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
-x-x-x-
I don't know why I get so crazy as the day goes on
The minutes slipping by feel like wasted time
I get confused, so much to do, don't know which way to turn
I run so far ahead that I can't catch my breath
Time to stop and close my eyes
- Time Will Tell (Out of the Grey)
-x-x-x-
The next morning found Katsumi practicing with her Senbon in the same place she'd run into Haku. Whatever was going on, the Bridge Builder was arguing with the villagers because they refused to dirty their hands. Sasuke and Ino were out with Tazuna and Katsumi and Shikamaru were doing their own thing. This meant that Shikamaru was sleeping or cloud gazing or he was with Kakashi doing something that he thought to be troublesome.
It was still early enough that a light fog was touching the ground as she danced along the grass with weightless feet. Spinning and striking the tree with perfect precision before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
"You aren't half bad,"
Not even bothering to look back at Haku, she began again, this time she picked up her speed. Growing more confident with her aim, she jumped into the air and twisted violently. Sending the five Senbon into different directions as they struck small red circles that she'd placed on the trees herself. Landing with a gentle step, she heard a soft chuckle and finally gave Haku her undivided attention. "You aren't allowed to critique me unless you plan to teach me."
"I think I can spare some time for a lesson,"
Her eyes widened, "are you serious?"
"Well," he lifted a Senbon in the air and smiled, "if I don't, you might accidentally hit your teammates with your terrible aim."
She sighed, fighting off a pink brush of heat, "at least you caught it..."
"Yes, at least I caught it."
-x-x-x-
"Where is she?" Shikamaru looked around the house and frowned as he saw Kakashi sitting with hot tea in hand. "Have you seen Katsumi?"
"She's training. Not that I know where she is, I just know what she's doing. It's all she ever does. Sit down, enjoy your day off."
"...yeah, right." Thanking Tsunami for the tea, he stared at the green liquid, bored out of his mind but not one to complain about having nothing to do, he took it with a grain of salt and relaxed into the silence.
"You know, Katsumi's pretty smart."
He peered out from beneath his closed eyelids, "how do you figure?"
Kakashi shrugged, "somehow, she's managed to avoid dealing with anything Bridge related."
'That's right, she's dodged out of most of all the watches!' He stood up and made to leave the house when the door opened to reveal a bleeding Katsumi. "What!? Katsumi, what happened?!"
She laughed and waved him off, "training, I'm fine. They sting a bit, but I'll be okay once I clean them up."
"How did you get injured like that training?"
"Well, I wasn't training alone..." she ducked out of the room and made her way upstairs.
Shikamaru followed her with his eyes and groaned, "I guess, she and her clones were going at it pretty hard...troublesome."
Kakashi stared up the steps, feeling Tsunami behind him, he didn't say anything that might worry anyone, but he wondered about the girl's secrecy. He had no doubt that she'd been training. In fact, he was sure of it. Still, those were Senbon wounds, and as far as he knew, she wasn't trained in the art of Senbon.
-x-x-x-
(The Next Day)
Kakashi felt himself growing more frustrated as the fog around them grew thicker and thicker. After Tazuna finally got the villagers back to building, they'd all been knocked unconscious. Now, now... "Shikamaru...Ino! Don't let your guard down."
"Right!" The two responded as Shikamaru glanced around at the mist and felt a growing headache form as he took in the fact that the powerhouse duo wasn't among their team right now. "Kakashi-Sensei..."
"Don't worry,"
"Sorry that I kept you waiting...Kakashi. What's this, you're missing a few brats?"
Shikamaru didn't budge as water clones appeared out of nowhere around them. He wasn't bothered in the least by them, but feeling Ino beside him, he realized that she wasn't as confident. "Ino, you'll be fine, I'm by your side."
Kakashi disappeared from beside Shikamaru and wiped out the five clones around them. Watching water disperse to the ground, he turned his eyes to the two standing further ahead of them. 'Katsumi and Sasuke...they should be okay, but it may prove to be difficult without them if that kid joins the fight.'
-x-x-x-
Katsumi paused with Sasuke next to her, taking in the marks on the tree and slaughtered bore behind them, she followed the trail with her eyes and frowned, "...Sasuke, go on ahead. I'm going back to Inari."
"What!?"
"Kakashi-Sensei, Shikamaru and Ino...they might be in trouble, right? You should go and check up on them."
Sasuke looked at the bore, "what about you?"
"Don't worry about me, I've got this!" She grinned, "I'll meet up with you at the bridge, so you better protect Shikamaru until I get there!"
He raised a brow at that before he took off, her voice still in his head as he made his way towards their team. 'What the heck does she see in that lazy guy.'
-x-x-x-
Arriving back at the house, she looked cautiously at it. The door was cut down, it looked as if swords had laid waste to it. '...Inari!' Running forward, she jumped the steps and took in the broken plate. "Tsunami? Inari?!" She yelled out but heard no reply. Running upstairs, she raced around the house, checking every room before jumping out the window and taking off. She had to find them. 'Inari! Inari, hang on!'
Looking in ever which way, she finally spotted his hat. The boy was running towards two ninja who had his mother knocked unconscious. 'Grand time to learn to stand up for yourself!' She pushed chakra to her feet, pulling a Kunai from her back pouch, she reached out and caught Inari around the waste before stabbing the kunai into the ground and spinning. Her legs windmilled out around her and knocked the two Shinobi back out of the way before she pushed off the ground and landed beside the unconscious Tsunami. Lifting her, she jumped back and out of the way of the two before setting the two down. "I'm sorry to intervene. I know how annoying it is when people interrupt your fun...but...I simply can't let you hurt...Inari!" She yelled out as she sprinted towards the two as they pushed themselves onto their feet and grabbed their swords. Gone before they knew what was going on, she kicked the taller one out into the water before a sword came down fast on her.
POOF!
"What!?"
"Behind you~" She held a container of clear balm out in front of him as he spun around and smiled before blowing the sweet tantalizing scent his way. Watching his eyes dilate, his body began to spasm and he dropped down to one knee. "Your body is locking up, but don't worry, the symptoms will wear off in about an hour...when you regain your motor skills, might I suggest finding another job?" Silence followed as she walked past him towards Inari and his mother. "Inari, are you okay?"
"I-I'm okay..."
She smiled, "you were amazing. You must have been afraid, but you still chased after them, to protect your precious family. That kind of strength... never let it go, Inari! Now, let's get your mother to a safe place, then I have to go find my team."
"Right!"
-x-x-x-
(Elsewhere)
Naruto looked curiously at the tied-up Jeweler, "so I'm confused, he's a bad guy?"
Asuma scratched the back of his head and sighed, "so it seems. Now the only question is...who hired him." He lifted the headband and eyed the insignia of the Hidden Village of the Sound. "Why was he attacking our group after getting him to Waterfall, and what's in waterfall that he had to do it here?"
"Sensei?"
He shook his head, "it's fine, Naruto. Just thinking out loud. We'll need to take him back to Konoha, along with the wagon...something might be inside it that will give way to what the plan was."
"SENSEI! LOOK!"
Turning at Chouji's sudden yell, Hinata, Naruto and Asuma turned in time to see smoke rising from a distance, a flame enveloped the wagon that they'd brought along with the Jeweler as it went up in smoke.
'What's going on?'
Naruto raced off towards the smoke, looking around for anyone, anything that might give him a clue to what had happened. He heard a piercing whistle and leaned out of the way od a familiar needle. 'Senbon?!' He looked to see a shinobi standing atop a hill and glared.
"Naruto!"
Turning at Chouji and Hinata's voices, he looked back at the Shinobi, but he'd already disappeared.
"Let's waste no more time here, come along." Asuma lifted the Jeweler and frowned, "we need to get this one to Yamanaka and Ibiki for interrogation."
-x-x-x-
(With Katsumi)
Arriving at the scene, she kept quiet and still as she watched what was happening. Her eyes traveled to Ino and Shikamaru who were both protecting the Bridge Builder. A small thought had her wondering if Shikamaru wasn't just lingering in the background to avoid any strenuous labor, but she pushed the thought away. 'Lazy he may be, he's still a Shinobi.'
Turning her attention to the ice mirrors, the senbon that were being thrown around Sasuke were moving faster than she could see. Where they were coming from, she couldn't be sure, but she knew one thing...
She glanced towards Zabuza and Kakashi, both were standing around, neither doing a thing. 'Yes, let's all stand and watch Sasuke get piercings...all over his body! Seriously Haku, why are you doing this? If you were really a killer like Zabuza, wouldn't you have killed me the two chances you had?!' Pulling her Senbon from her pouch, she eyed them carefully. 'Haku needs to come out!' Pulling her hair up into a tight twist, she stabbed the two Senbon into her bun before placing her hands together, 'Shadow Clone!'
-x-x-x-
Me: Here is chapter 20! Let me know if the story is moving along well or if you absolutely can't stand it.