Tender Sea

Chapter 6

Mindscape

"This is rather unique." Inoichi commented. The girl's mind was actually quite strange in fact. There was nothing that suggested anything of her, no shapes, colours, objects. He merely stood in a blank, white, hallway.

"How strange." Miyu added. Of course being her mind, she would be present with him. Inoichi easily assumed her surprised expression was from witnessing her conscience for the first time. "So, what exactly will you be doing?"

"It's just a simple investigation." He began walking forwards and his loud footsteps echoed down the hall. Miyu hurried to keep up, cursing her shorter limbs. She was ultimately confused. This white space was a vast change from the usual sewers, she could only assume Kurama changed something. Though, the overall format was similar so if she was correct they would be led to a large chamber soon.

"What is that?" It seems she was correct as they broke out of the hallway. It appeared that Kurama couldn't disguise everything as both of them stared up at the giant row of rusty bars. She shrugged, staying silent while the veteran ninja went over to investigate. "How odd." Just as she expected nothing was able to pass through the bars and he could easily rest his palm against the air between each strip of metal. "Do you happen to know what this could be or symbolise?"

"...the nurse at the hospital will probably report it later but there's a seal on my stomach." Miyu commented loosely, "I guess this is where it leads."

"So you don't remember what it's for?" He probed.

"It stores chakra." She said after a small silence. "Not my own. It acts like a secondary source."

"Hm." The Yamanaka was used to ninja sealing items in their body but wasn't storing more chakra redundant? Soldier pills would probably be more useful. "So, why don't we find the memories you do have?"

"How?" She was genuinely curious. Ino had never told her about what you could actually do with the human mind.

"As, uh...cliché as it sounds you must open your mind. I could force it out of you, but from what I've seen its excruciatingly painful..." Miyu shivered lightly. She had a high pain tolerance, sure, but that didn't mean she like the pain.

"I'll try my best then." She struggled to let down her walls, finally managing enough for glimpses of colour to appear on the floor they stood on.

"Down there then." Inoichi changed the direction of his attention, now focusing it downwards. "It seems memories appear at random locations. There was once a case where I had to look upwards for so long my neck ached." He was trying to lighten the atmosphere but Miyu couldn't help but feel slightly unsettled at the mention of his previous... victims.

They both focused on the episodic flashbacks and at once Miyu could see they were false. Some were simply of her training but the scenery had been altered to keep confidentiality and any people were removed. "What style of taijutsu is this?" It looked familiar yet unquestionably new.

"My own style. Picked up here and there I guess." Since there were no memories of her acquiring it he could only rely on her word. It was one of the most severe cases of amnesia he had seen before. and it didn't look like she'd ever be getting back those lost memories.

"And there is nothing else you remember? What about your fox?" His words triggered more false memories. A small, red fox, frolicking in the undergrowth, flashing to an older image before finally reaching a scene that mirrored Kurama's grown form. "That really is all there is..." He muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry I can't remember anything else." Miyu said apologetically. Maybe she was laying it on a little thick, but it would be more suspicious if she stayed completely silent.