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A loud beeping broke the predawn silence that permeated the dark room. It was coming from a cheap alarmclock on the nightstand beside a large bed.
As the beeping grow louder a blob formed under the sheets and begun to hunt for the source of that annoying sound. When the blob reached the side of the bed an arm snaked its way from under the blankets and started to take uneffective swipes at the clock. With each missed attempt to silences the annoying machine the arm would extend a little farther. After about six or seven attempts the blob leaned out over the edge of the bed, expossing a black sleeve and a tuft of blond hair, and took a final swip. The hand made contact with the clock but it over extended the balance point in the proccess.
Wham!
Down in the livingroom of the house Kenshin looked up from his morning paper and smirk at the sound of his charges waking up ritual. Sighing he put aside his paper and grabbed two mugs of hot chocolate an started to climb the stairs to the second floor of the house that the Hokage had assigned them while Kenshin was in town.
At the top of the stairs the samurai had to jaggol the cups in one hand as he used the other to slide open the kid's door. Inside Kenshin sat the mugs on the nightstand between the two beds and looked down at the postrate form of Naruto as he lay there rubbing his forehead were he had fallen on it. Kenshin couldn't help chuckleing at the blonds uncordinated wakeup this morning as he turned to wake Kushina. But she wasn't in her bed.
Kenshin frowned as he tried to figureout where she was. She hadn't come down the stair that morning to use the restroom and she wasn't going through the closet looking for clothes. Suddenly Kenshins smirk returned as he looked back to where Naruto was laying. Sure enough there was a large swath of red hair covering Naruto's chest and a pair of red pajama sleeves wrapted around his neck.
He should have known that this would happen, it always did when they were under stress. Though they couldn't be that stressed or he would have encountered a hail of sharp steel when he opened the door. No this was only a case of mild stress and they would be perfectly fine in a few moments.
"Come on you two, time to get up. Its going to be a big day today. Got to take you to class orientation and find you a new house and other stuff." Kenshin said as he pickup one of the mugs and began to waffed the sweet scent of chocolatie goodness over them. Kushina was the first to show signs of life as she sat up and started reaching for the cup, her body balanced on one hand and her knees. Just as her hand was about to grab the cup one of Naruto's hands gently push her other hand out from under her.
Wham! Kashina's forehead made an intimate greeting with the floor as Naruto sleepily sat up and reach for the cup in Kenshin's hand. A growl from the floor was followed by a stright right to Naruto's jaw as Kashina sat up in a more alert (and ticked off) fashion.
"Nee-san! why you hit me?" Naruto whined as he sat back up.
"Cause you pushed me thats why" came Kashina's angry retort. Kenshin couldn't help laughing at the exchange as he quickly grabbed the other cup and held out both to the kids before they could really get going.
"Now, now you two theres plenty for everyone" the samurai scolded as the two brats took their mugs and started drinking. He had a hard time staying stern with them for long though, they were just that entertaining.
Naruto instantly started to chug his when he got it but Kushina took her time to saver the rich flavor of hers before she drank, but about halfway through her mug she saddenly got a serious look on her face.
"Himura-sensei?" Kenshin humphed that he was listening "are you preheating something downstairs?"
"Yes" Kenshin replied.
"It's burning now" was Kushina's straight faced reply as the smoke detector went off. The samurai bolted from the room as fast as he could towards the kitchen, and a moment later a shout was heard as he tried to fight the fire that had started.
"NANIIIIII!" Naruto and Kashina brokedown in pails of laughter before they rush to help their klutsie sensei.
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A few hours later found the threesome walking down the street headed for the ninja academy. Kushina and Naruto were still giggling at their sensei's expense.
They had leaned out a little in the four years that they had been training with Himura-sensei and had dropped a portion of the puppy fat that used to pad their muscles. They now wore matching outfits of a pair of tan shorts (Kashina wouldn't be caught dead in a skirt) and burned orange t-shirts along with blue sandels. Naruto's hair was still a spiky, blond mess while Kushina's red hair now reach passed her shoulders. She had taken to waring it braided and wrapped in a bright orange ribbon. Both had somehow found a pair of goggles and now wore them on their foreheads.
Behind the children walked their samurai caretaker, still in his red kimono and packing his katana with a practiced ease.
"That enough out of the two of you were almost to the academy and I don't want you two scarrin' the other students with your 'unque' brand of greeting" Kenshin said with his ever present smile. His students seemed to deflate a little at that.
"Killjoy!" they grumbled.
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Iruka stood outside his classroom as he waited for his new students to arrive. He had been informed, by the Hokage no less, that the new students would be accompanied to class by their current caretaker and that he would fill Iruka in one any of their personality quarks and would spend his last week with them getting him used to the academy.
He was just starting to get antsy went he notice three people walking towards him.
The first thing he noticed was the sword the adult was wareing. It was of a style that was tipically used by a lords assassins or 'hitokiri', on closer inspection Iruka paled when he determaned to this man sword pattern was the one used by those assassins in the service of the Fire lord. The red kimono, red hair and the cross shaped scar on the mans left cheek led Iruka to identify him as Himura, Kenshin the highest ranked hitokiri in the service of the Fire lord.
"Himura-sama how can I be of service?" Iruka asked as he went even paler. A giggle from somewhere between them caused him to look down for a moment. There were a pair of ten year olds trying (and failing) to hold in their laughter. Both were wareing a matching pair of tan and burnt orange outfits with blue sandels, they also had matching expressions that promised lots of trouble if they had the chance.
"Thats enough out of you two' Himura stepped forward and bopped the two on the head. Kenshin noticed Iruka give him a look when he did this and hope'd that he would be fair with them.
Iruka for his part saw in the two kids the inner prankster that Iruka himself used to have. He looked a little closer at the two kids in front of him, trying to place just who they might or used to belong too. Iruka didn't get anywhere with the girl but was surprised when he instantly placed the boy, this was Naruto Uzumaki, the jailor of the Nine-Tailed Fox and village parish that none would take in.
So this is why the Hokage himself was so interested in the newcomers. Iruka eyes shifted back to the girl.
If this was Naruto then the girl most be his sister Kushina. Iruka keep an eye on them as he let the recongnition show on his face and was appalled to see their bright smiles become stuff, wooden, in a word fake, he would be damned if he let kids go through his class like that.
Iruka put a bright smile on his face as he leaned down to look the kids in the face. Naruto and Kushina took a half step closer together as they looked back at him, he also notice the Himura suddually shifted to the side, giving himself a clear line of attack to Iruka. It made the teacher even madder at what the actions told him, that dispite the smiles and the confident masks these two were really about as trusting as a pair of whipped puppies. Oh Iruka was damn determaned to fix this and do it right.
"Hello there, I'm Iruka-sensei and I'll be your head instructor until you graduate" Iruka said as he extended a hand to the two of them. Kushina and Naruto seemed to hesitaite for a moment before they took his hand at the same time.
"Naruto"
"Kushina" The pair seemed to be reserving judgment on him and Iruka was thankful that they gave him that match, he put it to good use.
"Come, I need to introduce you to your classmates and my assistant teacher" Iruka said as he took their hands and led them towards the classroom.
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The most class was abuzz with excitment at the thought of getting new students. The boys were hopeing for new competion and friends for playground games and the girls wanted gossip and sleepover playmates.
When Iruka sensei walked in he took a quick survay of the classes level of excitment before yelling for silence.
"Class today we are going to welcome some new students' the class was exstatic at that, they were getting multipals 'So I'd like you all to be attentive and nice as they introduce themselves..... and would someone please wakeup Shikamaru" everyone arranged themselves and a girl named Ino slapped Shikamaru over the back of his head, erning her a glare from the boy, before the two new kids entered.
The class took in everything about the boy and girl that now stood by the teachers desk, from their choosen colors to the blank looks on their faces and the stiff way they held themselves, and came to one conclusion.
These two were trouble with a capital T.
"Well now that everyone is here why don't you intoduce yourselves" Iruka said to the new kids and got a nod from both.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki" Naruto started.
"Add I'm Kushina Uzumaki" Kushina broke in.
"We're orphans that the Hokage has allowed to settle in the Leaf Village and uttend this ninja academy" Naruto continued.
"We like bright colors, lights and loud noise. We also like to hangout with each other and a few other people" Kushina cut in aguin.
"Our dreams for the future is to become Hokage or at least the heads of our clan" Naruto aguin continued.
"Oh and our hobbies-" as Kushina said that a bunch of little round balls with sparking fuses fell from the bottom of their pants pockets unnoticed by anyone excepted for Kenshin (who plugged his ears) and Iruka who couldn't get his mouth open fast enough to stop what was about to happen.
"ARE PRANKS!" they shouted together as about twenty little flashbombs went up in a rolling barrage of light, sound and smoke. Most of the class dove under their desks at the first pop add didn't get up until they heard the sound of rukus laughter from the front of the room.
The Uzumaki's were on the ground as they tried (not very hard ether) to get their laughing under control.
"That was amazing!" a boy with wild brown hair yelled.
"That was troublesome" Shikamaru sighted as he reset his chair.