Warnings: violence, lots of gore, etc, etc. (Should I increase the rating?)
Chapter Soundtrack: Du Hast – Rammstein, My Violent Heart – Nine Inch Nails, Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums – A Perfect Circle

Disarm
Chapter Ten

But it wasn't Sasuke.

Not-Sasuke approached him, and Naruto realized he was screaming. Sharp shrieks of pain poured from him, but it was out of his control, and Not-Sasuke was still coming closer and closer.

Then - a touch on his forehead, and the broken screams died.

Naruto lay, gasping, one hand grabbing his other mangled upper arm in a vice grip. Every limb and joint was tense, trembling, wondering where the pain went. The man – who is this, Sasuke? Why-? – still leaned over him, motionless, two fingers extended centimeters from his forehead.

"You must be quiet," said Not-Sasuke. "Trust me when I say you do not want attention at this moment."

Naruto heaved in more breaths, slowly accepting more from his wrecked senses. Something dug into his back, his clenched hand was frozen in place, he was sweating despite the - cold? No, he wasn't cold. He wasn't hot either. Actually, he couldn't feel any pain or heat at all. His deadened body still trembled, and cold puffs of air froze on his lips.

Say something, a voice in his head said irritably. You look like an idiot.

"Who – what –" His mouth formed the words oddly, making them sound garbled.

Not-Sasuke leaned back and straightened, still never wavering his intense gaze. Those eyes, they were even more piercing than anything he'd known before - they were cutting. He spoke. "I have blocked the nerve signals denoting pain. As for treatment, there is nothing I can do." His voice was low, smooth, and mostly monotone. Impersonal. Just one note away from Sasuke's.

Naruto managed to unlock his hand from his arm – thinking only of the way the skin there stuck to his hand and was pulled with it before snapping back, leaving his hand coated in black and red lumps. Think, imbecile, said that voice. Where are you, what happened? What's most important right now?

He swallowed with difficulty. "The Guard," Naruto said.

The man lifted his hand again to point at something behind him. Naruto turned his head and saw the corpse of the cat-like Guard. It lay on its side, limber grey-furred body now limp and disgusting in death. He thought it had died with its muzzle gaping wide, until he realized that the lower jaw was ripped off entirely and lay glistening in its own pool of blood not far away. It was still frightening, and Naruto couldn't help but be worried at its proximity – even if it was now nothing more than a nightmare wearing fur. Most strange of all was that there was no sign of a struggle anywhere on the passage or the man.

"Oh." he said. "Did you-?"

He cut himself off as he saw beyond the Guard, where two other figures lay. It was another Guard, limp and mangled beyond recognition, lying beside –

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, jolting unsteadily to his knees. Blood surged from his arm, reminding him to slow down and be careful to keep it motionless. He slowly made his way over to the other soldier.

"His assailant was a lot more vicious," Not-Sasuke said. Naruto ignored him, speechless at the sight before him.

Gaara lay on his back, close to the wall, eyes clenched tightly shut unconsciously. Naruto immediately saw why. His right leg was twisted at the knee, completely snapped. Furthermore his tibia was protruding from the middle of the shin, and the grey bone looked odd among a sea of red and black, glistening muscles still attached to it. There was a trickle of blood from Gaara's forehead - the gash was shallow, thank god – and another from his nose. Gaara's breathing was coming in shallow, short bursts, but it was there. He was alive.

"We've got to help him!" Naruto said quickly. Oh god oh god, this was like the exam all over again. He turned back to look at his saviour. "How can I get him treatment? Can you-"

The man held a hand to silence him. "My name is Itachi. I cannot help the Carrier – the only ones who can are the Konoha soldiers. They are looking for you two as we speak."

Naruto bit his lip, looking back down at his comrade, afraid of messing with the gruesome leg injury. "Then I need to get to them. Were you the one to kill the Guards?"

Itachi nodded slowly, looking regal in his cloak of solid black lined in red and white fur. "I was lucky to intercept the Guards before they could bring you to our Leader. Thank your god that that was not the case."

…Our Leader… Naruto's eyes grew wide. "You're with Akatsuki." Instantly he shifted and reached for the dagger, realizing with dread that it was not there. He had dropped it when -

The man simply blinked at him somberly. "Yes and no. Time is running short, Nine. They must not know that I interfered. I would accompany you except my presence is required elsewhere, so it is up to you to bring yourself and One to safety. I believe Support should be near the gate Cell Seven entered."

His jaw dropped, warning signals going off in his head. Yes and no? What the hell? "How – how do you know all this?"

The man smiled then, and though it was small it was still shocking. He looked more like Sasuke now than ever, even with the long hair and severe gaze. He said, "Do not accept everything you are told as the truth, little one. Remember that the moment something is created, it begins to be destroyed."

There was a slight trembling in the floor below them, and looking about the small ice corridor they were in Naruto remembered the drastic situation. He looked at Itachi seriously, rummaging through his pack hurriedly as he did so. "Itachi, or whoever you are - thank you, I guess. I hope for your sake that you're not really one of those Akatsuki assholes, or else I'd have to kill you."

Itachi's smile had long disappeared but he dipped his head with an expression that might have been amusement. "I will remember this, little one. You must return to Konoha, and tell them this: it is soon."

"'It is soon'. Roger. Oh, real quickly, I'd like to know-"

"You must hurry."

"-Right." Naruto gripped his pistol and bent to tenderly gather Gaara in arms. Blood rained from his leg and Naruto's own arm, but Naruto hoped Gaara's demon would keep him from dying like Nine did for him. He raised an eyebrow at the man as he rose fully, grateful for the momentary lack of pain. "And my name's not Nine, or little one. It's Naruto."

Itachi's hand rose again to point down one end of the corridor. "I know. Now go, Naruto. Oh, and – say hello to my little brother for me."

Naruto nodded. Armed with a signal detector, a Glock, and an unresponsive Carrier in his arms, he gritted his teeth and set off without a backward glance, leaving his strange saviour behind.

He moved as fast as he could, what with a dead weight in his arms and a shaken body of his own. He continued down the twisting path until he came to a fork, where he managed to figure out how to work the receiver with one hand and a grimace. There was nothing. Figures, since no one had ever come this far. He'd have to wing it until he came across a chip, and continued along the maze. Naruto cradled Gaara more carefully – the other boy was still in pain, even in sleep – and was again thankful for his numb injuries. That made him realize that he should probably address Gaara's leg, his own insecurities be damned. Who knows if the demon within Gaara was capable of healing something so drastic on its own.

With his thought Naruto set him down, and got about the squeamish task of pushing the bone back in place. He was afraid of waking Gaara, and of anything that might be coming closer as he stood still, but it had to be done. The knee was a lost cause, so Naruto did his best to disinfect what he could. He applied pressure to the shin, gritting his teeth, and had to dig his fingers in the entrails of the leg to realign it as best he could. The bone was stiff and the texture was shocking, not to mention with the sinewy feel of tendons and muscle. The gush of blood was obscuring his work, but Naruto scooped it out or blotted it with his sleeve, forcing himself to think straight. He had to do this. Cursed with a demon or no, Gaara could still die. Carriers were superhuman, if they were human at all, but they weren't gods. Only fools chased immortality, and none possessed it.

With a grating of bone and a release of pressure – he was half afraid he would snap the bone yet again - he managed to loosely connect the fractured ends.

Gaara shifted.

Oh shit, Naruto thought. No. No, no, don't wake up… Gaara's eyelids flickered, his mouth working soundlessly. His snapped leg gave a spasm, and Gaara released a shriek of inexplicable pain.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but Naruto instantly pressed his less-bloodied hand against Gaara's mouth to stifle the deafening scream. Gaara's eyes flew open and immediately locked on his as he writhed on the ice floor.

"Ssssh," Naruto hissed, holding down the shaking limbs as best he could. "Hey, listen to me – listen! Calm down, I know it's a bitch, but listen. They're gone, but they got your leg pretty bad. I'm going to get us back, ok? You just need to be quiet, ok? Don't move!"

"Gggh," Gaara gurgled and grimaced, eyes narrowing and widening as he experienced his personal hell. It made Naruto feel like shit to be helpless before this kind of suffering. "Lea –leave! Don't – don't – I don't –"

"Shut up! I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you die here! Keep still, alright? Hey…"

Despite the restraints Gaara's body lifted off the floor as he experienced a great spasm of pain, until finally he slumped back, unconscious. It must have been intolerable.

Naruto closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Jesus.

At least he could return to his administrations. The sight of congealing and suddenly renewed blood made bile rise in Naruto's throat but he swallowed thickly and did his best to wrap the wound extremely tight, having nothing with which to make a solid tourniquet. He wasted no time cleaning the head wound since it was not fatal and there was more than likely more dangers about.

And he was shaking again. Naruto released a tremulous breath and picked everything up again, ignoring the blood freezing on his fingers and inside his nails - he'd lost his gloves eons ago. He continued within the maze, holding out the receiver and choosing any path at random when it did not pick up anything. He noticed that the ice in the paths he was leaving behind was a lot darker than the ice here – before it had been eerie dark, like it was coating something black within it. Now it was lightening gradually to the dim blue he recognized from earlier. Perhaps that meant he was on the right track.

Naruto emerged from another fork and held out the receiver again quickly, only this time a small beep came from the device. Naruto swore in excitement and hurried along that direction, finally on the right path - closer to safety. He could not tell the passing of time, instead measuring the spaces between paths in hurried, heavy footsteps. It couldn't have been more than an hour since he'd been attacked, since his blood had still been mostly fresh, and yet… yet it felt like eternities that he wandered through the frozen labyrinth, death possibly only steps behind. A patient and silent friend.

His steps were beginning to falter and slow – his mind was numb to pain and most outer stimuli, but it could not mask stress or fatigue. His arms had long ago locked into place, the fingers of his right hand clenched tightly against the rough texture of the pistol's grip. His knee gave out once, almost making Naruto fall flat on his face on top of his cargo, but he caught himself and continued.

Then there was another rumble. He could see the walls tremble slightly, and it was coming closer, but slowly. It originated from the path behind him, and it was more powerful than the ones he'd felt with Cell Seven. Gaara's outburst must not have helped, intentional or not.

God, not again. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. He was armed only with his desperation and his pistol, but these inter-mountain guards did not even react to fatal wounds. He could try his hand at his demon's power, but he'd been warned against using it within Olympus - not to mention he also had Gaara to look out for. Fuck.

Still Naruto pocketed the receiver, gently lowering Gaara to the ice floor and standing in front of him. He held the Glock-29 at the ready, steadying it in both hands, training his sight on the black void ahead of him. The great rumbling increased gradually.

Be calm. Think straight. That voice advised.

Jesus, voice, where'd you come from anyway, Naruto thought irratedly.

Shut up and kill them.

Naruto shivered, but he felt no cold. Seconds and eons ticked by. Something approached.

They burst from the darkness steadily, coming along at a casual pace. Two Guards headed straight for him. One was a horse – or something that looked like it. The mane was disgustingly long and crusted over yellow with filth, and white frost covered its beige coat. From what he could see its eyes were a strange crimson, and something was off about its front left leg. The other was a wolf, but grotesquely large, with long crisp fur and a drooling, gaping mouth that curled almost like a smirk. There was a faint click as it moved, coming from the razor sharpness of its claws – three in front, one in the back. Just like the Guard he'd first met. They ambled along slowly, growling low, sure of his inability to escape. The ease of these unnatural creatures was all the more unsettling.

Naruto's heart beat steadily, strangely calm like before. He had to make his shots count, disabling them before they got pissed and gutted him, preferably.

They were getting close, about six meters away. Now he saw what bothered him about the horse's leg – it was rotting. It was stitched together at the more advanced points of decomposition, but greenish flesh still grew around the stitches and all the way down to the hoof, which looked like it was barely holding to the flesh. The wolf, in sharp contrast, was almost neat looking. There wasn't any dirt anywhere on its white coat.

Fantastic - he was appraising animals now. Time to get these fuckers before they killed him. Naruto aimed the pistol, and shot directly into both their eyes in rapid fire.

That set them off, and Naruto would be in paw's reach within three seconds. As fast as he could manage Naruto shot at the vital spots, but they did not relent. The horse-like Guard reared onto it's hind hooves, front legs beating at the air, about to crush him. Naruto grabbed Gaara and ducked out the way, slipping through the two creatures as the horse Guard landed, making their surroundings shake. The other Guard had been circling to get behind him and snarled, leaping forward. Naruto again rolled out of the way, but he was drastically slowed by Gaara's dead weight. The sharp claws caught his right shin, but only grazed them as the horse Guard's stamping hoof got in the way.

They're slowing each other down, Naruto realized. One guard was lethal in tight quarters, but two large ones did nothing but get in each other's way. Still, he couldn't manage to kill them both at the same time. He was still ass-deep in alligators.

He got in two shots to the horse's knee joint before he had to fall flat on his ass to avoid its kick. As it was in motion the wolf was also swiping at where Naruto's face had been, intercepting the flying hoof. Enraged at another block, it snarled at the other. The horse thrashed its head and snorted, moving toward Naruto before he could completely crawl away. Naruto kept shooting it in the face, hoping to at least blind them. It was hard to keep steady aim when every second was an attempt on his life though, and he received a jarring kick to the side.

Naruto flew from the blow, landing sprawled further along the passage with spots dancing in his vision. He still couldn't feel any pain. It might kill him later, but for now his dead nerves were keeping him alive.

Another slice, catching him in the chest. His thick coat caught most of it, thankfully. Firing off more shots, Naruto knew his time was even more limited. At least he was leading them away from Gaara, but he couldn't keep this up. His ammo was running low, and he barely did any damage whatsoever. Bullets didn't seem to work, but they reacted to each other's blunt hits –

An idea struck him, and a gaping pair of jaws almost did the same. Oh no you don't, motherfucker, Naruto thought as he fought off the snapping fangs with the butt of his pistol. They were getting much too close, but only one of them could get him in reach at a time. Naruto dived beyond the wolf Guard to run directly at the horse, having only seconds before the wolf shredded his back. With a strange burst of speed and another eerily high leap, Naruto somehow managed to land flat on the horse's back, having to squeeze his arms and legs around the filthy beast to stop his momentum. The horse gave something like a shriek and tried to throw him off as the wolf circled around it, snarling.

Trying to keep his balance but aware of the growing danger, Naruto slowly raised himself, gripping the pistol tightly. The wolf Guard tried to bite at his leg, but the horse gave a snort and backed away, trying to protect itself. They were working against one another now. Perfect. But soon enough they'd smarten up and -

The horse whinnied and threw itself at the wall of the maze, nearly crushing Naruto's entire left side. He felt the uncomfortable squeeze but thankfully didn't know the sting of the blow, so he stayed on. The walls of the maze rattled, and a chunk of ice shattered from the ceiling.

The wolf snarled and kept circling and the horse prepared to crush him again, thrashing about to shake him loose. Naruto increased his grip and crept forward to its neck, still clenching the pistol tight, until he got a good shot of the top of the horse's skull. He needed to do it now, before the whole fucking place caved in or his bones snapped without his noticing. He fired directly through the matted hair at point blank range, shot after shot, until past the soaking blood and hair he could see bone.

As he fired the horse Guard gave another horrible shriek, definitely feeling the effects. He had no time to flip the safety, so Naruto only clenched the gun far from the trigger and started brutally bashing the butt of the pistol into the skull, over and over again.

But the bone was thick, and hair absorbed most of the impact. Naruto put more and more strength into his blows as the horse screamed and started thrashing around more than before, making it hard for Naruto to keep balance or his blows to connect. Still he kept crushing through bone, chips of it slicing his face. The horse was outright twisting its own body in pain. The wolf was growling continuously, waiting for an opening. Naruto pulled his energy into his arm, tensing his hold on the gun, and bashing it forward to finally crack through the horse's skull. Bits of grey and pink splattered on his face. Naruto had no time to be physically sick at the sight and the memories.

The horse's great neck dipped forward as it groaned in pain, thrashing less as it weakened, legs failing and its whole body tilting forward. At that very moment the wolf had lunged to attack Naruto while he was still on it's back, but the wolf's jaws ended up clamped around the horse's skull instead. Naruto rolled off quickly, landing with a winded huff on his pack. With a dying flail the horse kicked the wolf square in the neck, sending it flying.

One down. The horse Guard gave a massive twitch and lay still, but Naruto wasted no time. Immediately he was back on his feet, bloody pistol trained on the recovering wolf. It was advancing a lot slower, but it was certainly still in condition to kill him. Naruto used the last of his ammo to fire straight at its nearly-crushed neck, but still it advanced. The pistol gave a weak click as the chamber was finally empty.

He kept it in his hand to use as a blunt weapon, but that didn't help. Too fast to follow the wolf jumped and knocked him to the ground, fangs instantly buried in his hand. Naruto couldn't help it - he released the pistol, shaken from the harsh blow to the ground. Oh, these wounds were going to suck when he could feel them again.

It was pressing in on his lungs. He couldn't breathe. With supernatural strength he shoved the wolf off him, rolling mostly out of range – but his hand was still caught in the Guard's jaws. Something burned within his body. His power. It was thrumming inside him, waiting for the chance. The Guard raised a paw to swipe at him, but in his dazed state Naruto was not quick enough to dodge the blow. It caught him on the cheek, knocking Naruto's skull back against the floor. With the thought he had left he tried to twist free, ripping some flesh from his hands at the unyielding grip of the wolf's jaw. It snarled at him, tugging him closer, finally pining him to the floor. It was like the wolf was dragging it out, enjoying his pain…

It burning fiercer now, almost painful. Naruto couldn't think straight. Another swipe caught his other cheek, almost deep enough to embed the claws in his face. Naruto struggled weakly. His vision was dimming.

Now, said the voice.

The Guard reared its head, fangs bared, ready to end it.

Now!

And he let go. A moment before the Guard gouged out his neck, something brushed by Naruto and a cannon ball of energy shot from his stomach, incinerating the very air around it. The flare of power bombarded the Guard, who gave an animalistic scream as it was enveloped in surreal flames. It rolled off Naruto in pain, writhing and screaming, leaving smears of charred black along the already bloodied floor.

The ball of power seemed to be compressing, disappearing into the Guard. Finally it was completely out of sight. With a last wail, the Guard fell bonelessly to the ground and died, a smoking pathetic heap.

All was still.

Naruto lay gasping, weak and winded. He tried to get up, but he only raised his neck before letting it fall again. Just a moment. One more minute and he'd get up.

Useless, the voice snarled. Making me do the work for you.

That made Naruto's eyes fly open.

You, he thought with venom. I thought you were locked away.

Gyahaha! Kyubbi laughed. Here, all bets are off. Plus you don't have that stupid charm with you, so I can do as I please. You should be thanking me for taking care of your blood loss and saving your ass. Again.

Naruto grit his teeth and forced himself to rise. Oh, right, like you wouldn't have benefited from letting me live. Then what he'd said really hit home, and in a panic he felt around his neck. Tsunade's necklace. It was gone.

Fuck! Kyuubi gave another jeering laugh inside his head.

"I'll deal with you later," Naruto said out loud wearily, and the voice receded with a snort. The fight wasn't over yet. He gingerly made his way to Gaara, further back in the passage. He'd sustained no additional injuries, but the binding was now coated in blood. He was still breathing though, so his demon must be up to something. He picked him up carefully, pulling out the receiver with his mangled hand.

Excruciatingly slowly, Naruto continued to venture through the maze. If he'd been tired before, that was nothing. It was an effort to breathe, and he got the uncomfortable feeling that his injuries were going to come back to life with a vengeance soon. All over his body his wounds were starting to tingle. If he lost it now, there'd be no way he'd make it to the gate. The pain alone would kill him.

He needed to get to safety. Safety was the base, safety was anywhere out of this mountain, out of the eternal cold.

And so he walked, his steps instantly absorbed in the thin air. His mental faculty had dimmed to the point of being unaware of even carrying Gaara. All he knew was making sure to check for signalers, following the endless route. Had this been the path he'd taken? He couldn't remember. He could walk, though, so he did that. Time passed.

He turned along yet another passage according to the signalers, but something was off. The path was covered in glazed rubble as far as he could see. He stumbled along, avoiding the massive shards of ice that had fallen from the ceiling, some as tall as the ceiling itself. Looking up weakly he saw gaping mouths of black where the ice had been, but nothing beyond it. The maze had not been smooth by any means before, but now it was completely jagged and dangerous. Carefully he cleared the passage and continued until he came to a diversion, but the receiver did not pick up any chip embedded in either path.

Naruto frowned. Maybe whoever had been planting the chips missed a spot? Maybe he should keep going.

Idiot! Kyuubi's raging voice came back to life. You passed it!

But there's only one path back that way, Naruto thought dully.

The gate, pitiful fool. You passed the gate.

The gate. The exit. The way out of this hellhole. Oh, god, yes. Naruto regained some energy from the promise of escape, and made his way back to the hazardous passage. It was no wonder he'd missed the tunnel, with all these black shapes all over the place. But when he still couldn't see any low tunnel, Naruto realized it was blocked by one of the massive ice glaciers leaning against the sides.

Shit.

Which one? He asked mentally.

Wherever it feels the coldest around the boulder, imbecile, Kyuubi snapped.

If he had the thought to, Naruto would've rolled his eyes. I can't feel anything.

He could almost imagine Kyuubi's snarl, but there was silence for a moment. Kyuubi would want to get out of here just as much as he did. He could feel the mind of something else searching, but outside of himself. It was disturbing. Third one on the left. Like I said, useless. Why did those fools put me in something as pathetic as you?

He stopped. Um, what? Naruto thought.

I SAID, third one on the left. You are worthless –

Naruto grit his teeth. Don't play with me. After THAT!

There was an echo of sinister laughter. Hah, that's for you to find out from your precious Konoha, isn't it?

Naruto scowled, then gave up and made his way to the correct glacier. Kyuubi had dispersed from his thoughts again. Good. It wasn't like things were bad enough without having a chat with his demonic baggage.

Carefully he put Gaara down a little further, still dead to the world, still grimacing in pain. Naruto's arms were feeling the strain. He went back to the glacier and examined it. How to get it out of the way? Rolling wouldn't do – it had dug into the ground from the force of the fall, or its own weight. He could see a sliver of slightly brighter light from the side, and feel faint gusts sneaking through the tunnel.

All that stood between him and sweet sleep was a fucking hunk of ice.

Naruto grit his teeth and forced his limbs to forget their weariness. He advanced on the glacier and embraced it, digging in his feet and lifting.

Nothing.

Naruto caught his breath. He ignored the unpleasant twinges coming from his gaping arm, and tried again. This time he called on the last of the power residing within him, the same unreal strength that had saved his life. It poured from his stomach, slipping through his arms, tingling with power. All that he had, he poured into his desperation. Naruto dug his fingers in and pulled.

Craaaaack.

It came loose slowly, painfully, groaning as Naruto slowly lifted it higher. He took a shaky step back, and another. Stiffly he turned and dropped the massive weight, skirting out of its way. It fell with a heavy thud, barely chipping off shards of ice, making the whole passage reverberate.

The path was clear. Naruto almost smiled, but he was completely drained. He had to remind himself that it was a bad idea to just lay down and sleep here. Where was Support? Fuck. He was so close, he'd get out of here even if he'd have to drag himself and Gaara both, but damn he was so tired –

"Wha -NARUTO!"

The voice came from the shrieking path of the tunnel.

"Huh?" he said wearily. There was shuffling, crunching, like multiple people were crawling through. Naruto just blinked at the entrance. Finally a head emerged from the tunnel.

Itachi? Naruto thought dimly. Why was he all the way over here, and why was he tackling him? He almost fell over from the crushing hug.

"Fuck, Naruto!" Itachi breathed into his neck.

Then Naruto saw with clarity. It wasn't Itachi, it was Sasuke. Oh, god, Sasuke. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you right now," Naruto said sleepily as he was released.

And Sasuke actually laughed, but it was vexed and hysterical. "Oh no, I do." As he said this another head emerged from the gate. Pink. Sakura.

"Naruto!" She yelled, getting to her feet quickly and almost tackling him, until she actually got a look at him. "Holy shit! You- you're practically going to die! KAKASHI! I need another medic!"

"You wanna see death? Wait till you see Gaara," Naruto slurred. Though Naruto probably looked worse, with shredded clothes and blood everywhere. There was a lot more motion. Naruto swayed a bit on his feet, and for some reason his brain was telling him it was okay to shut down now. Sasuke was clenching onto his good arm.

There was more movement, but Naruto's eyes were closing. "No, no! Stay awake! Sasuke, keep him aware!" he heard Sakura order distantly. Something was touching him, tugging…

Sasuke gripped his arm to steady him. His voice filtered in to his muggy brain. "We thought you were dead," he heard him say. "Soon after you were taken the maze started caving in and we had to clear out until it passed. There's actually a rescue team inside looking for you, you know? Shit, Gaara too… what the hell happened, Naruto? Naruto? Hey! Stay awake until we get out, Sakura's fixing you up but you need lots of attention… what the hell happened to your face? Naruto, come on…"

"Just wanna sleep," he mumbled.

"He's in no condition to crawl back out," someone else said. It was a different voice. Naruto heard lots of movement around him, voices soft in the background. Something about Gaara. Something about being unprepared. Something about danger.

You got that right, he thought. "Can I sleep now?" Naruto asked, leaning against something. It patted him on the shoulder. Sasuke.

"Yeah, you can sleep," he heard Sasuke say. "Morons need their rest."

"Shuddup," Naruto whispered against Sasuke's shoulder. "You're an…."

He couldn't get past that, but distantly he thought it was nice to have Sasuke's voice be the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

To Be Continued