The Red Maelstrom

[2] Acknowledged

Panicked, Kohana ran after Naruto who had left before she could call for his attention. She ran around the village as fast as she could until she caught sight of her brother's back, but just as she was about to take a step forward, Mizuki appeared.

Kohana pressed her side against the pole she was hiding behind and narrowed her eyes at the suspicious man.

"Naruto," he called.

The blonde Uzumaki stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Mizuki-sensei!"

"Mind if we talk?"

Kohana unconsciously shook her head, hoping that Naruto would at least sense her or examine him properly.

However, her hopes were crushed.

 "...Fine..."

Biting her lip, Kohana refused the urge to jump in and drag Naruto away from Mizuki, but she stopped herself. Maybe Mizuki was just going to speak with Naruto. She hadn't always liked Mizuki. He was nice, but there was something strange about him that Kohana couldn't quite place. She only knew that unlike Iruka, Mizuki was detached, which was why it was even stranger for her now that Mizuki would pull Naruto aside to have a conversation with him at such a crucial time.

So Kohana decided to tail the two until they stopped at their destination, with Kohana sitting on the small roof above them as the two gazed at the village.

"Iruka-sensei is a serious person... his parents were killed when he was young and he had to take care of everything himself."

"But why does he only pick on me?" Naruto demanded quietly, staring down at a particular building.

There was a short silence as Kohana noticed Mizuki glance at Naruto.

"He probably sees himself in you. He's probably thinking he wants to see you become strong in the real way. Try to understand Iruka's feelings since you, too, have no parents."

"But I wish I graduated..."

"In that case... I'll tell you a special secret."

Gritting her teeth, Kohana jumped off the roof and onto another until she finally landed on the streets. After what she heard, there was no way in hell she trusted Mizuki. Everything about that so-called "secret" smelled wrong. 

It took hours for Kohana to be able to find Iruka. He'd just finished some errands at the Hokage Residence, likely hashing things out with the Hokage and attending to his other duties as an instructor and chuunin. Between waiting for Iruka, Kohana also had to look around for Naruto, who was nowhere to be found. She knew better than to focus entirely on looking for Naruto. If anything happened, she wouldn't be able to hold her own against Mizuki. 

Thankfully, just as it was nearing midnight, she saw a figure flee from the Hokage Residence and towards the nearby forest. And once Iruka exited the gate, Kohana grabbed ahold of his wrist, ignoring his surprise. "Iruka-sensei! Come with me!" 

Naturally, Iruka resisted. "What? Kohana, what's going on?"

"It's Naruto!" She tugged harder at her arm. "Please! I saw him go that way. Mizuki-sensei told him to take something from the Hokage's office! Something about a scroll!"

Realization dawned on Iruka's face at this. He cursed under his breath. "All right... but Kohana, you have to promise me to stay here," he told her sternly, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and keeping a firm grip on them. 

Kohana stared back at him and shook her head. "No. He's my brother and I'm going with you."

"It's too dangerous!"