Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1

Naruto frowned at the people who passed by him on the streets. Expressions around him ranged from fear to rage, with disgust predominant. Only a week ago, or eight years in the future really, these people were still thanking him for saving the village. Still bowing when they saw him, still trying to give him free things. The change was disconcerting, but he was quickly getting used to it again.

The Academy wasn't far from his dumpy apartment and the young adult-turned-preteen arrived at the building quickly, even though his pace was meandering while he thought on his luck at getting a second chance, and what it would mean.

The seal that once held Kyuubi was thankfully empty, which was actually a bitter sweet thing. It meant that the accord he had struck in the past (Future? Other life?) was still in effect, but also that he wouldn't be seeing his mother and father again. But at least he wouldn't have to go through battling and haggling with Kyuubi again.

Before entering the Academy Building, Naruto subtly probed it with a small burst of chakra, which had become a habit before. He almost jumped when he felt the echoing response of Sasuke's chakra mixed in with the various other students and the few teachers who didn't know how to shield their energy from even the lightest of probes. It was a moment before the blond remembered that right now, in this time, Sasuke was still loyal to Konoha, still had no idea what the council had done to his family.

And was still an Academy student.

It was then that it truly hit Naruto what a gift he had been given. The chance to prevent it all from happening. He could defeat the Akatsuki before they even had a chance to know to look out for him. He could kill the disgusting thing that had stolen Sasuke away from the people who cared about him. He could save the Third, and bring back Tsunade, and prevent Jiraiya's death!

The rush of possibilities left the boy reeling mentally, though to anyone looking at him, he was just as calm as before. As a ninja he was trained to keep all thoughts from his face. He was seated in a desk before his mind caught up, and he looked over to his friend, brother, enemy.

Sasuke looked so young and angry at the world, and Naruto snickered quietly. It was almost cute. Like a pissed off puppy. He turned away quickly before the young avenger could notice his amused glance.

There were only a few other students in the room, none of whom Naruto remembered (which meant they probably never even made it as ninja) and Iruka-sensei wasn't even there yet. He was earlier than he had any memory of being the first time, which apparently struck the others as odd because every few minutes one of them would cast an suspicious look his way. He laughed mentally, having forgotten that he had been a pretty active prankster before graduating the Academy. Afterwards there hadn't been any time for pranks.

He was so lost in slightly nostalgic thought that he almost jumped when a familiar voice called out, "Naruto?"

"Er, yeah? Sorry Iruka-sensei, I was lost in thought." The boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

He heard Sasuke snort and mutter something about it being unfamiliar territory, but the only acknowledgement that garnered from the blond was a lifted eyebrow.

Iruka smiled kindly at the boy, "It's nothing, I was just wondering what you did with your jumpsuit." He told him.

Naruto looked down at his clothes. They were simple, dark, and functional. He had to use a henge to buy them at a price that wouldn't break his budget earlier that day. There was no way he was going to once again be the moving orange target. "Oh, that! Well, I'm gonna be a real ninja soon, so I thought I'd look like it!" He said in a good mimic of how exuberant he was before Jiraiya's death.

Iruka blinked in shock, and smiled. "I'm glad you're taking it seriously this time, Naruto." That was all the conversation they had time for because the other students started to arrive, and it was almost time for class. Naruto sighed in relief.

'This isn't so hard.' He thought. 'I can act like my old self easily enough.'

Too bad life was about to prove him wrong, because someone Naruto had completely forgotten about walked through the door and set the former jinchuuriki on edge.

Mizuki.

The teen wasn't aware that his face had shifted into a snarl, and his eyes grown ice cold, but someone else did.

Iruka looked from Naruto, to Mizuki, and back again, confused. What had his fellow teacher done to garner the look of utter hatred that the child was shooting at him? Deciding to talk to the boy about it later, Iruka clapped his hands and class began.

Naruto's sneer melted from his face as he thought, though his hands absently took notes on the things Iruka taught. He would have to warn someone of the traitor in their midst, especially one so close to the impressionable students of Konoha. His treachery wouldn't be exposed like last time, with the use of Naruto's naivety. So it might be likely that he would continue his subterfuge for a while yet before he stole the Forbidden Scroll in such a way that it would take the forces of Konoha a longer time to catch on than when an inexperienced, desperate twelve year old had done so.

He could tell old man Hokage, but would the man actually believe him? After all, he was known to stir up trouble for the heck of it. That ruled out Iruka too. Maybe one of the shadowy ANBU that seemed to always be right around the corner? They were suspicious enough to actually take it seriously, if only for the fact that even coming from a prankster it could be true.

"Naruto!" Iruka's voice rang out, "What did I just say?" It was one of the teacher's favorite questions to bark at students who didn't seem to be paying attention. He was surprised when Naruto rattled off the correct answer, though his eyes remained vacant. What was going on with the boy?

Class ended much later, and by the end the young teacher was almost frantically worried about his favorite student. Naruto had gotten to class early, sat through the whole thing silently, and seemed to take actual notes like the perfect student. And that's what worried him. He almost suspected it was the build up for a prank, but nothing like that happened all day. Was the blond not feeling well? Did something happen? The boy hadn't even added that annoying catch phrase 'Believe it' after anything he said.

Before Naruto could leave, set on his plan to warn the ANBU, his wrist was snagged by a thinly smiling Iruka. "Hey, Naruto," the man said in a fake cheery tone, "How about you and me go get some ramen together. It's been a while, after all."

Naruto scrunched his nose. That was a hard decision. Save the Forbidden Scroll and the Leaf's secrets, or go out for a few free bowls of his favorite food. Sadly, the village had to come first. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei, not right now. I have to go do something. Maybe later?" He added hoping the offer would still stand by the time he was done.

"O-of course, Naruto." Iruka said faintly. It was worse than he thought. Naruto was turning down ramen!

The boy grinned brightly. "Great! Well, bye Iruka-sensei!" With that he ran out the door, and Iruka left not long after to talk to the Hokage. If anyone knew what to do about Naruto, it would be him.

OoOo

It didn't take long for Naruto to pick up on the fact that any time he got close enough to an ANBU member that they could see him, they disappeared. "Dammit," He muttered, "Will I have to pin one down with a kunai to get anything done?"

"I wouldn't suggest it, we don't really take kindly to people who throw weapons at us." A strikingly familiar voice said behind him, and Naruto smiled, turning. He had felt the new comer pop up behind him, thus wasn't as shocked as he could have been (which probably disappointed the mask wearing man in front of him. Kakashi did like to shock people, after all.)

Naruto shrugged. "Not my problem. When someone is trying to tell you people something, it's not polite to run away. Makes for all sorts of misunderstandings."

Kakashi tilted his head. "You can understand why we're a bit... wary of you after what you pulled on the last few who weren't prepared." He pointed out. Naruto spent a moment trying to remember what pranks he had managed to pull on ANBU members, but soon gave it up for a lost job.

"What ever. Anyway, I just wanted to report a traitor at the Academy. You know, nothing of great importance." He said drolly.

That certainly had his former/future teacher's attention. "A traitor?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep. The taijutsu teacher Mizuki Toji is actually working for someone else. I just thought someone should know that." He reported. Of course he knew that the 'someone else' was Orochimaru, but not even the evil Sanin's name was common knowledge among Academy students. He watched as Kakashi's body language shifted, signifying that the man didn't quiet believe him, but would be taking it seriously enough to investigate it anyway. Once again Naruto commended himself on learning the art of reading boy language.

"And why would you tell the ANBU this, and not the Hokage like you normally would." Kakashi asked curiously. He knew that his teacher's son was the Hokage's favorite, and that the boy often visited the man.

Naruto sighed. "He wouldn't take it seriously. He would think it was a prank to fool him, or to get back at Mizuki or something. You guys on the other hand, wouldn't allow any tip to pass without at least a little bit of stalking-er- investigation." He told the silver haired jounin.

Kakashi nodded. It made sense, actually. "Alright, we'll look into it. But if it turns out you're messing with us for any reason, well..." He let the sentence hang ominously for a moment. "Anyway, if you notice anything else odd, just tell the Hokage that you want to speak to Inu, and he'll make sure we talk again."

Naruto almost snorted, but managed to cover it with a cough. Inu? Seriously? Were they even really trying to cover up the names of ANBU members? He bet that Itachi Uchiha had been known as weasel. That would make just as much sense. Instead of voicing his incredulity, he managed to choke out a strangled agreement and even through the mask he could tell Kakashi-sensei was looking at him oddly, before the man disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

It was a while later, while perusing the shops around his apartment in a henge, that Naruto realized he had sounded a bit more mature than he really should. The shop proprietor was frowning at him at the end of the long string of curses the boy had muttered.

OoOo

The next day after school found the boy accompanying his teacher to their favorite ramen stand. He had thought that his act was going perfectly, and thus was unprepared for the interrogation Iruka had prepared for the moment they had settled in. It started inconspicuously enough.

"Are you feeling all right, Naruto?"

Frowning in confusion at the oddly intent look on his favorite teacher's face, Naruto said, "I'm fine, Iruka-sensei. Why?"

Iruka tried to smile reassuringly. "Well, it's just that you've been pretty quiet over the last few days, and I'm just worried that you're coming down with something."

Naruto thumped his chest. "You know that wouldn't happen to me, Iruka-sensei! The fox stops all that." He waved off the concern, then froze, his eyes wide. He wasn't supposed to know about that. Crapcrapcrapcrap on a stick.

"Fox..." Iruka said slowly. "What fox?"

Naruto mentally scrambled for a plausible answer, and tried to find one that seemed at least a little bit plausible. "Fox? Who said anything about a fox?" He asked, feigning confusion.

Iruka's eyebrows furrowed, "You just-"

"You need to get your hearing checked, sensei. I didn't say anything about a fox." He covered, cutting off the chunin mid sentence. A light seemed to light up in Iruka's eyes, and Naruto almost groaned. The man leaned a little bit closer.

"Naruto, has anyone mentioned a fox to you lately? Is that why you're acting odd?" It would explain the odd introspective attitude the boy had lately, the man reasoned. Naruto would be depressed at the thought that he and the Kyuubi were one and the same.

Naruto was trying to figure out how to wriggle out of the fine mess he had created. Tell the truth (which would take far longer than he and Iruka could hang around here for) or lie like he's never lied before. Of course he chose the latter. "What is it with you and foxes today, Iruka-sensei?" He asked.

Iruka sighed and sat back. So it didn't have anything to do with Kyuubi then, though he was almost completely positive that Naruto had said the fox takes care of him getting sick. "It's nothing, Naruto. Nothing at all." Luckily for both of them, Teuchi chose that moment to deliver their ramen, and they forwent talking while they ate. Iruka forgot about the rest of his questions in the wake of the panic that had set in when he thought he heard Naruto mention a fox.

Naruto ate quickly of course, eating far beyond his fill like he used to. Iruka and Teuchi would expect no less. Finally when he felt like he was about to burst he let out a satiated sigh and grinned at Iruka. "That was good ramen, eh, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka nodded mutely, and payed the bill. He was no closer to finding out what was wrong with Naruto before, but it seemed, at least for now, the blond was back to normal.

OoOo

Two days later, the day before the genin exam, Naruto came into the room to find Iruka standing alone at the front of the classroom looking solomn. The boy had a feeling he knew what this was about, and sent a smile at his teacher before sitting down. He wondered if Iruka-sensei would explain the real reason for Mizuki's sudden disappearance, or if he would gloss it over some how.

When every student had filled the classroom, Iruka called their attention to him. It didn't escape his notice that once again Naruto was quiet, but at least he seemed to be paying attention today.

"Well, class, I have some bad news." He announced, "It seems that Mizuki-sensei won't be joining us for tomorrow's exams." He continued, and a worried murmur rippled through the room. Naruto didn't even blink.

One girl raised her hand. "What happened to him, sensei? Is he sick?" She asked.

Iruka shook his head sadly. He had wanted to protect his students from the truth, but he had been ordered not to lie to them. "No, he's not sick. He's been taken by the ANBU to be interrogated under the suspicion of treason." For once he missed the self satisfied nod Naruto gave, and questioning continued in that vein for a bit before he forced the class back on task. They did have a big test tomorrow.

There you have it, chapter 1. I thought maybe I could try my hand at a chaptered fic. Thank you to the people who reviewed, it's y'all who gave me the courage to post this. Any tips and tricks y'all have for me would be appreciated. Feel free to speak your mind in reviews!

No one knows what Mizuki's real surname is, so I found one that people tended to use for him, and ran with it.

See y'all next week.