(A/N: Welcome, all, to my replacement story for Moonlit Fox. This begins with the main character of the first sequence, which will be setting up the universe. I will be posting a series of connected chapters, but please understand that this entire story is meant as a prologue to the larger arc. I hope this helps explain things. Of course, it is also intended as a teaser for the rest of the story, which is why it's the prologue).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sailor Moon, nor do I own anything else you might think I do. However, the prophecy, as well as the current plot line, I do own.

He opened his eyes, once again in the Void. He couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't even breathe; and yet, he could feel despair.

It was overwhelming, almost crushing him.

He was almost choking on it.

If he'd been alive, he would be.

He'd failed again.

It hadn't even taken him that long compared to previous repeats.

He didn't know what he was doing wrong. He'd done everything asked of him. He'd maneuvered around that damn thing but it had to be learning from him. It had maneuvered like it knew what he was doing.

That little girl. Damn. One girl, one little orphan was the key this time.

He didn't even know her name. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

Her Voice echoed round him, then, and he listened "YOU HAVE FAILED ME AGAIN."

There was no point in arguing. He had failed, even after everything he'd done to stop it, after everything he'd tried. Everything She had given him was for naught if the universe kept resetting itself like this. Kept dying, putting him into the Void when he died.

Had he been any other soul, he would have been splintering by now. Breaking under the force of the world breaking.

She had even denied him Her warmth this time.

Now, all he wanted was a body so he could cry his eyes out.

Here, in the Void, he held no power. He had nothing. He was just a failure.

Just a weak, stupid crybaby.

Why had She chosen him, anyway? Out of everyone, clearly he was the worst choice. Even if he was still conscious, what grounds did She have to choose him on, except being a stubborn idiot who just wouldn't stop trying? Couldn't stop trying, no matter how much it hurt?

He didn't know how long it was before the Voice returned, bringing with it Her warmth, wrapping his soul within it, and he hated it, hated how it was absolving him even when She had yet to forgive him.

"THIS TIME, IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT," boomed Her Voice, and he started. Her Forgiveness and Absolution was everything, so much better than even the best counseling, healing the shattered parts of his soul. The pressure eased. "THEY HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU SINCE THE BEGINNING. COME, WE WLL DISCUSS THIS TOGETHER."

He was wrapped in warmth, almost crying, whimpering in His Mother's embrace, when the cold harshness of the Void vanished.

—He could feel nothing—

And then, he was in a body again, though more like a physical form of his soul. Light curled around him, warmer and brighter than anything he'd ever felt before. He was in a garden, Her garden if he remembered correctly, standing beneath beautiful blooming cherry trees. He glanced down at himself, surprised that he hadn't changed all that much.

He looked to be about fifteen again. The same age he was every time he went back. Short, black hair and his hitai-ate around his forehead, short strap tickling at his slow-to-grow sideburns. His hands were callused and scarred, darker than normal—he looked like Minato-oji, not his first life's form. And his nails were diamond-hard and sharp, as were his teeth, as usual. He could feel his bangs when he reached up to feel his face, as well as the scar through his left eye.

He was wearing a dark blue kimono, the obi tied in such a way that meant he was showing respect. Beneath it, nothing. As it always was.

Approaching him was Her. In the closest approximation of a Godly form that he could comprehend. She had beautiful, crimson hair pinned back from Her face using a trail of cherry blossoms, almost a flower crown. Her skin was alabaster white, Her eyes brilliance themselves, the color of the sunlight. She was his height, but She dwarfed him in all ways. Her kimono was pink, patterned with suns and cherry blossoms, and She glided toward him effortlessly, footsteps silent upon the grass.

Kenshin, as he had grown used to calling himself, bowed his head immediately, sinking to his knees "My Goddess," he said reverently, dropping his eyes to the grass.

"Enough," Her voice was nowhere near his, nowhere near human. "You have no need to fear me, my Chosen. This was not your fault, Kishidan." He swallowed, about to argue, as he raised his eyes to Hers "I have received word from my brothers and sisters that they have had Eyes on you."

Oh, all the kami above, no.

He got to his feet, when She indicated he could, instantly standing in geta that hadn't been there before. He remained balanced, despair slowly ebbing, to be replaced with righteous anger.

"How did you ignore that?" demanded Kenshin. "How did we miss it?"

She looked at him, Her gaze sharp on him "I do not know. I have no intention of letting that Leech follow through time again. It has been traveling back since the first time, along with you. It was using your temporal trails, the traces of darkness in your soul, and Fate's own strings, to unravel the timeline we are saving."She sounded extremely angry. "To that end, we will be visiting Shinigami and Inari to restore you. Your luck should not have been this bad. I should have foreseen this."

Kenshin shook his head "With all due respect, no, you shouldn't have. This thing hides from even the greatest of the kami," Her eyes narrowed at him, and he tilted his head, raising an eyebrow "With that in mind, if it's tying itself to the Namikaze bloodline, or to a soul, it's going to be a lot harder to see without you looking for it."

She snorted "Regardless, this is my fault. Follow me," his geta vanished, and Kenshin followed her into the grove of cherry trees that suddenly emerged, intermixed with several trees from the Namikazes' ancient home.

Kenshin could hear the goddess mumbling to herself, cursing and trying to figure out just when they had been compromised. Such a compromised state was seriously dangerous for the timeline. No matter what, if Fate had been corrupted, they were gone.

And it seemed Fate had become corrupted, if they were allowing this Leech to follow him.

He had no intention of letting that malevolent Balance goddess have any more sway than she already did. She'd already spoken to him several times, trying to deter him from letting the world fall. To her, life was Fated to end. Setsuna, Trista, whatever her name was; she was not the one in charge of the Fates of all mortals, and yet whoever Fate had been, this was who she was now. The only way to destroy her was to finalize the Ascension of The Three.

She'd been working actively to kill them. The Fate in this dimension was powerless to affect demigods, but in hers, it was absolute. Both Fates were constantly at odds, meaning it was constantly the hour of human choice. Kenshin was the product of such a choice, and he'd thought their Fate was gaining ground.

It seemed that was not the case.

They emerged into a clearing filled with daffodils and daisies, in which two other beings were standing.

First, there was Shinigami-sama, regal and stately in a pure white hakama, his twin katana-length blades at his sides. He towered over them both, long spiky white hair tied back from his face with a leather cord. His black skin and ice-blue eyes were unnerving, no less because of his preferred face, which was that of a snarling oni. His face was distinctly demonic with an elongated jaw and extremely sharp white teeth, showing almost a gaping maw. However, as this was not Kenshin's first meeting with him, it was not quite so terrifying.

Inari-sama was new. She, for this kami had chosen to appear before him in a feminine form, had long, silky blonde hair the same color as Sunkit's. It was curled expertly and left wavy down her back, reaching almost to her ankles, intertwining with her many tails, Kitsune ears atop her head as usual. She was clad in a jade-green elegant qipao, with gray pants, and her eyes were bright green, and reminded him painfully of Sunkit's. Her face, now, was similar in color to Kenshin's hands, and when their eyes met he could see a violet diamond shape on her forehead. She was smirking at him.

"Step forward," Shinigami said, and Kenshin did so without question.

He drew a blade from within his robes, one with a simple bone-white handle and a long blade made of what appeared to be solidified obsidian, or a rock much like it, with darkness trailing off it. The kami circled around Kenshin's form, eyeing it up and down, and then sheathed it again. Kenshin saw him smirk out of the corner of his eye.

"Can you remove it?" demanded Amaterasu-sama.

"Yes," said Shinigami, but he paused, "You, Namikaze-Uchiha Obito," Kenshin met those eerie, terrifying blue eyes. "You gave your life for my descendant this time." He nodded. "There are two ways to remove it. This is by far the more dangerous, but it will give you more of a chance." The Shinigami drew out the obsidian blade again "I will guide you to a girl in return, one who has the potential to turn this war in your favor." Amaterasu frowned slightly, but then Shinigami winked at her, obviously sharing something with Her, and She smiled. "Namikaze-Uchiha Obito, often known as Abarai Kenshin, you have Earned this Gift."

Kenshin—Obito—stiffened. He had gone through life with only Amaterasu-sama's Gifts, on these repeats. He wasn't sure how they would respond to the addition of a new Gift, but Amaterasu-sama was smiling, and nodded when he looked to Her for guidance. She would never steer him wrong when it came to Divine Gifts.

Even so, he knew it was a choice. Shinigami-sama had paused, staring him in the eyes. As per the rules, it wasn't described at all.

"Do you wish to accept this Gift?" The rules stated explicitly that he wasn't even able to say what it was.

"Will it require anything more from me than what I have already given, and plan to give again?" countered Obito with a smirk.

The Shinigami shook his head "It only requires acceptance."

He could do this. It was more dangerous, but it would give him a bigger chance.

How the hell did anyone think he would refuse? Obito had never gone through life thinking things through. His gut told him this was good, so he went for it.

"I, Namikaze-Uchiha Obito, accept this Divine Gift, Shinigami-sama. I, as Abarai Kenshin, do also accept this Gift."

Anything that would let him save his Cub, Koneko and Sunkit would be something he took over death every single time. It didn't matter how old he was. It didn't matter what it did to him in the end. He was dead, and he had nearly been devoured three times by the Leech, only to be saved at the last by Amaterasu-sama. His precious people were gone; all devoured by this damned thing.

At this point, his only goal was to get his precious people through this, alive. It didn't matter what it cost him to do so. Failure was no longer an option.

"Very well," Shinigami-sama smiled at him, extending the blade, and with a swift movement, stabbed Obito through the chest of his soul.

He coughed, once. Then he was abruptly reminded of why Divine Gifts were painful. He had received far worse in his life, or so he thought, and then pain erupted through his entire soul, something so hot it burned his very center alive. He was drowning in fire when he saw it, a brilliance behind his eyes and the feeling of ultimate death overtaking him, at least for a moment. He felt life leave him, all existence erased in the void.

All Obito knew was pain.

He wasn't sure how long the pain lasted.

When he returned to himself, he was no longer in a kimono. Nor was he fifteen. Now, he looked closer to twenty, with height and bearing, and he now had a long katana strapped across his back, warm against his back in his ANBU uniform, which was far more comfortable than a hakama. Shinigami-sama 's sword was still inside his chest, but when the kami removed it, this time it didn't hurt at all.

And when he looked down at himself, he was surprised to see his skin had turned a dark gray, with runes patterned across his hands, tribal symbols in gold. He felt something like death pulse through his soul, but knew, instinctively, that such a gift could Heal as well as Bring Death. Shinigami-sama, like Amaterasu-sama, had seen to his initial training, before his first failure and after, and had added in memories and skills to help him command his new powers.

A part of him now felt fire. Like something at his core, with the pulsing of his blade. It…it was a sword of sorts, but it was…alive. It had its own soul, one now bound to his. He stared at Shinigami-sama, who gave him a smile of sorts (he thought), a not-nice expression on the god, and nodded respectfully to Obito before stepping back.

"You are now my Knight as well as your Goddess's. I will grant the same gift to your charges, those who need it. In return, you are now bound to protect those I Mark, as well."

Obito bowed from the waist, respectful of the one whose offer he had just accepted "As you wish, Shinigami-sama. May I ask you for guidance, as I do Amaterasu-sama?" Shinigami nodded, satisfied with his answer.

Then Inari, kami of Foxes, Kitsune, Youko and Chaos stepped forward. Well, perhaps not chaos, exactly, but something close. Nature, Obito's new nature whispered at him. Mischief. Fox.

She—they—looked beautiful.

Inari-sama surprised him by bowing before him from the waist, hair brushing the grass before they rose "I thank thee, Namikaze-Uchiha Obito, for your respect and care for my temples, and your guarding my Avatar. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto is Known and Mine, by Heritage. Your wisdom is why I wish to call upon you for aid now."

Obito bowed back to the kami "How may I help, Inari-sama?" he inquired. "I do not intend to stop my work in the world below."

"I do not intend to stop you," said Inari, amused, "Instead, I would give you my Blessing. While I am not allowed to directly interfere, as I already have an Avatar, you are in need of my luck, at the very least. I am also known as Lady Luck," then Inari winked, and Lady Luck took their place, clad in golden shimmering fabric, with short, white hair, dark skin, and beautiful fire-colored eyes, albeit the same height as Inari's other form. "As I cursed the Uchiha Clan, I intend to remove your curse, as well as your direct relatives' curses, if you desire it. In exchange I would only ask that you continue as you have. You have Earned this Divine Gift, and My Blessing."

Inari-sama, Luck-dono…no matter who they were, they had definitely broken the rules. But Obito could tell this time, somehow, that it was allowed. He decided to accept. Amaterasu-sama and Shinigami-sama only looked amused. And he could use it, as could the rest of his family.

Obito would give anything to let them live this time. Just once he would give anything to let this world be saved from that Trista woman. He bowed respectfully to Inari-sama.

"I accept, Inari-sama," the Fox put their hand on his shoulder and Obito gasped, divine power rippling through his entire being as he felt like his hands were exploding.

Something dark screamed in the back of his mind, something small, trying to break the connection, but Inari-sama burnt it out, and suddenly Obito could feel the entire world beneath his feet, could feel it pulsing like his blade, and tears gathered in his eyes as something warm filled its place. The colors of the entire godly realm suddenly sharpened, becoming extremely visible to his eyes. Inari-sama turned, and planted a kiss upon his suddenly bare brow, and he felt his hair lengthen, growing to resemble a mixture of Minato-oji's and Uchiha Madara's.

He shook it out, surprised when he saw red and gold streaks, the same color as Minato-oji's and Kushina-oba's in his hair, as well as a tiny moon-white tip to each large spike. Inari-sama smiled at him as his hair shifted again, to his preferred length, which was much shorter, but now…

This felt good. More than that, this felt right. For once in his life, he wasn't the unlucky one. He was at peace.

Obito bowed, trying not to smile as he realized the lingering hopelessness and despair was all but gone.

It was as if that darkness had magnified it. It was still present, still very much there and he had little doubt that sleep would be difficult, but it was to nearly so magnified as before.

"We should have seen it sooner," Amaterasu-sama bowed low to him, startling Obito into nearly sinking to his knees. "For this, I apologize. You have suffered much, my Warrior, for events that are not your fault."

Obito bowed back, feeling more forgiven than he had in all previous repeats "This monster hides from even you, Amaterasu-sama. It is my hope that I will be more aware of it in the future," he smirked "With the loss of the curse, I will likely be more aware of it if the Leech latches onto me again."

Left unsaid was the fact that he might even sense it nearby now. It felt as though his eyes were clearer than they had been in decades, and Obito, no matter how old he was, intended to make use of that.

"That curse was what it was latching onto," said Shinigami-sama, nodding "Its removal prevents it from repeating with you. It will believe you will make the same mistakes as last time. Do not. You have an advantage now, Obito."

"I will not waste it," swore Obito, hand over his chest in the traditional salute he had used since his first death. "We have an advantage. Send me back. I will even try to save Sasuke-chan, if I can." The gods grinned, as one—well, Inari-sama and Amaterasu-sama did, the other was difficult to tell—and the realm of the gods spun around him, faster and faster until he began to feel sick.

Abruptly, his vision went black, and searing, white hot fire surged through him.

His last thought as he fell into unconsciousness was that now, he might finally have a chance, with his luck fixed, and the curse gone.

And that was one chance the Leech would forever regret giving him.

(End Notes: Bet you weren't expecting me to do that with Obito, huh? I really liked Obito until he went crazy in Shippuden/whatever arc that was. I was really disappointed to find out that Obito killed Minato and Kushina, especially since it seems like Genin and their Jounin sensei are fairly close.

For anyone confused, Kenshin is the name he chose when he "graduated" from his training and was sent forth his first time. Kenshin is how he thinks of himself a lot of the time, and for the majority of the next story he will be known by the name Kenshin if the scene is from his POV. He considers the name Obito to be less who he is these days.

His current position (when alive) is very similar to that of a paladin/cleric cross from Dungeons and Dragons or, for those of you familiar with it, a mixture World of Warcraft Paladin and Shaman. He's not quite the same as either, but this is close enough for context. (Divinely empowered warrior/fighter/shinobi.)

Physically, Obito arrives in a 20yr old body every time he 'repeats' in the midst of his prime.

The Void is what exists outside the Realms and worlds, and is also outside the different "afterlife" realms.

Koneko = Kitten

Yes, he needs help, but the only one he can really confess to is Amaterasu, or after this chapter, also Shinigami and Inari. In this universe, this is considered better than seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist if you are depressed or anxious, since the gods (kami) take a more active role in this universe than any godly being does in ours.)