The Fox's Disciple

Chapter 5: The Breaking Point

It hurt. It hurt so much, and Naruto did not know what to do with the pain. He was the vessel for the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and Iruka knew and never told him. Twice that day he had been betrayed by people he thought he could trust. It was just too much to bear. He stumbled over a tree root and crashed to the ground. Tears horribly blurred his vision and he had no motivation to continue moving. He set the scroll down beside him and wrapped his arms around his orange clad knees and let the tears flow; let his weakness show itself. All the hate filled words finally made sense. “Demon!” “Monster!” “You killed my husband!” “Just go die!”

The tears flowed faster. His broken sobs rang through the silent clearing, and he didn’t care who heard them.

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Mizuki lept through the forest, searching for his blonde target. Where’d that stupid brat go? I need that scroll! He was using a Henge to mimic the wounded Iruka, complete with the blood and everything. Mizuki caught sight of an orange and blonde blur, slightly hidden by the greenery, and quickly put up the “I’m wounded” act.

“Naruto!” he called out in a raspy voice, making his jumps unbalanced and his movements look painful. The figure stopped and turned. Mizuki/Iruka leaned against a tree and panted softly.

“Iruka-sensei?” the voice sounded relieved, then took on a note of worry, “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Naruto. We need to get that scroll back to Hokage-sama. Give it here and then we can go,” Mizuki/Iruka assured, holding out a hand for the precious scroll. Naruto looked suspiciously at the hand, holding the scroll close.

“Not happening, Mizuki,” Naruto growled, slapping the hand away. Mizuki/Iruka glared at the student. Suddenly, Naruto was swallowed by a cloud of smoke, and Iruka lept from its confines.

“Damn you Iruka,” Mizuki hissed, dodging a weak blow from Iruka’s kunai. Mizuki lashed out in cold furry, his sandaled foot connecting with Iruka’s already battered body. The brown-haired chunin flew from the trees, landing with a painful thud. Blood splattered the ground as Iruka coughed. He spat, trying to get the metallic taste out of his mouth.

“Iruka-sensei?”

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Naruto had heard a loud thud a few meters away and had decided to investigate, wiping away the tearstains and balancing the scroll on his back. He crouched in the shadows and slowly crept towards the sound. He arrived just in time to see Iruka cough up the horribly familiar crimson liquid.

“Iruka-sensei?” he asked, hesitant at first. Iruka looked up in alarm at his student.

“Naruto, get out of here!” he shouted. Naruto didn’t move. The sight of the bleeding and wounded Iruka made something inside him snap. Iruka was injured because of Naruto’s stupidity. His naive and childish wants to prove himself, to become leader of a village that wanted him dead. His vision began to darken until only Mizuki was there. Mizuki, the traitor. Miuzki, the man who was about to die. With an animalistic howl, Naruto pounced.