As The Kyuubi no Yoko in Naruto

Living in the Uchiha compound proved more challenging than either boy anticipated. During the day, they could almost pretend things were normal.

Sasuke would train in the courtyard while Naruto attempted to copy his movements, their bickering almost masking the emptiness of the vast compound.

But nights were different.

Naruto hadn't told Sasuke about what he saw. How could he? How do you tell someone that their mother's soul - chakra imprint, unknown to Naruto - still wandered the halls, twisted into something that bore little resemblance to the kind woman she'd been in life?

That the compound wasn't empty at all, but filled with echoes that shrank away from him in terror?

"Dobe, you're doing it again," Sasuke's voice cut through Naruto's thoughts. They sat at the kitchen table, instant ramen cups between them. "You keep staring at corners."

Naruto forced a grin. "Just thinking about training, teme! I'll definitely catch up to you soon!"

But Sasuke had grown more observant since awakening his Sharingan. He noticed how Naruto avoided certain rooms entirely, how he'd sometimes freeze mid-step as if hearing something.

The way his friend would unconsciously move closer whenever they passed particular areas of the compound.

Neither boy slept well. Sasuke's nights were haunted by Tsukuyomi's memories, while Naruto... Naruto's dreams had changed. The warm presence that had always comforted him now showed him things - histories, techniques, warnings. Always warnings.

"They fear what they don't understand," the voice in his dreams would say, gentle yet firm. "But fear can be useful, kit. Remember that."

The Third Hokage's ANBU maintained their watch, reporting every detail. But they couldn't see what Naruto saw, couldn't understand why the boy would sometimes wake screaming about faces in the walls.

And in the depths of Naruto's seal, Kurama watched his plans unfold. Each nightmare, each glimpse of the dead, each moment of comfort between the boys - all pieces moving exactly where they needed to be.

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The morning training sessions became routine, a way to keep the shadows at bay. Sasuke drove himself harder each day, and Naruto followed, though his progress remained erratic.

Sometimes he'd display bursts of insight or skill that made no sense for a dead-last student, other times he could barely perform basic techniques.

"Your stance is wrong again," Sasuke corrected, adjusting Naruto's form. "You need to-" He stopped, noticing how Naruto had tensed, eyes fixed on something over his shoulder. But when Sasuke turned, there was nothing there.

The academy teachers had been surprised when both boys returned to classes so soon after the massacre. More surprised still at their changed dynamic. Gone was the loud rivalry, replaced by something quieter, more intense. They sat together, trained together, moved through the village together.

At night, Naruto would wake to find himself in a familiar mindscape, where the man who called himself father taught him about chakra control and the nature of fear.

"Power isn't about how hard you can hit," he would say, running gentle fingers through Naruto's hair. "It's about knowing when to strike, and where. Watch how they move, kit. Watch what makes them flinch."

During these lessons, Naruto never noticed how the shadows in his mind twisted like tails, or how his teacher's eyes sometimes reflected red in the darkness.

The compound slowly became more bearable, not because the imprints faded, but because Naruto learned to read their movements.

He discovered which paths through the house avoided the worst concentrations of chakra remnants, which rooms held memories too violent to approach.

Sasuke noticed none of this, but he did notice how Naruto seemed to instinctively guide them through their home, always choosing certain routes over others.

He attributed it to his friend's unusual intuition, the same intuition that had somehow brought him to the compound that terrible night.

In the Hokage's office, reports piled up. Training progress, behavioral changes, chakra fluctuations. But nothing that could justify separating the boys, nothing that proved the Nine-Tails was actively corrupting either of them.

Nothing except the growing unease of those who watched them.

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One month into their new living arrangement, the nightmares changed. Sasuke's Tsukuyomi-induced terrors began to fade, but Naruto's intensified. He started seeing more than just the chakra imprints - he began to understand them.

The remnants weren't just echoes of the dead. They carried fragments of memory, of knowledge. Sometimes, when passing through certain areas of the compound, Naruto would catch glimpses of training sessions from years past, of secret techniques, of forgotten jutsu.

"Your hands are forming the seals wrong," Naruto said one morning during practice, then immediately bit his tongue. How could he explain that he'd seen Fugaku Uchiha correcting the same mistake in a memory fragment the night before?

Sasuke paused, studying him. "How did you know that sequence? We haven't learned it at the academy yet."

"I... just watched you carefully, teme!" Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head. But Sasuke's eyes narrowed, catching the lie.

In their shared bedroom, Naruto had insisted on futons side by side, claiming it was warmer that way. The truth was more complex - the imprints avoided him, creating a safe zone that Sasuke could unknowingly benefit from. No chakra remnant dared approach the vessel of their tormentor.

"Tell me about your father," Sasuke asked one night, staring at the ceiling. "The one from your dreams."

Naruto though extremely sleepy, tensed. "He's... kind. Teaches me things. Helps me understand-" He stopped, unsure how to continue without revealing too much.

"Understand what?"

Naruto remained silent for a moment.

"Everything," He whispered, and in the darkness, his eyes briefly reflected red.

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The academy became a different kind of challenge. While other students complained about boring lectures, Naruto found himself struggling to maintain his usual persona.

The knowledge seeping into him from the compound's remnants made basic lessons feel hollow.

During taijutsu practice, he caught himself almost using an Uchiha stance - one he'd absorbed from watching an imprint's repeated training routine.

Iruka-sensei's concerned gaze followed him more frequently now, especially when Naruto's usual boisterous behavior would slip, revealing moments of unnatural stillness.

"Your chakra control has improved," Iruka noted after class one day, watching Naruto perform a basic clone jutsu. "But your method is... unusual."

Naruto couldn't explain that his nightly lessons included understanding chakra as more than just energy - that he was learning to see it as something alive, something that connected the world of the living to whatever lay beyond.

"Just been practicing hard, Iruka-sensei!" he grinned, but his teacher's frown only deepened.

The other students had started giving both boys a wider berth. Something about them felt different - wrong, in a way children could sense but not articulate.

Only Sasuke seemed immune to this effect, growing more protective of Naruto with each passing day.

During lunch breaks, they sat apart from others, sharing meals in silence. Sasuke would occasionally catch Naruto mouthing words to empty air, but whenever he asked, his friend would just shake his head and change the subject.

"The dead don't always stay quiet," the voice in Naruto's dreams had explained. "But they can teach us much, if we're willing to listen."

And Naruto was learning to listen, whether he wanted to or not.