The Fox's Disciple

Chapter 1: The Academy *Seven Years Later*

A/N: Here is the first chapter! Enjoy! Again I DONT OWN NARUTO!

Naruto was perched on the leather stool, inhaling bowl after bowl of ramen noodles at his favorite restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen.

"Thanks for the ramen, old man!" Naruto called, waving as he began his jog to the academy. The older man waved to the 12 year old.

"Good luck at school, Naruto!" he called. Naruto turned forward and continued his run. The Leaf Village was usually quite peaceful, but today was extra nice. The sun's golden rays beamed down on Naruto's head, setting his platinum blonde hair ablaze. Birds sang in the tree tops outside the gate that separated the village from the thick forest. The Hokage Monument loomed off in the distance, the carved faces of the four Hokages looking over the village. Naruto gazed at the face of the Fourth Hokage. The deceased man was Naruto's idol, and Naruto's goal was to become even stronger than him. Naruto entered the academy, fully aware of the glares and whispers of the lingering parents. How long would they look at him like that? Why did they look at him like that? Naruto shook his head, trying to rid himself of the questions he knew would never get answers to. He had tried to ask Iruka-sensei, but he had avoided the question and ignored Naruto's pleads for closure. Naruto pushed his way through the Ninja Academy, ignoring the sneers from fellow students as he passed them in the hallway. His classmates were almost as bad as their parents. Naruto pushed the sliding door of his classroom aside and strolled in, plastering his fake smile to his face.

"Shut up Ino-pig, I was here first!" the pink-haired girl screeched.

"In your dream Billboard brow!" Ino shouted back. The blond haired girl pushed herself into Sakura's face. Naruto rolled his eyes. Sasuke fangirls were the worst kind of girls. Naruto strode over to where the blonde and pink haired girl faught. He slipped past them and into the seat beside the raven haired boy.

"What do you think you're doing, Naruto?" Sakura demanded.

"Saving the damsel in distress," he responded, pointing a thumb to the scowling boy beside him. The girls continued to yell at Naruto, but their complaints went through one ear and out the other.

"Get in your seats Sakura, Ino," Iruka ordered as he walked into the class, a pile of papers in his hands. The girls huffed and went to sit elsewhere. Naruto knew Sasuke would not thank him, but he could feel the relief come off the Uchiha in waves. "All right, now that you all are seated, let's discuss the upcoming Genin exams." Iruka stood in front of the class, hands on his hips. A buzz of excitement filled the room, but Naruto only felt cold dread. He had failed that test twice already, and he was almost positive he would fail once more.

"Nervous, Dobe (loser)?" Sasuke taunted, his onyx gaze turning to the blonde seated to his right. Just like every kid in the class, Sasuke knew that Naruto had failed the exam twice.

"Shut up, Uchiha," Naruto seethed.

"In preparation for this exam, we will practice our Henge," Iruka said. Now Naruto was excited. The class got up and stood in front of their teacher, Sasuke at the beginning and Naruto at the end. Sasuke raised his hands and formed the hand seal required to perform the Henge.

"Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)!" Sasuke called. A cloud of smoke bloomed around Sasuke, and when the smoke cleared everyone was faced with a second Iruka. The scarred man looked at his clone with amusement.

"Thank you, Sasuke," the Chunin dismissed. One by one each student cloned themselves into their teacher, copying the scar on his nose, his blue pants, khaki Chunin vest , black ninja sandals, and pony tailed hair. By the time Iruka arrived at Naruto, he had seen twenty seven students turn into him. Naruto held his hands up in the seals, an evil smirk stretching from one side of his face to the other.

"Henge no Jutsu!" Suddenly standing before Iruka, was a beautiful teenage girl, blonde pig tails hanging down to her waist. Iruka fell back in surprise, knocking over some items on his desk. Another puff of smoke later, and the blonde girl was replaced with Iruka's hyperactive student. Naruto was rolling on the floor, tears of laughter streaming down his face.

"You should have seen your face, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto guffawed. Iruka glared at his student, aware that the rest of the class were trying to hide their own bouts of laughter.

"Naruto, I'll see you after class," Iruka hissed out of embarrassment. Naruto's laughter subsided rather quickly upon hearing his teacher.

"But, Iruka-sensei, it was just a joke!" Naruto argued.

"Don't argue with me, Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka shouted. Naruto sighed.

"Hai (yes), Iruka-sensei," Naruto muttered. Iruka's eyes softened at his student's uncaracterisic compliance.

"Alright class, go back to your seats. Class will be ending soon," Iruka said. The students went back to their desks, their amusement quelled by their teacher's reprimand. Everyone silently waited to be dismissed, a few of them giving Naruto sympathetic glances, which were quickly diverted by the blonde's icy glare. I don't need their pity. Never have, never will, Naruto thought. A few minutes later, Iruka dismissed the class, leaving the teacher and student alone in the classroom.

"Naruto, why do you insist on causing trouble at every turn?" Iruka demanded. He was answered with cold silence, like every time he asked the question. Iruka sighed tiredly, looking at the normally hyperactive blonde. Iruka didn't dislike Naruto. He considered Naruto to be like a younger brother, but that didn't mean he could let Naruto run rampant. Iruka saw himself in Naruto, the him after his parents had died during the Kyuubi (Nine tails) attack. Naruto was lonely and wanted attention, though he would never admit that. Naruto stared out of the classroom window, determined not to look at Iruka. The scarred man walked carefully toward Naruto and sat beside him. Iruka placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and turned the teen to face him. Iruka was surprised to see the tears that swam in the youth's sky-blue eyes.

"Naruto, tell me," Iruka insisted softly. Naruto's eyes hardened and he feverishly wiped at his eyes. Naruto stood, and strode to the window. He turned to face his teacher and said something that Iruka never wanted to hear come from Naruto's lips,

"I don't need you Iruka-sensei. I don't need anyone! I can take care of myself like I have been for twelve years!" Naruto jumped out of the window and took off running toward the lush forest surrounding the school.

"Naruto!" Iruka cried.