As The Kyuubi no Yoko in Naruto

Dinner at the Uchiha compound was usually a quiet affair, but tonight's silence felt heavier. Sasuke kept glancing at Naruto between bites of rice, questions building behind his dark eyes.

The attempted fireball technique, the perfect transformation, the strange conversation with the Hokage - none of it added up.

"Stop staring, teme," Naruto muttered, pushing his food around. "It's creepy."

"Then stop lying to me." Sasuke set down his chopsticks. "These dreams you mentioned. The ones the Hokage seemed worried about. What aren't you telling me?"

A flicker of movement in the doorway caught Naruto's attention - another imprint trying to form before dissolving away. He was getting tired of their constant retreat, tired of pretending not to see.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Naruto said quietly.

"Try me." Sasuke's voice was firm. "We've been living together now for years. We train together. Whatever's going on, I should know."

Naruto stared at his bowl, considering. His dream-father had never explicitly told him to keep secrets from Sasuke. In fact, lately the lessons had included hints about trust and bonds.

Unknowingly to him, as his intention was made, the Nine Tails glared at the imprints, commanding them to cluser around, to keep any sound from escaping.

"I see things," he finally admitted. "Things that aren't supposed to be there. Or maybe they are, but nobody else can see them."

"I see things," he finally admitted. "Things that aren't supposed to be there. Or maybe they are, but nobody else can see them."

"What kind of things?"

The lights flickered - not from any electrical problem, but from a particularly dense gathering of chakra imprints in the hallway - having obeyed the Demon, in fear.

Naruto himself was surprised, for, for once, they weren't scattering at his gaze.

"Spirits," he said finally, forcing himself to look back at Sasuke. "Or at least, that's what I thought they were at first. I see them everywhere in the compound. They used to be clearer, especially right after we moved in, but now they usually hide when they notice me watching."

Sasuke's expression remained carefully neutral, but his hands tightened around his chopsticks. "Spirits," he repeated flatly.

"Not... not real ones, I don't think. More like echoes made of chakra." Naruto struggled to explain. "They're strongest here in the compound. Sometimes I can see bits of training sessions, or daily life, or..."

He trailed off, not wanting to mention the massacre-related imprints he occasionally glimpsed.

"And these... echoes," Sasuke's voice was controlled, measured, "they're what taught you the fireball technique?"

"Sort of. I caught glimpses of the hand seals, but they scattered before I could see more. They don't like me learning clan techniques. They're afraid of me, but I don't know why. They just... run away."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, scanning the hallway where Naruto kept glancing. For a moment, just a moment, his enhanced vision caught something - a distortion in the air, like heat waves over summer ground.

"There's nothing there," he said, but his voice held a hint of uncertainty.

"Not for most people," Naruto agreed quietly. "But I've always seen them. Ever since that night."

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, rubbing his eyes. Whatever he'd glimpsed was gone now, leaving only ordinary shadows in the hallway.

"You've been seeing these... things for years?" he asked, trying to reconcile this information with his memories of their shared time in the compound. "Is that why you always avoid certain rooms?"

Naruto nodded slowly. "Some places are worse than others. Your par-" he caught himself, "some areas have stronger imprints. They don't just scatter there, they tear themselves apart rather than be seen."

"And your dream-father?" Sasuke pressed, noticing how Naruto tensed at the question. "Does he explain these visions?"

"He teaches me about chakra, about how to sense it properly." Naruto's voice grew quieter. "He's the only adult who's ever..." he trailed off, embarrassed.

The lights flickered again, more violently this time. In the hallway, the imprints were practically writhing, trying desperately to form shapes clear enough for Sasuke to see. But even with his Sharingan, he caught nothing more than that brief heat-like distortion from before.

"They want you to see them," Naruto said suddenly, watching the desperate attempts of the chakra remnants. "They've never tried this hard before. Usually they just run from me, but now..."

"If they're real," Sasuke's voice carried a hint of challenge, "then why can't I see them? These are my clan's spirits, aren't they?"

"They're not spirits, not really," Naruto stated, reiterating his earlier words, "Just... echoes. Memories. Like chakra impressions left behind. And they're terrified of me, even though I don't know why. Maybe that's why they want you to see them so badly."

The imprints finally gave up their attempt, dispersing into the usual faint shadows that haunted the compound's corners. Sasuke stared at the now-empty hallway, his expression unreadable.

"Show me," he finally said. "Next time you see one clearly, show me exactly where it is."

"I don't think it works like that," Naruto said, pushing his half-eaten dinner aside. "They're not like regular things you can just point to. They move weird, like they're not quite... here."

Sasuke frowned, clearly frustrated. "Then how do you know they're real? That you're not just-"

"Just what, teme? Making it up?" Naruto's voice rose slightly. "You think I want to see these things? To watch them scatter every time I walk down a hallway? To know things about your clan's techniques that I shouldn't?"

The outburst hung in the air between them. In the corner of the room, an imprint briefly formed - a woman's figure, perhaps trying to intervene in what seemed like an argument - before dissolving away.

"That's not what I meant," Sasuke said finally. "But you have to understand how this sounds. Chakra impressions of the dead, teaching you jutsu, running away from you for some unknown reason..."

"I know how it sounds," Naruto slumped in his chair. "Why do you think I never told you before? The only one who ever believed me was my dream-father, and even the old man Hokage gets weird when I mention him."

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, considering. "These dreams... how long have you had them?"

"As long as I can remember. But they changed after that night - after the massacre. The man in my dreams started teaching me more, showing me how to understand what I was seeing." Naruto paused, then added, "He feels... warm. Safe. Like what I always imagined a real father would feel like."

Something in Sasuke's expression shifted at those words. He remembered how alone Naruto had been before moving into the compound, how the villagers still treated him. Of course his friend would cling to any form of parental affection, even if it came from dreams.

"Tomorrow," Sasuke said decisively, "we're going to test this. If you can really see these impressions, if they really show you techniques, then prove it. Show me something only an Uchiha would know."

In the shadows of the room, the imprints stirred restlessly, as if aware of the challenge being issued.

---------------------------------

That night, in his dreams, Naruto found himself in the familiar warm space where his father waited.

"You told him," the man said, not a question but an observation. He sat in his usual spot, features somehow clear now and yet impossible to properly remember upon waking.

"I had to," Naruto replied, settling into the comfortable embrace. "He's like my brother now. It felt wrong keeping secrets."

"And what will you show him tomorrow?" The man's fingers carded through Naruto's hair, gentle as always. "The imprints won't reveal their techniques willingly anymore."

"I don't know." Naruto leaned into the touch. "Maybe something from the early days, when I could see them clearly? There was this one kata I saw, with a specific way of-"

"No." The word was soft but firm. "Some knowledge should remain within the clan. Choose something simpler. Perhaps about their daily lives, their customs. Things that prove you see without revealing their deeper secrets."

Meanwhile, in his own room, Sasuke lay awake, staring at the ceiling. His Sharingan activated periodically, searching for any sign of the distortions Naruto described. But there was nothing - just ordinary shadows and the quiet sounds of an empty compound.

Empty. But maybe not as empty as he'd thought.

The next morning found them in the compound's main courtyard. The sun had barely risen, casting long shadows across the training ground.

"Okay, dobe," Sasuke crossed his arms. "Show me."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "It's not like I can make them appear. They just... are. Or aren't." He looked around the courtyard, noting how the usual scattered imprints seemed to be keeping their distance today.

"But I can tell you things. Like how your mother used to water the plants in that corner every morning, always at sunrise. She had a specific blue watering can she preferred."

Sasuke's breath caught. The watering can had been one of the first things he'd packed away after the massacre, unable to look at it sitting in its usual spot.

"That could have been a lucky guess," he said, but his voice lacked conviction.

"She would hum while she did it," Naruto continued, eyes fixed on the now-empty corner. "The same tune every time. And sometimes she'd talk to the plants, especially when she was worried about... about you or Itachi being away on missions."

Sasuke's fists clenched at his sides. "Stop."

"There's more," Naruto pressed on, following his dream-father's advice about personal details. "Your father had a specific spot on the engawa where he'd drink tea in the evenings. He always sat perfectly straight, even when no one was watching. And there was this one cat that would-"

"I said stop!" Sasuke's voice cracked slightly. These weren't the kind of details someone could guess, or learn from village gossip. They were private moments, family moments.

A tense silence fell over the courtyard. In the growing morning light, shadows seemed to shift unnaturally around them, as if the imprints were watching this exchange with keen interest.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said quietly. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just... I see these things. Little moments. Sometimes they replay over and over in the same spots, like memories stuck in a loop."

Sasuke took a deep breath, regaining his composure. "Show me something else. Something that isn't..." he paused, searching for the right words, "something that isn't about them."

Naruto nodded, understanding. He looked around the courtyard, trying to spot any imprints willing to reveal themselves. Most scattered as usual, but one remained - faint but visible.

"There," he pointed to a spot near the training posts. "There used to be a different arrangement of posts here. They were positioned differently, for some specific training technique. I've seen several clan members practicing there, always moving in the same pattern."

Sasuke moved to the spot, studying the ground. After a moment, he knelt and brushed away some dirt, revealing old post holes - holes that had been filled in long before the massacre.

"How did you know about these?"

"The imprints show me," Naruto shrugged. "Sometimes they're clearer than others. Like layers of time all stacked on top of each other."

"And they're afraid of you?" Sasuke asked, standing back up. "All of them?"

"Yeah. Don't know why. They weren't at first, right after... right after that night. But once they noticed me watching, they started hiding. Some of them look at me like..." Naruto hesitated, then continued, "like I'm something wrong. Something that shouldn't be able to see them."

In the growing daylight, the shadows around them continued their restless movement, as if affirming his words.

"That doesn't make sense," Sasuke muttered, more to himself than Naruto. "If they're chakra impressions of my clan, why would they fear you? You're just..." he trailed off, realizing how that might sound.

"Just the dead-last? Just the village troublemaker?" Naruto's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, I know. That's what makes it weird. Sometimes I think maybe they know something about me that I don't."

A flicker of movement caught their attention - an imprint forming near the compound's main house, clearer than usual. The figure of a young Uchiha, perhaps their age, going through a morning routine.

"There," Naruto pointed. "Watch how he moves. That's not a regular academy stance."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but saw only the faintest distortion in the air. Still, as Naruto described the movements, he recognized elements of the clan's basic kata - steps and positions that weren't taught at the academy.

"It's a foundation stance," Sasuke said slowly. "Something taught to clan children before they enter the academy. How did you..."

"Like I said, I see them practice. Or used to, before they started hiding." Naruto's voice carried a hint of frustration. "Lately they only show bits and pieces, like they're afraid of revealing too much."

"Show me the stance."

Naruto hesitated. "I don't think I should. My dream-father said some things should stay within the clan, remember?"

"Your what?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"My father - in my dreams, I mean. The one who teaches me." Naruto realized too late how that sounded. "Not that he's actually... I mean, he's just..."

The imprint suddenly scattered, along with several others that had been forming in the courtyard. The morning shadows seemed to deepen for a moment, despite the rising sun.

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice was carefully controlled, "what exactly does this dream-father of yours look like?"

"That's the weird thing," Naruto said, scratching his head. "I can never really remember when I wake up. He feels familiar, and warm, but his face is kind of... blurry? Like trying to look at something underwater."

The shadows in the courtyard stirred restlessly. More imprints were gathering at the edges of their vision, but keeping their distance, as if watching this conversation with particular interest.

"But he teaches you things," Sasuke pressed. "About chakra, about what you see."

"Yeah. He explains how to sense chakra properly, how to understand what I'm seeing." Naruto paused, then added quietly, "He's the only one who ever... you know. Like I said earlier. One who actually acted like a parent."

Sasuke studied his friend's expression, noting the mixture of embarrassment and longing there. Something about this whole situation felt wrong, but he couldn't deny the evidence of Naruto's knowledge - knowledge that could only have come from witnessing private clan moments.

"The Hokage knows about these dreams?"

"Sort of. He always gets weird when I mention them, like today. But he never really explains why." Naruto kicked at the dirt. "Adults are always like that - they know something about me, something important, but nobody ever tells me what it is."

In the growing morning light, an imprint briefly formed closer than the others - the figure of a woman, reaching out as if to touch Sasuke's shoulder before dissolving away. Naruto saw the gesture but kept quiet, unsure if mentioning it would help or hurt.

"We should head to the academy," Sasuke finally said. "But this conversation isn't over. There's more you're not telling me."

"There's more I don't understand myself," Naruto admitted. "Like why the imprints are acting different lately. They've never tried so hard to be seen before."

As they gathered their training gear, neither boy noticed how the shadows seemed to follow their movements, or how the imprints gathered in their wake, as if trying to warn them of something they couldn't quite express.