Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto and Masashi Kishimoto still does – Shock, isn't it?
My random thoughts: Chapter 7 up, enjoy ) I'm changing the rating for this to M just to be sure from now on.
Yay, we have a long weekend – until Tuesday – and I only have one mock-exam left, then I'm done for now! Bad thing is, it's math, and I'm not really sure I know half the stuff we're supposed to… I should really go read, but again I can't seem to focus on any school related things…
Read and Review, darlings It makes me happy when you do (no, I will not stop nagging you about this, 'cause really, when I see I've gotten a new review I get so happy, I love it! Just say whatever you think about the story, don't think twice about leaving critics – constructive preferably - either – I feel like I need them, and I appreciate being told what I can do to get better )
And if you have any wishes for what should happen later, tell me! If I like them I might use your ideas in chapters to come
Chapter 7
Everything looked blurred, unfocused, as Sai's eyes opened slowly. The boy's eyelids fluttered as he slowly came too, his whole body shook as the burning pain from the wounds of the samehada made itself known. Breathing heavily, he tried to sit up, but he quickly sank back down as he didn't have the energy to stay there. Everything hurts. The black haired boy, who was usually pale, now looked whiter than new-fallen snow due to the blood loss. As his mind became clearer he realized where he was and flashes of what had happened appeared in his still clouded mind.
A loud crashing noise sounded somewhere to his right, the boy slowly, as to not make it hurt more than necessary, turned his head to see what was happening, wincing at the pain it caused him. As his eyes got accustomed to the dark, dusty cave, Sai caught a glimpse of Kakashi barely dodging a swing of the samehada, the large sword gracing the jounins right arm before slamming into the ground where the grey-haired male had just been standing, then his eyes slowly closed as he once again returned to the darkness.
--
"S-Sa… Sasuke?" Shock, terror, uncertainty, disbelief; those and so many more were the feelings that simultaneously spawned in Naruto's mind as he realized who it was standing there in front of him.
"Ah, I see you've regained your speech, Na-ru-to." The voice from earlier, which Naruto still could not recognize, sounded once more, this time it seemed to come from everywhere.
"Who… Are you?" And what the fuck is going on here? Is this all just in my head? Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed them, hoping that when he opened them again Sasuke would be gone, but no. The boy was still standing here, his charcoal meeting the clear blue that looked so utterly confused.
"Me? I'm hurt, Naruto, do you not recognize my voice? My technique? You should at least recognize that…" Naruto was racking his brain for anything that might have a connection to the voice, but nothing came to mind.
As he looked at Sasuke, searching to find a clue as to what was going on, the boy suddenly disappeared. When he turned around to see if the Uchiha might have used a teleporting jutsu to move himself he was completely dumbfounded. Everything had changed; he was not even in the same place anymore. He found himself standing in the middle of something that looked like a desert, the ground dry and seemingly barren as there wasn't even a single sign of life. He blinked to make sure he wasn't going crazy, and as he opened his eyes the person he found to be standing in front of him was Itachi.
"Hello." The cold voice sounded like it could freeze Naruto where he stood. "Do you now realize what is going on, dobe? My brother was indeed right to call you that…" Why is he talking about Sasuke, what has that got to do with anything. Ever since the 'incident' Naruto had been unable to function when Sasuke's name was brought up in conversation, even just hearing it on stranger's lips as he walked past people having a conversation made him shiver.
"What the fuck is going on, Itachi?" Naruto was talking big, but really, he was horrified. He knew what the technique he was currently in had done to Kakashi, so what could it do to him? Itachi, as observant as he was, had of course noticed how Naruto flinched at the mere mention of his brother, the older Uchiha plotting how to find out what exactly had happened between the two. "Answer me, you… You Uchiha!" Itachi glared at the blonde, the way the boy had pronounced his family name, he made it sound like an Insult. Now he was really going to get it.
"Didn't Kakashi tell you what this is like? Oh well, I'll give you the introduction" Itachi smiled maliciously. This is bad. Really, really bad. Naruto's mind was working so hard that had it been possible fume would be seeping out through his ears, what was the Uchiha going to do to him? "Well, you see, in this world I can control everything, what you see, what you feel, who you see… Hell, I can even control time, and I will drive your mind so far into the realm of insanity that you will never come back."
Naruto was now even more worried, and he had yet to find a way to get out of the mess he was in. "Mhm, and how do you suppose you'll do that, Uchiha?" Naruto spit the last word so angrily that if one could talk in venom the one he was talking to would be dead and gone even before the boy spoke.
"Well, how about we talk about my baby brother, huh?" Naruto froze. No. "Don't you think it would be nice to have a little chat about Sasuke?" The blonde shuddered just thinking about his childhood 'friend', he couldn't stand him any longer. It had been four years, and still his disgust towards the youngest Uchiha was so strong. The disgust, however, wasn't the worst by far, oh no, the fears that hunted his dreams and lay in the back of his mind every waking hour were so much worse. "Oh, so you do have issues with him, Naru-chan, well, let's talk then."
"No…" Naruto's voice was low, barely audible, as suddenly he found himself bound to a cross, his feet resting on a small plate mere centimeters above the ground, bound to the cross, his arms, too, bound to the wood. What the hell is going on? How did I end up… Crucified?
"Oh, we'll see about that, it won't be long until you beg me to stop, then you'll tell me…" Itachi's stoic features remained calm whilst he spoke, when he was done, however, a glint of malice passed over them, before they returned to normal. Suddenly, Naruto felt a sharp pain spreading out from his wrists and ankles as the ropes tightened, it felt as though they were so tight his arms and feet would fall off, but he wasn't that lucky.
"I will never br- Ow…" A low groan escaped Naruto's throat as he tried to speak, the pain taking its toll on his body. "You'll never break me, Itachi, you can't" because I'm already broken.
"Are you sure about that, demon? I'll start trying anyways." Out of nowhere a kunai appeared in Itachi's hand as he walked up to Naruto, then, slowly, he placed the sharp blade against Naruto's cheek and cut. Blood slowly trickled from the cut, running down Naruto's skin which was now burning with pain. The blonde gritted his teeth and stayed silent, this pain was nothing compared to the pain he felt inside.
"Since you're not making this very fun I guess I'll have to continue…" Itachi cut again, this time it was the blonde's arm that got a feel of the metal, and still no sound came from said blonde.
"You'll never make it," Naruto said in a dark voice, so unlike him. "If you only have four days there is no way you can hurt me like this… I may seem it to you, but I'm not that weak, Itachi."
"Oh, shall we make a bet of that, Uzumaki-kun?" Again and again the sharp blade met with skin, splitting it and tasting the blood which was now pouring, the wounds were getting deeper – but none were deep enough to kill the blonde.
When seven hours in the Mangekyo world had passed, still no response from the bleeding boy still hanging on his cross, Itachi spoke again.
"You were telling the truth, weren't you, boy? Well, what is it that is your weakness, then? I bet it's in there," Itachi poked Naruto in the side of the head, the boy still not saying a word, "behind those blue eyes somewhere…" Slowly, as he spoke, he trailed a finger across Naruto's face, tracing his features softly. Naruto froze up as the finger touched his skin, terrified. He doesn't know, it won't happen again… It can't… Naruto was desperately trying to convince himself that his thoughts were true as the Uchiha in front of him spoke yet again.
"Oh, so that's your deal, is it, Naruto-kun, you don't like being touched?" Wait, how does he know? A puzzled look came to Naruto's face, he hadn't said anything, how could the Uchiha possibly know?
"You're wondering how I know, and I'll tell you" Itachi touched his captive's sun kissed skin yet again, this time stroking his hand gently from Naruto's neck and down to the neckline of his t-shirt, at the same time he opened the blondes orange jacket and pulled it off, leaving it torn on the ground, the arms ripped to pieces. The blonde could do nothing, he was bound, and even if he wasn't he was paralyzed with fear, as he shook violently to the touch, memories better left forgotten appearing in his mind.
Flashback
"Take Naruto, and we'll take you in - don't, and we leave you two here to rot." Naruto thought he saw a hint of regret in the raven's eyes, lasting no more than a second at most, then Sasuke had forced himself on the blonde, pushing into him.
It hurt so much, the pain he was feeling reaching much deeper, hurting him more than he had ever been hurt before. He though he knew pain, though he knew what it meant to feel afraid, so afraid that he wished to die, but none of the things he had experienced earlier could possibly measure up to this.
It had only taken minutes, yet those minutes had been the longest in his life, feeling like eternities passing, as tears ran like rivers down his cheeks. Each time the raven had touched him, kissed him, pushed into him it had shattered his mind into even smaller shards, eventually the pieces became so small that he could never be completely put together again.
Then Sasuke had come into him, which had spread the pieces of his mind even further apart. As he pulled out of the blonde, the raven had leant closer to him, whispering softly into his ear, "Sorry Naruto, but I had to. You know I have to kill him, right", that was the last thing Naruto could recall before he fell into the warm, kind darkness that awaited him, protected him.
Flashback over
"Please tell me, Naruto-kun," when he spoke the blonde's name this time, Itachi's voice was full of despise, he really couldn't stand the boy. "What is it that scared you so?" Itachi's cold voice brought Naruto back to the living as his whole body shook when his thoughts were broken. He smiled, half thankful to the man in front of him.
"I will never tell you, Itachi, or any other person, for that matter." I did not even mean to tell the only person who knows, Jiraiya, he heard me talking in my sleep... "My Fears, my memories, they are mine and mine alone."
"Oh, I suppose I'll just have to continue this little game then, until you're so broken that you wish to die" Itachi's lips twitched into another one of those malicious grins which seemed to fit him so perfectly as he slowly cut open the seams of Naruto's black t-shirt, placing his hand to the left on the boy's upper torso, right where he knew his heart would be.
"N-no, p-p-please..." It was all becoming too much for Naruto as the calloused hand slid down across it's chest and came to a halt on his lower abdomen, stopping right above where his pants started. "Please..." The boy's voice was but a whisper as he shivered from fear at the touch; he was terrified as his mind again filled up with memories of that night.
"I will stop, demon, but only if you tell me where these fears of yours come from."
"Never" The resolution in his voice shone through, catching Itachi off guard.
"Baka! Well, if you don't want to tell me, then I guess Kakashi or Sai will have to do, I need to have a little fun, you know" Itachi's evil grin became even bigger, so highly out of character for the man, as his plan was set to action. Naruto would never let anyone else get hurt, he knew, and his plan this time was foolproof.
"NO! Don't you dare touch them! I'll fucking ki..." Silence. Itachi's hand moved further down, crawling underneath the waistband of Naruto's big, orange pants, pulling at the boy's boxers. Shivers went down the blondes spine as fear spiked his mind, his whole body seemed to fail him as words would not even sound when they left his lips.
"I know what your fears are already, Uzumaki, I just want to know what made them..." another pull at the boy's boxers, the blondes face paling visibly, "this horrible for you to endure."
"If I tell you, will you leave Sai and Kakashi be?"
"Yes, of course" Itachi lied, he was still going to kill those two no matter what, and Naruto's eyes calmed. Damn, this kid is so naive, really, he'd actually believe that? Itachi could not help but wonder if the boy really was as stupid as he seemed of if he just hid his smarts really well.
"Sasuke." The one word filled the air, it sounded so strange as it left Naruto's lips, the blonde saying it with a mix of affection and every emotion ranging from disgust to hate. Are you proud of him, Itachi, proud that he can reduce people to this?
unexpectedly, a familiar laughter sounded, and as Naruto looked up – he had been staring at the ground, not able to look into sharingan eyes – the man in front of him was no longer Itachi, no, standing before him for the second time in this strange place was Sasuke. The only difference was that this time Naruto himself was only half dressed and tied to a cross.
--
that was close, he almost got me this time... I'm all out of energy, my chackra's this low – if the backup doesn't get here within 20 minutes I'm really going to die. And then there's Naruto... Another swing of his opponent's large weapon brought him out of his thoughts, he did not want to get hit twice within a minute. (A/N: In 'Itachi land' it's only been a second, that's why we're back to Sai/Kakashi/Kisame right after we left them)
"Getting tired, Kakashi? I didn't think you were this weak" The mist-nin was also tiring, but his chakra reserves were higher to begin with, his words echoed off the walls, repeating themselves to Kakashi, When I get home I really gotta train, I'm in bad shape.
"Sure, but I'm not stopping till you're gone anyways, you're a traitor to your village, and I won't forgive that kind of treason" Kakashi knew that he, in reality, if the battle lasted for much longer stood no chance, but there was a slight chance backup would arrive soon, and if the odds were on his sight he ought to make it. I'm ok, but what about Naruto, what's Itachi doing to him? Please let him be ok... Yet another time the samehada lashed out against the Konoha shinobi, shaking him back to reality as he barely had time to jump out of its way.
--
"We're there in five minutes, there are two enemies as you know, one of them seems to be standing still, the other is fighting Kakashi. Sai's unconscious" Neji's voice echoed of the walls as he spoke, everyone looked wonderingly at him as Sakura voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"What about Naruto?" The pink haired girl was worried sick, if anything really did happen to any of her teammates she didn't know what she'd do.
"He's..." Neji was unsure of how to tell his comrades what was really going on – for once the Hyuuga was unsure of what words to choose – what he'd seen was alarming, Itachi was holding Naruto, the blondes limbs dangling as if he was unconscious, it almost seemed as though the blonde was... Dead, he can't be, it's Naruto. He survives everything... Neji, who'd only quickly looked at the figures in the room they were heading too, had failed to see that Naruto still held a faint pulse and was breathing. Surprising everyone, the younger of the two Hyuuga's chose that moment to speak.
"N-Naruto-kun is in a b-bad position, -Uchiha Itachi is... Uhm," Hinata twiddled her fingers, she hated speaking out loud, especially when there were many people around, but she had to say this, " holding him up, he seems to be unconscious, but he's alive."
"Well, what're we waiting for, let's go save the day, eh?" Akamaru barked in agreement to his owner's statement, Kiba ushering the Hyuuga's further though the tunnels as the others followed, they'd be there soon, and hopefully it wouldn't be too late.
--
-Konoha-
Jiraiya was nervous, something he simply never was, as he paced Tsunade's office, the blonde sitting silently at her desk. The silence in this room is so thick in the air it could probably choke a person, she thought, wanting to speak but at a lack of words.
"How long is it since backup left and when's last you heard from them?" Jiraiya was the one to break the silence, the white haired toad sage's voice much more serious than it was usually.
Tsunade remained silent, thinking. How long had it been? She counted all the hours of waiting backwards in her head, finally finding what she wanted to know. "It's been 15 since they left, 13 since last we heard from them. Damn..." Tsunade pounded her fist into the desk so hard the whole piece of furniture shook. Naruto, if you don't get back here alive I will hund down your ghost and torture you for eternity, so don't you dare leave me, boy! The gambler she was, Tsunade would put all her money on the return of all her shinobi alive, but she knew she had bad luck at gambling, so if she did then someone would probably not get home alive.
"Sou ka? That long, huh? So it'll likely be at least another 15 hours before they're home..." Thinking, Jiraiya walked over to one of the chairs situated in the corner of the hokage's office, taking a seat. He was exhausted from worrying, when he heard the news he'd just come back from a long mission, but he wouldn't be able to rest until the three shinobi teams were back.
"Yes, something like that" As Tsunade looked at her teammate from her genin days she noticed that he'd completely spaced out, He must be really worried about that boy to, they're so close, almost like he and Minato were... She thought of those happy days when everything was still good, as she, too, drifted off into dreamland.
Meanwhile, another place in Konoha, one brown haired, tan-skinned chunin academy teacher was getting worried. Firstly, Naruto's one night mission had obviously gone past it's time limits, the blonde hat yet to return even at this hour, and two extra teams had been sent out in their direction. How did Umino Iruka, a simple chunin, know all this? Naruto had told him about the mission before he left, the morning after the blonde got back Iruka was supposed to treat him to a meal at Ichiraku's, and secondly several of their daily aids and teachers had been sent out on an emergency mission. Something wasn't right, he knew it.
Naruto, you better not have done something stupid or else... Iruka was a worrywart and a real mother-hen, he'd be the first to admit, but the blonde was just like a little brother to him, and he was all he had left. If anything happened to that boy he'd – well, that was exactly his point, he didn't know what he'd do.
--
In total two days had passed within the strange and horrible world of the Sharingan, days of sheer hell for Naruto. When Itachi was still there it hadn't been so bad, but then somehow, he'd brought about Sasuke – just the name made Naruto feel sick.
For the past 36 hours Sasuke had been there with him. He was touching the blonde, kissing his tan skin which was paling due to fear and the blood loss from the cuts he'd received earlier. Nothing serious had happened yet, but Sasuke's actions still scared Naruto so much he could not even speak; the ravens thin fingers were trailing over every inch of his now completely exposed body – every inch – and his mouth and tongue had licked, nipped, bit and kissed Naruto pretty much everywhere but there.
"Time seems to pass slow, don't you think, Naruto? Why don't we have some real fun to make it go by?" The Uchiha prodigy, looked into vapid, blue eyes, it almost seemed as if the blonde had given up, resigned himself to his fate already.
The wan, crucified boy didn't speak, he had no words. His body language was languid as he didn't even bother to protest, hanging limply on the wooden cross in the middle of nowhere. In any case, what could he do, if he moved his teammates would die, something which he would not allow. No, then it was better for him to take the hit, he was so broken from before, it couldn't get any worse, could it?
Slowly, firmly, the black haired boy knelt directly in front of Naruto, when he sat on his knew his head was at level with Naruto's hips. Pale hand's found their way to the skin on Naruto's lower abdomen before they moved even further down, taking a hold of him.
Naruto closed his eyes, his body making tremulous motions as he felt Sasuke's hot breath against his own, cold skin. Suddenly, all his motions ceased as he was engulfed by heat, knowing what was happened, but he didn't dare open his eyes, didn't want to face reality, as his frangible mind threatened to shatter even further.
The illusion that was Sasuke pulled back and took a look at the crucified Jinchuuriki before him, his hand's stroking the boy's member almost gently, then he took him in again. Naruto did not want to feel, he couldn't stand this, what was happening was all too much, and though he might have made it before he wasn't sure that he'd be able to go on after this. The blonde's heart was racing out of fear, his body trembling in horror, no longer was he positive that he would be able to dissimulate his problems, hide them from the world, he wasn't even sure if he'd ever be able to live again.
Time and time again Sasuke's mouth engulfed him, Naruto's body moving in response, his member hardening from instinct however much Naruto tried to deny it. Even though he was terrified, his mind brought to the breaking point, his treacherous body had to go with the flow of movements and emotions. If there is a god somewhere out there it really must hate me, even death would be better than this…
When he was about to come Sasuke backed away again, this time rising to his feet. He slowly got up and started untying the ropes around Naruto's ankles, then around his wrists. When he was done he pulled the boy down from the cross and pushed him down on the ground harshly. "This had all been fun, but it was just the beginning, dobe. Now it's time to get serious" Naruto wished he could die as Sasuke's lips twitched into a diabolic smile.
The Uchiha, who had until now kept his clothes on, undressed quickly, throwing the garments he'd worn just a second earlier on the dusty ground – which was no longer dusty ground, it had now, somehow, turned into a floor, and the blonde himself was lying on a large, soft bed. This is just an illusion, nothing that happens here is for real… The blonde tried to convince himself that nothing was really happening to him, that in reality he was back in that cave with Kakashi and Sai, but he just couldn't. A whimper escaped his pale lips as some of the cuts on his arms reopened when Sasuke grabbed his arms, pinning them over his head.
The blonde's mind had tried to shield him, protect him but not letting him see, but now he realized what was about to happen. "N-no… P-p-please don't… Sasuke, don't d-do t-this, please…" His prayers weren't heard, the raven effectively getting atop the blonde, wrapping his legs around Naruto's waist and roughly grinding their crotches together.
Naruto wished himself far, far away, but to no avail as the youngest Uchiha's lips locked onto his with bruising force. The blonde tried to remain as calm as possible through it all, but of course his deceitful body chose that moment to disobey him, a moan forcing his lips to open, the raven's tongue immediately pushing into his mouth, ravaging his wet orifice and forcing Naruto's tongue into submission. He wanted to fight back, to do something, anything to make the pain stop, but he couldn't. All he could do was retread into his own mind, his sanctuary, where he sat in front of the large fox's cage like a small foundling; shaking and crying inconsolably. He was safe here, he thought, until he was ripped away from his refuge by excruciating pain shooting through his body from the base of his spine.
Screaming, Naruto opened his blue eyes only to find them inches away from charcoal as Sasuke's lips locked onto his own to quiet him. Over and over the raven pushed into Naruto, the damage he dealt to the blonde's mind was incomprehensible even to said blonde as the remains of his equilibrium were shattered into a million pieces as Sasuke bit down on his lower lip hard, reducing him to a whimpering, pleading childe before he released inside of the blonde.
Then he was back in the desert. He stood there, fully clothed and clean, only his cuts remained, when Itachi appeared in front of him.
"I believe I have succeeded, Uzumaki-kun, don't you?" Itachi couldn't believe the effects of his machination, this was even better than he thought. Naruto fell to the ground screaming, a scream which was choked by a sob, turning into whimper as the boys sat on the ground shaking.
"Now I will leave you here for 24 hours all by yourself to give you some… time to think" Itachi grinned, he would force the blonde to face reality by doing this, breaking him even further if that was possible. When this was done they would definitely have no problem bringing Naruto and then extracting the bijuu inside him. It was a perfect plan.
--
"We're here" Neji's voice was as calm as always, although he'd changed his way of thinking after facing Naruto in the chunin-exams he was still a strong believer of fate, and he believed that that very fate was on their side today.
"Well, what're we waiting for, let's go in!" Kiba was about to storm the cave when Shikamaru's hand on the collar of his jacked stopped him.
"No. I'll take a look then we'll make a plan, we're off to a better start that way" As lazy as he was, everyone had to admit that Shikamaru was the smartes of them all, and so the dog-nin walked back to his previous spot and sat down.
"Come on, Kiba, cheer up. We're just making a little plan, then we'll save the day, ok?" TenTen, who'd been remarkably quiet the whole trip, only speaking on a few occasions, put a hand on his shoulder for encouragement.
"Y-yes, Kiba-kun, TenTen-chan is right, we'll be going in a-any moment." Damn, Hinata-chan is so cute… How come she's the only person I can't seem to be able to flirt with? KIBA! Get your head back to the mission you idiot, think about that later. When he finished his trail of though Kiba nodded, then stood up.
"So, what's the plan, then, brainy boy?" Shikamaru, who'd been studying the situation closely, turned to face his group.
"It's kinda bad in there, Sai's knocked out and Kakashi's barely holding on, Kisame is too strong for even him. And something's up with Naruto, Itachi is standing still, holding him, he's probably got him trapped in a genjutsu or something, and since they're meant to bring him to the Akatsuki he had to take care of him…" Either that or it's the Mangekyo sharingan. Shikamaru and Gai both thought of the worse possibility, they were the only ones who knew of the Mangekyo and neither found it necessary to scare their teams unnecessarily.
"Well, it will be not problem, such trivial matters shall not stop our power of youth!" Lee was doing the 'nice guy pose', everyone but guy twitching at the sight – it wasn't at all pretty. Sakura, after recuperating from the sight of the green, spandex clad boy giving a thumbs up with stars shooting out around him, was the next to speak.
"What's the plan?" She was angry, ready to fight, the two Akatsuki were going to get it real bad.
"Ok, listen up, Neji, Lee, Gai, Kiba, Tenten and me will enter first, Sakura and Hinata, you'll be our backup since you're both medic nins, if anything happens we need you to be ready, clear?" Shikamaru looked around the group, everyone nodding in agreement. Sakura was slightly unhappy that she wouldn't be able to fight, but she understood Shikamaru's point. "I'll send in my shadow to bind Kisame first, he won't see it coming if I do it from here, and then you will all enter. I won't be able to hold it for too long, so team Gai, which means you – the chunin pointed to where Lee, Neji and Gai were standing – for now will take him on."
"EY, Shikamaru, what'll we be doing in the meanwhile?" Kiba, who was getting impatient, moved his arms in a fashion suggesting he was talking about Shikamaru, Akamaru and himself.
"Jamakusai" Shikamaru muttered his signature word before speaking continuing on with his plan. "We will wait till team Gai is in there, then I'll dispel my technique and we'll enter. We'll be taking on Itachi" Shikamaru paused, turning around to face Neji. "Neji, when we enter the fight you're joining our team, we'll need you."
"Let's go!" Akamaru barked along with his owner to signify that he, too, was ready.
"Ok then." Shikamaru positioned himself in the entrance to the cave, performing the rat symbol as he spoke "Kagemane no Jutsu." A shadow stretched across the cave floor, unbeknownst to Kisame, getting closer and closer to its pray. Kakashi, who was busy dodging suddenly caught a glimpse of an abnormal shadow on the floor, they had finally arrived.
Kisame froze. He had no idea what was going on, but all of a sudden he felt his head moving, he tried to fight it but to no avail, as it faced the cave entrance.
"Hello, Kisame, up for a fight?" Shikamaru grinned, usually this was something he'd describe as troublesome, but he had a feeling this fight could get interesting.
"Brat, what are you doing? What is this?" Four ninja stormed onto the battlefield, arriving at Kakashi's side within seconds, as Shikamaru spoke.
"Oh this? It's my shadow imitation technique, basically we are bound by my shadow, and now you have to mirror all my movements." To make his point clear the shadow controlling nin took a few steps back and forth, then he bowed down.
"Damn you!" Kisame reached to say no more as five shinobi circled him closer and closer, then started lashing out at him. He tried regaining control, only able to make the slightest bit of resistance. The situation went on for about 10 minutes, by when Kisame was badly beaten, then Shikamaru had to break the jutsu.
"Let's go, Kiba!" The two boys quickly entered the cave, running towards Itachi just in time to see the S-class missing-nin throwing Naruto into one of the cave walls so hard they heard a snap as if something broke, then he turned towards them. He quickly cast a glance at his partner to see if he was doing any better than himself – he couldn't fight in the shape he was in, the Mangekyo had worn him out, and his eyes were bleeding – only to find that the blue skinned male was struggling, being attacked form four angles in random order.
"Kisame!" Itachi succeeded in getting his partners attention. "We're aborting the mission."
As the three Konoha shinobi facing Itachi prepared to strike Kisame managed to get away from his attackers, appearing at his partner's side just before the three shinobi got there, the two disappearing in a cloud of smoke as the three ninja who had been rushing against them toppled over in a pile on the ground.
"It's over." Shikamaru was mumbling to himself, untangling from the mess that was him, Kiba and Neji, happy the fight had gone well, and the two Akatsuki leaving had surely made the matter less troublesome. "Hinata, Sakura, get out here!" Just as he had called for the two medical experts Kakashi collapsed to the ground, he was completely drained of any form for energy or chakra.
"Kakashi, are you alright?" Sakura yelled as she and Hinata emerged from the shadows, Hinata immediately finding her way to Sai whilst Sakura ran to her ex-sensei.
"Hai, hai, I've got a little cut, other than that I'm just exhausted…" Kakashi's eyelids drooped as he spoke, he was so tired he was about to fall asleep right there and then. "How's Sai? And Naruto?!" A sudden panic struck his voice as he remembered about the blonde. You better not be dead, Naruto.
"Kami… Where's Naruto?" Sakura shouted, spotting him in the back of the cave. The kunoichi hurried over to her teammate, finding that he didn't appear to be hurt in any way. Fear struck her heart as she noticed his chest didn't seem to be rising and falling like it should and she immediately bent down to check his vitals.
The time that passed seemed to go by as slow as honey, but then she detected a pulse in the blonde. It was dangerously low just like his breathing, but it was there. What was puzzling her wasn't that the boy was unconscious, but why he was in such a bad state with no visible wounds.
"He doesn't have any external wounds what so ever, but he's barely breathing and his pulse is really low, can anyone tell me what's happened in here?" Kakashi stood up clumsily, walking over to Sakura and the unconscious blonde, worry evident in his visible eye.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi's special technique. You remember how, after Itachi and Kisame came to Konoha I had to stay in the hospital for a while just because I looked him in the eye?" Kakashi didn't feel like telling the girl the specifics of the technique, at least not now. "He used that same technique on Naruto… We gotta get back to Konoha quick."
Once more the silver haired jounin collapsed, this time Gai was there to catch his friend and rival, positioning the male on his back so he could carry him easily. "Kakashi-san is right, we have to hurry back to Konoha so we can rekindle both Naruto's and Sai's flames of youth" within Gai's eyes small flames appeared as Sakura sweatdropped. She was so thankful she wasn't on their team.
Once again remembering her second teammate she called out to Hinata. "How's Sai doing?"
"Ano… He's f-fine, but he's got a cut that's b-bleeding – it almost looks as if his c-clothes and skin have been just torn up here on his arm. I-I'll heal it quick, then we can leave." As soon as Hinata finished speaking a green light appeared around her hand and she gently led it over Sai's ruptured skin, the wound closing slowly.
With Kakashi on Gai's back, Sai slumped over Akamaru's back and Neji carrying Naruto the now 11 shinobi were headed home. Finally.
--
Naruto was wading around the ankle deep, dark water covering the floors in the sewer like corridors that were his mind, eventually arriving in front of a large cage. Around the cage the water seemed to stop, the floor was dry in the 10 meter radius out from the gigantic bars that kept the demon inside it trapped.
"Kit?" The colossal fox turned to look out thought the bars as it heard steps approaching. What it saw was Naruto sitting on the ground, shaking violently, pulling at his hair so hard parts of it fell out. The boy was crying loudly, it was truly heart-breaking to listen to the choked sobs of the child – for that was what Naruto really was, a boy who had been forced to grow up too fast because of things done to him by none other than his former best friend – and after what had happened within the Mangekyo world the almighty Kyuubi no Kitsune wasn't so sure that it's host would ever be able to return to his world again.
Carefully, the fox slid a tail out thought the bars and placed it around Naruto like a nest, at first the boy flinched, but he trusted the fox – they had a strange kind of bond, and Naruto knew that the fox would not hurt him when he was still it's host since if he died it did too – and accepted the warmth of the tail that was encircling him, crying himself to sleep and to another nightmare.
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Damn, that was a long chapter, the longest I've written so far anyways. 12 pages if you don't count the disclaimer… This was really challenging for me to write, but I'm quite happy with it…
Tell me what you think please You already know that, but here's a reminder at the bottom, so please rewiev!!
