I noticed that my author's notes are now getting ridiculously long. Sorry about that; I'll try to downsize it a bit. (P.S. I named the Kyuubi Yoko, because he's a she in this fanfic.)

The walk back to Tazuna's house was a short one made in complete silence. It wasn't that he was angry at Sakura...well, maybe a little, but he wasn't furious. It was just that the idea of leaving behind his new friends hurt him. For the longest time, he had been alone; and now he has two lights. Two people to anchor him to the land of the living. If he had to go back to that forced social solitude, he didn't know what he would do.

When they arrived at their destination, he continued up to the shared room, Hikari following closely behind. His emotions were a jumbled mess, and he needed to fix that pronto. Getting into something that resembled the lotus position, he prepared for the transition of reality to...whatever people would call the mindscape. However, he forgot that he still had Hikari's small wrist clutched in his grip.

-(in his mindscape)-

Once again, Naruto found himself in the dank sewer of his mind. Instincts guided him along the familiar path until he reached Yoko's cage. Ignoring his instincts to flee, he stepped through the bars easily, as it was meant to hold a demon, not a human.

"Welcome back to my lair, kit. Ah, and you brought along a friend, too. Or is she something more?" Yoko teased. Although she looked like a big, scary fox, she was really warm and fuzzy at heart.

Naruto spluttered. "Friend! She's just a friend." Unfortunately, he had answered a tad quicker than he'd intended, and this did not escape the notice of the nine tails.

"Oh, but of course, otouto. But only a spark is needed to ignite the fires of passion. Soon enough, you'll have your own litter of kits running around the house!"

At this, Naruto couldn't help but turn bright red. He looked like a fish out of water with his mouth gaping open and closed, his brain trying-and failing-to find ANY words to defend his case. Seeing his expression, Yoko howled with laughter.

"OH KAMI, CALM DOWN BOY. I'M ONLY YANKING YOUR TAIL!" Naruto scowled at this, ears tinged with embarrassment. After a minute or two, she finally calmed down enough to speak again. "No, really. Who is she, and what is she doing here? She doesn't seem to be making a conscious effort to stay in your mind, and any normal human being would be cowering before the greatness of Kyuubi-sama."

"But I didn't."

"If you took notes, kit, you would have noticed that I said 'any normal human being.'" Naruto huffed.

"Well, excuse me for not being normal." Yoko saw that she had accidentally hit a sore spot for him, and immediately went into her 'mother mode.'

"It's okay, kit. It's fine to not be normal. In fact, their perception of normal is abnormal and boring. Really, only a few people are normal. So cheer up, kit." Her efforts were rewarded by a strained, but genuine smile.

"Thanks, Yoko-chan. This is Hikari. We found her on the way to Wave, but she doesn't have any idea as to who she really is. Is there any way you could help with that?" Yoko looked at the pale headed girl who was currently wriggling around on one of her giant tails. As they watched, she started climbing up to one of Yokos ears, the fox wincing at the occasional tug of fur.

She giggled when she sat atop the fox's head, then suddenly straightened. With red eyes, she lowered herself to Yoko's ear once again, and whispered a phrase.

"Codename: Unchained."

The fox's eyes widened considerably. Assuming a stance of offence, Yoko's back arched, and she let out a rumbling growl that would've sent shivers down the backs of even the most seasoned veterans. The vixen thrashed in an attempt to dislodge the girl she now deemed as a threat. The girl with eyes as red as blood was no longer who Naruto had named 'Hikari,' that much was apparent. This girl with the dangerous glint of insanity scared the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, and she was now a trespasser in his mind. But instead of harming anyone, she simply leaped to the floor to take her place next to Naruto.

He tensed, expecting an attack, but none came.

"Yo~ko~. It's been too long. I know I'm not the best of friends to have, but that was mean," she pouted.

"You are no friend of mine. Granted, you are no foe of mine either, but you are definitely not any ally of mine."

"How cruel." She then turned to the jinchuuriki, and bowed. "Thank you for finding me." Ignoring her thanks, he got to what he thought of as the main point.

"What did you do with Hikari, and who are you?" She cocked her head to the side, confusion evident on her face.

"Hikari? Oh! I forgot that's what you named her. Call her my...counterpart, if you will. I'm currently not strong enough to gain full control over this body, as escaping took quite a lot out of me. And you can call me 'Yami.' The darkness hidden by the light that is Hikari. Fitting, isn't it." Yoko snorted.

"'Yami' certainly is a fitting name for someone such as yourself."

"Quiet, you overgrown mongrel! But since we're past introductions, I have to ask for a favor. What I need is the gift of speech, and the recent happenings of this time."

"Very well. But I cannot say that it won't hurt," she said, grinning maliciously. Kneeling down to Yami's height, she gently touched the tip of her snout to her forehead. Not a second later, Yami collapsed, convulsing on the floor of the sewers. A scream tore from her throat once, before she fell silent, and faded out of the mindscape. Thoroughly shaken, Naruto exited his mindscape without bothers to say goodbye to Kyuubi.

Okay people! By now, everyone probably already knows, but my plan is to update one chapter of this story every Wednesday, just so I have plenty of time to actually write if I get too laid back compared to the breakneck pace I'm pushing myself at.

word count: 1067