Uzumaki Naruto is four years old when he first meets Leah-nee-chan. He thinks of her as the green lady, because she always wears pretty green dresses that all look like each other, but sometimes he also thinks of her as the bone lady, because there are bones in her hair.

That's really cool, for a four-year-old.

There's a scary mask-ninja in the tree above them, making extra sure that both Naruto and Leah-nee-san can see them. The mask means Naruto doesn't really know what color their hair is or what gen… uh… if they're a boy or a girl or whatever, but they have long purple hair and a cool sword. They aren't doing much except watching, though, so Naruto just waves and offers them a bite of his dango. He's pretty happy when they say they don't want any, because that means even more for him. Dango isn't as good as ramen, but Naruto thinks it's pretty great anyway, especially since he's not paying.

"So, um…" He kicks his feet under his chair, because Leah-nee-san has been really nice so far, but he doesn't really know anything about her, or about why she's doing this. Hokage-jiji had made a face when she introduced herself, but he'd also said that she was safe, even though the mask-ninja would be following them. "What are you doing?"

"Eating dango," She answers, and Naruto makes a face, kind of like Hokage-jiji's from earlier.

"You're making fun of me."

"Just a little," she answers. "But maybe try to ask what you really want to know."

"…why are you doing this?" Naruto's voice turns the question into… even more of a question, really. Not just a question in itself, but also a weirdly high-pitched 'is this the right thing to say?' vibe.

"I was friends with your mother," Leah says, and Naruto thinks he understands what adults mean when they say they feel their heart stop.

"My mom?" He asks in a tiny voice. "You knew my mom?"

"Mm." Leah doesn't anything else right away.

"What was she like?" Naruto demanded, getting to his feet. "What about my dad? Why aren't they here?"

"Loud, I didn't know him, and they're both dead." Leah says, calmly sipping her tea. "Sit down, dear, it's rude to stand on your chair."

Naruto sits down fast, staring at her with wide eyes. (Though he doesn't know it, Leah thinks that they are filled with a desperation no child should know.) "Did you know my mom when I was in her tummy?"

"Not really." Leah plays a little with her dango stick. "We met during one of the worst occasions of her existence, really. She was much happier while she was pregnant with you."

Naruto actually can't think of anything to say after that, and then she turns back to look at him. "She loved you very much, you know. I can't tell you much about her, because then we'd both be in trouble with your Hokage,"

Naruto isn't ashamed of the wounded noise he makes. He isn't.

"But I can tell you that she did love you, and she died to keep you safe, just hours after you were born." Leah pauses again. "I believe you know of the Kyuubi attack, yes?"

Naruto nods. People don't tell him a lot of things, but everyone knows about the Kyuubi.

(He thinks he feels the mask-ninja in the tree moving a bit. Does he not know about the Kyuubi attack? How can he be a ninja and not know? Naruto's only four, and he knows that's not enough to make him one of the big kids yet, and even he knows about the Kyuubi attack.

"The Kyuubi attack occurred on the night you were born," Leah continues, and Naruto gulps. Oh. He already knew that there's something weird about his birthday, but it's not like he's had a lot of them, and he's only four, so connecting dates in his head is kind of hard. "Much like many parents did that night, she died to keep you safe from the fox."

Naruto's eyes widened. "R-really?"

"I saw her after she died. Given how she was positioned, there was only one interpretation." Leah's eyes glance off to the side again, like she's watching something that isn't there, and Naruto holds his breath as her eyes dart back to him, and she smiles. "Trust me, child; your mother loved you enough to die for your sake. I'm sure her soul is watching over you even now."

Naruto's eyes widen and he thinks his face has gone all white and stuff. "Like a g-ghost?"

Naruto is very afraid of ghosts, and it's probably not super ninja-like to admit it, but… they're dead. And there's no way to fight them.

"Well, yes." Leah tilts her head. "Something like that."

Naruto makes a low whining noise and looks around. He really hopes there isn't a ghost here.

"Are you scared of ghosts, Naruto?"

(Leah hasn't used an honorific with Naruto's name even once. It's nothing new for him, but while most people do it because they want to be rude and make him uncomfah—unconfor—not comfy, Leah just acts like honorifics don't matter. He's only known her for an hour or two, but the only people she's used honorifics with are complete strangers and the Hokage.)

(And even for the Hokage, she used 'dono' instead of 'sama.' Hokage-jiji had made a funny face when she did that, like he kind of wanted to go to the bathroom but had to hold it in.)

"Yeah." He shifts in his chair, biting his lip. "Sometimes the older kids at the orphanage tell scary stories."

"Mm. Can you tell me why you think they're scary?" Leah asks, and she brings a hand up to run a finger along the bones in her hair. "I'm rather fond of the dead, you see."

"Fond?"

"I don't necessarily love them, but I have good feelings for them." Leah says, all patient and stuff.

"Oh." Naruto looks down at his empty dango plate and kicks his legs back and forth. Only Hokage-jiji explains stuff like that most of the time, but he keeps using big words that Naruto doesn't know. "So like… you want to be friends with them?"

"Not quite, but close enough. I certainly prefer them to the living." Leah explains before Naruto can even ask. "I like the dead more than I like the living."

Naruto blinks. "So you kill people?"

"Hardly. I don't enjoy making people dead, simply knowing that they are. I don't arrange for people's deaths, or cause them directly." Leah makes a face. "I suppose I would make an exception if someone attempted to raise the dead, but that is… very rare in most cases."

"Like zombies?"

"Essentially, yes." Leah's using big words again, but Naruto can understand most of what she's saying. "Now, back to the ghosts."

Naruto shakes his head. "No, back to the zombies!"

"Ah, but how will you get past your fear if you don't confront it somehow? Even talking about it will help." Leah smiles and Naruto starts totally freaking out inside.

He really, really doesn't like ghosts.

o.o.o.o.o

A/N: Kushina was 900% watching them and basically begging Leah to "help a girl out, would ya?

The ANBU was a baby ANBU: Uzuki Yuugao. The anime indicates that she joined ANBU six years before Itachi became a captain, which means she was eleven, which... well, it's neither here nor there. She's a smol ANBU that got stuck with "weird-lady-watching" duty.

Leah calling Hiruzen "Hokage-dono" is actually still overkill. It's like God coming down and saying "Mr. President" instead of just "Barack." For those who are confused, -dono is traditionally the honorific when you are addressing someone of very high status when you are of a similar status; the usage has somewhat changed in recent times. Feel free to check the wikipedia page on Japanese honorifics.

Next time: Leah and Loki talk designs and talk shit.