Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror Image ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

 

Ch. 11

 

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One Week Later…

Konoha Market Place…

 

 

 

 

Natsuki walks down the street glancing at the produce-stands as her black shirt brushes against her knees, on top of that she wore a pink three-quartered-sleeved V-collared shirt with a pair of simple black-flats on her feet while her waist-length golden-blonde hair was being kept unbound behind her with a wicker-basket hanging from the nook of her arm.

 

“Good morning. Natsuki, was it?”, a shopkeeper asks.

 

“Yes it is, and good morning to you too”, she replies, stopping to greet the man.

 

“Out doing some morning shopping, I see”, he says, “By the way, how is your brother doing?”

 

“Still asleep in bed when I left”, she smiles.

 

“Well, I want you to take this”, the shopkeeper says, holding out a package of wrapped-beef for her to take.

 

“No, I couldn't possibly take it…”, she admits, “I can't afford it”

 

“It's on the house, as thanks to Naruto for helping me with finding that herb I was looking for”

 

“Then thank you, it's much appreciated…”, she nods, taking the gift from the man and places it into her basket, “Well, thanks again…”, she repeats, waving goodbye as she left.

 

“Bye, Natsuki-chan!”, he bides farewell.

 

“This should be good for beef-pot…”, she mutters, `I better pick up some vegetables for the stew… and some fruit too, God knows Naruto needs to eat something healthier than just ramen all the time!', she mentally notes, heading towards the nearest produce-shop.

 

“Now let's see…”, she whispers, looking over the displayed products.

 

“May I help you?”, the voice of a young man asks.

 

“Yes, you can Kouichi-kun…”, she replies, recognizing the voice without even looking up, “How fresh are these veggies?”

 

“The potatoes were picked yesterday and all the other vegetables were picked just this morning”, her team-mate answers.

 

“Okay, I'd like a pound of each, please”, she requests.

 

“Right away, my lady”, Kouichi states obediently, beginning to bag the items she had asked for.

 

“Knock it off, Kouichi-kun!”, she threatens.

 

“Sorry… Sorry…”, he apologizes, “Here's your vegetables, anything else?”

 

“Two pounds of fruit too, please”, she adds, taking the veggies from him.

 

“I'll get right on it!”, he salutes, before picking the best of the fruits.

 

“So Kouichi…?”

 

“Yes Natsuki?”

 

“Is there anything to do in Konoha?”

 

“There is a festival in a few days celebrating the day the Kyuubi was defeated…”, he replies.

 

“On the 10th, right?”, she corrects.

 

“Yeah, how did you know?”

 

“It was the day me and my brother were born”

 

“Looks like we have to plan a double celebration, don't we?”

 

“I guess so!”, she giggles, before something peculiar caught her attention from the corner of her eye, causing her to turn her head to look directly at it.

 

The figure was walking down the market-place street dressed in a high-collared black-cloak with red-clouds printed on it and a straw-hat with strips of cloth hanging from the edges obscuring the face from view to people who weren't closely observing the individual. The face she spotted was that of a man in his late-teens/early-twenties with black-hair; the bangs hanging partially in his face and the tips long enough to reach his lips, and what appeared to be stress-lines under his eyes, but the thing that really made her take notice of this man were his eyes, his piercing red-eyes with three tiny black-tomoes; the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

 

“If you see a man who looks like an older-version of Sasuke wearing a black-cloak with red-clouds printed on it, be very careful! He is the one who killed Sasuke and Sara's clan!”, Naruto's voice echoes in her mind, as she recalls her brother's warning, `Itachi…Uchiha…! What is he doing here?', she ponders.

 

“Hey! Earth to Natsuki!”, a male's voice says.

 

“Huh…?”, she gasps, coming out of her daze and turning her head back to face her team-mate, “Yes, Kouichi-kun?”

 

“So how old are you and Naruto going to be?”, he asks.

 

“13 years old…”

 

“The same age as me”, he smiles, “Oh, here is your fruit”, he adds, handing the bagged-produce to her.

 

“Thank you, Kouichi-kun”, Natsuki utters, “Well, I got to go home and start on the beef-pot”, she says, turning to head home.

 

“So the festival…?”

 

“Sure, Kouichi-kun!”, she shouts, as she starts running.

 

`This is bad news! If Itachi is here in Konoha, it must mean he's after my brother and the Kyuubi sealed inside of him!', she mentally-notes, weaving through the crowd as she ran, `I can't let that happen!'

 

 

 

 

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A Few Minutes Later…

The Uzumaki Residence…

 

 

 

 

Natsuki walks in the door of the apartment she's sharing with Naruto, slightly panting for breath.

 

“I see, you're home”, she heard her brother say, as he pokes his head around the corner into the entryway as she removes her shoes, “And why are you out of breath?”

 

“Well, I'd like to see you climb the stairs while carrying 4-pounds of food…”, she lies, `I can't let him know Itachi is here in the village… Knowing my brother, he'd rush off and try to take him on by himself…', she concludes, as she walks into the kitchen, “You seriously eat ramen three-times a day, don't you?”, she says, watching him stirring it inside the pot.

 

“Well you weren't home when I woke up and I got hungry waiting for you to return”, he explains.

 

“Fine, fine!”, she groans, “Just go sit down at the table and I'll finish cooking your noodles for you…”, she says, pushing him towards one of the chairs, "Now sit there while I chop up the vegetables for the beef-pot we're having later”

 

“Beef-pot…? How did you manage to get beef on our budget?”

 

“It was a gift from one of the shopkeepers as thanks for helping him find an herb”

 

“Oh yeah, I did help him with that…!”

 

“Well, here you go! Eat up!”, she states, placing a large bowl full of ramen onto the table in front of him.

 

“Itadakimasu!”, he exclaims, before beginning to devouring the noodles, “These are pretty-good…”, he says around a bite of food, “What did you add to these…?”

 

“A `special' spice of mine”, she replies.

 

“Uh-ha…”, he nods, continuing eating his noodles.

 

`Keeping my brother and Itachi apart won't be easy…', Natsuki thinks.

 

 

 

 

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An Hour Later…

 

 

 

 

Naruto stands on top of a roof-top staring out at the scenery, letting the wind tousle his spiky blonde-hair.

 

“Naruto-kun, I would like you to come with me…”, a calm emotionless male voice says from behind him, causing the pre-teen Genin to turn around.

 

“You!”, he growls, upon seeing the missing-nin, “Itachi!”

 

“Will you come quietly or do I have to take you by first…?”, Itachi calmly questions, standing in front of his prey with a stance that spoke of indifference.

 

“You must be out of your mind if you think I'd let you take me!”, Naruto shouts, charging towards his hunter, prepared to swing his fist at him.

 

Itachi stood unfazed until the last moment before taking half a step to the side and easily grabs the young Genin's flying fist, roughly twisting his arm behind his back and effectively pinning him in place with a yelp.

 

“Release me you, bastard!”, he snarls, struggling to loosen the vice-like grip on his wrist while Itachi slowly turns him to look eye to eye with him, and when he tried to break eye-contact with his captor, his chin is tightly seized in a bruising-grasp keeping his head in place to maintain the connection.

 

“Now it's time for you to sleep, Naruto-kun…”, Itachi states, intensely glaring down into his prisoner's blue-eyes, causing them to glaze-over and the eyelids to slowly droop closed, as Naruto falls limp in his arms from the influence of his Sharingan-eyes, “I greatly apologize to you for having to do this…”, he mutters, starting to carry his quarry towards the edge of the village.

 

 

 

 

 

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