Chakra. The liveforce of all living beings. It flows through the ground, the plants, the water, the sky, the animals and the people. Everything produces Chakra, that is how it is.
He was running. He always was to be honest.
Running through the streets, running from mobs, from animals, from shinobi, running from everything. Running to find shelter from the rain.
Running right into someone.
"I say, are you alright Love?"
But, what if that wasn't true?
He looked up with fear filled eyes, staring at the person he had crashed into in horror.
It was a woman, a black umbrella in hand to ward off the rain and a white lab coat on over a black shirt and pants, looking down at him from a worried face framed by all the colours of the rainbow with blank pink eyes covered by glasses.
What if, instead of everything producing Chakra, it came from a different source?
He blinked up at the woman, relaxing slightly when he realised there was no way she was from the village. He would have remembered such weird colours anywhere.
The woman crouched down, smiling slightly, eyes still blank, like they weren't even alive. Like they were dead.
"What is a little boy like you doing out here in the rain? Shouldn't you be at home?" Her voice was weird, the words said in a way he had never heard before.
And despite the dead eyes she had, he felt like she really was worried about him.
"I don't have a home lady. The orphanage just kicked me out."
The woman crocked her head, smil replaced with a blank expression to match her eyes, before smiling again and reaching out a hand.
"Well, would you like to come with me then?"
An outside source, one that needed constand care to continue working?
He stared at the strange woman with dead pink eyes, rainbow coloured hair and a white lab coat.
"Why? Why would you want me to come with you?"
One with a caretaker, a worker, an Operator?
The smile turned kind and caring.
"Because I see something in you. Something that makes you the ideal candidate to be my successor. To be my son."
An Operator that, while long-lived, would not last forever?
He was confused. And so, so, hopeful.
"A successor? A successor to what?"
One that needed replacing?
He had moved closer to her.
"A successor to the most important position in the world."
One that needed training from the previous one?
He stared for a bit.
"What do I have to do?"
One that was not afraid to do what was necessary to keep the world running?
The smile widened.
"Just take my hand Little One."
One that knew the consequences?
He reached out, longing for the family love he never thought he would get.
One that could kill without remorse?
He took the hand.
One that could listen to screaming, sobbing, begging and crying without once being effected?
The smile turned blinding.
"Excellent."
The woman stood up, still holding onto his hand, and started walking into an alley.
He looked up at the woman.
"What's your name Love?"
He grinned.
"Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!"
She chuckled.
"I am Sayomi Naruto-kun. You may call me Kaa-san if you wish."
Everything comes at a price. Everything.
They stopped in front of a door, the wood rotted and old, and the light blue paint peeling off it in flakes.
Sayomi turned to Naruto, crouching down so she could look him in the eyes, the rain pounding loudly on her umbrella.
"My dear Naruto. There is something you must understand."
He looked at his mother in confusion.
"What is it Kaa-san?" The word was foreign in his mouth, bringing a sense of excitement and happiness to his heart.
His mother smiled.
"Once you go through this door, there is no going back. You will forever be tied to this position, with no way of escaping it until you yourself find a successor. Do you understand?"
He blinked again, now slightly wary.
"Why would I want to escape it?"
And with Chakra, that price...
Her smile turned sad, her dead eyes now holding a small sliver of regret.
"Because it requires you to kill. No matter who or how old."
He stared up at the woman who had given him a mother.
"Will I still be your son?" 'Please, don't go, don't leave already!'
The smile returned.
"Of course my Dear."
He tightened his hold on her hand. He didn't care what he had to do. He would not lose his mother.
"I understand." 'And accept' went unspoken, the words not even needing to be voiced.
She nodded, standing up and closing her umbrella, allowing the rain to hit the both of them unhindered.
He grabbed the handle when she told him to.
Is the blood and lifeforce of countless souls….
And opened the door...
And the innocence of the Operator.
And thus, began the tale of Naruto Uzumaki. The newest Operator… of the Rainbow Factory.
"In the Rainbow Factory. Where your fears and horrors come true.
In the Rainbow Factory. Where not a single soul comes through..."
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