FicFan.org

Story Rating:

"Be quiet and look around kid. A good long look. Seen enough? Now tell me... Why, of all things, is your mindscape a reeking sewer? Most people have nature scenes, or empty cities. A few, who have gone through great trauma, manifest fortresses or dungeons."

"Mind-what?"

Seras sighed and began to explain, not noticing that Naruto, used to his questions being ignored completely, was staring raptly at the walls instead of listening.

"There are two stages of the telepathy I use. The first is more basic, I simply send fleeting thoughts and messages into your head. The second, advanced stage, brings one or both of us directly to your mindscape while giving the illusion of slowing down time in the real world. The setting of the mindscape is heavily dependent on the personality and mental state of the person. For instance, a very young girl's mindscape could be reminiscent of a dollhouse, while a young boy's could be a playground. People with darker personalities typically- ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!"

"It's here... that dream..."

Naruto darted off in a seemingly random direction, causing Seras to bite off a curse as she followed somewhat more sedately, muttering under her breath.

"I swear... I wouldn't have dared act like that if my Master was explaining something to me. Then again Master Alucard rarely explained anything, he just told me what to do and expected me to do it on my own... and the poor kid can't even be ten yet, so maybe I should cut him some slack."

She sighed lightly as she turned around another corner, then arched her eyebrow at the sight before her. The kid had collapsed to his knees, staring into what looked like a huge cage. Peering in herself, she had to muscle down a grimace.

"I really have the feeling that I do not want to know how that got in here. It's huge... If the wildlife grows to that size around here... I miss my Harkonnen."

Naruto was beginning to shake lightly as the beast withing the cage began to ever so slowly turn its head and glare at them. Oddly enough, the thing's entire demeanor seemed to scream of fatigue and depression.

"What do you want, two legged leech? Come to gloat?"

After the many things she'd seen and killed, Seras wasn't surprised in the least that the giant fox was talking to her. Naruto, however, brought his shivers to a whole new intensity.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't follow you."

"You... don't know."

A rasping noise came from deep withing the beast's throat, and after a moment of confusion she realized that it was chuckling darkly.

"A few short decades until my freedom... perhaps a century... all gone. And you have NO IDEA of what you have done... the sheer... overwhelming irony... It is almost too much to bear."

The fox rose to its feet, turning to leer menacingly at them.

"I am the Demon, the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, and now I must suffer this insolence for all eternity! And it's all thanks to you, leech. I do hope you're proud of yourself."

Bloodred Eyes, Chapter 2