> “A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.”

> ― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The shadow of the Wind

Yugao sat in the civilian conference room where the Hokage received visitors more acclimated to comfort than deference. She was cradling a young girl in her lap as the girl slowly rose from a mental breakdown. The little girl was Noramori and Yugao didn't know why she felt so protective of the young Uchiha heiress, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to stay detached.

Noramori just looked so small, so fragile, like a soft wind would unravel her at the seams. She was currently sobbing into Yugao's shoulder. Yugao hadn't been able to get much out of Noramori, but she figured that Noramori's current state wasn't due to any one thing, Rather, a cascading series of events had pushed the little girl to a tipping point and she just couldn't hold it together anymore.

Yugao looked around the room as she stroked the hair of the crying girl. The room was sparsely decorated, a simple affair meant to placate the fragile sensibilities of the civilian castle. The room had two couches and two armchairs arranged in a rectangle. Blue wood ringed the room and a few bookshelves lined the outer walls of the room. Two unconscious boys sat in either armchair. One of them, Naruto, was currently restrained due to his mental state before being brought in. The other, Sasuke, was simply unconscious due to being mercilessly beaten to the ground when Naruto flew off the handle.

Yugao had been on site for the sparring match as she was keeping an eye on Noramori. She didn't admit it to anyone but when Naruto began to show signs of awakening his tenant, she hadn't done much more than frozen in place. It wasn't until her eyes tracked over to Noramori and saw how the little girl was beginning to shut down that she made her move. She ran as fast as she could to Hound's location to request assistance. She could probably have taken on Naruto herself, but she wanted someone else there so that she could ensure the other student's safety, ensure Noramori's safety.

Yguao saw something of herself in Noramori, a broken individual that had experienced great loss. She couldn't quite put her finger on the issue but she knew that Noramori acted like no other child she knew from the village. Noramori acted like a survivor. Even before that night when Noramori had run away from her clan compound covered in blood, Normaori had displayed the signs of some sort of hidden personality traits or traumas. It just took Noramori dropping her walls and entering a dangerously unhealthy dissociative state to trigger the protective mothering instinct in Yugao's heart. Yugao had finally realized that Noramori was hurting and attempting to hide from it, literally burying her traumas so far down that even Noramori didn't see them as part of herself.

Yugao's mind threatened to fall into a rage every time she glanced down at the crying little girl.

'Who could do this to her, I mean just look at her, she's barely even old enough to be a part of the academy. She probably can't even process or understand anything that has happened to her and something has been happening to her longer than whatever happened that night.' Yugao frowned as she thought about Noramori's current state.

The door to the room slid open and in walked Hiruzen.

"Cat can you guard the perimeter with Hound while I talk to the three of them?" HIruzen said to Yugao.

"No," Yugao gave HIruzen a steely-eyed glare, "I'm gonna stay right here."

Hiruzen was taken aback by Yugao's attitude, but after observing her as she cradled the crying girl he understood what was going on and his gaze softened. He'd never seen Yugao this determined. Even when she was appointed under Hound's command she hadn't displayed this level of adamant dedication to her task.

"Very well, " Hiruzen shook his head with a smile on his face, "My apologies for not reading the room."

Yugao made a grunting sound but didn't say much else as she continued to stroke Noramori's hair.

Hiruzen sat down on the opposite couch and settled his eyes on Noramori. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute. The plan had been to tell Naruto and Noramori what was going on with Naruto a long time ago, unfortunately, the planning and reconnaissance that Itachi was performing regarding the Uchiha's plans was consuming most of Hiruzen's time. He was quite satisfied with Itachi's position as Anbu captain and the amount of information on the Uchiha's movements that Itachi was uncovering was staggering, to say the least. Itachi had even uncovered what Fugaku had done to his little sister and while he delivered the report in a monotone voice, Hirzuen could tell that Itachi was absolutely furious at the news. His hands had been shaking and clenched in a white-knuckled grip and his eyes were alight with quiet fury. Hirzuen knew that it took everything in Itachi's power to remain in the shadows so that he wouldn't arouse suspicion from the rest of the Uchiha clan. Itachi wanted more than anything to whisk his little sister away from the fate that he himself endured during the last war.

"Hmm," Hiruzen thoughtfully took in Noramori's current state, "Little Uchiha, everything is fine you are safe now. I am here, Yugao is here, and we will not let anything happen to you."

Noramori let out a little sob and tightened her fingers on Yugao's flak jacket. Her head gave a little shake and she seemed to shrink into herself even further. Whatever was going through her head was too much for her to easily escape.

Yugao looked down at Noramori and bent her neck so she could whisper in her ear.

"Noramori it's gonna be okay, I've got you," Yugao's voice was soft and full of warmth and caring, "I'm not gonna leave and nothing can threaten you in Hiruzen's presence."

"What happened to my Naruto?" Normaori's voice was ephemeral almost a whisper, " I keep having flashes of this monster when I look at him. He tried to kill Sasuke. I don't understand. I can't. I can't believe that this was him. I don't want to lose him, but he's scaring me. Scaring me more than anything has in a long time."

Both Hiruzen and Yugao stiffened at the mention of the monster that Normaori mentioned.

'So it seems with sufficient enough exposure Noramoir doesn't need her eyes to be active to pick up on broad concepts,' Hiruzne was honestly concerned by this information. It further cemented Noramori's potential and ensured that regardless of how well protected she was, her life would still be very difficult for her.

'A very long time? She talks like an old woman. She's barely eight. What could have happened to her that scared her that bad? As far as we can tell she wasn't exposed to anything out of the ordinary until Fugaku's sudden shift in demeanor,' Yugao looked concerned as she looked at Noramori.

"I understand Noramori," HIruzen spoke up in a gentle voice, "I'm here to shed light on exactly that. Naruto has not been lost, but the fox you are seeing is very real. take in mind this is a secret of the highest order. Not even Naruto knows of this, a mistake I plan to correct today. He's going to need you, the news I have you and him will leave him in a state of self-hatred. Can you be strong for him? Can you be strong for your friend?"

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Noramori sniffled and lifted her head from Yugao's shoulder. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. Tears were still drying as they streaked down her cheeks. A little snot was trailing out of her nose and it appeared to be connected to Yugao's flak jacket. Noramori's eyes had a lost and faraway look, but as she mulled over Naruto needing her it seemed that she suddenly came back to herself. Her eyes were unclouded and her gaze turned determined. She reached up and wiped the snot off her nose with the back of her palm and inhaled deeply. Exhaling she gave a firm but singular nod in Hiruzen's direction.

'So fierce,' Hiruzen thought to himself.

'Precious,' Yugao tightened her grip a bit on the little Uchiha.

"Very well I will now wake the other two. I would have liked to keep Sasuke in the dark for his own safety, but being that he is your twin and you have the inexplicable ability to see right through Naruto's seal as well as Sauske's current state I thought it was pertinent to bring him here as well. "

Noramori's harrumpfed.

"That is fine lord Hokage. I believe that whatever you have to tell me today I will need support as much as Naruto. Having someone besides Naruto to confide in about this problem may be the most pertinent decision in the situation. I thank you for your consideration." Noramori's voice had gone fully robotic and she was speaking as though she was reading from a teleprompter.

"Righhhht.... Very well, I will continue with waking them," Hirzuen looked a little concerned at Noramori's abrupt change in behavior and intonation.

'This girl needs a lot more support than her eight-year-old brother.'

Hiruzen slowly ascended from his position on the couch and gave two small taps to Naruto and Sasuke's foreheads, injecting a small amount of Chakra into each of them. As they stirred awake they both had wildly different reactions.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and he groaned, cradling his head he looked around with bleary eyes.

"Gramps? What happened? The last thing I remember was sparring with Sasuke and then I was so angry. Everything is dark after that. I can't remember," Naruto looked at Hirzuen with a look mixed with concern and confusion.

Sasuke's response was much more violent, he surged up. His arms swung wildly and his breath came out in hyperventilated gasps. His eyes rolled around in his skull searching for a target unit he seemed to come back to himself as his eyes snapped onto Naruto's current state.

"You bastard!" Sasuke attempted to dash at Naruto while he was weak, but a hand gripped his shoulder. A hand that was gentle, but held the weight of an entire village. Soft but unmoving like a steel vice made of clouds.

Looking up in surprise Sasuke locked eyes with Hiruzen. Sasuke's anger seemed to melt away as Hirzuen stared into his soul.

"Lord Hokage? What... What are you doing here?" His eyes scanned the room, "Wait why are we here? Weren't we in the sparring yard when Naruto flew off the handle and tried to kill me? Why were we brought to your offices?"

"All in good time little Sasuke," Hiruzen smiled, "Now sit and stay. Hold off on getting your revenge until some information that is pertinent to Naurto's behavior can be revealed."

Sasuke didn't look happy, but he sat back down and attempted to control himself. All the while his eyes glared at Naruto. Noramori chose to stay silent and hold her judgment until she understood the reason behind Naurto's behavior and what that Fox was.

Hirzuen sat back down and gave a long calculating glace in their direction. This was something he was not prepared to reveal too early in Naurto's life. He wanted him to grow up more so that he would better be able to understand what this meant for himself. Now due to Noramori's eyes, he was forced to reveal this information. Otherwise, she might expose it in a less controlled manner, further harming Naruto and herself in the process.

He steepled his fingers in front of his face and let out a slow sigh.

"What do the three of you know of the Night the Kyuubi attacked?" Hirzuens voice was clipped and direct.

The three children shared a look and each nodded it seemed they had decided who would take the lead on this.

"Eight years ago the Kyuubi attacked the village. It took the lives of several squadrons and many civilians. After rampaging through the town it was killed by the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth didn't get away unscathed and in the process of bringing down the Kyuubi He gave his own life in order to preserve that of the Hidden Leaf, " Noramori gave a textbook answer to Hiruzen. Hirzuen didn't miss how her eyes darted over to Naruto and widened a bit when she mentioned the number of years that had passed since this event, "Except he didn't kill it did he?"

'This little girl is gonna be a terror when she grows up,' Hiruzen thought to himself.

'Look at that. She's cute, damaged, and smart. I must protect her and help her to grow,' Yugao was unfazed by the girl's declaration and simply took it in as another positive trait of her charge.

"No that isn't right," Naruto blurted out, having finally come out of his groggy state, "The Fourth was the greatest hero the village ever knew, he wouldn't have allowed something like that to live unchecked. I don't believe it."

"He didn't allow it to stay unchecked. He sealed it into the body of his newborn son. His wife had been the previous wielder of the Kyuubi and it was from her that the Kyuubi escaped. They both died in the process, but they did manage to remove the threat," Hirzuen delivered this information in a grave voice that brooked no argument.

"What?! If that were true we would have met him. Why haven't we heard anything about this so-called wielder of the Kyuubi? Why would the village have incorrect information on the events of that night? Why would we sully the legacy of the Fourth and lie about his sacrifice," Naruto wasn't having it, the Fourth was his greatest idol and he was determined to one day surpass him.

"Because we needed to keep his son safe while he grew up. It is rare that a Jinchuriki is created in such dire circumstances. Due to the destruction wrought by the Kyuubi, I felt it was safest to keep the events of that night a secret in order to protect the Fourth's child," Hiruzen looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I don't believe it. We would know if the kyuubi was in one of the children around us wouldn't we? From what I know the kyuubi is one of the greatest powers on the continent. It couldn't just hide in plain sight. I don't believe it. Show me where this child is and I'll believe you," Naruto crossed his arms and glared at Hiruzen.

The whole room was struck silent. Yugao looked amused, Hirzuen looked frustrated, Sasuke looked confused, and Naruto looked annoyed. Only Noramori looked sadly at the young Uzumaki,

"Naruto, you dummy," Noramori's voice was strained and full of uncertainty, "It's you. You're the late Fourth Hokage's son and the current Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Don't you see it?"

"WHAT?!"

"WHAT?!"