The village slept under a pale moon, unaware that tonight I was breaking every rule of survival I had built for myself.
Naruto's tiny hand squeezed mine tightly, his eyes sparkling with excitement even though his body wobbled from fighting sleep. He was far too young for secrets like this. And yet here we were, sneaking out past the patrols, guided by the marks Minato and I had woven into each other months ago.
"Are we really going, Akari-nee?" Naruto whispered, his little voice trembling with both fear and hope.
"Yes." I knelt in front of him, brushing his messy blond hair back. "But remember our promise. No one can know. Not even Hokage Grandpa. Not your friends. Not anyone. Understand?"
He puffed his cheeks and nodded fiercely. "I won't tell! I'm ninja!"
I smiled faintly. "Not yet, brat. But close."
The seal shimmered as I pressed my chakra into it. In a blink, the air shifted around us, and the smell of pine and damp stone filled my lungs. The cavern's walls glowed faintly with Minato's chakra markers, wards that made this place invisible to even the sharpest sensor.
Naruto blinked around in wonder. "Where… where are we?"
"Safe," I said simply.
A shadow stirred ahead. Then another.
And finally—two figures stepped into the faint glow.
Minato, calm as ever, though his face betrayed an emotion he usually hid—raw relief. Kushina, eyes wide, trembling as if she couldn't trust what she was seeing.
Naruto froze. For a second, he didn't breathe. His blue eyes darted from Minato's face to Kushina's, then back again. He whispered, almost afraid:
"…Papa? Mama?"
Kushina broke first. She ran forward, scooping him into her arms so fast I barely saw her move. Her sobs filled the cavern, muffled against Naruto's hair. "My baby… my little Naruto…"
Naruto's little hands trembled as they clutched at her clothes. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Finally—finally—his voice cracked into a scream.
"MAMA!"
I looked away, throat tight. Even with my demon's heart, that sound was too much.
Minato knelt, wrapping his arms around them both. His voice shook despite his calm. "Naruto… I'm sorry we couldn't be there for you. But we've always been watching."
Naruto turned, eyes wide and overflowing. "…Papa…"
Then he was laughing and crying all at once, clinging to them as if afraid they'd vanish.
I leaned against the cavern wall, silent. My role was done. The promise was kept.
Kushina looked at me over Naruto's shoulder, her eyes red but burning with gratitude. She mouthed, thank you.
I shook my head. "He deserved it."
Still… a pang of envy cut through me. This warmth was theirs, not mine. I was the outsider, the monster hiding in human skin.
But Naruto—he needed this memory. Before the world took his innocence.
Hours later, when Naruto finally fell asleep in Kushina's arms, Minato carried him gently to a small bedroll. Then he turned to me, expression sharpening.
"You know Danzo is moving, don't you?"
I smirked faintly. "The system told me. Root operatives already circling."
Kushina frowned, stroking Naruto's hair. "Then we'll fight them together—"
"No." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "You stay hidden. That's the deal. The world thinks you're dead. If that changes, everything unravels."
Minato's jaw clenched, but he didn't argue. He knew I was right.
I straightened, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. "Let me be the monster they fear. You two… stay the family Naruto needs."
When I teleported Naruto and myself back to Konoha's edge before dawn, his tiny hand clutched mine even in sleep.
For once, the monster in me felt quiet.
Because tonight, I had given him something even I couldn't devour.
Hope.