The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki
III. Cousin Naomi
"Naomi Uzumaki, may I present Naruto Uzumaki, a kinsman, and for simplification we'll say—your cousin?" Tsunade formally introduced them, and looked from one to the other with a quizzical smile on her face. She'd been puzzled by the remarkable resemblance which was even more evident now that they were together, but would withhold judgment until testing had been completed. There had to be a good reason for her to look like a Namikaze, and be named Uzumaki. If she were an imposter that would be an obvious mistake someone without a thorough knowledge of Naruto's background would make. She found the situation very interesting, and was looking forward to the scientific evidence that might reveal the truth of their familial resemblance.
It was difficult to say whether the two alleged cousins really appreciated their remarkable resemblance. Did anyone really see themselves the way others saw them? Being told by others that a resemblance existed was not always a convincing argument when one had ingrained convictions about the nature of one's own appearance.
Their hair and eyes weren't exactly the same color, but so close the difference was noticeable only to the discerning observer. The eye shape, nose, and shape of the face were very alike except for the male/female differences. There were, also a few more obvious differences. Naomi's ears were less curled, and lay flatter against her head. Naruto's mouth was thinner and wider, and his chin more squared. However, in this village, Naomi would undoubtedly be identified as a relative of Naruto's. When seen together everyone would discern a family resemblance whether it actually existed or not.
Naruto didn't observe any, but the most superficial resemblance. What he saw was an average-looking young girl with thick, unruly yellow hair, and uneven bangs. Her eyes were too wide and an unremarkable blue. She appeared younger than 14. She wore what looked like boy's clothes: a baggy, navy short sleeved-shirt and, baggy gray and navy knee-length shorts. She wore the usual unisex sandals. There was nothing interesting that he could discern in her appearance except that she didn't seem to want to look like a girl.
She was short, thin, and shapeless in her oversized clothes. If she looked like him then he didn't think much of his looks. Plus she didn't appear very bright with her mouth hanging stupidly agape, and her eyes ingenuously widened. He wouldn't believe he'd ever worn such a dumbfounded expression in his life. This would be cousin of his wasn't anything like what he'd always hoped for.
He gave himself a mental shake.
Why was he so resistant to this girl being related to him? Why was he so intent on finding fault? That wasn't like him. He generally didn't prejudge people. He usually accepted them at face value. Maybe he was taking the Fifth's doubts about her true identity too much too heart. The Fifth had every reason to doubt an unsubstantiated story. She owed it to the welfare of the village to investigate any suspicious claims. He didn't have to be quite as harsh. He could still treat her in his usual friendly fashion.
The true crux of his almost antagonistic attitude was the disappointment that his only relative wasn't a more imposing and impressive figure. Maybe that's why his reception of Naomi was so lukewarm. He'd always hoped that someday he'd have attained some validation in the eyes of the village, so any relative of his had to be worthy. Which was crazy because if the village couldn't accept the son of their greatest Hokage however flawed why would he expect some new relative to give him any cachet? He didn't need anyone else to prove him worthy—he would and could do it for himself. He'd known that all of his life. In fact, it was likely that he'd have to provide validity himself for this new cousin. She didn't look capable of impressing anyone just yet.
That thought cheered him up, and he viewed his new relative in a more acceptable light. As always the tenor of his thoughts was reflected in his expression. Guile and pretense were not in his nature. He looked more friendly and approachable once he'd settled his internal struggle.
When his new cousin finally recovered from her surprise and embarrassment, she smiled happily at him, and he had second thoughts about her looks. Maybe she wasn't so bad looking after all. He might even concede—if asked—that she was kinda cute. However, he still wasn't completely happy in fate's choice for his only known living relative. He really would have preferred a boy relation. What was he going to do with a girl cousin? What could they possibly have in common?
"Hi," Naruto said easily returning her smile.
"Hi," she responded without reserve. She studied him thoroughly looking from head to toes. Naruto felt no embarrassment. He'd been looking at her just as intensely.
"I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Tsunade put her hands in her pockets, and started towards the door then abruptly turned back. "Oh, Naruto?"
"Yeah," he said absently. He'd started to think about Hinata, and wondered what her take on this new wrinkle would be. Would she see a resemblance beyond the superficial that he didn't?
"You can wait until tomorrow morning to add your part to Shikamaru's report, but don't wait any longer. You'll start to forget things. I'd like as accurate a report as possible."
"Yeah, right," he said in relief. He didn't think he could handle writing a report just now with a new cousin as well as his first date with Hinata filling up his head.
"You've already forgotten about it, haven't you?" she asked in resignation.
He looked at her and grinned sheepishly. "Maybe, but you did give me a big surprise. It's hard to think about mundane stuff right now."
"Mundane, eh? Perhaps practice would make perfect," she suggested dryly.
He started. "Unh? You wouldn't be that mean."
"Are you suggesting I'm mean?" This time she spoke sharply. She truly enjoyed teasing the boy. He still reminded her of deceased brother, Nawaki even though he'd never lived beyond the age of 12.
"Hey, I'm not stupid. Did I say you wouldn't be mean? Of course, I meant you couldn't be mean," he backpedaled quickly.
"Good save. I'm pleased to see signs that you're maturing." She started to leave then turned back once again. "And Naruto?"
"Yeah." He gave her his full attention this time. He might not be able to tell her she was mean to her face anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't think it. He wasn't about to give her an opportunity to zap him if he could help it.
"I've read Shikamaru's report. You all did a very good job. You even brought home more payment than I'd expected or required for this mission. You've been doing that fairly often lately. Keep it up. By the way, I've decided to use my discretionary authority as Hokage to promote the three of you to jônin. You won't have to take the usual exam."
"What?! Really?!" he grinned. "I wish I'd come in this morning to hear that."
"I haven't told the others yet. I only made my decision this afternoon after reading the report. You may have the pleasure of breaking the news to Hinata yourself if you like. I'll let Choji know tomorrow."
He laughed excitedly, and rubbed his hands together. "Hey, that's great! Thanks."
"No problem. See you tomorrow." She waved good-bye. "I'll have your scheduled duties ready by then, too." This time she really did leave. The firm click of her heels tapping the floor could be heard for a few moments even through the heavy wood door.
For a minute Naruto forgot he wasn't alone as he watched her go anticipating the pleasure of telling Hinata the great news. He was brought back to reality when Naomi interrupted his thoughts.
"So you're a jônin now, unh?" She clasped her hands in front of her and leaned on her elbows resting on the table she sat behind.
He turned back to his would be cousin. He'd completely forgotten she was there. He felt guilty about his unflattering thoughts earlier, so he tried to be nicer. "So it seems. You know what that means, don't you?"
She frowned and studied him for a moment, thinking. "It's the highest ninja rank?"
"Not quite. The Tokujō, S-Class and Anbu Black Ops are higher levels of jônin that would out rank regular jônin."
"What does it mean then?"
"It means I don't have to take an exam. I don't do very well with exams," he explained with a grin.
She grinned back at him. "I've never had to take one."
"You're lucky. I've had to take way too many."
"Are there exams for every ninja level?"
"Pretty much." He leaned against the table. Her interest was flattering. He'd have to be careful just in case she was an imposter.
"Which type of jônin do you want to be next?"
"Hokage," he said promptly. "No exams involved. You just have to be considered the best by the ninja elders."
"Lady Tsunade's position?"
"That's right."
"Can you do that? You're awfully young," she asked doubtfully.
"So what? My father was the youngest Hokage this village has ever had. I plan to be the sixth Hokage," he said confidently.
"Lady Tsunade is so young. You'll be old before she retires."
"She's not so young. She's almost 60."
"No way." Her eyes grew big and round, and her mouth fell agape again.
"Way. She uses a transformation technique to project herself as any age she wants. She's been in her twenties for as long as I've known her."
"Wow! I want to learn that technique." She was impressed.
"You're too young to worry about looking old—plus you're not even a ninja yet. You can't learn ninjutsu or genjutsu until you pass ninja school."
She confessed eagerly. "I want to. I knew there would be a school. Aunt Yukari told me about it. She told me she'd been a ninja when she was young. She taught me a few things, too."
"What kind of things?" he asked indulgently. She probably didn't know very much since she hadn't had formal training.
"She taught me how to throw kunai and shuriken accurately," she proclaimed proudly.
"Yeah, what else?"
"She explained ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. She told me about different kinds of jutsu techniques. She taught me some things about chakra. I've been working on chakra control. I can walk on water."
If she'd been a Konoha ninja that wouldn't have been an impressive list of skills for a 14 year old, but for someone without formal training, if true, it was a major accomplishment. He remembered how much trouble he'd had with chakra control. But maybe girls picked it up more quickly. Sakura had managed it much easier than either he or Sasuke.
He pushed himself away from the table. There were a lot more questions, he needed to ask especially if she proved to be an imposter, but he needed to get going. He had to wash up and change into clean clothes before he picked Hinata up for their date.
"Come on. We can talk while I walk you home." He nodded towards the door.
She jumped out of her chair, and eagerly came up to him.
He gestured to the table she'd left covered in files and her origami work. "Were you really mutilating, the Fifth's files?"
She went back to pick up her origami crane and shoved it into her pocket. "No. It's made from a blank piece of paper. I wouldn't dare mess with the files even if they are old and musty." She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
They walked out the door. "You weren't doing any filing either," he suggested knowingly.
She shrugged. "I don't much care for paper work—except origami. I can read and write, but I don't want to do it any more than I have to. Aunt Yukari was really strict about book learning so I had to do a lot of it, but it's not my favorite thing to do."
"Me neither. The worst part of being a ninja is writing reports."
"Like the one you have to write tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but my team leader is really good at it. If I'm lucky, he didn't leave out a thing, so I won't have to write very much."
They walked blithely out of the building. Naruto had forgotten all about the two particular ninja he wanted to avoid—so of course, he ran right into one.
"Naruto! Naruto!"
Damn! It was Sakura's voice calling out loud and clear to him. He couldn't act like he hadn't heard her. He looked around and saw her down the street approaching the ninja complex from the opposite direction they were headed. His first thought was to run, but he knew it wouldn't work. She'd probably catch him then let him have it. So reluctantly he stood his ground and waited for her to catch up to them.
"Is that your girlfriend?" Naomi asked curiously.
"No way! Shhhhh. Don't ask me embarrassing questions in such a loud voice," he barely got out of his mouth before Sakura was before them.
"Who's this?" Sakura asked curiously as she sized up the girl standing beside Naruto. After studying her for a minute, she didn't feel the slightest threat from this unknown girl. Even if she was cute, she was too young and had absolutely no fashion sense to be a real threat to her in any capacity.
"A new found cousin," he mumbled.
"Have you no manners, Naruto?" she told him in disgust. "That's no way to introduce someone." She turned to the girl at his side. "Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno, Naruto's sometime team mate. What's your name?"
"Naomi Uzumaki," she answered proudly.
"You certainly do look like a relative of Naruto's." She looked back and forth between the two of them. "You could almost be brother and sister you look so much alike."
Naruto scowled. "We don't look that much alike." He still didn't believe the resemblance was that obvious. If she turned out to really be an imposter, a lot of people would have to eat their words.
"Look in a mirror, clueless. So where did you come from, Naomi?" It was amazing how quickly she could change her voice from sarcastic to pleasant as she switched between the cousins.
That question was something Naruto needed to find out himself. He didn't want Sakura doing his job for him. "Sakura, we don't have time for chit chat now. I need to get Naomi home. What do you want?" he asked impatiently.
She put her hands on her hips and stared him down. "You used to be much nicer to me, Naruto. Did my engagement to Lee upset you that much?"
He scowled again. "Hardly. I don't have time for this right now Sakura. Can't we do this some other time?"
"Do what? We're just talking. I haven't seen you for awhile. Have you heard about the mission most of the jônin are on?"
"Yeah, the Fifth just told me."
"We could be in a war."
"Yeah, I know."
"Did she give you your guard duty assignment?"
"Not yet. Are you doing it too? I thought you'd be exempt for medical duties."
"If no one's hurt, I don't have any medical duties. I've got guard duty tonight. Shino, Kiba and Ino are on the same shift with me since their team mates have been off on some mission with you." She made it sound like an accusation.
His eyes lit up. "Then Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata will probably be on duty with me. Who else is still here?"
"Lee, Neji, Tenten, a group of chûnin and genin. We're the only jonin in the village just now—except you're not a jônin yet, are you?"
"Wrong!" he announced triumphantly. "The Fifth just promoted me, Hinata and Choji."
Her eyes narrowed. "I see. Congratulations. You must have done well on your mission."
"Yeah, we did. Well, I've really got to go, Sakura." He was starting to feel impatient again. He didn't have time for this. It wasn't important stuff. He could talk to Sakura anytime. Unfortunately, he had to talk to her sometime soon for Lee's sake. Just not now.
"Wait! Naruto!" Sakura said urgently before he could leave. "I need to talk to you."
"What about?" he asked uneasily. He was afraid he knew what she needed to talk about. Would it be better for her to bring up the subject before he did or would she be mad that Lee had gotten to him first? He wished he knew. He sure didn't want to make her mad.
She lowered her voice. "It's about Lee. We had a silly argument."
Silly? That's not what Lee thought about it.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked with more resignation than sympathy.
"You're friends with him. I want you to talk to him for me."
"Me? What makes you think he'd listen to me?" This tact hadn't worked with Lee so he didn't know what made him think it would work with Sakura.
"He respects you Naruto. He'll listen to you."
Was this the time to tell her he wasn't necessarily on her side of the argument? Probably not. He couldn't deal with the repercussions right now.
"I really have to go, Sakura. Talk to me tomorrow, okay?"
"Fine. Let's have lunch at your favorite ramen stand?" she suggested with a knowing smile.
"Won't you be tired from guard duty?"
"I'm off duty at seven. I'll catch a few hours of sleep before lunch."
"Okay, sure. I guess I can do that. Oh, but Naomi will be with me. The Fifth wants me to show her around Konoha." He wouldn't mention the keep an eye on her part—especially with her standing there listening.
Sakura turned her attention to the girl standing attentively at Naruto's side. Despite her looks, her personality must not be like his. Standing still and quiet wasn't exactly his forte. "Can you keep a secret, Naomi?"
"I think so. I've never known any secrets to tell."
"Good. I realize you don't know many people yet, but I don't want you talking about whatever you hear me telling Naruto, okay?"
"Okay," she promised solemnly.
"Then I'll see you both tomorrow." She left them with a wave as she walked towards the ninja complex.
"She's really pretty," Naomi said. "Why don't you want her for your girlfriend?"
Naruto started. She asked the darnedest questions. "That's none of your business. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to ask personal questions?"
"No. I didn't know many people. The village I grew up in was really small."
"Didn't you have any friends?"
"No. I only had Aunt Yukari. We didn't mix much with the villagers."
He digested this information silently for a moment. "It must have been hard for you when she died."
"I cried, but she'd been sick for a while. I knew it was coming," she said simply. "I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't told me to come here after—after she was gone. The villagers were nice enough—they helped me bury her and all—but they wouldn't have wanted to take care of me. I would have been just an extra unwanted mouth to feed. It was a poor village."
"Well, you're here now. We'll take care of you," he promised gruffly. He could really sympathize with that. It was his life in a nutshell.
"Thank you, Naruto," she said awkwardly. "You know, Lady Tsunade told me that Aunt Yukari wasn't really my aunt. I didn't know that. She never told me anything about my family. I didn't know what to expect when I got here. I was really surprised to find out about you. I'm so glad I have a real relative here. I don't feel so alone now." She stared down at the pavement embarrassed that the conversation had gotten so emotional.
That made Naruto feel even guiltier for his unwelcoming thoughts earlier. It didn't matter that she wasn't the relative he'd wanted. She was the only one present, and she needed him. If she proved to be his real cousin, then he would gladly be her family. In the meantime, he'd behave as if it were a done deal. She was already thoroughly engaging his sympathy. He couldn't do otherwise. He wasn't made that way.
"Welcome home, Naomi. I hope you like it here," he said and rubbed her head the way so many adults had done to him when he was a kid. It might not be so bad after all having a cousin—even a girl cousin.
When she smiled up at him with tears shining in her eyes, he felt even more emotionally engaged. There was no doubt about it—he was hooked. If she proved not to be his cousin after all, he'd be the one shedding tears next. He really wanted a family. He really hoped this was the beginning of his—that is if Hinata didn't mind. She was the most important person in his life just now.
He wondered what she would think about all this. That was just one more reason to look forward to his date tonight—if he remembered to mention his new cousin. He had a few other things he wanted to talk about first. A new cousin might just have to wait.