To conquer one's fear

Through the dark alleys in the middle of the night was a small red headed girl running for dear life. The seven year old Uzumaki Kimiko didn't know why every year the people of the Hidden Leaf Village started the so called fox hunt the day of her birthday.

She didn't know that she was the jinchuriki to the Kyuubi no Yoko and she surely didn't know that her own father sealed the bijuu inside of her to create a weapon for his village, after removing said beast from her mother's seal and efficiently killing her in the process.

The only thing Kimiko knew was that those people wanted to hurt her. Her, a little girl who didn't remember doing something wrong, a little girl who knew next to nothing about normal human interaction and was more or less constantly chased and beaten.

She only knew the 'fox hunt' this year was going to be worse than the previous ones and therefor tried to hide all day. To her bad luck however to no success. So she ran and ran and ran, as fast as her short legs could carry her through the streets of Konoha.

She went left, right, left, straight ahead, right, straight ahead, again and again desperately trying to avoid the village people while looking for a place to hide. In the end nothing helped and she was spotted by passing shinobis looking out for her.

So she ran, again. As she rounded the next corner she immediately stopped because HE was standing there. Only years later she would learn who that man really was but even now she could tell he was the source of all her pain and suffering.

Said man was nearly 180cm tall, wore blue sandals, pants and long sleeved shirt, a green vest and a short sleeved white coat with red flames at the bottom. He had fairly light skin, bright blond spiky hair with two bangs framing his face and deep blue eyes.

Said man was just standing there looking at Kimiko with those blue, icy, uncaring and calculating eyes. How she hated him, how she despised those eyes and how she feared his very presence. A whisper inside her head snapped her out of her daze and urged her to keep running.

So Kimiko turned on her heals and darted away. Left, right, right, left, straight ahead, straight ahead, left, right until she took the wrong turn and ended up in an alley with a dead end. The little red head looked around, hoping she had still time to correct her mistake but the exit of the alley was already blocked by the mob.

She heard several muffled sounds above her, watching some shinobi land on the rooftops and looking down on her with red eyes and smiles twisted in malice and anticipation. More and more panic started to rise in her little body as one of the shinobis, a tall man with black hair and red eyes with three tomoes spinning in each eye, walked up to her cracking his knuckles.

"Look at what we have caught us here, a little demon. How about it boys, why don't we teach that demon a lesson?" the man said to the others and with those words her beating began.

It didn't matter how often she pleaded them to stop and it didn't matter how often she said she was sorry, for whatever she may have done to those men. They never listened, they never stopped and they never showed any form of mercy. The only one who didn't participate in the beating was a black haired young boy with red eyes who only looked with disgust, shame and loathing onto the scene.

When they finally stopped the leader grabbed the bloody girl and said "Let's go somewhere more … private.".

Kimiko was thrown into an empty room with only a shabby futon on the ground. In horror and panic she was looking around, hoping to find a way to escape but of no avail. The evil man grabbed roughly the squirming girl and ripped her pants and panties to shreds.

He knocked her to the ground and knelt between her legs. After he freed his hard … thing … she watched helpless, with tears streaming down her face and crying for mercy as he lined himself up with her. She could only look with self-loathing, disgust, horror, hate and many more emotions as he only grinned at her.

"Let's have some fun!" he said and impaled her on him. Kimiko screamed …

… and finally woke up. The six year old red head sat bolt up straight in bed, shaking like a leaf in a winter breeze, tears streaming down her face and puffy red eyes darting around looking for the evil man. After some ragged breathes she finally realized were she was. There was her desk, her chair, her closet and other things belonging in her room, she was safe.

"It was only a dream, only a dream, only a stupid memory." She repeated over and over again trying to calm herself.

Only know she registered she was covered in sweat from head to toe. However the wetness between her legs was somewhat different. "Damnit." she thought frustrated.

In a daze she stood up, took not only the sheets but the complete futon and left her room. Kimiko, in her trance like state, never noticed her father when she left her room and went to the wash chamber. Said man only dressed in a pair of sleeping pants watched with concerned blue eyes as his daughter went past him without acknowledging or even noticing his presence.

1 Minute earlier

Namikaze Minato was a very light sleeper. Participating in a war and years of service as a shinobi did something like that to you. So it was no surprise when he heard the scream of one of his children, his daughter he assumed, that he jumped out of his bed, took one moment to orientate himself and shot away.

So here he was now, standing next to the door to his daughter's room and pondering what to do. However, before he came to a conclusion if he should walk in or wait for his wife, the last time he just went in didn't end well, at least for him in a way, the door opened and his worse for wear looking daughter came out, with the futon in tow.

His worried eyes never left her fragile frame as she went down the hallway to the wash chamber. No twenty seconds later Kimiko reemerged from the chamber and went straight to the bathroom closing the door behind her. The next thing Minato heard was the streaming water from the shower. He sighed.

"Why did you have to do that to your own daughter you idiot?" he asked himself again, or at least his other self, that one who screwed up royally his own daughter's life.

"Tou-san?" Minato heard his son's tired voice while he peeked out of his room "Did onee-chan have a nightmare again?"

"Hai Naruto." Minato answered and patted his six year old son's head now standing beside him.

"Naruto, would you do me a favor?" the young blond looked up to his father questioningly "Would you please stay with your sister while I get your mother?"

"Sure thing, you can count on me tou-san, dattebayo!" he said and went inside the bathroom while his father went back to get Kushina.

Inside the bathroom Naruto sat onto the toilet seat and looked at his sister. Said sister was sitting in the middle of the shower, hugging her legs, resting her head on her knees, water streaming down on her body and slightly whipping back and for. Naruto noticed she was still wearing her pajamas, which was by now clinging to her like a second skin.

Naruto absolutely didn't like what he saw. Ever since he could remember his sister had every now and then some serious nightmares which reduced her to something like this. Sometimes she would cry for hours, sometimes she would be nothing more than an emotionless shell for days and sometimes she was like this.

Naruto didn't know what she dreamed about, every time he asked her she refused to tell him and his parents told him to let it rest, so he couldn't quite understand what could reduce his sister into such a pitiful state. This wasn't how his sister was supposed to be, at least in his eyes. He felt helpless.

"Onee-chan, are you okay?" okay, it was a stupid question, even he knew that. But what was he supposed to say in such a situation?

"If you have problems you can tell me so I can help you. I won't tell it anyone, I promise, dattebayo." he really wanted to help and would keep his promise no matter what.

However just like always he got no reaction whatsoever.

Somewhere else

When Minato returned to the bedroom he could only stare. Standing next to the closet only wearing black panties was one Uzumaki Kushina in all her beauty looking for a shirt. Minato only could marvel his wife. The fiery red hair, the well-formed tights, her delicious looking …

"Okay enough of that, have no time for this now." he chided himself earning a slight chuckle from Kushina who of course noticed his stare.

"How bad?" she asked her husband getting his thoughts back on track "And where is she?".

"When she left her room, with her futon in tow by the way, Kimi-chan didn't even recognize me. She went straight to the wash chamber and from there into the bathroom. I left Naruto with her" he said sitting down on the bed resting his head on his hands.

"I seriously don't like this Kushina. I am her father. I am supposed to help her and I can do nothing because that stupid Idiot who …" Minato was interrupted mid rant as Kushina placed a finger on his lips.

"I know Min-kun. I know and fully understand that you are frustrated, however you know why she is acting the way she is. You saw her memories, as did I and we both know way she doesn't let any male near her … except for Naruto-kun." She said and dressed herself with a black tank top.

"Believe me when I say that I am as frustrated as you. I can't stand watching her like this but there is nothing we can do besides being there for her. She is still emotionally heavily scarred from her previous life and you already predicted she would have to come to terms with it, in her child form, one way or another."

"It doesn't matter that she already lived twenty-seven years. Right know she is only a six year old little girl and has to handle what she experienced in her dimension. We can only be there for her and catch her if needed." Kushina said wiping away some tears "Now I have to catch my little girl."

"If I could I would rip that other Minato to shreds" Minato mumbled into his hands what Kushina was still able to hear, "I would too, dear. I would too." She thought.

When Kushina finally reached the bathroom door she wasted no time and went straight inside. She smiled lovingly down on her children like only a mother can do and quelled any urge to show any kind of worry about her little girl.

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto said happily and hugged his mother.

"Hey Naru-chan. Did you watch over your sister?" Kushina said and ruffled lovingly his blond locks.

"Hai, dattebayo!" Naruto chirped but glanced worriedly at his sister who hadn't reacted ones.

"You have to make her better, Kaa-chan, you have to help onee-chan!" Naruto declared to his mother with all earnestness a six year old could muster.

"Hai, hai. I will, don't worry." Kushina replied smiling down at him and then at his sister.

Naruto glanced a last time at Kimiko and opened the door. However before he made it outside he heard her soft voice.

"Naruto … thank you." She said without looking at her brother and hugged her legs tighter.

"No problem one-chan." Replied a smiling blond and left the two red heads.

Kushina watched her son leaving the room and sighed. Know she had to take care of her little girl.

"Kimi-chan? Little one, can you hear me?" Kushina asked and looked at her daughter's empty eyes, no reaction.

"Please, talk with mommy." She said and knelt beside the little red head trying to bring her out of her daze.

Kushina sighed because of the lack of reaction. Depending on the seriousness of the dream it would take one to three attempts in calling her to get a reaction. For Kushina this was more or less an indicator how serious it was and how it looked like it was definitely not good.

"Do you want to be alone?" the older red head finally asked and got an immediate reaction.

Grabbing her mother's hand Kimiko snapped out of her daze and looked at the older woman. Every time Kimiko had a nightmare it was her mother who comforted her. Who brought her back in the world of sanity and for that she loved her dearly.

She loved her smile when spoken to, her hands when she caressed her, her voice when she talked to her and her loving aura when she hugged her and told that everything would be okay. That she had people like her, like tou-san and like her otouto who would watch over and protect her was a blessing.

"No," she said with her soft voice "don't go. Please stay."

With that Kushina smiled a little brighter knowing that the worst part was over and she could now bring her little girl back on track.

"What did you dream about Kimi-chan?" Kushina asked carefully and reached for the shower panel to stop the water.

"Fox hunt, when I became seven." The little girl mumbled looking at the shower floor.

Kushina instantly stopped when she remembered what had happened that night to her. The worst part was definitely not over. Damn.

"What are you doing in the shower musume?" the older red head asked the smaller one while stroking her daughters head.

Kimiko squirmed a little. "I feel dirty" she whispered blinking away some tears.

"Let me help you with that." Kushina replied and helped her daughter out of her wet clothes. Afterwards Kushina knelt behind her daughter, took the shower head and dropped it in her Kimiko's hands. Humming to herself the older red head worked her favorite shampoo into her daughter's hair, taking her time to massage her scalp.

"Say, do you remember what happened last time when tou-san tried to wake you up from a nightmare?" Kushina asked and started to giggle at the memory.

Kimiko wasn't amused as her mother, she got beet red from embarrassment, but nonetheless appreciated her mother's attempt to distract her.

"Mhmm-Hu." She simply 'said'.

Kushina giggled even more at her daughter's reaction and remembered with fondness what had happened to her husband. That night was in a way similar to this one. Like today Minato made it first out of bed and out of the room. Unlike today however he didn't wait outside Kimiko's room, he went straight in and tried to wake his daughter from her nightmare. A very wrong decision to do he learned that night.

When Kushina finally arrived she saw Minato, a battle hardened Kage, outside of Kimiko's room squealing like a little girl and doing everything he could to evade many pointed objects, i.e. kunais and shurikens, flying at him. She never knew he could bend certain ways.

Later, when Kimiko was finally asleep again, Kushina helped Minato nursing his many cuts and listening to him declaring how proud he was of his little girl throwing certain pointy objects.

Back in reality the duo was finally finished and the older red head helped the younger one to dry her long red hair. It wasn't as long as Kushina's hip length hair but nonetheless it reached already beneath Kimiko's shoulder blades.

"Now we only need to get you some dry pajamas … and me too I guess." Kushina said somewhat sheepishly after looking down on her own wet clothes.

So she left her daughter a moment alone with the hairdryer and peeked outside of the bathroom. To her surprise or not surprise Minato was leaning to the wall next to the door holding two pairs of pajamas in his hands. Talk about intuition.

"Thanks." The red head simply said with a big smile on her face, grabbed the clothes and vanished into the bathroom again.

Placing the pajamas on a chest of drawers Kushina turned to her daughter again who had just finished drying her hair and said "Look what your father brought us.", a smile never leaving her face.

Now dressed in matching green pajamas both females left the bathroom hand in hand and looked around, nobody there.

"Now let's get you a dry fluffy futon and I will stay with you for the night." Kushina declared and turned to go to the wash chamber to get the mentioned futon.

However Kimiko had obviously other plans and didn't move. Furthermore she tugged on her mother's hand to get her attention. With imminent success because said woman looked down on her with a questioningly look on her pretty face.

"Can I sleep with you guys?" the little girl asked with her soft voice not looking her mother into the eyes.

Kushina only blinked. Blinked … and blinked again. She certainly didn't expect Kimiko to ask that. Kushina did expect, that Kimiko would ask to sleep together with her brother and not them. Normally Kimiko would try to avoid her dear husband after a nightmare.

Changing her slightly surprised look on her face into a soft smile Kushina said "Sure little one, if you want to".

So Kushina bend down, lifted Kimiko up and carried her on her right arm to her bedroom. Kimiko was placed on the ground again and looked somewhat shyly at her father. Said Minato was currently lying on his left side of the double bed again, with a scroll in his hands and looking fondly at his oldest child.

Meanwhile Kushina went to her side of the bed, lay down and looked expectantly at Kimiko. Normally Kimiko would go now to the opposite side to her father next to her mother this time however the little red head climbed on the bed and went to the facing side, startling her parents a little.

Lying beside her mother and dearly hugged by her from behind Kimiko reached for her father's left hand and pulled it slowly to her. Turning the palm of the hand upwards the little red head nuzzled her face into her father's palm.

Kimiko tried to overcome her slightly shivers because of her father's touch. Right now she was trapped between the demand to run away from his touch and the warm feeling of security spent by her mother's embrace.

"He is not him, he is not going to hurt me. I have to overcome this!" she thought trying to calm herself.

Minato just smiled at his little girl and caressed her cheek with his thumb. Because he knew what she was trying to do, he wasn't a genius for nothing, he didn't even try to act on his own. Giving his little girl all the time she needed.

Kushina nuzzled herself closer to her little one feeling proud as she smiled down on her and at her husband. However the older redhead arched an eyebrow at her daughter, who slowly drifted into sleep, as she started to become restless in her mother's embrace.

The half-asleep Kimiko felt that something was wrong, felt wrong, something was missing. Still half-asleep she mumbled the name of her brother who came into the bedroom no three seconds later looking somewhat relieved at the sight of his calmer sister.

Minato looked up from his position spotting his son standing in the doorway. Said son looked at his father as he pointed first at him and second on the spot between him and Kimiko. Naruto wasting no time climbed on the bed and snuggled into his father's embrace facing his sister.

Kimiko calmed gradually down when felt some small hands grasping her own. A "Good night nee-chan." from Naruto in the end was all she needed to drift into a blissful sleep.

"Tomorrow is another day." she thought.

A/N: If you are wondering Uzumaki Kimiko in this story is the Uzumaki Naruto version from another dimension. Said dimension is not as 'pure' as the canon universe, far from it. Not sure if I should write the story belonging to this one-shot.

So, please leave a review, a comment. What do you think, how was it, what should I do better etc.

No beta and I am not a native speaker. However I tried to do a good job as possible.