Chapter Title: Missing

Words: 6213

Series: Naruto, Elder Scrolls

Although he really should, Kakashi didn't feel the least bit tired as he sat there watching his sleeping genin. Eventually, their exhaustion had set in, and Sasuke and Sakura both drifted off into sleep as Naruto had... but Kakashi didn't feel any such feelings of fatigue. He hadn't had a proper sleep in some time, but whatever had sent him into unconsciousness between using the technique and waking up, it had at least given him some respite. Enough that it was comparable to his usual couple hours of light sleep. It was a good thing, too, as he wasn't sure if this place was really safe, all things considered. There was something strange going on here, and he needed to be sure it wasn't going to bite them to remain.

Still, there was one thing that needed some attending to... food. His stomach was feeling a bit empty, and though he had some rations on hand, he decided to see if the offer of 'free food' was any good. Creating two clones to watch over his genin(two so that one could dispel the moment something happened and inform him of what was going on, while still leaving the other to stay behind), Kakashi rose to a stand and left the room silently.

As he made his way downstairs, he noticed that the same people that had been there about three hours ago were still there, drinking and talking and playing their music as they had been those three hours before. It was odd to see, but Kakashi wasn't entirely sure what time of day it was with the storm out. It had been nearly dark as night, coupled with the fact they jumped in the middle of night, leading him to believe it was getting late, but perhaps it was still day? Morning? Or, perhaps, these people simply didn't want to leave?

Regardless, Kakashi headed over to the bar where Benunius was cleaning some glasses. Taking a seat, the man looked up, smiling as he did. "Come down for a drink, sir?"

"I'd prefer some food, but a drink wouldn't hurt." Kakashi said, shifting to get comfortable.

"Coming right up, then! I'm afraid I don't have much in stock beyond some bread and cheese, but it's fresh!"

"It'll do, thank you." Bread and cheese was more than good enough compared to the tasteless emergency rations he had in his pack. It was practically gourmet in comparison.

As Benunius began rummaging around the cupboards behind the bar, Kakashi threw a few glances around the bar, particularly its people. They seemed relatively normal, and not out of place, but... Kakashi couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Here you go, sir! One relatively fresh slice of bread, and a wedge of cheese!" A table was set in front of Kakashi, and he turned his head back. Looking at the food offered, he was pleased to see it looked very edible, and – after slipping his mask down – he took a bite of the bread. It was good tasting, too, which gave it a massive edge over the emergency rations. "So, what brings you to Balmora, friend?"

"This or that." Kakashi said lightly, not trying to be evasive, but not trying to be upfront about it. "Just... wandering, with no real idea where we're going."
"Ah, wanderlust, is it? I know her call!" Benunius grinned, shaking his head. "Bit of a bad time to come to Balmora, friend! It was a nice place, once upon a time."

"I'm sure it was. Would have been nice to see it, then." Kakashi said neutrally.

"You from Vvardenfell, friend?"

"No."

"Didn't think so. You don't have the look about you-" Benunius shook his head, "no offense intended, of course! You simply lack the pale complexion that the residual ash from the Mountains tend to give."

"Aren't I pretty pale?" Kakashi asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh, for certain, friend, but not quite the ashen look I'm speaking of." Benunius shrugged. "Men grown and raised here to be a pale lot. They look quite sick, in fact, but they're as healthy and hardy as any. Good thing, too!"

Kakashi nodded his head lightly, enjoying the calming music being played by a human and one of those lizard creatures, while taking a bite of bread and cheese. "Say, on our way in here..." Kakashi started, looking pointedly at Benunius, "we encountered someone who spoke of 'nightmares', and that this place is cursed. Know anything of it?"

"Ah, that? Bit of an odd one, that Argonian. Likes to ramble and speak of things that don't actually exist." Benunius said with a dismissive wave, and Kakashi nodded his head. However, he considered it odd. If that were true, why then didn't everyone else say that about the 'Argonian' as he called it? Why were Sakura and Naruto met with such odd, repeating statements if Benunius answered so easily? Very strange. "I wouldn't pay him much mind."

"Alright, I'll try not to." Kakashi said, though that was very much a lie. Rather sedately, he continued to eat the food given to him in the peace of the soft music being played.

"So, from what far off land do you hail, friend?" Benunius asked, grabbing a clay cup and pouring some sort of drink into it.

"Here or there." Kakashi answered loosely. "I don't really have a home." Which was both a lie and truth at the same time. Kakashi's home was Konoha, but he had no place he called home in the village. Just an apartment that he would sleep in, really.

"Ah, what a vague answer you've given me." Benunius hummed, setting the cup down in front of Kakashi. "You've got a particular evasiveness to you, don't you? Not a particularly trusting fellow, are you?"

Kakashi shrugged tensely at the sudden shift in Benunius' tone. Rather than take a sip of the beverage Benunius just set down in front of him, Kakashi stopped eating entirely, watching the other man carefully, not once letting his guard down.

"But I suppose I don't need to hear your answer to those questions straight from your mouth." Benunius said cheerfully, smirking as he did. "I can take the answer from you as easily as you lie." Kakashi slowed, his attention sharpening to a point on Benunius. "Actually, it could be even easier than you lie..."

With years of trained grace, Kakashi had a kunai out and pointing at Benunius' neck. It was not a consciously made decision, but a purely reflexive one, born out of a sudden, indescribable fear in the deepest recesses of his mind. "Who are you?"

"I believe I asked the question first, broad as it were." Benunius said with a smile. "Then again, people hardly listen to what others say. What they truly say, at least. They listen just enough to follow a conversation and nothing else. But that's a matter of digression, isn't it?"

Throughout the spiel, Benunius' speech shifted in tone and pitch constantly, creating a distorted warbling effect. Kakashi was unsure how to describe it, but it was not natural. "I was curious about you four since the moment you walked into Balmora. I can't seem to approach you in your dreams; it's as if your dreams are from another plane of existence.." Benunius' said, his – its – voice still shifting. "Thus I decided to approach you in the waking world and find out what you are. But speaking with you mortals is such an unpleasant experience, and you never answer how I want you to answer."

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as he felt his body go numb, the kunai falling out of his hand. A shadow had wrapped itself around his arms and legs without him knowing, binding his limbs on the spot in a way similar to a Nara's technique. "Wha..." he ground out, trying to fight against the shadows with all his might, but it was as if his body had ceased to exist. Any attempt to move seemed lost to his body, and he was moving only at the Shadow's command, as if he were a puppet. It was stronger than any Nara technique, and soon the shadow was growing and wrapping itself entirely around Kakashi, smothering him underneath.

"It's not a terrible ordeal for me, however. I can just learn what I want from you as easily as you can lie." Benunius reached out, his body seeming to melt away with shadows. "Sleep well, and have pleasant dreams. I give you my word that I won't touch the children." Then Benunius' face split into a thin smile. "Well... not yet."

Everything went dark, and all Kakashi heard was a high pitched, melodic laughter as he felt his consciousness fade. The last memory he had was receiving his clueless shadow clone's memories regarding the sleeping genin before he fell into a deep slumber.

Naruto awoke with a start, a crash of thunder breaking the relative silence he had become accustomed to whilst sleeping. In his disorientation, he sat up and looked around in a panic, wondering if someone had thrown a rock through his window again. The last time that had happened, the rock had nearly messed up his favorite kettle(his only kettle, for that matter) that he had left on the table near his window. No way did he want a repeat of that and have his kettle break! Then he wouldn't be able to make himself instant ramen anymore!

When his vision and mind cleared, he realized he was not actually in his apartment, let alone a room with a window. He was in a fairly cramped room with silly drapes hanging on the walls(they didn't cover windows, what were they there for?!) and an uncomfortably hard floor that only had rolled up clothes as comfort. That's right, a dawning realization coming over him. Not only was he not at his apartment, he wasn't even in his own home world. Scratching his head at this sudden re-revelation, Naruto squinted as he examined the beds he was not sleeping on. Sasuke and Sakura were on them, and he couldn't help but feel jealous that Sasuke got a bed and he didn't. The jerk had stolen it right from under him, the bastard!

Shaking his head, Naruto laid back down only to sit right up a minute later. The rain pattering against the roof made him realize something. He needed to pee.

Really, really badly.

It was then he remembered the unfortunate problem of this world. They had no toilets, only pots and pans that you did your business in. The thought alone made Naruto shudder. No way he was gonna take a leak in a shiny pot that other people also probably pooped and peed into. Especially not when it was in the same room as Sasuke and Sakura! No way! He'd sooner die than do that!

Once again glancing around, Naruto noted that Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. A bit odd, he thought, but not alarming. It wouldn't surprise him if Kakashi had headed downstairs to get some of that free food the bartender guy offered. Even if he was creepy, free food was free food. Naruto knew to not turn those kinds of offers down! ...unless it was poisoned or rotten. Naruto somewhat doubted that, as even the nastiest of street vendors never stooped to giving him stuff like that. Though sometimes the free food he got when he was younger was really spicy or salty or sour, and some of them really burnt coming out, but hey! It was free!

Standing up and keeping his legs tight, Naruto crept to the door and snuck out of the room. There was that river nearby, so Naruto would just go in there. Yeah, he'd get wet again, but it was no big deal. There was that one time he got paint all over himself after a prank, and ran so fast and hard that he ended up falling asleep with it all over himself once he had gotten home, so sleeping while wet didn't bother him too much.

Heading downstairs, Naruto didn't notice immediately that there was no one around, not even the bartender. In his half-asleep, bathroom needing state, he continued not registering it even as he left the building into the pitch black night. Self-preservation kicked in, then, and he decided to avoid the raging river that thrashed about from the rain and wind. Instead, he stayed under the relative safety of the awning and found a corner inside it to relieve himself.

Aaah...

Once done, and once he had shaken it out, Naruto pulled his pants back up proper, throwing his hands under the rain and wantonly rubbing them together. Say what you will about his general lack of tact, he did understand hygiene.

If only a little bit. Most of the time he didn't use soap, and he only 'washed' because Iruka-sensei always got mad at him when he'd use the bathroom and immediately leave without washing. It became something of a habit after that.

Once he wiped his hands off on the pants, he headed back inside. Almost immediately, he noticed something off. There was no one around. It wasn't the lack of patrons that set him off – it seemed like it was nighttime, so people probably wouldn't be at a bar this late at night – but rather it was the fact Kakashi and the bartender guy weren't around, yet the entire place was still lit with candles and lanterns.

Conspiratorially, Naruto checked the entire first floor for anyone, but found absolutely no sign of life. There was a sign that someone had been around, as there was a plate of bread and cheese on the bar that was half-eaten. Frowning, Naruto brought his hands together to form the seal for the Kage Bunshin and created two clones. To them, he said, "Keep checking the first floor, look for anything like hidden trap doors and stuff. I'm gonna wake Sakura-chan and Sasuke!"

"Got it, boss!" The clones saluted, heading off to do as asked. Naruto ran up the stairs, briefly stopping to look at the other three doors in the hallway. Nervously, he tried opening them, but found they were locked still. Making a mental note of that fact, Naruto nodded his head once and headed back into 'their' room.

"Guys!" He called, somewhat quietly so as not to startle them awake. "Guys...!" It was the second call that resulted in Sasuke stirring, finally rolling over on the bed to look at him, eyes open and spelling pure murder.

"What." He deadpanned, no humor in his voice. Upon him saying that, Sakura stirred in her own bed.

"Kakashi-sensei isn't here, and neither is that bartender guy!" Naruto exclaimed in a slightly quiet and subdued voice. "I can't find anyone anywhere!"

Sasuke sat up then, frowning deeply. Glancing around the room, he spotted something and pointed to it. "He left his bag here..." He said, sliding his legs out of the bed. Naruto blinked, watching as Sasuke walked over to the pack and began rummaging through it. "Everything was left behind..."

"Why'd he do that?" Naruto asked, glancing at Sakura who was just now coming out of her sleep-like state. "He wouldn't just leave all that stuff here to go somewhere, would he?"

"How should I know?" Sasuke snapped, glaring at Naruto. After a moment, Sasuke pulled an object out of the backpack, looking at it with intense concentration. The item in his hands was the Interdimensional Travel scroll, and he immediately began to unfurl it.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Naruto asked sharply, to which Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Unlike you, I'm going to actually read this damn thing and go home." Sasuke growled, setting the scroll on the ground and beginning to read it, his Sharingan spinning.

Naruto blinked owlishly, his mind slowly catching up to the words Sasuke said. When it did, his temper flared. "I read everything in there!" Naruto yelled. "There wasn't anything about goin' back! Besides, why are you worried about that now!? We have to find Kakashi-sensei!"

"You find him if you want," Sasuke spun his head around to glare, his Sharingan narrowed to slits, "I don't care. I'm going back to our world."

Complete silence from Naruto, his mouth falling open agape in shock. Then, with much sputtering, he said "You're just going to leave him behind!?" This time it as not just his temper that flared, but a burning hot anger. "He's our teacher!"

"So what?" Sasuke said, his own anger rising up. Turning to glare at Naruto, he sneered at the blond, saying, "I have things I need to accomplish, and I'm not going to be running around these damned 'universes' being held back from them because of your stupidity!"

"You bastard..." Naruto snarled, his hands tightening into fists. "I always knew you were a jerk, but I didn't think you were heartless! Kakashi-sensei saved you – has saved all of us before! - and you're gonna repay him by running off home because you're so selfish that you have to accomplish your stupid goal!?"

Sasuke stood up swiftly, a fist grabbing hold of Naruto's shirt and drawing him so close that their forehead protectors bumped. "You don't know anything about me or my goal!" Sasuke shouted, Naruto noticing his eyes were spinning rapidly, two tomoe in each eye. "I will not be held back from my vengence because you are too stupid to realize what our situation is! Don't you want to become 'Hokage'? To make everyone 'acknowledge' you?! You can't do that when you're on an entirely different world, RETARD! You not only can't accomplish your dream now, but you were the one who ruined it for yourself!"

"You think I don't understand that!?" Naruto yelled back, pressing against Sasuke's forehead, forcing the other boy back as he grabbed hold of Sasuke's shirt in turn. "I DO understand! I understand perfectly! We're stuck on a world we DON'T KNOW, but UNLIKE YOU I'm not a damn drama queen who's so OBSESSED with himself that I don't care about other people and only care about my stupid, selfish self! WHAT SORT OF HOKAGE WOULD I BE IF I LET MY FRIENDS AND COMRADES DIE!?" Naruto yelled the last part so loud his ears rang, his breathing increasing in speed, his body breaking out into a sweat, his cheeks feeling as if they were on fire, his vision swimming with a red mist, and his nails poking holes in Sasuke's temporary clothes. "Kakashi-sensei is our teacher, and our friend! We're not leaving him behind!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he slapped Naruto's hand away, stepping away from the blond. "I am not a part of that 'you'." Turning his back to the blond, Sasuke knelt back down to the scroll, his eyes firmly locked on its surface with no intention of leaving it. "You can look for him if you want, I'm going home."

Naruto just stood there for a long time, glaring at the other boy, his body shaking with anger and frustration. His heart pounded in his chest and ears, and his focus was so centered on the other boy that he did not even notice the blood trickling down his fingers from where his sharpened nails broke skin. He also failed to notice Sakura, who had been staring at the entire scene in horrified silence, nor the tremors she was experiencing.

"I thought you were better than this, Sasuke." Naruto whispered heavily, his voice strained. "But now I see you're the kind of person who would abandon his friends if it meant saving yourself." Turning on his heel, Naruto stalked out of the room, grabbing a hold of the door as he left, "You're not just trash... you're worse than trash." With that said, he slammed the door shut.

As he walked down the stairs in silence, Naruto hunched over onto himself, clutching his stomach, a fiery hot emotion toiling around inside. It hurt... it hurt a lot... and it was something Naruto had only felt a handful of times in his life... but never towards Sasuke. Naruto wasn't unused to arguing with Sasuke. On the contrary, he was used to having silly and petty arguments all the time.

But that's all they were. Even he knew that they were just silly and petty arguments where the meaning in them was something trivial and stupid. Naruto couldn't ever remember having an argument with Sasuke that was not anymore serious than their competitive relationship. There had never been a legitimate argument over the possible life and death of a friend, a comrade, a teacher. Especially now. Naruto had thought the two of them were becoming friends! Ever since Wave, Sasuke had seemed to begun lightening up, and after he saved Naruto's life, he was sure they had become closer. They were friends, right? Still arguing and competing, but it wasn't out of hate or anything like that! Had he really misjudged Sasuke that badly? Naruto thought he hadn't, but...

"You okay, boss?" One clone asked once he had made it downstairs, the clone looking at Naruto with concerned blue eyes. Oh great, now he was getting consolations from himself. "Your eyes are looking really red and weird. Kinda like a cat's."

Naruto balked a bit, glancing down at his hands. His fingernails had grown to a point, the bones in his hands looking sharper and more pronounced against his skin. There was blood on his palms, but not a single wound on them, and he realized that whatever wounds he had had already healed. In shock at this, Naruto tried to calm himself, taking several deep breaths, willing his mind to calm down. After a few minutes of slow, concentrated breathing, he could feel his nails and bones begin to return to normal, albeit painfully. "Phew... that was close."

"You're telling me!" The clone said, shaking his head. "I felt like I was gonna poof out of existence with you around! Anyways," the clone held out a hand, grinning. "look what I found! Keys to the other rooms!"

"Sweet!" Naruto beamed, snatching the keys up. "Maybe there's a clue in one of the rooms!"

"Yep! That's what I was thinking as well!" The clone said with a sage-like nod. "We'll keep checking down here, you check upstairs."

"Gotcha!" Naruto tightened his hand around the keys into a fist, turning on his heel to head up the stairs only to come to an abrupt stop. At the base of the stairs was Sakura, standing there nervously. Naruto blinked owlishly, his mouth opening slightly in wonderment. He was certain she'd have stayed with Sasuke, considering how obsessed with him she was. Then a thought occurred to him... maybe she was down here to beat him up for yelling at Sasuke. "Ah, S-Sakura-chan...!"

"N-Naruto," she said, trying to look everywhere but him, "u-um... I... I want to help you find Kakashi-sensei!" She rushed out, bowing her head. "You and Kakashi-sensei saved us, so... if he's in trouble, I want to help him too!"

Naruto stared in amazement, only to mentally beat himself up. That's right. Regardless of Sakura's obsession with Sasuke, she was still a kind girl who cared about others. There was a reason he liked her, and it wasn't entirely because of her looks! "Alright! We'll find Kakashi-sensei and show that jerk what teamwork really is!" Naruto pumped a fist, not really noticing Sakura's uneasy smile. Grabbing one of the keys in his left hand, Naruto handed it to Sakura. "I found the keys to the other rooms, so let's give them a look!"

Sakura blinked, looking at the key in confusion. "What do you expect to find in them? They're just unoccupied rooms, right?"

"Well," Naruto scratched his head, squinting as he did, "I don't know where else to look yet. There's a room down here, but it's just a kitchen, and the only place left in this building is upstairs."

"Oh..." Sakura nodded, turning on her heel and heading up the stairs, Naruto in tow. "Which one is for which?"

"Dunno." Naruto scratched his head. "Let's just try one." Naruto suggested, inserting the key into the door at the immediate right. It didn't turn. "Guess it's not this one." Sakura went to the door at the end of the hall, taking the key with her, while Naruto inserted the other key into lock. As expected, they both turned, and then they entered the rooms.

The first thing Naruto noticed upon entering was that the room was pitch black, and it had a strange musky scent to it. Not the old and dusty smell of a room that hadn't been used in a long time(like the Academy library), just... musky. Naruto scrunched up his nose, glancing around the room for anything odd. Not a bit seemed out of the ordinary... then again, it was completely dark.

Fumbling around in the dark for a desk, dresser or table – and knocking over countless items in the process – he found a candle that he stepped out into the hall to light before venturing back into the room to start his search proper. He found various knick-knacks knocked over on the dresser – his fault, he knew – along with a few books, but he couldn't exactly read them. Despite that, there was something inherently... wrong about them. Like, just touching them made him feel sick to his stomach. Setting them aside, Naruto continued to look around more carefully. He looked in the dressers, behind them, and even under them. Nothing.

When he turned to the bed, he got nervous. Really nervous. He couldn't explain it, either. It was just something that sprung up all of a sudden once his eyes landed on it... he could recall hearing horror stories about finding something scary under the bed, and it was all coming back to him and making him rather nervous to look underneath. Still, he had to. It was the last place to look.

Setting the candle down on the ground, Naruto reached out and grabbed the mattress, beginning to kneel down to the ground. Sweat began to form on his forehead, and he cautiously bent over.

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing underneath the bed. Naruto let out a heavy, relieved sigh. Only to stop breathing entirely when he saw something glint as the flames of the candle flickered. Upon closer inspection, there was a sword of sorts, laid flat on the ground and hardly noticeable outside of the light hitting the polished blade just right. Carefully, Naruto adjusted the candle until he had found the handle of the sword, and then carefully pulled it out.

It was a pretty plain looking sword, Naruto noted as he looked it over, but there was an odd sort of glimmer to it that didn't seem particularly normal for the metal he'd seen. Beyond that, it wasn't all that special, and it was kind of heavy, too. Rather than take it along, Naruto shoved it back under the bed, since he didn't feel right just taking something like that when it wasn't his. Sure, he had already taken the keys to these rooms and was rifling about the place, but his intention wasn't to steal stuff, he just wanted to find Kakashi!

Shaking his head, Naruto did another sweep around the room, but found all of nothing. With a sigh, Naruto was about to leave, only to stop and search around the room for candles. With his own candle, Naruto lit the other candles around, feeling oddly comforted by the new found light. There was something decidedly disturbing about the near total darkness, and he couldn't quite put a finger on why.

Leaving the room after that, he headed over to the other room, finding that Sakura had already lit the entire room, and was now going through the task of checking around the room. She was currently on her hands and knees, looking under the bed.

"You find anything?" Naruto asked, wondering if there was another sword under this room's bed.

"Nothing." Sakura said with a sigh, pushing herself up to a stand. "Just some books I can't read, some old, dusty clothes that have been infested with moths, and various little trinkets. Not a single clue about what happened to sensei."

Naruto let out a hum, crossing his arms. "That can only mean he left here, right?"

"I would guess so." Sakura said, shrugging. "But where would he have gone?

"I dunno... and I dunno why that bartender guy would have gone, too." Naruto shook his head. "I don't think Kakashi-sensei would have just left us alone. He probably would have left a clone at least to keep an eye on us..." Naruto squinted, thinking on the issue long and hard. "Ugh... I don't know."

"Well..." Sakura paused, looking thoughtful. "We should probably give the town a check, before we start jumping to any conclusions about what happened to him."

Naruto nodded in agreement, and it was at that moment two of his clones stepped into the room, one carrying both his and Kakashi's bags, the other carrying clothes. "Since we have the new rooms open, I thought we could change." One of the clones said. "I also took Kakashi's bag from the bastard, since he's only looking at the scroll."

Naruto nodded, taking his clothes while Sakura took hers. "I can change in the other room," Naruto said, "and then we'll go looking for Kakashi!"
"Okay." Sakura said softly, trailing off as he nibbled on her lip. "But... what about Sasuke-kun? Should we really leave him alone?"

"Hrmph..." Naruto crossed his arms. Of course she'd still be worried about the bastard... then again, Naruto was also worried about Sasuke, too. Regardless of the boy's attitude, Naruto still thought of the other boy as a friend, and he'd make damn well sure Sasuke didn't get hurt. "My clones can stay behind to watch him. He might not care about his comrades, but I do."

"But what if something happens to your clones?" Sakura persisted, to which Naruto grinned.

Lifting a hand and jabbing his thumb against his temple, he said. "If a clone gets dispelled, all their memories are returned to me! If anything happens, we'll know right away!"

Sakura blinked owlishly, her jaw slacking slightly. "That's... amazing..." she whispered. "The amount of information you could learn in a short amount of time..."

Naruto chuckled somewhat nervously, not used to the notion of Sakura giving him praise. "It's how me and Kakashi-sensei got you and Sasuke out. I sent in a bunch of transformed clones and just scouted the place out." Naruto beamed with pride at Sakura's awe, but he quickly began to grow self-conscious under the girl's attention, and thus he quickly changed the subject. "A-anyways! We should get changed!"

"Right." Sakura agreed, seemingly forgetting their previous conversation. Naruto quickly left the room, shutting the door behind him and quickly moving to the other room to get changed. His clothes were completely dry, as they were made of a sort of nylon that was semi-water resistant, and thus weren't prone to getting thoroughly soaked. A small blessing, and one that saved him from a few of his very own pranks in the past.

Once he was finished, he stared at his own pack, along with Kakashi's. After a moment of internal debate, he pulled on Kakashi's larger pack and strapped it to his body. It was considerably looser than his own pack, but there was no threat of it slipping off, thankfully. After that, he strapped one of his kunai pouches on, leaving the other one alone.

Stepping out of the room, he found that Sakura had also just finished changing. "Um. Here." Naruto held out his backpack and second kunai pouch, scratching his head. "We didn't have time to grab Sasuke's or your stuff, and since I'm carrying sensei's bag and one of my pouches, you can carry my bag."

Sakura frowned, taking the pack with a slow nod. "Okay..." After she had put them both on, she looked somewhat uncomfortable wearing Naruto's stuff, but didn't verbally complain.

"Alright!" Naruto punched his right fist into his left palm. "Let's go look for Kakashi-sensei!"

Grrrggghhkk...

Both Nartuo and Sakura stared at one another, Naruto turning slightly red and growing uncomfortable under the girl's stare. "Uh... but first... let's grab something to eat."

Darkness. Darkness swam all around him, consumed his vision and left him in nothing. It not only clouded his sight, but he could feel that his other senses were likewise blocked, as though he was in a void, a black hole with no sight or sound. It felt like a dream. A dream where there was nothing to it, just a shapeless thought. An illusion.

Kakashi knew otherwise. This was no mere illusion. If it were, he'd have broken it. If it were, he'd have realized it. No, this was real. This void was as real as he was. It was shifting, toiling around, as if sentient. It was latched onto him like a shackle.

His vision of complete darkness was, for one brief moment, clear. A flash of lightning allowed him to see once more, and he saw a sort of bog all around him, spanning miles upon miles outward... yet that too changed along with the disappearance of light.

A building stood in front of him, one he recognized, but never wanted to see again. It was drawing him closer like a magnet, and he soon found himself pushed into the building.

Whereas before his senses were dulled, now they were sharp as any kunai, perceiving every little thing around him with perfect clarity. His feet moved on their own, as if dragging him through the building he wanted nothing more than to leave. Leading him exactly where they had once led him, many years ago...

There was a sliding door in front of him, and shakily, he reached out towards it against his will. With a quick thrust to the right, the door was thrown open, and the room beyond was revealed. Two figures were in the room, both immediately recognizable, though both should have long since been gone.

One of the figures was on the ground, lifeless and unmoving, blood pouring out of a wound across his stomach. A small knife was still held tightly in the figure's slowly cooling hand. Seppuku.

The other figure, short and small – oh so small – turned to Kakashi, staring up at him with two, lifeless black eyes. Kakashi wanted to turn away from those eyes, but he was compelled to stare into them. Unable to stop himself, Kakashi choked out a whisper. "Why?"

The small figure - oh so accurate to his child-self, but that was, should have been impossible – then cocked its head to the side. "You know why." The younger version of him said quietly. "You killed him. You killed him with your scorn."

Kakashi felt as if he was punched in the stomach on hearing those words, and he took a step backwards, and another when the figure on the ground began to shift. The figure looked at him, its face so much like his father, so much like his own, and it stared at him with lifeless eyes. "You killed me, Kakashi..." the man – his father - began crawling towards Kakashi, and though he tried to take a step back, his feet were frozen on the spot, "Why?"

"Stop..." Kakashi breathed out, trying to will the images, the illusions away. Trying to forget about the painful memories, of the painful guilt, of all his countless mistakes, but they were coming to him and not stopping. "Stop it..."

"I did everything for you, Kakashi. I raised you... I trained you... I loved you..." Sakumo Hatake rose up from, blood still spilling out of the open wound on his stomach, and more than just that began to pour out. "Why did you turn your back on me? Turn your back on your own father?"

Kakashi could not answer, and Sakumo reached out for his shoulder, dragging him close. The dagger in Sakumo's right hand plunged itself into Kakashi's stomach, angled upwards into his heart. "Join me in death, Kakashi."

Death was not an uncommon thing for ninja. Every single shinobi was prepared to face their end with every mission, no matter how mundane or simple it might be. Long ago, Kakashi resolved he did not fear it. For many years, Kakashi sought it. For his entire life, he dealt it. A swift, painless death was how he ended many lives. He always made it quick. Always made it painless. He was an assassin, not a murderer.

The knife that was angled up into his heart should have killed him within seconds, and the suddenness of the blow would have forced the body into shock, making it relatively painless. But as the knife was yanked out of his flesh, only to renter it in another location entirely, as painfully as possible, Kakashi realized something.

He was still not dead.

There was the pain of death, but no release.

A/N: And thus begins the psychological torture of Kakashi. I think I may be something of a sadist, as I enjoy putting Team 7 into shitty situations too much. I go and give them a false sense of security with a peaceful place, then BAM. Nightmare gods up in the house. Wait, what am I saying? I don't think I'm a sadist, I know I'm a sadist. My bad.

When I first started writing this chapter a long ways back, I was initially going to have a relatively simple plot that could easily be called "generic fantasy" and save the more mind bending stuff for the next world(since the next world could easily house all the mind bending stuff that I want it to), but that ultimately led me to encounter the dreaded writer's block. Then I played some ES games, and remembered that my favorite part is doing Daedric quests, which inspired me to write something Daedra related, and this is what my mind wrought. I was actually going to do something Mephala/Dark Brotherhood related, but my fingers led me somewhere else entirely.

I've considered changing the plot several times(as I wrote it, after I wrote it, as I wrote world 3, as I posted this fic, as I posted the first chapter of this world and plenty of times in between all of them) since I feel like this sort of plotline is pretty dark(and likely the darkest thing in the fic for a long time) and 'dangerous' for so early in the fic, but I ultimately like how it turned out, and it sets up pretty much everything I wanted to do in a way that few other scenarios would. It just gets a few things out of the way early so I can focus on genuine crossover stuff(and plot) later on.

Until next time. Ja ne.