The Coming of the Dark

Minato was working fast with finishing the seal, but also making sure it was perfect. Currently, there was no room for error, for one slip-up would mean the end of his village. He was very fortunate to have Kushina using her chakra to buy Minato time by holding off the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-tailed Fox.

Minato finally finished preparing to perform the Reaper Death Seal.

Suddenly, a demonic looking figure appeared, wearing white robes, bushy white hair, and two bright red horns on its head, a Tanto in its mouth, and purple colored skin. This was the Shinigami, the Reaper.

Kyuubi desperately tried to resist the Shinigami's pull into Minato's body, but it was too late, half of it was sealed into the Yondaime's body, reducing its size.

The Yondaime then prepared the next step, sealing the other half of Kyuubi into his son using the Eight Trigrams sealing style.

"I will not go down like this. I will not be imprisoned!" the Kyuubi yelled out.

It then attempted to kill Minato's son by launching its claw forward, but Kushina and Minato interfered by jumping in the way of the attack, piercing them both through their torso.

"Curse it, if that is how it will be, then I will make sure your village suffers for my imprisonment. I will use the remainder of my strength to place a curse upon this village's younger and future generation. Your village shall be plunged into DARKNESS!" Kyuubi sneered, as one of its tails suddenly began to dissipate, turning into a red mist that spread throughout the village, and any demonic chakra that already was left in the village had mixed with it and spread even further.

"Damn it! No!" Minato couldn't move or take any action to stop the Kyuubi's actions.

"The best part is that despite your efforts, I will be allowed the chance to watch your village plunge itself into darkness through your own flesh and blood's eyes." The Kyuubi then faded into the small body of Minato's son, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze.

"If that is the case, then I will make sure that a piece of Kushina and my soul shall remain sealed with you, Kyuubi, to prevent any actions against our son." The last bit of life faded from Minato's eyes as his soul left his body, but as his soul was pulled by the Reaper, a small bit of his and Kushina's soul were placed inside of their son for future events. As for the rest of Minato and Kushina's soul, Minato was consumed by the Shinigami, and Kushina was allowed to pass into the afterlife.

Off into the distance, a figure stood, having watched the entire battle; in fact, being the one partially responsible for the attack on the village. The figure wore an orange mask with a swirl design over it, and a single hole for his eye, a black hood covering his head.

"Well, that was unplanned… I was hoping the Kyuubi would've destroyed the whole village, and I would've captured it later… oh well, it's not like we'll have any trouble capturing the Kyuubi container later on, just need time to gather the right resources for my plan. Though, it is probably best if I go back into hiding for now, the Fourth's attack did some real damage to my body. I should also go into disguise just to be on the safe side. Because Tobi is a good boy."

The man then vanished in a distorted swirl, leaving the battle torn area.

Elsewhere… another dark and foreboding figure stood, watching the entire fight with his red eyes filled with solemn sorrow.

"Conflict and war... could anything be more futile and meaningless? Am I the only one who can save this world from itself?" The figure said solemnly, looking over the corpses of Shinobi who sacrificed themselves, and the people who were mourning them.

"Death is the only constant in this universe." He looked over the destroyed land, marred with destruction and blood.

"The best way to save every soul and treat them all as equals, is undoubtedly to become one with them. If we were all one soul, there would never be a reason to squabble or fight. As such, I shall embrace that which negates existence." He then looked down at the mourning citizens of Konoha.

"Soon, all shall surrender their souls to mine, and I shall grant them a life of peace and security. They shall embrace darkness as a mother would her child." He then angrily stared at the mountains of the Hokage faces.

"Death shall await the fools who would betray the truth. Their souls will only be saved by death, for it does not contradict." He states, shaking his fist towards the monument. His shaking fist then relaxed, unclenched, and he then stared at his hand in thought.

"I was reborn to save all the souls in this world. When I have gathered the required souls, then I shall initiate my plan. I must work quickly, though. Time is a precious commodity to mortals, as it is to me." Suddenly, the man's body began to melt, vanishing into liquid pools of blood that soon disintegrated. Just as he left, the sun had finally risen, bringing light upon the darkened land.

Two weeks later, within the Hokage tower.

The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood in his office, returning from retirement to replace the Yondaime Hokage, discussing some matters with Jiraiya, the toad sage. The matter they were discussing was on the issue of the Yondaime's son, whose mother unfortunately died in child birth, or at least that is what is believed by the masses, and with no other family member, was now very much alone in the world.

Usually, this wouldn't be a problem, for there were many friends and families who adored Minato, and would give much for the boy to be in their family.

Unfortunately, Minato had an even vaster number of enemies who would like nothing more than to take his son, wrap a rope around his limbs and neck, and pull him in different directions until something breaks off.

Because of this, the Sandaime requested that Naruto and everyone else not in the know wouldn't be told of his heritage until he reached the age of 18, or at least made the rank of Chunin, in which he would be strong enough to face these enemies.

Another problem was that he had the Kyuubi sealed within him, and if anyone found out, who knows how they would react. Currently, the two men in this room were discussing this exact topic right now.

"I honestly do not think it's wise to tell the public of Naruto's situation, Sensei. For all we know, the village might see the child as the Kyuubi itself." Jiraiya stated, looking down at the sleeping babe in his cradle.

"Unfortunately, Minato made me swear that Naruto was to be seen as a hero. To let all know of his sacrifice. Minato believes in the people of his village, Jiraiya, and so, I have to as well." Sarutobi spoke with great solemn.

"Sigh…My student always was a bit too optimistic for his own good. I just wish I could take the kid with me, but my situation is currently too dangerous for him, and I can't afford to take care of an infant. It is also a shame Tsunade isn't around; she would have loved taking Naruto in." Jiraiya sighed.

Jiraiya then peered over the village, as if watching over it. "By the way Sensei, didn't the Kyuubi make some kind of threat of placing a curse over the village? Has there been any sign of that? Or was it just a last minute bluff?" Jiraiya asked.

"So far, aside from the red mist that enveloped the village, there hasn't been anything that signified a warranted threat. I'm still a bit worried about that red mist, though, but everything seems to be alright, and the villagers are progressing smoothly with the repairs. We may be in the clear."

"Well, if anything happens, just let me…" Jiraiya was about to say, but suddenly a screech caught the ears of the aged Sanin and Hokage.

The screech came from outside the office door; it was the Hokage's secretary. The two quickly ran out to see what was wrong, and what they saw shocked the two battle-hardened Shinobi.

A little bit earlier.

Two children around the age of seven or so were coming by to visit the Hokage to ask if there is anything they can do to help rebuild the village. The two's names were Iruka and Mizuki, and it was more like Iruka was dragging Mizuki along.

"Iruka, I could be spending the day training and getting stronger you know? I know you lost your parents and all, but that should be all the more reason to train then to waste our time with doing stuff the grownups can do." Said the silver-haired Mizuki.

"To be honest Mizuki, watching all the adults work to repair the village makes me feel like I can contribute in some way, shape, or form. I witnessed my parents give their lives to protect not only me, but this village as well, so I should give my all as well." Iruka stated sternly, some tears threatening to spill. After wiping the tears from his face, he then proceeded to put on a brave face, hiding his emotions. "Besides, when we become Genin, we'll have to work on D-rank missions anyway, so why not prepare ourselves for those types of tasks." The scarred, brown-haired Iruka stated. He was very grateful for having a friend to call at this time of loneliness.

"Yeah, whatever." Mizuki grumbled. Mizuki was much more interested in gaining power as fast as he could. Seeing the destructive power displayed by the Kyuubi drove the young child mad for power, but he was very good at keeping his new obsession locked up inside until the appropriate time. Until then, he will act this part of the close friend to the lonely Iruka.

The two approached the secretary to ask about talking to the Hokage. "I'm sorry boys, the Hokage's in the middle of an important meeting, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a bit out here. Go ahead and take a seat." She said very cheerfully.

The two sat down to wait for the Hokage in the small lobby, making idle chit-chat to pass the time.

"To be honest Mizuki, I think I want to try and become an Academy teacher when I become old enough." Iruka suddenly stated.

"What? Are you kidding? Why would want a boring job like that? Besides, aren't you the class clown?" Mizuki asked.

"I only prank to get attention. It's not like I don't take the classes seriously. I just think the lessons could be little livened up." Iruka stated with a smile.

"Yeah, I can imagine it now. Iruka Sensei, coming in with a kabuki outfit, and pranking students." Mizuki stated with a sneer.

"I only came into class dressed as a Kabuki one time. And I only had on the makeup." Iruka stated indignantly with a pout.

They then both began to laugh and chuckle at their own amusement.

"What about you, Mizuki? What are you going to be?" Iruka asked his long time friend.

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to wait and see what the future has in store for m…" Suddenly, Mizuki gagged, then fell on the floor convulsing into spasms, his eyes rolled in the back of his head.

"MIZUKI! What's wrong! What's the mat…?" Suddenly, the same thing began to happen to Iruka, his body falling down and also beginning to spasm.

The secretary let out a loud scream, beginning to call for any help available.

The two Shinobi caught sight of the two boys on the ground in a seizure like attack, looking to the secretary to explain what happened.

"I don't know what happened, one minute the two were fine, just talking. The next, one of them fell on the floor, followed by the other."

Suddenly, the two Genin stop convulsing, and remain still, as if they were dead.

"Are they alright. Their not dead, are they?" Sarutobi asked, incredibly worried.

Jiraiya ran over to the boys to check their pulse, sighing in relief when he felt it. "They're fine, Sensei. But what do you think could have just happ…"

"GAAAHHAAAAA…" Instantly, both boys began to scream in pain, their bodies now wildly flailing about. It was getting so bad that both Jiraiya and Sarutobi had run over to hold the boys down to prevent them from hurting themselves.

Right before their eyes, red chakra began to surround both Iruka and Mizuki, their eyes shifting to blood red slits. Just as quickly as the red chakra came, it then pumped itself into both pre-Genin's bodies, and then they began to undergo a metamorphosis.

The muscles in Mizuki's young body became more defined, but remained slender, straining his flesh thin. With a cracking of bones, his hands began to lengthen, and with the sound of ripping flesh, his nails sharpened to black dagger like claws, blood leaking from his fingers. His jaw began to grow fangs, blood spurting from his gums, and his eyes became more feline like and yellow. His ears started to shift and elongate toward the top of his head much like a cats, the sound of bones and sinew being readjusted, and his face began to shift into a cat like appearance. Orange fur began to cover Mizuki's body, followed by black stripes and white fur on the torso area. His legs began to reshape themselves, bones breaking and repairing, becoming that of a Digitigrades type of legs (stands or walks on its digits, or toes), claws forming on his feet. Finally to finish the change, his spine began to readjust and elongate, popping from his back, until with squelch, the spine itself began to exit out of his lower back area, soon being covered in muscle, then flesh, and then finally in orange fur with black stripes, changing into a feline tail. In all, Mizuki now resembled an Anthro-Tiger.

Iruka's change was much more different in comparison to Mizuki. Iruka's ears lengthened and became pointy with a cracking sound, and two fangs jutted from his mouth, the gums also beginning to bleed. His four fingers on both hands began to meld together, the skin tearing until it fused into two large fingers on both hands, his feet also going through the same transformation as his new hands, resembling a second pair of hands, and his skin began to change to that of a light blue hue, his hair becoming a dark blue. Finally, just like Mizuki, his spine began to lengthen and pop; forming into a blue tail, but this one formed an arrowhead at the tip of it. Iruka now almost resembled a blue demon of some sort.

After the transformation, both of the boys slipped into unconsciousness, the pain too much for them to bear.

"My god! What happened to them?" Jiraiya asked.

The third looked to his secretary. "Alert the hospital immediately. We must find out what has happened to these two." Sarutobi then turned from her, staring at the children. "Anbu!" He called. Suddenly, two people in white animal masks suddenly appeared with a 'Yes Lord Hokage!' "Take these two to the hospital as quick as possible, but as discreetly as possible. I don't want this getting out!" He ordered.

"Uh, Sensei? I think keeping this discreet might be more difficult than you think. Look!" Jiraiya yelled out, pointing out to the window. What the Sandaime saw instantly felt like a stab of despondent despair, realizing that the situation was worse than he originally thought.

Down by the Inuzuka complex, Tsume Inuzuka was helping her daughter Hana with her animal medical training, aiding her to become a vet, while keeping an eye on her newborn son, Kiba, who was sleeping soundly in a cradle next to some of her Ninja hounds.

"Argh! This is so frustrating." Hana yelled out, grabbing her hair in frustration.

"You didn't expect it to be easy now, did you?" Tsume calmly stated, slightly chuckling at her daughter's antics.

"No, not really. But at first I thought I just be working with Ninja dogs. I didn't think I'd be working with all types of ninja animals. Youth is indeed naïve." Hana stated grumpily.

Tsume chuckled. "I find it impressive that you are interested in that sort of thing at all. But remember, you're still young, so you have plenty of time to learn all of this. The Inuzuka usually focus on the treatment of their own hounds, but to learn to heal all different species of animals is going to take awhile." Tsume stated.

"Yea, I guess. I just really want to be a great Ninja Vet. And all of this information can be very tough to remember someti…" Suddenly, Hana started gagging, clutching her chest in pain.

"Hana? What's wrong?" Tsume asked in worry.

Hana fell to the ground, her body beginning to rapidly convulse and spasm. Tsume ran over to Hana, greatly worried for her daughter. Hana suddenly stopped convulsing, her body going completely limp. "Hana? Damn it! Kuromaru! Get some medical help here now!" She yelled out to her one-eyed hound, who responded by running off for help. "Hana! Hana! Come on, wake up." Tsume gently tried to wake her daughter.

Hana's eyes slowly began to flutter open, not a sign of whatever was wrong with her. "Hana. Are you alright?" Tsume asked, feeling a wave of relief that Hana was awake.

Hana's eyes suddenly widened. "GAAAH…" She suddenly began to scream in pain, thrashing about, almost striking her mother as Tsume tried to hold her down. Red chakra began to surround Hana's body, her eyes shifting to blood red slits. Just as quickly as the red chakra came, it then pumped itself into her body, and then her body began to undergo a horrendous transformation.

Hana's bones started creaking and cracking, changing and shifting into newer proportions, her fingers were lengthening and elongating, the bones beginning to break through skin in certain areas, blood trickling out. Her teeth began to change into sharp canines, and her ears began to elongate and began to stand up straight, becoming pointed. The muscles of her body began to pulse out, remaining slender, but becoming more defined and well-toned.

Tsume could literately feel Hana's bones and spine as they began to push against Hana's flesh. Shimmering brown fur began to grow from her flesh, covering her from head to toe, her natural hair growing longer. Her spinal cord continued to elongate, until it stabbed through her tailbone, and continued to grow longer, and became covered in flesh and fur, until it became a long brown bushy tail. Padding and claws appeared at the bottom of her hands and feet, resembling that of a dog, and just like Mizuki, her feet began to extend, becoming a Digitigrades type of legs. Finally, her nose and jaw began to jut outward, the bones in her face literally reconstructing, until it resembled the mouth and nose of a wolf. In all, Hana resembled an Anthro female werewolf, her brown hair flowing down her back, her clothes nearly torn to shreds.

Tsume had to back away to avoid being clawed by her young flailing daughter, Hana becoming physically stronger than her mother. Hana just stood there, breathing in and out, almost snarling, her eyes still glowing red. She was a lot taller now, standing at the same exact height as her mother. Tsume had seen many canine expressions, and just from looking at her daughter, she could tell that Hana was recovering from pain, and would thrash out at anyone who got too close.

Suddenly, two Inuzuka members came into the room to make a report to their clan leader. "Lady Tsume, something is happening to the children of our cla… What the?" they yelled as they finally noticed Hana, getting into a defensive stance in front of their clan head. They're appearance startled Hana, and she crouched down on all fours, growling out at the two.

Tsume motioned the two aside, as she began to approach the beast that was her daughter carefully. "Hana? Do you recognize me? It's me, your mother." Tsume began, her heart near to being torn if Hana didn't recognize her.

The beast looked at her for sec, still snarling. It started to sniff the air for a second, and then it stopped growling, its eyes returning to that of Hana's soft brown eyes. "Mother?" she spoke. "Mother? What's happening to me?" Hana asked in fear of herself, tears beginning to flow down her canine eyes.

Tsume began to approach her beastly daughter, and in one swift movement, embraced her crying daughter, who was currently standing at the same height as her. "I don't know what's happened, but it's going to be alright."

As the two embraced each other, suddenly Hana's body began to shrink back down to normal, the fur dissipating to reveal flesh, and her structure reverting un-painfully back to her original shape. She now looked as she did before her transformation, only with shaggier hair and feral looking features.

Later, the Inuzuka found out that most of the members of their clan over the age of four but under the age of 15 had changed as well into Lycan like beasts, and later found that they were able to turn back and forth from human to beast like Hana had just did.

Tsume noticed that her daughter had turned back to her normal little girl. What she didn't notice, though, was the red chakra peeking out of her baby, Kiba's, small body.

Uchiha clan district…

Itachi was looking over his baby brother Sasuke, pondering about the past couple of days, and about his clan. He was beginning to question the loyalties of his clan, and he knew that if they were planning something against Konoha, it could eventually lead to war, which would result in more suffering and death for the village, and would shatter the temporary peace that Konoha had established, which was ruined by the Kyuubi attack. The reason for this doubt in his family was that aside from himself and Sasuke, who Itachi found in his crib, all the members of the Uchiha clan were not present during the Kyuubi attack. Could his very clan be responsible for the attack on the village, and if so, what would they hope to gain? It was all so frustrating and confusing for the young Shinobi.

Itachi's deep thought was broken when Sasuke let out a small baby coo, giggled a little bit, and then drifted off to sleep, a bit of drool running down his face. Itachi chuckled at the antics of his baby brother. He then felt the presence of his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, enter into the room.

"Itachi darling. What are you doing standing here in the dark?" She asked him in a motherly fashion.

"I just have a lot on my mind and needed a dark place to think by myself." Itachi stated in monotone.

"Itachi, you're technically not alone in this room. After all, you have Sasuke." She joked.

Itachi wasn't amused, but chose to ignore her comment. "Mother, I have a question… where was our clan during the Kyuubi attack?"

There was a slight twitch in her lip, but she continued to smile down to her first born. "Well. I and the rest of the Uchiha civilians were sent to the Uchiha private evacuation shelters." She answered.

"If that is the case, then why didn't Sasuke get taken as well?" He inquired.

"I was going to, but the Uchiha guards forced me to leave the house, and when I tried to fight back to get back in, they knocked me out. So I was unable to retrieve Sasuke. I was desperately worried for the two of you, and I was greatly relieved when I saw that the both of you were ok." She stated sternly, slightly hurt by his doubt in her.

This only made Itachi more suspicious. "If that is the case, then where was the rest of the Uchiha clan Shinobi during the attack? Except for me, none of them had provided support against the Kyuubi." He asked.

"I'm sorry dear, but I really don't know the answer to that. You will have to consult your father about what happened." Mikoto told her son in a sad tone. "I am sure your father had his reasons for the events that took place that night."

Itachi sighed in frustration, really wanting to believe his mother's words. "I wish I could believe you, but I need some more convincing. I want to believe you but I… Augh!" Suddenly, Itachi grabbed at his heart, extreme pain flowing through his body, and he fell to one knee, desperately trying to remain conscious.

"Itachi? Itachi! What's wrong?!" Itachi's mother asked, panic and concern on her face.

Itachi couldn't answer as he was feeling a convulsion of pain wracking his body as it began to shiver and shake uncontrollably from the pain. It felt as if his heart had tensed up and stopped, his blood no longer transferring precious air to his body, his brain beginning to shut down. Air was unable to enter his lungs, and against his better judgment, he forced himself to remain awake, his mind wishing he would fall unconscious rather than to suffer this excruciating torture of consciousness. But he knew that if he fell unconscious, he may never wake up again.

Just as suddenly as it began, the pain had stopped, his body feeling as if nothing had happened. He desperately took breaths of oxygen, his lungs thirsting for the life support. He could feel his heart beating, the only thing indicating his survival.

"Itachi, baby, are you alright!" His mother desperately pleaded, truly concerned for his well being.

"It's ok. I think I'm f…AGH!" Itachi suddenly felt another wave of pain, but this one was different. "GAAAHHHH!" He yelled in pain, as red chakra began to envelop his body, his eyes shifting to blood red slits. Suddenly, his skin began to become deathly pale until his skin literately went white. His hands began to take on a black hue, and then his fingers began to lengthen into long sharpened claws, the bones cracking to indicate the change. He gritted his teeth, showing them to begin to lengthen, sharpening into a full row of razor sharp teeth with blood spurting out, his nose becoming slightly elongated and pointed. Suddenly, there was a ripping sound, and two bony protrusions jutted out of Itachi's back in the shoulder blade area, causing him to yell in agony as blood gushed out. The bony protrusions than began to be covered in flesh, and soon, black feathers grew from that, shifting into black avian wings. At this point, from the pain alone, Itachi had finally passed out, the combined shock too unbearable.

"Itachi? ITACHI!" Mikoto yelled out, desperately embracing her now newly deformed son, never noticing the red chakra flowing about her younger son, Sasuke.

Konoha was in a state of panic. Parents, both Shinobi and Civilians, were forced to simply watch as their children would all suffer through the same condition, unable to do anything to stop it.

After having all the mutated children examined, they found something. The changes were caused by the introduction of demonic chakra into their system, changing their physical form to better handle and suit the chakra. Everyone who was currently under the age of 15, and was present during the Kyuubi attack, were the only ones affected, and since that number includes almost all of Konoha, the numbers almost went into the thousands. The reason only those under 15 were affected, was that their chakra network hadn't been fully set, making it susceptible to the foreign chakra. As for the children under 4, it seemed the chakra had remained dormant, but when it could set off was still unknown.

The medical staff had decided to check the adult civilians and Shinobi as well, just in case, and to their horror, they discovered that while the adult's bodies themselves had rejected the chakra, their reproductive system hadn't. In other words, even the unborn were now cursed with the demonic chakra. According to the estimations, it will take 3 decades for the reproductive organs to be fully cleansed of the foul chakra.

Sarutobi let loose a defeated sigh. It had been 2 weeks since the epidemic that hit Konoha, and he was really wishing right now that Minato hadn't died, so he wouldn't have to deal with this shit. Civilians were in an uproar, and were being a real pain. The many clan heads didn't help things out either. In the course of one day, Konoha had completely forgotten about the great will of fire they are well known for.

"You know Sensei… I'm beginning to think you may need to find a successor…" Jiraiya pointed out. Sarutobi growled irritably at that comment.

"Sigh… many of the clan heads are complaining, saying their perfect lineages are ruined… some of the civilians are worried for their children, thinking it's a disease… while the others are speculating that the Kyuubi is taking revenge by possessing their own children. Because of that, some of the villagers have become violent to their own children, while the rest disown them… where did it all go wrong?" Sarutobi muttered.

"The way they are all acting, you'd think the children were all the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi… It may be wise to reconsider telling the village the truth about Naruto's condition…" Jiraiya suggested.

Sarutobi let loose another defeated sigh, turning from the papers he was over seeing, and looking over the village. "You might be right… Naruto seems to be one of the few children unaffected by the Kyuubi's curse, probably because of what he holds… at this rate, if the village found out the truth, they may just point blame towards Naruto for what happened to the other children…" Sarutobi then looked toward the sleeping form of baby Naruto, who was sleeping soundly. "After seeing how this village is acting, and without his mother and father, he would have to endure their cruelty even more so than the other children…" he walks over toward Naruto's sleeping form, and gently pulls a blanket over Naruto's form. "I have decided… Naruto's condition will be an S-Class secret. Also, I am going to place a rule that no one is to talk about the Kyuubi's attack. I want the children of this village to at least have some semblance of normalcy. The Academy will give a watered down version just to explain why the children are the way they are, but that is all…"

Jiraiya looked over toward Naruto. "If I could… I would take Naruto with me just to look after him… but I have to manage my spy network, and it is too dangerous for a child to go with me…"

"I will try to do everything I can for Naruto and the children of this village… I only hope this whole thing eventually blows over…" Sarutobi stated, now feeling as old as he truly is.

4 years later…

A young four year old human boy with a white shirt with the Konoha symbol in red on the front had just finished eating a filling bowl of Ramen courtesy of the shop, Ichiraku Ramen. The owner was a kind hearted man, and he worked with his young 11 year old daughter, Ayame, who did everything she could to help her father in the ramen stand.

"Thanks again old man… I was very hungry…" the young boy said happily, a huge grin on his young face.

"But of course… I can't exactly leave a kid without a meal. Right Ayame?" The old chef stated.

"Right, Daddy…" The girl responded. The young boy looked over the counter toward the young girl, and saw that the old man's daughter, Ayame, didn't look like a normal girl. Her skin was a light shade of blue, and her ears were pointed at the ends, and her eyes were two glowing orbs. On her flesh were intricate red patterns, almost tribal looking, and her hair was a light brown color, but almost shined in the dark.

For the past four years, the children who had been changed by the Kyuubi's chakra have had to endure much, as some were made orphans, abandoned, or forced to walk the streets alone. The worst case scenarios were some of them were killed off by idiots who were afraid of deformed children, and so, the Shinobi would have them imprisoned for committing such a heinous crime, or at the most, executed. Now, not all of the afflicted children were suffering. Some were lucky enough to have families willing to endure the hardships that follow, or to find a family willing to look past their outer appearances.

The young boy could tell that Ayame was one of those lucky ones. He was happy for her to have a father who loved her, despite her appearance.

The young boy got up from his stool, ready to head home. "Thanks again old man…" he cheerfully stated.

"By the way, do you have a name kid?" the old man asked.

"Oh, the names Naruto…" the now named Naruto answered.

"Well Naruto, you mentioned you've been having nothing but instant meals, which I know how bland those eventually can be compared to a real cooked meal…" The old man then turned his attention to his daughter. "Hey Ayame, could you grab some Fish cake for me?"

"Sure thing, daddy…" Ayame stated, as she ran into the back, and came out with a roll of swirly fishcake.

"I just figure you could use something to enhance the flavors of your meals if you want Naruto…" the old man stated, cutting the fish cake roll in half, and then wrapped it up to keep it fresh.

"Thanks old man… Thank you both very much." Naruto stated with a huge smile, slightly bowing his head in appreciation.

"Heh… don't mention it… however, I hope to see you as our regular." The old man stated.

"Count on it!"

A little later…

Naruto was in a good mood as he walked home, a bag full of grocery's he had picked up after his meal at Ichiraku Ramen. In his other hand was the wrapped up Fish cake roll.

He saw the many families and people pass by, ignoring him, or looking at him in pity. He knew they did that, because he was an orphan and it often times annoyed him, or at most, jealous. But not tonight, for tonight, he had been fortunate enough to meet a family that owns a restaurant, and not only did they offer food, but also appreciate his company. It was the first time that someone interacted with him and recognized him. Many of the villages when they saw Naruto, they would either look at him with pity, grief at him for being normal looking, or they would just ignore him, not wanting anything to do with him.

As he was walking down a shortcut back alley to get to his apartment, he passed by a knocked over garbage can and continued to walk, but suddenly heard the sound of something shuffling from the can. He turned around, and what he saw almost made him go 'Ahh' from the cuteness. What crawled out was a small, white furred kitten, barely the size of his four year old forearm, and on the top of its head was a pink tuft of fur. The kitten let off a small heart melting mew that sounded not only cute, but also pained. Upon further inspection of the kitten, Naruto noticed that it was incredibly scrawny, almost sickly so, and quite malnourished.

Naruto set his bag of groceries down, got to one knee, and unwrapped his fish cake roll, and casually broke off a small chunk of it, holding it out for the kitten.

"Hey there kitty… you look hungry, want some fish cake." Naruto offered.

The kitten responded by mewing, before trotting closer to Naruto cautiously. When it finally reached Naruto's hand, it began to eat the fishcake out of it hungrily, licking the rest from his palm. In turn, Naruto responded by gently caressing the small kitten.

"Did you like that?" Naruto asked. He then broke off a larger junk for the kitten, and set it down for the kitten to eat. "There you go kitty… enjoy!"

Naruto then began to make his way back to his apartment, the cat gobbling the fish cake up. After the kitten finished up, it then began to go after Naruto, trailing right behind him. Naruto turned his head, and saw the kitten was following him, and he had a hard time resisting the urge to go up to the kitten and pick it up and take it home. However, as much as he would have liked to have a pet to keep him company, he couldn't. The apartment he was living in had a rule that said that pets weren't allowed, and so, if he was to try and sneak the cat into his home, and the manager found out about it, he would be evicted from his home.

He reached down to the cat's level, and stroked the head of the cat to the tail. "I'm sorry kitty… but I can't keep you… I'm not allowed to have a pet…" Naruto stated sadly. The kitten let off a small, sad mew, as if it understood what he was saying, and was trying desperately to convince him otherwise. Naruto looked down, sadden, but then an idea hit him. "Well, they said I can't keep a cat in my apartment… but they didn't say I couldn't leave food out for it…" Naruto thought, and then he picked the kitten up, and carried it to his apartment, taking care not to have it be seen. When he reached his door, he set the kitten down, and reached for his keys, taking care not to spill his grocery bag, and after some fumbling, managed to unlock the door. "Wait right here kitty…" Naruto stated.

Naruto then went inside his apartment, the kitten waiting patiently outside the door. After a few minutes, Naruto came back out with a bowl full of cream and a worn white blanket, and set down the bowl right next to his door, the small kitten lapping the offered dish hungrily. "I'll try and leave you some food whenever I can… but I won't be able to let you inside… also, this should keep you warm for the night…" Naruto then laid the blanket out and set it up so it would comfortable, and the kitten could roll up into it. "Goodnight kitty. Try and stay safe…" Naruto stated, giving the kitten one last scratch behind the ear, the small kitten purring in response. Naruto then went back inside, hoping the kitten will be alright.

When Naruto was inside, and no one else was on the passageway, the kitten suddenly began to change. Its body shifted and swelled, the limbs lengthening and contorting, and the fur began to sift away in small parts, revealing underneath. When the transformation was over, what was left was a small four year old girl with bright pink hair that had been dirtied and matted and white triangle shaped ears on top of her head. She reached for the saucer of cream, revealing her hands to be large white clawed digits with sharp pink nails. Her body was, in all sense of the word, completely nude; the only thing covering her was white patches of fur on her body, which was also dirtied and matted, and a small white tail coming out at the bottom of her spine. Her legs were completely covered in white fur, and were also Digitigrades shaped legs, and the toes of her feet were also talon pink claws. She sat down with her legs crossed, and hungrily lapped up the cream with her tongue, her eyes brimming with tears. The young girl sniffled a bit, and grabbed the small blanket, wrapping herself up into it; a few tears dropping from her emerald green cat slit eyes.

This was Sakura Haruno. She had just turned four years old, which was the age in which the children of Konoha would change from being normal looking humans to a monster of some sort. In her case, she had become a cat woman. Sadly, after the change had happened, her father had cast her out on the streets to fend for herself, and thus, she has been fighting for her life on her own for two weeks now. Over that time, she had discovered what she was capable of, being able to shift back and forth from her current form to a cat when needed, and had been using this to try and blend in and obtain food and shelter whenever she could, using her cat form to beg and obtain food in small portions if needed or fit in tight places.

At the moment, she was crying. Ever since her change from human to this form, she has not been shown any kindness whatsoever, in either form she has, as many people are harsh and discriminate toward that which is different, or they would see her as a filthy beast that was infested with all means of diseases and whatnot. However, this boy, a stranger, had not only shown her genuine kindness, but also offered to help her whenever he could. She wished the boy could keep her, that way, she could be set, but she will settle for this as a means to survival for now. She knew he probably thought she was some stray or something, and that might be the only reason he was helping her, but she didn't care, she was grateful all the same. For now, she will never forget the boy's kindness, and one day, she would try and find some way to pay him back in some way, shape, or form.

Much change was brought on by the Kyuubi's interference, and who is to say how fate will change by this occurrence. What can be said is that dark times are looming overhead for this village… and only time will tell if change will be able to remove the stigma of Konoha's darkened fate, if a beacon can shine through the darkness and bring about the best in all. This… is the coming of the dark… the coming of… the Dark Stalkers.

To be continued…

Nobody: Alright then... this is a story I've been milling out, and finally got it to come together... still working on the first chapter, so don't expect it to be out right away... if you like this story, let me know... Got a lot planned for it...

Alright then, Hope you enjoy, and Happy Halloween!

Signed,

Mr. Nobody