My Brother's a Jinchūriki!

Chapter Forty-Five- Secrets Among Friends

Natsumi blinked and Kiri's face came into focus as her vision cleared and her eyes adjusted. Kiri let out a soft sigh and Natsumi sat up slowly.

"Kiri?" She blinked again and rubbed her head. "What's wrong? When did you get here?"

Kiri shook her head slowly and faintly smiled. "I came to see you, of course." She paused. "How are you?"

"Uh... fine?" Natsumi looked around the room and saw Aito, Hana, and Ahmya standing by the door with strange expressions. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Kiri glanced over her shoulder at them, then back to Natsumi. "Oh, it's nothing. They're just a little worried about you and Sena, that's all."

Natsumi pressed her lips together and stared at the three.

She's lying.

"We're uh..." Aito scratched the back of his head. "We'll give you guys some privacy."

They stepped out and shut the door behind then, and Natsumi furrowed her brows and looked at Kiri.

"Kiri, what happened?" She asked firmly. "Why did they look afraid of me?"

Kiri laughed under her breath and shook her head. "Afraid? Psh... no."

Natsumi crossed her arms and raised her brow. "Kiri."

Kiri shrugged slightly. "They're just worried about you— like I said. You blacked out for a moment."

Natsumi's expression softened and she sighed. "Did I?"

Kiri nodded. "What do you remember?"

Natsumi let out a quiet sigh. "We were just talking and eating, and then..." She bit her lip and stopped. And then... somehow... I saw the Nine-Tailed Fox. And he seemed... to recognize me.

She gulped and her eyes rose to see Kiri watching her, unexpectedly serious.

"Yes?"

Natsumi chewed on her lower lip. I can't tell her about the Nine-Tails though... she'll think I'm crazy.

"I... uh..." Natsumi glanced away. "I saw... Naruto."

Kiri raised her brow. "Naruto? You saw Naruto?"

Natsumi nodded slowly. "He looked like..." She paused again. "I think... he's in danger."

Kiri's eyes widened slightly and her voice lowered. "What do you mean you saw him? What kind of danger?"

"I..." Natsumi pressed her lips together again and stared down at her hands. "I don't know. All I saw was him unconscious."

Kiri crossed her arms as she fell silent for a long time, lost in thought.

I've never seen her look so serious... Natsumi looked up at her. Is something really wrong with Naruto?

"Do you think something's really wrong with him?" Natsumi spoke up. "Have you heard something about his mission?"

Kiri shook her head and smiled faintly. "No, sorry. No word yet from Team Seven."

Natsumi bit her lip harder. Then... maybe something really is wrong. It's been so long since he left.

"Relax." Kiri's smile grew. "I'm sure he's fine. It's normal for there to be little to no communication while on a mission."

"But..." Natsumi furrowed her brows. "I saw him... and I have this awful feeling..."

"It's true that there's a superstition about twins sharing a psychic connection, but..." Kiri shrugged. "It's not something that's ever been proven." She recrossed her arms. "Besides, it's more likely that you're just missing him, and worrying about everything here combined with it is putting stress on your body. That's probably what caused your blackout."