A Fox among the Hounds

The Genin Exams

-Six years later-

"Naruto! Kiba!" Tsume called, "Wake up, it's time for school!"

No response.

Exasperated, Tsume walked over to the dish rack and started rattling the plates. "Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka, don't make me go up there and drag your lazy tocuses out of bed."

Still no response.

Just then, the doggy door opened and two puppies trotted in- one white with brown spots on its floppy ears; the other, red and pointy-eared with a bushy, curled-up tail. Upon spotting them, Tsume suddenly had a wickedly devilish idea.

"Akamaru, Aomaru," she called, "Would you both be a dear and kindly wake Kiba and Naruto for me?"

"Arf! (trans: Sure!)"

"Thanks," she said. "Here's a little treat for you both." Reaching up to a shelf, she grabbed a bag of beef jerky and handed a piece to each pup. The puppies gratefully licked her hand and gobbled up their treats before scampering upstairs into the boys' room.

Tsume's lips curled up into a satisfied smirk. "And in three… Two… One…"

"AUUUGHHHH!" The screams alone were probably loud enough to wake the whole world, both living and dead. Soon afterwards, Kiba and Naruto came trundling downstairs, spitting and wiping their lips.

"Mom, that was gross!" Kiba exclaimed, "Why can't you wake us up like a normal person?"

"Because you don't wake up when I do!" Tsume retorted. "Honestly, the things I do to get you runts out of bed…"

"At least I have a reason to be tired," Naruto grumbled, "I've been studying all night."

"*cough*Nerd.*cough*"

The blond rounded onto his brother with narrowed eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said so I heard."

Naruto's expression lightened. "Yeah, that's what I thought." And without second thoughts, he promptly punched Kiba on the arm.

"Alright, enough with the roughhousing, eat your breakfast, and get dressed!" Tsume admonished. "You have a busy day ahead of you today."

"C'mon Mom," Kiba wheedled, "You say that every day."

"Actually, she's not bluffing," Naruto replied as he tucked into his porridge. "Today's the day of the Genin Exam."

"Crap in a bucket! It's that day already?"

"Kiba Inuzuka, mind your language!"

"How in the world is 'crap' a swear word?"

"It is when people are eating!" snapped Tsume. "Now hurry up, you're running late!"

After a raucous breakfast, the two boys got dressed and readied themselves for school. Whistling for their respective ninken, they bid their mother goodbye and headed out.

As the Inuzuka brothers walked en route to the school, they were gradually joined by their friends. First to join was Shikamaru, whose ranch was fairly close by the Inuzuka residence. Then Hinata. Then Shino. And lastly, Ino, Chouji, and Sakura.

"I hope the test's not too hard," muttered Chouji through a mouthful of chips. "I heard they made last year's graduates run through the obstacle course- blindfolded!"

"Don't worry," said Naruto. "That story is just a myth, just like the Sage of Six Paths and that one yarn about the moon."

"Easy for you to say," Kiba grumbled. "You're prepared."

"And you're not, that's why you have a C average," Naruto was quick to point out.

"It's a C-plus average, thank you very much," Kiba shot back rather huffily.

"It would be best if you do not go into hysterics," droned the ever-rational Shino. "It only aggravates the intensity of the situation."

Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji stared at Shino as if he had grown a second head.

"And here's yet another nerd," Kiba grouched. This time, it was Shino who punched him.

"Sometimes you guys can be such a pain…" yawned the lazy Nara. "He said don't panic and take it easy, you're only making the situation worse."

Suddenly, there was a panicked cry from both Sakura and Ino.

"What happened?" asked Naruto, as he and the other boys ran to where the girls were, only to find Hinata sprawled unconscious.

Sakura bit her lip. "I have no clue. One minute, we were just discussing about the test, and the next thing we knew, Hinata was out like a light!" She snapped her fingers. "Just like that!"

Naruto opened his canteen and splashed some water onto Hinata's face and gave it a few light taps. Just then, the Hyuuga began to wake up.

"Ohh… Where am I? What's going on?" she asked, bringing a hand up to her head. As her vision returned, the first thing she saw in full clarity were a pair of concerned, blue eyes hovering just a few inches away from her own. A blush spread across her cheeks in full force. "N-naruto?"

"Glad you're back, Hinata," said the blond Inuzuka, smiling gently at her. "You had us worried for a second there."

With Naruto in very close proximity, Hinata felt rather light-headed and was close to passing out. But this time, rescue came in the form of Ino.

"Are you alright?" she asked, helping her friend up. "You gave us quite a scare."

"I-I'm f-f-fine," answered Hinata. "Just n-nervous."

Naruto fished out a pack of soda crackers from his backpack. "Nibble on a few of these," he said, offering the crackers to the Hyuuga. "It usually helps calm me down when I get the jitters."

"Aww! Isn't that sweet?" Kiba cooed, nudging both Shikamaru and Chouji. "Our Naru's in love!" he teased, making Hinata blush even harder.

"Sh-shut up!" cried the blond, swiping at his brother. "I'm just helping a friend."

"Suuuurrrre… That's what they all say," Kiba cackled as he dodged the blow. "Naru and Hina sitting in a tree…"

"Kiba! I'm warning you!"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"Shikamaru, if you're as smart as they say you are, you'd better can it now."

"First comes love…"

"Et tu, Chouji?"

"Then comes marriage…"

The blond slapped a hand to his forehead. "Not you too, Shino!"

"Then comes Hina with a baby carriage!" chorused the four brunets. At that last statement, Hinata passed out again.

"NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE! THAT'S IT, YOU GUYS ARE DEAD!" Naruto screamed. He charged towards the other boys like a mad bull as they ran off, laughing like hyenas.

Sakura looked at Naruto's retreating back, then at the unconscious Hinata, and back at Naruto. Sighing, she said, "I don't think I'll ever understand what Hinata sees in Naruto."

"Me neither," Ino quipped.

"Then it's agreed," said Sakura, "Love is weird."

"Amen to that, Sister," Ino agreed, nodding sagely. "Amen to that."

The gang made it to the Academy on time. As they entered the classroom, Kiba caught the last Uchiha glaring at them. Ever since Itachi Uchiha had gone off the deep end and killed off most of his fellow kinsmen, Sasuke had become rude and distant to other people, alienating his friends one by one, until he had no one left. There were even rumors that he may have become psychologically unstable.

"What are you looking at?" snarled Kiba, returning the Uchiha's death-glare.

Sasuke simply grunted contemptuously and walked away.

"I tell you, that guy is weird!" exclaimed Kiba.

"Even weirder than Shino?" asked Naruto.

"Pfft…" huffed Kiba. "That douchebag makes Shino look like the definition of normal. Why we were ever friends with him, I'll never know."

Throughout the conversation, the other students could have sworn they saw a small tic forming right over the Aburame's temple.

"Good morning, class," greeted Iruka, "As you all know, today is the day of your Genin Exam. This year's exam gives special attention to the illusion techniques such as the Bunshin and the Henge. When I call your name, please come down in front and transform into either me or the Hokage, and then create two Bunshin. First up… Aburame, Shino!"

"Hey Kiba," Naruto whispered, "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure," Kiba replied. "What do you need?"

"Can I borrow Akamaru for a bit?"

The brunet raised an eyebrow at his blond counterpart. "Excuse me?"

Naruto pouted. "Aw, come on Kiba! Just for a bit… I promise I'll return him to you afterwards."

"Fine!" Kiba relented. He turned to the puppy tucked into his shirt. "Hey Buddy, you okay with Naruto borrowing you for a bit?"

"Yip! Arf! (trans: No problem! But I want some rawhide in return.)"

Naruto grinned. "Deal. Thanks Kibs, I owe you one."

"Big time…" Kiba muttered.

When Iruka called Naruto's name, he went up front and transformed into a perfect copy of the Hokage.

"Very good…" noted Iruka as he jotted down on his scorecard. "Now I'd like to see your Bunshin, please."

Naruto gulped. 'Well, here goes nothing.' He tossed a couple of soldier pills at Aomaru and Akamaru, and shouted, Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu. Both Naruto and the puppies disappeared into a cloud of smoke, and when the smoke dissipated, there were three Narutos standing before Iruka and Mizuki.

"What?" Naruto asked, frowning at his teachers' dumbfounded expressions. "You wanted clones, and here they are. Solid ones at that."

"You never did specify what kind of clone he was supposed to make," Mizuki whispered to the other teacher. "And you have to admit, that was pretty ingenious of him."

Iruka sighed audibly. "You have a point there," he said to his colleague. He turned to Naruto. "You pass! You may now receive your forehead protector from Mizuki."

Naruto pumped his fist as he took his forehead protector. "Oh yeah!" he cheered. "I'm now a ninja, I'm now a ninja…" He soon began to perform a strange little victory dance.

"Naruto," Iruka called rather sternly. "Sit down, or I'll deduct your points for mentally scarring your classmates."

The blond Inuzuka promptly took his seat. "Sorry Sensei!"

After everyone had performed the test, Iruka announced that the test results would be released tomorrow. That meant the title of Number One Rookie would not be revealed until the next day. Naruto fidgeted with his forehead protector. He really wanted to know NOW. That only meant one thing…

…sneaking into the Academy after everyone else had gone home.

"Why are we here again?" asked Kiba in a hushed tone. "If I don't like coming here during the day, what makes you think I'd like coming here during dusk?"

"I need to know those results!" replied Naruto as he crept under one of the windows of his old classroom. Suddenly, he froze upon hearing muffled whispers coming from the room above them. He signaled Kiba to be quiet, and the brothers silently crept closer to catch bits and pieces of the conversation.

"It's not that I don't agree Mizuki," came a harsh whisper. "What if we get caught?"

"That's where the Henge comes in," sneered the one called Mizuki. "You go in as that fool Iruka, he gets framed and goes to jail, and we escape with the Forbidden Scroll."

Naruto and Kiba gasped. Iruka-sensei was in trouble! Having heard enough, the two boys ran back home to formulate a plan to save their teacher.

Mizuki and his accomplice smirked greedily. The Tokubetsu Jonin on duty were nowhere to be seen, leaving the Scroll unguarded. Seeing the opportunity, the accomplice transformed into Iruka and took the Scroll. Upon exiting the shrine, he transformed back to his true form, and handed the other end of the Scroll to Mizuki, the two men fleeing into the encroaching darkness.

"Urgh… It's really heavy…" whined the accomplice.

"Shut up," snarled the silver-haired Chuunin. "Just a little bit more, and we can finally get out of this rat-hole of a village."

"Is that so?" someone called.

The two men looked around, but saw no one. Where was the voice coming from?

"Over here, morons!"

The 'Scroll' disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only to be replaced by a blond-haired boy accompanied by a small, red, pointy-eared dog.

"We've been discovered!" gasped the accomplice.

"You idiot!" snarled Mizuki. "We're Chuunin! He's only a Genin, a fresh one at that! Not to mention that there we outnumber him two to one. A fight with him would be over in no time flat!"

"Oh really?" drawled Naruto, forming the necessary hand seals. "What if I told you I can do this? Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

One Naruto became three, and the two Chuunin stared at the sight. "How did you…?"

The first Naruto smirked. "You guys were taking too long, so I decided to pass the time with a bit of light reading. But I'm not done yet." Making another hand sign, he yelled, "Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The small puppy disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a fourth Naruto took his place. At this, all the Narutos gave a rather demonic smirk. "Let the party begin!" they shouted in unison. "Juujin Kage Bunshin Rendan!"

"I." One Naruto gave Mizuki a particularly vicious uppercut.

"Nu." Another sent the second Chuunin airborne with a flying kick.

"Zu." The other two Narutos reacquainted the two men with the ground with a well-placed haymayker.

"Ka." The first two Narutos spun the two men towards each other, making sure that the two criminals were on the path of collision.

"And this is the finisher!" called the original Naruto. "Shihokou Gatsuuga (trans: Piercing Fang from Four Directions)!"

The screams of Mizuki and his accomplice echoed through the forest as Naruto, Aomaru, and the two clones decimated them.

"There they are!" yelled a familiar voice.

Kiba and Akamaru, Iruka, Tsume and Kuromaru, and four ANBU came running into the scene. Their jaws nearly dropped at the damage the criminals suffered at the hands of Naruto and his clones.

"Whoa! You did this?" asked Kiba, nudging the battered and unconscious Mizuki with his foot.

"Yep!" Naruto beamed proudly. Then looking at the stern faces of Iruka and Tsume, he paled considerably. "Am I in trouble?" he asked, looking like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Tsume frowned at her sons. "You snuck into the Academy, broke into the shrine, hid the Scroll…" Naruto and Kiba hugged each other in fear of their mother's wrath. They were going to be grounded until the day they died. "… beat up a pair of criminals, and saved the day!" Like the sun bursting through a cloudy day, Tsume's face broke into a smile. "I'm very proud of both of you."

Like Tsume, Iruka's stern face had also broken into a smile as he clasped both Naruto and Kiba's hands. "I am forever grateful to the both of you. By foiling Mizuki's plan, not only did you save me from a terrible injustice, but you have also proved your allegiance to Konoha. You've become true ninja… …and I am proud to have been your teacher."

At this, the Inuzuka brothers launched themselves onto Iruka and Tsume, hugging the death out of them as the ANBU hauled the two traitors up and dragged them away.

At the Kage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled serenely as he laid down the scrying orb he had been observing through. Pulling out his pipe, he lit it and smiled up at the portrait of his short-lived successor.

'I must say, your son is quite the character. Things are just going to get livelier from here on.'

A/N: There weren't much changes with this chapter, though some parts were omitted and new ones where added. Thank you to all those who reviewed, and even more thanks to those who reviewed with helpful inputs. I'll be glad to put your advice to consideration.

Until next time,

N & B