Years passed living in that apartment. The routine was always the same. In the morning, they went to the academy and avoided being punished while learning as much as possible. In the afternoon, Seina answered Naruto's questions, and they both did their homework for the next day before having a snack and lazing around for a while. Then, they practiced the jutsus taught at the academy or reviewed the material for an hour and a half and then another hour and a half of taijutsu following the instructions of the dojo they attended a couple of times a month when they could afford it. Every night, before bed, Seina and Naruto meditated for half an hour. Gradually, Naruto was able to meditate without complaining, but he still couldn't enter his mind.
On weekends in the mornings, they both took inventory of the food they needed, and Seina went to buy it under a charm so they wouldn't be cheated. Since several people had thought of cheating her, she didn't feel bad about cheating them with some counterfeit bills that disappeared in a few days. Over time, their savings, kept in a small wooden chest protected with runes, blood magic, and enchantments, began to bear fruit. In less than 2 years, she had gathered almost 40,000 ryo in real money.
Individually, Naruto had spent part of his personal savings on ramen, various clothing items with toads, and gifts for her. He even had a purse, which she enchanted, that he called Gama-chan. Seina, on the other hand, had hardly touched the money they had agreed upon as individual allowance, so she had another 30,000 ryo set aside that they could use if needed. After all, she only spent her personal allowance on gifts for Naruto and the occasional indulgence for herself, like better bath products or an occasional outfit for her free time.
When Naruto turned 7, she began teaching him runes. Knowing how her brother worked, she gave him a rune puzzle she had transformed from a few stones she found in the park. She created a game of memory and speed with several rules so they could play in their free time, and Naruto would learn without realizing it. In less than 3 months, Naruto became an expert at identifying runes and which runes went together in certain "game" situations.
Since Seina had demanded years ago that her brother do his homework with a brush, as Japanese calligraphy was traditionally written, she knew he could write the runes without any problems. Plus, if she saw that the lines weren't quite polished, she would be there to correct him. The only thing missing for Naruto to start writing runic sequences was to explain what they were for and what patterns to use to write them, so for Christmas, she made another game for her brother, but this time with wooden tiles with different geometric designs drawn on them.
As soon as Naruto learned to recognize and identify what each one was for, thinking it was another game, she sat him down at the table to talk to him about what they were.
"Naruto, do you remember the rune game?" she asked, taking out the game and placing each "tile" on the table. Her brother nodded. "I just wanted to tell you it's not a game."
"Eh!? What do you mean, nee-chan?"
"Do you remember fuinjutsu?" Her brother nodded enthusiastically. "Runes are similar. It's like learning another language: fuinjutsu is Japanese, and runes are another language. Both are used for communication, but their basis is different. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded and frowned. "So... are runes used like fuinjutsu?"
"Exactly. With these two games, I've taught you the basics without you realizing it. Now that you've memorized that information, I can explain how to use them."
"Did you learn this in the library too!? Sugoi!" Naruto exclaimed. "I've never seen these before."
"Uh... no, Naruto. I didn't learn it in the library," she avoided shrinking when she realized the time of truth had come.
Her brother furrowed his brow. "Does this have to do with your... special powers?"
Seina was surprised to hear him, but she nodded. "Yes, it does."
"I see... How can I use them if I don't have this power?"
"You don't have the same amount of power as me, but our connection, being twins, has allowed you to receive a minimum. For certain things, like runes, I would say that the little power you have might be enough to make them work."
"And how do you know all this?" Naruto asked, strangely serious.
"...What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone, okay?" she sighed, wondering if she should be telling a child barely over 7 years old the truth. "When I was born, I remembered my previous life. Somehow, my powers from that life transferred to this one, and through our bond, to you as well."
There was silence as her 7-year-old brother tried to take in what she was telling him. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and then Naruto shrugged and smiled.
"Still, you're my sister, just with superpowers."
Seina hugged Naruto, feeling as if a weight she didn't even know she carried had been lifted off her shoulders. Naruto hugged her back tightly, sensing her emotions through their bond, which was almost always open but whose voices were somewhat... muted. She knew nothing had changed. Sitting back in her seat, she smiled at her brother, clearing her throat.
"I'd like to teach you runes and other things, but we'll take it step by step."
Seina went on to explain the basics of each rune, even though her brother had already memorized the condensed explanation of each one and the geometric patterns. She listed examples of how they could be used, their purposes, and what could go wrong if he rushed through without supervision. She also handed him a diary with blank pages that she had enchanted to be infinite and protected with runes to prevent damage.
"I've written down all the theory I'm explaining to you here, as well as some pre-made examples of runic sequences."
"Wow!" Naruto whispered in amazement as he tried to reach the diary's last page and found it impossible.
"You can take all your notes and write-ups in the same notebook. You'll never run out of pages, and it won't tear or lose pages, unless you choose to remove them yourself. Moreover, nobody will see what's written inside unless they're direct blood relatives," she explained, smiling at her brother's excitement-induced tears. "Anyone who opens it and reads it will think it's a child's personal diary. I have another one where I jot down my ideas and information I remember from my other self."
"Incredible! Magic is amazing!"
"It is. With my help, you'll not only be able to use runes, which is like practicing wandless magic, but you'll also be able to brew many potions that don't require magic and use arithmancy as a divinatory method."
Naruto seemed stunned by the realization of all he could do once he learned everything she knew. She was grateful for her own interest in studying for pleasure over her 120 years, otherwise, she was sure they would both have died or lived very different lives. At the very least, Naruto would have suffered malnutrition and been the worst in the academy due to constant sabotage attempts.
"You've used your magic before, right?" Naruto asked, his thoughts heading in the same direction. "That's why most people treat us with indifference instead of violence, why you go shopping alone, and why we've never experienced any robbery attempts."
"That's right. Not only that, this apartment is protected, and nobody can hear what we're really saying when we're inside. That's why I always tell you to wait until we get home... Remember the wooden chest I bought? That's where I keep all our money, and nobody can take it. I don't trust that they won't try to take it from our bank account if we leave it there. I also clean the apartment with spells, as well as our clothes, and make our clothes last longer than they should to save money."
"And the kunais you found?" Naruto asked. "Did you really find them?"
Seina smiled. "I bought the first kunais so nobody would suspect where they came from, then I transformed several rocks into different weapons and used runes to prevent them from turning back into rocks, however unlikely that might be. I did the same with clothes. Nobody knows exactly what I buy in the different stores, so I can transform clothing from rocks or wooden sticks. That's how I've saved so much money these past two years."
"Incredible! That means we have unlimited weapons and clothes! Yatta!"
They talked for several hours. She explained how she had enchanted the shower so that water always came out at the desired temperature as soon as the tap was touched, as the landlord had disconnected the water heater months ago. She used her powers to make some foods last longer and produce less waste. She also explained how she could study so much, thanks to duplicate scrolls she had in her possession without anyone noticing, even if they were sometimes kicked out of the library early... The only thing she didn't tell him was how she had used Yumi, the youngest matron at the orphanage, to benefit them.
The truth was that her previous life had taught her many things. One shouldn't distrust everyone, but one shouldn't be overly trusting either. She knew people were motivated by various things: money, their loved ones, and fear. That's why she had been using her spells to spy on people and steal their secrets. If she ever needed to blackmail someone, the Blacks had taught her how. It was only thanks to her constant spying that she had avoided more than one violent altercation and managed to escape the abuse from the village's adult civilians. It had also helped her realize that there were certain teachers at the academy who wanted to ruin their shinobi careers. Not to mention her knowledge of how they could get away with it without accusing them of cheating or copying.
On the other hand, if there was one thing she had learned living with the Dursleys, it was how to go unnoticed, ration the little food the Weasleys sent her, and prepare to live comfortably on the streets if necessary. Not to mention what she had learned during her time at Hogwarts: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. She thanked Hermione for teaching her that studying wasn't punishment, as it was at her aunt's house, but a gift, as she remembered all the knowledge she had amassed in her 120 years of life.
The fact that Naruto wasn't the worst in his class but the fourth, had more than enough clothes, ate a balanced diet, and wasn't treated violently when they walked down the street was all thanks to her, and she didn't say that arrogantly. She knew that if she stopped using her powers, things would be very different. However, she also saw his graduation approaching, slowly but inexorably. There would come a day when Naruto wouldn't have her constantly by his side, and she worried about how he would survive if she didn't help him become self-sufficient now.
That's why she was willing to teach him runes, even knowing that it would raise many questions for Naruto and that she might have to tell him the truth, as had happened, putting herself in danger. Still, she had at least three years to teach him runes, potions, and, if possible, arithmancy, to a 7-year-old. She relaxed, thinking she had time and that Naruto wasn't stupid.
One day, since Naruto already knew about her abilities, she thought about buying a ninja tent to modify it. She could turn its interior into a city, if she wanted, but she wondered if it was practical considering that ninja only slept in tents under special circumstances. Still, she needed some kind of trunk or suitcase where she could neatly store all the scrolls she was copying and keeping in a mountain in the enlarged chest of money.
In the end, she gave up. They didn't have so many things to store secretly, and the last thing she wanted was for someone to discover a chest capable of containing an entire city. She postponed that idea until Naruto and she were at least genin, but she began to modify the typical ninja hip pouches and lower back packs with spells and runes. Usually, ninjas were limited regarding what items they could carry on a mission and have at hand, and not inside a scroll. If she modified the pouches, she could contain all sorts of weaponry within reach in the hip pouch, and any other items, like clothing or medicine, in the back pack.
The weight wouldn't matter. They couldn't be stolen, and nothing would break while inside the pouch. She knew it would be an essential piece of a ninja's equipment.
"Are you okay, Seina-san?" asked a serious voice, and she snapped out of her reverie.
She looked at Shino, to her right, and nodded. The truth was, she found classes boring. Being an adult in a child's body, as much as some of the things she was learning were entirely new, felt like cheating. Not only was she the top kunoichi in her class regarding theoretical exams, but also in taijutsu. After all, for her, memorizing and internalizing the curriculum with the help of occlumency and the library she had at home, which she could consult whenever she wanted, was like a walk in the park. Taijutsu, on the other hand, was something new, but with her adult mind, she could get distracted much less than the other kids. If she added to that the fact that she knew many combat strategies, thanks to her past as an auror, and that she could predict the unimaginative attacks of the children she attended class with... The academy was ridiculously easy.
The only thing that motivated her to keep going was Naruto, learning new techniques, as they were called in this world, and physical combat and weapons training. While it was true that she was skilled with a sword because the Gryffindor sword kept appearing to her when she was alive, she didn't know how to combine ninja acrobatic taijutsu with wielding a weapon at the same time. So, those classes interested her quite a bit.
"I thought we were going to learn something more interesting," Naruto complained once when they explained what they were going to teach them.
"Naruto, can't you see the potential these jutsus have?" she said, vibrating with excitement. "With henge, we can transform into anything. While it's true that many people can see through a henge or notice the differences if someone transforms into another person... can you imagine transforming into an object? You could turn into bandages and use the replacement jutsu to get into your enemies' pouches! Can you imagine what it would mean if that enemy enters their territory without realizing they're carrying their enemy with them and introducing them into their protected territory?"
Naruto's eyes began to widen with a manic gleam as he realized she was right. As soon as she listed the many uses of the 6 techniques they were going to teach him, she knew she had him. That's how Naruto, without even having to be urged to practice, spent hours practicing the E-type jutsus from the academy and then used them so that nobody caught him while he got back at the villagers with pranks and other childish antics. Seina only asked him not to get caught, not to let anyone know it was him, and not to hurt anyone. Everything else, he could get away with.
Her brother's best qualities were his perseverance and his creativity. Despite not being good at hitting the books, she knew that once he had a teacher for his team, he would improve incredibly. After all, Naruto liked to learn by doing. The same had happened to her, not because she struggled to study and retain information, but because the Dursleys had conditioned her when it came to studying. Hermione had needed almost 5 years to break those habits, and by then, she couldn't study runes or arithmancy at school because it had been years since optional classes had started. So, she had to study them on her own in the following years.
"This suck!" Naruto shouted when practicing clone creation.
"Mmm... What do you do before releasing the technique?"
She could create them, but she needed total control over her chakra because otherwise, they exploded.
"I add as much chakra as possible," Naruto sighed, and she shook her head.
"That's the problem. They're not meant for that much chakra. It's a technique for academy kids."
"Eh!? Are you saying I'm adding too much chakra?"
"Exactly. Try using the minimum chakra for the clone."
Naruto frowned and tried, his forehead beaded with sweat, but nothing. The clone had improved in appearance, but still looked like a zombie.
"I think you'll have to do chakra control exercises. I read it somewhere... Aha! Look at this," she showed him the scroll with the instructions and several examples. "Normally, academy students don't need to do them for these techniques, but you and I must have too much chakra for certain jutsus."
"How come you can perform a clone?" Naruto muttered, looking at the diagrams with an inferiority complex.
"Remember the occlumency I told you about?" she said, getting to the heart of the matter. "That's why. I can measure the chakra flow a jutsu requires, so I never use more or less chakra than necessary. Look at this."
She took a calligraphy pen and stuck it to her forehead with chakra, just as the scroll indicated. For her, whose occlumency barriers acted like a tap she could turn on and off at will, something she had taken years to learn to hide her magic and blend in on her missions as an auror, regulating the chakra she used was as easy as breathing. She hadn't imagined Naruto would have problems with some jutsus due to an excess of chakra.
She helped her brother start the chakra exercises and ordered him to practice every possible hour of the day. In the academy during theoretical classes, while eating, and during free time. In less than 3 weeks, Seina saw a clear improvement. Naruto went from getting angry because he couldn't keep a single leaf on his forehead to continuously keeping one and then two leaves. Over time, the clone looked less like a mannequin created by a blind 5-year-old and more like Naruto himself.
"Naruto is improving a lot," her classmates had said when it was time to demonstrate their skills.
"He was putting too much chakra into the technique," she commented in response to Chouji's remark.
"Hence the leaf on his forearm, I suppose," yawned Shikamaru, and she smiled. "At this rate, he might even graduate early."
She didn't say anything. She could have graduated a long time ago, but she didn't want to leave Naruto alone, and even though Naruto could keep up with her, she didn't want to put herself in danger prematurely. Until their graduation, they would receive a monthly stipend, so they didn't have to worry about working to live. Moreover, they were protected within the village and could learn peacefully thanks to all the free time they had. Why rush their graduation when they didn't have to take the exam until they were 11 years old? The only thing they would gain would be prestige, and even then, attracting the attention of certain people didn't interest her as it was potentially dangerous. No. It didn't make sense to stray from the path.
She saw Shikamaru glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, and she winked, losing her serious expression. Shikamaru cleared his throat with a slight blush, and Seina smiled even wider, if that was possible. Kids, some of them were adorable. She wondered which one of them would be part of her genin team and thought that as long as they didn't pair her with some hysterical Sasuke fangirl, she didn't care. Her head wouldn't withstand such constant screaming.
"Attention, kids! Today we're going to examine your taijutsu. I hope you've practiced in your spare time."
Suddenly, everyone started talking and cheering as they realized they would lose a few hours of class. Seina avoided rolling her eyes at the childish behavior of the other kids and stood up. In the years she had been in the academy, she hadn't lost a single fight, and she wasn't going to let 7 or 8-year-old kids beat her. To her surprise, the first match turned out to be Sasuke versus Naruto. She hadn't seen them fight before, but judging by Sasuke's cold glare, it didn't seem like either of them wanted to lose to the other.
The match lasted for 10 minutes, during which neither seemed willing to give up. Sasuke was more flexible and faster than Naruto, but her brother had more stamina and strength. She watched as Sasuke changed tactics as soon as he realized the same in the first few minutes and started attacking Naruto with feints and distractions, which, to his annoyance, didn't work. If there was one thing she had taught her brother during their multiple practice fights, it was how to fight against someone who used dirty tricks.
"Stop! The match ends at 10 minutes with a tie!" said Iruka-sensei and noted the result in his notebook.
Sasuke refused to shake Naruto's hand. He left with his hands in his pockets and a resentful look on his face. The other kids talked about the match, and some complained that Naruto had cheated. Fortunately, Iruka silenced them with a glance and a few words of reproach.
"Trying to belittle a classmate's achievements is not a good quality for a ninja," Seina mentally noted the 3 idiots who had insulted her brother, among whom was Sakura, and thought they would regret opening their mouths. She watched the other matches with total attention, and soon it was her turn.
"Seina Uzumaki versus Ino Yamanaka."
She entered the circle and saw Ino tightening her ponytail with a somewhat nervous expression. Both took their positions, and when Iruka started the match, Seina waited for Ino to launch herself at her. She tried to intimidate her by throwing a volley of punches and kicks, but Seina simply deflected them, using Ino's force against her. Within a few minutes, Ino grew tired as she hadn't landed a single blow, had used up a lot of her strength, and had also received several punches to the ribs when Seina redirected her arms and exposed her torso.
When she saw Ino panting, trying to catch her breath, Seina stepped forward and started throwing her own volley of kicks, punches, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and more. Ino could only go on the defensive, trying not to get knocked out, but she was tired, and Seina took only a minute to bring her down. She won the match in less than 5 minutes.
"The winner of this match: Seina Uzumaki."
She reached out her hand to Ino and helped her up. Her opponent seemed relieved that she didn't mock her and leave her on the ground, perhaps because some kids did just that. What could a 127-year-old gain from humiliating a young child? What was strange was that, after that fight, Ino approached her.
"How do you last so long in a fight? You didn't seem tired at all!" she asked at lunchtime.
"For starters, I don't diet," Seina replied calmly, and the kids around her laughed at her words. "I don't even know why you're dieting if you don't need to. Secondly, I saved my strength and redirected yours, using the gaps in your defense to hit you. Finally, I didn't let you recover, choosing that moment for my counterattack and putting you on the defensive."
"Do you think I should diet?" Ino asked, and Kiba laughed beside her. She elbowed him, silencing him instantly.
"Ino, you have a slender build," she began, exasperated. "Moreover, you're training to be a ninja. Your metabolism is much higher than many people's, which means you need to eat more than an adult civilian. If, on top of that, instead of eating more, you eat less than you need... Do you understand why you get tired so quickly? You have no reserves!"
She watched as Ino sighed, contemplating her words. Since she hadn't said it in a mean way and had given her logical reasons, Ino didn't seem upset by her scolding. With a downcast look, she sat with Naruto and her, who almost always ate together with Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. With a sigh, Seina offered her bento box and a pair of spare chopsticks.
"Eat."
Ino accepted the offering and thanked her almost timidly. She ate the food she had prepared for Naruto and her: rice with sauce, seasoned chicken, a salad with carrots, tuna, and cucumber, and fruits that she had peeled and cut into a fruit salad. They usually ate the same thing, but varied the first course. It had taken her some time to learn to cook Japanese dishes, but fortunately, she knew how to cook and could follow a recipe.
"Where's Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked, and everyone shrugged.
"The last time I saw him, he was leaving the academy heading towards the nearest park," Ino sighed. "I saw Sakura following him."
"And you're not there!?" Kiba asked astonished, and Seina gave him a light slap on the head. "Hey!"
"Don't you know what tact is?" she asked rhetorically.
"Kiba is incapable of not putting his foot in his mouth at least once a day," Shino commented, examining the bugs on the nearest tree with a serious voice.
"HEY! What have I done to you guys?" Kiba protested.
"The truth is, I didn't feel like fighting with Sakura again today," Ino confessed, ignoring Kiba.
"You know that with your behavior, all you're doing is pushing Sasuke further away, right?" Seina stated.
Ino shrunk, looking at the ground. It seemed like she had lost her usual impulsive character after her defeat in the ring.
"Is that why you're ignoring him, Seina?" Kiba asked, chewing with his mouth open. "To make him like you?"
"Ew, Kiba, close your mouth!" Ino ordered, making a disgusted face.
Seina rolled her eyes and avoided crying out of frustration. How could she like a 7-year-old boy like Sasuke? Shikamaru chuckled while Naruto yelled at Kiba that his sister could never like a bastard like Sasuke.
"Seina doesn't like Sasuke, Kiba," Shikamaru informed with a yawn. "In fact, she's indifferent to him."
To her astonishment, the others, even Ino, nodded. She didn't think everyone would agree, but apparently, even kids almost 8 years old could feel her emotional state.
"I think he's been through a lot. I don't deny that," she said. "But right now, Sasuke doesn't have any qualities that appeal to me in that way."
"What do you mean?" Ino asked, confused.
"Basically, he's asking you what you see in that bastard," Naruto cut in, eating dessert.
"Not to offend, but basically, yes," she laughed. "Sasuke is intelligent, yes, but he's also cold and looks down on practically all of us. He's antisocial and distrustful, and he craves power. Those are not qualities I look for in a boyfriend."
"And what do you look for in a boyfriend?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in her direction, stopping his cloud watching.
Seina couldn't believe the conversation they were having right now. She wondered if she should give a troll response or tell the truth, but looking at Ino, perhaps if she understood why Seina thought some qualities were better than others, she would give up her futile interest in Sasuke.
"I'm looking for someone who is intelligent, reliable, and respectful," she thought aloud. "Someone I can talk to about anything and who truly listens to me. Someone who is a good person."
There was silence as everyone finished eating and pondered her words. Ino, in particular, seemed to be deep in thought with a furrowed brow. Shikamaru and Shino, however, turned to look at her with curiosity and contemplation. Perhaps her answer had been too mature? She metaphorically shrugged and put away her chopsticks in her empty bento box.
"T-those are g-good qualities, Seina-chan," Hinata said, looking flushed and glancing at her brother sideways. She smiled.
"I'm sure we'll both find someone like that," she winked.
Since they started the academy, Seina had gradually been befriending this group of people. The first person they met was Hinata when Naruto saved her from bullies one winter years ago. At first, being in Hinata's presence had irritated her due to her constant stuttering and extreme shyness, but soon she realized it was simply a result of how she was treated at home. Frustrated, she vowed to help her gain confidence so she could stop fainting at any social contact.
Now, although she still stuttered, the frequency of her stuttering had decreased exponentially, her blush no longer outshone tomatoes, and she almost never lowered her gaze or fumbled her fingers in discomfort. Like with Neville when he was a child, Seina had been able to relate to Hinata through their shared interests such as gardening, flower pressing, calligraphy, or medicine.
Something similar had happened with Shino, who wasn't shy but lonely. As she wasn't afraid of bugs, it had been easy to gradually gain his trust to the point that Shino always sat next to her or behind her in class. On the other hand, Kiba and Chouji were just as social as Naruto, so she hadn't had to do anything except bake a few cakes and cookies.
The most surprising was Shikamaru. He was the only one who approached her first, not the other way around. He challenged her to a game of shogi, and when she won after a game that lasted almost an hour, he seemed to decide that she wasn't as bad as a friend. After that, he started sitting behind her, sleeping next to Chouji, and then sleeping next to her at lunchtime while Kiba, Naruto, and Chouji played on the swings or with the ball.
More than once, she wondered what Naruto's childhood would have been like without her there to socialize with these kids. Would he have been able to pique Shino's interest? Would Hinata be able to be in Naruto's presence for a minute without fainting? Would Shikamaru be isolated from everyone else, except for Chouji, because of his intelligence? She dismissed those thoughts as they served no purpose and walked to class.
From that moment on, Ino stopped dieting and started sitting with them instead of chasing after Sasuke. Sakura, puzzled, sent haughty glares her way upon realizing she no longer had "competition," but Ino seemed oblivious to her. With Ino's help, practically the most extroverted person among them besides Kiba and Naruto, they were able to coax Hinata out of her shell.
"If only we could give her some new clothes..." Ino sighed exasperatedly. "She must be boiling in that jacket."
Seina nodded. Konoha was located in the Fire Country, so the climate was practically Mediterranean, if compared to something else. Still, Hinata always wore a lined jacket. Probably to blend in due to her shyness.
"Why don't you grow your hair out, Hinata?" Ino asked, touching Hinata's dark hair.
"My father says it would be a nuisance for me on missions," Hinata spoke quietly, looking at the ground, and Seina lifted her chin as usual.
"You don't necessarily have to wear it long," she said, always the voice of reason. "You could grow it to shoulder-length. It would look really good on you and wouldn't hinder you in fights."
Ino nodded fervently without saying a word, seeing that Hinata was considering it. After a while, Hinata agreed to let it grow a little.
"Besides, having long hair doesn't mean anything," Ino scoffed later. "Look at me. Look at Seina! She's never lost a fight and has hair just as long as mine!"
Seina had long hair, though in a triple braid, as she had seen pictures of her parents and noticed that her mother had extremely long hair. When she went to the salon under a different appearance, she only cut the bare minimum and asked them to layer her hair. Unlike her mother Kushina's red hair, she had her father's golden hair, just like Naruto. Her father Minato's blue eyes had reappeared in her brother, while she had her mother's dark violet eyes.
When Seina showed him pictures of their parents for the first time a year ago, he had started crying. It had affected him so much that he even asked her to change the bright orange tone of the jumpsuit he had fallen in love with and bought, for a white jacket with black sleeves and matching black pants. Seina agreed quickly. She had been trying for months to convince him to change the color of his clothes, but according to Naruto, as long as he wasn't a genin, wearing orange wouldn't kill him in the village. From that moment on, Naruto seemed more like her brother than ever before. They both wore dark pants, although she wore leggings, matching short-sleeved shirts, and a light-colored hoodie, hers in a pastel turquoise shade.
When they turned 9, Naruto finally managed to enter his mind, to his horror. That was the day she had to tell him about Kurama and how their parents had died.
"What IS THAT!? And HOW DID IT GET HERE!? SEINA!" Naruto shouted, and she calmed him down and took him away from there.
"That's called a demon. It's the Kyubi."
Naruto stood still like a statue as he finally understood why some people called them demons. She explained how she remembered the night their parents died and how Kurama attacked the village on orders from someone pretending to be the late Madara Uchiha. How their father had no choice but to seal the demon inside them and give his life in exchange for the village's survival.
It took her brother 5 days to speak to her again, to her irritation and pain. What could she have done? Told him when he was 5 years old? In the end, Naruto came to her with a guilty and hurt expression. That day they apologized for their first real fight and talked at length. She explained how she had cultivated her own relationship with Kurama all that time, how she had helped him despite being trapped in a cage from which she couldn't easily release him, and how Kurama helped her when she asked for help with anything.
"You need to talk to him," she advised. "I can help him like I've helped his other half, but you're the one who has to convince him that you're worthy of his friendship."
Naruto nodded with a determined expression, and they returned to his mind, where they transformed it from a sewer to his apartment at Naruto's request, surrounded by the Konoha forest. Seina helped her brother in every way she could and stayed when he woke up his half of Kurama. She gave him the orb her Kurama had given her, and although apprehensive, he accepted it.
"I need to think. Leave me."
He turned around and entered the cage, just as her Kurama had done. Naruto, discouraged by his reaction, sighed.
"You can't expect him to accept you just like that," she whispered, and they left Naruto's mind. "In the next few days, try to explain your life and how you feel to him. He has to see that you're not like the others, that you don't hate him."
"How could I hate him? He's just another victim of that attack!" Naruto asserted.
Seina nodded. The truth was, she had been thinking about the information her Kurama had given her, the Yin Kurama, for some time now, and she wasn't sure what to think. For starters, when they were born, a man with the Sharingan had pretended to be one of their ancestors and used Kurama to attack the village. Kurama was sure his chakra wasn't Madara Uchiha's, so who was he? Since he wore a mask and only one eye was visible, she couldn't even be sure the attacker was an Uchiha. It could have been anyone with a stolen eye.
However, everything took an unexpected turn when she started hearing rumors about a coup by the Uchiha clan, and then Itachi Uchiha killed his entire clan, leaving only his brother Sasuke alive. With her spy spells, she overheard some people wondering how it was possible for one person to kill all the adults, even though he had the element of surprise. Especially since it was Itachi Uchiha, supposedly a pacifist. So, was it possible that the masked man, supposedly an Uchiha, was related to something that happened only 6 years later? She didn't know, but it was clear that something else was going on, and that it wasn't just a transient act of madness from a genius broken by pressure.
Since then, she had started detecting the presence of hidden ninjas. Some of them watched Naruto and her periodically. The strange thing was that they seemed to be ANBU, but from what she heard from the other ANBU, those who had protected them at the orphanage, they didn't seem to be aware that they were there. The only thing she could find out during all that time was the name Danzo, which surprisingly turned out to be one of the Hokage's advisors.
"I haven't heard that name before," Kurama said, thoughtfully, "but he must be someone important if he can give orders to elite ninjas. Be careful."
Kurama was right. Still, since they didn't seem to be doing anything else besides watching them, she decided she didn't need to actively investigate it yet. She continued to listen attentively, but she didn't discover anything else, except that they seemed to be monitoring key locations.
"We should tell someone about this," Naruto urged her when she told him.
"And what are we going to say? 'Hi, I've discovered ninjas that no one else seems to see, and all I know is that Danzo, the Hokage's advisor, has something to do with it.' Even if it were true, how do I tell them I found out? With my tarot cards?"
Naruto deflated, realizing she was right.
"And what are we going to do?"
"Nothing. For now, they don't seem to have bad intentions, but I'll keep watch."
The truth was, she was already investigating everything she could on her own. For starters, she had been building a Uchiha family tree to see which candidates could be the masked man, if he really was an Uchiha. According to the memories she saw from Kurama, he seemed to be a teenager close to adulthood, judging by his voice and physique. However, since no one talked about the Uchiha anymore and there weren't many public records she could access, the family tree project became more complicated than expected, and she had to give it up for the time being.
It seemed that trying to solve this mystery was more complicated than she could have imagined...