Disclaimer: I do not own the original Naruto characters used in this fiction, just the couples' kids.

Ages:

Kiku, Raiden, Cho, Osamu, Katai, Manako, Rei, Takara, Tomoko—all 16; chuunin

Daisuke, Misaki, Kitsune, Shikarou, Ryuu, Yua—all 13; genin


Parenting 101

Story 28: As Your Twin

As twins, Takara and Tomoko are simply two halves of a whole.

"Jeez, you'd think that if Shikarou were as smart as people claim he is we wouldn't have to keep running back and forth trying to remind him of everything!" Takara complained. She and Tomoko were walking through the semi-crowded streets of Konoha towards the training grounds where Shikarou and the others were currently working with their Sunagakure chuunin instructor. They were (yet again) sent by their mother and father to fetch Shikarou for important business they needed to tend to. Takara often complained the way over while Tomoko nodded here and there and spoke up when needed. The two twins were so close that Takara often did enough talking for the both of them.

"Well, this is Shikarou we're talking about," Tomoko reminded. "I think that if he were learning anything from us having to remind him, we wouldn't be doing this anymore."

Takara sighed. "Yeah, I know, it just pisses me off."

"Everything about Shikarou pisses you off."

"Exactly!"

Tomoko rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I can't imagine what business would be so urgent to pull him out of the program," she wondered aloud. "I mean, it's obvious that this program serves a great importance to everyone, so why are they going to pull him away while he's in the middle of it?"

Takara shrugged. "I'm not too concerned about that, Shikarou will complain either way," she reminded. "Just as long as whoever his instructor is doesn't give us grief, I think we'll be good."

Tomoko nodded in agreement, staring at the ground.

Takara spoke up again, and this time Tomoko could hear her smiling as she spoke. "But I don't think that we'll have that problem," she said in a tone that suggested something Tomoko would soon regret figuring out.

Her teal eyes looked up. They were standing at the edge of the training grounds where Kitsune, Yua, Ryuu, Shikarou, Daisuke, and Misaki and Shiroko were in the midst of their training. But that's when she noticed the older teenaged person who accompanied them, monitoring them with his arms folded across his chest. Her heart sank. Broad shoulders, messy medium brown hair; it couldn't be…

Takara giggled beside her, and Tomoko glared at her younger twin sister.

"Takara!" she snapped.

"Oh please, as if you didn't already know you were bound to run into him," Takara reminded, rolling her eyes.

"Well, to be honest, I had forgotten that little detail," Tomoko shot back.

"Uh-huh," Takara sang, unconvinced.

Tomoko had always been the more mature, more responsible one of the two of them. Takara still very much acted like a child in most ways, and since they were fraternal twins and did not look identical, people who did not already know them would assume they were barely even sisters, or at least that there was some age difference between the two. Usually Tomoko was the calm, cool, and collected one, but there was one major weakness for her that none of them, not her family or friends or twin sister, could really understand: guys.

Adults she was (obviously) okay with. She didn't have a phobia of all guys, just those who started to flirt with her.

If they were on the field, sparring, Tomoko is as confident and headstrong as ever.

The moment a guy tries to flirt with her, she begins to shrink into herself and stays very quiet, letting Takara handle everything.

The flirting thing was practically unavoidable considering how they looked and what beautiful goddess they called their mom. When it came to that department, Takara was the more comfortable of the two. She could flirt, she could tease, and she could just play and laugh and be herself. Tomoko, on the other hand, was a different story entirely.

People had always wondered why someone as beautiful and strong as Tomoko could be reduced to a silent wreck whenever a guy decided to "make a move" on her.

When they were younger, this didn't use to be a problem.

It was actually an entire situation entirely.

If a boy tried to "flirt" with her when they were younger, she would probably send him crying home with a cut or bruise or something broken. It wasn't until they got older, hitting their tween years, that it all started to change. No one understood.

No one aside from Takara.

Takara knew exactly what had caused this.

It was all because of that brown-haired boy standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"Come on," Takara insisted, taking Tomoko's elbow and leading her forward. She was surprised when Tomoko didn't try to struggle, but she figured she was probably beginning to freak out. And, sure enough, when Takara turned her head to check, Tomoko's lips were pressed together in a hard line, her eyes locked forward. "You've really got to get over this…"

"Get over what?" Tomoko asked.

Takara rolled her eyes again. "Breathe, sis, breathe!"

"Takara, I—"

"You're not getting out of this!" Takara cut her off. "Seriously, sis, let it go."

"But he—"

"Stole your first kiss, I know, and look what it's done to you!"

Tomoko opened her mouth, about to protest once more, but they were more than halfway across the field. He turned his head, meeting Tomoko's teal eyes with his own sandy brown ones. Tomoko was rendered silent again, and Takara just tugged her forward until they were only steps away.

"Hey Takeshi," Takara greeted.

"Hey Takara," he smiled, turning his gaze onto Tomoko. "Hey Tomoko."

"Y-Yeah… hey…"

"Our mother said that they need Shikarou, so we're going to have to borrow him," Takara intervened, saving Tomoko (as always) from his gaze.

"What does she want now?" Shikarou asked.

"She says you're late."

"Late for—oh shit!"

"Yeah, exactly," Takara said, rolling her eyes. Then she smiled back at Takeshi. "Sorry for interrupting."

"No problem," he reassured, although his gaze was turned back on Tomoko. Her mouth was slightly opened, as if she weren't sure if she wanted to say something or not. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, although this was nothing new. Everything about Tomoko puzzled him.

"Let's go," she muttered quickly, turning around and beginning to walk back the way they came, Shikarou following close behind.

Takara sighed, shrugged at Takeshi with a somewhat apologetic look, and sped to catch up with them.

Once they were halfway across the field, Takeshi called out, "Hey, Tomoko!"

They stopped, and Tomoko mentally cursed. Damn it! Just when she thought she was almost out of the situation…

Takara nudged her, shooting her a look that made her (reluctantly, of course) turn around. "…Yes?"

"You know that there's the banquet thing tonight, right? Are you going?"

Damn it, he was asking her this now? Yelling it across the field where Takara, Shikarou, and everyone else around them must've been watching, or at least eavesdropping, on them!? She looked to Takara, who shot her another look as if to say, 'Just say yes, it won't kill you!' Tomoko sighed. She was stuck between Takara and a hard place.

"Yes?" It came out like more of a question.

He smiled. "Alright, we can talk there. See ya."

"Y-Yeah… see ya…"

Then she sped on her heels and almost bolted back the other way, dragging Takara with her while Shikarou hurried to keep up.

"He likes you," Takara whispered in a giggle, ignoring her sister's piercing deathly glare.

Tomoko rolled her eyes. "It would seem so," she admitted with a sigh that almost sounded like one of defeat.

"And you like him!" Takara sang in a hushed tone.

Tomoko blushed furiously. "Well, I… Of course I don't! That jerk sto—"

"Yeah, yeah, he stole your first kiss," Takara cut her off, giggly and giddy which only made Tomoko blush more furiously. She beamed at Tomoko with an all-knowing look, causing the elder sister to scowl at the ground, the blush increasing.


Quote from Chapter 27: "I've never felt so alive!" – "Good, because I'm going to kill you!"—from Tarzan

With Raiden and Osamu "out of the picture" for awhile now, the focus is turning onto the other characters now!

I always liked my character designs for Tomoko and Takara and I'm glad that I finally got to write a chapter centered around them. All of the seemingly "secondary" characters, as well as more complicated love stories within them, are yet to come! And, like I may have mentioned before, I will also try to include as many "parental couple" moments in the upcoming chapters as I can put in and incorporate, even if it's just through flashbacks or dialogue.

Fun fact (wow, haven't had one of these for awhile): Takeshi's name means "warrior" which really has more to do with his personality, which you will understand in due time…

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Criticism? Flames? Don't hesitate to make your opinions known in a review or PM, whatever suits you.

Ciao! Au Reveoir! Zai Jian! Hasta Lavista! Ja Ne! Goodbye (till next time, at least!)