History Repeats Itself, Almost

The Future No One Wanted

Thinking
"Talking"
Tailed Beast Thinking
"Tailed Beast Talking"
"Emphasis"
"Talking in a pack bond"
"Talking in a mating bond"
"Talking in an alliance bond"

Narrator POV

There were seven people gathered in some sort of underground room. There wasn't even a door nor any clear way to enter the room. Black cloaks hanging from their shoulders' obscured their figures. Hoods of the same fabric made it impossible to tell who they were.

The room itself has been divided by draping fabric. The little we can see of the room has markings all over the floor that form together into swirls and other connecting shapes. It is some form of complicated seal made up of other complicated seals. The walls also have complicated and large seals made up of other seals.

A distant rumble shakes the room slightly, but the people don't appear to be phased. The shaking lasts for a couple of minutes before slowly fading out. As if this was some kind of signal, they move past the draping fabric to an area that has bedrolls covering half the floor, and the other half of the floor is taken up by a low table made out of the earth around them.

The mysterious figures sit around the table before finally taking their hoods off. Three of them are easily identified as Chōza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka. There was what looked like another Shikaku Nara, but he had longer hair and there weren't any scars on his face. His name is Shikamaru Nara. There's two more figures with dark hair. One is identified as Hinata Hyuga by her pale eyes and the long raven hair that falls down her back in a loose braid. The other is none other than Orochimaru, known by his unique eyes. They were all looking at the seventh figure who had long blonde hair and cold blue eyes, and his name is Naruto Uzumaki. All of their eyes were dull and cold.

No one was saying anything, but they seemed to be waiting for something to be said. The silence was tense and full of anticipation. Another rumble shakes through the room. This one lasts for much longer. The tension heightens by another few notches.

"Look. We've been talking and planning this moment for years. The Fourth Great Shinobi War has left us with no other options. Our loved ones have fallen, and the entire world fell with them. I'm sure you are all aware of what is causing the rumbles and shaking, but we won't need to worry about that shortly. We all know the plan. Shikamaru, Hinata, and I will have a seal placed on us that seals the memories and most of our abilities. I know this is going to be a slightly lonely journey for you guys, but this is necessary. Is there anything we need to go over before we begin?" Naruto speaks calmly and seriously which is something the villagers would have said was impossible. If the villagers were alive that is.

"Why is it necessary for you three to be under the seal? I don't want to be alone again." Orochimaru spoke in a quiet voice that one would be able to hear from anywhere in the room. It was full of emotions, and one could assume that the bonds they held were also full of their emotions.

Naruto sighed sadly. "I don't like it anymore than you do. It won't help much, but you'll have Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chōza with you. The bonds will be empty, and I know how much that can affect a person. However, you now have a chance to save your mate from death as long as you make it look like it actually happened. Once you four have taken care of any loose ends, you can wake us up." His voice was also heavy with emotion.

Orochimaru shook their head. "That doesn't explain why you need to seal yourselves in the first place." There was true pain in their eyes already, but it seems to get deeper the longer they were on this topic.

"One of the unfortunate side effects of the seal is that it requires some form of a sacrifice. If we hadn't configured it to seal our memories away, all of us would have been aged down. We wouldn't merge with our past selves, and we don't know how much of ourselves would be changed. Two of the same thing cannot exist. Our entire plan needs us to keep our memories, original bodies, and original skills. I wish there was another way. We all wish there was another way. Maru, we spent years looking for another option while on the run. This is the only way." There is a very subtle shift in Naruto's expression, body language, and tone that makes his words come off as pleading although no one can quite figure out what he's pleading for.

Shikaku sighs. "This whole thing might be a drag, but there's a reason we're doing this. We have already formed a Pack Alliance to try and give you as much support as we can. I personally don't fully want my son to forget, but that would change too much. If it makes you feel better, we'll make sure Naruto can get adopted by Kakashi this time around, and we'll aim to have all the changes we need to make done by the Chūnin Exams." Despite the almost annoyed look on his face, his tone is gentle and comforting.

"Thanks for reminding me. I know I have a fair reason to be so sensitive, but it's still going to be a big change." Orochimaru gives them all a semi watery smile.

"We know. It's scary to us too. We're going to forget everything we've done together. I know the war interrupted us mating with the people we wanted to mate with, but I can't help but be grateful for that now. I was so mad, angry, and devastated when it first happened, but I'm grateful we now have the chance to save them and try again." Shikamaru's voice wasn't as weighed down with emotions as the other's had been, but he was clearly very emotional.

Hinata suddenly stood. "Let's get going then. We don't want Ms. Rabid Rabbit to find us before we can activate the seal."

At Hinata's words, they all stood and moved back to their original positions. They stared at each other for a few more minutes, likely going over some things in their heads, but that doesn't concern us. Suddenly, they started going through stings of hand signs at the same time. As soon as they finished, a warm light enveloped their bodies. The seals moved from the ground and walls, starting to swirl around them in a tornado of shapes seemingly made out of shadow.

A wall develops a crack as the shaking is too much for it. The room starts collapsing around them, but when a large rock should have crushed them it went straight through them instead. A steady tugging sensation begins in their chests, and there is just enough time left for Naruto to flash them all a hopeful smile before the light disappears with a massive cracking sound, taking them with it. The seals swirl for ten seconds more before fading out of existence with the sound of a massive gust of wind.

Instead of immediately following them, we instead see a strange figure burst through the wall. She looks around and seems disappointed. She ascends through the ceiling to the surface which looks like a wasteland. There are no signs of life other than this strange woman.

"They must have moved on, those stupid humans. I will catch them eventually, so I don't know why they run." She snarls this out fiercely and mockingly even though there is no one around to hear her.

She launches into the air, but she doesn't get very far. A blackness far more dark and terrible than anything before seen suddenly floods the entire world. It eats everything it touches until there is nothing left. The last we see of the strange woman is her face twisted in surprise and agony before she is also eaten by this mysterious black force.

The entire universe turns into black before we leave the now dead universe to follow the time travelers. They still exist in the warm light, but there are only three of them. The other four have already been born, but it isn't long before the three leave the warm light to exist in the world once again.

So begins the story where history appears to repeat itself, until the world learns they should have been looking deeper this entire time. It isn't a very long beginning, but it was a very long end. We should be glad we missed that part.