"Darn..." Naruto muttered as he scrubbed the stone face of the First Hokage, supported by hanging scaffolding, while Iruka supervised atop the stone head.

"I won't let you go home until you clean that all up." Iruka reminded him, arms crossed.

Naruto stopped wiping and looked up. "I don't care. There's nobody home anyways." He returned to his work with a huff and Iruka watched each stroke of the cloth.

"Nobody, huh?"

Naruto glanced up from cleaning to see a familiar figure standing atop the monument.

"Natsumi!" He grinned and held his hand over his eyes to block out the blinding sun.

She crossed her arms and turned her head away. "Sorry, what was that? I thought you said that you had nobody at home."

"Hey, hey! That's not fair!" Naruto protested, but his twin laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm only teasing, Nato." She smiled as she used the nickname she'd used for him as a toddler. "You know I love you."

Iruka turned and smiled at the girl. "Hey, Natsumi. Where have you been all day?"

She waved at Iruka and sat beside him, sweeping her vibrant red hair behind her ear. Her dusky violet eyes crinkled as she smiled. "Hidemi-sensei asked me to run a few errands for her and then she let me go early because my scores are so high."

"No fair!" Naruto called up and his eyes narrowed at her. "How come she gets to ditch class and I can't?"

"It's because she's a good student who earns her days off!" Iruka scolded him. "Unlike you!"

Natsumi giggled and put her hands up to her mouth. "Yeah, you goofball! I told you not to cut class anymore!"

"It's not my fault that his lessons are so boring." Naruto muttered and Iruka huffed. Natsumi laughed again.

"Boring or not, you still should be paying attention." Iruka sighed. "Do you want to remain at the Academy until you're an old man?"

Naruto mimicked him quietly under his breath, wiping away a glob of paint. Natsumi stood and gently leapt down, landing next to him. He turned to her and noticed large tears in her jacket.

"What happened to you? I thought you were running errands?"

Natsumi looked down at the fabric and shrugged. "Well, I had the day to myself, so I did a lot of training. My jacket got ruined, but it's no big deal. I have another one just like it."

She held up a hand sign and reversed the concealment she'd placed on herself, revealing the large stains over the yellow jacket.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Is that... blood?!"

She shrugged and unzipped the jacket and shrugged it off, balling it up in her hands as she grinned. "Don't worry, it's not mine."

She dipped the jacket into the bucket of water and began to work on wiping away a glob of paint.

"Oh, oka—" He blinked and a chill shot down his spine. "What do you mean it's not yours? Who's is it?! Why are you covered in blood!? Don't say something like that so casually! You sound like some kind of serial killer."

Natsumi broke out into loud, boisterous laughs, bending over. Finally, she wiped her eyes and straightened.

"I'm not a killer, I swear!" She giggled again and wiped her eyes again. "I was just training and some wild animals attacked me, and I won. it's nothing to worry about."

"Wild animals?" Naruto crossed his arms, looking her up and down in scrutiny. Eventually, he sighed. "Alright, alright, I believe you. But next time don't do anything so reckless!"

"If anyone should be worried, it's me." She watched him resume cleaning after she'd started again. "You're the one skipping class and causing trouble. Man, I really am failing as an older sister. I thought I was raising you better than that."

Naruto glared, his eye twitching. "Older... sister..." He took a breath and leaned close to her face. "You're not my older sister! We're twins, I tell you! We're the same age!"

Natsumi swung her wet jacket and it made contact with the side of his face. He teetered at the strike and wiped his head with his sleeve to sop up the water.

"Hey!" He complained.

"I'm three minutes older, which makes me your older sister! So, it's my job to look after you!"

"We're the same age, I say! We're twins!" He gripped the collar of her shirt and gritted his teeth. "You're not any older than I am! Why do you always say that?"

"Hey, you two, knock it off!" Iruka barked. "You're rocking the lift around and you're going to fall off or damage Lord First's face!"

"Sorry!" Natsumi called up, raising her hand in apology. "Come on, Naruto. The faster we get this done the sooner we can go home. I'm starving."

"Hmph." Naruto scrubbed a new area begrudgingly. "You don't have to help me. You're not the one who made the mess."

"What kind of sister would I be if I made you do things by yourself?" Natsumi nudged his side with her elbow. "Besides, this jacket is ruined anyway and it need to be put to good use before I throw it out."

"Hehe..." He nudged her back, whispering. "You should have been there... it was a real blast."

Natsumi giggled and whispered back. "I thought the snot trails on Lord Third's face were really funny, but if it were me, I would have made him look like a drag queen."

Naruto doubled over in laughter with one hand pressed against the stone to support himself and the other covering his mouth as he attempted to muffle his laughter.

"Oh, man, why didn't I think of that?" He snorted and Natsumi joined in laughing.

"I tell you, girls have the best ideas." She crossed her arms and nodded.

Naruto stood and rested his arm on her shoulder, lowering his voice again. "Hey, maybe next time we can try that. Just think of the look on the Old Man's face when he wakes up and sees that."

"They'd know who it was, and then I'd get in trouble, too." She shook her head and dipped her jacket in the water again.

"Man, you never do pranks with me anymore." Naruto pouted and wetted his cleaning rag again.

"Hey, that's not true!" Natsumi stuck out her tongue. "I pull pranks all the time, but you never see them."

"Hmph. What's the point of pranks if no one even sees it?" He wiped his area cleaned and moved to a smudge of paint below it.

"My motto is 'Confuse, don't abuse.' Instead of doing something big like graffiti and getting in trouble, it's more fun to do something simple and sneaky. Like..." She paused, then smirked. "Sneaking into the Hokage's office and moving everything two centimeters to the left. It's not harmful, plus it's funny to think about how confused he'll be and won't even know what's wrong."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his twin. "Wait... did you do that?"

Natsumi winked. "I guess you'll never find out unless you hurry up and clean faster."

Naruto let out a long sigh. "I'm tired of cleaning. I just want to take a nap or something."

Iruka quietly sighed as he listened to their exchange, and then had an idea.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Huh?" He looked up at his teacher, eyes narrowed skeptically. "What is it this time?"

"What I meant was..." Iruka's eyes wandered for a moment and he scratched his cheek. "If you clean up all this mess... I'll buy you guys ramen tonight."

Iruka looked down and his eyes widened slightly as he saw Naruto's bright expression looking back at him, his mouth practically drooling at the thought of his favorite food.

"Huh?" Naruto stared in disbelief, and then he clenched his fist, pumping it into the air. "Yes! I-I'll finish it in no time! Just watch me!"

Iruka chuckled and watched as Naruto quickly set to work, cleaning nearly nonstop until the sun began to set.

"Ah, finally done!" Naruto stretched and tossed the cloth into the bucket, looking over the monument at his work. His stomach growled and he rubbed it, looking to Iruka eagerly. "Can we eat now?"

Iruka looked over the monument and nodded. "You've done a fine job. Let's go."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered and crossed his arms behind his head as he headed off. "Are you coming, Natsumi?"

"Huh?" She looked away from the monument and at her brother, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

She hurried after him and Iruka followed a few steps behind. As they walked, the sun sunk further down the horizon until its light barely illuminated the streets and was replaced by street lights and bright signs of shops and restaurants.

Soon they arrived at Ichiraku and sat in their usual spots. Teuchi, the shop owner, greeted them, took their orders, and started on their meals.

Natsumi rested her head on her arms while she waited, listening to Naruto chatting excitedly to Iruka. Once their food was finished, he placed the large bowls in front of them and Naruto quickly dug in.

Natsumi sat up and took a large breath in of the aroma, closing her eyes as she did. Then, she opened her eyes and slurped up a large bite of noodles, then sighed.

"Ah, that hits the spot." She smiled and turned to the teacher. "Thanks again for treating us, Iruka-sensei. You're always so nice to us."

Naruto took a breath in between large slurps. "Man, I wish I could eat here all the time."

Natsumi giggled and looked at him sideways. "You'd get so fat, you know. I'd have to push you around like a ball."

Naruto laughed. "Maybe if I got that fat, I could just sit on you every time you called me your baby brother. That'd teach you."

"Naruto." Iruka watched Naruto slurp another bite thoughtfully.

"Hm?" Naruto asked with a mouthful of ramen.

"Why did you vandalize those faces?" Iruka asked after a moment of consideration. "Don't you know who the Hokage leaders are?"

"Of course I do!" Naruto swallowed and met his eyes, then tilted the bowl up to drink the broth, setting the bowl down when he was finished and let out a breath.

"I know they earned the title Lord Hokage because they were the best of their time, right?" He looked up, recalling one of Iruka's history lessons. "Especially the Fourth Hokage. He was the hero who saved the Village from the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

Natsumi looked up from her bowl at his words and watched him carefully. Of course they'd heard about the great Fourth Hokage, who was a legendary shinobi of great speed and power.

Naruto's expression was almost unreadable as he parroted the information, looking down at his bowl.

"Then why did you do that?" Iruka questioned gently.

"Because I'll become a Hokage myself." Naruto answered simply. "And," He met Iruka's eyes. "I'll be the greatest Hokage of all time!"

He winked, pointing his chopsticks at his sensei with a determined grin.

"And then everyone will finally learn to accept me!" Naruto finished and then lowered his arm.

Iruka paused with his mouth full and a noodle dangling from his lips. He sucked it into his mouth and swallowed.

"By the way, sensei, I have a favor to ask."

Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Naruto, don't ask for too much. Iruka-sensei let you off really easy, only making you clean up your mess, and now he's buying us dinner."

"It's alright, Natsumi." He looked at Naruto. "Do you want another bowl?" Iruka asked, guessing as to what he meant.

"Hmmm... no." Naruto answered and gestured to his forehead. "Can I borrow that Leaf headband for a while?" He put his hands together politely.

"This?" Iruka reached up and gripped his headband. "No, no." He smiled. "This is worn only by those who have graduated from the Ninja Academy. Tomorrow you will..."

"You're so mean!" Naruto protested, crossing his arms.

Iruka laughed. "So that's why you took off your goggles..."

"Hmph." Naruto pouted. "One more bowl then, please!"

Natsumi giggled and rolled her eyes, gulping down the last of the broth and setting the bowl down in front of her.

"Oh, fine, fine." Iruka relented, ordering him one more bowl.

"You don't have to let him push you around, ya know." Natsumi smiled at the teacher. "It's okay to let him sulk sometimes."

"You make it sound like I'm a little kid." Naruto watched her from the corner of his eyes.

"Well, sometimes you do act like one, a little bit." She winked and set her chopsticks down, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip.

"Hmph. Why did I have to have a sister? A brother would have been more fun."

"Ha-ha. Jerk." Natsumi took another sip but misjudged the distance and the cup missed her lips and water poured down the front of her shirt.

"Ah!" She pulled her hand back and set the cup down, sighing as she pinched her wet shirt and pulled it out ever-so-slightly to examine it. "Aw man. I must be really tired. I'm never clumsy."

"Yeah, right." Naruto chuckled and eyed the second bowl of Ramen as it was placed in front of him. "Yes!"

He picked up his chopsticks and shoveled some noodles into his mouth.

Natsumi sighed deeper this time, releasing her shirt and grabbing a napkin. She patted her shirt gently to soak up the water.

Naruto glanced over to tease her again but froze in place as he blushed and spat out some broth, pointing at her wet torso and the shirt that clung to her skin tightly now.

"W-w-what are those?" His hand trembled as his blush deepened.

Natsumi looked down at her chest, blushing as she crossed her arms to cover herself.

"They're called boobs, you pervert! Stop looking at them! I'm your sister."

He covered his eyes and turned away, still spluttering. "I-I know that! I know what they are! But why do you have them?"

Iruka chuckled awkwardly and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You know, you both are at the age of adolescence. It's normal for kids your age to...uh... change..."

"I know that!" Naruto uncovered his face and recovered it after meeting his sister's eyes. "B-b-but why are they so big? You're just a kid."

Natsumi frowned and hugged her arms closer.

"Pervert."

"I-I'm not!" He turned his back to her, pressing his lips together in frustration. "W-when did you get those?"

"We live together and you never even noticed?" Natsumi huffed and turned her face away, refusing to look at him. "They appeared around the same time you started saying that I was really 'whiny and moody.'"

Naruto's eyes widened and he shook his head. "B-b-but... you look so much older than I do."

"I am older than you." She rolled her eyes.

"Only by a few minutes!" He clenched his fists and stared at her. "It's not enough to count."

"Well, it must because I hit puberty first." Natsumi smirked and continued to dry her shirt, muttering quietly now. "Pervert."

"I am not!" Naruto looked to his sensei. "Tell her that I'm not."

Iruka scratched his cheek, averting his gaze from the twins. "H-hey now, this really isn't a conversation to have in public."

Naruto sighed and slowly finished his second bowl of ramen.

"Tomorrow's the day of the graduation test." Iruka reminded them, changing the subject. "So, you should study a little tonight, but don't overdo it, alright? You've got to get plenty of sleep so that you can do your best."

"Don't worry about me, Iruka-sensei." Naruto nodded confidently. "I'm going to blow everyone away and become a fully-fledged ninja! Believe it!"

"Says the one whose voice still cracks when he's upset." Natsumi chuckled and muttered as she took another drink.

"Why, you!" Naruto glared and tipped her glass up, drenching her shirt again.

"Waah!" Natsumi shoved him, quickly reaching for another napkin to dry herself with. "Naruto! I'm going to get you for that!"

"Hee hee." He stuck out his tongue. "You'll have to catch me, first."

Natsumi reached over and grabbed his ear, tugging on it. "That's it! You get to do the laundry this time! I'm tired of you treating me like your maid."

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" She released his ear and he rubbed it. "Sorry, sorry! I hate laundry. Please don't make me do it."

"You should really appreciate your sister more." Iruka glanced at Naruto, who looked between the two and pouted. "It's getting pretty late now; you should head home. Do you want me to walk you?"

Natsumi and Naruto shook their heads simultaneously.

"No thanks." Natsumi smiled. "We can manage."

"If you're sure." Iruka slid off the stool and ruffled Naruto's hair. "I'll see you in class tomorrow bright and early. I have a good feeling that you'll pass this time. Just do your best. I have faith in you."

He turned to Natsumi and rubbed her head as well. "You too, Natsumi. You're a good student, so you'll be fine."

He put money on the counter to cover their meals and then stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Well, see you tomorrow! Don't cause any mischief on your way home."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto mumbled and yawned. "See you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei."

"Thanks again for dinner!" Natsumi added, giving him a wave as she hopped off the stool.

Naruto followed suit and yawned again. "Man, I'm beat. I can't wait to go to bed."

"Don't forget to study a little tonight." She reminded. "We can study together since we both have to take the test."

"Do we really have to?" He slouched as he walked and she linked her arm with his.

"Just for a few minutes, then. I'm pretty tired, too. But I definitely want us both to pass this time. No Uzumaki left behind."

He smiled and nodded in agreement. "Okay, just for a little bit, then. If I'm going to be Hokage someday, I'm going to have to know all this stuff."

"That's the spirit!" Natsumi poked his cheek. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"You wanna race home?"

They shared a grin, unlocked their arms, and took a ready stance.

"Prepare to eat my dust!" He sneered.

"In your dreams, slowpoke!" She prodded his shoulder. "I always win."

"Not this time you won't!"

"Alright, alright." She took a breath, holding up her fingers. "One, two, three... go!"