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 sadly cuts away from the conversation between Sakura and Kushina. On the other hand, we'll get to know a bit more about Fukō in this chapter.

Chapter 38: Deeper than Subconscious

Heikō awoke disoriented, tired, and confused. She could feel that some things weren't as they should be, and despite knowing that being unable to clearly feel Sakura or the areas of their mindscape she often relied on, panic seemed beyond her. She felt muted as if her head had been stuffed with cotton. She suspected that it might be how feeling drugged with mind-numbing agents might feel like, but other areas of her mind seemed intact. It reminded her slightly of the times she had been lucid dreaming, dealing with Sakura's and her own nightmares, but when she tried to wake up, she found the required mental connection evade her like everything else through the mental fog clouding her head.

It was confusing, knowing that she should be concerned, annoyed, and then angry, only to find her emotions equally muted, slow, and sluggish. It was worse than when dreaming, the only thing that seemed to reach normal levels being the confusion Heikō felt. Continuing to try and wake herself up, find something to latch on to, and bring back the control she had lost over the mindscape, Heikō ignored her surroundings for the first few moments, until it occurred to her that she didn't recognize them.

That one realization immediately put her on guard and forced her to look around warily, as it should have been impossible. Heikō had explored the mindscape as thoroughly as she could. Sure, she had kept from exploring certain areas due to how dangerous they were, but she had at the very least marked them and had a peek inside. She had a mental map of their mindscape and even managed to attach it to their concept of the mindscape, allowing it to show her changes in their mindscape that might otherwise pass her by. Referring to this mind-map, showed her to be in some kind of sub-level of their mind, lower down than she had thought possible for even dreams or subconscious thoughts. Not to mention that it was a new addition that had never shown up on her senses previously. The only reason it did now, was because that was where she was right now.

Looking around in an attempt to figure her location out based on visual cues only confirmed that she was nowhere she recognized. Except for the defensive reception tower that their chakra had constructed for them, Heikō had been the one to design their mindscape. Not all areas in their mind had been created from scratch, as many of them already had some semblance of perceptible substance to them before she strung them all together and decorated them, stabilizing them into something unchanging, yet fluid. Her current location was not like that. While the floor surrounding her was tiled in a consistent square pattern, the colors seemed muted and ever-changing, no tiles repeated in colors, and as her vision shifted, so did the colors of the tiles. The walls of the room, while present, didn't actually have any color. Yet, despite it, see-through as they were, there was no way to perceive beyond them. The sight of something similar in the real world likely would have called forth a migraine from just a glance, but to Heikō it was at most just an annoyance she would have to correct later. The room also seemed to have two doors, both of them sliding doors placed three feet apart along the same wall with far more substance to them than anything else in the room. The most annoying, and confusing feature, however, was the persistent non-light that permeated the room. It wasn't a darkness, as Heikō could still see, but there was still a distinct absence of light, giving her vision a lack of depth, as well as a consistent noise that seemed to filter her vision, making her ears ring from the visual stimulus alone.

Naturally, Heikō's first instinct would be to redecorate, change the problematic interior of the room into something less annoying to look at. However, before she could, she felt someone grab her by the shoulder from behind, as Fukō's voice whispered in her ear, echoing faintly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Whipping around, Heikō took a step back, away from whoever had touched her, only to find the room as barren as it had been previously. Fukō's voice echoed around the room as a series of chuckles.

"Fukō?" Heikō asked, hesitantly, looking around in an attempt to spot the mental construct that had become far more real than either of the Haruno twins had imagined when creating her.

"Yes?" Fukō's voice answered in an amused tone, her presence growing stronger within the room, yet nowhere that Heikō could pinpoint her. It made Heikō feel as if Fukō was focusing her attention on her, playing mind games, and being creepy with intention. It struck Heikō as something wrong.

"What's going on, where are you, in fact, where are we?" Heikō demanded to know, considering opening the sliding doors to find out herself in the only way she could think of. While Fukō was made by them, the Haruno twins didn't know everything about Fukō. A big part of Fukō had been changed by their chakra, resulting in Fukō being more than they had intended. Fukō's personality for one was unexpected and concerning, as she clearly disliked them to some degree, and would cause them grief or harm if she could. At least, that was the impression the twins had gotten from Fukō so far, although she was one of their best mental defenses.

"You know, that's actually not something I can answer. My knowledge comes from you and your sister. Or rather, I know everything you've decided you don't want to know or do. That's how you made me, right? I'm an amalgamation of everything forgotten, every decision and action you never made, all controlled by the frame of ethics you created for me. Still, that doesn't mean I know things, merely because you don't." Fukō informed Heikō, who frowned.

"So even you don't know?" Heikō asked, even more confused, but not as concerned about Fukō being the one messing with her.

"Well… I wouldn't say that. I am familiar with this place, I just don't know the truth about it, only what I've managed to figure out on my own. Which, let me tell you, is hard when you don't actually have any form of long-term memory in that mindscape of yours." Fukō explained, snarling slightly at the last part, making Heikō wince as she realized that Fukō was somehow holding a grudge over that.

"That… we didn't really consider you being… well, this. It wasn't our intention to create you as you are. You weren't really supposed to have a true consciousness, feelings, or a need to remember anything yourself." Heikō tried to justify their actions.

"Yes, yes. I'm aware of how short-sighted you two are. I can access your memories after all, and I know you can't really do much to alter me now that I'm already… active. Still, it is your fault, and I'm not particularly enjoying myself with the current state of things." Fukō explained, her voice dripping with disdain, making Heikō feel guilty and annoyed.

"So why hold a grudge then? We can't change things. Wouldn't things be easier if we could just work together? How can you even hold a grudge without long-term memories?" Heikō demanded to know, only to shiver as she felt as if someone was enveloping her from behind, restricting her movements as Fukō chuckled.

"Ah, that's the million Ryō question, isn't it? It's all because of this place." Fukō revealed, sounding cheerful until the pressure in the room seemed to increase, and Heikō's vision became even grainier than it already was, as the sensation of being enveloped began restricting and painful around her.

"This. Is a place, deeper within your mind than even your subconscious. It exists on a level that you can't even access normally, and almost nothing ever seems to happen here, with the exception of you two using certain techniques. Unlocking your tenketsu for one always triggers a reaction down here. Your shadow clones also pass through here, or at least, their memories do whenever they dispel. Although, never on a conscious level. Heck, I'm rarely even conscious here unless you fucks mess something up. It takes ages to fall asleep you know! All my spare time is spent in this place because outside of the restrictions you've imposed on me mentally, this is where I truly exist!" Fukō revealed with a laugh, her "grip" on Heikō loosening for a bit, before firming up, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"This is the place I can be myself without your stupid rules. Here, they don't apply anymore." Fukō informed Heikō, her voice taking on a dark tone.

Before Heikō could respond, she felt something constricting around her throat, preventing her from speaking, and making her feel as if she was choking. Considering that they were somewhere in the mindscape, Heikō tried to fight back, treating it as a mental attack, but found her attempts useless, while Fukō chuckled at her struggles.

"That won't work. As I said, this is a level different from anything else in the mindscape. We're deeper than any subconscious thought can reach. Here, only memories, impressions, and things that go beyond the mind and body exist. Welcome to the spiritual level of your existence where I'm free to do whatever!" Fukō shouted in delight, while Heikō felt anguish beyond anything she ever had before.

She was choking, unable to breathe, yet her consciousness was as clear as day, experiencing the pain without her losing consciousness. Her bones creaked as she felt them deform, crack and begin to grow as crystals, puncturing and tearing muscles and organs apart from the inside while her skin felt as if it was on fire, bubbling as it boiled. Heikō couldn't scream or resist. She had no idea what was going on. All she could do was confirm that she truly feared Fukō.

Suddenly, as fast as it had all begun, the pain disappeared, and Heikō felt herself collapse to the floor, feeling perfectly fine. Alarmed, Heikō patted herself down, knowing it was fruitless to try and search for Fukō. Hoping to get away, she rushed for one of the doors, throwing it open, only to be met with a cobblestone road that seemed to stretch out infinitely. However, before she could step out and run for the hills, she felt herself be pulled back and thrown to the middle of the room, the door closing at the same time.

"Now, none of that. I was simply making a point. No matter how much I try to harm you here, I can't actually kill you. Even without your stupid rules restricting my actions. Although, I don't actually want to kill you either. I might dislike you and your stupid sister, but I have to acknowledge that I only exist because of you two. Besides, I do get to cut loose now and again, so as much as I complain, I'm not going to be stupid enough to torture you here, just because I can. Just making a point that you really, really shouldn't upset me. Something you've been doing for a while, and I can't allow you to keep doing. Come." Fukō ordered, as a previously undetectable trapdoor opened up in the floor, revealing a ladder going down further into the building. "I need you to see this," Fukō informed Heikō who was still rattled from the hostile experience Fukō had just exposed her to. "Hurry!" Fukō added impatiently, and Heikō reluctantly got up and looked down the ladder, only to see darkness. Frowning, she climbed down, feeling uneasy about what she was doing. Still, it was better than experiencing what Fukō had done to her again, and if she could still trust Fukō, then it was better to listen anyways. Heikō severely hoped that she could still trust Fukō, otherwise it might already be too late for her.

AN: Right, that was… a bit darker and more frightening than I first intended. The spiritual level of a consciousness. A bit odd to think of, huh? But it makes sense, doesn't it? Where, after all, would you think that everything non-physical or non-mental comes from? This is my answer to that question. A level of consciousness beyond the subconscious, even more, bizarre and mysterious. Next, what is it that Fukō intends to show Heikō down there?