Natsumi's eyes opened and she groaned lazily. It can't be morning already…
Rolling over she picked up the clock on her nightstand and frowned. A moment later, it began to beep softly and she groaned again. I always wake up before it…
She set the clock back down and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. I don't want to get up.
A snore from the opposite end of the room and Natsumi sat up quickly to see her brother and she crossed her arms.
You said you'd get up early no problem! She puffed her cheeks and grabbed her pillow, throwing it at him. I knew this would happen!
The pillow hit Naruto directly on the face and Naruto continued to snore with drool pooling on his pillow. She sighed.
"You know, I hate waking up early, too." She muttered and slid out of bed and stretched, sitting on the edge of the bed quickly when a wave of dizziness hit her. Once it passed she stood again and rubbed her eyes, slowly making her bed until the blankets were smooth and crisp. Walking over to his bed, she retrieved her pillow and put her hands on her hips.
"Naruto, wake up! You said you wanted to train with me this morning!"
Naruto's finger twitched in his sleep, but he remained deep asleep. Natsumi raised the pillow and hit him several times with it. "Nar-u-to! Get. Up. Already!"
She lowered the pillow and growled. "Fine! I'll just have to try harder."
Natsumi slid her arms under his body and grimaced. "Ewwww! Since when did you start sweating in your sleep? There's practically a puddle here."
Clenching her jaw, she lifted him up enough to roll him to the edge of the bed and push him onto the floor.
His snoring stopped and Natsumi let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, finally!"
Naruto curled into a ball on the floor and began snoring again as Natsumi smacked her palm on her forehead.
"Oh, come on!" Tapping her foot in thought she shook her head. "Fine. I tried."
She placed her pillow neatly on the bed and stepped over him, bumping into the dresser. "Oof!" She held up her arm and frowned at the small bruise already forming on her elbow. "Aw, man."
She rubbed the spot gently and looked around the room. We really should get bunk beds or something. There's really not even enough room to walk around or to open the door all the way.
She retrieved a fresh change of clothes and a towel and headed into the bathroom as she yawned again. She turned on the shower and looked at her face in the mirror to pinch her cheeks. Come on, Natsumi. You don't want to go back to sleep. You want to go run for twenty kilometers and then work on your Taijutsu. Then, you're going to practice your Jutsu.
She leaned closer to her reflection, narrowing her eyes as she pointed at herself in the mirror. And you are going to like it.
Natsumi sighed and locked the bathroom door as she pulled her cat pajamas over her head and removed the matching cat sleeping cap. Slipping her fingers in between her skin and underwear, she tugged off her bottoms and dropped them into the overflowing hamper of clothes.
I really need to do laundry today.
She turned into the mirror and blushed as she looked at herself and her eyes fell on her chest. She turned slightly and then crossed her arms to cover her breasts.
I'm still not really used to looking so different. It's so… strange.
She tore her eyes away from herself and stepped into the shower, letting out a happy sigh as the hot water hit her, standing in the stream with her palms against the wall as she relaxed. I wish I could stay like this forever.
She pushed off from the wall and stuck her face into the water and began to wash off. Her mind wandered and she bit her lip as a memory surfaced.
Natsumi sat on the tree swing watching the other children playing on the playground. She bit her lip.
I wish Naruto was here… I wish we were in the same class…
Her eyes filled with tears and she wiped them away with her hand and held onto the rope with both hands. She sniffed again and shook her head to keep from crying. I can't cry anymore! I'm big now!
"Hey, look at the little red-haired crybaby there."
Natsumi looked up and saw a tall boy and three of his friends looking down at her with a smirk and his hands on his hips. Her eyes widened and she gripped the rope tighter as she recognized the same group that always antagonized her.
"P-Please leave me alone." She murmured and cast her eyes at the ground, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat."
The boys laughed, and the biggest stepped forward and leaned down to meet her eyes with a sneer.
"Why would we do that? It's real fun to pick on you because you cry so easily." He flicked her cheek hard and the stinging spread through her face like fire.
Natsumi let out a cry of pain and tears sprang to her eyes as she pulled away from him, losing balance and falling off of the swing. They laughed harder and she cried softly and held her red cheek.
"See? What'd I tell you? I didn't even do it hard." He stepped toward her again and flicked the other cheek even harder, and she cried out louder. "You're such a baby."
Natsumi scooted back away from them as she cried and her lip quivered. "Please just leave me alone."
"Or what?" Another both laughed, the sound annoying and hissing through his teeth. "You'll cry more? You can't even defend yourself."
"You have no business being at the Academy if you're such a crybaby." Another laughed, snorting unpleasantly. "You're not even good at fighting."
"I-I don't like fighting. I don't want to hurt anyone."
They laughed collectively and the big boy grabbed a fistful of her hair, shaking her. "You're so weak you couldn't even hurt me if you tried. Not that you'll ever be anything but a pathetic scaredy-cat."
Natsumi grabbed at his hands, trying to untangle his fingers from her hair. "P-Put me down! It hurts!"
"That's the point, stupid!" He balled his free hand into a fist and brought it close to her face. "How about after we finish scaring you out of the Academy, we go after your dumb brother? We could get rid of both freaks in one day."
Natsumi's eyes widened and she trembled. "D-Don't!" She shouted, and then her voice lowered to a whisper as he scowled. "Don't hurt Naruto. Leave us alone. We've never done anything to anybody."
"I heard my momma say that you and your brother are monsters." The snort-laugh boy crossed his arms.
"Yeah, I heard my dad say the same. He called you demon spawn." Hiss-laugh boy pointed a finger at her. "Demons need to be exterminated."
Natsumi's eyes stung and she shook her head. "We're not! We're the same as you!"
"Idiot!" The big boy shook her head again and pulled her hair tighter. "Are you calling our parents liars?"
"Ow!" Natsumi struggled against his grip. "We're not monsters!"
He scowled and balled his hand into a fist again. "Shut up!" he landed a hard punch in her gut and she cried out.
He let go of her hair finally and she fell forward onto her hands and knees, gasping for air uselessly as the wind had completely left her. Her chest burned and she choked, grabbing at her throat.
I can't breathe!
The boy laughed and his friends followed suit. Finally, she gasped and air returned to her lungs. She coughed harshly and her head pounded as black spots receded from her vision. Suddenly, the boy released her hair and fell over. Natsumi looked up and saw Naruto had tackled him to the ground.
"Natsumi, are you okay?" Naruto clambered to his feet and looked her over.
She nodded slowly. "He hit me… I couldn't breathe."
Naruto growled low in his throat again and whipped his head around at the boys, who crossed their arms and smirked.
"Oh, look, now there are two freaks."
"You hurt Natsumi!" Naruto stood between his twin and the boys and they laughed.
"That's the point of punching someone, moron." The big boy leaned into Naruto face and spoke in a mocking tone. "Man, you two aren't just freaks, but stupid, too."
"Shut up!" Naruto glared at him, drawing his head back before slamming it on the boy's head. His eyes widened in surprise and he stumbled back. "Apologize for hurting my sister!"
The boy rubbed his forehead and glared at the blond boy. "Excuse me? I don't think so."
"Apologize! Or you'll regret it!"
He flicked Naruto's forehead and sneered. "Make me, freak."
Naruto drew his fist back and landed a solid punch on his nose, sending him flying back unexpectedly. "No one messes with my sister!"
The boy got up slowly and stared in shock at Naruto. "H-How dare you! Do you know who my father is?"
His friends grabbed each of Naruto's arms and held him in place as he clenched his fists.
"I'll show you!" He hit Naruto hard in the stomach until blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. Then, he struck his head and a gash opened on Naruto's forehead, red mixing in with the blond. "That's what you get for touching me, you orphan freak!"
He pulled his hand back from another strike and his friends released Naruto quickly and his arm was stopped by Iruka, who was glaring darkly.
The student's eyes widened and he relaxed his hand. "I-Iruka-sensei! I wasn't… I didn't do anything!"
A hand gripped his collar and the female teacher lifted him into the air and pressed the boy's back against the tree.
"I leave for five minutes to talk to the Hokage and you beat the snot out of two kids?" Hidemi snarled, her eyes lit with fury.
"Hidemi!" Iruka stared at her, then looked down at the three other boys, who immediately fell to their knees.
"We're so sorry!"
"We only joined in because he started it!"
"Please don't tell my mom!"
"P-Put me down!" The boy glared and kicked his feet. "My father—"
"I don't care who your father is, you little prick! I don't tolerate bullies and unauthorized fighting! Let's have a chat with the Hokage right now, shall we? Remember, if I say the right things, you'll get kicked out of the Academy for good and your daddy will get really embarrassed about his good-for-nothing son."
The boy paled and a wet stain formed on the front of his pants.
"Hidemi!" Iruka warned and the woman lowered the boy to the ground, glaring at her four students.
"Report to the Hokage's office right now. I'll meet you there after I take Natsumi to the infirmary." She pointed a finger at the boys. "And if you don't tell him the complete truth of what you've done, I'll make sure to find a way to get it out of you."
They winced and nodded quickly, running inside the building.
Hidemi knelt in front of Natsumi, whose eyes were large and glossed over in fear. "Are you alright?"
She didn't answer.
Hidemi sighed and picked up Natsumi, holding her in one arm with her head resting on her shoulder.
Iruka watched the boys run off and looked back at the other teacher, then he knelt to meet Naruto's eyes, which were swollen and red from holding back tears.
"Naruto, are you alright?" The boy pressed his lips together and turned his head away stubbornly. He sighed.
"I'll take him to the Infirmary with me." Hidemi knelt and scooped him up into her other arm.
"I'm fine!" Naruto wriggled. "Put me down!"
Hidemi narrowed her eyes and met his. "Stop wiggling. And stay quiet."
Naruto gulped as the ice in her eyes and fell silent, and she stood and looked at Iruka. "You should get back to your other kids now. I've got these two."
Iruka nodded and his eyes followed them into the building. Hidemi stopped in the doorway to look at the remainder of her class, who seemed to be frozen in place on the playground. "What are you looking at? Mind your own business!"
Natsumi blinked and she suddenly recognized the infirmary.
How did I get here?
She quickly looked around. "Naruto!"
The nurse was applying a bandage to his forehead and he smiled at his twin.
"Oh, good." The nurse smiled at her. "You were in shock and not responding, but you seem to be fine now. How do you feel?"
Natsumi ignored her and stared at Naruto's bandages and how smalls spots of red were already staining them.
"Is he okay?"
"It's just a small scrape, but it looks scarier than it actually is." She finished the bandage and knelt in front of Natsumi. "May I?"
She nodded slowly and the nurse lifted her shirt to examine the bruise, gently touching it. Natsumi yelped in pain and the nurse lowered her hand.
"Nothing seems to be broken, but you'll have that bruise for a while. Be very careful while it heals and you should be fine. You're lucky that your brother stepped in when he did." She muttered. "Michi is a very short-tempered boy, so you should avoid him."
Iruka rapped softly on the door and stepped inside and looked between the twins, sighing.
"You two always get involved in trouble."
Natsumi hung her head and Naruto stared at the teacher, furrowing his brows. "We never start anything! They attacked Natsumi when she was just sitting by herself!"
"I know." Iruka said and stepped further into the room, sitting beside him. "Still, trouble finds you anyway." He looked at Naruto's bandage then ruffled his hair gingerly and turned to the nurse. "If you're finished, I'll walk them home now."
She nodded and bowed her head to him. "Yes, they'll be fine."
Iruka led them towards home, holding each of their hands as they walked slowly in silence.
"Why do they hate us so much?" Natsumi whispered as she stared at her feet as they moved forward. Left. Right. Left. Right.
"You know," He began. "Kids act out like that because they're hurting in some way. It doesn't excuse their behavior, but I'm sure there's something he's struggling with that he takes out on other people. But, he still has no right going after those weaker than him."
"We're not weak!" Naruto scowled.
Natsumi froze and stopped walking and her hand slipped out of Iruka's.
Weak? Her lip quivered and her eyes fell on Naruto's bandage. No… Naruto is always brave and helping me… Her hands began to tremble and she touched the bruise through her shirt. It's my fault that he's hurt. I'm the weak one.
Iruka stopped walking and he looked down at her. "Natsumi? What's wrong?" Kneeling in front of her, he saw tears filling her eyes. "Natsumi?"
She met his eyes and felt her eyes spill over. She turned and ran quickly away as she cried.
That's right… I am weak. Naruto's always getting hurt by standing up for me.
She hid behind a stack of crates behind a restaurant and sunk into the ground, drawing her knees close to her as she cried.
Weak. Useless. Crybaby.
Natsumi blinked and shook her head quickly and gasped as she pulled her face out of the water. She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. They were trembling.
That's right… that's when I decided I had to get strong. She clenched her fists and exhaled slowly. No slacking off, no excuses. Just training. Until I'm finally strong enough to be the one protecting him.
She rinsed quickly and stepped out, wrapping the towel around herself and stared into the mirror.
You, Natsumi, are still weak. But you're getting stronger every day. Today we're going to give it all we've got. You are not going to be the crybaby anymore.
Natsumi dressed and pulled her jacket over herself and blinked as the zipper got stuck at her bust again.
Oh, no! I forgot to get a new jacket! Unzipping it, she folded her arms and sighed. Maybe no one will notice… these.
Natsumi took one last look at Naruto as he slept soundly in a heap on the floor and exited the apartment quietly, locking the door behind her.
Alright, Natsumi. No breakfast until training is over.
Her stomach growled in protest and she scowled and pinched it.
No excuses. No slacking off. I'm still too weak.