A/N Kon'nichiwa! As the summary says, this story is about Sasuke deciding Naruto would make a good addition to Heibi; after all, as soon as he can match Madara's eyes, he'll be able to control the Kyuubi like a pet, and being able to control Kyuubi logically tells him he can control Naruto as well. So… Read to find out more!
Chapter One: A Vessel in Your Eyes
It was a dark night as Naruto lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of the Uchiha that had left the village only two and a half years before… He was supposed to go on a mission with Sai and Sakura to go after him once more, but the blonde had doubts. Saasuke had killed Orochimaru, after all, and Naruto had been beaten by the snake even with Kyuubi's help.
Sasuke… Why did you leave me here feeling guilty that I couldn't bring you back? Naruto thought with a headache. He couldn't stop thinking about his friend ever since he learned that even though Orochimaru was dead, the stubborn rogue wouldn't just come back home already. It practically killed him, this knowledge…
There was a knock on the door.
"Nani?" the 15-year-old sighed. "Who could possibly want to come over at this hour of night?" Nonetheless, he got up and walked to the door. "Who is it? It's late," Naruto called, opening the door.
The moment the door opened, all went black.
All he could hear were unfamiliar voices saying inaudible things.
But one voice…
Sasuke…
Naruto awoke to a bucket of icy water being poured on his head. He coughed up what he had accidentally breathed in. "Wh-what?" he spluttered, soaking wet.
A katana was held up to his throat. "Stand," Sasuke's voice ordered.
Knowing the raven-haired rogue wouldn't hesitate to kill him, Naruto stood up, not even a hint of fear showing on his face. Perhaps those emotion controlling lessons were worth it after all, the blonde thought.
"Now stay."
The katana still being up to his throat, Naruto did as Sasuke ordered.
"Karin, frisk him and remove all weaponry," Sasuke commanded someone.
"Hai, Sasuke-kun," the one who was apparently Karin replied.
"Suigetsu, hold that sword up to his throat."
"I don't see why I have to, he's surrounded anyway…" Suigetsu sighed, doing so as Sasuke stepped back.
The sword… Zabuza's sword!
Naruto didn't dare make a comment about that, though.
"Strange you're so silent, Naruto," Sasuke remarked calmly, looking at the boy, who's eyes were half lidded and who looked completely calm; in reality, however, he was wishing everything to all be a dream. "Normally you'd be a lot more defiant than this."
I'd probably have been stupid enough to fight back years ago, but now I'm not going to do such when I'm outnumbered… I don't know the strength of the enemies, either…
"You said this would be fun…" Suigetsu muttered. "This is just boring. What use is he to us?"
That's what I'D like to know…
"Don't doubt Sasuke-kun, he knows what he's doing!" Karin insisted.
"The Kyuubi is a powerful weapon. That's all," Sasuke replied coldly.
"We're risking all this for a weapon?" Suigetsu reacted to Sasuke's answer with yet another question.
Alright, now they've crossed the line! "I'm no tool of yours, Sasuke," Naruto said calmly, his voice not betraying the fear that made the blood in his veins go ice-cold. "I can see that you haven't had one personality change since you left. Furthermore, if you wish to control Kyuubi no yoku though me, I must apologize, because I have little more than one percent control over it. I also wish to inform you of the fact that Tsunade-sama will not hesitate to send shinobi after me."
"Yeesh, why are you speaking so formal?" Suigetsu asked with disgust.
"It's fear, I can tell," Sasuke noted. Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke could tell? "Don't be surprised, it shows clearly in your eyes."
Fear was turning to rage. "Shut your trap, teme!" he hissed, lunging forward. The blade pierced his neck slightly. Naruto clenched his teeth to hold back a yelp of pain.
"Let's go," Sasuke ordered. "Karin, lead the way. Suigetsu, stay behind him to make sure he doesn't somehow get the courage to try escaping, and look out for Konoha shinobi. Juugo, be prepared in case Naruto does something that Suigetsu somehow can't stop. Naruto, look forward and follow Karin. Turn to look back and you'll regret it."
"Hn," Naruto replied defiantly, his persona revealing itself at last. He had gotten a pretty good analysis of the enemies and their personalities by now. That, and seeming weak was driving him mad.
"Maybe this isn't so boring after all," Suigetsu sighed, chuckling slightly. "So you plan to train him and break him in like a horse? Sounds amusing."
"Let me go, teme!" Naruto growled. Kyuubi's chakra was beginning to leak out.
Sasuke, sensing this, told Karin, "Now."
Karin walked over to him with a talisman in hand. She was about to stick it on Naruto's forehead, but the Jinchuuriki tried biting her hand. Suigetsu was now laughing as he held onto the spiked hair and kept the blonde's hands hands behind his back to keep him from injuring anyone.
After the forehead protector was removed, a strange feeling of vulnerability washed over Sasuke's former teammate. The forehead protector he had had for so long was now taken by his rival and pocketed like a trinket to be later thrown aside and forgotten. Talisman replacing the headband, Karin took a roll of bandages and wrapped them around his forehead-much like what Neji used to cover the cage bird seal-to prevent it from falling off. Naruto glared at her, unable to use Kyuubi's chakra-he couldn't even use his own.
"Well, I think this about wraps it up. Let's go," Sasuke ordered.
"Hn," Juugo responded. It was the first time he had spoken since Naruto laid eyes on him-if you could call it speaking.
"Come on, Sasuke, it's practically midnight, and we woke the gakki up! He might not walk due to exhaustion," Suigetsu remarked.
Naruto glared at him. "F-Y-I, Sasuke's only a year older than I am, not to mention that I'm perfectly capable of walking even IF I'm tired! Like it or not, I'm a ninja!"
Sasuke slapped him. Naruto gasped, shocked. Had his friend really just done that? "Shut up, you're annoying," the avenger snapped.
Despite being the youngest one there (even if only by a single year if you think about Sasuke), Naruto shot Heibi a, "You're all a bunch of morons" glare.
"However," Sasuke added, "what the vessel-" Naruto winced as Sasuke addressed him as such "-said is true. He can walk."
"Since when did I become nothing more than a vessel to you, Sasuke?" Naruto asked him, half angry and half crying as tears welled up in his eyes. "We were best friends! Rivals, but friends! At the rate you're going you're going to be as bad as Itachi, and some helpless child is going to swear to get revenge on you! And thus you'll be ruining people's lives like dominoes!"
Sasuke slapped him yet again. "That," he replied, stoic as his brother, "is not my problem. And another thing-do not EVER compare me to Itachi."
The younger Uchiha sibling turned away from the blonde vessel. "Karin, I told you to lead."
"H-hai!"
As they left the building, Naruto not looking back, stared at the ground. So all his friend saw him as was a vessel now. A vessel to be used and abused when orders weren't followed through. How had Haku not minded being degraded as such? Well, Haku had been desperate for a purpose. Working as Zabuza's tool had been like a promotion. But Naruto had friends and a purpose in Konoha. Now he was being taken away from all that.
"So I really am nothing more than a tool to you, now?" Naruto asked Sasuke quietly, tears glinting in the dim moonlight.
"Quiet, vessel."
The harsh words stabbed him like a vampire bat's fangs. So sharp that it didn't even hurt. But at the time, it drained his spirit, like the draining of his blood…
And that was what was worst about it.
His… His teammate was acting like… Like he OWNED him.
Not even the villagers shunning him hurt as much as that.
Quiet, vessel.
By now, Naruto was only aware of those two words echoing through his head. Even if this ended, even if Sasuke was sorry, he knew this was something he would never forget.
A ninja must show no emotion, a ninja must show no emotion, a ninja must show no emotion… But… I can't just will these feelings away! Naruto thought, silently crying as Konoha's gates became farther and farther away.
- - -
Sakura yawned. It was 6:00 AM. Wonderful. The birds were tweeting, and the silence brought hope of-
Wait… SILENCE?
If Lee had raced her to the Hokage, Sakura would have won.
"WHY THE HECK IS IT SO QUIET?" Sakura screamed. "NARUTO IS NEVER QUIET AT THIS TIME OF DAY!"
Tsunade lifted her head off her desk. Did I fall asleep at work again? Wait, Naruto didn't wake me up? NANI? She was immediately alert. "Go check his house. Akatsuki might have launched a night attack!"
"I'm on it!"
- - -
Heibi's hideout wasn't far ahead now. "Alright, Karin, go ahead and prepare a cell," Sasuke commanded. "Make sure there are as many chains as possible."
"Nn, alright," Karin replied, running ahead.
Cell? Chains?
They entered the hideout. "Alright, Suigetsu, I've got it," Sasuke said. Suigetsu nodded and wandered off.
"Sasuke," Karin called. "The cell's over here. It was used often for Orochimaru's test subjects who had just been injected with DNA because of how much they would thrash and struggle, so I think it'll work. The chains also absorb chakra."
"Good, that should do."
I really don't like this…
"Go forward, vessel," Sasuke said simply.
"VESSEL?" Naruto barked at him, turning his head back to glare at the Uchiha. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT CRAP!" He turned, prepared to lunge at Sasuke, despite the fact that he was weakened by inability to use his chakra, but the slightly older ninja sidestepped.
All was black again.
- - -
Groaning, the young Jinchuuriki sat up and looked around the room. It's metal everywhere… My bedroom isn't metal… No… Wait, Sasuke came and… How many chains was he talking about? And where's the door? How'd I get in here if… He glanced up to see a trap door in the ceiling that looked extremely high up. A rope ladder, he guessed, would fall down, and one would be able to climb up. Judging by the minor ache he had in his head and back, he'd been tossed in and chained up after. Speaking of chains, he looked around. The room was huge, but at the same time, there was a metal collar-like thing around his neck with a leash-like chain connecting it to the wall behind him. The chain was about five meters long, so at least he could walk around when he wanted. His wrists were also chained in the same way, same length. Ankles were no different. He couldn't help but find it odd that the room was so large, and yet the chains only let him go halfway across. Alright… So now what was he supposed to do, wait?
No way.
"HEY! SASUKE-TEME, LET ME OUT!" Naruto called angrily, chains rattling as he slowly stood up.
No response. "SASUKE-TEME!"
Forgetting the chains, Naruto leapt up trying to reach the trap door. It had no handle on the inside, but maybe if he tried to push it upwards… The chains held him back. "Fine, I'll break out of here no problem!" Naruto announced, hopping someone heard him. Realizing the talisman wasn't there any more, he focused chakra in his limbs to try and break the chains with.
All that happened was a powerful electric shock coursing through him. "GAH!" he gasped as the pain erupted. Should have remembered Karin said something about chakra absorbing chains… Uhg. Annoyed, Naruto willed the vein on his forehead to subside as he shakily stood back up. "Think you won that, huh? Nice try, but it'll take more than that to keep me from escaping!"
The blonde bit down on the metal cuff around his wrist. It would take awhile, but he was certain he could eventually break free that way...
Another shock.
Not expecting that in even the slightest way, he let out a noise that sounded like "GRACK!"
- - -
Sasuke, Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin sat near the trapdoor, amusing themselves by listening to Naruto's desperate attempts at escape. "Persistent, that's for sure," Suigetsu mused.
Karin sighed as she heard a second scream. "Again? Idiot…"
"I feel we could have been more original… I mean, electric shocks? That's used by everyone!" Suigetsu insisted, ignoring Karin's remark. "We could have made it so the metal heats up, or the room gets really cold, or the chain tightens around his throat and chokes him until he blacks out!"
"Heat will only hurt the areas the chains are on, he's been in the Snow Country with just a cape-like sweater and is as un-sensitive to cold as most ninja, and he'd probably try so hard to escape he'd get himself repeatedly choked until he killed himself. None of those ideas are very good," Sasuke replied, shrugging.
- - -
"SASUKE?"
Kakashi nodded. "Pakkun told me it was Sasuke's scent with Naruto's, along with three others, probably some of Sasuke's rogue friends."
"But why would SASUKE want to capture Naruto?" Tsunade asked, half screaming.
"Perhaps he wants the Mangekyo… No, he would have killed Naruto on the spot if that was what he was after… But I've heard that the Mangekyo can be achieved in more ways than one," Kakashi admitted. "Or, read, rather. The scroll in the Uchiha mansion states that if someone is to scratch out their sibling's eyes who happened to have the Mangekyo, they can transplant the eyes into themselves. The Mangekyo's effect would be permanent, and despite weakening the user, it wouldn't cause them blindness. I believe that's why Itachi kept Sasuke alive and encouraged him to kill his best friend. Then Sasuke would have the Mangekyo, and Itachi would be able to take the power from him, keeping him from going blind."
"But what does that have to do with Naruto?"
"Simple. The hidden secret of the Mangekyo is that it can give the user complete control over the nine-tailed-fox."
"So Sasuke is going to release the seal?"
"No, too risky. I bet he's trying to control both Naruto and the Kyuubi. And I think you'll find one of my assumptions interesting, Tsunade-sama."
"What?"
"Uchiha Madara was responsible for the Kyuubi attacking the village."
"Na…Nani?"
- - -
Exhausted, Naruto finally fell down. Is there no way out of this? Tears streamed from his eyes. "Sasuke… Please let me out!" The cell was maddening.
The door slowly slid open. A note fell to the floor. The door closed.
The Jicnhuuriki crawled forward, and read the note.
By the sounds of your screaming turning into begging, I can only assume you're desperate to get out. (Teme, thought Naruto, he couldn't have written this in five seconds, he must have guessed that was what I would do!) If you truly wish to get out of there, you will have to gain at least moderate trust. But to do that, you will be taken out on occasion for purposes you will learn yourself. I look forward to that first 'breaking in' session tomorrow morning.
Naruto read the note over and over again.
It was official.
Sasuke was out of his mind.
Breaking in sessions? What was that supposed to mean?
Deciding it couldn't possibly be that bad, Naruto sighed, lied down, and fell asleep, catching up on what he had missed the previous night.
- - -
There was growling in the seal. Eyes half open, the Jinchuuriki made his way towards Kyuubi. "What do you want, Kyuubi?"
"I just wanted to inform you that you've been asleep for at least eight hours, and that exactly one minute ago, that Karin girl picked you up, and she's currently unchaining you. I suggest waking up and striking now, if you want to escape."
"Since when did you willingly help me?"
"Since that Sasuke thought he should follow in the footsteps of Madara…" As Kyuubi began muttering a string of curses, Naruto nodded and woke up. Karin was, like the fox had said, unchaining him. Naruto shut his eyes and waited until his neck was free before lunging at her.
It didn't go as planned, though.
KYUUBI, YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME SUIGETSU WAS BEHIND ME! Naruto screamed to the demon as Suigetsu held Zabuza's blade up to his throat.
Sorry, must have slipped my mind, the fox chuckled in reply.
Hey, you can talk to me like this?
Only seconds after contacting you like how I did a moment ag-
The contact broke. Naruto struggled in Suigetsu's grasp as he was hauled up the ladder, Karin right below. "LET GO OF ME!" he all but screeched.
"Hand him to me," Sasuke said, taking Naruto from Suigetsu. This didn't stop the struggling, however.
"LET GO OF ME!"
"Urusai."
After being dragged up a staircase, through part of the base, and outside, Naruto finally found himself tossed to the ground. Tired because of his struggles, he lay down, panting. "Sas…U…Ke…" Naruto gasped, "P-please…Let me go… I'll… Do… Anything… I wanna go home…"
"No, vessel."
That word again…
"Sasuke…" Naruto whimpered. "Please. See sense, we can go home, you don't have to be a rogue to kill Itachi! You can come back to Konoha! We can be a team again!"
Naruto stayed still as Sasuke stepped on him, pressing his sandal lightly onto the Jinchuuriki's chest. "Never. Konoha is weak. Their bonds tie them down."
"That's exactly what Gaara said," Naruto insisted, "and it was because of those bonds that I beat him!"
"You beat him because of the Kyuubi!" Sasuke spat, pressing harder. "The one-tail isn't as strong as the nine-tails."
"Sasuke… Please… Come back home…"
The grass was damp with tears. Sasuke seemed to take absolutely no notice and he kicked his former teammate with strength to rival Sakura's using a pair of katana stuck in the ground to keep him from going flying. Naruto winced.
And still he didn't take notice.
A/N Alright, this chapter better be worth it, I worked hard trying to make it long! Hopefully the next one will be no shorter.
Oh, and be aware that I PROMISED MYSELF I would do a "Warriors" fanfic next… Oh well, too bad, couldn't help myself. This idea popped into my head so suddenly and… Well… You understand, right?
By the way, watching little siblings play with the "Naruto: Ninja Challenge" and seeing them get hit with the disks is fun! XD
And also, try and imagine Itachi singing, "Makes Me Wonder."
The last two were really random, I know.
