lostmoonchild: Konbanwa! Thanks for the reviews, everybody. I would have updated earlier (okay, Friday since it's Saturday now) but I kept getting that "cannot display webpage" notice everytime I tried to log in so yeah. Updating yesterday just didn't happen. So here's this week's chapter and hopefully nobody will flame me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
CHAPTER WARNING: CONTAINS MENTIONS OF RAPE SO PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME SAYING I DIDN'T WARN ANYBODY.
Chapter Forty Four
When bored and in need for a fun game to play, demon tag was always the best way to get rid of extra demonic chakra and work on control. It also encouraged stealth, tracking, and planning possible attacks as well as escapes. Today's lesson to be mixed in the game, Naruto decided as he watched his daughter run up a tree to stand upside down on the tree branch uncaring that she wore a skirt, would be concealing chakra. "Hey, Hi-Hi! C'mere a minute." Naruto called.
The girl giggled as she scrambled down the tree and jumped into her father's arms. "What're we gonna play?" Hisoka questioned eagerly.
"Demon tag. This time, we're going to hide our chakra."
Hisoka stared blankly for a moment before answering, "But then I won't be able to find you."
"That's kind of the point, honey. What we're going to do is hide our chakra but we'll be able to practice everything else that we had brought into the game before. There'll be missions, honey, where your target isn't a shinobi which means no chakra."
"Oh. Did you have that before?"
"Not telling."
Hisoka stuck out her tongue before grinning at her father. He had been back for a week and everybody seemed to be curious about what would happen next with Sasuke. While Naruto knew that his daughter was worried about it, he wasn't willing to have a repeat. After showing her how to hide her chakra, Naruto grinned and began counting to ten as he watched his daughter run into the bushes looking for a place to hide and plan her attacks.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
He remembered that child from Orochimaru's lair and he was bothered by the reputation she was gaining despite not being a kunoichi. Seven of Cloud's shinobi landed in the hospital with two Jinchuuriki also being landed in the same hospital… this child was growing too dangerous.
A smile spread across the man's face as he watched the child in question scrambling with a pleased look on her face. "Demon tag. Demon tag. Daddy and Kyuu-chan are playing tag with Hi-Hi-chan." Hisoka sang happily.
The girl suddenly stopped, her smile fading away to nothing as she cautiously looked around. She stepped back as a bad feeling suddenly grew within her, reminding her of the days when Orochimaru would watch her. "Hello, little one." A voice said smoothly. "You've grown up quite a bit, haven't you?"
Hisoka stiffened in fear, her eyes wide as she trembled violently. Slowly she turned around and felt her heart freeze when she stared into familiar eyes. "No. Daddy said you were dead!" Hisoka whimpered as she stepped back. "My daddy said Sasuke-teme killed you."
Kabuto smiled before answering, "Sasuke killed Lord Orochimaru and I intended to overcome Lord Orochimaru's strength so that I may kill Sasuke."
No, this wasn't Kabuto. She remembered what he looked like! This was some kind of crossover between Kabuto and Orochimaru! "No. No. No." Hisoka whimpered in fear.
A scream left her lips when a white snake wrapped around her, picking her up off the ground and moving her so she was inches away from Kabuto. "Such a beautiful girl." Kabuto murmured as he brushed his fingers over her cheeks.
She couldn't breathe! As the tears began to fall down her now pale cheeks, Hisoka felt a burning throughout her entire body as she retreated into the safety of her mind.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
He felt the dark intent coming from the same direction as his daughter's chakra and he had wasted no time trying to get to her. Naruto's eyes bled crimson as he recognized the chakra signature and picked up the pace. If that bastard even touched his daughter he was going to make the bastard pay dearly.
The blonde suddenly jerked to the side when he felt a flare of demonic chakra, his heart freezing in horror at the knowledge of what it meant. Praying that he at least got to his daughter before anybody else did, Naruto began running as fast as he could without calling Kyuubi's chakra forth. Gods please don't let what I think happened happen. Please, please. Naruto prayed desperately.
He skidded to a stop when he saw his daughter pressed against a tree, her irises showing specks of crimson. His eyes immediately fell on the blood that dribbled down her legs, his mind knowing and yet refusing to acknowledge what that meant. "Naruto!" A voice shouted.
Naruto glanced to the side before spotting the mangled body of a man in a maroon cloak, seeing a dead white snake torn in half lying nearby. "Stay away from Hisoka a minute!" Naruto told Kiba, knowing the Inuzuka could smell the blood.
"God, Naruto…" Kiba's dark eyes told the Jinchuuriki exactly what else he could smell. "Who-"
"Kabuto." Naruto replied icily as he cautiously moved towards his daughter. "Hi-Hi? Hisoka, look at me."
Hisoka's breaths came in short gasps as she forced herself to look at him, anger suddenly crossing her soft features. "You lied!" Hisoka screamed at him. "You said Sasuke-teme killed him! You said no one would hurt me no more! You weren't here and he hurt me! I hate you!"
Demonic chakra surrounded the girl, dark lines surrounding her eyes as her teeth and nails elongated. "Get out of the way!" Naruto shouted to Kiba and Akamaru, realizing that others were beginning to arrive. "Don't attack her or she'll attack back!"
Naruto dodged his daughter's attacks, wrapping himself in Kyuubi's chakra to help protect himself. Everything told him that she was hurt and scared and needed comfort but right now he needed to get her away from the killing intent that surrounded her. "I hate you!" Hisoka screeched at him, throwing a fireball at her father.
The blonde dodged again, keep his now crimson eyes focused on hers. "If I could keep you locked up so you never got hurt again, I'd happily do it." Naruto shouted back at her. "I know you're hurting and I know you're scared!"
"I hate you! You let him hurt me!"
"If I had known he was in the area, I would have killed him before he touched you!"
Hisoka stopped and clenched her fists together as the tears began spilling out from her eyes. Naruto cautiously advanced towards his daughter and knelt down, pulling her into a tight hug. "It hurt. It hurts bad." Hisoka sobbed as she wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck. "He tore something, I could feel it. I hate you. You weren't here."
"I know, honey. I hate myself too."
Naruto flinched when he heard his daughter's scream, immediately spinning around to see the source of her fear only to see Kakashi with both eyes uncovered and Sharingan spinning. Without saying a word, the Copy-nin covered his left eye again before nodding slightly just as he vanished in a flurry of leaves.
Ever mindful of his daughter's injury, Naruto held her as they vanished in a flurry of leaves as well, arriving in the quiet solitude of their apartment. As he listened to his daughter's "I hate you" whispers, Naruto carefully tended to her wounds wondering if her wounds truly could heal this time or if she would be forever scarred.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
"You should have taken her to the hospital!" Tsunade scolded the blonde, her eyes flashing with irritation. "I've got the council screaming at me because she was hurt and didn't get taken to the hospital!"
"The less people the easier it would be to check her over!" Naruto snapped back before slumping into the couch. "Is she gonna be okay?"
Tsunade's eyes softened as she looked at the defeated blonde, seeing that he truly did feel guilty for not being there. "There was tearing but nothing that I couldn't take care of." Tsunade sat down in the chair and looked at him. "She's scared and hurt, Naruto. I don't think I need to tell you that."
"I know. She hates me now cause I wasn't there to stop him."
"Again, she's hurt and scared. Children tend to say things like that when they're upset. They can't rationalize everything."
Naruto ran his fingers through his hair before answering, "I still feel like the world's worst dad."
"You should also be the proudest. Your little girl took out a missing-nin and she's not even out of the academy." Tsunade gave him a pointed look. "Just be the one she can cry to, Naruto. You're her father and fathers are the guys that are supposed to make their girls see that not all guys are jackasses. Get it?"
"Got it."
"Good. Now get your ass in there and comfort your daughter. I've got a council to shut up. For the next few days though I want you to feed her only gentle foods like soup or applesauce. Her stomach took a beating too."
Naruto didn't move as Tsunade left the apartment, his eyes dark as he thought. Eventually he pushed himself up and ventured to his daughter's room, hesitating a moment before knocking. "Hey, Hi-Hi? Can I come in?" Naruto asked softly as he slowly opened the door.
"You weren't there." Hisoka accused from beneath her blankets.
The blonde entered the room and sat down on the bed, watching the lump that was his daughter shift. "I know, baby." Naruto told her softly. "I feel like a complete fuck up cause I wasn't there to protect you."
"Is he dead? I don't remember." Hisoka peeked out from beneath the blanket to watch him carefully.
"Yeah."
"I did the bad thing again, didn't I?"
Naruto offered a small smile before answering, "It's not a bad thing when you're defending yourself. I'm actually proud of you right now."
"Why?"
"Because you're only six and you kicked the ass of a guy that needed his ass kicked. I bet Grandma Kushina and Grandpa Minato are going "That's my granddaughter right there!" right now to everybody that'll listen. I'll even bet that Momma's pretty proud of you right now."
Hisoka huffed as she threw her blanket back over her head before answering, "Yeah right. You're probably lying."
Naruto sighed softly before answering, "I know you're pissed off at me and I don't blame you any. That's why I'm gonna let you scream every single thing you've got bottled up."
"Everything?"
"Yep."
"Even if there's bad words?" She peeked out from under the blanket again and stared at him.
"Even if there's bad words. Honey, I don't want you to think that I don't want to hear what you think. I want you to be able to talk to me about whatever's bothering you without you feeling like I don't care."
Hisoka bit her lip as she slowly slipped out from the blanket and sat on her father's lap. "I'm sorry I said I hated you. I don't really." Hisoka told him.
"I know, baby. Sometimes we say stuff we don't mean when we're hurt or angry. Hell, we even say stuff we don't mean when we're scared."
Hisoka nestled against him as Naruto hugged her tightly. "Daddy?" Hisoka asked softly.
"Hmm?"
"Did I really kill him? I don't remember. I just remember seeing you and then I saw Kakashi. One of his eyes was bad."
Naruto kissed her forehead before murmuring, "We'll let Kakashi explain that one to you when you're ready to hear it. Right now we're gonna work on healing up cause let me tell you something. You pack a punch when you go all demon."
Giggling softly as he tickled her stomach, Hisoka smiled brightly at her father. His eyes told her that he understood and that no matter what happened, he would always be there to make things better. He promised.
lostmoonchild: *prepares for incoming projectiles* Don't kill me please! I'm already having a bit of health problems and I'm fairly certain this chapter's going to be a hazard to my health. I could blame my muse for having Hisoka say "I hate you. You weren't there." to the point it was driving me bonkers cause nothing else I tried to come up with could even warrant that much anger and hurt. *sighs* The muse is cruel beyond all definition. Anyway, read and review!