Saviour || A Naruto Fanfic

Chapter Eight : Not Letting Go

A few minutes later, close to sunset, Tobirama appeared, holding Naruto's hand in his.

"What's this about adopting her?" He demanded.

"Nidaime-sama, we would like her to join and live with one of the clans, as we have kids of her age as well," Tsume ventured to explain.

For one moment, everyone saw a conflicted expression cross the stoic Hokage's face.

"That should be Naruto's choice." He looked down at the child. "Well, Naruto?"

Naruto looked around at the clan heads, but they were all distracted by sudden yelling.

"Mom!" "Dad!" "Why is everyone here?!" "So troublesome..." "You're early!" "Yay, snacks!"

Nine kids were running up to them. One had black hair reminiscent of a duck's tail, and coal black eyes, dressed in a black t-shirt which had a red and white fan, and white shorts. The girl next to him had pink hair and emerald eyes, and wore a maroon top and a black skirt. Next to her was a platinum blonde who had pale sky blue eyes, and wore an orange top and white tights. Right after her was a chubby little brunet with red whirlpool markings on his cheeks, wearing a green t-shirt, white scarf and white shorts. Following the brunet was a ponytailed raven, who also had black eyes, and wore a white t-shirt with his family crest, and khaki shorts. The last two children had lavender eyes with no pupils. One was a boy, with long flowing brown hair, wearing a strapped pale cream shirt and brown pants. The next was a girl with long,  dark blue hair that fell in a neat fringe over her forehead, wearing a lavender top and blue tights. The next boy had spiky brown hair and black eyes, and carried a white puppy. The last one of them was a black-haired boy who wore a green hoodie, shades and a grey coat covering his mouth.

The children ran up to their parents, standing beside them before they noticed the First and Second Hokage, and the small girl who seemed to be clinging off the stoic man's hand.

"Shodaime-sama," the boy who stood by Fugaku said respectfully. "Nidaime-sama."

"Hello there, kids," Hashirama smiled. "Alright, I'd like to introduce one of the new Senju clan members to you all. This is Naruto Otsutsuki. Now you all go ahead and introduce yourselves."

"Hi," the boy who acknowledged the former Kage smiled. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, nice to meet you."

"Shino Aburame," the hooded boy said, his voice slightly muffled by his thick grey coat.

"Kiba Inuzuka," the spiky brunet said, with a very dog-like grin. "This is Akamaru, my pup."

"Shikamaru Nara," the other raven said, before muttering under his breath. "Troublesome..."

"Choji Akimichi," the chubby brunet grinned, as he took a pack of chips from his smiling father.

"Neji Hyuga," the lavender eyed boy said, eyeing the girl curiously, as he stood beside Hiashi.

"Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno!" The pinkette had been standing closer to Naruto than the others.

"Ino Yamanaka! Nice to meet you, Naruto!" The platinum blonde smiled, also looking curious.

"I-I'm Hinata Hyuga." The last girl with midnight blue hair smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"If you'd like, Naruto-chan," Tsume said smilingly. "You can join one of our clans. It doesn't matter if you want to keep your surname the way it is, but you could start living with us."

Naruto stared around at the kids, somewhat intimidated. Sasuke immediately caught her eye, but she didn't feel like she would like living with him. He reminded her of the ANBU, Weasel.

"Why?" she asked finally. That was the problem. Why did they want to take her from the Senju?

"Why what, Naruto?" Shikaku asked, surprised that the girl had asked them that question.

"Why should I join one of the clans? Is it wrong for me to be with the Senju?" At that, her voice wavered slightly, and a noise sounding suspiciously like a growl was emitted by Tobirama.

"No, of course not!" Inoichi said. "We just want you to have friends of your age, Naruto-chan."

"Can't I be friends with them even if I don't join a clan?" Naruto asked them intelligently.

Shikaku looked stunned, and Shikamaru tore his eyes away from the clouds to the new girl.

Finally someone saner than the rest... the heir to the Nara clan thought approvingly.

"Of course, they will be your friends even if you don't join a clan," Shibi told her monotonously.

"If that's the case, then I want to stay with Nii-san and Oji-chan in the Senju," Naruto said.

There were question marks flying all around the gathered group, while sweat had formed on Ibiki's forehead. Did she just say Nii-san and Oji-chan? Who on earth could she mean by that?

"Um... Naruto-chan, who are your Nii-san and Oji-chan?" the Inuzuka empress questioned.

"Nidaime-sama is my Nii-san and Shodaime-sama is my Oji-chan," Naruto clarified for them.

All eyes turned first to the now smirking Second Hokage, next to the slightly deadpanned First Hokage, before finally coming to land on the girl who was swinging lightly from their hands.

"Well, in that case, you should meet up with the kids everyday, okay?" Anko smiled down at her.

Naruto didn't immediately reply, but instead turned to the man in blue, seeking his approval.

"We'll bring her down every evening," Tobirama said, making Naruto smile at her new peers.

"That's settled, then," Tsume said, also smiling at the intelligent little girl. "See ya, Naruto."

"See you around," Sasuke said, with a bright look, as he too turned to go home with Fugaku.

"See you later." Naruto stared at the disappearing raven. Why was Sasuke so unlike the others?

"Thank you for your understanding, Shodaime-sama, Nidaime-sama," Inoichi said courteously.

"Of course," Hashirama said, equally politely, ignoring the killer intent his brother was releasing.

"Let's go home, Naruto." Tobirama turned away without saying even a word to his elder brother.

"Okay! Oji-chan, are you coming too?" Naruto, however, turned to find out Hashirama's plans.

"I will, after some time," Hashirama said, taking heed of his younger brother's queer aloofness.

Tobirama said nothing, even as he led Naruto back to the safety of the Senju district. He wasn't about to let her go, no matter what. He had only just found someone dearer to him than life itself, and having just faced an encounter which might have robbed him of her, wasn't sitting too well with him. His pride meant nothing anymore, all he wanted was Naruto by his side. He had promised to himself that he would keep this tiny ball of sunshine safe, to protect his daughter with every last ounce of his strength. She was the light in his darkness, the reason behind his drive to live, the savior who had rescued him from falling off the cliff into a deep pool of hatred.

There was no way he was letting go of his daughter, come hell or high water. Naruto was his.