Oh look! Another new story! I hope you like this one.

I do not own Naruto nor its characters! I don't make any money off of this!

"speaking"

'thinking'

Chapter 1:

"I can't take this anymore!" Naruko yelled. She slammed her bedroom door behind her. She jumped onto her bed and screamed into a pillow. "I don't want to get married!"

A knock on her door was the only warning she got before her caretaker walked into the room. "Are you ok Princess?"

"I'm fine Iruka," Naruko said. She sat up and looked at the man she has known since birth. "It's just... I don't want to get married. I haven't even met that man!"

"I know," Iruka said. "But what if you like the Prince?"

"Iruka, you know I like someone already," Naruko said.

"But Kenji's not a prince," Iruka said.

"So?" Naruko asked. "Does love not win over status?"

Iruka sighed. He knew where Naruko was coming from. He had once loved someone of higher rank then himself, but he didn't act upon it. "Does Kenji love you?"

"Yes," Naruko said. "He asked me to marry him yesterday. I told him I would, if my parents approved. But they want me to marry someone else. How can I tell Kenji that despite our love for each other, I have to marry someone else?"

Iruka knew what he was going to say next would count as treason, but he cared for Naruko more than he cared about his own life. "If you really love each other, run away."

"What?" Naruko was surprised Iruka had offered such a salution.

"Elope," Iruka said.

"But that's..." Naruko looked lost between doing what Iruka said and obeying her parents. "If Father and Mother find out, you'd be..."

"I am happy to have known you for the last sixteen years," Iruka said. "You are like a daughter to me. Your happiness comes first. Please, if you love Kenji and Kenji loves you, run away. Leave tonight and get as far away as possible."

Naruko jumped into Iruka's arms. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek. "I love you Iruka. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Iruka said. "Now go to Kenji. I'll pack some things for you."

"Ok," Naruko said. She ran out of her room to go find Kenji at the stables. The moment she had told Kenji about the marriage, Kenji had asked her to run away with him. She agreed explaining that a plan was already in progress. Kenji packed only the necessary things. Iruka brought down a bag of clothes for Naruko along with some food and money. Naruko cried and said her good byes to Iruka before disappearing on a horse with Kenji.

Iruka waved them off before going back into the castle to pretend that Naruko was still locked in her room. It wasn't until the next morning that he decided to pretend to discover that she was missing. A search began throughout the nearest town, but Iruka knew that they had to be at least three towns away by now. He only hoped that Naruko and Kenji got to the boat leaving for Suna as soon as possible.

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Naruko and Kenji looked for a place to stay. It had been three days since they left the castle. They olny had enough money for the boat ride and some food. Kenji and Naruko would have to get a job once they arrived in Suna. Looking for a place to stay, the two came across an orphanage. A young boy about thirteen opened the door.

"Hello?" the boy asked. His eyes widened at the sight of Naruko. Then he frowned. "Why are you dressed like a girl?"

"Excuse me?" Naruko asked. "If you haven't noticed, I am a girl."

The boy's jaw dropped. He was just about to scream when a soft voice came up behind him. "Who's at the door, Konohamaru?"

Konohamaru turned around and looked at the older boy. "I think it's your sister."

"Very funny Konohamaru," the older boy said. "You know I don't have a sister."

"But she looks just like you!" Konohamaru said.

The older boy sighed. "I'm not interested in your g-ames." He had walked up to the door and opened it wider. His eyes widened at the sight before him. Naruko's eyes were also wide. Kenji looked between the two, confused. "You're... me?"

"And you're me?" Naruko asked.

"Ah," the older boy put out a hand. "I'm Naruto."

"And I'm Naruko," Naruko said.

"I see," Naruto cleared his throat. "Um... won't you come in?"

"Sure," Naruko nodded. She and Kenji stepped passed Naruto, who closed the door behind them.

"Konohamaru, go help Suki with dinner," Naruto said.

"Whatever you say boss!" Konohamaru soluted and walked off.

"Please follow me," Naruto said. He lead them into a dinning room. The table was small and could only fit about four, maybe five people. "Please, take a seat." Naruto took out a few glasses and filled them with water. He handed one to Naruko and Kenji. Then he took a seat across from them. "So, first things first. Who are you?"

"I'm Naruko," Naruko said again. "And this is Kenji. We are eloping to Suna."

"Ah!" Naruto said. "Ok. So, why do you look like me?"

"I don't know," Naruko said. "Could you be my cousin or something?"

"No," Naruto said shaking his head. "I don't have a family."

"Oh, sorry," Naruko said.

"It's ok," Naruto said. "But that still doesn't explain why we could be twins."

"My parents ever said anything about a brother," Naruko said. She looked at Kenji. "Have you ever heard such a thing?"

"No," Kenji said. "If you had a brother, your parents wouldn't force you ito an arraged marriage."

"So that's why you are eloping," Naruto said. "That must mean you are off high ranking." He then looked at Kenji. "And you are not?"

"I'm a stable-boy," Kenji said. "And Naruko is... well, she's..."

Naruto held up a hand. "It doesn't matter. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you need."

"Thank you," Naruko said, tears of joy in her eyes. "You don't know how much that means to me, to us."

"Nothing should get in the way of true love," Naruto said.

"Ever the romantic, Naruto," a woman said walking into the room. She looked at Naruko then at Naruto. "So it's true then. Your doppelganger had showed up on our doorsteps. That's not a good sign."

"Please," Naruto said. "I'm sure that myth isn't true." He turned to Naruko and Kenji. "Don't mind Suki, she's into that paranormal stuff."

Suki huffed. "Can't blame me when a female look-alike of you shows up here of all places. I mean look at the girl, she's clearly of higher ranking than us. I bet people will come looking for her."

"And if they do, we'll tell them nothing," Naruto said. "They should be free to love each other."

"Oh, I have to agree with you on that," Suki said. "Anyway, dinner is ready." She said that part loudly. Suddenly, the sound of several feet pounding on the floor above and the stairs filled the air. Konohamaru came in first followed by fifteen boys and girls. They quickly formed a line. Konohamaru passed out the plates then got at the back of the line to await his turn. The younger ones always went first. Once the food was dished out to everyone, the children went into the living room and sat in a circle on the floor, or as much as a circle they could make. Suki and Naruto then gave each one a drink, water or juice. They then returned to the kitchen and served themselves with the small portions they had left. Naruko noticed that Suki and Naruto were sharing half of a normal portion. She frowned.

"Is that all you two are going to eat?" she asked.

"Well," Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "That's all we have. We have to use food sparingly."

"I have some money that can..." Naruko began.

"No," Naruto said. "We are fine. The money I make is enough and the girls make things with flowers and we sell them in the market. We may not have a lot of money, but we are happy."

Naruko smiled at that. She knew that Kenji and her would have to earn money of their own once they made it to Suna. Surely, they would have to do the same thing Naruto and Suki do. She already knew that having money didn't make her happy. Kenji does and Naruko could see that Naruto's family made him happy. "Thank you," was all she could say.

Naruto smiled. "Anything to help another." Suki felt like something bad was going to happen soon. She looked at Naruto. Something told her that she was going to lose him. But she knew that Naruto didn't believe in that whole feeling thing. So, she kept it to herself.

This story takes place in our time. I will be using titles of books and movies within the story, and just in case, I don't own them (well, I own copies of the books but I'm not the author). I will also mention some authors and actors. I'm apologizing now if you feel differently about any of the above then my Characters do. There will be a lot of OCs in this story.