Disclaimer: It is annoying repeating myself every single time. I hate this dumb disclaimer. I only own my OC(s) and the twists and turns along the way. If I suddenly start owning Naruto, I'll let everyone know, okay?

Slipping Away

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Naruto

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I leaned my back against the cool stones of the wall. My head hung forward, blood dribbling from between my lips. If Kisame were in a good mood, he'd give me some extra food; if he wasn't in a good mood, I'd be lucky to get the scraps he was forced to bring me.

Nothing could compare to the emptiness inside, not even the physical abuse I took. I kept asking myself why I didn't fight back, and somewhere inside of myself, the kyuubi was asking the same thing.

"You know they're going to kill you," Mizuki spoke as he stared at me from a dark corner.

"Yeah, I know. I'd rather die than help them. I couldn't live if I were to take someone's life like they do everyday." I moved my neck and the muscles tightened—Kisame had done a number on me.

My back was raw, and my stomach...I didn't want to think about it. I cleaned myself up the best I knew how. Ripping my shirt to try and bandage the wounds that never seemed to heal, I never thought I'd feel the loneliness again. Where the hell was Sasuke?!

It was to be my last night with Mizuki. Apparently, the real leader decided to stop giving me special treatment. I had a feeling that he was almost ready to begin the three-day extraction process. If he was giving me special treatment, I didn't want to be a normal hostage.

"Why don't you save yourself, Naruto? I know you can easily get out of here." I looked over at the older man with darkened eyes—I was so tired.

"Why?" I hadn't thought before the single word fell from my lips. "Why should I...get up again?! Why shouldn't I just lie here and die?! I...left Granny Tsunade, I don't know if Sasuke is even alive, and no one knows where I am!" Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I sobbed as if I were being pelted with the insults of my past.

Maybe everyone would be a lot better off without me. Uzumaki Naruto, the knucklehead ninja. The jinchuuriki. The loser. The dobe. Maybe all my skills were misinterpreted—maybe it was all just dumb luck that had finally run out. It seemed fitting to die the same way Gaara died. Unlike him, no one would bring me back.

"That doesn't sound like the little jerk that attacked me in Konoha," Mizuki said as he shook his head. "If I had the strength, I'd get out of here. Who cares if you left some old woman? So what if Sasuke is dead? Do you need someone to care for you to have the balls to save yourself?" I looked over at him, surprised that he was even bothering to make me feel better.

"Have you made a decision?" Both Mizuki and I looked over at Tobi, though we both knew him as someone else.

"..." I looked at the window, my eyes focusing on the tiny beams of light that managed to penetrate the darkness.

.-.-.-.

"Why is it always about Sasuke? Sasuke! Sasuke! What does he have that I don't have?!"

"I will bring Sasuke back for sure. This is a promise of a lifetime."

"That jutsu is so outdated! Watch this, my newly developed...pervy ninjutsu!"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are many things I dislike, and not much I do like. And I have an ambition that I have no plan to leave as a dream. The restoration of my clan, and to... kill a certain someone."

.-.-.-.

I smiled as the sudden memories whisked through my mind. I remembered saying those words, and I remembered Sasuke speaking at our first meeting as Team Seven. Memories were bittersweet, only they suddenly seemed so much more bitter in that cell. Kisame was right. Sasuke was dead. I had so much determination and blind hope that it made me an idiot as a kid. I knew reality. Reality would not let me have a happy ending. Reality never let anyone have a happy ending.

"Yeah, I made my decision," I said as the leader, Tobi, stood over me. "...!" I spat at him and smirked.

He punched me in the face, sending me onto my side. As he dragged me out by my wrists, I gave Mizuki a small smile. I didn't need to say anything to describe how good it felt. I imagined Sasuke doing the same thing if he were in my place—if he weren't dead. He would have been proud, right?

"AHH!" I screamed as he threw me into a dark room.

"Extraction begins the day after tomorrow, jinchuuriki." I tried to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop.

When he closed the door, I noticed that there was a candle burning in the room. It flickered, threatening to cast the dimly lit room into eternal night. I realized then that I wasn't alone. Sound shinobi, bruised and neglected, were lying around the room. Five of them were there, and one was fully awake from my screaming.

"If it isn't blondie. Wake up Saito, you'll want to see this." The one that was awake spoke with a sinister smile.

"Souta, unless that forsaken shark brought us some damn sake, I don't..." I froze as I stared into the eyes of one of my attackers. "Hn. Little shit seems to show up everywhere doesn't he? We retreated when you killed our squad, don't you remember us, jinchuuriki?" Saito said as he sat up.

I remembered seeing the twin brothers in the woods, and I let them go. I let them go because they were no longer a threat. The look on Sasuke's face as he lay there in the rain seemed to appear once more in my mind. Something told me that I should have lied and bought more time. The men surrounding me were furious, and I was the only one they could blame.

"Hey, isn't that the one that was with Sasuke?" I heard a whisper on my right.

"That's the one," A person on my left replied.

"Looks like he's all alone now," The last person laughed.

"What are you going to do, uke?" Saito slowly stood up from his spot on the floor.

My hand reached for a kunai, but I grasped air. Twisting to see if there was another exit, I doubled over from the pain in my stomach. Someone blew the candle out, and my blue eyes flickered back and forth to try and penetrate the darkness. A hand grabbed my leg, so I lashed out with a right hook. I heard the person curse after the sound of his jaw breaking.

"Let's kick the shit out of him and see if he likes it." I lashed out at that person too.

"No." I tensed as an arm wrapped around my neck. "Why did Sasuke care about you so much, huh?" Souta whispered in my ear as he purposely dug his hand into my wounds.

I kicked and punched to try and get free, but hands were holding my down. When Souta released me, I fell back and cracked my head off the ground. My hand moved shakily to my skull, and my fingers were covered in a warm liquid. I was bleeding.

"What are you doing?" My vision was getting blurry.

Why won't you show them our power? You want to kill them. You don't want to die here. I can help you. Stop suppressing my chakra!

Kyuubi spoke to me for the first time in years. I didn't know how I was suppressing the demon chakra, but I didn't care. Maybe I didn't want to die there, maybe I did; Uzumaki Naruto was not the same Naruto that had beaten Kiba, Neji, and Gaara—I understood when to give up.

Around me, the men were arguing amongst themselves. I coughed up blood, and I felt someone keep me from sitting up.

"If you don't want to do this, then go sit in a corner, Taro! Be a coward!" Saito shouted as he looked down at me. "Masato, Ozuru, Souta, hold him down. We're going to have a little fun, aren't we?"

Two pairs of hands held my ankles, and Souta held my wrists in place. I didn't understand what was going on until I felt Saito moving his hands over my hips to remove my pants.

"This is what it comes to. My lover being killed, my body being defiled, my demon being extracted, my life being taken," I thought as they turned me over and pressed my cheek into the hard ground. "I think I'm glad that no one will find me. I...don't want anyone to see me like this."

A scream reached Kisame just as he was exiting his room. He sighed and shook his head. He had tried to cut the kid a break, but Naruto was too stubborn. Kisame continued on his way.

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Author Rant

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I really hate writing the disclaimer every single time I post, but I'm not mad at the readers. Some people might not like where this is going for Naruto, and I'm among those people. Now, control the urge to punch some people, Naruto is a big boy and he can take care of himself. Well, he would take care of himself if he wasn't so darn depressed.

I stress the fact that Naruto doesn't know that Sasuke is dead or alive. I also stress the fact that Sasuke does not know where Naruto is, and he knows that Naruto thinks he is dead. That should clear a little something up.

Next Chapter: ---

I believe the next chapter will be in Sasuke's POV again. I might switch back and forth as the story goes along. Maybe Sakura/Sai, Sasuke/Gaara, and then Naruto, but I'm not sure. I still need to write the next part. Haha.

Reviews are loverly!

Ja ne.