Months after meeting Sasuke – July of the New Year

As the days passed into a new year and winter quickly became summer. Naruto, at first, had felt incredibly odd coming and going to the Uchiha compound. The first time had been easy since she had asked the boy who was standing outside (rather hesitantly) that she was there to see Sasuke and he had introduced himself as her friend's brother, Itachi.

Other times she had to sneak her way in when someone wasn't there to greet her because the other Uchihas weren't as nice as Sasuke or Itachi or Mikoto-san but she was determined.

And today, she was once again at the Uchiha compound in order to celebrate Sasuke's birthday. It was still strange to her since she had never been anywhere near the other Noble Clans' compounds and she preferred to stay away from them the most part since they held the most hatred toward her. She didn't know why but when she asked her father he said that it was because they were shinobi; and despite the rules saying they shouldn't rule, they honestly had the most humanity when they were with their friends and family. She didn't understand his cryptic message but nodded and went along with it.

So, while Naruto stood in an alleyway at a safe distance from the Uchiha compound, her eyes curiously staring at the large entrance that had the black flags with the white and red fans billowing in the light summer breeze, she caught sight of the Uchiha guard who sat (uncomfortably) sternly in a small booth. Did they all have that expression? It was a question that she always asked since she first met Itachi and Fugaku-san.

She had actually asked Sasuke that question once and his response was to only look around his overly large family from his spot atop of a tree that over looked the compound from outside of its walls. He then told her that it was mainly the shinobi side, but Naruto began to argue with him, which broke out into another competition, at least until Itachi had arrived to pick up his brother from his play date.

It was during those times with Itachi did Naruto recognise the admiration Sasuke had for his older brother, that sparked a wave of envy inside her. She wished she had someone that was closer to her age to admire.

Despite the confidence Naruto had in Sasuke (and slightly in Itachi and Mikoto) it still didn't help the butterflies in her stomach that prevented her from arriving on time for Sasuke's party. She wondered if there were going to be a lot of people at Sasuke's house like in the stories her mother told her. She also wondered whether or not there was going to be a big cake with lots of delicious food and colourful streamers. Her imagination went wild at the giddy scene but it also brought up her doubts for the situation. What if there was a lot of people there? Or if she was only allowed to give her present and was forced to leave. After all, Sasuke was only kid that liked her...she didn't know about Itachi, he wasn't around a lot of the time. But Sasuke didn't have any power over his family's decisions no matter what day of the year it was.

Having finally given up on her situation, Naruto sucked in a deep breath, puffing out her chest in an effort to convey just how threatening she was, she began storming toward the gate of the Uchiha Compound.

The guard easily spotted her and narrowed his eyes. If it wasn't the Jinchuuriki. One of the Uchiha's many reasons they were hated by the village.

No matter how many knew the history; the fact that Uchiha Madara had controlled the Kyuubi with the Sharingan had caused suspicion amongst the higher ups since the second Kyuubi attack.

"What do you want?" The guard restrained a snarl.

"Um, I'm here to see Sasuke-kun." Naruto pressed. "It's his birthday! Dattebayo! Can I see him? I'm not sneaking in this time -ttebayo." She tried her best to sound convincing.

The guard strained to keep his face from contorting as he just settled back into his seat, crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes continued at stare –glare– the girl down. Although he hadn't said anything it was clear to anyone else that it was enough permission to go inside but the brat didn't move.

Naruto had begun shifting from one foot to the other, wishing that she had asked her mother to give her the vote of confidence but she knew her manners, she couldn't go in without permission. She didn't want to sneak in because it meant she would dirty the nice clothes her father managed to snag her from the store. Her whole family agreed her father was the better poltergeist.

After 10 minutes the guard was beginning to get annoyed with the girl that refused to go into the compound.


Sasuke had been sprawled out across his family's living room floor, his fingers tracing the etches of the tatami mats, while his eyes were lazily glued to the roof that provided to be as entertaining as watching grass die. And sure, it was his birthday and he was excited to have a party like the other kids but he understood that it was only a small family gathering between his closest members of his family.

But the reason he was sulking was because it was almost midday and there was no sign of the temperamental idiot he called a friend. He grudgingly admitted that he did like the girl; she was a lot of fun, a lot more fun than training by himself or playing with the other children. She didn't care about the Uchiha clan and he like teasing her about being a better ninja, whether it was because he bragged about his family name or because he was actually better than her, he didn't care, he just wanted to brag for once without having "well your brother's better, so I don't see the point you're trying to make."

Yeah, Naruto was pretty cool. He could admit that much.

He also remembered how one day she had declared she would stronger than anyone and then he would have to admit she was better. Yeah, she was going to be Hokage, then she would be the strongest.

And despite her loudness, persistence, dirtiness...Naruto was his best friend.

Sure, he loved being around his family but there was underling suffocation that even he knew was there and only Naruto's cheerful grandeur was able break through his foul mood and put a smile back on his face.

Sasuke got up from his spot on the floor and left the room and made his way to his mother, who was sitting on the step out to the garden enjoying the peaceful day.

"Kaa-chan?" Sasuke began timidly.

"Yes, Sasuke-chan?"

"When will Naruto show up? Do you think she forgot?"

His mother gave his a warm smile as she patted the spot next to her on the patio and he sat down also wanting to enjoy the hot afternoon sun against his skin.

"I don't think she would forget easily. Naruto-chan was very excited when you told her that your birthday was coming up, wasn't she?" He nodded, "Maybe she just got caught up in something and is on her way right now."

"Yeah… So, when will she be here?"

"I know it's your birthday but you have to be patient. Naruto will come when she's here. After all, you didn't give her a lot of time to go and find you a present, did you?" Mikoto chuckled.

Sasuke fell back onto his back with a bit of a groan and proceeded to return to sulking.

"…Is she here yet?" Sasuke pushed.

"Not yet. I'll tell you when she's here, okay? How about you go talk with your father about training."

"Okay." It was more of a whine than a confirmation.


Naruto began getting nervous. She didn't know anyone other than the Head family and she highly doubted that it would help ask the guard who was slowly growing red in the face.

"Naruto?"

She spun around at the sound of her name was bumped straight into soft clothing that cushioned her impact.

"Ow." She looked up at person who decided to grace her with her presence. "Itachi-san?"

"Hn. What are you doing out here? Sasuke's been waiting for you since he woke up this morning."

"Hahaha, well, um, I didn't get permission to go inside and I didn't want to sneak in on Sasuke's special day."

Itachi nodded, turned to the guard who only blinked at the girl's explanation and sighed. He jabbed with his thumb toward the compound at the Uchiha heir. Itachi took Naruto's hand and made their way inside. He silently thanked/apologised to the guard as they walked passed for his troubles.

Itachi stopped when he noticed that she had let go and stopped walking. He didn't say a word to tell her to hurry up or that suggested annoyance. He didn't portray any emotion really, regardless, Naruto's chest filled with the same warm feeling she did when she first met Sasuke and with a blushing smile she shook her head. Naruto silently attached herself to his side and they continued on their way to the house.

Even if it was just holding her hand it meant the world to her.

The trip to the main house was quiet but Naruto was happy knowing she was safe beside Itachi's side.

Itachi had his eye on the little bouncing blonde. Her smile was bright and radiating, something that wasn't often seen in the Uchiha compound especially with the growing tension the longer he was together with her, but...strangely, it helpped put him at ease.

It was peaceful.

She was peaceful.

He was glad that his brother found someone to attach himself to and rely on, especially when he wasn't there and when he himself didn't know which side of the battle he was on. Being a Chuunin meant being away from the village a lot longer than an official Genin.

"Are you training with my brother?" Itachi found himself asking.

Naruto blinked up at the older boy. He had only recently turned 11 and had been a Chuunin a close to a year and was fairly tall in comparison to Naruto but she loved to tease him for being far shorter than the other boys in his class. Itachi guessed she didn't fully comprehend the fact that she was going to grow up short herself - it was a face anyone could tell straight away just by looking at her - he just wasn't mean enough to point it out to her directly. Otherwise he knew it result in her going to the hospital from overdosing on milk.

"Yeah, we train a lot whenever we meet up-ttebayo and afterwards we go out to lunch and play a bit more."

"What do you think of Sasuke?"

Their conversations always managed to turn back to his younger brother but Naruto didn't mind.

"He's awesome! He's so good at training. It's not fair. He always wins but I'll beat him one day and then he won't be laughing. And then I'll be Hokage! Shishishi" It was a big leap but she was determined.

His face softened at the news of his brother. He was also silently glad he now had someone else he could let his guard down around as well. But, better yet, his brother's confidence would do worlds better when he was matched with someone his own age, rather than him, someone who was far older and more experienced.

"What did you get for his birthday?" Itachi asked.

"None. Of. Your. Business." Naruto spelled out.

Naruto was playful, and this caused Itachi to allow a small smirk and ruffle her hair. He was surprisingly talkative around the energetic blonde, it was a nice change.


The two arrived at the house only moments later and Itachi flared his chakra before opening the door. He did this every time he returned; he rather enjoyed it when his mother told Sasuke that he was back from his mission without even hearing a sound.

"Nii-san!"

Ah, the shrilled voice of Sasuke was always something to marvel at.

"I'm home."

When the birthday boy made it to the front door. He pulled to complete stop. His eyes were immediately on Naruto rather than his brother.

"You're late!" Sasuke accused. His finger pointed out and stern.

"Sorry. I was stuck at the front gate." Naruto smiled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head in the same manner that her mother did.

"So, you just stood in front of the compound?"

"Yeah…"

Sasuke silently fumed, was the guard picking on Naruto again? It was his birthday. He was going to have to yell at them later or talk to his father about the guards being nicer to Naruto.

His face was flushed with childish anger. Naruto began waving her hands in front of her face and began stuttering in a vague attempt to calm Sasuke down. He was surprisingly protective of his friend. Itachi just watched the interaction with amusement. He could have easily poked his little brother on the forehead and it would have triggered the calming response; however, he was rather pleased with just watching the interaction.

When Sasuke lost control of his emotion, tears almost spilled from his dark eyes. That caused further panic in the girl and her response was to leap at the boy and pull him into a childish hug.

"I'm sorry." Naruto pleaded, "I didn't want to be late. Promise. I didn't wanna ge' in trouble with your family and be late –ttebayo." Naruto pulled back and smiled widely at the young boy. "I have your present right here. I didn't get a chance to wrap it, since the lady started yelling at me and kicked me out for staying too long."

She reached into her pocket to pull out the gift; however, someone had grabbed her before she could give it to the birthday boy. Naruto turned around and met Itachi's rather hollow gaze.

"Itachi-san?"

"Kaa-san prefers to give gifts after cutting the cake." He said simply.

"Then let's go cut cake! I've never tasted cake before."

Something heavy fell over the young group. Be it pity, sympathy or something else all together, it placed itself on the Uchiha boys' shoulders and weighed them down in a rather sudden, depressing mood.

"How could you have not have tasted cake before, Stupid?" Sasuke snapped.

"Don't call me 'Stupid', Dummy!"

"You can't call me 'Dummy'. It's my birthday!" He countered and he won.

Naruto couldn't think of anything that was able to counter the birthday card and angrily shut her mouth. Even though the interaction had angered her on the surface, in general it had tickled her pink with happiness as she felt the flutter in her stomach in anticipation for further happy memories.

Itachi gave a light chuckled as he took off his shoes and pushed the two kids into the house. His mother was waiting for them and it was best not to keep her waiting.

Once Itachi had pushed the two kids, it had reminded them of their objective and Naruto quickly slid off her own shoes and Sasuke snatched up her arm and dragged her into the house at full speed. Their little feet echoed the traditional building and a new essence of life had blossomed within the business-like home .

"Kaa-chan! Naruto finally came! Can we go out to play out in the forest?" Sasuke called out into the house.

"Sure. Just make sure Itachi goes with you. Don't force him to play with you though. He just got back." Mikoto returned. Her head poking out from the kitchen.

"I don't mind, Kaa-san." Itachi smiled. "It's Sasuke's birthday."

The birthday card again.

Mikoto sighed but returned her motherly smile.

"Very well. Hello, Naruto-chan."

"Hello, Mikoto-san!" Naruto paused. "Mikoto-san, what does cake taste like?"

The Uchiha mother blinked a couple of times as she stared down at the bright blonde before smiling.

"Mah, you'll just have to wait until after dinner then. I'm cooking it now." Mikoto smiled. She then turned met Itachi's gaze. "Your father's going to be back soon from his shift. Don't stay out too long."

Sasuke huffed at the sound of his brother being dragged off to do something with his father and went back to dragging Naruto out toward the back of the house towards the forest. He threw the back door open as he pulled her into the backyard and towards the siblings favourite training grounds and the three's favourite playground for hide and seek. It was full of overly large, thick trees and breathed life and tranquillity all around them.

But there was a special place a little ways out that Sasuke and Itachi had particularly enjoyed, and made the birthday boy happier to show his friend. Sasuke had kept quite about it until he birthday because he wanted his time with Naruto to be special, even when they played. He wanted Naruto to see just how close she was as a member of his family.

He wasn't blind. He saw the way the other kids and parents treated her. Like a plague. Like a monster. Like a rat. Like...a missing-nin from Leaf. Naruto could be daft, loud and rude but she wasn't evil. That was when he found out that she didn't have a family and they told her that they had abandoned her at the orphanage, but it wasn't until their fifth play date, far away from Mikoto that she had actually told him the truth about her parents. That they were actually dead and that she liked that idea better than them abandoning her and thinking that she was unloved her whole life.

It had confused him further but something at the back of his mind told him that he wanted to protect her from the darkness of the world. She had nothing but a smiled like the sun and a heart of gold that prevented her from fighting back when she had every right to. But if there was one thing that he admired about her it was that she never cried. At least not around him; he knew that much.

She was confusing but he cared about her nonetheless.


After about a ten-minute hike through the thick bush they came to a thin clearing. The afternoon sun shone through the leaves, contrasting the warm yellow shine against the vibrant green. The wood echoed the sound of life around them and the air was clear and easy to breath.

The breath of fresh air filled all their lungs and brought a sense of relaxation but also a newfound will of exploration and excitement pumped through their bloodstream. The essence of peace washed over them with the comforting light as the children felt like they were really away from village. Itachi felt like he was away from his duties as a shinobi and to the Uchiha clan, Naruto felt that she was away from the glares and whispers, and Sasuke felt that he was away from pressure of his father and the clan; it was lovely.

"Wow~" Naruto exclaimed. "This place is so cool. We're playing here? Will Mikoto-san be able to find us?"

"Kaa-chan, doesn't know where this is. But Nii-san will tell us when she calls."

"Okay, dattebayo. What do you want to play?" She asked.

There was a short pause.

"How about Hide-and-Seek?" Itachi replied simply.

Naruto slipped into a foxy grin and held out her fist, readying for rock-paper-scissors. Sasuke smirked and held out his fist as well. Itachi counted to three and the result was Naruto counting to twenty with her face pressed up against a heavily kunai-marked tree as base, while the Uchiha brothers ran off to find a hiding spot.

"1…2…3…"

Naruto began counting with her hands loyally placed over her eyes and her head pressed up against the large tree.

"4…5…6…7…8…"

That was when she felt something cold brush passed her.

A ghost.

Doing her best to repress a shiver, she continued counting with a bit of stutter.

"N-Nine…t-ten…11…12…"

That was when she felt the ghost's hand ruffle up against her hair like a soft breeze. She relaxed under the gentle touch. It was faint but as long as it wasn't hurting her with or without words then there wasn't anything that she had to worry about.

By the time that she had finished counting and called out, "Ready or not, here I come!" Her determination once again soared into the sky.

She began running around in a random direction with the wind fluffing up against her face. She looked behind as many trees as she thought hid the older boys. It had been a little over five minutes before her stature and eagerness began to diminish.

She returned back to the kunai-marked tree that was home base with a groan but took off into a different direction from where she had started. That was until she ran straight through a rather tall man.

The result was for her to skid to a halt and spun around.

Ah! Bad move.

"Hoho! The little miss can see me."

Shit.

Naruto tried to ignore him by continuing to look through his stomach but it didn't work for very long when she noticed the outdated shinobi uniform that the man wore and looked up to meet his gaze.

He had long brown hair, brown eyes…and just about brown everything. His clothes and tanned skin; except the red armor. Naruto gave him a strained look, which only resulted in the man to curl up into a ball and start crying at the sight of the hostility she was emitting.

"Oi!" Naruto called out.

The man looked up at her with slight teary eyes that made her flinch at the sight. From either pity or just the strangeness of the whole ordeal.

What a strange ghost.

"Um, can you help me find my friends? We're playing hide-and-seek but I can't find them."

The man jumped at the sound of helping someone and rushed over to her side with a large eager grin printed on his face. "Sure. I know where they are. I'll help you…but on one condition." The man stated with a pointed finger held up in front of her face.

"What…?"

"You have to visit my grave tomorrow. No exception. Do we have a deal?"

"You're strange." The man slumped sadly. "But I'll be happy to visit. I've been meaning to visit Kaa-chan and Tou-san too. So, where are they?" Naruto bounced.

Naruto watched as the overly dramatic man, who bounced back almost immediately, guided her to a single tree far from where she had previously pursued. The man pointed up at the one of the branches and that was where Naruto found Itachi curled up with a slight smug smirk hidden away.

"Oi~! Itachi-san, I found you~!"

Itachi's form stiffened and his head shot out and stared down at the little blonde tyke who found him sitting on a branch that was ten meters off the ground.

Little kids didn't look passed their feet. How on earth did she find him?

Itachi grudgingly jumped from the branch and stood in front of the rather smug girl that was half his height. He felt a little betrayed in his abilities as a Konoha shinobi but he also knew that he was only playing a friendly game.

But it was then that he realised how unfair he was on the girl. If had been Sasuke who had been 'it' then he knew that he would have been likely to have stayed on the ground and probably hinted at Sasuke to use his the skills he learned from the clan to benefit him. But with Naruto, he had allowed the rumours and fallacies to control his judgement and hid somewhere that was bound to make her lose.

At that point he felt greatly ashamed and swore to himself that he would treat her fairly in the future.

"Come on, Itachi-san. Let's go find Sasuke."

"'Itachi' is fine."

"Huh?"

"'Itachi' is fine. You don't need to have to use '-san' all the time."

"If I call you Itachi, does that make us friends?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Naruto smiled. Her pearly white teeth sparked in the light and made her golden hair rather heavenly. She turned her back and pointed in front of her. "Let's go. Lead the way."

'Lead the way?'I don't think she understand what she's saying just yet. Itachi snickered.

Naruto followed her new ghost friend, who smiled down at her and lead her to the other boy with ease. She kept her eyes on the spirit, while Itachi held his gaze on the her while she cheerfully sort out Sasuke's hiding spot. After about a minute, Naruto called out his name, finding him hidden under some bush with his hair clearly visible and full of twigs.

Sasuke declared immediately that she had cheated but when he spotted his brother along side her, he was a little happy to admit his defeat and that he wasn't the one that was going to be the next person that was going to count.

"Nii-san, are you getting sloppy?" Sasuke teased.

Itachi pocked him in the forehead but said nothing.

"I'm counting, so you better get going."

Sasuke grinned and ran off but turned around when he didn't hear an extra pair of footsteps with him. He stopped just as his brother began counting. His eyes watched the girl that was now a younger than him. She was staring into space, then nodded her head and ran off into a different direction than him.

His curiosity peaked and his legs betrayed him as he found himself shuffling through the grass to follow his friend. Her tiny form walking through the forest as if she knew exactly where she was going; she didn't look around to find a place to hide… just walked.

Where on earth was she going?

Sasuke soon found his answer when Naruto stopped in front of a rather large tree that shrouded in moss and the base of the tree had a couple plain berry bushes.

"Is this where you wanted to show me?" Naruto asked.

Who was she talking to?

"Really?! That's so cool. It's like a secret base. I always wanted a secret base. The other kids at the orphanage wouldn't let me play with them when I asked to be part of their secret club." Naruto continued.

Sasuke was getting agitated as he continued to watch the blonde talk to thin air. But the moment that she moved, he hid himself behind a tree (be it rather poorly) and continued to observe her.

Naruto pulled her hair behind her ears and rolled up her non-existing sleeves before making her way over to the bushes and tugged on them with all of her tiny four-year-old strength. As she pulled for about 3 seconds the roots came undone and Naruto quickly threw them aside and in its place was a large gaping hole at the base of the large tree.

"Wow, that's so cool! How'd you know it was here? This is the best hiding spot. Itachi-sa-, Itachi will never find me here." Naruto giggled. But then she stopped. "This is your tree? And you'll let me hide here? …Thanks -ttebayo."

Naruto disappeared into the tree and began shouting about how cool and big it was. Sasuke could only slam his hand against his face about how easily she was giving away her location to his brother and was most likely already looking around by now.

That was when he realised that he was too busy watching Naruto to even find a spot for himself. He left his spot from behind and grabbed the discarded bush before pulling it behind him as he made his way into the hollow tree.

"S-Sasuk-"

"Loud Mouth," Sasuke hissed. "Nii-san's already looking for us."

"Oh. Sorry." Naruto replied sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head.

He could only huff with slight amusement at the display before sitting down in the slightly damp dirt. He had to admit that it was a good hiding spot, but the question was still in his head. How did she find it and whom on earth was she talking to? He had to admit that he was slightly jealous at the sight of his best friend not talking to him as much as he felt that she should have.

He watched with curious eyes as his friend sat down across from him and pulled her legs up and hugged them. He noticed her ears twitching as if listening to something like a bat.

"What are you doing?" He found himself asking.

"What do you mean?"

"You're ears keep twitching."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You're listening to something."

Naruto fell uncharacteristically quiet.

"What is it? You can tell me," Sasuke pushed lightly.

Naruto stared deep into Sasuke's eyes like she was looking for something. A confirmation? Something that told her that he was good enough to share something incredibly deep. He had thought that her being an orphan was something that was pretty deep since his mother told him that it mean that she didn't have any parents to look after her and was all by herself. But whatever it was that Naruto had to say, he told himself he wouldn't judge.

He noticed from the corner of his eye that her ears twitched again, before she sighed.

"Y-You promise not to laugh –ttebayo." She was so shy suddenly. Sasuke was slightly concerned. It wasn't like his tomboyish friend to be…well, effeminate.

"Promise. Otherwise I wouldn't be a good friend, would I?"

Naruto gave a small smile but there was still a sense of her uneasiness.

"Okay. You won't laugh." There was a short pause. "I-I can see ghost, dattebayo."

"Huh?"

"I-I already told you, didn't I?!" Naruto called out.

"Shh." Sasuke hushed. He looked behind him and quickly looked through the bushes to see if he could see any sign that Itachi was closing in on them. When he turned around he returned to the matter at hand. "I'm not saying that I don't believe you. But it is pretty impossible."

Her ears twitched before her eyes hazed over but not from tears.

No. It was a different type of haze. Her once bright blue eyes that sparkled like the summer days in Suna had glazed over with mist that rivaled those from Kiri.

"Hello~" Another voice had left echoed over the top of Naruto that was far deeper and rather strange to hear from the young girl's body.

"What? W-Who are you and what did you do to Naruto? Give her back!" Sasuke stood up, building up his stance as he glared at the thing that obviously took over his friend's body.

"Woh, woh, woh. Hold up, wait a minute." Naruto flung her arms around in front of her in a display of surrender. "I'm not going to hurt her. I just wanted to help prove her point."

"Who are you?" Sasuke glared.

"Senju Hashirama. The little girl promised to visit my grave if I helped her with your little game."

"S-S-Shodaime Hokage?!" It was a huge shock to anyone that they were talking to the First Hokage who had died over two –maybe three generations ago. But what also shocked him was a very deep male voice was coming out of Naruto's mouth.

Sasuke could hear Naruto's squeaky voice underneath the Hokage's but it was a lot softer.

"It is strange being in a body again; I have to tell you. I wonder if this chakra is what Mito felt." Naruto's body moved to inspect her arms as if they were foreign objects.

"Get out of Naruto! I get it!" Sasuke threatened.

"You're a good kid and so is she. So, look after her."

"Of course I will." He huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Naruto's head nodded in gratefulness before it went limp. Sasuke immediately went to her side. His hand cautiously placed on her delicate shoulders, but he soon shook her lightly out of worry, hoping to wake her up. Then for the briefest moment an orange glow surrounded her but before Sasuke could panic it disappeared and a small groan escaped her lips. Sasuke released the breath he didn't know that he was holding.

"W-what happened –ttebayo?"

"You just got possessed by the Shodaime Hokage."

"That old geezer was the Shodaime?"

"Heh, guess even the dead don't get your respect, do they?" Sasuke smirked.

Naruto huffed as she pushed her back against the inner walls of the overly large hollow tree. Her body felt a little stiff for some reason that she couldn't put her finger on but ignored it as she felt herself begin to get comfortable again.

She tilted her head up to look up at the open airway at that illuminated the sky over the top of them. The warm light from before had dulled slightly as the sun was beginning to set and Mikoto was about to call for them to return to the house.

In the slight relaxing boredom of having to wait for Itachi to find them, Naruto reached into her pockets instinctively.

"Huh?" Naruto responded to the foreign object.

"What is it?" Sasuke perked.

Naruto pulled herself forward to whisper to him. She waited as Sasuke pulled up closer as well. The distance between them was very little as their curled knees touched up against each other in familiarity. Naruto grinned as she rest her head against her knees, while the birthday boy retorted in a strange look.

"I know Mikoto-san likes to wait until we cut the cake to give you presents but I want to be the first." She smiled softly. "I don't really know what you would like, but I got some help from Kaa-chan."

"I thought you said they were dead."

"I can see ghosts, Dummy." Naruto retorted.

Sasuke bit his lip to stop himself for causing further problems between the two of them. After all, Naruto appeared like she had been worrying for a while about telling him that she could see ghosts and it was incredibly important that he also keep it a secret from others as well. A silent vow was made that he wouldn't tell anyone unless Naruto was ready first.

Sasuke watched his friend as her hand slipped into her pocket and she pulled out something with a golden shine. He curiously held out his hands as Naruto placed the cold object on top. When he pulled back to get a look at it he found a small golden bracelet that was meant to fit a child's wrist. It wasn't overly big but Sasuke guessed that when he got older he wouldn't be able to wear it anymore he would have to carry it somehow, but he could cross that bridge when he got there.

"The lady at the store said that she would give me a discount since she didn't want me to disgrace the Uchiha clan since you were child of the Head. But Kaa-chan said that a present like this is meant to be cherished and given to someone dear to you. You don't think it's bad, do you?"

Sasuke took a closer look at the gold chain. There was a small heart locket that he found was something his mum would like better, but he didn't allow the thought to bother him for too long since it was a present from his first real friend and it wasn't ninja training stuff. Regardless of whether it would haunt him later or whether it was something that would get in the way of training, he loved it no matter what.

After all it was a sign of their friendship.

Sasuke gently popped his head against Naruto's, his dark hair tussling into the blonde's and with a rare smile he replied, "I love it... Thank you, Naruto."

"Happy Birthday, Sasuke."


After a couple of moments after Sasuke had gratefully placed the bracelet onto his left wrist and the bush that covered the entrance was pulled out of the way with Itachi popping his head in and scaring the two kids out of their wits.

"Looks like you two won."

"Huh?" The two replied.

Itachi pulled away, allowing the two of them to crawl out back into the open. The oldest brother had his hands on his hips to indicate his slight annoyance that caused Naruto and Sasuke to laugh sheepishly.

"Mum called for dinner. So, you two won our game of Hide-and-Seek." He declared simply.

Cheers and laughter broke out between the two friends as they double high-fived each other, celebrating beating a fully trained shinobi at a game of Hide-and-Seek. Itachi eyed the shiny new bracelet on his brother's wrist and figured Naruto had given her present early; what an impatient child.

Itachi poked the two of them together before pushing them back toward the compound. It had been a calm day and an amazingly enjoyable birthday.


When they returned to the house, the sun was just crossing over the horizon, the lights in the Uchiha house were on and the tempting whiff of a large dinner had caught the noses of the children as they rushed in full of excitement and hungry stomachs. Laughter and cheer was evident and contagious within the atmosphere as the small family sat down at the table with their guest and dinner began the moment everyone sat down.

"Tou-san," Sasuke began, "Guess what, me and Naruto won at Hide-and-Seek against Nii-san."

Fugaku Uchiha was rarely surprised but to hear that his youngest son had won a game against his prodigy son wasn't exactly something to sneeze at and probed his curiosity.

"How is that?" He asked simply.

"We hid inside a hollowed out tree that Naruto found." Sasuke declared.

Fugaku wasn't convinced with his son's explanation and turned to Itachi to explain his own failure. The oldest boy withheld his sigh at the silent interrogation, and was lucky that it quickly passed.

"Their hiding place was rather interesting as they used the tree that the Shodaime gave to Uchiha Clan during the founding. The chakra within the tree properly over lapped Sasuke and Naruto's signatures making it difficult to find them." Itachi properly explained as if it was some sort of mission report to the Hokage. The voice that he had to use to just explain his loss secretly disgusted him but he didn't announce it at the dinner table in front of his father and mother.

Fugaku was silent for a long period of time before nodded chalking it up to dumb luck and the family returned to eat the wonderful dinner that Mikoto cooked. Naruto chatted away with the woman of the house without any noticing the slight tension that was present but her constant chatter had soon brought comfort to the boys without even knowing it.

Once dinner was finished and the dishes were packed away into the sink, Mikoto went to get the cake, leaving the children with the stern-faced patriarch of the household.

After a long stand still of silence, Uchiha Fugaku sighed.

He turned to his youngest son with the slightest of a smile that caught the attention of both boys.

"I'm proud of you, Sasuke. Winning against Itachi is an admirable feat."

Sasuke's smile couldn't get any wider as he got up and spun around with Naruto at the announcement of the his father's praise. The rarity of it had just made it all the more pleasurable of a day. The two became even more animated and only Itachi noticed the slight smile on his father's face.

Once Mikoto had brought in the cake and the atmosphere was perfectly peaceful; Naruto dazzled at the sight of cake and forced the family into singing 'Happy Birthday' to the glowing young boy as he declared it his best birthday to date.

But all good things had to end and Naruto was picked up by a member of Anbu and was walked back to her apartment where she excitedly relayed her adventure back to her parents before promptly putting their child to bed and gave her a whistle of a kiss on her head as she drifted off to sleep with a radiant smile caressing her lips.


The next morning, when Naruto woke up with her hair out of place and the shouting of other children from down the street being the natural equivalent of an alarm clock, she rubbed her eyes before rolling over hoping to get some more sleep.

"Naruto! Get up! It's too late for you to be sleeping in!"

That was her mother. The deceased woman, still managed to be a mother her always wished to be by whatever higher power granted their daughter the ability to see ghosts. Although, Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina would have possibly called it a curse while she was alive, it was only while she was dead that she saw the ability as the gift that it was.

Now, Kushina had honestly expected her lazy daughter to continue sleeping and would need to call her again later but when the blonde shot out of bed at the dart of a sudden thought, her voice was briefly lost in her throat. Her and her husband watched as the small blonde darted out of the miniature room to quickly wash up before returning and lifted the mattress to reveal her small stash of allowance that she had been saving up with the change left over from Ichiraku Ramen.

"Naruto, what are you planning on doing with that money?" Minato asked.

"I made a promise with the man in the forest to visit his grave today since he helped me win Hide-and-Seek." Naruto replied.

Minato nodded in understanding as he and Kushina followed the girl out of the orphanage.

"Aren't you going to get breakfast?" Kushina asked. It was odd for Naruto to skip a meal since the girl loved to eat as much as an Akimichi.

"I buy something to eat on the way." She returned simply.

That was rather curious.

Naruto bounced through the busy business of Main Street. There were a lot of main streets in Konoha but the one that she was on what the one that held Yamanaka flower shop that was famous for the beautiful bouquets that were sold for all sorts of occasions. But, as Naruto stood outside of the flower shop with caution. She took a deep breath before she opened the door and the sound of a tinkling bell caught the attention of the cashier.

"Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. How can I help...you?" The man asked.

Naruto stared at the older blond man as he greeted her without any hint of distain, although she was still cautious when it came to shop keepers some were vicious while others waited until they got their hands on her money their personality would always do a 180. The latter were usually shops that didn't get many customers and would even accept the devil himself - or rather- herself.

Naruto walked up to the counter and placed her tiny hands on the counter to pull herself up in an attempt to make eye contact with the man. Her mother told her it was polite to always look a person in the eye when talking to them.

"Um, I'm making an offering." Naruto spoke in the fewest words possible since they generally didn't like her talking more than when she was needed to.

"An offering to the deceased?"

Naruto nodded once.

"Ah. White lilies are usually used for offerings to the deceased." The man informed her.

Naruto stared up at him just as he stared back at her. He watched as her ears twitched.

"Um, could I, actually, um, get one bouquet with Iris and dark Tulip and another of yellow Camellia and dark Tulip."

The man blinked for a moment as he stared at the strange request.

"One bouquet for the noble heart of the deceased (Iris and Tulip) and one for the longing for the deceased (Camellia and Tulip). Are you sure?"

"Sure."

The man complied with the young girl's request and arranged the flowers as requested. Naruto looked at the flowers while she waited for her order, her ears twitching as she listened to the elderly deceased Yamanaka woman as she told her the meanings of the flowers as she moved from one set of potted flowers to the next. She did find the arrangement of flowers to be very interesting but the meaning of the flowers did spark her interest and were quickly ingrained into her memory for later use, especially for when she wanted to pay her respects.

It was a little over fifteen minutes until her flowers were done did Naruto place the money on the counter and thank him for all that he had done for her. The man gave her a business smile and said that he was glad to be of service to such a gentle girl who didn't hurt any of his flowers while he was away at the back.

"I'm Yamanaka Inoichi by the way. I get a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"Probably. After all, it's not nice to not visit Kaa-chan. But I think she'll like the flowers. Thank you, Yamanaka-san." Naruto smiled and bowed before leaving with the two small bouquets of neatly arranged flowers.

Inoichi scratched the back of his head as he continued to stare at the Jinchūriki of Konoha as she ran off into the street with a smile on her face. He wondered what could possibly have such a young girl going off to visit the graveyard on such a random day. Wait...Kaa-chan? That was worrying.

When she mentioned her dead mother, it was common knowledge to him as a seasoned shinobi to know that the Jinchūriki didn't have parents or at least didn't know who her parents were.

Inoichi didn't want to think of the possibility of the law being broken because of that information, and since it wasn't his place to intrude on such a sensitive topic of the Jinchūriki without drawing attention to himself and his family, he was going to have to book a time with the Hokage at a later date. The Uchiha were certainly drawing a lot of attention toward themselves with their youngest son being on friendly terms with the girl.


Naruto's next stop to Ichiraku's, with her bouquets in hand she entered the shop with a natural grin on her face and her voice grew louder with familiarity.

"Can I please get some take away ramen." Naruto asked boldly.

Teuchi poked his head out from the kitchen and easily spotted the blonde from over the counter and a smile broke out on his face. Teuchi had been harassed by a lot of the villagers a couple months back, demanding that he ban the orphan unless he wanted a boycott on his shop but he stood firm and he had the most beautiful customer joining him every second day of the week.

"Take away, did ya say? Easy done. What type?"

"Two miso and one beef ramen please."

Naruto wasn't aware of the boycott on Ichiraku Ramen and Teuchi believed it was for the best.

Teuchi stopped his stirring and glanced at the little girl who had comfortably popped herself down on the corner stool. He had been in Konoha a long time, he been making ramen for thiry-eight years; and although, the Nine-Tails Attack was tragic, he always found talking to Naruto refreshing and revitalised his paternal instincts. He even noticed his daughter was responding better to him since he had met her and could only thank their good relationship to Naruto.

He had known her mother; he had also known her father; he also knew that the people that should have been in her life at that very moment but the sad truth was none of them were there with her or there for her. To have family ripped away from you at such a young age and to not even know they were dead was worse than anything. After all her parents were a state secret and everyone was told the story of how she was actually abandoned and sacrificed to contain the Kyuubi; yet the hero of that story, the Yondaime, was the villain of her story. Her own father was her life's villain.

It was then that Teuchi noticed the offerings in her hands and figured that she was going to visit someone but didn't question who.

When Teuchi told her that it would take about twenty minutes to it to be ready she nodded eagerly and told him that it was fine.

When it was all done, three bowls of ramen in a plastic bag put in one hand and two bouquets of flowers in the other. Naruto thanked him happily before struggling to find her wallet.

"Don't worry about it. Today's on the house, okay."

Naruto lifted her head higher to get a better look at Teuchi with a face of awe. Sometimes he wondered what she was thinking that made her give him such a devoted and adorable look. But sooner enough, Naruto told him she had to go, thanked him again for the food and disappeared into the street.

Teuchi laughed a little at the sight of her attempt at running and offered a small wave to his favourite customer. He wished he was able to spare a hand in carry her stuff but he still had a business to run; but he wished her the best nonetheless.

Naruto then made a beeline to the graveyard she had visited countless times in the past with her parents, mainly her father, he had told her many stories of the brave shinobi who died on duty and she was confronted with the sight of the occasional number of lost souls that were still on earth with their regrets and weren't able to pass on.

It was then that she had asked her dad why he was still there with her and not on the other side in peace and he had just smiled and told her that it wasn't right for a parent to leave the side of their child until they were confident that they were going to be okay in life.

Naruto thought they were being a bit dramatic but she didn't complain, she liked having her parents there.

When she reached the graveyard, there was no one there. The green grass that grew around the headstones and the soft wind that pushed her hair around her head always felt welcoming to her. Naruto found it a little odd that she felt at peace among the dead rather than the living. She guessed that it was because of the glaring, whispering and isolation; after all, she was actually pretty popular among the dead.

She found her mum's head stone and laid down the Camellia and Tulip bouquet and pulled out a bowl of ramen and opened it, laying a pair of chopsticks over the top.

Naruto placed the rest of her stuff down next to her as she clapped her hands together and offered her prayer.

"Kaa-chan, I know I see you everyday but it feels different when I'm talking to you like this. It feels better. I don't know what it means but I want to say thank you for looking after me, making sure I eat my vegetables, helping me clean my back when I take a bath, tucking me in at night and being there with me in every morning. I know you won't tell me where Tou-san's grave is but when I do I'll visit him too, dattebayo.

"I got your favourite ramen, so now we can eat like a real family…" Naruto felt the growing lump at the back of her throat as she tried to contain her sob."…I wish you were here with me, Kaa-chan. I know you and Tou-san try really hard to keep me company when I'm on my own but I –hic- I wish you were here. I miss you."

Naruto wiped her eyes and found her mother sitting on the other side of the headstone with a bowl of ramen in her lap and as she offered a watery smile in return.

"How about we eat, Naruto-chan? You're probably hungry." Kushina offered.

"Un." Naruto replied meekly as she pulled out her own bowl of miso ramen, raised it above her head with a bow and said thanks for the meal before she began sharing a silent meal with her mother.

Naruto wiped her tears and put away her empty bowl. She asked her mother where the Shodaime's grave was and she pointed her in the right direction. It was a little further than she thought as the Hokages were buried away from the common area and she found herself in front of an overly large stone with the emblem of fire erected on top of it.

"So this is where the Hokages are buried." Naruto stared.

She placed the bouquet of Iris and Tulip at the base of the large stone, kneeling down she clapped her hands again and offered another prayer.

"Hello again, old man. I visited like I promised." She began. "You probably don't get a lot of visitors now since everyone's gotten old and you're probably really lonely. I can see why you wanted me to see you. If you ever want someone to talk to, I'm always here in Konoha. I get pretty lonely myself. Sasuke's really nice but Kaa-chan says that one day I'll have to make other friends. I think she wants to see more girls around…Oh, I brought one of my favourite meals. I figured that you might want to try it –ttebayo. It's the greatest. I'm sure you'll like it."

Naruto finished her prayer and when she looked up she saw the smiling figure of the First Hokage as he watched as she pulled out the ramen and placed the offering at the base of the stone. It was customary in a graveyard that a spirit wasn't capable of being summoned unless prayed to; it was why the other Hokages, despite sharing the same tomb only one spirit showed up. The other were probably busy off doing their own thing.

Hashirama and Naruto talked like they were old friends and actually end up talking for hours on end. She told him of her dream to enter the Academy to become a ninja and then become Hokage; while he encouraged her to aim high, he also warned her of the paperwork that came with it. Hashirama then told her of his little brother that was probably floating around somewhere and that he figured that they would get along since the he saw Naruto as a miniature him.

Naruto told him that she wished that she had a brother and he retorted that the way that her and Sasuke got along was more like brothers than he had ever seen and Naruto was extremely happy with that declaration. But soon enough, the sun had reached its peak and was already slowly making its way down by the time Naruto felt comfortable with saying her farewells until a later date.

As Naruto made her way out of the graveyard, the clouds began to dull in colour and a uneasy heaviness rested on her shoulders. Naruto picked up her pace in the hopes of returning to the safety of her apartment. She ran through the streets of Konoha as she caught the sight of shops closing early at the sign of a storm but as she got was getting closer, she passed someone that she didn't expect.

The ghost of a man passed straight through her and Naruto stopped in her tracks. Before she knew what had came over her she turned around and called out to him, "Are you okay?"

The dreary ghost turned and the sight of the man shocked her. Dark lines scrawled under where his eyes were, empty soulless sockets met hers and his appearance was hollow, vacant and devastating. He was just like the spirits at the orphanage. The Hollow Ones. He was dressed as a shinobi but definitely not one from Konoha.

"I want to go home! Take me home!"

Naruto then lost consciousness. The last thing she saw was the strange shinobi, arm stretched out, coming straight towards her.


AN: Yay~ Finally finished. With how few chapters there are, I wanted to write a super long chapter for you guys. I'm so glad that I got this chapter finished. Tell me what you guys think. There's probably a few mistakes toward the end since it's late, I'm tired and I just chucked a punch of words onto my computer to finish this chapter as soon as possible.

Don't forget to send in your vote for future partner (since I love that stuff). You'll find the poll on my page.

Thanks so much for the support.