Kindred Spirits

Chapter 1 – Ramen, and a Half-Gallon of Milk

Naruto looked at the clock. 9:15pm.

Peeking around the corner, he saw a small stream of light from the crack beneath the bathroom door. He knew that in a few moments, he'd be able to hear the water running, and when that happened, he'd have exactly fifteen minutes to prepare, cook, and eat his precious ramen before getting caught. It had been a full five hours since his last bowl (a hearty beef ramen from Ichiraku) and Naruto was getting hungry.

The boy raced over to the kitchen and opened the cupboards, reaching inside and pulling out a bowl of instant ramen. All he needed to do was boil the water, pour it in, and wait for a few minutes. It was simple enough, and if he did it right, then he wouldn't be caught in the act. And he'd learned from experience that getting caught eating ramen when he wasn't supposed to was never fun.

Naruto twiddled his thumbs, crouched beside the stove, watching the kettle intently. If he kept it on for too long, the water would boil and the kettle would whistle, but if he took it off too early, his ramen wouldn't cook fast enough. He groaned, hopping from one foot to another in impatience. Time was of the essence, here! "Come on, hurry up!" he whispered, clasping his hands together as if praying to Kami-sama himself, "Hurry and cook before neechan gets me!"

A minute passed. And another. Deciding that the water was hot enough for proper noodle-cooking, Naruto turned the heat off and pulled the kettle away from the stove, slowly pouring the steaming hot water into his cup of instant noodles. The water in the bathroom was still running, accompanied by a muffled attempt at singing. A cheshire grin slowly formed on Naruto's face. Singing usually meant he had about seven minutes left. And that was plenty of time.

"I-ta-da-ki-masu!"

Naruto peeled back the lid, the steaming broth of the noodles wafting out. He began to drool, raising his chopsticks in the air, ready to dig in, when…

"And what are you doing with that?"

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no…

"Ahahahaha…h-hey, neechan!" Naruto slowly turned his head, his eyes turning toward the hand around his raised wrist with a lopsided smile, "You finished your bath!"

Yugito Nii tilted her head, looking down at her adopted brother with narrowed eyes. Her waist-length hair was dripping wet down her back, and a towel was wrapped tightly around her body, held closed at the front with her other hand. A small puddle of water pooled around her bare feet, her left foot tapping against the floor. "You told me you were going to bed, Naruto."

"W-Well, yeah, I was going to bed, but then I got hungry!"

His sister raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "What are the ramen rules again?"

Naruto sighed, his shoulders dropping, "Not to eat it without you…"

"And what were you just doing?"

"…eating it without you."

"And what happens after?"

"No ramen for a day…"

Yugito let go of Naruto's hand before crossing her arms over her chest, "Exactly." She'd have preferred a longer, ramen-free punishment, but she'd learned that if Naruto went for any longer than 24 hours without the stuff, it made for one very cranky boy. And a cranky Naruto resulted in a really big headache.

"But neechan!" the boy pleaded, holding his hands together, "Can't I have it just this once? Pleaseeeeeee?"

The older blonde lowered her head, placing it in her hand in exasperation, "Naruto, ramen isn't good for you! If you keep eating that junk, you'll never grow tall." Yugito was about to continue her tirade, one that she'd repeated countless times in the past week alone, before pausing. Naruto's eyes were glued to the ground, his legs swinging slightly from the chair that was still a little too tall for him. Usually by now, he'd have said something in defense of ramen, and that, coupled with his huge blue eyes and a childish pout, was usually enough push Yugito into just agreeing with him, of course, just this once. But this time, he was strangely quiet, and that was worrying.

She bent down, one hand still gripping onto the towel tightly, while the other gently tipped his chin up to face her, "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I'm scared," The boy murmured under his breath, just loud enough for Yugito to hear.

"Scared? Did you have another bad dream?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, I'm not scared of the bad dreams anymore. I'm scared about tomorrow, neechan."

Yugito wanted to slap her forehead. Tomorrow was Naruto's first day in the Academy. How could she have forgotten? "Naruto, it's normal for kids to be scared on the first day of school. You'll do great tomorrow."

"That's not it, neechan! I have to go see other kids tomorrow…what if they don't like me?" His blue eyes met hers, and for once, Yugito was astonished. Instead of their usual vigour, they were filled with anxiety and worry. In the two years she'd spent with the boy, she'd never seen him this upset. He wasn't even this sad when he accidentally knocked over the giant bowl of pork ramen that one time two weeks ago. No, this was on a whole new scale, and Yugito wasn't sure how to deal with it.

"Naruto," the woman said gently, cupping his cheek with her free hand. She was sure this would be easier if she hadn't just exited the shower. "Of course the other kids will like you. You're a nice boy. You'll make friends, no problem!" Even with her around, Naruto still had trouble making friends. The villagers' fear and hate over his tenant were stronger than her reputation and the respect she gained among the villagers, even with the Hyugas. They probably pitied the fact that someone like her was forced to take care of someone like him. Well, jokes on them. She thought it was unfair that unlike Naruto, her tenant was kept secret outside from the Hokage, the Konoha Council and a few members of ANBU and high-ranking ninja. But after a while, she figured keeping it hidden was the best thing she could do for Naruto right now; it gave him some semblance of normality.

"Besides," Yugito continued, giving the boy a small smile, "You're funny and you like making jokes, right?" He nodded. "As long as you don't go overboard, like that time with the eggs and the balloons, people like funny boys. Especially girls." Naruto made a face and a gagging sound. Yugito chuckled. "Okay, maybe you're a little too young for that."

Hopping off the seat, the six-year old jumped into Yugito's arms, burying his head in the crook of her shoulder. "Okay, neechan. I'll try to make friends."

She smiled, "Good. Now–" Yugito stopped mid-sentence, causing Naruto to look up at her with a questioning look. Her ears twitched, and her dark eyes narrowed. Naruto knew that look. Uh oh…

Yugito pulled away from him, adjusting her towel as she stood up and walked over to the fridge. "Naruto, do you know what else girls like?" She asked, pulling out a half-empty gallon-sized bottle of milk, "Boys who don't peek on them!" she roared, whipping the bottle straight out of the open window, right into the leaves of the tall tree that stood right outside their apartment.

Thunk. Thud.

Naruto grimaced slightly as his sort-of-adopted-sister took a deep, calming breath, before turning back to him with the same smile she had just moments ago, "Well, since you've already made the ramen, I guess you can finish it." She said, patting his head as she walked past, "Finish up quickly and then go to bed. Don't forget to clean up."

The boy waited until he heard the door to her room close, before racing over to the open window. Standing on his toes, he looked down at the ground with a silly grin. "Ne, are you okay, Kakashi-ossan?"

Kakashi was an excellent ninja. In fact, he was one of the best that Konoha had to offer. He had completed countless dangerous and nearly-impossible missions. He was a student of the Yondaime Hokage. He was trained and operated as an ANBU operative for years. He copied nearly a thousand jutsu with his Sharingan. And Yugito Nii had bested him with a half-gallon bottle of milk.

"I can't believe I hit the Great Copy Ninja Kakashi with a half-gallon bottle of milk."

Damn that woman.

The masked ninja crossed his arms, leaning against the kitchen counter of the small apartment. "It was a lucky shot." He replied, hearing Yugito snort as she poured a cup of tea into a small cup. Kakashi was used to this evening routine; when Naruto was asleep, Yugito always made tea for herself before going to bed. She drank it with three sugars and more milk than hot water, it might not even be called tea. After spending nearly a year as the duo's ANBU handler, he'd nearly memorized their daily schedules and habits, "You never used to fling things at me. I was caught off guard."

He purposely neglected the fact that he wasn't actually in the tree to peek on her. He was actually enjoying some quiet reading time. But if he mentioned that, there was a good chance she'd throw a full gallon of milk.

The woman turned and held the cup of steaming tea in her hands, finally changing into a simple shirt and loose pajama pants. Her hair, now dry, was tied back in a ponytail. "That was because I was giving you permission to observe. This time, not so much."

Kakashi chortled quietly, "Fair enough. I'll remember to ask next time."

"Alternatively, you could just knock on the door if you wanted to talk to me."

He waved his hand dismissively, before returning it to its position across his chest, "I find knocking to be quite boring."

Yugito took a sip of her milky tea, "Well, what did you want to talk about?"

The silver-haired man was silent for a moment, "How's Naruto?" Now that he'd been reassigned as a jonin leader, he hadn't been spending as much time watching over his late sensei's son as he'd like. Sure, Yugito was a force to be reckoned with on her own, and he knew Naruto was in safe hands with her. But…just it wasn't the same.

"He starts school tomorrow." The blonde replied, swirling her tea in her cup gently, "He's nervous, as all children are."

"It's going to be a difficult day for him tomorrow," Kakashi agreed, "But I wouldn't worry about it." He wasn't looking, but he could only imagine the brief, puzzled look on Yugito's face, "You know the law that Hokage-sama enforces, right? He'll be fine with the kids." There was a pause. "It's the adults I'd be more concerned about."

There was a quiet hum of agreement, "I won't be able to help him."

Since Yugito started living with Naruto, Kakashi could tell just how big of an impact one person did to the boy's life. He shed the fake smile he was so used to using, and opened up to the woman, something no one had been able to do before. He laughed, he cried, he acted like any boy his age should act. And Yugito's presence was enough deterrence against any villagers who even tried to get close to the boy; three weeks after she'd moved in with Naruto, a group of men decided to graffiti on their apartment door.

They spent five months in the hospital, and Yugito got a stern talking-to.

Kakashi chuckled, "Naruto's a tough kid. I know he can handle school. And you'll be around to make sure there aren't any crooked teachers purposely failing him."

"You really think that'll happen?"

He shrugged casually, "It's always better to make sure."

Yugito finished the last of her tea, setting the cup in the sink. "Then I guess I'll keep my eye out."

A quiet silence passed between the two. Yugito was used to his presence, and Kakashi hers. For the past year, he'd been like a shadow for her and Naruto, mostly out of protection, but also partly to watch her specifically. After all, she was still a foreigner, and a foreign ninja, too. The Council had agreed to grant her asylum, but only if she agreed for at least a year of surveillance. And she agreed to it.

Kakashi suddenly perked up, "Oh, by the way, I'd almost forgotten!" He pushed off from the counter, rubbing his hand on the back of his head with a quiet chuckle, "I actually came because Hokage-sama wanted me to give this to you," the ninja reached into his vest and pulled out a small scroll, tossing it to the woman. She barely moved a muscle, only raising her arm to catch it between her fingers. "He wants to see you tomorrow."

Unfurling the scroll, the blonde skimmed through its contents with a deep sigh, "Not this again."

"He's a little persistent."

"He won't stop until I say yes, won't he?" Yugito held the scroll in one hand, the other making a quick hand seal as it burst into a small flame.

"After a while, I think he'll respect your wishes. But I agree with him." She gave Kakashi a cutting look. He held up his hands in defense. "Just my personal opinion."

Yugito placed a few fingers against her forehead, "Don't you have somewhere else to be, Kakashi? I heard Hokage-sama gave you another Genin team to fail tomorrow."

The masked ninja raised one shoulder in a half-shrug, "I'm not so sure about that. Maybe this team is the one." She gave him a look. "Okay, maybe not."

"Get out of my house, Kakashi. I'm going to bed."

He walked over to the opened window, hopping up and balancing on the thin windowsill. "I still think you should do it. Wish Naruto good luck for me tomorrow, will you?" Placing two fingers against his headband in a casual salute, Kakashi closed his eye in a smile before vanishing in a burst of swirling leaves.

Yugito closed the window, drawing the curtains close. Striding across the small living room, she flicked the light switch off, blanketing the apartment in darkness. She didn't mind, her eyes adjusted to the sudden change quickly; she guessed it was a benefit of having a fiery giant demon cat within her body. Making her way towards the small hallway, she paused in front of a door, the orange Naruto painted on the door nearly glowing, even in the dim light. Pushing the door open slightly, Yugito peeked inside.

Naruto was sprawled out on the bed, the blanket already on the floor, and the pillow on his head resting against his feet.

With a small smirk, she closed the door gently.

You'll do great tomorrow, Naruto. I know it.

Note: This chapter was written at the same time as the Prologue, hence the quick update. Future updates, unfortunately, won't be as speedy.

If you couldn't already guess, this story is an AU. Things that happened, or will happen, won't; the Hyuga Incident being one of them. Yugito's presence in Konoha will definitely change things, and her non-presence in Kumo will have a lasting effect, too.

I skipped a giant chunk of the series, particularly when they were talking about the backstories of a few of the characters, such as Kakashi. The dates and years and ages of some of the events and characters might be a little off, but again, it's an AU, so don't think too much of them. I'll try to craft my own story within the canon outlines, but some things might stray out. Be warned of potential cat jokes in future chapters.

Thank you for reading. Please review, if you'd like.