I'm only going to do this once, I don't own
Chapter 1
A little blonde baby boy toddled about on unsteady legs. He stumbled a few times and fell a lot. He didn't cry, he instead would laugh and give a big grin as he would stand back up and kept trying to walk again. No parents where around to cheer the boy on, no adults paid him attention. They instead ignored him in favor of the other children in the orphanage. However the boy would turn and grin at the little blonde girl who would smile back with a smaller gentler smile of peer adoration and clap her tiny chubby hands to cheer the boy.
The little girl always seemed to be cheering her brother on. The women who watched over them realized that the little girl was more advanced than most toddlers but she wouldn't do anything till her brother did something. Naruto had thrown a toy across the room one day and fussed because he couldn't go to the toy. The little girl stood up on her legs, skipping crawling, and walked perfectly over to the toy and brought it back to her brother. She didn't walk again till Naruto took his first steps. She didn't talk till Naruto talked, and when she did talk it was in complete sentences.
It was just the two of them in their little corner. The ladies the owned the orphanage avoided the children as much as possible. They attended to their physical needs but left them to their own devices as often as they could. Sometimes they left them in there crib all day long. Other times they took them out and placed them in a pin in the far corner of a room and left them there. It was lonely but the children found companionship in each other. They were always close together. When they slept in the same crib they held hands, when they played by themselves they sat by each other as close as possible.
In a morbid way it was lucky that there were two orphan children instead of one. For if it was one- the neglect would cause more distress and more loneliness. The children didn't really cry mostly because their instincts somehow let them know that crying would get them nowhere. If it was just one child it would be crying constantly out of solitude and the sheer need of companionship. But the two children together filled the gaping whole. Of course that didn't mean they didn't look for that old man that would often visit. They liked the old man, and would fight for his attention when he came.
He smiled at them, he held them, he sometimes brought toys, and he would congratulate them at what they could do. When he came the women that were supposed to take care of the children paid extra attention to them on those days. They were nicer to them on those days and for some reason they gave the old man great respect.
It wouldn't be till both siblings could speak and understand did they realize that old man was the Hokage. It saddened them when they comprehended that the man wasn't related to them but it didn't stop them from loving the guy. Miso, the blonde little girl preferred to call him Ji-chan, Naruto preferred more blatant methods and called him old man. Either way both siblings held the Hokage close to their hearts.
Their care for the old man is what initially got Naruto into wanting to be the Hokage. Like most children at a young age they usually want to copy there hero or someone they hold dearly. Most of the time it's a parent, since neither child had a parent they both tried to copy Sarutobi. Miso would always attempt to copy his body language whenever she saw him: how he stood, the way he clasped his hands, his facial expressions. It was really adorable, although no one would ever tell Miso that. After all how can someone no matter how much they despise the child not adore the sight of a little girl with long blonde hair that went down to her waist, toddling behind the Hokage and badly copying everything he did. If he sneezed she would fake sneeze, if he stopped she would stop, she would follow behind trying to copy the way he walked and since she was a clumsy child she would often fall then get back up and continue copying the man. It was like watching a Mamma duck with her ducklings following her around.
Naruto on the other hand took a much different approach, one would consider extreme. One day he was sitting with the Sarutobi and his Imouto. When he suddenly declared that he would be Hokage just like old man and become Hokage just so he could be just as "cool" as Sarutobi. Of course in later years as the twins got older Naruto's ambition to become Hokage would only become stronger as it gained another purpose; to have the village acknowledge him and his Imouto and show that they weren't monsters or trash.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi would never say it out loud, he had a secret joy in watching the two young children look up to him. He knew that they weren't the only ones that looked up to him in the village. But there was something different about the two children he had a somewhat grandfatherly relationship with admiring him. Probably because they were closer than most people who looked up to him. Probably because they helped fill the place in his heart that was torn between the loss of the people he considered family. Plus those two kids didn't see him as the great Hokage, God of Shinobi. They saw him as Hiruzen, the old man and Ji-chan who had a cool job.
Sadly because Hiruzen wasn't in the children's lives as much as they needed and as much as he wished. He was hokage and that of course took up most of his time, he had his own family that needed him, and the council was already unhappy with the children and restricted what he could and couldn't do. So because of his position in life he couldn't do much for the children aside from taking care of their baser needs and a little more.
He was still upset that the two people who really could have given the children what they needed, had not. Kakashi, understandably was still a child when Minato and Kushina died. Yet that didn't mean he couldn't attempt to be in their lives, much like how Minato and Kushina had been in his. He could at least visit them and now that he was an adult he could at least take them in. However, Kakashi avoided twins, if Sarutobi hadn't known better he would say that Kakashi had no affiliation with the young Uzumaki siblings. In some ways Kakashi at times could be worse than the villagers. The villagers treated the children bad out fear and misunderstanding. Kakashi knew better than the villagers and most shinobi, Kakashi was just being a coward.
Yet, Hiruzen couldn't find himself to be fully angry with the white haired shinobi. Frustrated yes, angry no. After Kakashi had lost a lot in his life and was in simple terms an emotional wreck who didn't know how to really interact with people. Because of this he could see the man's mentality when it came to the twins, and knowing the children and how like their parents they were, he knew it would be painful for the copy-nin.
Jiraiya on the other hand was a different matter. Jiraiya was their godfather and he had the means and stability to take care of the two children. Granted Jiraiya is not the best parental figure to have in a child's life with all of his…hobbies… Yet he still would have been better than nobody. Plus he did have his moments of maturity. He knew the Frog Sage had bigger things to deal with, and he was looking for the man that had caused his students death and orphaned his children. He knew Jiraiya was still keeping tabs on Orochimaru. He knew Jiraiya had that whole spy network thing and of course those stupid books that he wrote. However, Sarutobi also knew that Jiraiya like Kakashi could have made time to at least visit the children and get to know them. He could have honored Minato's and Kushina's wishes in taking care of their children instead he was tarnishing that wish. Of course Sarutobi also knew that most of his anger came from disappointment in his former student.
Yet that didn't mean that he didn't try to talk to Jiraiya about the children whenever he could. And it didn't mean that he didn't try to broach the subject with Kakashi. Yet neither swayed in their actions leaving two very lonely children and an old man who could only do so much.
He just wished at times that they could see how great the Uzumaki children really where. Moments like the one he was watching right now. Three year olds Miso and Naruto where both running around the back yard of the orphanage playing Ninja. Now most children did this of course, but it was somewhat special to see the dynamics of the twin's relationship. Naruto was going full throttle while Miso was there to back him up.
"Miso, 'urry up. Da' emmy' commin," Naruot yelled to his sister as he hid badly behind a tree. His back was facing the tree that he was attempting to hide behind. But every time he took a step further to hide behind the small tree, his right side would start reveling itself on the other side of the tree.
"Nee-chan, don' yell, Ninjas shouln' yell," Miso reprimanded in a loud whisper with a kind smile on her face, as she did what Naruto told her to do.
"Sowy, are you commin' or not?"
"Hai," she said as she hid behind a neighboring tree actually concealing herself.
"Awack!" Naruto yelled as he charged forward releasing a flurry of paper ninja stars that Miso had folded for him. At surprisingly young age Miso was very adept at origami. The paper stars flew out but landed only a few feet away from him. Naruto charged towards Sarutobi and stood protectively in front of him as he fought imaginary bad guys.
"Nee-chan, powtect da Hokage! Mor' ninjas are commin'," Miso darted out from her hiding spot, tripping over her feet and face planting. "I ment to do dat," she hurriedly said as she rolled over into a crouch then threw her own origami ninja stars. She then ran over and stood side by side with Naruto.
"Good job, Miso!" Naruto cheered as he fist pumped the air.
"anymor' Nee-chan?"
"Nope, we got them good. We protect' you old man," Naruto said with silly grin on his face a large gap in his teeth where he had lost a tooth. Sarutobi raised an eyebrow as he had not realized that somehow he had ended being part of their game. He was just sitting on the back patio of the orphanage sipping on tea and watching them play. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked towards Miso.
"May I hav' som' tea too?"
The elderly man smiled and nodded as he led the children inside the orphanage towards the table.
Miso was five when she started at the academy. Her and her brother had started earlier than most because the civilian academy wouldn't tolerate them and the Hokage couldn't convince them otherwise. So instead of going to the civilian school which everyone goes to the first few years of their life before switching to the ninja academy… the two just started in the ninja academy and would receive a few special lessons on what they would have learned at the civilian school. They would be somewhat separate from the rest of the academy till there age group came along, then they would be integrated. This early start was the main reason her brother failed the graduation exam two times before he passed.
She didn't really have any interest in going; she didn't really want to be a ninja. She didn't really want to protect the village. After all the village had done nothing for her and her Nee-chan. They had tormented, scorned, and ignored their very existence so why should she train to become a ninja to protect them? Yet, here she was at the entrance ceremony with Naruto. Looking at her brother and how happy and excited he seemed allowed Miso to at least be happy for him. Besides going to the academy wouldn't be so bad if Naruto was with her, and he wanted to be Hokage which meant that he was going to become the best ninja there was.
Which also meant that Miso was going to have to become a strong Kunoichi. Which sucked in its own self because that meant that Miso still had to go to the academy and act like she wanted to protect the village and pretend to uphold the Will of Fire. Yet, she would do it for her Nee-chan. She would do a lot of things for her Nee-chan, her alliance was to him. He was her family, he was the more important one of the two people she actually cared for (Ji-chan and her Nee-chan), and he needed her. Miso liked that Naruto needed her because it made her feel important. So at a very young age Miso had already decided something that most people would never choose; Nee-chan came first.
Nee-chan got that last serving of food. Nee-chan got to decide what they play. Nee-chan was better than everyone else. Nee-chan had her loyalty and she would follow her brother to death. That was Miso's mentality. If her brother decided he wanted to destroy the village as retribution then she would destroy it along with him, in fact she would attempt to make his hands stay clean on the matter as much as possible. If he told her to kill herself she would.
Miso had a large brother complex which was a result from only having two people in her life care for her. Naruto was her big brother and her father figure. He was the one who tucked her in at night while she read them bed time stories. He was the one that made her smile every day. He was the one who stopped her tears, who healed her when she hurt herself, he was the one who protected her from the villagers, and he was the one who gave her undying love. Chased away the things that go bump in the night. Gave her, her loved hairpins. He told her right from wrong (although she knew right from wrong, but she followed his words still). He was the stronger of the two never letting people get him down. He had the ambitions and the skill to back it up. He was the only constant in her life and for that she loved him dearly.
Ji-chan was in there life but it seemed as they grew older Ji-chan became less involved. Miso knew one day the old man would leave them, so while she loved him second only to her brother but more than herself, she knew that Ji-chan wouldn't be able to watch over the two of them.
Miso fingered one of her hairpins that she got from Naruto. This one was her favorite it was a small white chibi bunny that sat on a small orange hair clip. Naruto's favorite was a bobby pin that had a ramen bowl at the end of it. Miso had about seven hair pins and clips from her brother. They didn't really have money so on their birthday Miso would buy Naruto ramen from Ichiraku and Naruto would by her one or two hair clips, they did this every year. Miso wanted to get her Nee-chan something more than ramen but ramen was the only thing her brother really liked and she didn't have tons of money. So she settled with ramen.
Fingering the hairpins was something that Miso did to reassure herself. It was an odd habit, but she knew that most people had odd habits. Like biting their nails, cracking their knuckles, things of that sort… hers was just fingering her hairpins when she needed a little bit of encouragement.
"Imouto," Naruto said causing Miso to stop fingering her hair clip that clipped her bangs back to the side. Naruto only ever called her Imouto when he was either serious or concerned. "You don't need to worry. I'm here and I'll protect us both and where going to be awesome ninja. Because I'm going to become Hokage and you're going to be right there with me. Believe it," Naruto said with his famous grin on his face as he reached for his sister's hand it and gave it a light squeeze before letting it go and putting his hands in his pockets.
Naruto was confusing as an older brother to other people. Their relationship seemed like Miso was the one who told him what to do and got him out of trouble, to some extent that was true. Yet, Naruto was the one who really led the siblings. And he would get into his Onee-chan modes whenever his sister needed him. He wasn't touchy feely or super over protective. Yet when he got to his big brother mode people could see his love for his Imouto.
"Hai," Miso said with a gentle grin that matched the one her father had. Naruto looked like their Father but acted more like their mother, Miso looked like her mother but had her father's coloring and acted like him. Of course neither of the twins knew that. However Miso's disposition usually matched her fathers with a more reserved personality, gentle, kind, and came off a little shy. Yet over the years of the villagers harshness towards her and her brother, and trying to show that she wasn't affected to her Ji-chan and Nee-chan. Miso had developed a double personality.
Not one where, it would want to take over, but one that protected her. Her second side to her, her darker side, was the one that would be okay with destroying the village. The one that held no alliance to the Hokage. The one that she would use, in later years, when she battled. When she switched off to this persona it wasn't like she went crazy and blood lust like. It was just that her personality went from sweat and clumsy to serious, graceful, and skilled killer. Her smile that she always wore would change to a similar expression her father had when he was fighting but with a colder look. It was terrifying because the moments when she really become angry or the personality needed to appear to protect herself, where the moments people realized that she was powerful.
Yet the second side wasn't demonic and cruel. It was really hard to explain. It was still Miso, it still wouldn't hurt animals and shy away from bugs, it still doted on her brother, and it would still find mercy in its victims. Yet this second side would kill with thought if needed too, it would take charge of the situation and it would take no crap from anyone.
The first time Naruto saw this second persona was when they were attacked by a chunin ninja trying to assassinate them when they were four. The children had just barely moved into the apartment they would be living in. The orphanage would no longer deal with them and no one would take them in. So the Hokage ended up putting them in their own apartment and he charged the apartment manger of taking care of their home needs and he placed anbu guards on the children. Since the children where shinobi they tended to mature faster so he wasn't worried about them keeping the house clean and them locking doors and things. It was more making sure they could go shopping and cook. So he put himself in charge of shopping for groceries, hygiene products and anything they would need. The apartment manager in charge of keeping up the apartment and heating and cooling it. The anbu in making sure the children didn't put themselves in danger. He was going to hire someone to cook when Miso revealed that she could cook.
The third of course had her prove it, and was surprised when she made a full meal of rice, fish, and miso soup perfectly. After all she had learned to cook from the women at the orphanage when they stopped making the two food. So upon Miso's and Naruto's request the Hokage left them alone when it came to how the children lived. Miso cooked their food and made sure they got their studies done, Naruto surprisingly kept the house clean (upon his sisters request, she was a little OCD). Miso did the laundry and Naruto took care of their small little garden. Of course the Anbu secretly helped them out, making it easier for them.
They had been living by themselves for a month. When the Anbu on duty had to leave his guard to stop another issue happening. With the Anbu left a man with killing intent made his move.
A masked ninja with a chunin vest barged through the window and threw shuriken at them. Naruto had nocked both of them to the ground getting a kunai in his shoulder and glass shards from the window to cut him, leaving Miso unharmed. The man began to advance on them. Yet Naruto was frozen in shock and couldn't move, Miso on the other hand had one thought going through her head. He injured Nee-chan.
She didn't cower like Naruto did, she picked up one of the thrown kunai that had fallen to the ground. Her hair falling into her face and covering her eyes as she grabbed a potted plant that was by her and threw it at the man. When the ninja dodged and was distracted she ran towards him and stabbed him hard in the knee, putting the sharp weapon all the way through the man's leg, through the fat and the muscle, cracking the bone and sending it to the other side. Only the tip of the handle sticking out of where she had shoved the device. She then grabbed a large shard of the potted plants ceramic pot. Grasping it tightly in her tiny hands causing them to bleed. With the man now kneeling down in pain and using colorful language she stabbed the shard at the base of the skull with as much force as she could…killing him.
His Imouto went from being his sweat little sister who passed out from seeing bugs and cried every time she fell to someone he didn't recognize. Emotionless calculating eyes with a smile missing from her face. Then as she had been under a jutsu or something Miso blinked after the man toppled over and landed in an awkward heap unto the floor. She wretched herself from the man and fell, scrambling backwards with tears in her eyes apologizing to Naruto the whole time begging him not to hate her as she began to rock back and forth her fingers clutching her hair and pulling at it. Her eyes wide with panic as she stared at him with such a broken look. Her body shuddered and rocked, tears streamed down her face in rivers. Her big blue doe like eyes terrified not of the man and her actions but at the thought of her brother hatting her. Her hair on her left side had started turning red from the blood on her left hand as she pulled her hair in panic. Her face, Naruto would later relocate wasn't blotchy and snot covered but she looked oddly pretty for someone crying.
Red rimmed eyes and tears pooling down her cheeks. Terrified eyes but aside from that she didn't look ugly.
It was that moment when Naruto realized what his sister could really do. He knew she was smart but in that moment when Naruto watched his sister move so effortless and kill without a thought Naruto knew she was skilled, she was smarter than most, she had potential to be a prodigy, she was a prodigy… and untrained one... He also was finally able to confirm his fears on how she really felt about everyone else. Yet Naruto didn't hate his sister, he wasn't scared for her, he was concerned for her. Because he knew that Miso was a little scared of herself and while both where alone…Naruto was taking it better then she was. She was isolating herself and he worried about what his sister would become. So as she looked at him with such a broken look Naruto did the only thing he could really do, he wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to him as she cried. Whispering a few words of comfort.
When the Anbu had finally gotten there he was shocked to see the scene. A dead high ranking chunin and Naruto holding his crying sister. Most had assumed that Naruto's oddly calm expression and how he held his sobbing sister meant that he was the one who killed the man. But they were wrong, so very wrong. They wouldn't realize it till the Chunin exams just how powerful the two could be and were. But also that Miso was the one who killed the man. In fact, the rookie nine would witness Miso's other side at the exams. While she was the klutzy girl with a brother complex who scored average on the exams. They would see her defensive side, the killer she could be, and the great kunoichi she could become.
But that was years away. Right now they would only see the little girl who would toddle after her brother. Run into wall and trip over nothing. Who was kind of friends with Shino, and did everyone small acts of service. The girl who carried around a back pack constantly so she was always prepared. The girl who snuck Choji food. The girl who even though was scorned by the village would still try to help the village with the little things like carrying groceries.
It confused Miso why she did those kind things, Miso's darker self-pondered, but she could never really find an answer as to why she kept doing nice things for people she didn't care about. At least that's what she told herself that she didn't care. In fact Miso told herself, lots of things that were mostly untrue. She told herself that she didn't care about the people around her but if that was true then she wouldn't be helping them. She told herself that she was a liar and a horrible person because of her darker side but really she just did what most shinobi did. She created a way to cope with the job, she separated herself from her actual being so she could handle killing someone then go back to living a normal life. She just did it earlier than most. She told herself that she only needed her Nee-chan but truth was she needed Kakashi, she needed Lee and Shino her soon to be best friends in a few years, she need the rookie nine, and she needed the Ji-chan and Jiraiya. She just didn't know she needed them till she had them.