The kunai made a distinct thud noise as it embedded into the deformed head of one of Orochimaru's many test subjects. They weren't particularly fast, or even all that smart, but they were certainly resilient if nothing else. All of them bore either mottled, darkened skin or some kind of black tattoo-like pattern across their body and Naruto could easily see that these were some kind of curse seal rejects. Those that didn't die from the Juinjutsu's influence, but didn't necessarily benefit from it wither. In any case they were mindless, mutilated creatures that Naruto felt little remorse in putting out of their misery.
He and the other Shinobi that were with him were forced to fight these deformed creatures because of Orochimaru; why else? They had tracked him to a large underground base that seemed to be some combination of a lab and a training facility. Of course, one of the less experienced Jounin Naruto had brought with him had managed to set of some kind of security measure, tipping Orochimaru off to their presence. He had fled along with his personal, but not before leaving the invading force a little 'gift'.
As Naruto swiftly used his short tanto to remove the head of one of these 'gifts' he couldn't help but curse the snake Sannin out in his head. Now he would know they had some way to track them it would only be a matter of time before he found the seal on Guren. The pale snake wasn't exactly a seal master but he would know enough to remove such a rudimentary tag; that, or he would simply kill Guren for the trouble. It was hard to tell how that man, if he could be called as such anymore, thought.
He flashed across the room and neatly bisected another of the monstrosities, the light leaving the creature's twisted, black sclera'd eyes before it even knew it had been struck. With a flick of his blade to remove the blood and a quick glance around he confirmed that this room had been cleared. He had ordered each and every test subject killed; it was harsh, but there was no humanity left inside these people now. They had given into the corrupting influence of the twisted Senjutsu Chakra within the seals, its power warping and deforming their bodies and minds irrevocably. Right now they were simply a threat if they were allowed to be let loose on the surrounding area.
"Namikaze-san, the floor is clear." An ANBU, one of the few the Hokage had authorised to accompany him on the mission, appeared behind him to quickly inform him. Naruto waved congenially as he quickly re-sheathed his blade in a smooth motion Yugao would have been proud of.
"Call me Naruto. How are the other floors doing?" He asked, already moving through the elaborate but routinely confusing corridors all Orochimaru's hide-outs were composed of.
"The top three floors have all been similarly cleared, the operatives and Jounin moving to the lower floors to aid the others. A group of test-subjects have managed to barricade themselves in a surgery room on the floor below, however the Shinobi down there already are capable enough to handle them." Naurto nodded at that; most of these people were civilians before their transformation; their power was really only that of a talented genin at best, and mostly because of their tenacity. "However the squad on the lowest floor has encountered a small… problem." The blonde's eyebrow rose slightly, wondering what kind of 'problem' was enough to trouble nearly an entire squad of ANBU.
"What do you mean?" He asked curiously, shifting his path towards the stairs that would take him down to said level; it often surprised him how deep these complexes of Orochimaru's went.
"I think it would be best to simply show you Namikaze-san." Naruto blinked a the evasive answer, surprised at the hint of embarrassment he thought he might have heard in the young operative's voice. However he deferred to the white-mask, letting the sandy-haired man lead him to the aforementioned problem.
Imagine his surprise then when it turned out the so-called 'problem' was in fact nothing more than a young girl that couldn't be older than seven. Of course, there was the fact that the girl seemed to be able to move at inhuman speeds, even for Shinobi, causing her to appear as nothing more than a greyish blur. In the brief glimpses from when she would pause or turn Naruto could easily see her tattered, grey clothing that revealed her as a prisoner. Obviously the curse-seal rejects weren't the only ones Orochimaru had released as he fled.
"Stay away from me!" The young girl screamed as she dived beneath another unsuccessful attempt to catch her from an ANBU agent that seemed way out of his depth. The girl was fast, very fast, faster than should have ever been possible for somebody so young; it was incredible. Naruto was captivated where he stood; his eyes, used to his own speeds when moving, were able to pick her out even as she moved and he could see every muscle flex and relax as she did so. Her movements were perfect, almost intrinsically using technique Naruto had spent years mastering to move so quickly.
Before he even knew what he was doing Naruto flashed forward, a smile on his lips; the ANBU saw nothing more than two blurs, one grey and one red, and it was over in a mere moment. However in that moment more was happening than they might have believed. The girl was not as fast as Naruto was; he would have been relatively insulted and shocked if she was, however that didn't mean she was slow. No, to them it was as though everything around them was moving painfully slow, almost as if the air had the consistency of treacle.
He met her in the middle of the room, catching her arm as she turned away from another ANBU diving to catch her in futility. Her head snapped around, eyes widened in shock as she finally met the eyes of somebody that could see her, really see her. Naruto gave her a smile that must have lasted a fraction of a second, except to them it was long, drawn out and genuine. Tears immediately bristled in the young girl's eyes and in that moment, with them moving at the same speed, Naruto got a better look at her.
Captivity obviously hadn't done her any favours, leaving her as thin as a twig; the redhead was sure that if he lifted her tattered shirt he would have seen her pronounced ribs poking out from her skin. However she had managed to retain some kind of wiry-muscle, otherwise these speeds would have been impossible. Her hair was an ashen grey, matching her eyes that were currently watery and bloodshot, trimmed into a short and messy pixie-cut, no doubt for convenience. Naruto wasn't sure what Orochimaru had done to her, even if he could understand why he would be interested in her, but in that moment she launched herself at the redhead, clutching him as far around the stomach as she could, as tightly as she could.
"Y-You're like me…" She managed to rattle out between semi-hysteric sobs and deep, shuddering breaths before suddenly collapsing in his arms, the energy finally leaving her. The other Shinobi in the room simply stared in shock as the mission leader simply strolled into the room and caught the little menace that had been terrorizing them for the past five minutes without effort. A few grumbled about the unfairness of such speed but Naruto tuned them out as he lifted the frail girl into a more comfortable position. She seemed to naturally move towards the warmth and quickly buried her face in the Jounin's chest, causing the redhead to smile softly before looking up.
"Are we done here?"
Naruto only half paid attention to the flickering flames in front of him, a small campfire they had set up on their way back to Konoha. It had gotten late and it had been a trying day for many of them; there had been a lot of curse-seal rejects to take care of and a few of the younger Jounin were positively exhausted. Naruto couldn't exactly say he was in top condition either, but that was mostly because he was worried about the small bundle huddled up next to him, practically drowning in the thick blanket he had wrapped her in.
The girl was so thin and frail, her skin pale almost to the point of translucence, that Naruto thought she might simply stop breathing if he left her alone too long. His fears proved unfounded though as the small bundle stirred at his side, a small mop of untidy grey hair popping out of the blanket. Naruto smiled sadly as he saw her look around in confusion for a moment; he had a feeling that hair was supposed to be a glistening silver, not the dull grey it had become in captivity. The girl glanced around with growing fear before her stormy eyes finally rested on the familiar red hair of the Jounin sitting next to her.
"Y-You…" She seemed to struggle with her words; whether out of shock or because she hadn't been taught properly Naruto couldn't say, he had no idea how long she had been kept in that base and she was already so young. "W-We're outside?" The girl said in wonderment as she finally looked up, her wide eyes taking in the starry night sky as if each brightly glowing speck was a piece of gold. Naruto nodded slowly, not wanting to do anything to startle or frighten the girl.
"Yeah, you're outside, it's over now; you're free." He spoke softly, almost a whisper, both for the benefit of the girl and the still sleeping Shinobi around the clearing. The girl didn't quite seem to believe him, just staring up at the sky like it would vanish if she looked away. Finally though she tilted her head down, yet still managed to look up at him with wide grey eyes that had seen far too much.
"Are you from the clan?" Naruto blinked at that but quickly reaffirmed his features and slowly shook his head with a frown.
"No… I'm a Jounin from Konoha. What clan do you mean?" The girl's eyes only got wider as she seemed to shrink away from the redhead, huddling into the blankets like they would protect her from everything. Suddenly she didn't seem quite as comfortable in his presence as before.
"B-But you moved so fast, I-I thought…" Naruto's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline; was there a clan out there that could move at his speeds? Perhaps a Kekkei Genkai of some sort; the thought simultaneously managed to excite and frustrate him. Where had these people been all his life and why hadn't he found out about them sooner? However his focus was soon drawn back to the girl as she shuffled away from him, her eyes not only showing her discomfort, but also the first traces of fear.
"B-But if you're not, then I-I don't, I can't go back now… they said they were Shinobi too!" However before the girl could try and make a dash for it, entirely possible with her improbable speeds, Naruto flashed forward a few inches, wrapping his arms around the small girl and quietly shushing her.
"It's okay. It's okay; I may not be your family but I promise you nothing is going to hurt you now; that man will never get you again." The girl froze in his grasp, her eyes widening immensely for a slit second before her entire body seemed to go limp at once, previously unshed tear now freely pouring down her pale cheeks. Naruto simply held her as he allowed her to cry all her pains and frustration out into his chest, painfully reminded of when he would do the same with his mother after getting hurt in training or accidentally hurting himself.
"R-Really?" The girl finally managed, breaking herself away from him slightly, but not so far that she couldn't feel his warmth radiating into her. Naruto just nodded, keeping a hand on her back rubbing small, comforting circles.
"Yeah, you're safe now, I promise." He leaned back and smiled down at her, gently wiping away the few tears that still clung to her cheeks. "And I keep my promises, okay?" The girl stared up at him for a long few moments before nodded, just the first inklings of a smile tweaking at the corners of her mouth. "I'm Naruto, Naruto Namikaze; what about you?" He started, hoping to coax the little girl as much out of her shell as he could before returning to Konoha, and rest assured he was taking the girl back to Konoha with him.
"…Haya." The girl whispered meekly, leaning back into Naruto's chest as she did so and gratefully accepting the warm embrace he offered.
"That's a very pretty name Haya, I mean look at me; I was unfortunate enough to be named after a Ramen topping." Naruto chuckled and was delighted when he heard a faint giggle emerge from somewhere in the huddled bundle of blankets. The grey-haired girl leaned back and Naruto could see her tiny smile had grown a little.
"I like Ramen." Naruto's smile became almost blinding as he ruffled her hair slightly, making her lean into the long-deprived contact like an attention-starved puppy.
"Me too Haya, me too."
"…we completed the mission with a mandatory scrub of the facility once the remaining documents and artefacts were collected." Naruto stated, finishing his report to the Hokage as he stood at attention in the old man's office, hands behind his back. Hiruzen was now firmly re-instated as Hokage, his injury having healed sufficiently to allow him back to his duties. It took a large burden off of Naruto's shoulders for now, giving him a lot more tome to actually consider the old man's offer more thoroughly. Sarutobi himself nodded slowly at the report, absorbing everything and filing it all away somewhere in the head that had made him famous as the Professor.
"Good; it is a shame Orochimaru was able to slip away from us this time, but not entirely unexpected. My student has always been exceptionally good at running away when the situation calls for it." For a moment the usually strong Kage let his age shine through his weary eyes for a moment as he released a stifled sigh. "They all are." He murmured, more to himself than Naruto or the ANBU captain at his side that was reporting the operatives' side of the mission. However he quickly got over himself and gave a kindly smile down at the frail girl desperately trying to hide herself behind Naruto's legs.
"And who might you be young one?" Hiruzen offered with a kindly smile that could only properly be described as grandfatherly. Haya just shrank back even further, a small whimper emerging from her throat as she looked up at Naruto searchingly. She had been incredibly shy ever since they had walked through Konoha's gates; it was painfully obvious she wasn't used to seeing so many people. Naruto did his best to comfort her, offering a small nod towards the aged man and it seemed to help somewhat.
"H-Haya." Her bit done, the girl quickly darted back behind the redhead's legs, causing both Naruto and the Hokage to smile, at least until the older man looked up at Naruto questioningly.
"We found her within Orochimaru's base, a prisoner most likely, or a test subject. However she displayed some rather… unique abilities, leading us to believe she wasn't from one of the surrounding villages." Naruto explained, making Hiruzen's greying brow rise in intrigue.
"Oh?" The man turned to the young girl and puffed on his pipe once, blowing out a surprisingly controlled ring of smoke. "Is that right Haya-chan?" Haya just looked about uncertainly before returning her eyes to the ground, not feeling confident enough to speak or answer. "Well, on behalf of my village, I would like to welcome you to Konoha." All the old man got out of the girl was a very quick and very small nod before she once again retreated to the safety of Naruto's legs.
"We weren't able to get her to talk much on the way back, but she did mention a clan; I'm sure some time away from that facility and in a warm environment will help her open up. Hopefully we can find out where she came from and get her back home." Naruto continued, causing Haya to look up at him with wide, misty eyes and a meek smile.
"Hmmm." The Hokage hummed thoughtfully with another long drag from the pipe. "I agree; what about you Haya-chan?" The girl offered another meek nod, seemingly warming up to the kindly grandfather-like figure. "Good." Hiruzen asserted as he brought his attention back up to the redhead. "Thank you for offering to take her in then Naruto." The Jounin nodded once before blinking, giving a small start as he processed what the old man said.
"W-Wait what?" He stuttered out before looking down at Haya apologetically, realising he might have startled her with his sudden reaction. Hiruzen on the other hand simply chuckled in amusement.
"Well were you suggesting she go somewhere else?" At that Naruto could only work his mouth soundlessly like a beached fish for a few moments.
"W-Well I thought maybe the orphanage, or perhaps, well…" He was forced to trail off and abandon the thought though as Haya seemed to understand where the conversation was heading. The little girl quickly latched onto Naruto's leg like a limpet, refusing to let go and furiously shaking her head while simultaneously trying to bury it as far as she could into his trousers' soft material.
"Dun' wanna go, wan' Naruto-niichan!" She mumbled loudly into his leg, causing the ANBU in the room to snigger quietly to himself at Naruto's hopeless expression. The redhead looked up at the Hokage questioningly for a few moments before letting his body slump forward. Finally he relented and knelt down, pulling Haya into his arms and lifting her back up in a semi-hug.
"It's okay Haya, I'm not abandoning you, nobody's abandoning you; you can come home with me for now, okay?" The girl just nodded quickly before returning to nuzzling her face into his chest, only widening the old man's smile even as Naruto glared at him. After another good few moments of the girl trying to leech as much warmth from Naruto as possible he finally set her down, which she obviously wasn't happy with as she simply returned to trying to hug his leg to death.
"Old man your time has come!" Of course at that very moment Konohamaru, known far and wide to the ANBU as having the worst timing imaginable, came bursting through the door to the Hokage's office. Behind him through the entrance the Hokage's assistant could be seen helplessly peering around the frame before ducking back. "I may have been gracious and allowed you to recover old man, but now that you are back to full strength I will defeat you and become Hoka-gah!" Of course, as pretty much everyone in the room suspected, Konohamaru immediately tripped on his too-long scarf and managed to face-plant into the ground.
"It's good to see you Konohamaru-kun." The Hokage supplied congenially, hiding his amusement at seeing his grandson 'attack' him with a small and poorly-made cardboard kunai. "I thought Asuma was watching over you today?" The young boy immediately sprung to his feet, adjusting his helmet-like hat where it had fallen over his eyes.
"Don't change the subject old man!" The young boy's eyes quickly scanned the room, flinching back when he noticed Naruto's feral grin aimed his way; he remembered the last time he accused Naruto of tripping him. Instead his gaze flickered to Haya hiding behind the redhead's legs and pointed exaggeratedly in her direction. "You! You were the one that tripped me!" Immediately Haya retreated back, however Konohamaru only took this as an admission of guilt and pressed his accusation.
"How dare you try and stop me defeating my grandfather and becoming Hokage!" The young boy shouted, not noticing as Haya's eyes began to water and her grip on Naruto's trousers tightened. "I outta-"
"Konohamaru!" The boy froze as Hiruzen suddenly shouted at him, his eyes widening in shock as the previously kindly old man's gaze turned stern.
"Jiji?" However the Hokage didn't answer him, simply boring into the young boy with his gaze before motioning over to Haya with a glance. Konohamaru turned only to see Naruto knelt down, comforting a sobbing Haya and keeping her pressed up against him while whispering reassuring words. Konohamaru wasn't one to be often confronted by a crying girl, however under the harsh gaze of his grandfather he acted accordingly; at least as far as a nine year old could.
"I-I'm sorry!" He quickly blurted out, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he stared down at his feet. Haya peeked out from the safety of Naruto's arms and stared at Konohamaru for a few moments, seemingly realising that he had just been stupid and not actually meant what he said. Her previously nervous expression turned into a half-hearted glare.
"…stupid." She managed meekly, causing Naruto to grin as he was possibly the only one to hear it. Konohamaru simply blinked and shuffled a bit further forward, still looking awkward.
"What?" Haya shuffled a bit in Naruto's arms until she was facing the boy properly, still glaring lightly.
"Your name is too long, it's stupid." She muttered; despite Naruto giving her water on the trip back her voice was still hoarse from long disuse. Konohamaru just froze in place as the adults around him chuckled in amusement before going red with embarrassment.
"H-Hey! Jiji, did you hear what she said to me?!" He whirled around and pointed at Haya again, his previous behaviour forgotten in a moment. "Don't you know who I am?" Haya quickly nodded allowing Konohamaru to adopt a smug expression, awaiting her apology.
"Bakamaru." Haya weakly shot back, snuggling right back into Naruto's arms as Konohamaru went bright red again. "Can we go Niichan, please?" She pleaded with wide, stormy eyes that reminded Naruto an awful lot of Anko when she was begging for Dango. Naruto looked up at the Hokage questioningly and got a quick nod in return.
"It's okay Naruto, I'm sure Kuma can finish up here, go on." The Hokage offered, answering his unvoiced question. The redhead gave a curt nod, whispered to Haya to hold on tight and quickly vanish in a flash of red, leaving a similarly coloured Konohamaru still steaming in the middle of the room. However before he could storm out and try to find the mystery girl that had insulted him he heard an ominous cough behind him as the old man cleared his throat.
"Konohamaru…" Said boy could only gulp as he turned back to see the suspiciously neutral gaze of his grandfather.
When Naruto and Haya reappeared it was at his house; however Haya didn't even seem to notice as she was staring at Naruto with wide, shocked eyes.
"F-Fast…" She stared up at Naruto searchingly, tugging on one of his messy red bangs experimentally. "You sure you're not from the clan?" She asked quietly, awe filling her voice with something other than nervousness for once. Naruto just smiled and ruffled her hair playfully.
"I'm afraid not. But you know, if you could tell me a little about your clan, it would be a whole lot easier to get you back home." Naruto offered hopefully, only to be interrupted as Anko hopped down the stairs, naturally clad in nothing more than an oversized t-shirt.
"Hey Naruto, I thought I heard you… who's the tyke?" The violette asked in confusion as she jumped the last couple steps, titling her head at Haya questioningly. The girl shrank away from the strange new lady but Naruto stayed behind her, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.
"It's okay Haya, this is Anko, someone very special to me." He missed the faint hints of a blush tracing Anko's cheeks as he tossed that out so casually; she had schooled herself by the time he looked back up at her. "Anko, this is Haya, a girl we rescued from one of his facilities; she'll be staying with us for a little while okay?" However it didn't even seem like he needed to continue, in a flash Anko was across the room and kneeling down in front of Haya with a warm smile.
"Hey there Haya, I'm Anko but you just go ahead and call me Neechan okay? We have a lot in common you know, I can already tell." Naruto blinked at the warmth and sincerity in Anko's voice. To be honest he hadn't been sure just what to expect from his girlfriend but this… he hadn't expected this at all. Haya, surprisingly, seemed to accept the sincerity the older woman offered, giving a small but real smile as Anko reached forward and pulled the girl into her arms. There were a few awkward seconds for the younger girl but eventually she just gave into the warmth of the contact, resting her head against Anko's chest and smiling serenely for the first time since Naruto had found her.
"Okay Neechan." She mumbled, causing Anko to grin up at Naruto from where she was crouched. She mouthed something like 'what's her deal' to the redhead who just held up his hands and made a running motion over his palm, mouthing 'fast' right back to her. Anko's grin returned as she let out a silent but exaggerated sigh; naturally Naruto of all people had to find the unnaturally fast girl.
"Well come on then Haya-chan, I'm betting you want a bath right now." Anko stood back up, bringing Haya up with her with a sweeping motion and allowing the girl to straddle her waist as she turned towards the stairs. "Phew… you're light, you know that? Don't worry, a few days with the ramen freak over there and that'll get sorted right fast." Naruto finally snapped out of his surprise to shout indignantly only to get a chuckle from Anko and, surprisingly, a small giggle from Haya herself.
"His name is a topping!" The girl exclaimed with more enthusiasm than Naruto thought she had in her; of course it only made Anko's grin grow.
"I know, it's silly isn't it?" Anko agreed, sending a pointed look over at Naruto who by now had gotten over his shock and had caught on.
"Says the woman whose name is something you put on Dango." However Anko's grin remained exactly how it was, letting go of Haya to make a wide, sweeping motion with her hand.
"Of course; what better name could there be for me? Dango is the food of the Gods after all!" She exclaimed brightly, earning another small giggle from the girl in her arms, a happy but subdued smile spreading across her lips as she leaned back into Anko's chest.
"Thanks Neechan, Niisan. Thank you." The day's events finally seemed to catch up to the girl as she slowly drifted into sleep, resting there against Anko's bosom. Naruto followed the two upstairs all the way to the bathroom door.
"That was… something." He offered lamely, still not quite sure what to make of Anko's sudden compassionate side; she rarely warmed up to anybody so quickly.
"What can I say; I'm just awesome and even the kiddies know it." She shot back with a smirk as she pushed open the door with her rear; however her expression quickly turned somber as she ran a hand through Haya's ashen hair. "I know a little of what she's feeling at least; he's touched both our lives for the worst." The sudden mood drop passed soon enough though as she managed to find a smile somewhere inside her, turning it on Naruto like a weapon. "Of course you would find her, wouldn't you?" Naruto just gave a sheepish chuckle before becoming a little more serious.
"You are okay with this right?" He motioned with his head to the girl now napping in her arms. Anko just grinned in her usual cavalier way, her chest puffing up proudly.
"Who do you think I am? It's just one little girl after all." She quickly turned and made to enter the bathroom only to pause with a sudden thought. "What did you mean by 'fast'?"
"Get back here you!" Anko called in futility as she dived over the kitchen table, managing to knock over a few chairs in all her Shinobi grace. Below her Haya scrabbled under the table before darting out, her little legs working to take her away from Anko. A grin would have been on her lips like it was on Anko's, however she currently had a few sticks of dango held there. Naruto watched the chaos of Anko running after the faster girl from the couch, amusement threatening to split his cheeks. It seemed a nice bath, some rest and a bit of food the next morning were all it took to bring out some energy in the young girl, as Anko was quickly finding out.
"Got you!" Anko called out only to jump right over the little girl as she suddenly doubled back, allowing the woman to slide across the ground to an awkward stop at Naruto's feet.
"Having fun?" He asked as neutrally as possible, barely suppressing his laughter. Anko just mock-pouted at him, crossing her arms under her impressive bust petulantly.
"She's a menace." She shot back, only to finally get Naruto to give in and smile, looking over at where Haya was smiling on the other side of the room.
"Cute menace though." He offered as the girl shuffled across the room and plopped down on his lap, causing Anko's pout to become real.
"That's my spot." She mumbled as Haya glanced back and forth between her new pseudo-siblings happily, content to try and forget the bad things in her past and focus on the now.
"That's not what you were saying last night." Naruto returned with a smirk, referring to the fact that Haya had spent the night with them, curled up between their bodies. Anko simply lifted the girl up, replaced her in Naruto's lap before setting her down on her own. It made for a comical sight with Haya's head wedged between the older girl's substantial breasts.
"She snuck in too quickly!" Anko asserted loudly, using Haya's arms to gesticulate madly and causing the younger girl to giggle. "How are you so fast anyway?" The violette asked, leaning forward and looking over Haya's head so she appeared upside-down to the girl.
"Jiji says our clan is special." Haya offered somewhat helpfully before nestling back into her second favourite spot, namely between Anko's breasts again. Coincidentally it was also one of Naruto's favourite spots, but that was besides the point. Anko turned back to Naruto only to see the redhead shrug, mouthing 'Kekkei Genkai' uncertainly.
"So this Jiji, he's important in your clan?" Anko queried, taking the reins of the conversation again; she knew just because she referred to this person as such he wasn't necessarily an actual relative.
"Yeah, he's really important! Everybody goes to him when they need advice and before Kaa-chan…" Haya suddenly trailed off, her previously happy expression melting away to be replaced by melancholy and a frown. Catching on fast Naruto suddenly slipped out from under Anko and swung Haya onto his back in a smooth motion, earning a yelp from his girlfriend at the sudden displacement.
"Hey, I wanted to show you something Haya." It didn't seem to particularly dissuade the girl's sudden turn in mood but she nodded all the same. He quickly darted upstairs, Anko hot on his heels once she got over her surprise, only to stop at a door that hadn't been opened in a long, long time. If anybody noticed Naruto's hand hesitate for a moment on the door handle they didn't say anything, Anko simply offering questioning looks. Finally though he pushed it open to reveal a brightly painted room that was rather bare at the moment. However the first thing to draw the eye would be the crib set up in the corner and the various children's toys scattered about the room.
"I was thinking that if you were going to stay here a while, you'd need a room right? What do you think?" Naruto asked hesitantly, craning his neck around to get a look at Haya's reaction. The girl was just looking around the small, brightly-lit room with wide eyes, her grip on Naruto's back tightening for a moment.
"Thank you Niichan." She whispered, burying her face in Naruto's neck for a second before hopping off his back to look around the room. Anko came up behind the redhead and placed a hand on his shoulder, a questioning look in her eye.
"Are you sure about this?" She questioned, smiling softly as she saw Haya pick up one of the less baby-related toys and hug it to her chest. Naruto gave a tired smile and a short nod.
"Yeah, I'm sure my parents and Sukoru wouldn't have been happy with me holding onto a memory like this, plus she needs it more." Anko's lips twisted to the side for a moment before she shrugged.
"Well alright." She grinned and walked into the room, surprising Haya by suddenly appearing below her and lifting the girl onto her shoulders. Naruto watched from the doorway, a happy, but muddled expression on his features as his own emotions conflicted within him. It only lasted a moment though as suddenly Anko grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room, not content with him being a spectator anymore as she swapped Haya out onto his shoulders instead. The girl squealed happily all the while and, for the first time, Naruto felt a little less heartache when he stood in his sister's room.