Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Kishimoto Masashi and published by Jump Comics.

Warning: This fic is rated T for violence, language and innuendo.

Spoiler alert: This chapter contains spoilers through recent manga chapters.

AN: Hey all. Yeah, another story I'm adding. This one is a bit different. As you will notice, my others have a more "business" tone while this one is more relaxed, just for fun on the fly. I don't intend for it to be a real epic, but just a story you enjoy reading and I enjoy writing. This is kind of a break from that "business" feel of my other stories that's really demanding and energy-draining.

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The Last of the Namikaze

Prologue

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It was dark, real dark. Namikaze Natsuko was getting worried. A feeling of foreboding in the air told her that there was a reason why the clan compound was silent, and that reason was not good. Faintly, she thought she smelled blood on the air.

"Oba-san? Oji-san? Itoko? Aniki?"

Her calls went unanswered. She frowned worriedly, rushing faster. She had stayed out training; she had no way of knowing if something happened. Where was the clan?

Granted, the clan was small, real small. From her immediate family only her older twin brother, Namikaze Naruto, was alive. Her father died sealing the Kyuubi into her brother and her mother died from medical complications just a few weeks later. The rest of the Namikaze were all either old or wiped out during the Kyuubi's attack. She and Naruto were the future, the only future.

Her thoughts drifted to her brother, that prodigal genius jinchuuriki. He was everything she wanted to be, but she could never bring herself to hate him. No, she loved her aniki so much that she would kiss his feet if it would make him happy. Though, he never demanded anything from her, and certainly not anything as absurd as having her kiss his feet. He was the protective older brother, and whenever they were together they were inseparable.

"Aniki?"

Nothing but darkness greeted her. She rushed toward the porch of the main compound. A voice stopped her right before she opened the door. "I wouldn't."

"Aniki?!" A smile lit her face; her savior was here. Even if everyone else was in trouble, Naruto was eight years old and already a chuunin. He toyed with his opponents in the last chuunin exam. "Where is everyone?"

"They're dead," he replied calmly. The smile was wiped off her face. It hurt him to see her like this, but this was the only way; fate had dealt this card. "I killed them."

She approached him, disbelieving. "Aniki? What do you mean you killed them? What's going on?"

"Natsuko-imouto, you have never realized. They would not want you to know; I did not want you to know. My purpose… what this clan desired from me was to turn me into a weapon, their weapon. Every time they would separate us, we received different training. You were taught to be a noble, a lady of class; I was taught to be a ruthless killer." He paused for effect. "Did you know that I made my first kill when I was five? They made me kill a man; they made me look at the man's face as he drew his last breath. I found out only recently that they took a civilian off the streets of Konoha, one of the very people we shinobi are supposed to protect."

Natsuko stared in disbelief. This surreal experience was more than anything she had ever imagined, and it was painful. Was this true? How could she not know? What kind of sister was she? "Aniki… is this true? Oh Aniki," she sobbed, "do you… do you hate me?"

He stepped forward and kindly caressed her cheek. She leaned into the contact, instinctively knowing that this would be the last time she would feel his warmth for some time to come. "No, I do not hate you, I could never… I did what I did because I had to. Imouto, it is up to you to revive the clan, to rebuild it in the way mother and father would have envisioned. Good bye, imouto." Naruto pulled away.

"Wait, aniki!" Natsuko grasped him hard. "Please, don't go. Please…"

Naruto's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, imouto. What I have done cannot be forgiven. But, I have not forgotten my promise to you. For now…" Naruto withdrew further and reached into his chuunin vest, withdrawing a scroll, "this scroll should detail everything. Don't go inside… you wouldn't want to see it."

Naruto tossed the scroll to Natsuko, who caught it, but she stepped towards him. "Then… take me with you! If you must go, then take me too!"

"I'm sorry imouto. Where I am going is dangerous. I have joined an organization—"

Naruto stopped as the shouts of ANBU approached. He glared in that direction before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Two words lingered on the air: "good bye."