Disclaimer: still no owning in my general vicinity

Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed so far :3

And to sertry: this is taking place in 5th year for Harry Potter and co.

Naruto: 16

So now, on we go

Chapter 3: Blood to Bleed

It felt like a Wednesday. Naruto generally liked Wednesdays; they were right smack dab in the middle of the week, the halfway point. He liked to think Wednesday was the halfway point for this whole damn mess.

He leaned against the wall and stared unblinkingly at the ceiling, his eyes idly tracing imaginary patterns into the crumbling rock. He was right in the middle of depicting a mental battle between the specs of the ceiling with the wayward pebbles of the floor when the heavy, familiar footfalls reached his ears. The usual hissing of the seal to the door being deactivated seemed to scream in his ears, and he closed his eyes, steeling himself. His teeth ground together, his hands curled into loose fists, and his ears rung with the heady silence that always preceded the snake's orders.

He felt the man's, if you could even really call him that, presence settle over him like a layer of slime, overwhelming and stagnant. He stood over him, his red eyes heavy on his form, and Naruto strained to keep from making eye contact. A bony white hand slid into his view, the cold touch lifting his stubborn chin to meet his eyes. The slim white wand tapped almost thoughtfully against his temple.

It happened so fast.

The hissed word, a word he couldn't even begin to comprehend, flooded his brain, and the feeling of an intruder in his mind overwhelmed all his senses. It was the halting feeling of overbearing, utter wrongness. He gasped. His pupils dilating and he could see it now, fast and furious like a rapid movie, the images flashing in and out of focus, the lips moving comically fast.

Alone, he was all alone. The hate burned, their eyes burned. And why, why oh why didn't they lov-

He was eight, and his hands stung with the rough gravel embedded in his palms. Through tear-filled eyes, he looked aghast at the man standing over him, the hard eyes, and the cruel curve of his mouth. His hands seemed to move in slow motion, the glint of kunai unmistakable. And Naruto's hearts beat faster, faster, faste-

He was ten, it was dark, and the large shinobi dragged him into the abandoned alley, his pants already halfway unzip-

Haku's ice mirrors glittered deadly in the mist, and Sasuke, oh Sasuke, the senbon sticking from his neck like a macabre necklace and-"Why-why did you save me?" "My body just moved." And he was falling, rage, rage, rage, red, so much red, the mask falli-

Orochimaru's fingers slamming into his stomach, the glowing blue digits branding themselves to his seal, and pain, oh Kami it hurt so ba-

What little had been in Naruto's stomach ended up on the floor.

His eyes moved unsteadily around the room, the movements frantic. The small world that was his prison shifted in and out of focus, and he belatedly realized he had somehow ended up face down on the floor. He rolled over, his stomach churning nastily; threatening a repeat performance as his head pulsed and throbbed in further disagreement to the sudden movement. Rough hands suddenly grasped his wrists, and he recognized the reeking scent of one of Voldemort's seemingly countless cronies. The course press of rope snapped his mind to complete attention, and he futilely tried to struggle. But his body was sluggish from the mental onslaught, and he lay there like a particularly worthless sack.

Extreme nervousness coursed through him, apprehension building up until he thought it might start oozing from his very pores. They'd never restrained him before, and the fact that they were starting now left a bitter taste in his mouth. The sharp click of heels alerted him to another's approach and the feminine scent of an over-used perfume wafted into his nostrils. The shrill, cackling laugh filled him with trepidation.

"Ah, Bellatrix, how lovely of you to join us." The sinking feeling in his stomach couldn't have been a coincidence.

Three grueling hours later, Naruto lay crumpled on the floor. His still bound hands bled freely, the hot, wet blood clinging to every inch of skin it slid down. The gooey feeling of it congealing in his hair was sickening, and he cringed as he felt his nails growing back crookedly in his nail beds. A particularly sharp jolt of pain streaked through him, and he clutched his broken, though quickly healing, ribs in desperation. He blearily opened his eyes, glancing down and watching in disgusted fascination as his right ankle turned itself back in the right direction, and the red, sinewy muscle of his left calf was slowly covered by new skin. He tenderly licked the skin of his raw, chapped lips, wincing as he felt several of his teeth sprouting up in the formerly empty gaps. The cartilage in his nose shifted and groaned, forcing itself back in the proper place.

He groaned once more, this time in relief, the echoing ache of his healing wounds nothing but a ringing in his exhausted body. Trembling, he lay back on the ground, trying o move as little as possible. The fox's weary voice resounded like a gong in his ears.

'To put it in crude, human terms- we are screwed.'

Despite himself, he felt a grin slide over his face, and he licked the blood coating his teeth.

'I couldn't agree with you more.' They fell silent once more, Kyuubi sending out a gentle thrum of comforting chakra (as close to comforting as demonic chakra can be) into his host's body. The boy's sigh of gratitude was enormous.

'Sleep brat, you'll need it for tonight.'

He didn't argue, his eyes already closing. He awoke several hours later to hushed, scattered voices.

"…..amazing….ecooperating…..nothing we've ever seen….ould utilize th-"

Naruto tried to ignore the conversation going on above him. He clenched his eyes closed until he felt as though his eyelids might rip apart with the strain. The bits and pieces that reached his ears were nothing he wanted to hear, and he wished he could slap his hands over them to block them out further. Their disjointed words rang loudly in his to sensitive ears, and tears, he was ashamed to realize, began to prick at his eyes. His hands struggled against their bonds in automatic reflex to brush them away. The renewed struggles earned him nothing more than the slick slide of blood pooling between the rope and his palms, dripping and settling in his fingernails. He winced, the already sensitive and newly healed skin chaffing. But already he could feel the fox's chakra twining around it, looping effortlessly beneath and above the skin, stitching it back together. For just a moment, he wished the damn creature would just leave them be.

'Maybe they wouldn't be so interested in us then.' He thought snidely.

'Priss all you want boy, if you'd rather I leave you with infection and decay, just say the word.'

Naruto snarled wordlessly, before sighing and leaning against the rough wall of his cell. It was practically a hovel, the low, sloping ceiling lending a feeling of almost constant claustrophobia and the smell…Naruto wrinkled his nose at the overall pungent odor that permeated the entire cave, making his stomach turn slightly. 'Ya know, since they find us so utterly interesting, you'd think they'd at least spring for some nicer housing.' His small attempt at humor went ignored by the great fox in his stomach, and Naruto sighed once more.

He did a lot of sighing lately.

It was the noise that woke him first. Then the smell. It was the acrid stench of burning flesh, and it wafted through the holding center. He was on his feet in seconds, barely maintaining balance with his awkwardly bound arms. He stood defiantly in the center of his cell, fighting the sudden wave of weakness that flooded him upon standing. He growled as menacingly as he could in his current state. A distant sound of shouting and crashes met his ears. He curled his lips back into the most fearsome snarl he could manage, trying hard to look as threatening as possible as the clatter of hurried footsteps lumbered down the stairs.

There was a sudden flash of bright pink hair and he felt his heart stop.

Tonks hammered down the stairs, heart pumping and legs straining to keep her upright. The stairs panned out into even ground and she stumbled in surprise, landing face first on the cold, unforgiving ground. "Ugh…Dammit all…" A sharp intake of breath had her head snapping forward, meeting the equally stunned gaze of a rather slim blonde. He seemed to deflate upon seeing her, an odd word that sounded vaguely like "akura," slipping past his lips. Jumping to her feet, she approached him cautiously, wand firm in her sweaty grasp. His cell door was made of rather weak looking metal, the hinges rusted and crackling and the entire structure looked as though it could fall apart at any moment. Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she walked forward, hand cautiously outstretched to touch the bars.

"DON'T!"

The shout had her jumping back, eyes snapping to the imprisoned blonde. He looked like he'd been here awhile. His face was all sharp angles, his emaciated skeleton clothed in a barely clinging orange jumpsuit of some kind. His hair was matted with blood and gore, his nails jagged and rough. Three thin, long whisker-like scars tattooed each cheek, and his almost frail looking limbs shook just from standing. His startling blue eyes however, stared at her with a surprising clarity and alertness. When he spoke his voice, from screaming she had no doubt, came out in a throaty rasp.

"The seal….you have to destroy the seal…"

His words had a certain stiffness to them, as though he wasn't used to speaking English, and an accent definitely colored his speech. She scanned over the bars, and she was shocked when she saw a thin piece of paper stuck to the outside of the bars, she wondered how she'd missed it in the first place. She raised her wand.

"Accio paper!"

Nothing happened.

She cleared her throat nervously. "Wouldn't uh…happen to have any idea what kind of spell they have on this door would ya?" The blonde sent her a weary look, and despite their current predicament, she felt a hot flush take over her face, and her hair began to change accordingly to a bright, cherry red. He jumped, taken aback by the sudden change but said nothing. The silence reigned for several beats.

"Burn it off." Tonks swallowed nervously before nodding.

"Incendio!" The paper sizzled, black edges curling and smoking before dropping uselessly to the floor, the blonde stared at it in absolute wonder, a furrow appearing between his slender brows as he looked at it. Tonks reached forward, grasping the handle, and with a mighty heave she hefted it open, the resounding creak sending a streak of fright through her. When no footsteps accompanied the loud noise, she motioned hurriedly to the blonde. He stepped out shaking, his legs wobbling and she hurried to support him, quickly slicing through his tied wrists before easing him to the ground. She watched him uncertainly, biting her lip undecidedly before coming to a decision.

"I want you to wait for me here, I will come back for you once it's all clear. I promise." She squeezed his shoulder in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture but he didn't respond. Standing and rushing back up the stairs, she cast him one more worried glance, before slipping out the door and rejoining the fray. He stayed there for all of ten seconds before rising slowly off the floor, stumbling up the stairs. The unmistakable sounds of battle filtered through his ears, and he paused to watch as multicolored streaks of light flitted through the air. Then, he melted into the shadows.

'Just leave the damn them.'

'No one asked for your opinion on this bastard fox. This is none of your business.'

'I beg to differ you brat, your life happens to be my business. Especially if you get your fool self killed right on the cusp of rescue!'

'I'm NOT leaving without them!'

He cut their conversation off viciously, turning his attention back to the maze before him. Grumbling, he shredded off another piece of his already tattered jumpsuit as he continued down the hall. He moved slowly, his aching body hindering him every step of the way. 'It's like there isn't a door in this goddamned place!' Sharply turning the corner, a foul stench hit him full in the face. Gagging, he spun back around, clutching his nose and pushing back the rising bile in his throat.

"I can smell you little ninja!" That slick voice could only belong to one person. Naruto grinded his teeth. Fernir Greyback. Damn. He slid back around the corner.

"Well gee, I can smell you to, y'know, it's kinda hard not to smell you, if ya tried bathing every now and then, you probably wouldn't have that problem." The man only cackled, his rancid breath making Naruto blanch and barely resist pinching his nose. He gave a low wolf whistle. "Damn man, you really offend all the senses, I'm getting a headache just looking at your ugly mug, not to mention that smell, you fucking reek!" He was the most beastly person he'd ever seen, and he prowled about like a wild animal, Naruto's eyes narrowed, like the wolf he was. He bared his teeth in an ungainly grin, feet sliding back in a loose stance, putrid tongue licking over his teeth. Naruto shifted minutely, eyes never leaving the man.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping out your throat, little ninja."

"I bet ya would Greyback." The talk was over. Without another word, Greyback launched forward, claws flashing and swiping. Naruto leaped back, flipping backwards as he charged again. He pulled his fist back, hitting the man square in the stomach, shifting back quickly he struck his knee up into his chin, a satisfying crunch following the hit. He spun effortlessly, bringing his leg up for a roundhouse kick, only to have the other's claws sink deeply into his calf.

"GAH!"

Using his claws like hooks, he spun the blonde around, his claws digging and gouging, before releasing him into a wall. The plaster cracked with the force of the throw, and he unsteadily rose to his feet, the pain in his leg almost crippling. 'Fuck, I really don't need this right now.' He sprinted forward awkwardly, jumping as high as he could, raising his other leg for a crushing kick.

WHAM.

His leg connected in a crushing blow, Greyback's collarbone shattering in an instant. He howled in rage, his slathering jaw snapping forward, clasping onto Naruto's unprotected neck. "SON OF A BITCH!" He pushed him to the ground, his hulking body almost smothering Naruto on the way down. With a scream, Naruto jabbed his fingers hard into the man's injured collarbone, pushing the snapped bone even further out of place. His jaws unhinged, Naruto's blood mixed with the other's spit stringing from his gaping maw. Naruto shifted, using his weight to change their positions. He dragged his fists back once more, pummeling the other's face in rapid, unstoppable punches. With another howl, Greyback lunged forward, shoving Naruto back into the wall, pinning him there with his powerful fists. With a roar he leaped at his throat again, stopping short just a few inches away. His ugly eyes were wide with shock, as he looked, flabbergasted, at the hand protruding through his stomach. Naruto's grimaced as he twisted his arm, ripping it back through. It came back encrusted with blood and flesh, and Greyback stumbled back, hands desperately going to his wounded stomach. He sunk to the floor, eyes wild and overflowing with hatred. "You little monster!"

Naruto smile was grim.

"You know it."

I'm not sure I really liked how that fight scene panned out, so constructive criticism on that would be most helpful. Reviews are more than welcome. -Cherry