The Snake's attack
They were in the forest of Death, as it was called. Haruto's mind buzzed with what she had learned the night before about her birth. Gaara and Temari sensed this, so finally one of them spoke up.
"Haru, what's wrong?" Gaara asked, concerned.
"It's nothing. Let's concentrate on getting past this exam, okay?"
They completed the second exam in record time. Then Haruto did something they didn't expect.
"I'm going back out there. If I stay in here too long, I'll die from boredom!"
"What?!" said Gaara in shock.
"I'll come back before the next exam starts, you can count on it!"
"Haru wait! I'll go with you," said Gaara.
"Gaara, no offense, but I'd rather go alone. Besides, I don't need help weeding out the competition!" she laughed.
"Haru…"
"I'll be back before the next part starts!" she called out as she vanished into the forest.
Haruto wandered around for over an hour, beating several teams along the way. She took their scrolls, and gave them to other teams out of boredom. It wasn't until she saw a gigantic snake that she stopped.
"What the…?"
The snake suddenly exploded, revealing a certain Genin…
She followed him to his team, and watched in amazement as he stopped a snake-like shinobi from attacking his friends. While she watched, the snake-shinobi tried to attack them. Finally, she couldn't stand being on the sidelines when the shinobi tried to bite the raven-haired boy.
"Oh no you don't!" she said angrily. Her attack caught him off guard and he broke off.
"Who the hell are you?!" he said irritably.
"The name's Haruto, freak!"
Did she say her name was Haruto?! Naruto thought in shock. Suddenly, he activated the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra to help Sasuke. When the shinobi sealed his demon power away, Haruto felt a surge of energy run throughout her body! It was as if the energy Naruto suddenly lost had changed bodies! Then she heard a voice from within her mind speak to her…
Interesting…you seem to be more intelligent than the boy.
What the…? Who are you?!
I am the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Why are you talking to me?
Beats me. All I know is that for some reason you have a telekinetic link to this idiot.
Great…so now I have to deal with a fox taking over my body!
"What the…? Why does that girl look like Naruto did a second ago?!" said Sakura in surprise.
Haruto went through a series of signs, her hands guided by the Nine-Tailed Fox. She then performed a powerful fire Jutsu. As a result of the flames, her mask covering her face was burned off! The two Leaf Genin looked in shock as they recognized an all-too-familiar pair of whisker-like marks on her cheeks!
"No way…" started Sakura.
"She looks just like…" said Sasuke.
"Naruto!" Sasuke and Sakura said in unison.
"What you lookin at?!" said Haruto annoyed.
The ninja's patience had worn thin; he attacked yet again, only to be blocked by Haruto. He tried biting Sasuke yet again, only this time, he bit someone else! Haruto pushed Sasuke out of the way, and ended up getting a cursed seal on her neck as a result. Naruto yelped in pain, even though he was a fair distance from Haruto. Sasuke was bit a split second later; a seal on his neck. Sasuke let loose a smoke bomb and grabbed Haruto, while Sakura took Naruto. They escaped quickly into the forest; the shinobi didn't bother to follow in pursuit.
"What the hell was that about?!" said Sasuke.
"I don't know…but these two need help, fast!" said Sakura in concern. They stopped near the base of an old tree; Sasuke got some water while Sakura stayed with the other two. Haruto was running a high fever by the time night fell. Naruto was out cold, and showed no signs of coming too anytime soon. By morning, Sakura was tired. They had slept in shifts, one awake while the other slept. After Sakura got some fresh water, Sasuke spoke up.
"It's strange…"
"What is?"
"The way that girl reacted when Naruto got that seal. And did you notice how he yelped when that guy bit her?"
"I know! Not to mention the fact that they both have whisker-like marks on their face!"
"Something weird is going on here…" said Sasuke quietly. It took Haruto two days to break her fever; Naruto woke an hour after her. Sasuke and Sakura noticed another strange thing about the girl. When she realized Naruto was coming to, she put on her Black Ops mask so he couldn't see her face!
"What happened?" said Naruto groggily. It took him a moment to realize that there was someone wearing a mask beside him.
"That's what we'd love to know!" said Sasuke.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what the hell is going on between you two?!" said Sasuke annoyed.
"Between who?"
"You and that girl with the mask!"
"Who are you anyway?" asked Naruto, turning towards Haruto.
"You can call me Haru."
"Why're you wearing a mask, Haru?"
"I got teased enough in my own village about the birthmarks…" she grumbled.
"Huh?"
"Take off your mask. It's pointless anyway; we've already seen your face!" said Sakura.
"No."
"Either you take it off or I'll do it for you!" said Sasuke irritably.
"I'd like to see you try, punk. I'm a member of the Sand village Black Ops," said Haruto coldly. Sasuke swipe her mask before she could react. Her anger rose quickly; she never noticed Naruto's eyes widening.
"No way…"
"What?!" said Haruto angrily.
"You look…just like me!" Naruto said in surprise.
"So what. I'm sure there are plenty of blue-eyed, blond girls in this village!"
"True, but there aren't many with fox-like whiskers on their face," smirked Sasuke.
"You must have a serious death wish…" she growled.
"Sakura, let's go look around. I have a feeling that the idiot and the Sand chick have something they need to work out," said Sasuke.
"Hai!" she said surprised. They vanished; looking for food and enemy ninja.
"I never thought I'd see the day that I'd meet someone who annoys me more than Kankuro…" snorted Haruto. She turned, and saw that Naruto was staring at her.
"What're you lookin at?!"
"Before…you said your name was Haruto, right?"
"So?"
"Well it's only a letter away from my name…"
"I don't see what you're getting at."
"What village were you born in?" he asked.
"I was raised in the Sunakagure."
"No, I mean where were you born?"
"My sensei said that I originally came from…this village," Haruto said finally.
"How old are you?"
"Are you an idiot? Everybody knows it's a bad idea to ask a girl her age!"
"Fine then. But I still don't understand…"
"Understand what?"
"Why you seem so familiar to me…"
"…"
Wait a minute…I felt a connection to him from the moment I first saw him. So why did he feel the same way?!
"I don't know why you even brought that up."
"I was told…that I have a twin sister. Right before the exam started." Naruto said quietly.
"I highly doubt that you're my brother."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Sasuke, who had been listening the whole time.
"GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!" growled Haruto angrily. Naruto grinned as he said, "Now that's something I'd pay to see! Sasuke getting his butt whooped by a girl!"
"Care to explain your previous comment?" Haruto said calmly.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you and Naruto were identical twins," said Sakura.
"That's ridiculous!" protested Haruto.
"Is it? You look exactly like Naruto if he was a girl, and your names are only a letter apart. Care to explain how you could be so alike and not be related?" said Sasuke. The two were silent. It was strange how they were almost identical in every way.
"It would definitely explain a few things," said Sakura.
"What do you mean?"
"When that snake guy bit you, Naruto yelped from pain. And when Naruto got that seal on him, you suddenly get a power boost out of nowhere."
"How the hell can we be twins if we come from different villages?!" said Haruto.
"You could have been taken while you were a child and raised in another village…"
"Wait a sec. I think I have a mirror with me…" said Sakura. Sasuke raised his eyebrows, questioning her comment.
"Can you put your hair into pigtails?" asked Sakura.
"I guess I could…" said Haruto as she did so.
"Naruto, use that stupid Jutsu you invented."
"The Sexy Jutsu? What for?"
"Just do it!" said Sakura. Naruto complied and in his place was a female version of himself.
"Now tell me how you two can look identical to one another. See for yourself if you don't believe me," said Sakura. She handed the mirror to the two. Haruto's eyes widened, as did Naruto's.
"I don't believe it…" said Haruto finally.
"We look exactly alike," said Naruto.
"I'd say you two are long-lost twins," said Sasuke amused.
"What's your last name, Haruto?"
"Kazehana. Why?"
"I guess you were adopted after you left the village or something. That's the only explanation for this!" said Sakura.
"Naruto, do you know if you have a twin sister?" asked Sasuke.
"The Hokage told me that I had a sister who was born a minute before I was. But she disappeared the day after."
"We can always ask the Hokage after we get out," said Sakura.
"If anyone can tell if you two are twins, it's him," said Sasuke.
Naruto got an idea which would only make the idea that they were twins more real. He whispered to Haruto his idea, and she agreed to play along with it.
"Wait here a sec." Naruto said, grinning. They disappeared behind a large bush and returned five minutes later.
"What was that about?" asked Sasuke.
"Why don't you guess?" said Haruto (or is it?)
"Hang on a sec…which one of you is Naruto?!" said Sakura.
"Guess."
"I know of one way we can find out," said Sasuke. He threw a Kunai at the two; only Naruto caught it with ease. Haruto jumped back and said, "What'd you do that for?!"
"You're ninja skills still suck, Naruto."
"I'm mildly impressed. How did you know?" asked Haruto.
"Easy. Naruto can't catch kunai; he can only avoid them, if that. So when you caught it, I knew that you two switched."
"Smart ass."
When they finally reached the center of the forest, Naruto thought of something.
"Hey, Haruto, how'd you like to play a trick on Kakashi-sensei?"
"What kind of trick?"
"Why don't we see if he can tell which of us is which?"
"I would, but he'd be able to tell pretty quickly."
"How come?"
"There's no way I can copy your clothes properly."
"I can fix that, no problem! I got spares at my house!"
"That, and I hate orange. It's way too tacky for my tastes."
"I don't believe it…she has better tastes in clothes than you!" laughed Sasuke.
"Shut up…" grumbled Naruto.