Second Time's The Charm

Shippuden - Chapter 3

Author's Note: I made a goof last chapter. Kanoko is four centimeters taller than Naruto. Not inches. She's the same height as Shikamaru. I don't know what I was typing...

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Age Eight

Kanoko leaned back in her father's office chair as she pondered over the problem before her. On top of the desk was a book on the biology of chakra in the human body.

"There has to be a safe way of doing this. I can't possibly have been the first to come up with such a technique." Kanoko thought to herself, thinking about the chakra stealing seal was in the process of creating. Kanoko closed her eyes in annoyance, "Perhaps that is the problem. The youth these days are so reckless and severely lack a proper understanding of the basics." Kanoko felt her annoyance start to boil as she thought about the academy she was forced into attending.

The young Nara shook her head, "No crying over spilt milk now. I have more pressing concerns at the moment..." Kanoko leaned forward and started making notes on a paper for later testing when she was pulled from her thoughts by the yelling of her new mother.

"Kanoko!"

The former Hokage sighed internally before slowly looking up, "In Tou-san's office, Kaa-san."

A head peaked around the corner and blinked at Kanoko's hunched over form. Shaking her head, blaming her husband in her head for such strange kids, Yoshino called out to her daughter, "Kanoko honey, have you seen your brother?"

Kanoko shook her head and followed up with, "I have not since breakfast."

Yoshino gave Kanoko a narrowed look, "Didn't I ask you to look after your brother today, since he was so adamant that he get to go the park today?"

Kanoko stilled, quickly running through her memory banks. Staring blankly at Yoshino, Kanoko tentatively spoke, "I thought you were talking to Tou-san?"

Yoshino raised an eyebrow and drawled out, "Because I often call my husband the name I gave my daughter."

Kanoko resisted letting her eye twitch in annoyance as she thought, "And Yoshino wonders where Shikamaru gets his sharp and sarcastic tongue from..." Sighing in defeat, Kanoko hopped off the office chair and started towards the door – ignoring her mother's smug look.

On the other side of the front door, Kanoko took a quick look back and grumbled before walking forward towards town.

"Back in my day, children Shikamaru's age were armed and already fighting for their clan! A little alone time in the safest village in the Land of FIre is nothing in comparison." Kanoko grumbled in her head as she moved closer to the village's children's park. Kanoko's dull brown eyes stared ahead as she pushed through the trees, "Why couldn't I have been reborn an only child? Didn't I suffer enough with enough insane brothers to last a couple lifetimes?!"

Walking past the last tree, the park full of small children came into view. Kanoko's eyes lazily moved through the area for a certain spiky ponytail, "At least this one's quieter, I suppose..." Kanoko thought, thinking about her previous loud mouth of a brother, before her eye started twitching, "When it's not trying to strangle me to death..."

Kanoko let her train of thought trail off as she continued to look back and forth – her eyes unable to find any sign of her twin. Walking forward into the madness, Kanoko started looking around all the objects in the park, thinking Shikamaru was taking a nap – per usual – in a place the other kids wouldn't disturb him.