Thirteen years ago, the nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi, attacked the village of Konoha. It was a terrible beast, able to flatten mountains and create tsunamis with mere flicks of its tails.
It slaughtered all in its path, until the legendary ninja known as the Fourth Hokage confronted the beast. Using his power, he sealed the Kyuubi in the body of a young infant - at the cost of his own life.
It was Graduation Day. But not for her.
The yellow-haired girl sat on the swing, looking longingly at the other kids and their families. Even after failing the test, there was no one to really comfort her, no one to forgive her for failing.
"Um, Naruko," a shy voice spoke, "I'm...sorry...you failed."
Looking up with a face that showed no signs of pain, Naruko replied, "No worries, Hinata! I'm used to it by now! It just means I'll do better next time!"
"Of course, Naruko!" the other girl smiled, silvery eyes sparkling, "I...I'm sure you'll do fine!"
"Lady Hyuuga!" A voice rang out. Waving goodbye, the dark-haired Hinata trotted off to head home, leaving Naruko alone. Again.
She knew Hinata meant well, but there little the other girl could do. She wasn't the brightest student, but she knew that the Hyuuga clan did not approve of their friendship.
"Next time..." she muttered to herself. Taking note of the setting sun. she stood up and started to head for home. Next time, she swore, it would be different. She would succeed. And someday, she would become the Hokage. And then, all the people who denied her would say...
"Hey, Naruko." She turned to see one of her teachers, Mizuki, standing there. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"
"Sure," Naruko shrugged. It wasn't like she had anything - or anyone - waiting on her. She began to follow Mizuki, wondering what this was about.
"I see she failed," the old man commented.
"Lord Hokage, I..." the other man stuttered.
"Relax, Iruka." the Hokage replied, "It is not your fault. She is not the best student, nor will she ever be. I do read my reports, you know."
"I didn't mean...sorry," Iruka slumped down, looking forlorn. The Hokage couldn't blame him. The girl named Naruko Uzumaki was a considerable problem, both in terms of the trouble she caused and the feelings she raised in the other villagers. The fact that the two factors seemed to feed into each other did nothing to help matters.
Damn, he thought, I'm definitely getting too old for this. He had already tried to step down once, and briefly had succeeded. But events - and politics - had forced him to resume the position. He knew he ought to find a successor. However, there was only one ninja he'd consider for the task, and that one would refuse outright.
So he held on, stubborn and old, a relic of a generation long passed.
"Lord Hokage?" Iruka asked.
"My apologies," the Hokage said, "Just keep an eye on Naruko, and don't let her do anything rash. There are enough bad feelings to go around as it is."
"Your will, Lord Hokage." In a flash, Iruka was gone. The Hokage let out a breath, and slowly took a seat behind his desk once more. Definitely too old for this...
Naruko crept through the darkened mansion, grinning at how easy this was. She was almost to the safe Mizuki had told her about. The two guards at the entrance had been so busy arguing over some "demon girl" (she had briefly wondered who that was), that it was ridiculously simple to slip past them.
Arriving at the door, Naruko tried it. It was locked. Pulling out some tools, she began to work at it.
"What are you doing here?" came a familiar voice. Naruko whirled to see the Hokage standing there, wearing night clothes.
"Oh, Lord Hokage, I have something to show you..." Naruko slowly began lifting the bottom of her top up.
The old man fell over, nose bleeding heavily.
Smirking at how perverted the man was, she resumed fiddling with the lock. A minute later and it was open, and she was working on the safe. A few minutes after that, and the safe was open.
A minute after that, Naruko was gone...along with the scroll that had been in the safe.
"She WHAT?"
"Now she's gone too far!"
The Hokage raised a hand, wanting to forestall any more arguments.
"Find her, and bring her and the scroll back here at once," he commanded, "Do not harm her. You all know the risks of doing so."
They all fell silent. A rush of wind blew down the street, as they all dashed off. The Hokage stood there for a moment, then went inside. He had his own methods of searching.
"You're kidding!" Iruka told Mizuki. Loudly.
"I wish I was," Mizuki answered, "I'll go search west down the lane, you cover the woods to the northwest." He darted off, and Iruka, after a moment, took off in the other direction.
He'd never seen Naruko do something like this. Sure, she was a real joker, who never took anything seriously. From time to time she did pull pranks, although never anything that would cause lasting harm. But to steal the Sealed Scroll from the Hokage's mansion...something just didn't seem right.
He was beginning to wonder if he should have passed her. After all, she had somehow snuck past the Hokage and his guards, a feat that would be difficult for many jonin. Iruka shook such thoughts out of his head. The Hokage wouldn't approve.
Looking down, he noticed a number of crushed and bent branches. It seemed he had found Naruko's trail. It wasn't hard, as she had apparently abandoned stealth for speed. However, there were limits to how fast she could move. He predicted he would catch up to her in a few minutes.
His pursuit came to a sudden halt as he spotted her standing below him in the forest, holding the missing scroll. Leaping down from the tree branches, Iruka glared at Naruko, who was...smiling?
"Iruka-sensei!" the girl said, clearly delighted, "Glad you found me!"
"Naruko..." Iruka began, "I know you were frustrated with the exam results, but why did you steal the scroll?"
"About that..." Naruko ran a hand through her short, spiky hair. "You'll believe what I say, right?"
"Of course I will," Iruka said, "Just don't make up outrageous lies."
Naruko swallowed. "Well, it's not a lie, but it's kind of outrageous..."
"Get to the point!" Iruka yelled. Naruko winced. She wished he hadn't shouted so loud. She knew he would probably been angry, but any unwanted attention could make her plan fail.
"Mizuki told me to steal it," she stated.
"What?" Iruka blinked.
"He told me if I learned a jutsu from the scroll, you'd pass me. But since me learning that would mean I would have to steal it, something seemed wrong. I think he was trying to trick me."
"Then why did you steal it?" Iruka stared at her, confused.
"Let me put it this way," Naruko said, "Who'd believe me if I went and told someone? I had to get Mizuki to expose himself, so I stole the scroll."
"Wait," Iruka spoke slowly, "That means you were planning on - get down!" He flung himself against Naruko, knocking her aside and sending her sprawling.
The Hokage grimaced as he saw what happened. To think there was a traitor in the Academy, manipulating someone like Naruko to suit his own ends. Standing up, he began to pace.
He wished he could do something, but there were no other shinobi anywhere near the forest where Naruko had headed. And with most of them scattered, he didn't have a good way to contact them.
If he weren't Hokage, he would have gone out himself, and hunted Mizuki down. But the binds of politics restrained him. Again.
He'd just have to hope and trust Iruka and Naruko to resolve the situation somehow. Sighing, he sat down and resumed watching through his crystal ball.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruko screamed, staring at the injured man. Iruka had been hit by four different kunai, and crouched on the ground, bleeding.
"Damn, why'd you have to get in the way?" Mizuki's voice rang out. Naruko looked up to see Mizuki standing there, grinning wickedly.
This was not going according to plan. Her original idea was for Mizuki to reveal his intentions, then have Iruka ambush him. How had he gotten here so fast?
"Give me the scroll, Naruko," Mizuki said, "I'd rather not have to kill you."
"Stuff it!" Naruko shouted, standing up. She looked around, trying to figure out if she should flee. She didn't want to leave Iruka behind, but...
"Why defend the Leaf?" Mizuki chuckled, "They lied to you your whole life, you know."
"What?" Naruko was stunned.
"No!" Iruka shouted, staggering to his feet.
"There is a rule in Konoha, a rule that everyone knows...except you." Mizuki's grin widened even further. "This rule dates back to 13 years ago, when the Kyuubi attacked the village."
"What rule?" Naruko asked.
"The rule to never mention that you are the Kyuubi."
"What?" Naruko repeated, trying to figure this out.
"You ever wonder why everyone shunned you?" Mizuki laughed, "They all know you're a demon, a monster! Even Iruka hates you! You killed his parents, after all!"
"No," she whispered. It explained everything. All the angry gazes and snide comments when they thought she wasn't looking. All the times all the others her age shunned her. "No..."
"And now you know the truth," Mizuki concluded, producing a large shuriken. "Now you know...why no one will miss you!" He threw it at Naruko.
Naruko closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. Instead, she felt something soft strike her, knocking her down again. Looking up, she gasped.
"Iruka-sensei!" she yelled, realizing he'd taken the attack for her again. The shuriken was embedded in his back, as he crouched over her.
"Naruko...run..." he gasped out. Naruko paled, realizing she had no choice. As Iruka collapsed to the side, she jumped up and fled.
This was getting bad, the Hokage thought. Revealing the secret of the Kyuubi to Naruko was very dangerous. The techniques written on the Sealed Scroll were all forbidden, and some of them were unsealing jutsu.
It would be highly unlikely for Naruko to be able to use them, but as Hokage, he had to consider it as a possibility. If that happened, then he'd have no choice but to resort to using that jutsu. Given what had happened the last time it had been used, he hoped it would not come to that.
Once again, all he could do was wait. The search teams had not contacted him yet, so he guessed they were nowhere near Naruko.
One way or the other, this would soon be settled.
Mizuki grinned as he finally caught up to Naruko. With the Transformation Jutsu he had active, he was confident he could get the scroll very easily.
"Give me the scroll!" he called out to the girl, "Hurry, before Mizuki catches up!"
Naruko jumped sideways, rebounded off a tree trunk, leaping at him. Before Mizuki could react, he found himself punched away.
"How?" he blurted out, his jutsu fading, "How did you know I'm not Iruka?"
"Simple," said the figure, releasing a similar jutsu, "I'm Iruka!"
Naruko crouched behind a tree, hearing the confrontation between Iruka and Mizuki.
"Why would you turn into something you hate?" Mizuki said, "Fool."
"To...protect the Leaf," Iruka answered, "To protect...my student...
"You are an idiot," Mizuki chuckled, "Naruko is like me. She'll use to power of the scroll to get revenge for the years of deception. There's no way the Kyuubi would pass up this chance."
Use the scroll? Naruko thought. She could open it and learn a technique, but then...she'd be a monster. But she didn't see a way she could defeat Mizuki.
Maybe this was for the best...
"True, the Kyuubi wouldn't," Iruka said, "But Naruko...she would."
Iruka-sensei still has faith in me, Naruko realized. Even despite the Kyuubi, despite everything, he still believed in her.
She opened the scroll, reading through the jutsu techniques faster than anything she'd ever done in her life. Even if she was a monster, she would protect Iruka.
"You're really pathetic," Mizuki sneered.
Iruka grimaced. It had been a long time since he'd been this badly injured. He guessed his work at the academy had left him soft.
"I am a shinobi of the Leaf," he grunted, "So is Naruko. You...are just a traitor."
"You know, I was going to kill Naruko first," Mizuki sighed, "But I've changed my mind." He pulled out another large shuriken. "Now, you die!" He sprang forward, spinning the bladed weapon rapidly.
Iruka sighed. So this was how it ended...
A blurred shape sprang out of the trees, hitting Mizuki before he got anywhere near Iruka, sending him flying.
Naruko, Iruka thought, why did you come out? "Run away!" he gasped.
The girl landed, shouting, "Don't you touch Iruka-sensei!"
"Heh," Mizuki chuckled as he stood back up, "You shouldn't have done that. I'll kill you in one attack!"
"Try it!" Naruko answered, "I'll bring one thousand times the pain!"
"Then do it, you monster!" Mizuki laughed insanely.
Naruko made a handsign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A burst of smoke filled the clearing. When it faded, it revealed row after row of clones. Hundreds of them, all standing there, glaring at Mizuki.
To master such a jutsu, Iruka thought to himself, in so short a time...it was really possible, despite her below average grades, for Naruko to someday become Hokage with that kind of skill.
"You were going to kill me?" All of the clones spoke simultaneous, their voices echoing through the forest. "Why aren't you attacking?"
"Uh...how..." Mizuki stammered.
"Then I'll start!" the clones shouted as they all leapt towards Mizuki.
He barely had time to scream.
Naruko looked down at Mizuki's battered, unconscious body. So that's it then, she thought. While it had been satisfying beating up Mizuki, this war probably it.
"So I'm a monster then," she said slowly.
"No...you're not," Iruka answered slowly, sitting against a nearby tree.
"I opened the scroll," Naruko's voice shook, "Just like Mizuki said I would."
"You didn't do it for revenge, though," Iruka explained, "You did it...to protect me. The Kyuubi would never do such a thing. That's the kind of thing...Naruko Uzumaki would do."
Naruko gaped for a second, thinking hard. Maybe a monster wouldn't protect people. Maybe she wasn't a monster after all.
"Naruko..." Iruka spoke up, "Let me give you something."
She watched, stunned, as he undid his own headband and tossed it to her. Wait...did this mean?
"Congratulations," Iruka smiled, "You pass."
"I'm...a genin now?' Naruko blinked, unable to believe it. Had he really just graduated her, then and there?
"Yes," Iruka grinned, "Now...we need to get back."
"Lord Hokage," the jonin reported, "We are unable to find any sign of Naruko Uzumaki in the 5th District."
"The same is true in the 7th District!"
"She's not in the 4th!"
"Relax," the Hokage said, putting up a hand. "She is on her way back now. There was a traitor at the academy, who was the one truly responsible for the scroll's theft. He attempted to pin the blame on Naruko. He has been dealt with, and the ANBU will take him into custody shortly."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
"You and you," the Hokage gestured, picking a pair of searchers, "Go out and escort Naruko Uzumaki and Iruka to the hospital. Iruka was injured, and there is a chance Naruko may be as well."
"Your will, Lord Hokage," the two said as they departed.
It was a little white lie, hiding the fact that it really was Naruko who had stolen the scroll. He didn't like it, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time he did something as Hokage that he didn't like. Besides, it was preferable to the alternative of creating even more ill will towards Naruko.
Plus, he really didn't want to have to explain how Naruko had gotten past him.
Iruka did not like being cooped up in the hospital. However, he knew he had lost quite a lot of blood. He'd been lucky, he supposed - none of Mizuki's attacks had hit him in any vital spots.
"You have a guest," the nurse spoke from the doorway. Iruka turned his head to see the Hokage standing there.
"Lord Hokage!" he stammered, "I-"
"Calm down," the Hokage told him, then turned to the nurse, "Can you leave for a minute?" After she was gone, he continued. "Good job on handling the situation in the forest."
"Thank you," Iruka answered, relaxing.
"I thought I would let you know that I'm keeping a lid on exactly what happened," the Hokage explained, "The only people who know the truth are myself, you, Naruko, and Mizuki. I'd appreciate it if you kept it that way."
"I won't let you down." Iruka nodded.
"Good," the Hokage said, "We need more people who are loyal to Konoha. Which is why I'm letting Naruko's promotion to genin stand."
"I see." Iruka had to guess the Hokage had come the same conclusion that Naruko had: that there was no one who would believe a warning of Mizuki's treachery, coming from Naruko.
"Now if you excuse me, I have paperwork to do," the Hokage said, "The nurses told me you'd be out of here tomorrow, but try to take it easy."
Iruka nodded, and watched as the Hokage departed. Satisfied, he closed his eyes.
Author's Note: After years of hiatus, I'm back! Rather than try to pick up the Legend of Mila, I thought I'd ease back into this by trying something else.
Yes, this is another female Naruto fanfic. I know there are a ton of them out there. Still, I figured as long as I do a good job, it'll be worth reading. Plus, I plan on including my own unique twists, so there is something to look forward to.
I will note in advance I am avoiding using most Japanese honorifics and other terms. I'm keeping this mostly in English. It's a lot easier for me when I don't have to double-check such things to see if I'm making a mistake. Bear with it, and...
...enjoy the reading!
