AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.

Proofread by: Author and Kyluxia

This chapter got away from me a bit and didn't entirely go in the direction I intended, but let's see where this path leads us.

Chapter 11: Misfortunate Guardian

At the end of the walkway, there turned out to be nothing but more darkness, as well as a giant arch of stone, filled in with a flat surface; into which, was carved a list of ever-shifting words, that neither of the twins could make any sense of.

It was amusing, really. It looked like it was supposed to be some kind of defense against intruders, a puzzle of some sort that would provide one with a password or simply allow someone to pass through the arch and continue further. Checking the construct, Sakura and Heikō had found that it was nothing but a red herring. There was no door, portal, or even a hint of connection to the rest of their mind anywhere near the arch. Only by completing the sealing array, could one find something of use, and the mechanics behind the ever-shifting text carved into the stone. Which revealed that there wasn't anything to even solve, as all of the words were just that, random words listed on a decorative stone tablet.

Although, despite how amusing it was, it was also slightly disappointing to realize that the defenses leading to their true mindscape were so simple and few in number.

"Maybe we should add our own measures." Sakura considered out loud, as they were walking down the walkway again, back towards the pillar, having already decided to add another staircase to it, leading down to the sea of chakra below them.

"What did you have in mind?" Heikō asked, intrigued by what Sakura could have come up with, besides the measures they'd already thought of.

"I was thinking we might liven this place up by making a guardian of some sort. Something to occupy or fight intruders. Static traps can only do so much after all." Sakura pointed out.

"I see your point, but how do you even intend to make something like that. If you intend to make something capable of thought, it will likely end up being something more bothersome than worth it. After all, any thoughts it will have will be something requiring our brain. There's already two of us here." Heikō pointed out, giving Sakura a pointed look, remembering how Sakura's attempt at a shadow clone had gone, and how the technique was limited within their own mind.

"Right, and I get that, but I think I might have an idea around that…" Sakura informed Heikō, shocking her, as she couldn't actually think of any way to go around what she imagined was a limitation of their physical body.

"What do you mean?" Heikō asked, tempted to follow Sakura's train of thought, but waited patiently for her to explain instead, in order not to interrupt the still forming idea.

"I was thinking… remember when you showed me our stream of thought? With the many filters that make us who we are, regulating our thoughts and behavior? Well, each of us contributes thoughts to the stream, and the filters remove unnecessary thoughts. Well, what if instead of outright removing them, we changed it so that those thoughts were redirected elsewhere, a third semi-consciousness here in our mind? Sharing some of our filters, while the rest is made up of recycled waste thoughts?" Sakura suggested.

Heikō thought the idea over but wasn't sure if it would work, or was even possible. Doing something like that, in theory, sounded plausible, but it would create a being that didn't have any thoughts of its own. It wouldn't be a true consciousness, not that that was what they wanted, but it would still be a type of pseudo consciousness, one Heikō wasn't sure how it would look.

"I'm… hesitant to try this. I don't think it could hurt to at least try it, it shouldn't be a problem, and if it does become one, we can always remove it." Heikō intoned, before eventually nodding at Sakura. "If you want to give it a try, sure. We need to be careful, but we should be able to do it." Heikō agreed to Sakura's idea.

"Right, although I was thinking we don't need to do it all on our own. Our chakra should be able to help us." Sakura pointed out, which Heikō supposed was a possibility, considering how well it had done in crafting defenses for them. Although she was certain the will present within their chakra was part of their own, as well as that of the Natural energy within their Senjutsu chakra.

"Alright, let's plan this out in detail before we try then." Heikō decided, and Sakura nodded in agreement before they moved themselves to the guest room within the pillar, summoning paper, and writing utensils to write down their idea. They didn't want to mess things up after all.

Neither Sakura, nor Heikō, were certain as to how much time had passed, but by the time they were finished with their planning, they had already learned a lot of new things concerning themselves, their chakra, and their mindscape.

For one, an attempt to include their chakra, and its pseudo awareness, into their plan had turned out to be a resounding success. At first, their chakra hadn't really reacted much at all as they tried to poke and prod it into helping them, but once they had reached a certain point in their planning, their chakra had eventually joined in on its own. Changes and corrections had been made under the guidance of their chakra, and certain things had been added to the plan overall.

It was an odd experience, working alongside their chakra, rather than control it outright. It was almost like completely letting go of controlling it, and simply trusting the chakra to do what they wanted it to do. The less they tried to control their chakra, the easier it became to work with it, and the faster it began responding to their intentions. Although letting go of their chakra completely wasn't something they even thought possible, it constantly felt as if they were getting closer and closer to that point. A scary thought, one they tried to ignore while taking full advantage of the way their chakra interacted with them in their mindscape as they worked.

Slightly nervous, with their chakra remaining alert, or present as far as they could tell, they began the first step of their plan. Appearing in the middle of their stream of thought, they carefully began creating new filters. Lowering them into the stream carefully, while binding them together, guided by their chakra in finding the right places. Slowly, but surely, the new branch of filters began redirecting part of the flow into a separate stream, the mindscape adjusting as they felt a pressure slowly begin to build in their heads. Not entirely unexpected.

Working quickly from that point on, they went down the stream, adding pipes and valves that all seemed to connect to a separate network, relieving them of the pressure in their heads, little by little until their mindscape seemed to catch on. It changed without their prompting, making the pressure disappear completely, as the thoughts filtered out of their stream of thoughts, ended up redirected into their mental defenses. Something that resulted in half-formed ideas, screams, shouts, words, and visions echoing through the place until they began crafting a body for their new creation.

They had barely given their guardian a humanoid shape before the echoing thoughts seemed to suddenly disappear, as their chakra and mindscape finally found a place to put them all, and their guardian took shape on its own.

It was slightly unnerving and surprising to see another one of themselves appear. Taller than them, dressed in standard Jōnin gear, and with their third eye, bulging outward slightly, suggesting there was an actual eye behind the closed eyelids, unlike their own lack of a third eye. What really stuck out, however, wasn't that the protector of their mind was supposedly an adult, but that unlike them, her hair was cut short, barely reaching below the chin, while the forehead protector was tied up like a hairband as they used to wear it. At first, neither of them really thought about it, until they recalled their own forehead protectors, engraved with their names, instead of the symbol of Konoha. Curious, they took a look at what their protector's forehead protector would say, only to be slightly unnerved to find it to be a standard Konohagakure forehead protector, with a single line running through it, the sign of a missing-nin. A worrying sign.

"Um, well, that's unexpected. You don't think she'll be hostile to us?" Sakura asked. Heikō shook her head and was about to respond, only to be beaten to the punch by their new creation instead.

"She can speak for herself, thank you very much." Their adult look-alike said, opening her eyes to glare at Sakura, who couldn't help but flinch at the sight of black eyes with red irises and white pupils glaring at her, all three of them.

"Calm down. We're not your enemy." Heikō tried to forestall any arguments.

"Yeah, right. You've made me, to guard this shithole alone for eternity. Thanks, appreciate it." Their look-alike replied sarcastically as she sat up, crossing her arms, turning her glare on Heikō instead. "Not to mention that the only time I will be sentient enough to talk, is whenever you're both here, or you're both out of it, leaving me a near thoughtless animal at all other times." She grumbled, before standing up, looking around with little interest.

"Sorry, we… we didn't mean to make it so burdensome for you." Sakura offered, a little perplexed as to how her idea had turned out so… complete. She hadn't expected to create what was, as far as she could tell, almost a third consciousness within their mind.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm Fukō. Now, with introductions done, will you both kindly fuck off?" She asked them, making them both frown at their rude creation. Her choice in name was also worrying, making them wonder about their own state of mind if Fukō had decided to name herself after misfortune.

Heikō was about to suggest undoing Fukō and trying again, only to suddenly find herself knocked against the wall, held by her collar while Fukō grinned at her maliciously.

"You little fuck! You're so stupid! You create me to keep your mind safe, and because I didn't turn out as you intended, you want to kill me? Well guess what you little bitches, I'm here to stay, because unlike you little shits, I was made to protect your minds, and that's what you made me out of, isn't it? I have your own permission to protect myself. And if you're going to try and hurt me, well I guess that's the same as saying all the bets are off, and I have permission to hurt you, doesn't it?" Fukō told them, grinning at them, looking between the horrified faces of both Sakura and Heikō, which she simply found amusing, evident by her laughter as she let go of Heikō.

Neither Sakura nor Heikō could say anything, stunned by what Fukō had threatened them with. She had already made it clear that just thinking about getting rid of her would be met with force, and if she really had the power to hurt them; she likely would be able to react just as fast as they did, considering she was made from parts of them. Perhaps, using the thoughts and emotions that would otherwise have been discarded hadn't been such a good idea after all?

"Of course not, you dense little shits. You think yourself so special, and then you go and play gods in your own head. Of course, there are going to be consequences! Although I have to admit, you did manage with what you set out to do. I am going to protect our mind, just don't expect me to be nice about it. You guys let someone inside here, I'm taking over, or pulling you both in here to deal with it. You better be thankful and give me at least something to do while I'm alone." Fukō demanded while the Haruno twins exchanged worried looks.

AN: Introducing Fukō, who I honestly never considered in this capacity before. And no, she's not going to be a third consciousness or anything. She is, by all means, artificial and lesser than both Sakura and Heikō. Without them present in the mindscape, or any intruders making it necessary, Fukō is going to be largely inactive. Still, she will be there, slumbering and alive in their mindscape for the future.