The Fox's Disciple

Chapter 4: Secrets

Naruto flew through the trees, trying to get to the wooden shack in the middle of the forest. It was roughly eight forty and he needed to get to the shack. He couldn’t hear pursuing shinobi, which he hoped was a good sign. The green and purple scroll weighed heavily on his back and was continuously slipping. He huffed in irritation as he fixed its position once more, causing him to slow momentarily. After a few more minutes of shifting the scroll and cursing whoever decided to make it so big, he arrived at the shack and practically threw the scroll to the ground. He leaned against the rotting wall of the shack, settling down to wait for Mizuki. I wonder what's in this scroll? Naruto wondered. He stared at the scroll and it seemed to beckon to him. Well, I carried it all the way here, so I deserve a reward, right? He crawled forward and used his nail to break the wax seal that held the parchment closed.

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“Hokage-sama, we think we may know who stole the Forbidden Scroll,” an ANBU shinobi reported, standing tall and straight.

“Who?” the seventy year old man asked.

“Naruto Uzumaki, an Academy student,” the dog masked man replied.

“Naruto?” the Hokage asked, surprised. Everyone knew Naruto as a prankster and troublemaker, but stealing the Forbidden Scroll was a serious crime. The Hokage sighed, rubbing his forehead with his palm.

“Bring him to me, Dog. Make sure he isn’t hurt, though. I need to ask him some questions. Oh, and bring Iruka with you,” the Hokage ordered. The masked man, bowed slightly and used a special *jutsu to melt into the floor. “Oh, Naruto, what have you done?” he asked the unresponsive room.

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Naruto had been practicing one jutsu in the scroll for a while, and he thought he was finally getting the hang of it.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!” he shouted. The difference between a regular and shadow clone, was that is you were to hit a regular clone, your hand would travel right through it. A shadow clone was solid. A perfect copy of himself appeared in a puff of smoke and smiled at him. Naruto laughed giddily. He did it! He made a perfect clone of himself! He dispelled the clone and sat down, beaming. There was a rustle of leaves overhead and Naruto jumped to his feet.

“Mizuki-sensei?” he asked, cautious. The last person he expected appeared from the leaves, “Iruka-sensei?!” Iruka slid to the ground, landing lightly on the balls of his feet.

“Naruto, what have you done?” Iruka asked, his brown eyes troubled.

“What do you mean, Iruka-sensei?”

“What do I mean? You stole the Forbidden Scroll, Naruto! That’s illegal!” Iruka shouted. Naruto felt numb all the sudden.

“What?” he croaked.

“Aw, looks like I got here a little too late,” someone cooed. Mizuki stood on a tree branch, leaning against a large, fuma shuriken that was easily the size of Naruto.

“Mizuki? What are you doing here?” Iruka asked, confused as to why his friend stood before him, armed.

“Our little Naruto was just delivering something that I need, that’s all,” Mizuki said, smiling evilly, “congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki, you graduate!” Mizuki laughed. He hefted the fuma shuriken and flung it towards Naruto. Naruto screwed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable.

“Naruto!” Iruka cried. Naruto felt a drop of something warm splash onto his face. Blood, he thought, but why is there no pain? Naruto opened his eyes, hesitating slightly. He gasped. Above him, Iruka shielded his body, Mizuki’s shuriken protruding from his back.

“Iruka-sensei!” Naruto howled. Iruka smiled at him, blood dripping from his lips. Tears cascaded down Naruto’s face.

“Naruto….take the scroll….and….run,” Iruka gasped out.

“No, Iruka-sensei, I won’t leave you,” Naruto sobbed.

“Why do you protect him, Iruka? Why do you protect the beast that killed your parents?” Mizuki asked,

“Mizuki...don’t….” Iruka rasped.

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked, his wet face displaying confusion.

“Well, you see--”

“Don’t!” Iruka cried.

“Do you know the story about the Kyuubi?” Mizuki asked, ignoring Iruka. Naruto nodded and Iruka turned to glare at Mizuki.

“Don’t!”

“Well, you were told that the Fourth Hokage killed the beast. They lied. The Fourth couldn’t kill the Kyuubi, so he sealed the monster into a baby. You,” Mizuki shouted, “now I’m gonna’ do Konoha a favor and kill you, demon!” Naruto stared wide eyed at Mizuki.

“No, you’re lying!” Naruto yelled, but he didn’t believe himself. Memories of the villagers throwing things at him, calling him a demon, flashed through his mind. He looked at the bleeding Iruka. Iruka looked at him with sorrow filled eyes. “No,” Naruto sobbed loudly. He scrambled out from under his teacher and snatched the scroll. He fled into the forest, running from the startling truth.