Discalimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this unique perspective on the bijuu's origins.
The Nine Prisoners
Chapter 1: Chains
By Irritus185
It's dark.
It's not like I'm blind; no, the darkness is so much more than just an absence of sight. It's more like an absence of everything. I can't see, can't hear, can't smell. It's sterile, as if a heavy black cloth is wrapped around my head, blocking out all senses.
A numbness beyond thought, a lack of existence.
The only thing real, the only thing I can make sense of, are the small loops of something around my wrists.
They're cold and hard, unmoving and unforgiving. They feel like they weigh a hundred pounds, bringing me down, and yet I'm standing up perfectly straight, my back ramrod stiff.
Where am I? How did I get here? What did I do?
I know nothing. I only know the darkness.
Then, suddenly, the darkness sweeps back, like a curtain. Light rushes in, and I look down, my eyes screaming with pain. When I look back, I find that the room, if that's what it is, is full.
A ring of light surrounds me, and at equal intervals around the ring, figures shrouded in light and shadows stand. I cannot make out their features; the shadows swim all over their bodies, distorting my view, forcing me to look away lest I lose what little sense I'm left with. I can't tell if they're male or female, short or tall.
I can't even tell for sure if they're human.
One of them speaks, but I can't tell which one. I cannot see their mouths move, and the sound comes from all around me.
"-~-~-"
The noise is like pottery being dashed onto the ground. It's like a spike in my ear, piercing me right through the brain. And even though it's indecipherable, I know what it means.
My name.
Who am I? I…I cannot remember.
Why?
"You have been found guilty of the crime of blasphemy."
What? What crime have I committed?
"Your punishment is severe, the highest of its kind. The ultimate price. "
But why? What have I done?
"You shall never meet death, though you shall seek it."
Tell me! I want to know!
"Forever shall you roam the earth, sowing fear and destruction wherever you go."
Tell me.
"You are cursed, forsaken."
Please.
"The more people fear you, the more twisted your soul becomes."
The pain hits me. It flows up my veins, setting me on fire wherever it goes. It's the worse pain I've ever felt, and yet…there is this crystal clear clarity. I am observing the pain, but from outside my body.
Lucid and easy to see.
"The more warped your spirit, the more flawed your visage."
My bones shift, morphing into a different structure. They snap and reform, breaking before healing.
Fur and scales and something entirely different flows down my arms and legs and torso and face, melting into each other, becoming something inhuman.
"The more horrid your features, the more terror you shall spread."
Then everything disappears entirely. I am alone again, but the voice echoes all around me. All that is left is a crushing, overwhelming loneliness and shame.
I am forgotten.
"Suffer for eternity, our bijuu."
I have no mouth, and I must scream.
A/N: Well, first chapter done. This fic focuses on a PLAUSIBLE reason for the creation of the bijuu. I don't care what Kishimoto says. Pretty much anything after the time skip (ie. the MOON) is on the same level as Jar Jar Binks; JAR JAR BINKS! Screw you, Bakamoto!
…what was I talking about? Oh! Uhh…right…anyway…each chapter focuses on a bijuu, and what they might have been in their lives before they actually became the bijuu.
In this case, don't expect a happy ending. Each one describes their tragic fall into darkness, and their infamous rebirth. For the most part, I based their personalities off their current jinchuuriki, which could make some sense. The bijuu is an insane killing machine, so their 'true' personality could be transcribed into their host. Anyway…Please Review, and remember, no flames!
Next Chapter – Ichibi : Enlightenment