Crown & Anchor
by Nilladriel

This chapter was the most difficult to write so far. Seriously. It would not even exist if it weren't for my friends. Thanks for putting up with my bitching and complaining, you guys. Thanks specifically to James, for throwing out crazy suggestions and making them possible; and to my Dad (even if he's never going to read this!) who didn't mind all the weird & bizarre questions I asked him. And thanks, as always, to my beta Miranda--ilu, bb!

While I'm on this weird thanking spree, I'd like to give hugs to all my readers. You guys are wonderful, and thank you for all the alerts, favorites, comments, and reviews. I don't deserve it, haha!

Chapter Ten: Jump

Naruto didn't exactly wake up, because he hadn't been sleeping; rather, he came into his anger slowly, his awareness shifting from blankness to heat.

For a long time, he didn't move. Above him, the fan spun. Unlike the one in the Red Prawn, this one was noiseless. The ceiling was white.

Naruto sat up and looked at his childhood bedroom. It was mostly unchanged, if too neat. The curtains were blue. The shelves were overfull with slightly yellowed books.

He went to the window, running his fingers down the side. It was firmly sealed--the handle moved, but the window didn't. What a surprise. Through the glass he saw a black car, parked just outside the gates. The windows were tinted, and it was anyone's guess who was inside. Naruto didn't much care. He crossed the room and tried the door.

It was locked. Another surprise. Naruto threw his weight against it, heaving; all he gained was a bruised shoulder and the suspicion that he'd have to gain fifty kilograms before he could budge it. He bent and glared at the seam, and saw the hinges were reinforced.

He banged on the door, first yelling and then screaming. No one came.

In the bathroom, the small windows were open, but grilled. Anyway, they were too high up for Naruto to reach. Naruto watched a gecko flit across the wall and out the window, and pulled his lips back.

Anko had taken off his shoes. She'd also taken his wallet, his cell phone, and his car keys. The shoes had been left in a convenient pile by the desk, along with his jacket, gloves, and scarf. She hadn't done the same with the wallet, or the phone, or the keys. It was like getting punched in the gut.

He went back to the bed and sat down. He was angry. He was furious. Naruto knew, because he felt hot, because his skin itched, because his limbs were stiff and his fingers kept twitching. But it was a distant anger, like that goddamn hot chocolate had removed Naruto from his own body and he hadn't quite come back yet.

There was fear, too, but it was more distant than the anger.

He sat, and studied the room. The fan was new. The AC was new too, and as quiet as the fan. The furniture was the same: heavy and wooden. On the desk was a tray of food, and--

--there was a packet of cigarettes, tucked neatly into the corner.

Right. Because he'd smoked, once upon a time, before Sakura started laying down ultimatums. Naruto stared at the tray for a long time. He didn't give a shit about the food, and even less about the unopened can of soda. He didn't care about the cigarettes, either.

Naruto stood up. He walked to the bookcase, where he thoroughly disrespected his childhood and tore pages out of his old, beloved comic books. In the bathroom, a quick search yielded a first aid kit, newer than he remembered. He opened it and was relieved to find two small bottles of alcohol, for swabbing cuts. They stung his nose when he opened them. By the door, he squatted and carefully soaked the comics he'd once loved fiercely.

The bedsheets would do for secondary fuel. Naruto stripped them off methodologically and dumped them by the door.

There was a lighter on the tray, right next to the cigarettes. It was bright blue. Naruto felt his lips stretch, like he was smiling. He didn't let himself hesitate. He thumbed the lighter once, twice. Then he knelt down and got to work.

It took longer than he thought it would, to coax the flame onto the wood. The fire alarm shrilled; Naruto felt his not-smile widen. The smoke was thicker than he expected, low and gray. He watched as the flame climbed the door, hungry and quick.

Fucking awesome.

Naruto went to sit in his old desk chair, turning it around and straddling the back like a kid might. The alarm kept shrieking. The fire was quiet, but hungry.

He didn't have to wait long. There was an impressive sound, almost like cracking thunder; the door--the pieces of the door--were slammed down, fire and all--and then Anko was there, bellowing, "What the fuck are you doing?"

Naruto looked at her and said, "Let me see Sarutobi."

Anko let him see Sarutobi.

This time, she led him to the study, but Naruto told himself he wasn't scared. He was too busy being pissed off.

He let Anko march him to the desk, which had seemed impossibly big when he was young. Time had made it smaller but not less imposing. Then he wrenched his elbow out of Anko's iron grip, probably leaving bruises, and said, "What the fuck, you old bastard."

Sarutobi put his papers down and said, "Naruto," like it was a proper greeting. He didn't stand up, because he didn't need to; it was his study, with the heavy curtains and the two walls of books, and the single frame on the desk which was turned so Naruto couldn't see the picture.

Naruto said, again, "What the fuck. You better have a damn good explanation for--"

He couldn't say it. He couldn't say it, so he hissed, "I want an explanation."

For a long time, Sarutobi didn't say anything. He looked weary, and under the suit his thin shoulders seemed to sag under unknown weights. Naruto would have been disarmed, except for the steel in the old man's expression, uncovered in his eyes like a blade.

Finally Sarutobi said, "I don't owe you an explanation, Naruto. I never have."

Naruto looked at him and felt that old, familiar fear, rising in his stomach like disgust.

He'd been twelve years old. Just twelve years old, and content in that old house. Not--happy, he recognized that now, reminiscence had a way of casting pink on old memories, but--

--at least he'd had his father.

Naruto kept looking, into the face of a man who'd both taken and given him everything, and said, "Fuck you. You're not even going to let me leave, are you?"

"Not until I can be assured of your safety," Sarutobi said.

"Yeah? Have you always been this much of a paranoid shitcase, or is it a recent thing?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi didn't answer, which was as good as a yes. "Anko will take you to a guestroom, since you've decided you don't like your old bedroom. Don't do anything stupid, Naruto," and that last was said in a tone so familiar and soft Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to punch the man or, absurdly, apologize. He felt sick.

Anko stepped forward, looking not at all apologetic.

"What happened?" he asked, not moving just yet.

Again displaying a remarkable ability to just ignore anything he'd rather have Naruto not say, Sarutobi said, "Next time, if you require anything, simply knock on the door. Ms. Uzuki Yugao will help you. You gave the security staff quite a panic, Naruto."

Naruto just snorted. "Don't touch me," he snapped at Anko, and walked stiffly out of the study, not waiting to be dismissed.

He felt light-headed, and probably not from the lack of food. As they walked down the stairs, he said, "Anko, what--"

Anko glanced at him, wearing a weird expression, like everything was funny. "Konohamaru's missing."

"... What?"

"And your apartment's been compromised," she added.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"I mean it's been fucking trashed."

Suddenly, Naruto wanted to laugh, too. "And the old man couldn't just say this?"

Anko stopped, and opened a highly unremarkable door, except Naruto could see the grills on the window above the queen-sized bed. Despite the furniture, it was pointedly empty.

"Get in," Anko said. "Don't try anything stupid, kid." She hesitated. "He might threaten your girlfriend, next, to make sure you behave."

"We broke up years ago," Naruto said automatically, thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, but her mini drug trade's still going strong, ain't it?" Anko said. She smiled at him, about as friendly as a shark. The door closed. It didn't sound anything like wood, because it clanged shut. Naruto gaped at it.

"What the hell do you mean, drug trade?"

The day dragged on. Naruto watched the sun disappear through barred windows. There was barbed wire on top of the walls, he noted, which were square, tall, smooth, and looked about as easy to climb as ice.

Because he really needed a reminder of how good the security was here.

Someone entered; Naruto turned his head, giving the maid as sincere a smile as he could manage as she dropped off what was probably dinner. Behind the maid, a woman glowered--Uzuki Yugao, right. She was the guard from earlier, and she still looked ridiculously suspicious of him. He couldn't see her gun under her clothes.

Naruto tried on a smile for her, too, which she didn't return. She only closed the door.

When he was tired of glaring at the wall, he got up to inspect the contents of the new tray. Food and drink--dinner, this time, a lot of it. The maids had always loved teasing Naruto about his vacuum-cleaner stomach. He felt his lips twist unhappily.

There was a packet of cigarettes, and next to it a lighter, quietly telling Naruto that he could try setting shit on fire again and it wouldn't work. The cigarette packet was decorated with a photograph of a ruined lung. Naruto picked it up, put it back down.

The food smelled good.

Naruto checked out the bathroom instead. It smelt like dust and oranges. He opened the cupboard--and there was the first aid kit, the surface gray from disuse. Another slap in the face.

He splashed water on his face. He could start another fire, probably, and this time he'd do it to escape--not just so he could confront Sarutobi. But could he really...?

No. Think, Naruto. For once in your life. He stared hard at his reflection, like he'd magically get the answers he wanted that way. There was a guard outside--grills on the windows--security cameras--regular patrols--

Shit. Don't panic. Don't get angry. Think.

... Did Sakura really deal in drugs? Would the old man really threaten her to keep Naruto locked down?

He might. He really might. Naruto took a deep, shaky breath, letting the air fill his lungs and imagining his worry escaping as easily as his next exhalation.

Coming from Anko, those words were as good as a threat. Sarutobi had a way of making sure harder news came from someone else. But Naruto would have to risk it. Because Konohamaru--

Who had taken him? Why would anyone even bother to kidnap the brat?

Naruto jerked upright. Of course.

He ran out of the bathroom, stopping before the door to compose himself. Feeling ridiculous, he knocked.

It opened almost immediately. Uzuki Yugao, it turned out, was the guard from earlier. Despite her frailty, she looked ready to take him out. Naruto opened his mouth--

--and thought, No. Not now. It's too soon. Besides, she was the wrong person to confront.

So he tried to look relaxed, or as relaxed as someone in a gilded cage could be. "Could you guys get my luggage, at least? It'll be in the Red Prawn, room 17." He tried a smile. "I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting in, right."

Uzuki looked unimpressed at his sarcasm. "Yes, sir."

Naruto listened carefully when she shut the door, and--yeah, it was definitely disguised metal. The sound reverberated too much for it to be anything else.

While he waited, Naruto looked over the room one more time. There were plenty of astounding, exciting classics to keep him company, like Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. There were two chairs. As if Naruto could invite someone over. Hey, what's up, man? Yeah, I got fucking kidnapped by the man who--

(No.)

--who raised me. Life's great, huh?

He looked at the tray of food, felt his stomach clench, and looked away.

He wanted to call Sakura.

He wanted to call Neji, too.

And maybe even that bastard Sasuke, as long as he didn't say I told you so.

There was a clock on the wall--in case any prisoners wanted to go stir-crazy watching time pass, maybe. Naruto heaved a sigh, crossed the room, and chose a book.

He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he jerked awake. Naruto straightened. He'd had a nightmare--he was sure of it--but he couldn't remember what about, just that it left him sticky with sweat and fear. He didn't know what exactly had woken him up, but something had, drifting on the edge of his consciousness.

"Shit," he breathed, and rubbed his cheeks with the palm of his hands. It was like he'd never slept at all, like his mind and body, hyper-alert state and all, had been dumped across a time jump. His neck hurt from sleeping in a chair, and the sun hadn't even risen properly yet.

He picked up the tray and dumped the contents into the trash bin, wincing at the smell. He was starving, but he didn't want to eat, and the contradiction gave him a headache. Or maybe that was the lack of sleep and food.

He stepped into the bathroom, pulling his clothes off slowly. He washed in cold water, and then rinsed off in warm; the sudden contrast made the water even hotter, beating some of the tension from his body.

He wrapped a towel around himself, rubbing his hair dry with another. Fuck, hadn't he asked for his luggage? Why hadn't it arrived by now? All they had to do was drive down there and get it, right?

Unless something happened. Naruto didn't let himself worry about it, but that didn't mean it wasn't there, along with everything else.

The book he'd been reading had fallen on the floor; the pages were bent. Naruto picked it up, read the title, and snorted. Cloudstreet--no wonder he'd fallen asleep.

A perfunctory knock caught his attention; Naruto glanced up as the door opened. He watched as the maid delivered clothes, putting them neatly away. They weren't his clothes. Not a single one of them was orange.

Uzuki said only, "I apologize for the delay, sir." Her tone was wooden and less welcoming than Iruka in a bad mood.

Naruto said, "What the fuck happened?" like it would get him an answer. It didn't. Uzuki didn't frown, exactly, but she looked disappointed in him. What was he supposed to do, smile and sit still like an idiot?

She asked, "What would you like for breakfast?"

Ramen.

"I don't care," Naruto said. "Can I have my phone back?"

Uzuki said, "Yes, sir."

He didn't get it back.

Dinner was ramen.

It didn't take long for Naruto to give into his stomach.

He didn't eat a lot. Not by his usual standards. But he still felt like he'd lost, somehow, and the thought made him queasy. The drink was canned, again, so Naruto felt that it was probably safe. Even so, he didn't drink it, opting for tapwater. It tasted metallic against his tongue.

He'd prowled the room seven times by now. He felt like maybe he should do so again, in case it might be useful. Instead, he went to the bathroom, even though he didn't really need to go.

It was ten o' clock. Funny how time passed so fucking slowly in here, and yet it seemed like the whole day had slipped through his fingers, shriveled up and wasted. Naruto snorted, closing the bathroom door behind him. He needed to come up with a pl--

He froze.

Someone was taping the glass.

Someone was taping the glass. With packing tape. Naruto jerked his upper body up. His mouth dropped. The man on the other side, very calmly, broke the glass. Naruto wondered if he was dreaming.

Apparently not, because the man said, "Oi. Get started with the grill while I clear the glass." He was holding out a vice grip. His irritated expression suggested he was picking up shit from the sidewalk, not breaking Naruto out.

"They... they're one-way screws," Naruto said, approaching the window slowly as if the man were an apparition that would scare. "And they're pretty deep. That probably wouldn't work."

The man said, "Tch. Fine, here," and Naruto numbly accepted the center punch and hammer offered.

"Er. What about the cameras? The guards?"

"Juugo and Karin took care o' that," the man said. His hair was bleached near-white, and looked jagged and dry, but his eyes shone near-red. His grin made Naruto think of sharks.

Naruto used a pillow-case to muffle the hammering as much as he could; in the night, each sound was unbelievably magnified, even his own heartbeat, beating in time with his careful, quiet hits. When the glass was cleared, the man impatiently took over; he removed all the screws in just twenty minutes. Naruto steadied the grill. It was surprisingly light. He leaned it against the wall and resisted the urge to kick it.

"We're running late," the man said, sounding digusted. "Let's go."

Naruto said, "Right," and vaulted over. The grass was cool against his bare feet, and, shit, why hadn't he ever noticed how sweet outside always smelled, city-air or not?

"I hope you can climb. I ain't carrying you," the man said, leading Naruto straight to the wall with little concern for cameras. Then they really had been taken care of. But--how?

"What?" the man said. "Hurry up. Or you want me to carry you? I could."

Right. Naruto was going to bulk up as soon as this whole shitfest was over. Ten kilograms at least. He grabbed the rope and began hauling himself up, bare feet finding grip on the wall. His muscles burned, but that was nothing against the rush he felt.

Then he stopped. "There's an electric fence," he said, numbly.

"So?" the man said. "We disabled that. Go."

Naruto went.

He half-fell, half-slid down the other side, knees complaining as he landed unsteadily. A bare second later the man followed, moving like water as if his heavy bag didn't bother him at all. While he coiled the rope, Naruto walked unsteadily forward--and stopped. It was the black car from before, and--

Sasuke.

Sasuke, who just looked at him, leaning against the car like a cut-out from a magazine. "What?" he said.

"Sasuke," Naruto said. "I'm going to break your face."

The man swept past them, muttering under his breath. Sasuke said, "Shut up, Suigetsu," but he didn't stop looking at Naruto.

"Come on," Sasuke said.

"This is seriously anti-climactic," Naruto said, and stepped forward. So did Sasuke.

It wasn't a hug. Naruto felt crushed, like Sasuke was pulling him closer and closer, physical barriers be damned. He couldn't breathe.

The car window rolled down. A woman said, "Urgh, just get in, would you?" And then: "Bitch."

Sasuke let go. It took Naruto a moment to realize he had to let go, too. He flushed and stepped back, loosening suddenly stiff fingers.

Sasuke said, "Let's go," and took Naruto's hand. Naruto let him. They climbed inside the car. Suigetsu kept his eyes outside, shoulders stiff, still muttering to himself. It occured to Naruto he was keeping watch.

The woman up front said, "Right," and drove. Naruto twisted in his seat and watched Sarutobi's mansion disappear.

He was hungry again.