Finding Myself [Rewrite]

ch. 7: Before the Storm

A year came and went, the seeds the kids had planted together bloomed into bustling bushes and rows of vegetation.

They planted more than just flowers, actually, they had no idea what would grow from most of the seeds, but they began to sprout fast.

They found out quickly that Mina could grow anything, literally, anything. All she needed were the seeds. Sometimes, a plant would grow just by touching her finger, they thought it was wild.

"It's... Tea leaves?" Mina muttered curiously, her eyes reflecting her curiosity. She had the seeds cupped in her hands as they began to sprout, sniffing them because of course she would.

Naruto gasped, "Wow, they grew faster than last time!" He snatched the seedling from her, and it began to wither the moment it left her hand. "Aw! I killed it again. My bad."

Mina shrugged, "They'll be fine once they get in the dirt. Plants are funny like that."

Naruto nodded with a bright smile on his face. He didn't know anything about plants, but Mina seemed to have it all figured out, so he went to plant it where she had designated.

Over the course of the last year, Naruto had struggled in school and one day, he came to Mina looking defeated with tears in his eyes.

People saw him and just... Hated him. He didn't know why, but Mina made it barrable. He finally felt like someone, one singular person, accepted him wholeheartedly, and that she did.

They had this bond, deeper than blood. He could sense it, but didn't know what to say about it.

Mina has never smiled, not even once did the corners of her mouth twitch. Her voice never changed, even when she's scared, or sad, or angry, and it was so hard to read her until her eyes began showing her emotions by way of changing colors.

At first, it was just one hardly noticeable change, then it became more noticeable as she seemed to recover lost emotions.

At some point, he didn't need her eyes to tell how she was feeling, he could just feel it.

And he could definitely feel that something was off about her.

Mina herself felt out of place, and internally, she feared that the devil she had made contact with would hurt her beloved friend when she slept.

So she didn't.

She wondered how such a being got locked inside her, where did it come from? It wasn't there before, or maybe it had been?

Well, after months of pondering, she never found an answer, and so she was left just to accept it. They got along well at first, she was very obedient, following his every whim, until she didn't.

One bright night, an old man came to her door with a very sinister aura. He gave her quite the proposal, and the devil whispered for her to accept.

Regardless of her will, the devil would have made her agree with the man's request.

The request? Join the Anbu Black Ops and use the power she held to "protect" the village. It was less of a request, and more like an order.

From that day, she had made an even more drastic change.

But no one would know, because she'd never tell.

Never once has she voiced her concerns or fears. She's always been complacent to the will of those around her, unbeknownst to her teachers.

Naruto always worried for her, caring for her in a way she never imagined, but that was exactly the reason she'd never say a word.

In the next few months, Mina would be invited to the class with other students her age.

They've all heard the rumor of the ghost living in the abandoned district. A ghost that liked plants and controlled butterflies.