Dark Temptations

Chapter Fifteen

A sudden scream across the hall woke both Naruto and Hinata, sending them in a flying hurry to put some clothes on. Naruto had simply thrown on a pair of pants before darting into his daughter’s room, his eyes softening when he saw her crying. Calling out to Hinata that everything was okay, Naruto went over to his daughter and held her as she sobbed against his chest.

Time seemed to pass by slowly as the blonde murmured words of comfort to the child, listening as she tried to tell him what she had dreamt. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hinata standing in the doorway, watching everything with silence. “Hinata, can you warm up some milk?” Naruto questioned as he rubbed the little girl’s back in a circular motion.

Hinata nodded slightly before leaving the room to do as Naruto had asked. It hurt her to see the little girl so afraid, but she knew that the girl was in good hands. If anybody could calm a hysterical child down, it would be Naruto.

Naruto hummed softly as he rocked the little girl in his arms, grateful when her sobs decreased. “You wanna tell me why you were crying?” Naruto questioned gently.

“I had a bad dream.” Mahina answered, clinging to Naruto.

“Uh oh, those bad dream monsters found you again, huh? Dang, we’re gonna have to make them go away again.” Naruto said lightly.

Mahina nodded as Naruto picked her up and carried her into the kitchen. “The milk’s ready.” Hinata told the blonde as he and Mahina entered the kitchen.

“Excellent! We can make those bad dream monsters go away now.” Naruto answered with a grin.

The little girl rubbed her eyes as Naruto set her down on a chair, looking at Hinata for a moment. “How come you’re still here?” Mahina questioned as Naruto poured her a glass of warm milk.

“Naruto and I are having a sleepover.” Hinata answered, deciding that it’d be an easier explanation.

“Oh, okay.”

Naruto smiled softly at Hinata, his eyes showing how grateful he was that the woman had given a simple explanation. “Do you want to tell us what those bad dream monsters were saying this time?” Naruto questioned.

Mahina looked at Naruto for a moment before returning to her milk. “No, I want to go back to bed.” Mahina answered, not wanting to talk about her dream. “I’ll draw it tomorrow if I remember it.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” Naruto said with a smile as he kissed his daughter’s forehead.

“Good night, Mahina.” Hinata said with a gentle look.

“G’night.”

Naruto led the little girl back to her room, smiling softly as he tucked her back into bed. “Daddy, how come grownups have sleepovers?” Mahina questioned.

“Because grownups sometimes like to have sleepovers.” Naruto answered.

“Oh. How come some grownup boys like other grownup boys instead of liking the grownup girls?”

Where in the world was she getting these ideas? Hold on a minute, he had a feeling that he knew the answer behind that one. Making a note to remind Kakashi not to read porn near the little girl and to remind Genma to back off his perverted habits, Naruto sighed a little. “That’s just how some guys are. Some boys like other boys while some girls like other girls. Sometimes you get boys that like girls.” Naruto answered.

“How do you know if you like boys or girls?”

“When you’re older, you’ll know.”

Mahina frowned slightly, clearly not liking the blonde’s answer. “Why do some people think that it’s gross if a boy likes a boy or a girl likes a girl?”

Naruto chuckled as he kissed his daughter’s forehead, lightly brushing the little girl’s bangs from her eyes. “They don’t get it.” Naruto answered gently. “Now, it’s time for a certain little girl to go back to sleep.”

The little girl nodded slightly as she closed her eyes and nestled into her pillow. Naruto turned and was about to leave the room when he heard the little girl call him. “What would happen if Sasuke came back?” Mahina questioned.

The blonde looked at his daughter, seeing the questioning look in her eyes. “Well, he’d have to be questioned and those old butts would have to listen to what his old team has to say and they’d have to listen to what you say.”

“Me?”

“Uh huh. Then they’ll decide what they want done with Sasuke.”

“Will they kill him?”

Naruto smiled faintly at the little girl, hearing the concern in her voice. “I don’t know, sweetie. I don’t think so.” Naruto answered. “Good night.”

“Night.”

Shaking his head softly, Naruto closed the door behind him.

Iruka was silent as he glanced up at his students, seeing that they were each doing their homework with surprising silence. They must have been wanting to go home early if they were willingly doing their work without any pranks.

The brown-haired Chuunin couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride towards his students, even when they decided to pull a prank. They were getting better, paying more attention to detail and working the pranks to send the target into another, more detailed trap. He knew that they’d improve as time passed and was pleased that he’d be able to watch their improvements. Their pranks when they first arrived were so meager that he couldn’t help but show them the errors that they had made. Of course, their pranks had improved but they still held nothing over what this year’s Gennin class were capable of doing.

His eyes flickered over to the youngest member of his class, seeing that she was frowning as she stared at her papers. He wondered for a moment how Naruto felt about his six year old daughter being in a class full of eight year old kids. The blonde had been dead last in his own class and to have a daughter that had been kicked up a couple of grades… that had to be either something to boast about or a real kick to his pride.

The teacher mentally sighed, making a mental note to talk to the blonde about his daughter. “Okay, guys, let’s call it a day.” Iruka called out, listening with amusement as the students cheered and gathered their things. “Mahina, may I talk to you a minute?”

Mahina looked at Iruka for a moment before looking out the window. “I don’t think Neji would like to be kept waiting.” Mahina said softly.

“It won’t take more than a minute.” Iruka told the little girl.

The dark haired girl was silent for a moment before nodding as she put her papers in her bag, making sure that her weapons were with her. “Yes, Iruka-sensei?” Mahina questioned, watching the brown-haired man carefully.

Iruka sighed as he looked at the little girl, seeing how cautious she was being. “Is everything okay?” Iruka questioned. “I can’t help but notice that you keep to yourself.”

“I’m okay.”

“The work’s not too hard?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure? I noticed that you were frowning quite a bit at the end of class. If you’re having trouble with the work, we can probably work something out.”

“I was thinking.” Mahina looked out the window, frowning slightly to herself. “I hafta go now, Iruka-sensei. Neji’s going to get anxious if I don’t get going.”

“Of course, Mahina. Have a good evening.”

“You too, Iruka-sensei.”

Holding her bag tightly against her small frame, Mahina hurried out of the room. Iruka sighed as he leaned back against his chair, wondering how he could get the little girl to adjust.

Time, he supposed, would be the best thing for both the class and the little girl but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t push things along a bit.

Naruto sat at the kitchen table, helping his daughter as she worked on her schoolwork. He knew full well that the little girl disliked having to do easy questions, claiming that they were stupid, but he knew that she’d happily skip them. “Good job, Hi-Hi.” Naruto complimented when she finished her last page.

“Daddy?”

“Hmm?”

Mahina looked at her schoolwork for a moment before looking up at him with a questioning look. “Were my real parents smart?” Mahina questioned.

Naruto looked at his little girl, seeing the lost look in her eyes. Everything about her family that she should have known was completely lost to her and what she did know, she wasn’t sure if she could believe. “I don’t know, sweetie. Remember, by the time we found you, your mom and dad had been gone for a while.” Naruto said gently.

“Some of the older kids make fun of me cause I’m adopted. They think that you adopted me cause you felt sorry for me.”

“Do you think that’s true?”

Mahina shook her head, watching Naruto’s expression. “You chose me as your daughter cause the moment you saw me, you knew that I’m your daughter.” Mahina answered simply.

“And that’s exactly what you tell the other kids. Just because I’m not your blood father, doesn’t mean that I love you any less than if you were my own flesh and blood.” Naruto told her. “If they’re going to keep saying that I felt sorry for you, then they’re not as big as they think they are.”

Mahina nodded in understanding before putting her schoolwork back in her bag. “Daddy?” Mahina questioned.

“Hmm?”

“Sasuke’s going to come home soon.”

“What makes you say that?”

Mahina grinned slightly at him before answering, “I got a feeling that he’ll come back and he’ll be sorry.”

Chuckling, Naruto kissed his daughter’s forehead. “Okay, Hi-Hi. It’s time to get washed up for dinner before Hinata gets here.” Naruto told her. “Just make sure to give that imagination of yours a break, okay?”

“Uh huh. No problem.”

The blonde sighed, deciding that he’d better do his daughter a favor and find out all that he could about her family. Any little bit, he felt, would help the little girl establish who she was as an individual and where she stood in the world.