You never teased him for it, not once. Not like the others might have. You just… noticed.
The way Naruto hesitated to be the last one walking back when the sun went down. The way he always kept a candle burning beside his bed, even in the summer heat. The way his voice got quieter when the world got darker.
You remember how afraid of monsters and ghosts he was, back in one mission where you had to fight one he kept trembling like a leaf. He’d fought worse. But the silence of night, the stillness, it pressed on him differently. Perhaps it was because there was no sounds, nothing reminding him that he wasn't alone anymore, not like when he was born
So tonight, you had a plan. "Pssst! Naruto. Hey. Wake up."
He grumbled, rolling over in his blanket. “Huh…? Wha- why’re you waking me up, it’s the middle of the- ”
"I found a frog. A weird-colored one."
That got his attention. His head popped up like a sunflower. "What?! Where?! Wait- don’t let it jump away!!"
You grinned. "Come on. I’ll show you. But you gotta follow me."
You walked with him through the quiet paths of the village, down to where the water shimmered under moonlight, Lake Hoshikuzu. It was mostly ignored at night. Everyone was asleep. But that’s exactly why you brought him here.
The moment you reached the edge of the lake, Naruto froze. Thousands of soft golden lights floated through the air, glowing gently like tiny stars dancing above the water. Fireflies.
The reflection on the lake made it look like the stars themselves had dropped down from the sky. "…Whoa," he breathed, his voice hushed with awe.
You glanced at him from the side. His eyes were wide. Lit up. He wasn’t thinking about the darkness anymore. Just the light.
"You lied about the frog," he said quietly, but he didn’t sound mad.
You smiled. "Yeah. But this is better, right?"
He didn’t answer, just took a step forward, then another, until he was standing right in the middle of the glowing swarm. He held out his hands carefully, and you stepped in close, guiding his fingers gently.
"Like this," you whispered.
And when the little green light settled on his palm, he grinned. Big and wide and real.
"Heh… guess I caught one."
"Now you’ve got your own night light," you said softly. "You can keep it beside your bed. Won’t feel so dark anymore."
He glanced at you. His face softened. "You’re... kind of amazing, you know that?"
He laughed quietly. You didn’t say anything after that. Just sat with him by the lake for a while, fireflies dancing around you, making the night feel warmer than it should have. He surely didn't expect you to remember his fears, but it was refreshing and relieving in a way.