Author Notes: Ya, ya, I know you're all pissed at me for not updating, but I am so all over the place it isn't funny. I have concerts, practices, and AP homework every day of the week, so I write when I can and jot ideas to finish later.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$#######################%

Naruto was perfectly normal for his age. A fifteen-year-old boy slept-in whenever possible, lazed about when possible, and had friends who respected him. The only differences were of course the Kyuubi and the ever-present threat of Akatsuki.

It had been a long day, long week in fact, of missions which physically and mentally exhausted the blond. Even climbing the stairs of his humble apartment building were proving to be a difficult task. "Finally, my own bed," he sighed as he face-planted into the sheets. Naruto tore off his shoes and jacket before surrendering to sleep.

Within the darkest crevasse of his mind where only intentional thoughts could be heard, the Kyuubi paced and growled around his cage. His will to escape was no longer being born out of pure boredom and hatred, but of necessity. It was now that his vessel had matured to this level. "Fifteen years of boredom and agony, and now this?" he asked as he twitched in anxiety. "Damn you Minato! Damn you Kushina! Damn you NARUTO!" Kyuubi pounded his fists against the invisible barrier between bars with each roar. He tried kicking the cage door, but it finally retaliated, a tentacle of energy grabbing his foot and delivering a painful shock before picking him up and throwing him into the wall before the demon fell onto the conveniently placed bed. "Damn it all," the redhead winced as he grabbed his electrified leg. He cried reluctantly and cursed himself in shame.

The Kyuubi had had enough. He wanted to die before things got bad. The Fourth Hokage couldn't have known or even imagined the terrible suffering he was about to endure behind the bars of an unforgiving cage which would never let the fox see light beyond that of torches. "Some air, some spec of life would have tided me over," the demon spoke to himself as he was wracked with sobs. "Kami please don't do this to me. I'll do anything…"

Naruto normally slept like a rock, his dreams fading when he woke up in the morning, not a memory to be had. But tonight was new. He shivered and twitched, groaning in his sleep. In his vision, he could see flashes, only tiny bits, of a frightening dream. There was a dimly lit room, a bed…he was laying on it naked. Someone stood in the corner, eyes locked with his own. Suddenly, these two were embracing…kissing on the bed. The other person had long, crimson red hair. Everything else was fuzzier. Naruto couldn't tell if the stranger was a woman or not, but he was laying beneath as the two bodies seemed to move together. He gasped as he woke up with a cold sweat, panting hard and shivering. Naruto looked down to see and feel that he was hard. It was creepy beyond belief, so he went to the bathroom and took a quick shower to knock himself out of it.

Even when he went back to sleep, though, he continued having vague dreams about himself and this stranger. All through the night he tossed and turned, eventually ending in a sleepless night.

Author Notes: It's a prologue, so it's short.