There is a quake that rips the soul asunder. . . it is the pain of remembering. - J. R. Ward


In an endless red void, Rage opened his eyes. He slowly floated upwards until the red met black. Then he had to hold his breath as he swam through the dark waters. Rage could see the light now. He swam towards it, breaking the surface.

He was back in the mindscape. Rage made his way toward shore. He frowned, it was raining lightly. That had never happened before. When he reached the beach, he shook like a dog, water spraying everywhere.

"You've come back from torturing an innocent man?"

Rage glared at the observer. Those violet eyes simply stared back at him, condemning him.

"No one's innocent," he retorted, "What the hell is he doing? Why's it raining?"

"You don't know? It's his- our birthday. We're remembering. You were 'asleep' this time last year."

"That doesn't explain the rain."

"This world…it changes as we change. He's upset, thus it rains. This is just the beginning of change. The first memory hasn't even started yet."

Rage snorted. Memories? Boring. He had half a mind to go back and visit Iruka in his dreams. He couldn't though. It was too dangerous to do it twice on one night. Not to mention he'd haunted the man every night for a week straight.

"I'm going back to the void. You can stay and watch if you want. I've seen it all already," the observer began to wade through the dark waters. Rage thought the observer was insane. How could anyone want to return to the void? Rage hated it when Naruto shoved him in it. But the observer always went willingly, most of the time on his own.

"Why would I want to watch it? All that it'll be is pain and hatred. That's all it's ever been."

The observer turned to look at him, "Don't you want to know how you were born. How you came to exist? You don't know anything of our life before that point. That's how he's hiding it from you. He's literally hiding the source of all his shame and guilt from himself. He doesn't trust himself."

"I don't feel shame. I'm not guilty at all. And as you like to remind me, I'm him. We're Naruto."

"Why don't you stay and find out?" the observer shook his head, "I've got to go. I've wasted too much time."

The violet-eyed boy descended into the waters and didn't come back up. Rage narrowed his eyes. Naruto was keeping things from him? What right did he have to do that? They were all him. They all deserved to know.

Then the light disappeared. The stars were gone. Ominous clouds covered the waxing crescent moon. Rage could barely see his hands in front of his face. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The rain pelted down harder, causing Rage to take shelter by one of the palm tree.

Then there was a voice. His voice. It reverberated across the mindscape.

"Darkness. It began in darkness."

Images begin to flicker in the sky and Rage smirked.

I'm gonna find out our secrets Naruto. Whatever it is that you're hiding, it makes you vulnerable. Just what I need.


Darkness. It began in darkness.

My first thought then was some wordless thought of wonder and purpose. I would translate it to 'I am here. I am here, but who and where am I?' I don't know how long I thought that. Time didn't exist in the darkness. It might have been a century; it might have been a second. I don't know.

Then the voices came. The first voice…it was his. It was a deep mocking laughter that I first heard. He was the first thing that I could hear talking to me. So I listened.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki! Thank you for existing. Thank you for being my escape. I'll think of your sacrifice when I kill your parents and you," the fox laughed. Then it was quiet. I knew Kyuubi was still there. Lurking. Waiting.

There was another voice. Soft and gentle, it caressed every word that it said.

"Hello…Naruto. It's me your mom. I wonder if you can hear me?" the voice chuckles softly. But it's not like the fox's cruel laugh. It's nice; it made me feel warm and good. I wanted to get closer to it.

"I love you Naruto. I can't wait to meet you. There are so many amazing things in this world. I want to share them all with you," she laughed again, "That's something your dad told me when we started going out. He's gone now, doing a bunch of required paperwork. But he'll be back soon."

And she continues to talk, weaving the tale of her life as she goes. I wanted to see her. I wanted to be held in her arms. My mother. I reach out with my formless body, pressing against her, trying to get out.

"Kicking already? That's my strong Naruto. But it'll be a couple months before you're ready to be born," she pauses, and then talks not to me but to someone else, "Minato! You're home early."

They whisper together. Suddenly there's a warm hand next to me. I pressed against it, reveling in the feeling.

"Wow…," a new voice says quietly, "I can feel him. His chakra…he has so much already. Can you hear me Naruto? I'm your dad. You're gonna be so strong one day. I just know it."

"Maybe he'll become Hokage like you."

Dad moved his hand away, "Only if he wants to be. I wouldn't wish that much paperwork on anybody. I wonder what he'll be like when he gets older."

"He'll have your blond hair and blue eyes. Hopefully your smile too."

"It seems like he's already got your massive chakra stores. He'll probably act like you too," he paused, then in mock horror, "That means we won't eat anything besides ramen."

Mom laughed again, "Not true. I eat things besides ramen sometimes."

"The last time you ate something other than ramen was two days ago. I cooked."

"Well, I'll cut down when he's born. I guess two ramen fiends wouldn't be that good. Oh!" she exclaimed, "Naruto, I met one of your friends today."

I leaned up against her again. I wanted the warm hand back.

"Who are you talking about Kushina?"

"Mikoto's little boy. Sasuke. She was able to leave the hospital today. I saw her with the baby and Itachi as they were leaving. Ah, Itachi. That little toddler is so serious."

"What happened?"

"He was holding Sasuke and I asked if I could take him for a second. He looked up at me and said 'Only if you be careful. No dropping him.' I promised not to, but he had to be convinced by Mikoto before he let Sasuke go."

"Wow, he's protective already."

"Yes, I told him that he didn't need to be. Itachi just shook his little head and said 'That's what big brothers do'. Anyway Naruto, Sasuke's gonna be your friend. I spend way too much time around Mikoto for you boys not to be," she laughed.

"A big brother eh? You won't have one of those, Naruto," Dad stated sadly, putting his hand back, "But maybe we'll convince your mom to give you a little brother or sister."

"Minato!"

And they were so happy and laughing. I wanted to be there with them. I was tired of wordless thoughts and this formless body of mine. Then the fox's voice returned.

"You're right. He'll be strong like both of you. Only…he'll be a monster like me."

Everything went cold. I knew I wasn't the only one who heard that. Something shifted, and the energy around me is askew. Then something amazing happened.

I could see. It wasn't just darkness either. I could see!

What I was seeing, I didn't know back then. I had no words for anything, nor understanding. I do now.

Mom and Dad were standing in front of a huge cage. They were up to their ankles in water. There were pipes everywhere like a sewer. My parents weren't smiling anymore. Kyuubi was there, grinning as its tails swished behind him.

"I've seen it. Your little Naruto will grow up and destroy everything you stand for." the fox cackled, "More my son than yours really."

"You're wrong," Mom stepped forward, challenging him, "Naruto won't be like I was. He'll have us. We'll protect him."

"You can't protect him from everything."

"We will," Dad assured, "You won't taint him. He'll be born and you'll stay inside. You won't escape!"

They stand united against the demon. The me from the present wants to run to them, warn them, hold on and never let go. But I can't. I can only watch, a shade from the future. This is where the first memory stops. Where it's always stopped.

Then something that never happened happens. A new action takes place within a memory. Time stops. My parents no longer move or breathe. The ripples in the water are frozen in place. I'm standing in front of the fox's cage and he's growling in amusement.

"Little fragment of the future. Little Naruto, demon of Konoha," the fox roars, "I can see you!"

I take a step back. Impossible. He can't see me. This is my memory. I feel the water move at my feet. I look down. It's me, as a baby. The baby looks up at me with innocent blue eyes.

"You're thinking it's an illusion right? But it's not. I'm here. I'm talking to you on your eighth birthday," Kyuubi smirks, tails now thrashing wildly against his cage bars, "You're thinking that I'm dead. You think I only gave you the dark gift. Well…you're wrong."

"What do you want? It's not possible. Dad got rid of you. He stole your soul. You're both dead," the baby yanks at my pants, like it wants to be picked up. I ignore it.

"I am gone in the future. This is a memory. One you've never remembered until now. You weren't ready before. Really, you're still not ready, but I have to let you know now."

"Let me know what?"

He doesn't answer. One of his tails pokes through the bars. The baby reaches for it. I smack the tail away and stand between it and the baby. Kyuubi smiles, he reaches through the bars with his claws this time. He's holding a box. It's small and red. He pushes me away easily. As I fall to the ground, he presses the box to the baby's chest and it disappears.

"You can't open it now. It will open soon though."

"Crazy. This is crazy," I whisper to myself, "Can't be happening. A memory within a memory?"

Kyuubi snorts, "Everything is possible. A memory within a dream. A future that changes the past. The lies that weave together to form the inescapable truth. Don't tell me impossible boy."

The memory begins to end, and everything is thrown into chaos. Colors run and black holes start to appear. My parents and the baby me vanish.

"We'll meet again boy," he promises, then he too begins to vanish. The last I see of him are his red eyes looking at me, so sure I'll do what he wants. Then I'm flung into the next memory in the sequence.


Rage hung onto the tree's trunk as wave after wave crashed into him. Lightning flashed in the distance and the following thunder threatened to break his eardrums. He blearily opened his eyes to the turmoil in front of him. The ocean frothed and attacked the shore like a vicious animal. He was doing all he could to escape it.

It was worth it. These memories were worth it. Already he had learned so much. It didn't matter how drenched he got. It didn't matter because this pain was nothing compared to everything else he'd been through.

"This all you got Naruto? You can't get rid of me that easily!" Rage roared at the indifferent black skies, "Show me all your goddamn secrets!"

Lightning struck again. This time it's target was the red-eyed boy screeching up at the heavens. Rage screamed as the electricity surged through him. A second of pure agony and then it let him go.

He fell to the ground, a burning carcass. The thunder this time was like a parent scolding a mischievous child. Rage growled softly. He tried to get up, telling himself that pain was imaginary. Still he couldn't. So he settled for leaning against the now blackened palm tree.

"I don't care what you do to me. I can take it. We can take it. Now show me," and obediently the skies resumed the memory sequence.


"Kyuubi you stay in. Naruto come out!" Dad shouted in frustration. There were so many voices and people. Kyuubi's was the loudest. He was roaring in defiance, doing his best to escape and kill all of us. But he's failing, and I could see. I could see the light.

I am born. I am alive.

But instead of being in the arms of Mom or Dad, I'm in Madara's. He's so cold and everything about him feels wrong. He wanted to kill me. Him and Dad argue. Dad saves me from Madara and he teleports us back home.

"Stay here Naruto, stay safe," and he's gone again. Even without being there to witness it, I know things are changing as fast as they stay the same. Just the beginning of an end. An end to the beginning.

Dad's back. This time he's got Mom with him. He lays her down next to me on the bed.

"Minato, you've got to stop him."

"I know," Dad throws on his white and red cloak, "I'll be back."

With another yellow flash, he's gone again. Mom looks at me with tired eyes. Something's different about her. I realize what it is quickly. The fox is gone. I remember why the me from now hates her.

"My little Naruto," she holds me close to her and strokes my hair, "I'm so sorry this had to happen."

My baby self merely lays against her, taking in her warmth. The me from now looks at her through those eyes. Those eyes say 'It's your fault. You said you could keep caged in you. You said you would protect me. You lied.'

The screams of Konoha reach us even though we're far away. There are tears in mom's eyes. I bet she's wondering how many of her friends are already dead. 'It's your fault. You let him out!' is what I want to shout at her. I want her hands to be as cold as Madara's were. I want to move away and I can't.

"I love you Naruto. More than anything," she whispers. My hand reached out and touched her face gently and she laughs weakly, "Already ready to fight? It'll be ok Naruto. Your dad will fight to protect the both of us and the village."

And she's right. Dad never breaks his promises. Dad never lies. Dad's a hero. And he's back again, blindingly fast. He grabs Mom and me and flashes out of the house. Just then the fox crashes down on it.

Dad's tired and Mom's coughing up blood. Still she manages to trap the Kyuubi in a giant chakra net.

"I still have a little chakra left. I can seal the fox back into me. Then it'll disappear for a while at least. That's the only way both of you can survive," she says stubbornly. I wish she would. I wish that's what had actually happened. At least I'd have Dad. I wouldn't be alone.

Dad starts to cry, "You made me a husband. You made me the Hokage. You made me this boy's father…I can't let you go like this."

"Minato, you've made me so happy. I'm glad that we got to be together this once. Whenever I thought of our future I was filled with joy. And right now, I'm still happy. It's our son's birthday. I have to do this for Naruto."

"No," he wipes away the tears, "It's a father's job to protect the family. That's what I plan to do. You can seal the last bit of your chakra into Naruto. That way you'll at least be able to meet each other. He'll need a mother's love Kushina."

"What about you? You could be alive for him! He needs a father too Minato!"

"If you seal the fox away like that then it'll come back without a jinchuuriki. It'll disrupt the bijuu balance. I have an idea."

They start talking about seals and complicated things. Kyuubi growls and fixes one of its eyes on me. Dad is hastily drawing a seal on my stomach and doesn't notice. When he's finished with mine, he makes a similar seal on his own. The bijuu chooses that moment to strike.

A giant claw descends on us all. Killing intent swallows everything whole. My baby self wails. The tip of the claw is less than a centimeter from my head. Impaled on it is my mom.

"If this is a job for the father, then the mother should do it even better," Mom says, coughing up blood. Dad looks up at her in horror.

"No…no…."

"I'm so glad you're both safe."

"Damn humans," growls the demon. My parents ignore him, focused only on each other.

"I love both of you so much. Keep him safe Minato. Thanks…for everything," she closed her eyes and fell limp. Dad is still shocked, still looking at her like she'll pop up again and everything will be alright. Kyuubi wrenches her off his claw and she falls to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

"No…NO! KUSHINA!"

He's so angry and sad at the same time. Somehow he pulls it together and stands up. I'm still in his arms, I looked up at his determined face. A man who has nothing to lose. That's who he is now.

"SEAL!"

The world explodes with light. When I come to, I'm in a white void. The Kyuubi and Dad are fighting. The fox keeps swiping and slashing at him, but Dad's too fast for that. The fox roars in frustration and it sends Dad flying back.

"You'll accomplish nothing by doing this, even if you do succeed. No matter how many times you seal me, I'll escape."

"You're right," Dad admits, "You escaped every jinchuuriki so far. That's why I'm going to stop this cycle."

Dad rushes towards the fox, chakra spiraling in his palm. Kyuubi tries to hit him with one of his tails but Dad vanishes. He keeps flashing back and forth all around the confused bijuu.

There's suddenly over a hundred afterimages of dad and the original, each holding a sphere of chakra.

"Hiraishin level three," he whispers, then each afterimage attacks the fox, "RASENGAN!"

Kyuubi roared as each Rasengan tore into him, finally dropping to the ground, thoroughly pummeled.

"Curse you Minato…," he mutters.

"No, curse you Kyuubi! You ruined Kushina's life while you were in her. Now it's your fault she's dead!"

The demon began to laugh, "And I'll do the same to little Naruto. All you're doing is passing on the Uzumaki curse."

"You won't touch my son. He won't even know your name," Dad vowed. He teleports to where I'm sitting and picks me up once more. Then we're back, facing the fox as it wearily rises to its feet again.

"Seal," he says calmly. Suddenly there's a vacuum originating from my seal and it's trying to suck up the fox. Kyuubi tries to get away, but it can't. Then the demon blurs and it's like there's two of him.

It's his chakra. Dad's sealing the fox's chakra inside me. The chakra gets sucked up easily and vanishes inside the seal. The fox growls weakly. What remains of the great nine tailed bijuu is an emaciated looking animal.

The demon looks at me and I'm reminded of the memory where he addressed me personally. He's observing me like he knows everything about me. He's thinking hard and he finally comes to a decision.

Kyuubi finally says, "No one can break you if you're already broken."

"Seal," Dad says again. This time Kyuubi himself gets sucked up into the seal. With a final roar, he disappears forever. Dad drops to his knees, breathing hard. He coughs and blood splatters on my hands.

"Sorry Naruto. Looks like this is it," he smiles, "We taught that old fox a lesson didn't we? Never underestimate a father and his son.

"There are so many things I want to tell you, but we don't have time. I want you to be safe. That's why I gave you this dark gift. But be careful. Don't use it. Don't ever use that power until someone's taught you to control it. Someone will find out and I'm afraid they'll kill you. I won't even be there to save you," I reach out and touch his face, and his eyes tear up, "I'm so sorry for making you carry this burden Naruto. I hope you can forgive me."

Something happens to him. He grabs at his hair in frustration. One of his eyes glows red. He begins to talk again in a voice that is and isn't his, the red eye never leaving my face.

"Trust no one. Don't ever let anyone know the truth about you. Above all don't use the power. You are Naruto Uzumaki. You are Naruto Uzumaki and you are alone. You always will be."

Dad shakes his head in anger and when he opens his eyes again, they're both blue and he's crying.

"Naruto. There are so many amazing things in this world. I hope you get to see every last one of them. Don't ever forget, I love you son."

And he disappears in a flash for the last time. And I'm alone for the first time. His blood is still on my hands. The void slowly turns red.

As I hang there in the endless red abyss, my past self thinks its first thought with words.

'My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And I am alone.'

Rage stumbled to his feet. The beach was gone. All that remained was a little island with him and the lone palm tree.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And I am alone."


"Shut up," Rage mumbled, then louder, "Shut up!"

The memories flashed across the sky at a much more tremendous pace. All showed the pain, hatred and the goddamn loneliness.

"Why don't you just shut up you big brat? You cry baby! All you say is 'I'm alone, I'm alone, I'M ALONE!' Then you whine and think to yourself about how unfair it is. Grow the hell up! I'm ashamed to be you! I hate you! I hate myself."

Waves barreled into him, but he was already drenched. He just kept a grip on the tree and shouted at the sky.

"If you're so lonely why don't you do something about it? The other day you went up to Sasuke and apologized for what I did. He asked to be friends with you. You know what you said? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SAID?" Rage yelled, "YOU SAID NO! You said no, that you were dangerous. You said no, you wouldn't be a good friend. You said no, he doesn't understand. But you are the one who doesn't understand.

"You blamed us. The parts of yourself that you somehow created. You barely acknowledge us and we're you! Why the hell am I here Naruto? Why am I you of all people? What do you need me for?" the red-eyed boy howled with fury, "I can stop the pain and hatred. I know how to use the power. I know how to fight. I know how to kill! And you won't let me! What am I supposed to do Naruto?"

A tsunami approaches the tiny isle. It flows into the face of a fox, a snarling face full of hate about to descend on him.

Rage simply stood and faced it, "You're so weak and I can't protect you because you won't let me. You're such a baby focusing only on keeping Dad's promises! Make your own fucking decisions for once! Choose to take a stand for yourself or choose to die like the goddamn coward you are!"

The tsunami smashes into the island, swallowing it whole. Rage is thrown about in the chaos. He manages to swim upward and find the surface. With a thought, he is able to and does walk on the water. He looks up at the sky. There it is. The memory he was waiting for.

"Would you like to play a game?"

Pathetic little him. So desperate for attention.

"Please? It won't take long, I promise."

So powerful and powerless at the same time.

The ocean doesn't calm yet. It starts to swirl and spin. Faster and faster. The wind howls in his ears as he runs away from the growing vortex.

"It's too late Naruto. You can't stop me now," Rage whispers, eyes never leaving the memory now playing in the sky.


"Would you like to play a game?" I ask Oji-san. Please play with me, please play, please play.

"Please? It won't take long, I promise," I plead. He looks at me with that serious face of his. I want him to say yes. I need him to say yes. Acknowledge me. Realize that I exist. Something is so wrong with me. I need him to see it. I need to be fixed.

Someone rushes into the office, "Hokage-sama! Urgent message from Cloud."

And who do I think I'm fooling? The look Ojii-san has on his face right now is the look he has when he talks about those precious to him. And he's not looking at me. He's looking at this village so full of hatred and he sees love.

And he's not ever gonna look at me that way. Only my parents looked at me like that.

I smile a little, remembering them. My hands fall to my sides. The game drops to floor. And I'm gone.

I'm running as fast as I can. I run out of the tower. I run into the village streets. The rain falls like tears down my face. I run like a madman barely avoiding running into the villagers.

Maybe if I keep running nothing will ever catch me. Just running so fast that everything becomes a blur and insignificant. Nothing would matter. There'd be no pain, no hate, and no loneliness. No power.

But you can't run away from two things: the truth and yourself.

I slip and fall, banging my head on the ground. People gather around, their bodies and shadows looming over me. Words are falling out of their mouths and I try not to listen. Don't they understand? They mock me, hate me, and condemn me for who I am. But I'm only this way because of them! I'm saving them every breath I take. As long as I exist, the dark gift can't destroy them.

It wants to. It wants to annihilate everything. Sometimes it makes me want to too. It's hard to resist it. My head pounds everyday as its heavy presence fills my mind.

It's not Kyuubi. It's older and grander than him. It's not darkness. It's hatred in it's purest form. Everything is the object of its hate. It wants to eradicate, annihilate, and utterly destroy all existence. It is un-life.

This is what the Kyuubi had inside him. This is what made him so powerful. And I wonder, was he born a demon or did the dark gift make him one?

Was he like me? A boy sacrificed to protect something greater than him. Or was he more like Gaara? Born a weapon to be used when needed? Did he finally crack under the dark gift's pressure? Did he choose to give into it? Regardless he became a monster and was able to assert his existence.

But I'm not him. I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Fourth Hokage. Uzumaki Naruto, son of the previous Jinchuuriki. Uzumaki Naruto, wielder of a power he can barely keep beneath the surface.

Their words are opening a door for it. It grips the knob, ready to lunge forward and take control. I get up and walk away. There's no need to run anymore. I can't escape my destiny.

I walk slowly home and all the villagers seem to fade away. I don't see what my dad or Oji-san thinks is so special about them. To me, they're like a mob bent on hate and cruelty even towards themselves. Each wears the same mask. They think no one can see the real them but they're so wrong. I can see them.

I see them when they steal from each other. I see them when they hurt each other with jagged words. I see them when they kill each other. Quarrels, fights, love, friends and the sick truth of how it's all a bunch of lies anyway.

But still, they come together as one. They sense the enemy. They don the mask that makes them a united army. Makes them, them. I see them. And I am the enemy.

I shake my head. It's hurting so bad. The dark gift is corrupting my thoughts again. Twisting them to the point where it seems like they originate from me. I reach into my pocket and pull out some painkillers. I swallow three and hope that they work.

I'm in front of my apartment now. My safe haven. I open the door and walk into the complex. No one else lives here, so Oji-san let me pick whichever one I wanted. I picked a plain apartment. Not too small, not too big. White walls, and a gray floor. But that was good. When I'm here, the dark gift quiets and I can think again. I can be a kid again.

I climb the stairs and then turn into the hallway. There's my apartment door. Something's different. I sniff the air and a strange chemical fills my nostrils. I gag and hold my hand over my nose. It was probably a stink bomb or something. Some genin had thrown one in the complex a couple months ago. Probably thought it was funny to do it again.

I should've turned around. I should've seen it coming. I should've screamed bloody murder and ran away. But I didn't. My hand turned the doorknob. I pushed it open. And hell begins.

-Rage created jutting pillars of rock for him to jump onto. The whirlpool was growing bigger and bigger. It was hard to avoid getting sucked down into it. He watched in fascination as black waters turned crimson. The maelstrom tore his pillars to pieces and he was forced to jump away.-

I don't have time to even think before a hand reaches out and grabs my throat. Another hand covers my mouth. I look in horror as one of them stands before me, grinning. He's a fat man with thick lips and a receding hairline. The stink of alcohol on his breath makes my eyes tear up. The man is filthy. Everything about him is dirty.

He slaps a piece of tape on my mouth so I can't scream. He smiles and takes out a kunai. He plunges it through my hand, pinning it to the wall. He repeats, except with my other hand.

It hurts. I'll admit that. It hurts like hell. But it's nothing compared to what I've already been through. This man…he's so stupid. Doesn't he realize what he's doing? Attacking me of all people? Does he want to be destroyed?

The man smiles, his bloodshot eyes meet mine, "I've finally caught you Kyuubi. Now I can make you pay. You've ruined me. I was a chuunin. I had a family. You took that all away….Now I can repay the favor."

He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

I can't die.

The door is open. The power floods through. Chakra burns the tape away and the man screams in horror. I feel invincible, immortal. I yank my hands from the wall. Then I rip out the kunai embedded in each one. My hands heal as if the kunai were never there.

The man falls to the floor, blubbering in fear. I advance upon him slowly. I can't stop myself. So many thoughts are rushing to my head.

The enemy, he's the enemy. I gotta kill him. I gotta destroy him. He knows too much. He sees the power. The power that I wasn't supposed to use but I'm using it and it's all his fault and he should just go die. But I don't want to kill him but I need to. Like I need to breathe I need to kill him. The dark gift is howling at me, tearing at my mind for control. Its vague emotions transforms into a thread of jumbled thoughts.

Pain. Terror. COWARD. Hurt him. Kill him. Make him bleed. MAKE HIM REGRET.

And I'm agreeing with it. I grin madly as I approach the man. A problem needs a solution right? This man tried to kill me. He is the problem. The dark gift and I, we are the solution.

- Rage made the mistake of falling in the water. He yelled as the burning hot water scalded him He immediately created a rock pillar beneath him, rising himself out of the water.-

"You thought you had me didn't you?" I say, speaking for the first time, "You thought you could kill me? You're a fool."

My hand shoots forward like a spear. The man stares at it, transfixed, as it tears through his chest. Blood splatters everywhere, and I smile, taking in the scent. Delicious. I literally hold his heart in my hand. It's beat is erratic and quick.

"You called me Kyuubi. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Kyuubi is dead," my hand squeezes his heart ever so slightly, "and so are you."

-The pillar was torn apart and Rage was falling to the water once more. If only he could change himself like he changed the world. Slowly a smile crept its way onto his face. Why shouldn't he be able to? Nothing was impossible here. With that thought he fell towards the water. Closer and closer he came. The ocean waited eagerly but he never crashed into it.-

"Monster, you're a monster," the man mutters, eyes so full of fear. He says this. The man who wanted to murder a child. I'm laughing at him now. I'm laughing so hard that it brings tears to my eyes. It's a laughter tinged with madness.

My mind is crumbing and I know it. It's starting to fracture and the dark gift is crawling into those cracks. And does it really matter? Because one of the people I'm protecting tried to kill me. Why am I trying anyway? I should just give in. I stop laughing.

"Monster? Monster? What's that word supposed to mean? You think that makes me lower than you? Makes you better than me? Don't you see my hand in your chest? I do. Don't you see the power I have? I do. Don't you see yourself at my mercy? I do. You're not better than me. What right do you have to call me a monster?" I snarl, giving his heart another squeeze, "Even if I am one. I saved your pathetic life. I saved this whole village. Tell me, does it really matter whether it's a demon or a hero that saves the world?"

The man begins hacking up blood in response. He's so weak. It makes me sick. This is the kind of vermin that the Hokages look at as 'precious'.

"You know what? I think you're all just jealous. If everyone had this kind of power, I'd be accepted. They want the power but do not understand it. They do not understand it so they fear it. They fear it thus they hate it because it makes them afraid," I use my free hand to tilt his head up at me so we could see eye to eye, "Do you want it? Do you want my power too? My dark gift, my dark curse."

-Rage hovered above the boiling ocean and the vicious maelstrom. Black bat-like wings extend from his back.

"Can't get me now Naruto," he chortled.-

"Too bad. It's mine. I paid for it with blood and innocence. But I let you see it. And everything has a price."

So with a grin on my face, I crush his heart.

And now there's a corpse on my apartment floor.

And now there's a murderer laughing like a madman.

And it's me.

The dark gift stops tormenting me momentarily. It approves of my actions and is calmed by the blood I've just spilt. My headache eases away and the thin veil of red chakra that covered me disappears.

Suddenly I'm so far away, examining the scene like an observer. Someone with a detached sense of reality.

I see a boy with blood on his hands. I see tears falling down his face. I see him as a monster. I see his victim on the floor. I see the emotions he's hidden so carefully start to pour out. I see the evil inside him that he keeps locked away. I see him about to give up.

"N-N-Naruto," a voice says weakly. It shocks me enough to bring me back to my body. I look down.

And instead of the man lying there dead, it's Dad. He's in so much pain and it's my fault. He's looking at me with those blue eyes so unlike mine and blaming me.

"How could you?"

I can't breathe. Tears swell up in my eyes. I reach towards him, blood dripping from my hands. He moves away in fear.

"Why Naruto? I told you not to. I warned you. You killed this man. You're killing me."

"I didn't mean to. It was his fault. He wanted to hurt me Dad! And I- I was so scared. I had to, I had to."

"You didn't have to do anything besides live. You could've run away."

My throat is raw and everything hurts even though I'm not bleeding, "You don't understand Dad. It's so hard. This thing is in my head and it's tearing me apart. It wants to kill. It makes me want to kill. But I enjoy it anyway. There's something wrong with me and I don't know how to fix it. No one notices, not even Oji-san. I've been broken Dad."

"You were broken from the start Naruto," and he slumps to the ground, dead.

All I can do is stare at him in shock.

'Monster, you demon child,' the villagers whisper.

And all I can see is the crimson liquid on my hands.

'There's something wrong with him…' one of my peers says with a nervous glance.

And all my mind can do is burst into pain.

Crack. I've never been wanted, much less acknowledged. I was just a burden to everyone's existence. I've been surrounded by lies. No one tells me the truth. No one cares. No one wants the real ME alive. They only want a container. An object to hold evil.

Crack. I'm losing against the dark gift. It's been corrupting me from the second it was put inside me. Or maybe I'm really just that evil. I do want to hurt people. I want revenge. I want to show them what a real monster looks like.

Crack! And I don't want to. I want to listen to what Dad told me. There's a reason for all of this. I don't what it is or why I was chosen but it's got to be important. I can't let him down. I can't give up now. But I don't have a solution. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I can stop the dark gift's influence.

Crack! Kyuubi said if you're already broken then no one can break you. An idea comes into my head. A crazy plan that makes no sense and is surely influenced by my madness. But it's the only plan. Because sometimes when you lose you also win. Because sometimes there are sacrifices and second chances. And I think I've just decided how much I'm willing to sacrifice for my second chance. How much I'm going to lose so he can win. I smile one last time. Then I seize a hold of my mind and tear it to shreds.

CRACK!

The world shatters around me. I float in an endless red void. I'm screaming in agony. My fingers dig into my scalp and my eyes close. The pain won't stop. It will never stop. The faithful companion who sails into oceans of madness with me. There's only so much pain a body can take. It shuts down. But in the mind, anything is possible.

So in reality, my body falls and lays still on the floor next to the dead man. In my mind it's only begun.


The winged boy was grinning, the truth was right in front of him. A plan, he'd been a part of it somehow. He was important, he mattered. He had a purpose.

Then at that exact moment, the skies was gone. There was only darkness. The words of the memory still played but they were blurry and hard to hear.

"Why? Why won't you show me?" Rage whispered, then louder in anger, "Don't I deserve it? I've always been here. I was always doing what I thought I was supposed to. I just want to know!"

"Fragments don't need to know anything. They only need to focus on their jobs."

Rage looked down at the maelstrom. Slowly a person rose from it, unharmed and untouched. The figure wore samurai armor. The armor was covered in bloodstains and old battle scars. The samurai was able to walk air, and he did, approaching Rage.

"I can't do my job. So I want to know why it was my job in the first place! A fragment can have rights too can't they? Just because we're a broken of piece of an original doesn't mean we can't know the truth. Who the hell are you anyways?"

The samurai shakes his head, his helmet rattling, "I am the one who fights. I am the warrior. You are the one who is supposed to protect and carry the anger. You are not protecting him. You are undermining him. You have no right to this knowledge."

"The observer knows!" Rage retorted, "He knows everything. He sits there and watches everything happen with those calm violet eyes. Always correcting, always condemning but most of all he's always watching."

"That is his job. He is the one who watches and hides the truth. You are not him. You are Naruto. You're duty is to help him. Naruto…he is the most important thing. He can not be let down," the warrior drew his sword and pointed it at Rage, "Neither can he be persuaded into doing anything he doesn't want to. You will not use this information to control him."

Rage was shaking now, trembling with 'rage', "You should understand. You should understand most of all. But…I guess not everyone wants to become whole….Let's go."

And they charged at each other.


The red void is pain redefined. It's everything that hell should be. The dark gift is trying to make me forget. Trying to make me give up on this plan of mine. But I don't. I remember what I'm fighting for. There's one thought. A child thought. This thought is the most important thing. A realization that changes everything.

"…I don't want to be alone anymore," I whisper to the dark gift. It shrinks back, away from me. The pain lessens and I am able to continue the thought.

"I don't want to be alone. I will not be alone," I declare. The emotions confuse it. It can't comprehend the need for others. I use this time to create a door and escape the void. Now I'm in the darkness and the dark gift in the form of a fox lies in front of me.

"I am not alone. I am many and I am one. I am broken and I am whole. I am real and you are an illusion."

And then I plunge my hands into the chakra and begin to create.