In the beginning I have Iruka as only 11 years old. I know that might be wrong, but he is still a pre-gennin to me during the Kyuubi attack. This will eventually be a kakairu fic. It won't be till much (much) later, but you have been warned!

Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto. Sadly not even Iruka. waaaa

Its not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens. ~ Woody Allen

Red. Everything was a burning, bloody red.

I can't breath!

The once pitch black night was rapidly becoming a crimson one as the mighty demon ripped its way through countless shinobi. Fire was all that was left of Konoha. There was choking smoke billowing from every building in the distance, every tree in the forest, and every body that lay on the ground. Crumbling. Melting. Dying.

Shinobi aren't supposed to die!

The charred and melting bodies of two proud and loving parents stood out the most to Iruka. His father's face was so black it would have been unrecognizable if it were not for the Umino family crest stitched into the front of his jounin flak jacket. The water symbol represented in said crest did nothing to put out the small fires that surrounded the lifeless body. Iruka's mother was facing away, but he knew that long, shinning brown hair from every time she let her curious son play with it. He also knew the gaping hole in her chest was directly where her heart should be. A tree limb only a meter long protruded up from the ground only a few feet beside her body. Like the grass and the people that lie dead, it was covered in blood.

It should have been me!

Iruka's valiant rush to rescue his parents from the nine-tailed fox had cost them their lives. His sudden presence on the battlefield had distracted his parents, just for a second, from the fight. That single, still moment of shock, then recognition, and lastly, fear: shock of a child being on the front lines, recognition of him being their child, and fear that Iruka would die had finished them. Iruka had only seen their black silhouettes against the raging fires of the sun as Kyuubi consumed the area where they stood. As soon as the beast had come, he vanished into forest to devour more.

And more of everything.

Heaves and coughs joined the sound of the crackling fires as Iruka tried to breathe and failed. The smoke was getting worse. There was too much pain in his body and blood on the ground for him to stay awake any longer. The burning sensations from his legs and right side were the only things keeping him conscious. He could feel the blood from his wounds seeping along the grass and into his hair and clothes forming puddles around his paralyzed body. There was so much of it that when wind rushed into clearing it created waves against his head and arms.

Am I floating in the ocean? A red. . . ocean. . .

Reaching his limit, Iruka slowly closed his crying eyes and his dead world was consumed in darkness.

A new kind of darkness awoke Iruka. One that was alive with. . . something, but it was definitely. . .

It's quiet. Iruka's voice came out as a faint whisper. He was sure he would sound louder than that.

"It is always quiet in this place," a feminine voice whispered into the darkness. "Your thoughts are the only thing that can make any sound here, and I am the only one who can hear them." Shocked and feeling out of his mind from hearing a voice that belonged to nothing but air, Iruka yelled. The sound that came out sounded like the static that came from a television screen. But it was still quiet.

What's going on? Is this a dream! It has to be. I can't feel my body. I can't feel any pain. I can't feel anything!

"It can be," the woman softly said.

Was it a dream? Everything that happened befo- . . . before this?

"No. I am afraid not, young one. The nine-tailed fox did indeed . . . kill your parents." The stabbing in Iruka's chest came without warning, and caused his vision to become an even darker shade of night. If Iruka could cry in this empty place he was sure his tears would have never stopped. He wanted it to be a dream. Giant mosters were only supposed to be real in shinobi books made long ago. A sudden realization dawned upon Iruka. he had also been struck by the flying debris from the Kyuubi's rampage. He remembered a lot of pain. He remembered that he had been waiting for something.

Waiting. Waiting fo- . . . Am I d-dead?

"Perhaps. I cannot say. Or rather, I should not say." Her voice was almost playful. She knew the strangeness of her comment would be lost on the boy.

Who are you? And where am I?

"I am one who can do many things," she laughed "and I am also someone who can only do nothing. A moment ago I could only watch, but I will certainly do something now." Her voice seemed to pause in mid-air, but there were no breaths beating in the silence. There was only Iruka's unnaturally, slow thoughts whenever he tried to think of what to say. "Your body was not meant to be damaged so badly in the Kyuubi's wake at all. Maybe a few scratches here and there, but the injuries you ended up with were not meant to be there. Something changed in you. Something I did not predict. You were never meant to see your parents die on that battlefield. Your path that night was to be carried off by an ally back into the safe areas of Konoha, but you were faster than I was. Too fast for me to change your direction by force. Your soul was never meant to end up here. Iruka," her voice suddenly became as loud as Iruka wanted to so desperately to be, "you have too many things to do to be sleeping here."

Where am I supposed to be? I'm dead. What 'things' could I possably do?

"Out there. However, your body is no longer suitable," she sighed in a tired manner. " so I will have to give you another body in exchange for a single promise."

Will my mom and dad be given a promise too?

"No." the voice seemed to fill with sadness as she continued "Your parent's destinies were fulfilled the day you were born. I am afraid that you will only have ten years to complete this promise. Do you accept this term?"

I guess. What exactly is the promise I have to make? If the deadline is ten years then it must be difficult.

The air seemed to thicken around Iruka's mind as the woman sighed once more.

"You must find the Kyuubi, and its host, and you must become their friend. With a simple answer of 'yes' you will be agreeing to fulfill this promise and I will give you a new body. Before you say your answer I think you should be aware that, if you had continued to live on in 'your' body you would have eventually come to love the kyuubi's container. Also, the body I will give you may not be the kind you think. Now. What is your answer?"

Without a moment of hesitance Iruka shouted into the darkness.

Yes!

Thoughts of revenge and a voice so much like his mother whispering him goodnight consumed his mind as he fell into the darkness once again.

AN: I know there are lots of things different than in the series, but it has to do with the plot. I swear! Iruka's is only asking short questions when speaking with the "woman" because his soul is slowly trying to leave 'limbo.' He can't think very straight. The woman can be considered 'destiny.'

This is my first time submitting any of my fics, so I would appreciate any feedback anyone would be kind enough to give. This one I wrote a few years back so there might be some guess work with how some of the characters ended up. I'll try to update any new developments from the manga into the story. I don't have a beta, so if anyone would be interested in that I am all ears! Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I also have issues with my spell checker. . . okay I kinda have issues with my computer in general.

Thanks for reading!

Kakashi won't come in till about the third or fourth chapter. Sorry!