Like pillows of the land, the hills that lay friendly in the day were darkly ominous by night. The illuminated paths just hours before became lost in a blackness that even moonlight couldn't help. The magnificent sunshine trees towered over Akira and Naruto as they sat in the middle of a glade. The air was several degrees colder, and Akira shivered unconsciously. She often listened for signs of life around them, but the only thing she was hearing was the mumbling of Naruto and the rustling of the Sacred Scroll he had stolen.
"Naruto, we need to bring that back! I can't even believe Mizuki-sensei even mentioned it in the first place."
"He said I could graduate if I got my hands on it and learned a jutsu."
"Could and if, Naruto. And I don't even think that that's true," Akira said, incensed.
"You saying Mizuki sensei's a liar?"
Akira sighed, annoyed.
"That's the Sacred Scroll! It has all the forbidden jutsu that the Second Hokage outlawed! Everyone is going to call the Chūnin and the Jōnin to come looking for us!"
Naruto unrolled the first section of the scroll and began reading.
"Naruto! You can't just read the sacred scroll!"
"Oh, lookie, I'm reading it!"
"Naruto!"
Akira groaned as Naruto kept on reading. She sat cross-legged in front of him and listened for any movement around them. It was quiet for hours, and Naruto had moved on to trying to learn one of the jutsu on the scroll. Akira watched him with a keen eye as he created clones that slowly and slowly got better with each try. He was exhausted, panting and sweaty, and Akira could tell that his chakra reserves had gone down, but it wasn't time for relaxing. Akira picked up a noise in the forest nearby and took a defensive stance.
"It's over!" Iruka said with a small, strained laugh.
Naruto chuckled and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. As Iruka turned to Akira, she averted her gaze for a moment, then looked back at him and shrugged.
"Couldn't stop him," she said casually.
"Yeah, but you're quick, sensei! I only managed to learn one jutsu out of this scroll!" Naruto chirped. "It really wasn't easy, but let me show you! I'm gonna show you this amazing jutsu, and then you're going to let me graduate, okay?" Iruka looked on, confused. "That's the way it works, right? Anyone who learns jutsu from this scroll automatically graduates."
"Huh? Where'd you get that idea?" Iruka asked.
"Mizuki-sensei—he said that if Naruto got the scroll and learned from it, he had to graduate. Like a rite of passage or something," Akira scoffed. "I for one, don't believe him but Naruto—"
"Why would he have told us where to find the scroll then, huh?" Naruto argued. "Mizuki-sensei wants me to graduate, all right? Believe it!"
The look of utter confusion on Iruka's face wasn't reassuring Akira at all. Not only did they have in their possession the sacred scroll that could get them into more trouble than Akira could possibly imagine, but Mizuki's story didn't seem to be adding up to Iruka at all.
"Mizuki-sensei should be here soon, Iruka-sensei," Akira said. "I'm sure he'll clear this up."
There was a rustle of leaves nearby, and kunai came straight from the bushes. They lodged themselves in Iruka's clothes, pinning him to the tree he was standing next to, and a shuriken came flying in after, lodging itself in Iruka's leg.
"I see you've found our little hideaway," Mizuki said maliciously.
"So, that's the way it is, huh?" Iruka said, face contorted in pain.
"I should have known," Akira muttered to herself. "What kind of idiot am I?"
"Naruto!" Mizuki said sharply. "Give me the scroll, now."
"Wait a minute..." the boy whispered, looking between the three other shinobi. "What's going on here?"
"Naruto! Don't let Mizuki get the scroll!" Iruka shouted.
"It's like I told you, Naruto," Akira continued. "That scroll contains forbidden jutsu, jutsu that could destroy the village! Mizuki... he used us to get at it!"
Naruto rolled up the scroll and gazed angrily at Mizuki.
"Naruto," Mizuki said a little more gentle. "Don't let them trick you, Naruto. Iruka's just trying to scare you because he doesn't want you to have the scroll."
"No one should have the scroll!" Akira yelled. "It's the Sacred Scroll—it's protected by the Hokage, for the Hokage only! Stop lying to us!"
"Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying!" Mizuki laughed.
"No, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled.
Akira frowned. It didn't seem likely that Iruka kept something from Naruto, but then again, Mizuki hadn't seemed like the kind of person to steal the Sacred Scroll.
"They've been lying to you your whole lives! Since the decree all those years ago."
"What decree?" Naruto asked.
"Everyone who was alive then knows. Iruka's trying to hide it from you right now. He'd do anything to shut me up," Mizuki taunted.
Naruto looked up at him, wide-eyed.
"What is this decree? Why does everyone know about it?"
"Don't tell him, Mizuki, it's forbidden!" Iruka-sensei yelled.
"The decree is that no one can tell you that the Nine-Tailed Fox that almost destroyed the village is inside you."
Akira's brain stuttered for a moment, and her eyes widened in shock.
"The Fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You are the Nine-Tailed Fox!"
"Stop it!" Iruka yelled.
"They've all been sneaking around, hiding things from you your whole life!" Mizuki said. "Didn't you think it was strange how they all treated you? Like dirt. Like they hated you for just being alive. And Akira might not have hated you, but now that she knows? Look at her. Look at the fear in her eyes. She's just like everyone else. She'll hate you just for being you."
"No!" Naruto shouted, tears in his eyes.
His hands balled into fists, and suddenly, the wind picked up, swirling around him like a vortex.
"That's why you'll never be accepted in this village. Even your beloved sensei hates your guts!"
Mizuki removed a giant shuriken from his back, and as he began to spin it, Akira solidified her stance. She reached into one of the pouches on her hip and felt the cold metal of her kunai against her fingers. Then, Mizuki let out a loud yell and threw the shuriken at Naruto. Akira dashed forward and threw three of her kunai at Mizuki, which he dodged narrowly. At that same moment, Iruka had freed himself from the kunai holding him to the tree and put himself between Naruto and the giant shuriken. It hit him square in the back, piercing him easily.
"Iruka-sensei!" Akira shouted voice strained.
"W-Why?" Naruto whimpered.
"Because we're the same," Iruka said, choking a little. "When I was a kid, no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there. I just wanted them to see me... And know my name. My school grades weren't good enough to get attention, so I did crazy things. And then I had to pay for it. It was hard." Tears began falling from Iruka's eyes. "I know that's how you feel, Naruto. You feel lonely, and it hurts inside. And I could've been there for you more. I let you down. I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much. No one should be alone like that."
"Don't make me laugh!" Mizuki chuckled darkly. "Iruka always hated you. He was orphaned because the Nine-Tailed Fox killed his parents. And that beast is now inside you. He'd say anything to get the scroll from you."
Naruto suddenly got up and ran as fast as he could, and Akira followed him as quickly as she could.
Akira hoped that Naruto didn't believe the vile words that were coming out of Mizuki's mouth. She hoped he didn't think that she hated him. After all, she and Iruka had always been nice to him. And while Akira was terrified of the Nine-Tailed Fox, that didn't make Naruto a monster.
Akira found Naruto hiding behind a tree, clutching the scroll. She landed skillfully in front of him and crouched down. Naruto didn't move.
"Naruto?"
"Go away..."
"You know that Iruka-sensei and I don't hate you, right?"
"But Mizuki—"
"Mizuki is an idiot. I don't know why I didn't see it... Maybe I was just too busy making sure you didn't get yourself caught, or maybe I just wanted to know what it felt like to goof off."
Naruto looked up at her, bright blue eyes glazed over.
"You and Kai do crazy things together all the time, and yeah, most of the time I think you're idiots. But sometimes I want to know what it's like to fool around. So when Mizuki mentioned the scroll... I don't know. Maybe I was curious. Maybe I wanted to have fun. I haven't had real fun in such a long time. Sasuke... he's so far gone. My family... I don't have one anymore either."
"But you look so happy all the time," Naruto said.
"So do you, Naruto..."
Naruto looked at her surprised, and that surprise slowly melted into determination.
"You're a fool!" Naruto and Akira heard Mizuki say. "Why are you protecting that freak? He's the one who wiped out your family."
"I don't care what you say, 'cause you're not getting your hands on that scroll," Iruka said.
"As if you could stop me. Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me."
"How's that?"
"He wants the scroll for his own power, and his own vengeance," Mizuki said. "That's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything."
"You're right," Iruka said. "That is how beasts are. But that's not how Naruto is. He's nothing like that. Naruto's one of a kind. He works hard, puts his whole heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes, and everyone jumps on him... But his suffering only makes him stronger. That's was separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong. He's nothing like the Nine-Tailed Fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki, of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
Akira heard the clink of the other shuriken on Mizuki's back.
"You really believe that dribble? Iruka, I was going to save you for later, but I changed my mind... You're finished!"
Naruto and Akira shared a look and jumped up from their hiding place. Akira threw half a dozen shuriken at the giant one and veered it off course, Naruto headbutted Mizuki in the stomach, sending him flying backwards.
"Naruto! Akira!"
"Not bad, for little punks," Mizuki said in standing.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei—I'll kill you!" Naruto growled.
"Such big words... I can completely destroy you with one move!"
Simultaneously, to Iruka's confusion, Naruto and Akira put their hands into a seal formation he didn't recognise. But Naruto was confused too. How had she learned the jutsu he himself had learned only moments ago?
"Take your best shot, Mizuki. We'll give it back to you a thousandfold!" Akira shouted.
"Let's see you try! Show me what you can do, pests!" Mizuki spat.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" both children chorused.
From an immense cloud of smoke appeared hundreds of copies of Naruto and Akira. They surrounded Mizuki, staring him down, as he slowly realised just what kind of clones these were. They weren't illusions, they were solid, real duplicates of the people who'd performed the jutsu. The clones called out to Mizuki, yelling and taunting him until, scared and overwhelmed, he stumbled and moved back. But there were clones behind him too, and he screamed as the clones jumped over him, beating him to a pulp. They only disappeared when Mizuki lay unconscious on the ground, blood pouring from his nose.
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei," Akira said sheepishly, glancing down at Mizuki.
"Yeah, I think we got a little carried away," Naruto chuckled.
Iruka glanced at Mizuki and grimaced.
"I think you might have," he said. "Hey, Naruto, come here a minute. There's something I want to give you."
"What is it?" the boy said excitedly.
"I'm not telling! Close your eyes."
"Hey, wait—Akira! How'd you learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu? You didn't even look at the scroll."
"Well, that's a little secret I'll be keeping for myself," she said with a mischievous smile.
The forest was quiet. All that could be heard was the rustling of the leaves in the gentle breeze. Looking up, Akira was transfixed by the myriad of fluttering leaves that danced in the high boughs, making a living roof above them. She was calmed, almost hypnotised, by the early morning rays seeping through the leaves. They'd been there all night, but Akira didn't feel tired in the slightest.
Iruka had removed Naruto's goggles and replaced them with his own headband. A wistful smile rose to Akira's lips, and her hand went to the bandana around her waist. She was a little jealous but happy for Naruto. The ball of tangled warn in Akira's mind was messy, and she desired, for a split second, that she too had someone like Iruka to watch over her, the memory of her family far away in her mind. But Naruto's gleeful smile washed all the jealousy away, at least for the moment, she revelled in his laughter and delight.