My Brother's a Jinchūriki!

Chapter Eighty-Eight- The Lone Twin

Natsumi sat on her floor with her scrolls and books around her as she searched each one, growing more irritable as she set them aside and mumbled to herself.

"No... No... Not here." She furrowed her brows and looked into her pocket mirror again, sticking out her tongue as she leafed through a thick book. "No... No..." She slammed the book shut and pushed it away from her with her foot. "Damn it!"

It's not in any of these! What kind of seal is this, anyway?

She gritted her teeth and let out a hot breath as she looked around at the scrolls.

Damn it! I didn't spend all that time copying those scrolls just to come up short when I really needed something.

She sat straighter and grabbed another scroll and scanned it quickly.

Come on... all these Fuinjutsu scrolls, and not a single one has a seal that's anything like this?!

Natsumi rolled the scroll back up and tossed it onto her bed, narrowing her eyes.

No, that's not it... Oto must have been holding back this whole time. Of course she wouldn't let me have access to learning about this seal. She's not stupid... She clenched her fists and scowled. She knows me too well. She knew that one day I would go against her, especially after the Pilgrimage. She must have been planning on doing this for a while now.

"Ugh!" She slammed her fists onto the floor and dug her nails into her palms. "There's got to be something I can do!"

Besides cutting off my own tongue, anyway.

She let out a hot breath and closed her eyes, leaning back until she hit the floor.

Everything I've done up to this point, all the scrolls I've read, every trial I've done, all the strength I've gotten... it's all worthless, isn't it? I'm bound to Oto, who is clearly not a friend of the Leaf or to me. I can't warn the Hokage about Orochimaru or Oto, and I'm not strong enough to take on either of them to deal with the problem myself. And I've got all this knowledge that I've illegally copied and none of it is useful in this situation.

She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to look at Naruto's empty bed and let out a sigh.

Naruto, what would you do? She scoffed softly and rested her arm over her eyes. Who am I kidding? Naruto would have never gotten himself into this situation to begin with because he would have never trusted Oto in the first place. She would have offered him power, and he would have told her to shove it. That would have been the end of that.

She groaned and shut her eyes. Geez. Why do I have to be so stupid? What's wrong with me?

Natsumi sat up and began to return the books and scrolls to the box on her bed. Once they were all in place, she covered it with the lid and placed her hand over the seal. "Let's put you back before I forget..." She let out a breath and focused her Chakra. The seal glowed, then the box disappeared. She sighed again and sat on her bed, leaning until she flopped down into the covers heavily.

Naruto, I feel bad for you. You're stuck with me as a sister, after all.

She grabbed the blankets and rolled until she was wrapped inside of them and bit her lip.

Still... what would you do? What should I do? She bit her lip harder. What can I do, anyway? I can't remove this seal, I can't fight them... I said I was going to do something, but I can't. I'm just... useless.

She closed her eyes and slipped into a restless sleep, waking up again after only an hour. An icy sensation flooded her body and she shuddered violently and rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

"Ow..." Natsumi threw the blankets off and rubbed her head, then bit her lip as she put her hand over her chest.

I feel it... it's stronger now.

She stood and walked over to the door to open it and step onto the balcony.

Is he close? Is it Oto?

She closed her eyes to focus, and amongst the darkness of her thoughts, small, different colored clouds appeared, some closer and some farther. She furrowed her brows and the pale-red cloud remained in place and a low hiss, almost like a hum, filled her head.

That's Oto. I'm sure of it. And then...

She focused on a purple cloud far off and its appearance almost bubbled. Its hum was softer and Natsumi clenched her fists.

That must be Orochimaru's. He doesn't seem to be doing anything right now... Oto said that she could feel his intent, and his aura seems... calm. Despite radiating a nasty, toxic feeling. Is he sleeping or something?

She bit her lip and turned her attention to two other, smaller clouds that resonated with the same faint yellow light, despite being spaced far apart.

But then... what about these two? They don't feel threatening, but there is... tension. Are they with Oto? Or are they with Orochimaru?

She gripped the railing of the balcony and pressed her lips together.

Who are they? And why can I sense them?

Natsumi sighed heavily and hugged her arms close.

I have so many questions and no way to get any answers. I feel completely helpless.

She turned and slowly went back inside, closing the door behind her before she stared at Naruto's bed.

What's going on in that forest? Are you safe? He hasn't tried to get near you, has he?

She lay back down on her bed and closed her eyes. After a moment, she quickly slid out of bed and climbed onto her brother's bed, hugging his pillow close and holding his sleeping cap in her hands, and drifted to sleep almost instantly.

Naruto, please be safe. It's too empty here without you.