The ninja academy in Konoha was a lively place. It had become especially so over the course of the last week, after a young, blond-haired blue-eyed ninja-in-training had arrived at school after an interesting conversation with the Hokage.

One bright, overly sunny morning, Naruto arrived early at the academy wearing a sword. He had somehow gotten a brand new short sword. Another early arrival, one Kiba Inuzuka, quickly took note of his new acquisition.

"Yo, Naruto. Where'd you get the sword?" he asked.

Naruto grinned at him. "The old man gave them to me. I'm going to be even better at kenjustu than my m-mom." He caught himself on time to avoid saying 'mommy' this time. "Believe it!"

Kiba snorted with laughter. "Are you still on about that? You don't have a mom, Naruto."

Naruto glared at him. "I have a mommy, Kiba! The Hokage told me all about her and she sounds awesome! Believe it!"

Kiba laughed outright. "The Hokage? Talk to a loser like you? Yeah, right. What a joke."

Naruto glared even harder.

"Stop calling me a liar!" He yelled.

Kiba stuck out his tongue. "Then admit you're making it up!"

"No way! I'm not a liar!"

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!" yelled Naruto, trying to punch Kiba. Kiba dodged to the side and hit him in the stomach. Naruto doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Like the hokage would ever spend time with you." Kiba sneered. "If you aren't lying then you're crazy." He stormed into the school building.

Naruto spent a minute recovering before he could stand up normally again. "What's wrong with him today?" he wheezed. Under normal circumstances he enjoyed spending time with Kiba, even if they were not friends. Kiba was always up for a good prank. He sighed and walked to the classroom.

A few minutes later, Sakura and Ino approached his desk. "Where'd you get the swords?" Ino asked. "My dad won't let me try one yet. He says I'm not old enough. People have graduated the academy that are younger than us!"

Naruto eyed her warily. "I told the old man that I wanted to learn kenjustu like my mom and he gave them to me," he stated after a moment of consideration.

Sakura hit him. "Idiot. We all know you have no idea who your parents are."

Naruto rubbed his head and scowled for a moment. Then he beamed at her. He really wanted to be her friend, even if he had already lost his first chance. "I do, Sakura! The old man finally told me a bit about my mom. She was a super-cool ninja! Believe it!"

Sakura scowled deeply at him. "So what was her name then?"

Naruto grinned happily. She believes me! "He wouldn't tell me because he didn't want anyone to figure out who my daddy is. He had a lot of enemies."

Sakura and Ino exchanged a look. Ino rolled her eyes. Sakura hit him. "Stop making up stories, idiot!" she exclaimed, storming away.

As they walked off he heard Ino ask her, "Do you think he has an imaginary mom like Kiba's imaginary friend?"

"No. He didn't even bother to make up a name."

Naruto scowled and lay his head on his arms. He bit back tears. He'd show them! When he was big and strong he'd know his mom's name, and he'd tell everyone! He was sure of it.

As the day went on, Naruto was plagued by whispers and mocking jeers.

"Does the little brat think his mommy was a ninja?" asked an older student.

"Did you hear? Naruto's got an imaginary mommy."

"That delinquent everyone hates is making up stories about his parents."

"He has parents?"

"Do you think he stole that sword?"

"Maybe we should take it back to the owner."

Needless to day, Naruto was furious and upset by the time lunch rolled around. So maybe it shouldn't have surprised his teachers when he pulled a "prank" and snuck bugs into everyone's lunches. When Mizuki dressed him down in the classroom, he grinned foolishly at him. "When I'm Hokage no one will say I my mommy is made up. Believe it!"

This, of course, led to getting detention again. Why did everyone hate him? Oh yeah, my daddy attacked the village. Naruto felt a spark of resentment. He wasn't sure if he should hate his daddy or the people being mean to him, though. It wasn't his fault!

Naruto silently resolved to never let Sakura know about his daddy. She would never be friends with him if she knew.

After two weeks of relentless pranking, Naruto's classmates and teachers were all nearing their final straw. He spent every night in detention, and the taijutsu instructor took to hitting him even harder than usual. Mizuki and Iruka had him stand in the hallway for almost every class because Naruto was a constantly yelling at the people who said his mommy was made up.

Finally, realizing that hitting wouldn't stop the idiot, Sakura and Ino remembered that ninja were supposed to be able to deceive enemies. Maybe they could get him to leave them alone if they pretended to believe him? Sakura drew the short straw and had to try talking to him. Thus, on the Tuesday of the third week after Naruto made up a story about his mother, she walked over to him at lunch and smiled softly at the noisy, delinquent eye-sore. Well, she tried to.

"So, Naruto, can you tell me about your mommy?" she asked him gently.

He gave her a grin and began spouting some made up stories that made it sound like he had actually talked to the Hokage on a regular basis. It was hard not to laugh. As he continued, she bacame more and more frustrated. Finally, the girl burst out, "I don't believe you, idiot!"

Naruto stared at her with big, hurt eyes. She almost felt bad for a moment, but forced herself to ignore it. "Sakura? I thought you believed me," he said with a look of betrayal.

She snorted. "As if! I just wanted lunch without bugs in it!"

"But- But you were being so nice to me…" Naruto asked with a look of betrayal.

"You don't know who your mommy is! Or your daddy! You're just making up stories." Sakura ranted. "Get a grip! You can't tell us names because you don't have a mommy or daddy and know we know about it! My mom said so!"

Naruto glared at her. "I do so know who my daddy is!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too! It's an S-class secret!"

"Hah! Like the hokage would make and S-class secret for you, moron!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!" He yelled, furious tears in his eyes.

"Did not!" she yelled, punching him on the head.

"Ow! That hurts, Sakura!"

She hit him again. "Then stop making things up!"

"Why won't you be nice to me?"

"My mom says to avoid liars like you!"

He scowled. "I'm not a liar! She just hates me because of my dad!"

"Does not!" Her mom wasn't so petty.

Naruto looked ready to cry. "He was the nine-tailed fox!"

Sakura stared at him, her mind trying to reboot. "He's not! Foxes can't be daddys!"

"All you need is a boy and a girl who love each other very much! He could be a boy or a girl, and my mommy was a ninja, so he was my daddy." Naruto said sadly.

Sakura stared at him. Come to think of it, her parents had told her the same thing. To make a baby, you needed a boy and a girl who loved each other very much. They also told her she wouldn't learn how to make a baby until she was a lot older. She had also always wondered why so many people hated Naruto so much. Even int he was an irritating eye-sore, their attitudes were a bit much. He might just be telling the truth. She backed away cautiously. "Really?"

"I think I got my whiskers from him. But I take after my mommy. I'm not a demon!" he said earnestly. "Believe it!"

Around them, their classmates started whispering furiously and yelling. Mizuki looked like he was choking on something, getting increasingly red-faced. "Your daddy killed my parents! I'll kill you!" yelled a furious orphan, charging at him, only to be grabbed by a friend. "No! We can't fight in the classroom!"

"But he's a demon!" The teacher broke into laughter.

As the chaos unfolded, Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes. She remembered the day when she had learned that Ino's dad tortured people, and had been scared of her for a while. Her dad told her that she shouldn't blame children for their parent's actions, so she had made up with her friend later. "I believe you. You are a moron, not a demon!"

Naruto grinned. "Will you go on a date with me?"

She scowled and hit him. "No, idiot!"

"Ow!"

As the chaos unfolded, Iruka heard from a nearby classroom and walked over to see what the ruckus was. He was shocked to see the chaos taking place. He couldn't even hear himself think. "QUIET DOWN!" he yelled loudly. The ninjas-in-training (children) froze guiltily. He looked at the laughing Mizuki. "What's going on here?" Did Naruto play another prank?

"Bwahahahah…" he said, gasping for breath. "Th-the demon hahaha brat…" He trailed off into uncontrollable laughter. "S-S-S-class secret… hahaha."

Iruka immediately looked at the children. Clearly, something had happened and at least part of the secret had gotten out. He didn't know how bad the damage was and couldn't discuss it here without getting executed, so he dragged Mizuki out of the room, yelling, "If I find anyone not at their desks when I get back or if anyone gets into a fight, I'll give everyone twice as much homework!" The children promptly ran to their seats, whispering madly. They knew he would do it.

Almost as soon as they got into the staff room, Mizuki blurted out, "The fourth really did a good job. The demon thinks it's its own son! Bwhahahaha."

"What?"