So this is the story that's been inside my head for God knows how many years (probably about one to be honest) but I'm too lazy to write. Title is likely to change as soon as I think of one that doesn't suck. If the summary hadn't gave it away, it's a high school AU where Naruto has a twin sister. Is it the worst shit ever? Probably. Am I going to realise how stupid it is and give up? Probably. Will that day be any time between now and when I put this up? Probably not.
Doctors, nurses and patients alike ignored the girl curled up on her chair in the waiting room of the Wave General Hospital, her long, wild blonde hair obscuring her body down to the shabby blue converse on her feet. Nobody noticed the sobs wracking her body as her world fell apart.
"Isn't that your brother, Nacchan?" a young man with unkempt brown hair asked the blonde. Her attention turned to the television above the bar. It was broadcasting a live speech from the island's prime minister, Gatou, but a group of masked assassins had intruded upon the scene. Mask or no, Haku's long silky locks were unmistakable. Her heart sank as he fell to the ground, blood blossoming from his chest. Moments later, Gatou's own was pierced with a blade belonging to the figure of Momochi Zabuza, her mentor and father. Bullets were fired towards him too, but he remained on his feet. He, like the rest of the group who were still alive, was seized by police. She became aware of her friends' arms around her and of the tears falling from her eyes.
"Narumi-chan?" a gentle voice asked her. The girl's hair parted and she looked up at the familiar old man. Tazuna took the seat next to her and pulled her onto his chest. He smelled of sour alcohol, but it comforted her. "Did he..."
"It was too late-"
As soon as she caught a glimpse of her father being bundled into the ambulance on the screen, she started running and didn't stop - wouldn't stop. She made it to the hospital as Zabuza was being wheeled through the doors, leaping to his side frantically.
"Heh... Don't worry about me, kid." he wheezed. She didn't say anything, just grasped his arm harder. "Remember, no regrets."
"Why... Why are you leaving me... Haku... Please don't go..."
"I'm sorry, Narumi, it was for the good of Wave." He winced as he moved his other arm to pat her hand.
"No, nononono, there must have been some other way," she pleaded. His hand grew limp. The gurney stopped and she found herself jostled out of the way as the medics crowded around. She pushed back, tears once again in her eyes.
"I'm proud of you, Narumi... Be strong..."
"-The doctors said one of the bullets hit near his lungs. He- he drowned slowly in his own blood." She cried. Tazuna rubbed her back slowly, his face solemn.
"Come on, let's get you home." he sighed. "I'll take care of everything."
True to his word, while his daughter and grandson comforted Narumi, Tazuna arranged for the bodies to be cremated (on such a small island, burial was uncommon and due to the circumstances of their deaths, out of the question), performed a search of the Momochi household for documents best kept out of the hands of Gatou's people, and ensured that the contents of their bank accounts had not been seized by the government.
Wave has never been a prosperous nation. While the land of Fire was still mostly forest with few settlements on the coast, the land of Waves had been considered an off-seas territory of Water country. They had been granted their own government, but had to pay taxes to Water. As technology improved, the dense forests of Fire country became easier to travel through and the country became more industrialised. It was during this time that Fire went to war with Water over the small island, which suffered from the battle that took place. Due to geographical proximity, Fire won and colonised Wave, which never really recovered under the drastically different regime. Luckily they were granted independence when the Elemental Nations (bar Water, who had a civil war of their own to deal with) went to war. Gatou was the twelfth prime minister of Wave, and proceeded to undo all the hard work of his predecessors.
Gatou's policies were simple: Make the rich even richer and keep the poor in poverty. He had the backing of the influential (or at least those without morals), and many of those who opposed him were unable to vote due to being too busy working to keep their families alive to take time off, or just plain illiterate. When the protests started, he responded with publicly executing the most vocal dissenters. One of these people was Kaiza, Tazuna's son-in-law and the nearest thing Zabuza had to a best friend, since both of them were strong men with adopted children.
The assassination attempts began within months, and the perpetrators were caught and executed every single time. Tazuna had found a note in Narumi's room (the least likely place to search) explaining that there was little chance of them surviving no matter what they planned, but this way they would be able to get vengeance for those who had been made an example of and their families.
This brought little comfort to Narumi.
Kakashi looked at his notes, making sure he had the right house. He was unable to find records of where she lived, but a helpful villager was able to point him in the direction of those who would. It was a good thing he had taken Mizugo in school, it was similar enough to Namigo that he could get around the countryside with few problems. He knocked on the wood next to the sliding door - breaking it would make for a bad first impression. With a soft 'whumph' the door opened, revealing a beautiful dark haired woman. He cleared his throat.
"I'm Hatake Kakashi from the Konoha special forces-"
"You're a bit out of your way, Hatake-san." she interrupted coldly. He assumed it was because of the land of Fire's history with Wave and continued, slightly put off.
"Err, I'm looking for a Momochi Narumi, "
"She's innocent. We've already been through this with our police. You won't find her here." She began to close the door when an older man came up from behind her.
"What's going on, Tsunami-chan?" he asked gruffly. Kakashi decided it would be best to elaborate before something went horribly wrong. He was not prepared for this.
"I know Narumi-san's birth parents."
There was silence. Tsunami and her father looked at each other, then the man looked him in the eye.
"You'd better come in."
Kakashi followed them into the house, slipping his shoes off as they stepped up onto the raised area. The other man took a seat at the table while the woman talked to a little boy in a striped hat.
"Inari-chan, can you play in your room for a while please?" The boy nodded, looked at Kakashi, then left. "Father, this is Hatake Kakashi-san, from Konoha." she added.
"I'd say it was nice to meet you but the circumstances are somewhat tainted." He smiled wryly. "The name's Tazuna."
Kakashi bowed and sat down opposite Tazuna.
"Would you like any tea, Hatake-san?" Tsunami asked. She had lost the hard edge to her voice as she grew to trust the man.
"If it's not too much trouble." he replied. Tsunami disappeared into the kitchen. "I saw Narumi-san on the footage of the assassination. She looks just like her father, and those whisker marks..."
"How dare they bring camera equipment to hospitals..." he growled, remembering the trouble they had been given. "Is she definitely the girl you think she is?"
"I have a photo of them all from when she was born." He reached into his folder and pulled out a photo. "Of course, she has grown quite a bit since then..."
"It looks like you're right Kakashi-san. I've seen pictures of Narumi from when she was adopted." Tazuna shook his head. "I take it the boy is-"
"Her twin brother, yes." Kakashi took the photo back. "Naruto-kun has been so excited, he- we all though he was the only one to survive." Tazuna raised an eyebrow. "Kushina was from Uzushiogakure. They were visiting her parents when the civil war broke out. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but Minato-sensei was found murdered, Kushina was found washed up on a Fire country beach. We think she escaped the island with the children by boat, because that's where we found Naruto-kun. But how Narumi-san ended up in Wave..."
"Hmm, Zabuza-kun always said that he found her on the North beach in an abandoned boat. Maybe there was someone else with them?" Tsunami suggested, placing a cup of tea in front of him. Kakashi shrugged, picking up the mug and taking a sip.
"Doesn't look like we'll ever know. As long as she's safe that's all we can ask for."
"Kakashi-san, did you come here to take her back with you?"
"That is an option if it is what she wants." he replied neutrally. He knew they care for the girl and would not take well to him stealing her away. "If she wants to take the opportunity to meet her family, there is always room at the House."
"Ah, but Kakashi-san, as far as she is concerned she lost all of her family last week. She wouldn't even stay here past the first night, you'll have a hard time convincing her to move to Konoha." He smiled sadly. "I agree, she should go with you. There's nothing here for her anymore."
"She's got such a talent," Tsunami agreed. "It's going to go to waste if she stays here. Not to mention all the prejudice she'll face for being Zabuza-kun's daughter."
"Talent?" Kakashi was curious.
"She's a born musician. I run a second hand shop, we first met when she saw an old guitar in the window. She had been taking lessons from a homeless man, and wanted to practise on her own instrument. She didn't have enough money, so I offered her a job to pay for the remainder, and the rest is history."
"Is that so? She and Naruto-kun seem to have a lot in common." chuckled Kakashi.
"I'll take you up to their place, Kakashi-san." Tazuna offered. "See what she thinks."
No wonder he couldn't find the house: it was in the middle of the forest. Not too far away from the main road, but deep enough to be hidden from view. As they approached, he noticed a swing hanging from a tree by a large pond. Kakashi smiled under his mask. It might not have been a normal upbringing, but it should have been a happy one at least.
Tazuna tapped on the screen door. "Narumi? I'm coming in. You have a visitor."
Inside was like a simpler version of Tazuna and Tsunami's house. On the floor in the foetal position lay Narumi, golden hair covering her bare arms. Her only movement was her steady breathing. Next to her was a small picture frame. Something in Kakashi's heart broke. It was just like when he heard the news of Minato-sensei... This couldn't be happening, not to Narumi-chan too.
The old man crouched down next to the girl - God, she looked so tiny - and patted her shoulder. "We've got some news for you, kiddo." She stayed motionless. "This is Kakashi-san, he's from Konoha and..." He looked conflicted, but decided to through with it. "And he knows who your biological family is."
"So you want me to replace otou-san and Haku?" she asked emotionlessly, still lying on her side. Again, Kakashi's heart wrenched.
"No," he found himself saying. "Your birth parents are dead. But you do have a twin brother, and he would like to meet you."
"Haku is my only brother." She began to sit up and Kakashi saw her eyes for the first time. Cerulean blue; so much like Minato-sensei's eyes, Naruto's eyes. But while their eyes were filled with mirth and joy, these held only sadness and despair and ringed with dark circles.
"Naruto-kun looks a lot like you, and also enjoys music." He smirked. "He was bouncing off the walls when he heard about you."
"He wasn't there like Haku was." She shook her head frantically. "Haku was the one who helped me with everything, who believed in me."
This time Tazuna stepped in. "I know kiddo, nobody could replace Haku, or Zabuza, but you have to let new people in."
"What if they leave me..." She said quietly, drawing her tanned knees up to her chest.
Kakashi stepped forwards, to sit beside her. "When I was young, my father killed himself in front of me." he confided, trying to ignore the memories. "Your biological father was a friend of his, and took me in. I remember being so scared that he would do the same." Tazuna shifted awkwardly, trying not to listen. Narumi, however looked him in the eyes. "You saw them die as well, didn't you?" She dropped her head again. "You feel like it's your fault?" A nod.
"If I was stronger they would have told me... I could have helped them..."
"Narumi-chan..." Tazuna put his arm around her again. "There's nothing that would have stopped them. They were trying to protect you, and everyone else, by getting rid of Gatou."
"Why did they leave me..." she choked out, tears falling down her face.
"I believe that people continue to look after their precious people, even after they're gone. No matter what you do, they'll still be watching after you." Kakashi ruffled her hair affectionately.
"Kakashi-san... Thank you..."
"It's no problem Narumi-chan." he smiled, his eyes closed and like upturned 'u's. Moments later, his eyes met Tazuna's - they had overcome one obstacle, now onto the next.
"You can't stay here forever..." Tazuna was the brave one to breach the subject. "You've finished your Extended Certificate, you'll have to get a job that pays enough to keep this place running. You could stay with us, but you'll still need a job. It's hard enough finding one anyway, but with your name..."
Kakashi frowned, she wasn't old enough to have done the Extended Certificate was she? Naruto had only turned sixteen last October.
"I make a little bit of money from my shows, and I can help Tsunami-ba-san in the shop."
"You could always come back to Konoha, Tsunade's House always has room for one more." Kakashi offered.
"What's the point, an average Extended Certificate would be worth even less than here. I'd have no chance at finding a job."
"Narumi-chan, how old are you?"
"I turned eighteen a couple of months ago."
Kakashi shook his head. "How could he manage to overestimate by nearly two years." he muttered. "Your birthday is the tenth of October, which means you're sixteen and three quarters."
"WHAAAAAT?" she exclaimed, gaping at Kakashi.
"Ahhh, there's our Narumi." Tazuna cheered.
"And the new law in the land of Fire is that you must stay in education until you're eighteen, so you would have to take A Levels with Naruto and his friends. I'm sure they would be no problem if you have already covered the material." He smiled another closed-eye-smile.
"I... I can't... I can't leave." She bowed her head and stared at the floor.
"It's not safe to stay here." Tazuna said bluntly. "If the elections go wrong, it won't be good for anyone, but especially not you. You saw how they wanted to take you into custody."
"But..."
"And it's not good for your health." his voice softened. "There's nothing for you here but ghosts."
"What about you, and Tsunami-ba-chan, and Inari-chan? What if something bad happens to you, and I'm not here?" she asked worriedly.
"We can look after ourselves, kiddo. The resistance group knows about us, they'll set us up with something."
"I have a number of colleagues in the special forces who owe me a favour." Kakashi shrugged.
Narumi still looked apprehensive. Different emotions flitted across her face as she thought it over. She looked up at Tazuna.
"This is my home... I belong here..."
"Theres nothing here any more. You've got your life ahead of you. You were made for more than this." The look on his face was bittersweet. "You're like a granddaughter to me. I just want the best for you."
She looked down, biting her lip. She looked up to face Kakashi, those big blue eyes filled with a new hope.
"Okay."
When Tsunami heard of Narumi's decision, she nodded and wrapped the younger woman in an inescapable hug.
"You'd better look after yourself." she whispered in her ear. "And so had that twin of yours." Narumi squeezed back.
"I will Tsunami-ba-san."
Kakashi, in anticipation, had brought along a minivan to ensure Narumi's possessions could fit. As the women packed everything she owned into boxes and binbags, they found that she didn't really own much. Some clothes, a couple of pairs of shoes, books, radio, sewing kit, her guitar. Money was tight, and between one thing and another there was never really time for much else.
Of course, she was responsible for her family's possessions now too. Tsunami smiled at the girl and made her goodbyes.
"When you're finished, come up to the house for tea, okay?"
With that, Narumi was alone with what was left of her father and brother. She slipped into Haku's room. She added some of his shirts into her clothes piles. His beautiful Yutaka was given its own box. It still smelled of him, and she hoped it always would do. His favourite books - that is to say, all of them - were mixed in with her own. She doubted that she could take his herb garden with her, but she promised herself that she would grow a new one in his memory. The final addition to her boxes were the sketchbooks. He really was a good artist, but in a place like Wave, it wasn't worth pursuing when you could be doing something more useful. Just like her music.
Muscle memory brought her to knock on Zabuza's door before entering. She felt a pang when she realised she would never get the chance to hear him call her in again. All of his clothes were much too big for her, but it didn't stop Narumi from picking up a few jumpers, and his massive heavy coat. She smiled as she remembered all the memories from winters long gone; she would be caught shivering, only to suddenly be swamped in the jacket. This too, got its own box. For all Zabuza had instilled the habit of reading into Haku and Narumi, he possessed few books of his own. Instead, his shelves were stocked with notebooks of his own thoughts. She wondered what stories they contained - they had never been allowed to read Zabuza's notebooks. Narumi didn't think it would be right to read them now, not right away, but she would always carry them with her.
Now for downstairs. There was the ancient television set they had bought from Tsunami's shop the year before, and the slowly growing collection of films. She might as well take them with her, it would be an interesting thing to have a television in her own room. The only other things of value were the photo albums. Haku had always enjoyed photography, and insisted on each moment being documented. For now it hurt too much to even think about flipping through one, though she would treasure them regardless. She bundled all the boxes and bags into the open space. Now, it looked it was worth the minibus.
As she treasured her hard work, Tazuna and Kakashi returned, Inari on his shoulders.
"Where's Tsunami-chan?" asked the old man
"She went back to cook dinner, Jiji."
"Is this everything then?" asked Kakashi, slightly surprised. Narumi put a hand on the back of her head and smiled sheepishly.
"I think so."
"The van might be able to hold this much." he teased.
"Don't start, you two. We'll leave this here for now, Tsunami-chan'll be wondering where we are."
There was a certain tenseness around the table, knowing that this would be one of Narumi's last meals in the land of Waves. Inari was much more subdued than normal, poking food lazily around his plate.
"Don't play with your food Inari-chan."
Inari witheld the urge to stick his tongue out at his mother.
"Narumi-nee-chan, come play!" he exclaimed instead, dragging an equally depressed Narumi towards the stairs. The adults let him, for it was one of, if not his last chance.
"The Fire embassy said they could have a passport prepared for tomorrow at the earliest. Kakashi broke the silence. Tsunami sighed.
"When do you want to leave?"
"It's not up to me, its up to Narumi-chan. However, Tsunade would hand my ass to me if I don't have the Doom Wagon back by the end of the week." So-called because if a person were to be hit by the minivan, they would have little chance of not dying but a great chance of being made fun of by a group of teenagers.
"She's not leaving until she's said goodbye properly." warned Tazuna.
Zabuza and Haku had spent their whole lives around water. It was where they came from, and it seemed fitting that it would be where they would return to. They had been told that they would be given the filled urns tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
"Nacchan thank God you're okay." Manabe exclaimed as he opened his door, running his fingers through his long brown hair. He was usually more stoic, but he always made an exception for Narumi. "I hadn't heard from you and thought you'd- well-"
"I'm fine." she said quietly.
"You're not. I can tell. Come in." He opened the door wider and lead her upstairs. Inside his dark bedroom , they sat next to each other on the bed. "How have you been?"
"Coping."
"I followed you after you ran away, but I lost you. Didn't think to go to the hospital." he smiled sadly.
"It's not your fault."
"I just... Care about you so much..."
The words hung in the for an impossibly long time. Narumi was silent, then stood up. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I have relatives in Konoha. It'll be good for me."
"Nacchan... Narumi... Please don't leave like this, please talk to me." he begged, grabbing her wrist gently. She didn't move.
"What good will talking do? The damage has already been done."
"I'm sorry. I really am. Please, can we have one more chance?" His eyes pleaded at her. She looked away.
"I really liked you."
"I really like you too-"
"But not until it was too late. I'm not that kind of girl." She shook her head.
"I didn't mean for it to happen-"
"Her or me?"
"Her of course, I told her the truth as soon as I could."
"It's too late. I thought you told me everything. I know I told you everything."
"I'm sorry..."
"I am too." Narumi leant down and kissed his cheek.
"Please, Narumi. I miss you. I miss just talking to you."
She paused. "I'll miss you too." He stood up and enveloped her in a huge bear hug. "Manabe... It's only going to make this harder..."
"I don't care. I promised you I'd always be there and I promise you now, I always will. Even if you're in Konoha. I don't want to lose you." They pulled back from the hug and looked in each other's eyes.
"Manabe..." Their faces moved closer together.
"You mean so much to me, Narumi. Please believe me."
Narumi bit her lip and in a split second made her decision, bridging the gap until their lips met, where they stayed for what seemed like an eternity. She grasped at his shirt and he pulled her closer, cradling her in his arms. Tears welled in her eyes as she broke away.
"I believe you. I have to go. I'll write."
"Wait... Will you be able to get out tonight? You weren't planning on telling the group were you." She looked down bashfully. "I know you, Nacchan. They're just as much your friends as they are mine."
"I can say I'm staying at my place tonight for old time's sake." she suggested. Manabe frowned.
"If it means that much to you we could just go there?" He asbent-mindedly brushed her hair out of her face.
"That would be nice... Do you remember where it is?"
He grinned a grin that could melt hearts. "How could I miss it?" Narumi snorted and hit him playfully.
"Dope. Around eight?"
"Sounds like a date." He laughed as Narumi rolled her eyes. His hand still lingered on her cheek, so he pulled it towards him for another kiss. "See you tonight."
Manabe flopped backwards onto the bed, still grinning, as Narumi let herself out, her own heart much lighter than it had been.
Kakashi stood the furthest away from the cliff. He wondered why he had even joined them. Narumi sat on the edge, two urns next to her and her guitar across her body. Inari clung to his mother, who looked blankly out to sea. Tazuna clasped a hand on his grandson's shoulder, wiping moisture from his eyes before it forms tears. Narumi herself had not relapsed back into her emotionless state, which as far as Kakashi was concerned was a good thing. He made a mental note to see about getting her to see a counsellor.
"I wrote a song for you. I hope you like it." she spoke in a small voice. She sounded like a child who had gotten lost. Her fingers began to dance across the strings, playing a light, quick melody. "Everybody agrees it came too soon, it was only meant to be an intersection," Kakashi's breath was taken away. She sounded just like Kushina. "You kept fear of death in the back pocket of your jeans, in the palm of your hands, affection."
As the song progressed, Tsunami began to cry, which made Inari's sobs bigger, though he tried his best to stay quiet. Even Tazuna started to let the tears fall openly. Somehow, Narumi managed to hold it together.
"Somehow these pieces must bring back the men you were, though the ocean claims your ashes on the sand. These days, everyone cries 'where'd you go?', they want to touch your spirit lest it die. For this, your friends and family gather around at the table, to form a healing circle for our new demise."
She sung until she couldn't control her voice any longer, then furiously plucked out a solo until her fingers couldn't take any more and the music faded from the air, her energy spent. Nobody moved to empty the urns.
"Tazuna-san..." He prompted quietly. The older man slowly picked up one of the urns and emptied the contents out to sea, the grey ashes carried by the wind. He repeated the motion for the other one, leaving the group in silence. Tazuna put his hand on Narumi's shoulder this time.
It was time to go home.
I just spent at least 11 consecutive hours on this thing. It is now 7:07 in the morning and I am not in the least bit tired. In fact I may just carry on writing. Help me.
Also, something I just remembered - Kakashi refers to Mizugo and Namigo. I'm a linguistics nerd so I've obviously given the different languages of this universe way too much thought. In my head, these two are like Danish and Norwegian - similar enough that on some labels they share the same description. If you don't know what I mean see http:/ satwcomic. com/ product-pairing
Hmmm what else. Oh yeah, the song she plays at the end is Say Uncle by Vienna Teng (http:/ www. youtube. com/ watch?v=dbjzxO-bFQk) but I changed some of the lyrics. Jesus I'm a morbid motherfucker.