"What have you done, big brother?" he said, sobbing, staring at his mother's still form.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi sneered. That voice, that once held so much love and so much compassion, held only scorn now. "I almost pity you. Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Then Itachi's eyes grew bloodshot, irises turning into black pinwheels on a scarlet background. The wheels grew larger and larger, until they were all Sasuke could see. And then, in the illusion, he saw something else.

He saw Itachi drive the blade through their father's chest. He saw an arm flop on the wooden floor, lifeless. He saw a spray of blood splatter the floor. He saw-

A hand landed on Sasuke's shoulder, and he nearly screamed. Now he was in a different room, this one filled with a couple dozen children and buzzing with conversation. A classroom. He was in a classroom, not at his house. This was just the Academy.

It was ok.

The hand poked his shoulder again, and he looked to see who it was. A pink-haired girl smiled shyly at him, holding out a red flower. She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"No," he said, and then turned back toward his desk. He dug his fingernails into his palms until it hurt, trying to keep his mind from drifting again. At the front of the class, Iruka-sensei stood at the blackboard and called for everyone's attention.

"Good morning, everyone." Iruka grinned as a chorus of half-hearted greetings floated back from his students. "We'll be reviewing for the written part of your graduation exam, which will be tomorrow. Everyone take a practice sheet…"

Sasuke thought he had the flashbacks under control. He hadn't had one in the middle of the day in a long time. Sure, there were the occasional dreams, but this was-

This was different.

He grit his teeth out of frustration. Out of all the days to freak out, the day just before the Academy graduation exam was not what he needed. But he'd handle it. He'd handle it, like he always had.

Because Sasuke was on a mission, and he wouldn't be dissuaded or waylaid that easily. He was an avenger, and his life had but one purpose now.

Sasuke was going to kill Itachi for what he had done.

"Clone Jutsu!" Naruto roared, hoping the sheer ferocity of his voice would produce better results. A hideously deformed clone flared into existence, hopping around on one leg. With a groan, he dispelled the jutsu and sprawled on the ground.

If he couldn't make a proper clone before tomorrow, he was going to fail. Again. It wasn't for lack of trying: he'd been practicing on this training field every day after school. He just couldn't do it. Every time he had the flow of chakra and the concentration just right, he messed it up. Resulting in clones that were missing eyes, legs, arms, and one time, missing its head. He groaned again.

The sound of someone chuckling prompted him to prop himself up on his elbows and look down the field. He recognized the flowing silver hair of the man walking toward him.

"Mizuki-sensei?" he said, curiosity getting the better of him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Hey brat. Trouble with clones?" Mizuki asked easily, plopping himself down on the cool grass. Naruto sighed as he watched a butterfly trace a path over the field.

"I've been trying for days now. I thought I was getting close, but I still can't make a single good clone."

Mizuki was quiet for a while, his eyes watching the sun slowly arc down towards the horizon. After a long pause, he spoke again. His voice was casual, but there was an edge to it.

"You know, Naruto, there is a way you can pass the exam without mastering the Clone Jutsu."

"What? How?" Naruto gasped, bolting to his feet. "Tell me, how?"

Mizuki smirked at him before he replied. "In the Hokage's residence, there's a Scroll of Sealing. Learn any jutsu from it, and you automatically pass the Academy exam. Bring it to me, and I'll teach you." Naruto's eyes widened as he fell to his knees in front of Mizuki.

"Thank you, Mizuki-sensei! Thank you so much for helping me!"

Another tear slipped free from Sakura's cheek, splashing against the sun-warmed metal of the park bench. She knew that she should head home soon, because she still had to study some more for the graduation exam. She just needed a moment alone right now, away from classmates that made fun of her and away from parents who didn't care about her.

The rose she had bought from the flower shop with her pocket money lay next to her, slightly wilted now. Just looking at it made her sick. She didn't want to see a damn rose ever again.

"Hey," called out a gentle voice, "are you ok?"

Sakura looked up to see a woman walking toward her. She was older, with jet black hair and maroon eyes that crinkled as she smiled at Sakura. Noticing the startled expression on Sakura's face, the woman stopped a short distance away.

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai," she said. "I'm a jounin-sensei. What's your name, little one?"

"Haruno Sakura. I go to the Ninja Academy."

"The Academy, huh? Are you taking the graduation exam tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Haruno? I haven't heard that name before. Your family are civilians?"

"Yeah."

"Your parents must be very proud of you, Sakura. It's not easy for someone from a civilian family to become a ninja." Kurenai joined Sakura on the bench, regarding her with warm eyes. Sakura smiled bitterly at that.

"Not at all. They think I'm wasting my time. They don't think they can do it," she said, looking down at her hands.

"Yeah," Kurenai snorted. "My dad was like that. Always told me that a woman had no place on the battlefield."

"What did you do?"

"I told him to go screw himself. I worked hard to become a kunoichi and to help people, and I wasn't going to let anyone devalue that." Sakura giggled at that, wiping away an errant tear. Kurenai grinned at her.

"So, Sakura, why do you want to be a ninja?" The reply that almost flew out of Sakura's mouth was, because Sasuke wants to be a ninja. But after today, after he hadn't even let her speak before dismissing her, that reason felt… inadequate. Kurenai noticed her hesitation, and nudged her shoulder gently.

"You know… I shouldn't tell you this, but that's the final question on the exam. 'Why do you want to be a ninja'. That might be something to think about, little one." Kurenai rested a hand on her shoulder, then stood.

"I have to go, but it was very nice meeting you, Sakura. I know you're going to pass tomorrow, and I hope you're one of the genin assigned to my team," Kurenai said. Sakura watched the older woman leave, lost in thought.

Why do I want to be a ninja?

Frantic pounding on his door roused Iruka from his nap. He sat up, groggily, and checked the time. What could possibly be going on at two in the morning? He grumbled to himself, pulling his hair into a quick ponytail and dragging a shirt over his head. He stumbled to the door and whipped it open, frowning at the person he saw on the other side.

"What do you want, Mizuki?" he growled, not hiding his irritation. But Mizuki didn't seem to notice. His green eyes were wild with panic and his normally-sleek hair was mussed up and disheveled.

"It's Naruto. He's stolen the Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage's Residence, and none of us can find him!" Mizuki said. That woke Iruka up.

"Has anyone told the Hokage about this?" he said, throwing on his flak jacket and grabbing a pouch of shuriken.

"Genma went to fetch him. They're forming search parties right now-Naruto ran into the forest."

Leaving Mizuki behind, Iruka sprinted toward the village gates. He had to find Naruto now.

It was like a switch had been flipped in his head. It didn't even make sense, but the more chakra a technique called for, the easier it was for him to learn it. He grinned at the half-dozen perfect shadow clones clustered around him, looking down at the scroll that lay on the ground. He did it. He was going to graduate, and become a genin. Naruto imagined the look on Iruka-sensei's face when he finally passed.

There was a rustling noise, and then Mizuki burst into the clearing, leaves caught in his hair and a wild look in his eye.

"Mizuki-sensei, you're late! I opened the scroll without you, I hope that's alright," Naruto said. Mizuki rushed forward, hungrily poring over the open scroll.

"This-this is perfect, Naruto. You really did it, didn't you?" Mizuki let out a sharp laugh, hands caressing the scroll with wonder. Naruto frowned.

"Is everything alright, Mizuki-sensei?" he asked. The only warning Naruto had was a flicker as Mizuki's hand snapped out, and three shadow clones vanished in puffs of smoke as shuriken ripped through them.

"What? What are you doing?" Naruto yelped, stumbling backwards. He tripped over a tree root and landed on his back. Mizuki smirked at him as he drew another shuriken from his belt.

"Teaching you a lesson, brat," he snarled, and sent the razor-sharp metal star flying at his head. There was no time to dodge, no time to deflect. In a heartbeat, the shuriken flashed across the distance, closing the distance-

Then a blur of green coalesced in front of him, and a man deflected the shuriken that would have struck him.

"Naruto," Iruka grunted. "Run, right now."

Iruka pointed a finger up in the sky, sending a red flare to explode far above the treeline.

"Iruka," Mizuki said, his eyes narrowing. "How exactly did you find us so quickly?"

"I spend a lot of time with Naruto, Mizuki. I know what his chakra feels like. Put down your weapons, and come quietly."

Mizuki chuckled at that, and Iruka realized that he wasn't scared about getting caught at all. Iruka sent the kunai in his left hand flying at him, the weapon leaving his hand just as the ground around him exploded.

His shuriken must have had an explosive tag on it, he thought idly as he waited for the world to stop spinning and for his ears to stop ringing.

"No!" Naruto screamed, as Iruka's body slammed into the tree next to him. The man groaned as he slumped to the forest floor. Across the clearing, Mizuki cackled.

"Hey brat, do you wanna know why everyone hates you?" he yelled, eyes glowing with glee. Iruka's kunai had struck him in the stomach, and he struggled to sit up as a single drop of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Do you want to know why you live alone, and why no one wants to be near you?" Mizuki's voice was sadistic now, cloying, and nothing like how he had sounded earlier in the training field.

"The Fourth Hokage gave his life to seal the nine-tailed fox into you when you were a baby, brat. You're a fucking monster."

Every cruel word slammed into Naruto with the force of an avalanche, with the momentum of a tidal wave.

"No…" he whispered, fingers unconsciously flying to his stomach. But deep down, he knew. The sewer from his dreams, the giant creature with the evil eyes in his mind-

Mizuki laughed again, a pained sound that echoed through the clearing. The sounds of search parties grew nearer, no doubt drawn closer by Iruka's flare. Mizuki spat out one last sentence, gasping for breath.

"Only one person gave a shit about you, Naruto. And I killed him. I killed him!" Mizuki's voice trailed off into a series of hacking coughs that Naruto could barely hear over his own thoughts.

He was the nine-tailed fox that had almost destroyed the village. He was the monster. He was the fucking monster. And as he watched smoke curl up from Iruka's still form, he realized another thing. He was alone now.