Then There Were Two
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki...Katsumi Uzumaki...are the twin children of the Honorable, Late Fourth Hokage...both outcasted by Konoha, the two find strength in one another that is incomparable and irreplaceable. The Teams...are quite different now, and the future...is looking more than a little bit brighter…or is that but the calm, before the storm?
Anime/Manga: Naruto
Genre: Romance/Humor/Adventure
Pairing: I... know who with who will be. I'll let you guys fidget and wonder.
Rated: M for Mature
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This is what you want, to belong, so they like you.
Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard,
you don't have to, give it all away.
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up,
you don't have to change a single thing.
- Try (Colbie Caillat)
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After training on her own for a few hours in the forest, she returned to Tazuna's place only to find that her team had left to another part of the forest for some training of their own. Racing out of the house, it took her little more than fifteen minute to find her team running up along the trees in the forest. Shikamaru and Ino were on the forest floor watching Sasuke with Kakashi standing behind the two.
"Look at him go. Sasuke-Kun, your amazing!"
Katsumi crossed her arms back behind her head, a bad habit of hers that she swore she picked up from Naruto and Shikamaru. Her eyes followed the long line of marks on the tree. "Chakra Adhesion?"
"Let me guess, you can do this too?" Kakashi sighed, "kind of just came to me prepackaged."
Turning away as Sasuke kicked off the tree he'd been running up and twisted in the air. The sound of him landing behind her left no impact on her as she gave Kakashi a deadpanned look. "Actually, no. Knowing about it and doing it are two different things. Although, I'm confident that I can. My Chakra control is one of the only things I have confidence in."
Nodding, Kakashi pointed towards the tree, "are you able to try?"
She stalled in her answer, wanting to reply positive, her gaze fell to her leg and she clenched her fist.
"Don't tell me you're too scared,"
'Scared!?' She whipped around and glared at Sasuke who was smirking, her feathers were obviously ruffled, and he knew it. Boy did he! Turning her eyes to the last mark he made, she smirked, "I hope you haven't been out here for too long, I'm about to embarrass you, Sasuke-Kun~"
Kakashi raised a brow as Sasuke stepped aside and tossed his Kunai at Katsumi who walked past him, catching the weapon without lifting her eyes to meet his. Kids had a curious way of pressuring one another. While he thought it childish but convenient, he also knew that Katsumi's leg wasn't where it needed to be. "Katsumi―"
She took off in a run as she ignored Kakashi; focusing her Chakra to the soles of her feet, she ran up along the tree with the single goal of surpassing Sasuke's highest mark. That goal. 'Don't look too far ahead! I can see this...I can do this!' Stepping on his mark, she pushed past it and brought his Kunai down on the tree where she sliced into before pushing off the tree and flipping backwards. Her landing could have been better, but Sasuke wasn't paying attention to her landing. He looked up at the incision she'd just made. A glare on his face as she made true on her words.
A hand settled on her arm and she felt fingers wrap around it. "Wha―what are you doing!?" She yelled out when Kakashi began dragging her off.
"You aren't allowed to participate until your leg is better. Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru...you three continue practicing, I'll come back to check on you once I get this one back to her bed."
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"Let go of me! Kakashi-Sensei, let go!" She was getting annoyed. It wasn't like she wasn't able to practice, she just needed to take it easy. "I said...LET GO!" She twisted in his grip and sent a kick to his head. Out of distance from the rest of her team, no one was around to see Kakashi catch her foot with practiced ease. When he dropped his hold on her, she jumped out of his reach before surging forward and attacking her Sensei.
In hindsight, this wasn't her brightest idea. However, it did exactly what she'd wanted...and more. He blocked her every attack without trouble, not bothered in the least by her tantrum as she let off her frustration. It wasn't like she was angry with him. No, she was angry with herself. Angry with her injury. Her carelessness. Pettiness. In fact, the more she kicked, the more he blocked, the more he retaliated and the more she found herself letting go of said frustration.
Kakashi brought a knee up to parry hers, catching her fist in his before bringing his own down only for her to lean out of its range. She dropped to the ground and swept her foot out to trip him, but he jumped and pulled her with him. Still gripping onto her fist as he landed and spun her around into his chest. Letting go long enough to bring both arms under hers and lock her in place. "Are you finished?"
She narrowed her eyes and paused in her struggling, there was a familiarity in the warmth of his arms, but it wasn't the same as what she was used to. Not quite the same as his warmth. Tilting her head up, she caught the confused eye of her Sensei and smirked, "do I look finished?" She brought her leg straight up in front of her and laughed when Kakashi stumbled back in surprise when her foot nearly caught him in the face.
Letting her drop to the ground as he sighed and shook his head. "You know, most people jump at the mention of sleeping instead of training."
"Sorry to disappoint." She frowned, "Sensei, I want to learn...please. I know my limitations better than anyone..." standing tall, she looked down at her hands before she closed them tightly into fists, "don't punish me because I made a mistake."
"...punish?" Genuine shock sounded in his voice as he repeated that word. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"
"It's exactly what you're doing. My headstrong personality is costing me training time, I can't fall behind!"
Bringing a hand to his head, he groaned, "you've just shown me that you are just as mature as the rest of your team. For a second I thought you had an edge on them in experience and mentality; what with the way Genma talks about you."
'...Genma?!' She perked up, "wait, what has Genma said?"
"Hm?" He leaned forward so that he was at eye level, "just that you are more mature than the rest of your fellow Genin, but you know what? You're looking about the same right now. In a hurry to get stronger, with no idea of what stronger entails. What happens once you've reached that power plateau? What will you do next? You rise to the challenge, show up Sasuke, give advice to Ino and motivate Shikamaru, but when all is said, and all is done...you still don't know how to get to where you want to go. A little girl, playing Kunoichi, without even knowing the rules of the game."
"Is that really for you to say, Sensei?" Tears swelled in her eyes and she closed them tightly. 'No! No one gets to see me cry!' She took a breath before speaking with a resolute tone. "I said that I know my limitations. I also know my fears. When the only person in my life is my brother, all I can do is keep on moving forward so that I'm always strong enough."
"Strong enough to what?!"
Her eyes snapped open, "strong enough to protect my friends! My brother! I need to be stronger! Their lives are all that matter to me! Sensei...can you truly say that makes me childish!? Immature?! I'm fighting to protect the people who matter to me. Who have always been there for me? Because "when all is said, and all is done"," she mocked, "they alone saw me for me! I don't know how to change this mind set, Sensei...and I don't know if I really want to. Who I am, I'm working really hard to be better...but that can't happen if you leave me behind!" Her heart was crying out, but no one seemed to hear it. Dropping to her knees in her emotional exhaustion, she calmed herself with deep breaths as she fought back the tears that were trying so desperately to break away from her eyes. 'I won't let myself fall victim to these tears!'
When a hand settled on her shoulder, gravity pulled her in, and she felt the stiff material of her Sensei's vest against her cheek. Oddly enough, she found comfort in it. His hand ran along her hair for several minutes as she calmed down with the repetitive ministrations. "Katsumi―"
"I'm sorry." Her voice came out in a hush of sorrow, weak and heavy with emotion.
Sighing, he glanced up at the floating clouds above. A feeling of ease settled inside him and he suddenly realized that Shikamaru had the right idea. Letting life pass you by occasionally... it really wasn't such a bad pastime. "Don't apologize. I didn't make myself clear earlier, and you took it as if I was punishing you. Honestly, you're a powerhouse when it comes to Ninjutsu, so much further ahead than the rest of the team...but where you surge ahead in Ninjutsu, you heavily lack in physical strength. Because of that, you are more easily hurt in Taijutsu, which results in your body's natural healing process taking a slightly longer time. I didn't mean for you to feel as if I was punishing you for your actions during my fight with Zabuza...or your fight with his clone, which, by the way, was outstanding." He stilled his hand as she lifted her head. "I only wanted to make sure you were at your best before you resumed your training. Zabuza isn't dead, Katsumi. You know that. You knew that well before the others did, right?"
"Shikamaru knew too, he just didn't want to acknowledge it as the truth. He said it would mean more work for Team Kakashi later down the road, and that was troublesome."
'Seriously, I have to wonder about that kids sense of urgency.' Shaking his head, he locked his eye with Katsumi's, "you know your limitations?"
Sitting up, she looked at her hands, bringing them both to her sore leg. She massaged lightly before applying more pressure at the most tender of spots on her leg. It was true that it hurt, but she knew that this wasn't the worst injury she'd attained, and she also knew that she'd pushed herself through injuries that had been far more terrible than what she got from Zabuza. "...yes."
He nodded. "Stand up. We're going to cover Taijutsu practice until the sun goes down. I won't let you leave this forest until your completely worn out." He smirked, "you'll be crawling back to Tazuna's place tonight."
She heard the challenge, and standing up, she responded by moving her back foot into a defensive stance. Watching her Sensei stand up across from her, she allowed herself a moment of clarity just before their training began. Wind whipping fiercely around her as he disappeared from her sight.
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Me: Here is chapter seventeen of Then There Were Two! I slipped off the timeline, I know. Yay! Naruto isn't here, so I've got more freedom to play! Also, only Sasuke is part of the original Team Kakashi so the characters already make for a new plot! Hope you all enjoy; I'm going to bed. YukimuraShuusukeGirl is staying the night and already asleep, and I've got a hair appointment when I wake up, so I should honestly turn in. Woot! Review!