A small fox enters a clearing, drinking from the stream running through it. Suddenly, the clearing is on fire and the fox is trapped with nowhere to go. But instead of burning the fox, the fire seems to be drawn into the fox. As it absorbs more and more flames, the fox gets bigger, redder, and more demonic. Soon there is nothing left but the demon-turned fox and a wasteland the demon roars, and then Naruto wakes up.

He'd been having this dream more and more lately, instead of his dreams of swimming in a lake of ramen or what he'd do if he were Hokage; issue a ramen holiday, force everybody to recognize how awesome he was, everything that the Hokage had the power to do. Normally, he'd shrug it off, but this was the third night in a row. He then turned on his side to look at his clock.

He blinked and looked again.

Just to make sure, he rubbed his eyes, blinked, and then looked again.

Oh crap.

His speed rivaled that of a whirlwind as he ran through his apartment. Then he ran outside, but forgot to lock the door. He would worry about that later.

He almost made it on time, but ttripped. He bumped into a guy a few yards away from the academy. "Hey watch where you're going, stupid brat!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm late!" But the man grabbed him by the coat and yanked him back. "Sorry? I'm not letting you go anywhere 'till you give me a proper apology!" They stood at a standstill for a few minutes. "Come on, out with it!" When Naruto didn't speak, the man raised his fist.

"Hey, what are you doing with my student?" Naruto relaxed a bit. His teacher, Iruka, had come to save him.

"Damn brat bumped me and didn't apologize."

"I did too!" Naruto became bolder. The man couldn't do anything now that Iruka was here.

"Shut up, you lying brat!" he drove his fist forward. Iruka was there in a pinch. He caught the man's fist.

"Naruto, is it true you apologized?" He said without looking at him.

Naruto nodded, but then realized Iruka wasn't looking his way. "Yeah, but I did it real quick 'cause I was trying to get to class on time."

"Well Naruto, it's good that you're trying to get to class, but you should really give the man a proper apology."

"But I didn't mean to! It was an accidet! Someone tripped me and-"

"Naruto…" Iruka said warily. Naruto gave in; Iruka wasn't on his side anymore. His shoulders sagged a bit. "I'm sorry sir."

"Thank you, Naruto, now let's go to class." They left the grumpy man and entered the academy building. Inside, Naruto and Iruka walked towards the classroom. Without looking at him, Iruka spoke. "Naruto, I'm sorry for making you apologize like that. It must have been humiliating for you." Iruka turned around, but Naruto was already smiling.

"It's okay, Iruka-sensei." He discreetly leaned forward a bit. "To tell you the truth, before we left him, I slipped a packet of itching powder into his pocket. It should burst open anytime soon."

Iruka gave him a stern look. "Naruto..." However, he was smiling slightly.

At the lunch break, Naruto was bored. Bored of school, bored of watching the kids play without him, and bored from the fact that he hadn't pulled a single prank in the last hour. While sitting on his favorite swing of loneliness from the tree outside the academy, he had a fabulous idea for the prank that would end all pranks. He would need a brush, some rope and a whole lot of paint, but if he pulled it off, he might go into Konoha's books as their greatest prankster, or at least in his eyes.
"Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi, taking the position of the late Yondaime, smoked his pipe in annoyance. This kind of outburst from any shinobi would mean two things; a state of emergency or Naruto. He sighed. "Don't tell me it's Naruto again. What did he do this time?"

"Sir, he's desecrated the Hokage monument!"

Sarutobi looked out the window to see his charming stone face of younger drooling and with elongated eyelashes. The other previous Hokage's along with the Yondaime had an assortment of facial marks, ranging from swirly cheek markings to blushes and tears, along with some words not said by the everyday academy student. People were shouting in contempt. And in the center of it all was Naruto, having the time of his life.

"Stupid brat! Get down here and stop doing that." The regular citizens of Konoha were throwing things at Naruto, but they either fell short or missed and hit the Hokage monument, soiling it even more.

"Just try and stop me!" Naruto made a face at the angry mob at the foot of the mountain.

"Naruto!" Naruto recognized that voice. It was the voice of a certain teacher whoose class he had just skipped recently. Usually, it's a nice voice or one that's boring to listen to during a lecture. However, that currently wasn't the case. He turned slowly. "Hey, Iruka-sensei."

"Naruto, you're supposed to be in class! Get down here now!"

"Only if you can catch me!" Naruto shook loose of his makeshift harness and jumped onto a nearby roof. Several shinobi started to pursue him. He hid 'in' a wall and they harmlessly brushed passed him. Naruto dropped the cloth and watched the backs of the pursuing ninja. "Ha ha! Dorks!" Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and almost jumped. Oh man... "Hi Iruka-sensei."

He turned around and saw Iruka smiling. However, the smile was anything but freindly. To add to that, he was currently holding some of the rope he used to navigate on the faces of the mountain. "Hello Naruto. Ready to go back to class?"

Naruto was sitting in the center of the classroom, tied up at the moment. Litterally. He only half-listened to what Iruka was saying about the importance of staying in school, especially after failing the genin exam twice. Iruka realized Naruto wasn't listening to a single word. "Okay class, because of the antics of your freind Naruto here, we will be holding a suprise examination of the Henge no jutsu." The class audibly groaned and filed up at the front of the classroom. Iruka told them to transform into himself. Kiba Inuzuka stood behind Naruto. "Good job, fox dork. We always pay for your antics." Akamaru, his dog, barked in agreement.

Kiba and Naruto were somewhat of rivals. It started back when Naruto was transferred into Kiba's class. When Naruto failed to transform into the Hokage several times, Kiba laughed the loudest out of everybody and called Naruto and idiot. Annoyed by the outburst, the teacher called on Kiba next to demonstrate a Henge. What happened was that Kiba had produced a transformation just as abstracted as Naruto's. Since then, they have been fighting over the place of 'dead last.' Currently, Naruto was dead last and Kiba didn't hesitate to rub that in his face.

As for the nickname, the color of Naruto's jumpsuit reminded Kiba of a fox. Naruto had told Kiba that foxes were much redder and that he needed to get his eyes checked. Furthermore, Kiba had one day caught Naruto playing with a group of foxes on a training ground. Kiba scared them off and Naruto yelled at him. Kiba then said that Naruto would make a better fox than a person, seeing as he gets along with them so well.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto walked forward and pronounced "Henge!" The result was definitely not Iruka. Instead, there stood in the middle of the room a cute girl, with proper proportions, naked, her privates barely covered by smoke clouds, probably a by-product of the henge. Iruka was blasted backwards by a fountain of blood running from his nose. Naruto reverted back to normal. "I call it the 'Sexy no jutsu!'"

Iruka jumped back up. "Idiot! Don't invent stupid techniques!"

The sun was starting to set and by that time Naruto was almosted finished scrubbing away the damage he had caused. As a punishment, Iruka stated that he wasn't going home until the monment was sparkling clean and that he was going to watch him to make sure that happened. "Naruto, hurry up or you won't be able to go home."

Naruto grumbled. "So what. Not like there's anybody there who cares who cares what I do or how late I come back."

Iruka had felt a tinge of sadness of not having a parent. Naruto's situation reminded him a little of his own when he was Naruto's age. "Tell you what, if you finish fast enough, I'll treat you to ramen."

"Really? Alright! Iruka-sensei, you're the best!"

In just a few short minutes, Naruto had completely cleaned the monument. True to his word, Iruka took him out for ramen in the evening. They each ordered pork ramen. "You know Naruto," Iruka said in between bites. "If you treated being a ninja more like pulling pranks, then you'd grow to be a great ninja."

Naruto was half done with his bowl after Iruka said that. "Hm? How's that?"

Iruka thought for a moment. "You know the parts of being a ninja you think are boring, like setting traps and strategy?"

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Yeah, I'd rather be learning new jutsu."

"Well, don't you need planing and preparation to set up pranks to fool people?"

Naruto slurped down the last of his ramen. "I guess so. What are you getting at?"

"Well, you also need those things to create good traps and strategies. If you pretend that traps and strategies were more like pulling pranks on a larger scale, then I bet those things wouldn't seem so bad."

Naruto thought. And thought. Then, miraculously, a two watt lighbulb went off in his head. "Hey, you're right Iruka sensei! Thanks a lot!"

The next day were the genin exams. Naruto was nervous; he had already failed twice, what would make this time any different? He shook those thoughts out of his head and replaced them with the "Third time's a charm" philosphy.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto got out of his seat and walked into the next room. Inside, Iruka and Mizuki were sitting at a table with notes all over the place. "Okay, Naruto, create a bunshin."

'This is it, now or never.' "Bunshin no jutsu." with a swirl of chakra and a poof of smoke, therin appeared a Naruto clone...a half dead Naruto clone.

"You fail!" Naruto's world shattered to peices. Mizuki spoke up.

"I think we should let him pass Iruka. He did create a bunshin." Naruto was looking hopeful, but Iruka shook his head.

"No; the other students created at least three functioning bunshins. Naruto's bunshin can't do anything. Better luck next time."

After class, Mizuki said that he would see Naruto later. They were both on the roof of Naruto's appartment. "Mizuki-sensei, why is Iruka-sensei so hard on me?"

Mizuki thought a bit. "I guess you remind him of himself when he was young. His parents died fighting that fox demon, so he's an orphan like you. He doesn't want to give you the easy way out; he wants you to be strong."

Naruto felt a bit of comfort from that answer. "But still, why couldn't he just pass me?" Mizuki sighed and Naruto looked up.

"I didn't want to tell you this, but there is another chance for you; in the Hokage tower, there is a scroll. If you can take that scroll and learn at least one jutsu from it, you will pass."

"Really! Thanks Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto was ecstatic. He might pass after all.

Saurtobi was stacking up a few papers, ready to call it a night. He heard a shuffle as a flash of orange slipped by the door to his office. He shook his head and walked out calmly, not once making a sound. He crept up behind Naruto, who was trying very hard to sneak around the tower. "Naruto, what are you doing?" Naruto froze. He turned around quickly and made a few handseals. Before Sarutobi could do anything, Naruto shouted "Sexy no jutsu."

He grabbed the scroll and headed towards his secret place in the forest. He hid in a bush and opened the scroll. "Okay, Miuzki-sensei said if I can learn the first jutsu I see in this scroll, then I can become a genin. Let's see, the first technique here is... Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Man, this technique won't leave me alone!"

A chuunin was walking to the Hokage's office to deliver a few more papers. What he saw was the said person lying in a puddle of his own blood in the middle of the hallway. He dropped the papers and ran to the Hokage's side. "Hokage-sama, what happened!"

Sarutobi, pushed his hand away and got up himself. He wiped his nose with a handkercheif. "It was Naruto. He...disabled me and took the forbidden scroll with him."The chuunin looked out the window with hate and alarm. "Damn, that brat has gone too far. Who knows what he might do with that scroll. It's about time he learned his lesson."

The Hokage summoned some jounin and chuunin. "Find Naruto and bring him here, along with the scroll he was holding." With a sweep of his hand, the ninja immediately dispersed.

"Hokage-sama!" Sarutobi turned around. Iruka was running towards him.

"Hokage-sama, I heard Naruto stole that forbidden scroll that held some forbidden techniques, including the one the Yondaime used on Naruto."

Sarutobi nodded. "That is true. We must get that scroll before Naruto damages the seal put on him. Otherwise, we might have to kill him."

Iruka was alarmed. "Please, allow me to join the search. I might be able to find him before that happens."

"Okay, then go."

"Whew, I'm beat. It took a while, but I think I finally got the hang of it. I can't wait to show it to Iruka-sensei what I learned." Naruto lay on the ground, breathing slightly, the scroll next to him. Iruka landed on a tree nearby. 'Good, I got lucky' He jumped off of the tree and approached Naruto carefully.

Naruto heard the soft landing and turned around. Before Iruka could scold him, Naruto interjected. "Hey, Iruka-sensei! Just in time! I'm ready for that extra test thing." He put his hands in a seal.

Iruka was confused. "Naruto, what are you talking about?" Naruto stopped molding his chakra.

"Mizuki-sensei said that if I learn one jutsu from this scroll, I could become a genin." Naruto looked confused. Iruka heard the sound of projectiles being thrown. "Naruto, look out!" He pushed Naruto out of the way and turned around to prevent his vitals from being pierced by the incoming kunai and shuriken. A figure stepped out from behind a branch. "Mizuki?"

Naruto looked at both Iruka and Mizuki, bewildered. "Mizuki-sensei, why did you attack Iruka-sensei?"

Mizuki was grinning. "Naruto, hand me that scroll you're holding."

"No Naruto! Whatever you do, don't give Mizuki that scroll!" Iruka pulled a kunai out of his leg.

"Hey, Naruto, you ever wonder why the village hates you? Why everyone looks at you with contempt?" He continued through Iruka's shouts and warnings. "Also, do you know what happened to the demon fox that attacked twelve years ago?"

Naruto recalled this lesson that he nearly slept through. "Wasn't it killed by the fourth Hokage?"

"Worng! The demon fox was never killed. It was sealed into the form of a little baby boy." When Naruto furred his brows in thought, Mizuki continued. "You still don't get it, do you. Well, I'll tell you. You are the stupid fox that attacked the village."

The revelation hit Naruto hard. All those years, he had wondered why everyone hated him so much. Now that he knew, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. So he did the only thing that seemed sensible; he ran away.

Mizuki watched the fox boy as he ran. "He won't be getting far." And went after him.

Iruka pulled out the last of the kunai out of his body and also followed.

Naruto ran through the woods with all his strength. Mizuki easily caught up to him. "What will you do now, Naruto? Now that you know why the village hates you, where will you go?" Naruto started to slow down to a stop, crying. "I-I just want it all to end..."

Mizuki drew a kunai. "There, there, it will be over soon..." he slowly made his way towards Naruto and the scroll. Suddenly, Naruto drew a kunai and stabbed Mizuki. The attack succeeded, but Mizuki turned into a log. A replacement? From above, Mizuki fell out from the treebranches above and kicked Naruto in the face. Naruto hit a tree and abruptly turned into Iruka. "So it was you all along. Thanks to you, the fox brat is probably far away by now. Before I kill you, I want to know what you really think about that brat."

"Wha..."

He stood there with a frown on his face. "I've seen you smile a little every time that demon tried his hardest to do something. You've even encouraged him a bit. I want to know why you'd attach yourself to a demon who killed you parents."

"...It's true. Just like everybody else, I tried to see that demon fox in him, but as my time teaching Naruto went on, I found it harder and harder to see thet thing in him. Instead, I saw an image of my younger self: alone, with no one to aknowlege me and encourage me. A complete goofball who would do anything for a little attention. That is why I've come to acknowlege that person as Uzumaki Naruto." Unbenounced to the both of them, the said person was behind the trunk of a tree at that moment, bawling his eyes out.

Mizuki picked a bit of wax out of his ear and drew the oversized shuriken from behind his back. "Okay, whatever. Spew what bullcrap you want." The shuriken in his hand spun and he charged.

Naruto dropped out of a tree and kicked Mizuki in the face. "Don't touch Iruka-sensei," Naruto glared at him with feral hate. "Or I'll kill you."

"Naruto, you idiot, you should have run!"

Mizuki wiped off a bit of blood from his mouth. "I was wondering where you went. I guess I can cill you now." In a flash he pulled out a kunai and threw it at Naruto. It hit successfully.

"NARUTO!" Poof. Gone in a birst of smoke. Kawarimi no jutsu...? No, there was no replacement. But how- Naruto jumped out of the trees and landed behind Mizuki and kicked him. He flew a few feet, landing on his feet. "How-? I killed you! I saw I killed you!" Naruto smiled. "I'll just kill you again!" He threw another kunai. the same thing happened. Naruto jumped out of the trees and landed in front of Mizuki. He delivered a devastating uppercut. This time, Mizuki had trouble getting up.

"Are you finished yet? It's my turn." Narutos suddenly covered the clearing. Everywhere Mizuki looked there were at least ten Narutos, hanging from branches, leaning against trees, standing all around him. "I'll pay back everything you've done a tousand fold, and more!" Mizuki's screams pierced the quiet in the forest.

Naruto scratched his head. On the horizon, the sun was beginning to spread her fingers. And in front of him was a pretty bad-looking Mizuki. "I think I went a little overboard there..." Mizuki twitched a bit.

Iruka shook his head. Last night, Naruto used a high Jounin level jutsu to create a thousand of himself. He really did pay back a thousand fold. "Naruto, come here. I want to give you a present. Close your eyes." Naruto's world emerged into darkness as he felt a bit of scuffling on his head. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Light shattered the darkness as Iruka's smiling face appeared in full view. However, there was a small detail missing from his forehead. He touched his own forehead and felt cool metal, contrasting from warm cloth. "Congratualtions, Naruto. You pass. I think I'll treat you to ramen later"

Overwhelmed by joy, Naruto leaped foreward and flung his arms around his teacher, temporarily forgetting his injuries.

"Hokage-sama, we couldn't find Naruto anywhere!"

"He's probably miles away by now!"

Sarutobi silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, Naruto will be back soon with the scroll." The ninjas looked at him, confused and questioningly, but never inquiring. Naruto, don't think that the easy part is over yet; it has yet to begin.

Sorry for the long wait. I usually leave stories for oneshots, not bothering to continue them. Also I'm a very slow writer. Meh, R&R (and no, don't rest and relax till you read and review)