Edited: 23/04/2011
Thanks to all the reviewers!
StarsOfYaoi: this chapter's title gives away the contents, ne? still, I had promised some action and here you have it. There is a time skip of two years, too, please remember that.
We're finally getting to the good parts, or at least, we're getting close to the good parts. Please enjoy the ride!
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Rating: M
Warnings: yaoi, boy x boy relationship, angst, torture, and such. Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
–Flashbacks, memories, dreams–
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Winter Release
Chapter 09: Captured
Dark.
It was dark all around him, so dark it was hard to believe he was awake now; when his eyes fluttered open, he could see nothing, absolutely nothing, and there wasn't much difference between keeping his eyes close or open.
Swallowing, feeling a disgusting, metallic taste in his mouth and wishing for some water, Naruto blinked feeling disorientated; if he had enough strength to lift one hand up to his eyes, he was sure he wouldn't even be able to see it.
This darkness was wrapped around him like a tight, oppressive blanket.
For a moment, he thought he had finally died; he had never thought much about the afterlife, but if that was it, it meant the underworld was silent, dark and cold.
Slowly, he tried to understand where he was; he had nothing that could help him, as he still couldn't see anything, and his body felt weak and heavy, barely able to open his eyes, let alone move.
He blinked again and tried to shift, but the slightest movement sent an agonizing twinge through his body and into his brain, blinding him and causing his lungs to constrict.
He gasped, the sound echoing strangely around him, and stilled again.
There was pain, and his heart was painfully racing in his chest, and he had difficulties breathing, and he couldn't see anything, but… at least he was conscious again.
Slowly and hesitantly, Naruto twitched his fingers, feeling something cold and stony under his body; he was lain on the ground, uncomfortable and sore, and his eyelids were heavy, demanding him to succumb to sleep again, but he did not allow himself to fall unconscious again –he had to understand where he was first.
For a moment more, his sluggish brain could not comprehend what was going on, but then, with a jolt, he finally remembered –and then he wished he hadn't.
Mind clouded by dread and fear gripping him tightly, Naruto gasped and his eyes, previously half lidded, snapped open wide, nostrils filled with the horrid, disgusting stench of blood. He was covered with the thick liquid, and he knew that most of that was his own.
Assessing the damages done to his body came next.
His lungs were having a hard time taking in air, and the way his side hurt meant he had probably a broken rib, and his chest hurt like hell –but he was still alive and in no danger of imminent death.
Naruto snorted, but even that small movement caused pain, so he sighed and tried to keep still.
He felt like he had been used as a punching bag for days in a row, and maybe he was right… he couldn't remember anything from when he received the slash in his chest –the one that made his lungs hurt and the source of all the blood on him– up until now, so… who knew how much time had passed?
So, that was how it was –after all his efforts, all his hard work…
He had failed.
He gently bit his lip, concentrating through the pain in his head to try and understand where he was, but the complete darkness had dulled all of his other senses –after all, despite his enhanced abilities, he was not a bat.
His gasp had echoed before, so maybe he was in some kind of large chamber or something.
His throat itched and he gave in and coughed, but instantly regretted it as pain slashed through him, body convulsing as he spit blood all over himself and gurgled on it.
For a long while, he heaved with his head thrown on one side, dizzy and weak, and his lungs fought a losing battle to keep working.
Finally the coughs subsided and he stilled, breathing heavily as he waited for his body to stop throbbing.
Shit –he could barely move, and it hurt… even breathing hurt… how was he supposed to find out where he was?
As last resort, Naruto concentrated on his chakra, but that attempt also failed when a sharp pain crackled through his body, making him cry out in shock; he tensed up, and felt something wrapped around his wrists.
Concentrating on the sensation, and gently probing his body with chakra, receiving once again the same jolt of pain, Naruto came to a sudden realization –someone had placed wards on his ankles and wrists.
Jiraiya had explained him about wards –they were used to prevent chakra usage… so he was completely defenceless.
'Fuck!'
Even though he could not use chakra, he was still aware that he was not alone in the dark. He could feel chakra signatures flaring around him, some powerful, some dulled out, but all the same, they felt dangerous to him.
All the chakra signatures around him were somehow linked to his body, and washed all over him in a spiralling pattern, concentrating themselves on his belly.
Freezing as he finally understood, Naruto hastily counted the different flares.
There were nine.
Nine.
In that instant, Naruto knew that he was done for.
Up until then, he had hoped against hope that he had been dreaming –or that all of this was simply a Genjutsu– but now he had to finally admit the cold, harsh truth.
Akatsuki had finally managed to capture him.
–Start Flashback–
"Come on, Ero–sennin, stop playing dumb with me, damn it. I've gotten stronger after all!"
Jiraiya massaged his forehead with one hand, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, then he finally sighed in defeat.
Naruto's manners hadn't changed much during the last two years, really.
Well, no, that wasn't true; the white haired shinobi had to admit that Naruto had truly matured during their travelling together, he was quieter, and even more thoughtful… but there were times when the blond teen would say something or act in a way that reminded his perverted sensei that Naruto was, in the end, still Naruto.
As he was doing now.
The two had spent the whole morning sparring together, without taking a break –that alone was something that would have been impossible when they had started the journey, two years before– and without warning, Jiraiya had found himself on the receiving end of a direct blow from his apprentice that he had not been able to foresee, nor block in time.
This fact was so unprecedented that it had shocked not only him, but also Naruto, who had promptly stopped their fight to bounce around, extremely proud of himself.
Jiraiya had even thought to praise the blond teen about that, seeing as with the way he had started, when they had met for the first time, Jiraiya wouldn't have expected him to get so much better… but then, had decided not to say anything.
Unfortunately, Jiraiya was still not used to complimenting people, not knowing how to do it properly –he had only ever praised one person, and he was gone now. He didn't want to think about him– so all he managed was a gruff "There's still a long way to go if you want to really be able to land a good one on me".
That, of course, had Naruto's happiness dim as his eyes filled with rejection. He had gotten better during these years, but Jiraiya always had a hard time admitting that, let alone express it loudly.
Shaking his head again, Jiraiya leaned forwards and ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately. "Not bad, though," he muttered, embarrassed, but even that hesitation disappeared as he noticed Naruto's blue eyes brighten up at his compliment.
'I am very proud of you, Naruto,' Jiraiya smiled. One day, he would be able to tell him that.
"Well then, sensei, let's go get some ramen to celebrate! And you pay, ok?" the blond sprinted down the hill they had been sparring on, smiling as he stomped towards the nearby village.
Chuckling at his apprentice's attitude, Jiraiya cracked his back and sighed, nodding. How could Naruto be so sure that there would be a ramen stand in the village, he didn't know, but for the sake of his finances, he hoped Naruto was wrong.
The teen was almost gone from his sight already, once again probably using the jutsu he had 'created' two years before when chasing Jiraiya to Suna, and Jiraiya followed him at a more sedated pace.
Naruto was fast, he could admit that –he had mastered his 'skating jutsu', even though he had yet to come up with a satisfying name, but he was fast on his own, even without it.
Maybe it was in his blood, or maybe it was somehow Kyuubi's influence on his body, but Naruto's speed could even rival with Yondaime's, and even Jiraiya had trouble catching up now if the blond put himself to it.
'He is stronger now, yes,' the man thought, amusedly following the blond blur. 'He's determined and eager to learn, and I was wrong in thinking he was slow. He's never had someone that could properly teach him anything, making sure he was training the right way, but now that someone is paying attention, he's really advancing in giant leaps…'
Jiraiya smiled again, feeling rewarded for all the hardships they had gone through.
'Naruto is a genius in his own special way…'
They reached the village in no time. The town was not that big, but had enough to satisfy both of them; there was only one hotel, and one of those places where someone like Jiraiya could find some entertainment.
He had tried to take Naruto there once, on his fifteenth birthday, but the blond teen had rushed out of it, cheeks aflame, and had then ranted at Jiraiya for two days afterwards, half in shame, half in disgust.
As expected, Jiraiya found Naruto sitting in a small ramen stand, already waiting for his bowl with an expectant smile, and the older man had to groan.
He just wished those damned ramen stands would disappear from sight –he couldn't spend an unhealthy amount of money every time they reached a town! He'd end up broke!
"Oi there, Ero–sennin, you're late!" Naruto snapped his chopsticks apart as the owner of the stand placed down the bowl in front of him, and after a quick "Itadakimasu!" he quickly slurped down on his food, making content noises as he swallowed.
Jiraiya quickly averted his eyes –there was something else that hadn't changed, and that was the way Naruto ate ramen. Looking at him was enough for the man to lose his appetite.
"One miso," he ordered sitting down next to the blond.
As the two of them ate in silence, Jiraiya wondered how the village was fairing.
They had been gone for two years already, and Jiraiya, in order to keep their profiles low, had not allowed Tsunade to reply to any of his letters, sent via toad to inform the Hokage about Naruto's progresses.
The woman had been resolute on that matter, wanting to know how Naruto was.
Tsunade could really pull off the mother part well, when she applied herself to it…
Travelling around had helped Naruto a lot, and not just him –Jiraiya himself felt refreshed now that he had someone to travel with, instead of doing it all by himself, like in the past.
The teen had blossomed greatly in strength, speed and chakra control, learning many things from the people the two had met through their travelling –samurai, retired shinobi, simple civilians…
After five bowls of ramen, Naruto was forced to stop, feeling the intense glares coming from his sensei at his side; sighing gloomily, he nodded and followed the perverted Sannin out of the stand.
"Are we moving South now?" he asked, staring at the clouds that were quickly covering the sky. "It smells like incoming rain… I wouldn't want to end up like a drowned cat".
Jiraiya smirked knowingly, "Don't worry, brat. The city we are heading off to is not too far away, and you will get to a warm bed before sunset".
With a shrug, Naruto nodded and followed him as they moved out of the village.
The air was heavy, and Naruto could sense the increase in humidity, a prelude of the incoming rain; he shivered, glancing around. He felt like something else was coming, but he couldn't understand what… the day had been rather quiet so far, after all.
Naruto clutched his jacket around his body, suddenly feeling cold; the temperature wasn't that low yet, and it wasn't even winter yet, and still, he had a bad feeling.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto bit his lips and ignored it; he usually ended up moody during rainy periods, something he had probably inherited from the fox he had inside, so maybe this bad feeling was just another stupid bad mood.
Shrugging it off, Naruto continued following his sensei as they quickly moved towards the mountains.
…–…–…–…
Jiraiya had been looking forwards to showing Naruto the Tsuchi no Kuni.
The two had been travelling in there for the last two months, and were currently moving towards Iwagakure, the capital; the Earth Country was really wonderful, and every town or city they had passed through had been astonishing in beauty and majesty.
Contrariwise to the common belief that Earth Country was an arid place made of rocks and mountains, every place the two had visited had been beautiful.
There were plants that were foreign in the Fire country, animals Naruto had never seen before living in the forests, and the landscape was never plain –there were hills and vast lands, and the beauty of the mountain passes was astounding.
The two travellers were moving South from a small village towards Iwa, because Jiraiya was sure that the capital of the country would stun Naruto with its beauty; it was, by far, the biggest city out of all the Elemental countries, four times bigger than Konoha, and there was much to see in there.
It was also the village of residence of the Tsuchikage, and some of the best sealing masters were from that city.
Unfortunately, the two never reached the city; as they were moving up the mountain pass, stopping to gather some water from a nearby stream, trouble fell upon them all of sudden.
The first to feel the incoming danger was Jiraiya; he was more experienced, and felt the incoming chakra almost immediately, recognising it instantly as a threat.
There were two chakra signatures approaching quickly, and both of them were only mildly concealed, not nearly enough to hide their presence completely –it almost felt as if they didn't need to hide themselves.
Dread gripping him from the inside, Jiraiya froze, recognising whom the signatures belonged to.
"Naruto!" he called out.
The blond teen stopped, and Jiraiya saw him tense as he finally felt the incoming chakra flares.
"Is it…" Naruto turned towards him, fear flickering in his orbs, and the older man could only nod, equally tense.
Jiraiya knew that Naruto had a good reason to be afraid; they hadn't expected an attack this early, after two years of relative calm, and they had been found despite their carefully erased traces…
"Akatsuki," he murmured, his tone dark.
And there they came.
Naruto quickly scanned his surroundings; they were standing in a large meadow where they would not be hindered by trees or rocks, and they were close enough to a thick spot of forest where he could run to if he needed to make an easy escape.
Unfortunately, they were also close to a stream, and Naruto knew that one of the two enemy ninja was specialized in water techniques.
As it was, Naruto knew that he would never equal a member of Akatsuki in power –especially when the opponent was Itachi– and Jiraiya had taught him that running away was the only option. Disregarding his pride for his life was not a shame.
Naruto hesitated.
At least, he could try keeping his grounds for a bit. If he ran away right away, they would catch up with him far too easily.
One last glance at the meadow, then Naruto concentrated his chakra in his feet, preparing himself for the fight.
Then, they appeared in front of them, chakra flaring up all of sudden.
Naruto's eyes narrowed instantly as his entire body tensed, stiffening and taking a step back as he stared at the two Akatsuki members that were now standing there.
As expected, one of them was Uchiha Itachi, Naruto's personal hunter and the one person Naruto didn't know where to place.
The other one was Hoshigaki Kisame, the shark–looking man. Naruto had learned his name thanks to Jiraiya's information on him, but he still privately referred to him as Shark–guy.
Still, Naruto's eyes were mainly on Itachi.
During the last two years, as he trained himself and grew stronger, applying himself, Naruto had been able to think a lot, too. He had thought about Sasuke and the Snake bastard, coming up with various plans on how he would take the younger Uchiha back to Konoha. He had thought about his promise to Sakura, and how he was doing his best.
And then, he had also thought about the older Uchiha.
His trip to the Uchiha compound had left him with a lingering sense of dread, something bugging him about the clan, the feeling of that place, and the slate standing in Sasuke's room.
The more he thought about Itachi, the more he wanted to understand what was going through in that man's mind.
Why had he slaughtered his clan? His words about hatred hid something, but Naruto, for how much thought he put on it, still couldn't understand.
He had not been able to shake the curiosity away from his mind, and he wanted to understand.
He had never spared a thought about what Itachi had done to him that night, the Tsukiyomi, he hadn't thought about what he would do if he ever saw the man in person again.
But now that Itachi was standing right in front of him, Naruto's mind was blank.
While Naruto knew he had changed a lot during the last two years, the older Uchiha didn't seem like he had changed at all; he was still tall, with long, silky hair, as black as death, tied in a low ponytail that swayed in the breeze.
He still wore the Akatsuki cloak, somewhat making him look regal and imposing, while on his companion it simply looked like a normal clothing, his frame hidden beneath the black mantle.
What really attracted Naruto's attention, though, were Itachi's eyes. Crimson like blood, with his Sharingan activated, they were as captivating as they had been during their last encounter on the borders of Konoha.
And just like back then, they were cold and emotionless.
Not sure why he found those eyes captivating –deep, focused yet revealing nothing– Naruto was unable to look away –there was something about them he was determined to unravel.
A memory was trigged in the blond teen's mind –a photo in Sasuke's room, back in Konoha, the one with the whole family reunited together, all of them smiling… that photo from before the massacre. Before their lives were shattered into a million pieces.
That Itachi and this one… past and present…
How would this Itachi look like with a smile?
Would this Itachi be as successful at tricking people as his younger self had been, or would he be unable to fake warmth now?
Would he look different with a smile?
Shaking his head, Naruto quickly looked away, remembering where he was. He shouldn't have locked eyes with Itachi, knowing what had happened last time he had done that.
The pain, flashes of his past, voices–
"Monster!"
He dispelled that thought quickly. He had grown stronger thanks to Itachi's attack, those words were not painful anymore.
"Naruto!" a voice called out. "Don't rush into battle –this is not something to face carelessly!"
Naruto's eyes searched for his sensei while keeping Itachi in the range of his vision. "I'll do what I can, Ero–sennin," he reassured his teacher.
Jiraiya, face grim, nodded. "If things get bad, just run up the mountain. Iwagakure is just a few miles from the pass. You will be protected there, and with your speed, you can make it".
Naruto hummed, then returned his full attention on the two unmoving figures. What was he supposed to do now…?
He didn't have any more time to ponder over it, because Kisame suddenly moved, attacking them.
Drawing his still wrapped sword from his back, the shark–man set his sights on Naruto, eyes gleefully glinting at the thought of causing some blood to spill, but was quickly blocked by Jiraiya, who positioned himself in front of the Kiri nuke–nin.
Kisame growled and swung his sword hard, but the elder shinobi evaded the blow and kicked the other man right in the chest, carefully avoiding being too close to the blade. Kisame went flying across the meadow, and Jiraiya jumped up to follow him.
Soon enough, the two were exchanging blows, with Jiraiya paying attention to Samehada and only doing mid–range attacks.
That, unfortunately, left Naruto to face Itachi.
Both his visit at the Uchiha compound and his last meeting with the man had Naruto fairly sure of just about how ruthless Itachi could be; not to mention that Naruto was finally starting to see a possible reason for the Uchiha's coldness, and he didn't like it.
The actual realisation came when Naruto looked at Itachi again, eyes meeting those crimson swirling Sharingan again.
"Naruto–kun," Itachi murmured, voice cool and even. "You will not escape".
At that exact moment, as if time had stilled, Naruto felt comprehension hit him.
What if… what if Itachi's words about not having enough hatred, his emotionless attitude, the coldness of his eyes… what if all of that wasn't just a lack of emotions, but something entirely different altogether?
Itachi had hated his clan enough to destroy it in the span of a single night.
That meant this hatred had been strong… too strong. Maybe strong enough to overwhelm any other emotion.
Itachi's focus had been on hatred, but he didn't seem to show that emotion anymore, as if he had been drained completely once his family had been finally gone.
In a single instant, Naruto felt a new, powerful rush of fear fill him completely.
If he was right, if Itachi's world had focused so much on his hatred that any other emotion had been suppressed completely… when that hatred had been satisfied, vanishing from him with the rest of his clan, then it had left nothing in its wake.
Once the only emotion Itachi had felt was appeased, there was nothing left for him to feel, and if that was it, then… then Itachi would stop at nothing. If he had no emotion to focus on, then he would do anything without second thoughts.
Once again, Itachi spoke with the same even tone. "You are afraid".
Naruto looked down at his hands in shock, seeing them shaking badly. Clenching his hands into fists, his nails digging into his fingers and drawing blood, Naruto forced himself to stop trembling.
He had thought that moving one step closer to understanding Itachi would make him less afraid of the other shinobi.
He had been deeply wrong.
This new insight –be it wrong or right, Naruto couldn't know, he could only trust his instincts on that– only brought forth more fear. The depths of Itachi's hatred…
As soon as he admitted that, something else flashed through his mind. A memory carved in the depths of his mind, something that had happened so long ago that he had almost forgotten about it.
Someone had said, long before, that he would never let himself freeze in fear during a mission ever again –because he was a ninja.
And that someone had been him back in Nami no Kuni.
His very first mission.
He was so very afraid of Itachi, but he could not let this fear control him, or he would end up… like Sasuke.
Eyes narrowed in anger, Naruto shifted into a guarded stance, shoulders tense, preparing himself for the incoming attack; it was hard for him not to look into Itachi's eyes, but if he concentrated on his senses, he would be able to focus on the other's smell and chakra waves and try to keep aware using that.
"So we meet again, Naruto–kun," Itachi's voice had never changed in tone –low, silky and deep, yet void at the same time.
Naruto shuddered –that voice alone spoke of barely concealed danger.
He gritted his teeth, but the raven haired shinobi in front of him didn't look like he would attack anytime soon.
Not looking at his face was hard, so Naruto concentrated his attention on Itachi's arm shifting to point a finger towards him; for the first time, Naruto noticed that the other shinobi had painted nails and was wearing a ring on his finger.
It looked like the kind of ring only members of a clan wore, and it had a kanji on it, but Naruto was too far to be able to recognise which kanji it was.
"We'll ask you kindly first… come with us now, Naruto–kun," Itachi continued. Naruto almost rolled his eyes. As if.
"Fuck off," he replied, managing a tight smirk.
He felt a light prickling at the base of his neck, but didn't focus on it as he charged towards Itachi, forming a Rasengan in his right hand.
After weeks of training, he had finally mastered the attack without using a Kage Bunshin, and now he would be placing all that training to use against this dangerous opponent.
Itachi didn't move, but as Naruto hit him in the stomach, feeling barely no resistance as the attack hit its target, the teen wondered why Itachi hadn't even moved away.
He realised why only a second later, as Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke as he blinked; so then, it had been a Kage Bunshin, not the real one. Naruto spun around, eyes scanning his surroundings, and there he was –Itachi was standing a few feet away from him, unmoving.
He charged, twisting in midair with practiced ease and launching himself at the older shinobi, punched Itachi right on his face.
Once again, it felt tangible under his hand, but again, Itachi disappeared as the second Kage Bunshin was suddenly dispelled.
"Tch," Naruto grunted, falling on all four and looking around again.
Where was the real one?
Jiraiya had once explained to him that while Kage Bunshin was useful during certain situations, it had a major weakness –every clone only had a small percentage of the original's strength, and once hit, they would disappear.
Using it against strong opponents was just a waste of chakra as the enemy would be able to pinpoint the original among the copies anyway.
So, instead of charging as he saw another copy, Naruto tried to keep calm and analyse the meadow, tracing down the chakra flares to see where the stronger one was…
And stopped.
Something wasn't right.
Taking a split moment to analyze his surroundings, Naruto stretched all his enhanced senses. It was all too…
Quiet.
He blinked.
Where was Ero–Sennin?
As that thought clicked, Naruto finally realised what was bugging him and why he was feeling so uneasy.
The silence.
He was alone in the meadow now.
What…
The silence was almost deafening. Naruto swallowed, eerily reminded of the Uchiha compound. It had been silent there, too –deadly silent…
He spun around once, tense, ready to attack and again–
In the blink of an eye, he was surrounded.
There were four Itachi around him, the Sharingan wheels swirling madly, unmoving, all staring at him.
Analyzing.
Watching.
'I won't let him win… not this time,' Naruto thought fiercely.
One hand digging into his pouch, he extracted three kunai and threw them at three of the Itachi around him –the ones at his sides and the one in front of him were kid right in the chest, a little above the heart, and all three of them disappeared.
Without stopping to see that, Naruto was already twisting around without missing a beat, fingers tightly clenched around his fourth kunai, darting forwards.
Chakra swirled at his feet as he flicked his useful jutsu to charge against the remaining Itachi –the real one– with impressive speed…
He swung the kunai, and it pierced Itachi at the base of the neck –Naruto looked up, for a second meeting a pair of wide, crimson eyes.
Itachi was pushed away without offering any resistance, but as the body flew through the air, almost as if at a slow pace Naruto saw it flicker.
He blinked, and what he saw next had him take a step back in shock.
Itachi's figure was blurred, the cloak moving, fluttering, flickering strangely, as if…
Itachi disappeared, his frame scattered in pieces, and each piece was a single raven. They all flapped their wings, cawing as they flew high in the sky as Naruto watched, unable to understand.
The crows darted at him, flying all around him in a blur of black wings and feathers–
In the complete silence, their loud cawing was almost overwhelming, and unbearable, as was their flapping.
It echoed around him, above him, even inside him.
Naruto clenched his fists, eyes still focused on the animals surrounding him, waiting to see if they would attack him.
His shoulders tense, his breath accelerated, his heart racing in his chest… all his body was fixed on preventing an attack, eyes wide, focusing on each and every one of the ravens… but the birds didn't attack; instead, after circling him once more, they reunited above his head.
They seemed to melt under his gaze, and some of them reformed Itachi's body, now levitating above him. other crows cawed, still flying everywhere in the meadow.
Against the grey clouds signalling the approaching rain, the black of the ravens was visible and plain, like a million dots on a greyish page.
'Kuso!' Naruto cursed inwardly.
He knew instantly that he had been fooled. He had been stupid.
"This… this is a Genjutsu," he murmured. "How… without even looking at him in the eyes…" he gritted his teeth again, this time in frustration. How could he have been such an idiot?
He had let it happen.
The floating Itachi, surrounded by the cawing ravens, stared down at the uneasy blond, crimson meeting blue again. There was no need to keep his eyes away now if he was caught in a Genjutsu already.
A second later, the birds fell silent. They were still moving, but there was no sound anymore, not even the light fluttering of wings.
Naruto blinked again.
"My eyes are not the only thing I can use to cast a Genjutsu, Naruto–kun," it was almost as if Itachi felt some kind of twisted pleasure in calling him with such an endearing suffix, even though his face remained blank.
Naruto's mind filled with anger and confusion. Itachi's next words, though, answered his unspoken question.
"A finger is more than enough, at times," Itachi concluded.
Crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and Naruto instantly stood back, defensively lifting his arms. Still, he defiantly met those pools of swirling inferno, almost as if daring the other man to use that attack on him again.
Something fleeting passed through Itachi's eyes –something similar to amusement– that went unseen by the teen.
Itachi spoke up again, tone still even. "Don't worry… I will not use the Mangekyou Sharingan against you… again…"
His tone sounded like a statement, but Naruto couldn't just go and believe him about that.
'He's surely lying!' he growled, angered at himself for wanting to believe the man. 'I have to think of a way to break through this Genjutsu!'
"Alright, now drop off to sleep for me," Itachi said, his hands lifting to form a seal.
Again in Naruto's mind flashed something Jiraiya had told him while passing through Kiri no Kuni.
"When you find yourself caught in a Genjutsu, the only thing you can do by yourself is to stop and disrupt the flow of chakra in your body".
Then the man had added something else, but Naruto's attention had already been wandering somewhere else, so he didn't remember anything else. At the time, he hadn't wanted to know how to dispel a Genjutsu, merely how to cast one.
Then again, after finding out just how difficult it was for him to use such techniques, Naruto had entirely given up.
Cursing inwardly his lack of attention, Naruto focused on the situation at hand again.
Clapping his hands in front of his face, Naruto gritted his teeth, and concentrated on his flow of chakra, trying to disrupt the illusion he'd been caught into.
There was an explosion of chakra around him as he tried to force more of it against the barriers trapping him, crying out loudly as he felt them resist his pushing.
Crimson calculating eyes concentrated at the display.
'He's grown,' he thought, but there was no interest nor surprise in his eyes as Itachi spoke up in a low whisper, so low Naruto didn't hear, "but still… not enough".
Suddenly, Naruto found himself trapped between vines that had sprouted from the ground, pinning his arms high above his head, curling around his legs, neck, and torso, their thorns piercing his clothes and his skin, drawing blood.
Naruto stifled a pained gasp and tried to focus again on disrupting the chakra flow, but was attacked then by the ravens, who turned into shuriken as they flew at top speed towards him, slicing his body.
Naruto bit back another cry, and closed his eyes, concentrating…
"Naruto".
His eyes snapped open again to stare at Jiraiya's face.
The older man was standing in front of him, offering him one of his warm smiles. Naruto's heart skipped a beat, hoping that the man would help him come out from the Genjutsu…
His relief was short-lived.
Naruto blinked and Jiraiya lifted his right hand, showing the teen a kunai. The blond was expecting him to cut the vines away and free him, but instead Jiraiya dug the blade in his shoulder, never even faltering as he did so.
He was still smiling.
This time Naruto did cry, knowing he was still caught in the Genjutsu.
But now, his mind was reeling, and he couldn't concentrate anymore, his breath erratic, feeling not the pain of the wound, but the one inside.
He blinked.
Jiraiya was gone.
He blinked again.
Before his eyes stood Sasuke.
He was in the cursed seal form, the patterns of Orochimaru's curse all over his body, huge, inhuman wings that looked like hands sprouting from his back, black empty eyes fixed on him.
Sasuke was smirking –the sight was far too familiar.
"I've waited so long to finish what I started," Sasuke purred, and stepping closer to Naruto he curled his fingers around the blond teen's throat, tightening his grip. "By killing you I will finally complete my revenge!"
"No!" Naruto choked, shaking his head weakly. "No!"
'This is a Genjutsu, a Genjutsu, a Genjutsu!' he chanted over and over, his breath now shallow. He was slowly suffocating because of the strong grip of Sasuke's hand, but he didn't care.
This was not real.
Sasuke wouldn't kill him. He knew better. Naruto knew, he believed it, he still had a chance to get Sasuke back! He would not be defeated…
Never.
"STOP!" he yelled with all the remaining strength, and with a last burst of energy, he concentrated on his chakra–
An explosion, a blinding light, and then…
He blinked.
His senses were flooded again with life. Noises. The trees shaking in the wind, the noise of Jiraiya fighting against Kisame somewhere at his right. His heart thumping wildly in his chest as he coughed and gasped for air–
No wounds on his body.
No Sasuke choking him, strangling him.
He shuddered as he saw Itachi still unmoving in front of him, staring at him. All of it had happened only in his mind. It had been just a second, when inside the Genjutsu it had felt like hours.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling the ghost–pain of Sasuke's hands on it and then took a deep, shuddering breath, his hand slowly gracing the spot Sasuke had been holding.
It had felt so real.
He glared at the Uchiha genius, feeling a wave of anger fill him as he gritted his teeth. Itachi had used Sasuke against him, knowing that it would work better than Jiraiya had…
But at least Naruto had been able to dispel the Genjutsu all by himself, and now… the real fight would begin.
On his own, Jiraiya was fighting with Kisame on equal grounds, each of them landing a few blows before resuming their defensive stances.
It didn't take long for Jiraiya to realize that his opponent was trying to lure him further away from Naruto, so he tried to move back to the meadow. Unfortunately, he found himself almost trapped into a water trap and had to keep moving in order to avoid getting caged down.
He hoped that Naruto would know when to stop and run if things were to get complicated.
…–…–…–…
He lunged forwards.
Itachi watched him approach with the same emotionless face, just as mysterious as always, but Naruto swore he'd seen a trace of something flash through that indifference anyway.
This time using it outside of the Genjutsu, Naruto formed a Rasengan into one hand, pushing a large amount of chakra into it, preparing to fight, and thrust his hand forwards, meeting with thin air as Itachi shifted away, his black cloak flapping in the wind.
Naruto missed, keeping the chakra in his palm still swirling and preventing it from disappearing.
Quick, he continued to attack, shifting onto the side and following Itachi. He wouldn't have any other chance if he faltered now.
Senses alert, he kept on attacking again and again–
Only to grow more and more annoyed as Itachi continued evading him.
Easily sidestepping, never even once blocking or shielding away from one of his attacks.
He just could not hit him –not even once.
Every punch and kick was evaded skilfully, and Naruto found himself panting hard after only a few minutes, but he just wasn't going to stop. He had a high stamina and a huge amount of chakra to back him up, and he was not going to give up.
So he continued attacking, allowing his body to react in time with his instincts instead of thinking about what he was doing.
In no time at all, the two shinobi were blurs as both increased their speed, one to attack, the other to avoid –it almost felt like they were dancing instead of battling for life.
He didn't know for how long he continued keeping up, but after one last blow, as Itachi once again moved out of reach, Naruto kept still, allowing himself a few moments to calm down his nerves and think things out.
This was pointless.
Useless.
He could not win.
"You have become stronger, Naruto–kun… but not enough to win… nor to escape".
The words barely registered in Naruto's mind as he tried to come up with something, anything that would help him get the upper hand–
And then, he found himself on the receiving side of a sudden and unexpected assault.
As Naruto flew straight through the hair, slamming against a tree on the other end of the meadow, the only thought he had in his mind was that he hadn't even been able to see the blow.
He gasped out as he collided with the tree, sharp pain travelling through his body as he slumped down on the ground only to stand back up shakily.
The moment he was back on his feet, he was ruthlessly attacked once again.
It looked like Itachi was finally tired of playing around…
This time, he was able to see two of the blows before they hit him, but he couldn't really do nothing to prevent them, and again, he found himself flying in the air as pain exploded inside his body, the momentum sending him rolling until he stopped on the grass facedown, choking on a mouthful of blood.
He stood up again, spitting the blood on the grass, but the moment he was up, he went flying once again. As he collided against a rock, head snapping back as he spit out more blood, Naruto felt like laughing pathetically at himself.
'This is ridiculous… he's just playing with me like a fucking ball… sending me flying around the meadow…'
And again he stood up, refusing to back down. Not until he had energy left in his body…
This time, the blow was so strong he didn't just hit the tree, but actually crashed through it, which was even more painful.
Feeling faint and dizzy, his body finally refused to stand up again, so he just remained on the grass, panting and coughing and wheezing to try to get air fill his lungs again. Some of the wounds were already healing, but he knew it was a lost cause.
For the few seconds it took to gather enough strength to stand back up, breathing through his open mouth, Itachi did not attack him.
Glancing up from the sprawled position, feeling utterly humiliated, Naruto saw the Uchiha stand close to him, merely glancing down at him with those calculating eyes of his.
Anger flaring inside him again, as Naruto stood up once more, and once more Itachi attacked, sending him away; it looked like he was waiting for him to get up again before hitting him, because, every time Naruto tried to recover whilst remaining down, Itachi didn't touch him.
'Is this only a fucking game for him?'
Naruto this time did not stand again. He wanted to see what Itachi would do, and was rewarded when he felt the presence of the raven haired shinobi approach him…
Only to do absolutely nothing.
He was not attacking… just staring down at him.
"Are you finally giving up, Naruto–kun?" with the tone he'd used, Naruto was sure Itachi didn't really care about his reply.
"Of course not!" he spat, wheezing. "You fucking bastard!"
He dared to look up, and again he met Itachi's crimson eyes. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if Itachi without the Sharingan now would look as he did in that old, framed photo back in Sasuke's bedroom.
The thought was ridiculous, and Naruto banished it, ashamed he could think such things in the middle of a fight.
He knew that if he remained on the ground Itachi would cease to attack him, but he would never resort to such low means, so he rolled over and forced his body to stand back up.
Itachi moved towards him again, but now Naruto had recovered enough; chakra flashing to his feet, Naruto moved to the left and avoided the incoming punch.
'Yes! I evaded one of his attacks!' he cheered inwardly, but had to concentrate because Itachi hadn't stopped and was coming for him again. 'I have to run,' he realized, after evading another attack, then two, then hissing in pain as the third collided with his shoulder. 'I can't resist much longer…'
Somehow this thought left him empty.
Maybe it was the ruthlessness coming from Kyuubi inside him, or the fact that maybe –and just maybe– he'd been hitting his head far too many times in the last few minutes to be thinking straight anymore, but he was actually enjoying the adrenaline running through his body whilst fighting against Itachi.
It was like one of his spars with Sasuke… only deadlier.
Was it so thrilling for him to be playing around with death?
But he couldn't allow himself to follow this train of thoughts; it was too dangerous to continue.
Which was why, instead of keeping on fighting a losing battle, Naruto turned around and pushed chakra in his feet, rushing away as fast as he could.
The woods were now a blur as he darted through the forest and up the mountain path, resisting the urge to boost his speed even more –he was aware that there was a limit to how much chakra he could use without toppling over, and he was getting far too close to that point already.
Around him, the world had now mixed in a whirlwind of greens and browns.
He knew he couldn't mask his own chakra from Itachi, because the Uchiha was far too experienced to be fooled by that, and using it on his feet would only call attention on him, but for once he chose speed over stealth, and continued running.
With the wind rushing on his head, running like a blur, excited at the chase although he was the prey instead of the hunter, Naruto felt once again the thrill of the danger fill him.
Part of his mind wondered what had happened to Jiraiya, and if the old man would notice Naruto was not there anymore and come to find him, or if he'd prefer to continue his fight with Kisame in order to stall at least once of his enemies.
Naruto was heading towards Iwa just as instructed, and if he managed to get there, he would be safe and Jiraiya was definitely good enough to defeat the Shark–guy and rejoin him in the city.
He was sure that he'd put at least some distance between himself and Itachi when he heard the familiar noise of running water. Soon enough he saw it –a large river that was flowing in front of him, wide and deep, and on the other end of it he saw the tall rock wall that supposedly surrounded and protected Iwa.
It looked like it was part of the mountain itself, and Naruto knew that if he managed to reach it, he would then find some Iwa ANBU or at least a Jounin that could help him buy some time against the missing–nin while he reached for the city.
Naruto landed on all fours on the ground, inches away from the raging water, and prepared to jump as high and far as he could, dispelling the chakra on his feet as he sailed through the air.
It was right when he was there, for a long second unprotected in the middle of the jump, that the blow hit him.
A searing pain shot through his left shoulder and he lost his momentum, falling down against the rock wall and slamming painfully against it, face first.
With a strangled cry he slumped down, eyes finally noticing two figures that had been previously hidden away from sight, sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood.
In shock, he recognized the outfit of the Tsuchi ANBU.
He stood up, rattled by the hit, and twisted around, eyes wide as a flare of chakra appeared behind him.
Then he looked up, a pair of crimson eyes staring down at him –so close, too close…
Itachi was already there.
Naruto backed away until his back was against the wall, eyes wide in shock, no place to run…
'I thought I had at least–'
A charcoal black sphere appeared in Itachi's right hand, the amount of chakra moving inside it shocking Naruto to the point that he started trembling, and a second later, as black flames enveloped the sphere, Naruto watched as it was slammed right in his chest.
–End Flashback–
As memories of how he got there filtered through his mind, Naruto felt the double desire to laugh hysterically and cry.
So… that was it.
Just like that, Akatsuki had caught him, and they would extract the Kyuubi, and then he would die.
Naruto closed his eyes, his mind strangely blank. Maybe it was the pain, or maybe it was the shock, or the knowledge that his life had taken a turn for the worst –which unfortunately meant death– but he felt absolutely nothing.
He really didn't want to die.
Thinking about everything he would never be able to do now –his dreams, his goals… he would not see Iruka–sensei ever again, nor Kakashi–sensei nor Jiraiya, nor Tsunade…
He would not be able to keep his promises to his friends. He had promised Sakura they would take Sasuke back. He had promised Sasuke he would drag his sorry ass back in Konoha. He had promised Neji that he would help him with his clan, and then he had promised Gaara he would come back for a spar… he had promised to himself that he would become Hokage.
It was unfair… he'd never had an easy life, but this… ending it like this, so soon, without having been able to change a damn thing…
He would die without seeing his precious people ever again, he would die without having been accepted. Without having found love.
He'd wanted to become Hokage to show people he could protect them with his strength.
And now, all his life was crumbling down, simply because this organization wanted the demon he had within him.
Just the demon, not even him. It had never been him, in the end –everything had always been about Kyuubi. The cause of everything, the only thing that mattered… Naruto had just been dragged along for the ride one more time.
Without Kyuubi, Naruto would have been free, but he would have been weak, right?
He was going to die. In such a shameful way, too.
'I don't want to die!'
His mouth parted to yell, but the words simply didn't come out.
There was nothing he could do.
He was trapped, sealed and surrounded by nine Akatsuki members, all just as strong as Tsunade or Jiraiya, maybe even more, and this time he knew he couldn't escape.
'I'm so sorry…' fighting to keep the tears at bay, Naruto tried to keep the panic creeping around his heart away. Even if the darkness hid his face and there was no one around him that would care to see him cry, he still couldn't let himself go.
Even if he was alone, he still refused to show weakness to someone, even if that someone was just him.
He was going to die.
Oh God. He was going to die. It was the end.
Even if now it didn't matter anymore, he still tried to be strong as panic slowly filled him despite his attempts to ignore it.
'I'm going to die. No… no, I don't want to die… I don't want to die!'
The chakra flares around him stabilized all of sudden. In the silence, they formed some sort of circle around him, keeping themselves away from his prone form, though, and then suddenly, there was a buzz of chakra humming around him.
The ritual to extract Kyuubi was starting.
Naruto didn't want to know what it was, or what it would do or how it worked, but he knew the last precious minutes of his life had ticked by.
He would die, and no one would come to save him…
No one.
He was alone, and fuck it –he was deeply afraid.
A sudden light flashed in the darkness, so bright and clear that Naruto yelped hoarsely as it forced him to shut his eyes close in shock, flinching away from it, but it was encompassing everything, and it didn't die out.
He groaned at the pain the movement caused him.
Underneath him, the ground was trembling and then shaking and then rumbling, as if the entire world was vibrating, and the vibrations reverberated through his body, in and out.
It was growing stronger, and his heard was tuning itself with the rumbling sound as it grew louder and louder and closer–
Humming and thumping and…
He could barely think above all the noise, and then he was being lifted in the air as if by a bubble of chakra, and the light dimmed away slightly, and…
And that's when the pain really began.
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
StarsOfYaoi: so this was the ninth chapter. I hope you liked. Review, if you feel like it!
Yes, before you ask… this chapter's fight was inspired by Naruto's manga, chp 259, but it quickly changed and the rest is all mine. That chapter was pure awesomesauce, and Itachi was just too damn hot.
ENDING NOTE: next chapter expect ANGST.
