The start of my new fanfic! I'm sooo excited I could just BURST! (okay, not really, but you know what I mean and if you don't, well...)

I started getting this story written on paper while I was in Cancun, NM and was pleased to see how well it followed with it's plot and action and characters and such, so I thought "What the hell" and resumed my talents and relaxed all the same time in a beautiful country(with equally appealing women). A win-win deal if I ever had one!

Before you read this fic, I want you to at least read these few words: I personally don't see why other authors bitching about Naruto's jumpsuit and all with the rest of the village shinobi doing no better. I'd elaborate more into this issue but I'll have my opinion typed in the story following Naruto's perspective along the story.

Also if you have read my other story already and have or have not reviewed I'm very appreciative to know my stories catch your attention.

DISCLAIMER; I DON'T OWN NARUTO! KISHIMOTO DOES!

Kyuubi Speaking
Kyuubi Thinking
Text
"Words"
'Thoughts'
"Jutsu's/Techniques"
Summons talking
(Translations)

And so the story begins...12 years ago, a powerful demon attacked Konohagakure-no-satou, the Village of Hidden Leaf. It was the Kyuubi-no Kitsune, the Fox of Nine Tails. It was enormous. A true demon of legend that made the most the often most ridiculous fables seem believable. A single swing of it's massive, crimson furred tails could level whole mountains or summon tsunamis. Only few mountains could equal it's size, and even fewer that could dwarf the demon's stature.

No one knew why it attacked or for how long it continued it's rampage. It could have been hours, days, or even weeks and no one could have told the difference. They were too busy running for cover and shelter. A vain attempt.

Many lives were lost and taken. The fortunate ones were either crushed by the demon's massive tail and/or paws or were reduced to ashes by its demonic chakra. The unfortunate were the ones eaten and torn to pieces by it's jagged fanged jaws and were forced -and compelled- to see into the monster's blood-red eyes that could make even the devil tremble in fear before they fell into death's welcoming embrace.

By the time the Yondaime (the Forth) Hokage arrived to face the demon himself, the village was in ruins, bodies littered the rubbled streets, the surrounding forest was scarred with destruction, and many shinobi died trying to fend off the monstrous beast. Atop the head of Gamabunta, the Boss of the Frog Summons, stood the Yondaime Hokage, his golden blond and spiky hair rustling in the wind with his white, flame-trimmed cape over his Jounin uniform, a new-born child in his arms. The child was a boy with a spiral seal on his belly, twisting around the freshly cut navel. His hair was blond.

The Kyuubi chuckled in mocking laughter. No human could ever hope to stand a chance against a beast as great as he, Boss summon or no. And to bring a child -His child- his own flesh and blood onto the battle field. What arrogance these humans have! It was a miracle their race has lasted so long with their obvious stupidity!

Such were the Kyuubi's last thoughts before it was blinded by a bright, blue light from where the Yondaime stood and felt it's soul -and energy- ripped from it's body and sealed into another, it's prison for time untold and saw nothing but darkness.

After the demon's essence was sealed into the sleeping boy's body, the Shinigami (Death God) who was summoned by the Yondaime for his sealing ritual, spoke in an ominous voice before disappearing into the darkness.

"You have five minutes before your soul leaves this plain of existence. Use your time well." and the apparition left.

'Gee, thanks!' the Yondaime thought sarcastically. His gaze went to the child in his arms and already felt the pangs of regret and sorrow for his child. He knew the boy would be treated harshly, but he hoped -No, prayed- Prayed his son could survive his coming ordeals.

'Forgive me, my son', he thought, 'but I had to defend my village, my home -Our home-. And I'm sorry I forced you into life possibly worse than death. But I know you're strong, and will remain strong. You didn't even cry when the demon was sealed into you.'

The Yondaime groaned painfully, his knees buckled and fell beneath his weight. His strength was waning. He didn't have long until his time ended.

'I wish I could give you a good name, but maybe you can find one for yourself one day. Grow strong and...make me proud. Grow...strong...my...son...'

His soul was gone. And with it, his hopes followed. The Yondaime, Kazama Arashi, fell from his perch on Gamabunta's head and descended to the ground with the child still in his arms. Sarutobi, the Sandaime (the Third) deftly caught the two in mid-air and gently laid them down on the grass after Gamabunta said his solemn goodbyes for the death of his summoner and left in an explosion of smoke and dust.

Sarutobi scooped the baby child in his arms and his eyes softened looking at the boy's innocent and sleeping face. He turned his gaze toward the surrounding forest and called for someone by whistling sharply. A konoha Chuunin leapt into the clearing and awaited for the Sandaime's orders which were to bring the Yondaime's body back to the village for a proper burial. The shinobi nodded and carefully lifted his former leader's body over his shoulder and took off towards the ruined village. The Sandaime sighed as returned his gaze to the sleeping infant and he, too, felt regretful for the boy's future.

'I know you may not hear me, Arashi-kun', thought the Sandaime, 'But I swear I will do everything in my power to keep your son safe. I hope you don't mind if I name him Naruto. After all, you were always a glutton for ramen.' Sarutobi chuckled. 'Naruto. Yes, your name shall be Naruto for now.

'Do us all proud, Uzumaki, Naruto...'

Twelve/thirteen years later...

The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was refreshingly cool, and the skys were clearer than river water. Such were the common weather conditions Konoha village experienced nearly all-year 'round.

After the Kyuubi's defeat, the village attempted to rebuild their once glorious home...and succeeded. Their shinobi forces were once again strong and stable, trade and commerce flourished and many of the larger and stronger families were living in almost royalty. No one was poor or homeless, but there were many orphans as a result of the aftermath of the demon's attack. One such orphan yawned and stretched as he awoke to the new day.

Blond hair, blue eyes, tan skin, and whisker marks on his cheeks were the most distinguishing features Naruto Uzumaki exuded. He hopped out of his bed and surveyed his apartment as he always did in the morning. The Apartment was bland, with no trace of clutter or trash and only the necessities provided: a single table, a small refrigerator, a dresser, a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and a shower stall big enough for two, a stove and balcony perch outside the back of the apartment which gave an excellent view of the whole of the south portion of Konoha. He never kept his clothes in his dresser because of villagers often raiding his apartment in the years past. He kept them under the floor boards beneath his bed.

Remembering he had class that morning, he wasted no time getting dressed in his slab-armored net shirt under his orange, verging red coat jacket with a white fleece collar and matching pants. Strapping on his kunai and shuriken holsters to his thighs, he also put his rear pouch buckled to his belt and slipped his feet into his heavy shinobi sandals. He took one last look at his home interior and left for the academy. If anyone could find anything of value in there, they were more than welcome to it.

Naruto's P.O.V.

A warm light from an unveiled sun, a cool breeze that felt refreshingly good, and the scenery of an unending forest. A beautiful day some find the only reason to wake up to.

I hated days like these!

It's not that I hate the weather in particular or personally. I just hate it because it reminds me of everything I have never, or will ever have.

Warmth. Comfort. Peace. Solace.

I prefer clouded, rainy days. I don't like them in particular, but I depend on them in some way, like the dark atmosphere numbs the pain of my hate, confusion, and loneliness I feel every day in this village. I scowled. These thoughts of doubts and such were going to weaken me, suppress my strength and make me create unnecessary uncertainties. I looked at my clothes. And I scowled, remembering vividly what the first person said when they saw me over four years ago; "You idiot! You call yourself a ninja with those clothes?! You're a walking bull's eye! Stop trying to get attention 'cause it ain't gonna work, stupid monster."

I admit. I did try to gain attention by wearing bright colors and even screaming my head off that I would one day become Hokage, just to feel special that I was aiming for a high goal. I even pulled alot of well-planned pranks all around the village just to be noticed, even if it wasn't the attention that I wanted. I wanted a family. Someone that would at least accept my existence. But I found no one. So I gave up trying to get the attention of others, and focused solely on training to make myself stronger, fierce enough to face the villagers if they continued to attack me; like before when I was thrown out of the orphanage when I was five years old. I didn't bother to change my cloths. After all, what difference would it make if my cloths were "darker" and appeared more "professional"? Cloths don't make a shinobi: it's the experience that makes one both an assassin and warrior. Besides, thanks to a little Jutsu I developed, I can change the color of my cloths at will with a little chakra.

What people around me never knew was that my cloths were made especially for combat. Rough and strong to handle most kunai blades and never tear to the elements, and they were light. Perfect clothes for a shinobi, but I guess color is all that matters to public opinion. Anyhow, what did it matter? Any good shinobi can blend into the surroundings regardless of their clothing. I learned how to spying on a masked Jounin with grey hair while he was (desperately) trying to escape another Jounin with a funky haircut that kept shouting nonsense about "the spirit of youth" or something. I never heard their names, but I found their chase hilarious at the time but discovered by accident how to use stealth thanks to that masked Jounin, though I'll keep that to myself until I need to use it. A good shinobi doesn't flaunt his skills like a kid with a new toy.

And here I am, in class, after a ten minute run across the village roof-tops listening to my teacher, Iruka-sensei, talk about "possible" scenarios that could happen on the battlefield or mission. Thank Kami I can always manage a seat in the back of the class for the sake of my sanity. There are two girls in class that do nothing but bicker and yell about who is the best kunoichi in the class. The screams are loud enough to raise the dead!

Out of boredom, I profiled a select few in the class that were perhaps the most skilled amongst the rest;

Yamanaka Ino: a rather pretty girl with long blond hair she keeps in a pony-tail, blue eyes and wears a purple outfit and bandages around her legs. She has good shinobi skills.

Haruno Sakura: another girl that depends on make-up to look appealing. She has shoulder-length pale pink hair she keeps tied by a ribbon, jade-green eyes and a red Chinese dress. She's probably the weakest female in the whole village, but is decently skilled on the basics, but that's about it. She screams like a banshee and she's hopelessly infatuated with Sasuke, another student.

Hyuuga Hinata: A shy girl with short violet hair, lavender-colored eyes and soft features. She wears a baggy coat encrested with the burning flame; the crest of the Hyuuga clan, the most prestigious clan in the village and the country. She also wears black trousers. She's very shy around people and often blushes when I lock eyes with her. Otherwise, she's one of the better students in the class; great intelligence, excellent combat and survival skills and never gloats about her achievements and is very humble.

Nara Shikamaru: A guy who does nothing but complain and says everything is "troublesome". He has long black hair he keeps up in a pineapple manner. He wears a thin grey vest over a fish-net shirt and black knee-length trousers. Despite his slacker attitude, he's a frickin' genius!

Akamichi Choji: a "big-boned" guy who often stuffs his face with chips he pulles out of his ass and is a friend to Shikamaru. He has brown hair and swirls on his cheeks. He wears a green over-coat with matching shorts and a white shirt that says "Eat" on the front and bandaged legs. He excelles in heavy-striking Taijutsu thanks to his families art of increasing the size of their bodies and limbs. He hates it when people call him fat.

Inuzuka Kiba: a boy with a very feral appearance that smells and even acts like a dog. He's loud enough to give Sakura some competition and always brings a small dog with him in his coat. He wears black pants and a fleece-cuffed hood jacket. I just call him "dogboy". The only thing that he has that is greater than his loudness is his arrogance.

Aburame Shino: a silent guy that speaks only when necessary and is very intelligent. He wears dark, round sunglasses, a high collar grey coat that covered the lower half of his face and brown trousers. His hair is spiky and unruly with an insect-like appearance. As far as I know, his family's very mysterious and he's ruthless when fighting. He likes to talk to bugs.

And finally Uchiha Sasuke: Best in class, village heart throb and born from one of the greatest clans in the village, but they were murdered five years ago and now he claimed himself an avenger of a "noble cause" to find and kill the murderer of his clan. He has "handsome" face, black spiky hair, and onyx eyes. He wears a blue turtle-neck shirt and white shorts with bandaged legs.
The scenario lessons soon ended and Iruka-sensei cleared his throat to get the classes attention.

"Alright class", he said, "Today we're going to have the first part of the Genin exams after you all have your recess period. During your recess, do what you like; train, play, or whatever else you want if to prepare for the exam. Understood?"

The class nodded. "Very well then. Now, before you all go out to the fields, who can tell me what happened on the 10th of October almost 13 years ago?"

I scoffed. October 10th is my birthday, or more like a day of hell whenever I walked out in the streets when the Kyuubi festivals were running-

"That's the day the Yondaime-sama defeated the Kyuubi when the demon attacked the village!", Sakura yelled. The next instant, my belly exploded in pain like a furnace was shoved into my stomach with searing coals. I've never felt pain like this in my whole life, and I've taken beatings that could kill most people. I took deep breaths to try to relax my belly muscles because of their reflex in attempting to dull the pain. It took some time, but the pain thankfully began to lessen just as Iruka-sensei dismissed us for our recreation period. We had only one hour.

Normal P.O.V.

Throughout the whole recess, Naruto remained under the shade of one of the tree scattered around the field with his back against the trunk of the said tree, contemplating the what's and why's of his episode of discomfort in class while the rest of the students were passing back and forth doing whatever that caught their interests. His mind continued to shuffle through every possible reason that could have elicited something so spontaneous as his belly burning with pain. His stomach was fine when he woke up that morning, and he hadn't eaten anything spoiled, rotten, or unhealthy, so why did it flare with such intense pain after the pink-haired banshee screamed about the date of Kyuubi's defeat-

Naruto's eyes snapped open immediately as realization struck him like lightning. He didn't dare draw breath as he pieced together everything in less time than it took to blink.

The whispered insults: "Monster!" "Damn demon!" Bastard Fox!!"

The coinciding dates: October 10th. The day of his birth. The day of Kyuubi's attack. The day of the Yonaime's fall. The Kyuubi's fall.

The murderous mobs that always shot the same threats: "Now you'll die like you should have years ago against our leader, demon!"

The adults cruel treatment of him. The beatings, the hateful glares, the pillages of his apartment. the searing pain in his belly.

"Bastard Fox!"

That's why they hated him...

That's why he was treated so cruelly...

He was the demon of their past...

He was the Kyuubi-no-Kitsune!

He released the breath he was unaware he was holding in a shuddery sigh, casting his gaze to ground around his feet. Torment ripped at his soul as his mind continued to repeat everything he discovered echoing through his memory like a cruel shadow that haunted him with it's presence. In what seemed like eternity since he had first met Sarutobi and felt belonged in a hateful place of no solace, gratefulness grasped him with relief. He was grateful for shade cover the tree's branches provided, because without it, he doubted anyone could miss his tears that slid down his cheeks as he silently wept with a look of abject sadness etched across his face. A tear for every hour of his suffering, his hopes of acceptance, gone in the blink of an eye. A torrent of tears.

'So...I guess there is such things as fate...if some one can be damned to a life...worse than death'. He let out another shaky breath as his thoughts continued to become more saddening. 'Will I ever find peace?'

Those were his last thoughts before bringing his gaze to the clear sky, seeming like it was mocking his pain, promising him what he will never have and brought it back to the ground. His empty eyes never left that spot, even as he faintly heard someone approaching...

The next chapter shall come within a week or two. R&R(Read and Review) please!