SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or Naruto. Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sibling Rivalry, Part 1

The scene opens up to a thick forest in central China. Espio was jumping from branch to branch in the trees while Vector and Charmy were stuck with walking. All of them were carrying backpacks they filled before their trip. Espio said they would be going away for a while and told them to bring only what was necessary. Unfortunately, for Vector that meant a TV, his stereo, and a couch. The one thing that was on the teams mind was.

"Where are we going?" Charmy asked.

"Don't know." Vector replied. "Espio just said to pack up and move it."

"But why did we have to travel all around the world today." Charmy whined. "Me and Raine were going to the park today."

"Shut up! You think I like this?!" Vector screamed.

"If you two will quiet down, come here." Espio said from the top of a hill. "It's time I returned home."

"Home?" The two questioned as they walked up the hill.

"Welcome to my home: The Village Hidden in the Leaves." Espio smiled.

At the point where Vector and Charmy reached the top of the hill, their mouths instantly dropped. Below them stood a forest wide city covered by the trees. A giant wooden wall surrounded the entire village with a giant two-door gate entrance. The more notable feature was the five faces carved into the mountain that overlooked it. Vector and Charmy rubbed their eyes and smacked themselves to make sure they were awake. They were.

"WOW!" Charmy screamed in amazement, nearly making Espio deaf. "This is cool!"

"Yes, it is." Espio groaned; his ear still hurting.

"How come no one has ever found this place before?" Vector scratched his head.

"All of the hidden villages try to keep themselves secret from all outsiders." Espio explained. "It is to make sure none of the villages secrets are revealed to the world."

"Secrets? What secrets? Tell me the secrets!" Charmy exclaimed.

"Can't tell you." Espio smirked.

"Why not?" Charmy asked.

"It's a secret." Espio chuckled.

Espio and the rest of the Chaotix walked down the hill towards the gate. As they reached the entrance, the group found two men standing sitting at a booth on the side. One man had brown hair covering his right eyes and a blue bandanna on his head. The other had spiky black hair and a cloth wrapped around the bridge of his nose. Both wore dark blue suits, green flak jackets, and metal headbands with a leaf symbol. They stood up when Espio's group came by.

"State your purpose of visit." The dark-haired man said.

"The hokage's got you on gate duty again, Kotetsu." Espio chuckled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here, Izumo."

The two were confused how he knew their names. Espio reached behind his back and pulled a metal headband like theirs. He wraps it around his neck and tightens it into place. He raises his hand to his horn to give his own kind of solitary salute.

"Remember me?" Espio questioned.

"Hey, it's Espio!" Kotetsu yelled out loud.

"Boy, it's been three years since we've seen you." Izumo chuckled.

"You know him?" Vector asked the humans.

"The whole village knows him." Kotetsu said. "Espio's family is one of the more prominent clans in the villages. Especially that one girl. I forget, what was her name again?"

"That's not important." Espio said quickly. Vector thought it was A little too quickly. "Do you mind if we passed through?"

"No, not at all." Izumo said. "Just be sure to keep your friends out of trouble."

"Easier said than done." Espio muttered under his breath.

Leaving behind his old friends, Espio decided to show his team the sights. They visited the local dango shop until a creepy sadist lady named Anko scared them away. Espio showed them the flower shop owned by the Yamanaka Clan. Charmy asked a girl named Ino to help pick out a special flower for Raine. They visited a ramen shop called Ichiraku. Espio has never eaten at the shop because of this one boy who always visited there. Espio was too young to understand, but his parents always told him to stay away from the boy. An old man presented them with three steaming bowls of ramen.

"Yay! I'm starving!" Charmy cheered as he dived into the bowl.

"Charmy!" Espio growled lightly. He turned to the old man and bowed his head. "Sorry for my friend."

"It's no trouble, really." The old man smiled. "I haven't seen a face that joyful since Naruto left."

"Naruto, that's the boy who always comes here, right?" Espio asked.

"Yeah. That's him." The old man said before returning to work.

"Who's Naruto?" Vector asked, taking a huge gulp of his ramen.

"I'm not really sure." Espio said honestly. "I've heard people call him a demon, but I never knew why."

Espio paid the bill and guided them to the mountain. Espio explained about the Hokage's faces in the mountain and how they were important. The first and second Hokage's were brothers that founded the village, the Third Hokage mastered over a thousand jutsus, and the fourth defeated the fox demon, Kyuubi. But the last Hokage, Espio did not know anything of.

"So who is she?" Charmy asked about the last head.

"I don't know." Espio said. "They must have had a different Hokage when I was away."

"Too bad you weren't here to see that day." Team Chaotix turned to the sound of the voice. They found a white-haired man standing on the guard rails. He wore a standerd ninja outfit but had a mask over his mouth and his headband covered his left eye. He was holding an orange book. "Yo."

"You're late!" Espio shouted randomly.

"Sorry. I had to help a goldfish get back to the ocean." The man said dully.

"Liar!" Espio shouted. Both remained motionless for a moment before bursting out laughing. "I haven't done that in a while. It's good to see you again, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's nice to see you back home, Espio." The man named Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Espio, who's the cyclopes?" Vector questioned.

"This is my teacher, Kakashi Hatake." Espio introduced. "He taught me everything I know about ninjutsu."

"Out of all the students I've had, I would say Espio was my greatest." Kakashi said as he suddenly appeared next to Espio. "But that's not much when I have only had a handful of students."

"Exactly how many students have you had?" Espio eyed him.

"Five." Kakashi answered simply.

"One of them wouldn't happen to be a red hedgehog named Recter Rose, would it?" Espio asked.

"Yes. How did you know?" Kakashi asked in surprise.

"We had a little run-in when he stabbed Vector with your famous thousand years of death technique." Espio said.

"It hurts to think about it." Vector whimpered while rubbing his poor bottom.

"But I'm not the only one who's trained him." Kakashi explained. "He also took lessons from Guy, Anko, and even the Hyuuga clan."

"The Hyuuga clan?" Espio's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Wow! I thought no one in the village or any other village was allowed to learn from them."

"He was the exception because he's not allied to any village." Kakashi explained. "He just happened to wander into the village, looking for someone to train him. He said he wanted to make someone pay for taking their sister."

"And we all know how that turned out." Charmy said sarcastically. "So, what's so great about this Hyuuga Clan, anyway?"

"Why don't we show you?" Kakashi smiled under his mask.

The two ninjas took Vector and Charmy to a large manor that belonged to the Hyuuga family. They were granted entry because the Hyuuga's and Espio's family were allies. They sat calmly as the head of the household trained one of the skilled members of the clans: Neji Hyuuga. Before he left, Espio heard stories of a member of the branch family being equally strong as the main house members. And judging from the fight, the stories appeared to be true. Neji and the leader slapped their palms at one another, neither of them showing any signs of fatigue.

"This is boring." Charmy yawned. "I thought they were fighting."

"They are fighting." Espio said seriously.

"If you call slapping fighting." Vector also yawned.

"That is what makes the Hyuuga so deadly." Kakashi said. "It may not look like they're doing much, but don't let that fool you. The reason the Hyuuga's are so powerful is because of their eyes."

"Their eyes?" Charmy and Vector questioned.

"Yes." Kakashi began. "The Hyuuga's bloodline limit, the Byakugan, allows them to see the internal circulation system in other beings. With that, they can attack to pressure points in the body and remove the enemy of their power."

"Sounds cool." Charmy smiled. "I want to do that."

"I don't know. It took Recter two years to learn how to fight like that." Kakashi said, making Charmy whine. Back in the fight, Neji slipped up and the leader nailed him in the chest. Neji collapsed to his knees, ending the match. "I believe that's enough sights for one day. I think it would be best if you went home, Espio. You're parents must really miss you."

"It was great seeing you again, Kakashi-sensei." Espio bowed.

And with that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. After saying their goodbyes to the Hyuuga's, Espio led his team down the direction of his home. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the village. It was night time when they arrive and Vector was dragging himself across the ground.

"Come on, Vec. It's not that bad." Charmy said.

"Easy for you to say! You got wings!" Vector screamed.

"Mind keeping it down?" Espio asked calmly. He turned away from them "Guys, welcome to my home."

Vector pulled himself up, only to have his mouth fall straight back. Espio's home was as big as the Hyuuga manor, complete with a grove and a fish pond on the side. Espio walked up to the door and knocked on it lightly while Charmy dragged the shocked gator. The door opens to reveal a green chameleon woman with red braided hair and no horn. (Females don't have horns) She wore a white robe, meaning she was a doctor. She stared in shock at Espio before hugging him tightly.

"Oh, my little Espionage, you're home!" The woman cried.

"Espionage!" Charmy exclaimed before laughing

"I wouldn't be laughing...Charles." Espio smirked.

"Your name is Charles?!" Vector busted a gut.

"You're in no position to laugh...Victoria." Espio grinned.

"Victoria!" Charmy rolled over in laughter.

"Hey, what's all the commotion?" Espio's mother moved aside to reveal his father. Espio father looked like an older version of Espio with a curved scar on his forehead. He wore a standard ninja uniform and his head band around his neck like Espio. The man walked up and slung his arm around Espio's shoulder. "Espio. So glad you decided to join us."

"Thank you, father." Espio said respectfully.

"Let's all hurry inside. Dinners almost ready." Espio's mother said cheerfully.

"FOOD!!!" Vector and Charmy screamed and ran in.

"Oh no." Espio muttered.

Dinner was normal. Well, as normal for Team Chaotix. Espio and his family calmly ate their food in peace while the rest of Espio's team just gulped it down. They ate the meat, the sushi, the rice, and something that was unidentified, but still moving. Vector ran to the bathroom shortly after. Espio mother was washing up while Charmy curious examined all of the family photos hung on the wall. His eyes wandered to one particular picture.

"Hey, how come this picture is ripped?" Charmy asked.

Espio's parents seemed to stiffen and Espio hung his head. Vector shoved Charmy aside to examine the picture. It had a young Espio standing by his parents, the whole bottom right corner was missing. Vector thought it was strange that they would react to the picture.

"That's a picture of Espio's sister, Tomo the Chameleon." Espio's mother answered.

"I didn't know Espio had a sister." Charmy said. "Do you think we can meet her?"

"That's impossible." Espio's father answered.

"How come?" Espio asked.

"Over a year ago, Tomo was found...KIA." Espio's father answered.

"KIA? What does that mean?" Vector asked.

"It means killed in action." Espio's father explained. "Tom's body was found dead; covered in black flames."

That was it, Espio had enough. Espio stood up and silently walked out to the door. He opened and shut it behind him without saying a word. For as long as they have known him, Vector and Charmy both knew Espio was upset.

"Espio must be sad for losing her." Charmy said glumly.

"That's not it." Espio's father said.

"What do you mean?" Vector asked.

"All his life, Espio has always lived in his sister's shadow." Espio's father explained. "He tried to prove that he could be a good as her, but always failed. He couldn't win because Tomo was, well, a genius."

"She was super smart?" Charmy asked.

"In a way." Espio's father said. "She was gift at a young age. Every technique she learn, she would master it in little time. Espio was always so determined to beat. Now he never will."

Espio sat in a section of the forest outside the village on a large rock. Scattered around the area were targets hung on the trees, on the ground, and one hidden behind the rock. Espio would remember when his sister would always bring him here to train with her. It was during these sessions that Espio knew his sister truly loved him. But now she was gone.

"Tomo." Espio thought sadly. "She graduated from the academy at the age of six. She mastered the shadow clone jutsu at the age of eight. And when she was ten, she already knew one jutsu of each element. I always wanted to prove myself to her. To show her that I could be her equal. I wanted to be like her...on that day."

---Flashback---

Espio was nine years old and standing behind one of the trees. Standing not far from him was a purple female chameleon with shoulder length purple hair. She was ten years old and wore purple shoes with a grey stripe down the middle, grey shorts and arm length gloves, a red sleeveless shirt, and a leaf head band around her neck. She was wearing a blindfold while holding five kunai in each hand.

"Ready, sister." Little Espio asked.

"Always. little brother." Tomo replied.

Espio pulled on a sting. The string tugged against ten bells that were near the targets. At the sound of the bells, Tomo jumped into the air and flipped upside down. She released eight kunai in random directions and threw one forward. Tomo tossed the last kunai at her previous one, which bounced off each other. To Espio's amazement, the kunai all nailed their marks.

"She even hit the one behind the rock." Espio thought.

"So, how did I do?" Tomo said as she removed the blindfold.

"You hit them all!" Espio cheered and ran up to his sister. "You're the greatest, Sister! I bet you are even better than Itachi Uchiha."

"I'm good, but not that good." Tomo laughed. "Hey, aren't you graduating the academy tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll finally get to become a real ninja like you." Espio smiled. Espio turned around and pulled out ten kunai. "Hey, I bet I can hit all of them like you."

"As if." Tomo smirked.

"Oh, yeah! Watch me!" Espio exclaimed.

Espio tried to perform the same moves as Tomo, but only ended up twisting his ankle. Tomo was expecting Espio to do something stupid and brought her mother's first-aid kit. Tomo was trying to wrap his ankle, but Espio kept fidgeting.

"Stop moving." Tomo ordered.

"B-but it h-hurts." Espio said through the tears.

"It's not that bad." Tomo reassured him with a smile. She tightened the bandage around his ankle. "There. All better." Tomo sat beside Espio. "You know, you had me really worried there."

"I'll never be as good as you." Espio said sadly.

"Don't say that. You'll be a great ninja." Tomo smiled down upon him. "In fact, I bet one day, you'll be better than me."

"There's no way that'll happen." Espio said.

"Espio...a friend once told me that he had this crazy dream to become Hokage." Tomo told him. "I told him it was impossible. But he told me 'I'll become Hokage, no matter what! Believe it!'" Tomo turned to stare at her little brother. "He won't give up on his dream. why should you?"

"Thanks, Tomo." Espio smiled brightly. "You're the best sister ever."

---End Flashback---

Espio set himself in the same position as his sister with five kunai in each hand.

"I won't give up on my dream." Espio told himself.

Espio jumped into the air and flipped upside down. He released eight kunai in random directions and threw one forward. Espio mimicked his sister and tossed the last kunai at his previous one, which bounced off each other. When Espio landed he found that the nine visible targets were hit. But when he checked behind the rock, he found that he missed the target by two feet.

"Even after all this time, I still can't match up to her." Espio told himself.

Espio recovered his kunai and slowly walked back to the village. Espio could already imagine the disappointment on his sister's face if she saw his progress. But while he passed the Hokage building, he noticed that the front gate was opened slightly. Quietly, he peered in through the crack and saw a Chuunin ninja standing guard.

"Excuse, but is this supposed to be open." Espio asked, but receive no response.

Espio tapped his shoulder lightly, causing the ninja to fall over. He was surprised to find a kunai lodged into the back of his neck. Sensing danger, Espio pulled out one of his large shuriken and ran into the building. Upon entering, he found two people at the front desk had dead. Espio ran down the hall towards the Hokage's office. He wasn't surprised to find other dead Chuunin along the way. What did surprise him was that there was also Jounin and a few ANBU scattered across the floor. Espio reached the Hokage's office.

"Lady Hokage! Are you all right!" Espio screamed as he banged against the door. "Lady Hokage!"

Having enough, Espio stepped back and kicked the door open. hunched over the desk were two women. One was known as Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, and the other was her assistant, Shizune. Espio checked their pulses and were relieve to find that they were alive.

"Good, they're only knocked out." Espio thought. "But who would be skilled enough to knock out a Hokage?" Espio noticed a yellow powder on the desk. He picked up a small sample and held it to his nose. He instantly knew what it was. "Powder made from chameleon horns. An ingredient for a powerful knock out gas. But my family is the only one that knows this secret."

Even with his back turned, he could still notice the shadow that reflected of the wall outside. Closing the door behind him, Espio slowly walked down the hall with his shuriken in hand. A door was cracked open at the end of the hall with a light escaping from it. Espio peered inside and found a clocked figure scavenging through the shelves filled with important scrolls. Espio quietly snuck into the room, but the figure already knew. The figure threw back a kunai, which Espio blocked.

"Who are you?" Espio demanded.

"Now, now, is that anyway to treat a lady?" The figure said in a feminine voice.

"So you're a kunoichi." Espio said seriously. "But evens o, I won't go easy on you."

"Good, then it will be an even greater pleasure to defeat you." The female said.

Espio threw his shuriken at the kunoichi, only to have to be blocked by her kunai. The female threw her kunai, but Espio flipped up to stick to the ceiling. Espio threw a horde of smaller shuriken, but the female blocked them all with another kunai. Realizing that weapons weren't working, Espio performed a series of hand signs.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Espio shouted.

Espio breathed out a number of fireballs. Unfortunately, the female also performed her own hand signs.

"Water style: Water Wall Jutsu!" The female shouted.

The female ejected a jet of water from her mouth. The water formed into a huge wall that blocked the Espio's fireballs. What she didn't predict was that hidden inside the fireballs were a horde of shuriken. The shuriken slipped past the wall and shredded the females cloak to reveal her true identity. Espio was not ready for who it was.

"It can't be." Espio uttered in fear and surprise.

"Long time no see...Little brother." Tomo grinned.

Espio has returned home, but his sister has as well. What fate lies ahead for these siblings? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.