When the Sandaime Hokage first received the black scroll, he'd be afraid something terrible happened to Naruto. He was yet more surprised when he read the content. It was definitely not in Kakashi's style to overreact, so he had to trust his judgement but asking straight for a mind check when the subject was a child not even made genin was overkill, if the said child wasn't the bearer of the nine-tailed. Thus, the only wild guess Hiruzen could mutter was that Kakashi somehow witnessed the seal failing in one way, or that the boy himself showed the signs of the demon.
However, Hiruzen knew in deep something was fishy, as anything of this magnitude would have certainly brought up other warnings. It was impossible that Kakashi would have been the sole witness in this case. Therefore, if Kakashi was the sole recipient of this incident, the problem had to be fairly minor. But the way Kakashi reacted made little sense. There was also the possibility that the letter had been intercepted by a third party and the contents of it had been altered, but the likelihood was very small inside the village. Furthermore, seasoned jounins like Kakashi weren't supposed to make this kind of mistake and the fact his own summon came to deliver the letter made it authentic.
Hiruzen ordered a bunch of his agents to confine the academy's infirmary as Kakashi required. The masked individuals immediately departed in a flock of shadows. He decided it was still too early to draw conclusions about what had actually happened. At least, if Naruto was in danger to be overcome by the demon, he was now secured in the basement of his headquarters, kept by the most skilled of his staff in seal proficiency. Hiruzen eventually decided to call for Inoichi's services. Though the man retired from the Torture and Investigation's section, his successors weren't as skilled as he was and Hiruzen needed the best of the best when the village's security was suspected being compromised.
All he could hope for now was there wouldn't be any everlasting effects on Naruto psyche.
Sakura's mind had been fuzzy when she'd been back at home. She had no recollections of what influenced her in making this decision. She was supposed to be at school, waiting for their tutor to come, but the prospect of staying in her own bedroom seemed all more alluring. All she could remember was she had been arguing with Naruto on some topics and then, she'd decided she'd better be off. Her parents had been alarmed when they'd seen her come back so soon, that she may have failed her evaluation, but she had assured them that everything was fine and she had been placed in her assigned team.
She was looking in her mirror apprehensively. She knew there were some laps in her memory. Her erratic behavioral patterns were enough proof. She should have been worried about her professional carrier, that staying in her own bedroom wasn't certainly the best course of action. Worst than that, every times she was thinking about Sasuke, she seemed to have some kinds of mental blocks. Suddenly, she heard some noises by her window. She lifted her eyes and saw a tall figure standing next to the frame. The curtains were flowing from the ominous winds engulfing inside her room. Finally, she recognized the green uniform worn only by high graded soldiers in duty.
"Though we've never met before, young girl, I believe you're smart enough to comply with my orders," the grey-haired man said to her, taping his fingers on his arms across his shoulders.
Sakura was really scared. She wanted to call her parents downstairs but she felt like her vocal cords were gripped by an ethereal hand. She learned by heart the protocols at school, and a jounin making irruption in your own residence was rarely good news.
"I did nothing wrong," she said distraught, when she felt she was allowed to speak.
"I'll be the judge of that," he replied flatly, making her insecurities increase. "I have some things I need to know, some things only you know." She nodded quickly, not willing for this interrogation to last longer than necessary. "Your testimony is important for Konoha's welfare. Try to be exhaustive as possible." Her whole body shook as a leaf. The guy was fucking ominous and she had no way to outmaneuver this encounter. "Tell me what you did since you woke up," he asked.
She tried to narrate how her day went without rattling her teeth. She didn't catch any glimpse of his expression, since his black mask was hiding his face up to his nose, and his eye barely moved an inch during her story. Sometimes, he questioned her motives in the actions she'd undertook and she shamefully revealed most of them were conditioned by her unrequited love toward her Uchiha's teammate. She hoped it wouldn't backlash on her genin examination, as even though teen loves inside Academy weren't unheard of, they were still frowned upon by the educational department.
"Thank you for your report, miss Haruno," the man nodded after she stopped speaking for a few seconds. She released a relieved sight. "However..." his voice trailed off. "I'll need you to come with me." She widened her eyes, her heart clashing furiously against her ribcage.
"No," she tried to speak. But he took her arm and forced me to get up. "You have no rights to-"
"I have every rights," he cut her off. "You were supposed to meet me at school and you made me come here, wasting my time. Your mitigating circumstances are the reason for which I only ask you to follow me now."
No, no, no... she head-shook. Meeting her sensei under this light was maybe the worst thing that could happen to her. "And my parents?", she asked.
"Your parents will be notified in due time. I'm afraid they won't have a thing to say on this matter. Oh, and you can call me sensei from now on."
They disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the windows open with a small note on the floor.
Sasuke awoke with a start when he felt a hand touching his head. He saw some ANBU next to his bed.
"Are you alright, kid?", they asked him. He acquiesced reluctantly. He never liked those lapdogs who only obeyed the old man on his whims. They made him recall his brother, Itachi, and the day his family was- "Good. Sir, the boy woke up, you may want to speak with him." A more imposing agent approached him and Sasuke guessed he was probably the captain of the squad, due the cloak he wore on his back. The ample vest the agent wore prevented him to identify any defining features on the captain's figure. Sasuke could not even see his hair, as the back of his head was covered in a hood and the only expression he could read on him was a weasel mask. The figure knelt to his height and faced him by a hair's breadth.
"Can you tell us what happened here?" Sasuke widened his eyes, surprised to hear a feminine voice.
"I...", he started and suddenly winced. His head was a mess. The agent before him turned to a colleague and gestured some signs. The other masked individual nodded. The ANBU suddenly moved around his bed, making a perfect circle, where only the captain and himself stood in the middle. All the agents made the same hand-signs in perfect synchronicity. A blue circle emerged from the ground, englobing the group completely. Sasuke watched the weird emblems filling the space, written in a language foreign to his understanding. The captain stood up as her forefinger and middle-finger glowed a greenish light. She traced strings between the emblems, moving her arms around Sasuke, who could not understand a thing of the ritual processing before his eyes.
"In the realm of the mind, the shadows are judge," the voices of the surrounding agents chorused. "Those who dread us grant us the most power. Though we are not dreams, we are the waking..."
"What sound should we make?", the womanly voice resounded softly, making the glyphs shine as she joined her fingers before her face.
"Feathers falling on fresh snow...", they muttered as the light from above seemed to leave this place, plunging the world into a dense obscurity, leaving Sasuke only with her. The place around them changed in a swirl of pale flowers. The hospital bedroom encased with white curtains dispersed to reveal a dense forest, burgeoning with life. The ANBU captain boots became hooves and her black pants were slowly replaced by a dense white fur. Blue fireflies flied above her shoulders, agglomerating, taking the form a wider shadow made a glistening blackness. The mask of the agent changed as well, becoming more rough, more triangular. Sasuke took a step backward, in disarray before the otherworldly being he was observing.
"I am the Lamb that guides the lost spirits," she spoke in melancholy. And weirdly, it was as if the voice came within himself. "Tell me young one... tell me what is hidden within your dreams."
He shook his head, retreating further, until his back met with a oak tree. "No," he replied. The half-beast, half-human figure watched him intensively, blue eyes glimmering through the sockets the mask offered. She extended her arm toward him, showing a black-gloved hand.
"Don't fear me, young one, I just want offer some peace to your soul." But he didn't want to remember. Not that day, not those dreams. He felt warm enveloping him as he suddenly felt himself laying on her. He felt as if the layers of his soul were breaking, opening. His anguish evaporated as the hands stroked his hair. He was now a little child in the arms of the Lamb, in the mist of a clearing. He watched a small flame, a memento of a youth long gone, disappeared. He now recalled the lullaby of his mother, the harsh lessons of his father and a place he wanted to forgo, to forget. Red blood dropped on his face, witnessing the mask painted in red above him. He felt drained from his sorrow, from his pain. He wanted to lift his arm toward her, wondering what was hidden behind the mask, but her own hand stopped his own, gently pushing him back.
"Let me take it, young one. Hush now, rest. For we will soon awaken from this pale slumber."
AN: I was supposed to continue with Naruto's point of view, but the last scene was rather heavy to write. I feel the chapter is better suited as it stands. It's not very Naruto'ish but I kinda went with the flow.