Chapter One: You've Grown
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! But I do own the Shimizu fmaily!
Every ninja in Konoha knew that one of the most degrading jobs you could have was watching the gates. It meant that you weren't very useful, just deadweight. Most of the time, the same two people guarded the gates, but today was different. Today, Uchiha Sasuke had been assigned to guard the gates of Konoha.
It had been somewhat of a sleepy day. A few genin teams had left on missions, but aside from that, nothing of great importance had happened. This left Sasuke with absolutely nothing to do. So he sat staring at the wide-open gates, contemplating just how he would get back at the Hokage for assigning him to guard duty.
Three cloaked figures walking right through the gates was the last thing he expected. In an instant, his senses were on high alert. He stood quickly, his had unconsciously reaching for his chokuto. Each of them wore their hoods up, making it impossible to see their faces. The one who had been walking in front of the other two was somewhat shorter than the one to it's right. The other was shorter than the both of them, and had a less confident posture.
The figure at the lead stopped parallel to where Sasuke was, and turned to face him. Sasuke's grip tightened as he spoke. "Who are you, and what is your business in Konoha?" His authoritative voice rang through the air, adding more tension between the two. The figure brought a hand up to its hood, and pulled it down from it's face.
Sasuke gaped at the woman standing before him. She had changed so much, but still remained very much the same. Her black hair was longer than before, falling just past her shoulders. Not only that, but the color seemed faded, looking somewhat dull in comparison to her appearance before. As she smiled at him, he could see that her eyes were softer than when he had last seen her, and her smile more sincere.
"Hello Sasuke. It's nice to see you again." She continued to smile at him, while he regained his composure.
"Kirari, what are you doing here?" He asked, still unsure as to why she had come back to Konoha once again.
"I had a promise to keep. And I find raising a child while traveling difficult. So I decided to settle down." She motioned for the two behind her to come forward. The taller one walked up to her, pulling his hood down as he went. The shorter of the two came to her side in a more timid manner, and kept its hood up.
The man beside Kirari smirked, and put his arm on her shoulder, leaning on her like an armrest. His hair was a light almond, with slight hints of red in it. He looked at Sasuke with light brown eyes.
"So, you're Sasuke. It's good to finally meet you." He grinned as he spoke, clearly enjoying the moment.
"I think it might be best of we go see the Hokage." Kirari said, while pushing the man off of her shoulder. "I'd rather start things off on the right foot than get myself into trouble again." Just as she spoke, an ANBU appeared beside Sasuke, tensed for a fight.
"Captain Uchiha, there were reports of intruders at the gate. Is there a situation?" Three more ANBU appeared beside the first. Sasuke shook his head.
"No the situation is under control. Notify the Hokage that I'll be coming with visitors. And get someone to guard the gate. These three will be coming with me." The ANBU nodded, and disappeared with the other three instantly.
"I guess that things didn't go exactly as I'd hoped." Kirari sighed. "Lead the way, little brother."
Sasuke nodded, and began walking away. Kirari followed him immediately, and the other two to followed behind her. She caught up with Sasuke and looked over at him.
"You've grown." She stated, clearly wanting to start a conversation.
"You haven't" Sasuke retorted. It was true. Kirari was still the same height, while Sasuke had grown to be about three inches. Kirari smiled up at him, and looked back for a moment before returning her gaze to meet his.
"So, you're ANBU Captain I presume?" Kirari asked. Sasuke shrugged and continued walking. "I was expecting you to be a little more curious. Is there something I'm missing out on?" Sasuke smirked at Kirari's puzzled expression, but continued walking.
The group arrived at the door to the Hokage's office quickly. Sasuke walked in without a second thought, and the other three followed after him. The moment Sasuke stepped in, loud yelling could be heard.
"Bastard! What did I tell you about coming in without my permission? And why aren't you at the gate?" Kirari's smile brightened when she walked into the room. There at the desk of the Hokage was none other Naruto Uzamaki. He had a wide grin on his face, and was shouting at Sasuke, who had stopped in the middle of the room.
"Idiot, I figured that you'd want to speak to my sister personally." Sasuke looked very satisfied when Naruto's eyes widened, and he looked past Sasuke to see Kirari and the other two walking in behind her.
"About time too. I've had to keep Sasuke at the gate for three weeks waiting for you three to show up." Naruto mumbled while shuffling through a small pile of papers in his desk. He pulled out a thin file, and smiled. He looked up at Kirari while opening the file.
"Kirari Uchiha-Shimizu. Currently age thrity eight. The first and only daughter of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Achieved the rank of Jounin at thirteen, and diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder the same year. Soon after relieved of duty as a Konoha ninja by the fourth Hokage, though claimed dead by the remainder of the Uchiha clan. Later to be temporarily reinstated by the fifth during an attack on the village. Currently married to Kaoru Shimizu, formerly from the Hidden Mist Village, and heir to a prominent clan with a strange, if not useful Kekkei Genkai. With one known child, age thirteen."
Naruto looked up from the paper, a smirk playing at his lips. Kirari simply had an eyebrow raised.
"You've had someone following me?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"Actually, Tsunade had a few ninja on the lookout for information on you from the moment you left. This is just some of what they managed to discover." He placed the file down, and smiled.
"Ah. That would make sense. Well then, Hokage-sama, is there anything else you have to say to me, or are you just going to be reading off my entire life story?" Naruto shook his head.
"Actually, I was hoping you would introduce us to your family. Officially, that is." Kirari nodded.
"As you said, this is Kaoru," She motioned to the man from before, and he grinned at Naruto.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hokage-sama. And it's good to know this place is being run by someone who doesn't have a stick up their, you know." Kaoru shrugged before leaning on Kirari again as he had before, his elbow on her shoulder.
"And this is our son, Kenta." Kirari put her arm around the shoulder of the smaller, and still hooded figure. "Kenta, don't you want to meet your uncle?" she whispered so that only he could hear. A hand appeared from the long sleeve, and the boy pulled down his hood. The boy looked extremely similar to his father, having facial features that were almost identical to the taller man. His hair was a darker shade of brown. His eyes were a deep black like those of his mother's, and were the only feature that looked similar to her.
Kenta kept his gaze to the ground, and bit his lip slightly. "Hello." His soft voice was barely audible. Kirari smiled softly at him before looking back up at Naruto.
"If that's all Naruto, I'd like to go get some rest. We've had a long journey, and we could all use some sleep." Naruto nodded, and Kirari ushered her family out of the room. She turned before closing the door and locked her gaze with the sixth Hokage.
"I realize that coming here wasn't the best idea, but we needed a place to live that was safe. I trust that you'll keep our presence here a secret for the time being." Before Naruto could answer, she had closed the door, and walked away. The blond looked from the door to his best friend who had stayed silent the entire time.
"I have a feeling that life's about to get complicated. Better enjoy the peace while it lasts." Sasuke continued to stare at the door, but Naruto could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Good. It's been too boring around here lately."
Sorry if Naruto seems ooc. I'm a little rushed, because I'm traveling tomorrow, and I still have to pack. And I imagined him as the kind of Hokage who would be just that good. All serious, but still having fun at the same time. I'll probably go through and fix some of the stuff this chapter. It seems off…
Thanks goes out to Diablo's Heir, MizukiUchiha12, and AkemixHanako for reviewing.
Also thanks to those three who helped with the names!
MizukiUchiha12: Kenta!
AkemixHanako: Kaoru!