"Do you have any sevens?" Sakura asked Kagami.
"Go fish," Kagami said with a big smile. "Do you have any fives?"
"Man Kagami, can't you let me win a game for once?" she asked as she handed Kagami her five. Kagami then placed her pair on the ground. "I'd hate to play poker with you."
"Yeah, Sasuke learned that the hard way; now every time I ask him to play he just glares at me and walks away."
"Have you ever played Naruto?"
"Yeah…he's the only one who can beat me," she said, scratching the back of her head and blushing like crazy. "I think he has a knack for gambling. So, you up for another round Sakura?"
"Hey you two, let's head home," said Tazuna as he walked toward the two girls. "I just have to stop at the store and get some things for our lunch."
Kagami and Sakura were shocked to see how bad it was in the town. They passed beggars and the unemployed, but what shocked them the most was the store.
"There's nothing here," Sakura said, looking at a bare shelf.
"It's been like this ever since Gato moved in," Said Tazuna. "That's why the bridge we're building is so essential. It will be an emblem of courage. Maybe the people who've taken the path of least resistance will be willing to walk the road of courage and dignity again. If we can only complete it, I truly believe that our city and our people can be what they once were again."
"Don't worry Mr. Tazuna, with us here, we'll make sure you complete the bridge," said Kagami. "Now let's hurry home and get lunch ready. I bet the boy's are hungry from all that training."
1 hour later
Kagami and Sakura watched disgustedly as Naruto and Sasuke stuffed their faces with food as fast as they could and then threw it back up.
"That's it!" Yelled Kagami as she slammed her fist on the table. "Stop eating if you're just going to make yourselves sick!"
"No, I wanna eat." Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto.
"Because even if we make ourselves sick to do it, we have to eat if we want to get strong!" Naruto concluded.
"Yeah, but throwing it up defeats the point." Sakura scolded.
"Who are you? Our mother?" the boys mocked in unison.
"Are you calling me old?" Sakura asked them, her eye twitching."
"No." Sasuke said with a sigh.
"Maybe." Naruto muttered.
"You idiot!" Kagami screamed, whacking him in the head.
"Naruto," Sakura said, cracking her knuckles.
"Yes Sakura?" He gulped.
"You have five seconds to run like hell."
"Yes ma'am."
"Ok, let's calm down. Naru-kun, apologize." Kagami butted in.
"Sorry! Don't kill me!" Naruto rambled as Sakura sat back with a smug grin.
"See? Naruto apologized, Sakura's calm, and Sasuke's going to be an uncle! Everyone's happy!"
It took a few minutes for her teammates to grasp what she just said.
"Holy what?!" Sasuke yelled, jumping to his feet.
"Ya…I guess twins run in the family."
Sasuke slowly turned to Naruto. "You. Die. Hate. Die. You." He stuttered, not forming actual sentences.
"Hey it's news to me! She must have jumped me in my sleep…although you'd think I'd remember…"
"Wow you guys need a calendar! Hello people, it's April Fool's Day!"
Sasuke turned back to her, shaking with rage. He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He sat back down and reverted to sending her death glares.
"Ok then…oh ya! I forgot Sasuke lost his sense of humor!" She looked up and then paled. Above her was the biggest spider she had ever seen. "Oh my God! Naru-kun kill it!" She shrieked, jumping into his arms.
"Oh yes dear sister, I have NO sense of humor." Sasuke smirked, pulling down the rubber arachnid. "Of course I remembered what day it was."
"B-but earlier?"
"An act. Simply an act."
"Damn you."
"I know."
"Hey, why is this picture torn? Someone's face is completely gone. Is that deliberate?" Sakura asked, breaking the randomness as she gazed at said picture.
"It was a picture of Inari's father," answered Tsunami.
"Our entire city called him a hero," Tazuna said sadly. Suddenly, Inari got up and walked outside, slamming the door behind him.
"Dad! I've told you not to mention that in front of Inari!" Tsunami yelled at her father.
"So you're talking about what it is that makes Inari act so strangely?" asked Sakura.
"It sounds like there's a story there," said Kakashi.
"The man in the picture was not Inari's birth father, but they were as loving and close as if they were. Inari was a happy, laughing child back then. But Inari changed…after what happened to his father."
5 minutes later (EN: I'm too lazy to write this out – go read it yourself, volume 3)
"So, after Inari's dad died, Inari thought he had lied about heroes existing." Kakashi concluded. Naruto stood up, but from weakness, fell.
"What are you doing Naruto? Don't even think about training anymore today. If you try to work your chakra anymore without getting some rest first, it would probably kill you," Sakura said. Naruto pushed himself up off the floor and looked at her.
"I'm going to prove to him that he's wrong! I'm going to show Inari that there are still heroes in the world!" He walked out, slamming the door.
later that night
Kagami looked up from her scroll as someone knocked on her door. "Naru-kun?" she cried, rushing to the door. "Oh…hey Sasuke." She muttered, not bothering to hide her disappointment.
"You're the one who needs a calendar. It's October."
"Duh. You just realized that didn't you?" She smiled feebly, sitting on the floor. (AN: Is it just me or does Kagami really like to tease her brother?)
"No…" Sasuke lied. "Anyway, why did you think I might be Naruto?"
"He's been gone for a few hours now…I'm worried, that's all." She pointed at him accusingly. "And yeah, you did. I'm you twin so I can tell when you're lying!"
"You want me to go look for him?" Sasuke offered, attempting to change the subject.
"Thanks, but I'm sure if he passed out some guy who looks like a girl would come along and they would pick herbs while talking about the true meaning of strength."
"Ok then…you're weird."
"I know. Now get out of my room!" She threw a pillow at him.
"Hn." He nodded, walking out, smiling slightly.
2 days later
"Morning everyone," said Kagami, bouncing down into the kitchen/dinning room with a big smile on her face. It soon faded when she saw Naruto was once more absent. "Did he stay out all night again?! What does he think he's doing? If he keeps this up he could kill himself!" She began to pace back and forth as she ranted. "Staying outside night after night isn't safe He could have fallen down and cracked his head open or been kidnapped! And don't tell me there's nothing to worry about Kaka-sensei," she said as she stopped her pacing and pointed her finger at him.
"Maybe he did us all a favor and actually did kill himself." Mumble Sasuke as he ate his breakfast.
"Sasuke, how could you?" Kagami wailed, tears pouring down her face.
"Alright! I'll go look for the stupid dobe!" He then got up and left.
Sasuke POV (EN: POV mean Point of View!!!!!)
'I don't know why I'm doing this; I mean does it look like I care about that moron? I don't think so. But my sister sure does and I know I should be happy for her and all that crap because after what happened to the clan she was all depressed and now she's her old self again. (whoopie!) But couldn't she have found someone other than Naruto? Well, beggars can't be choosers can they?' As Sasuke got closer to where Naruto was he saw he wasn't along. 'And now that bastard is going to die for cheating on my sister!"
"Hey Naruto! Your girlfriend's looking for you." He watched the two finish their conversation.
"Well, I should go," the girl said as she got up, "it was nice meeting you Naruto. Maybe we will meet again sometime so you should know that I'm a boy." And with that the stranger got up and left.
"Wow," Naruto said in shock. "The world is full of amazing things."
'Well that's creepy.' Thought Sasuke as the guy passed him. 'How Kagami guessed that I'll never know.'
that night
"That's it, first Naruto and now Sasuke," Kagami yelled, jumping up from her place at the table. "I'm going to the training ground and drag them back by their ears!" But before she made it to the door it flew open to reveal a tired Sasuke and an exhausted Naruto.
"We both made it to the top of our trees," said Naruto.
"Good, now you two can help Kagami and Sakura protect Mr. Tazuna tomorrow," said Kakashi.
"Yes sir!" They both said at the same time.
Kagami snapped out of her rage and helped Sasuke get Naruto to the table. After getting him in a chair she ran over to the sink to wet a towel then back to Naruto and started to clean the dirt off his face.
"Stop it Kagami," Naruto mumbled sleepily, trying to get out of her grasp but failing miserably. As he was trying to escape he looked over at Inari and saw he was crying. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Why – why do you always wear yourself out trying," he yelled. "No matter how hard you train, you'll never be a match for Gato's thugs! You act all cool, and you talk all tough, but big, strong guys like that are always too much for people weaker than they are. They'll destroy you!"
"Shut up! I'm not you," Naruto snapped back. "And I'm not going to lose."
"Just watching you ticks me off!" Inari continued on as if Naruto didn't say a thing. "You go running your mouth when you don't know a thing! This isn't your town! And you don't know a thing about me. You're always clowning around and having fun. You don't know a thing about suffering or loneliness or what my life is like!" Hearing that last sentence caused Kagami to flinch; she knew Naruto was about to give the little boy hell.
"So you figure it's noble to star in a melodrama and treat everyone around you like guests at your pity party?" Naruto started out quietly but started to yell. "Well it takes a really fucking big man to sit around and cry, you brat! You big baby!" With that said, he got up and started to leave.
"Naruto!" yelled Sakura. "You went to far! Come back here and apologize to Inari."
Kakashi, who had seemed to have fallen asleep, walked over and hit Naruto in the back of the head. "Don't use that language to the family of the client."
"Sakura," Kagami said quietly. "I'll take care of him." She then put the towel down and went after Naruto. Suddenly, Inari got up too and ran away.
"I'll take care of Inari," said Kakashi as he went after the kid.
"Leave it to Naruto to make a mess of things," Sakura sighed.
Kagami found Naruto at the place they always trained. He was throwing kunai viciously at a tree. As one whipped past her head, she caught it in midair.
"What are you doing Naruto?" She asked his as he stopped.
"Keeping myself from killing something. He just doesn't get it! What's the point of complaining? Crying and whining doesn't change the past." He said darkly.
"He's still a little kid!"
"He's older than I was. At least he knew his Dad. He still has his mom and the old man too. That brat has a great life."
Kagami sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "We can't all be like you Naruto; you think differently than the rest of us, that's why I love you. You're growing up you know?"
He smiled slightly. "Nah, I don't think that's possible. I'm just excepting the facts."
"So who's this girl you met that Sasuke's been telling me about?"
"What girl? Oh him! Kagami –chan I am about to reveal to you one of the amazing wonders of the world…"
Later that night
Kagami entered the bedroom she shared with Sakura, plopping down on the bed.
"Did you find him?" Sakura asked, sitting next to her.
"Yep."
"That's good. He was a little hard on that Inari boy."
"No, not really. If you think about it, Naruto's life sucked when he was Inari's age so he doesn't understand where the kid's coming from. Naruto knows what loss is like but not the feelings that come from watching your parents die."
"Wow. Who would have thought? A boy being sentimental." They laughed softly, quieting when Kakashi said it was lights out. They laid in separate beds for a few minutes of silence.
"Hey Sakura?"
"Yeah?"
"What is it you see in Sasuke? I mean he's nice to pretty much only me and sulks a lot."
"Well, I don't know really. He's just so mysterious and I can't believe that's his true personality. I want to be the first, beside you, to be close to him."
"I see."
A few more minutes passed before Sakura broke the night air.
"Kagami, why do you like Naruto? He's so annoying and childish."
"Sakura, what would you do if you were left alone in a world that openly hated you? One that cut you down everyday and called you scum everyday since you could remember but you didn't know why?"
"I don't know. Break down and never leave my room I guess."
"Then is Naruto really all that childish?"
"I never thought of it that way. I guess you're right." And with that they fell asleep.
that morning
"Naru-kun, it's time to get up," Kagami said in a sing – song voice as she poked him in the cheek. "You can't sleep forever; don't you want to come with us to protect Tazuna?"
"Let him sleep Kagami," Kakashi said as he checked his supplies. "He must have worn himself out yesterday. He deserves to sleep in."
"Yeah he does, doesn't he?" She then Naruto on the cheek and got up to get her bag.
"Alright everyone, let's head out," said Kakashi.
at the bridge
"Do you want to play Rummy with us when we get to the bridge Sasuke?" Kagami asked her brother as they where walking down the bridge to the work site.
"No," he answered as he glared at her.
"Awww don't be a baby. You know, I'll let you win sometime."
"We're suppose to be guarding Mr. Tazuna, not playing card games."
"I know, but nothing is going to happen and you know I get bored easily."
When they neared the word site they saw that all the workers were knocked out. "Looks like I spoke too soon," she said as she ran over to the injured men to see if they were still alive. "Hey! This one's awake! What happened here mister?"
"Mon – monsters," he stuttered before he passed out and a mist started to cover the area around them.
"Get ready everyone, they're coming," said Kakashi as they formed a circle around Tazuna.
"Kakashi – sensei, is this that man we met?" asked Sakura. "This is his 'Hiding in the Mist' technique isn't it?"
"It's been awhile Kakashi," came Zabuza's voice, floating through the mist. "And I see you've got those brats tagging along, just like last time. The little boy is trembling again, poor thing." Suddenly Zabuza clones surrounded the group.
"I'm shaking with eagerness for a rematch," Sasuke said with a smirk.
"Now don't get cocky Sasuke, I was the one he backhanded. I want a piece of him too," said Kagami as she opened her fans.
"Go ahead you two," Kakashi said with a smile and with that Kagami and Sasuke went at it. Kagami moved like she was dancing as she cut down Zabuza clone after Zabuza clone until she landed right behind Sasuke.
"Well," said Zabuza, "my water clones were obviously no match for them. It seems the brats have matured quite a bit into rivals, right Haku?"
"Yes indeed," replied the masked boy behind him.
"Well it looks like I was right," said Kakashi. "Our mysterious masked friend is on Zabuza's team."
"That one's mine," Sasuke said. "That was quite a show you put on before, but we're on to you now."
"I don't think you used enough cockiness Sasuke," Kagami said sarcastically, "they're still standing." Suddenly the boy, Haku, disappeared and reappeared in front of Sasuke with a senbon in his hand, which he swung at Sasuke who countered with his kunai.
"Kagami, Sakura! You two guard Mr. Tazuna and let Sasuke handle Haku," Kakashi said as he moved to Tazuna's side.
"But I wanna fight! Why should the guys get the fun part? That's so sexist!" Kagami scowled.
"No, we have the most important job. Sure we're not risking our lives but if they all fall it's on our shoulders. Also, how would it look if our charge died because we were battle crazed?" Sakura put it.
"Fine, I'll guard the old guy. I just hope Sasuke doesn't get hurt."
"I know, I feel the same."
"I don't want to kill you, but you probably won't leave quietly, will you?" asked Haku.
"Not a chance in hell," answered Sasuke.
'There he goes making cocky comments again,' thought Kagami shaking her head and sighing.
"I thought so," said Haku, "however, you won't be able to match my speed for long and I've laid the groundwork for two attacks."
"Two attacks? What are you talking about?" said Sasuke.
"Firstly, there's the water splashed all around us. Secondly, I've trapped one of your hands with parrying my move which only leaves you with one hand to defend yourself from my attacks." As he said this, he started to make signs with only one hand. The water around them started to rise and turn into needles.
"Sasuke!" yelled Kagami and Sakura together. The needles then began to fly toward Sasuke who jumped up at the last minute and then threw shurikens at Haku who dodged them all.
"You're not that fast," Sasuke said appearing behind Haku. "Now you're the one who has to worry about defending yourself from my attacks." Sasuke then swung his arm with a kunai in his hand, toward Haku's face but Haku blocked it with one of his arms. He then saw the kunai was coming toward his head and ducked. With surprising speed, that Kagami never saw before, Sasuke kick Haku in the face, sending him flying. "You may be fast, but I'm faster," he said smartly.
"You had that coming," said Kakashi. "You underestimated my team. Sasuke may not look like much, but he's the top – rated rookie in our village. Kagami here may say lots of sarcastic things but she's an extremely quick learner. Sakura here is our sharpest mind and last but not least, let's not forget our own comedy ninja – the maverick show – stopper, the one and only Naruto."
"Heh – heh," laughed Zabuza. "Haku, if you keep this up you could end up dying at the hands of the very person you sought to spare."
"I understand sir," said Haku. "What a pity," he sighed as he formed a hand sign. Suddenly the water around them started to raise and form into ice panels around Sasuke. Haku them walked over to one of the ice panels and started to pass through it until his entire body was in and his image reflected off all of the inside panels.
"Damn it!" yelled Kakashi as he started to run towards Sasuke to help him, but was stopped by Zabuza.
"Don't forget that I'm you enemy," said Zabuza. "Why don't we just let our children play together?"
"Now that it's all in place let me show you some real speed!" Haku said to Sasuke. With blinding speeding Haku threw senbon after senbon at Sasuke, cutting him in a million different places.
"Sasuke!" yelled the three together.
"Don't you dare make any sudden moves or I'll kill the other three," said Zabuza when Kakashi tried once again to make it to Sasuke.
"Sakura, you stay here with Mr. Tazuna!" said Kagami, when she realized Zabuza was distracted. "I have to get Sasuke out of there before he gets killed."
"Ok Kagami," said Sakura as she took her place in front of Tazuna. "Just be careful."
"I will." With that Kagami took off toward the ice panels as she took out one of her kunai. When she thought she was close enough, she threw the kunai at one of the ice panels, but unfortunately, Haku caught it. "Damn it!"
"You shouldn't have done that little girl," said Haku as he looked at Kagami. But before he could do anything to her, a shuriken came out of nowhere and hit Haku on his mask, causing him to fall out of the ice panel.
"Wha…" Kagami looked around trying to see who threw the shuriken, when suddenly, there was an explosion of smoke.
"Here I am, to save the day," said Naruto as the smoke started to clear around him. "You know how it goes. Things look bleak 'til the hero arrives, and then POW! Bye – bye bad guys!"
"Naruto!" Kagami and Sakura yelled in excitement at seeing him.
"Heh – heh," laughed Zabuza as he threw some shurikens at Naruto, but they were deflected by senbon. "What are you doing Haku?" asked Zabuza.
"I want to fight this boy in my own way," was Haku's answer.
"So you want me to keep my hands off him, hm, Haku? How charmingly naïve of you, as usual."
"Hey, Sasuke, I'm here to rescue you," Naruto said when he popped up inside the panels with Sasuke.
"Y-You idiot!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto. "No stealth, no caution, and you call yourself a ninja! Now that you've gotten your dumb ass trapped in here with me, just what do you want? For I don't really care."
"I go through hell to rescue you and this is the thanks I get!?" Naruto yelled back. "Well fine, see if I ever do something like this for you again!"
Haku got up and went back into his ice panel. Kagami could only watch as her brother and boyfriend fought to escape from their ice prison. She watched as Sasuke tried to melt the ice by using fire jutsu, but that didn't work. Naruto tried by using his shadow clone jutsu but that didn't seem to work either.
"This jutsu uses the mirror's reflection to transport me," Haku said to the boys. "To me, you seem to be moving in slow motion."
Kagami gave a slight gasp. "This is kekkei genkai just like my sharingan!"
"I've had enough…" Naruto said wearily.
"So this is it?" Haku asked.
"It can't end like this! I've got a dream to fulfill!"
After a pause Haku began to speak once again. "I…find it difficult to embrace the full shinobi philosophy. I can't help by prefer that the pair of you not force me to kill you. However, if you two are going to come at me…I shall kill my own heart with my blade – just as the word 'shinobi' was originally the words 'heart' and 'blade' – and act as a full – fledged shinobi would! This bridge is a nexus of our destinies...and all of our dreams and futures balance on the edge of a knife. I have my own dream…as you have yours. Please try not to resent me, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect the one I care about most…to fight, kill, or die to fulfill that person's dreams. Doing so is my own dream. To that end, I will become a true shinobi and I shall kill you both." He finished, eyes lowering into slits.
"Sasuke! Naruto! Don't you dare lose to a person like him!" Kagami heard Sakura call.
"Yeah! You can beat him!" Kagami added.
"Stop encouraging them!" Yelled Kakashi. "Even if we knew of a way to counter his technique, your teammates still wouldn't be up to the task of defeating that boy."
"Wh-what do you mean Kaka – sensei?" asked Kagami as Zabuza began to laugh.
"Those two haven't yet developed enough psychological strength to turn their hearts to ice and take a human life." Zabuza explained. "That boy has lived with the kind of emotional anguish that prepares him to be a true shinobi. No true shinobi could ever be born of a place like your village, a place of weakness…of peace. You don't live with death, or grow up needing to kill to ensure your own survival. In you those skills – and the mindset they require – die stillborn!"
"Kakashi – sensei what can we do?" was the last thing Kagami heard from Kakashi and Sakura as she turned her attention back to the battle. Naruto and Sasuke were plagued by a seemingly never-ending flow of senbon. They were left lying, weakly on the ground with the needles stuck in them, causing them to look like mutated porcupines. It was then Kagami heard Sakura's scream but she didn't dare turn around to see what happened. Sasuke stood, wavering on his feet but his eyes remained strong.
"You…move…well…" He said to the Haku above him.
"But my next assault will take you down!"
Kagami watched as Sasuke focused all his energy on seeing through the attack and she cheered when he succeeded and dodged the senbon aimed at him.
Sasuke hit ground hard but when he came up Kagami noticed his eyes had become red sharingan.
"You're! I see…you too share the legacy of a kekkei genkai bloodline." Haku said in surprise. "I can't let this fight go on! My own art forces me to expend a great deal of chakra, so there is a limit to how long I can go on using it! And I'm certain that the longer our duel drags on the greater your ability to perceive my movements will become! Especially since, to a certain extent, you can already see me now! Time to bring this to an end!" Haku shouted as Sasuke suddenly turned all his attention of Naruto.
Kagami, transfixed in horror, activated her own sharingan in hopes to help them. "NO!" She screamed as she watched Sasuke take a direct hit for Naruto. "SASUKE!" Naruto moaned a little and looked up to see Haku lying on the ground. "Sheesh…no matter how many times I warn you Naruto, you still keep getting in my way…" Sasuke said weakly, his chest heaving.
"Sasuke! You…" Naruto started before he saw the state Sasuke was in. Kagami had to turn her head when she saw her brother cough up a pool of blood, but the image stayed with her. There were needles sticking from him everywhere, even his neck, and she knew there was a very small chance he would survive.
"Now get that lame expression off your stupid face…you screw up!" Sasuke tried to yell but his voice came out hoarse and unearthly.
"Wh-why?" Naruto asked, not believing that Sasuke would sacrifice himself.
"I use to hate you, you know…" Sasuke began.
"Why…why did you? Why…me? You should have just minded your own business!" Naruto yelled.
"How should I know? My body just moved on its own…fool!" Sasuke tried to continue but fell to ground, where Naruto caught him. "I swore I wouldn't die until we killed him…my older brother…thought the oath with Kagami would save me…but…" His eyes fluttered in and out of focus and soon closed all together. "Don't let her get hurt and don't you dare die…" He managed to say before loosing consciousness completely.
"He struck one blow at me…and without any sign of shirking sacrificed himself for you!" Haku told Naruto as she tried to stand. "He was a shinobi worthy of the utmost respect…who in order to protect someone he cared about, threw himself headlong into what he knew full well was a trap. Is this the first time a comrade of yours has died? Such is a ninja's faith." Every word cut through Kagami's heart like a dull knife. The last of her family, the most important one, was dead and all she did was sit back a watch it happen.
"Shut up…" Naruto growled as an invisible wind began to whip around him. He continued to clutch Sasuke's body and it seemed a glance at Kagami's horrified face, set him over the edge. His teeth elongated and his pupils became dangerous slits. "I'm gonna kill you!" He roared. As the chakra engulfed him, healing his wounds, his hands became hooked claws. As he got down on all fours Haku prepared for an attack.
"He's so bloodthirsty! He's completely changed from the boy of just minutes ago!" Haku said in horror.
"Oh my God…Naruto…" Kagami muttered as even more tears streamed down her face.
Sorry for the long wait. It seems our dear author found playing computer games to be more important than updating like she promised. So kill her not me (ya the editor had to type this all up…) ok? Hope you all had good breaks! Until next chapter.
