Chapter 10

When Miso woke up today at her usual time she just laid in bed. Today was the graduation exam and she knew Naruto wouldn't pass. She had already decided herself to fail the clone jutsu again so that way she would be held back too but she couldn't get the feeling of dread out of her gut. By the time it was time to get up in fix breakfast Naruto was already up too. Both were unusually subdued that morning. They ate in silence, they walked in silence, and they entered the class room slowly.

Miso didn't wave to Shino this morning and Shino didn't bother to go find her. Already knowing what was on her mind. She was grateful.

Iruka came in passed out the written exams. Naruto groaned and Miso began calculating how many she would have to answer to get average. Miso knew her brother would do fine on the exam the only thing holding him back was the stupid clone jutsu. The minutes seemed to tick by and the classroom was filled with pencil scratching and paper rustling. Soon after a long grueling hour and a half the exam was finished. Now everyone was moving onto the practical test. Iruka would call everyone out by alphabetical order and they wouldn't return once they were called. Whether they passed or not they were ushered out of the building. It was a mind game that teachers inflicted on the students, not letting people know who passed and who didn't.

By the time the class had dwindle down to half of its original number the students had shifted into normal conversations again but all conversation stopped with Naruto called to Miso across the room. She was busy cleaning up the classroom since Iruka was gone.

"Miso. When they call your name don't fake out like you usually do. You're going to pass this time, understood? If you purposely fail like you usually do, I won't forgive you".

The class stopped acting like they were in fake conversation and openly stared at Miso. She was faking? Some looked at her with disbelief others just scoffed. But a few calculative stares watched her, one of them being Sasuke. As he clearly remembered those cold eyes that spat hateful words at him.

When Iruka finally called Miso she trudged out of the room like she was going to her death.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Iruka said as he patted her head mistaking her sad demeanor for worry over the possibility of failing. It was ironic as the sad demeanor was from her knowing she was going to pass.

Miso just walked in the room and did the required jutsus. Iruka was proud of the girl thinking she had worked hard to be able to master them finally not realizing she was giving up on her hoax. By the end of the test he gave her the standard blue fore head protector. He was surprised she picked blue instead of black considering she was wearing, pure pristine white, dark forest green, and bright almost neon orange. Black would have worked better but blue she picked. The girl really had no sense of fashion as the blue just clashed with her outfit. The green and white went together. The green and Orange went together. The orange, white and blue matched… somewhat. But all together they just clashed.

Miso waited outside by their usually spot. When Naruto came out with no leaf head band, Miso felt like she was punched in the gut. She hesitantly walked over to him one hand reaching towards him the other fingering her hairpin. Her legs were a little shaky as she walked.

"Nii-san—"

"Miso, could you leave me alone for a little while?" he said quietly cutting her off. She only nodded with a pained smile. The air had left her at his words. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, so she just turned around not even glancing back and ran home. She collapsed on her bed leaving the lights off and just stared at the empty wall.

She was a genin, her brother wasn't. She was already failing him in helping him achieve his dream. Now he wanted nothing to do with her. First Lee and Gai left her and now her brother was leaving her. She couldn't even go to Shino knowing he was celebrating with his family. Plus now that Shino was a genin he would leave her too. She felt cold and alone. She had forgotten what loneliness felt like, she had let herself become soft. She had taken down her walls and now what did she have? Suffocating pain.

She felt like she couldn't breathe, anger and sadness where fighting inside of her. She hated this.. hate hate hate hate hate hate hate…. hated that she was a ninja. She didn't want to be a shinobi. She didn't want to go the academy, make friends, up hold the will of fire, and now she was doing exactly what she hated. She wanted to be alone. She wanted it to be just be her and Nii-san. Yet the world was cruel. She had no parents, Ji-chan wasn't in their lives anymore, people where cruel things, and the fear that her brother disliked her clouded her mind.

Miso small hands where clutching the hairpin that she had taken out of her hair tight. Her knuckles turning white as she cradled the pin to her. She opened her hands slightly to see the bunny pin that her brother had gotten her, her first hair pin. Instead of tears welling in her eyes, Miso felt anger. She had never felt anger before and know she was full of it. She let out a scream that was muffled by the pillow she had shoved her face in. She was so sick of crying so she just screamed into her pillow till her voice grew hoarse, dry, cracked, soar, and red. When she could no longer scream because her throat was raw she hit her pillow over and over and over and over again. Her arms becoming tired as she pounded into her mattress and pillow for hours.

Then when she realized it was dark out and her brother had yet to come home, she felt drained, she felt tired. She just laid their limply in her bed positioning her body so she could watch his bed and watch for her brother to come home. Still clutching the hairpin tightly, she waited. Her head band lay in a heap on the floor from when she chucked it across the room as soon as she got home. Her waiting turned to concern. So Miso closed her eyes and focused her senses to try and sense her brother. It took a while as he was in the far edges of the village…. with two other signatures… She felt despair well in her, her brother went to other people not her for help. She started breathing in and out quickly and rocking back and forth. Her breathing was short and quick, each breathe felt like it was stabbing her lungs, her chest felt tight. Her hands where now held so close to her chest that it was uncomfortable and a rigid position. She just slowly curled into a ball still on her side. Her forehad touching her knees as she rocked herself. "He doesn't need me, he doesn't need me, he doesn't need me, he hates me, he hates hates hates hates me", thoughts whirled in her head and with each though her breathing became more panicked.

"Girl, stop you're going to get a panic attack," a familiar deep voice said. His tiny paws resting on her shoulder. She still was in her panicked state, Usagi tried a few more times with gently shaking her and he even slapped her. Nothing worked. She was too far gone. Finally the rabbit just hugged her awkwardly. As she was still on her side and he was smaller than her. His soft fury paws patted her side and he muttered a few comforting words. Then finally a deep breath shuddered through her body.

"U-U-Usa-chan?" she said breathily.

"Who else? Now you need to calm down and breathe. Just a few breathes with me. In. Out. In. Out. Slower. Deep breaths, good Girl. In. Out. In. Out. Look at me Girly you're okay, nothing's going to happen. Your brother isn't leaving you. You're not alone.. Breathe… Good Girl, Your Usa-chan is here for you. No don't go looking back at his bed, look at me. Just me. Just look at me and breathe… Now, keep calm. Let's go get your brother he might be in need of some help. Come on Little Girl".

Miso nodded and got out of bed and started running with Usa-chan on her head towards her brother's chakra signature. "How did you get here? I didn't summon you?"

"When we remade the summoning scroll we messed up slightly. Allowing a two way connection to form between us and you. So you can still summon us but we can also appear without your direct summoning. We automatically take your chakra to appear. Don't worry though my sister watches over who comes and who doesn't come. She has the ability to see between the worlds so she watches over our summoner and she also directs who can go and who can't go. I honestly wanted to wait till you were in battle and in danger so it would be really dramatic when a rabbit summon came without your call and saves you. How cool would that have been? But right now your emotional and mental distress was enough to cause Hikaru to send for me. We need to work on your issues kid".

"…..Why is Nii-san in trouble?"

"I don't know all the details. Hikaru just said get the girl and go to the brother".

Miso nodded and continued to follow her brother's chakra. It was a little difficult because he seemed to be all over the place. Moving through the trees at a fast pace, then all of sudden their seemed to hundreds of him in an area. By the time Miso finally found her brother Iruka was handing Naruto his head band and Mizuki Sensei was passed out on the ground.

"What happened?"

Naruto turned towards his sister with a large grin, "I'm genin now! That's what happened!" His happiness calmed her worries. Yet she still was worried that he was resentful towards her.

Miso blinked at her brother, "Well then I'll make some ramen and we can celebrate. Umino-Sensei you're invited also".

"First let's get back to the village to take care of Mizuki and my injuries," Iruka grinned at the two siblings. Naruto summoned more shadow clones to carry Iruka and the unconscious man. Miso and Usagi both raised their eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, seems your brother somehow got the Scroll of Seals and learned a secret technique. My best guess is that the unconscious man tricked him and his ability to make these clones let him pass".

"That does make sense, I always thought Mizuki-Sensei felt a bit off. His chakra was always angry and felt wrong". Usagi just patted her head and the two followed behind Naruto and Iruka.

The return to the village went without a hitch and soon the group found themselves in front of the Hokage. Hiruzen ordered one of the anbu to return the scroll and had a few others take Mizuki. He then patted Naruto and Miso on the head, "Congrats on passing".

"Ji-chan I'm making homemade ramen wanna come eat with us?"

Sarutobi nodded and the four started toward the sibling's apartment (five if you counted Usa-chan). However, Miso fell back and walked over to two ninja who were holding Mizuki who was now awake. The two ninja looked hesitantly at the little blonde girl who was walking over too them. Miso thought it was odd that one of the ninjas had a long needle in his mouth and the other ninja had bandages across his nose. But Usagi once told her the more experienced ninjas got the more eccentric they become. So she left their odd appearance be.

"Mizuki-Sensei," Miso began pleasantly the man just glowered at her and attempted to spit at her but Miso dodged quickly by stepping to the side at an unbelievable fast pace suspiring the three ninja. Her smile was gone on her face and the same look she had when she killed that man so many years ago reappeared. "If you ever attempt to hurt my brother again not only will I castrate you in font of hundreds. But I will cut off your fingers and toes one by one. Not the whole part, little bits and pieces. I'll cut them off slowly till they become fountains of blood and nubs. Then I will slice off your mouth and pull out your tongue. I will grind your nose down till it is nothing but broken bone. I will proceeded to carve at your eyes with a dull kunai and I will listen to your screams with pleasure and have you beg for me to kill you. Yet I will let you live blind, speechless, deformed, and cripple the rest of your life as your forced to depend upon others. Women and children will cower away from you because of your appearance, men will pity you maybe a few will even see you as a monster. I will make sure to leave your ears so you can hear it. Hear your screams and hear the people whisper behind your back. Her your own cries of despair as you sink into nothingness. You better be careful because this isn't a threat it's a promise. You cross my brother again and I. will. Terminate. you".

She then turned around and ran back to the Hokage who was waiting for her. Her brother and Iruka having gone ahead.

"Well, aren't you full of issues," Usagi mused. Pleased that Miso wasn't spineless.

"What where you doing?"

"I was telling Mizuki-Sensei off for doing such a bad thing," Miso said with an innocent smile to her Ji-chan; grabbing his hand and walking with him back to her and her brother's apartment. Aware that Sarutobi was watching her through the corner of his eye.

"So, when did you get the rabbit summoning scroll? You know that scroll is rare, I have to admit I'm surprised that you have it. Being so young…" Sarutobi wasn't in his Ji-chan mode he was in his Hokage mode. Knowing there where things about the girl that she was hiding.

"Usa-chan found me," Miso chirped happily knowing that the Hokage was interrogating her. To misdirect him she began talking about bunnies and the different animals she liked, acting like a naive child.

The subject was dropped and they spent the early hours of the morning eat her homemade ramen and listening to Naruto regal his adventure. Miso giggling with Usagi's deep laughter at her brothers antics.

As soon as the meal was over the Hokage called the two ninjas he had contain Mizuki to his office, "Report".

"Mizuki is currently in apprehend and being interviewed by Ibiki Morino".

"Good, now I must ask. You two wouldn't happen to know what Miso Uzumaki said to the man, would you?"

The two men looked at each other each showing hesitance before Genma answered out of the two, "Hokage, she threatened the man. Rather violently for someone with her disposition".

"Explain everything".

The two ninjas looked at each other and nodded, "I am not familiar with the girl but her behavior was hostile—"