The dreamscape exists as a dimension of it's own accord, and thus, doesn't behold itself to the same laws of reality that govern the rest of the multiverse.
Naruko may have exhausted herself emotionally in the real world, but here, her dreams and her psyche was still absolutely conscious.
"So, yeah. Mom's absolutely livid after all the shit you've been through. You'll be living with us for a bit until a more permanent house on the property is built, and we'll be with you to provide social/mental/physical support as needed or wanted. And, no, this isn't anything to be embarrased about. All shinobi, of all ages, are required by law to be given help if needed, especially if there's a concern for the well-being for the shinobi in question from themselves and others."
Naruko looked ashamed, looking away from me. "I feel so weak, Shika, so pathetic." She whispered. She leaned back against my chest as I hugged her from behind.
"Don't be. In fact, it's actually not that unexpected. Very strong shinobi have struggled with their mental health before. Let me talk to you about a man named Sakumo Hatake. The White Fang."
Naruko's body stiffened in my arms. "Kakashi?" She muttered.
"Kakashi's father. A man said to be a rival to the three Sannin, three students raised by the Third Hokage himself that all became S-ranks in their own rights. A very important mission went south, and through circumstances not of his own making, Sakumo had to make a decision. His team mates lives, or the mission's success." Naruko gasped quietly.
"He chose his team. He failed the mission, but brought them back home alive." Naruko nodded.
"That's good, right? I mean, at least his fa-team will be okay."
"Naruko, the mission that went south was so critical that it's failure would create the Third Shinobi War. The populace of Konoha blamed him and ostracized him, so much so that his own team mates called him a disgrace for having the gall to choose them over the mission."
"No! That's an impossible choice to make! It's not fair!" Naruko said in dismay, horror in her voice.
"Sakumo Hatake took his own life, and from the age of... I'd say 6, Kakashi Hatake was the first to see his father's cooling corpse. From the age of 6, Kakashi Hatake vowed to put the mission first so that way he could 'fix' his father's disgrace. It's not his fault: he was grieving, and a part of him blamed his father for abandoning him. However, when Kakashi had recently become a Jonin in his own right, during the Third Shinobi War, a mission went south."
Naruko was holding her breath, a sense of dread filling the space.
"Kakashi initially chose the mission, but a team mate of his chose to go back to save the other. Obito Uchiha chose the team over his mission, and he told Kakashi 'It's true, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.' Kakashi finally realized what his father had chosen to do, why he had done it, and so he took after Obito, who had left to save Rin."
"They saved Rin, but Obito died pushing Kakashi out of the way of the cave ceiling collapsing in on itself. Obito, a Genin, saved Kakashi Hatake's life, and as he was dying, gave Kakashi the Sharingan that had not been crushed, because he'd been born a Uchiha, an Uchiha that had been considered a failure for not being as talented as the rest of his family. The mission was technically a success, but only Kakashi made it out alive. I'm not sure what happened to Rin, but the reports were that she had been compromised by Kirigakure, and so had chosen to kill herself at the last second in order to save Konoha."
Naruko spun around and threw herself at me, tears soaking my shirt as she cried. "That's not fair! That's horrible."
I gently tilted her chin back up at me, a small sad smile on my face as I continued.
"Kakashi Hatake became an S-rank Shinobi himself, the 'Copy Cat Ninja'. He lobbied hard for a new Law to be instated that ensured the mental/physical/emotional well being of all shinobi, regardless of rank, to ensure that what happened to his father, and what he had been terrified he was considering choosing to do himself in that same house, would never happen again. The Law was passed, and it's said that Danzo, one of the elders of the village, had nearly gotten himself killed when he'd tried to veto the Law as an Elder. I dare say that the Third Hokage was the only reason Danzo hadn't gotten brutally murdered that day. This is the Law that allows us the ability, and the responsibility, to help you. The Sakumo Hatake Act requires that we don't allow the shinobi in question alone for the next six months, and that we endeavor to ensure you feel safe and cared for at home, whatever that requires to make that happen. It's not a perfect system, and. it's been considered 'too little too late' by many after what Itsuki did with the Uchiha Clan, but it's a far cry from the absolutely nothing that most had to work with."
Naruko nodded shyly, her face flushing as she gently, slowly, cautiously, went to kiss me for a moment before whispering. "Thank you, Shika. For telling me."
"Any time. Since you'll definitely be spending the night, I'm going to talk to you about why the Yamanaka Clan, the Nara Clan, and the Akimichi Clan have always been considered a pseudo-Clan unto themselves. That way you'll know why you'll probably be meeting a mind healer Yamanaka and an Akimichi Specialist."
Naruko looked worried and curious at the same time.
"The Nara Clan, my Clan, are the shadows, the spiritual leaders of the Clan. Our intelligence helps us make the right decisions, but it's our intuitive wisdom that helps us survive the guilt that accompanies those hard choices. We operate best when we know ourselves and our opponents completely, and while now we do this to help Konoha, we still primarily help the Yamanaka Clan and the Akimichi Clan when they often struggle in the decision making process on what or how to do what they want to achieve without compromising their morals."
"The Yamanaka Clan, Ino's Clan, are the mind whisperers, the psycho-analysts of the Clan. They are our eyes and ears outside of the territory of the Land of Fire, and they specialize in gathering information that the others wouldn't want us or them to know. If we are the intelligence of the operation, the Yamanaka is the intel that provides to us the resources and scenarios we can use our intelligence on. As a result, the Yamanaka Clan has a hard rule: no one is allowed to be solely in the dark alone or for long. You can't just stay an interrogator, and you can't just stay a therapist, and above all else, they are not allowed to use the Hidden Jutsu if they feel mentally unstable or emotionally compromised. It's a hard law that often means they can't be Hokage, but it's a law designed to keep their members from harming themselves or each other. It's why Ino only knows the Mind Transfer Jutsu: it's one of the only Jutsu in the Yamanaka Clan that, in theory, offers little to no personality bleed from the target to the user."
"The Akimichi Clan, Choji's Clan, are the physicians, the war doctors, of the Clan. They defend us from those seeking us or the Yamanaka physical harm, and though many people underestimate the Akimichi, the Akimichi Clan are absolutely masters of chemical and biological warfare, as well as knowing how to both amplify and break the body in ways that regular shinobi could only dream of. Their amplification has become so intuitive that where they used to need certain pills to use their jutsu, some have been able to do so simply with knowing that they can, a Hidden Jutsu turned into a Bloodline Limit. Likewise, there is a reason why the Hyuga Clan has never fought an Akimichi: they will lose. Badly, at that. An Akimichi's chakra network is not only vastly different from a normal shinobi, but an Akimichi's chakra network has redundancies built into it, and Kami help the Hyuga who tries to kill an Akimichi, since the Akimichi Clan are said to be able to heal and restart their own organs with training. An Akimichi that reaches Jonin is said to be virtually unstoppable against waves of regular shinobi."
"Since the beginning, we've worked together to form a cohesive whole. The Nara Clan's ruled the forests of Konoha long before Hashirama arrived. The Yamanaka Clan inspected travelers and spies entering the domains of our territory, and allowed us to consider the required decisions. The Akimichi helped us keep everyone alive, and to be physically fit, as well as investigating new methods on how to refine our bodies to handle our abilities as we grew into them. The Yamanaka Clan's Mind Healer will not be allowed to speak to anyone about how the mind sessions are going, and full patient confidentiality is required. You will have your choice to choose which Mind Healer you wish to have, after a few therapy sessions to find the right fit for you. The Akimichi will be taking samples of your blood as well as digging through your medical records to ensure the proper care is given to bring you back to peak health for your age, and if not even better if they think that they can get away with it."
I paused, smiling softly as I kissed Naruko's forehead.
"And my Clan and I will be monitoring your spiritual health. We'll be taking you out on walks through the Nara Forest, well, the more public areas, letting you feed the deer, spend time with some of the more relaxed members of the Clan, and encourage you to spend time with friends as well. So I imagine we'll be stopping by Ichiraku Ramen at least once. We will also be the ones inspecting the mindscape that connects you to your bijuu, ensuring that the Kyuubi isn't trying to degrade the seal using your own negative thoughts to trick you into releasing it. We can't do anything about the seal, but we can ensure that the mindscape isn't being warped against you in favor of the beast you carry."
Naruko sniffed, her eyes filling with tears. "Why? Why help me? Why do all of you care?"
Why do you care so much about me? I'm broken.
"Naruko, we are all broken in some way. It's the lifestyle of the shinobi, of the world we currently live in. We're all broken. Some of us in more ways than others. Of course we care, of course I care, how could we not? The shadows crave the light. You are my sun, the light that makes my life worth living. Now that I have you, I'm not letting you go. I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Oh, the tragedy." I said dryly at the end.
Naruko's tears vanished as she giggled lightly, her face flushed.
"Man, Shika, you're so troublesome. What a drag it is to be stuck with you." She giggled as I pretended to back away, hurt, clutching my chest as I mockingly gasped in pain.
"You dare use my words against me?! You dare to use that of which is mine?"
"All's fair in love and war." She stuck out her tongue at me.
The silliness of the situation was too much, and we just started laughing at how silly all of this was.
"Thank you, Shikamaru." Naruko said sincerely, hugging me again. "I love you."
I hugged her back. "Any time, Naruko. It's a privilege to help you, and don't you forget it." I smiled as we cuddled in the dreamscape.[