Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Chapter 14

Sasuke wasn't sure when he had passed out, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a damp and muggy sewer. Water lapped at his ankles and dripped from pipes along the ceiling, but he couldn't smell any of the telltale signs of sewage or garbage. Behind him, the passageway extended for what seemed like endlessly, culminating in absolute darkness. From ahead of him, he could feel a heated breeze blowing past. Where was he?

Initially, the sounds of his feet sloshing through the water seemed obnoxiously loud, but those sounds were slowly being drowned out by a low growl. As the deep growl grew in volume, Sasuke was able to pick up words being spoken between growls.

"...you need my chakra... "

"...destroy everything..."

"...kill..."

Sasuke frowned deeply. He was starting to have an idea of where he was and exactly what was speaking. It was all coming back to him. He'd utilized the last bit of his chakra to use his Mangekyo on Naruko. He knew that his sharingan could control the tailed beast within her, but he'd been acting mostly on instinct.

Was he inside her seal? Probably not. He doubted his sharingan afforded him that ability. If anything, he was currently walking around in her mindscape. Sasuke took in the damp and somewhat gloomy atmosphere. He wouldn't have expected this of the sunny blonde.

Eventually, the corridor let out into a large cavern with an enormous, metal gate at the back. The doors were held together by a strip of sealing paper, but a red, malevolent chakra was spreading through the bars, disturbing and heating the water on the floor. Sasuke watched the chakra roil before being sucked away into the only other person in the room. His eyes widened as he broke out into a sprint towards her kneeling form.

Completely ignoring the still growling kyuubi behind him, Sasuke kneeled before Naruko and tried to get her attention. Her normally vibrant eyes stared vacantly down at the ground as if she were in a trance. Sasuke gripped her shoulder and gave her a quick shake. "Naruko?"

"Another Uchiha..." the kyuubi growled threateningly. "...That vision... Those eyes are an unwelcome sight..."

Sasuke spared the kyuubi a quick glance and glare from over his shoulder before returning his attention on her. He tried shaking her a bit harder, his worry growing. "Usuratonkachi," he called out to her. Finally, he got a response from her. Her glazed over eyes slowly moved from the floor to meet his gaze, but the still unfocused gaze did nothing to relieve him. Feeling his anger growing, Sasuke turned hateful eyes on the kyuubi.

"It's not just the eyes that are familiar. I haven't felt chakra like this since Uchiha Madara," the kyuubi acknowledged, its large maw moving out of the shadows of its cage.

Sasuke couldn't care less about his defector of an ancestor or the kyuubi's stroll down memory lane. Turning back to Naruko, he frowned at her unengaged demeanor. "Oi, Usuratonkachi. I don't have all day with you. Snap out of it already," Sasuke said, failing to keep some worry from his voice. He could already feel what little chakra he had used for his Mangekyo draining away. Spur of the moment, Sasuke roughly smacked the back of her head.

"Ow!" Naruko shouted and clutched at her head. Suddenly, she sprung up and shouted, "What the hell, Bastard?"

More than comfortable arguing with her, Sasuke slipped seamlessly into his role, "Quit being stupid, Usuratonkachi." Sasuke had no intention of saying it out loud, but the immense relief that he felt was nearly enough to make him kiss her right then and there. But there were more pressing matters. Standing quickly, Sasuke offered her a hand up from her knees.