ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Revelations p.2

Naruko's mind was whirling as she mentally chanted in her mind, 'I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming...'

She was praying to whoever that was watching over her to not let her moment with Naruto end, as it felt too good to be true. It was only yesterday when she had met the handsome blonde boy, and back then he had already been considered attractive. But then, out of the blue, he had surprised her when he adopted her as his sister for which she was forever grateful, loved ramen as much as she did, well-mannered and gentlemanly and also a talented shinobi — the very definitions of a teenaged heartthrob. Naruko thanked the heavens that he had not enrolled in the Academy sooner, as she had no doubt she would have competition in competing for his attention.

But none of those things mattered right now as she was being held in the arms of Naruto, which made her feel safe and secure.

Naruko looked up at the grinning blonde male, who himself was sporting a small blush. "O-Onii-chan?"

"Naruko-chan," he said seriously, making Naruko tilt her head in confusion as she attempted to snuggle deeper into his chest when she saw the villagers staring at them with stunned and disbelieved looks, obviously not used to seeing their blonde princess being carried around in the arms of a handsome stranger, "I need to tell you something — it's important."

Sensing that something was up when his tone was that serious, she was about to question him on the matter when she noticed the pleading look in his eyes, making her stop. Naruko nodded with the blush still adorned on her cheeks. "Alright, Onii-chan," she said, "Where should we go?"

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, Naruto just smiled as he flared his chakra slightly before the whole world seemed to shift. To Naruko, it was as if they were standing still and only the world was moving around them, and it happened so fast too! When she finally got her bearings, a slight breeze confirmed her thoughts that Naruto had brought them to the top of the Hokage Monument — one of her favorite places in the village.

Naruko was giddy as she practically bounced in Naruto's hold, "Sugoi! What was that?!" she asked excitedly, earning a chuckle from the boy, "Can you teach me that someday?"

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Sure, it's a family heirloom after all." He explained, "And you are part of the family, remember?"

Naruko nodded with a bright smile as Naruto set her down on her feet. Naruto turned and looked down at the village below, sighing contently as he sat cross-legged on the ground. He patted the space next to him.

"Come and sit Naruko-chan." he said with a smile.

Naruko only needed one glance to know that it was fake. After being around him since the day before, she had already learned a lot about her brother, both emotionally and mentally. Naruko noticed the well-hidden shadow of pain and sorrow behind his cerulean eyes, and the fake smile that accompanied it when she asked what was wrong and he waved it off as nothing important — much like how she had used to do when the villagers still resented her. The only times Naruko had seen her brother truly happy were the times he was spending around her, and it made her feel wanted and loved at knowing that her mere presence was keeping him happy.

But she had to know what was bothering her precious person so much for him to adopt a mask, and it hurt her slightly when he also used it around her.

Naruko sat down beside him gracefully and looked him straight in the eye, expression serious as she bluntly spoke.

"Alright, Onii-chan, cut the act." She said, her sudden outburst jolted the blonde boy who looked shocked at her, and her expression softened, "Why are you wearing that mask Onii-chan? And don't you dare tell me that you're not using it, 'ttebane!"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, to deny having worn any kind of mask to her, but he relented with a sigh — he promised to himself that he would be truthful to her today. Lying about wearing an emotional mask was hardly a positive step in the right direction. Naruto smiled sadly as well. That was also the tone Kushina would give him whenever she caught that he was lying or not telling the full truth, along with the verbal-tic she used when she was agitated or excited.

Naruko was the spitting image of their red-headed mother — beautiful, caring, strong and intelligent. Both of them inherited their legendary stubbornness and determination from their father. He knew his jig was up when he saw it, and this was the moment of truth, even if he would be hurt by the end of the upcoming talk, he could deal with it. Or so he told himself, a small voice at the back of mind said nastily.

Naruto sighed as he smiled in melancholy at her. Naruko's eyes widened at the pain and sorrow that was filled in those azure orbs, and she resisted the urge to hug him right then and there.

"Naruko-chan," he began, making her pay attention to his words, "I'm sorry."

Naruko's eyes widened at his words, what was he apologizing for?

Naruto took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. "I-I was not entirely truthful with you, about my past ..." Naruko tilted her head in confusion as she held his hand reassuringly, signifying that it was alright for him to continue. "It's about time I told you the truth."

He took a deep breath again, steeling himself for what was undoubtedly coming, and dropped the bomb. "I am your biological sibling, from another reality."

Naruko swore she felt her heart stop at his words, and her mind grounded to a halt. 'There was no way', a part of her mind whispered.

With only the sounds of the calm breeze of the wind fluttering their clothes as their companion, a tense silence settled between them, both their emotions stirring in chaos after the revelation. Her mind was going into shock, thoughts flitting in and out of focus a mile a minute. Her emotions were going haywire as well, ranging from anger, sadness, sorrow, shock, bewilderment, happiness and a myriad of other emotions jumbled together in her addled state of mind.

As he watched all these emotions play across her face, Naruto wondered if this was how many people felt when they were about to lose their closest people — total anguish, uncertainty and sorrow. He then remembered what he was about to reveal was an SS-Rank village secret, and was punishable by death.

Thinking quickly, Naruto set about performing a few hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground, muttering, "Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Chinmoku Fūin (Uzumaki Sealing Art: Silence Seal)"

A string of symbols and lines expanded from where his hand was and continued to expand before they stopped and formed a translucent dome around the two and the lines glowed blue once before fading. From the inside, it seemed like nothing had changed apart from the glowing kanji for 'seal' on the ground where Naruto's hand had been.

But from the outside, it was a totally different story.

The dome acted like a two-way mirror, blocking outsiders from hearing or seeing or sensing them through the dome while allowing the caster and the dome's occupants to see outside. Anyone from the outside looking in would only see an empty clearing on top of the Hokage Mountain.

After a few more moments, Naruko finally spoke up, as she looked up into Naruto's eyes with freely flowing tears, causing the boy's heart to break. He hated seeing her cry, especially since it was him who caused her to cry.

"W-What? H-How...?" She managed to choke out while holding back sobs. Naruto couldn't help but die a little more inside as he watched his sister break down in front of him.

Naruto sighed again as he adjusted his sitting position. "Let me explain it to you, then you can decide whether or not you want hate me, alright?" he offered as he gently stroked her long blonde hair, making her calm down a bit. She nodded, making the boy smile sadly. "This is going to take a while — I suggest you get comfortable."