A/N: Hey everybody, SilentFang here droppin a brand new story on ya! I know I promised a few other things, and trust me, Behemoth and Great Blaze are on the way, but I had to stop writing for a bit due to certain circumstances and now that I'm getting back in to it, I noticed it's been pretty hard to get back into the groove with those stories. Especially in the middle of the chapter. In the meantime, I made this so I could get used to writing again. Thanks for being so patient and I hope you enjoy!

'Ngh…'

Cerulean blue eyes opened groggily as he slowly came back into consciousness, his awareness of his new surroundings also returning with him.

'Wha…? The last thing I remember was sitting on the train… So why am I here?'

Blue.

A vibrant cobalt blue was all around him. The room he found himself in was decorated with blue everything. From the velvet rug to the suede cloth on the round table in front of him; even the ornate chair he was sitting on was blue… as was the couch that the man sitting across from him was on.

Said man look old. He was very pale and his head was balding with what hair he did have being gray. He sat with a hunch and had very wide, bulging eyes with beady pupils and an unusually long nose. He was wearing a black suit with white gloves and had a wide smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room my dear young man." He greeted cordially. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance." He gestured his hand to his left "And this is my assistant Elizabeth, she is also a resident here, much like myself."

Standing next to the man was an admittedly attractive woman with sort silver hair that ended just before her neck and amber eyes that seemed to stare right through him. She wore a sleeveless blue dress with golden buttons that clung to her body enough to show off her modest figure without it being indecent, a small hat, mid-forearm length gloves and thigh high boots, all of which were blue.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said as she smiled and nodded a bit.

The boy blinked in confusion a bit before finally opening his mouth.

"Where am I?" he asked.

The old man - Igor he reminded himself – smiled as he replied "I already told you, this is the Velvet Room. As for where the room's location specifically… well, this is a place that exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter. Usually only those who have signed a contract may enter this place… but a special exception has been made for you."

"In between dreams and reality…? How is that even possible? What does that even mean?"

A small giggle escaped the assistant's lips. "This one seems to be a bit slower than our previous guest, Master."

"You are no doubt wondering why you are here are you not?" the question the long nosed man asked cut off what would have been an indignant reply from the boy. Igor slid a piece of parchment across the table, the word "Contract" written up top in ornate letters, and on the very bottom of the page on a dotted line, was the signature of a person he knew very well, making his eyes widen in disbelief and anger.

Shio Uzumaki

"From your reaction I can see you recognize the name of the previous holder of this contract, correct?" the old man's question made the boy want to punch him right in that oversized nose of his. Of course he knew the name on the contract! What he wanted to know was how the hell these two got that person's signature! The old man continued on despite not getting an answer. "Then you must know that recent events have made it so they are unable to fulfill their end of the contract."

"So what?" the boy asked in barely contained rage. "You want me to do it for her then? Is that why you brought me here? To tie up your loose ends and finish what she started?"

"On the contrary," Igor said with a placating smile. "We originally had no intention of contacting you at all." He then pointed to the parchment and spoke in a somewhat sad tone, Elizabeth frowning a bit as well. "She asked me to bring you here on their last visit, fully accepting the consequences of making such a request."

Consequences? What the hell did that mean? Before he could ask he was cut off yet again. "Our previous guest asked us to made you the new holder of this contract. Because of this there will be one or two addendums added, but the main clause states that we of the Velvet room shall help you in your oncoming trials in any way we can, and in exchange, you agree to take full responsibility for your actions…" a feather pen seemed to materialize in the boys hand as the old man's smile seemed to become slightly more sinister and the amber eyes of his assistant seemed to bore into his head. "…be they good, or bad."

'W-what the hell,' the boy thought, a small drop of sweat forming on his temple. 'it's like the entire atmosphere changed.' Taking a breath to calm himself, the boy asked "A-and if I decide not to sign it?"

"Then you will wake up, and this encounter shall become naught but a vague dream that will remain just out of reach when you try to remember it."

The boy stared at the contract for a good while before making his decision. But just as he was about to put the pen down and resolve to forget all about this weird dream…

"Before you make your decision," Igor started drawing the boy's attention once more. "The previous holder of the contract left several messages for you, to be told under certain circumstances. The first just so happened to be during the signing of the contract." The old man cleared his throat before continuing "I believe her words were 'Whatever you choose, I will be proud of you.'"

The boy was silent before clicking his tongue and sighing in a sort of sad fondness. "Tch, she always did know me better than anyone else." his previous slack grip on the pen tightened as he began to sign the contract right under the previous holder's name. "When she says something like that she knows I can't refuse." He finished his signature with a flourish, staring at the ink as it glowed slightly before fading to black.

Naruto Uzumaki

"Excellent." Igor said as Elizabeth picked up the contract. "Everything is now in order. Henceforth, you shall be welcome in the Velvet Room. You have inherited a very special ability, one you shall need my help to hone. All you must do from now onwards is abide by our contract."

Elizabeth walked to the now revealed Naruto's side, handing him a cobalt blue keycard with the words Velvet Room written on it in fancy black font. "This is the Velvet Key. Be sure to hold on to this at all times. If you lose it… there will be consequences." She told him with a mildly unsettling smile.

"Uh… R-right." Naruto nodded. Damn these guys were freaky.

Elizabeth and Igor both gave him another smile, although this one was more of a knowing amusement, like they knew exactly what he was thinking. Suddenly, his vision became blurry and he was feeling incredibly tired for some reason. His eyelids became heavy, and he was forced to rub his eyes to he didn't succumb to slumber.

"One more thing before you go. Call it a word of advice if you will." The room around them started to slowly fade to black as Igor's words started to echo in his head.

"Remember," The room had faded so only he, Igor and Elizabeth were left. "No one can escape Time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears or cover your eyes."

Soon, the darkness began to engulf the three of them as well.

"But fear not. The previous holder has extended your time."

What did that mean? Did Shio do something for him?

"This is usually the part where I would remind you of your mortality… but our last guest requested that I say something different."

All that were left were their heads.

"Keep moving forward, despite the trials ahead. No matter what challenges appear before you, never lose faith. And above all else…"

The darkness had swallowed everything except their eyes. Beady orbs of the deepest black and glowing irises of the most sinister gold pierced the darkness and stared into is very being before disappearing as well, the old man's voice reverberating throughout the abyss.

"Memento Vivere"

[Thursday April 9, 2009 – Evening – Full Moon]

"Now pulling in to Iwatodai Station, I repeat, we are now pulling in to Iwatodai Station. Thank you for riding the Iwatodai Railway."

Blue eyes snapped open, the automated voice coming over the train's intercom forcefully rousing him from his slumber. He stood up and moved towards the train door looking out the window as he waited for them to open, pointedly ignoring the strange blue butterfly that flitted past his vision for a second. The reflection showing his blonde hair and lightly tanned skin and the six whisker-like scars on his face stretched as he frowned slightly.

He was currently wearing the standard uniform of Konoha Academy, a public school on the other side of Iwatodai City, built for those students who didn't have the grades or money to get into Gekkoukan High School. The uniform consisted of a dark red blazer and slacks over a black button up shirt with a forest green tie, although his own shirt and tie were loosened enough to show the orange t-shirt he wore underneath, and black dress shoes.

As he left the train, he noticed that it was dark out already. He most likely wouldn't be getting back to the orphanage until past midnight. He'd also have to apologize to his escort for having them stay out so late.

"You must be Naruto Uzumaki."

Speak of the devil.

Naruto turned towards the voice, revealing it to be an attractive female who seemed to be about two or so years older than him with wavy dark red hair that went to her lower back and red eyes. She was wearing a slightly modified Gekkoukan High uniform, a white long sleeved pinstripe blouse with a black high-waist skirt that stopped just above her knees and black knee-high heels.

Naruto nodded. "That's me. Sorry for arriving so late. I had to get certain affairs in order before making my way here."

"It's no problem, I understand." The girl told him with a short nod of her own. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo by the way. Your sister and I were… good friends." She finished with a slight melancholy.

"I see…" he really didn't want to have this conversation, and made it known by not following up on his statement. Mitsuru seemed to pick up on this and gestured towards the station's exit.

"I'll take you to the dorms now. It shouldn't take too long. 10 minutes at most." She told him as she began walking. Naruto followed after her slowly, not saying anything. The trip was made in an awkward silence, Naruto not wanting to say anything and Mitsuru looking like she wanted to say something but not knowing how to go about it.

Within 10 minutes the two were standing in front of a moderately sized four story brick building, one of the dorms belonging to Gekkoukan. As they walked in, he could see three people sitting in the lobby talking quietly, although their conversation died off as they noticed the two new arrivals.

One of the three, a middle aged man with dark eyes, long wavy brown hair and glasses. He was wearing a tan jacket and matching pants with a dark turtleneck underneath. He has a polite, if slightly sad smile on his face as Naruto approached.

The second was a boy who seemed to be the same age as Mitsuru. He had cropped silver hair and dark eyes, and was wearing a modified Gekkoukan boys' uniform, a long-sleeved white dress shirt with a red sweater-vest over it and black leather gloves on his hands, with black slacks and dress shoes. He was frowning slightly and had his arms crossed over his chest.

The last was a girl his age with sort brown hair that went to just above her shoulder blades. She had a pink cardigan over her uniform which had a shorter skirt than Mitsuru's, only going to her thighs. A white leather choker with a heart on it was around her neck, and she was wearing thigh high socks and brown loafers. Her frown was more pronounced and she seemed to be avoiding eye contact with him.

"You are Uzumaki-san's younger brother are you not? Naruto if I remember correctly." The middle aged man asked. Seeing the blond nod he continued "My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, the director of the Minatodai Dormitory, pleased to meet you, although I wish it was under happier circumstances." He finished.

"It's nice to meet you as well. I apologize for showing up so late, but I won't be long. Once I get the last of her things, I'll be out of your hair." Naruto told him in a clipped tone. He honestly didn't care about what these people had to say and just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"It's fine, no need to worry. The movers took most of Shio-san's belongings to storage already. All that's left are her more personal effects." Shuji told him. "Yukari here will take you up to your sister's room on the third floor." He motioned towards the brown haired girl who stood rigidly and started walking towards the staircase on the far side of the lobby, Naruto following without another word.

As the two of them disappeared up the stairs, Mitsuru released a deep sigh. "His eyes look exactly like she said they would during all of this, distant and closed off to the world."

The silver haired boy nodded slowly. "Yeah. Shio-san always did have a knack for reading others and knowing how they would react in certain situations. Usually she used that knowledge to make the people around her happy, but to think she could have accurately guessed something so depressing…" he shook his head sadly before turning to the older male. "We know that Shio-san confirmed that he has the potential, but are you sure it's alright to try and recruit him so soon after she…?"

"I don't know." Shuji admitted. "It's always nice to have another ally, but he may not be in the right state of mind to actually be of any help to us, even if Shio-san asked us to help him through this."

"Well, whether or not he joins, it's ultimately up to him." Mitsuru looked at a clock on the wall, noting it to be a little passed 11:40pm. "It's almost midnight. Akihiko, if he ends up leaving during the Dark Hour would you mind going on patrol? At least try to follow him to make sure he's safe. The last thing he needs right now is Shadows attacking him on his way back home."

The now named Akihiko nodded and grabbed his blazer, which had been thrown over his chair before holding it over his left shoulder. "Sure thing. It's the least I can do for Shio-san." He told them before walking out the door.

With Naruto and Yukari

Like the commute to the dorms with Mitsuru, the short walk up to the third floor with Yukari was incredibly awkward for the same reasons. Naruto didn't feel like saying anything, once again preferring to keep to himself, and Yukari looked like she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say, so she kept quiet, although she was fidgeting a lot more than Mitsuru was.

"Here we are." She told him awkwardly as they stopped in front of the last door on the third floor hallway. "This was Shio-san's room. Her things are still inside. You… you can take as long as you need. If you need anything my room is just a few doors down."

"No thanks. I'll finish up and let myself out. I don't want to be a bother." He opened the door to his sister's former room and was about to walk in when Yukari stopped him.

"Wait!." She hesitated a bit when he turned to her, but continued on. "I lost my dad when I was a kid, so I know how you're going through right now. I also know don't want anybody's pity and these are probably the last words you want to hear from someone you don't know, but… I'm sorry for your loss." She gave him a quick bow before turning and entering her own room, leaving the blonde alone in the hall.

'Tch, if you knew I didn't want pity then why did you say anything?' Naruto thought bitterly as he closed the door to his sister's room behind him and flicking on the lights.

As he expected, the room was mostly bare, the movers having come and taken most of her belongings like clothes and furniture she brought to the dorm with her, leaving a simple bed, desk and wooden dresser. All that was really left was a small box of her school supplies and some assorted pictures on her desk.

Walking towards them, he picked up one of the more recent ones, smiling fondly as he saw the teenage girl in the picture. Vibrant red hair held in a high ponytail by an orange ribbon, her face etched in a wide grin and blue eyes similar to his twinkling with mirth and an almost unnatural amount of warmth and affection. She had tan skin like himself, which was only marred by small dark circles underneath each eye, almost unnoticeable if you weren't looking for them. She was wearing a Gekkoukan uniform, similar to Mitsuru's, except her shirt was unbuttoned enough to show an orange shirt similar to the one he was wearing now and orange and red sneakers.

This was Shio Uzumaki... his recently deceased older sister.

He chuckled seeing how much orange she was wearing in the photo. Shio always did like the color orange. She was the one who got him to start wearing it after all. "It's the color of our family!" she would yell at the top of her lungs, no matter where they were or what time it was. "Mom had red hair and Dad was blonde, and red plus yellow equals orange!" she'd then grin and nod to herself before hugging him tight and ruffling his own blonde locks "And just look at us little bro! I got moms red hair and you got dad's yellow hair! It's irrefutable proof that we are destined to wear orange!"

Back when they were kids he'd find it annoying and would wriggle his way out of her grip before chasing her around the orphanage. But now…

Now he was alone.

Shio had been diagnosed with some unknown disease ten years ago when she was eight and he was six, the same day their parents had died. He didn't remember that day too well, but he knew he had gotten his scars then too. Anyway, the disease has been slowly killing her, and doctors said she most likely wouldn't like to see her forties, but she never let that bring her down. She lived every day to the fullest and had dedicated her life to making the people around her happy. She was amazing in school, a model student good at sports and academics, and helped whoever needed it. That was just the type of person she was.

With advances in medicine, the doctors told her that she could live up to another 10 years if she took her medicine refrained from doing anything too stressful… but right around the time she was accepted into Gekkoukan on a full scholarship and moved into the Minatodai dorms, her health started to deteriorate even further and more quickly than before, even with her medication. And a few years later during her third year of high school, about two weeks ago in fact… her body just gave out.

He remembered that day as if it had only happened hours ago. His school's principal pulled him to the side and told him his sister had collapsed during class and was being taken to the hospital. He ran out of the school before they could finish, sprinting to the hospital as fast as he could ignoring everything around him, even the nurses trying to bar his way into her room.

When he got there she looked so frail. She was pale and having trouble breathing, even with the oxygen mask over her face. But when she turned and saw him there she gave him a small peaceful smile. The one that she gave him when she wanted him to know everything was going to be okay… even though they both knew it wasn't going to be.

The last time she gave him that smile was at their parent's funeral and again when they moved into the orphanage.

It pissed him off so much. But he couldn't bring himself to scream and yell like he wanted to. Instead he sat next to her bed and held her and as tight as he could, the two of them taking comfort in each other's presence.

"It's going to be hard." She finally spoke up after what felt like hours of silence. "And I'm afraid. Not of dying. I accepted that a long time ago. I'm afraid of leaving you all alone. Mom and dad were bad enough… but now I'm going too." She started to cry. It was the first time he had seen her do so in years, but he still hated it. She was the last person in the world who should be crying. "It's going to be so hard for you now. You're going to mourn for a long time and shut yourself off from people who want to help you." She told him. He honestly thought she was an empath or psychic with how well she could read people.

"But please. Learn to love again. Don't wallow in my death forever. If you do, I'll never forgive you." An empty threat, and they both knew it. She always forgave him no matter what he did. "And above all else, I love you Naruto." She pulled him into a hug that made him uncomfortable. It was so painfully weak. These weren't Shio's hugs. Shio's hugs were always happy and loving and incredibly strong. Like she was trying to convey all of her love for you and the world in general thought simple contact. They made you feel safe. This was pathetic. Shio shouldn't have had to give a hug like this. He'd have to pick up the slack this time. "Memento Vivere." She whispered in his ear and she closed her eyes, her hug becoming even looser… and her arms fell to his sides.

He ignored the doctors and nurses patting his shoulder and giving halfhearted condolences. He couldn't even hear anything over Shio's last words repeating over and over in his head.

Memento Vivere.

'Remember To Live, Remember You Are Alive.' It was her catchphrase of sorts. After she was diagnosed, she started saying it to remind herself and others to live their lives as best as they can. To have a fulfilling life so they could die with no regrets, and not let the negativity of the world and their own bad experiences to define who they were as people.

It was too bad he couldn't follow that.

The day Shio died, a part of him died along with her.

He was torn out of his thoughts when the lights suddenly cut off. He looked up in confusion before checking the watch on his wrist. It was midnight, most likely lights out for the dorm. He had spent longer reminiscing than he thought. Grabbing all of his sisters' personal items, he gently placed them in the same box as her school supplies were, before grabbing the whole thing and turning to leave the room.

BANG

"Son of a-!" Naruto yelled through gritted teeth as he put the box down so he could cradle his injured foot. He looked down so see he had hit it on a large silver briefcase laying on the ground, partially concealed under the bed.

"What's this?" he muttered to himself. He didn't remember Shio owning something like this. Opening it up, the contents surprised him. The briefcase was filled in with black foam, which held a gleaming silver handgun and a leather holster. He didn't know the make or model, but the firearm was very big. The gun was about nine inches long and had two barrels, one right on top of the other. The grip looked like it was slightly too big for his hand and had two triggers, one where a normal trigger would be on a gun, and the other just below it and pushed back, indicating it was meant to be pulled with the middle finger and not the index finger.

He picked it up – idly noticing that it was rather heavy – and inspected it more closely. He was surprised to see the word "Namikaze" printed on the side in blue lettering. "This… this was dads gun!" he muttered, surprised. The engraving of their father's last name was definite proof.

Their father Minato had been a cop, and had this gun made to commemorate his promotion to chief. Naruto had only seen it once or twice before his and Shio's parents died, and assumed it went into storage with all of their other belongings. Plus, it looked incredibly different now… it was bigger and had an extra trigger and barrel to boot. It had definitely been modified heavily.

Ejecting the clip, he could see several high caliber bullets that definitely didn't belong in a gun this size. Yep, definitely modified. Namikaze was originally a ceremonial piece, not meant to be used and unable to actually shoot bullets. That just begged the question… why did Shio change it so much… and what was she doing that required the use of a gun?

He knew they sort of grew apart after she had moved in to the dorms and he stayed at the orphanage, but not enough that she would keep secrets from him!

Suddenly an alarm went off in the building, almost making him drop the gun. He almost put it back in the case, but decided to slip it into his waistband, hidden by his jacket. 'If there's an intruder in the building it would be better to have it on me just in case.'

Running into the hall, he had to make a quick stop to keep from running into Yukari who had apparently been coming to get him. He could see she was looking rather shaken up and was carrying a bow and quiver while a small handgun was strapped to her thigh. Behind her, he saw Mitsuru running downstairs carrying a gun of her own and what looked like a rapier. He could also hear the front door of the building slamming shut.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Is someone in the building?"

Yukari disregarded his question and grabbed his hand, dragging him towards the staircase. "There's no time to explain! You need to follow me!" the two ran up the stairs and out a metal door that led to the roof. The building was beginning to shake and he could hear occasional gunshots followed by loud crashes and the sound of something shattering coming from below them.

Disengaging his hand, he looked at Yukari who was looking back at the entrance nervously. "Seriously, what the hell is going on? What are we running from? And why the hell does everyone have guns?"

The brunette looked at him nervously, but was saved from answering by the sound of Mitsuru's voice coming from a radio in her cardigan pocket.

"Takeba, where are you?!" Mitsuru sounded frantic.

"I'm on the roof! I have Naruto-san with me!"

"That's good, stay there until the coast is clea- What? What do you mean?" the line was silent and they could hear the sound of someone else – most likely Akihiko – talking. "Takeba, be careful! Akihiko told me the one he fought isn't among the ones down here!"

"Okay seriously, what the hell is going on!" Naruto shouted, frustrated at being kept in the dark.

"Look, just be quiet!" Yukari yelled, losing her patience. "We'll explain everything later and- LOOK OUT!" she shouted, but it was just a second too late.

The next thing Naruto knew, he was hit by what felt like a bus and sent flying through the air, landing roughly on the other end of the roof.

"W-what the fuck?!" he coughed out, blinking blood out of his left eye. Looks like he cut his forehead when he landed. He got on to his hands and knees, coughing even more when he heard a warbling grown right in front of his face.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" he yelled even louder than before at the creature before him. It looked like a black puddle of goo with hands sticking out of it and a face made up of a light blue mask. And it was currently reeling back to hit him! The blonde fell backwards and prepared for impact, but the creature stiffened for a bit before falling forward with an arrow sticking out the back of its head before dissolving into a black mist.

Yukari ran over to him and helped him up before drawing another arrow and pointing it towards another one of those creatures, before shooting it. "Are you okay?!" she asked, never taking her eyes off the things in front of them, even as more started to climb up the building to the roof.

"I-I'm fine." He told her, a little shaken up. "What are these things?" he asked, pulling out Namikaze and pulling the top trigger, he was dismayed to see nothing coming out of the barrel. Trying the lower trigger, he was happy to hear a resounding bang and see a bullet pierce a monster's mask, causing it to dissolve. The recoil of the large gun hurt his arm though, and almost made it fly out of his hand.

"That's…!" she mumbled while looking at Namikaze before shaking her head and refocusing on the fight. "We call them shadows!" she told him before letting loose another arrow. Naruto took a two more shots, prepared for the recoil this time, both shots killing another shadow. "Ever hear about the new disease called Apathy Syndrome that's been spreading around? They're the reason for it!" Well, if that wasn't a good enough reason to start unloading more bullets, he didn't know what was.

Suddenly, the building shook again, this time making the two lose balance. Dozens of large hands gripped the edge of the dorm roof before pulling up what seemed to be a much, MUCH bigger version of the shadows already there. It looked radically different as well, its entire body being made of dozens of arms writhing around randomly. It had no definite head, and instead seemed to carry a blue mask with the roman numeral I that represented it's face around in one of it's hands. Several of said hands were also carrying some type of straight-edged short swords.

The two of them both opened fire on it, but their arrows and bullets seemed to do almost nothing to it. The large shadow advanced on them slowly, the smaller shadows around it seemingly backing off in subservience.

"Get behind me!" Yukari shouted while pulling her own gun out of its holster. He was about to remind her that his much larger, higher caliber gun did nothing to the monster in front of them, but stopped in surprise when she turned the gun to her own forehead.

Holy shit lady, he knew things looked bad, but suicide wasn't the answer!

'I can do this!' Yukari shouted to herself mentally 'I can do this!' but no matter how much she said so she hesitated to pull the trigger. The shadow threw one of its swords at her making her gasp and push Naruto down before diving away herself. But in her hasty retreat, she slipped and fell backwards, hitting her head on the floor rather roughly and knocking herself unconscious.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted as he kept firing at the large shadow, even though it was doing nothing. A click let him know that he has out of ammo, so with nothing else to do, he backed away as far as he could to the edge of the roof. Looking down he could also see Mitsuru and an injured Akihiko fighting those things as well, and they seemed to be doing much better than he was at the moment.

The shadows swarming the roof slowly advanced on him, as if stalking their prey. "Damn it!" he cursed again. 'Is this really how it ends…?' he asked 'Killed off by some freaky monsters without even knowing what was going on?'

Ba-bum

"Mom… Dad… Shio…" he whispered. "I'll be seeing you all soon."

Ba-bum

Memento Vivere…

BA-BUM

MEMENTO VIVERE…!

BA-BUM

MEMENTO VIVERE!

Suddenly his eyes snapped open glowing a sharp sky blue as opposed to his usual deep sapphire. Bringing Namikaze to face level, a large smile broke out on his face as he stared down the encroaching mass of shadows. "Persona…" he whispered, lifting his father's gun…

…and placed it right on his outstretched tongue, the barrel facing the roof of his mouth as he squeezed the top trigger.

PER

SO

NA

The sound of a gunshot and glass shattering pierced the night, the shadows stopping their approach as the blonde boy was engulfed in an ethereal blue fire.

"Thou Art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I appear before you." An amazingly gruff, slightly metallic voice sounded from behind him "I am Kurama, Embodiment of Hatred and Woe. From this point forth, I shall battle only for the sake of thyself."

Kurama was a 9 foot tall metallic looking humanoid that was crimson in color. It had a long shaggy mane of angry-red-almost-black hair that went all the way down its back and sharp eyes with black scalera that had no irises, only glowing red slits acting as pupils. There was another layer of black coloring that formed a ring around it's eyes and connected to the inside of its foot long rabbit-like ears coming from the sides of its head. It had six thick rents on the sides of its face, looking much like Naruto's scars only thicker and darker, and its mouth was naught more than a jagged jack-o-lantern like smile torn into its face, which was glowing white and constantly had small embers flickering out of it.

Its body was covered in a ragged black cloak that was missing it's right sleeve and covered everything down it its knees, showing thin metallic legs that rounded out at the bottom having no actual feet, instead having three black one and a half foot claws facing forward where it's feet would be. A black chain as thick as one of Naruto's forearms was wrapped tightly around Kurama's exposed right arm, being gripped in its large clawed hand and continuing for a few feet towards the ground before splitting off into nine smaller spiked chains that each ended in a wicked pike. It's left hand was covered by its cloak, but five, six inch long claws could be seen poking from the sleeve.

Taking a second to marvel at his persona, Naruto turned back and smiled widely once more, the shadows backing away in what seemed like fear, as he opened his mouth and spoke one word.

"Kagutsuchi."

Kurama released a loud roar dripping with bloodlust…

And then the world was engulfed in flames.

Velvet Room

Igor opened his eyes slowly and looked to the roof of the Velvet Room. "And so it begins again, another of the Fool Arcana making itself known." He said before frowning slightly. "But so summon one such a Kurama as his first persona… his grief runs much deeper than we suspected."

"Master…" Elizabeth called out, drawing his attention. "Do you believe she made the right choice in picking him?" she asked.

"Either way it matters not. We of the Velvet Room cannot interfere any more than Lord Philemon allows. As such we must place faith in our guests… both past and present."

It was silent for a long time, both of them pondering on past and future events before Elizabeth replied.

"… Understood, Master."

A/N: That just about does it for the first episode of Memento Vivere. You can already see the changes I've made, the prime one being Naruto not being the first to sign the contract. Just what does that mean? Keep Reading and find out~! Also, you must have noticed that I've taken to the phrase Memento Vivere (Remember to live, Remember you are alive) instead of the original Memento Mori (Remember you are Mortal, Remember you will die). Get used to it. It's pretty important and will be popping up quite a bit throughout the story lol.

Yep, I made Kurama Naruto's first persona. Will I make more personas for the other Bijuu? Who knows. It took me a lot longer than I'd like to admit to come up with Kurama's design, so I'm kind of iffy on it. Will there be other Naruto characters? I may mention them here or there but the chances of them making an actual appearance are close to Zero.

Well anyways, be sure to tell me your opinion on it. As always your questions and criticisms are welcome through either reviews or pm's! I'm looking forward to your feedback!

~SilentFang