Prelude:The End (Owari)

The night sky held no warmth nor brilliance even though there were stars out, and the luminescent moon was tinged a dark orange as dust and smoke filtered through its gaze upon the world. As black-gray plumes billowed skyward, ash and cinder cascaded down in their stead as the land below was lit ablaze. High above the sea of flames, on a cliff face overlooking the chaotic scenery stood a boy no older than 16, blond hair falling along the length of his back in rough spikes. His attire was wrought with scorch marks and tears along its seams, yet his body seemed to be in perfect form; with not a blemish or scratch along its slender surface. His eyes however, were aglow with an familiar scarlet tinge as he surveyed the world through melancholic eyes...

'What..what have I done?'

Gazing down by his feet, the teen looked directly into the eyes of Sakura Haruno, his one-time friend and ally.

A cough revealed droplets of blood, and the teen realized her time was slowly grinding down, yet he glanced back to the young sage before him and laughed saying,"How...cough...could you? Why did you betray us? How...Naruto?"

'It wasn't my intention...'

"That isn't my name, Haruno."

Another scratching cough escaped the girl's mouth as she probed the teen before her,"Nani?..Cough...cough..what are you saying Naruto?"

'Sakura, forgive me...'

A growl came from the other male's throat as the teenaged kunoichi found themself hauled into the air, an ever increasing amount of Killing Intent building as it was directed solely upon her,"I said that isn't my name...you all saw me, not as a human being, but as a beast...a monster. Now, that I've given you what you feared for all these years, now I become one of you again? Foolish ningen."

Fighting away the tremor that cascaded down her spine, the Haruno asked,"How did it come to this? W-cough-what happened to make you this way?"

''I am myself no longer, I'm not in control...'

He glanced down to see a leaf hitai-ate being slipped from his person onto the ground, and with a disdainful look on his face he said,"Honestly?...I..got tired. Tired of the stares, of the harsh words and sabotage, I grew sick of the lies...Mostly, it was cause I got sick of waiting...waiting for acknowledgment, trust, and real friends...of waiting for love."

Seeing the pain and bitterness in his crimson colored eyes, the rosette coughed, sighed, and said,"Seems to me that Konoha always finds a way to punish its saviors...I'm so sorry Nar-"

"My name's not Naruto!"

'Sakura!...Stop!'

A fist collided with her face, sending her body flying another few feet away as blood once more spilled upon the ashen ground. Wincing in pain, the jade-eyed girl felt herself being lifted once again, looking into blazing red orbs of malice. Coughing up blood into the blonde's face, she weakly managed to mumble out her thought.

"T-th-en what do I call you?"

'Alone..A goner...Forgotten..A...Monster...'

A sneer filled with cruelty and madness filled the teens countenance as he answered over-cheerfully,"You can call me Kyuubi! That's what I've been called since the day I was born...the day my father gave away my humanity."

Shock adorned her features as Sakura's eyes flew wide, her body began convulsing as she pushed one sentence out of her lips,"Wha-t h-happened t-t-t-t-to you?"

Shaking his head, the manic gleam was swallowed by a somewhat enraged and hateful one as her answer came solemnly to her ears...

'Simple. I had my eyes opened, and, I got tired of being the hero."

Sakura...There was nothing I could do...Please, forgive me...

"Oh, this is rich! You being forced to watch yourself kill the one whom meant the most to you...and in my name! I gotta say, ningen, this demon is my kind of fighter."

Bound in heavy chains to the floor, one blonde knelt before a cage of bronze that was held closed by merely a piece of paper with the kanji for seal present upon it. The male spoke not once to the voice from earlier, the only sound pervading their silence was the dripping of water within their sepia-colored vicinity.

"Aww, what's a matter? You can't be broken yet, we have soo much more mayhem to cause! Ahh, seems like our guest has returned."

A distortion in the scenery was created as a black void appeared, tinged with red, this light warped the overall color of the room they were presently in to a rust-like hue. And from its depths stepped out their 'guest'. Dark skin in a shade of mocha, with clothing not unlike what most civilians would wear; a mauve hoodie with a black t-shirt underneath, a pair of greyish jeans upon his legs, and a pair of solid black gym shoes. All in all, he looked like a normal person, if it weren't for the four pairs of pupil-less scarlet glowing eyes shining into the discolored darkness.

As they stepped into the ankle-deep waters, they spoke,"Well, now that the fun parts over, are you ready to help? If not, I may have to go and find that grandmother of yours, I'm sure she'll be even more fun than that Sakura girl."

If one could place the voice, it would be melodic, even if in a gravely sounding tone. The blonde merely brought his gaze around to face his newest entrant, dead eyes glazed over in numbness from wounds as internal as they were external. His mouth formed only to breath out one word as his countenance remained a blank portrait.

"Why?"

The being cocked his head to the side before walking forward. Standing above the teen, he lowered himself to eye level before he cupped his chin and stared into his face. His voice now laced with a steely edge to it,"Why...Why? Because of who I am, who my father is, and most importantly because it was fun! I was created to sow rage into the world, and you were just an easy target, I had no idea that you housed a such a malignant energy within you though! I feel like I hit the lottery!"

A monotone drawl came from the blonde as he asked another question,"Why...do you want kyuubi free? Aren't you with Akatsuki, aren't your goals the same?"

"No, that pathetic excuse for a group was merely a ruse to herald my fathers coming. Now, again with the why..It's because I like this fox! His power alone is rival to my father's, and I can't let such a magnificently malevolent being such as this fall to such low regards because of the likes of you...so, take care of the seal, and I promise to release you from this nightmare. That is my word as Wrath."

A nod was his answer as the chains faded from existence, his body's movements slow and heavy. These were the steps of a broken soul; a lost cause. His head bowed as his hand steadily reached for the seal, seconds turned to hours, and hours to years as the human stretched forth...yet, as his hand came within mere centimeters of the paper, a second hand appeared and grasped his own. Slowly, his eyes met with the owner of said limb, and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Yondaime...Tou...san?"