"speech"

"super mega awesome demon speech"

'thoughts'

Synopsis: Naruto is just an ordinary boy, training to be a top-class ninja. But something happens along the way, releasing the memories sealed away in the back of his mind. What will he do with all this new knowledge? The beast stirs...

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This is my first story :D so its not amazing, but I hope you enjoy it anyway ^_^

Im not sure how many chapters I will do... we'll find out soon enough though

please review and everything, any tips are welcomed, thankyou

This story begins just before the graduation tests :)

I do not own Naruto

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Chapter 1

It took the combined efforts of three neighbours in dressing-gowns hammering the door down to wake Naruto and quiet the alarm. Still half-asleep, bright blond hair sticking up in all directions, he blinked groggily at the small clock on his bedside.

Not a minute later, a blur of blond and orange sprinted down the street yelling, "AHHHHH! IM LATE AGAIN!"

Amazingly he managed to make it to class just in time. Adjusting his orange jacket which was hanging crookedly from one shoulder and removing the sock stuck to one leg, evidence of his rush to change that morning, he settled into his seat at the back of the room. Not a moment too soon too. His sensei, Iruka, chose at that moment to waltz into the room with an unusual glint in his eye.

"Quiet everyone, QUIET!" he barked, rapping his knuckles on the table to get their attention.

A hush fell on the room.

"I have some good news for you all."

'Uh-oh', thought Naruto, 'this cant be good.'

"Tomorrow is the all important.... graduation test!" Iruka looked around beaming at the mixed emotions shown on his students faces. Most looked excited. One had a look of horror.

'Knew it,' Naruto groaned, head hitting the desk in front of him with a thump.

The noise brought the dark haired boy next to him out of his doze. He have the blond a look of annoyance, then swept his gaze around the rest of the room. "Tch, how troublesome." He went back to sleep.

Iruka waited for the students to quiet down again before proceeding. "Therefore you have just one day to prepare. Remember, this is what decides whether you're fit to be real ninja! I hope to see each and every one of you as Konoha genin."

Naruto didnt listen to the rest. He'd retreated into his thoughts, which took a great deal of concentration, thinking was never something he did most of the time. A test! That was the last thing he needed. He hated tests. He hated tests more than school! Even... dare he say it... even more than cats!

This was a problem. He needed to pass that test, whatever it was, in order to become a ninja. His dream. Becoming a first-class ninja, maybe even Hokage!, had always been his top priority. To think it all hung on the result of this one test... it was nerve-racking. He chewed his lip, searching for some way out of this situation.

Still lost in his thoughts, Naruto didnt notice that class had been dismissed until he found Iruka's face inches from his nose, staring down at him.

"Theres no time to be spacing out now, Naruto," Iruka chastised, trying to hold back a smile. Naruto treated him to one of his signature grins, rubbing the back of his head in embaressment.

"Come on, I have some time off now, lets grab a bite to eat" said Iruka, placing a hand on the boys head in an affectionate way.

"Ramen?" he asked, suddenly eager.

"Alright, my treat," Iruka was used to his exceptional ramen demand. The boy could probably live off the stuff.

"Yeah! you're the best Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, leading the way to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

Along the way, Iruka couldnt help but notice the glares and sneers directed at his small companion and he felt his heart twist. The blond appeared not be paying attention, grin still in place, eager to get to his ramen. A sad smile played about Irukas mouth. It amazed him how the boy managed to maintain his happy, enthusiastic demeanor. He was so strong. No doubt anyone else would have broken a long time ago.

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Snapping the book shut, Naruto sighed with relief. He was finally finished for the day. He'd spent all the time left after saying goodbye to Iruka-sensei practising jutsu and pouring over the books and scrolls that littered the floor of his small apartment. It was late, almost one in the morning, he realised with a start. He needed to get some sleep before tomorrow if he was ever to do well in the test.

Kicking ramen boxes and scrolls out of the way, he located his pyjamas and headed for the bathroom.

He lingered for a little while, tracing the pattern of the mark on his stomach in the mirror. Iruka-sensei had told him it was just a birthmark, but not to touch it. It seemed too... well-designed to be a birthmark. The spiral was perfect and he could just make out what seemed like kanji, the mark was too faint to make them out clearly. Maybe he was just imagining it. A possibility.

Sometimes he thought he could hear it whispering. That was definately his imagination. There was no way that could happen. And yet... he felt as though a big part of him were missing. Hidden somewhere behind that mark, just out of reach.

He scratched at it absent-mindedly and yawned, before shrugging into his pyjamas and turning in for the night.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

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He awoke in plenty of time that morning. Feeling more refreshed after his shower, he shoveled the entire contents of a box of cereal into his mouth and drank half a carton of milk, shortly followed by leftover ramen from the night before. Most people would be astounded by his lack of manners and insane appetite, but Naruto had never been properly taught by anyone. He'd never had any parents to tell him not to drink directly from the carton. The only person close enough to be considered parent-like was Iruka, and he didnt have the time.

Today was especially important to Naruto, so he ate more than usual to build up his energy. Not that he really needed to, he never felt tired even after extensive training, but it was the principle that counted.

Glancing at the scrolls on the floor one last time, he took a deep breath and set off for the academy.

It was still early morning and yet there were many people already out and about. Naruto avoided them as much as possible, taking side roads and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He wanted to bypass any kind of confrontation that day, it would distract him and probably put him in a bad mood.

Naruto never let his bad moods show infront of other people. It wouldnt do to make them sad too. He had learnt early on that smiling had a positive effect on people and sitting with a permanent storm cloud over ones head certainly wasnt. If he was ever going to make a friend, it would be by making them smile.

As a result, all his bad emotions were stored deep down inside. All the hurt, hatred and sadness. Until he got home and could let some of it out. Many of his early years were spent like that; getting home and curling up in a corner to cry into his knees until he was too hungry to stay still. He was better at hiding them now, it had been a long time since he'd broken down in tears.

Tearing his mind away from those painful memories, he turned his attention back to where he was going, and just in time. He nearly collided with a pink haired girl about his own age.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said apologetically, hand rubbing the back of his head again in embaressment. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Geez! you're such a loser, watch where you're going!" she snarled, curling her hand into a fist which Naruto watched nervously from the corner of his eye. "Im going to be LATE now, and that Ino-pig will get to sit by MY Sasuke! This is all YOUR fault idiot!" Her face seemed to be turning an odd shade of magenta.

"Im really sorry Sakura-chan..." he gave her his best puppy dog look. It seemed to work, her face returned to a normal colour. Then with a flick of her hair, she turned on her heel without another word and marched off.

Sighing, he followed after her, keeping his distance so as not to attract her anger again. It was like this with most of his classmates, the ones who didnt ignore him anyway. They treated him like an idiot, which wasnt far from the truth, he mused. He did have a tendancy to lose concentration after about five minutes and seemed to fail at pretty much everything he tried to do.

'Not this time though', he decided. This time he would definately pass the test, without fail. Determination etched into every fibre of his body, Naruto burst through the door of the Academy, ready for anything.

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The test turned out to be comprised of a written and practical exam. Every tick of the clock bore into Naruto's head, as he chewed furiously on the end of his pencil.

Ten minutes left to go. No questions answered. It was a nightmare.

Everybody else seemed to be scribbling away happily, except of course for Shikamaru, having finished within the first half hour and was now fast asleep.

Naruto needed to write something, anything. At least he would have tried.

'Alright, question one. name one of the three famous eye techniques... ARGG I have no idea!' He searched anxiously through his brain, but the answer kept eluding him. It was as if everything he ever learnt was hidden away, like that part of him he felt was always missing. Frustrated, he glared angrily at the jet black hair of the boy sitting infront of him.

Even the hair was annoying. It stuck up weirdly at the back. Naruto wondered just what was so special about this Sasuke guy. 'Sasuke. Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha... sharingan!' He was so happy that he had an answer for the first question, he didnt realise that time was up. Iruka yanked his paper away from him before his pencil had even touched it.

Looking up with his best kicked-dog expression, he tried to take it back. But Iruka knew Naruto's tricks and was well prepared for all kinds of canine looks, his grip was too strong and Naruto was forced to give up.

'Lets hope the practical exam makes up for it then' he thought dejectedly, his fingers crossed under the table.

Iruka moved up to the front of the class, a pile of papers in his arms which he set down on his desk with a loud BAP and made the announcement. "Each of you will be called up individually to perform a jutsu of the judges choosing in a seperate room. Ok? First up, Nara Shikamaru."

Shikamaru yawned and shuffled from the room with a carefree wave.

Iruka continued to read names from the list he held. Naruto tried taking deep breaths. He knew how to do jutsu. He would be fine, just as long as they didnt ask him to do clones. Eventually his name was called. "Uzumaki Naruto."

He almost tripped in his hurry as he reached the door. It would have been amusing another time.

The room he entered for the test was bare except for a single table with the three judges sat behind. He recognised one of them, another sensei, Mizuki, but he didnt know the other two. Mizuki raised his head from where it had been resting on his hand and said, "Okaaaay, Uzumaki-kun, lets see what you've got. Make at least two clones to pass."

Naruto's stomach must have hit the floor below. This was the most awful day he'd ever had. Mustering his courage he nodded and made the hand sign, concentrating on drawing his chakra.

Bunshin no Jutsu!

The room was filled with dense smoke. He waited nervously, praying hard that it had worked.

It hadnt. Naruto stared in horror at the barely recognisable clone of himself, in a jumbled heap on the floor.

The three judges sighed, a look passing between them that Naruto just couldnt miss. He held his breath, but didnt hope.

The next word had a clanging sound like the toll of a death bell, not helped at all by the loud stamp that accompanied it.

"FAILED."

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