Chapter 2:

The Third Hokage dropped a stack of scrolls and books onto the desk containing clan records, individual reports, and he even looked into old legends if necessary. He picked up the report he was searching for and opened it. Inside was the information about Naruto's father: Minato Namikaze—his missions, his lineage, and family.

As far as he knew, Minato was a civilian who had to leave his birth village when his parents betrayed the village and moved to Konoha when he was just a baby. His parents had died when he was seven years old. Hiruzen had known them; they were good people and had no power to change shape or lift things like his granddaughter had done.

He reviewed Minato's report two more times before realizing he wouldn't find answers there. He then checked the file on Naruto's mother: Kushina Uzumaki. He still remembered her, of course. How could one forget such an energetic girl? He often received reports from the academy about Kushina Uzumaki hitting this boy and that boy. She had also been the previous host of the Nine-Tails.

Her clan—the Uzumaki clan—had many unknowns as it was... massacred by two enemy villages during the Second Great War. They were known for their seals, longevity, and endurance with great regeneration. But apart from their Chakra chains, there was no known power that could do what Naruto had done. Furthermore, sometimes Hiruzen felt that Naruto knew what she was going to do before she even did it. She slept a lot, as if the air and energy of the world weren't enough for her. At first, he thought it was due to the malnutrition she had suffered, but no, Naruto simply got tired quickly and needed many naps to replenish her energy. She had slept for three days straight after the incident at the orphanage.

Now, with this glimpse into the past, let's return to the present.

Naruto wakes up at five in the morning every weekday to the sound of a whistle. The lights come on, and she rubs her eyes at the brightness. Her room in the ANBU base isn't very furnished. There's a white bed, which seems too big for her, a window facing a black wooden desk that Naruto rarely uses, and that's about it.

Naruto stretches like a little kitten before throwing off the blankets and hopping out of bed to head to the bathroom. Her bare feet make no noise on the cold metal floor. She's used to living here—well, at least her three-year-old self is.

Being self-sufficient, she drags a chair over to reach the sink. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she changes out of her pajamas into her usual white shirt and shorts.

Leaving her room, Naruto walks down the corridor. Even though it's illuminated, the hallway still feels dark to her. She eventually reaches the dining area and then the kitchen. Dragging another chair, she uses it to stand on and wash an apple. When she picks up a sharp knife, she hears a gasp and herself lets out a little sound of surprise as the knife is taken from her hand.

It's the same ANBU who had brought her to the base with her grandfather a couple of months ago during the winter. Naruto signs with her hands, asking, "Mouse... What's going on?"

The ANBU looks at the knife and then at the three-year-old girl, his brows furrowing. He glances around; no one seems to be paying much attention. As if it's normal for such a young child to handle such a sharp knife on her own, Mouse extends his hand, and Naruto blinks, not understanding what the new ANBU wants. She awkwardly signs, "Give me... give me... give me the apple."

Mouse's hand reaches out, and Naruto has to sign it two more times before he finally seems to get it. She nods, confused, as her routine is momentarily disrupted.

Mouse expertly peels the apple before slicing it into pieces and placing them on a plate. Naruto gives a nod and clumsily eats the apple slices. It seems she's not used to someone doing something as simple as this for her. Maybe... maybe she doesn't feel as alone as she thought? Even the warmest and kindest people can feel lonely, right?

"Do you want some?" The girl jumps when the ANBU speaks aloud. Her pupils contract, and she's startled, like a cat coming out of hiding. "Do you want to come with me? I'm going to..." Mouse pauses, thinking about a suitable place to take Naruto.

But Naruto thinks that maybe this ANBU wants to... take her to train. She's seen the other ANBU training before. She signs, capturing the ANBU's attention. "Are we going to train?"

Mouse blinks, and Naruto has to repeat it two more times before he finally seems to get it. "Oh," he makes a sound that startles Naruto, "I didn't plan to take you for training. You're too little for that." Naruto shrinks back a bit when Mouse pats her head.

What's wrong with this ANBU? Naruto wonders. He doesn't act like the others. Sure, he seems... apathetic to the world, but he also acts like those people she watches from a distance—people who are always kind and caring. Caring like what Naruto doesn't need, but baby Konohamaru needs it more.

"I can't leave the base," Naruto signs, repeating it over and over, knowing the ANBU won't get it the first time.

"Oh... then why were you outside that day?" Naruto turns her head slightly and raises her hand.

"I escaped," Naruto signs, and Mouse blinks at that, then lets out a chuckle that surprises Naruto... he's laughing.

"You escaped? You admit to your misdeeds so easily. But you shouldn't go out on your own. There are bad people, you know," the ANBU says and taps Naruto's nose with his finger. She frowns and pushes his hand away.

"I know," she signs with her small hands not hesitating to reply.

"Alright then... I know where I'll take you," Mouse stretches his arms toward Naruto. She doesn't understand what he wants until he's picking her up completely.

She feels strangely warm... but maybe she should get used to this ANBU who doesn't seem like an ANBU. She rests her chin on his shoulder as best as she can.

They leave the ANBU base without much trouble. Normally when Naruto is taken outside, it's to see the Hokage. So, when ANBU Mouse takes her away, they assume it's for that purpose.

Mouse avoids walking directly through the village for now. And eventually, they arrive at one of the training fields that academy students are allowed to use. Naruto is confused. The ANBU said they weren't going to train, so why are they here?

But instead of stopping at that location, the ANBU continued on, moving away from the training field. When Naruto turned her head, her eyes widened. It was a beautiful field of flowers in various colors, mostly yellow and red. The ANBU set Naruto down on the ground on her bare feet, which touched the grass. Naruto looked at the flowers, completely still. It was a scene she had never witnessed in her short life. Those vibrant colors made her feel strange.

The ANBU looked at her with soft eyes. He hadn't thought she could shine even brighter, but now he realized that her radiance had been muted, and right now was when she shone the most.

"Flowers..." Naruto said aloud, pointing. "Flowers!" she exclaimed louder. Her voice was still husky, but she gave a smile to the ANBU, showing her enthusiasm for something so small. Well, she was only three years old; that was normal.

For the first time as she sat looking at the flowers, she didn't feel alone. She turned her head, and the ANBU sat down with her, gazing at the sky from behind his mask.

But then Naruto's eyes locked onto a flower that seemed to stand out from the rest of the yellow and red. It was like the yellow and red had mixed to paint it... orange. She leaped to her feet and walked among the flowers until she reached the beautiful orange one, gently caressing its petals. There was something about that specific flower that captivated Naruto.

"Do you like the color? Is it your favorite?" Naruto blinked at the ANBU's words.

"Favorite?" she pronounced aloud, stumbling over the word.

"Yes, the color you like the most," the ANBU explained, hoping Naruto would understand. He watched as she looked at the flower again, trying to determine if that was why it looked so beautiful to her. It was bright, and the color made her feel... pleasant inside. "Yes!" Naruto exclaimed in a squeal. "I like orange!" she said as if "Orange" were a name. "Favorite!" she added, waving her arms and clapping.

She looked so different from the seemingly self-sufficient girl whose brightness had dimmed due to the limited light in the ANBU base.

Naruto moved to pluck one of the yellow flowers. She did it, and the flower came out with its roots. Mouse thought maybe Naruto wanted to take it to the ANBU base. But then she frowned upon seeing the flower in her hand, looking at it intensely. "Yellow," Naruto said, "no... pretty." She turned her head, looking over the small flower, gazing at the empty spot it had left. She thought about taking the orange flower too, since it was... her favorite. But instead, Naruto patted the soil as if wishing a new flower would grow from there.

"It won't grow like that, Naruto," the ANBU said. Naruto furrowed her brow and looked at her favorite flower, still standing proudly in the ground. "It takes time. They grow during this season."

"Water," Naruto signed, speaking in gestures. "They need water."

Naruto repeated herself, and Mouse thought she was kind for doing so, trying to ensure he understood.

"Yes, they need water and nutrients from the soil to grow, just like we need food to live," Mouse explained, and Naruto nodded vigorously.

She struggled to find the right words; her vocabulary was limited, and stringing words together was difficult for her. "Silly," Naruto suddenly said, "not... fast... silly."

Mouse tried to understand. "Ah, you mean you don't like that they don't grow quickly. Well, that's the cycle. It's slow, sometimes boring... sometimes painful," Mouse furrowed his brow under his mask before perking up, "Well, we have to get back to the base."

Naruto nodded, hesitated a bit, and then extended the small yellow flower she had plucked. "Here," she simply said, repeating it, "here, here, here." She was probably saying "For you." Naruto gave a smile.

"Thank you," the ANBU said as he gently took the flower in his hand. He thought that such a bright girl shouldn't be in such a dark place with ANBU. Why had the Hokage left this little girl there? Even if the village mistreated Naruto, the Hokage could have taken care of it, right? Why hide her away?

When the ANBU lifted Naruto, he looked at the empty spot left by the flower he now held in his hand. Naruto rested her chin on his shoulder again and breathed peacefully, as if she were about to fall asleep. "Flowers... orange," she mumbled, and Mouse patted her. He didn't understand why... Ah.

Before his eyes, the red and yellow flowers changed color to a bright orange. He tensed... What had just happened?

"Orange," Naruto murmured in a dreamy tone... Had she done that?

...

-Hokage-sama," Mouse stood before his Hokage. Under his mask, he had a serious expression. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk and sighed. "You've seen it, haven't you?" Mouse had suspected as much; his leader already knew about this strange ability. "What did she do? Shatter glass? Freeze things?"

"What? No, no," Mouse quickly shook his head, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean by that?"

"When Naruto has a tantrum... the glass tends to shatter, the air cools, and... it's dangerous."

"Naruto was very happy. I took her to the training field... you know, the one with the flower field next to it." The Third Hokage nodded. "She liked the color orange." Mouse chuckled. "It's her favorite. Anyway, we were about to head back when I carried her. She was falling asleep and murmured 'Orange,' and the flowers turned that color."

The Third Hokage let out a sigh, lowering his head. "I thought it only happened when she was angry. Does it affect her when she's happy too? Listen, Mouse, I don't think I need to remind you, but I will anyway. This power Naruto has shown has been present for a long time, and it's a secret shared only between the ANBU and me. No one else should find out, not even the council. They believe I'm protecting the civilians and Naruto herself from the hatred towards the Nine-Tails that reflects onto her. So, I have to ask you to please take care of her... from others and from herself."

"I didn't know why you sent her to such a dark place as ANBU, but... even now, I don't understand. Even if she's dangerous, she didn't deserve to be plunged into darkness at such a young age. But... I won't judge. I'll just say that someday Naruto will want to see the light, because she's also a part of it."

"And... what would you do if I denied her the chance to see the light?" Hiruzen furrowed his brow, taking his pipe out of his mouth. The ANBU looked empty. "I don't know..."

...

Hearing giggles in the Hokage's office had become common for Mouse. Whenever he had to keep watch, the little girl was there, sitting on the couch eating cookies or fluttering around. By now, he was used to finding her at the top of a tree.

When music echoed through the streets, Naruto would jump up to see. The Hokage let out a amused laugh. "I want to go," she said. She was now four years old and still the same cheerful girl Mouse had met, with those bright eyes.

"Hmm, but I'm busy, Naruto-chan." Naruto pouted and hopped to her feet, approaching the Hokage.

"Please, please, please," she exclaimed loudly. The Hokage looked toward where Mouse was before his smile widened. Naruto had learned to beg out loud but still used sign language at the same time.

"Mouse, what do you say? Can you take this little one there and bring her back?" Naruto spun around so quickly that Mouse thought she might have hurt her neck. Her eyes seemed to sparkle like stars as she looked at him.

He stepped in front of the Hokage and nodded. Naruto gave a little jump and clapped before running toward the ANBU. The ANBU said his goodbyes and left the office with Naruto walking beside him. Her arms were spread out on each side, as if she were on a tightrope. The atmosphere felt warm and light, with a refreshing breeze. Mouse wondered if Naruto was the one creating such an atmosphere with her joy about going to the spring festival.

When they were on the street, the ANBU pulled up Naruto's hood, covering her hair, before she ran ahead. The village was decorated again, adorned with beautiful floral decorations, and music filled the streets. Even though people stared at him, it was quite normal for them to do so; it wasn't common to see an ANBU walking around.

He sighed before a catchy tune started playing in his mind. He looked at the little girl, who was amazed by the different shops. Mouse started to hum, not realizing that Naruto was listening.

When Naruto suddenly stopped, he did too, turning around to look at her. "What's that song?" she asked, her smile still on her face.

"It's a song..." It was the song he had heard since he was a child, from what his father had told him. His mother had written it for him when he was born, and... this was the song he had privately sung in front of his grave. "It's not really good, not worth mentioning."

He dismissed it, only to receive a raised eyebrow and a confused expression. "What are you talking about?" Her smile grew stronger, and her blue eyes seemed to shift from light blue to a darker, warmer shade of blue. "It's beautiful. Maybe you mean it's not a big deal, but the way you hum it... it's as if someone sang it to you with so much love." She finished, then moved away, seeming to spot something that caught her attention. Mouse was left frozen. He pressed his lips together, his mind deciding whether to laugh or cry. The words echoed in his mind. He sighed, and his fists unclenched along with his gaze. A soft smile had formed on his face...

There were days when simply strolling with Naruto calmed and delighted Mouse. It made him feel like a small child again. "Can you sing me that song?" the ANBU blinked, looking at Naruto's face. But all he saw was cream on her upper lip—she had lifted her mask slightly and smudged her chin with vanilla ice cream. He simply enjoyed seeing her laugh. No, he loved seeing her laugh. She was light, his light.

"I can't sing you that song, but someday I'll sing you a better one." Naruto's cheeks were rosy from all the laughter. He had managed to change, even if just a bit, the shadow that ANBU had cast over Naruto...

Thanks for read!