"Hey, Naruto! Time to get up!"
The blonde knucklehead groaned as he rolled over in his bed, knocking empty ramen cups off his nightstand, "Five more minutes!"
Kenshin, now thirteen years old, walked into the room and yanked the blankets off his cousin, "No, cousin, we've got to go to school today. Graduation, remember?"
The blonde got up and groggily shuffled over to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Kenshin shook his head as he made his cousin's bed for him. Kenshin, while only thirteen, had his long dark red hair tied into a ponytail at the base of his neck, and was a good five inches taller than the knucklehead. Where Naruto was loud, Kenshin was quiet. Where Naruto was rude, his cousin was polite. Where Naruto rushed in head first, Kenshin cautiously approached his objectives. Lastly, where Naruto used the common tools of the shinobi, such as kunai and shuriken, Kenshin used only a katana.
Throughout their years at the Academy, Kenshin had been learning how to use a katana from Takata, one of the few people in Konoha to treat the two Uzumakis like human beings. For now, Kenshin used one of Takata's old katanas, but once he graduated, Takata said he would give Kenshin a sword of his own. Kenshin wasn't worried about himself graduating, only his cousin. Naruto had trouble creating a simple Bushin, and Kenshin had a feeling it wasn't because of his chakra control.
"You ready yet?" Kenshin shouted, fastening his katana to his hip. Many found this strange. Ninja using a katana typically wore it across their back, but Kenshin fixed it to his hip like a samurai. The Academy staff had tried to set him straight on that, but during the combat drills Kenshin had shown his way was more suitable for his self-made style. True, he learned the basics from Takata, but Kenshin had forged his own style even at his young age, and none could pinpoint its weaknesses.
"Yeah, let's get going," Naruto said sullenly.
Kenshin nudged his cousin's shoulder, "Hey, you're gonna do just fine!"
"You keep saying that, but I can't even make a simple clone of myself," Naruto muttered. The two traveled in silence after that, ignoring the dark looks sent their way by the people they passed. Once they reached the Academy, they took their seats in the corner of the room, away from everyone else. Naruto growled slightly as everyone in the class fawned over the one Uchiha in the room. Almost everyone, anyways. Kenshin looked over at the Hyuuga in the room and saw that she was once again watching his cousin.
"You know, Naruto, I don't understand why you drool over Haruna when Hinata-san obviously likes you so much," Kenshin said with a shake of his head. He never understood what Naruto saw in the pink-haired girl. To him, she was not worth the effort when there was someone else who cared for you instead of beating you.
"But she's so cute!" Naruto whined. Kenshin merely shook his head as Iruka entered the room.
"Alright, as everyone knows, today is the Graduation exam. To pass, you need to generate three successful Bushins. When I call your name, report to the room next door. Hyuuga Hinata," Iruka said. When the Hyuuga reached the door, Iruka escorted her out of the classroom.
"So, Naruto, you gonna pass? Or are you gonna have to repeat classes?"
Kenshin looked over at the guy who spoke and groaned when he saw Kiba, "Leave him alone, Kiba."
"What are you gonna do about it?" Kiba asked, spitting on Kenshin.
"Kenshin, honey, do you remember what I told you yesterday?"
"Yes, momma. You said you must do whatever it takes to protect those you care about."
"Good. Always remember that protecting those you care about is one of the laws of the Uzumaki family."
"So why, momma? Why are we here if aunty is the Hokage's wife?"
"I...I don't know, honey. Just remember, use all your strength to protect those you care about."
Kiba grinned wickedly. Kenshin stood slowly, before looking Kiba in the eye.
"Leave us alone, you dirty mongrel, or I'll rip out your throat," Kenshin said, his tone low and his expression dead. His emerald green eyes appeared to be vacant.
Kiba growled, "What did you say to me?"
A slow smile spread across Kenshin's otherwise expressionless face, "You heard me, mutt. Leave us alone. If you don't, I'll rip out your throat, then feed you to the carrion birds."
Kiba's eyes narrowed, then felt that everyone in the room was watching for his reaction, "Pft. Freak." With that, Kiba returned to his seat on the otherside of the room.
Kenshin turned to look at everyone else, "Anyone else want to say anything?"
When no one acknowledged him, Kenshin returned to his seat.
"You don't have to stand up for me, Kenshin. I can take care of myself," Naruto grumbled.
Kenshin smiled sady, "We Uzumakis have to watch out for each other. It's not like anyone else will."
That night, Kenshin got word that his cousin had stolen a scroll of forbidden jutsus, so he set off by himself to look for him. Checking the usual haunts, and after finding nothing, Kenshin headed off to the training grounds. By the time he got there, as the sun was rising, Kenshin saw an exhausted Naruto sitting next to a wounded Iruka. Not far from where the two sat was an unconcious Mizuki.
"Hey, Kenshin! I graduated after all!" Naruto shouted happily. Iruka nodded as he ruffled Naruto's hair.
Kenshin couldn't help but grin, "Great job, cousin."
"Momma, where are we going? Those bad men are gonna be so mad when they find us," A young seven year old child said, shaking as he and his mother fled deep into the forests.
"That's why they can't find us, honey. Keep running, Kenshin, the border isn't much farther!" A woman, around twenty-nine years old, looked over her shoulder as she urged her child to run a little faster.
About two hours later, the two rested in the shadow of a tall tree, both trying to catch their breath while the mother kept listening to make sure no one was following them.
"Momma? What is Aunty Kushina like?" The little boy looked up at his mother.
"Kushina? She can be loud, sometimes rude, but she's a good sister, and she has a protective streak in here a mile long," The mother said with a weak smile. She fought the urge to lay down and take that final rest that she knew was soon in coming.
"Really? What about Uncle Minato?" The boy asked.
"From what I remember, he loved your aunt very much. He seemed like a good man," The mother said softly. She froze when she heard a stick break.
"Kenshin, you have to hide!" The boy's mother turned to face the direction of the border. Just as the boy retreated from site, two Stone Ninja came into view.
"So this is where you've run to. Where's the brat?" One ninja asked coldly.
The boy shivered then looked down and saw a sharp, heavy rock at his feet. Silently, the boy reached down and picked it up before circling around the tree until he was standing behind the two ninja.
"WHERE IS THE BRAT?" The lead ninja stepped foward and backhanded the boy's mother. The other ninja looked around, but didn't bother to look above him. The boy had climbed the tree silently until he was standing on a branch over the two ninja.
"He's gone," The mother said, looking the ninja in the eye defiantly.
The lead ninja hissed angrilly as he pulled out a kunai, "Then we don't have a use for you, do we?"
Once the boy saw the knife, he leaped from the tree branch with a wordless cry, bringing the rock down on the second ninja's head with a sickening crunch. The boy's mother struggled with the lead ninja for the kunai until she cried out in pain. The lead ninja turned on the boy with a now bloodied knife.
The boy screamed as his vision went red. When it cleared, he was standing over the two ninja with a bloodsoaked rock in his hands.
"It's okay...Kenshin, momma's got you.." The mother whispered as she embraced her shivering son.
A/N: I know this is early for an update, but since I've got a few reviews and Story Alerts, I figured I'd go ahead and publish the second chapter earlier than I planned to. If you guys or gals have any thoughts on my OC, shoot me a PM or review, alright? Depending on how many reviews I get this time determines how early the next chapter is published. Later!