The orphanage was cold.
Not the building — it had heat, blankets, and barely enough food. But the people? They were colder.
Naruto never understood why the shopkeepers scowled when he smiled. Why the teachers ignored his hand in class. Why the adults whispered the word "monster" when they thought he wasn't listening.
Hikari understood.
She remembered everything.
She remembered the demon. The Fourth's sacrifice. The masked man.
And most of all, she remembered why Naruto was treated differently.
Because he was loud. Wild. Obvious.
And she was quiet.
Calculated.
A ghost in the system.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the twins from the window of his office.
Naruto — bright and chaotic — trying to chase a cat around the garden.
And next to him, "Haruki."
That's what the villagers knew her as.
Haruki Uzumaki — Naruto's twin brother. A polite, quiet, serious boy with oddly sharp eyes and a dangerous amount of awareness for a toddler.
No one knew she was a girl.
Hiruzen knew. Jiraiya knew. Kakashi did too — he'd found out by accident and swore on Minato's grave not to say a word.
And that was exactly what Hikari wanted.
Hidden Training Grounds | Age 4
The first time she teleported, it nearly killed her.
It wasn't real Hiraishin — not like her father's. Just a raw chakra burst laced with intent and instinct.
She landed hard, coughing.
A voice called from behind the tree line.
"Are you trying to teleport into the afterlife, or just break your neck?"
She looked up, already grinning through the dirt.
"Hi, Grandpa."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "I'm not old enough to be your grandpa."
She tilted her head. "Aren't you almost fifty?"
Jiraiya flinched. "You're lucky you're cute."
Hikari walked up and handed him a rice ball she'd swiped from the Hokage's snack drawer.
"Peace offering?"
"…Deal," he muttered, taking a bite.
From then on, Jiraiya started showing up more often.
He brought scrolls. Training tips. Dumb jokes. Badly drawn frog doodles she pretended not to like.
They practiced everything from chakra control to henge jutsu to sealing theory — until one day, Hikari carved a near-perfect containment seal onto a tree trunk using just a stick and chakra.
Jiraiya had stared at it for a long time.
"…Kid," he muttered, "you're gonna change the world, aren't you?"
She just smiled. "Only a little."
One Lazy Afternoon – Training Field 3
Kakashi was reading his book, legs dangling from a tree branch, when he felt the kunai tap his ankle.
"Up or down, Kakashi-nii?" came her voice — playful but serious.
He looked down. Hikari was balancing upside down on a training post, one kunai in hand, one eyebrow raised.
"…Up," he said.
She flicked the kunai — it spun once, then slammed upward into a wooden target just above his head.
Thunk.
Bullseye.
He blinked.
"That was impressive."
She beamed. "I've been practicing."
"…Minato would've been proud," he said, softer now.
Hikari's smile faltered just a bit. "I want to surpass him."
Kakashi dropped down next to her. "Good. He'd want that too."
Then she offered him a second kunai.
"Wanna play catch?"
"With kunai?"
"With chakra threads."
He raised a brow. "You know how to use chakra threads?"
She winked. "Learned from a drunk puppeteer merchant. Got him talking with sweet buns and sake."
Kakashi sighed. "You're terrifying."
"You're just jealous."
"…Little bit."
From then on, Kakashi started calling her "Fox Cub."
She called him "Scarface-sensei."
They trained in secret, with Kakashi pretending he wasn't proud — but totally was.
And even when he smiled under the mask, she could tell.
Quiet Night | Sitting on Hokage Tower Rooftop
Jiraiya, arms behind his head, leaned back next to the girl watching the stars.
Kakashi joined them late, silently sitting beside them.
None of them spoke for a moment.
Then Jiraiya muttered, "Minato would've laughed if he saw this. A grumpy teacher, a rogue hermit, and a 5-year-old girl plotting world domination."
Hikari smirked. "You forgot my idiot twin."
Kakashi chuckled. "He's the heart. You're the brain."
"And what are you?" she asked.
Kakashi tilted his head. "The sword, maybe."
"And me?" Jiraiya added.
She paused, thoughtful.
"…The shield."
Jiraiya blinked. "Damn, that was actually cool."
"I know," she replied. "I'm full of surprises."