Prologue

Chapter 0

Cold and dark.

It was as if a giant hand had snuffed out a light leaving nothing in its wake. A spirit,

left to just wander in the never-ending darkness, just drifting. Forever. Death always won.

In the end, death is the only future; even before born, death already has the baby in its

grasp. A cold wind howls, as Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzamaki, both sacrifice

their lives to save their infant son Naruto, the village, and their friends from the terrorist

Madara Uchiha on October 10th. Madara had control of the Kyuubi, a Bijuu that took the

form of a nine tailed demon fox. Madara had a sore hatred for the village, Konohagakure,

the Village Hidden in the Leaves, as he was not picked to be their first Lord Hokage,

therefore, after losing to the first, fled in the night, and now nearly 50 yrs later, came

back, in order to destroy the village that had betrayed him.

He had waited until the time when the Kyuubi's seal was weakened; therefore he

struck the same night that Naruto was born. Minato put up a gallant fight, and managed to

save the infant from a certain death in Madara's hands, but in the end, Madara got

Kyuubi. Together Minato decided to use himself as a vessel for the Yin half of Kyuubi's

chakra, sealing the Yang within Naruto in hopes that one day, his son would learn to

control it.

Madara lost, escaped, and the Kyuubi was contained. The price was the life of

Kushina and Minato. The barrier that Minato had put up so that no one could interfere

shattered as soon as his heart stopped beating. They both fell to the ground, lifeless dolls.

Naruto began crying, when suddenly, his little face, all scrunched up to cry froze, as did

the ninjas who began to run towards their fallen Hokage, and in frenzy just as time

paused.

Literally.

A girl, stepped out from the shadows of the trees, and zipped up her jacket, shivering

slightly from standing in the cold for the whole fight, undetected by Minato or Kushina.

She walked over to Minato and Kushina. A small smile played at her lips, and a sad light

burned in her eyes. Her gaze shifted to Minato, whose ghost was staring down at his dead

body.

"Hello, you lovely ball of sunshine." said the girl, without looking up.

She sensed him give a start, and felt his eyes on her. "Y-You can … see me?" he

asked, tentatively, incredulously.

"I'm talking to you, aren't I?" she replied casually.

"I don't understand, I gave my soul to Shinigami… at least… I thought I did…" he

said, staring at himself incredulously.

"Shinigami and I had a little chat, you're soul is no longer bound to him. You are

a free spirit. Pardon the pun." The strange girl explained calmly.

"I don't… get it… who are you… and where's Kushina?" he demanded.

The girl looked up at him. He looked the same as he had when he'd died, only

difference was he wasn't alive. " I'll tell you more about me after we get you all squared

away, and as for your wife, her soul might have gone someplace else." She said,

walking over to Naruto.

" A-are you dead… too?" he asked timidly.

The girl looked at him, and rolled her eyes. "Do I look dead?"

Minato looked confused, "Well, I guess I wouldn't know, considering this is my

first time you know, being dead."

The girl laughed, and her head was thinking that Kushina was still somewhere,

whether it was in this world… or another.

"Why is my son on pause?"

The girl looked up at Minato, whose face showed a mixture of

curiousness/fear/shock/slight anger.

"Well, I needed to pause time briefly." The girl said shrugging her shoulders.

"How are you so nonchalant about this? You're talking to my dead spirit, my son is on

pause, and my wife went to heaven without me… " Minato sputtered.

"Yes, yes, yes, well I am here to save your ninja ass, so you better stop your ghostly

wailing and get back in your body now. You see, you're only temporarily in that state;

you really aren't all dead. So congrats, you're mostly dead. Not all dead, which means, I

can still save you, because your brain is technically alive three minutes after your heart

stops and oh, just get in your body already." The girl said, pointing.

There was a pause, in which Minato just stared at her, until the girl finally said, "Can

you please hurry up? I can't keep this section of the world on pause forever you know."

"I don't get it. I'm dead. If I could just hop into my body, everyone would be doing

it."

"Yeah well, not everyone has me to bring them back. Now, hurry up, I'll explain it all

to you but you only have less than two minutes left."

"What the-" he began to sputter, thought a second about it, and then he laid down into

his body. "Good ghost." She said happily, clapping her hands together, she began to form

a bunch of complex signs, and Minato's whole body began to glow with a bluish tint. The

girl's face became serious, as she finished performing the signs, and a light engulfed both

her and Minato and then faded.

Some leaves surfed the wind, as it rustled through the trees, and Naruto's un-paused

wailing broke through the silence of the night. Ninja men and women surrounded the

lifeless bodies of Minato and Kushina, and a medical ninja confirmed both to be

deceased.

The girl watched all of the commotion going on, from a small lake on the outskirts

of a small town. She observed the Medical Ninja confirming the authenticity of the two

bodies, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had had her doubts that this could have been

pulled off so smoothly, and she was glad at the swiftness of Minato's decision. She

smiled to herself, a little wryly. Since it involved being able to live again, she had no

doubts there.

She looked up at the starry sky, and a few tears slid down her cheeks. She wiped them

away quickly, not wanting to let weakness make her let her guard down. She felt a

pulsing in her chest, a sign that Kushina was still alive. That was a task for tomorrow

though, and dipping her finger into the water, she watched as a couple that she knew

would find Kushina's sleeping figure in their garden. She'd left a note with Kushina. She

watched as the man, carried her in; with his wife worried and flowing close behind. After

that she turned away from the water. As long as Kushina was safe and knew what was

going on somewhat, she now needed to focus her attention on Minato. She had planned

for the couple to find Kushina, and she hoped that they could handle her when she woke

up. She'd think of when these two would meet again, but for now, she decided to keep

this tid bit of information to herself as to not cause any unnecessary stress on Minato's

delicate feelings at the moment.

She entered the tent and sat down next him, watching him sleep, and then she closed

her eyes. In this world, he would be safe from Madara or any ninja that could cause him

harm while he was in a weakened state. His breathing was still somewhat strained, so she

rested her hand over his heart, and small greenish light engulfed the area, and his haggard

breathing, slowed until it became smooth and tranquil.