Warnings for This Chapter: Violence. Cursing. The usual. Sasuke's mom abusing him.

Chapter 4:

Sasuke's P.O.V.

"Yo." Naruto smiled from his leaning position against my gate.

"What's up?"

"Chillin. Like a villain from Kamillion."

"From where?" I gave him a puzzled look as I looked my gate.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled before approaching me and giving me the once over.

I shoved my hand in his face to try and distract him from my blush. "What are you doing, doe?"

"Just making sure that the bitch hasn't harmed you again. Judging from the fact that you don't have any new injuries, I'm guessing she hasn't." He sighed in relief as he leaned against my gate.

"No. She's been passed out or out getting drunk to really do anything. I've been safe for a while now, but I wonder how long it's going to last." I sighed before looking at my watch. "Come on. We better get to school. Wouldn't want you to be late on your second day."

"Yeah. Right." He nervously scratched the back of his head with a grin before we started to walk to school.

…

…

…

At school, everything was fine. We talked, but not about any of the more recent events. We at on the roof during lunch and just talked. We talked about the average stuff. The same stuff we used to talk about before I learned of the Akatsuki, Itachi's deeds, slaves and masters, and Naruto's abilities. For once… things felt right. It felt like we were two normal teenage boys living everyday lives. It felt like we were back to the times I really enjoyed Naruto's company. To the times where we would tease each other and laugh like there's no tomorrow. These were the times that made me realized that I had feelings for my blond best friend.

After school was over, Naruto walked me home again. I stayed quiet while he rambled on about something. I wasn't really paying attention. I had other things on my mind.

"I still had so many questions to ask about Itachi. I wonder if Naruto will answer them?"

We reached my house. "Well, I guess I'll see you later." He smiled before turning to leave.

"Hey Naruto."

"Yeah." He turned to face me.

I bit my lip, almost too afraid to ask this question. "You said that Itachi was your master, right?" He nodded. "Is he alive?"

Naruto hesitated for a minute before answering, making sure to never look at me. "No. He… was murdered… two years ago. I wasn't there, so I don't know the whole story."

"Where were you?"

"He sent me out to get some groceries. When I came back… he was laying in a pool of his own blood. And that was that."

I looked at his face again and could tell that he was lying to me again. "Why can't you just tell me the truth?" It hurt my heart to know that he was lying to me, but I'm sure he had his reasons. Naruto Uzumaki doesn't lie, unless it's for a good reason.

"Well, if that's the truth, then why don't you just tell the Akatsuki that?" I asked.

"They don't believe me."

"And neither do I."

"They think that I'm lying because I'm trying to hide Itachi from their wrath." He informed.

"It would only make sense. I mean, you are his slave. Why wouldn't you protect him?"Naruto didn't say anything. He didn't even turn to look at me. "I wanna find the people or person who murdered him."

"Huh?"

"Do you have corn stuck in your ears? I said I want to find the people or person who murdered my brother."

"You wanna find Itachi's killer? Ha. That's like saying a butterfly want to take down a tiger." He laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I glared at him with one hand on my hip.

"The only thing you need to concern yourself with is not getting kidnapped by the Akatsuki."

"Alright then, I order you to do it or me. I'm your new master now, right? Then I command you to find my brother's murderer(s)."

So I'm supposed to protect you while finding Itachi's murderer? Man Sasuke, you're making my job harder." He groaned.

"Well, let's start with the first question… Do you know who did it?"

Naruto just shook his head. "No. And I don't even know where to begin. Itachi made so many enemies that his death turned into a hunting game."

"What did he do to piss that many people off?" Naruto didn't answer. He just turned his back towards me and started walking. "Naruto~"

"I'll see you tomorrow." Was the last thing he side before disappearing from my sights.

"I must've hit a nerve of some kind. Every time I mention Itachi, Naruto's body becomes tense and jumpy. Did they have a fight or something before my brother was killed? I know that it can't be because my brother mistreated Naruto. Itachi's not that kind of uncaring person, right?"

I stepped into the house. It seemed emptied, but a crashing lamp next to my head let me know that it wasn't.

"You little piece of shit. You fuckin idiot." I turned my head to see my mom panting from the kitchen doorway. Her long raven hair was tossed all over her and disheveled. Through her bangs, I could see the pure hatred and anger flashing in her eyes… it was, of course directed at me.

"What the hell did I do now?"

"Mom I~"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP USURATONKACHI!" My Mom yelled as she threw the phone at me. It made a dent in the wall before crashing onto my head. "I'm going to beat the shit out of you for what you did!"

"What did I~"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" She yelled as she kicked me in my gut, hard. I grunted in pain as I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

I tried to breathe, but her small hands were cutting off my airways. She tightened her grip and held on until I was on the brink of passing out. When I was too weak to fight her back, she dragged me by my hair to the kitchen. It hurt like a bitch, but I was more concerned with trying to breathe to really focus on the pain of having my hair pulled.

When we reached the kitchen, she dropped me by the sink. The faint sound of water running could be heard, but I didn't trust my fading hearing to conform it. The next thing that happened surprised me. She picked me up by my head and put it in front of the sink. I looked down through my dazed gaze and saw that she had filled the sink with water. I hissed when she grabbed my hair again.

"She's going to drown me."

I turned my half lid eyes towards her with a pleading look. She only glared at me with a sneer on her lips. "Don't give me that. This is your rightful punishment. You shouldn't have done what you did." She dunked my head into the water, I tried to hold my breath, but my body tried to save itself by trying to lift my head above the water. She was just too strong for me to handle in my weakened state. She lifted my head. "What's wrong? Can't breathe? Well that's the point, you dumbass." She shoved my head back into the water again and again. When she dunked my head the fifth time, I reached my hand into the sink and searched for the stopper. When I found it, I pulled it out and tossed it to the other side of the kitchen. "Ugh! You sneaky bastard!" She hissed as she threw me to the middle of the kitchen. I tried to stand on shaky legs, but I was too weak and fell into a kneeling position. "You sicken me. Your father was right. I should've gotten rid of you when your father asked me to. But, I said no. I said that no matter what happens, I'll always love you. Hump. I wish I had the power to look into the future. Then I would've saw how much of a failure you are and gotten rid of you when I still had the chance. But don't worry. You're one mistake I'm going to correct, here and now."

My gaze was turned to the floor. I had to use my hands to hold my body up. It felt so heavy and I felt so tired. I wanted to fall down and let her kill me, but Naruto was the only thing stopping me. I screamed when I felt the knife she had drag across my cheek. With one of my hands, I reached out and gripped her wrist before taking the knife and chucking it to the other side of the room. I don't know where this strength came from, but it made it easier to stand.

"What's wrong Sasuke? I thought you would want to look like 'him'." I gave her a weak confused look. "I see you don't know who I'm talking about, so I'll tell you. Your little blond friend. I saw you two today. You two looked so happy. He's cute. Do you like him? I hope not. It'll save you heartache when he rejects you because you're too much of a failure for anyone to like." I felt enraged at what she said. How dare she. She started to laugh when she saw me clench my fists. "Awe are you getting mad? Good. Now you know how I felt when I sat there and listened to you two talk about Itachi. That blond bastard told you that he was murdered, right? Well he lied. I know Itachi is alive. You're the dumbass who believed him."

"Is that the reason you're punishing me?" I struggled to ask. The mysterious strength I had was starting to disappear.

"That and because you disrespected Itachi. You know, Sasuke. He was always my favorite. He was always smarter than you. Even when he was a baby. He started walking at nine months. You walked at nine in half months. I always knew that you were slow and stupid, but I ignored it, hoping that you would get smarter. What a disappointment you turned out to be." She shook her head before pulling out a cigarette from her chest and lit it. "Now look what you did. I'm all tired out because of you. You're lucky I'm too tired to kill you. But I'm not too tired to do this." I didn't have time to react when she backhanded me. Right when I was about to fall to the ground, her tail shot out and wrapped tightly around my neck. I gasped and clawed for air, but her tail wouldn't let up. My senses started to fade and my strength completely left me. My body hit the ground with a thud after her tail finally released me. "You're not dead. Clean this shit up when you wake up, Sasuke. That's the only smart thing you could do." The last thing I heard was her cackling like a witch before shutting her door.

The tile felt cool against my skin. My bangs and skin were blooded, but I couldn't move. I just wanted to lay here and die. I knew that I'd miss Naruto, but maybe I could watch over him in the afterlife. That way I could still see Naruto and be safe from my mother. A smile graced my lips as I closed my eyes.

"Yeah… That sounds… nice…"

…

…

…

Naruto's P.O.V.

After I dropped Sasuke off at his house, I walked to the park. It was dark. I liked it that way. If it was dark, I had more of a chance to try and get my sanity back. I looked around and saw that one on was around. That means I can run as fast as I can without anyone seeing me. Smirking to myself, I kicked up my heels and started to run and blinding speed. When I run, I forget about everything that causes me pain. It's a habit I picked up while I was with Itachi. I hate lying to Sasuke, but it's for his own good. I couldn't let him know the truth about Itachi. It would crush him. It's my job to protect Sasuke. But it wasn't a part of my job to fall in love with the guy.

I remember when I first saw Sasuke. Pure hatred filled my blood. Sasuke looked too much like Itachi. Every time I saw the younger raven, I wanted to punch the shit out of him. The fact that he looked like Itachi's younger twin was what made my blood sizzle with rage. It was almost like seeing Itachi's ghost everywhere I went. The day I saved him, my blood was red hot. The boys picking on him pissed me off in more than one way. Them outnumbering Sasuke was one of the reasons, but the main reason was the fact that Sasuke was going to get hurt by someone other than me. After that day, things between Sasuke and I cooled down. Each day we spent together was another day Sasuke showed me that he was different from my raven haired master. And over the course of those two years… I fell hard for Sasuke. I wanted to tell him, but I'm too afraid. I may be a physically strong person, but I'm not mentally or emotionally strong, especially when it comes to Sasuke.

"You shouldn't be out here all by yourself, Naruto. You never know who could be lurking around or watching you."

I heard someone say. I slowed to a stop before gazing up at the two occupants in a nearby tree. Both had long hair that blew in the breeze. Both had white cat appendages. Both were cousins. One was named Neji. The other was his slave, Hinata. "I have nothing to fear from you two. So there's nothing I need to worry about." I smirked with one hand on my hip.

"You always did have a cocky attitude." Smirked as they jumped off the branch.

"And if I recall correctly, you always had one too, Neji." I smirked.

"And you'd be correct sir." The brunette smiled.

"Hi Hinata-chan." I smiled and waved.

"Hello Naruto-kun." She smiled back.

"It's been too long, Naruto."

"You're right Neji, but I can tell that you're not here to reminisce. And the target you're looking for isn't with me as you can see." I stepped back, trying to get some distance between me and the couple.

"Then we have a problem. You know that the Akatsuki is after Sasuke. You also know that we've been sent on a mission to bring him to our headquarters. You know that we won't hurt him. You also know that we don't want to fight you."

"You are correct at saying that I know all of this, but…" I moved my hand to my hips to draw my swords. "It is against my orders to allow you to have him." I moved to crouch in my attack stance with a glare on my face.

"Naruto-kun please. We don't wanna fight you. I know that Itachi is your master and I know that he ordered you to keep Sasuke safe, but Itachi is a bad man. You know just as well as I do that he needs to be killed. This isn't just about revenge. It's also about stopping an evil man. You of all people should know about Itachi's evil side. So please, just give us Sasuke. Once we're done, we'll give him right back to you and we'll leave you alone. Please Naruto-kun. Please." Hinata pleaded with tears in her eyes. She has always been a delicate flower. Someone like her should never have to fight, let alone be a slave.

"I sorry Hinata… but I can't go against Itachi. It doesn't matter what I think. An order is an order and as a slave you know that we can't go against an order, no matter how old." My glare and tense muscles harden.

"Leave it alone Hinata. Naruto is as stubborn as a mule. Once his mind is set on something there's no changing." Neji sighed with his hand on Hinata's quaking shoulder. "I can see that you refuse to give us the information we require, so we'll just beat it out of you. Go get him Hinata."

"Right." She moved to get in her attacking stance. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but this is how things have to be."

She ran towards me with her hands glowing with her hands glowing bright blue. This was Neji's and her famous Gentle Fist, which isn't so gentle. Right when she was about to hit me, I sidestepped her and hit her in her side with the hilt on my sword. I have a thing about hitting girls like Hinata, but I didn't have a choice. She turned around, swinging her fist backwards and caught me in my left cheek before kneeing me in my gut and kicking me in my head, sending me flying backwards and rolling onto the ground. When I finally stopped rolling, I moved to kneel and used the back of my hand to whip the blood from my mouth. The only thing that stops me from fighting Hinata back is her personality.

"What's wrong Naruto? I would've thought that your time with Itachi would've made you stronger. I guess I was wrong. I never would've guessed that the almighty Naruto Uzumaki would allow a sweet girl like Hinata to kick your ass." Neji chuckled.

"It's that same reason as to why I can't fight her. You know that I can't fight a girl like Hinata, no matter how tough she is, you manipulative prick." I grunted as I stood up.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Level the playing field, Neji. Fight me and leave Hinata out of this. Let her be your healer."

"Fine. Hinata, we're switching places. Stay out of the way." Neji commanded. Hinata nodded before they switched places. "You know Naruto, you have to get over not having the ability to fight Hinata's type of girl."

"I know, but Hinata's a friend. Even though we're enemies right now, I could never harm her. The same goes for you guys." I said.

We took up or stances before charging at each other. When we got close enough, I moved to swing both my swords, but missed when he jumped up and came down on my back. I bent my legs forward and grabbed one of his legs before throwing him off of me. He landed on the ground with a thud. I jumped up before grabbing his tail and swinging him around by it. I sent him flying, but he managed to stop himself and run towards me again with blue hands. He was going to use his Gentle Fist against me, but I was ready. When he was about to touch me with his hands, I ducked and swept my feet under his. He grunted as he fell to the floor. I moved to stab my swords, but missed when he rolled out of the way. While I was trying to pull them out, Neji shot his chakra needles at me. They froze me in place, I struggled against their hold. I was panicking the closer he got.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms." Neji said before his started hitting me on my body.

It became hard to breathe. By time he got to his fifty-fifth hit, I was able to free my right leg and my left arm. I cocked my fist back and punched him square in his jaw. He went flying, giving me time to get one of my swords out. When he approached me, I used my sword to dodge each attack before running it in his direction. I was able to nick his cheek before stabbing him in his side and raising my leg out kick him in his face. He hit the ground again, giving another chance to pull out my other sword. He took my sword out of his bleeding side and came at me again. I used my sword to deflect each of his attacks before using my foot to knock him on his feet. I brought my sword down in a swing motion and made a nice slice along his chest. His screams made me want to cry, but I held them back.

"Neji!" Hinata cried.

The brunette grunted as he got up. He squared me up. I watched as he cocked his fist back and connected it with my left cheek. Next, he took the hand that had my sword in it and bent my wrist back. I bit my lip to stop the scream. Neji tsked before adding chakra to his fingers and jabbing my shoulder and thigh, where my leg connects to my body. He removed the chakra needles. Both of our bodies fell to the floor next to each other. This battle was over…

"Are you two ok?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah… I'm we're fine…" Neji sighed.

"I lost…" I panted.

"You didn't lose." Neji grunted as he forced his body to stand up.

"What are you talking about? You kicked my ass." I side after turning my head to the side.

"No. This was a draw. I may have damaged you physically, but you made me unable to continue. The way I see it… this match was a draw." I could see the smile on his face, which caused me to smile too.

"You've gotten stronger." I smiled as he helped me up. He moved to get comfortable so that he could carry his and my weight.

"We all have, which means you'll have your work cut out for you. But, I think you'll be able to handle yourself nicely."

"I've got your swords."

"Thank you Hinata." I smiled at her. "So what are you guys going to do now?"

"We're going to take you home first and then we're going back to headquarters." Neji informed.

"If you're chakra is depleted like that, then you won't make it back. You'll pass out before you could even get half way there, leaving Hinata all alone and at the mercy of whoever. No. You guys can stay at my house until you're all healed up." I offered.

"Thank you Naruto-kun. And as payment for allowing us to stay, I'll heal you both when we get there." Hinata smiled.

"That sounds fair."

"Alright Naruto… Which way are we walking?" Neji asked me.

"Go South for about fifteen minutes and then turn right, it's the fifth apartment on your right."

They both nodded before walking in the direction I told them to. While we walked, the words Neji said stuck and bothered me. "If the whole organization has really gotten stronger, then Sasuke and I might be in a world of trouble. Great. Just what I need." While mulling over my next strategy… I started to feel really sleepy. After that… everything turned black and peaceful.