Obligatory disclaimer and warning thingy: Surprisingly, I'm just another fanfiction writer who doesn't own or created Naruto. That's a privilege belonging to Masashi Kishimoto, not me. I do, however, claim ownership over the few original characters, as well as the weird plot I've invented for this story. Not that my claims result in me getting paid... Ah well, such is the harsh fate of a fanfic writer. I do happily accept the donation of reviews, though!

Please note that this story is rated 'MA', for mature audiences, it will contain explicit language and adult themes. Among which will also be gore, as well as the untimely deaths of some characters. And excessive language is impossible to avoid, with Tayuya being one of the main characters of the story... The 'lemon' scenes, later in the story, will be preceded by warnings so that anyone not willing to read them can skip those scenes.

Pareidolia

Chapter one

The Death of Uzumaki Naruto

"For what are myths if not the imposing of order on phenomena that do not possess order in themselves? And all myths, however they differ from philosophical systems and scientific theories, share this with them, that they negate the principle of randomness in the world."

― Stanisław Lem

What options did he still have? 'Who cares about the odds! If I don't beat this teme up quickly, Sakura-chan would end up getting crushed by that weird sand of his,' Naruto thought. 'And whatever happened to Sasuke, it left him completely defenseless… I cannot fail. I have to save my friends no matter what.'

"What do you think you can do against… that thing?" the tiny toad Gamakichi croaked. "He looks more like a demon, he doesn't resemble anything human. Only his legs aren't covered with that weird sand of his."

"I know," Naruto replied, not really paying much attention as he focused on his enemy, who only seemed to gather more and more sand.

"Boy, you are weak," the toad concluded.

"…guh, shuddup!"

"I don't know what that thing is, but if I were you I'd run. You don't stand a chance." the toad warned.

"I don't care about the odds. I have to do this, or else they will die… I have to do this," Naruto whispered, as if reciting a prayer. 'Those eyes. Those sad, lonely eyes. Him… him and a monster. He is just like me. I loathed everyone, couldn't understand who I was or why I existed as a hated being… It was so painful. But… now I have people that acknowledge me. That is why I no longer care about how I was treated in the past. I am not alone anymore!'

Naruto looked at the growling Gaara, who kept amassing sand, and his chakra kept increasing at an impossible rate.

'How would I have turned out if I never found a friend? Why can I understand him so much? Of course he would want to lash back, to kill others to ease his own suffering. He never learned to trust anyone but himself, and to this day he has kept on fighting in this hell… all alone,' Naruto pondered. '…do I really have a chance against someone like him?'

"What's wrong, too afraid to even move?" Gaara, or the demon possessing Gaara, taunted. "What happened to all those big words? Didn't you fight for others? Geh, you are just another coward," it scoffed. "Just love yourself! Fight only for your sake! These things define the strongest!"

The Suna jinchuriki stretched out his sand-covered claw. "C'mon! FIGHT ME! Show me those powers like when you defeated that Hyuga! I will crush those powers!" it shouted, before starting to laugh like a maniac. "If you don't fight me, that girl you like so much will die."

"Guh…" Naruto looked at Sakura and cursed at himself. Charging forward, he pulled out all the chakra he could muster. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

But it did not help. In one mighty attack, Gaara annihilated the small army of clones, and threw Naruto away. Crashing into a three, Naruto had no chance to even think of dodging the sand shuriken that flew towards him.

"Damn-it," Naruto coughed up some blood. "To him… to anyone but him… I don't want to lose, even if it costs me my life!"

Now desperate, Naruto gathered all the chakra reserves he had left to him. Grabbing a kunai with an explosive note, Naruto again made his signature move. This time, with some creative use of the poor clones, Naruto managed to land a hit on Gaara.

*BOOOM*

Most of Gaara's sand shroud was destroyed when the explosive note that was stabbed underneath his tail exploded. While absolutely terrified, Temari couldn't help but start worrying. Whatever he was, Gaara was still her little brother. And first the Uchiha, and now this kid.. 'No one ever damaged Gaara, and in this village there are two, kids younger than me… especially this blond kid. How on earth did he manage to land a hit when Gaara has transformed this much?'

Blown back by the explosion, Naruto flew straight into Sasuke's arms. The latter panted from exhaustion. His cursed seal had done so much damage.. "Finally decided to go back to you normal self?" he asked the dizzy blond. "And after all that, you only landed one blow. Pathetic."

"Shut up," Naruto grunted in pain.

The smoke cleared, and Naruto began to curse when he saw how little damage his attack had done. Gaara's chakra was nearly unaffected, while his own reserves…

"Oh well, I'll just end it here…" Gaara scoffed.

"Naruto… take Sakura… get her out of here, save her no matter what," Sasuke panted. "Go as far as you can… I'll hold him off."

"Sasuke…"

"Never again. I already lost everything once before, and I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again," Sasuke growled, and his chakra flared up when the cursed seal responded to the young Uchiha's rage.

Before Naruto could even respond, Sasuke charged forward. But to Naruto's dismay, even Sasuke's speed was insufficient. The sand-covered monster swatted his teammate away like he was little more than an annoying fly.

"Sasuke!" without thinking, Naruto leapt forward. 'If Sasuke would go that far… Haku said it, only when you have something special that you want to protect… only then you become truly strong!'

"Give me your chakra, you damn fox!" he muttered.

Similar to the small toad who was still watching the battle, Temari's eyes widened when she suddenly felt the boy's chakra spike. "He was exhausted, Gaara beat him down, and yet he can generate more chakra? Even after all he did during the finals just now?" Temari whispered, doubted what she saw.

Meanwhile, Naruto far from shared her wonder. 'This isn't half the strength I had when facing Neji… Come on Kyuubi, I need way more chakra to stand a chance against Gaara!'

"The Kyuubi…" Gaara chuckled. "Now I see what was going on. You carry the Kyuubi within you, don't you, Uzumaki?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So I will not hold back any longer," Gaara smirked before he vanished in an enormous cloud of dust.

'No… no way. How can he transform into this?' Naruto panicked, as the dust settled and revealed the humongous form of the Ichibi. Meanwhile, Temari watched, completely frozen in fear. Every fiber of her being told her to run, to run as far as she could- but her mind had shut down. 'Fi-finally… it came out, his final form!'

"Now you die, Kyuubi!" the demon screeched, sending out its sands to capture the terrified Naruto. The boy tried to evade, but there was too much sand, and it moved too fast.

"Shit… shit, I can't escape," Naruto frantically tried to pull his leg out of the sand's grasp. But it was futile. Nothing he could do would give him a chance to escape. 'Is this the way I die? Dammit, I can't die! I can't fail Sasuke, or Sakura-chan. I can't die here, not now, and definitely not at his hands! I am going to be the next Hokage! Kyuubi!'

But the Kyuubi remained silent.

The sand wrapped itself around Naruto, and though the latter tried, he could not even form hand seals due to the sand's grasp. 'To think I was forced to use this form.. Then again, the Kyuubi was never that easy. I should count myself lucky that no one was smart enough to teach this brat how to control my brother's massive power. Cheh, what a bunch of complete idiots to leave such a brat untrained. Even that gold-dust bastard had more sense in his empty head,' the Ichibi thought grimly. "This is the end, Kyuubi. This time I win! Sabaku Kyu!"

As the sand tightened, Naruto begged the Kyuubi inside him for power. But nothing came. There was no hope. No future.

This was the day Uzumaki Naruto died.

'I told you, if you die I will just reform,' the Kyuubi chuckled darkly, moments before Naruto drew his final breath.

The Kyuubi was tired of his century of imprisonment. This was a great opportunity to finally escape Konoha's grasp, and freedom meant more than anything. Even if it had to come at the cost of betraying his naïve container. As the darkness engulfed Naruto's inner world, the prison that had held the Kyuubi for over a decade crumbled. The Kyuubi gritted its teeth as the world grew cold and his body started to dissolve. 'A temporary death is but a small price to pay for my freedom- even if it takes a few years to reform,' the mighty creature laughed before it 'died' for the first time in its existence. 'Let that Tanuki enjoy the victory I granted him. Once I reform, I will destroy him first, and then burn down the village that -'

Silence fell, and then a flash of bright, white light.

There was warmth, and he felt so light. He sensed himself smaller than he had been for centuries. In fact, Kurama had not felt so tiny since he left the old man's inner world- but back then he was little more than a 'baby', recently born from the remains of the mighty Juubi that had been subjugated by the old man himself.

'Why am I so small? And where am I?' Kurama thought. He still had to squeeze his eyes shut because the bright light blinded him. Everything was white. 'No, not everything is white. There is some kind of water on the ground,' Kurama realized, as he felt it around his now tiny claws.

"What an unexpected visit," a voice spoke. And not just any voice. It had been nearly a millennium since Kurama heard that voice for the last time.

"Old man… is that really you? Where-"

"Yes, Kurama, it is really me," Otsutsuki Hagoromo replied, though he did not show the kind and gentle smile that he always had when he spoke to Kurama and his brethren all that time ago. "A better question would be: why are you here?"

"What do you mean, old man?" Kurama frowned a little. "My host died, so I guess I will have to spend some time here before I can reform again."

"Host?" the first sennin blinked with his rinnegan eyes.

"Yes," Kurama explained. "The humans, they hunted and imprisoned me and the others, remember? Some of the others have died with their containers before, so surely they must have told you about this."

"You are the first to arrive here in many years," the white-clad man sighed. "And you should not be here. This realm is neither fit for the living, nor for the dead."

"Then… how did I get here?"

"I thought YOU could explain that," Hagoromo sighed. Kurama finally got used to the unusual brightness around him. He saw his creator, and realized that the man had not changed one bit since the last time they had met.

"You haven't changed at all, since you created the moon and set us free," Kurama whispered.

"This is a realm outside the flow of time," Hagoromo explained, swirling his Shakujo staff until it touched the water above which the man floated. The reflection in the water changed into the last time Hagoromo had spoken to the nine bijuu, shortly before he had set them free and scattered around the world. "This was… perhaps it was a day ago, or else several millennia, I cannot say. It was the day I said goodbye. I predicted that you and your brothers and sister would all come together once more. But, what happened to you is outside my predictions. I ask you again, Kurama, what happened that could force you to come to this place?"

"You and your damn riddles," Kurama grumbled. "I told you, the brat in whom I was imprisoned died. So I should be reforming any time soon, right?"

"No, Kurama, none of the others have come here before reforming. How did the child that held you die?"

"Tsk. Well, the brat faced the kid that contained Shukaku, and well…"

"You two still haven't stopped fighting?"

"Erm… not really, no," Kurama admitted, feeling a bit sheepish. How long had it been since the mighty nine-tailed fox felt like a child that received a scolding?

"Then how did the child die?"

"Well, Shukaku controlled his kid, and attacked mine, last thing I saw was the boy getting crushed by a wave of sand."

"You did not help the child?" Hagoromo frowned.

"Hell no. That brat was too dumb and annoying, I couldn't keep saving his ungrateful ass," Kurama snapped. "What was I supposed to do, aid that brat and allowing him to keep me imprisoned? I have been mistreated for centuries; those humans attacked me, subjugated me, and finally imprisoned me. I had had enough. I wanted freedom, even if it meant-"

"Even if it meant allowing the murder of an innocent child," Hagoromo said, but his speaking tone broke the Kyuubi's anger. Hagoromo's disappointment and sorrow felt like tangible blades that pierced the Bijuu's heart. "I thought I raised you to be better than that, Kurama…"

Kurama scowled a little, but eventually relented and sighed. "You are right.. The brat was not completely bad, I admit that. At least he didn't pin me down, or bind me down with chains or anything. At least, not yet. He was still protected by that accursed seal his father trapped me in."

"Tell me about that seal," Hagoromo said sternly.

"Ahh… I must admit I don't know too much about that."

"How so?"

"The brat's mother was the previous jinchuriki, that's how they called the humans that contained us, and she died when giving birth to the brat. My memories of that day aren't really clear. One moment, I felt myself getting dragged out of that woman's seal, and the next I stood in the center of a village, fighting a bunch of troublesome humans. Last things I remember are that the brat's father used some kind of seal to split me in two, and seal one half inside himself."

"If it meant splitting you in two, this man must have been remarkably skilled. And there are not many ways to achieve such a thing."

"True, he formed a contract with the damn Shinagami itself. He sold his own soul and dragged half of my power along with it."

"So the seal that held you within the child was created with the power of the soul his father sacrificed," Hagoromo grimaced. "I see… so that is why you ended up here."

"What do you mean old man? And no riddles this time," Kurama nearly begged.

"Half of you is sealed within the Shinagami's belly. So technically, you are partly dead. Even though you cannot really die.. Still, part of you is trapped in hell. That is why you looked so different. Your yin energies have been removed."

"Yeah, so what, I thought I already recovered the chakra I lost that day."

"You cannot. It is also why you cannot reform in the mortal plains."

"Riddles, riddles, why does everything have to be a riddle, old man," Kurama said impatiently. "Just say it in a way so that I can understand."

"You lost your Yin half, so you are only Yang," Hagoromo explained. "In order to reform, you would need Yin to create form and Yang to breathe life into that form. While you do not have Yin, you cannot re-form on you own. You need both."

"Makes sense," Kurama sighed, accepting the inevitable. "So what can I do about it? I hope I'm not trapped here for eternity."

"You never were the patient one. You should have taken the example of Isobu in that," Hagoromo chuckled. "This realm is outside the cycles of life and death, but you came here because you are an anomaly."

"Explain," Kurama grunted, trying not to lose his patience with his creator's roundabout way of talking.

"You, a being who could not die, have part of yourself trapped in hell," Hagoromo said. "Your creation was already beyond the normal laws of nature, causing the immortality of you and the others. But now that part of you is claimed by death, even while you are immortal, you have become an anomaly. I suppose that you ended up here because of that, combined with the fact that you are not complete and thereby unable to take shape."

"Dammit, why can't things ever be simple when I see you!" Kurama seethed. "There is always some kind of out-of-this-world crap that you shove on us. Really, at times I regret not just being a regular mindless puny fox."

"I know," Hagoromo said indifferently. "But you are the one guilty of this situation. Letting the child die was both selfish and foolish, Kurama. You brought this fate upon yourself. If you knew the way you were sealed involved the Shinigami, you should have seen that it would be difficult to fully comprehend the consequences of your decisions that led to your fall."

"Yes, yes, I know now, I was stupid," Kurama sighed. "But you weren't there to see how the humans treated us, old man. You created me, you made me sense hatred, but after centuries of only sensing hatred wherever I went, it was just impossible to not start returning all that hatred."

"So you became the very thing you hated at the beginning," Hagoromo sighed. "I once believed you to be the most promising of the nine, thus giving you the greatest burden. I see now that you were also the one to fall the deepest."

"What do you know, you abandoned us!" Kurama growled. "It was your very own son who first tried to use us for his own gains. Or are you oblivious to that as well?"

"No," Hagoromo said sadly. "I know very well the dispute that Indra and Ashura had.."

The two remained silent for a while. Kurama realized that his creator really was right, because he could not determine how long they remained silent. It might have been a second, but just as well an entire year. "Time really passes in a weird way in this place."

"It does.. So, Kurama, what are you willing to do now?"

"What do you mean? You just told me I was trapped here with no way out."

"I never told you that you were trapped," Hagoromo remarked. "If anything, I'd say you are stranded. I never said there would be no way out."

"And that 'what I am willing to do' question implies it requires some sacrifice?" Kurama sighed. The old man was one of the very few humans he cared about, a person he loved as his own father, but talking to him was always a rather tiring venture.

"Indeed. You said that you were bound to the child by a seal created by a man who sacrificed his own soul to the Shinigami. That means that you are bound to the child, not just at the physical level, but also at the spiritual. And since your existence has become an anomaly like my own, and left you stranded outside the realms of life or death, it is plausible to assume that the child is also in some place where his soul would not belong."

The Kyuubi sighed. "Know what, I just give up, I don't know what the hell you are trying to say, so please just focus on what I need to do."

"The bond between you and the boy transcends the boundaries of life and death. I could say that your souls have been joined, especially because your entity was torn after Yin was split from Yang."

"Yes, yes, move on please," Kurama said impatiently tapping with his claws on the flooded floor, but paid no attention to the ripples it created in the shallow water.

"Yet the boy's soul is not here, is it," Hagoromo remarked. "That means that you still have some kind of connection to the realm of life and death. I could send you back, using that connection. However, that would pose several risks."

"What risks? I mean, it can't get worse than this, can it?" Kurama sighed, haven given up trying to speed up his creator's explanation.

"Forcing your return would shatter the boy's soul."

The Kyuubi scoffed. "So what?"

"Like him, you would also not remain intact. The shards of both your souls would merge."

"English please."

"You will be reborn, but I cannot say in what form, nor when, nor where. Though if I had to guess, it would be either the place where you and the boy left the mortal realm, or near those who were at the scene of your… well, in the absence of a better word, we should call the event your death."

"So, I have the choice between being trapped in this place and being destroyed," Kurama grumbled. "Not what I would call 'getting out of here,' would you?"

"The forced rebirth would put a strain on you, but like all broken things, you will eventually re-establish yourself in some form. Though, this is theory. I cannot say what would happen, after all, there has never been anything before this that could compare to your situation, Kurama. But I dare say you should at least try. You owe it to the boy who you left for death."

"Wait, left for death? So the brat is still alive?"

"No, he is not alive, nor is he dead. But unlike you, he is not immortal, so there is no saying where he ended up. Perhaps he was indeed accepted in the realm of the death, or perhaps he was left in the fade in between the two realms. Or perhaps he is somewhere in our realm, though in that case we would have noticed him by now."

"Can you not just let him die once I get off this place?"

"Kurama, you only possess your Yang energies, so could not exist on your own. Unless you would like to return and be unable to take physical shape," Hagoromo sighed. The Kyuubi paled a little at the idea of such a fate. "You will need the boy, for he has both Yin and Yang. He will be able to complement you, enabling your return."

"Permanently?"

"The child will re-form, and through your strength he will grow. Once he reaches the required qualities, he may or may not permit you to return to the mortal plains, though this would require him to either re-form or undo the original seal."

"You're saying I need to depend on the brat to re-form?" Kurama said incredulously. "While I have no influence over him whatsoever?"

"Indeed," Hagoromo answered calmly. "Though, whatever shape the child might take, he will realize that he is incomplete. Any creature who feels incomplete will strive for completion."

Kurama smashed his head into the water. "ENGLISH?!"

"The child will be motivated to re-form himself as he was intended to be. And this means that he would have to sever the link he has with you."

"So he will want me to re-form so that he can be himself again? Is that what you meant?" Kurama blinked.

"Indeed." Hagoromo shaped nine orbs of black matter that floated behind him, and moved his Shakujo staff forward so that it touched Kurama's head. "Your existence in the world is required for its continuation. You will re-form, but this will take time. I would, however, like you to refrain from repeating the mistakes that led to this unfortunate situation. Your shattered ego will eventually re-form, just as the boy's ego will re-form. In the meantime, however, I cannot say for certain what you will be. Be it human, be it something more, I would not be able to say."

"So how am I going to-" Tap. The Shakujo staff touched Kurama's head and he disappeared in a blinding flash of light, while disturbing the quiet of the water below with many a ripple.

"Good luck Kurama," Hagoromo said weakly. He looked behind him and saw that only one of the nine black orbs had survived the process. "So, it took eight of my nine Gudodama to send him back," he sighed, knowing it would take a while to gather the chakra to reform them in their full power. Or would it be an instant? He couldn't tell in this place.

"I wonder how long it will be until I receive visitors again.."

Light. Flames. The fire was everywhere around him. Where was he? Who was he?

Sitting amidst an inferno that consumed an entire forest, a single boy looked around. He was somewhat curious about what surrounded him, but he did not really know how to move.

In fact, he did not even understand why he wanted to move in the first place.

The forest around him looked somewhat familiar, and some of the craters in the area made him think that he should be remembering something. But what? He looked down at his own hands, and the child frowned a little. His body was made out of pure chakra, as if he was consisted of pure flames that had taken the shape of a child of about four years old. He knew his body was wrong in some way, as it was not as solid as the trees around him. Though, the trees did not continue to exist for much longer. Flames consumed everything, until all that was left was a barren vista filled with flames that would even melt the ground underneath the boy's feet.

Yet, while it felt odd, the boy knew that this was right. Part of him knew he had to consume to grow. But now the area was barren, he had nothing to sustain him.

It was time to move on.

The boy-made-of-flames fluttered a few times, and then vanished, relinquishing his physical form.

Jiraiya felt tired. It had been six months since the first sighting, and after that it had happened only once more. Reports told of a sea of flames, an unnatural inferno. It was unnatural because the flames were not created by any conventional means. It was not caused by any jutsu, nor by any normal occurrence which could have caused it. In fact, it was a complete and utter mystery what caused those wildfires.

But having seen the destruction it caused with his own eyes, Jiraiya had been convinced he knew what caused it.

But it was too soon. It had only been two years since the Kyuubi had died. Two years.. Two years in which Jiraiya had spent every waking moment blaming himself for the death of his godson. Ever since that day, ever since he had avenged Naruto, Jiraiya had not returned to his village. Every reason he had to remain loyal to Konohagakure had now perished. Sarutobi Hiruzen had died at Orochimaru's hands, Uzumaki Naruto had died in the Ichibi's onslaught, and his last friend, Senju Tsunade, had fallen so deep into her drunk misery that she refused to see him.

But had all hope left Jiraiya's life? No. No, Jiraiya had been called to Mount Myoboku not three months after Naruto's death, by the great toad sage himself. Gamamaru had told Jiraiya a prophecy, that he would one day see the last of his family, and that that blue-eyed boy would return to fulfill his destiny and change the world. And Jiraiya would still be the one to guide the boy on his path.

It left Jiraiya with a strange sense of hope- a blue-eyed boy, the last of his family. There was only one who met those requirements: Uzumaki Naruto. Gamamaru had foretold his return.

'These fires were caused by an entity that was beyond normal reason, but it does not seem the work of the Kyuubi itself. In fact, if the Kyuubi had reformed, the entire nation would have known it by now.' That creature would not have remained silent for six months; no, Jiraiya was convinced that it would turn against Konoha the moment it had reformed. 'No, these fires were caused by something else. And the molten footprints I found at the second site suggest that there had been a human child in the heart of the firestorm.'

"Now I need to find him. I will not fail him again," Jiraiya mumbled, as he moved towards the next city where he would try to gather news on any strange events.

She felt the blood running from the wound in her chest. 'Seems like they succeeded in their mission after all,' Temari smiled weakly. She had seen the last member of her escort fall at the hands of the Konoha anbu. But the reinforcements from Iwakagure were enough to handle them.

But Iwa wouldn't get their prize. One of the anbu had broken through the line and hit Temari with a kunai. Had she been willing to do so, Temari would have been more than able enough to dodge a weakly thrown kunai. But… some fates were worse than death. In fact, the emotion that she mainly felt was relief- relief that this entire deal would end like this.

Her life had gone to hell anyway. What would be the point of continuing such a painful existence?

If only her father had not been so foolish all those years ago. The snake sannin, Orochimaru, had deceived him, and murdered him soon after. Under his deception, Sunagakure had launched an attack on Konohagakure. Even two years later, the village had not yet recovered from that faithful day- neither of the villages, actually.

Both villages had lost their only jinchuriki that day. Gaara, her own brother, had been the one to kill Uzumaki Naruto, who later turned out to be the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. In the battle, Gaara had lost control voluntarily or not, and tried to destroy Konoha. But Jiraiya of the sannin had stepped forward…

Her brother, or what little remained of her brother's personality, had stood no chance against the infamous toad sage, not after the Ichibi had boasted how it had killed the Kyuubi jinchuriki.

After that fateful day, Sunagakure had been changed forever. So many of their strongest had lost their lives. Temari and Kankuro had somehow survived, but their return to Suna had not given them much joy.

The village blamed their father for their current misery. It blamed their brother for failing to execute the one task given to him, and them merely because they were the only blood relatives of the two who had been held responsible for Suna's disastrous attack.

Under the rule of a former elder, Shimura Danzo, Konoha had changed fundamentally. The good-natured Sandaime Hokage had made Konoha a mostly peaceful village, where children could grow up with relatively few, minor problems, and the civilians had a certain level of safety. It was a prosperous and gentle place. The invasion of Sunagakure and Otogakure had destroyed that. In their anger, the village had elected Danzo as their new leader, and under his rule the village had become a militaristic machine that bred shinobi ready for war. The quality of the anbu platoon that had attacked Temari's group was a testament of that change.

War had changed both villages, and Suna had quickly been overrun. Their best troops had already died, and even though they had tried to resist as best they could, everyone in Sunagakure was well aware that they were losing the war with Konoha.

With each battle, the village had grown more desperate. Like always, desperation drew in the vultures that smelled an easy kill. Shortly after Suna had suffered a particularly devastating defeat, Iwagakure had amassed its forces at Suna's border. Oonoki exploited the chaos, and left Suna with two options: either Iwa would invade and destroy Sunagakure, or Suna would bow and submit to Iwa. If Suna would do that, the Land of Wind would become little more than a protectorate, and Sunagakure would be dismantled- but at least they would live.

Baki, who had been chosen as the new Kazekage, and the Daimyo had agreed that this 'alliance' with Iwa was the path which would lead to the least amount of casualties. After all, it would be pointless to submit to Danzo- that man had no mercy.

Temari gritted her teeth as she thought back. The day Suna and Iwa had signed their 'alliance', the entire population had celebrated it as if they were liberated. Sure, Iwa helped to push back Konoha's troops, that much was certain. But did it give them freedom? Iwagakure had sent their elite to replace Suna's highest ranking shinobi. A foreigner had become the sixth Kazekage, after Baki had 'accidentally' died, yet the man had only received applause from the villagers. Daughters of all the Suna clans had been sent off to Iwa, under the guise of 'political hostages', but all knew that they would be used to gain access to certain bloodlines.

In the end, even Temari had become a target of this policy. Her village had been happy to send her, the demon's sister, the traitor's daughter, away to marry the Tsuchikage's cousin. No one cared if that brutish man was at least forty years old, while Temari with her seventeen years was barely an adult. If not for Chiyo, the last one to care about Temari and Kankuro, the man would have forced himself on her when the engagement was signed in Suna…

Temari knew that political marriages were unavoidable, that was a reality she grew up with, being the daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage. But still… to be thrown away as a sacrificial lamb by the village she once loved so much made her sad.

Then the day had arrived that she was sent off to Iwa, and who knew what kind of horror would have awaited her there. 'Maybe I should count myself lucky,' Temari thought, as she coughed up some of the blood that slowly began to flood her right lung. 'Lucky that Danzo somehow heard about this deal that would seal the alliance between Iwa and Suna. Killing me, and making all the bodies disappear, would only rekindle the animosities. If the alliance could be sealed, Konoha would certainly have been at a disadvantage- especially now that Kumogakure also seemed to be starting preparations for war.'

She almost felt disappointed that her fiancé had decided to travel to their border to accompany Temari and her escort of shinobi. 'If they had come a little later, they surely would have killed me by now,' she thought.

"Shika, we should retreat," one of the two remaining anbu urged. "There are five of them left, and we are only with the two of us, now that Toru-senpai fell. We cannot win this."

"We have our orders, and we must complete our mission," the black-haired shinobi replied, his stoic expression hidden behind his anbu mask.

"I know you feel like it is your responsibility, considering how Godaime-sama selected you due to your previous experiences against our target, but she's down. You hit her, Shika," the blonde anbu continued, not feeling too happy that Danzo picked them for this mission. "Dammit, say something. It's like you have become a zombie after you and Choji received that private training from the Godaime. It's not like it is your fault that Choji had that accident!"

Shikamaru remained silent while he saw the five Iwa shinobi regroup. "You are right," he said, his voice still expressionless. "You get back to the village and report the outcome of our mission to Danzo-sama, Ino."

"What about you?"

"I will make sure those five won't follow you. Or at least give you a head start."

"Shika, you can't-"

"Ino, go. There is no time to hesitate any longer, you are a kunoichi of the leaf, control your emotions and do what your mission demands of you," Shikamaru continued harshly.

And she ran. He was right: someone had to report back to their village, it was their duty. And unlike Shikamaru, she was not able to stall their opponents. Still, she did not like it. 'When was it that our lives started to change so much.. Nothing has ever been the same after the invasion,' she felt sad. 'I wished things could have stayed the same as it was back then. I miss those carefree days. I miss Sakura, I miss Sasuke-kun… why did they have to die? Why did they-'

"Doton: doryu taiga!"

Shikamaru looked behind him and cursed under his breath as he saw Ino slip in the small river of mud that one of the Iwa jonin had shot at her. "O no you don't," he grumbled, as he saw the man preparing to throw a kunai at his long-time teammate. "Good, caught one, four to go," he remarked when his shadows caught the jonin just before he could throw. "Go, Ino!"

But Ino did not go.

Looking back, Shikamaru saw a spike of stone spike through her chest, and blood flowed freely over her back.

The distraction was fatal. "Bakuton: bakugo," was the last thing the Nara heard, seeing one of the Iwa jonin who was a member of the Bakuha Butai, the explosion corps, finish his hand seals.

Temari cringed hearing the explosion, and felt disappointed that the anbu had failed their mission. Now she was left alone with the last five shinobi from Iwagakure. And sadly her 'fiancé' was amongst those five survivors.

How she hated the man. 'Please... please don't possess any healing jutsu,' she inwardly begged. 'Just let me die already! I don't want that piece of filth to touch me… please let me die. I don't want this any longer.'

The man, Ishikawa, who had been honored to receive the name of his esteemed great-grandfather, smirked as he looked down at the crying kunoichi. "Seems like we were just in time to save you, my dear wife… Konoha nearly got you," the large and broadly built man said. He had rather short black hair, and his black eyes seemed to express amusement at the girl's desperation. He knew very well that she did not want this fate… and he enjoyed that.

"Let me die.. Please just kill me," Temari croaked.

"What, and let you miss out on all the fun we might have together?" Ishikawa smiled. "No way I am going to allow that. Besides, you are far too valuable to our village. Our marriage is the symbol of our little alliance, right?"

"Get your… get your hands off of me," she coughed.

"Now, now, if you continue like this, I might even be forced to teach you a few lessons of obedience first," Ishikawa chuckled before he roughly pulled the kunai from Temari's chest. Before she could bleed out though, he closed the wound with his healing jutsu. Not without groping her breast though.

"Hau."

"What the.." Ishikawa muttered as he looked around for the speaker.

"Hau?" a small boy, stark naked, looked at him questioningly. "Hau-au, ah?" he babbled, pointing at Temari.

"What the fuck are you doing here, get lost you little freak," Ishikawa grumbled, slamming his fist in the boy's face. It never hit, however. The boy's face just let the fist through, as if he was completely ethereal.

"Genjutsu?" one of the remaining jonin asked, but trying to dispel it proved to be pointless.

The boy erupted in flames, and vanished in a small bright flash.

"Hou-oh," the boy said decisively. But he had moved next to Temari. He bowed over and gently touched the place where the kunai had struck her. "Au?"

"Don't… Don't heal me, just leave me alone," Temari protested weakly. The boy did not listen, or perhaps just did not understand, as he curiously tilted his head a little. The warmth that began to spread through her body was… well, ecstasy was the only word that she could later find describe the sensation. It was as if she suddenly was filled with endless energy, and a bright happiness that removed every trace of her depression. She closed her eyes, and completely concentrated on the amazing feeling. 'What is this…'

But she could not indulge herself in the warmth for too long, as suddenly the contact with the weird boy was broken. Rocks pierced the boy's body, but again did no harm. Temari spurred open her eyes and looked into the boy's eyes… at least she had intended to. There were no eyes in the boy's face: only glowing orbs of fire, a dark orange that radiated the same warmth as what she had just felt. "Who are you," she muttered. Again, the boy looked puzzled. He did not seem to understand any of her words at all. Well, he did not realize his chest was pierced either. "Are you a ghost?" she asked somewhat fearfully. "Or some kind of deity?"

Ishikawa stepped forward and dragged Temari away from the unknown boy, while barking orders at the four jonin to prepare a bigger attack against him. But a bombardment with rocks proved just as ineffective any other attack. After finishing a long series of hand seals, Ishikawa finally created a large stone dome to trap the boy. "Hurry," he urged, as his four subordinates worked to place sealing tags.

Inside the dome, the child stepped forward. He was curious; he did not comprehend why the five men attacked him, but did not really care either. The injured girl was a different matter though. It was almost as if she felt familiar. What confused him most was the strange flood of emotions he had felt when he had connected himself to the girl. Healing her body was something he did instinctively; he had never done such a thing before and would not have a clue on how to do it again. The connection they had for a short while was… strange, he felt.

On one hand, the boy enjoyed the pleasure the girl had felt when she was flooded with his warmth. On the other hand, it confused him how sad and angry she was. It was not that he understood the emotions itself, nor how to label them. This boy had never felt such a thing; he had roamed the world on his own, taking shape every now and then when he needed to gather more energy to sustain his 'warmth'.

The boy did, however, feel the hurt and pain from the girl; just like he felt the intent of the other five men to spread more pain, mainly to him. The boy did not feel really threatened, but the stone barrier did interest him. He had never seen anyone use such skills against him. In fact, he had never seen a human before, although he could somehow remember them. The stone even began to change now, he noticed. Suddenly, the boy realized that the barrier was trying to take away his warmth. It was almost similar to how the girl had started to lose her own warmth due to her injuries, he considered.

Stealing the warmth that sustained him… it felt completely wrong to the boy. He touched the barrier. It was indeed trying to suck his warmth away. It left only one option for the boy, but he did not want to hurt the girl who showed him all those odd emotions. Then he remembered, how he had been able to command the flames with his will, the last time he gathered warmth. In the inferno, a young fox had been trapped its den had been flooded by the fire. Somehow, the boy had felt a weak connection with the creature and decided to let it live.

Outside the barrier, the four jonin frowned when the chakra that had been flooding the seals they attached to the dome suddenly started to smoke. Before they could do anything, the paper started to burn.

Temari could only watch in awe as the stone done started to crack and then shattered. Seizing the opportunity provided by the confusion, she marshaled what little strength she had and dragged herself away from the filth that was her fiancé.

He did not notice her effort. Ishikawa saw flames erupt from the ground surrounding them, and was barely able to jump away. Sprinting as fast as he could, he escaped the area once the flames started to spread with an unnatural speed. "What the hell is going on?" he uttered.

"Ishikawa-sama, we should retreat," the last remaining jonin panted. His other colleagues had not been fast enough, and were trapped and consumed by the fire. "That fire, it is that child. I do not know what it is, I never heard of a kekkei genkai that could do such a thing. None of the living jinchuriki are of that age, not to mention that that level of control is completely impossible for a child of that age!"

"You are right…" Ishikawa grunted. "Dammit! That freak killed my wife!"

"Sir?"

"I had to make a run for it, and the bitch had crawled off… with the approaching flames it was impossible to grab her and still get away," he cursed and grumbled. "I bet this is some kind of freakish experiment from that sick fuck Danzo."

"Perhaps… but why didn't our ninjutsu work?" the jonin wondered. He had seen the others try to block the flames, but each jutsu simply failed. "It was as if the fire consumed the chakra itself."

"Impossible," Ishikawa scoffed. "It doesn't matter anymore. We need to get back and report this failure to Tsuchikage-sama. He would surely be interested in this kid. However, he surely won't be too happy that he has to re-negotiate the terms for Suna's surrender."

"At least both Tsuchikage-sama and the remnants of Suna would know that this is the work of Konoha."

"Maybe. And maybe not. Where is the proof?" Ishikawa said dryly, pointing at the flames. "That fucking brat burned it all away!"

"Was that childlike appearance not just a disguise, Ishikawa-sama?"

"What do you mean?"

"When the dome exploded, I saw something… huge. It was for only a second, but it looked like a giant man made out of flames. I remember the stories of the Uchiha clan's Susano'o. It looked a bit like the pictures I saw from that in the records of the war, but it was different, as if it was made out of fire. I don't-"

"Neither of us knows what that thing is," Ishikawa grunted, cutting the terrified man's story short. "It makes it all the more important to retreat, rather than to reengage, because our nation has to know the truth about this creature."

"Yes."

The flames engulfed the area, and she knew she wasn't fast enough. She tried, but it was pointless. 'And why do I even bother? If I survive, I either end up in the pig's arms again, or I go home and then sent to that pig again by those assholes in my own village.'

Temari of the sands accepted her fate. She closed her eyes and waited for the flames to claim her life. It would hurt, but at least it would only be for a few moments. She'd rather end up like this, than to be violated and used as some sick trophy. At least this way, her suffering would only be short. So, she waited, and waited, and… nothing.

'What is…' she started to think, while slowly opening her eyes.

Temari gasped as she saw that she was lying down on the ground, and that that ground and everything around her was covered in flames. 'Yet the fire… it doesn't harm me?'she wondered.

"Ah," a deep voice resounded through the flames. Temari watched with wide eyes as a very large man strode through the fire. It was shaped like a man, but it was an entity made of fire itself, of pure energy. The closer it came to her, the smaller it became, until only the little boy that had approached her earlier was left. "Auh?" the boy asked.

"What.. What is going on? Am I dreaming? This is not a genjutsu, so… what the hell are you?" she wondered. "Answer me! Please?"

But the boy didn't answer. Again, it seemed to Temari as if the boy couldn't even understand her words. She flinched back when the boy crouched down next to her, and again touched the place where the kunai had wounded her earlier. Temari couldn't help but sigh, as the immensely pleasing sensation of warmth flooded her senses.

The discomfort she had felt within her chest soon left, and her strained muscles seemed to rejuvenate. It was as if all the chakra in her entire body was replenished by this strange little boy. Suddenly, the warmth stopped, and she nearly moaned in disappointment that the warmth left. 'What is that strange chakra of his? It doesn't even feel like regular chakra, but more like… It is almost as inhuman as a Bijuu, but unlike those demonic things, this boy feels completely innocent and gentle. So warm…'

Looking around, she saw the flames recede, and strange enough it all seemed to be absorbed by the boy- as if the flames had been part of him. While that happened, his fiery appearance also changed, and he started to look like the boy she first saw again. He had light tanned skin and flaming-red hair. But what really drew her attention were his eyes, the most surprising about the boy's appearance. They were bright orange orbs, as if liquid flames somehow swirled within his eye sockets.

"Those are not the eyes of a human…" she whispered. She tried to get up on her elbows, and was surprised at how easy it felt. She felt good again; in fact, better than she had ever felt before. The boy smiled as she inspected the place where her wound had been. "It was a mortal wound… I should have been dead," she muttered. Temari looked up at the boy that stood next to her. He looked so happy, it made her smile a little. Standing up, she started to look around and saw the pure destruction around her. The inferno had not spared a thing. The sparse vegetation had vanished, the layer on top of the sands had molten to glass, and each and every rock was scorched. Only a little had remained of all the people that had been killed here today. A skull here, a thigh bone there, and every now and then the remains of someone's spine. But most had turned to ashes.

Temari felt a bit guilty about the happiness she experienced at the thought that her husband-to-be had died. She knew it was wrong to wish for someone to die, but in his case she wanted to make an exception. It was too bad that this likely meant that Iwagakure and Sunagakure now either had to renegotiate the terms of their alliance, or else start another profitless war. 'What do I care? They sent me off to a life of misery, all for their own convenience. For all they know, Temari of the sands has died today,' she grimaced. 'And let them keep thinking that.'

As if feeling her unease, the boy poked her leg and jabbered something unintelligible.

"I'm fine," Temari smiled down at the odd child. "Thanks for saving me."

The boy again failed to understand, but instead reached out to touch her hand. Temari shuddered a little when a wave of his warm chakra echoed through her body. Whatever he learned from it, Temari doubted she would ever understand.

Then she was surprised when the boy jumped into her arms and gave her a firm hug.

Stunned, Temari wondered for a second what she should do. She felt the happiness radiate from the boy, as if he was relieved he had finally found her. 'Wait… How do I know he was looking for me?' she suddenly realized.

The boy did not care. He was just happy he finally found someone who felt familiar to him, someone he vaguely remembered. Even if he had not even the faintest idea why, he just felt relieved. And then he felt his neck itch a little.

Later, when Temari sized him up to try to dress him, she noticed the strange mark in his neck: a symbol resembling the digit nine, a single magatama.

Author's notes:

Annnd cut.

This concludes the first chapter of 'Pareidolia'. I won't be surprised if you found it weird though. The basic idea behind the story came when I wondered 'what would happen to the Kyuubi if Naruto dies?' A stupid question that escalated into a wild theory. To summarize: as we all know, Minato sealed half of the Kyuubi along with himself in the Shinagami using the Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal). So, with only the yang half being free, would Kurama be able to respawn like all the other bijuu seemed to be capable of? My answer was no.

In the universe Kishimoto created, Yang chakra was related to the physical energy that governs vitality, can be used to breathe life into form, while Yin chakra is based on the spiritual energy that governs imagination, can be used to create form out of nothingness. I repeat this lore stuff, only to clarify to those who did not get it from Hagoromo's explanation: I theorized that in order for a bijuu to respawn, both Yin and Yang would be needed. Form is pointless without content, while content cannot exist without form. So, not having his Yin chakra, while at the same time being an immortal mass of chakra, I thought: where would Kurama end up instead?

By the way, the little boy in the latter half of the chapter, 'Naruto', is not something godlike or anything. He could be beaten easily enough if he wasn't mostly impervious to damage due to not having a solid physical form. Compare it to trying to damage a flame. His fire-based attack is special though, and will be explained later on. Anyway, despite all the explanations I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please note that I will not be updating this story as frequent as my other story, "The Honoured Guest", is the main focus of my efforts.

Credits to my beta illuminated!

-Ziltoid-

Edit in response to review: Yes, Kurama was able to live after his Yin chakra was extracted, and yes, Kurama nearly reformed in Naruto's battle against Pein. But these are both things I did not address here. What I was talking about is Kurama reforming after dying. It is stated in the manga that a bijuu reforms when it (or its jinchurki) gets killed, because a bijuu cannot die (for some reason which Kishimoto never really explained). So, I did not state that Yang Kurama could not maintain a form when living, I merely theorized that he could not create a new form after dying. Because such an act of creation would, according to what Kishimoto stated in the story, require both Yin and Yang.