Author's Note: Second of three cross-posted and available chapters. I'll be including Chapter Summaries from here out for future reference.

Standard Disclaimers Apply, Warnings too, though I probably should have added that all my chapters/stories are Unbeta'd (though I do tend to revise chapters before writing/posting new chapters, so there's that)...

Anywho, the chapters will basically follow a more standard format from here on out. (Notes, Disclaimers and Warnings, and "Until Now" Summary on top, the chapter, then any other notes of import, and a 'Chapter Summary' at the bottom...along with a possible descriptive preview, if I feel like it.)

Also, don't know if "cute" needs a warning, but...well, you've been warned?

Last Time: She's not quite sure how, or why, but she is now Uzumaki Mito, twin sister of a certain Child of Destiny, Uzumaki Naruto.

That aside, if there's absolutely anything she can be sure of since 'arriving' in this world... It's that she probably would've ended up doing something either horrifying, drastic, or both, if not for the optimistic sun-ray of a brother she has now...

Chapter 02: Mischief...Managed? (Arc 01: Childhood, Part I)

For once in his life, Naruto was —le gasp— not bouncing off walls… Literally or figuratively.

The occasional fidgeting aside, he was, rather remarkably, sitting still and calmly enough to diligently practice his calligraphy for the day. A determined edge to his countenance as he sat at the kotatsu that their jii-chan had given them some time ago (whether it was their supposed Godfather, or Hiru-jii-san, as she'd started taking to calling him at times, Mito wasn't sure. Especially considering she only vaguely remembered white hair...but it could've been AnBu as well, since she didn't remember the face. Someone sneaking in was definitely cause for alarm, if not for the fact that nothing had ended up happening, and she'd been too sleepy to stay away despite attempts to get her brain to make sense, then).

Naruto didn't really remember, so he supposed it had to be while they were still babies, even if Mito wore that frown that said she had an idea but wasn't sure enough to say anything about it yet when it got brought up.

Anyway! Mito —or 'to-chan as he'd been taking to calling her as soon as he'd realized they could technically share a nickname, if they wanted to, and that was so cool, who wouldn't want to share an awesome nickname all secret-like, like the AnBu-san that always stuck around? It'd be like a shared codename or something that no one else would get! Just 'to-kun or 'to-chan...or maybe just 'to & 'to...?

Naw, that sounded like it'd be a better name for the one AnBu that sometimes brought his doggies for them to play with if they'd been good— had promised they could go to the park and she'd play any game he wanted to if he at least tried to practice his character right (properly, or whatever she'd said).

Mito didn't really like running around, instead, choosing to read thoseboring books, though he supposed there were a couple of cool ones. Mito read to him sometimes, y'know? Something about cul— kill—… something about it being important, anyways.

And some of them were pretty cool, though Naruto didn't have the patience to sit around for so long. He wanted to go outside! To be in the sun, to run and be free and...—and yeah, okay, he could kinda see why she didn't like going outside, when there was always mean people glaring or whispering about them (like they couldn't hear, though he didn't know what foxes had to do with anything… maybe cuz of his pranks? Foxes played pranks, right? So maybe that was why? Except...he didn't think that was it, because they'd always called them 'fox brats' even before they —or, well, he— started playing pranks on the meanies, and—...where was he going with this again?) whenever they went out.

Anyway, Naruto, eyes bright with the promise, had agreed to make perfect— ("Perfect, 'to-kun, to perfect, not make perfect." "Yeah! I'm gonna make them perfect!" "..." A sigh, "Sure, 'to-kun, if you can write them perfectly, then I'll do whatever you want. Only one thing, though!" "Awesome! Then I'll definitely do them perfect!" "...Perfectly, 'to-chan…" "Nuh-uh, you're 'to-chan, I'm 'to-kun, silly." "...Sure.") —at least one of the sets of kana that made up their alphabet. Especially when she'd (gotten fed up and) caved to his awesome negotiating, even saying she'd help him pull a prank if he did it right!

Just one prank, but still! She never wanted to help out with pranks —giving ideas aside, if he asked nice enough. (She just didn't see the awesome in pranking yet, but at least she laughed, even if she always tried to hide her giggles. It was his job to make sure his sister was happy since they didn't have anyone else, and hers to make sure he got all the boring, important stuff taken care of so they could have fun, after all.)

Eventually, he finally managed to get a good set of sorta-wobbly characters, but at least they looked the same, right? You could totally tell what they were supposed to be!

"..." Mito sighed, deeming that this was as close to good as she'd get it for now, "I guess that'll do—"

"WHOO-HOO! PRANKING TIME, HERE WE COME!" Naruto grinned, quite literally jumping out of his seat, arms thrown into the air as he did something like a monkey-dance, hopping from one foot to the other as he pumped the air.

"—...for now," she sighed, already knowing that her brother wasn't listening anymore, but deciding not to dampen his spirits, though she did tug his jacket to keep him from knocking everything over.

(Their apartment might have been bigger than her brother's canon version due to their being twins, but that didn't mean it wasn't still small. It could barely fit the two twin beds, their kotatsu, and the dresser their shared along with the sliding door closet they kept their stuff in. A single bathroom with a shower, and one that only had a toilet, along with the kitchen the only other rooms. The kitchen was about the size of their bedroom, though the dining table and the shelf they'd fixed up in place of a pantry along with the refrigerator taking up most of the space along with the stove, counter, and sink that lined one of the walls. There was enough room for the kids to walk around now, but Mito had no doubt that it'd get cramped soon enough once they started hitting their growth spurts.

(And from what she remembered of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina —along with future-Naruto— then they'd both be getting gangly limbs and awkward angles as soon as they hit their teens. Especially if the healthier diet that Mito kept them on had anything to say about it…)

"Lunch first, and then pranking. We can plan while we eat," she promised, already getting up to head to the kitchen.

She still wasn't tall enough to be able to cook without a boost (it was dangerous not to be able to see what one was doing, especially with limbs that barely reached the countertops, after all), so one of the few chairs they had were always relegated to 'counter duty'.

"Ramen?" Naruto asked, trailing her like a puppy now that he'd calmed down a bit.

(...And she was absolutely certain that he'd have some sort of dog ears and tail genjutsu cast on his appearance if she just looked back. Those AnBu took their 'revenge' in seriously weird ways, sometimes. Still, at least it was all harmless, considering they'd be needing new AnBu otherwise —and she liked their current set of AnBu watchers, thank you.)

"Maybe for dinner," she promised, not wanting to wait forever to have lunch. Dashi was a pain to prepare (especially for a child who, though patient, was still a child with limits. And the time it took to make the soup stock took way too long for the girl's liking). Better to just save up and go to Ichiraku-san's than try and fail to make it herself.

Not to mention how much her twin would complain about the —gasp—sacrilege that was ruining the amazing-ness that was ramen!

...

Yeah, no, Mito had her limits, and working hard on something only to get complaints for it was one of the quickest ways to tick her off. (She didn't care if jii-san wanted to stick her in an orange skirt, she was more concerned with the practical side than anything. So as long as there were shorts or leggings to wear under them, she honestly couldn't care less if she was wearing skirts or shorts, okay. She wasn't sure why anyone and/or everyone just assumed she'd —apparently— be so against it?)

"Ichiraku's for dinner?" he perked up, practically sparkling (freaking AnBu —no, she loved them, really, but the genjutsu got old when she didn't have enough control to pull a kai without giving something up by, oh, say, stabbing herself?) at the thought.

"...Only if we don't get in trouble," she reminded him, seeing as it would take too long dealing with said 'trouble' to be able to go and eat at Teuchi-jii-chan's without getting dragged away halfway. "Is chahan good for lunch?" She asked, pulling out the stuff they needed for the fried rice dish.

It was quick and easy to make, along with filling and relatively healthy, considering there were greens in it. Especially for two young jinchuuriki like themselves.

"...Miso flavor?" He asked, causing his twin to take a second look in the fridge to see if they even had any miso paste left. (It was a lot easier to do their shopping when they didn't look like themselves… Not to mention that Mito had absolutely no qualms about ratting out the rude and mean store-owners for making her brother cry when all he wanted was some ramen…

(Okay, so maybe she did have a temper...and a grudge, but please, she kept the Yin half...well, technically quarter...of the Kyuubi in her head... er, stomach? Brain… Seal-thing. ...Yeah, she had a full quarter of a tailed beast in her seal, so was it really so surprising after all? She didn't get grudges so easily, but making her adorable if-at-times hellishly energetic little/big brother cry was definitely at the top of them.)

...

(Needless to say, O-jii-san now either made sure the groceries were properly bought on the weekly 'playdates' he had with them, or AnBu-san went and got it for them.

(Hey, they were growing kids. They needed the nutrition, okay? And, well...if she'd started tearing up when, that one time after a really, really mean store owner went so far as to throw eggs at them...well, she was a sympathetic crier, okay? Remembering that her brother was so upset, and being so upset herself...was it really any wonder that a child with less emotional control ended up breaking into tears because of something like that?)

"...I was going to use soy sauce, but I guess?" She mused, pulling out the nearly empty plastic tin of miso-shiru paste. "We'll have to get more later, though," preferably before they pissed off any AnBu, though that did depend on who Naruto wanted to prank.

(...She may have done it with the sobbed nutritional rant, though, seeing as the 'forever short' and 'never be able to grow up' comments had gotten her brother to gasp and start tearing up too…whoops.)

"Oh…" Naruto blinked, helping himself onto one of the chairs at their table (it hadn't broken yet, but probably only due, in part, to Mito doing her best to remind Naruto not to run around or play inside of the house...er, flat. Furniture was a lot more difficult to replace than food, okay? ...Not that they wasted any food...kinda hard to bring themselves to, considering that there had been a time when they'd gone hungry...especially before Mito finally broke and 'fessed up to the Hokage) so he could see what she was doing once she started working. "A little of both, then?"

They'd both wash the dishes together, later, since they wouldn't have any other bowls and plates to use otherwise.

(And also, they were both too short to do the whole job by themselves. One washing, and the other wiping theen putting it away seemed to be a good combination, though. Nothing had broken while they did that...yet.)

"...Sure. I think we have just enough for AnBu-san, too, though we might need to buy more milk…" She muttered, squinting at the carton of near empty milk.

(Just as Naruto liked ramen broth, Mito seemed to like milk...though she was fond of most dairy anyway. Yogurt, the milder cheeses, ice cream … Naruto loved ramen, fine, but she had her own vices too. It was only fair...though they'd had to cut down her milk intake to two or three glasses per day, considering she apparently never got sick and tired of it...and that wasn't even counting her use of it in recipes, though the AnBu might admit they hadn't seen it used in certain ways til she did so... They probably would've fit right in with the Akimichi, if she could eat as much as her brother, to be honest...or maybe they actually were both part-Akimichi and just didn't know it?)

Naruto huffed and rolled his cerulean blue eyes, "We always have to buy more milk," he pointed out. It was almost a joke by now that she liked her milk as much as he loved his ramen broth.

"I don't see you complaining when I'm making ice cream," she retorted, beating some eggs and starting the water boiler so she could soften and de-chunk (if that was even the right word) the miso paste. There was still some rice left over from breakfast, so she could just use all of that up, and then chop up some greens and ham to go with it.

They'd finished all the fish for breakfast —but if she knew the AnBu as well as she did by this point, there'd probably be more in the fridge when she woke up in the morning.

Although…

"I think I'd prefer tuna over salmon again, if we have to have fish again," she muttered, somehow just knowing that their AnBu would catch on...along with a few extra filet for their AnBu guard, of course.

(She had a feeling at least one of them was an unrepentant moocher. Even if it meant having a kid making their breakfast, sometimes lunch, and possibly even dinner… well, not like it made much difference with the near bottomless pit that was her brother, though. She hadn't even realized kids could eat that much...though she had a suspicion that it had something to do with the seals on their tummies… a way of supplying energy, maybe? Who knows…)

"What? But Salmon's good!" Naruto whined before pausing, "Well, not as good as seafood ramen," which he was pretty sure used a different fish, cuz it was white...or white-looking, anyway.

"And salmon is fatty," Mito said, distaste clear on her features, "It's fine sometimes, but the grease tends to stick to my throat," she reminded him, trying not to gag at the remembered feeling of fish oils sliding down her throat. Gross.

Naruto scrunched his nose, "Do you have to make it sound so icky?" He gagged, hopping back down to get himself a glass of water to wash the phantom taste out.

Why was it, that whenever Mito described things like that, he could always, always seem to taste and/or feel it…?

So weird.

Mito just rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well now you know how I feel," she retorted, waving her spatula at him. She was almost done, and once the meat and veggies were done —and she'd been careful cutting the onions this time, so yay, no tears!— then she could toss the rice in. Light seasoning to avoid killing her own taste buds, but some salt, garlic powder, and black pepper for taste.

The miso would go on after, and the scrambled eggs —lightly seasoned— for last so it could stick to the rice properly once it was 'dry' enough without getting overcooked. Soy sauce was always last for fragrance and taste, or you'd be left with just...saltiness, even if the fragrance stuck. (And boy could it stick.)

A rumble echoed in the air, making Mito pause in her movements to look at her sheepish brother.

"What, it smells good?" he muttered into his arms, ducking his head so his twin couldn't see his red face, even if he knew she could still tell. Still, at least she didn't say anything, grin aside, as she turned back to the stove.

Now if it tasted as good as it smelled, then it'd really be a complement...

"DAMN IT, YOU UZUMAKI BRATS—! GET BACK HERE!"

There was yelling, there was screaming, and there were two blonde children laughing and giggling away as they ran, adrenaline keeping their smaller bodies going, even as their chaser became winded and had to slow down, losing the blondes to the somewhat busy day-time crowds.

Mito couldn't believe how much fun she was having, even if it ended up with more running than she would have preferred. It was also a lot simpler than her brother's usual pranks —but she supposed that was probably for her sake, considering she might've helped plan some, but had never been directly involved in the set-up and such herself.

As it was, the two had slipped into an alley and behind a dumpster to catch their breath, trying not to giggle as their victim ran right past their hiding spot, apparently having gotten a second wind. (No doubt the AnBu-san watching over them were shaking their heads, even as they hid their own chuckles at the kids' juvenile pranks. But hey, it was good practice for trapping and stuff, right? Totally just ninja training, yeah…)

After the guy —covered in paint, feathers from an old pillow they had to toss out anyways, and glitter— finally couldn't be heard anymore, the two look shared a look, breaking into laughter as they tried not to collapse right then and there.

(Alleys were gross and icky. Mito had once said that they were breeding grounds for germs and back-ta-things, but he didn't really get it. That, and there was really no telling what had been on the floor —especially near a dumpster. And while Mito simply didn't like getting all gross, Naruto just didn't want to be forced into more baths than he absolutely had to.

(Maybe Mito liked being super-duper clean, but Naruto was normal, okay. He was a normal, rambunctious little boy… —Wait, why was she looking at him like that?)

"Did you still want to play?" she asked, seeing as the prank had taken less time than she'd expected, though some of the stuff and set-up had taken a while. They still had some time before dinner, and while theycould go back and take a shower, she knew her brother almost better than she knew herself at this point.

—In other words: No way, no showers til it was shower-time, and there was no way she'd be able to make him. And she didn't want to have to wash the bed sheets again just because he'd rolled on them without showering, either.

Regardless, Naruto thought about it a bit, looking up and squinting at the sky.

"...Think we have time for one more prank?" He asked, a sly grin growing on his face that was slowly being matched by his other half.

"...Depends, what were you thinking about doing…?" She asked, curious blink turning into something more devious as she tried to suppress a cackle. (That was definitely her brother's trickster face, right there!)

"...You think the boring fan-guys would mind a bit more color in their lives…?"

They still had some paint they had to get rid of...

(Rule #1 for pranking, as told by Naruto, was leave no evidence. Get rid of anything that could point it to you. Preferably getting rid of it all through even more pranking...But either way, as long as you could remove all evidence, it didn't really matter if you used it all or tossed somewhere no one could find it and prove who done it... —wait, no, that was Rule Number Two. Number One was "Admit nothing. Deny everything. Make counter accusations. And demand proof."

(The third was to make sure you never did the same prank twice —or at least, not to the same person and in the exact same way— but that should've been common sense, duh. And of course, number four was that you shouldn't be caught anyways, or if you do...well, run. And finally, if all else fails, disc-rat...disc-red… —something that Mito had pointed out earlier, though it was probably just going to be an amend-mint to the first one. "Discredit all opposition, brother," his awesomely awesome twin reminded him. "And the word you're looking for is amendment.")

So they might as well, anyway.

Considering the only other color that the KMF used was red, and pink was — kinda — close to red, they'd be cool with it anyways, right? (And they didn't have any proof, even if they managed to get them caught red-handed —or, well, pink-handed, in this case— because they wouldn't get caught. 'Cuz they were awesome pranksters like that!)

(Elsewhere, a certain grey-haired someone sighed at the brother corrupting the sister. Someone was going to have to pacify those civilians, but considering it wasn't actually doing any harm and was good training, along with helping the kids get out any negative emotions in a constructive way… well, he could turn a blind eye as long as they didn't get caught, he supposed.)

This would also, very possibly, be the time when the twins would meetthe Shunshin...

Who would, very quickly, become their enabler — ("Awww, look-it the cute little pranksters... Who's an adorable little avatar of mischief~? Yes you are, yes you are~ " A pat on the head…s. "Heyyyyy, we aren't dogs, dattebayo!" "And you have a catchphrase —well, verbal tick, close enough, whatever— that's so cute~! " A yelp, "Hey! Who ya callin' cute...?! —AND WHO'RE YOU SAYIN' HAS TICKS, 'TTEBAYO?!" A burst of laughter and an accompanying sigh. "To-chan, please...just...stop... I don't think you're really helping right now." A blink, "Huh, guess not all blondes are dumb, are they?" A tick. "...Okay, never mind. LET ME AT 'EM, NII-CHAN, I'MMA TEAR HIM TO SHREDS. WHO DECIDED BLONDES ARE DUMB, ANYWAY, HUH?!" "WAIT, TO-CHAN, NO—! YOU CAN'T KILL THE NICE POLICE GUY!" "Awwww, you think I'm nice!" Shisui cackled. "NOT HELPING, MR. POLICE GUY!" "It's Shisui, by the way~!") —while simultaneously, amazingly, managing to get under both the twin's skin.

...

Well, they do say Karma comes in threes.

—Or wait, was that supposed to be (bad things) mischief makers that come in threes…?

(Well, whatever, close enough. As long as the meaning got through...)

Ending Notes: Today's Chapter, Starring: Uzumaki Naruto, A Corrupted Sibling, Some Pranks, and A Certain Uchiha (though probably not the one everyone's waiting for, whoops...and who really wasn't supposed to show up, but did anyways, and now I can't get his Muse to leave)...along with some faceless, nameless, and apparently mischievous AnBu-san...

Also, for future reference (and this is noted on AO3, as well), since I couldn't really find anything on some of them:

Does anyone know what everyone's official AnBu names are? Because I can only find two for the ones I'm planning on using —technically three, though the third doesn't count since he's not on babysitting duty— and the other three I want on twin-sitting duty...well, two of them are apparently kinda 'cat' looking, and the last one... doesn't really even look like an AnBu mask, to be honest... (Though one of them does remind me of something else, so it should be fine, I guess.)

Should I make some up, or just use whatever suits when they show up?

Next Time: The Third finally gives them permission to go to school, Naruto saves a victim of bullying, and Mito...well, Mito may or may not be secretly dying of cute... possibly even falling on the border of Committing Crimes for the sake of said Cute —with a capital "C"...