Prologue
The first thing to go was his vision. Not that such a thing really mattered anymore now that he was dying. And he considered the loss a blessing in disguise. He didn't want the last thing he ever saw to be this paradise-turned-wasteland.
War had torn through the Fire Nation and other surrounding Elemental Countries like an unstoppable hurricane, leaving nothing but chaos and devastation in its wake. Leading this climatic change was Orochimaru, one of the most powerful shinobi to ever live as well as the legendary Snake Sannin. And his last target to destroy after conquering or terminating many lands and other ninja was Konohagakure no Sato, his home he had betrayed for power. Sadly, none had been able to stop the man and were killed, even innocents like children or regular villagers.
It was fortunate that he could no longer see what had become of his once beautiful home. He preferred the memories over the ashen and bloodied battlefield full of bodies of comrades and enemies alike; darkness was better than death any day.
He sighed softly to himself, only to end up coughing up a mouthful of blood. The movement caused a shock of pain to shoot through him, burning his over abused nerves and adding to his overall agony. His body was useless now due to the kamikaze attack he'd unleashed against Orochimaru just a few minutes earlier. Battered, broken, and deteriorating beyond even his advanced healing ability's repair, he was as good as dead.
Is this how it's going to end? He wondered, lying resignedly in a pool of his blood. Alone and pathetic, with nothing but that bastard snake's body for company?
He supposed it could've been worse. Orochimaru could have been alive and smirking down at him in his ex-best friend/brother's body, Sasuke's aristocratic features twisted into something ugly by the near-immortal body-swapping ninja. And instead of letting him die in peace, the bastard probably would have kept him barely alive and used him as one of his sick experiments.
Oh, yeah. This could have definitely been worse.
You foolish human. Why must you waste time thinking idiotic things when you should be trying to stay alive?
If he'd had any energy left, he would've scowled. As it was, he could only curse at the rumbling voice echoing in his head. Shut up, you stupid fox! He shouted in his mind. The least you can do is let me die without hearing your insults. Just accept it already—it's over!
There was a sense of a shifting presence inside of him and then the demon known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune was snarling at him. Despicable little insect! Hissed the nine-tailed fox, King of the Biju and most powerful of all the infamous tailed demons. I will not let my existence end in such a pathetic way! Especially when I am still trapped in a weak human like you! With a roar, the demon unleashed its blood-red chakra into the seal that bound it to the dying mortal. The energy forced itself into the young man who was helpless to stop the exchange of life force.
"Damn . . . fox," the young man growled out before the surge of power forced him to lose consciousness.
Kyuubi heard the man's words but paid them no heed. Instead, the demon continued to pump more of its chakra into him, forcing the body's most grievous wounds to start healing. While that was happening, the fox began to chant in an unrecognizable language. As blood congealed and flesh and bone regenerated, words that were more song than language echoed within the mindscape. Not many were aware of just how old the Kyuubi was, but it had picked up a lot of things in the eons of its life.
All nine of its red-orange tails lashed wildly behind it as it completed the ritual with a snap of its teeth. There was a momentary pause as the residual power hummed through the air, both inside the mindscape as well as in the outside world. Where the young blond lay nearly naked except for the few rags of orange and black clothes, his body was covered in the Kyuubi's violent chakra. It fluctuated back and forth like waves of fire, and then abruptly burst outward into the surrounding area.
What was left of the destroyed ruins of Konoha was swept away in the explosion of red energy. The shriveled body of Orochimaru disintegrated to nothing but ash, other bodies nearby joining its state. All except for the blond at the very epicenter. The sky transformed from day to night in an instant and wind swirled in a vortex of the area around the blond man. It was as if the very forces of nature were conspiring to annihilate the last survivor of the Village Hidden in Leaves.
Be grateful, human, the Kyuubi growled as it lay down inside the large cage that made up a majority of the seal. You're getting a second chance that many would've killed for. Suddenly the beast chuckled, a sound reminiscent to thunder. Then again, you did kill that pesky little snake. Maybe this time you'll kill him sooner . . . and then I will be one step closer to freedom. It's only a matter of time. With that ominous statement that went unheard by its host, the Kyuubi no Kitsune shut its slit crimson eyes and fell into a deep sleep after much of its power was drained. And as it rested, a dark red light consumed the young man's body, fading away seconds later with no evidence of the epic battle that had taken place in the ruins of Konoha. All that was left was a crater.
Ugh, where the hell am I?
This was the first thought that passed through the blond's mind as he woke, eyes still shut in the ruse of sleeping. It was a habit he'd developed long ago ever since his first kidnapping. People tended to spill more secrets when they weren't aware their hostage was able to hear them.
However, he couldn't sense any immediate danger other than the beginnings of one hell of a migraine, so he cautiously opened his eyes. Cerulean blue eyes took in the sight of a vast blue sky that was the same almost anywhere. Having found no obvious information there to explain his whereabouts, the spike-haired blond let his gaze drift lower . . . and then he blinked in confusion.
"This place . . . it looks so familiar," he mumbled, taking in the large grassy field and sweeping trees bordering the place. It wasn't until his eyes fell on a seemingly insignificant group of wooden posts that he finally realized where he was.
That's where it all began . . . but . . . it can't be possible, he thought with narrowed eyes. Sitting up, he was about to stand when the pain hit him. "Fuck!" he hissed out through clenched teeth, falling backwards as his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach.
It felt very much like he was being burned alive from the inside out, agony washing over him in the familiar sensation of scalding heat. A burst of red chakra shot out of his body and quickly covered him in a blanket of crimson waves. His nails lengthened into claws, digging painfully into the flesh of his stomach and drawing blood. Teeth ached as they grew sharper and stronger, his canines growing enough so they bit into his lips where more beads of blood formed. And though he could not see it, his shoulder-length golden hair bristled and became even further untamable spikes, streaks of crimson red shooting through the strands until they completely overtook the blond color.
The young man almost screamed when he felt the bones of his face shift. It became more narrowed—jaw thinning, cheekbones shifting higher, the overall baby fat he hadn't yet lost from adolescence vanished, and his eye shape contracted to a more almond-like look. And the faint whisker marks that revealed his curse to the world grew in length and darkened, now curving all the way down to his lower jaw instead of resting just on his cheeks.
The transformation lasted only seconds, but to the recipient it had lasted almost another pain-filled twenty-one years. With a gasp, the blond-turned redhead finally let go of his throbbing stomach. The fire had finally receded to a low but manageable ember, and the majority of his torment had dimmed with it. He closed his still-blue eyes and slowly let himself relax.
"What's happening to me?" he asked quietly.
There was no answer, something he'd half-expected since his unwanted tenant hadn't said a word in nearly four years. Though I guess my peace and quiet time is all over now that the stupid fox started talking again. Lucky me.
With a frown, he concentrated his mind and dove into his subconscious, the process coming easily to him after doing it so much when he wanted to meditate in order to perform some of his more daunting jutsu. Inside his mind it was the same as ever. Long dark corridors that could lead anywhere, five-inch water randomly flowing like a stream on the ground, and steel pipes attached to the walls as if in a sewer. He'd always thought his subconscious was a gloomy place, not that it was surprising considering his dark outlook on life that used to be hidden by enthusiasm and fake smiles.
Sighing, the redhead began trudging down one of the pathways, heading in the direction where the seal room resided. "Might as well see if that giant parasite knows what the hell is going on," he growled. It seemed like it took hours to reach his destination, but experience let him know that outside in the real world time was passing so slowly that nothing would seem to change after he woke up. However, inside his mind everything felt like normal speed. Eventually he found the seal room, as he'd taken to calling it, where the Kyuubi was imprisoned behind five-foot thick steel bars that went from the water-logged floor to the pitch black ceiling above.
At least, that's where the fox demon should've been.
"Oi, bastard fox! Where the hell are ya?" he called out when he didn't see the usual giant crimson eyes glaring from behind the bars.
Silence met his question.
With the beginnings of dread filling him, the young man cautiously walked up to the bars. It wouldn't be the first time the fox pretended to be gone, attempting to trick him into approaching the jail and then quickly striking it with massive claws, trying to drag him inside so it could devour him whole. Yet when he made it within a few feet, well past the safety boundary, no claws or fangs shot out at him.
"Hey, Kyuubi! You in there?" he tried again.
You damn mortal, came the thundering voice of the Kitsune, though it sounded quieter. Like it was . . . tired?
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the ex-blond asked, scowling into the darkened chamber. He couldn't see anything past the sealed jail and that fact was making him frustrated.
The sound of fur sliding along something reached his ears and he instinctively leapt back, and not a moment too soon. The claws he'd been expecting crashed into the gate a millisecond later, sparks shooting off from the sudden friction and momentarily lighting up the confines of the cage. What he saw in those few short seconds shocked him.
His blue eyes widened and he would've gaped had he been his younger and less composed self instead of the hardened warrior whose new mask was serious, cold, or expressionless rather than of wide grins that meant absolutely nothing.
Kyuubi no Kitsune was said to be the size of a mountain, with nine powerful tails easily likened to leviathans, and crimson-colored eyes as large and chilling as a vast lake. When the beast was sealed into Naruto Uzumaki by the Fourth Hokage, it had shrunk to a more manageable yet still colossal size. In those few moments of lighting, the fox's size was considerably less. Now merely the size of a two-story building, with only six tails fanning out behind it like the writhing tongues of flames.
There was only one thing Naruto could think to say to this new revelation.
"What the fuck happened to you, furball?"
Insolence! Kyuubi hissed. The sound was reminiscent of fire consuming flesh. How dare you come here and insult me after I saved your pathetic life! If I wasn't trapped behind this accursed seal, I would skewer you with my claws before using your bones to pick my teeth of your flesh.
Naruto's surprised expression melted into a cold glare, the blue of his eyes paling to the color of ice. "Threaten all you want, demon, but I've already heard them. So instead of wasting your time and mine, why don't you tell me what the fuck is going on so I don't have to stare at your ugly mug all day."
For a moment it looked as if the downsized Kyuubi would continue spewing off more insults and death threats, but then it started laughing. The noise was chilling in its unnaturalness, especially since Naruto had never heard the fox laugh before, and he couldn't stop the shiver that ran up his spine. Blood eyes narrowing and a cruel, fanged smile-like snarl curling its lips, the Kyuubi spoke with a condescending tone to its voice.
You have gotten very bold in my absence, human. Yet your foolishness is the same as ever. Very well, I shall tell you what has transpired while you were dying like a pathetic weakling.
After you killed that annoying snake, your body began to deteriorate beyond the healing capabilities you inherited from my presence. However, I used some of my chakra and force-fed it to you, allowing you to regenerate enough to survive the ritual.
"What ritual? What did it do?" Naruto demanded, suspicious. He recalled the place he'd woken up at and that dread he'd felt earlier turned into horror at the fox's next words.
Malice glinted in the demon's eyes. Had it been human, the Biju would've been smirking. In order for you to stay alive, I sacrificed some of my power to finish the spell. You should be grateful, Naruto. Not many mortals get a second chance to fix things. Welcome to Konoha—or should I say, the past Konoha.
Before Naruto could respond, he was forced out of his mind by a shove of the Kyuubi's conscious, and then he opened his slit blue eyes to take in the real world. His gaze fell on the now recognized area of Training Ground #7.
Where I became a ninja, he thought dazedly. This is where everything began. A memory came to him in a flash and a bittersweet smile twisted his lips, transforming his face into a visage common on war veterans all over the world. "And this is where it should have ended," he said to himself. He and Orochimaru had fought here to the death, the last place to survive Konoha's destruction. With a weary sigh, Naruto looked up to the sky, absently noting that it was just past dawn judging from the minimal light and lack of sun.
Quoting his dead friend (or was that fact wrong now?), he mumbled up to the heavens, "This is so troublesome. Stupid meddling fox." Second chances sucked.
AN: And on that oh-so-cheerful note, I welcome you to the end of the prologue. So be honest, what did you think? Is this a decent start to a time-travel fic in the Naruto-verse? Heh, it's a plot bunny I really want to get rid of. Review, if ya please.
Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters, places, and ideas belong to Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them for the time being.
