A/N: As always, sorry for the wait, guys. This chapter is also a bit short and doesn't reveal much, but, please, abstain from killing me. I finally have some spare time so I'll work hard to update asap.

Anyway, please, enjoy!

Naruto was lying on his back peering into the non-existing celling, beside him, in the cage, the Kyuubi was swaying his tails irritably. The dimension, created by his mind, was now all white. 'Where did the sewers go anyway?' Naruto briefly wondered. Although he hated getting lost in the creepy labyrinth, he was kind of missing the sound of the dripping water, while the lingering silence was killing him.

He might as well have talked to the demon, but he did not feel like it at the moment. Their talks usually ended up in brawls and, considering the fact that since a while ago the cage was missing a lock, their quarrel could only mean him getting slapped on the head with a tail heavy enough to crack one's skull. The fox seemed to develop this habit as a means of proving his point, when out of arguments. Naruto would stop arguing after that, but, of course, he would always try to get his revenge later by using some dirty methods like getting into the cage – intruding his personal space, as the demon called it, – to pull at the Kyuubi's tails, while the latter was asleep.

"So?" the demon broke the silence first.

"So?" Naruto mimicked him.

The fox growled. "You better wake up already or they'd think you're dead."

"You know, people actually breathe even if they're unconscious. It's obvious for them I'm alive."

"What? You're not so eager to meet them anymore?" the demon sneered.

"Shut up! I'll have to face them anyway, just give me a bit more time."

"Damn that teacher of yours and his illusions." the fox muttered. "And how long must I share my room with the traumatized little brat?"

"Hey! It's my mind in the first place." Naruto sat up, crossing his arms. He glared at the fox, but as it did not seem to affect the demon in any way, he soon dropped it and looked away.

"Actually," Naruto started. "I wanted to thank you."

"Hm?"

"I really couldn't stand seeing those things all over again." Naruto shook his head, driving away the horrible visions, as well as the voices of the villagers and his friends that kept cursing him. "So, thanks for pulling me out of there."

The Kyuubi looked at the Blond almost sympathetically.

"You do realize that most of what you saw is not true, don't you? The illusion is supposed to bring out your fears." He stated. "Although the villagers used to hate you in the past, after all you've done for them, I doubt, they were loathing and blaming you like that."

"Even so…"

"You are still feeling guilty." The Kyuubi finished the phrase for him. "Try not to dwell on this much, it won't help anything, kit."

"Ah, I guess" Naruto sighed. "It's just really painful to hear your friends say they hate you so much they want you dead."

"Well, maybe not as painful as having a hand shown through your chest?"

"Don't bring that up. He had a good reason for trying to kill me."

"But still did not!" Naruto added, like a child, pointing his index finger at the demon-fox to emphasize his point in favor of the Uchiha's good motifs.

"And you will consider him your friend no matter what. I've heard this countless of times." the demon said in a mocking voice.

"Yeah, true." Naruto's expression looked sad. 'You know, I've never considered you my-' Those words also were not true then? Yes, just something he really feared to ever hear from Sasuke.

He had spent most of his life chasing after the Uchiha, always trying to understand him, to find reason behind his actions, and even his betrayal and hatred. Did not Sasuke see just how far he went for his sake? Why would not he accept his help? If only Sasuke would approve of it, Naruto was always ready to be by his side and support him. Was it the infamous Uchiha's pride or a fear of being betrayed by someone close to him again that prevented Sasuke from accepting him? Naruto was not really sure. However, he refused to believe that he did not mean a thing to the Uchiha. He was scared of the very idea of this being true, of Sasuke never considering him his friend. That could not be true. Because you cannot fake your true feelings like that, and Naruto saw it, maybe for a short period of time, but he definitely saw that unmistakable softness in Sasuke's eyes that told him: he did care. That memory did not let him abandon the hope of making things right, so that one day team seven can be once again reunited. It held him together. However, there also was a sense of responsibility.

"I just have to help him, he deserves it. Besides it's partly my fault that he had turned out like this."

"How so?" the demon actually sounded surprised. No matter how you look at it, Naruto did not do anything, except his countless attempts to beat at least a bit of sense in the Uchiha's head.

"He sought for power, because he needed to kill Itachi, right? But I don't think he would have left the village and go to Orochimaru if I didn't push him to do so. I mean, I was also obsessed with becoming more powerful at the time as I wanted everyone to recognize me. I made him my rival for that reason, and was really happy when I actually got closer to be a match for him. I didn't realize that the closer I was getting to reaching his level the more the thought of being too weak was eating at him."

"So, you are saying, he left because he was afraid of losing to you?"

"Yeah, that's probably what it was." Naruto nodded, continuing. "I must have shattered his believe in being able to defeat Itachi. If he cannot even easily win over his teammate what chance does he have against an S-class criminal, right? I guess he was really desperate back then. And, after even personal training with Kakashi didn't help much, he turned to Orochimaru."

The demon remained silent watching Naruto getting up from his spot on the floor.

"Damn, the more I think about it, the harder I want to punch myself for screwing his life." Naruto clenched his fists painfully. "Just imagine if he didn't leave the village and then end up killing Itachi before learning the truth. What if we have learned the true reason behind the Uchiha massacre first? He would still hate the village, but probably would not go as far as trying to destroy it. And he wouldn't have to become a pawn in Madara's game either. More importantly, he and Itachi could be together again. Not as enemies hating each other, but as a family."

"Nice, for once you've got a point. And thanks to a certain dead Uchiha you can even try making all those what-ifs true." the Kyuubi rose to his feet, and, after stretching his back, went out of his cage, facing Naruto. "Now go and try beating some sense into both yourself and the Uchiha brat."

The demon abruptly turned around, sweeping Naruto from his feet with the swing of his tails. The Blond woke up with a start.

TBC

A/N: Well, how was it? I really appreciate all your reviews, so fell free to write them!