Meeting again, just like yesterday

"Where am I?"

Naruto looked dazed. It wasn't because he had inexplicably been dragged into another space. That had just happened a few days ago, after all, and the second time around wasn't enough to send him jumping at every little thing.

What truly surprised him was how much this place resembled the one he often visited in his dreams. It was the same pure-white space, the sort of place he spent almost every night in, except this one was a little more colorful than the place in his dreams.

Naruto glanced at the grass on his left, then the flowers on his right. The more he looked, the more familiar this place felt, filling him with curiosity.

"What, even looking at your own Inner World can keep you that entertained?"

A voice suddenly sounded beside him, startling the engrossed Naruto so badly he nearly jumped.

Turning around, he saw a familiar row of bars that looked completely out of place amid the surroundings, and behind them, an enormous Nine-Tailed Fox watching him with interest. Naruto instinctively cried out, "A monster..." Then he paused. "Huh? Why do I feel like I've shouted that before?"

He scratched his head and thought hard, pacing in circles and squinting at the bars. Finally, he smacked his fist into his palm in realization. Wasn't this the fox monster that had once appeared in his dream?

I thought that was just a dream, but this fox is real! Come to think of it, a fox...

Only then did Naruto catch on. His eyes went round as he pointed at the Nine-Tails. "Y-you're the one the people in the village talk about..."

Before he could finish, the Nine-Tails interrupted him.

"Quit clowning around." The Nine-Tails slammed his tail into the ground, jolting Naruto's feet off it