AN: Lol. WOAH! OH SNAP, NAT! You're already writin' the second chapter? Damn right, foo'! I need to get in the swing of things again. XD Yep, more cursing in this one, hopefully they all aren't potty mouths this time. :x Oh! I also think I will be adding more things into the story, such as Sasuke's rescue and return to Konoha. Lawl! Just informing you guys!
Again, I don't OWN Naruto. I don't understand why I even need to tell you this. It's obvious I have no skill at the manga at all. And, if I happened to, Sasuke would be the UKE.
Now, to continue with the story.~
Chapter Two
The boy tossed his head, sweat pouring down his pale, lean features. His body convulsed almost. Small screams and shouts slipped passed his quivering lips, inaudible to anyone that heard them. But, to Sasuke, they were words. Desperate, pleading words. It was a nightmare, something normal to the boy. He had grown used to them, as they continuously plagued his sleep at night, and haunted him during the day. A wonderful side effect of his brother's repugnant sharingan. The boy finally launched himself up, shaking and fisting his hands in the useless blanket that covered him. His eyes were wide with fear as he stared forward blankly, collecting himself mentally.
"You have nightmares often." A voice sounded next to him. He turned and saw Orochimaru, watching him with a smug look of glee plastered across his sculpted features. Sasuke only glared, too shaken to do much of anything at the time. He dropped his head and hid his face. It was embarrassing for him to know that his teacher had seen him in such a defenseless state. It almost scared him, knowing what the sannin was capable of. The man smiled and licked his lips, reaching out to touch the boy's bruised face. Sasuke jerked away from the touch, rejecting it hastily. The sannin laughed, and Sasuke turned away from him.
"Leave me be." He ordered quietly, wanting to get more rest before training tomorrow morning. Though, he actually had no idea if it was even still night, seeing as to how there was no window in this room. But, he trusted his mental clock, which told him he'd been sleeping for an hour or so. Orochimaru proved his thoughts correct as he stood up and walked out, locking the door behind him. The boy glared at it for a moment or two, then flopped back down on the hard mattress. His back hurt slightly at the uncomfortable positioning of his spine, and he yanked his pillow so that it curved under him. It helped, but it wasn't anything to clap about. He sighed heavily and let his mind begin to wander. That's how he always had gotten himself to sleep. Relaxing his body for once. Thugh, for some reason, tonight his thoughts would not let him sleep. They reminded him of Naruto, Team Seven, and his home. It frustrated him to no end. He had trained himself to not think of this before sleeping at night. He knew it would keep him up till the early hours in the morning. He'd successfully find a way to forget about his brother when he was younger. Training to the point of exhaustion, then he simply didn't have the energy to think and he'd pass out the minute his head hit the pillow. He didn't have that choice this time, and it was beginning to drive Sasuke insane. He rolled onto his stomach, hands fisting into his soft, black locks.
'Just forget about everything...' He tried willing the memories away. They were persistent little bastards, though, and did happen to keep him up an hour before he finally fell back into darkness.
The next morning was horribly slow. Sasuke was exhausted from the night before. He had had yet another nightmare before morning had finally come, making his rest unpleasant and unfulfilling. Kabuto had only snickered at his obvious groggy state, pleasantly reminding him of how hard Orochimaru-sama was planning on training him that day. Even if the man was only trying to get ot him, he was being honest. Today's training would probably be as terrible as yesterday's, and that simple thought gave Sasuke goose-bumps. Oh, how he wished he would be late, like Kakashi had always been. He missed that relaxation period before his day began. He paused to himself, mulling over what exactly he was trying to say as he followed Kabuto silently down the hallway once again. The man noticed his deep thinking, and decided to leave him be. The boy's face was shaded in a lovely assortment of purple and black, he noticed, with dabs of red here and there.
'Looks like training did go as planned yesterday. He should be thankful he didn't fall unconscious. Usually Lord Orochimaru's first lesson is the worst..' He inwardly shivered, remembering his own meeting with the sannin once. It had turned from bad to worse as Kabuto explained how an experiment had gone wrong, and he'd lost a life due to his uncareful behavior. He'd never forget those eyes, digging into him with the blood thirsty intent behind them. A singe bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face and he swallowed the scream growing in his throat. The two arrived at Orochimaru's room, just like the day before, and Sasuke stepped inside. He now knew what to expect of his teacher, so he quickly dropped into a defensive stance and turned his eyes on. His sensei laughed at this, and grabbed Sasuke by the back of the neck, making the boy freeze and tense up noticeably.
"Not today, Sasuke-kun. Today, we will be talking about that curse mark of yours." The snake explained in the boy's ear, gently rubbing the bruises covering his cheek. Sasuke snarled and tried getting away, but the grip did not loosen. In fact, it grew tighter then before. A small gasp escaped him, and he immediately regretted it. The sannin yanked his head to the side, exposing his very prominent curse mark. The boy shook ever so slightly. He remembered the day when Orochimaru had planted that forbidden mark on him. The pain. It had been indescribable. Now, cold fingers trailed over the ugly, black marks, sending shudders through the child. Orochimaru just snickered to himself, lightly sending some of his chakra into the mark. Sasuke jolted and hissed in pain as the mark came alive at its master's bidding. He raised his hands to clutch it painfully, but they were held down by his side.
"Ignore it, Sasuke. Tolerance is a necessity for a ninja, and you seem to have none of it built up quite yet." The boy gritted his teeth in an attempt to forget the pain and simply grow numb, but the pain suddenly dubbled, sending him into a mess of whimpers and grunts. His teacher kept a steady grasp on the back of his neck with an unknown force. The pain from his curse mark dulled that pain, and he wondered if he'd have another set of bruises from that tomorrow. His thinking was interrupted, though, by another rise in the curse mark's activity. This time it was beginning to grow harder to stay quiet. Screams built up in the back of his throat, pounded against his chest for release. They crawled up into his mouth, but instead of letting out an agonized cry, a small gasp erupted into the cold air surrounding them. Orochimaru did not seem pleased with this, and forced the boy to stay still. The pain continued to grow, and the Uchiha's defenses slowly came crumbling down.
"Ignore it, Sasuke-kun." The man repeated, finally activating the mark to it's full potential. The boy lurched, eyes watering at the feeling. The marks expanded towards his heaven seal, easily breaking through it in no time at all. In the dark room, his curse shown brightly, red flames burning and inching across his skin. This was too much. This wasn't training. This was torture. The marks made their way towards his face, a point where Sasuke finally let out a small cry and began to struggle. Orochimaru snarled and forced him still, telling him that the pain would make him stronger, give him the power he desired to kill his brother. The words fell on ignoring ears, though. The boy could, surprisingly, not focus on his revenge at the moment. This pain was too much, and his body begged his teacher for mercy, though he'd never say it aloud. The sannin pulled his arms back and forced the boy's face against the stone floor, pain once again doubling. Oh, how that scream had just burst out of him. It had been held in for so long. He didn't care anymore. All his mind could process was that he was, indeed, in serious agony, and he wanted out of it right now. And so, he screamed, and screamed, and screamed. He ignored his pride for once and completely broke down.
"Dammit, O-Orochimaru!" He choked out, sharingans activating. They had turned off after the man had explained to him that they would not be training today. The snake simply laughed at this.
"You think those eyes can scare me? Force me to stop?" he chuckled to the child, who ground his teeth together in obvious torture, "They won't do anything of the sort. They are nothing like the famous sharingan your dear brother holds." Sasuke snarled at the mention of his dreaded brother, finally ripping an arm loose and punching the man across the face. He turned to the side, then returned to glaring at the boy on the floor. Sasuke simple smiled, pleased that he had finally hit the man. His look of surprise also gave him satisfaction. But, his pleasure soon faded, curse mark returning with a vengeance.
"AH-" He choked out. This time, tears did leak out, rolling down his hurt face and staining the floor beneath him. The sannin kept a sharp eye on him as he clawed the floor uselessly, letting out small, cut off screams. The boy just didn't care anymore. He had to get away from this throbbing pain. Surely such a level of agony could kill a shinobi in no time. He continued his cries for it to stop, until he finally, and unceremoniously, passed out under Orochimaru's piercing gaze.
Naruto opened his blue eyes opened, seeing blinding, white lights overhead. He raised an arm to cover his face, seeing that he himself was also white.
'Bandages..' He thought slowly, looking himself over. He was, in fact, covered from head to toe in them. A heavy sigh creeped through his lips, and his throat constricted. He had failed, completely and utterly failed. He had promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back, and had failed. His hands raised to pull his blond locks, tears pouring forth from his eyes. He sniffled slightly, wishing he had just been stronger, just a little stronger. He could have won, he knew it. It was that damned Orochimaru. He had changed Sasuke, right before his eyes, into some kind of monster. Horrific as it was, Naruto still saw his best friend the entire time. The door opened to his room, and a familiar female trotted in. She gave a forced smile, eyes red and puffy. She had been crying. Naruto lifted himself up, showing his tear streaked face, as if a silent welcome to the girl's past activity. Sakura walked over slowly and sat on the bed, green orbs staying locked on Naruto.
"Naruto... You don't need to cry..." She tried telling him, but her own voice gave out and cracked under the growing emotional toll. She raised a hand wipe her eyes uselessly. The blond shook his head.
"I.. tried so hard. I gave you my word I'd bring him back..." He strained out, shoulders moving with a silent sob. Sakura looked up, pity forming in her gut. He was right. He had promised her the day before leaving that he'd bring Sasuke back to her. Of course, she wouldn't and couldn't hold him to that. Sasuke was now with Orochimaru, a legendary sannin who could kill them in no time flat. The odds piled against them.
"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan... I'm so sorry." The boy blubbered, biting his lower lip hard and locking in some sobs. Blood dripped from the bite, and Sakura turned away. She didn't want his apologies. He had tried his best, and she was proud of him for that.
"Naruto, it's alright." She tried soothing him, knowing it would do nothing, though. It wasn't alright. Sasuke was gone, and in the grasp of a twisted ninja that wanted to use his body like a new set of clothes. Silence grew between them, Naruto's tears finally ceasing. He continued to look down, though.
"I'm not stopping here," he finally spoke up, making Sakura look at him in bewilderment, "I'm going to get him back. Orochimaru can't have him." He explained, growing louder as he continued. The girl looked wide eyed at him. She knew Naruto was a never-going-to-give-up type of guy, but this? This was scuicide.
"Naruto... You shouldn't spout words that mean nothing, and will become nothing." She said quietly. Surprising as it was, Sakura was beginning to give up. The logical side of her informed her of the danger they would be in if they even drew close to Sasuke. It was impossible, and everyday they waited to get him he would grow stronger, until their power was nothing compared to his own. The thought depressed her greatly, but it was true, and she would not ignore it to simply make herself feel better.
"What are you saying, Sakura-chan! You're just going to give up?" The blond commanded, making the female flinch outwardly and drop her gaze. He shook his head and grabbed her arm, strong enough to get her attention without hurting her.
"I'm bringing him back, even if it kills me! And nothing you say or do will change my mind! I know you want to save him, too.. He's our friend, Sakura-chan.." He quieted down, a serious glint entering his blue eyes. Sakura was quiet for a moment, then a few more tears slipped out. She smiled slightly and laughed.
"Thank you.. Naruto."
Sasuke cried out painfully as Kabuto tightened another stitch. He had ignored giving the Uchiha any pain medication, wanting him to suffer during this entire process. Sasuke sat perched on the cold, medical table, shirt tossed aside without a care. Training had been terrible today, and a number of cuts and gashes covered his usually perfect, pale skin. He let out another soft grunt as Kabuto grabbed his wrist and looked over it.
"He broke it again, Sasuke-kun? Speaking out of turn, still?" he quickly set it back in place, recieving an ear shattering cry from the boy, "You learn a bit slow for a so called genius." Sasuke glared and panted, wanting desperately to knock the man's lights out. He knew that would only get him another beating, though. Last time he had disobeyed Kabuto was, to say the least, horrific. Orochimaru had shown him no mercy, and had almost choked him to death the second he entered his room before he even entered into the punishment. A faded hand print still plastered his neck from the experience, but he knew it would fade soon enough.
"Quiet today, aren't we? Usually by now I'd be hearing at least twenty curses from you, along with a few attempts to leave." Kabuto prodded him verbally, wanting to get a rise out of him, which he knew he'd eventually get. This boy was so easy to annoy.
"Just get this over with." The child seethed, eyes closing shut tightly as the needle once again began to thread stitches into his arm. Kabuto smiled quietly and began to hum, knowing it was something that bothered Sasuke to no end. He pulled the needle out, drawing blood for the second time, then pierced him again, and again, until the wound was tightly secured. The Uchiha gritted his teeth and clutched the edges of the table. The feeling made his stomach twist uneasily. How the string pulled through his skin. He wanted to vomit onto the clean, sterilized floor. He was used to medical ninjas treating his wounds with chakra, not like this. This was different, and he was not growing fond of it anytime soon.
"Feeling nauseated, Sasuke-kun? You're growing a little pale." The medic laughed and took a step away, getting a clean wrag to wipe the blood off the boy's body. Some sort of finishing touch, Sasuke presumed. Right afterwards he was sent to his room, locked in, as usual. Like all the other times he'd been sent here after training, he crawled into his bed and dozed off, completely and utterly spent from the day's work.
AN: Lol, moving sooo slowly. Like a crouching TIGER! Not really, but you get the point. Anyways, once again, spelling mistakes. Tell me of them! Oh! And yea, Naruto, Sakura, and them will begin making their ways into the story more and more. Just be patient, it takes time, darlings! Reviews are enjoyed, and anything else is needed. (:
Nat