"She'll be seen as a hero… The third container of the Nine Tails…" Minato took a shuddering breath, the final moments of his life coming to a close as he brushed one of the sun kissed locks of hair away from his child's forehead.

"Minato…," Jiraiya started.

"Don't, Jiraiya-sensei… It's no use to argue now… It's… It's time…" Handing over his first and only child to her godfather, Namikaze Minato turned to face a translucent gaunt spectre with a demonic face, holding a tanto in its mouth. Thankfully, the Shinigami allowed the Hokage to have one last moment with his daughter before his soul was taken. He gave one last look towards the small whimpering baby, his sensei and his predecessor before turning back to the demon.

No other words were spoken as the Shinigami used his tanto to cut the Fourth Hokage's honored soul, and the Yin half of the Nine Tails, away.

《Age Five》

Little Uzumaki Naruko may have been only five years old and talked with a lisp (thanks to losing her two front teeth), but despite what the mean grown ups said, she wasn't stupid. She actually caught onto things rather quickly. She didn't think she was mean or bad. She never hurt anyone. At least that's what the other kids at the orphanage and on the playground told her. None of them ever offered to play with her so how could she be mean, she wondered. She hardly ever caused any trouble with the older ladies that ran the orphanage and if she had, it was because they actually caught her out past bedtime. She often snuck out to watch the sun trade places with the moon while sitting on the big rock with the faces on it.

Depending on what time of year it was, the sky would change into pretty colors that made her tummy wriggle with excitement. So even on the off chance that she'd be seen sneaking back inside, risking trouble to watch the sun set and rise was always worth it.

The moon reminded her of the nice, quiet boy that she'd play tag with in the woods. He was her friend; at least, she thought he was. He never made fun of her and liked to share the pocky that he'd stolen from his brother with her. His big brother was nice and quiet too, and they never seemed bothered that Naruko was so loud. She had known the two of them since she turned five and it was already the middle of summer so she knew that her birthday would be coming later in the year. Her friend's birthday would be coming at the end of the hottest month too. She planned to draw him a picture and buy him a stuffed cat toy with the money she had found lying in the street one day.

She just hoped that 'Ke (that was all she could pronounce without sounding like a snake) liked her drawing, as she wasn't the best artist. 'Ke was a year older than her and often tried to brag about it whenever he won the games they played. He would always pout when Naruko giggled after him saying so, making him look even younger than she did.

He never let anyone tease her either. On the off chance that they did venture from their usual stomping grounds to the playground, he always let her get on the slide first and pushed down whatever bully had kicked sand at her face.

"Your eyes are too bright to be sad." 'Ke told her after he kicked a kid in the shin for tripping her, causing Naruko to scrape her knee. They never went back after that, 'Ke claiming that it was way more fun with just the two of them.

The moon rose a bit more over her and Naruko shivered from the light breeze that tickled at her back. Even though it was the hottest month of the year (July), it was rather chilly on the big rock.

She felt the presence of another person standing behind her and her body tensed, afraid to move. She grit her teeth as the person came closer, but a second breeze danced by and the scent of the person wafted under her nose. Her body relaxed considerably and she was wrapped in something big and soft; a blanket. The person took their usual seat behind her, pulling her small body towards their chest to keep her warm. Their hand stroked the mess of blonde hair on top of her head and her eyes became heavy, but she was determined to watch the moon reach its apex.

When she began to nod off, Kakashi deemed it safe to pick her up and get her into a bed. A bubble of anger formed in his chest as he held her tighter. She was just a kid, a baby, she deserved to have somewhere to go. But before he could actually take a step to leave, the bundle in his arms began to whine. She wriggled, her head poking up from the blanket and rested her head on Kakashi's shoulder. Her eyes wide, Naruko watched the moon become smaller the further she was pulled away from it.

By the time Kakashi had arrived back in his apartment, she had already fallen asleep. He tucked Naruko in on her side of his bed (the right side) since unfortunately, he only had one bedroom. Luckily, neither seemed to mind all that much as each other's presence gave the two a sense of security only the other could offer. Just before he could close his eye, he felt Naruko scoot closer.

His lips curved upwards into a smile and now, he could finally sleep too. But he knew that when he woke up again, she'd be gone. Gone to watch the sun rise and to watch it set, and he'd go return to the same place to bring her back. Because if he didn't, she'd find somewhere outside to sleep like he knew she did when he wasn't in the village.

《Age Six》

When little Naruko is six, she realizes that maybe she doesn't deserve to have any friends. At least, that's what the mean kids at the playground told her when 'Ke's big brother said that their father wanted him at home that day. Monsters don't have friends, one big kid said. He bragged about being in the Academy before, so maybe he knew something that she didn't? But what made her a monster?

Did she secretly become the scary shadow monster under their beds at night?

Safely up on a tree branch, away from where any bullies could see her, Naruko kicked her feet in worry. She nearly gasped aloud at the thought. She didn't, did she? It would definitely explain why the grown ups always treated her like she looked and smelled gross.

But… 'Ke and his brother never treated her like that. Neither did her big bro, and as far as Naruko was concerned, 'Kashi knew everything.

So why should she listen to some dumb kids just cause they were older than her?

Her bravado was suddenly shaken when a twinge of pain on her arm made her look down for the source. It was dark now, she hadn't realized that she had been up there for so long. Squinting her eyes, she was that it was that mean boy again, and he brought his friends with him. Her eyes honed in on their hands; so that's what hurt so much, a rock. The boy spoke up again, this time saying that his parents said that she was dangerous. All his friends agreed, claiming that their parents said the same.

Why did these grown ups insist on labeling her as something she wasn't? She hadn't done anything wrong. Just as quick as she had stood on the tree branch, more rocks were thrown in her direction. Another hit her knee, this one a bit sharper, and she glared down, her cheeks puffed up in anger.

The look in her eyes made the boys nervous and they lowered their arms.

Today, there was no big brother or friend to protect her from bullies. No, she needed to learn to fend for herself and teach people that she wasn't one to mess with. With that in mind, Naruko jumped down softly just as 'Kashi had taught her, fearlessness showing in her eyes. They jumped back, their grips on their weapons growing tighter. The biggest one had no qualms and was ready to push her down when Naruko did so first.

She just wanted them to leave her alone and she voiced this out loud. She wasn't some cruel mean thing nor was she someone that they could use as a verbal (or sometimes even physical) punching bag.

"I'm not bad," Naruko shouted at them. She pulled at the boy's hair and she held even tighter when the boy tried to push her off. With her other hand balled in a small fist, she hit the boy in the face over and over, repeating her statement. She hadn't realized, but one of the others had ran off to get help. Suddenly, she was shoved off the boy by a huge force.

A grown up, she realized when she looked up. They kicked at her stomach, pain bubbling up past her lips in a cry. She heard others catching up, already shouting their words of anger. She didn't understand.

Why did they hate her so much? They always called her the same things: a monster, a demon. Did they want her to act like that? She may have only been a child, but even she knew that there's only so much a person could take. The worst thing she'd done was steal candy from the store. That didn't make Naruko evil, did it?

The other grown ups finally showed, more than happy to join in on berating her. She held her hands to her ears as tightly as she could, gritting her teeth. She looked back up from her place on the ground, watching as another foot jabbed at her left side. This action encouraged another on the opposite side. Another by her legs, the bottom of their sandals scraping her shin. She bit her lip when the skin broke.

Despite her efforts to block them out, their words still poked through. She didn't deserve to be happy and safe while they were stuck mourning. What did she have to do with that? "Just seeing her made them sick," they told her. More pain resonated throughout her body, the words getting rattled in her head.

Why?

Why did they hate her?

She just wanted to run. Her brain kept telling her to get away but her body was frozen in place. It was like her brain was trying to make her move faster than she already could. Her nerves ached with the urge to just bolt off, so quickly that no one could even see her, but her muscles wouldn't budge. She just hurt more and more and she can't avoid it.

Was this karma? Is this what everyone meant?

Did she deserve this? Did she hurt people?

Why couldn't she move?

Naruko closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as tightly as she could, trying to absorb the pain.

But it hurt so, so much. She felt something blunt hit her head, knocking a cry from her mouth that only gave her another blow to the head in response.

Maybe this is what she exists for. To let people release their anger and sadness on her in order for them to feel better. She didn't want people to be sad and if it meant dealing with this, then… she would…

Why won't they stop?

She can't do this. Something in her tummy burned. But it didn't feel like it was hurting her? It felt… warm. A pleasant feeling felt that almost foreign at this point already. The burn touched her toes and slowly crept up her arms and chest, wrapping itself gently around her neck and head.

The pain stopped.

Naruko opened her eyes slowly, a clearing in the thick trees showing the night sky in its all of its glory being the first thing she saw. It looked so crisp and defined, like she could just reach out a grab a star if she wanted.

She missed the sunset.

That made her more upset than anything. Her left hand balled up into a fist and hit the ground, leaving a head sized dent in the earth. She jerked her hand away in shock, nearly smacking herself in the face. The gasps surrounding her were merely background noise. She moved it so quickly, she realized. It took her a moment to notice that her hand didn't even look the same. This was hers, right? It was small like hers, the same short, stubby fingers, only it wasn't. She had claws; long, sharp and pointy. There was this… weird bubbly orange stuff on it; on her. She looked down, only to confirm if the warm stuff was actually on her body. It didn't hurt at all, but it felt funny; like she was inside a waterbed filled with warm jelly, only way less sticky. Her toes looked the same; she wriggled them just in case.

"I knew it," one of the mean grown ups shouted. "The Nine Tails was just waiting to return." Outrage reared again within the group.

This time she wouldn't lay down and take everything they dished out. Not anymore, not ever. They could hate her all they wanted, but no one would hurt again.

She'll make sure of it.

It was almost like a reflex the way her body pounced on the grown up man in front of her. The outraged turned to fear, and they all struggled to pull her away, but Naruko's claws were deep in the man's shoulders already. The burning thing in her tummy cheered her on, reminding her that this would keep her safe.

But behind her, her nose scented out a new person had arrived, though they were familiar.

"Naruko, can you hear me?" Itachi murmured from behind his mask. The small girl's eyebrows furrowed, but she nodded anyway; of course she could. What a silly question.

He walked closer, but moved slowly as if not to set her off. He reached his hand out, pulling her fingers out of the gaping holes she created. She stared at the drops of blood dripping from her hands, giving Itachi time to put her on the ground behind him.

"'Tachi…," she whispered.

"It's okay, Naruko, you didn't do anything wrong." His quiet voice soothed her. "Now, I need you to shut your eyes for me, okay?" She quickly did as he asked and heard his tanto get removed from its sheath. "By order of the Third and Fourth Hokage, any mention of the Nine-Tailed Fox or abuse towards Uzumaki Naruko is punishable by death. I assume you all know this?"

By the first gurgled scream, she already had her hands clamped over her ears again. But all the new sounds, how clearly her ears captured everything, she couldn't shut it out.

The thing in her tummy was happy… and to herself, Naruko admitted that she was too. Those people wanted to hurt her with words or violence, probably worse. They always did. Why should she care about them?

A hand landed on her shoulder and she instinctively swatted it away, tensing her body to retaliate. "Easy there," Itachi murmured, patting her head gently. Prying her eyes open, Naruko gasped at the sight of his ANBU uniform, something he always kept in pristine condition. There was blood on it that didn't smell as fresh as the blood that spilled here.

"Wha- what happened?"

"Naru…," he sighed. The youngest's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Itachi never called her that, he was always too formal to do so otherwise. There was almost a look of relief in his eyes when she stared into them. "You cannot tell anyone what I'm getting ready to tell you, despite the fact that you shouldn't even know. Not even Kakashi-senpai and especially not Sasuke."

'Tachi told her not to talk to 'Ke anymore. Said that he wasn't feeling good and needed to be alone for awhile.

But to Naruko, it sounded more like the complete opposite. Friends helped each other, right? Why would she leave him alone when he's hurting? She doesn't think she could sleep knowing her only friend needed her.

So she went anyway.

When Naruko arrived at the Uchiha District, it was quiet. Eerie. When she would leave late, or even staying the night if 'Ke's Kaa-san said it was okay, she could at least hear people training, animals or kids running around… could smell them.

But now it just smelled like dirt, fire and death.

Walking further into the area, the smell never once wavered, in fact, another scent joined. Blood, and a lot of it, the same kind from 'Tachi's uniform. It invaded her nose, like there were plugs stuffed up inside and she couldn't take them out.

She took her familiar path to 'Ke's compound.

It wasn't unusual for his home to be so quiet, but this was uncomfortable. She was already able to hear pretty well, plus the weird bubbly stuff made her ears even better. The lack of sound sent chills down her back.

'Ke… He… wasn't hurt, was he? 'Tachi just said that he wasn't feeling well, that's all. He wouldn't do that, 'Tachi loved 'Ke.

…but he did say that he did something bad. The sound of her shoes squeaking on the polished wood floors brought some solace.

Something salty wafted up her nose… tears? Following the scent, avoiding the spots of blood haphazardly decorating the floor, it lead to 'Ke's Tou-san's office. She heard someone crying inside; it smelled like the youngest Uchiha.

She called his name, but behind the door, the crying stopped completely.

She saw both his parents laying on the floor in front of him, her own throat too tight; too scared, to say anything. The boy jerked away from her when she moved closer, sniffling as he did so.

'Why was she here?' Sasuke wondered. He voiced this out loud. "How are you here?" he cried.

This person… they looked like Naru, sounded like her.

But she wasn't. Her hair was wrong, she was wrong; all of this was wrong.

What did Itachi do to her?

Her hair was bleeding; it was so red, just like everything else. All he saw was red. He shut his eyes tightly, forcing his brain to picture his Naru like she always was: bright, yellow, happy, shiny.

Not this, please, not this.

"Get away," Sasuke whispered. "You're all wrong…"

"Wha-?" Naruko gasped. What did he mean? Something wriggled in her again, but it wasn't her tummy this time, no, it was her chest.

It hurt.

Ita- that… person already hurt his favorite person before he could even see her.

His Sunshine. Bright Eyes.

Why show her like this to him; red, sad and wrong.

That's not how she's supposed to be.

"Go away!" he shouted at the evil thing this time. "I know you aren't real!"

More tears streamed heavily down Sasuke's cheeks, and Naruko wanted to make him feel better but…

The way he looked… it reminded her of herself.

And she remembered what Itachi told her. "No matter what you do, don't touch him; it will only make things worse." She couldn't understand why she wasn't allowed to help him. Why did he believe this was the best thing to do? Her chest tightened even more when she saw the unbridled hate in Sasuke's eyes.

Why was she going along with this?

Naruko nodded, mainly to herself. While she definitely didn't understand how, this was supposed to help Sasuke.

"It's okay, 'Ke." He flinched at the use of the nickname and her chest hurt again. "I get it. You wanna be alone for awhile. I hope you feel better soon so we can some more, okay?" She forced the grin on her face, even when Sasuke began speaking to himself.

"Not her," he whispered. "Fake, fake, fake."

She had to get out, needed to breathe. As fast as her legs could take her, Naruko darted out of the complex and into the empty street.

Right now, the village looked horrifying to her. She closed her own eyes shut as tightly as she could, unwilling to hold such dark images in her mind. The thing in her tummy that such things cannot be erased like that; only tucked away. If that was the case, then that's what she would have to do.

This is what she exists for; to let Sasuke release his anger and sadness on her so he can feel better. Sasuke being sad was the last thing she wanted, so she would do as Itachi said.

Naruko mindlessly took her path to the giant mountain of faces, unbothered by the rain pelting her head. She caught her reflection in a store window, light from an apartment room offering her help. Ah, so that's why he said those things, she realized.

Briefly, she thought it looked rather nice, her hair. She wondered when this happened.

Moving on, Naruko stared up at the dark sky, already urging for the sunrise.

It was a new moon tonight.

《Age Seven》

As a young child shot out of a store with their arms stuffed with loaves of bread, two full grown men struggled to chase after the culprit. The sound of wind gathering under the child's big shirt was all she could really hear as she ran. The baggy shorts the thief was wearing needed to be secured around her waist with a belt but were instead held up by rope she had found in the trash.

"It's been about six and a half years since you were last here, Jiraiya…," Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, scolded.

"I… I know," the Sannin sighed.

"A lot has changed since then… And the majority of it did not go as well as we had hoped…"

"How do you mean…?"

Her huge clothes didn't seem to slow her down in the least. Her bare feet were layered over with dirt and light scratches. She was so used to walking over rocks and sharp objects that it didn't even bother her anymore. She had a lot of scratches… bruises… Nothing fazed her anymore.

"For one thing… I've just recently found out that she's been living on the streets since she was five. And not one time, did anyone, nor her, decided to tell me… Hiding in old houses and buildings… Stealing food… I suppose that's my fault. I should have known… I've been unable to keep a watch on everything..."

"W-what…? H-how… Isn't that what the Civilian Counsel is for? What about Homura and Koharu?"

"Yes, and it's been just as difficult with their supposed help. I highly suspect both the Civilian Counsel and my former teammates are to blame… Luckily for me, one of my ANBU, well Jonin as of recently, decided to take it upon himself to watch over her instead: Kakashi Hatake."

"Thief!" one said.

The speaker happened to be the owner of the store, trying to keep up with the red haired child. The shopkeeper noticed that the kid ran so fast that their hair almost resembled a red shock of lightning. The other man, who was the clerk on shift when the kid walked in, thought the child looked faultless… Thick red hair, electric blue eyes… Pouting lip… The seven year old was the poster child for innocence. He had only just moved to Konoha from Kusa not long ago, he never would have known who━ what the kid was.

"Hatake… Sakumo's boy? Minato's student?" When his sensei nodded, Jiraiya raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval.

"Intelligent kid…"

"Indeed… He's been watching her since you left━" Jiraiya flinched. "━and has taken quite a shine to her; very protective. He would have adopted her if Homura and Koharu hadn't gotten in the way. They told him watching her would just get in the way of his duties, that he shouldn't waste his time watching over a child. And while Kakashi and I agree that missions would keep him away often, it would've been much better than living among the streets…"

The store's clerk stopped and stared as the blond lightning bolt jumped over a trash can, with total ease, which a cat had knocked over. He was practically paralyzed when his boss kept running and tripped over the same trash can, attempting the same thing. The clerk tried to bite back the laugh that wanted to erupt from his lips, but the urge quickly dissipated, when his boss yelled for him to help him up.

"So where is she now?"

The young thief turned around, hearing the crash and burst out laughing at the old man struggling to stand up. Her bright eyes widened when the shopkeeper and clerk glared at the child. The youth spun around instantly and shot off as if the wind was there only to make her move faster. The seven year old searched for a hiding space while running and quickly turned into an abandoned alley.

The two angry men followed the little brat into the alley and searched furiously; looking behind and inside dumpsters and trash cans, though they decided to ignore the moldy cardboard box in the corner. The two huffed angrily and could have sworn that the thief ran here… They turned and left grumbling.

While everything in the alley was moved and checked, luckily for the neither of them bothered to check inside the moldy box. The redhead peeked from under the box to see if the angry adults had left. Gathering that this was true, Naruko Uzumaki ate her bread with a self-satisfied grin on her face.

On her third loaf of bread, a tall shadow towered over her. She looked up at the tall figure in fright.

"W-who are y-you? W-what do you w-w-want?" her voice shook.

The body vibrated with soft laughter and spoke softly as well. "I'm not here to hurt ya, kid… I've been looking for you for quite a while."

Unconvinced, Naruko a slight crab-walk to back away from the man, only to hit the wall that ends the alley. She stood and squared up to the adult, her tiny hands in fists. "You're lying!" her voice cracked. "G-get away! I'll f-fight you if I-I h-have t-to…"

The towering man laughed a little louder at the child. He leaned down to pick up the small seven years old, laughing louder as Naruto started to hitting and kicking his chest. He noticed that she should not be this tiny, though she did pack quite a punch in those little fists and feet of hers. At the same time he was thinking this, Naruto started to shout for him to put her down or else. He ignored her and snorted to himself, thinking how much she was like her mother.

He walked out of the alley, the sun shining on his face so you could fully see his features. Many people easily recognized him just by his hair. When the people of the Village Hidden in the Leaves saw that Jiraiya was carrying the little girl they had rightfully dubbed "the Lightning Sneak," they cheered him on. Mistakenly thinking that he had reprimanded her for all of her misdeeds.

But what the Great Toad Sage was really doing was taking his goddaughter to her new home.