I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.

-=oOo=-

"Yatta!" chorused a pair of voices. Wildlife scattered from the dark clearing as a pair of orange figures leapt in celebration.

"I'm gonna be a genin for sure this time!"

"Next up? Hokage! Dattebayo!"

A muted puff was heard, followed by a pained groan and a heavy thud as Iruka stopped his approach on a branch above his most troublesome student. The worry that had colored the last hour for Iruka blossomed into panic as he lept down to the dirt to see a small bundle of orange crumpled on the ground. He rolled the boy on his back and checked his pulse, though he couldn't help glancing at the large scroll partially unrolled on the ground next to him.

What had come over Naruto? He knew the boy would take his failure earlier that day hard, but this was treason! What did he hope to gain? The pulse was weak, but steady. No visible wounds on his body, but the bulky jumpsuit obscured any further inspection. Naruto was definitely unconscious, but his face looked so peaceful at rest. How could he have have been afraid of the boy for so long? Fear of the Kyuubi sealed inside of him was understandable, but the boy himself was strong-willed and earnest. He couldn't imagine him as a revenge seeker that might unleash a monster on those that hurt him. How the Yondaime knew that Naruto would be strong enough to contain the beast he'd never know, but it seemed that the late Hokage's judgement was sound. Another credit to his legend. The quiet rise of Naruto's chest comforted him, but he still didn't understand why Naruto had stolen a Forbidden Scroll. With a sudden clenching of his gut, a drip of blood appeared to leak from Naruto's ear.

While years teaching at the academy had dulled some of his instincts, Iruka's chakra sensing remained strong and he noticed immediately when another chakra signature appeared from the same direction from which he'd come. A little more time might have helped him figure out what was really going on before anyone showed up to take the boy into custody, but he supposed he'd never had that kind of luck. Wait… was that Mizuki?

A subtle whistling noise was all the warning he received as a trio of kunai ripped through the air toward him. Instinct screamed at him to leap aside, but he quickly realized that the kunai would hit Naruto if he didn't stop them. It was the easiest decision he'd ever made.

-=oOo=-

His head felt like someone had used it as a taijutsu training post. A low groan escaped as his consciousness caught up to the world around him. Opening his eyes appeared to be a mistake when the blinding light forced him to shut them just as quickly. Where was he? It didn't feel like the lumpy mattress he was so used to.

A door open and closed again before he could properly keep his eyes open. "Uzumaki-san, how are you feeling?" The voice was pleasant and professional. Oh, man. I'm in the hospital, aren't I? He hated the hospital. Nevertheless he tried to open his eyes again instead of just wishing he were somewhere else. He raised his hand to rub his eyelids, but his hand came to an abrupt halt a couple inches off the mattress. Properly motivated, the sliver of his vision slowly grew under his conscious effort. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be blind as he tried to take in the blur of pink that made up his interrogator.

As his eyes focused on his environment, Naruto looked down at his wrists and found wooden cuffs securing them to the bed frame. Did they think he was going to try to run? Sure he hated the hospital, but… ok, maybe he would have run. Still, this seemed like overkill.

The nurse waited patiently for the boy to orient himself before clearing her throat to get his attention.

"Uh, I'm fine. Wait, no… my head hurts really bad. What happened?" Naruto subtly pushed against the cuffs to test their strength. They looked thick, but not unbreakable.

The nurse didn't appear to acknowledge his efforts as she made a note on a clipboard and left the room. The room was silent except for the sound of skin twisting against wood until the door cracked again. This time, a familiar presence flooded the room and Naruto let up on his struggled.

"Jiji! What's going on? Why am I tied to the bed? Did they think I was gonna escape? Er, again?" Naruto managed to look slightly abashed at the last bit, but the Hiruzen Sarutobi took his pipe into his hand and shook his head solemnly. Normally he enjoyed the boy's antics, but this was a very serious matter.

"Naruto, can you tell me what happened yesterday?"

Naruto scrunched up his forehead for a moment before his eyes went wide. "Oh, I got the scroll just like Mizuki-sensei told me, but I guess I passed out. Did I pass the test?"

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe for a moment as he looked at the boy. "And what did Mizuki tell you?"

"Oh, since I didn't pass the main graduation test he said I could take the applied exam. All I had to do is steal that scroll from your house. He didn't tell me you'd be guarding it, but I can handle anything! Dattebayo!" Naruto beamed up at the old man and grinned as if his wrists weren't still bound to the bed.

Hiruzen smirked and thought about how relaxing it was to pretend that this was just like the many other conversations they'd had. "Naruto, I'm going to have to ask for specifics. Think of it like a mission debriefing. You never know what details will turn out to be important. What happened that night?"

Naruto's face slipped into something that was clearly meant to look serious and professional. It needed work. "Let's see. OK, so sneaking where no one's supposed to be is easiest at night, right? So I waited until most people were in bed and crawled up the drain pipe to get into the window on the third floor. The one by the bathroom. Mizuki-sensei said that the scroll would be in the library. Second door on the left. So as I crept down the hall, that's when you ambushed me from the bathroom!" Naruto didn't notice the Hokage's grimace as he continued.

"So I used my awesome ninjutsu skills to defeat you, grab the scroll and escape like the wind! Mizuki-sensei told me to head out into the woods and evade capture long enough to learn a technique from the scroll." At this, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "The first one in the scroll was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I never figured out how to do the one from the academy, so I was about to skip it, but I thought maybe this one would be easier. And it was! It took me most of the morning, but I got it! I made a shadow clone. Then the clone popped and… um, I guess the next thing I remember is waking up here." His face fell suddenly. "Does that mean I was captured after all? Did I fail again? But I learned a technique!"

Hiruzen almost didn't register the question as he considered the implications. The pieces were falling into place. "Naruto-kun, you've been unconscious for six days." Naruto's eyes went wide. "The scroll you stole was a scroll of seals that was restricted by the Nidaime Hokage because the techniques were dangerous." The Sandaime Hokage paused to let that sink in.

"Wait, so that wasn't the scroll I was supposed to steal?"

"I'm sorry to tell you, Naruto-kun. There was no second test. Mizuki asked you to steal that scroll for real."

Naruto's eyes were wide and conflicted. Sadness on realizing he still wasn't a ninja. Anger at Mizuki for tricking him. Fearful on realizing that, tricked or not, he was a thief. The boys eyes fell back down to the cuffs around his wrists and recognized that they WERE afraid that he was going to escape from the hospital. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong, Jiji. I swear!" Gone was the bellowing voice of the loudmouth. Tears were at Naruto's eyes and his voice was suddenly constricted.

"I know, Naruto-kun. It was Mizuki who did a bad thing. I just wanted to make sure you gave me the whole story." Hiruzen moved his finger. An ANBU agent appeared from the shadows wearing a white porcelain mask that looked vaguely like a cat, covering everything except short, non-descript brown hair. The man made a series of hand seals and the wooden cuffs opened and fell to the linoleum floor before he melted back into the darkness. "Now, Naruto, about the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I don't want you using it again. The techniques in that scroll were restricted for a reason. It's possible that that technique is responsible for putting you in the hospital for so long, and I want to make sure before we risk it happening again. Alright?"

Naruto sniffled and nodded.

"Kaori?" Hiruzen turned back towards the door. The same nurse as before, who once against a pink blur to Naruto thanks to his tears, came back and stood at attention. "Take good care of our Naruto-kun here. He's had a tough week."

-=oOo=-

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, had never felt so old. He settled into his seat as his former teammates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sat across from him without a word. Hiruzen leaned back and puffed once more on his pipe and set it carefully in its holder. "Thoughts?"

Koharu started slowly, weighing each word with precision. "The boy shows poor critical thinking skills, but so do many of the academy students during peacetime. That will have to trained out of him, sooner rather than later. How about remedial training? Send him back to the academy with a focused curriculum." She paused for a moment to change the tenor of the discussions. "Of course, this time, his instructors will have to be more thoroughly vetted." The flat expression on her face hid the barb from view, but Hiruzen felt it. He had pushed for as normal a childhood as he could arrange for the boy, and nearly led them all to catastrophe.

Homura cleared his throat to change the subject. "Speaking of which, what of Mizuki and the scroll?"

In response, the cat ANBU appeared from the corner of the office, standing at attention. "Vanished. ANBU reported the trail went cold eight miles north of the village. The trackers are certain he had assistance."

"So Mizuki has defected. Probably gave them the scroll as payment. He had minimal damaging intelligence or tactical value, so the scroll appears to be the primary loss."

Hiruzen interrupted, "While not nothing, I'm not overly concerned about the scroll. If I were, it wouldn't have been so simply to steal. Many of the techniques inside were half-finished or suicidal to try. Tobirama-sensei created many such techniques. I had it in my home in order to study a sealing array that I had hoped would lead to a tighter personal security seal. In fact, it may prove beneficial in determining where the scroll ended up. Tenzo, brief ANBU regarding inspecting foreign seals for signature elements of the Nidaime's sealing style." The cat ANBU nodded and disappeared in a body flicker.

Homura raised an eyebrow at his old friend. "If Mizuki is a minor security breach and the scroll is not critical, why are you so concerned."

A withered hand floated toward the smoking pipe before its owner registered the movement. The Hokage sighed. "Naruto-kun is the concern. He'll get over Mizuki, but I don't know if he'll get over Iruka."

When the pause stretched, Koharu spoke up. "Iruka Umino. The chunin instructor who was killed trying to stop the traitor? I was under the impression that he was unpopular with the academy teachers due to his incessant pranks. I wouldn't be worried about it being his first exposure to death. If what you said is true, he didn't even see the body."

Hiruzen shook his head in answer. "Iruka and Naruto had recently grown especially close. He was responsible for a considerable improvement in the boy's attitude and I'm afraid his death could shake the boy to his core. While Naruto-kun is an exceptional child whose loyalty is not doubted, it is generally a bad idea to play around with a jinchuuriki's emotional state."

Both of the councilor's leaned back in their chairs in thought. Koharu spoke first. "You haven't told him I assume?" Hiruzen shook his head. "Then give him distractions. As long as he has something to apply himself towards he should be able to absorb it. His grades may have been poor, but he was still trained to be a ninja." She breathed out slowly. "I don't need to tell you that having a compromised jinchuuriki is unacceptable. Iwa and Kumo each have two fully trained jinchuuriki and no fondness for us."

Homura leaned forward and put a hand gently on the desk. "Do not send him back to the academy. I know how strongly you feel about this, but give him a tutor. Apprentice him. Don't send him back to a classroom. Even if it didn't result in a full outbreak, it would put the other children in danger." The lines on the old man's face were tight and Hiruzen had to remind himself that Homura also had grandchildren attending the academy. It was good advice. And probably best for Naruto as well.

"Look into suitable tutors. I'll tell him everything in the morning."

-=oOo=-

He's the same as me…

"Naruto-kun… please… kill me." Naruto stared at Haku uncomprehending. "Please hurry up and kill me." Naruto grit his teeth. How could someone just like him want to die so much? "Why are you hesitating?"

"I don't understand! Is being strong the only reason for you to be alive?!" Haku didn't respond. "Something other than fighting. You could have been acknowledged for something else…" Naruto trailed off. He understood what Haku must be feeling, but he couldn't put it into words. He felt like he was too stupid to save him.

"The day I met you in the forest, I thought you were like me. You should be able to understand… I'm sorry that you will have to stain your hands…"

"Is this…! The only way…?" Naruto's teeth were clenched so tight they felt like they could shatter, but nothing in him could force his muscles to relax.

"Yes…!"

The loneliness. The despair. There are things worse than death. Could he do this for Haku? Put him out of his misery? It didn't feel like the right thing, but he couldn't think of anything to say in return. Haku's conviction was so strong. Maybe he was right? His hand reached into his kunai pouch automatically and withdrew a kunai.

"Please, fulfill you own dreams…"

At that Naruto couldn't help by glance at Sasuke's body. "He… Sasuke also had a dream…" He turned his gaze toward Haku, but pictured Sasuke. He needed to harden his heart. "... If we'd met under different circumstances, we might have become friends." Naruto gathered himself and jumped forward, racing toward his opponent. His new friend. That he was going to kill.

"Thank you."

Naruto thrust forward, but suddenly Haku's hand came up and grabbed his wrist, twisting the thrust off to the side. "Sorry Naruto-kun. I can't die yet!" And suddenly Haku was gone.

A loud chirping sound filled his ears, but disappeared just as suddenly as Naruto say up in the hospital bed, sweating and panting for breath. He looked down at his hands and saw they were clean. He felt his face, and it felt smooth. No scratches, no bruises. What was that? Was that a dream? He's never dreamt something so vivid before. And he remembered all of it. He even felt like he knew what happened next, though the knowledge felt just beyond his grasp. Sasuke. Haku. A bridge?

He took a deep breath to calm the stampede going on in his chest. He remembered deciding to kill that person he'd never met. Did other people have dreams like that?

Was it a dream?

Author's Note:

For those who are concerned about how Iruka died, Mizuki escaped and/or Naruto lived while unconscious, I will have your answers in the next chapter. Rest assured, there is a method to my madness. The question to ask is: what was Mizuki's plan? He was an expert manipulator, so I think we can assume that he didn't suddenly become an honest villain at the last second. What did Mizuki need to happen to get what he wanted?

Future chapters should be longer, so consider this more of a prologue. I'm going to use canon characters whenever possible, but the story itself is going to diverge pretty heavily from canon as you have, no doubt, already noticed. I don't bash characters, and I try to follow a logical consequences model as closely as possible. I have a loose plot line out for three and a half arcs, so hopefully there's enough interest in this story to make it worthwhile to tell.

Cover art comes from a coloring by i-azu at deviantart based on a lining of a Naruto Shippuden cover.