Ch3. A day together

Naruto is woken by Hana and thinks '…Was I really that annoying when I was that age?'

Hana then goes into the kitchen, with Naruto behind her, dazed and sluggish. He then gets a waft of rice and seaweed. His eyes widen as he looks to the kitchen.

On the dining table are two plates with delicious looking food on it that causes Naruto's mouth to salivate. Naruto looks at the kid as she grins and reminds him of how he was when he was a kid.

"Did you...?" the girl nods.

"Yes I cooked it. Mum taught me how to so that I wouldn't go hungry if she couldn't make it back from a mission in time to make me dinner." Naruto nodded dumbly as he looked at the well prepared onigiri and ramen set out. Then he looked to the kitchen. His body went rigid as he saw the mess. He sighed and said

"well we better eat before it gets cold" the kid nodded and joined Naruto at the table.

"Itadakimasu!" they said in unison and began eating their meals.

After the first bite Naruto froze.


He couldn't find the words.

"Good?" asked the kid. Naruto nodded and chewed, actually savouring the flavour of the food. Something that Naruto had never bothered with before, until now.

"Your mum must be a good cook" Naruto stated cheerfully. The girl nodded munching on her food and swinging her legs under the table happily.

"Hey..." Naruto paused eating and looked the kid in the eyes.

"Who is your mum?" the girl just looked at him shrugged and said" mum is mum. I don't call her anything else" Naruto could see that asking that question again would get him nowhere. So he chose another question

"Where is your mum at the moment anyways?"

"Ah... Mum is... "The girls feet stopped kicking happily and she stared down at her plate a grim and serious expression played across her face looking terrifyingly out of place for someone so young.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to ask such a hard question." Naruto apologized.

The kid looked up and smiled.

"It's not that... It's just... I really miss her"

Naruto felt his stomach drop.

"She's taking longer than normal on a mission and I'm really worried"

Naruto practically felt a massive weight lift off of his shoulders.

Naruto gave the girl a comforting smile.

"I'm sure she'll be fine and she probably misses you more than ever." Naruto felt his words hold real meaning. The girl brightened.

"You really think so?"

He nodded.

"Without a doubt"

They finished their meal and the girl insisted on hanging out with Naruto for the day. He warned her that if he let her come she had to keep quiet about the father thing. She agreed.

For the next few hours the kid began complaining about the paperwork and how boring it is. Naruto, all the while thinking "That's my line" as he sorted through the last of it for the day he saw her pout with an anxious face.

Naruto had made a decision last night to see whether or not the kid truly was his. He'd asked Sakura to rush a DNA test he'd get done the next day. So, true to his word he took the young girl along with him to get blood samples taken. The kid hated needles more than Naruto hated having to stay in hospital beds. But it was necessary. Sakura said she should have the results back by either tomorrow or the day after.

Once finished in the hospital Sakura advised they go get something to eat, so Naruto being Naruto headed straight for Ichiraku ramen.

The young girl took a seat beside Naruto and ordered. The old man smiled.

"Already moving to the next generation, eh? Naruto?" the old man's smile seemed to hold a small slyness to his implication. Naruto flinched.

"I-it's not like that old man!" Naruto sputtered, flushing red.

"Oh? So, she isn't your kid?" the old man raised an eyebrow.

"Ah! But I-" the girl cut herself off remembering the promise from that morning. Naruto sighed.

"She might be... Is it really that obvious?" the old man nodded and Naruto slumped a little more in his seat. They finished their ramen and Naruto paid. He then turned to the girl to try and question her further about her mother.

"So... Your mum... What's she like?"

The girl thought for a while and shrugged.

"She's really pretty!" she realized as if it would definitely help Naruto realize who the mystery woman was. Naruto sighed. He should have expected as much from a four year old.

He'd try again.

"Okay, well is there anything unusual that she does?"

"Like- certain sayings or has she mentioned if she's in a clan or not?"

The girl shook her head and said

"No, mummy said after you left and she found out she was going to be having me, she asked Shizune-dono for a long, live –in mission for a few years."

Naruto, looking confused, urged the girl to continue.

"Shizune-dono knew mummy was having me and said that she would do her best. So for the first few years she was in the village hidden in the mist. I don't remember much but last year we moved back here because mummy said we had stayed more than our welcome" Naruto nodded but the information still didn't provide him with much information on her mother. He would check records of past missions to the village hidden in the mist and check their duration when he gets a chance to. Of course, he has a lot of paperwork between then.

The child yawned and Naruto noticed the little dark circles under her eyes.

He sighed, and thought

"What the hell am I doing?"

"Raising a four year old kid? What time do they even go to bed anyways?" He peered at his watch and saw the time being almost 9:30pm. He sighed, again; and smiled at the girl.

"Say, what's your bedtime?"

The kid looked away and pouted.

"I-I don't have one!" Naruto suppressed a laugh.

'This kid..' he thought.

'Is a bit of a brat… kind of like how I was…'

"C'mon," Naruto stood up tall, and presented his hand for the girl to take. She hesitated but took hold of it and nodded slightly. Her tiny hand clinging onto just one of his fingers, her grip was so light and small he only then realized how very tiny she was. A thought occurred to him.

'Her mother must be a very tiny and gentle woman'

"Let's head home and get some rest"

The girl nodded once, and together they strolled back to Naruto's house.

Author's Note:

I don't own Naruto, however Hana is mine!
Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto as
well as the other Naruto characters.

Please R&R!