the demon back into his own body, he knew that it wasn't possible. He also knew that he couldn't leave the boy alone with any hopes to tame the beast. "He's doing well." Gaara told her.

"That's good. Ichi-kun's happy cause he's back in a person but he wishes he could get out a lot more. I told him that if he gets out, Sasuke-teme's going to find him and the old Uchiha-teme would lock him up in that statue again."

"That would be unfortunate."

"I know. The boy looked happy though like he found what he was supposed to do."

Gaara remembered the look of relief that had reflected on the teenager's face, one that told them all he finally understood. He had apparently been the village outcast all of his life, thrown out of his home by his parents and forced to steal in order to survive. It really wasn't that different than what a Jinchuuriki had to resort to just to survive so he, Naruto, and Killer Bee were all understanding. "It's gonna be okay, onii-san. If you get lost, I'll find you again. You don't have to be lost no more. I'm here now." Hisoka's words had sent the teenager into tears, which had surprised the girl when he suddenly pulled her into a tight hug.

"Wanna hear another story?" Hisoka questioned.

"Sure."

Smiling brightly, Hisoka began telling the redhead another story dealing with her favorite ninja prince.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Giggles left the child's lips as she spun around, singing some song about being a kitten. Gaara didn't know where the child had learned the song but wondered if this was the reason Naruto was content with just watching the child. For almost half an hour she spun in circles, always giggling when her skirt would fly up a little before she changed her direction. Gaara had long ago stopped rushing to her side when she fell down with giggles leaving her lips, realizing that the girl just loved to spin around. She was enjoying herself and who was he to deny the girl any times of happiness?

The Kazekage watched as the girl dizzily walked over to him, giggling when she fell down again before slowly getting up and walking back to him. "Gotcha!" Hisoka giggled as she grabbed Gaara's hand.

A small smile spread across the redhead's lips as he picked the girl up and set her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "I think I've got you." Gaara responded before playfully tipping the girl upside down and tickling her.

Squeals of laughter left the girl's lips as she started kicking her feet before rolling off of his lap when he let her go. "I got sand in my mouth." Hisoka said as she stuck out her tongue.

Chuckling softly, Gaara picked the girl up and wondered just what kind of magic this child possessed. Despite everything, she was always so loving to those around her. "Should we go get some lunch?" Gaara questioned calmly.

"Yeah! Not ramen though, okay? I'm trying to get Daddy to not eat so much of it but I think he pigs out on it when I'm sleeping. No meat either. I don't like meat at lunch."

Somehow he could actually believe that. He was just impressed nobody ever tried an intervention for how much ramen the blonde consumed in a single day. "Sure. Do you want to try something new?" Gaara questioned.

"Like what?"

"There's dishes that are only available in the desert. You won't find them anywhere else."

Hisoka looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "Well, Shino says that I shouldn't say I don't like something unless I've tried it so yeah!"

Setting the girl down, Gaara watched as the girl took his hand in hers and walked next to him, humming some song. As they walked through the streets, he nodded slightly to the villagers that were still out in the hot sun and watched as Hisoka moved to hide behind him. "Something wrong?" Gaara questioned patiently.

"That man has a snake." Hisoka pointed before whimpering and hiding behind him. "I don't like snakes. Orochimaru would make them bite me and he'd laugh."

Gaara stared at the traveler, seeing that he had several snakes in cages. It wasn't an uncommon thing for someone to be selling snakes as either pets or a meal but he didn't think he'd really know what to do if his goddaughter started screaming or having a general fit in the market. "Okay, let's go then." Gaara said softly.

He could feel her trembling against him as they moved away from the man and the snakes. It was clear she was fighting back her terror and as soon as he picked her up, felt her face bury itself in the crook of his neck. "I really hate snakes." Hisoka whimpered. "Really, really hate them."

"It's all right. You're okay."

They went into a small restaurant that Gaara had gone to several times before, finding their service to be pleasant. It was quiet compared to some of the other places he could have taken the child to but he remembered hearing at some point that the girl preferred not being in large crowds with strangers. "Good afternoon, Lord Kazekage," said the owner with a bow. "How are you doing this afternoon?"

"Very well, thank you. This is my goddaughter, Uzumaki Hisoka. She's visiting from Konoha." Gaara told the owner.

Hisoka peered at the shop's owner and offered a small smile before hiding behind Gaara again. "She's a pretty little girl. Rather shy though." The owner commented with a chuckle. "What can I get you today?"

"Two orders of the special and some tea. Hisoka, would you like anything? Milk?"

"Tummy don't like milk." Hisoka answered softly. "Can I have tea too? I like that."

The man laughed softly before answering, "A girl who knows what she likes. Coming right up."

Gaara watched as the girl cautiously peered around before she ducked under the table and started exploring. He watched her eyes light up with excitement when she saw the paintings that hung on the walls, wondering what she found so interesting about the various landscapes. "Hisoka." Gaara said patiently.

Hisoka immediately darted back over to his side and grinned at him with the familiar Uzumaki grin. "I like art. Sai's teaching me to draw and when I get bigger he's gonna show me how to make my stuff come to life." Hisoka reported.

Was there seriously anything that nobody was willing to teach her? "I see. What do you like to draw?" Gaara questioned.

"Lots of things. I like drawing animals and people best though."

Nodding slightly, Gaara listened as the girl explained everything she was learning and from who. "I like Daddy's lessons best though. He's teaching me seals now." Hisoka told him. "Did you know that those were baby seals we used to put some of the Bijuu chakra in the scrolls? I can do those by myself now but Daddy watches to make sure I don't mess up."

"I knew." Gaara responded. What he hadn't known before was that Hisoka could do those seals by herself.

The girl beamed when they received their food, thanking the man, before carefully poking at her food. "This stuff you only find in the desert?" Hisoka asked, her eyes showing interest.

"Yes."

"What's it called?"

"That's called silver buffaloberry, sweet cicely, camas, and the meat's probably a rabbit."

Gaara watched with amusement as she carefully separated the meat away from the fruit and vegetables before she took a small piece of her meal and took a cautious bite. If someone had told him before that watching a kid try something new was so interesting, he probably wouldn't have believed him before watching his goddaughter. "It's good. What kind of fruit is this one?" Hisoka questioned as she pointed to his plate, seeing a fruit that wasn't on hers.

"It's from cactus." Gaara replied as he gave her a little to try.

"It's good."

The redhead smiled as he ate, watching his goddaughter wolf down her food as if she hadn't eaten in days. "Can we spar after lunch? Pretty please with sugar on top?" Hisoka questioned.

"Sure."

The rest of the day flew by and by the time it was time to eat; Gaara found himself carrying the exhausted child on his back as she struggled to stay awake. He managed to keep himself from laughing as he felt the child's head drop against his neck only to feel her wake up again before her head dropped again, this time resting on his shoulder. "The hell did you do to her?" Naruto chuckled as he took his daughter from the redhead.

"Sparred." Gaara responded patiently. "I think she'll sleep all night."

Naruto carefully adjusted the girl in his arms before giving Gaara a huge grin. "So if she ever comes to stay here for good, you think you'll be able to keep up?" Naruto questioned.

He didn't think he'd be able to keep up. He knew he'd be able to keep up. "Let's just hope that the situation that would require her to live here for good will never happen." Gaara responded patiently. "She has no memory of her mother's love but I know she'll always remember how much you love her."

With a small blush forming across his face, Naruto looked down at his daughter. "Then it's a good thing you love her too. That way if something happens to me, she'll have someone that she knows loves her as much as she loves him."

Suddenly startled at the realization that a child loved him, Gaara stared at his goddaughter for a few moments before replying, "Just don't die, Uzumaki. Hisoka doesn't remember her mother but if you were to die, I doubt the girl could ever recover."

lostmoonchild: I admit that this last part gave me a pain in the butt time since there was just something missing and it didn't come to light until I was poking at this a couple days ago trying to find whatever it was. Right, so I'm gonna vanish for a week and try to enjoy this unusually warm weather we've been getting here in South Dakota before somebody turns around and gives us snow. Read and review!