CHAPTER 2
Urumi's alarm clock rings the next morning and she slaps at the air until she hits the button to turn it off. She turns over under her covers and falls back to sleep. She went back to her clan's shrine in the middle of the night and didn't come back until early this morning.
While she slept, Kaori ate breakfast and got herself dressed. About fifteen minutes after Urumi was suppost to wake up, Naruto knocks on the door. Kaori peaks into her older sister's room. Urumi was still sound asleep. Kaori then scurries to the door and opens it.
"Hey, Kaori! Is Urumi ready yet?" he asks as the young girl narrows her dark eyes at him.
"Why do you wanna know?" she asks as he blushes bright red. He combs his fingers through his spiky, blonde hair.
"I just wanted to know... if she wanted to walk to school with me." he stammers as Kaori giggles at how red his face was.
"You look funny!" she remarks as he snorts in frustration.
"Can you just go get Urumi for me?" he grunts as the girl grabs his hand and drags him inside. "She's still asleep, so you have to be quiet." she announces as Naruto sits on the dark gray couch in the living room. Kaori swings open the door to Urumi's bedroom and jumps up and down on her bed.
Urumi screams in fright and falls out of the bed with a loud thud. Naruto hears her and rushes to the door. When he gets there, Urumi was chasing Kaori around the room in anger.
"What was the point of telling me to be quiet if you were just going to do that?" he asks as Urumi freezes.
"Naruto... What are you doing here?" she asks as he blushes again.
"I just came to ask if we could walk to school together today." he explains as she turns around to look at the time. Her jaw drops. She only had fifteen minutes to get ready before classes started.
"Kaori! If you were up, why didn't you wake me!" she shrieks as Kaori sighs.
"You told me not to wake you up unless it was an emergency." she recalls as Urumi growls in rage. "I told you that because you kept waking me up at three in the morning to make you waffles!" she corrects as Naruto looks at the clock.
"Urumi, you only have thirteen minutes left to get ready. I don't think this is the time for arguing." he states as her eyes widen. "You're right! I'll be out in a minute! Just wait for me in the living room!" she agrees as Naruto and Kaori sit on the couch.
Urumi runs into her closet and pulls out a pair of black capris, a teal shirt, and a fishnet half shirt. She slips out of the sweatpants and t-shirt she was wearing and pulls on the clothes from the closet. She walks over to the dresser by the door and picks up a red ribbon and laces it through her long, auburn hair. She ties the back into a bow and opens the door.
"Naruto, you should go while you still have time. I'll catch up with you later." she says as she walks over to the bathroom. Naruto stands from the couch and follows.
"Why can't I just stay and wait for you?" he asks as she pulls out her toothbrush and wets it under the running water from the faucet. "If you stay, you'll be late because of me, and I don't want that to happen." she explains as she digs around through the drawers for the toothpaste.
"Fine, I'll go, but you better hurry up." he says as he runs down the hall and out the front door.
After he leaves, Urumi brushes her teeth and tightens the tape wrapped around both of her forearms before heading out behind him. She has four minutes until class starts and she wasn't even close to the school building yet. She flies from rooftop to rooftop instead of pounding the pavement to save herself time.
When she finally reaches the school, classes were about three minutes into their lessons. She bursts into class panting wildly. Iruka-sensei looks up from the attendance folder to see her walking over to her seat in the second row in front of Naruto.
"Nice of you to join us, Urumi." Iruka says as she sinks into her chair in embarrassment. Her classmates quiet jeer and snicker behind her back. The man sitting at the desk in the front of the room closes the folder and slaps it on the desk in front of him.
"Urumi! Why were you late?" asks the girl sitting next to her, Sakura Haruno. "I overslept..." she chuckles as Sakura sighs. "Again? This is the third time this week!" she remarks as Urumi lowers her head. "I know. I was busy with something very important last night, and didn't go to sleep until early this morning..." Urumi explains as Iruka stands at the front of the classroom.
"Alright, as you all know, today is Orientation Day." he announces as Urumi slaps her forehead.
"I forgot all about the orientations! I hope I don't screw this up!" she thinks as the class stands in a line across the front of the room.
"Urumi, since you feel that you're so special today; why don't you go first?" Iruka retorts as Urumi steps forward.
"So, uh, what do I have to do again?" she asks as everyone sighs heavily.
"Your almost as scatterbrained as Naruto! What's up with you today?" comments Kiba Inuzuka as his dog, Akamaru chimes in with a bark. Urumi snorts at the insult towards her friend, and turns to the boy to tell him off when Iruka clears his throat.
"I told you this at the begining of the week, Urumi! I want you to transform into Lord Hokage!" he scolds as Urumi looks around at all the glaring eyes of her classmates.
Urumi groans and frowns. "I've been so busy at my clan's shrine, I haven't been able to do any studying. Everything's been so complicated since my mom's death, I've been too busy to do anything..."
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as she preforms the handsigns for the Transformation jutsu. "Transform!" she cries as she's engulfed by a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke clears, an old man in a white robe and oversized hat stands before the class. "Nice job, Urumi." compliments Iruka as she reverts back to her statuesque self. She sighs in relief and steps back into the line.
Sasuke Uchiha was up next. He steps forward, his face erased of all emotion. He takes a moment to glance back at Urumi from the corner of his stoic eyes. Sasuke smirks and returns his attention to Iruka. He preforms the handsigns and transforms into a exact replica of the Hokage, and so did everyone else.
Then... It was Naruto's turn.
He steps forward and looks back at Urumi, who was silently cheering him on. He smiles broadly and returns his attention back to Iruka. The spiky haired blonde performs the handsigns and builds up his chakra to such an extent that it was visible.
"Transform!" he cries as he's engulfed by a cloud of smoke. His version of the Hokage had a large bottom lip, a long, narrow nose, and was short and stalky. Iruka growls in anger.
"That is a disgrace to the Hokage!" he roars as Naruto returns to normal.
"I'm sorry! Just give me another shot! I swear I'll do better!" Naruto begs as the rest of the class laughs. The bell rings and everyone heads outside.
"Naruto, it's okay. You shouldn't let the others get to you." Urumi comforts before heading outside with the rest of the class. Iruka crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against his desk.
"I'll give you a second chance after school today." he sighs as Naruto nods and heads outside.
He sits under a tree on a swing with his back to the school. Urumi spots him and tears away from the group of students she was with to join him. She pulls back on the chains of the swing which sends him rocking back and forth through the air. He looks back over his shoulder at her and hops off the swing to face the girl.
"Urumi... What are you doing here? Wouldn't you rather hang out with the others?" he asks gloomily as she sits in the swing. She glances down at her feet sweeping through the grass as she rocks back and forth.
"Why would I do that? All they ever do is tease you. I don't hang out with people that disrespect the ones I care about." she answers as Naruto's eyes widen. Urumi rises her gaze from the ground to the blonde and smiles at his expression.
He glances over at the other students, who were glaring at him. He looks back at Urumi. He chuckles and stiffly, desperate for a change of subject.
"Congradulations with passing the orientations." Naruto says as she tilts her head to the side.
"Thanks," she forces herself to smile, "but what about you? Are you gonna get another chance?" she asks as Naruto slumps into the grass under the shady tree.
A light breeze passes through as he nods. "After school... This is my third time doing this orientation, and I can't afford to fail it again..." he laments as Urumi bites her bottom lip, trying to think of something to say.
"...You shouldn't worry about it. I mean, I didn't study for the orientation, but I still passed. You should be able to pass with no problem!" she encourages as Naruto gazes up at her. He closes his eyes and smiles lightly. "Yeah, you're right..." he agrees as she smiles and giggles.
"Of course I am!" she says as he chuckles. "And besides, this'll give me a chance to show Iruka-sensei the new jutsu I've learned!" he adds as Urumi leans forward.
"You mean the Shadow Clone jutsu?" she asks as he nods. "Yeah! If I show him that jutsu, he'll have to pass me for sure!" Naruto bubbles as he grins broadly.
"...So, I guess that means we can't walk home together then..." Urumi assumes as the smile on Naruto's face fades.
"I guess not, but there's always tomorrow." he assures as Urumi nods.
"Isn't tomorrow also the day that we get split up into our squads?" she asks as Naruto tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow.
"You knew about that, but you couldn't remember what we had to do for the orientations?" he comments as Urumi pouts.
"I only know about that because someone told me." she explains as Naruto leans back against the trunk of the tree with his hands behind his head.
"So who do you want in your squad?" he asks as she shrugs. "It doesn't really matter to me, but It'd be nice to be grouped with you, Naruto. What about you?" answers Urumi as she pushes her feet off the ground and begins to swing back and forth.
"As long as I don't get paired with that Sasuke, I'll be good..." he huffs as he crosses his arms over his chest.
"What do you have against Sasuke?" asks Urumi as Naruto pouts.
"He thinks he's such a hotshot just because he's so popular. I bet I could beat him easily in a match! Believe it!" he rants as Urumi sails higher and higher on the swing.
"I've heard that the people of the Uchiha clan are pretty skilled, so I'd like to see that someday." chuckles Urumi as Sasuke walks by, his hands deep in his pockets.
Urumi almost collides into him, but he stiff-arms her in the back and she falls out of the swing. Naruto jumps up and rushes to her side.
"Are you alright?" he asks as Urumi sits up. She had her hands balled into fists and her face was twisted into a scowl.
"Urumi, you should pay more attention to where you're going." Sasuke snorts as Urumi relaxes and unballs her fists. "Sasuke! I'm sorry, but did you really have to shove me?" she apologizes as she sits up.
"Hmph, just watch where you're going next time..." he advises as he walks off with his hands in short's pockets again.
"That jerk... He had no right to push you like that!" Naruto grunts as she turns to face the blonde boy next to her. She looks back at Sasuke who was walking away.
"He's not as bad as you think Naruto..." she corrects him as his jaw drops.
"What are you talking about?!" he exclaims as he throws his arms in the air.
"What? You don't know?" she asks as Naruto raises an eyebrow. "Know about what? What am I s'posta know?!" he questions as Urumi glances down at her hands in her lap.
"I heard that when he was seven, his older brother killed his entire clan. I think that he only acts the way to not build up relationships with people so he doesn't to get hurt anymore. I was like that for awhile after my mother died, but I was never happy..." she explains just before everyone begins heading back inside.
...
"I'll see you later, Naruto!" giggles Urumi after school that day before leaving the classroom. "Alright. Bye, Urumi!" Naruto replies as he waves.
"I believe in you, so make me proud!" she encourages as she waves back, then heads out the door. Naruto watches her leave with his eyes wide and his mouth gapped open.
"It's almost like she has a split personality..." chuckles Iruka as Naruto jumps. He almost forgot the sensei was still here.
"Oh, yeah, sometimes. She can be pretty crazy, and a second later she'll be all nice and stuff. It's actually kinda weird..." he says as Iruka leans against his desk. "Growing up the way she did, I couldn't blame her..." he sighs as Naruto stares at him for a moment.
"Yeah, she told me about that..." he laments as Iruka approaches him and rest a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't feel bad about it. What happen to her clan wasn't your fault." he consoles as Naruto sighs. "I know, but I can't help it." he says as Iruka straightens up.
"Well, enough about that. Remember, you're here for a reason." he notes as Naruto nods his head. "Right! Sensei, I want to show you the jutsu I learned! I think you'll be extremely impressed with me!" Naruto prattles as Iruka raises an eyebrow.
"Alright, show me." he says as he crosses his arms over his chest. Naruto preforms the handsigns for the jutsu.
"Shadow Clone jutsu!" he cries as he's engulfed in a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke clears, three clones stand in front of Iruka. "Where did you learn a jutsu like that?!" asks the sensei as Naruto rubs his finger under his nose. "I've been studying really hard, Sensei! Are you impressed? Do I pass?" he answers as Iruka smiles.
"Of course! I knew you could do it!" he cheers as he hands Naruto his headband. His eyes light up and he pulls off his goggles and ties the headband on his forehead.
"I can't wait to tell Urumi! Thanks alot Sensei!" Naruto exclaims as he rushes out the door.
...
There was a series of rapid knocks on Urumi's front door after she arrives home. She sets her headband on the vanity by the nightstand in her room and walks over to the door.
"Oh, hey, Naruto! So, did you pass?" she greets as the blonde grins proudly and points to his headband.
"Of course! You can't keep a great ninja like me down! Believe it!" he chuckles as Urumi giggles.
"That's great, Naruto! Now we can be ninja together!" she cheers as she hugs him gleefully. He blushes and hesitantly wraps his arms around the girl.
"Yeah... S-so, where's your headband?" he stammers as she takes his hand and leads him inside. "It's in my room. I'll go get it." she announces as she runs into her bedroom. Naruto sits on the couch and waits for her to come back.
"Mister! You're back!" giggles Kaori as she runs out of her room and to the couch. "It's nice to see you too, Kaori." Naruto smiles as she climbs into his lap. She pulls on his cheeks until they turn red.
"What's with the stripes on your face? Are you trying to be a cat or something?" she asks as Naruto rubs his sore face.
"No. I'm not, but I think you might be. You're growing whiskers right now!" he joshes as Kaori gasps. "Don't baby me! How old do you think I am??" she growls, narrowing her dark eyes at the boy.
"Tada! So, what do you think?" asks Urumi as she stands in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Her headband tied around waist like a belt.
"Why don't you wear it on your head. It is a headband after all..." comments Naruto as she crosses into the living room and sits next to him on the couch, picking up the pouting girl from his lap. Kaori runs off into the kitchen and begins rummaging through drawers.
"That's obvious, but I like it better like this!" she giggles as she smiles.
"Hey, look at me! I'm Naruto!" snickers Kaori, emerging from the kitchen with black streaks across her cheeks.
"Kaori! What are you doing??" questions Urumi, shooting up from the couch angrily. The younger sister chuckles and enters the living room with a black marker in her hand.
"It looks like a sign of adoration..." Naruto grins and laces his hands behind his head, leaning back into the softness of the couch.
"Yeah, you wish..." Kaori scoffs, sticking out her tongue to the boy as the smile on his lips falls.
"Come here." Urumi instructs as she kneels on the ground. Kaori shuffles over to her relucantly and Urumi licks her thumb, wiping away the black marker on the younger girl's face. When she finishes, she takes the marker from Kaori.
"I hate it when you do that..." the younger Makura complains as she storms off to the bathroom to wash her face. Naruto smiles slightly in amusement.
"It must be hard taking care of Kaori by yourself." he assumes as Urumi tosses the marker on the couch.
"Yeah, but she's all I have left of my clan." she sighs, combing both hands through her hair as she sits on the arm of the couch beside the blonde.
"Is she the reason why you're so determinded to become a ninja?" Naruto asks as her eyes widen. She gazes down at the floor and laces her hands together in her lap.
"... Yeah, she is. I don't know what my life would be like without her." she laments as Naruto encloses his hand around her's. Her eyes shoot up to his as a smile breaks out upon his face.
"Hey! How about we go out for ramen to celebrate!" he suggests excitedly, pulling Urumi up from the couch as he stood. She sighs, but grins in agreement.
"Ramen's going to be the death of me, one of these days..."
...
Early the next morning, Urumi wakes up to go visit her clan's shrine. By the time she comes back, it was fourty-five minutes after seven.
She sits down at the small table behind the couch in the living room to enjoy a glass of orange juice before heading out to school, when she hears a knock at the door. She puts down the glass and heads over to the door.
"Hey, Naruto!" Urumi greets warmly as he laces his hands behind his head and smiles broadly.
"I was kinda expecting Kaori to answer the door." he chuckles as Urumi leans against the doorframe with a hand planted on her hip.
"I took her to school early today." she explains as Naruto shuffles his feet.
"So, do you want to walk with me to school today?" he asks as his face flushes red.
"Sure, and this time I'm actually ready!" she chuckles with a bright smile.
"I think we'll actually be early today!" Naruto grins as Urumi closes the door and they head off through the village to the ninja academy.
"I can't wait to see who I get paired with!" announces Urumi as she jumps off a rooftop and turns to face Naruto, who was behind her.
"I just hope I get paired with someone that I actually like..." he pouts as he drops to the ground and launches back into the air.
"I'm pretty much friends with everyone, so that's not a big deal for me..." Urumi comments as Naruto snorts.
"Yeah, I noticed..." he grunts as Urumi raises a hand to her mouth, noticing the hurt look on the boy's face.
"What's wrong? Was it something I said?" she asks as Naruto shakes his head.
"Let's just say I'm not as popular as you are..." he answers as Urumi touches down on a rooftop and does a backflip.
"Well, if you'd stop sitting by yourself all the time, maybe you'd make more friends. You have to open up to people." she advises as Naruto sighs.
"It's not like I haven't. People just don't accept me. It's like they hate me for just being here..." he says as Urumi eyes soften.
"I don't hate you..." she replies sweetly as Naruto gazes at her with wide eyes.
"If you knew the truth, would you still feel that way?"
"Wow, and with eight minutes to spare." chuckles Urumi when they finally reach the school. "I bet Iruka-sensei'll be happy you made it to class on time!" he laughs as she shoves him playfully.
...
"Alright class, today is the day you'll be split up into your squads. I decided the groups based on ability, so I don't want any complaints that you didn't get put with your friends." announces Iruka when class started.
After the announcement, he begins seperating the class into groups of three until he reached Squad 7.
"Because of the odd number of students in this class, there'll be one group of four. The members include: Urumi Makura, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki." he reports as Naruto shoots up from his chair in outrage.
"Why did I have to be put with Sasuke!" he complains as Iruka narrows his eyes at the blonde.
"Because Sasuke and Urumi are among the most advanced in this class and to balance it out I had to put you in the group as well." he explains as the students begins to chuckle and jeer. Naruto crosses his arms over his chest and flops back into his seat.
"The only thing I asked for is to not be paired with Sasuke, and what happens? I get paired with Sasuke! What's up with that?!" he huffs as Urumi turns around.
"Hey, Naruto. Atleast we were paired together." she comforts as she smiles at him.
"Just try not to get in my way, Sasuke!" exclaims Naruto as he turns to face the Uchiha behind him.
"Didn't you hear what the sensei just said? He said that you were the worst student in the class!" retorts Kiba as the students laugh and sneer again.
"I get to be with Sasuke! This is like a dream come true!" squeals Sakura to herself as she gazes at him lovingly from a distance.
"How is this possible?! How could Billboard brow get paired with Sasuke, my Sasuke?!" Ino Yamanaka complains to herself as she glares daggers into the back of Sakura's head. The pink haired kunoichi turns and blows a raspberry at Ino.
"Having that numbskull, Naruto and that lovesick puppy, Sakura in my group is only going to slow me down." thinks Sasuke as he rests his head in his hands.
Iruka continues spliting up the class into the squads and announces to the class that they'll meet their new senseis tomorrow morning.
...
"I can't belive this! This can't be happening!" growls Naruto when the class gets released for lunch.
"Well, think of it like this- Atleast now you can actually get to know him, and maybe even become friends." Urumi comforts as they sit under the shady tree with the swing.
"I doubt it!" Naruto snorts as Urumi stands from the swing. The girl stamps her fists on her hips and pouts.
"You're as stubborn as a mule! The least we can do is invite him and Sakura over to eat lunch with us!" she scolds as the blonde shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back against the trunk of the tree.
"You can invite Sakura, but I swear, if that guy, Sasuke, comes anywhere near here I'll snap him in half!" he grunts as Urumi narrows her eyes at him.
"Fine! Be that way!" she snarls as she leaves to find Sakura and Sasuke. After awhile of searching, she spots Sasuke in the courtyard sitting on a bench eating riceballs. "What do you want?"
"I was just wondering that since we're in the same squad, if we could eat lunch together to get to know each other better." she says as Sakura spies on them from a nearby bush.
"Urumi could be a threat... I'll have to keep an eye on her from now on..." she thinks as she slinks away.
"No, I have other things to do than hang out with you losers..." Sasuke declines as Urumi glowers angrily at the raven haired boy seated in front of her. "Alright, maybe later then." she says through a tight jaw as she turns to go find Sakura.
...
"So, what happened?" Naruto asks as she sits back down on the swing. She sighs and presses her cheek against the cool steel of the chain holding the swing up.
"Sasuke said he was being an ass, and I couldn't find Sakura anywhere." she mumbles as Naruto chuckles.
"She's probably stalking Sasuke again. Her and the rest of the girls in our class are totally obsessed with the guy." he says as Urumi sighs again.
"Fangirls... I feel sorry for the guy..." she remarks as she kicks off the ground and begins to sweep back and forth through the air.
"I wonder what our new sensei is going to be like." Naruto announces as Urumi stares up at the clear blue sky.
"I just hope he isn't strict..." she replies. "Yeah, me too!" Naruto agrees as everyone heads back into the building.
...
After school, Urumi and Naruto walk back to their apartment complex together.
"So Urumi, are you going to use that katana now that you're a ninja?" asks Kaori when her sister comes through the door of her bedroom.
"Yeah, that's what I've been saving it for." she answers as she takes the katana off the wall across from the couch in the living room and unsheaths it carefully.
"Why would you save it?" Kaori asks as she sits on the couch.
"This katana was passed down through our family for ages. It's special, so I can't just carry it around like an old rag doll." she explains as she puts on the sheath on her back.
"So when I become a ninja, I can have it too?" Kaori asks with a wide smile. Urumi freezes, then turns to her younger sister. A small smile eases onto her lips.
"Of course. It's tradition after all." she chuckles as she slips the sword back into the sheath hanging from her back.
"Have you ever used a sword before?" Kaori asks as Urumi plants her hands on her hips. She bites her bottom lip in thought, considering the question.
"As a matter of fact, I haven't. I guess I should go outside and practice." she responses as she walks over to the front door and pulls on her shoes.
"What are we going to do for dinner?" asks Kaori as Urumi opens the door. The older sister stops in the doorway and glances over her shoulder.
"I'll be back in an hour, and then we'll go grocery shopping." she announces as she closes the door behind her.
She stands in the alleyway of the apartment complex, just outside her door. She swings her sword at the air, slicing through invisible targets. As she continues to work with the katana, it slowly begins to bind with her chakra, eliminating its use by anyone who wasn't part of the Makura clan.
Urumi didn't know much of her clan's history besides the tidbits of information she'd received from her mother. The Makura clan was one shrouded in mystery, no one knew of how they had came into existence, or more than likely, just refused to speak anything of it.
This truth that she so desperately seeks, will be alot more costly to find than she thinks.