Then There Were Two
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki...Katsumi Uzumaki...are the twin children of the Honorable, Late Fourth Hokage...both outcasted by Konoha, the two find strength in one another that is incomparable and irreplaceable. The Teams...are quite different now, and the future...is looking more than a little bit brighter…or is that but the calm, before the storm?
Anime/Manga: Naruto
Genre: Romance/Humor/Adventure
Pairing: I...know who will be with who, but I'll let you guys fidget and wonder.
Rated: M for Mature
A/N 1: So, I decided to change some things about this story, the first being the chosen name for Naruto's twin sister. I also added a new first chapter, the original one posted has been altered slightly and paced differently, now the second chapter. Please Read and I hope this is better enjoyable~
A/N 2: So...I read the lyrics before listening to the song below, and I actually cried while thinking about how it was such a good fit for Naruto, Kushina and Minato. I encourage everyone to give it a listen.
-x-x-x-
And these things that we have given you
They are not so easily found
But you can thank us later
For the things we've handed down
-The Things We've Handed Down (Marc Cohn)
-x-x-x-
It was hard to say, if it was late...or early...as two infantile cries sounded throughout the night. This night...cold and darkened with the passing of a Hero...no, two Heroes.
-x-x-x-
(One Week Later)
"Lord Hokage?"
The elder man stood with his back to the Jounin behind him. His eyes taking in the now peacefully sleeping twins that lay on a cushioned blanket in a bassinet that had been brought in not long ago. The were beautiful...and so blissfully unaware of the terrors that had befallen their village the night before. "What is it?"
"...the funeral..."
'That's right...a memorial service. To be held for the Fourth Hokage, his wife, and all those who lost their lives...' he sighed, "so many crying faces will be met today, and the struggle is nowhere near finished."
"..."
"Have a nursemaid come in and watch out for these two while I'm away."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, gave the two newborns a parting look before preparing himself for the funeral he was to attend. 'There are many hardships ahead, that neither of you will be able to avoid. However, you'll both grow from them...and become stronger because of them. I know this...because the Will of Fire was passed down to the two of you, when your parents gave their lives to save you. Let's see how brightly it burns...'
-x-x-x-
(Seven Years Later)
"Naruto, why do they look at us...like that?"
Naruto shrugged, looking down at his feet, he hid his tears from his sister who held his hand and hid partially behind him. "They...don't even know us..." He turned and grinned at the blonde girl by his side, "forget them Katsumi! They don't know anything about us!"
She stared at his familiar blue eyes and smiled, nodding as before being pulled past the glaring and disgusted looks from the adults around them.
"Ah...! Hey...look." Naruto slowed to a stop. They were standing in front of Old Man Teuchi's Raman shop and, right in front of the shop...was what looked like a puppy. No, it was a puppy.
"It's so cute!" She ran up to the dog, accidentally frightening it and causing it to jump back. Katsumi knelt and held her hand out, watching the puppy as it cautiously moved towards her, sniffing at the tips of her fingers before sniffing the ground around her.
"Hey, Old Man!" Naruto called out and grinned as the old man behind the stand turned his eyes to him. "Got a piece of meat to spare?" He pointed to the puppy that his sister was now petting.
"Piece of meat? Hmm...and I suppose after I feed the dog, you expect me to feed you too?" He chuckled, "here," he placed a bowl with some leftover bits of meat on the counter.
"Thanks a lot!"
Katsumi looked over as Naruto placed the bowl down next to her and the puppy quickly moved in the direction of the food. All the while, she never stopped petting the small dog.
"Akamaru!"
The two turned as a boy came running over towards them. Naruto was quick to turn defensive, his hand shot out as he took Katsumi's and pulled her up and away from the dog.
"Ah! Hey! Naruto...wait!" She cried out, annoyed with being yanked around by her brother.
"Akamaru! I was worried sick, buddy!" The boy said as he placed his hand on Akamaru's head when he ran up to him. The boy looked towards the two blondes and he grinned at them. "Thanks for taking care of Akamaru!"
Naruto's eyes widened and he looked the boy over.
"Hm? Don't you two talk?"
A hand rested on Naruto's and Katsumi's shoulders, "they are just shy." Teuchi smiled warmly at the boy holding the dog, "this is Naruto and his sister Katsumi...what's your name?"
"I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my friend Akamaru!" Kiba grinned, "hey, Naruto, Katsumi...come play with me and Akamaru!"
The twins shared uncertain looks before being nudged forward. Turning to look at the man behind them, his gentle and reassuring smile gave them the push they needed to make their first friend.
"Naruto! Let's go~!" Katsumi laughed, taking her brothers hand in hers before tugging him towards Kiba. The three spent the rest of the day playing at the park until the last few rays of sunlight peered over the lands. This marked the first of many smiles to come...
-x-x-x-
(Three Weeks Later)
"Get up tubby!"
"Look at this loser...tch..."
"You want to be a Ninja, but all you do is eat..."
"Hey!" Katsumi, who had been on her way to meet up with her brother at the local bookstore, had stumbled across a group of kids picking on another kid.
"Oh look...it's another freak! Hahaha!" One of the kids, bully "A"...walked over to her and leaned forward a bit, "my mom says that you and your brother are demon's."
'Demons...?' She couldn't deny having heard that once or twice herself, but she never understood what it was that made her and her brother demons. "If I'm a demon...then maybe you shouldn't stand so close!" She kicked the boy hard between the legs and slammed her shoulder into his chest as he hunched over. When he was knocked down, she ran over and pulled the kid being bullied up and dragged him away from the group without looking back once. They were yelling, chasing after her. However, she just kept running. '...I'm...a coward.' Tears swelled in her eyes as she blinked them away. Blinking was all it took, as for the single moment she'd closed them, she'd run right into someone.
"Hm? You okay, kid?"
A pair of hands carefully guided her back onto her feet as she looked up to meet caramel brown eyes, brown hair fell to his shoulders and a Senbon was situated lazily between his lips. "I...oh, I'm okay!" she blushed and pulled out of the older mans reach. "S-sorry..."
He tilted his head curiously and looked up just in time to see the group of kids that had been chasing them take off in the other direction. "Hm, where were you heading to?"
"...the bookstore." Katsumi said, taking the hand of the boy behind her as she became shy and hid herself a bit.
"I'll walk you both there. What are your names?"
She looked at the man who turned and started walking off, both her and the boy she'd dragged along followed behind him. "I'm...Katsumi Uzumaki..."
"Chouji Akimichi..." the boy from next to her said.
"Those kids, were they bullying you?"
"They were bullying me, K-Katsumi knocked one of them down and got me away from them."
"I see..." he turned his head so that he could see the two of them, "if you want to protect yourself, grow strong enough to protect yourself...if you want to protect your friends, then grow strong enough to protect your friends."
Katsumi frowned, "how strong is that?"
He shrugged, "who knows." Stopping in front of the book shop, he bent down before the two kids. "Don't let bullies break you down, stand up and fight back." About to leave, he stood when a hand caught hold of his. "Hm?"
"What's your name?"
He stared into the big blue eyes of the little blonde-haired girl, "...Genma Shiranui..." he wondered if she'd remember his name but guessed it didn't matter one way or another. He figured he probably wouldn't see them again until they were twice their current age.
"Katsumi! What took you so long?!" Naruto ran out of the store he'd been waiting in for almost forty minutes now. They'd forgotten their money for the books they were getting, and she'd run back, but he hadn't thought it would take her quite so long to return.
"Sorry Naruto, I was...well...it's a long story." She laughed. A poof from next to her drew her attention and she felt the hand she held vanish from her grip. That...wasn't the first time she saw Genma...as, her brother had later on caused many problems with the Hokage's Special Elite Bodyguards that had him bringing her brother home by the scruff of his shirt.
"Hey, who's this kid?"
Turning and taking the boys hand, she grinned, "this is our new friend! Chouji Akimichi!"
-x-x-x-
(Two Days Later)
It hadn't been long since they had met Chouji, and in all truth, they were surprised when he came running up to them and Kiba two days later with another kid dragging his feet behind him.
"Chouji!" Katsumi yelled and waved both her arms over her head when she saw the boy running their way.
"Katsumi~! Naruto!" He paused at the other face he hadn't met yet.
"This is Kiba, of the Inuzuka clan, and his friend Akamaru!" Katsumi said as she playfully messed with the puppy beside her.
"Ah! It's nice to meet you..." Chouji smiled awkwardly, but the happy smile on Kiba's face calmed his nerves by a lot and the boy relaxed with the new potential friend. "I brought one of my friends with me...is it okay if he hangs out with us?"
Katsumi shook her head and sighed, "Chouji, of course it's okay."
Naruto smirked, "not like we have a hidden supply of friends anyways. It's just us," he pointed his finger at Kiba and dragged it in a half circle, indicating the few people in the group. "Katsumi and I don't think we need many, but..."
Katsumi nodded, "we don't need many, but we do need good friends."
A raised brow, a bored yet curious expression, "good friends? Like how?"
She shrugged, "we won't judge you, if you don't judge us..."
"That's silly," he watched the girl in front of him wrap her arms around herself, "it's normal to judge someone, as long as you don't let it get to your head. I judge a new person everyday...but...you do you, and don't let me stand in your way."
"Shikamaru is part of the Nara clan, his dad is really smart," Chouji chuckled.
Naruto looked at his feet and frowned, "what a pain," he sighed, "I get what you're saying, so let me put it to you this way instead. Don't turn your back on us, and we won't turn our back on you. It'll be us...this group, no matter what, we'll be friends for life. Believe it!"
Kiba grinned, "that sounds like a deal,"
"I think I can handle that," Shikamaru said in a chilled tone.
Nodding, Chouji moved over to Katsumi, "I'm good with that, Katsumi?"
"Yeah...I like the way that sounds." She looked to her brother and grinned, "believe it!"
-x-x-x-
(One Year Later)
Katsumi laughed as she out ran the guys chasing her. She was faster then the group of them, and as she jumped through the window to the Academy, she slid through the door and bowed to their Sensei before taking her seat. Not a minute after she'd sat down, the other four came running in and bowed to their Sensei.
"You five are late today, what for?"
"Ah...that was my fault, Sensei." Katsumi stood up and bowed, "we were on our way earlier...but I got distracted."
"I hope you had a good reason, you each will stay after class. This hopefully won't happen again."
"...I don't think it will..." she smiled, 'what's the likelihood of us finding another pregnant cat going into labor on the way to class?'
"We are taking class outside today, you have each been working diligently, learning the Shinobi Ways on paper, but now, it's time we start to put what you are learning into action."
"Finally!" Naruto yelled, "so we get to throw Kunai's and practice with-"
"Sit down, Naruto!"
Katsumi laughed under her breath; her brother was having a hard time still. Since they joined the Academy a few months ago, he'd been seriously struggling with his studies and training. She on the other hand was progressing forward far quicker than either of them had anticipated. For her, she had no problems understanding the material they learned, and then training with Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and Naruto, she was proficient and a quick learner.
"Now, we will be practicing the basics of Kunai throwing, to see where everyone is at this stage. From there, I can gauge how to proceed with our lessons. Everyone stand up and follow me outside."
"Katsumi, your hair is getting really long... you gonna start tying it up so that it doesn't get in your way?"
Katsumi brought a hand to her hair; it was true, the blond locks had grown a bit since they'd all met one another...and she was sure that they'd only get longer...but she'd never considered tying her hair up. It felt nice leaving her hair down. "Is it really that long?"
Shikamaru shrugged, "it's just an observation," he pulled a hair tie from his pocket and held it out to her, "just while we are practicing outside, since it's windy and all..."
She watched him leave and looked at the tie in her hand, "...hm..." she smiled, pulling her blonde hair into a low ponytail that was fixed at the nape of her neck. Her hair tickled just above the middle of her back as she walked and took into consideration possibly cutting it, but the idea of getting it cut sent shivers up her spine. 'I'll just buy some ties for my hair later...'
-x-x-x-
After class, the twins were sitting outside near the bridge in Konoha, both going over the lesson that Iruka had covered with their class that day.
"I think tha-ack~!" Naruto cringed at the sudden pain in the back of his head, turning around as he yelled. A kid was standing with a grin and another rock in his hand. "Grr...you got a problem!?"
The kid backed away a bit, "you gonna tell on me? Who's gonna listen?"
Even as he said this, he had his feat pointed off away from them a bit, in case he had to run. Katsumi knew the sign of fear in the civilians. They always stood as if they would need to flee...as if she or her brother might just attack them. Katsumi put a hand on Naruto's and pulled him back over to her, "you are struggling here, so let's focus our time practicing where you are hurting the most."
"Tch...where I'm hurting," he muttered, rubbing his head. He understood what she was doing. She wanted them to ignore the kid...after all, if Naruto punched the punk like he really wanted to, it would only prove the smaller kid right. However...he didn't stop throwing the rocks, and little by little, Naruto was becoming more and more annoyed.
"...freaks...two little orphaned monsters in Konoha. I heard my mom say...it'd be better if you both just disappeared!"
"Ah!" Katsumi brought her hand to her forehead, her eyes widened as she looked at the blood on her finger tips.
"What the heck, man!?"
Naruto and Katsumi looked up to see Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji standing behind the little bully, but that wasn't processed as much by Naruto, as it was Katsumi. No... Naruto was enraged, the sight of his sisters' blood had sent his blood boiling and he was pushing towards the kid as if he was gonna kill him.
Katsumi watched in surprise as Kiba intervened, blocking Naruto.
"Get out of my way, Kiba!"
"I'm good right here..." Kiba said seriously, holding Naruto back as he made to push past him.
Shikamaru kicked the bully in the back and knocked him forward onto his knees. He crouched down beside him and scoffed, "you should apologize to her, and then you should probably run away before her brother gets past Kiba..."
Chouji made his way to Katsumi and helped her up, shielding her away from the brat that was starting trouble with her.
"W-what?! No way!" The kid pushed off the ground and tried to punch Shikamaru, but the lazy kid only leaned away, "why would apologize!? The whole village says that they are monsters! All the adults say so!"
"Tch...you act like Adults know everything. My old man, says to form my own opinion...not to follow what the masses say."
"What does it matter to you if I bully them!? It's not even you I'm talking about!"
Shikamaru sighed, glancing over his shoulder at Kiba who was still holding onto Naruto, the blonde girl behind her brother was looking down at the ground with tear filled blue eyes, "well, for one, they are my friends...and two...you don't know anything about them...and yet here you are, bullying them because your mom doesn't know how to properly raise a kid."
"Watch what you say about my mom!"
"Why? Does it bother you? I'm not even talking about you...so what's wrong with it?"
The kid blanched, he looked at the girl, the two boys glaring at him and the kid to his right. "Tch...whatever...if you hang out with demons...you will become demons! Just watch...LOSERS, DEMONS! MONSTERS!" He yelled as he ran off.
"You should have at least punched him," Kiba argued, letting Naruto go before moving over to Katsumi.
Shikamaru sighed, "hey, I kicked him, didn't I?"
Kiba brought a hand up under her chin and lifted her head, looking the injury over, he grinned widely, "my sis can have that cleaned up quickly,"
The three boys formed something of a protective barrier around Katsumi and Naruto as they walked to the Inuzuka compound. Arriving, Kiba led the group inside and to where his older sister and mom were taking care of a dog. "Hey, mom...sis...one of my friends got hurt, you think you could help her out?"
Naruto's fists were clutched at his side as he listened to the younger of the women gush over his sister's injury. A bruise already forming from the rock that had struck her. Kiba had introduced them as Tsume, his mother...and Hana, his sister.
"You guys weren't rough housing with this little girl, were you?" Tsume gave her son a hard look.
Naruto frowned and looked at Kiba's mother, "nah...some kid was throwing rocks at us. One hit my sister..."
Katsumi moved to glance at Naruto, but Hana tugged her face back in her direction, "s-sorry."
"Haha, don't worry, I'm almost done. So... Kiba, Naruto and Katsumi?"
"Yeah...this is them."
The two women shared a look, both with twinkles in their eyes.
"There, good as new! You shouldn't even get a scar..." Hana smiled.
"...Kiba..." Naruto called out as his sister thanked Hana and returned to his side.
"Hm? Yeah?"
"...thanks for stopping me." He looked at his fist.
Shikamaru looked at Naruto and shook his head, "here Kiba was telling me that I should have punched him...you guys as such a troublesome lot." He sighed, "ah well, it could be worse I suppose."
Katsumi smiled, "oh yeah?"
Chouji laughed, "we could have friends like that kid back there..."
Tsume smiled at the boys and her eyes traveled to the girl. She knew the story behind the kids, but where in the hell did these parents get off gossiping about them like they were horrible creatures. "Katsumi, Naruto?"
Naruto and Katsumi turned back as they were almost out the door.
"Yes ma'am?" Katsumi replied curiously.
"...the way people treat the two of you, is a statement of who they are as a human being. It's not a statement about you...the only thing you can do to change how they view you...is work hard, stay focused and surround yourself with good friends that know who you are. So long as you are true to yourself...true to your friends and persistent in your studies and training...you can't do wrong. Konoha's "Will of Fire" burns brightly inside of both of you...so let it burn."
-x-x-x-
Waving goodbye to Shikamaru and Chouji who left back to their own homes, it was just Katsumi and Naruto again. They both walked home in silence, thinking over what Tsume had said. As they rounded the corner to their home, they glanced up and took in the view of the Hokage monument. It was probably that moment, when Naruto came to terms with the future he wanted, Katsumi however...was still looking for hers.
She glanced over the stone faces and sighed, "even though they were all strong, a good many of our Hokage's died very young...didn't they." It wasn't a question, she had been studying the Hokage's in class with Naruto, so Naruto knew she wasn't asking. "Not everything is supposed to become beautiful...and long-lasting, I guess. Maybe...people come into our lives to show us what is right and what is wrong." She smiled, "Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji...Genma, Tsume and Hana...they came into our lives to show us what was right." A hand lay gently on her shoulder and she turned her eyes to look into her brothers, "those who talk ill of us, and hurt us...they are there to show us what's wrong. But both of these people, they show us who we can be...and I'm thankful for that. They teach us to love ourselves...when there's no one's else around to do so...and I don't think that everyone is going to stay forever with us...but, we still have to keep on going, and thank them for what they've shown us." She looked back at the Hokage's stone faces, "...Honorable First Hokage...Honorable Second Hokage...and Honorable Fourth Hokage..." she bowed low, "thank you."
"...what about the Third Hokage?" Naruto asked curiously.
She straightened up and smiled, "he's still alive...so we should thank him in person!"
"Yeah...I guess so..." he stared back into the eyes of the Fourth Hokage and grinned, "I'll surpass even the greatest of Hokage's on that mountain face. I swear it!"
"Really?"
He grinned, "yeah...believe it!"
-x-x-x-
Me: Here is the first chapter on this story. I'm trying this a second time. Hope you all enjoy! I'll post the second chapter after I revise it some.
