A Few Months Later...

"A Bucket of Glitter paints?" Naruto asked with a frown as he glanced down at the paper in his hands.

"Check." Sasuke said, and Naruto ticked it on his notepad.

"Paint brushes?"

"Check." Kiba grinned, and Akamaru wagged his tail as he held paint brushes in his mouth.

"lots and lots of Ninja wire?"

"C-Check." Hinnata stuttered.

"Sparkling crackers?"

"Check," Chouji said as he grinned and held up a brown packet.

"Distracting Iruka Sensei?" Naruto asked, and everyone tensed at that last one.

"Shikamaru and Shino are on it." Sasuke said.

"Good." Naruto said as a feral grin appeared over his lips. "Marauders, let's get started, Shall we?"

"Yeah!"


The Hokage Monument was glittering with paint, that changed colour in every five minutes or so. There was graffiti all over the faces of the four Hokages, and there were traps laid around the monument for anyone who tries to go to clean that up. This will ensure that the Hokage monument will remain like this till either one of the seven Marauders undo the Traps.

Naruto laughed as he ran around the streets of Konoha, along with Sasuke, Hinata, Chouji, Kiba and his dog Akamaru. Behind them were five Chunnins who were after them. Naruto shared a look with the others, who nodded when they saw that the road was splitting into three just by the next turn.

"Split up!" Naruto ordered, and the six of them split up. Kiba and Akamaru turned to the right, and Hinata and Chouji turned to left, while Naruto and Sasuke kept running forward. After running around for a while, Naruto and Sasuke also split up. He was almost there at the safe zone.

"Naruto! Come back here!"

"You crossed the line this time, Naruto!"

Ah of course, who could forget the two Chunnins that were trying to catch him right now. Losers, that is what they are. Theo-nee chan's lessons on stealth and those cool Jutsus she taught will finally pay off.

He snickered as he dodged another attempt to catch him and said "Give it up! You're just mad because you never did what we do." He turned around and stuck out his tongue to them and said "Losers! Wannabes! You can never catch me!"

One of the Chunnins growled. "Naruto, you-"

With another chuckle, he chanted "Confundus!" and a wave of confusion fell over the two ninjas as they were confused. What they had been doing, anyways?

The two Ninjas kept running, while Naruto hid himself behind a camouflaged cloth near the wooden fall of the street. Naruto laughed as he scratched the back of his head and said "That was too easy! Nee chan's Jutsu always work!"

"Oh Yeah Naruto!" Iruka Sensei snapped at Naruto, who jumped two feet in the air, and fell down on his butt over the hard ground.

"Where did you come from, Iruka Sensei?! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he stood up and rubbed his poor butt. Damn Shikamaru and Shino! They were supposed to keep him busy till he reaches the safe zone!

Iruka Umino was a young chunnin of about twenty years of age, with dark skin, dark hair in a pony tail, and dark eyes, wearing a formal navy blue pants and shirt with a Chunnin vest over the top. A distinguished scar over his nose made him look much younger. Iruka pointed his finger at Naruto and said "Oh yeah, and what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Class."

"I- Uh," Naruto scratched the back of his neck and he came up with a lie "I was just coming to the class?"

"Yeah right!" Iruka Sensei said as he tied up Naruto with a rope and dragged him to the class, all the while Naruto tried to come up with a spell that could release him from the bounds.

No such luck.


Naruto pouted as Iruka-Sensei lectured him for his reckless behaviour, while his friends were sitting over their seats, laughing at his bad luck. Some friends they are.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING NARUTO!" Iruka Sensei yelled at him, which made his scowl deepened.

Naruto looked up at Iruka- sensei and raised his brow and said "You were saying?"

A vein twitched over Iruka's head and he glared at Naruto. Then he announced to the class "Since you messed up again, Naruto, Everyone will review the transformation Jutsu!"

The Academy students groaned at their bad luck.


Since Iruka got a nose bleed because of Naruto's sexy Jutsu which he performed during the class, the class was allowed to go early for lunch. Naruto and his friends- Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji and Hinata sat under a big tree in front of the Academy, sharing their lunch boxes.

"I hate you guys." Naruto said with a pout.

Hinata turned red and said "Y-You don't m-mean that, right N-Naruto?"

"Of course he doesn't Hinata." Kiba said with a grin, and Akamaru barked happily ad wagged his tail.

"Damn straight, I do." Naruto grumbled under his breath. Then he turned to Shikamaru and Shino, the former of whom was lying down under the shade of the tree, watching clouds, while the latter leaned against the tree and let out is Parasitic Insects for a while. "Shikamaru, Shino, Weren't you two to supposed to distract Iruka-Sensei till all of us reached back to classroom?"

Shino spoke up "It's not our fault."

Shikamaru shrugged lazily and said "Yeah, you were taking too much of our sweet time. Besides, I had told you that that distraction will work only for a maximum of half hour."

Sasuke smirked and said "Don't blame them, idiot. Accept it, you're the one who still has to learn being more stealthy. You always get caught, idiot."

Naruto growled and snapped his head towards Sasuke "What did you say, bastard?"

Sasuke's smirk widened "Idiot."

"You-"

"Naruto!" Iruka Sensei said as he walked towards the group and gave a stern look to Naruto. "You are going to come with me to clean up all the mess you did at the Hokage Mountain. You're not going home until you cleaned up every single drop of paint!"

"Wha-? That's not fair, Iruka Sensei! Hey, hey! Stop Dragging me Damn it and just listen to me for once!" Naruto complained as Iruka dragged him along with him by the collar of his jumpsuit, all the while the others snickered, well everyone except Hinata, who blushed red again.

"Don't worry Naruto! We'll eat your share of Lunch today when Theo-nee chan shows up with the Lunch Boxes!" Chouji called out to Naruto, while the others tried their best not to laugh out loud at the declaration.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"


By the time Naruto was finished up cleaning the Hokage tower, all the while grumbling about how sadistic his fellow friends were being day by day, Trixie looked around the streets of Konoha, worried about Naruto's well being. And since everyone knew that a worried Trixie was quite unpleasant to deal with, the rest of the Marauders told her that she'd find Naruto at the Hokage Mountain with Iruka Sensei, cleaning up the Hokage Mountain. So, naturally, Trixie was pissed about the fact that her poor brother had to clean up the mess –even though he was the one who created it.

"IRUKA!"

Iruka winced when he heard that shout, and felt a shiver of terror run down his spine. Looks like the she-devil was up on a war path, again. This would be the twentieth time he was going to get a lecture from her this month, and the month hasn't even ended yet.

Beads of sweat rolled down Iruka's back as he turned around, only to see the she-devil storming towards him with the other devious kids in tow, who were definitely snickering at his expense –Brats.

Sasuke walked towards the edge of the Fourth Hokage's hair on the Hokage Mountain and glanced down and called out to Naruto, who was dangling down by the means of some make shift ramp, scratching off the magical glitters, and the ever-changing colourful paint "hey idiot, get up. Theo-nee chan is going to chew out Iruka sensei."

"You wouldn't want to miss that, Naruto!" Kiba called out to Naruto.

"Hell Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed with a beaming smile and quickly climbed up the Mountain with the help of a rope.

Trixie, for her part, was doing quite well ignoring the kids and glaring daggers at Iruka, who was sweating heavily, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Iruka, why are you always making him do such things?! You could've asked for a Gennin team for cleaning up this mess. My brother is not your slave to do everything you say. He's your student, for crying out loud! Start treating him like one!" She snarled at Iruka, who gulped in fear and took a step back, while the seven kids plus the dog snickered in the background.

Trixie said with seething anger "He even missed out on Lunch today! How can you be so calm when he missed out on Lunch? Being a Ninja yourself, you do know that Lunch is the most important meal of the day."

"I-I thought that B-Breakfast was the m-most i-i-important meal of the d-day." Hinata piped up.

Trixie plastered a sweet smile on her face as she turned to Hinata and said in a dismissive way "It's the same thing, sweetie."

Then her gentle look morphed into one of cold fury as she turned towards Iruka and grabbed his collar and threatened "My little brother must've been starved with hunger all the afternoon, and all this time you were adamant to make him clean up this stupid Mountain –which, by the way, even a Gennin team could do too. I swear Iruka, if you punish my pups one more time, I will castrate you."

Iruka paled at that threat, while the seven kids snickered. Even Shino couldn't resist a smile. To calm down the devil, Iruka came up with a peace Offering "Uh, maybe if all this stuff is cleaned up, I'll take him out for Ramen?"

"RAMEN! YAY, RAMEN! DID YOU GUYS HEAR THAT? IRUKA-SENSEI IS TAKING US OUT ALL FOR RAMEN!" Naruto cheered.

"What? No Naruto, I meant I will take only you-"

"Yeah! You're awesome, Sensei!"

"No, Choji-"

"Really Iruka Sensei, didn't know you were such a softie from inside."

"Shikamaru, I didn't mean-"

"T-Thank you, Iruka S-Sensei. Y-You are very generous."

"Hinata, please hear me out-"

"Hn, I guess I won't mind some Ramen, after all."

"No Sasuke, I-"

"You hear that, Akamaru? We're going out for Ramen! Iruka- sensei's treat!"

"Woof!"

"Kiba! Akamaru! Will you just-"

"Iruka Sensei, you really have a heart of gold."

"Shino, please-"

"YAY! RAMEN! RAMEN! RAMEN!"

"Well then, since it's established that Iruka is taking us all out for Ramen, let's get this mess cleaned up so as we can go as soon as possible." Trixie said with a grin.

"YEAH!" the kids cheered.

With a wave of her hand, all the paint over the Hokage mountain was cleaned up in less than a minute.

"Yay Ramen! Here we come!" Naruto exclaimed.

Needless to say, by the end of the day, Iruka's Wallet had broken such that he didn't even have a single penny left.


Graduation Exam Day...

"What if I don't pass this time, Theo-nee chan? What if I fail in the written test? Or what if I mess up during the Jutsu tests somehow or what if my clone is pathetic, or is-"

"Naruto!" Trixie snapped at Naruto, who was hyperventilating. It was the day for Naruto's Gennin test, and he was afraid that he'd fail again for the third time, and worse- he won't be with his friends who were definitely all going to pass. The six months she had been with Naruto had done wonders for him. The boy was happy, and he even had friends now. Good friends. And now he was worried that if he failed, then he might lose them.

Trixie sighed in exasperation as she ruffled Naruto's hair, making the blonde boy snap out of his mental ranting about how surely he was gonna fail again. "Hero, if they turn their back on you, then they're not your real friends."

Naruto glanced up at his not-by-blood sister who was giving him a reassuring smile. He tackled her into a hug, and mumbled something incoherently, which Trixie could not understand.

But she understood one thing perfectly, that Naruto was glad that she was there for him. And so was she.

After all, Naruto was her reason for existence in this world.


Naruto sat on the swing, staring at the children who showed around their leaf headband excitedly to their parents and family members. He was so sad and irritated at himself. He had tried his best, but he still did not pass even the third time. And all his friends had passed- Shino, Hinata, Kiba, Sasuke, Choji and even Shikamaru! He so wanted to pass with them, so they can all start their new career together. Why didn't Iruka Sensei let him pass? He had tried his best to form a clone, but that stupid thing just doesn't want to work! Ugh! Seriously, what the hell is the problem of that stupid clone? Why can't it just form right? He was so ashamed of himself. He had failed the third time.

What will his friends say? Will they mock him? Make fun of him? Sneer at him? And what about Theo-nee chan? He bet she'll be so disappointed. He had wanted to pass so badly, if only to see Theo-nee chan pat his head proudly. But it looks like he was nothing but a disappointment and a burden to her. He was really good for nothing.

And to the top of that, these stupid people just never stop talking bad about him.

"There, you see him?"

"It's that boy. I heard he's the only one who failed."

"Well it serves him right."

"Just imagine what'd happen if he became a Ninja. I mean he's the boy-"

"Ssh, we're not allowed to talk about that."

He just turned his head away from those two women who were giving him cold and hateful looks. He hated how everyone treated him like that. If Theo-nee chan hasn't popped into his life, he might have gone berserk and broken down a long time ago.

Naruto jumped, startled, as Mizuki Sensei –a man with light green hair and cold brown eyes- appeared next to him.

"Mizuki- Sensei?" he asked, confused. What the hell is he doing here?

"Naruto, let's have a talk." He said.


"Hey, did you guys see Naruto?"Chouji asked as five out of the six Marauders met after ditching their parents for some time.

"I heard he failed the exam, again." Kiba said sadly, and Akamaru whined in despair.

Sasuke scoffed and said "the idiot deserves it."

"Y-You s-shouldn't s-s-say such m-mean things, S-Sasuke." Hinata squeaked out.

"Whatever." Sasuke said with an eye roll.

"I last saw him about half an hour ago, with Mizuki Sensei." Shino said.

The five of them shared a look. It wasn't exactly a secret that many of the teachers in the Academy, excluding Iruka sensei, hated Naruto for god knows what. And even Mizuki was one of them. So what does Mizuki want with Naruto?

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and said "Something is fishy here."

"H-He isn't i-in a t-trouble, I-Is he?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Sasuke shrugged and said "He can take care of himself."

"Yeah but, what are we going to tell Theo-nee chan? She's gonna be so angry." Kiba said dreadfully.

A shiver of dread ran down everyone's spine. They knew how much Theo-nee chan doted on Naruto. If anything happened to him, then there will be hell to pay. They bet even the Shinigami won't stand in Theo-nee chan's path when she's on a rampage –she was just that scary.

"We should go and look around for Naruto. Everyone in favour of this motion raise their hand." Shino said. Everyone raised their hands at once.

Sasuke snorted and said "If it keeps Theo-nee chan from murdering me, then sure, I will look around for that idiot."

Shikamaru sighed lazily and said "How troublesome. Now my precious nap time is going to be wasted."

"Well anything is better than facing Theo-nee chan's wrath." Kiba said with a shrug.

"I-I a-agree." Hinata said with a nod.


With the help of Hinata's Byakugan, finding Naruto was a piece of cake. But they weren't expecting to find him outside the Hokage tower, spying over the building, hiding behind a tall tree –and doing a very poor job at it.

The six of them –plus the dog- deadpanned when they saw Naruto hiding under a very poor camouflage, and then walked towards him. Shikamaru patted his shoulder and whispered "Psst Naruto."

Naruto shrieked and jumped in surprise. He turned around and gaped at his friends. "What are you guys doing here? And how did you find me? I had hid myself so well!"

"You call that hiding, idiot?" Sasuke said as he face palmed.

Naruto snarled, "What did you say, you bastard!"

Kiba bonked Naruto's head with his face, making him cry out in pain "Just tell us what the hell are you doing here, spying over the Hokage tower? What are you up to, Naruto?"

Naruto sighed when he saw the expected stares of his friends. "Er, you guys know that I didn't pass the Graduation exam, right?"

Their looks softened, and they shifted nervously on their feet. "Err yeah, we heard about that." Choji said uneasily as he tightened his grip on his packet of chips.

"W-We are s-sorry to h-hear t-that, N-N-Naruto." Hinata squeaked out as she poked her fingers.

Naruto shook his head and beamed at Hinata and said "It's alright though, Mizuki Sensei said there is another way to pass the exam! And I'm going to do it to become a Genin, like you guys!"

Kiba exclaimed "No way, there is another way to pass the exam?!"

Choji paused as he was munching on his chips and pouted "No fair! Why didn't anyone tell us so?!"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and asked "What is this another way Mizuki Sensei told you about, Naruto."

Naruto averted his eyes and said uneasily "Er, guys He said it's a secret. I can't tell you guys."

Kiba whined "Oh come on, Naruto! We are your best friends, aren't we? You shouldn't hide things from your best friends."

"Woof!" Akamaru barked out.

Naruto glanced at them uneasily, and sighed when they just looked at him in anticipation. He said "Alright, here it is." The seven of them leaned over slightly, and then Naruto whispered "Mizuki Sensei told me that if I learn one Jutsu from the scroll and show it to Iruka Sensei, then they will let me graduate."

Shikamaru, Sasuke, Shino and Hinata shared a look. They knew that there was no such thing like that. Mizuki was trying to fool Naruto. But why? Why would Mizuki tell Naruto something like that?

Kiba complained about how unfair it was that Mizuki Sensei told Naruto that, but didn't tell them about this rule, when Shikamaru cut him off. "Naruto, which scroll did Mizuki Sensei told you about?"

Naruto shrugged and said innocently "The Forbidden scroll."

The seven children shared an alarmed look. Since most of them were clan heirs, they had been told that no one except the Hokage had the rights to access the Forbidden scroll. So why would Mizuki tell Naruto such a thing? Unless, he wants Naruto to steal the scroll, and then use it for himself. Then that means Mizuki is trying to use Naruto for his own benefits.

If Theo-nee chan has taught them anything, then it was to do everything to protect their precious people. They'd be damned if they let Mizuki use Naruto like this, or even let him hurt Naruto. Oh Mizuki's so gonna get it when they get their hands on him.

"We're coming with you, Naruto." Shikamaru said as a plan started forming in his mind.

"Yeah, we will help you out. After all didn't Theo-nee chan says that Friends don't let their friend do stupid things, alone." Choji said with a smile, while the others nodded.

Naruto sniffled and then bawled out his eyes. "Thank you so much, you guys!" Saying this, he latched out to the nearest person and hugged them to death. To Sasuke's horror, it had been him standing nearest to Naruto. Trying to pry out of Naruto's grip, he yelled.

"GET OFF ME, YOU IDIOT!"


"That was awesome!" Kiba grinned as the seven kids plus the dog ran away from the village, and towards an abandoned warehouse. "Let's do it again!"

Woof!" Akamaru barked, wagging his tail.

"We're so NOT doing it again." Choji said as he ran with them, panting all the way.

"That's right, one time was too troublesome." Shikamaru said exasperatedly as he ran slowly in a lazy motion.

"I still can't believe Hinata knocked out the two guards who found us." Sasuke smirked, "I* never knew she could be so badass."

"Yeah Hinata, you rock!" naruto said with a grin, making Hinata blush a deep red.

When they reached the warehouse, Shino handed the scroll to Naruto, who sat down on the grassy ground and opened it.

"Lets see..." Naruto said, his eyes scanning the contents of the scroll. The other six leaned over his shoulder to see what he was reading. "The first one is- Multiple Shadow clone Jutsu."

Naruto groaned, and the others shared an amused look. "Ah not this again! It's my worse Jutsu!" Naruto complained.

Shikamaru sighed in exasperation and said "What a drag. Now we have to help you out with this too. How Troublesome."


The third Hokage sighed and rubbed his temple. He seriously believed that he was too old for this shit. The Council was in an uproar. Apparently, Naruto with some of the clan heir stole the Frorbidden Scroll of Sealing. The Civilian Council Members and the Ninja council members were bickering like kids, and Danzo was doing nothing but adding fuel to fire. He really needed a break.

Finally, he got too fed up with the arguments, so he slammed down his hands over the table, making everyone go quite in the room. "Honorary Council Members, if you keep calm and patient, then maybe we can come up with a solution of this problem. Arguing will lead us to nowhere."

"How can we stay calm in such a dire situation, Lord Hokage?!" Tsume Inuzuka –the head of the Inuzuka clan- said.

"We wouldn't be wasting our time here if someone'd have taught their kids to stay in discipline." One of the Civilian Council members said snarkily.

Hiashi Hyuuga –the head of the Hyuuga clan- narrowed his eyes and said "Are you accusing our kids for treason?"

"You bet I am!" The Council woman snarled at him.

Danzo –an old man wearing traditional clothes, and bandages covering his left eye- coughed innocently, and said "The clan heirs did steal the Scroll of Sealing. They need to be punished."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait." Koharu, one of the three village elders said. The older woman continued "But first, we need to find the kids."

Another old man, by the name of Homura who was also one of the three village elders, said "Most of them are clan heirs. If any enemy nin get their hands on any one of them, then Konoha will suffer greatly. We can't lose them, especially the Jinchurriki."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said "Very well. I will assign a team of shinobi to search for the kids. However, I have a feeling Iruka would be the one to find them." He then added mentally- After all, he had been a prankster once, too. No one understands those kids better than Iruka.

Tsume Inuzuka leaned over her chair and said with a smirk on her face "Lord Hokage, if I may," When Hiruzen nodded, she continued "I know someone who will definitely find the kids in no time. I'd like her to be added in the Searching team as well."

Shikaku, who had been napping till now during the Council meeting, sat up abruptly "You don't mean her, do you?"

Tsume grinned and said "Of course I do."

Shikaku sighed. "Troublesome."

"Who are you talking about?" Hiruzen asked with a frown.

"Is it one your your Inuzuka tracker Ninja?" Koharu asked.

Tsume shook her head and said "No, it's not."

"She is talking about that woman who calls herself Naruto's elder sister- Theo." Shikaku said.

"Oh, her?" Chouza Akimichi asked as he paused while munching on a bag of chips. He then shrugged and said "I don't mind her."

Hiashi Hyuuga nodded stiffly and said "She is acceptable."

Danzo argued "How can we trust her? She is a civilian, and she is new in Konoha. What if she is the one who is the Mastermind behind everything."

Shibi Aburame shook his head and said "No, she isn't like that. She is trustworthy. I can guarantee she will bring the children back, safe and sound."

"So do I." Chouza nodded, and Shikaku, Tsume, and Hiashi nodded their heads.

"Very Well then," The Third Hokage said, "Theo will be informed too about the recent events." And after that, she will be taken to T&I for interrogation.

Strange, how the Clan heads were vouching for a woman about whom even the Hokage knows nothing. He will make sure if the woman is trustworthy or not. He had already wasted too much time.


"They WHAT?!" Trixie snarled, and the door knob crumbled under her tight grip with her wandless magic. Oh she was so pissed. The kids stole some forbidden Scroll, which is a high treason against Konoha. And not only that, now they are missing. What the hell they had been thinking, stealing some important article like that?! And they didn't invite her too for this little adventure. How rude.

Izumo and Kotetsu cringed at the KI she was emiting and said "The Hokage has asked you to join us in the Search for the kids." Izumo said, while Kotetsu took a step back, with shivers of terror running down his spine.

She nodded and said "You head on, I am coming in a minute. Let me fetch my, uh-" Should she tell them about her wand? Definitely not, "-weapon."

She ran into the apartment, without waiting for their reply, and grabbed her wand and headed out.

"Let's go." She said as she casted a locking spell over the door before running off.

"Point Me." She chanted as a red arrow appeared over her head, showing her the direction where she will find her kids.


Everything happened so fast that Iruka didn't have time to comprehend it. He had joined the Search Party in the hopes to find the kids and give them an earful lecture. How dare they steal a Forbidden Scroll. He bet they pulled it off as a prank and didn't know the consequences of their actions, only to find out that they had been tricked by Mizuki, who had lied to Naruto and told him that he would pass the Graduation exam if he steals that scroll and learns one jutsu from it, while the others were just helping him out. And now before he could warn the kids and take them back home, the bastard Mizuki just had to arrive and blab about everything that was supposed to be kept a secret.

Shino, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Chouji formed a semi-circle around Naruto, as if knowing that Mizuki wants to harm Naruto, while Iruka was bleeding heavily because of the shuriken embedded on his body, thanks to Mizuki.

Mizuki, who sat over a tree before them, smirked and said "They've been lying to you your whole life, Naruto, since the decree was used."

the kids didn't react to what he was saying, but a spark of curiosity appeared in their eyes. What was he talking about?

"What decree?" Shikamaru asked with narrowed eyes.

"Everyone knows it except you. Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now. He'd do anything to shut me up."Mizuki baited to Naruto.

"What is this decree? Why does everyone else know about it?" Naruto asked with his fists clenched.

"Don't tell him, Mizuki! It's forbidden." Iruka out, trying to stand up, but to no avail.

"The decree is no one can tell you the nine tailed fox's inside you. " Mizuki said dramatically, dropping the bond.

Everyone's eyes widened, and they gaped at Mizuki. The nine tailed fox? The demon that appeared out of nowhere twelve years ago and ranpaged around the village and destroyed it? The monster that took thousands of lives and was the reason why the Fourth Hokage died?

So many questions rang through the children's mind, but they didn't have any time to quench their curiosity.

"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You are the nine tailed fox." Mizuki said, and pulled swiftly pulled out a large shuriken. "They've been sneaking around hiding it your whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you-like dirt. Like they hated you for just being there."

"NO!" Naruto trembled and placed his hands over his ears. This was not true. Mizuki was lying. He has too.

But it made sense. Why would the villagers hate him and give him cold looks? Why would they not let their children play with him. Why would they leave him alone and hurt? Because he was a monster. A Demon.

And he deserved it.

Red Chakra spiralled around him and memories flashed through his mind. Memories where he had always been alone, having no one to take care of him. Memories where he had been ignored, abandoned, beaten and hated. All because he was a monster.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Naruto screamed, as tears pooled in his eyes.

"That's why you'll never be accepted in this village. Even your beloved Sensei hates your guts!" Mizuki snarled. "And when your precious sister hears about it, she will hate you too!" He *said* with a cold smirk.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried out as the red chakra threw all of them away from Naruto. Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino and Hinata scrambled up and try to come near him, but the red chakra prevented them from nearing him.

Sensing Naruto's mental dilemma as an opportunity to kill him, Mizuki threw the shuriken at him "Die, naruto!" Mizuki snarled in cold fury.

Naruto's eyes widened as the shuriken approached nearer to him. And nearer.

And nearer.

"Protego!"

A silvery shield appeared before Naruto, and the shuriken bounced off the shield, leaving the blonde boy harmless. Everyone turned around to see a blue haired woman storming towards them, with the two Chunnins Izumo and Kotetsu following her, and cowering in fear at her anger. The woman in question, herself looked like an avenging Goddess, with her brown eyes contorted in cold fury, holding out a stick in her hand.

"You bastard!" She snarled as she stood before Naruto in a protective stance, looking like a Mama bear ready for a fight to protect her cub. Though the reality wasn't that far from truth. "How dare you attack my brother!"

"You would too if you knew who he was!" Mizuki argued back, giving a cold look to Naruto.

Naruto nusged Theo, while trembling in fear. If Mizuki told Theo-nee chan about who he was, then she will hate him too. He didn't want her to hate him. She was his precious person, and she was the only person who loved him and cared for him like a Family. She was his family. She was his Mother, his father, his est friend, his mentor, his brother. She was the sister he never had. If Mizuki told her that he had the nine tailed fox inside of him, she will feel disgusted by him and will hate him. He would be so broken if she start hating him. She was the only light of this un0ending darkness, only hope of the despair he felt, only ounce of love among the hate he received from the villagers. He had nothing beside her. He didn't want to lose her.

"Nee chan, please don't." Naruto begged and nudged her to go away, so as she does not listen the truth from Mizuki, but looks like today was not his lucky day.

"He is a Monster! A Demon! He has the Nine Tailed Fox Sealed Inside of Him!" Mizuki accused Naruto, narrowing his eyes at him.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. Now any moment Theo-nee chan would attack him too and say that she hated him like everyone else and that she didn't want a demon as her brother.

Instead, what he heard almost knocked him off the ground.

"No."

Naruto's eyes opened in surprise. What?

Theo-nee chan shook her head and said "No, you're wrong. Naruto is not a Monster. He is not a demon." She looked up at Mizuki and glared at him and said "How dare you call him a Momster!" Her grip on her wand tightened and she said "Naruto is not the nine tailed fox. He is Naruto Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in Leaves. He is my brother. Nothing you say will change that fact."

Naruto's eyes watered as he heard her confession. She really didn't think him as a Monster? Why? What had he done so nice in his previous life to get such a kind hearted sister?

"T-That's right." Hinata piped up as she took a deep breath and stood beside Theo-nee chan. Naruto glanced at her, and she fidgeted, but did not move away. "N-Naruto i-is a-always d-determined, a-and e-even though t-the v-villagers h-hate him, h-he s-still w-wants to p-protect them. H-he is o-one o-of a –k-kind."

"Yeah, Naruto is a knucklehead," Kiba said as hewalked towards Naruto and patted his arm lightly "But he is our knuclehead."

"Woof!" Akamaru barked in agreement, wagging his tail.

"He is a fellow Marauder, and Marauders don't abandon their friends even if the said friend has a demon is inside him." Choji said munching down on his chips.

Shikamaru just laid down over the ground lazily and said "Naruto can be troublesome sometimes, but I won't have him any other way."

Shino shrugged and admitted "He can be very stupid sometimes, but Naruto is a true Friend who won't abandon us at our time of need. He is trustworthy, at least that's what my Parasitic insects feel. And they're never wrong."

Sasuke got up and brushed off dirt from his white shorts and said "Psch, Naruto is an idiot and loudmouth and Deadlast." He then snorted and said "But that's what make him Naruto Uzumaki."

Tears rolled down Naruto's cheeks, and he shook his head and said "Thank you so much, you guys." His emotions didn't need more words to be described.

Mizuki snorted and said "Guess you are all idiots then. The Demon inside of him must have corrupted you. No one would mind if I take down a demon and his followers." Saying this, he pulled out two large Shuriken and threw them at Theo-nee chan and Naruto. The children tensed, and the three Chunnins- Iruka, Izumo and Kotetsu- were about to do something, but before they could do anything, Trixie just flickered her wand and the shurikens bounced off from their trajectory.

"No one hurts my pup and gets away with it." Trixie growled in seething anger as she held up her wand.

"You bit-"

"STUPIFY!" The spell hit him, and Mizuki stood, stupefied, unable to move his body.

"You talk too much." Trixie said with a huff.

Izumo blinked. "Well, that was quick." He mumbled, while Kotetsu couldn't help but agree with him.

"How did you do that?" Kiba asked, startled.

"That was the coolest Jutsu I've ever seen!" Choji said, excitedly.

"Teach me that!" Kiba asked.

Trixie laughed and ruffled his hair, "No way!" She chuckled when Kiba grumbled at her. She was startled when Naruto hugged her from behind.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Thank you so much." Naruto mumbled incoherently, while damping her dress.

She sighed as she knelt down in front of Naruto and wiped away his tears. "I'm glad you're fine." She smiled at him. "You really gave me a heart attack, you know, when these two stupid Chunnins came to me and told me that you were missing along with your friends."

"Hey!" Izumo and Kotetsu scowled, offended. Trixie just stuck her tongue out at them.

"Y-You d-don't care if I-I am a Monster?" Naruto's voice croaked as he trembled.

Trixie shook her head, and the look in her eyes softened. "You are not a monster, Hero. And I don't care if there is a giant angry fur ball sealed inside you. To me you will always be my brother."

"Why?" He asked, his blue eyes looking at her with such a sorrow that she wanted nothing more than to rip apart this world for being so cruel to this little boy.

"Because I know what you're going through, Hero," She said with tears in her eyes. "I myself have gone through it, and so had my brother Harry. I know what it is like to feel loneliness. I know how much it hurts when you are hated for a crime you never did," She remembered her fourth Year when everyone in Hogwarts thought that she was the Heir of Slytherin –even Harry thought so. "I know how much it hurts when someone abandons you and leaves you alone to face this cruel world." Her father's name echoed through her mind. The man who left her and her mother alone to live at the mercy of the Dark Lord. "I know the pain when your loved ones are killed in front of your very own eyes and you can't do anything about it, and I pray no one ever go through it, not even my foe." Images of Her adopted parents- James and Lily, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, Dobby and George flashed through her mind. She shook her head to clear out all the depressing thoughts and then hugged Naruto. "I just wish people would stop calling you a Demon. I have seen a demon, and believe me, you are nothing like him." She said the last bit with such a venom that sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

"Now," She released Naruto from her hug and stood up and pinned the seven children with a glare and said "What the hell is this crap I'm hearing about you guys stealing some scroll?" The seven of them had the decency to shift nervously, or in Hinata's case, blush in embarrassment and squeak out. She sighed exasperatedly and said "No fair! Why didn't you guys ask me to join you too? I'd have loved to join you in your midnight rendezvous to steal some super-secret scroll, instead of pacing around in that crappy apartment worrying about you all!"

The children sweat dropped. "Don't worry nee chan, next time we will definitely include you when we want to steal another Scroll." Naruto beamed at her.

"You better be doing that, or I swear I will transfigure you into rats and feed you to owls." It wasn't a secret that for some reason Theo-nee chan hated rats. And if she is threatening you to turn you into a rat then you definitely should believe that she isn't joking around.

The seven kids nodded their heads furiously, making Theo smile satisfactorily. "Now, I see the six of you passed your graduation exams. Congratulations." Trixie said as her eyes fell on the Konoha headband over Sasuke, Shino, Kiba and Choji's head, while Hinata wore it around her neck, and Shino wore it over his sleeve.

Naruto glanced down dejectedly. Ah that's right, he didn't graduate the Gennin exam. Trixie just smiled sympathetically at Naruto and ruffled his hair and said "It's alright, Hero. There's always a next time."

"But I really wanted to pass with my friends this time around!" Naruto complained sadly.

"I know." She ruffled his hair and gave him a hug.

"Hey Naruto, come here for a minute. I've got something for you." Iruka called out, making the children and the blue haired woman look at him. Izumo and Kotetsu had helped Iruka up and helped him sit up against a tree.. he was bleeding heavily with those shurikens embedded in his body, and he winced every once in a while with pain.

Trixie nudged Naruto to go to Iruka, and Naruto walked towards him half heartedly. Iruka made him close his eyes and then slid down his headband over his head, making everyone there gasp in surprise and happiness. When Naruto opened his eyes, Iruka smiled at him and said "Congratulations. You graduate! And to celebrate, I have a surprise. We're all going out for ramen tonight- Izumo and Kotetsu's treat."

"WHAT?!" The two chunnins cried out, having heard the horror stories of how these kids left Iruka bankrupt after just one trip to the Ichiraku Ramen.

"You guys heard that, didn't you? Free food!"Trixie exclaimed making everyone cheer in excitement.

"HEY! HEY! HEY! LOOK AT MY HEADBAND! I GRADUATED! YAY! YAY! YAY! SEE? SEE? I PASSED TOO!"

"We can see that, idiot. Now would you be kind enough to GET AWAY FROM ME AND DAMN IT! STOP INVADING MY PERSONAL BUBBLE!"