Chapter Ten: Dark Horse

"Dark horse":- a little-known person or thing that rises to prominence.

XxX

"Kin, you scared the shit out of me!" Sakura exclaimed angrily, shoving her wad of sticky-notes into her back pocket, "how many times have I told you not to do that?!"

The Sound-nin's eyes glittered maliciously. It hadn't escaped her notice that Sakura had hid her note. Kin's eyes missed nothing, but she gave no outward sign that she had noticed. "It's not my fault you're so skittish," she replied snidely, "besides, if you were really the goody two-shoes you pretend to be, I wouldn't have startled you so much, would I?"

Sakura did her best to ignore the jibe, but as usual, Kin managed to get under her skin and piss her off. She and the Sound-nin had never gotten along; in fact, Kin never really got along with anyone, unless you counted her two friends, Zaku and Dosu, and since they weren't female, Kin was on her own here. "Tell me, Kin," Sakura said, doing her best to keep her voice level, something that her mentor would not have been able to do, "was there actually any point to you creeping up on me, or are you honestly that bored?"

"There's a point to everything I do, Pinky," Kin said cheerfully, "and if I piss you off, as I see I've done, then I've accomplished what I set out to do, see?"

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "Really, Kin? Can't you just go and annoy someone else? I'm not going to hit you. Please, give me some credit. I'm not an idiot." It was common knowledge that Kin liked starting fights, of which she mostly won. It was also common knowledge that Kin especially disliked Sakura, and had wanted to fight her for some time. But, of course, fights meant that you got your arse kicked by two parties: the person you were fighting, and, of course, Obito and his band of merry men.

Kin scowled. "Christ, you're no fun, are you, Pinky? Give up the goody two-shoes act already! I know you're just as crazy as your damn teacher."

Sakura bit down the nasty retort that rose to her lips. Kin had absolutely no respect for Sakura's mentor and long-time friend, Tsunade Senju. Kin knew that it was a sore point for Sakura, and she knew that by insulting Tsunade, it would make Sakura's famous temper burst into flame. However, because Sakura didn't much feel like causing a ruckus, especially with a condemning note in her pocket, the pink-haired girl said nothing.

When she saw that she wasn't getting the reaction she wanted, Kin scowled and stomped off, defeated for the moment. Sakura sighed. That had been a close one. She'd honestly thought that Kin was one of the guards, and what trouble she would have been in then!

It could've been a lot worse, Sakura reasoned. For one thing, Kin hadn't seen the note, at least she was fairly sure that she hadn't. She hoped that was the case. Kin was also notorious for turning people in if she saw them doing anything against the rules.

So Sakura could have been in some deep shit, but it looked like she was in the clear for now.

She sighed. "Thank God."

Then she set off to find Hinata.

XxX

To Naruto's bewilderment, Neji lead him away from the field, and he cast the blonde boy an irritated look every time he fell behind- which was often. What were they doing? They could get their asses kicked if a guard caught them- and Neji was marching right up to them! This was insanity!

The guards hanging around by the edge of the field glared when they approached, some of them raising their guns half-heartedly. Thankfully, Obito was nowhere in sight, and the guards on duty here looked like your average citizens- gun-toting citizens, sure, but normal people nevertheless. In fact, it was only one or two of them that glared at the two approaching teens, the rest in fact looked rather bored.

Naruto dug his heels into the soft, marshy ground. "Hey," he managed, "is this really a good idea?"

Neji didn't even turn around. "Of course it is." He kept moving forward- hell, he actually QUICKENED his pace, and Naruto had to reluctantly hurry to keep up with the Hyuuga.

"Bathroom," he heard Neji say to the nearest guard, who yawned, and, to Naruto's shock, actually stood aside to let them pass. The blonde boy's eyes were as big as saucers.

"What the hell is this?!" he exclaimed loudly once they were past the guards. "They just let you go like that?"

"Don't be stupid," Neji snapped, "of course they don't. Only members of the God Squad are permitted out."

"'God Squad'?" Naruto asked, puzzled. Then his face lit up with sudden understanding. "Man, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to be part of no God Squad."

Neji sighed and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'yeah, neither do I'. He focused those eerie white eyes on Naruto. "Oh, be quiet," he snapped, "this is bigger than religion. It's about surviving."

"Huh…?" Naruto's reply wasn't terribly intelligent, and seemed to confirm something in Neji''s mind. The long-haired boy continued walking, and again, Naruto had to hurry to keep up. "Hey, Neji, what did you mean…?"

"Never mind," Neji said curtly. They entered the building and descended deep into the concrete tunnels, Naruto losing his bearings as soon as he had entered the hallways. They wound around, deep and deeper into the earth, until they finally came out at what was unmistakeably a bathroom. It appeared almost heavenly, pristine, and actually eye-wateringly white. There were separate doors, one for males, and the other obviously for females. A bored-looking guard was hunkered down on a chair opposite these two doors, a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

They approached the bathroom, Neji nodding at the bored guard as they went. He pushed the door open, and Naruto blinked, only just managing to stop from swearing in amazement.

It was a bathroom-turned-church.

There were cubicles, sure, for doing your business, and even a row of urinals, and a few sinks, but Naruto had a feeling that most people didn't go in here to take a shit. In the middle of the bathroom was a complicated-looking setup that somehow involved some plastic chairs, what appeared to be Jesus on a cross, and a pile of bibles in the corner, ready to be tucked out of sight if a guard came along. It didn't escape Naruto's notice that everything in here had been criminal-proofed: the chairs were plastic, the cross was plastic, the toilets and urinals had been welded into place- essentially, there was no way someone could hurt another person in this place.

It didn't sound too impressive, but the sight was. It was amazing. It…radiated safety. Equality.

Somewhat disrupting the image was a boy with black hair cut into a bowl cut and with insanely bushy eyebrows who was clutching a mop. Unlike most other people Naruto had seen, this guy wore his prison outfit like it was made of gold or something- Naruto had never seen someone wearing a prison outfit so proudly. It was…well, weird, to say the least. Naruto opened his mouth to say something and found that he actually couldn't think of anything to say, the situation was so bizarre. Luckily, Neji butted in.

"Lee, this is Naruto Uzumaki. He's going to help us," he said, voice perfectly smooth. If he had any reservations about the blonde boy, you couldn't tell from his voice. He might have been talking about the weather, for all the emotion he put into that sentence.

The guy- Lee, was it?- dropped his mop and immediately rushed over, grabbing Naruto's hand in both of his. His grin was friendly and infectious. "It is good to meet you!" he exclaimed, "embrace the power of youth and God!"

Naruto could only stare. Neji frowned, his lips twitching like he was about to smile. "I'm- I'm just here to clean," Naruto stammered. This guy was so…weird. And happy. It was freaky, but also kind of refreshing at the same time. Lee's face fell, but then almost immediately lit up again. This time even Neji couldn't hide the indulgent smile that twisted his lips. He shook his head at Lee's antics, and moved away, close enough that he was still in earshot, but far away enough so that he wouldn't bother either of them, his task complete.

"That is okay!" Lee said happily, "I need someone to keep me company, anyway!" Naruto wondered dimly whether this guy always yelled when he spoke. It was kind of annoying. Then again, he realised, he was pretty much the same. In fact, most times when he, Naruto, had spoken here at prison, he'd been yelling. Maybe this Lee guy was more like him than Naruto thought.

Lee's voice broke Naruto's train of thought. "Are you good at cleaning?" he asked excitedly, his eyes making it obvious that by 'cleaning' he meant 'sorting through deliveries'.

"I've, uh, actually never done it before," Naruto confessed. This was true enough. His house back in Konoha had been nothing but a mess- hell, he'd even drank curdled milk once! 'Cleaning' was not in Naruto's list of skills, and he'd once hoped that it never would be.

Looks like that's going to change, he thought sadly. Lee's eyes, if possible, grew even wider. "You're joking, right?!" he exclaimed loudly. Neji cast him a warning look from his place near the doorway. Shaking his head, Lee smiled at Naruto sadly. "Well, you have come to the right place! Here, I will teach you!"

And he promptly handed Naruto the mop and pail. "What- what do I do with this?" he stammered, holding the mop like it might turn around and bite him in the ass or something.

Lee chuckled. "Well, you put the mop in the pail, and take it out again, and just clean the floor! See?" he took the mop and carefully swept some dirt away to indicate how it was done, and then handed the mop back to Naruto, "It is easy!'

"I don't doubt it," Naruto grumbled, swinging the mop back and forth in such a manner that droplets of water went everywhere, "but what does this have to do with Kankuro?"

All of a sudden, Neji was right next to him, glaring at him. "Keep your voice down," he hissed, "you think the guard out there knows about this? Of course he doesn't! Do you want to get your ass kicked? Be quiet," he snapped. Naruto pulled away, accidentally spraying Neji with some water as he did so.

"Ya think I don't know that?" he snapped back, "of course I do! I just hate cleaning, that's all!" Lee was watching this exchange with wide eyes. Possibly he had never seen Neji lose it before. Certainly Neji gave the impression that he was nearly always in control of his emotions.

In any case, Lee was quick to try and salvage the situation. "Cleaning is good for the soul!" he proclaimed, actually giving Neji a small shove away from the blonde boy, whose eyes were blazing. The white-eyed guy stepped back, albeit reluctantly. Lee gave him a sad smile, and turned back to Naruto. "You're new here, so today, you will just clean," he told the other boy, "we will teach you about the deliveries soon, but for now, just make sure the bathroom is clean, okay?"

"Okay," Naruto muttered unhappily, and started mopping clumsily.

He hoped that this was worth it.

Most of all, he hoped that through these actions, Choji would be okay.

He mopped for perhaps ten minutes, doing his best not to flood the place but not being terribly successful, when the door to the bathroom opened. Neji and Lee, who had been hunched over the pile of bibles in the corner (which, Naruto now saw, covered a number of objects wrapped clumsily in brown paper), stood up immediately. They were instantly wary, more so when they saw the person who had arrived.

If Naruto had thought that Kisame or Suigetsu had looked strange, this guy definitely belonged at a freak show or something. He was tall, almost insanely tall, and half of his face was white, which revealed a thoughtful face with pale yellow, almost lamplike eyes, while the other half of his face was black. No facial features could be discerned from this half, except for his eye. He had short, cropped, green hair that made Naruto think of moss. When he smiled, his teeth were curiously rounded and blunt- were they stained pink? He decided he didn't want to know.

To top off the freaky ensemble, he had two venus flytrap-like contraptions over his body, nearly closing over his face.

He looked…well, like a plant.

It should have been comical, but the effect was quite the opposite. He was scary as all hell.

It was beyond rude of him, but all Naruto could do was stare, jaw hanging open unattractively. What the hell…? However, apparently expecting Plant Man, Lee rushed over, a rather strained smile on his face.

"Zetsu! It is good to see you!" Lee exclaimed, perhaps a little too loudly for their liking. Zetsu- at least, the half of his face that they could see- smiled. The effect was eerie.

"Hello, Rock Lee. We've come to pick up our order. You better have it."

Naruto frowned. Had he really just switched voices in mid-sentence? The 'white' voice was soft, even polite, but the 'black' voice was arrogant and altogether unpleasant. He wondered dimly whether this 'Zetsu' guy was schizophrenic or something. He decided it was best to keep his opinions to himself at the moment, though.

"I do have it!" Lee said, bounding over to the pile of bibles. Even when nervous, Lee seemed to have an insane amount of energy. He scrabbled around in the pile hurriedly while Zetsu made himself comfortable, even sitting down on one of the plastic chairs. Neji did his best to look busy, while Naruto eyed the newcomer suspiciously. He knew he had seen this guy before, but where?

It struck him just then. He'd seen this guy haggling with the food server in the mess halls! Along with that blue-skinned guy, the redhead…

This Zetsu was an Akatsuki member. And if what Kakashi had said was true, the Akatsuki were like 'mobsters', and he, Naruto, ought to tread very carefully around them. But, if what he had also heard was true, Hidan, who was also a member of the Akatsuki, had bullied and threatened Choji until he had started screaming. That was common knowledge. Naruto could now barely repress the sneer that twisted his face. Zetsu very clearly wasn't Hidan, but he was a member of the Akatsuki, so he was at least somewhat liable for the damage caused to Choji, Naruto's friend, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to stick up for his friend. That was why he was here in the first place, right?

He felt something similar to Kurama's rage begin sparking into life, deep inside his gut. Since the demon fox was still frozen in a hunk of ice, Naruto knew that this wasn't the demon's rage, but rather, his own hurt and smoking rage at the injustice that had been handed to his friend. It was the kind of rage an older brother might feel when he hears that his younger brother has been bullied. Irrational, sure. This wasn't happening to Naruto- in fact he ought to be GLAD that nothing was happening to him- but still, he couldn't shake off the twisting, coil of injustice deep within him, that need to protect those around him.

And it seemed like he was doing a shitty job of it so far.

That just pissed Naruto off even more than he thought was possible. Hell, by the way he was going, he didn't even NEED Kurama to feel this angry!

Perhaps finally feeling Naruto's smoking gaze on his back, Zetsu turned around. His visible half appeared puzzled. "Can I help you?" he asked, after which his 'black' half hastily added, "Stop staring at us!"

Trying to keep the snarl out of his voice, Naruto said, "What the hell do you want, aloe vera?"

Neji put his face in his hands. Lee groaned. Zetsu seemed bewildered by the comment, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Aloe vera…?" White Zetsu asked, more surprised than angry, maybe even a little hurt, which seemed absurd given his status as an Akatsuki member. Black Zetsu, however, was having none of that shit.

"Just ignore him…" he growled. Then he took the package from Lee's trembling hands, and the creepy plant-guy was gone.

Naruto threw his hands in the air. "You mean the Akatsuki use this too?!" he exclaimed violently.

"Obviously," came the snide comment from Neji.

"We do business with them to avoid getting killed," Lee explained. "They can't get what they want if we are dead. But now…"

"You've pissed them off," Neji said crossly, "Zetsu is surely going to go back and tell them all about you."

"He did not seem all that fazed by it," Lee amended quietly, "Zetsu seems unconcerned about petty insults. If it were anyone else, however…"

"Then you'd be in deep shit," Neji finished. "You're lucky, Naruto. But if you're going to keep working with us, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut."

"Fine, yeah, whatever," Naruto grumbled. "You're telling me this thing with the Akatsuki works?"

"With the exception of Hidan, yes," Neji said. "But he doesn't come in here anyway. He claims that it's an insult to his religion or some shit."

Naruto sighed. He really hoped this was worth it.

XxX

He couldn't resist the sedative any longer. It made his entire body feel like lead, and keeping his eyelids open proved to be an impossibility. Shutting them suddenly felt like bliss to the Uchiha- but he knew the horrors were going to come.

They always did.

For a few moments, Sasuke drifted in what was blissful almost-sleep, where his body was indeed asleep, but his mind fully alert, before his mind began to sink into the black abyss that had become so familiar to him. After all, he'd visited this abyss almost every night for the past eleven years.

Despite every single part of him not wanting to, Sasuke Uchiha began to dream once more.

~ He was five, and happily munching his way through a tomato, his favourite food. He was sitting on the lounge room floor, while his mother lay on the couch, also eating a tomato.

They weren't doing anything in particular, but it was fun. Though he loved both his father and brother very much, Sasuke loved spending time with his mother. She didn't scold him like Fugaku did, and didn't seem to mind dropping everything for her youngest son.

"Don't you want to train with Itachi today, Sasuke?" she asked him, sitting up. "I know he loves spending time with you."

"Nah," Sasuke said through a mouthful of tomato, "Itachi said maybe later, but he doesn't want to play today. He's busy." He said this last part sadly, even as tomato juice dripped down his chin.

She laughed. He looked so adorable, trying to eat a tomato nearly bigger than his own head. "Well, you know Itachi is an ANBU captain now," she reminded him gently, "so he has a really busy schedule. We can play together, though, Sasuke. I'm never too busy for my little Sasuke."

"Yay!" Sasuke jumped up to go hug his mother, but that was when he noticed the arms. White, transparent, and oozing from behind the couch, they began sliding around her slender ankles and wrists, some of them even wrapping themselves around her neck.

"Mama!" he screamed, as they began sinking their ghostly fingers deep into her neck. Mikoto's eyes bulged. Her face first went red, then purple, and then a ghostly kind of blue. Her hands struggled to swat the ghost hands away, but to no avail.

Slowly but surely, her struggles became slower. Weaker. Eventually, she stopped moving entirely, her mouth open in a silent scream, her eyes wide but unseeing.

Sasuke began screaming. And screaming.

Screaming for his mother to come back, to please not leave him, when suddenly Mikoto Uchiha began to speak in Itachi's voice.

"Foolish little brother…"

Sasuke kept screaming. ~

XxX

"Jesus Christ, what's the matter with him?!" Obito bellowed over the boy's tortured screams. There was so much agony and misery in those screams that it literally made his blood run cold. Christ, he sounded like he was being murdered or something!

"I don't know!" Rin screamed back. Sasuke had passed out, and had lain there perfectly docile for a few minutes, and then the screams had started. He thrashed in his sleep, striking out at enemies only he could see. It didn't escape her notice that he was crying. "Help me restrain him!"

They did their best to stop his writhing, but nothing helped. Sasuke fought tooth and nail to destroy his imagined foes, tears flowing from his eyes freely, and screaming like a banshee while he did it. His screams were so loud that they began to disturb even Zaku, who was in a drug-induced slumber. The boy with the broken arms began to frown slightly, as Rin and Obito held the boy's arms down, trying to stop his maniacal thrashing. His legs kicked out wildly, as he screamed mostly nonsense, but a few words could be discerned: Mama, Papa, and No!

"What do we do, Rin?!" Obito shouted above the din. He was a strong man, one of the strongest there was, but even he was having difficulty holding the Uchiha down. "Can do anything?!"

"We can sedate him!" Rin yelled back, her brown eyes full of tears. She'd wondered about it before, but now there was real, living proof that something terrible had happened to Sasuke. She had an inkling that she knew what it was, but that didn't change the fact that it had scarred the boy, emotionally and mentally, perhaps causing far more damage than ether she or Obito could ever know. "That will stop the thrashing, but it won't stop him from dreaming!"

"Will he shut up?!" he growled back, narrowly avoiding getting kicked in the chest. Sasuke's face was now sparkling with tears, and he was grinding his teeth- Rin winced, as she heard his teeth grind together loudly. She realised that this was how Sasuke's lip had been split- Zaku hadn't done it, probably hadn't even gotten close to doing so- rather, Sasuke had done it itself in his sleep. And, judging by how he was writhing and screaming, those dreams were damned bad ones.

"Yes!" she shouted now, "hold him down for me while I go and get the medicine!" When she saw him nod, she immediately dashed off to retrieve the sedative, while Obito grunted and strained with the effort of keeping Sasuke still. She frantically rummaged through her vials of sedatives, trying to ignore Sasuke's agonised screams, as well as the disgruntled and sleepy stirrings of the other occupants. Finally she found it, and nearly injected herself in the process, she was that flustered. Willing her hands to stop trembling, she took the syringe in hand and made her way back to the thrashing Sasuke.

Why am I doing this? She thought glibly, as she neatly dodged his kicks and punches, sliding his sleeve up, and poising the needle so it would slide in efficiently. Why am I here? I don't want to be here! She made sure that Obito had a firm hold on Sasuke's arm, and gently she brought forth the needle, and slid it into Sasuke's already enlarged vein. My God, he looks like a drug addict, she thought sadly, and here I am, giving him some more. Some nurse I'm turning out to be.

Nothing happened immediately following the injection; in fact, Sasuke's screams actually seemed to get louder, filling the infirmary with them, making Rin and Obito's ears twinge with pain, and actually startling some inmates out of their daily activities. They all cast frightened looks towards where the screams were coming from, and began muttering darkly to themselves.

Slowly, thankfully, Sasuke's screams began to simmer down into whimpers, and finally low moans. Rin couldn't help but brush his hair back from his sweaty forehead, and murmur "Ssh, ssh, it's okay, everything is okay," to the shuddering and moaning boy.

Dimly she heard someone snort. She looked round, to see Obito sneering at them both. Was there…was he actually jealous? She rolled her eyes at him, and carefully slid Sasuke's sleeve back over his throbbing vein. As she'd said, the drug wouldn't stop him from dreaming, but he would at least stop writhing and thrashing, and hopefully stop hurting himself in his sleep. Not that that meant much. She knew what it was like to dream and not being able to wake up. All things considered, she thought she might have caused a little more damage by effectively paralysing him, but what could you do? She could hardly have left him as he was…

"Finally we can get some peace in here," Obito murmured. Rin gave a shaky laugh.

"Only for a while," she reminded him. Their eyes locked, and somehow managed to convey a dozen messages and emotions in the brief gaze. She was the first to break it, and sighed. "Only for a while…"

"We're going to have to keep an eye on that kid, aren't we?" he asked, nodding towards Sasuke's finally limp form. Rin nodded.

"Yeah. We are."

Obito sighed and ran his gloved hands through his short, messy hair. "It never ends, does it?"

Her reply was short, sad. "No. It doesn't."

A/N: Man, this was really hard to write. I hate writing sad things. xD I know this chapter's title is cryptic, but I assure you, they are cryptic for a reason! ^^ To those asking if there are any pairings, the answer is yes! There are several planned. One should be glaringly obvious…the others will be revealed in due time ;D Again, I'm surprised and flattered by the overall positive response to this story. I never thought it'd have 4 reviews, let alone 48! Thank you all very much, and as sad as this chapter is, I hope you all enjoy it! ^^