Yay! Chapter 4! I had lots of insperation for a change...

Disclaimer (which I keep forgetting): Everything belongs to Kishimoto, NOT ME!


Chapter Four

Session

A lone figure strode down the dusty road, his dark outline barely visible in the night. The tall buildings that lined the streets were unusually quiet, as if they had been long ago abandoned. The moon shone dimly, occasionally illuminating the cracked red and white symbols on the brick walls. He walked casually by the mangled corpse lying on the side of the street; silver hair matted with dirt and blood, glasses askew, his face disfigured beyond recognition. The headband he once so proudly wore on his forehead lay just a few feet away, torn to the point where the sound village symbol was just another scrape on the metal.

But he did not stop. He didn't even glance back as he walked towards the man at the end of the street, his pale skin a beacon in the shadows, his sinister features twisted in a smirk as he watched the boy come towards him.

Finally they met, where he stopped and turned around. The man raised a white hand and placed it on the boy's shoulder. There they stood for the longest time, before the boy lifted his hands behind his head, under his hair. He then untied his headband, carefully taking it off from underneath his black bangs, and threw it in front of him, into the dirt of the street, the Konoha symbol scratched out with a single line.

And then he smiled. Not the smirk that everyone had become accustomed to seeing, and yet it was not malevolent, either. It was a rare, wholesome smile that brightened his eyes, and lit up his usually somber face.

Then they both turned: the young boy, and the pale faced man. The Uchiha symbol on his blue shirt seemed to glow, though the moonlight was fading. They continued to walk down the road, until they were both lost to the darkness.

Naruto could stand it no longer.

"Sasuke!" he cried out, breaking from his dream.

Naruto looked around wildly before reality set in. But still, he searched the room, as if looking enough would make his surroundings change.

He was in an Akatsuki prison cell, where he spent all of his time these days. The room was rectangular, made of stone instead of brick. The floor---if you could call it that---was dusty and covered in dirt. There was no lamp, or even a candle, so Naruto spent most of the time trapped in darkness. He couldn't tell how much time had passed; there was no window to let him know when the day ended and the night began. Had he here for a day, a week, a month? Time meant nothing to him.

Naruto shook his head to rid himself of the remnants of his dream. He'd been having more and more of them lately. Usually they involved the same thing; Sasuke, leaving the Village, Sakura's face as she learned she'd never see him again, and sometimes, every now and then, he would even dream of Hinata, for reasons he couldn't understand.

After his "talk" with the Kyuubi, Naruto woke up in this room. No sooner did the cobwebs clear from his head did Kisame come in, looking angry and delighted at the same time, with Itachi following behind.

That's when the routine began to form. Kisame would go first, usually using Samehada, but sometimes switching to basic kunai knives. Either way, as long as the blood flowed---which it always did--- Kisame would be satisfied. Itachi would stand off to the side, and often had to intervene when Kisame got too bloodthirsty. "We're not supposed to kill him, remember?"

Once Kisame was sure he had beaten Naruto hard enough, Itachi would occasionally do his part---though it was happening much more often.

After his first few visits to Tsukuyomi---"sessions", Kisame called them---Naruto began having the bizarre dreams, which became more vivid each time. He was near the breaking point; he wasn't sure if he could handle both the Mangekyo and the after effects.

Just then, the door creaked open, and a small figure poked his head in. "Oh good! You're awake!" he exclaimed, coming into the room with a small tray of food. Naruto wasn't sure why they were feeding him, even if it was only on rare occasions.

He groaned internally as he realized who it was. They always had the same person bring in the food, and he was always annoyingly happy. At first, Naruto found his cheerfulness inspiring, but now it was just irritating.

And he never saw his face. He always had an orange, swirling mask on, with one unusually placed hole for the eye. Naruto often wondered how he could see out of it.

He thought back: what did he say his name was? Naruto didn't really care, but it was something to distract himself from the thoughts that rolled around in his head.

Naruto was still trying to remember his name when the boy spoke. "So," he said. "How are you today?"

Naruto stared up at him in disbelief.

"Right, right, sorry." The boy shifted his weight from foot to foot awkwardly. "Um……." he was obviously trying to make small talk. Why does he even bother? Naruto thought, puzzled.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the steel door. "Tobi?" an angry voice called. "What the hell are you still doing in there?"

Tobi sighed. "Well, I guess I better go." With one last glance at Naruto, Tobi set the tray down, turned swiftly, and went to the door. As he opened it, Naruto heard the same angry voice yelling at him. "What the hell are you trying to do, make friends with him?!"

"Calm down, Kisame….." Tobi shut the door behind him, and the rest of the conversation was lost.

Naruto crawled quickly to the food Tobi had left, the chains on his ankles and wrists crashing together the whole way. As usual, the food was spars, and rather stale, but Naruto ate it all, unaware of how hungry he was.

When he finished, he leaned against the wall and stared blankly at the ceiling. He was tired, more mentally than physically. All he wanted to do was roll over and sleep, but he shied away from it. He did not want to give into the dreams that tortured him.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply---and instantly regretted it. His chest burned, and it made him cough violently. He realized, with alarm, that he was coughing up blood.

When his episode was finally over, he made a mental note not to do that again.

The minutes passed, and the door opened again. This time, though, it was Kisame who came in.

"So, you are awake." Kisame smiled wickedly. He pulled out Samehada. "Time for some more fun!"

"I'm so excited." Naruto replied dryly.

Before he could even move, Kisame had appeared in front of Naruto and slashed Samehada through his left shoulder. Naruto cried out in surprise and fell backwards, clutching his latest injury.

"Now, now," Kisame's smirk never faltered. "Have you already forgotten what we said about talking back?"

Naruto just scowled back, saying nothing.

But then he realized---with some relief---that Itachi wasn't with him this time. Maybe Naruto would actually be able to sleep that night.

He saw Kisame advancing, Samehada a bleached warning sign in the darkness. He sighed quietly and readied himself for yet another violent night.


Woo! Chapter 4!

Anyways, guys, I really appreciate the reviews... I know there are those of you who only read and don't review! I would REALLY like it if everyone gave me their honest opinion!

Anyways, in other news, updates will be rather slow due to school...sorry

Reviews appreicated! Constructive criticism encouraged!

SNK