Author's Note: Hello all! First off I would just like to warn everyone that this story was originally written in 2013 and discontinued due to severe writer's block.
Second: Since it was written before the end pairings and Boruto launched, it has officially became AU. The Boruto universe does not exist in this story and none of those characters will appear at this time. I have let the pairings remain the same, partially due to laziness, but mostly because they're crucial to the character backgrounds.
Third: The story focuses on character growth of the two main characters, next generation OCs, so they will not be very likeable in the beginning.
I only began rewriting this story, because for eight years it would not leave me alone until I picked it back up.
Here we go, again. I hope you all enjoy it.
Living Shadows
….
…
.
Age 6
The sun shone brightly down upon the village as group after group of children began to pool around the ancient building that would serve as their school.
The first day of the Academy.
The Academy where teachers would mold their students into weapon and chakra wielding defenders of their beloved village hidden in the leaves. The streets of Konoha were flooded with said students. Excitement and anticipation buzzed through the humid morning air as the giddy students pulled their parents in this direction and that, bouncing impatiently as they waited for their class assignment.
Well, most were excited.
The high-pitched yipping of a brown puppy happily seated by a student's sandal clad feet cut through the noise. Said child then felt the comforting warmth of his mother's palm ruffling his unruly brown spikes.
"Aren't you excited?" The woman's warm, soft voice questioned, crouching down in front of her second born with a bright smile. "It's your first day."
Shyly, black eyes met those of white-lavender and meekly nodded, earning a small chuckle from the older woman. Her navy locks shined in the daylight as a gentle breeze ruffled a few strands of her low ponytail free.
"You'll make plenty of friends, Kakato," She reassured softly, her fingers running soothingly through the six-year old's hair.
A few snickers from a few surrounding boys reached the brunette's ears, making his cheeks flame to life as his mother continued her reassurance. "I-I'm not a baby anymore, Momma!" He protested, backing away from her touch.
And straight into a pair of long, sturdy legs.
"I know I didn't just hear my son use the word Momma." A smug, male voice snickered with clear amusement tainting his words.
Kakato cringed and slowly tilted his head upward to see the fanged smile of his father.
"Kiba, there's nothing wrong with him calling me Momma." Hinata defended, her voice soft yet firm as she rose to her feet so that she could match the still sparkling gaze of her husband. "I am his mother."
Kiba snorted, his smirk never budging as he mussed his son's hair and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," He ignored the slight narrowing of her eyes and instead opted for lowering his mouth to Kakato's ear, "Don't tell your mom about the shuriken I gave you."
The boy snickered and gave his grinning father a fist bump to seal their pact, all the while Hinata titled her head with a small smile. "What was that boys?"
"Nothing!" Came the simultaneous response from both Inuzukas with matching guilty smiles.
Kiba grimaced at his wife crossing her arms over her lavender blouse. He could just feel it in his bones that she knew it wasn't nothing and they would be talking later.
"Already getting in trouble, Kiba?"
A partially relieved sigh escaped Kiba at the arrival of the hyperactive ninja, straightening to his full height to give the blonde Hokage a smirk. A rough laugh escaped his lips at the sight of a pink haired child tossed over the man's broad shoulder, "Does Sakura know you waited 'til last minute to bring the runt?"
Naruto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "She doesn't need to know." He directed his blue gaze over his shoulder, "Does she?"
"No," Came the groaned reply from the small girl, "Will put me down now?"
The blonde ninja laughed at the small jerks she gave in his grapple hold, before swiftly flipping her over his shoulder and lowering her to the ground. Blue eyes instantly flitted to the boy that stood by the red marked man, sending her to hide before her father's pant leg, meekly peeking out.
Naruto sighed, amusement sparkling in his gaze. "He doesn't bite."
The pinkette merely buried her face into the black material of her father's pants in response.
Another sigh escaped the Hokage as Kiba raised a brow at the girl's shy nature. "Ya sure that's your kid?"
"Kiba!" Hinata admonished.
"What?! Neither Naruto nor Sakura are quiet."
Naruto merely waved it off with an amused smile, glancing down at the little girl clinging to his legs. "Don't you want to talk to him? You were excited this morning to make friends. Remember?"
She shook her head furiously, big blue eyes bright with nervousness as her fingers curled tighter and she hid her face in her father's pant leg. "I don't wanna." Came the muffled reply. "Can I go see Momma at the hospital? Please?"
The blonde cringed at the crack in his daughter's voice at the mention of the medic-nin, who unfortunately had an emergency call that very morning and had to miss the ceremony.
Kiba looked on the scene with mild interest, before glancing down to his second pup. Kakato, having long lost interest the arrival of the two new ninjas was now happily distracted by his puppy.
Hinata quietly cleared her throat and Kiba sighed. To anyone else the gesture would hold no significance, but those people didn't know his wife. The quiet kunoichi was looking at the pinkette, motherly concern heavy on her features as she nodded pointedly to their son.
He got the message, raising a brow, but resolved with a shrug.
Silently, Kiba nudged his son's foot with his own. Kakato looked up questioningly, only to see his father jerking his head in the direction of the young Uzumaki. When he looked up at his father again, Kiba sighed, and nudged him forward with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Introduce yourself."
With a bit of hesitation, he shuffled over to the tense Hokage, glancing at the man's small smile before he leaned around him to face the young girl. "Um, hi?"
When she didn't reply, he shrugged and was clearly ready to return to his parent's side, but the look on his father's face clearly said to try again. Another sigh, "I'm Kakato Inuzuka."
One blue eye opened and her head turned, taking in the boy's black eyes, spiky brown hair, and red marked tan cheeks. Her chubby face tilted every so subtly in his direction, "I'm Konohana Uzumaki."
…..
After a little more coaxing out, courtesy of Hinata, Konohana had taken her father's hand and entered the Academy behind Kakato and his parents for the sorting process.
Much to Naruto's relief, she was placed in Konohamaru's class. Not that he doubted any of the senseis but knowing someone he held such a close bond with would be guiding her through the tentative first steps of training was reassuring.
Once the sorting process was complete, the bright and eager children each followed their senseis into their respective classrooms.
Much to Kakato's displeasure he became seated in the same row as the Hokage's pup. The shyness that had eaten at his nerves fizzled out as he took in his row partner. Her shoulders remained tense and fists cleaned in her blue pant clad lap. Kakato felt his confidence go up a notch. With a new-found smirk spreading on his lips, Kakato kicked his legs up onto the desk and trained his black eyes onto their sensei taking his place in the front of the room.
One by one they introduced themselves to their classmates. Nothing special. Kakato announced himself in a confident tone and cocky grin in place.
In comparison, Konohana stuttered her name out as timid as a mouse, hands still fisted in a death grip on her shirt and banged her knee on the desk as she sat back down. It was honestly pathetic, in his opinion, that the Hokage's daughter of all people was so torn up.
A small chuckle escaped the Inuzuka.
….
. Age 9
"Clone Jutsu!"
A cloud of smoke wrapped itself around the pinkette, her fingers poised into the last sign she had formed, and brow pursed in concentration. As the smoke cleared, her blue gaze hesitantly fell to the ground. A drop of sweat ran down her temple with a groan, taking in her pathetic attempt at a clone floundering at her feet. In another puff of smoke, the disgrace vanished.
"Crap!" Her foot ruthlessly kicked up at the grassy ground, clumps beginning to fly. "What's wrong with me?!"
Her voice cracked and eyes burned from the shame.
To say that Konohana was a prodigy, a mini-Naruto or Sakura, and she was someone the villagers would be proud to associate with their Hokage was completely and totally false.
Apparently, everyone expected the perfect golden child.
Well, they got her.
Konohana ran her fingers through her fallen strands of pink, her flushed skin sticky with Konoha's humid evening air. With a resigned sigh, she took in the smears of blood decorating the tree bark closest to her and the deep gouges her kunai had left on the surface. She didn't have a knack for anything it seemed. Taijutsu she was okay, genjutsu was just hilarious to watch, and ninjutsu had caused Konohamaru to sweat drop.
Her bloodied fists shoved roughly into her pockets and eyes squeezed tight in frustration. What was wrong with her?! She was the daughter of the top medic-nin and the Hokage, but she couldn't even make a clone, or properly defend herself.
"At the rate I'm goin', I'll be lucky to graduate at all." She murmured darkly.
Blue eyes glanced upward, hoping maybe an answer would fall from the skies and all she got was a bird flying overhead, then a splat of white hitting next to her shoe.
Her mom called her a "late bloomer".
Her dad said it would come with hard training and spirit.
Both tried to help her with her training whenever possible, but her frustratingly lack of progress had led to her sneaking off to practice.
A small glint sparked in her gaze, the taunts of her classmates when they pointed or jeered at her mistakes made her chest tighten. Her eyes began to water, and cheeks colored as a sniffle slipped past her lips. In a flash, she whirled to the nearest tree, her foot colliding with the bark to knock some sense into herself.
With narrowed eyes, her hands flashed through the signs once more.
She'd drop dead before letting everyone be right about her.
…..
Kakato didn't even crack an eye open at the ruthless whacks that a kunoichi in training delivered to his tree. She'd figure out he was there eventually, whether it be her sensing him or him trying to scare her. Suddenly, all sound of impact ceased, and the tell-tale scent of lavender caused him to open one eye to stare at the flushed girl. She had landed on the same branch as him, face red, and eyes steeled.
Well, there went his fun.
"Sup."
Her eyebrow twitched at the lazy smirk he threw at her, "What? Come to tease me?"
The Inuzuka snorted, ruffling his hair as he sat upright, "Don't flatter yourself." He ignored the manner her fists clenched, popping his stiffened joints, "I've been up here the whole day and you didn't even notice. You would figure the Hokage's precious little-"
He paused when a senbon thunked into bark next to his raised hand. Black orbs narrowed before snapping to the pinkette, who had another one out and ready.
"The name's Konohana, mutt."
His brows furrowed and a fang overlapped his lip, Chairomi was already snarling at the girl from his shoulder rather loudly. Kakato was beginning to wonder what happened to the shyness he had for many years associated with her.
Blue locked onto black.
When she was the first to break the glare, Kakato couldn't help the self-satisfied smirk that spread on his lips. With another sour glare, Konohana put her back to him, pushed off the branch, and resumed abusing the tree's trunk down below. Kakato rolled his eyes, patting Chairomi's hair soothingly.
"Stupid wench," He muttered, glancing at the senbon. It had only missed his hand by a centimeter. "Dumb luck."
….
Kakato would just love it if his sister would just stop talking. Black eyes narrowed at his older sister as she gabbed to their mother. White-lavender eyes wide and brown locks pulled in a perfect little bun, bouncing on her toes as she dramatically gestured with her hands.
His gaze lingered just a moment longer on his sister's eyes. Byakugan. Something he would never possess and something that labeled him the defect of the Hyuga clan.
A snarl left his lips, loud enough for his sister and mother both to look at him in surprise. He made no move to apologize as he kicked the front door open and stomped out of the house with Chairomi hot on his heels. With one chakra filled push he flew towards the trees and continued to do so until he landed in the forest area.
"Stupid sister," He muttered, plopping down onto the grass just as Chairomi landed next to him. A small smile pulled at his lips, ruffling the pup's hair, "We don't need Byakugan, do we girl?"
The dog barked in appreciation, nuzzling his palm with her wet nose that only made a laugh rattle his chest.
Both froze at the approaching scent and then cringed.
"Is that why your mom sent me out here?" Right on cue Kiba landed in a crouch before his only son, a scowl showcasing his fangs. "You're jealous of your sister? Again?"
"No-"
"Of all the stupid-"
"It's not stupid!"
"Did I say you could talk?!" He growled, gripping the front of the boy's shirt.
"It's not stupid!"
Kiba suddenly groaned, rolling his eyes, before giving his son a small shove. "Can't either of my kids shut the heck up?"
Kakato scratched the back of his neck, smirking upward at the man, "Well dad, hate to be the one to tell you but we come by it honest…"
Narrowed eyes cut him off, "Do you want to make it to graduation runt?"
An awkward silence filled the two, only stares occupying the two Inuzukas until a loud, high pitched snarl caused both to jerk their heads to the sides. Chairomi dug her teeth into the larger dog's leg, growling in determination, while Akamaru didn't even flinch at the dull teeth. Kiba arched a brow at the pup, and then sighed.
Another glance at his son, then back to the puppy had him shaking his head as he rose to his feet. "Come on, your mom's gonna be worried." His hand outstretched to his second pup and pulled him to his side, only to deliver a sharp thump to the skull. "You'll never have Byakugan. As much as that sucks, it's the truth. Don't let not having some crappy eye trick define you."
Kakato merely grumbled under his breath, trying to ignore just how much his father's stern words stung. So, the young Inuzuka did what he did best to keep from letting his true emotions show. He cracked a smirk, catching his father's eye, "So, I take it I shouldn't tell mom you called Byakugan a "crappy eye trick"."
To say he was amused by the way his father's tan cheeks paled considerably was an understatement. "Let's not."