Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

To AnimeA55Kicker: It has been 7 years since he last saw her. Over that time Naruko went from just a little girl to young woman, she isn't going to stay like 4' tall and undeveloped. He also usually saw her hair in braids from what parts I did bother to mention how her hair was done. He does remember her though. This chapter will bring some of that together.


Chapter 7: Naruko

With Yoko's help Naruko was aware that her team and client were clear of the charging Zabuza. As the large sword came at her in a horizontal swing, from Zabuza's right to left, she jumped over it and planted a hand on the flat of it pushing herself to the side the blade came from. Planting his feet, Zabuza pushed off the ground to follow her and slammed his shoulder into the young blond knocking her back further. 'If this really is Zabuza, his form is too wild. It's not what the scrolls would teach.' Looking around as the tall man stalked towards her she scoffed. "Are you really one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? I would have expected more."

"Oh I am, you can trust that blondie." Zabuza rushed her again, his sword coming from his left leg to his right shoulder. This time Kakashi intervened, holding the man's arm down to the side, giving Naruko the time to disengage and meet up with her team again. "Well at least you don't let kids fight for you Kakashi." Both men jumped away from each other twice, Zabuza's jumps shorter than the masked Jonin's.

"Well, I couldn't very well let you kill one of my Genin." Kakashi watched his opponent, no movement that either made was wasteful and neither was anything said. Kakashi pulled a kunai from his thigh holster and brought it up, ready to move. Zabuza stabbed his sword down into the dirt as he made two water clones, one to help him with the infamous veteran in front of him and the other to hunt down the three Genin and bridge builder.

In the bushes nearby the Genin of Team 7 were watching as Naruko began to unseal any ninja tools that may be helpful. So far she had taken out a bunch of regular shuriken and kunai, some ninja wire, and one large collapsing shuriken that belonged to Sasuke. "Sakura, this guy is going to keep going for his target. You need to get Tazuna to his house fast. I'll cover you, and Sasuke will go help sensei." Sakura nodded her head and got ready to run. "Teme, you need to watch everything that goes on, choose the best times to strike, and keep him from any large amounts of water." Sasuke nodded and put the shuriken and kunai to either side of him while Naruko unsealed a soldier pill for each of them. "Let's go, stay low and stay quiet." Sakura and Tazuna ran off with Naruko following 10 seconds later, to give them some distance. 'Naruko-nee, there are too many smells here. Only one too many but I can't feel whoever it is.' The blond nodded her head, and continued to watch for anything following her female teammate.

After a few minutes of nothing happening Naruko decided to make a shadow clone to return to the fight involving her sensei and housemate. Just as the clone ran away a shadow dropped from the trees in front of Sakura, forcing the girl and the old man to stop. Naruko decided to run around to the water clone's side and wait for her chance. As she shifted to one knee and took out her own sword the Zabuza copy began to take the Kubikiriboko from his back, but instead of bringing it down on either of the two in front of him he threw it with one hand directly at her. Naruko jumped from the spot to stand between him and the other two, her sword ready. One of the good things about Mizu Bunshin is that the clones still know what the caster knows, they just can't share what they themselves know with the rest like shadow clones.

As the fake Zabuza saw the blond land and swing her blade at him he reached out and grabbed her sword arm by the wrist. "Where did you get that sword blondie?" Naruko tried to pull free but couldn't and was kicked away, only to have the clone follow her with slow even steps. "I asked you where you got that sword girl."

The blond stood up with her free hand to her right side where she had been kicked. 'Dammit, probably fractured a rib if not broke it.' She took a slow deep breath, assessing it as just a fracture for now. "I got it from a good man, who taught me how to use it." The clone laughed and came at her quickly, too fast for her to react in time and took a knee to her face. She landed with her eyes closed and her breathing shallow, Zabuza believing that the hit had knocked her out returned his attention to the job he was hired for.

'I'll take her back to the hideout and leave her there. I'm not going to kill Naruko, if that is really her.' The clone walked right up to the two still frozen on lookers when he was suddenly hit in the left side by a small elbow, the large sword in the hand of that arm added weight to the attack and broke two ribs. 'Fuck, I thought she was out.'

"My name is Namikaze Naruko, and you will not hurt my friends you mummified ass." Naruko's nose, lips, and chin were covered in blood from the hit she took. Her eyes were focused and she put her sword on the back of her hip with the holder she had made for it. Her hands came up, only a slight tremor from exertion, as she began to make slow hand signs. The more signs her hands formed the more sure and steady the actions became, gaining speed as she flipped through the roughly 40 hand signs she needed. Bringing her hands together in one last seal she called out, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu." The dragon formed suddenly and shot towards the enemy clone. As the clone weaved in and out from between the trees the dragon chased it. Keeping her focus on the dragon to keep it going she started the same set of hand signs again, bringing a second dragon out to also chase him.

'So it really is her, and she is not pulling any punches it seems.' The clone didn't see or hear the second dragon coming and was caught off guard when it came up behind him, forcing the fake to fall apart. Both dragons met face first and turned into a burst of water that slammed down into the earth with a quick slapping sound.

"You two keep going. I'm going back for sensei and Sasuke." Naruko made sure her blade was secure before she took off at her full speed, having had to carry Tazuna and keep with her team had actually forced her to slow down, this time when she moved a small vacuum was made where she had stood. Her return was easy, no clones, no mysterious third party.

When she came to a stop she was next to Sasuke in the bushes from before she had left, his pile of projectiles almost out. She watched the fight as it continued, Kakashi blocking as the two Zabuzas traded off taking swings at him. The one eyed man was keeping up for the most part but he was also running low on stamina. "Have you only been attacking when sensei wouldn't be able to block?"

The sudden noise startled Sasuke. "Damn it Naruko. Both you and your clone did that. Yes, your clone took a few of the weapons with it."

Naruko nodded her head and whistled a certain note, signaling her clone to rush as backup. When it got to the fight it was mid blink and took the bottom of one of the swords' grips to the throat, popping it. The opening that came from that attack on the clone gave Kakashi a needed chance to stab his chipped and slightly bent kunai into the closest side. This side just happened to be the Mizu Bunshin which burst upon being stabbed and soaked Kakashi.

"Got you now Kakashi!" The gravelly voice of Zabuza rang out, almost laughing as he made the 11 quick gestures to catch the Jonin with his Suiro no Jutsu. Both Genin watched the scene unfold and jumped from the bushes into the clearing. They stood apart from each other so they could come at him from different sides. "You brats really think you can beat me?" Using one hand for his seals Zabuza made another clone, but it fell apart before it was complete as Naruko's sword cut it before digging into the ground. 'Crap, I don't have enough chakra to hold this and keep making clones.' As he looked between the two teens he rested his eyes on the sword in the ground, the shock of realization forcing his eyes open just a bit more. "Naruko?" He looked to the blond and almost lost his focus on the sphere of water that held Kakashi. "Naruko, is that really you?"

Slowly, not taking her eyes from him, Naruko nodded. "Yeah, it's me 'Moo-kun.'" She used the old nickname, hoping she might be able to talk to him to make him stop. "I guess I grew up too much for you to recognize me?" A dumb but sad smile came to her face. "I don't want to keep fighting you Zabuza."

He continued to stand there, fighting himself as he thought. "You know I can't do that brat. Once I take a mission I don't stop until my job is done, or I am." Resolving himself he focused back on the ball of water. "If you want to set him free you'll have to make me pull my arm free."

As Sasuke crept closer to the man who was focused on his teammate Naruko never stopped watching the man she saw like a father. "Don't bother Sasuke, he doesn't even need his hands to defend." Naruko moved quickly, closing the space between her and the man, as she stopped she brought her leg out in a sweeping kick just to have Zabuza jump over her leg and kick her away, next to her black haired brother figure. "I'm starting to get very tired of being kicked around like a fucking ball!"

"Then stop letting it happen brat. I taught you better than that." Zabuza scoffed as he turned away from her. "She was right, I don't need to defend myself. Neither of you will hit me." Naruko got up and dusted herself off looking at her trapped teacher.

"What's with Kakashi-sensei's left eye? I thought it was damaged or something." Naruko whispered to her teammate.

"That's the Sharingan blondie. I don't know why he has it, but he started using it a little after your clone got here." Sasuke muttered to the blond as he watched on. "How should we do this?"

"Mr. Mummy is going to see a lot of what I try and do, one downside to being trained by him." Naruko stood straight and put her hands on her knees, using her hands to push the joints back a bit before squatting to stretch the muscles back. "The best course of action is to make him pull his arm out. So long as he gives it chakra that technique will hold Kakashi-sensei." When she was done with stretching her legs she shook her arms out lightly before making fifteen shadow clones. "Keep your eyes on me moody." Looking at the first man she knew as a teacher Naruko began a slow advance, her clones following suit. "Sorry Moo-kun, but I'm going to have to take your arm."

Each Naruko charged the experienced assassin, and each one was sent flying back. The real blond let herself be kicked back to her weapon, using it as the center point of a spin to right herself and pull it free. "Good, you got your sword back. Now, try and take my arm." Zabuza laughed heartily as he watched her take the stance for Hisenken, not watching as one clone came up from behind him. As she swung the heavy weapon and let it fly the clone jumped at the muscular man who lept over the Suiro no Jutsu, keeping his arm inside it. "What? You didn't know that you can still move around the sphere so long as you keep contact and focus?"

Naruko's sword continued it's flight right into her clone and popped it. Sasuke, seeing that it was still coming towards him, dove to the side and came up in a roll onto his knee. "Watch i..." Just as the teen was about to yell the sword turned into a cloud of smoke and was gone. "Was that a disguised clone the whole time Naruko?"

With a goofy grin and a nod she answered, "Yep, pretty smart to not throw my best weapon away right?" As she answered she lifted the collapsable shuriken she had unsealed before sending off Sakura and Tazuna, and lobbed it to her almost brother. The blade landed point down into the ground and sank in slightly, a fact that Sasuke realized was off about the weapon before catching on. The Uchiha pulled the folded weapon from the ground before spinning it around on his wrist and stopping it mid spin, three of the four blades continued the motion and unfolded.

"Demon Windmill Shuriken. Always a favorite for me." Sasuke began to spin the tool on four of his fingers, letting it build speed. With his left arm out to act as a balance the teen threw the large shuriken with his right, sending it for Zabuza. Waiting for the last second Zabuza caught the projectile before having to jump over a second one that had been hidden in the shadow of the first.

"It will take more than that to beat me!" Just as Zabuza finished mocking the Uchiha, the second shuriken turned into a cloud of smoke with another Naruko coming out of the other side with one of her kunai already in mid flight. The flat bladed kunai flew back through the almost dispersed cloud as Naruko landed and made the tiger hand sign.

"Release!" With a quick pulse of chakra directed to her airborne knife Naruko forced the etched storage seals on both sides of it to undo. When the new cloud cleared a wave of hundreds of similarly flat kunai where added to the first, each one flying towards Zabuza. "I know the Suiro is strong enough to keep sensei safe, which means only you will get hurt."

With a snarl Zabuza pulled his arm free from the jutsu and cleared himself from the wall of flying knives. As soon as the orb of water was gone Naruko made another tiger sign and yelled again. This time all but the first kunai disappeared. "HA! Triple fooled you with the same trick Zabuza. More weapon disguised clones!" Reaching out Kakashi grabbed the flat blade from the air and held it at the ready. Both Jonin watched each other, waiting, and then they both started to flip through hand signs that the blond knew all too well.

Naruko continued to watch on as the two dragons attacked, circling, and broke apart, her own hands going into overdrive as she forced herself to keep up with Kakashi's casting of the Daibakufu. As her hands flew through the signs she pumped more chakra into the attack, hoping to over power both of the adult men's. Her result was one of the largest uses of the Jutsu she had ever attempted and broke through both of the others.

"I'm sorry sensei but I couldn't let you kill him." Naruko had apologized to her Jonin teacher when she landed next to him after the three attacks had cleared. Her chakra packed surge of water had forced Zabuza into a tree at least 20 yards from where he had been at the start of it. Kakashi had broken off early enough to only catch the outside of the Suiton technique, and landed on one knee and panting heavily. "Zabuza, please give up. We can take you back to Konoha. You can be with kaa-san again. Please?..'Otou-san'?"

"Haha, that's a new one from you brat." Zabuza coughed a bit as he laughed. "You never called me father back in Koriyo." He looked at her through sad eyes as he tried to stand. "But you know how I am. I get my job done or I die trying, and so far I'm happily still alive."

"Then I guess this is where you die Momochi Zabuza." A new voice called out into the clearing, a voice that didn't belong to anyone in the area. Suddenly three senbon were stuck in Zabuza's neck, causing him to cough out a weak curse and close his eyes for good. With Zabuza down the owner of the new voice, wearing an intricate Kiri mask, entered the clearing from behind a large tree and strolled over to the body, checking for a pulse. "Thank you for your help Konoha ninja. I'll be taking Zabuza and his sword now." As he reached out to pick up the limp body of the swordsman the mysterious man was assaulted by a wave of chakra and rage.

The surge was felt by everyone there, even the knocked out Zabuza, and caused all eyes to look at the source. Naruko was standing there, her hair up much like her mother's but only in one tail-like gathering. "You better not touch him, you creepy masked bastard! Or his sword!" Taking a step forward she got ready to close the distance.

"Naruko stop, he is a hunter-nin from Kirigakure. His job is to find, eliminate, and return the corpses of nuke-nin belonging to the Kiri village." Kakashi put an exhaustion caused shaking hand on her arm, trying to keep her held back. As the silver haired man looked into her eyes his vision began to dim before he pitched forward, collapsing into the muddy ground. With the release of her arm Naruko looked back at her sensei and began to freak out, completely forgetting about the hunter-nin behind her.

"Then I will take my leave now." Once again the ninja reached for the swordsman and slung one of the man's arms over his shoulders as he retrieved the Kubikiribocho and disappeared before the Namikaze girl could even notice.

"Sasuke, we have to get him to Sakura quick. You take the bag, I'll carry him." With a fluid movement Naruko pulled off the bag that held all of their storage scrolls and gave it to her fellow teen. "If we go straight that way, we should get there in no time." Picking up her teacher gingerly, not wanting to jostle him too much, Naruko was able to get him onto her back and set off. Sasuke was left behind to pick up some of the less expendable weapons before following his blue eyed team mate.

When Sasuke finally found Tazuna's house Sakura was in the middle of giving their teacher a medical examination, her hands alight with a soft green chakra. Naruko was sitting in a chair in the sparsely furnished room, biting her right thumb nail as she watch, before she noticed him there and nodded. As the black haired teen entered the room and sat next to the blonde Sakura finished her assessment. "He just needs some rest. He is mostly just drained of chakra, but he does have some bad cuts." The other two Genin sighed in relief while Sasuke wrapped his arms around the pink haired girl and gave her a quick kiss.

"You mind playing doctor with me later?" Sasuke had developed a habit of using dumb lines in order to make his girlfriend blush.

"Go upstairs if you two want to go do anything, please. I already feel like barfing from that fight." Naruko looked over at her teacher before getting up and going to the bathroom, her face was still covered in blood from the confrontation with the Zabuza clone. 'Hey Yoko-nee? Do you think this is all settled now?'

'No, not yet. That hunter from earlier was odd. He shared certain smells with Zabuza-san.' Yoko knew Naruko wasn't going to ask Sakura to take a look at her nose, so it fell to the chakra girl to bug the blond to do so. 'Things like fresh water and certain herbs. You should have Sakura check your nose, that was a pretty bad hit.'

'I know Yoko-nee, but it is all good. I swear, I think he just got me good.' Naruko filled the sink in the bathroom with water and gently rinsed her face, tinting the once clear water red. Looking at her face in the mirror she made sure all the blood was off before taking a towel and carefully drying her face. "There, good as new." When Naruko returned to the small house's living room, where Kakashi was currently resting, she sat back down and continued her conversation with her sister. 'So what do you think about this then? Was the hunter a fake, or could they just have been hunting Zabuza long enough to pick up some of the same smells?'

'I can't say for sure Naruko. We need to talk to the others and Kakashi-sensei, when he wakes up.' Yoko got a silent agreement from the blonde. 'For now, try and relax. Keep your mind and heart clear, right?' Again she got silent agreement, though this time it was a bit pouty.

Naruko's eyes never left the figure of the sleeping Kakashi. 'How long do you think he will be out for?' The troubled girl felt a small shudder go up her spine. 'Oh come on, I wasn't going to try anything funny. I'm just worried about him.' A silent argument waged on between the two for a few minutes before an exhausted Naruko decided to head to bed. 'We'll talk to everyone in the morning. Tazuna said no one is scheduled to work for another 5 days, so we can use that to check out the island.'

Three days later

Kakashi woke suddenly, sitting up as he took in the barely furnished room. Sakura had been the one watching over Team 7's leader this day, Naruko was just out in a small clearing near the house going through her sword forms while Sasuke had gone into town with Tazuna's daughter for groceries. The pink haired teen spiked her chakra quickly, the signal that the Genin had worked out, when she saw Kakashi wake up. Naruko's response was immediate, she was there and in the room like lightning, her entire body ready for the worst. When she saw the silver haired man was awake she made a shadow clone and sent it into town.

Forty minutes later the entire team was gathered and debriefing their teacher, who was eating a thin soup. Sasuke had taken over as temporary team leader, assigning who would do what on each day, so he was the one delivering the report. "Shortly after you passed out the hunter who claimed Zabuza took the body and his sword, while we prepared to transport you. Naruko carried you here ahead of me and when I arrived Sakura was mid-examination. When completed with her work Sakura said you had some bad cuts, but nothing life threatening, and were suffering from chakra exhaustion."

Kakashi nodded his head as he thought over the report. "The first day after the fight with Zabuza, Naruko sat us all down and brought up the probability that the hunter was actually working with the enemy." The Jonin looked at the blond girl in question as she nervously took over, leaving out how she had noticed some of the supporting details as Sakura did not know about Yoko.

"After sitting down and thinking about the situation I noticed that the hunter and Zabuza seemed to share certain scents. Clean water, similar to a small stream, and some flora as well, mostly herbs of a medicinal variety." Naruko thought back to some of her stealth classes from the academy and how they had covered hunter ninja before. "I also remember hearing that a hunter only takes the head, not the whole body."

Kakashi nodded. "That is right. They only need the head to prove the job is done, and usually destroy the rest. The hunter's weapon is also cause for suspicion, he used senbon." The Genin thought it over but couldn't exactly see why. "They tend to be more for incapacitation. That is due to how thin they are, making it very hard to hit a vital point. Zabuza was most likely put into a death like state to throw us off."

Sasuke cleared his throat after the Genin took their time absorbing that information. "Would you like the rest of the report Sensei?" Kakashi only shook his head and told him not right then.

"From what I can see, Sasuke was chosen to act as the lead until I awoke. Good choice, but I do feel like Naruko could have done it just as easily." The blond teen blushed lightly from the praise. "Sakura was probably primary attendant to me. Has any work been going on at the bridge?" All three shook their heads. "Sakura, what would you say my condition is?"

"Healthy, but you should take two weeks to rest up and recover." The pink haired girl went from meek to confident as soon as the discussion became about her field of study. " And judging by the reports from Naruko and Sasuke, if Zabuza really is alive he will be out for roughly the same amount of time."

"Okay, then in two weeks time we will be fighting Zabuza again, most likely at the bridge." Kakashi looked at his students, each in turn. "During that time you all will be training, starting tomorrow. I will watch over the client while you train under the watchful eye of my shadow clone." The three teens all nodded once in response as their teacher pressed on. "Sasuke, you will work on Taijutsu mostly, as well as some ninjutsu. Sakura, study up on some more medical jutsu as well as genjutsu. Naruko, we will discuss your training privately after dinner."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" All three called out as they broke off to do their own things. Sakura went to go help Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. Sasuke left to use the clearing Naruko had found on the first day.

"Um, sensei?" Naruko had stayed behind and when Kakashi looked at her lazily she continued. "I want to talk about what happened during the fight. I'm sorry that I interfered, and even helped lead to your capture." She met his eye reluctantly as she apologized. The blond also apologized for stopping her sensei from hurting the man her mother loved. Now came the harder part of the conversation for her, "I also don't think continuing a relationship, physical or emotional, is a good idea. When you got caught I was more worried about you as a lover than as a team mate."

"WHAT?!" Naruko turned her head slowly in fear when she heard the voice behind her. Kakashi's one eye had shot open in horror.

In the threshold of the room stood Sasuke with a slightly mischievous grin on his face and her mother behind him. "K-k-kaa-san, what are you d-doing here? Why aren't you back home?" Naruko was already working out every possible escape root she could, none of which didn't involve blowing a hole in one of the walls. "I...I don't know what you think you heard but it was no..." Her sentence was cut off when she was grabbed by the collar of her jacket and hauled to the upstairs by her furious mother.

"Talk now, or Kakashi will. He is afraid of me, so he will tell everything." Kushina was already cracking her knuckles loudly with her fists pressed into the palms of the opposite hand. Her eyes promised murder and violence, and standing there in her full Jonin attire it was obvious that her eyes did not lie. The Uzumaki head continued to watch her daughter as the blond quivered like a cornered rabbit. "I said talk Naru-chan." Her attitude took so many 180's that it was more like a 540, her eyes now portraying a calm that her voice did not mirror.

'I know that type of calm. SHE IS GOING TO THREATEN MY NOODLES!' Naruko steeled her resolve as much as she could, no longer a trapped animal just a leaf on a windy day. "I don't know what you are talking about Kaa-san." She turned her eyes to her mother's, a sad and innocent look on her face as if she had just been accused of stealing a cookie.

"Don't give me that load of malarkey. I heard you telling Kakashi that keeping up a relationship was a bad idea. What kind of relationship was it? Did he touch you? Did you give him your virginity? I'm going to throw him all the way back to Konoha after this is all do..."

"Mom, calm the fuck down." Naruko never saw her mom move, just felt it when the gloved fist hit the side of her head for swearing. "OOOOOOWWWWW!" The blond rubbed her head tenderly, relaxing the hurt area. "It was a one time thing on our way up here. Things got physical. No, he did not. I lost that about a year ago. Kami this is fucking awkward." Again she was hit. "WHY DO YOU KEEP HITTING ME?!"

"Stop using foul language and I will stop." The red head crossed her arms under her chest, but because of her bulky vest it was hard to tell any difference, and began to tap her right foot on the floor. After almost twenty seconds of silence she snapped. "Well, anything else you need to tell me before I bury your former sensei in the Hokage mountain?"

"Um... It was all my fault? Oh, and Zabuza-san is here." The blue eyed teen decided that was the only other things she could add. "Why are you even here? Isn't it like council demanded you can't leave Konoha without the Hokage with you?

"I don't care if it was Kami's fault, he shouldn't have allowed it to happen. I'm here as the backup that Kakashi asked for in a mission update. I was talking with Hiruzen when the letter came in. Even if those old idiots could make that the case, do you think the council could stop me from...Wait, did you say Zabuza is here? Where?"

"We don't know. He is after our client, and after fighting him off he was taken away by someone who we think was an accomplice pretending to be a hunter ninja." Naruko slowly started to circle around her mother. "I am sure Kakashi-sensei can help fill you in, Zabuza being here was new info after that request for back up."

"Oh, I am going to have a very long talk with your sensei. Now go downstairs and help that nice Tsunami girl make dinner." Kushina stormed out of the room and down the stairs to the living room, followed by her daughter. This time she grabbed Kakashi and dragged him outside. The entire time he was in earshot he moaned and groaned about being injured and how cruel she was being to him.

"Oh you fucked up now blondie." Naruko could hear the mocking smile on Sasuke's voice. He was leaning back on the wall that had Kakashi's former seat on it, and the smile on his face was bigger than she had thought. "Did she make you tell her who your first guy was?"

"Oh shut up pink eye." Naruko suddenly felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. "I do not have the patience to suffer through your award winning douchery."

Chapter End


Sorry if this chapter feels too short for you. I wanted to get it out there and not let it get too long. Next chapter (through Kushina's eyes) will be the training, with only very few difference from what Kakashi explained here, and the bridge fight. In case anyone is wondering why they aren't going to be doing the tree climbing exercise, it is because they learned it in the Academy, Naruko learned it earlier than that though.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.