A/N: Wow! Reached the 100 review mark! Thank you so much for your support in this story! Other than that, I don't have much to say today. Just...enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!
This chapter is dedicated to Rise Against713 (for being the 100th reviewer) and to || Kairi || (you'll know why at the end of the chapter).
Warning: Contains a scene which might be a bit disturbing for people who can't handle blood or gore or something like that. I indicated where, so if you're squeamish, you can just skip that part, even though it's not THAT bad. This fic is rated T, after all, not M.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only use it to satisfy my plot-bunnies ^_^.
Again, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I rather enjoyed typing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it as well.
Towards the Light
Chapter 9
Inoichi looked at Naruto in silence for a few seconds before he nodded and stepped forward. He inclined his head to Tsunade and Ino, indicating that he was about to start the test.
"Right, let's get on with this," he told Naruto. "I will enter your mind from an observer's point of view. That means I cannot change anything at all. I will be able to observe your memories and such, if it is possible, but I cannot force you into anything you don't want. In order for me to enter your mind and perform the test properly, I will need you to trust me, even if it's only a little. Can you do that?" the elder Yamanaka asked the blonde on the bed.
Naruto hesitated for a few seconds. He could understand Inoichi's point of view, but for some reason he was apprehensive about trusting the man. A part of him (not the voice) was telling him not to do it; telling him that they would only hurt him again. A brief image of the nightmare from the previous night (which he now knew was in reality a memory) flashed across his mind, reminding him of all the emotions he experienced during the nightmare.
He swallowed nervously. "I..." He dropped his voice and turned his eyes away from Inoichi. "I don't know if I can," he whispered softly. He saw a brief glance pass between Tsunade and Inoichi before Inoichi addressed him again.
"I promise I will not hurt you. The test might cause you to relive some of your memories, but, as I said, I am unable to hurt you without your permission. I cannot perform the test if you don't trust me," Inoichi tried to convince him.
Naruto hesitated for another few seconds before he nodded slightly. "I will try," he said softly. That part of him still told him not to do it, but he could feel the voice that was always talking to him encouraging him to continue with it.
Inoichi smiled at him for a brief second in encouragement. "That'll have to do. I'm going to run the test now," he said and waited for Naruto to nod his acceptance. He quickly flashed his hands through some seals and muttered the name of the jutsu under his breath, executing the jutsu. Naruto only had time to barely register the way the blond girl caught her father's body before he felt himself being drawn into his mind. He felt the presence of somebody else trying to enter his mind and immediately reinforced his defences. It was a reflexive action: one he didn't realise he was the doing. The part of him that didn't want to trust anybody desperately fought against his efforts to lower his defences.
A few seconds passed until he felt the presence leave his mind again and return to the room. Inoichi was shaking his head, indicating his failure to enter Naruto's mind.
"It's not working. The moment I enter, he reinforces his defences," Inoichi told Tsunade. Naruto looked away from the others. He truly did want to let this test happen, but he could not force the fearful part of himself that controlled his defences to stand down. It was as if he was completely obedient to that part.
Tsunade pinched her nose bridge in frustration. "So what now?" she asked the Yamanaka tiredly. Inoichi started to speak with Tsunade, but Naruto didn't listen to a word he said. Instead, his attention was firmly fixed on the blond girl. He knew that she confirmed that he once knew her, but the voice in his mind kept asking him how he knew her. For some reason though, the part of him that was hesitant to trust anybody seemed to reach out to her; almost as if it wanted to ask her if it could trust her.
"Naruto, what do you think?" Tsunade's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He blinked in surprise and turned his attention back to her.
"Huh?" he asked foolishly and shook his head to dispel the last of his lingering thoughts. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. What do I think of what?" he asked her in confusion. She sighed at his inattentiveness and restated her question.
"We were thinking that perhaps she has a better chance than Inoichi, seeing as you knew her previously," Tsunade said and indicated to the blond girl staring at him. "Do you think you'll be able to trust her more than Inoichi?" she asked.
Naruto turned his attention on the girl again. She was looking at him with a neutral expression, waiting for his answer, but he could see the expectation hiding beneath her gaze. Again, that part of him was kind of drawn towards her.
He turned his gaze to Tsunade and nodded slightly. "I think so, yes," he whispered softly. He saw a look of relief cross over the girl's eyes at his confession. Tsunade shared a glance with Inoichi before she also nodded.
"Alright, let us try that. Naruto, would you mind if she performed the test?" she asked him and once again indicated towards the blond girl.
Naruto took a deep breath. "It's fine. Let her try," he told them, but a slight hint of hesitation was still in his voice. The girl smiled at him before she spoke for the first time.
"Well then Naruto, let me try," she said and gave him a reassuring smile. He hesitantly smiled back at her and watched her flash her hands through the seals, flawlessly executing the jutsu. He felt himself being drawn into his mind again, but this time a split second of hesitation from the distrusting part of his mind allowed another presence to slip into his mind, bypassing his defences.
|_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_~...~_|
Ino felt her mind separate from her body, entering her blond friend's mind. She experienced a split second of resistance, but a slight hesitation on Naruto's side allowed her to enter his mind. She opened her eyes and found herself in a dark, sewer-like room filled with water, badly lit by dull reddish lights and corridors that stretched into the deeper reaches of his mind.
She looked apprehensively around her. She was still new to the entire mind investigating thing, so she hadn't entered a lot of minds yet. However, she could definitely say that this was the strangest mind she had ever encountered before.
"Well then, let's get on with this," she muttered softly and tentatively took a step forward. The murky water reflected the dull reddish light, enveloping the entire area in an eerie glow. Her foot landed softly in the water, causing ripples on the surface. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed the strange pattern of the ripples. The ripples all originated from the same point, but diverged into different directions at different speeds.
She frowned slightly as she tried to remember what the ripples meant. Most people have some measure of water in their minds, signalling their emotions, and ripples on the water normally meant acceptance. However, that was only if the ripples were all spaced at equal distances and formed a perfect circle. Strangely enough, none of these ripples formed circles (they were more like ovals) and they all moved at different intervals from one another.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to remember what the ripples meant. 'In the mind, perfect circular ripples indicate acceptance. This acceptance could mean many things, thus would more investigation be necessary before a reliable conclusion can be reached. However, elliptical ripples diverging into different directions indicate rejection. Once again, this rejection could stem from many things. Some of these things could be rejection of the person itself, rejection of the person's memories, rejection of the walker etc." Ino's eyes shot open when the extract from the book appeared in her mind. She pondered the answer and tried to link it with the ripples in front of her.
Okay, so Naruto's mind was rejecting something. Now the question was: what? What was he rejecting so strongly that it was the most prominent emotion in his mind?
Ino shook her head and took another step forward. She would not get the answers if she remained standing in one place. The ripples remained the same, so she raised her eyes, focusing on the other surroundings. She noticed some cracks on the bottom of the walls, indicating betrayal. She frowned slightly. Betrayal? Who betrayed Naruto so badly that it affected the very foundations of his life?
She started moving into the distance, following the broader corridor. The corridors diverging from the main one were all dark; indicating that nobody had went down them for quite some time. Ino frowned again. To tell the truth, she had no idea why Naruto had corridors in his mind. Most people had single doors set into the walls, indicating a certain event in their lives. She hesitated for a split second before she took one of the unlit corridors, following it until she reached the end where it was blocked by a wall. She blinked in surprise at the sight. It looked like there had been a door once, but for some reason or another it was walled up. She frowned at the sight. She had never heard about a mind that had walled up doors. She gently touched it; it was cold to her touch, but that was all it was. It was just a plain stone wall.
She returned to the main corridor, following it into the deeper recesses of her blond friend's mind. Maybe she would get some answers further in. She followed the corridor for a while until a flicker in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned slightly towards it, her eyes widening slightly when she noticed a single light shining dully in one of the diverging corridors.
She frowned slightly at the sight. What made this corridor different from all the others? She hesitantly entered the corridor, following it until the end. It was still blocked by a wall, but there were several cracks in the wall and small pieces of it were missing. She cautiously touched the wall and gasped when images suddenly flooded through her head...
A blond teenager boy lies on the floor, lying in the middle of a puddle of his own blood. His eyes stare dully into the distance, but the glasslike sheen in them makes it clear that he is seeing nothing. The feeling of despair, anguish and agony hangs heavily in the air, feeling almost palpable. He continues to gaze at the cold stone floor in front of him.
The iron door leading into the room suddenly shoots open, allowing a wan ray of candlelight to enter the room, but the person on the floor does not look up. In fact, he appears completely oblivious to the fact that something has changed in his surroundings. The glassy look in his eyes remains fixed on the floor.
A large man steps into the cell and takes a handful of bloodstained blond hair in his fist, lifting it up to look the attached person in the eye, but said person still has no reaction. The glassy look in his eyes hasn't changed in the slightest bit. The large man scowls at the blonde before he heavily throws him onto the floor.
"Tch, useless crap. I can't see what Orochimaru-sama sees in this...thing," the man mutters under his breath. A woman standing outside the cell clears her throat at the man and picks the immobile blonde up from the floor by the scruff of his neck.
"We're not here to discuss Orochimaru-sama's objectives, Yoru. We're here to retrieve the subject and deliver him to Orochimaru-sama. That's all," she told the large man. Yoru spits on the floor before he takes the blonde from the woman and hoists him up on his shoulder.
"I just think he's a waste of time. But who am I to decide, huh?" he asks scornfully. The woman makes a non-committal grunt and leaves the room with Yoru. They walk through the scantily lit corridors for a while before they reach another room. They enter the room and respectfully bow towards the snakelike man standing in the room before Yoru throws his burden on a table standing in the middle of the room and binds the blonde onto the table, making sure he can't move.
"We have brought you the subject, Orochimaru-sama," the woman tells him respectfully. Orochimaru dismisses them with a wave before he walks towards the blonde lying immobile on the table. A predatory grin slips onto his face as he nears the blonde with a gleaming scalpel in his hand.
"Well then, Naruto-kun, let's see it you can withstand THIS," he says menacingly and lowers the scalpel with an insane look on his face. (WARNING: THE GORY PART STARTS HERE) The scalpel cuts deeply into the blonde's skin, finally receiving a reaction from him. Fresh blood wells up from the cut, building up until it slides down the blonde's stomach and lands on the steel table he is lying on; pooling up underneath him. The glassy look in his eyes has disappeared the moment the scalpel bit into his skin, replaced by a look of utter pain. He bites tightly on his teeth, trying to withstand the pain, but he refuses to make a sound. The scientist doesn't even spare him a single look before he makes another cut in the blonde's stomach. (GORY PART ENDS HERE) The blonde tightly clenches his teeth and eyelids, trying to withstand the pain. A single tear slides from the corner of his eye, but still he refuses to allow any sound to slip across his lips...
Ino gasped at the images and quickly pulled her hand away from the wall. She immediately knew that the images indicated a memory, but it had definitely been one of the worst memories she had ever seen. She took a few steps backwards and heavily sat down on the floor, trying to settle her stomach. She did not even notice the murky water flowing around her, seeing as her thoughts were fixed on the image she had just seen.
She remained sitting for a few minutes, trying to calm down and control her breathing. It was horrible to think that Naruto had to go through that ordeal, but there was nothing she could do about it. What happened in the past cannot be altered, after all. However, she now had enough evidence to warrant a guess as to why his memories were sealed off. If all of his memories from the time he was missing were this bad, it would only be understandable that his memories were suppressed. It was also shocking to see that it was Orochimaru who caused her friend to go through so much pain. Ino's fist clenched angrily at the thought. Hadn't the snake caused the blonde (and the entire village, for that matter) enough pain already?
Her breathing finally settled down and she stood up again, walking shakily back to the main corridor. She had known that her blond friend would have bad memories, but she had never expected it to be this bad. The memory had shaken her up badly and she had only seen it from an observer's point of view. The jutsu she had preformed had a security measure build in it to prevent damage to the user from the receiver. If her jutsu had not had that security measure, she would have been forced to experience the memory firsthand. She didn't think she would've been able to handle that.
She took a deep breath and continued down the corridor, her eyes fixed once more on her surroundings. She passed by a couple of dimly lit corridors, but she was too shaken by her experience with that one broken door to investigate those corridors. She continued walking in silence for a few minutes until another corridor caught the corner of her eye.
This corridor was different from the others in that it was brightly lit. The other corridors were all dimly lit with only one dull reddish light, but this one had many lights set into the walls. The lights were still dull, but the amount of lights present allowed the corridor to be brightly lit. She waited hesitantly in front of the corridor, pondering whether she should investigate it or not. She did not want another repeat of the previous corridor.
She stood at the entrance of the corridor for a few minutes before she steeled herself and went down it. She reached the end of the corridor and her eyebrows rose when she noticed the end of it. It was blocked by a heavy steel door: just that. There was no wall in front it, nor was there any sign that a wall had once been in front of it previously.
The door was bright silver, reflecting the reddish light onto the walls. It was a wide inviting door, begging people to enter it. Ino stared at in confusion for a minute. What made this corridor so different from the others? For that matter, why was there (as there was supposed to be) a door instead of a wall? She glared at the door in frustration. The more she was Naruto's mind, the less it made sense. She took a deep breath and hesitantly laid her hand against the door, trying to find out why this door was different. Images flooded into her head again and she steeled herself, readying herself for enduring the images...
A young girl of about sixteen years walks in a street, carrying some packets in her arms. Her short pink hair sways slightly in her neck with every step she takes. Several people greet her while she walks and she greets them back with a smile on her face. She walks down the street with a broad smile on her face while softly humming a well-known melody.
"Sakura!" A blond boy about the same age as the girl waves at her with a broad smile on his face. The girl turned around at his voice and her smile grew when she noticed him. She halts in front of a store and waits patiently for the blonde to reach her. He jogs towards her and her eyes soften slightly when he finally reaches her.
"Hello, Naruto. Long time no see. When did you return from your mission?" she asks the blond happily, the smile never leaving her face. It is quite clear to any observers that she is happy to see the blonde. The smile on Naruto's face widens even more at her question.
"Just now! The mission took longer than it was supposed to, but luckily there were no other complications. We just arrived about five minutes ago," he tells her cheerfully. Sakura starts to walk again and Naruto accompanies her, walking backwards so that he can keep his eyes on her face. "I wanted to see you as soon as possible, so I immediately tried to find you," he continues, his voice still cheerful.
Sakura's eyes soften at his words and she slips a small piece of pink hair behind her left ear. She listens contently to the retelling of his mission, laughing at certain parts and showing appropriate responses at other parts. She looks almost ethereal in her beauty, her happiness lighting up her entire face. She halts in her walk when he finishes his story and looks at him with warm eyes.
"I'm really glad you're back, Naruto," she tells with a sincere look in her eyes. It is obvious to any observer that she truly means it. "It's just not the same without you here. And I...I missed you," she confesses almost shyly. A faint trace of a blush appears on her cheeks. The small blush reflects itself on Naruto's cheeks and he rubs the back of his head embarrassedly before his eyes soften. He gently lays his hand on Sakura's cheek and lovingly caresses it. She leans slightly into his hand and smiles warmly at him...
Ino pulled her hand away from the wall and stared contemplatively at the wall. The Hokage had told her that Naruto remembered Sakura, so the memory wasn't exactly a surprise to her. Still, she felt as if she intruded upon a personal moment between Naruto and Sakura. It felt wrong to continue watching those memories and they weren't necessary for this test, so she turned around and returned to the main corridor. At least she knew he had some pleasant memories.
She followed the main corridor for a while until she reached the end, where it opened up into darkness. She took a deep breath and hesitantly entered the darkness, gasping when she noticed the large chamber she had entered. It was also dimly lit by a dull reddish light, but the chamber was so large that she couldn't see where the light originated from. In front of her, somewhat into the distance, were the broken remains of a large cage. The bars had been forced open and many pieces of the iron lied on the floor in the murky water, dully reflecting the reddish light. One of the doors hung on one broken hinge, looking like the merest touch would send it down to meet with the floor.
Ino stared at the cage in awe. She had known that Naruto had been the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but she had never thought much about it. It had just been another peculiarity about Naruto. Now, however, for the very first time, she started to wonder how Naruto's life must have been; being forced to share his mind with a demon.
She hesitantly took a step closer to the cage, never taking her eyes off it. The sound of her feet landing softly in the water echoed softly through the chamber, but she paid it no heed. Her entire attention was fixed on the broken cage in front of her.
She reached the cage and stared at it in awe. Even though it was broken, it was still able to send her into silent amazement. It was both majestic and horrible: majestic to think that it could've hold the strongest of demons at bay and horrible to think that it had done just so. For the first time, Ino started to realise what it had to mean to be a jinchuuriki. She reached out hesitantly with her hand towards the bars, wondering how it felt.
"Don't touch it," a voice suddenly said neutrally. She gasped in surprise and swung around, trying to see who had spoken. Her eyes widened when she recognized the blond figure leaning casually against a wall, staring at her with a neutral expression. She turned her body slightly towards him and took a small step backwards.
"N-Naruto?" she asked hesitantly, but her mind denied it at the same time. She knew that her jutsu prevented her from meeting with the receiver of the jutsu while she was in said receiver's mind. It had something to do with the fact that most people would be unable to handle it if they had to share a mind with someone else, even if it was only for a small while.
The figure ignored her words and calmly walked towards the cage. He gently laid a hand against one of the broken bars, staring at it with a pensive expression on his face. Ino started to fidget slightly when he remained silent. She was not used to being ignored.
"Even though the furball is no longer in here, it doesn't mean that it is safe to touch," he suddenly broke the silence, referring to the cage that Ino had tried to touch a few seconds ago. Ino blinked in surprise. He had completely ignored her question. "The remnants of his chakra are still surging through it," he continued and turned his gaze towards hers. "Demonic chakra is dangerous to normal people, you know," he pointed out to her. She blinked in surprise again and opened her mouth to demand an answer to her question, but his words suddenly registered in her mind.
"...his chakra? Whose?" she asked with a slight frown on her face. He continued to look calmly at her for a few seconds before he turned his gaze towards the broken bars again, staring contemplatively at it.
"His. The furball's," he replied calmly and turned his gaze on her again. "You'd know him better as the Kyuubi."
Ino's eyes widened again and she took another step backwards, unconsciously creating distance between her and the empty cage, as well as between her and the figure. She had known that the Kyuubi had been held prisoner inside the cage, but it was different to hear it being confirmed. It was...frightening. She pointed towards the figure and opened her mouth to say something, but to her horror she could not force out even one word.
He continued to look neutrally at her for a few seconds before his trademark grin slipped onto his face and he started to chuckle. She could read the amusement in his eyes; sending her even deeper into confusion.
"Calm down, Ino. You should see your face," he told her, still grinning. She looked at him in surprise and felt her mouth open slightly in surprise. She was completely confused by the events. People were not supposed to be in their minds during an investigation performed by a Yamanaka. They were not supposed to make jokes in their minds either! She stared at him for a few seconds before she broke the pregnant silence that was hanging between them.
"Okay, who are you and what are you doing in here?" she demanded from the-person-who-appeared-to-be-Naruto-but-could-not-possibly-be-him. He lifted an eyebrow at her words and walked towards her until he was only a few metres away from her.
"...you don't know who I am? I'm hurt. And here I thought we were friends," he told her with a cheeky grin on his face. He observed her face for a few seconds and sighed when he noticed that she was still staring suspiciously at him. A serious expression replaced the mirth on his face. "I am who you think I am. I am Naruto," he told her solemnly. She stared suspiciously at him, not really sure if she could trust his words or not.
"How can I be sure of that? You're not supposed to BE here," she told him with suspicion in her voice. Everything he said made sense, but she knew it was not possible.
A small grin appeared on his face. "Since when had I obeyed rules?" he asked her pertly. She blinked at his words. It was just like he said: he had never followed rules and traditions. It was one of the things that had earned him his nickname of Konoha's Number One Surprising Ninja. She took a deep breath and silently regarded him.
"That still doesn't explain what you're doing here," she pointed out. "Besides, how can this be possible? I thought you didn't remember me," she told him suspiciously. He was acting too much like Naruto to be someone else, but something was definitely suspicious.
A disgusted expression slipped onto his face. "Don't compare me with that idiot out there," he told her disgustedly. "The one out there is just an idiot who refuses to face reality," he spat out vehemently.
Ino blinked in surprise. What the hell was going on here? First, she met someone who claimed to be Naruto, even though she knew it was not supposed to be possible. Then, that person contradicted himself by saying he wasn't Naruto! Just WHAT in the world was going on? She had thought that this would be a routine procedure: perform the test, investigate the mind, end the jutsu, report to her father and the Hokage and wait for the results. This was anything BUT normal procedure. The only other person she had ever met before that had another presence in her mind was Sakura, but that was during an entirely different jutsu, so it was not that surprising. This jutsu, however, were supposed to ensure no other presences were present! It was supposed to be only her! She grabbed her head between her hands. She was definitely starting to get a headache.
"Mou(1)!" she exclaimed in frustration. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded in frustration, not really expecting an answer. A snort from the-figure-who-claimed-to-be-Naruto-but-claimed-he-wasn't-Naruto-at-the-same-time drew her attention towards him again. He stared at her with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression on his face.
"Is something wrong?" he asked her with a tone of amusement in his voice. She stared at him with a look of irritation on her face.
"How in the world am I supposed to figure out what's going on here? How can you both be Naruto and not Naruto at the same time?" she demanded from him. He smiled sadly at her and turned his gaze towards the bars again, the pensive look slipping back onto his face.
"You misunderstood me. I never said I'm not Naruto. I said the one out there is...you know what? I think I should start at the complete beginning. I'm only going to confuse you if I start in the middle of the story," he told her and turned his attention back towards her. "Do you want to hear it?"
She regarded him silently for a few seconds before she hesitantly inclined her head. If what he said was true, this was going to be one of the strangest stories she had ever heard. A melancholic smile slipped onto his face at her nod, as if he was lost in the past. A pregnant silence fell between them for a few minutes until he finally broke it.
"It all started when I received that mission from Tsunade-baasan..."
_~...end of chapter...~_
A/N: Uhm, would that be classified as a cliffhanger? I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, as usual, I'd like to hear your thoughts about the chapter. Was it too confusing? Were the flashbacks acceptable? Also, remember to tell me ANY questions you might have, so that I could be aware of it and insert it in the story. Also, I'm sorry if Naruto appears slightly OOC.
This chapter is dedicated to || Kairi || for giving me the perfect solution to the Ino/Inoichi problem! Thank you!
To chibi fox: No, this story will NOT evolve into a NaruIno fic. Ino is (and will be) only a friend in this fic. I'm sorry if I implied otherwise. I had a bit of a difficult time in writing that specific scene.
(1): An expression used when frustrated.
Please remember to review!