"My friends," his voice echoed across the clearing of destruction. "My family," he turned about, slowly taking in the sights of his ruined world. "My pack," before him lay the utter destruction he had released upon them all. "I go now to set things right." he stood silent a moment longer before his hands were brought together. To an observer, though there were no living creatures left that held the capacity to be such, the lone figure suddenly seemed to expand a hundred times. His body remained largely the same. Though what changes did occur were drastic, such as each finger extending, crooking into sharp clawed digits, and his eyes changed from piercing blue to a demonic red, slatted with pupils of a far more animal appearance.
His expansion was not in body however his height and width remained. Rather, it was his presence that suddenly increased with otherworldly influence. Above him, behind him, in front, beneath, to the sides and in fact, all around and through him; burning brighter than the sun in his unholy light, stood the ethereal form of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine tailed fox.
Within the burning chakra, the figure, that of the last man standing, slowly opened eyes that had closed with the emergence of the fox's spirit. "It is time, my friend." His voice was subdued now, unlike the powerful oration he had possessed only moments before. "Yes my Kit." The demons voice thundered across the arena of death, stirring the errant spirits and rattling the un-dug graves of the tragically deceased. Despite the fearsome power in even it's quietest of conversational tones, the man wasn't fazed. Though there was no one around other than him, he was more than touched by the reverence and despair in the once feared demon lord's voice. He smiled softly, unconsciously manipulating his chakra in such a way as to affect a petting motion. The great Youkai only twitched an ear at such a thing, amused and deeply touched by the simple gesture. His container had initially been a source of great contempt, irritation, and violent hate for the Kyuubi. Over time however, things had changed…
Through the eyes of his of his jailor, he had witnessed the great strength the child had possessed. Even from birth, his container had been the scapegoat for the simple-minded humans who inhabited the Village hidden amongst the Leaves. In his first weeks of life, the infant had been the subject of heated discussion amongst the council of elders. They would stare at him with intense hatred and abject fear as they fought the Hokage's wishes and will. Single council members fought for nothing less than the death of the squealing baby before them. Sarutobi weathered this all with the quiet aplomb of a true leader, and the unflinching determination of a man who was truly in the right.
Meetings were called daily, often ending with old men hoarse from putting vintage throats through youthful efforts. And in these numerous meetings of the revered Shinobi Council of Elders, proceedings always, always followed the same path. They would begin calmly, pleading with the Hokage to listen to the logic of what they were saying. When this was found to be futile, as it always was, they would move on to shouting. When this too was found to be futile, they would try the sinister ploy of bringing into question the village and villagers' safety. Sarutobi would counter every telling point, and every lofty speech with a cunning unmatched by all. Eventually, months after the infant's first and even second birthdays, the meetings had petered out until the toddler was left alone. Life would move on with the hostility continuing, though it was now veiled.
In the mean time, a law had been passed to deny the mention of the unique nature of the child. Said law was a law that had been upheld by an extremely strict set of consequences. Sarutobi's law was never written, but all who had any tangible memory of the terrible near destruction of Konoha two years before knew it. Any mention of the demon contained within the small child faced dire consequences, ranging from banishment to execution. Despite this law however, the people did seemingly everything in their power to come as close to breaking said law as possible. As a consequence, Uzumaki Naruto, for this was the demon containing child's name, grew up in an environment nearly devoid of affection and human compassion.
The only bright points in the boys dark life were when he was able to interact with the only figure he could connect the confusing feelings of happiness to; Sarutobi. On the few occasions that the Hokage had free time available to him each year, he would spend the day with Naruto. It disturbed him greatly to watch the child's development. Quiet and skittish, the boy would always need a few hours to open up to the aging Sarutobi. With each visit, when Naruto's personality finally won out against his defenses, it would reveal the slowly growing depravity that his prolonged isolation wrought upon his innocence.
With the passage of time the villagers had been slowly deterred from any personal action against the boy. This was due both in part to the ANBU members assigned as his guardians, and the ever-present threat of Sarutobi's law. An unforeseen consequence of halting the immediate physical threat to the Naruto's life was the metaphorical dagger that had been violently forced deep into the poor boy's psyche. When the open hostility had ended, the entire village seemed to almost unanimously decide to ignore what they thought of as the blight upon their village. So, instead of giving the growing child a lifetime of unknowing self-loathing, they had seemingly ripped his life, and in fact, his very existence away from him.
Now possessing an advanced case of reckless self-endangerment, even with the guidance and protection of his guardian ANBU, he would seek out any attention possible.
He seemed to disregard consequence, though the truth was far from this. He thrived on the trouble caused by each incident. In fact, these were the only times that he could feel alive. When people were hurling obscenities at him and cursing him for his antics, they were not ignoring him. Mischief became his only window to true interaction with the world.
Matae and Lin-Lo, who had both become grudgingly fond of their charge, were silent and aloof by necessity, so Naruto could not even converse with them more often then the few times his behavior, for good or ill, had warranted. With his guardians and Sarutobi, a seldom seen grandfatherly figure, as the only inlets for, and examples of, proper social contact, it was no wonder that he was left craving for anything resembling such sessions. The Hokage, despite his considerable power, was largely unable to do anything in regards to the situation, and as the years grew in number, a fear had begun to gnaw at him.
Sarutobi could often be seen in a meditative state, perched upon a pillow and positioned to stare at the youthful face of the monumental carvings upon the face of Hokage Mountain. The most recent addition, the fourth Hokage, the man Sarutobi had picked to replace himself, only to replace the Fourth and step back into office after a retirement that had been entirely to short. In this pose, he would remain for hours at a time, in silent contemplation of his fears. If put into words, the Hokage's fears were thus: 'If Naruto, container of Kyuubi, remained the object of such treatment… would the seal upon him, designed to allow Naruto access to the nigh infinite well of chakra the demon possessed, be revealed as a horrible twisting of good intentions? Would Naruto, a child subjected to the torture of bearing out the hatred of all those around him, snap and finish the job the powerful Youkai had started?' His fears would be laid to rest upon the day of Naruto's eighth birthday.
"Welcome Naruto, to your new home." Adding emphasis to the word 'your', the weathered face of the Third cracked into a soft, caring smile as he glanced down upon the boy. Naruto looked about his new residence with eyes aglow in wonder. He paused in his observations to look up to the old mans smiling face. "My new home? All mine?" Naruto practically squeaked out the last part. Truly, he owned few things. The small room that had been his residence for the past eight years had been bare of decorations and personal ornamentations. His only possessions had been his clothes, and a few small toys. Even the room itself, the dresser his clothes had been contained within, and the futon he had slept on had merely been provided by ANBU. So the concept of owning something so large as his own home was nearly beyond his limited understanding.
"Yes Naruto, all yours." The man was outwardly all smiles for the boy, although he was inwardly raging. At eight years old, though full of cunning and a very strong set of instincts, the boy was hardly a match for most four year olds in the area of intelligence. The Hokage had tried on numerous occasions to have the boy enrolled in school, with various degrees of failure. Each occurrence had left the boy heavily scarred emotionally. Teachers refused to teach, and in doing so had shown such animosity that the children in the class would taunt and tease the boy. It grew worse at every attempt, the boy never progressed in such an environment, and with every passing year, the gap in intelligence showed more tellingly.
He was brought out of his thoughts by the high-pitched voice of Naruto. "-Out Lo-Ma?" Naruto had said this with a serious look on his face, causing Sarutobi to frown. Trying to pick out the rest of the boy's sentence from his immediate memory proved impossible. So he laughed kindly and made a show of inserting his pinky into his ear and wiggling it about. "What was that Naruto? My old man hair must be messing with my hearing again." Such antics never failed to bring a delighted giggle out of the boy, and this time was no different. His question was put on hold, long enough for a little song and dance from the boy about 'Old man hair'. Soon enough however, he was back on track. "What about Lo-ma?" 'Lo-Ma' was Naruto's nickname for the ANBU pair, Lin-Lo and Matae, who had been his guardians since long before the child's first word. The Hokage shook his head slowly; knowing that what he was about to say was not going to be pleasant for the boy.
"Naruto…" He started to say, but he suddenly found himself unable to continue. One look at Naruto's face was enough to banish the careful speech he had prepared for an explanation as to why the ANBU would no longer be a constant presence in the boy's life. Naruto knew and, though the look of sadness in his eyes was heartbreaking, a grin was slowly starting to form upon his face. "At least they can have time to themselves now." Sarutobi found himself quietly amazed at the boy's fortitude, 'Perhaps,' he mused privately. 'I needn't worry so much about having a future Kyuubi attack in the form of this boy. He cares so greatly…' He was once again brought to reality as Naruto continued. "Old man…" The grin on Naruto's face was gone, and his voice lacked the exuberance it always held. For a moment, his voice was flat and emotionless.
"I know…" He paused, seeming to collect his thoughts. "I know I'm not as smart as the other kids." Naruto looked to the floor, his voice still quiet and flat. "And, and I know you don't have the time to teach me." His voice had grown louder with determination, he had quickly said the last part while lifting his head to look the old Kage in the eyes, and preventing him from the negating argument he had been prepared to give. "But I don't want to be… Please… find someone to teach me. Please?" His eyes had begun to water as he voiced this secret need. It briefly caused Sarutobi to wonder. 'Naruto has never shown any interest in schooling before. What has caused this sudden ambition?' He readily agreed and was already in the process of mentally sifting through candidates to be Naruto's tutor.
They held a small private party in the confines of Naruto's apartment with each enjoying each other's company as well as the bond between them. As the night grew long, the Third eventually led Naruto to bed and tucked him in for bedtime stories of the great heroes of the past. After a time, when he had become convinced that Naruto had fallen asleep, he stood to leave. Just when his hand touched the handle of the door, he heard a quiet voice behind him. "Old man?" "Yes Naruto?" Without waiting for the old man to turn around, Naruto continued. "You told me once, that the Hokage is not only the most powerful Ninja of the village, but someone who must protect his village and it's people at all costs. You also said that no matter what his personal feelings, or the feelings of his people… He must act for the greater good of Konoha…right?"
Sensing the grave importance of what Naruto was saying, the Hokage merely nodded, waiting for whatever words would come next. "Then, some day… I will be Hokage. Someday, I will protect this village with my life. Then they will have to recognize me. To do that… I will become smart, just like you, old man. Then, then they'll have to… " But whatever the final words would have been, only snores greeted the Hokage's ears. He remained standing in place for several moments longer before smiling softly and exiting the building. His fears had been banished, though it was merely replaced by bewilderment. 'How', he found himself thinking, as he would in the years to come, 'How could a boy treated as he has, come to hold his home and everyone in it with such high regard, that at eight years old he can speak with absolute conviction about protecting such a place with his life?' Just as he would at each repetition of his musings in the future, he merely shook his head now, took a puff of his ever-present pipe and laughed softly before moving on.
Soon after the night of Naruto's eighth birthday, things began to change for the better in some small ways. A tutor had been found, though tutor and student both were at odds and ends from the start, over the course of the next two years, both had become something more. They had become, in a word, friends. This was a wholly new experience for the young container, and he flourished under the tutelage of the man he had come to call Iruka-sensei. Naruto had proven to a bright and inquisitive student, when he was pushed to pay attention. More than that, he began to go out more. This was not always a good thing however, as a more outgoing and intelligent Naruto meant, more often than not, wilder and better thought out pranks. He became a devastating force in a different way than the village had ever considered.
This did eventually begin to fall to the wayside as Naruto was given the sponsorship of the Hokage himself to enter into the Shinobi Academy. Though this at first had been a repetition of Naruto's previous experiences in schooling, Iruka had gone on to earn his teaching license and had quickly replaced the cold and hostile instructor. Two years passed by the wayside as Naruto continued to grow. He had met and become acquainted with several of the boys in his class. Sometimes performing mischief with them, sometimes simply reveling in the wonders of just playing around.
Naruto eventually passed the Gennin exams, though in a fashion unexpected. In essence, he was able to pass by way of mercilessly beating on one of his former teachers. This caused no small amount of surprise in the assembled students the next morning and, less than an hour later when the teams were announced, placed Naruto in a position that had him set up for long term hurt and longer term good. Placed in a team with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke was something that would lead to a sequence of events that would eventually find their way into the history books of Konoha. Well, if Konoha had been able to remain the same, this would have been the case.
The Kyuubi smirked inwardly as his memories continued to play themselves out. His host was busily reviewing the summoning techniques required to call fourth the powers necessary for their plans. Their had been many hardships for the boy to face on his way to becoming the man the Kyuubi was now less than displeased to call his Kit. Years of constant training, telling losses, near death experiences, wonderful romances, and exhausting sessions with his Youkai contained had led up to their recently fought battle for supremacy. Yes, more than most things, the Kyuubi still longed for freedom, but he had come to accept his lot in life. More importantly, he had accepted his role in the coming battle.
In their final confrontation, Naruto and Kyuubi had come across the knowledge that all was not as it seemed. Instead of the all-powerful warriors that had fallen under the wrath of his host and himself, they had proven to be nothing more than figureheads. These figureheads were simply the mortal Champions of a force that had even the greatest of the Youkai shaken. It had no form, no name, and was something absent from knowledge simply for the fear it evoked. The fox knew of it only in the most limited sense, but this was more than enough to motivate him to act.
Once his host had recovered, he had set about informing Naruto in all that he knew. Once he had had time to absorb what he had been told, Naruto had simply nodded with a firm set to his features. He had said only one thing before the planning had begun. "Tell me what must be done." So, in the following days, Kyuubi had begun explaining things that no mortal had ever had the right to know, and under any circumstances less extreme, Naruto would be executed along with the Kyuubi for the knowledge he now possessed.
"The Covenant," Kyuubi had explained, "Is something far older than myself, older in fact, than any demon still in existence. Simply put, as it would take far to long to explain in detail, the Covenant is in place to compel all demons, from the greatest to the lowest, to work together to preserve the life of our home." The Kyuubi limited his explanation only to the information particular to his cause. Knowing that if he revealed too much, he would only give his container the chance to get sidetracked. Despite this limiting, it had still taken nearly three days to explain the necessary and, after a few hours of debate, begin to formulate a plan. Which brought his mind to the present.
"It is time Naruto." His host simply nodded and began to bring his hands together to form the seals. "I call to thee, great Youkai of the scorching sands, creator of wasteland, and implore thee to hear me. I speak of matters direly important to you and your domain." Naruto spoke in a language he barely understood and, if not for the changes the Kyuubi's presence had wrought on his form, would never be able to even attempt speaking. The demon tongue was harsh and fluid all at once, and held such power that Naruto could hardly imagine anything resembling a casual conversation in it.
Not so far away, in the body of one of the fallen, a great surge of power made itself known. The rotting corpse that had been its prison exploded in all directions as, by power of the covenant, the One Tailed Demon Shukaku was, in essence, reborn. Heeding the call, his essence boiled into the air, expanding before Naruto's very eyes until it was a mass equal to the Kyuubi's own. However, unlike the Kyuubi, who remained a mass manifestation of chakra, Shukaku seemed to gathered the bits of debris and sand from the area around itself until, towering above what remained of the once landmark sized trees, the one tailed demon stood in all his sinister glory.
"KYUUUUUUUUUUBI!" Shukaku bellowed out the fox's name before proceeding forth in a stride that shook the earth on which he tread. "What cause do you have to call upon the covenant," Shukaku questioned and, by the look upon the Youkai's face, it was obvious he wanted nothing more than to continue roaring out questions. Said look was a perfect mirror of the demons plans, in fact, given the chance, he would rally off demands for answers, recriminations, and a slew of insults so unholy as to make even other demons blanch. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to voice any of it. Bound as he was to the covenant - the moment the next summoning began, he was forced into silence.
The signs Naruto had made previously were repeated with only the final sign changing. He focused another burst of chakra into the air and called for the second demon. "I call to thee, great Youkai of the prevailing winds, creator of storms, and implore thee to hear me. I speak of matters direly important to you and your domain." There was a long silence after his call, but as instructed, Naruto waited in silence; hands still clinched in a painful contortion of demonic focus.
Finally, after nearly half an hour of waiting, a time when Naruto's hands began to feel as they would never leave their position of calling, a powerful blast of wind swept across the clearing - heralding the arrival of the Two Tailed Demon Lynao. In her majesty, Naruto was held in awe. This demon dragon of the skies came into the clearing not with garish words, but with a solemn dignity. Four great wings folded themselves along her lithe form, and her tail curled about her legs as she settled onto the ground. With a curt nod towards Shukaku, and a graceful bow of her long serpentine upper torso to Kyuubi and container alike, she spoke. "I have come as the covenant demands, and I will listen to whatever my honorable brother the fox, and my bastard son, the raccoon, have to say."
Kyuubi only smirked inwardly, as it was not yet his turn to speak, but he was amused at the impotent rage on Shukaku's face as the one tailed Youkai weathered the insult. Shukaku gnashed his teeth at his dragon 'mother', seething at his enforced silence. The covenant had very strict rules, and to break them was something the raccoon would not do even in his most irrational of states. Lynao smiled softly, basking in the hatred that pulsed off of her son, having known in advance what the barb would do. She was inwardly regretting her actions however, figuring that anything grave enough to require a human - container or not, to be given knowledge enough to invoke the covenant, was a serious matter. One, which, she was sure, would require the cooperation of all parties.
With a mental nudge from Kyuubi, Naruto inclined his head slightly and, after shutting the mouth he was unaware of dropping open, he ran through his signs a third time. His voice called out strong and clear again to begin the next summon. "I call to thee great Youkai of the impenetrable wood, creator of forests, and implore thee to hear me. I speak of matters direly important to you and your domain." As before, Naruto waited with his body rigid and his hands locked into the final sign of summoning. The wait this time was nearly as long as Lynao's, but Naruto was patient. After all, if his plan was accomplished, he would have more time on his hands than he would know what to do with, so what were a few hours, more or less?
These thoughts and more held sway over his mind, but every time they threatened to tread upon fearful grounds, they were viciously assaulted and forced aside by Kyuubi, who was more than certain enough for the both of them. Thankfully, he wasn't given enough time to continue down those paths more than once or twice before the earth began to shake mightily. Naruto mentally cocked an ear, trying to recognize the familiar pattern. The mystery was ended when a stag, whose size made even the assembled Youkai look a bit on the short side in comparison, leapt into view. Landing without skidding, the massive Three Tailed Demon Nezuma gazed regally over them all before snorting and stating simply, "I have come." The assembled nodded, and the process began again.
Several hours had gone by, and now all were arranged in a rough circle. Naruto finally took his place at the final opening and glanced around at each demon before he closed his eyes and spoke several words in the demon tongue. These words were mirrored by each of those in the circle and the effect was immediate. The sky darkened around them and the earth on which they stood lost all shape and color. They were soon in a sort of 'in-between' place. Naruto was dumbfounded as he looked around, his mind trying to take it all in. There was no light, but it was not dark. There were no boundaries, but Naruto couldn't seem to look past any of the demons. 'All in all,' Naruto found himself thinking. 'To borrow a word from Shikamaru, this place is troublesome.' He smirked slightly, allowing himself a moment of amusement before the Kyuubi brought him back to the present.
"Right, I'm sure you're all wondering why the covenant has been invoked." In this place, Naruto discovered that both Kyuubi's and his own voice came out as one, making for an interesting sound, though again, he wasn't given the chance to ponder this with his 'companion' pressing him. General murmurs of assent met his ears after upon his statement. "So let me quickly explain why, and once I've made it clear that I did not speak lightly when I said they were dire matters." Naruto had to pause for a moment, trying to come up with words to explain what the fox had shown him. After a time, he just shrugged and continued.
"In the demonic language, or any language for that matter, there are no words to explain the creature I have brought you here to discuss. There aren't even any solid concepts to attach to the creature. This would allow it to be forgotten, and hopefully, once forgotten, it would disappear forever. Sadly, this was not the case. Now, the nameless has returned, and its intentions are clear. Religions the world over speaks of the end in hushed tones and holy words. Armageddon, Ragnarok, Judgment Day, and many others are the cute titles that run along those lines. That, my demonic friends, is its intentions. For whatever reasons, life is its enemy, and therefore, if the nameless has its way, life shall die." Naruto finished his little story and gave them all a moment to digest the rather large hunk of 'scary shit' he'd just handed them. After he'd finished, there was a moment of silence amongst the demons before all hell broke loose.
Eight voices used different words to describe the same four stages, shock, denial, rebellion, and finally acceptance. Naruto weathered it all and let them come to an uneasy quiet. He stood as unmoving as stone until finally, coming from the level headed Seven Tailed Tigress, Naruto got the question he wanted. "So, what is your plan Fox-boy?" To this, Naruto only smiled sadly and shook his head. "You won't like it, but… In a nutshell, I want you all to throw away your freedom. I want you all to be contained in humans of certain potential and, over time, let your souls combine completely with them. I want you, each and every one of you, to assist me in tipping the woefully uneven scales of power."
Naruto again went silent, knowing that even with the rules of the covenant, the things he had asked of them would enrage them to the point that they would be unwilling to listen. True enough, the moment he had fallen silent, hell was visited upon him for the second time in as many quarter-marks. They assaulted his ears with accusations, insults and vulgarities. They argued that a human could never know what he was asking them to do, and roared at the fox for going along with such a plan. It was also stated that his time inside the human must have 'screwed his head up horribly'. When the last point had been made, Shukaku unrepentantly rallied with the fox for a moment, stating that he too had been inside a container, but this only got the raccoon served up as an example.
Finally, Naruto and Kyuubi both roared for silence. Because they had been the ones to invoke the covenant, they were instantly obeyed. Naruto remained quiet for a moment before nodding to himself. "Believe me, I understand what I am asking you." Kyuubi's voice now rang out clearly above Naruto's in a tone of solemnity. "I have suffered for many years, as has Shukaku, but my time was not without some reward. Through my container's experiences, I have learned of many things that a Youkai could never experience, felt things you could not imagine and…" Here the fox demon paused, unsure as to weather or not he should share the last bit. "I have even come to care for my container as I would a cub. However, these things are, I'm sure, irrelevant to you all and more than likely scoffed at. I must also say that I have become far more powerful! But…" He sighed softly, causing his manifestation to flicker momentarily. "But, I am not enough. To defeat the nameless, an army is needed. For that, I need all of you."
When the Kyuubi finished speaking, all were silent in contemplation. Looking around, Naruto took time to study each of the gathered Youkai. They were all looking grave, but that was expected. What Naruto had been hoping for was thankfully there however, and he was relieved. Each of them was considering it, and for now, that was all he or the fox could hope for.
Time passed, how much was uncertain as this 'in-between' place provided for no way to gauge its passing, and eventually led to the tentative assent to hear Kyuubi and Naruto out. "We will hear you, and we agree give full consideration to your plan, but beyond that…" The rest was left unsaid, and of course it didn't need to be said. They were only given one chance. If Naruto and the fox failed to convince them, then they would have to come up with another method to defeat the nameless. 'Well then, here's the plan. First, we must contact three of the universal guardians. Time, Recall, and Flux."
According to what Kyuubi had told him, Death and Flux were not only necessary to their plans but, as luck would have it, were also the least impartial of all the universal guardians, though Time would be tricky to convince. "We must convince Time to return me, and all of you, to a period two years before my birth. To do that, we have to convince Flux to alleviate the paradox such a thing would cause. That part at least should be easy, because Flux loves to mess with Time's 'perfectly' laid out sequence of events. We need Recall to lock my memories away inside my newborn body. I want to be able to recall them only before certain events, and occasionally as dreams to set myself up and to help me set others up. Recall should also be easy to convince because each memory is precious to her, and this will not only create more, but it will preserve a world of beautiful places to remember. Time…" Naruto shrugged for a moment, at a loss for words at this point. "I'm going to need help on convincing Time."
"Now," Naruto continued. "The second part of the plan goes as follows." His plan was discussed at length with the other Youkai, and eventually, all had given their reluctant agreement. So it was that Naruto formed the seals to dissipate the 'in-between' and once more found himself on the scarred plain, surrounded by several resigned demons. His plan was set into motion and things soon were moving faster than Naruto could have imagined. Recall and Flux had indeed been easy to convince, and with their help, Time had fallen quickly enough. The tailed Youkai had all chosen their containers, excluding Shukaku and Kyuubi who were simply remerging with their containers.
Nearly a week passed between the time the Covenant had been called and the time that the final preparations had been completed, and so now the Youkai and Naruto were all gathered once more in a circle. There were no words passed between any of them as they each bowed to the inevitable and gave their power over to the boy who had somehow done the impossible and united the Youkai under human rule - at least, that's how they chose to look at it. And with a final sequence of hand seals, the world as they had all come to know it, ended.
(AN: Ahh, the first chapter in what I hope to eventually make an epic of sorts... Pairings will be announced at some point in the future... but just so y'know.. I happen to lean towards NaruIno; just a warning.)