Author's Notes: It is 1:30 in the morn, I'm too tired to sleep, I've had this thing a third of the way complete, but just haven't finished it.

To those who see that I started spelling Kyuubi KyuUbi, with two 'u's and not Kyubi, I found that constant typo myself and plan to change it in the future.

To Hasamaki: I think it would be awesome if you did a 'Kyuubi is Shippo' fic. Whole reason I did this one is because I thought there were not enough out there to begin with.

To others that have reviewed, thank you for doing so.

Eyes

"The eyes,"Naruto remembered Shippo saying, "no matter how battle hardened a person, always shows the intent of the individual."Such was the situation at hand. It was the day of the Genin exam and Naruto was covertly watching the eyes of his current class. He had already witnessed such eyes twice before, always full of confidence. It was the eyes of the proctors, however, that determined if Naruto himself would pass or fail. He was fairly confident that this time he would be able to graduate with Iruka-sensei as one of the proctors. It was Mizuki-sensei that worried him. His eyes told him of an untold purpose.

"And what purpose does he have in mind, I wonder."

'Should I fail? I don't mind another go,' Naruto asked his kitsune guardian.

"Hmm," Shippo hummed. "Let's play, shall we?"

'Alright! Game time,' Naruto thought with a hidden smirk. It was of no matter to Naruto whether he passed the exam or not. The Old Man, the Sandaime, wouldn't allow him to be kicked out despite the protests of the village counsel.

To pass the time, Naruto studied each of his classmates as they were called into the room opposite of the classroom. This class was rather unusual compared to the last two he had been in. This one had at least one from each major clan of the village. Of course most of his class was going to pass. Either the family would not hear of such failure, or in the case of the last Uchiha he wouldn't allow himself to fail. The bug user Shino, the dog tamer Kiba, the timid eyed Hinata, the shadow master Shikamaru, the mind mistress Ino, the heavy tank Choji, the book worm Sakura, and the rookie of the year Sasuke. All came from either a prestigious clan or a clan known for its talents. Of course they were going to pass.

Naruto was not disappointed as one by one his current classmates were called in and returned; proudly sporting shiny new hitai ate. Naruto almost groaned when his name was called. Snickers could be heard from the class, each wondering how the dead last was going to fail this time. Instead of listening to them, Naruto jumped from his seat. "Alright! Game ti-ga!" he hollered are he tripped down the stairs. The class roared in laughter. Naruto sat at the bottom of the stairs clutching his aching head and whimpering.

Sasuke sat next to the smarting boy in his seat. Looking away, he allowed a small smile at the blond's antics. 'Dobe.' As though hearing the other boy, Naruto bounced to his feet and jogged to the door.

Once inside, Naruto allowed himself to look at his two proctors. Again, Mizuki-sensei had that look in his eyes.

"Now then, Naruto," began Iruka.

Naruto stood at attention. "Hai."

"I want you to perform and produce three Bunshin. Understood?"

"Yes, sensei." He understood. He understood perfectly. But there was something off about Mizuki. The look of anticipation in his eyes slightly unnerved him.

Forming the proper handsign, Naruto began focusing his chakra. He stopped gathering it when he knew he had enough to do the technique properly, but started again to completely blow the jutsu out of proportion. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a large puff of smoke, a single, pale clone lay on the ground. Blushing, Naruto scratched the back of his head.

Iruka sighed. He had been certain that Naruto would get it this time. Taking a stamp from the desk in front of him, he solemnly said, "I'm sorry, Naruto, but you fail."

Naruto, playing the part of a truly determined academy student looked heart stricken. Opening his mouth to argue his case, he was stopped by none other than Mizuki-sensei.

"Now, Iruka. Don't you think we should pass him? I mean, this is his third time. And he did manage to make a clone," he said imploringly.

Iruka sighed again. "Mizuki, you know as well as I that we can't pass him. If he can't even create a decent clone, then what will happen to him when he gets out into the real world? It is for his own good." Mizuki looked decidedly downtrodden.

Hanging his head, Naruto exited the room. His mind was going a mile a minute. Ignoring the jeering from his former classmates, he headed towards his swing. It did not make sense. Why would Mizuki, someone who obviously didn't want him to pass, try and convince Iruka to pass him? Perhaps he did want him to die in the field.

"No, it is something else," Shippo stated. "All we can do now is wait." Naruto nodded.

And wait they did. Naruto continued to swing as the sun began to set. It wasn't until the sun's rays turned red did Shippo sense the shinobi in question.

"Ah, there you are Naruto. I've been looking for you."

Looking surprised, Naruto replied, "You have? Why?"

Mizuki smiled. "Come on, follow me," he commanded as he made his way into the village. Naruto didn't hesitate to follow, but if Mizuki could see the grin on his face, he would have.

oOoOo

Once seated on a high rise overlooking the village, Mizuki began his tale. "You know, you shouldn't blame Iruka. He's just looking out for you." He looked toward Naruto to see how he would react. Seeing nothing, he tried again. "You know, you remind him very much of himself."

Truly not expecting that, Naruto exclaimed, "Realy?"

Mizuki couldn't hold back the smile that claimed his face. "Oh yes. You remind him of him self so much, that he doesn't want to you to get hurt. He knows what kind of mischief he got into when he was your age and he doesn't want to see you do it as well."

"Oh," Naruto muttered looking downcast. "But, I really wanted to graduate."

Shippo smirked at the maniacal grin that briefly overtook the Chunin sensei. "We've got him."

"Well, in that case, maybe I should tell you."

"Huh? Tell me what, sensei?"

"Well it's, no. It's far too difficult."

"What, what is it?"

Mizuki looked at him sideways. "Another way for you to graduate."

"Really? Another way? What is it? I'll do it!"

Mizuki smiled.

oOoOo

The Sandaime was strolling along the corridors of the Hokage Tower doing a last minute check of his office before heading home for the night. The day had been long and he was looking forward to a nice cup of tea and a certain orange book. Expecting to see everything as he had left it, he was surprised to see one of his favorite people in his office. "Naruto? What are you…" he never got to finish as Naruto panicked.

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke, a tall, buxom blond stood where Naruto had been. With a wink and a blown kiss, Sarutobi was out for the count, a small stream of blood running from his nose. Releasing the jutsu, Naruto chuckled nervously. "Hehe, sorry Jiji, but I need to do this. Something major is going on and Mizuki is behind it." With that, Naruto grabbed the scroll that he was there for. Looking at it he read "Forbidden" carefully written in ink. "What the hell is this," he murmured in shock.

"Kit, what ever you do, do not let Mizuki have that scroll," Shippo declared ominously.

'What? Why?'

"I recognize that scroll. It is the same one your Fourth used to summon the Shinigami."

'In other words, this scroll is powerful.' Naruto only felt a mental sort of nod in confirmation. 'In that case, I better not let the bastard any where near it,' he concluded as he headed to the rendezvous point with the ninja traitor.

"The question now is," voiced Shippo, "why he would want the scroll in the first place, and why now."

'He's going to want to gloat, right? That's what Naraku did.'

"Very true. We'll wait and see. How do you plan on not letting Mizuki any where near the scroll when you're heading right for him?"

'Easy. The old switch-a-roo. I'll copy the first portion of the original to a fake with a genjutsu and hide the real one.'

Shippo gave a smirk in reply. "In other words, you're going to read the scroll."

'Of course,' Naruto quipped.

oOoOo

At the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi was waking up. 'That little punk,' he thought sleepily as he dabbed at his nose with a tissue. 'When I get my hand on him I'll…I'll mark that jutsu of his as forbidden.'

Sighing, the aged man stood and went to his desk. Sitting in his chair, he summoned his squadron of Anbu. "Do any of you what has happened here tonight?" Withholding another sigh when no one answered, he continued, "The Forbidden scroll has been stolen." The various animal masks all jerked up in bewilderment and confusion. Questions began to fly from every direction. Finally, the Sandaime stood and put at stop to the storm. "It was stolen from this room no more than half an hour ago. The perpetrator is Uzumaki Naruto." Indignant comments, accusations, and comments of disbelief filled the room. Again, the Sandaime put a halt to it. "His reasons for doing so are unknown. Know Uzumaki, he must have a good reason for this. Therefore, you are to locate and detain only. Question anyone in peripheral association with him tonight. Understood?" A chorus of affirmations was his answer. "Good. Now go." Like the ninja they were, all present disappeared with neigh a sound.