Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made off of this fan-fiction story. Any additional original characters located in this story are designated as such and belong to the author, Jae (Dae T. Angel).

A/N: You saw right. I updated twice in one day. I have no idea what's come over me. Also, it's been a minute but those story warnings of violence are in full effect.

—.&.&.—

XX.

Measure for Measure

The grimace that occupied Kurama's humanoid face deepened as it watched the apparition of Naruto's consciousness plummet into the waters of the ravine below. This was not good. That was twice in one day that it had to course correct Naruto's mind.

At this rate, Naruto's psyche risked collapsing in on itself trying to abruptly make connections that were being kept apart. Again, Kurama cursed the brat for having shown up in this blasted village. Without the risk of constant triggers, Kurama may have been able to squeeze another decade out of this setup before it would have had to come up with something better.

Make your move, Uchiha , it thought.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused Kurama's ears to twitch. It looked over its shoulder to find a familiar blond figure standing beside it.

"What are you doing here?" Kurama groused.

Minato spared it a glance before he peered over the cliff, down at the turbulent river of Naruto's mindscape.

"Those sigils around your neck aren't just for show, you know. They're an extension of the seal on your cage, and Kushina and I are bound to that seal. So, wherever you roam off to, we can follow," he said matter-of-factly as he stepped back from the edge of the cliff. "I'm here because I'm concerned about what's going on. Kushina's elsewhere, trying her hand at talking with the other one."

Kurama scowled at him.

"Why do you shadows insist upon yourselves?" it asserted. "You badger me with your annoyances and meddling, and now you are following my avatar around. Back the hell off."

Displaying a patient smile, Minato turned fully toward Kurama.

"Sorry, can't do that," he said pleasantly. "We're his parents and we're predisposed to be concerned about him, even in death. So, you'll just have to deal with it. Besides, I already told you, you're the one keeping us here."

Minato shifted his gaze to the shadowed wood that stood vigil several meters away. He tilted his head thoughtfully.

"On second thought," he continued, "you're only really keeping me around. Kushina's the last line of defense on the seal. My job was done after I helped Naruto make those adjustments. You just swept me up with the rest of his memories. However, if you try to pull something before Naruto decides what to do about the rest of your agreement, Kushina will string you up tighter than you already are—that includes the piece of you I'm talking to right now."

An amused grin slid onto Minato's face. He looked back at Kurama, the brightness of his expression perfectly represented in his clear blue eyes.

"Kushina insisted I tell you that last part, by the way," he added.

Kurama tsked in disdain and began walking toward the woods, having had its fill of both the view of Naruto's mental palisade and Minato.

"You two spent so much of your finite energy protecting the brat from me when you should have had the forethought to protect him from the ignorance of that village of yours," Kurama retorted. "Keep this in mind, I was never the source of your problems. It was the ill-will and power-hungry nature of your own kind that was. Be sure to remind the woman of that."

As it disappeared into the trees, Kurama did not bother to look over its shoulder for Minato's reaction.

—.&.—

"On principle, I have to say these onigiri aren't as great as my mother-in-law's, but they're still pretty good," Naruto said after swallowing a bite of the tarako rice ball Sasuke had prepared.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow while giving him a dubious look. "You ask me to make you something and then you disparage it. I don't think I expected you to be the asshole once I stopped being one."

Naruto stuffed the rest of the onigiri in his mouth before holding his hands up placatingly.

"I still said it was good!" he exclaimed. "Plus, you don't understand. I have to stay vigilant because I got a kid. Children are constantly listening to shit you say, and if I'm not careful, it might get back to Ayako that I said someone else's food was better than hers."

"Kanaye isn't here," Sasuke replied flatly.

"Like I said, I have to be vigilant even when the threat isn't around," Naruto countered.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke took a sip of his water. "Now you're the one who's full of shit, Uzumaki," he said around the rim of his cup.

The small twitch of a poorly concealed smile finally gave away the ruse of Naruto's teasing.

"You got me," Naruto chuckled as he leaned over and placed a conciliatory kiss on Sasuke's cheek. "I'm just being an ass. These are delicious, thank you."

The kiss caught Sasuke off guard, which made him hesitate. He recovered a moment later by clearing his throat and downing the rest of his drink. Discreetly, he tried to tamp down the blush that threatened to make its way to his cheeks. Being the focus of Naruto's random gestures of affection still required some getting used to.

If Naruto noticed his awkwardness, the blond did not let on. He simply licked the remnant of a rice grain from his thumb and reached for another onigiri.

It had been a little over an hour since they had finished bathing and returned to the living area, and true to his word, Sasuke had assembled a plate of snacks for them both to share. Naruto had been obnoxiously exuberant about the affair, remarking that Sasuke was spoiling him into wanting the man to make more meals for him. That earned the blond an annoyed glare, but Naruto had accepted it with a cheeky grin and a waggle of his eyebrows.

Now they sat next to one another at the low table, hips touching, and eating the rice balls Sasuke had made. Before Naruto's teasing, the time had passed with them chatting breezily about a slew of innocuous things, but Sasuke got the sense that they were only delaying the larger conversation that needed to be had about the retrieval of Naruto's memories.

Sasuke placed his cup back on the table.

"How are you feeling now about what happened earlier? Are you more comfortable with the idea of me reentering your mind with the Sharingan?" he asked, breaking their impasse.

Naruto paused in his chewing as he looked at Sasuke. A beat passed before he started chewing again and swallowed. His eyes slid back to the onigiri in his hand, though he did not move to take another bite.

"I suppose I don't feel as antsy about it as I did before. I'm still curious about what you and Kurama spoke about, but I don't feel like I'm going into things blind anymore," he said. "I trust you."

Sasuke shifted on his cushion so he faced Naruto properly. "Once we handle what needs to get done, I promise you, I'll tell you what the Kyuubi said."

Naruto gave a small laugh, "You can call it by its name, you know?" He used the half-eaten rice ball in his hand to gesture at Sasuke. "What's your aversion to referring to people by their names?"

The urge to retort that the Kyuubi was not a "person" hung on the tip of Sasuke's tongue, but he thought better of it.

"Don't detract from the point," he chided lightly. Then he placed a hand on Naruto's lower back. It seemed to relax the other man a bit, so Sasuke used this cue in body language to guide his next statement.

"How do you feel about us trying our strategy out now?"

Another moment of pregnant silence.

Naruto set the onigiri in his hand down and looked Sasuke over with a ponderous stare.

"I'm… on board with the idea," he said tentatively. "I've got a ton of jitters in my stomach about it, but I think I'm good."

Feeling compelled to ease the blond's discomfort, Sasuke ran his hand soothingly along Naruto's back, then leaned forward so his and Naruto's foreheads touched.

"It's okay to be a little anxious," Sasuke said softly. "A lot happened today, and a lot can still happen."

The muscles of Naruto's brow creased, but soon they relaxed as he drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

"All right," he said, resolute.

Taking that non sequitur as a confirmation to proceed, Sasuke leaned back.

"I want you to concentrate on one of those prominent memories you mentioned. Start with the one dealing with you and me. You said that was the most recent of them to come back to you."

Sasuke felt the familiar pooling of chakra behind his eyes as he activated his Sharingan. He visualized the point of entry he planned to navigate once he pulled Naruto into the genjutsu. Before anything else, he needed to extract more information from the Kyuubi about how it was withholding Naruto's memories.

When Naruto's eyes looked up to meet his, Sasuke engaged his hypnosis technique.

The transition into Naruto's mind was not as yielding as it was earlier, but with a gentle push, Sasuke slipped past the man's passive mental resistance.

Unlike before, he did not find himself in a clutch of trees. Instead, he was in an amorphous void with Naruto seated in front of him, fixed in the same position he had occupied before Sasuke entered his mind.

Naruto's stare was empty and sightless, a signifier that he was locked in hypnosis.

Sasuke gently lifted Naruto's chin to check if there was any discomfort reflected in his features. The hypnotic stasis the Sharingan trapped its targets in was not the kindest state to be in, but Sasuke hoped this limbo space was tolerable enough.

Between them, an undulating ball of light no larger than a fist quietly manifested. This was the memory Sasuke had instructed Naruto to concentrate on. He would need to come back to it later.

Getting to his feet, Sasuke looked around. Within the darkness, the passive weavings of Naruto's thoughts meandered about like strange fish in a river. Sasuke felt more than saw them, and they each gave off a vague impression of what they were. If he was inclined, he could have reached into the space between them to access Naruto's deeper thoughts and memories. However, that was not what he was looking for.

"Kyuubi," Sasuke started carefully. "Where are you? You and I need to discuss a few more things."

All the threads of Naruto's thoughts seemed to scurry aside as something looming piqued in the void.

Suddenly, a path of sandstone tiles appeared beneath Naruto's seated form. It tracked in a checkered line behind the blond, tapering into the darkness.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this dramatic display, but he stepped around Naruto and began his trek down the walkway.

The further he traveled, the more detailed the path became. It expanded into more tiles, sprawling out until a torch-lit corridor formed. Sasuke's footsteps echoed as if he were physically traversing a stone hallway. This went on for a few more paces before the corridor abruptly segued into a dank, grime-covered tunnel.

Sasuke stopped.

"Scared?" a deep voice rippled out from the depths of the tunnel.

Grimacing, Sasuke started forth again.

"This is a lot of fanfare just to talk to you, fox," he said, unamused.

"Tch, look at you. Acting all cool, especially when entering someone's home. You get the entrance you get, Uchiha. Deal with it."

In the darkness beyond the tunnel, two large vermilion eyes appeared. Then the wide expanse of sharp teeth revealed themselves in the form of a grin. These features slowly rose into the air the closer Sasuke got until they hovered somewhere over a hundred meters above Sasuke.

He knew this exhibition was meant to intimidate him, so Sasuke made it a point not to slow his steady approach or change his stoic expression. That did not, however, mean he was any less cautious. It was not lost on him that this was the first time he would encounter the true form of the Nine-Tailed Fox from Konoha legend.

The tunnel grew into an enormous cavern that was divided width-wise by the walls of a large holding cell. Sitting along the seam of the two barred doors of the enclosure was a simple, unassuming parchment with the characters of the word "seal" written on it. Further down, at the foot of the doors, lay another parchment that read "tether." This charm seemed to float atop the layer of water that covered the floor outside of the Kyuubi's cage.

Sasuke eyed it curiously.

"We meet again, Uchiha. What do you want?" the booming voice from before asked. Those red eyes and fanged teeth had resolved into the face of a disgruntled-looking fox creature.

Sasuke stared up at the Kyuubi with a neutral look. The fox's sneer seemed to spread further across its face as three long tails slithered forward and stacked themselves like a makeshift column in front of the barred doors, blocking the creature's face from view.

"I'd prefer it if you'd put those eyes away," the Kyuubi said.

This was interesting.

Smirking, Sasuke replied, "Scared?"

"Not in the least," the Kyuubi growled, "but if you want this conversation to be polite, I'd advise you to heed my request. I have no love for your kin and their cursed eyes."

"I don't need to use my eyes to cast a genjutsu, you know," Sasuke rebutted.

"And I don't need to be fully free from this prison to inflict third-degree chakra burns on your physical body. Your point?"

A tense silence hung between them before Sasuke conceded. He blinked, allowing the natural color of his eyes to come through in the features of his mental projection.

"It's done. You can stop hiding now," Sasuke said.

An irritated growl emanated from the fox, but its tails cautiously slid away from the doors. The two of them clearly did not endear themselves to the other, yet Sasuke took a moment to remind himself that he was not here to provoke the creature. Keeping this in mind, he readdressed his approach.

"I'm here to talk strategy with you. I need more specifics on exactly how you're keeping Naruto's memories from him. I can't accomplish anything without knowing that," Sasuke said plainly.

The Kyuubi narrowed its eyes at him, then lowered its body so it was more level with Sasuke.

"Fair point. I can show you what you want to know. We just can't do it here. Noboru has been a particular pain in the ass as of late and I don't know what he's up to or if he's eavesdropping," the Kyuubi grumbled.

"Noboru?" Sasuke repeated.

The fox smirked. "That's what I call the brat's alter ego. By naming him, I've invoked a more intentional separation of personality. He likes to rail against it, but he hasn't realized that a simple acknowledgment like that reenforces the incantation. It makes keeping track of him easier."

Sasuke eyed the fox with surprised interest. "I've never heard of something like that."

"That's because it's a practice from well before your time," the Kyuubi said off-handedly.

Its gaze focused on something beyond Sasuke's shoulder, prompting him to follow its line of sight. Behind him, standing at the mouth of the tunnel, was a tall, dark-skinned man clothed in nothing but an open white cloak reminiscent of the Hokage's ceremonial robe. The man's long shaggy red hair reminded Sasuke of the Kyuubi's vibrant fur.

This man had to be the personified version of the Kyuubi Sasuke had encountered before.

"Come along, Uchiha," the man said in a more human-like version of the fox's voice. "Let me show you around."

—.—

The journey back through the tunnel was significantly faster than Sasuke's initial route and its endpoint led to the vast landscape of a gorge and a recognizable cliff.

"We're here again," Sasuke commented, walking past the Kyuubi's humanoid figure to better observe their surroundings.

"Yes," the Kyuubi offered. "This is what you're looking for. As well as that."

It pointed to an unusually dark cluster of trees a few meters away.

"Those are the brat's memories, and this is the waypoint I'd established within Naruto's mind. It works well because it's intrinsically tied to the last memory he had before he stupidly let some grieving fool stab him to near death."

Sasuke's gaze snapped back to the fox.

"He what?" he asked incredulously.

The Kyuubi's expression was a somber display of resignation. It folded its arms and locked Sasuke with an intense stare.

"I was not joking when I said Naruto has things he'll need to come to terms with if he wants to reintegrate Noboru," it said solemnly. "Many of those memories I hold on to are fraught with anger, guilt, and sadness. Naruto's done things by way of Noboru's direction, and Naruto's also ignored other things and left them for Noboru to deal with. The task ahead will not be an easy one, Uchiha, because what the brat asked me to do all those years ago was to give him peace from himself."

A heavy weight seemed to settle in the pit of Sasuke's stomach as he listened to the Kyuubi. He frowned, contemplating fervently on how he could approach a practical solution to the problem the fox presented him with. A part of him worried if this was a little beyond him, but he shoved that thought aside. It was not helpful, and Naruto was counting on him.

"Does Naruto consciously know about this waypoint? He spoke about being in a place like this in his dreams," Sasuke asked.

"He knows of this place because I draw his mind here in the hopes that he'll gather enough of his damn courage to enter those woods willingly." The Kyuubi's tone had shifted to irritation. "He's asked me for his memories and I've brought him here, but he's terrified of going in. I can't outrightly tell him those are his memories or this waypoint will become unstable. He needs to be both ignorant and aware at the same time."

The fox dragged a frustrated hand through its messy hair.

"This is why I don't enjoy making bargains in moments of desperation unless I have the upper hand. It leads to messy dealings," it griped.

"Walk me through them," Sasuke interjected after several moments of thinking. "Show me his memories from this point in time back to his final few months in Konoha. I have his conscious mind locked in stasis awaiting direction. I'd told him to concentrate on the memories of he and me from back then."

The Kyuubi watched him with fresh interest. It raised a hand to its mouth and began tapping a steady beat against its lips, thinking.

"And what do you plan on doing?" it asked.

"I can ease him through each memory. If he can't seem to handle any of them, I can reset and loop him back through it. It's easy enough to let him know that I'm there with him, so he doesn't feel alone."

The Kyuubi stopped its tapping, humming pensively.

"That might work, and it would leave me free to maintain what I already have been," it ruminated.

The longer the fox contemplated Sasuke's proposed plan, the more pleased it appeared to be.

"All right," the Kyuubi said nodding, "I'll show you what you need to see."

It turned toward the wood, extending a hand. All at once, a thread of red chakra spiraled down its arm to spring forward from one of its long-nailed fingers and shot into the shadows of the trees. The darkness seemed to swell for a moment before a human-shaped figure slowly dragged itself free of the trees along the strand of the chakra. Inky blackness peeled away from the figure's body until it revealed a bloodied, and battle-worn teenage Naruto stumbling past the treeline. He was without his signature tracksuit, though his clothes were tattered and soiled with dirt. Tracks of tears were running down his face as he nursed what may have been a bruised rib.

Sasuke froze at the sight.

The thread of chakra arched up sharply, seeming to compel the teenager into action. Naruto scurried forward, making it several meters from the trees and grunting in pain.

"Shit," he croaked out, voice cracked by pain and tears. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Holy fuck. Emi… Honda-san…"

He stopped his progress when he realized he was at the edge of a gorge. Naruto looked around him, turning in a circuit, appearing at a loss for what to do. Minutes later, another figure burst out of the trees, jerking the teen's attention toward it.

It was another young man no older than Naruto—dark-featured with sun-turned skin—looking distressed but filled with anger.

"YOU!" the newcomer shouted.

Naruto flinched back, gaping helplessly.

"I'm sorr—" he began.

"Murderer!" the other teen spat. "You and those other monsters didn't care about the destruction you caused. You demolished everything! You—"

Angry tears were streaming down the young man's face now. He was seething.

"My sister! My father!"

Naruto held up a beseeching hand. "I-I didn't know what was going on, I swear. I didn't mean to… I don't know what happened…" he pleaded.

Triggered by Naruto's words, the boy ran forward and punched him. Naruto's head snapped back with the force.

"Shut the hell up!" the dark-haired teen shouted, but then he hesitated when Naruto's face slowly turned back toward him. The blond's entire demeanor had changed.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, hitting me?" Naruto snarled in a gruff voice. All signs of the pained, guilt-stricken persona he had shown before were gone. His hand shot forward and grabbed the other teen by the neck. The dark-haired boy struggled against his grip before raising an unsheathed tanto knife he held in his other hand and plunged it into Naruto's chest.

Naruto released his grasp, shocked.

Coughing, but not relenting, the boy withdrew the knife and stabbed Naruto again. This time closer to his heart. Naruto quickly stepped back, subsequently wresting the knife from the other teen's hold. He looked down at the blade in his chest, then at the boy.

"I'm… sorry I… couldn't… stop him," he gurgled through the blood pooling in his mouth.

He stumbled back a few paces, misstepped on an errant rock, and tumbled over the edge of the cliff into the ravine below.

Sasuke watched as the apparitions of the nameless young man and teenage Naruto dispersed into a cloud of shadows once this final act played out. The thread of Kyuubi's chakra dissolved as well. A hefty silence was left in its wake.

"Still have the stomach for this, Uchiha?" the Kyuubi queried. "The remainder is a mix of experiences but it will not be a pleasant ride."

Bolstering himself against the disquieted feeling that sat in his chest, Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line and said: "Show me the next one."

The Kyuubi gave him an intrigued look, then sent another stream of red chakra into the trees.

—.&.o.&.—

A/N: Oof, up this hill we go.