Waking up as Naruto Uzumaki's sister was the last thing I expected to happen when I died. One minute I was falling asleep as a college student, and the next I was waking up in an orphanage at the age of two. I didn't realize where I was at first. And then I was shaken awake by a blonde haired boy with bright blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks. Needless to say, I cried.
Thankfully, I was able to act like I was sick. Not that it mattered to the orphanage staff. But it did make Naruto feel better, and that was all that mattered. My main goal in this life is to protect him. I didn't have any siblings in my last life. But in this one, I immediately felt a connection to Naruto. It also became very clear just how much the manga left out about Naruto's life.
The first time we left the orphanage was two days after I woke up. It was to search for food. Because the orphanage didn't want to feed us. We didn't even make it down the street before we were attacked. My body was slammed onto the cold ground in seconds. Everything was fuzzy as I looked around, trying to figure out who had pushed me so hard. It was a team of two angry civilian men. Then, they tried to hurt Naruto.
I was up on my feet before I realized what was happening, my arms crossed in front of my face to take the punch that was aimed at his head. It never came. A pair of gentle gloved hands forced my arms away from my face. A cool healing aura passed over my head, accompanied by a green light. And when I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a porcelain cat mask and purple hair. Yugao. She gently checks me over for any other injuries before picking me up in her arms. I turn to look for Naruto, only to see him in the arms of another Anbu with a dog mask and silver hair. Kakashi.
I feel myself finally relax against the woman holding me, my head falling on her shoulder. She pauses for a moment before bringing a hand to my back to comfort me. I see us approaching the orphanage and can't help but to flinch into her. I feel her hair brush up against me as she turns her head, moving one of her arms to sign something to Kakashi.
"No." I plead as we get closer. Desperately wishing I could communicate more clearly.
"You need to go inside, it's late and cold out." Yugao whispers to me.
"Need food."
"Didn't you just eat?" I shake my head, tears finally making their way down my cheeks. The hunger pains, soreness, and sadness about the entire situation hit me all at once. "Taichou." She says, her desperation clear in her voice. And it's then that I realize that I'm being carried by a child. The four of us are children. Children who have been thrust into a world that no child should have to face. I sniffle loudly into her shoulder, holding on for dear life. She might be a child, but she's the first to acknowledge that this is wrong.
We passed the orphanage. Kakashi did not even look at it as we walked by. Instead we went inside a small grocery store. The shop owner looked too scared of the Anbu buying food to even think about saying something mean to Naruto. Soon though, we were snuck back through our bedroom window. The one perk of us being hated - we got our own room. Naruto immediately tries to eat everything, but I have to force him to only eat a little. One, I don't know where the hospital is if he eats too much right away, or if they'll even treat him. And two, I don't know when we'll get more food.
The stress of it all brings a new onslaught of tears after Naruto has fallen asleep. Eventually I feel another presence in the room. They feel like a storm. When I look up, I see Kakashi sitting at the foot of my bed, a book in his hand. I fall asleep as the sun begins to rise to Kakashi's voice. I made it to chapter three of Tales of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi that night.
The next two years passed much the same. As we got older we were able to travel further. We learned to fish when our Anbu team wasn't around. So that helped with the food a little. I'd managed to finally see my reflection for the first time. My red hair was long and messy, a combination of my parents. My eyes, though, were all my dad's. They were a bright blue, just like my brother's. And also like my brother, whisker marks spread across my cheeks.
Things were finally starting to get manageable. That was, until we were caught foraging one day by an old man. I recognized him immediately. Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Sandaime. And while Naruto was immediately enamored with him, all I wanted to do was grab my brother and run far, far away.
The next week we were dropped off in a dilapidated apartment. Wallpaper was peeling from one wall, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. But it was ours. After some careful trips around the neighborhood, we were able to find a dining table and some mismatched chairs that we struggled to carry up the steps. Thankfully we at least had new beds in the apartment when we moved in. The apartment only had one small room, so we took our time moving the beds so we could each have some space to ourselves while also being able to walk in the room.
I eventually found a small nightstand for each of us that was thrown out just a few buildings down from ours. Naruto put the frog coin purse that appeared in our kitchen one night on his nightstand. I have a feeling it was a gift from Jiraiya, as it was left with a fuinjutsu basics scroll beside it. Naruto didn't even look at the scroll.
That scroll and all the books and fuinjutsu supplies I managed to swipe from the orphanage were hidden in my nightstand. The first few weeks in the new apartment were quiet. We only had enough money for rent and ramen. Thankfully, Teuchi took care of us in that regard. I started collecting money that I found around the village, all left on the ground, just random coins here and there. After a month I'd found enough to get us some basic pantry goods, cleaning supplies, and I even managed to find some abandoned paint cans so we could finally get rid of the wallpaper.
There was no sign of our Anbu guard in the village. Whenever I went out, I stretched my senses as far as I could, but I couldn't find them. And then one day, I felt them return. I forced myself not to run to the village gates. The last thing I need is for Danzo to find out that I'm a natural sensor. I need to be in the middle of the road. In everything. I can't protect Naruto if I'm locked away in Root.
The next day, our Anbu guards were outside our apartment. I could feel Kakashi's storm and Yugao's warmth. Over the last year I managed to figure out who one of the other guards was, Shiranui Genma. He'd deflected a kunai headed for Naruto by lazily spitting a senbon out of his mouth when I was three. His chakra felt like a hurricane made out of fire. I never figured out who our fourth original Anbu guard was, although I was sure he was a Nara. And now, I know I never will. His chakra didn't return to the village. I felt my own chakra flare involuntarily, I still can't control it despite trying exercises from a scroll I'd borrowed from the library earlier in the month.
The team was in the apartment within seconds. Naruto was still fast asleep in our room as the team appeared in the kitchen with me. Fat tears obscured my vision as I sat, collapsed in the middle of our kitchen. Yugao is immediately checking me over for injuries. I see her sign to Kakashi, 'No injuries. Unsure how to proceed.' Kakashi crouches in front of me. And I can't stop myself, I fling myself into his arms. I hold onto him tightly, burying my head in his neck. He sighs, rubbing my back.
"What's wrong?" I hear a shuffle in the room, the new Anbu most likely surprised that Kakashi actually talked to me.
"D-deer's g-gone." I manage to stutter out between sobs. All of the Anbu in the room deflate. Their chakra turns somber. It solidifies it. He's not just off the team. He's gone. The realization makes it worse, my head begins to pound as I struggle to take in breaths.
"Shh, Ki-chan." Kakashi tries to soothe me, but it doesn't work. He sighs, moving us so I'm sitting in his lap. And soon he's reading Kunoichi Moon, a kid's series much like Sailor Moon from my previous life. It takes a little over a chapter before I've finally settled down. The only sounds in the apartment are my quiet sniffles and Naruto's muffled snores. "Maa, your brother should've done the sound effects for the boat rescue chapter." That turns my sniffles to giggles as I pull my head up, wiping my eyes.
"That's not nice, Inu-niisan." Genma snorts from his seat at the table, his feet propped on top of it. "And feet off the table, Panda-nii." I feel a vague twinge of surprise in the chakra of the new anbu in the room. I finally move to look at him as he stands by the window. His dark brown hair peeks above his cat mask. His chakra feels like the trees in the forest that surrounds Konoha. He shifts from one foot to another ever so slightly. He's nervous. And so am I. Because Yamato, well, at this point he stills goes by Tenzo, looks like he's ready to bolt.
I untangle myself from Kakashi's arms as Yugao and Genma fight over the newspaper. I slowly walk over to Tenzo. He tenses as I stand at his feet, but I ignore it. Instead I hold my arms up expectantly. He just stares down at me until Genma's laughter fills the room.
"Just pick her up, Neko. She'll wait there all day if you don't."
"He knows from exper- experi-"
"Experience," Kakashi supplies from his spot on the floor.
"That!" I smile up at Tenzo. "Now pick me up 'ttbane!" Kakashi barks out a startled laugh, Genma joining him from behind me. I'd never stuttered like that before, although I didn't really talk in long sentences, either. I guess I reminded them of mom. A warm feeling spreads through my chest at that thought, just as Tenzo slowly picks me up. I immediately wrap my arms around his neck, dropping my head onto his shoulder. He's tense at first, but as the other Anbu in the room begin to have casual conversation, he eventually leans back against the windowsill.
"It's nice to meet you, Neko-niisan! What's your favorite food?" Tenzo breathes in and out a few times before finally answering.
"It's nice to meet you too, Kikuko. I like walnuts."
"I think we have some!" I say, pulling away and looking at him. "Down! I can make walnut onigiri!"
"You don't have-"
"I know I don't have to! I want to!" I huff, puffing my cheeks out. I feel Tenzo's panic and Kakashi's amusement. "And it's not funny Inu-niisan!"
"Of course you'd turn out to be a sensor." Kakashi sighs, leaning against the counter behind him.
"She's gotta cause trouble somehow." Genma says, the smirk clear in his voice. "Better let the kid down or else she'll hit you."
"No I won't." I pout, crossing my arms.
"You see that," Genma points at me. "That is natural deception right there. She's gonna be a hell of a shinobi one day." I can't help but to preen at the praise. Tenzo eventually sets me down, and soon we're all in the kitchen, Naruto included, eating walnut onigiri. And for the first time in this new life, I finally feel myself relax.
"Ki-chan! It's time to go!" Naruto yells from the front door. I shake my head at his excitement. Today is the day we sign up to join the academy and attend orientation.
We're now five years old. My years of not having to worry about the screwed up plot of Naruto has come to an end. I look down to straighten my clothes. I'm wearing a dark green shirt with a bright red Uzumaki clan symbol on the front and black leggings. I quickly pull up half of my hair into matching twin buns on the top of my head, the rest of my hair flowing down my back. Just like a picture of Mito-baachan in one of her journals.
One of the only good things to come out of our many visits with the hokage was the gift of her journals. Although it was framed like a gift, those were our rightful journals. With all the influence Konoha put on clans, they seemed to constantly leave the Uzumaki out of it. I shake my head before leaving our room and heading out to the front door. Naruto is waiting there for me, bouncing from one leg to the other. His bright blonde hair is its usual mess, tucked behind the green goggles the Sandaime gifted him. He's basically wearing the same thing as me, except his t-shirt is black.
"C'moooon!" He yells, barely giving me enough time to put on my shoes and grab our bentos. As much as I loved ramen, especially grandpa Teuchi's ramen, I know that me and Naruto need more nutritional foods, especially if we're going to start at the academy. Besides, we're having celebratory ramen for dinner tonight, anyway. Teuchi's treat.
We make it to the academy in record time, the line to sign up doesn't seem too long as we enter it. I feel a little overwhelmed from all the different chakra signatures around me. Sure, we lived in a shinobi village, but Naruto and I lived in a civilian area. The most shinobi I encountered at once was the Anbu team in the Hokage tower.
I can tell that our Anbu team is now walking into the academy gym. This time though, they're not in their Anbu uniforms. I know I'm staring when Genma smirks around his senbon and winks at me. I feel my cheeks heat up as I look away. I'm so going to prank him later.
A few minutes later, we're sitting in one of the front rows, Naruto is bouncing in his seat next to me in excitement. I can feel our Anbu team's chakra in the row behind us and feel myself relax. I've learned I really, really don't like crowds. Having our team behind me helps me relax, I know they won't let anything happen to us. I shift the bentos in my lap, letting my feet sway back and forth in the chair as I feel an unfamiliar chakra signature approach us.
"Hey there, mind if we take these seats?" I look up to see an Uchiha with curly hair. I only know of one Uchiha with curly hair.
"Yes, you're not allowed to sit there." I say, as serious of an expression as I can muster on my face. He sweat drops. I hear a snort behind us and I can't stop myself from giggling at him. "You-" huf "can sit here Uchiha-san." I manage between my laughs. I see a mischievous smile on his face before he turns around and motions for the rest of his group to sit with him. It's the Uchiha head family. They, unlike Shisui, take their seats gracefully. Although I notice Sasuke is busy looking around excitedly. I'm really going to have to figure out a way to stop the massacre.
"Alright, what's your name kid?" Shisui says, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Uzumaki Kikuko and this is my brother Naruto!" I lean back in my seat to let Shisui see my brother. Naruto smiles shyly at Shisui and waves.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Shisui and these are my cousins Itachi and Sasuke." Sasuke gives a shy wave much like Naruto.
"It's nice to meet you!" I say to both of the Uchihas. I see a bright blush across Sasuke's cheeks and struggle not to let out a laugh. I hear another snort and subsequent smack from behind us and roll my eyes at the antics of our guard. I know that they are dangerous shinobi, but they can really be just a bunch of idiots.
Shisui starts talking to Naruto about his goggles and I quickly zone out of the conversation. Now, how am I going to prank Genma? I could always slip something in his food, but it'd have to be pretty undetectable since he's started testing things since last time. Maybe I can dye his spare uniform a different color? He always ends up needing to change at our place if he comes to visit us before his shift. I'm sure the Hokage knows that me and Naruto know who each of our guard is, but thankfully he hasn't changed them. Even Tenzo has started to come visit us on his days off to help with our plants.
But back to the prank, I'd have to bleach it first to get any bright colors. Maybe I could get a cheap tie dye kit somewhere? Maybe cut the bottom of the top to add some fringe?
"Should I be afraid?" Shisui asks, a crooked smile on his face.
"Huh?"
"You look like you're planning something evil."
"I am, but I can't tell you. Don't worry, though, you're not the target."
"You're scary, chibi-chan." He says, before patting the top of my head. "Let me know if you need any help."
"You like pranking too?" Naruto asks, hopping out of his seat.
"Of course I do." Shisui laughs, reaching out a hand for Naruto to shake. "I think this is the start of a great pranking relationship."
"It sure is, 'ttebeyo!" Naruto practically yells. I feel the dread in the row behind us and immediately burst out into laughter. I can deal with dangerous things later. Right now, I can enjoy this moment of peace.
AN: What do I do when I hit a wall in my other stories? Write multiple chapters of a story I haven't published in just a few days. I keep having dreams about this one, so enjoy the ride? Updates twice a week! I'll update tags as we go along. Let me know what you think!
Also, I don't own Naruto. Obviously.