Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
Now we're doing a time skip! There is one in the Naruto series, so it's only fair that I can do it!
Five months later…
Kaoru was at home, since she hadn't been assigned any bigger missions yet and she'd observed a few of the D-rank missions to get how things were done. She'd figured out that she could pull her wings in so people wouldn't stare as much and it helped her be more agile on the ground. Sasuke was out on a mission with his team, so she only had Itachi and Mikoto to spend time with, and the latter was on bed rest at the time being.
Kaoru was bored.
Why am I doing this again?
And when she got bored, she did weird things.
"How long do you think you can stand this? It's been four hours."
Itachi knelt in front of Kaoru, who was hanging from the roof by her feet without chakra. She shrugged and continued to hang, not even feeling dizzy from being there so long.
"What are you doing to entertain yourself?"
She shook her head.
"Nothing? Not even singing in your head?"
She nodded.
"You really are bored then. With Otouto and Naruto gone, you have no one else to spend time with except me. You can't think of anything to do?"
Most games I don't feel like doing right now, and all activities that I'd want to do would require going outside the village and I can't do that without permission. And I've mastered the song I wanna play for Naruto just recently and I'm waiting until he comes back from his current mission to show him. She'd recorded herself playing the background music and she planned on playing the melody herself. Playing from a book was one thing, but it had taken some time to take the song from her mind and get it right by guitar.
"Kaoru, you've been absorbed in something all this time. What is it?"
"Itachi! Kaoru!" Mikoto called. "It's time!"
Kaoru flipped to her feet and ran with her brother/friend to their mom's room. Mikoto was gasping in pain, holding her large, round stomach.
"Kaoru, I want you to help me to the hospital. Itachi, get your father and meet us there."
Kaoru nodded, and Itachi ran out, Mikoto standing and yelped in surprise when Kaoru picked her up and took wing, getting to the hospital in moments. She then entered the hospital and placed Mikoto on a chair before writing down what was needed. She then walked up to the main desk.
"Can I help you?"
'My mom, Uchiha Mikoto, is in labor. She's been on bed rest so she should stay off her feet as much as possible. My elder brother and dad ought to be here soon.'
"Nurse, get Mikoto-sama to a room and inform the doctor to check her progress. Young man, please wait here until Itachi-sama and Uchiha-sama arrive."
Mikoto was put on a stretcher and brought to a room further into the hospital. Kaoru was about to sit down when a Chunin came in.
"Kaoru-san, the Hokage needs you to go on a mission right away with Team Seven. They're at the main gate of the village right now."
She nodded and rushed out, flying all the way over. She came down and an old man, that was with Team Seven and their instructor, gaped in surprise. A/N: Guess who!
"Bless my soul, is that a real angel, or is it some ninja trick?"
Kakashi smiled and explained, "That's Uchiha Kaoru, a Jonin who's been requested to observe my team. He's a real angel, but is also a ninja of Konohagakure no Sato. I saw him fall from the heavens myself."
Naruto came and high-fived his best friend. "Kaoru! It's great to see you! What've you been up to?"
She shrugged, just as Sasuke gave her a side-hug in greeting.
"I'm glad you're back on duty, Onii-chan. You were bored out of your skull this morning and hanging by the roof to try and entertain yourself. Was anything happening when you left?"
She wrote, 'Oka-san was in labor.'
His eyes widened. "Oka-san was what?"
Sakura leaped at Kaoru, who dodged without looking. "Kaoru-kun! You're getting taller all the time! You must've grown an inch this time!"
Kaoru nodded in affirmation to her younger brother, who looked anxious.
"Was she okay?"
Another nod.
"Kakashi-sensei, can we postpone leaving for a day?"
Kakashi shook his head. "We can't keep our client waiting. You'll see your new sibling when you get back."
The old man scratched his head. "This new kid is related to the taller boy on your team?"
"Yes, they're adopted siblings."
"Ah, so you won't know until you get back if you have a new sister or brother. I guess getting a mission outside the village is damn inconvenient this time."
Kaoru placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to calm him down. The dark-haired boy sighed and nodded in acceptance, the group beginning to move out of the village.
"You two are gonna have a new baby in the family?" Sakura asked. "I'm so jealous!"
"I don't see what's so great about it," Naruto grumbled.
Being an orphan from birth would make you think babies are a burden, but what about when you have kids of your own?
"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura exclaimed. "You don't have any idea what its like to have a sibling because you're an only child!"
"Aren't you, too?" the blue-eyed boy countered.
"I'm a girl, you're a boy, there's a difference."
"Whatever." He turned from his crush to his best friend. "Hey Kaoru, what do you think Nami no Kuni is gonna be like?"
Kaoru shrugged. There's probably plenty of water. If this mission is C-ranked, it ought to be pretty calm if just bandits are after Tazuna-san. If we get into a ninja battle, then I'll have to stay out of the way, but that's low odds.
They passed by a puddle of water and Kaoru's eyes narrowed a bit as she moved on, Kakashi just behind her.
"It ought to be really cool to see a new place after being in Konohagakure no Sato all my life!" Naruto chirped, only for everything to suddenly go wrong when Kakashi was attacked and cut into several pieces. Sasuke and Sakura snapped into action, but Naruto froze, shocked by the sudden demise of his teacher, only for Kaoru, wings pulled in, appeared in front of him, one set of claws bouncing off her arm and snapped at the impact. Unfortunately, the other ninja struck Naruto, then Sasuke made them jerk back because he pinned the weapon connecting them to a tree.
Crap, those claws have poison on them!
She looked up when Kakashi (who had played dead with a Substitution Technique) grabbed the pair of ninja by the necks.
"Sasuke, Sakura, well done. I'm sorry Naruto, I should've come earlier, but thanks to Kaoru, you were only hit once instead of twice. Let me see your wounds, you two."
Kaoru held out her uninjured arm and Naruto shivered as Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "What kind of technique did you use to break those claws? I saw no hand signs."
Kaoru shrugged as every stared, Sasuke's eyebrows knitting together as he put two and two together. Figured it out, did you Sasuke? I'm not surprised, but then again, I'm sure you didn't think my body was this impenetrable. This is sure to shock everyone.
Kakashi looked closer. "I see some poison dripping off your skin, but how did it not cut you, when you blocked with your bare forearm?"
She shook her head and wrote, 'Don't worry about me right now, Naruto is injured and the poison is spreading as we speak. We'll need to bleed out the wound a little to flush it out.'
"I'll talk to you about it later, then." He turned to Naruto, who was still shocked by Kaoru being unharmed. "We'll have to go back to the village to get him proper treatment. Also, this mission was marked too low if ninjas are targeting Tazuna-san."
Naruto shook his head. "I wanna go on this mission, Kakashi-sensei!"
"If we let your wound go untreated, you could die. We need to bleed it out some to get out the poison—"
Kaoru's eyes widened as the boy stabbed his hand with a kunai. Well, that's one way to do it.
"I promise I won't run away and I won't freeze up, by this wound on my hand," Naruto vowed, his eyes sharp in determination.
"The poison was flushed out, but you're bleeding too much now. Let me see it."
Kakashi had a serious look as he surveyed the wound and Kaoru felt an unnatural energy around the injury. It must be the Kyubi speeding up his healing. I guess we won't need to go back now.
"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, you look so serious… Am I actually gonna die?"
"You'll be fine. We just need to wrap it."
Sasuke came up to Kaoru and murmured in her ear, "So being an angel means you're invincible, am I right?"
She gave a slight nod. Since you've seen it in action when you hit me those two times and I didn't even wince. I don't bother with armor or anything because I don't need it. I only moved becauseNaruto was in danger. I'm sure I'd do it for you too, if you needed it. And if I had to, I'd intervene so Pinky wouldn't bite the dust, but that would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, especially if she keeps trying to jump me.
They began moving after it was made sure the two Kiri ninja would be picked up promptly. Kakashi gazed at Kaoru with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, though he didn't say anything for fear the enemy would be nearby to pick it up. Thanks for your silence, Kakashi-san. It would be trouble if my secrets were exposed to the wrong people.
They got onto the mainland of Nami no Kuni, and Naruto began throwing shuriken and kunai into the bushes, swearing he could sense something. Kaoru rolled her eyes as Naruto found a white snowshoe rabbit after the second toss. Naruto, I'm really questioning your intelligence right now. What the hell are you doing? Can you stop doing random crap and get your rear in gear? Her eyes widened as she heard the whistling of a large weapon being thrown at them. Oh crap! Incoming! She ducked, just as Kakashi pushed everyone else to the ground. She looked up as she heard someone land on the handle of the weapon just as it hit a tree. Another Kiri ninja after Tazuna-san? He's nothing like the other two we encountered, he's a far more powerful adversary.
"Well, well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who's run from Kirigakure," Kakashi surmised as he stood.
Naruto tensed and took a step forward, only for Kakashi to hold a hand to his chest to stop him.
This looks like trouble, since I smell blood on that blade, even if it's been cleaned. This man is a killer.
"It looks like its going to be rough," the silver-haired Jonin observed as he pulled his forehead protector up to reveal his hidden eye. "You four, stay out of the fight and protect the old man, that is your teamwork for this situation."
Kaoru and Sasuke's eyes widened. He has a Sharingan eye? I was told it was hereditary! If that's so, then why is he named Hatake?
"What's this freaky eye you have, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
Kaoru mouthed while Sasuke stated, "The Sharingan."
"It seems you two kids know about the Kekkei Genkai of the famous Uchiha Clan," Zabuza noticed. "You wear similar clothing, so you brats must be newbies who are barely beginning to comprehend the power of such an eye. Judging by your chakra, I doubt I have to worry about either of you having the ability to use it."
He can't feel my chakra? This is definitely a good thing. If he could, he'd be focused on me as well, not just Kakashi-san. If I need to ever intervene then he won't expect that I pack a powerful punch, just like Itachi-onii-san, especially since he's quite a bit larger and more muscular than I am. I'm glad I imprinted on someone with major skills.
She watched as Kakashi fought Zabuza and looked to him when he was trapped in a water prison. He gave a tiny nod and she knew what to do. I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but, it's one of my duties. All right, here I go. She put her hands in a sign that had Naruto jerking in surprise. She made two Shadow Clones and one headed for Zabuza's water clone while she and the other raced to the real one.
"So this brat is trying for it all on his own, is he? This is your backup plan? Pathetic. He'll be the first to die."
His eyes widened when Kaoru smirked. Oooh, I just destroyed your clone with a single hit and you can't dodge two attacks at once. Her hands flew through the symbols of one of her lower-level techniques while her clone did a standard. Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Technique and Fire Release: Fireball Technique! A spread of small fireballs made Zabuza dodge, tearing his hand away from the prison, while a larger fireball made him hiss as it grazed him.
"Why you little—"
Kakashi blocked his strike and nodded to Kaoru in thanks. "Your opponent is me, Zabuza."
Kaoru retreated back to her previous position next to the frazzled Team Seven and Tazuna and canceled her technique at the same time. This ought to be over very shortly.
Sakura jumped up and down as she squealed, "Kaoru-kun, that was awesome! It took you no time at all to rescue Kakashi-sensei!"
"Did Kakashi-sensei tell you to rescue him somehow?" Naruto asked, confused by her sudden actions.
Kaoru nodded. He told me before we arrived in Nami no Kuni in a note. "If I am ever captured, use all your power to protect my team and Tazuna-san". I doubt he thought that the most efficient way was to free him in this instance, but I don't want to lose an ally to the enemy. The protection mission would be doomed to failure without a seasoned ninja. I may be smart and strong, but I'm no strategist or team player. I'm observing so I can know how to do these things. I know less about ninja society than any Genin. And that sucks.
She watched as Kakashi finished the fight with Zabuza and was about to kill him, when a pair of senbon flew through the air and struck him straight through the neck. Her eyes widened. That was very…sudden! What just happened? She looked up into a tree to see a ninja youth with a white mask over the face. A hunter ninja…he must've been tracking Zabuza for a while now and saw his chance to exterminate him. She ran over to where Kakashi had jumped down to check Zabuza to see if he was dead, her companions and Tazuna following.
The youth jumped down and lifted Zabuza's body before disappearing. Kaoru looked to Kakashi for an explanation, even though it was pretty obvious what had happened. That kid just brought the body back to his superiors. He looked younger than Naruto, so there are kids other than Itachi-onii-san with those kinds of skills. That's scary, to say the least.
"Well, now we should get going," Kakashi urged as he slid his hitae-ate over his Sharingan again, only to fall over.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Team Seven cried and rushed over.
"I'm all right…I just used too much chakra…"
With Tazuna's help, they carried him to the house of the old man's daughter and grandson. The woman served everyone tea, and scolded Kakashi for his carelessness.
"How could a ninja on assignment strain himself so much that he's bedridden?"
Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I should be at full strength again in a week. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Kaoru put down her tea after one sip. Not the best tea in the world, I don't think I'll force it down.
"Young man, do you not like the tea? Can I bring you something else?"
Sasuke glanced at his older sister and commented, "He doesn't drink or eat much, sometimes I think that he's on an extreme diet with only one meal a day."
Naruto sniggered. "Well, you are a lot thinner than Sasuke and me, Kaoru."
Kaoru shrugged and was surprised when the woman placed a hand on her forehead (Kaoru had forgotten to bring her goggles or ninja vest on this mission, just packing everything she needed in her pouch). "Hmmm, you don't feel like you have a fever… Are you really on a diet? You shouldn't be, since you seem to be on the low side of the weight scale for your height, Kaoru-san. You should eat more and gain some more muscle tone, you're slender enough that you could be mistaken as a girl."
Sakura shook her head. "Kaoru-kun isn't that skinny, no way! He's just the right size for my tastes! He doesn't need to gain weight, he'd get fat from all those calories!"
Kakashi looked Kaoru over and nodded. "You do need to eat more, Kaoru. You might be strong, but your smaller size will become a disadvantage in a contest of weight with boys your size as you get older."
Nothing I can do about it. I'm growing, but I'm sure I won't gain as much muscle tone as they think I need. And I doubt even if I ate all day I would gain more than my growth spurt is giving me. She took out her writing pad and wrote, 'I don't think eating a lot will do much to my physique in general, but if you insist.'
"Good, I don't need you fainting during the mission or any training you do."
Let's just hope they don't give me an embarrassing amount of food. If they do, I'm not sure if I'd be able to force it down, since it would be wasteful. I'm sure that my body just incinerates it the instant it hits my stomach.
When dinner came around, the trio that was Team Seven stared at the quadruple portions that were laid out in front of Kaoru. She winced when Tazuna advised, "You'd better have a clean plate or my daughter will whack your head with a pot for wasting food."
But this is wasting food! I feel so guilty that all this is being forced upon me, Kaoru thought as she cried inside. This isn't fair.
Tsunami, the woman of the house, put her hands on her hips and ordered, "Eat."
Naruto gulped nervously. "I don't think even I could eat all that in one sitting. Good luck, Kaoru."
Sasuke began eating, trying not to stare at his poor sibling.
Sakura groaned, "That makes me gain pounds with just a single glance."
Kaoru picked up her chopsticks and started, knowing this part of the mission was gonna be torture. They're poor and they're making me stuff myself. So cruel.
She actually finished second, right after Sakura. She felt so sad but didn't cry. Such a waste…
"Now I want you to do five hundred push-ups with Sakura-san and Naruto-san sitting on your back."
If I was normal, it would be akin to torture, but this will be cake.
Sasuke actually protested. "Kaoru might be a couple years older than the rest of us, but don't you think its extreme training right after a meal? He could throw up."
"Well, I'd have Inari sit on Kaoru's back, but he's in his room," Tsunami soothed him. "This should be enough for a ninja to jump-start muscle training."
Sakura jumped on Kaoru's shoulders while Naruto sat on the faux boy's lower back, and she thought, Well, for a normal girl my age this would just about kill her, but I'm anything but normal.
Not even a drop of sweat escaped Kaoru as she finished the exercise.
Naruto grinned as he got off his best friend's back. "You're awesome, Kaoru! You didn't even slow down the whole time!"
Sakura jumped off and squealed, "Are you covered in sweat, Kaoru-kun? I'll wipe it off you!"
Kaoru mutely sighed and shook her head. I doubt I can sweat. Even if I did, I wouldn't let you wipe it for me. I don't know why you still go after me, I don't respond at all, and that's literal.
Naruto gave Kaoru a hug. "Why don't we go to bed after taking a bath together, you, Sasuke and me?"
I see nothing wrong with that, as long as I keep a towel around what's important. She nodded, just as Sasuke snorted. "Why do I have to take a bath with you, Naruto?"
"We're all sweaty from the mission!"
Sakura's eyes lit up and Kaoru knew she'd try to peep just to get a glance at her crush's mostly naked body. I'll never catch a break from this chick. At least up top I'm boyish or else I'd never bathe with Naruto or Sasuke.
"Kaoru, do you want to bathe together?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head a little in question.
Kaoru nodded. Naruto cheered and began pushing them to the bathroom. "I'll wash your back for you, Kaoru!"
This should be fun, unless things get awkward.
She went in and pulled off her shirt, then like the wind stripped her pants and put a towel over her lower half. She went to the edge of the tub and tested the heat of the water with her toe. It was warm, so she picked up the bar of soap and wet it, beginning to wash her front.
"Wow, you are really skinny Kaoru," Naruto commented as he saw her bare torso. "Even after all that food, your stomach isn't even distended."
"Kaoru isn't normal, he's an angel," Sasuke countered, "even though I wouldn't be surprised if you feel heavy after all that food."
Kaoru shook her head. I feel as light as always.
"Let me borrow the soap so I can lather up this washcloth."
She handed it to her blonde friend, suds all over her front, and she smiled as he scrubbed her back. It feels so nice, having my back scrubbed like this. I can't but be soothed by such a new sensation… No one has ever washed my back for me…
"Whoa…what are all these silver marks? Tattoos?"
"Don't be so stupid Naruto," Sasuke reprimanded. "They're scars."
"But there's hardly any unmarked skin here! Especially these long ones down his back—"
"Those are where his wings come out. Stop staring and get out of the way, I'll finish the rest since you can't."
Kaoru closed her eyes as her brother washed her hair, quivering a little from the memories of where she'd gotten all those scars. None were pleasant, but getting scars rarely ever was.
"Calm down, Onii-chan. Neither of us will ask you about them. Right, Naruto?"
"Yeah. I'll keep my mouth shut."
Her shaking stopped as a bucket of water was poured over her head, soap suds running to the floor.
"Now go soak, Naruto and I will wash each other."
She nodded and opened her eyes, standing and stepping into the tub. She settled herself and closed her eyes again as the warmth of the water seeped into her body.
"Why do I have to wash your back too, Sasuke?"
"It's because you made Kaoru uncomfortable."
"Damn it."
After a second, Naruto started snickering.
"What're you laughing at?"
"Just how you had to replace your underwear because it all had been dyed hot pink."
"When I find that bastard, I'll kill him."
You never will, ever, Kaoru thought with a smirk.
"So is that your goal in life? To murder who made you seem like a homo?"
"No. I want to someday be equal to my oldest brother. I want Otou-san to say 'You are indeed my child' with a proud look on his face because of my excellence. Being the second son was bad enough, but to be the third and perhaps even the third of four! I don't even have the attention of the youngest anymore!"
Kaoru opened her eyes to see Sasuke's eyes were sad even if his mouth was pressed in an angry line. What could I say to you that would cheer you up? All you want is Otou-san's approval. That's all you ever wanted.
Her ears perked up when she heard a shuffle outside, then shook her head. Pinky's at it again. Does she ever get tired of ogling me? She looked at the window that was letting in the cool sea air and letting the steam of the bath out and saw Sakura's eyes locked on her back. Does she even know how to spy well? She's even worse than Naruto in that field, believe me, I know. He at least tried to transform into something before spying on the women's locker room after he got beat up last time. As if on accident, she stood and splashed hard, water flying everywhere.
Sasuke and Naruto yelled in surprise, which covered up Sakura's yelp as she ducked out of sight.
"Hey! What was that for?" Naruto demanded. "I wasn't done getting washed yet!"
"You're clean enough. Let's get in," Sasuke cut in, ending the argument before it started.
Kaoru glanced back up at the window and listened for Sakura, only to hear her retreating footsteps. Good girl, Pinky. If I catch you again, then I won't keep it to myself.
Confusing, isn't it? Well, if anyone has any questions, put them in the review! Now I want everyone's opinion: should the new kid of Kaoru's family be a boy or a girl?
Please review!