A/N: This story is dedicated to my best friend Borovice. Thanks go to my beta, d_violetta. This might be the most self-indulgent thing I have ever written. I regret nothing.
The Republic of Hell
"WE ARE FREE TO STARVE
WE ARE FREE TO SUFFER
WE ARE FREE TO BE SLAUGHTERED!"
"It's another one of those," Kakashi says as he smashes the paper into a ball, his lips curling slightly with disgust. "How can anyone believe this bullshit is beyond me," he adds and kicks the dark-haired young man lying on the dirty ground in the ribs. The man's face distorts in pain, but he doesn't utter a single sound.
"Maybe this one will finally tell us who is behind these things, Individual Kakashi," Naturo suggests as he watches the man's face curiously. Something about his features seems familiar, but he cannot quite place him.
"He'd better," Kakashi mutters darkly. "Hey there, pretty boy," he turns to address the young man. "Pick yourself up off the ground, you're going with us. You have the right to silence…for now."
The Palace of Justice is full of wide corridors filled with sunlight on the rare days when there is sun, and gray emptiness when there is not. Its underground is filled by endless rows of little cells designated for pre-trial detention. In the Republic, there are no prisons, because that would be a waste of money, which could be used to purchase goods and services. In case of lesser crimes, the offenders are let go with a costly fine. In case of treason, which consists of most of the more serious crimes, there is only one penalty, which can be carried cheaply enough with a rope.
Kakashi and Naruto bring the prisoner to one of the cells. They search him to find out his identity, but discover that his identification implant has been surgically removed – quite predictable. His possessions consist of a few more incriminating pamphlets, a worn leather pouch with a couple of coins and a half-eaten apple. Kakashi orders the prisoner to strip and he silently obeys, neatly stepping out of his shabby clothes that form a pathetic-looking heap on the floor. As he stands there, stoically waiting for his fate, Naruto can't help but notice how thin the man is, with protruding ribs and collarbones covered with almost translucent skin. There are smudges of dirt here and there on his body. His unwashed hair falls listlessly into his eyes. His face is gaunt, with sharp cheekbones and dark circles under his eyes, but he doesn't look pitiful, there is defiance in the look he gives them. He doesn't flinch but stands proud under their scrutiny. And he has a reason to be proud, Naruto thinks, because for all his emaciation and unkemptness, the man is still attractive, almost alarmingly so.
Naruto's eyes stray to the long pale cock nestled in the dark curls and he feels a wave of heat surging through his body before he forces himself to turn away, scolding himself for unprofessionalism. He is also disturbed by the arousal building inside of him. So far, he only ever noticed pretty girls like Sakura, who was in his class in the Guardian Academy and now works in the medical squad. This is the first time he realizes he might be attracted to men as well.
According to the Charter of Freedom, every individual is free to choose his partner as he or she sees fit, as long as they are not an enemy of the Republic, and they agree to raise the children born of this union according to the sacred principles of capitalism. Naruto notices that the Charter is somewhat unclear on the question of same sex-relationships, and vows to ask Kakashi or one of his friends about it. But more importantly, this man here, for whom he feels this sudden and unasked for attraction, is an enemy of the Republic. And any kind of friendly contact with such individual would constitute treason.
"Go stand next to the wall. Face to the wall, hands up and legs apart," Kakashi's command breaks Naruto's train of thoughts, to his relief. The man complies and Kakashi approaches him, slipping on a rubber glove.
Naruto quickly turns away, feeling a flush creeping upon his face. He has always found this part rather excessive. He cannot quite imagine hiding anything… up there. But Kakashi has reassured him that many subversives are using their rectums to hide cylinders with knifes or even guns.
Kakashi is taking his time, and he seems to be uncaring about gentleness, as there is a sharp hiss of discomfort from the man. But he still doesn't say a word.
He stubbornly persists in his silence even when the search is over and he is left to wear the prison uniform they brought to him, and Kakashi starts to ask him questions. He doesn't even give them his own name, let alone that of the author of the pamphlets.
"Well, be it your way," Kakashi says finally, "we'll see if one or two sessions in the interrogation room can loosen your tongue, Individual."
"Don't call me that!" the man hisses at him hatefully.
"So you can speak after all, huh?" Kakashi chuckles. "I'd say that's good news for you. Let's go, Naruto, we've got other things on our agenda."
Naruto sees a glint of surprise flash through the man's eyes, only to be immediately replaced by scorn that seems to be directed specifically at him. The subversives are just as bad as they told us, he thinks as he locks the cell firmly behind them. And to think that he was entertaining treacherous thoughts about that man just a moment ago! Naruto resolves to devote his evening to vigorous meditation over Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations.
The next day, Kakashi surprises Naruto when he tells him that they won't be making rounds like they have been doing every day since Naruto joined the force last spring.
"An order came this morning," Kakashi explains, "you are to officially question the subversive we arrested yesterday."
"But I'm in patrol, not in the interrogation squad!" Naruto protests. "I don't know if I can-"
"I know you're a true capitalist, Naruto," Kakashi interrupts him with conviction. "It's not me who wants you to do this. But our superiors feel that you must prove yourself. They fear that you've been having… doubts."
Naruto's eyes automatically glide to the chip in his forearm. There have been rumors about thought police, rumors that said they can extract even a person's innermost thoughts from the chip, but he dismissed them as exaggerated. Now he isn't so sure.
"Will you go with me?" he asks Kakashi.
The older man shakes his head.
"I'd like to help you, but they insisted that it's something you must do alone."
When Naruto looks at him with hesitation, Kakashi squeezes his shoulder.
"Come on, kid, it won't be so hard. Just remember old man Jiraya's class and you'll do fine."
With this piece of advice, Naruto is lead to the interrogation room.
Not for the first time, Naruto's eyes strayed outside to watch the sunlight play on the leaves of the single tree visible from the classroom window. It was one of the rare days when smog didn't swallow the sun and streams of light were falling in the room, one of them tickling Naruto's nose. Naruto watched the tall tree with jarred-edged leaves and idly mused on its name, but of course they didn't learn such useless things. Builders, carpenters or botanists might learn about tree names; Guardians of Freedom like Naruto had no use for such things.
The sun moved to shine directly into his eyes, so Naruto closed them.
They had a lunch break before this class. Today, the school cafeteria served noodle soup with liver dumplings, Naturo's favorite. As the second course, he had a hearty serving of beefsteak – something that most of the population now considered a luxury, with baby carrots and roasted potatoes. And a slice of apple strudel with whipped cream for dessert. The food and sunlight made Naruto sleepy and he dozed off.
He dreamt. In the dream, he was climbing up a tree, higher and higher, and a dark-haired boy stood under the tree, calling up to him, but Naruto couldn't make out the words. He stopped his climb to listen.
"Ssst," his classmate Sakura, who usually sat next to him, hissed right into his ear and Naruto jolted back to wakefulness. He tried to remember his dream, but Sakura chased it away with her voice:
"Did you see my badge? This month, my family spent the most money out of everyone in the district so each of us got one! Look!" she exclaimed excitedly, pushing the badge under Naruto's nose.
Hero of Capitalist Consumption, the writing on the badge proclaimed in shiny gold letters on red background.
"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed in whisper. "So, what did you buy?"
"All three of us bought tons of new clothes, everything in the latest fashion."
Naruto wasn't all that thrilled by this answer – vehicles or electronics would be far more interesting, but he mustered the expected enthusiasm for Sakura's sake and asked her for details, which she was more than happy to give him.
"And did you burn the old clothes, like you're supposed to?" he asked as an afterthought.
Sakura looked at him with indignation.
"Of course, silly. Otherwise one of them might take it from the trash and use it. Eww," she shuddered with disgust.
"Yeah, eww," Naruto repeated after her, but his heart wasn't in it, because suddenly he could see the boy from his dream clearly in his mind, and the boy's clothes were all torn and shabby. To dispel this disturbing image, Naruto finally did what he had been supposed to be doing from the start and turned his attention to Individual Jiraya, their teacher.
Jiraya was waving some metal instrument in front of a training manikin.
"…so you don't end up covered in brain goo," he just said, and everyone in the class burst out laughing. Naruto didn't catch the beginning of the sentence so he didn't get the joke, but he laughed with the others.
Now, some five years later, he stares dumbly at the metal rod, in which he recognizes the instrument their interrogation teacher used on the manikin, and laughter is the last thing on his mind.
To his amazement, the rod might just be the most inconspicuous thing in the room, which boasts an impressive collection of whips and cattle prods, tongs, breast rippers and choke pears, among other more exotic instruments whose names Naruto thankfully forgot. This display itself is of course already a part of the interrogation, that much Naruto remembers from the class. But the actual thought of using these instruments on anyone – even the subversives – makes him want to vomit.
Before he has the time to panic, Ibiki and Miratashi, who are in the actual interrogation squad, bring the prisoner in and make him sit on the simple chair. Then they are left alone.
The prisoner's wrists are bound together in front of him with a pair of handcuffs. Naruto notices that there are chaff marks on the man's skin and before he knows what he's doing, he's unlocking the cuffs, which earns him a suspicious look from the man.
Yes, I know that's not how it usually goes, but that's why I chose the patrol squad, and not… this, Naruto thinks with growing desperation that he fervently hopes doesn't show on his face. He goes to sit behind the table and gives the prisoner what he thinks is a stern look.
"Look there," he says. "We are both of us reasonable people. How about we skip the unpleasant part and you just tell me what I want to know. Like, who do you work for? Who makes those pamphlets?"
The prisoner gives him an unimpressed stare, crossing his now free arms over his chest.
"Right. I was afraid that wouldn't work," Naruto says with a sigh. Then he takes the metal rod, which is about the only thing in the room that doesn't give him the creeps, and goes to the prisoner. He stands so he is looming over the man, lightly tapping his own palm with the rod. To his dismay, the man doesn't as much as flinch.
Naruto swallows and starts to recite the Guardian's Vow in his head.
I shall serve the Republic and protect it with my own life, he thinks as he balances the iron rod in his hand, unable to look at the prisoner.
I shall crush all those who try to harm it, he thinks as he raises the rod above his head.
I shall show the traitors no mercy, he thinks as he swings the rod and finally looks the man in the face. And freezes.
"You're… Sasuke. The Uchihas' kid. We used to play together…" Naruto whispers, because he has finally remembered where he saw this man before. His hand falls back to his side, useless.
"Good to see you again, Naruto," Sasuke says. "It is funny, though. When we played cops and robbers together, you always insisted that I must be the bad guy, because I had dark hair. I guess that was before you found out on which side your bread was buttered."
Naruto doesn't know what to say. Or what to do. He sure as hell isn't going to beat his childhood friend. So he just stares at Sasuke, hoping for… anything, really.
"I should just let you go," he finally manages to choke out.
Sasuke lets out a short bitter laugh, one that would more suit a man twice his age.
"From the freaking Palace of Justice? With Scarface Ibiki standing guard at the door of this room as we speak? Yeah, sure. In the best case scenario, they would kill both of us on the spot. In the worst, there's torture for me, court martial for you and then eventually slow painful deaths for us both."
"Shit," Naruto swears after realizing the truth of Sasuke's words.
"Indeed."
"But I can't- they cannot expect me to-" Naruto starts to object, but Sasuke interrupts him:
"They can and they do. You should do what they want from you. You should… interrogate me."
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Naruto exclaims, horrified. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"But you must," Sasuke insists, looking at Naruto with grave dark eyes.
"This is completely insane," Naruto breathes out. "Can't you just tell me who makes those pamphlets?"
"No."
"Well then we're fucked, because I sure as hell won't do anything to you," Naruto snaps and gives Sasuke an angry stare. Sasuke stares angrily back at him. This goes on for a full minute, until Sasuke sighs and speaks up:
"You must understand that there's no other way out of this. You'll lose your job and I end up with someone much worse than you, someone capable to do things to me that your obviously limited mind won't be able to even imagine. Here's what we do," Sasuke says calmly, reaches out and easily takes the metal club from Naruto's limp grasp.
Naruto knows he should stop him, to do something they learned at prisoner pacifying class, but at that moment he is completely paralyzed. So he doesn't stop Sasuke when he swings the metal club and brings it down on his own leg, hissing with pain. He just watches Sasuke with growing horror, unable to do anything as the other man beats the crap out of himself. Only when there is a sickening sound of crunching bones is he able to break from his stupor and lunge at Sasuke, trying to take the rod out of his hand. But Sasuke doesn't let go easily; even though he has obviously already managed to injure himself, he punches Naruto in the face with surprising strength. Naruto punches him back on reflex, and Sasuke kicks him in the groin. For a while they are fighting with all they've got, until Sasuke suddenly whimpers in pain.
Naruto immediately rolls off him. As his brain catches up with his body, his mind is slowly filling with horror at his own actions.
For a while, they just lie there on the floor, catching their breaths. When Naruto risks a glance at Sasuke, he almost cries. His whole face is bruised, his right eye is swollen and there is blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He cradles his right hand against his chest; it's probably broken, or at least sprained.
"There. This should be enough," Sasuke mumbles with his eyes closed.
Naruto wants to throw up.
"You can go tell them I didn't tell you anything," Sasuke manages to say in a weak voice, and then he faints.
"Hey, Sakura! Can I ask you a favor?"
Sakura stops whatever she is doing – labeling medicine bottles, most likely – to give him an exasperated look.
"For the thousandth time, Naruto, I repeat: I'm not going out with you. Ever. You're a sweet guy, but-"
"It's not that," Naruto interrupts her hastily, not really caring to hear the rest. The thing is, he did ask her out many times, but he has no idea what he'd do if she ever actually said yes. She seems especially mad at him today, probably because of the last Friday night. He got a little carried away, that's true. After a couple of beers with his friends, he had the great idea to serenade Sakura under her window at two in the morning. When she had been sleeping off a double shift. Booze always made him to do the stupidest things; he still has a sore spot somewhere on his head where she hit him with that vase.
"By the way, what happened to your face?" she asks when she notices the bruise forming under Naruto's left eye, where Sasuke managed to land an unexpectedly forceful blow.
"I stepped on a rake," Naruto deadpans.
"Haha, very funny. So, what's the deal with the favor?"
Naruto looks around on the sly to check they're alone in the nurse station. They are; still, he stands close enough to Sakura to able to whisper directly into her ear.
"Listen, it's about one prisoner. I interrogated him this morning and things got out of control. I might've roughed him up a little too much."
Sakura looks at him incredulously.
"You?! You were interrogating someone? But I thought-"
"I'm in patrol, yeah. I know what you're thinking; I had the exact same reaction this morning. But those were special orders from above. Nothing I could do about it."
"But I still can't believe you actually-"
"Listen, Sakura," he whispers urgently, taking her by the elbow. "That guy, the subversive – he… he used to be my best friend, back when we were kids. Then one day his whole family disappeared, just like that. The next thing I know, he's sitting in front of me in the interrogation room. Can you imagine that?"
Sakura mutely shakes her head.
"That's why I'm asking you to make sure he's alright, well, as much as he can be, without attracting attention. I know you're supposed not to waste resources on the subversives, just patch them up a little so they last till the next round of interrogation, but can you make an exception for me?" Naruto asks her, realizing he's beginning to sound desperate.
For a while, Sakura doesn't say anything, just looks at him strangely, as though seeing him for the first time.
"Alright, I'll do it," she says when she manages to find her voice, "but you'll owe me."
"Of course," Naruto reassures her.
Sakura gives him a hard look.
"I mean literally owe me."
Naruto sighs. Trust Sakura to make everything about money. But were they not all raised that way?
"Half of my next pay is yours, don't worry. It's prisoner no. 56946. His name is Sasuke, but don't go around telling people that."
Later that day, Naruto is called to the office of the Head Guardian.
Naruto would never admit this to anyone, but Individual Kisame – or The Shark, as he is sometimes called behind his back when people are sure he cannot hear them, fills him with fear. His skin has an unhealthy, bluish color that reminds Naruto of five-thousand mon banknotes (the highest denomination the Republic uses), and his teeth are unnaturally sharp when he smiles. And he smiles a lot.
"So? Did you find out the author of those disgusting pamphlets?" Kisame asks Naruto.
"No, Individual," Naruto says, "I am very sorry." Part of him is still numb from what happened in the interrogation room this morning.
"A pity. But I want to commend you on your efforts nonetheless. I've seen the results myself, and I must say that I'm impressed. You've been very… thorough."
Naruto thinks of what Sasuke did to himself with his help and keeps his eyes firmly fixed on a spot on the wall behind Kisame. The Shark continues:
"The Capitbyro had some doubts about you, but those have all been cleared. You truly proved your devotion to the capitalist case. If you felt so inclined, you could join the interrogation squad permanently. Naturally, there's a pay rise involved."
"I'll think about it," Naruto promises. More like, I'll be seeing it in my nightmares.
"You do that, Individual Uzumaki. But back to the matter at hand; I don't think that brute force will work with this one. It just makes him clam up, as you discovered yourself," the Head Guardian says with one of his terrifying smiles.
Naruto hopes his own answering smile doesn't look too wobbly.
"Oh no, this subversive is too resistant for our usual methods. I'd suggest something far more… subtle."
"Such as?" Naruto cannot help but ask. He doesn't remember anything like this from the class.
"I'll leave that to your imagination," Kisame says cryptically.
Naruto gives him a blank look, and the Head Guardian chuckles.
"Or not. I forgot how young you are, Individual. All right, I'll provide you with some inspiration – come to the cell G-757 tonight at ten. Dismissed."
…
Naruto holds back a shocked gasp, but doesn't try to avert his gaze. His eyes are firmly riveted to the tableau he sees through the peep-hole of the cell.
The Head Guardian, clad in his imposing brown uniform, is looming over a prisoner with long dark hair pulled up in a ponytail with delicate features, whose otherwise perfect beauty is marred with two deep lines running under his eyes, which in the harsh halogen light seem to radiate a reddish glint. Kisame's fly is open and his almost fully erect cock hangs out obscenely.
To Naruto, it seems monstrously huge. His heart starts to beat faster and he swallows. His mouth feels dry.
The prisoner is kneeling with his hands bound behind his back, and Kisame's cock is almost rubbing at his face.
"So you still won't tell me anything, Itachi?" Kisame asks.
The man spoken to as Itachi has the gall to smirk derisively at him.
"Be it your way," Kisame shrugs and forces the head of his cock between Itachi's red lips.
"If you have the stupid idea to bite me, I'll cut your nuts off," the Shark informs the prisoner merrily as he shoves his cock deeper, and Itachi makes a choking sound. Soon he is fucking Itachi's mouth in earnest, holding his head firm with both hands, not giving the other man any room to escape.
To Naruto's horror, he finds he is so aroused by this that he feels his balls will explode if he doesn't touch himself immediately. So he does, clumsily palming himself through the pants of his uniform.
"Take it, you filthy commie," Kisame spits out between ragged breaths as his thrusts grow faster, "take it all, you red swine," he rasps, his release obviously drawing near. In the last moment, he takes his cock out and comes all over Itachi's face.
At the same moment, Naruto spills himself in his pants with a helpless groan.
Kisame smears his cum over Itachi's lips, his fingers gently probing into his mouth.
"This is the taste of money," he says with a toothy smirk.
"It's disgusting," Itachi retorts hoarsely.
"Oh yeah, I agree. But you're still going to lick every bit of it."
And Itachi obediently proceeds to do so. But Naruto doesn't see that, because he runs away as though the devil himself was after him.
The weather during the weekend is miserable; the smog is so heavy that staying indoors is recommended unless one has some urgent business outside. As a result, Naruto spends his weekend mostly holed up at his room – even at twenty, he still lives at his parents' house. He lays in his big, comfortable bed looking around at the familiar objects surrounding him – his body-building tools, computer, play station, virtual reality simulator and other games, posters with half-naked girls on them.
But none of his usual pastimes works as a distraction from the images from his mind – images of what happened in the cell G-757. He is both disturbed and aroused by this memory. For the past two days, he had masturbated so many times he has lost count. In doing this, he has developed a routine. He starts doing it while trying to think of Sakura or her blond friend Ino, or even interrogator Anko Mitarashi. But at the moment of his release, he always sees a dark-haired man. It's either Itachi with the Head Guardian's cum streaked over his face, or – what is even worse – Sasuke's bruised and bleeding form.
Naruto feels sick and depraved and he can't stop. When he lies there panting afterwards, he allows himself to imagine what it would be like to touch Sasuke the way Kakashi did, but without gloves, and then to replace his probing fingers with his cock…
His rapidly returning arousal is set back by an electronic beep, signaling that dinner is ready. He takes a quick cold shower to make himself presentable and heads downstairs.
…
Tonight, it is just him and Kushina at the dinner, with Minato being away at the pub. They eat their fillet mignon in silence, until Naruto cannot reign his curiosity any longer and asks about something that has been bothering him all weekend:
"Mom, when I was little, I used to play a lot with Sasuke Uchiha from the house next door, right?"
His mother looks at him with surprise.
"Yes, you did, when you were both just five or six. You used to sneak out of the house to play with him, against our express wishes. Oh, you were such a little rascal sometimes, Naruto," she says fondly and reaches over the table to ruffle his hair.
"But you grew out of it of course, when you started school. And the Uchihas were gone either way after the Great Subversion."
"What was wrong about them, mom?" Naruto asks with his mouth full of food.
"It was bad enough they had two children; those poor people breed like animals. But what was worse, the family, they were… bad seeds." Kushina's voice is more sad than judgmental when she says this.
"What did they do?"
"It was more like what they didn't do: they didn't send their boys to school, didn't attend recommended shopping days. And when something in their household broke, they didn't throw it away or burn it like the rest of us, oh no. They…" Kushina's eyes dart around nervously, as though making sure there is no one to hear her next words. Then she takes in a deep breath and says in a hushed voice:
"They mended it."
Naruto stares at her in astonishment.
"And they- they got away with that?!" he splatters, because mending was a crime against the Republic.
His mother gives him a terse nod.
"You must understand that in those early days of the Republic, this kind of behavior was considered terribly pre-enlightenment, barbaric even, but it was not yet illegal. Not until the Great Subversion three years later, anyway."
Both of them are silent for a while. Naruto's mother is gazing off into the distance with a thoughtful expression, probably remembering the events of the Great Subversion.
Naruto doesn't remember much. He knows that some subversives tried to detonate the Palace of Justice, but the plot was revealed in the last minute. A part of the Palace still exploded – one of the archives, if Naruto's memory serves him right – and there is now a memorial with the victims' names. Afterward, all the terrorists were hanged in a public execution.
He recalls playing with his schoolmates at this, reenacting those events. The tool shed in the garden of Chouji's house represented the Palace of Justice, with some of them ambushing it and others trying to protect it. But no matter who won, in the end it would invariably explode, which they achieved by throwing out rakes, spades and plastic flowerpots (Chouji's mother explicitly forbade them to use the earthenware ones). At the end of the game, they would take someone – most often it was Konohamaru, who was the smallest of them – and pretend to hang him on the big elm tree next to the shed.
Sasuke had no part in these games, because a couple of days after the Great Subversion, he and his whole family suddenly disappeared.
Naruto was angry at him for leaving like that, without saying a single word to his best friend. If he had to move somewhere, he could at least give Naruto his address and they could have been writing secret letters to each other, like people in old movies.
"It was such a waste; they were both of them very cute boys. Were it not for their family, they could have great careers as actors or models. Or elevator attendants, at least. Especially Sasuke, the younger one, he had such a pretty face…" his mother says wistfully.
Naruto's mind conjures up an image of Sasuke's battered face and he loses his appetite. He stands up from the table, leaving his dinner half uneaten, and heads towards his room. However, before he reaches the door, he remembers something that makes him stop.
"What was the older brother's name, mom?" he asks.
"Let me remember – it was something beginning with "I". Ikari? Inochi? No, that's not it…. Oh, I know – Itachi. Like the animal. I really wonder what happened to them," she muses, not looking at her son. That way she doesn't see the expression of utter terror that appears on his face.
…
The whole next week passed without anything out of ordinary happening to Naruto. There were no more orders considering Sasuke. Naruto went to see Sakura twice to ask after him, but both of these times she was unavailable, tending to other prisoners. Message of any kind was out of the question, and so was seeking Sasuke out in his cell, unless he had direct orders to do so. In the end, he was just dutifully completing his rounds and trying not to worry much about things.
He actually doesn't realize it is his birthday until he comes to work one day and there is a bottle of single-malt whisky waiting on his table.
"Come on, open it," Kakashi nudges him with a wink.
"But we're on duty!" Naruto protests, "I don't think we're allowed to-"
"There is an exception for birthdays," Kakashi explains and opens the bottle himself, pouring them both a generous amount.
"To the Republic," Kakashi toasts.
"To the Republic," Naruto repeats after him and they knock their drinks back. However, Naruto is not used to hard liquor. The whisky burns his throat and he ends up having a coughing fit. Kakashi chuckles a little at this and refills their glasses.
"It's time you grew up a little, kid."
Naruto doesn't like the taste of whisky, but the warmth that is now spreading through his whole body is quite pleasant. He drinks the second glass in one go, and this time he doesn't cough. Kakashi promptly pours him another.
The room is spinning and Kakashi's face looks all funny. Naruto giggles for no reason, and then giggles some more at the sounds that have just left his mouth.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that you have an appointment with the prisoner no. 56946 in the interrogation room B7. At twelve o'clock," Kakashi says.
Naruto turns his eyes to the clock on the wall, but its numbers seem to be moving around in some sort of bizarre dance. After shaking his head a little and struggling to focus his gaze, he finds out that it's ten minutes to twelve.
"But I'm… uhm, like, totally…." Naruto slurs out, trying in vain to remember the right word.
"Sloshed," Kakashi says helpfully. "I know. And the Individuals above us know it as well, as this was actually the Head Guardian's idea. He said that you should think of this interrogation as of your birthday present."
"My… present?" Naruto repeats, uncomprehending.
"Yeah. The Head Guardian agrees with me that you should grow up. In all respects, if you know what I mean."
If before Naruto's expression was uncomprehending, now it is completely dumbfounded. Kakashi lets out a sigh.
"Maybe I've overdone it a bit with the whisky. Never mind. He told me to remind you of the cell G-757, whatever that means."
To Naruto's embarrassment even in this state, the mere mention of "cell G-757" makes his cock immediately stand to attention.
Kakashi gives the impressive bulge in Naruto's pants a surprised stare.
"Wow. That must've been something, whatever it was you saw in that cell. But who am I to question my orders? Let's get you to that interrogation room… if you can walk, that's it," Kakashi says, suddenly sounding very tired.
It turns out that Naruto can, with just a little help. That's how he finds himself alone with Sasuke in the interrogation room once again. But this time, Sasuke is not sitting on the chair.
Instead, he is lying with his back on the floor, his knees bended and his wrists chained above his head to the radiator.
Naruto loses no time in contemplating this tableau; before he knows it, he is squatting on the floor right next to Sasuke. This time Naruto doesn't have the keys to his prisoner's handcuffs, but even if he had them, he probably wouldn't use them. The sight of Sasuke with his wrists chained above him, completely at his mercy, is the sexiest thing he has ever seen.
"Hey," he says with a cheeky grin on his face. He reaches out to hold one of Sasuke's chains in his hand, while placing the other one next to Sasuke, slightly touching his elbow.
Sasuke doesn't say anything.
"You're very pretty like this," Naruto whispers, leaning closer.
"And you're very drunk," Sasuke retorts quietly, but if Naruto's not mistaken, there is a hint of red on his cheeks.
"It's with the blessing of the individuals above," Naruto says as though imparting a great secret.
"Good for you. I doubt you would take a piss without their approval," Sasuke smirks.
Naruto's hand moves on its own accord, striking Sasuke across the face.
"Oh, so you do know your line of work after all… I've wondered," the bound man says with a wry smile.
This time, Naruto doesn't rise to the bait, but he is still angry.
"I don't have to take this shit from the likes of you," he barks. "Tell me who writes those things!"
Sasuke just watches him silently.
"Tell me," Naruto growls menacingly, "or I'll…"
"Or you'll what?" Sasuke asks with irritating calm. "Beat me bloody? Hold my head under water until I choke? Step on my fingers with your boot? Burn me with cigarettes?" Sasuke pauses to take a breath, but he is obviously not done. Naruto cannot think of any way to stop this terrible avalanche of half-mocking, half-accusing words than to crush his lips against Sasuke's.
They kiss like they fight; tongues struggling for dominance, teeth breaking tender skin, lips sucking enough to bruise.
Somewhere between these violent kisses, Naruto managed to remove Sasuke's prisoner clothes and underwear, while remaining almost fully clothed in his uniform himself. He attacks the expanse of revealed pale skin with half-healed bruises like a savage, adding more marks on it with his lips and teeth, while Sasuke writhes and buckles underneath his touch.
There is no doubt that Sasuke likes this as much as him, because his cock is straining against Naruto's clothed thigh. Naruto reaches out to stroke it, and is awarded by a gasp from the other man. He starts to pleasure Sasuke in earnest, and soon the other man is moaning wantonly.
This makes Naruto's own cock throbbing for attention. He remembers Kisame and Itachi, but no, he isn't going to settle for that, he wants more, he wants everything.
As Sasuke comes with a startled cry over Naruto's hand, he uses the fingers of his other hand to start probing at Sasuke's entrance.
Sasuke's eyes lose the glazed look they had a moment ago.
"Naruto," he says with a hint of alarm in his usually stoic voice, "you don't really want to do this."
"Oh, but I do," Naruto whispers with an almost maniacal grin, "you have no idea how much." With that, he thrusts two of his fingers into Sasuke.
Naruto ignores Sasuke's cry of pain and starts to scissor his fingers inside him.
"If you insist on raping me, you could at least do something about the friction," Sasuke hisses at him.
For a moment, Naruto's inebriated mind tries to make sense of the idea of him raping anyone.
Didn't he like, come all over me just a couple of seconds earlier? And he wasn't exactly complaining about that, either. More like, begging for it like a cheap slut, he finally smirks to himself, dismissing Sasuke's protests as hypocritical.
However, he still stops what he is doing and goes searching for a lubricant, finding a tube of it lying conveniently nearby.
He thoroughly lubricates his fingers and reenters Sasuke, this time meeting with a lot less resistance. He keeps stretching the other man, fucking him with two and then three digits, until Sasuke starts to pant for air and his cock goes half-erect again.
When Naruto sees this, he deems the preparations sufficient and removes his fingers, preparing to replace them with his cock.
"You're making a big mistake, Naruto," Sasuke whispers, but his face is flushed as he speaks.
"Yeah, big is the correct word to use here," Naruto smirks and enters Sasuke in one swift stroke.
Despite the ample lubrication, Sasuke screams in pain, because Naruto wasn't bragging about his size. He starts to thrash about, but it doesn't do him any good, as his wrists are still chained above him and the rest of his body is firmly pressed down with Naruto's weight.
Naruto barely gives the man underneath him a moment to accommodate him before he starts to move in long, forceful thrusts that make Sasuke's whole body shake. Sasuke is biting at his lip, probably to stop himself from whimpering. Naruto leans to force his lips open, sticking his tongue in Sasuke's mouth and kissing him against his will.
This time it is Naruto's lip Sasuke bites, but Naruto is so far gone in his pleasure, lost in that incredible heat and tightness surrounding him, that he almost doesn't notice that. His thrusts grow even more violent, at one moment even making Sasuke's head impact with the radiator and gasp in pain.
At that exact instant Naruto comes, spilling himself inside Sasuke like a flood.
"Are you ready?" Sasuke asks in a whisper. Naruto's eyes dart nervously around the cramped dim cave, lingering a little on familiar objects. The wooden sticks they use as swords. The treasure collection of pebbles, feathers and beetle shells. Their greatest pride – an almost perfectly preserved cow skull, placed at the natural ledge above the entrance. Their personal kami-sama.
Naruto silently asks the cow god for courage, and whispers:
"Yes. On the count of three."
They count to three together. Then they each make a small cut on their respective forearms with their pocketknives. Naruto bits back a cry of pain as the blade pierces his skin and droplets of dark red liquid come forth.
They press the wounds together, intertwining their arms.
"My blood is yours and yours is mine. You'll be my brother for all days to come," they recite in union.
Suddenly, Naruto is no longer in the cave. He is in his room, watching his favorite cartoon. However, the picture is flickering strangely, turning into something else, and he sees flashes of some strange wooden construction.
Finally the picture changes for good and Naruto gets to see the construction clearly. It is a gallows with six nooses. Five figures with black sacks over their heads are lead to it, and each of them is made to stand under one noose. The last noose on the left stays empty, but not for long. Soon enough, two men in brown uniforms come with the last prisoner, whose face is not covered with anything.
It is Sasuke and he is sending the camera an accusatory glare.
"Blood brother," he says, "what have you done?"
Naruto wakes up.
When Naruto's eyes open, he is lying on the floor, half-naked and cold. He tries to raise his head, but it sends a throb of pain in his temples. He has never had such a terrible hangover in his whole life. What the hell was I thinking last night, drinking like that, goes through his mind as he gathers his scattered clothing and puts it back on, wincing at almost every move.
But his hangover becomes the last thing on his mind when he looks to his left and sees Sasuke, who is lying there with his wrists still chained to the radiator and pale naked body covered in bruises. His eyes are closed; he appears unconscious.
Events from earlier come rushing through Naruto's mind in a nauseating jumble and he feels bile rising up his throat.
If you insist on raping me – you're making a big mistake – blood brother...
There is a trickle of dried blood on Sasuke's inner thigh. At the sight of this, Naruto loses it and empties the contents of his stomach on the floor.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he starts muttering in panic after he wipes his mouth and crawls to Sasuke. He manages to find the key of Sasuke's cuffs and unchains him, carefully lowering the other man on the ground. He reaches for Sasuke's prisoner uniform, but finds out that it is now little more than shreds.
Shame colors his cheeks as he takes the coat of his own uniform and gently wraps Sasuke into it. He takes up one of Sasuke's limp hands and holds it between the two of his own.
"Please forgive me, Sasuke, I didn't want to do that, I'm so sorry, so sorry," he continues repeating hysterically between placing kisses on Sasuke's bruised fingers.
But he falls into silence when he looks at Sasuke's face and sees that Sasuke's eyes are open, numbly staring at something behind them.
Naruto follows his look. There is a figure standing at the open door. It is dark in the corridor, which is unusual, and Naruto cannot recognize the silhouette.
"If this is freedom, we don't want it," an uninflected, almost robotic male voice states.
Where have I heard this before, Naruto muses, but his attention is soon diverted to something that glitters in the man's hand. Something long and sharp looking when it caught the light.
"Human life should have more value than money," the figure continues. Something in Naruto's still addled brain clicks and he realizes where he heard this. Or read, more precisely.
Those pamphlets…
"Poverty should not be a crime," Sasuke says, sitting up and retracting his hand from Naruto's.
"Capitalism is destruction, not salvation," the man replies.
"Capitalism is a murder of our world," Sasuke retorts.
"The moon is painted red with our blood," the man whispers and steps in the light.
Naruto gasps. It is Sasuke's brother Itachi, and he is covered in crimson.
"Move aside, Sasuke. I see I was too late to save you from him, but I can at least avenge you."
"No!" Sasuke exclaims, throwing himself in front of Naruto.
"He's not like them. He's just – naïve, he doesn't know what he's doing," he pleads with his brother.
Suddenly, Naruto notices that a part of a human hand is visible in the corner of the door, lying lifelessly on the floor.
"What have you done?" he chokes out.
"Killed everyone standing in my way," comes Itachi's dispassionate reply.
"And Kisame let you get away with it? Or…did you kill him too?" Naruto asks with a fear he has never felt before. Because anyone able to kill Kisame is the most terrifying person Naruto can imagine.
"Not yet. He's currently at the Capitbyro. But he's coming home to such a lovely surprise. All his interrogation squad dead, including you, you pathetic stand-in," Itachi spits out, disgust suddenly coloring his hitherto unemotional voice. In just a few fast strides, he's pushing Sasuke aside like a ragdoll and pointing his sword at Naruto's neck.
"Itachi, stop it, please! He is my friend!" Sasuke screams.
"Friend, you say? Let me tell you something about friends," Itachi hisses, and his eyes are red like blood.
"I used to have a friend, too, as strange as that notion appears to me now. We were inseparable, despite the differences in our respective family situations. Where one of us went, the other followed. So when I joined a rebel group, he joined as well. You probably heard of us. We were called the Red Moon."
Naruto gives a slight nod, feeling the cold steel slide down his throat. Everyone knows Red Moon – they were the fraction behind the Great Subversion.
"We were both very young; I was thirteen and my friend fifteen. At first, they saddled us with menial tasks – distributing leaflets, delivering minor messages, writing on walls. But we were as capable as we were dedicated, and this didn't go unnoticed. Soon we found ourselves at the top of the organization, participating in every major action. That's why we were also among those who planned and executed what you call the Great Subversion.
However, the plan failed and the two of us were caught, while the rest of the leaders were able to escape. Needless to say, we were thoroughly interrogated. They wanted the names of the rest. They said that if we tell them, our lives will be spared because of our youth."
For a while, Itachi is quiet, just staring at Naruto with those unsettling red eyes.
"We kept our silence at first, so they used every means at their disposal. With me, they liked to focus on my face. It was way too pretty for someone as rotten as me, they said. Beating wasn't enough, so they turned to cutting me. You didn't actually think I was born with these scars, did you?" Itachi says with a touch of bitterness, pointing at the lines running under his eyes.
"As for my eyes... well, as you are surely aware, prisoners are often used as subjects for medicine testing. Let us say that I have involuntarily helped to develop a new type of eye drops. Too bad the early prototypes were highly toxic."
Naruto shivers as a mental image of this appears in his mind, unbidden.
"I never actually found out what exactly they did to my friend, but whatever it was, it altered his appearance irreversibly. Some might even go as far as to say he no longer looks human."
Naruto swallows and the sword tip on his throat bobs a little. Itachi continues:
"When they saw that this tactics didn't work on us, they tried something different. They threatened the lives of our families."
Naruto's eyes seek out Sasuke. His gaze is averted from both of them, and his face looks contorted, as in pain.
"I didn't budge. But my friend told them the names and addresses of every Red Moon member. The leaders were publicly executed, while the rest of the rebels met with similar fate, only less public. By some miraculous stroke of luck, I managed to escape and hurried home. I was too late to save my parents, but at least Sasuke was spared."
Naruto looks up to Itachi.
"I never wanted to hurt Sasuke, I swear!" he cries out desperately.
Itachi gives him a scornful frown.
"But you did. And I'll make you pay," he says coldly, lifting his sword.
At that moment, sirens start to wail.
"You'll have to wait," Itachi tells Naruto after hesitantly putting the sword back down. "My friend is here. I foresee a teary reunion."
"Put your hands in the air! We've got you surrounded!" Kisame yells at them as he and a couple of other heavily armed men barge into the room.
"What a melodramatic thing to say, Kisame," Itachi sighs. "I'm well aware that this room has only one exit, thank you."
"So drop that toy sword, so we can get this farce over with," Kisame's voice barks angrily.
"This toy sword took care of your whole interrogation squad," Itachi smirks. "It turned out they weren't half as tough when their opponent wasn't unarmed and handcuffed."
"Don't try my patience, Itachi. Two of my men have their guns aimed at your precious little brother's head as we speak," Kisame threatens.
With an almost imperceptibly fast movement, Itachi has Naruto in front of him with his sword pointed once again at the younger man's throat, this time pushing hard enough to break the skin there. Naruto feels the blood dripping down his collarbone.
"I've got the Uzumaki kid. I'll let him out alive if you let my brother leave with him," he hears Itachi's voice close to his ear.
"What makes you think I give a damn about the brat?" Kisame chuckles. "It's not as if his parents were anyone important. But I'll be generous and accept your bargain, Itachi. For old times' sake. Let them go," he tells the guardians.
The men do not dare to question his orders, making way instantly. Naruto is on his feet the next moment. He takes Sasuke's hand and tries to drag him up, but Sasuke seems to be in some sort of daze, staring at Itachi with an expression that is half confused and half fearful.
"Go," Itachi tells Sasuke urgently.
Sasuke snaps out of his trance and he and Naruto flee the room.
Then Kisame sends the guardians away, closing the door behind them.
"Now it's just the two of us," Kisame says. He puts his gun into its holster and comes closer.
"Wasn't it always?" Itachi asks.
Kisame comes so close that Itachi's nose almost bumps into his chest. Itachi drops his sword and it falls to the floor with a heavy thud.
The fingers of a coarse blue hand reach out to trace the lines on Itachi's face reverently.
"I loved you, did you know that? I would've done anything for you. I even joined Red Moon for you; do you think I believed a word of that bullshit they were saying? Money is not evil, Itachi. People are."
"In that we can agree," Itachi replies softly.
"But the thing was, you didn't give a damn about me," Kisame continues with bitterness coloring his voice. "With you, it was all about lofty ideals. People never mattered to you. Not me and not even your family."
"How dare you!" Itachi cries out and raises his hand to strike the other man. Kisame catches his hand at the wrist.
"Alright, maybe you care about Sasuke a little," Kisame admits. "But I don't think that it's him as a real person you care about; it's more the idea of a little brother you can mold according to your ideology that appeals to you."
"That's not true. I've always tried to stop Sasuke from actively participating in the rebellion, but he kept doing things behind my back, even after I forbade it. He was distributing those pamphlets against my will," Itachi objects, visibly agitated.
"I always liked it when you were angry," Kisame murmurs in Itachi's ear. "Especially when it was me who made you feel that way. I know you really love your brother, relax. I was just trying to rile you up."
He moves to pull Itachi in a crushing embrace. For a while, the smaller man is stiff in his arms. Then he lets himself relax, even going as far as putting his head on Kisame's shoulder.
"It wasn't just my family they threatened. The deal they offered me was slightly different from yours," Kisame says quietly after a while.
"How so?" Itachi asks, peering at Kisame.
"They added your life to the equation. Haven't you ever wondered how did you escape so easily? It was all planned."
Itachi lifts his head from Kisame's shoulder and looks at him almost wistfully.
"I honestly had no idea that you felt that way," he says quietly.
"I still do," Kisame says hoarsely and leans to kiss the other man on the lips. The kiss is incredibly gentle, a complete reverse of the act they participated in when Naruto watched them.
When they break the kiss, Itachi looks at Kisame gravely.
"You must realize that it doesn't change anything, Kisame."
"Of course," Kisame nods and there is sorrow in his fish-like eyes.
"Put your hand underneath my shirt," Itachi commands and Kisame obeys. He smothers a gasp when his fingers suddenly meet with a cold hard metal.
"What the hell is that?!" he exclaims after withdrawing his hand in panic.
"TX9," Itachi answers. "I don't have to explain what is that to you, now do I?"
"Sweet Jesus," Kisame breathes out, "you come here swinging a motherfucking samurai sword while you have TX9 strapped to your chest. This little baby's gonna blow up the whole Palace of Justice, right?"
"Not just the palace," Itachi says with a maniacal glint in his eyes. "There are others in banks, malls, largest companies. And the Capitbyro, naturally. The pamphlets were just an innocent decoy; this is what I've been working on all the time. Sasuke almost ruined everything when he let himself get caught. I had to put my plan into motion sooner than expected. But so far it's been going smoothly."
"You're… you're blowing up the whole Republic," Kisame says in awe.
Itachi nods with a razor-sharp smile.
"What do you want? Total anarchy?" Kisame asks.
"I want the two things your lot likes to flaunt about. Freedom and justice," Itachi says softly, his smile growing wider.
"Fuck you, Itachi," Kisame says helplessly and kisses the other man, this time with far less gentleness and far more desperation.
When it is over, Itachi's eyes stray outside, and Kisame follows. For a while, they silently contemplate the nighttime scenery. Factories spit yellow and green poisonous fumes and the sky is crisscrossed by thousands metal spikes. The gallows at the Square of Liberty are illuminated by bright reflectors, clearly visible even from here. There are executions carried out at every hour of the day.
The sky is overcast with dark, fast moving clouds. They watch them drift for some time, until suddenly a crescent moon surfaces from beneath the clouds. It is bright red.
"It is time," Itachi says.
"Let's see you in hell, then," Kisame retorts with a crooked grin that doesn't reach his eyes.
"Oh no," Itachi breathes out. "This is hell. Wherever we're going is bound to be better," he says with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, and pulls the trigger on the detonator.
Two figures sit at a flickering fire. From their spot on the mountain high above the city they have the perfect view of the aftermath of the carnage below. It has been hours since the detonations quieted down, but even now fires are raging throughout the city, painting the night sky red.
"Now he is become death, the destroyer of worlds," Sasuke says in a strained voice, looking at the flames lashing high against the sky.
"What's that?" Naruto asks and moves to stir the embers in their fire.
"Some quote, I don't remember where from. Itachi would've liked it. He was always so fucking poetic," Sasuke replies with a bitter smile.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry for… everything," Naruto says quietly, not daring to meet Sasuke's eyes.
"So you said."
Sasuke moves to hug his knees and place his head on the top of them. At the sight of this, something unnamable swells in Naruto's chest, threatening to burst him open from the inside.
"Could you ever forgive me?" he whispers.
For a while, Sasuke stays quiet, and Naruto begins to think that his words ended up swallowed by the cracking of the fire. Then Sasuke reaches out for Naruto's hand and squeezes it in his.
"I already have."
They hold their hands in silence as the dark red sky slowly lightens with the coming of the dawn. When the new day comes, there is a chance that they will see the sun.
THE END
Please R&R!
Some ideas of this story were inspired by A. Huxley's Brave New World. I higly recommend that (although there are no Naruto and Sasuke in it :). Also, I was told that the scene where Sasuke beats himself is like something in Fight Club - that's quite possible, even though I wasn't aware of that when I was writing it.