Chapter 37: Insanity

A/N: HI! I know I said I was going to work on my Bleach Fanfics, but let's just say that I couldn't come up with any ideas, so now I'm going to work on this story instead!

Also, I'm writing two side stories to this fanfics. They'll be called Big Brother and When in Gaia. Please check them out and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.

Enjoy!

After Naruto summoned Gamabunta, he was stuck in the hospital for three days. And within those three days, Mikomi's role as a ninja was getting to best of her.

Mikomi's joy over her brother summoning Gamabunta was washed away from these past three. Three chaotically insane days of sheer madness and destruction. It all started the day after Naruto was put into the hospital.

Three days ago:

Mikomi slammed the door shut when she came in.

She just got back from and Anbu mission and she was not happy. Myou came inside a few minutes later and looked at her captain worriedly.

"Captain"

Mikomi didn't say anything as she flopped herself on the couch. She didn't even bother to remove her Anbu armor.

Yuri came into the room.

"Hey guys, how's it go-"

She took one look at her goddaughter knew something was up.

"Jiraiya!"

The toad sage came from outside with Cloud in tow.

He was starting to get on better terms with the blond since he decided to take his role as Godfather more seriously.

"What's up, Yuri? I was just training Cloud how to perform the Rasengan"

The medic just pointed to Mikomi.

"Oh"

He walked over and sat on the coffee table.

Mikomi looked at her godfather dully.

"What?"

"What's with the long face?"

Mikomi covered her face with a pillow.

"Nothing" she muffled through the fabric.

Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't lie to me young lady. Something's up and I want to know what it is"

Mikomi removed the pillow from her face and gave him a weak glare.

"Why should I tell you? It has nothing to do with you"

"As your godfather, it is my business. If something's bothering my goddaughter, I need to know so I can fix it"

He rubbed the back of his head.

"I know I haven't been the best godfather, but at least give me a chance to fix that. I want to help you and Naruto, but how can I do that if you won't let me know what's bothering you?"

He gave her the saddest look he could muster.

Mikomi just looked at him dully and gave in.

"Kitchen" she said.

She got off the couch lazily and dragged herself into the kitchen with her godparents in two. Myou and Cloud followed and stood near the counters while the other three sat at the table.

"Now what has gotten you so bent out of shape?"

Mikomi rubbed her face as she leaned back in her seat.

"Do you remember Hayate?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's the Procter for the third exam, right?"

"Not anymore"

"Huh?"

Myou spoke up.

"W-when we were doing our daily patrols around the village; we found his body on one of the roofs near the Hokage tower"

Yuri's eyes went wide.

"Oh, my god" she gasped. "Who could have done that?"

"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked.

"No. Hayate was killed way too sloppy. If it were Orochimaru, he would have made it cleaner"

"Then who could have done it?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out"

She propped her feet up on the table.

"And that's not the worst of it"

"What could be worse than finding a corpse?" Cloud asked.

Mikomi's face went grim.

"Sarutobi isn't canceling the exams"

She leaned her head back and sighed.

"We had an emergency meeting regarding about Hayate's death and debated if we should let the exams continue and of course he said yes"

She sighed.

"I honestly don't know what is going on with that man's head. Why would he let the exams continue when Orochimaru is out and about and when we find a proctor dead days before the final stage?"

Yuri just shrugged while Jiraiya thought about it.

"That doesn't seem right" He said.

He got up and walked out.

"I'm going to find out what's going on. The old man would never let the exams continue if a body was found. I think a certain snake has a part in all of this and I don't like it"

He left and went to do his least favorite research.

Mikomi just placed her head on the table.

"This is too much for me" she said

Yuri rubbed her back.

"There, there, honey. I know it's not nice to find a body but this isn't the first time that you found a corpse lying around"

"That's not the point, Yuri. The point is that I have a bad feeling about these exams. First Orochimaru shows up, then we find a dead proctor and now Sarutobi is letting the exams continue. Something bad is going to happen with these exams, and I don't like it"

She ran her hand through her hair.

"Maybe I should just pull Naruto out of the exams" She said.

"You can't do that!" Yuri exclaimed. "Naruto has worked so hard to get this far. If you take him out now, it'll crush him"

"That's better than letting my brother get killed"

Yuri let out an angry sigh. She turned to Cloud to see if he had a say in this matter.

The blonde had to agree that Mikomi did have a point. He didn't like where these exams were heading either and the best thing to do was to take Naruto out while they still could. But he also knew that these exams meant a lot to the boy. He wanted to prove to the village that he was more than just a Jinchuriki and the only way to do that was with the exam. If he was pulled out now, then all his hard work would be flushed down the drain.

He really didn't know what to say about this.

The only thing he could do was shake his head at Yuri to tell her to keep him out of this.

Yuri just huffed and left the room.

"Whatever. If you want to take Naruto out of the exams, then go ahead. I just hope you're ready to be the worst sister ever"

Mikomi didn't say anything.

Myou looked uneasy with the whole situation and silently left her captain.

That simply left Cloud with a very moody 19 year old.

That wasn't good.

Present time

It had been three days since Mikomi had an argument with her godmother and she was still in a bad mood.

She already had her mind set on taking Naruto out of the exams. She didn't care how mad he would be with her. She was only doing this to protect him.

Yuri wasn't speaking to her at all. She was mad that her goddaughter was trying to ruin her godson's dreams of becoming Hokage. Sure, she agreed that it was to keep him safe, but he needed to learn how to defend himself. Mikomi couldn't hold his hand everyday of his life.

Aerith and Usagi weren't talking to her either. It seemed like they were mad with her as well.

"Everyone seems to think I'm the bad guy all of a sudden? What's wrong with trying to protect my baby brother?"

She just sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

Marlene came running downstairs with Barret following.

The village was having a festival to celebrate the Chunin exam finals and everyone was out partying.

Marlene went over and tugged on her arm.

"Onee-chan! Want to have some Ice cream with daddy and I?"

She looked at the girl for a moment then looked at Barret to see if it was alright.

The ex AVALANCE leader nodded his head with a grin.

She sighed deeply.

"Alright then, I need some fresh air anyway"

She stood up and let Marlene tug her outside of the house and into the busy streets.

The streets were bustling with people. Everyone was enjoying the festivities that village provided for the exams. Couples walked the streets wearing Yukata's while children ran around with sparklers.

It was near sunset at this point and fireworks were set to display the sky when the sun went down.

Marlene kept pulling Barret to random stands while Mikomi trudged along in a leisurely pace.

She slowly munched on the ice cream cone that Barret was so nice to get her.

While everyone was in high spirits and enjoying the festival, she was down and lost in her own thoughts.

She was still in a stump about what she would do with Naruto.

Should she pull him out and protect him from the dangers that lured out the horizon? Or should she let him compete and get him killed for following his dream?

This really tore her up inside. She spent her whole life protecting Naruto from danger and now he was old enough to face the danger himself. She was proud that he was old enough to take care of himself, but the thought of him getting hurt or possibly killed just made her heart stop.

She just wished she had someone who understood what she was going through.

"Hey, Mikomi. You're Ice cream's melting"

She was pulled back to reality when she felt Vanilla Ice Cream dripping down her hand.

"Oh, so it is"

She went to wipe it off her hand, but she realized she didn't have any napkins to do it.

Barret came over and cleaned her hand with a moist napkin.

"Geez, Mikomi. I know you tend to space out once in a while, but seriously "

"Sorry, I just got a lot on my mind right now"

"I'll bet. Your brother is going to be in the finals tomorrow. You must be excited"

"Yeah…excited"

She looked at him when he finished. There was something about the ex AVALANCHE leader that put her at ease. She didn't know if it was because that he was a father and that he had this parental complex around him or if it was because he was an ex leader and held this protective aura around him. Either way, it made her feel safe. Maybe he would understand what she was going through and would know what to say.

"Hey, Barret? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, kiddo"

She looked at her melted ice cream for a moment before looking back at him.

"Do you think I should let Naruto compete into the finals?"

He just laughed.

"Of course you should. He's worked so hard to get this far. Why would you say that?"

She just shrugged.

"I don't know. With everything happening lately, I just feel like I should pull him out so he won't get hurt. Yuri said I'm being over dramatic with all of this, but I just want to protect my brother"

She looked at him with sad eyes.

"You don't think I'm overreacting over this, do you?"

Barret just pat her shoulder with his metal arm.

"Not at all, Kiddo. As a single parent, I know just how you feel. I worry about Marlene every single day. I always argue with myself over how I should protect Marlene. I know that she's still young and she still needs her dad to look after her, but one day, she won't need me anymore and she'll have to protect herself. I don't like the idea at all, but that's just life for you. If you keep protecting them, they'll just pull away and want nothing to do with you. If you don't want that to happen between you and Naruto, I suggest you start letting go of your lease on him and let him grow up. I'll have to do the same when Marlene gets to that age as well"

He looked just in time to see his daughter a little ways up ahead. He also saw a really creepy looking guy eyeing her strangely as she went to one of the booths.

"But for now, I have the excuse to be the protective father. Now if you'll excuse me, papa bear has a daughter to protect"

He activated his gun arm and ran after the guy.

"Hey you sick pervert! Just what the hell were you going to do to my daughter?!"

Mikomi laughed as she saw him trying to shoot the guy without hitting anyone in the crowd.

Marlene went up to her and held her hand.

"What's daddy doing, Onee-chan?"

Mikomi suppressed her giggles.

"Nothing, Marlene, nothing"

She simply watched Barret chase the guy throughout the streets. She mulled over what he said to her and had to admit he was right. One day, Naruto wouldn't need her help anymore, and she had to face that that time was now. He wasn't a poor defenseless boy anymore. He was a ninja of the village hidden in the leaves. He couldn't afford to have his sister holding his hand anymore and she had to deal with that fast.

She just hoped that she could deal with it well. She remembered when Yuri was going through the same thing with her while she was growing up.

A few vendors away, Yuri had anime tears in her eyes as she secretly watched her goddaughter. Ever since that fight, she did not say a word to her and it killed her. Sure, she could have broken her silence and apologized for being a bitch, but she wanted her goddaughter to learn a lesson, and she thought the silent treatment would be the best punishment. She just didn't realize that she was being punished herself.

Cloud sighed with annoyance. Tifa insisted that they go with Yuri to the festival. She knew that Yuri was suffering from her silent treatment.

He thought this whole situation with their argument was ridiculous.

If Mikomi wanted to pull Naruto out of the exams, then she had every right to do so. She was old enough to make her own decisions and this was one of them.

Yuri sniffled when she saw Mikomi walk away with Marlene.

"Oh man. This is killing me! Why won't 'Komi-chan talk to me?!"

"Because you were the one who started the silent treatment and you two are as stubborn as mules" Bakuto said as he came over with Yugito.

Yuri wiped the tears from her eyes and gave Bakuto a nasty look.

"You don't know what's going on between me and 'Komi-chan, so butt out!"

"Yuri, everyone knows what's going on" Cloud said.

"You have been whining about it for the last three days" Yugito admitted.

Yuri huffed.

"My bragging has nothing to do with this. This has to do with the fact that Mikomi has no right to pull Naruto out of the finals. He's worked too hard to get this far and it'll crush him if she does this"

"True, but Mikomi just wants to make sure Naruto is safe. She's right that things are a little hectic right now, and I can see why she would want to pull him out" Tifa said.

"But things are always hectic when you're a ninja! Every day is filled with crazy missions and crazy bad guys. This is practically normal"

"Finding a dead proctor days before the exams are normal?" Bakuto asked doubtfully.

Yuri went to say something to that, but realized she had nothing.

"No wonder 'Komi-chan hates you. You have to have the last say in everything"

The cloud ninja just shrugged and looked at his rival.

"I will admit, she is being a little over dramatic about her brother. I agree that it's nice to have someone watching over you, but the boy needs to grow up. She can't hold his hand forever. I just don't understand that stupid fox sometimes"

"Well, you don't have any siblings, so maybe you that's why you don't understand" Yugito suggested.

"You mean to tell me that if I had a younger sibling, that I would act like an overprotective freak?"

"No" Yuri said softly. "Mikomi is a little different from other siblings. She takes her role as an older sister very seriously"

Yuri had a sad look on her face as she thought about her goddaughter.

"Ever since she lost her parents, Mikomi was always protective of Naruto. She kept him by her side at all times when he was a kid and she refused to take on far away missions when I wasn't around. He's the only living proof of Minato and Kushina. Since she doesn't have them anymore, she only has her brother. If anything bad were to happen to him, it would crush her deeply"

She suddenly smacked her head when she realized what she said.

"Oh man. No wonder why she's so against him competing. How could I forget such an important fact?"

"It's because you're an idiot, that's why" Everyone thought.

Yuri just sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Geez. I must be the most clueless godmother ever. How could I be so blind to something like that? 'Sigh' I really need to lay off the booze. I swear it's getting to me"

"Yeah, no kidding" Bakuto muttered.

Yugito elbowed him in the chest to keep him quiet.

Yuri let go of her face and looked at the crowded streets.

"I should talk to her" She said.

"If she wants to pull Naruto out of the exams, then that's fine. I won't stop her anymore"

She walked off and left the others behind while she tried to make amends with her goddaughter.

"50 bucks says that she screws up and makes Mikomi mad" Bakuto betted.

The others didn't say anything. They just hoped that Yuri and Mikomi would reconcile.

Mikomi held onto Marlene's hand as they went through the streets.

Barret was still chasing that creepy guy around the village, so that left Mikomi to babysit Marlene; not that she minded.

Marlene simply looked cute in her pink Yukata that Barret got her. It was a cherry blossom pink and had little goldfish swimming around the sleeves and hem.

She looked up Mikomi and tugged at her arm.

"Onee-chan! Can we go win a goldfish?"

She smiled at the girl.

"Sure, Marlene. It'll go so well with your outfit"

Marlene giggled and pulled her to the fish booth.

"I wanna win a big one!"

Mikomi handed her some money.

"Here you go. Have fun"

Marlene thanked her and went on to play the game.

Mikomi watched her for a while until she left someone trying to suppress their chakra.

"In case you think you're good at hiding, think again"

She turned to the crowded streets.

"Come on out, Yuri. I know you're there"

A few seconds later, Yuri popped up and walked over to her as if she were a dog who got in trouble with her master.

She wore a powder blue Yukata with silver birds printed on the fabric. Her normally long hair was tied up in a twist to top to all off.

Yuri smiled at her nervously and waved.

"Hey 'Komi-chan" She said softly.

Mikomi just nodded.

Yuri bit her lip nervously. She didn't know why she was so scared to talk to her goddaughter. Maybe it was because she thought that she would be mad about her calling her the worst sister ever if she pulled Naruto out.

She had to admit, that she had no right to say that. Mikomi was just looking out for her brother and she would have done that same as well if she were in the same situation.

She looked at Mikomi shyly and tugged in the sleeves of her Yukata.

"Listen. I just want to …um…I wanted to that I ….um….well, what I'm trying to say is-"

"It's ok" Mikomi said.

Yuri looked at her surprised.

"Huh?"

"I know what you were going to say. Its ok, Yuri. I forgive you"

Mikomi gave her a weak smile and rubbed the back of her head.

"You were right in a way. I can't keep babying Naruto like this. He needs to grow up and I need to learn how to accept it. I'll let him stay in the exams. It's like you said….he has gotten this far, so why pull him out now?"

Yuri got all misty eyed.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan!"

She pulled her into a big hug.

"I'm so sorry! I should have been more considerate about your feelings! This must be so hard for you! Our little Naruto is growing up before our very eyes"

She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Now I know what it was like for Minato as he had to see you grow up. This is painful"

Mikomi made a face as she thought about what her dad did.

"Yeah. But at least I'm not suffering from with drawls like he did.

She remembered the time when she first started school at the academy.

Flashback

Mikomi walked down the many hallways of the academy.

It was her second week of school and already she was a fast learner.

She carried the many books that she had in her arms and trotted down the hallway.

A little ways behind her, Minato was secretly following her.

He still wasn't over the fact that his daughter was old enough to attend school. She was only 4 years old, for crying out loud.

Anime tears rolled down his eyes as he watched her go down the hall.

"Kushina, our baby girl is so grown up!" he mumbled.

When he saw her turn down another hallway, he quietly flash stepped to her and went to hide behind another classroom door. He would have succeeded, had he noticed the loose nail sticking out of the ground. Instead, his shoe caught on in and he fell face first into the floor.

Mikomi turned around and saw her dad on the floor.

"What are you doing daddy?"

Minato quickly got up on his feet and rubbed the back of his head.

"Um …ah… I was just coming here to see what everyone is learning! You know how I love a good education!"

Mikomi blinked a few times then giggled.

"You're so weird, daddy"

She held her hand out for him.

"Come on, let's go to class"

Her tiny hand filled his giant one.

Minato had anime tears streaming down his face again as he walked with his daughter to class.

He looked at his daughter as she continued walking to class.

"Honey, could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't grow up too fast"

Mikomi giggled.

"Ok daddy"

Minato patted her on the head as they went into Mikomi's classroom.

End Flashback

That was one of the fondest memories she had of her dad.

After he died, she did the same with Naruto, only she disguised herself as a student in his class.

Yuri seemed to know what she was thinking and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry, honey. Things will get better, I promise"

Mikomi let her godmother hug her.

"You think?"

"Sure. It was like that with you. We'll have so much fun now that Naruto's all grown up"

Mikomi's face fell.

"But I had fun when I was babying him"

Just then, Marlene ran up to Mikomi with a goldfish in a bag.

"Onee-chan! I got one! I got a goldfish!"

Mikomi grinned and knelt down.

"That's wonderful, Marlene. And it's a nice, big one too"

Marlene nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"What are you gonna name it, honey?" Yuri asked.

Marlene thought for a moment.

"Hmmm…. I'm going to call it 'Komi!"

"Why 'Komi?"

"Because I won her thanks to Onee-chan!"

Mikomi smiled sweetly at the girl.

"That's so sweet of you, Marlene"

Barret came back from chasing that creepy guy.

"That sucker isn't going to bother anybody anytime soon" he said as he rubbed the dirt off his clothes.

Marlene jumped into her father's arms.

"Daddy! I won a goldfish!"

"Did you now? That's a mighty fine goldfish"

"Onee-chan helped me win her. Her name is 'Komi"

"Well wasn't that nice of her. Did you say thank you?"

Marlene looked at Mikomi.

"Thank you, Onee-chan"

Mikomi stood up and ruffled Marlene's head.

"Anytime, Marlene"

Marlene smiled before she yawned.

"Looks like it's bedtime for someone" Yuri said.

Barret carried Marlene and her goldfish.

"Alright, let's go home"

Mikomi and Yuri followed behind.

Yuri gripped her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"You may not be able to baby Naruto anymore, but you can still have someone how will enjoy it"

She pointed to Marlene as they walked.

A soft smile found its way on Mikomi's face.

Yuri was right.

She had Marlene and even Denzel to baby around. Naruto maybe old now, but at least she had them.

Maybe this growing up stuff wasn't so bad after all. But the exams didn't help her at all.

Tomorrow was going to be a very sucky day for her indeed.

A/N: And there you go. Next chapter will be all about Naruto's fight against Neji. Hope you're all looking forward to that. Just to let you know, I started up college again, so I might not update as much as I used to. You've been forewarned.

Remember to send in those reviews and help me with me goal.

Ja ne