Chapter 2

From his vantage point on the swings, Naruto could see each and every happy face that walked through that door. Smiling faces. Foreheads sporting shiny protectors that glinted in the sunlight as though mocking him.

He watched enviously as their parents embraced them, congratulating them, showering them with pride and affection. He felt like he was sat outside the world, looking in. Always left out of it all.

The whispering was the worst. Just loud enough for his ears to catch, he heard "look there, that's the kid," "I heard he was the only one to fail," "that's good, we don't want trash like him as ninja," "I don't want him to influence my daughter, I told her to stay well away from him."

Not just that, almost everyone that saw him sitting there either smirked in a belittling way or just fully glared at him. It made him feel small and he unconsciously shrank into himself.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain as something hard hit his shoulder. He turned to see several younger children laughing and bending to pick up more rocks. Their parents looked on uncaringly and even with some amusement as they continued to throw them at him.

Only a couple hit their mark, but it was enough to force him to leave. He stalked off sullenly, hands in his pockets until the sounds were far behind him.

It was peaceful here, on top of the fourth Hokage's head that was carved into the cliff face. Nobody would come to disturb him here. He lay back, propping himself up on his elbows to watch the birds soaring overhead. 'Such a beautiful day' he thought to himself, sighing and allowing a small smile to appear on his lips. The wind would wash away all his bad feelings, let him forget. Forget.

A sudden stronger gust of wind was all the warning he had. Strong hands grabbed him roughly and everything went dark.

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He couldn't see, his body felt so heavy he just couldn't move. There was the sensation of moving quickly, and then he lost consciousness again.

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This time he could just about open his eyes a crack. The world swam into misty focus. He was lying on his back, somewhere in a forest. He tried to sit up, but found his body refused to obey as though it was pinned down to the ground.

A figure towered over him, dressed in black and with a cat mask concealing its face. The uniform of an ANBU. It, (he?), bent down to look at him closely then looked up at his companion. "He's awake," he reported.

The ANBU's companion was stood just out of Naruto's sight. It irritated him that he couldn't even turn his head to see what the other guy looked like.

"Good, then let us begin," the other guy replied in a soft but authoritative, stepping closer. Naruto squinted to make him out, but the sun was behind him and all he could see was the guy's silhouette. He tried to open his mouth, but even that refused to move.

The ANBU moved away to give his companion space, perhaps joining other ANBU's? Naruto could hear several quiet footsteps.

Just then, the other guy made a great many hand signs in quick succession. So quick it was difficult to follow them, and without any warning at all, slammed his hand down on Naruto's stomach. Directly over the weird mark.

The pain was unbearable. Strange chakra enveloped his mark, doing something. He screamed in his mind, as his vocal chords refused to obey him too, but it was drowned out as a flood of memories came rushing in.

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He didn't know how long he lay there. His body ached everywhere and his head, oh his head. It was as if somebody had driven a bulldozer through it.

Groaning, he blinked his eyes open and surveyed his surroundings. The room was white and very clean, with just a simple table and bed in which he was lying. Somehow he had been taken to Konoha General Hospital.

He tried to think back to what happened, it seemed so long ago. He had no idea how much time had passed as he'd browsed his new memories in wonder. But they weren't new memories, he'd discovered. They were his. His old memories.

They had been sealed inside him, that was what the mark was, it was a seal! Iruka had lied to him, or perhaps he hadn't known. No, he thought, he knew. All the adults knew, and now so did he, that he was a monster. A demon. The greatest of demons in fact. He remembered tracking prey on four legs, remembered swinging his great tails and watching the humans die. It had been so much fun.

And then it was over. He had been sealed in this human form, his memories of his years as a demon fox locked away forever, or so they thought. An evil smile twisted his features.

But he didn't feel like a demon. He looked at his hands. Ordinary, twelve year old human boy's hands. He tried to imagine himself destroying the village, it seemed impossible. He could never unleash that much raw power again, only his memories had been released, his true form and power still sealed away.

A pigeon landed on the ledge just outside his window and proceeded to preen itself. Its freedom annoyed Naruto-kyuubi a great deal. How dare it mock him!

His stomach gave a loud gurgle as he glared at the bird and licked his lips. When had he last eaten? He didn't know.

Baring his teeth, he crept to the window and opened it slowly, so as not to disturb the pigeon.

Without a minutes hesitation, Naruto had the bird in his teeth. Its neck cracking as his jaws crushed it. Soon all that was left was a small pile of feathers and bones, which he hurriedly brushed under the bed.

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Later that day he got a visitor.

"Old geezer!" he exclaimed in surprise. Despite having all his previously lost memories returned, he was still Uzumaki Naruto to these people and so he should act accordingly. His signature grin lit up his face.

"Naruto-kun, what have I told you? Please refer to me with some respect in public," the Third Hokage sighed, he knew the boy would never change. Re-adjusting his hat, he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked him in the eye with a serious expression.

"Naruto, I am here to discuss what happened yesterday," he started. Only yesterday? Naruto was sure he'd been asleep much longer. But what exactly had happened? Nothing was entirely clear to him; the old geezer would be somewhat disappointed.

"Yes, it is believed that due to your ill health you were unable to complete the test to the best of your ability," the third continued. 'Oh I see,' thought Naruto, 'they think I was just sick or something, they don't know about what really happened.' He waited for the Hokage to get to the point. "So I have spoken with the judges and they have agreed to let you retake the test."

Naruto blinked in astonishment. Retake the test? That would mean he still had a chance!

"Thank you old geezer! You're the best!" Naruto leapt from the bed and danced around the room. The Hokage chuckled at him.

"Well it seems you have gotten over the worst of your illness, the test shall begin at midday tomorrow, don't be late now," he said whilst getting to his feet with a groan.

"I won't! You can count on me," Naruto replied, still dancing.

The old geezer then waved goodbye and left, probably to do whatever it was that Hokage's do.

Naruto finally stopped dancing and investigated his feelings. It was odd to think that, despite everything these humans had done, all their mistreatment and sealing him and everything, he still didn't hold a grudge against them. It made no sense. He should be causing havoc and destroying the whole lot of them in his vengeance, and yet he preferred to please their leader and even become a ninja to protect them!

His inner turmoil caused him to feel hungry again. There was nothing left of the pigeon, so he ventured outside to look for ramen. Ramen was most certainly the food of the gods, he had decided. The hospital staff wouldn't care if he disappeared, in fact they would probably be happy to see him go, if they noticed at all. It was a similar story wherever he chose to go. Most restaurants wouldn't admit him, and shops charged him three times as much than regular people.

Not that money had been that much of a problem. He got a monthly grant from the Hokage and sometimes from Iruka if he asked nicely. It wasn't as if he bought much anyway, who needed that many clothes?

The Ichiraku Ramen Shop was different. "Naruto-kun! I'm so glad you're out of the hospital, I was really worried about our number one customer," smiled a pretty young girl as she placed a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him, "its on the house."

"Thanks Ayame-chan!" Naruto grinned happily and devoured the entire contents in less than a minute. Half an hour later, a pile of twenty or so empty bowls stood in a stack in front of him as he sat back and rubbed his belly.

"Mmm, delicious as always. Thanks Ayame-chan, Teuchi-kun! See ya," he waved as he set off for his apartment.

They watched him go, and then turned to each other. "Did he look... different to you?" Ayame asked her father. He shrugged and turned back to the noodles.

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That night Naruto dreamed.

He was running through the forest on all fours, his claws digging into the earth. He could smell the deer, almost as if it were right in front of his nose. Everything was in sharp focus; the bark on the trees as he flew past, each individual leaf on the branches, even the feathers of a hawk as it soared above him.

He soon caught up with the deer, his speed and powerful muscles no match for its spindly little legs. Then he leapt, claws extended, jaws open. His sharp fangs pierced through flesh...

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He awoke with a start. Something was different.

He felt good. Better than he'd ever felt before. He rolled out of bed and stared in shock at his hands. His fingernails had somehow taken on a major growth spurt during the night, they looked almost like claws. They were claws. He ran to the mirror to see if anything else had happened. Nothing too obvious he was relieved to see. His ears had become slightly more pointed, his canine teeth a bit bigger and the whisker-like marks on his cheeks just that bit darker.

'Just a side effect of the other day,' he mused to himself.

He took his time getting up, eating breakfast. For some reason he had woken up before his alarm and he didn't even need to be anywhere until midday. He decided to review the scrolls and books again, but found that he really didn't need to. All the knowledge from before had come flooding back along with his memories.

Sighing happily, he spent the rest of the morning perfecting his chakra control. Surprisingly with the return of his memories had also come the ability to better control his chakra. He didn't understand it at all.

Soon it was time for the test. Again.

He blazed through the written exam with no problem, he could even recall some of the answers through personal experience. He'd been in quite a few battles as a demon.

The practical exam was still a problem. Though his chakra control was much better than before, it still wasn't brilliant compared to most people of his age.

He entered the room and found the same three judges as before. Mizuki smiled arrogantly. "Alright then Uzumaki-kun. Same as before, let's see some clones this time."

Naruto nodded and concentrated hard as he made the hand sign. The chakra he formed was different from what he usually had, but he paid no attention to that. The judges watched in surprise as it became visible, a deep red colour. What was the name of the jutsu he was supposed to use? He remembered something from his new memories. 'A battle against a ninja, who had used... ah! I remember now, that jutsu was...'

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!

The room filled with smoke just as before, but when it cleared Naruto could clearly see the shocked expressions on the three judges' faces. No less than twenty perfect copies of Naruto stood in a line next to him, and they weren't just ordinary clones. They were shadow clones; actual physical copies of the real thing which could inflict damage on foes. But wasn't it a lost jutsu? How did he manage to do it.

The outcome of the test was unanimous. He had passed!

He left the academy beaming, his head sporting a shiny new forehead protector and ran to find Iruka. This was a time for celebration! He couldn't quite believe it.

He was going to be a Ninja of Konoha.