My Brother's a Jinchūriki!

Chapter Eighteen- Little Brother

Natsumi touched down on a side street and began to walk with her hands in her pockets to pass the time until she spotted a familiar face at an empty park. Konohamaru stared intently at a target he had drawn onto a tree and was throwing Shuriken in practice. She smiled faintly and walked quietly over, so as not to disturb him. After some time, he shuffled over to collect his Shuriken to begin again, freezing in place as he realized he was being watched.

"Neechan!" He stammered and dropped several Shuriken, lifting his feet to avoid them. He collected them off of the ground and blushed slightly and smiled at her. "H-How long have you been there?"

"Only a few minutes." She smiled and stepped closer. "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

His blushed deepened and he chuckled. "W-Well..." He pulled out the bathroom pass from his pocket and held it up to her, grinning. "I'm not skipping, I'm just taking a really long time in the bathroom." His expression fell and he lowered his arm slowly. "You're not going to rat me out, are you?"

Natsumi laughed and ruffled his hair. "No, of course not! It's not as if you're goofing off, anyway. You're really diligent with your training, you know that? I'm proud of you."

He averted his eyes, smiling as he scratched his cheek. "T-Thanks, Neechan."

Konohamaru placed the pile of Shuriken on the grass beside him and looked up at her. "So, what are you doing here? I thought you and Naruto were both real Ninja now?"

Natsumi shrugged and sat cross-legged in the grass, off to the side. "I was... training this morning with my new teammates and accidentally overexerted myself. I'm okay, but they told me to take the rest of the day off just in case."

Konohamaru held a Shuriken carefully in his hand, looking at the target, and then throwing it. It missed, landing on the grass in front of the tree and he sighed deeply.

"Shouldn't you be at home resting then?" He tilted his head to look at her, and she only giggled.

"If I'm at home, I'm reminded of all the chores I have to do but am procrastinating to finish." She sighed and crossed her arms. "And then, after a while of stewing, the guilt will finally eat me up until I clean up. I'm not ready for that yet."

Konohamaru picked up another Shuriken as he made a made a face. "I really hate chores, too, but the Old Man always makes me do them."

"I wouldn't mind them so much if Naruto helped out more." Natsumi smiled as she watched him practice. "But, as it stands, Naruto is a complete slob, and I'm the one trying to keep our home from turning into a dump. It's a never-ending struggle!" She held up her arms in frustration and then dropped them again with a sigh, drawing her legs in close to her chest. "Sometimes I feel like more of a maid than his sister. I wonder if something happened to me if he would even miss me?"

Konohamaru missed again, then turned to her with his eyes wide and his fist clenched. "N-No way! Neechan, there's no way that he could just forget you! You're so cool and so nice..." He blushed faintly. "And a really great sister, too!"

She blinked and laughed out loud until her eyes watered and she wiped he tears away. His body relaxed and he looked at her strangely.

"Neechan...?"

"S-Sorry." She giggled and wiped another tear away, beaming up at him. "But, when you said that, it made me really happy." Natsumi let out a breath, leaning back and looking up at the sky. "I've been feeling so tense lately for some reason, so I guess I've just haven't been acting like myself. But," she looked back at him. "I feel a lot better now. Thanks, Konohamaru."