An Inch of Gold

26

Naruto closes his eyes, willing himself to block out the world around him. It's a little difficult at first—Sakura and Sasuke are talking in hushed tones, and he's curious what they're discussing—Kakashi is breathing loudly beside him—Naruto thinks he might be finding it a little hot, and wouldn't it make more sense to take off that mask—?

"Focus," his sensei reminds him, and he supposes his wavering attention must be showing on his face.

"It's hard to do this when I'm not about to die," he protests.

Or when the damn fox isn't making mean comments at me!

But the demon is very obviously ignoring him at the moment in favour of his own anxiety.

"I could help motivate you in that respect," Kakashi offers, and Naruto splutters.

"Hey, no way! I can figure it out, just hang on a minute!" he yells, and redirects his efforts.

That's great! Say a bunch of nice stuff to me, and then threaten to kill me. Great job, sensei...

Centring himself, Naruto tries to imagine the dank, secret place within him where he first encountered the fox. Without the adrenaline of an impending death, it's harder to find his way there, but he is eventually able to block out the creepily rustling desert sand and the constant assault of the hot sun.

The blinding light on the backs of his eyelids seems to fade, replaced with a growing darkness, and the complete absence of smell and sensation fills him. When he opens his eyes—or, well, when his subconscious opens his eyes—he is in that cavernous hallway, dim light and shadows surrounding him.

The echoing growls provide guidance, and he heads down the familiar path to the cage. Upon arriving, he sees the giant fox there, pacing back and forth with a restlessness he has never encountered.

Naruto opens his mouth, the 'oi, you stupid fox!' on his lips before he stops himself. He figures it's probably not the right way to talk to someone he intends to ask a favour from, and so he switches tracks, tentatively stepping forward. "Hey...are you okay?"

The demon goes from distracted to dangerous in a split second. It snarls and jumps at the bars, hissing when they burn him, but not removing its giant maw.

None of your damn business, you insignificant sack of meat! he roars, teeth dripping and eyes gleaming with malintent.

Naruto cries out in protest, falling backward with a flap of his arms into the shin deep water that always fills this place.

"Oi! I'm just asking a question, no need to bite my head off!"

I'll do a lot worse to you one day!

"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto grumbles, pulling himself to his feet. He frowns down at the water. "Hey, is there any reason why this place always looks like a flood? Do you, like, drool in your sleep or something? Wait..." He blinks at the water, a horrible thought occurring to him, and stares up at the fox accusingly. "Is this pee? Am I standing in pee?!"

He jumps to his feet, doing a ridiculous goosestep move trying to get out of the water, alternatively raising his feet out of the liquid.

Don't be an idiot, the fox growls at him, unimpressed. This place is a manifestation of your subconscious, not mine.

"Then how do I change it so we can hang out somewhere that doesn't feel like a sewer?" Naruto whines.

Why? So you can pretend I'm not in cage? I prefer to deal in reality. And the reality is that your father locked me up in here.