AN: I meant to have this up HOURS ago... but then I got distracted by, you know, New Year's (Happy New Year, btw... well, right now for everyone on my half of the world, and then tomorrow for everyone on the other side XD). After New Year's... I got distracted by vampiric goodness in way of a TV show. I love vampires -drools- And... you guys don't need my life story, most of you skip this anyway. So... enjoy.
Disclaimer: I am a loser and want to return to my vampire TV show so nothing remotely imaginative. They're K. Masashi's.
Sasuke let out a startled cry as a bucket of ice cold water was splashed on him. He shook his head as he sat up, his hair sticking to his face, and then looked at the person responsible. Juugo. Figures. Well, there went sleeping.
"Pein's back. Behave."
Sure, sure, Sasuke thought with a grunt, averting his eyes. He had to wonder where Pein always went since he "came back" a lot. A sick feeling in the pit of Sasuke's stomach made him think the redhead might be off spying on Naruto.
Sasuke jumped as a bowl of oatmeal was dropped beside him, glaring up at Juugo annoyed. Luckily, the bowl was made of plastic, but the impact made a lot of the food inside splatter on the raven's pants. Nice.
"Eat." Juugo yanked the gag off and then leaned over Sasuke to undo the ropes. Then he turned and walked away.
Sasuke resisted the urge to stick his tongue out after him, pulling the bowl closer and taking a bite. Just like the last few times he'd eaten here, it was tasteless. He wondered if maybe they were on some kind of budget. He hoped they were eating the same shit as him, though he supposed he shouldn't complain. At least they were feeding him. Could do with more damn bathroom breaks, though.
He was only half done when the door opened and Pein walked in. The raven winced when he approached, and bent down in front of him. The older man took Sasuke's chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned his head to the side slightly, as if admiring his work.
"Nice bruise." Pein smiled. Sasuke just scowled. "I didn't know one hard smack to the face would leave such a prominent mark. Must be the pale skin, brings out the blood more." He straightened, looking at the raven's bowl of food. "Well, even though you're not done, I wanna show you something. Come on." He grabbed Sasuke's arm and started to yank him up.
The raven pulled his arm free with a glare and stood up himself. Pein seemed amused. Sasuke didn't find anything remotely funny. But, he followed the redhead out of the room anyway, shooting a glance at Juugo as they passed him.
"Here we are." Sasuke let out a startled shout as he was pushed into a chair. Someone was behind him instantly, tying his wrists together. He grunted at the discomfort, but honestly, he felt like he was getting used to it. "And to make sure you don't interrupt," Pein muttered as he returned the gag to its proper location, Sasuke glaring at him the whole time.
"It's ready." The boy's eyes flickered past Pein to see Konan standing up. She'd been bent down in front of a television, and as she moved, he saw the DVD player. This didn't bode well. He could only assume it was Naruto's first task—something which he still wasn't aware of. He'd gotten dragged from the room before Pein had gotten that far in his first video.
"Excellent." Pein turned to Sasuke, smiling sadistically. "Now, you be good, or I'll turn the movie off." He pinched the Uchiha's cheek, and then slapped it lightly. It wasn't soft enough that the raven barely felt it, but not hard enough for it to have actually hurt.
Konan hit the play button, and Sasuke forced himself to watch, even though he didn't want to. The beginning was pretty boring, it just had Suigetsu shifting the camera consistently in order to get comfortable on the roof. Sasuke could tell that he was on the roof, didn't take a genius.
The second he saw Kiba, his stomach fell. Oh shit, what did he make him do?! He clenched and unclenched his fists, watching with wide eyes. For a few minutes, it was just Kiba banging on their suite door, looking rather impatient.
And then Naruto appeared.
Sasuke could feel his recently eaten meal churning horrendously in his stomach as he listened to the exchange. At the far corner of his mind, he idly wondered if someone would clean him up if he threw up all over himself.
No, Sasuke jerked slightly in his chair, his eyes fixed on Kiba's angry expression. No! Kiba, fuck! Look at him! Can't you tell?! Something's wrong, he's hurting, can't you fucking see that?! No! Fuck, no! Don't walk away from him! Kiba, don't—
The brunet's suite door slammed. The video cut out only after Naruto had entered his own unit. Static appeared on the screen, and then it went black as someone behind him turned the television off.
"Wasn't that wonderful?" Pein sighed whimsically. "By the time he gets you back—provided he does—he won't even want you back." He was leaning forward now, his lips brushing against Sasuke's ear as he stood behind him. "He'll have lost everything. All he'll have left is you, but really, Sasuke... Are you really enough?"
No, the raven thought as he clenched his jaw, refusing to let Pein see how hard it had been to watch Naruto rip apart Kiba. No, I'm really not.
Kiba stood at his bedroom window, biting his thumbnail and looking out towards Naruto's suite. He could see the blond and Sai sitting in the kitchen, though Naruto wasn't eating. He was just staring down into his food, as if the mere thought of taking a bite was sickening him.
The brunet frowned. He'd been right in his assumptions, which was a huge relief to him—he wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, so it really had been nice to know he was right. But he wanted to know what was happening. Why Naruto was doing this. He could only assume Sasuke had gone to co-op in order for Naruto to keep him safe. The blond wouldn't risk another last year.
What can it be, though? he wondered, frowning slightly. The Akatsuki is gone, isn't it? So what else could possibly be going on? I know Naruto's a magnet for trouble, but there's no way every single bad thing on the planet would immediately get sucked towards him. What next, meteors?
He jumped as he heard his door open and quickly turned around to make it look like he was examining his bookshelf. He cursed internally as he saw Gaara in his doorway. Hinata had been coming by to check up on him every now and then, which was fine, but Gaara was... well, he was Gaara. This was going to be hard.
"Why did Uzumaki say that to you?"
"How the fuck should I know?" he grunted, choosing a book and then falling backwards on his bed.
"I know you, Inuzuka. And I know him." Kiba cursed internally, only because he knew it was true. Gaara, he and Neji were the three 'worry about Naruto' people when Sasuke wasn't around. Because of that, they knew a lot about each other—sometimes more than he felt they should.
Of course, Gaara was good at hiding things, so it was mostly he and Neji who'd been put out in the open. Which was now a problem, since he couldn't be out in the open. Gaara knew something was up, and Kiba couldn't talk about it. He would start throwing fists, if he had to.
"What is Uzumaki hiding?"
"I told you!" Kiba sat up, rage boiling in his stomach. Gaara was going to destroy everything! "I don't fucking know! He just snapped, okay! He fucking tore me apart and then he..." He grit his teeth, forcing himself to calm down. Then again, his anger was more convincing so maybe he shouldn't be trying to calm himself. "He's different. He's not who he used to be. Pein's lies really fucked him up."
"And instead of trying to get him back to normal, you do this?" Gaara's expression didn't change, but the sceptical tone of his voice didn't go unnoticed.
"You didn't hear what he said to me, all right?" Kiba spat. "He doesn't deserve my forgiveness. I don't care what the fuck Pein did to fuck with his head, you don't say the shit he said to me to someone you consider a friend. He can go rot in hell!"
Gaara opened his mouth to say something else, but Kankurou appeared behind him, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Leave him alone, Gaara. This is hard on him."
The redhead didn't look convinced, but he let it go, turning around to walk away. Kankurou rubbed the back of his head with a sigh as he watched him, then turned back to his friend. Kiba just stood up and started pacing angrily, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"He's just worried about you, you know," Kankurou said. "You and Naruto. He's not good with people, you know that. In his own way—he's trying to force you guys to make up."
"You know, all of you need to drop it," Kiba spat, stopping in front of his window and glaring at Kankurou. "Seriously. People fight, it happens. Friendships come and go. They start and end. Naruto and I weren't going to be friends forever."
Kiba heard his window break, and he blinked, confused. Kankurou's face slowly melted into a mask of horror, his eyes wide and his shirt splattered with red. Kiba's chest hurt. He didn't understand. What was... why did it hurt? Why was there red shit all over Kankurou's shirt and face?
"Ow..." he whispered, then his knees gave out.
"Kiba!"
"You have to eat something."
"I'm not hungry," Naruto repeated for what felt like the fiftieth time since they sat down. He wished he had a dog, that way he could just pawn the food off on him when Sai wasn't looking. All this eating was making his stomach churn. It was only a matter of time before he threw it up.
"Naruto," Sai shook his head, pushing his plate aside and folding his hands together. "I know this is hard for you, but—"
"You don't know." Naruto laughed slightly. "No one knows! No one has any idea how I feel right now. How angry, and confused, and hurt I am. How much I fucking loathe myself for-for everything that's happened to everyone I love. To Sasuke, to Kiba, even to you." His mouth opened and closed a few times, but no more words would come out.
His head was just a jumbled mixture of emotions. He couldn't stay on one thought long enough to finish it before moving on to the next. His head was a mess. Even knowing Kiba knew something was wrong, that wasn't enough.
"Naruto." He looked up at Sai. "I'm sorry. You're right, maybe I don't know how it feels, but you have to realize I understand to a degree. You're not the only one who's had to sacrifice things for others." He licked his lips. "I blew my cover for you. Years of work trying to meet Pein, and I got Danzou instead because I couldn't bear to have you suffer if Sasuke was killed." He raked a hand through his hair. "My parents disowned me when I told them I was joining CSIS. They said I was wasting my life. I've loved and lost over four people in my department, and by lost, I don't mean we broke up." Naruto winced, lowering his gaze. "I may not have gone through the same thing as you, but I understand loss. I understand you don't want this, you don't deserve this. But right now, you're going to be suffering, and you need your strength to get through this." He pushed Naruto's plate closer to the blond. "And to have strength, you need to eat."
Meeting his gaze for a few seconds, Naruto then lowered it and picked up his fork. He still wasn't hungry, but he supposed he could see where Sai was coming from. And he'd never known that Sai had lost so many people. Not only his parents, but loved ones. Friends. Just like Naruto. He suddenly felt guilty for acting so selfishly. As if he was the only person on the planet with problems.
He was half-way through his plate when he heard the sirens. Both men looked up towards the window, Naruto leaving his seat when the sound got closer. What was going on? He looked outside and saw the ambulance screech to a halt in front of their section. His head snapped back. What the hell were they doing there?
Temari was suddenly outside, screaming and motioning towards her unit. Naruto's stomach dropped. Had something happened? She looked so panicked, what could have possibly gone so wrong that she looked ready to burst into hysterics?
A hand fell onto his shoulder, gripping it tightly. "I know you want to, but you can't. I'm sure it's nothing, just stay here and we'll watch."
He nodded numbly, craning his neck to try and see what was happening. One of the paramedics ran after Temari, the urgency on his face causing the blond to panic more than he felt was necessary. Maybe Kankurou had fallen down the stairs? Or Gaara was choking or something. Did any of his friends have asthma or diabetes? No, he didn't think so. Someone had probably fallen down the stairs and broken something.
The last two paramedics were getting a Gurney out of the back and rushing after their co-worker. Naruto started fidgeting, finding the wait unbearable. He wanted to go outside, to see what was wrong. To find out which one of his friends was hurt, but he knew Sai was right. He had a reputation to uphold right now. He couldn't go anywhere.
The second the Gurney came into sight, he craned his neck again, and his blood froze.
That definitely didn't look like someone fell down the stairs.
Bloody gauze was clearly visible against the tan chest as one paramedic quickly pushed the Gurney towards the ambulance, one of the other's was pushing down hard on the gauze, shouting out instructions to the last paramedic, who had jumped up into the back of the ambulance.
All of this took less than a second for Naruto to process, and he instantly turned to bolt for the door. He crashed to the floor as Sai tackled him to the ground.
"No! Let me go! Kiba's fucking hurt! He's hurt, let me go!"
"You can't!" Sai crawled up over Naruto, pulling him back when the blond managed to scramble forward slightly. "Naruto, you can't! Think of Sasuke!"
"Kiba's dying!" The blond was hysterical. Sai could understand, but he couldn't let him do this. He would lose Sasuke if he went outside right now. And people would hear him sooner or later. Screaming. Begging to be let go. Crying to see his friend.
He had no choice. There was nothing else he could do. "I'm sorry."
Reaching up, the agent placed two fingers against Naruto's neck, and twisted. The blond went slack instantly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Sai sat up, sitting on Naruto's ass, and turned his head to glance outside. The ambulance was peeling out.
Sai knew enough about injuries to know that Kiba had been shot. The location of the wound and the amount of blood made it virtually impossible for anything else to have happened. The kid wasn't about to go around stabbing himself in the chest, and Sai doubted anyone in the unit would have done it. No, Kiba had been shot.
Someone was going to great lengths to make sure he was out of the picture.
"Shit." Sai pulled out his phone and speed-dialled Yuugao. "Hey, it's me. There's been an incident. I'm gonna need a favour."
Tsunade rushed through the elevator doors the second they opened, turning the corner and ignoring all the nurses who tried to stop her. She wouldn't listen to them, she had more important things to worry about.
She rounded another corner and just about collided with Shizune. The doctor started, then clenched her jaw as she saw the president's worried face.
"Is he here?"
"Yes, he was just transferred. The people at the university hospital did a good job, but he needed to be here. I'm glad they were so prompt."
"How is he?" Tsunade looked worried, and Shizune could tell she was scared the previous years were repeating themselves. This wasn't the first time Kiba had ended up in the hospital.
Sighing, Shizune lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly, gripping the brunet's file tightly in her hands. "The surgeons are working on him now, but I honestly don't know, Tsunade. It was—it looked bad. It was too close to his heart."
She heard her friend's breath falter.
"Naruto must be devastated. Where is he?"
Shizune had been dreading this question.
"He's not here," she said this so low she was hoping Tsunade would miss it.
She didn't.
"Well, why didn't someone call him?!" the president snapped angrily. Shizune winced.
"They did." She didn't want to say this. She didn't. But she had to. "They said he won't come."
"He won't—What do you mean he won't come?!" Tsunade exploded, the doctor grabbing her arm and leading her away.
"I don't know, Tsunade, I was a little too preoccupied to get all the details." She led her away from the waiting room, feeling that her friend's panic would only serve to unsettle Kiba's already rattled friends. "As far as I know, he and Naruto got in a fight, and Naruto won't come. He refuses to answer his phone, but texted back telling them he knew about Kiba, and to stop calling because he wasn't going to show up."
Tsunade felt like the floor had fallen out from under her. That didn't sound like Naruto. That didn't sound like him at all. Even if he was mad at his friend, Kiba might die! There was absolutely no reason for him not to have come!
The president didn't even realize they were in Shizune's office until the smaller woman sat her down. The door closed and Tsunade buried her face in her hands, her entire frame shaking. What was happening? How could this possibly be real? Hitomi had been her best friend, she'd trusted Tsunade to take care of her grandson. How had Naruto suffered and changed so drastically since her death?
"Tsunade." The woman looked up, still in shock, and Shizune pressed her lips together. "I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want you to worry, but..."
"What is it?"
"I was listening to his friends." Her eyes flickered towards the door, as if to make sure it was shut. "While everything was happening, and then Naruto refused to come, I heard Shikamaru say Sai probably wasn't letting him." Tsunade blinked. "I think Sai is living with Naruto."
She didn't understand. Why would Sai be staying with Naruto? Why would Sasuke let Sai stay with him and Naruto? There was no reason for her somewhat nephew to be there, he should have been at work. Protecting the world, or whatever it was he did.
Then, realization hit her.
"Oh my God..."
"Something is happening again." Shizune clenched her fists together tightly. "But like last year, he can't talk about it. The only thing I can think of for him not to have come is that it's worse than it was. He has more to lose. I don't think he doesn't want to come, I think it's more like he can't."
"Oh my God..." Tsunade covered her mouth, feeling tears forming in her eyes as her entire frame shook. "Oh my God!"
"Tsunade," Shizune was around her desk in an instant, gripping her friend's shoulders tightly. "Tsunade, you can't tell anyone. You can't let on that you know something is wrong. Sai is with him, so CSIS knows. It's being handled. If he's hiding it from us, from all of us, he has his reasons. Doing something rash now will only complicate things for him. We don't know what's happening, and acting on our limited knowledge will mean setting him back. He'll lose something, and we don't want that."
Tsunade didn't know what to do. She couldn't just let it go, she couldn't. But if she did anything... what did they have? Had Naruto disobeyed already? Was that why Kiba was shot?! Had something gone wrong, and because of that, Naruto might lose someone important to him?
No, Shizune was right. She couldn't interfere. She couldn't. She wanted to. So, so badly, but she couldn't. Sai was with him, he would keep him safe. Make sure he was all right. But what about Sasuke?
Her eyes narrowed slightly. Would Sasuke be all right? If Kiba had been taken out of the picture, what did that mean for Sasuke? Had he been unavailable? Was that why they hadn't chosen him? Something was wrong with this picture, and though she promised herself not to interfere, there was no harm in talking to Sasuke, right? She did it all the time. It was normal for her to talk to him.
Just as she was deciding to call Sasuke once she got outside, there was a knock at the door. Shizune frowned and called for the person to enter. Coughing, the person complied, looking up with dark, shadowed eyes. He offered them a small smile, closing the door and coughing once again, clearing his throat.
"Hello." He said uneasily, shifting his weight. "Are you Shizune Kimeda?"
"I am." The doctor frowned.
"Ah, and you might be?" he asked Tsunade awkwardly. She glared.
"Tsunade Sannin."
Nodding, he glanced out the window of the door behind him, then faced the women once more, wringing his hands together slightly. He seemed incredibly nervous to be there.
"My name is Hayate Gekkou. I'm here to deliver a message."
Sai sat on the edge of Naruto's bed, his hands folded together and pressed against his lips. This wasn't turning out to be as easy as he'd hoped. Not that anything about this situation was easy, but he hadn't expected as many complications as they'd encountered.
For the life of him, he could not figure out why Kiba had been shot. Naruto had done as he'd asked. Kiba had been angry. He'd hated Naruto. The raven had seen that, he'd been watching. There was nothing there to suggest the blond had broken any rules. So why had Kiba been shot?
Not to mention it seemed really counterproductive. Didn't Pein want to keep this a secret? Shooting someone standing in their own house seemed like a pretty big target on the back of Pein's head. It didn't make any sense.
Naruto's phone buzzed on the nightstand and Sai let out a slow breath, glancing at it. It was Tsunade. Again. He shot a look at Naruto. The blond was still asleep. Sai couldn't answer the phone, he couldn't let Tsunade know he was with Naruto.
A few seconds passed, and the buzzing stopped. It started up again a minute later. Then stopped. Finally, the house phone rang. Honestly, he'd been wondering how long it would take for people to remember that Sasuke and Naruto had a landline.
Ignoring it, he turned and brushed some hair away from Naruto's face. Even though he'd forced the blond into unconsciousness, he was glad. Naruto hadn't slept this soundly since Sai had arrived.
"Sai!"
The man blinked, turning to look out the bedroom door. Was he imagining things? Someone had called his name, right?
"Sai Baikan!"
Yep. Someone was definitely calling his name. It sounded eerily similar to Tsunade. Why the hell was he imagining her calling his name?
"Sai Baikan! You answer this phone right now! I know you're there! Answer!"
Voicemail, Sai realized with a start, jerking to his feet. Shit. Tsunade knew he was there. Yuugao must've messed up when she told Hayate to visit Shizune. Shit. This was—shit!
Casting a glance at Naruto, he turned and rushed down the stairs, Tsunade cursing colourfully and insulting him, as well as constantly taking the Lord's name in vain. He sighed, then picked up the phone, holding it away from his ear. He knew she was going to start yelling.
"Let me explain."
"No!" Tsunade shouted, just like he predicted. "I understand that with you, and CSIS, things need to be kept quiet, but when my family is being hurt, I have the right to know!"
He had the feeling when she said 'family' she meant Naruto more so than him. He didn't mind. It didn't really bother him.
"Tsunade, this is very delicate. I knew you would end up finding out, but I also knew that the second you did, Naruto would lose."
There was silence.
"Lose what?"
"Can you please just trust me?" Sai rubbed his face with his free hand. "This is all a very delicate process. You already know more than you should, so please, just drop it and let me handle this. If you really love him, then just—forget he exists. Right now, that's what he needs."
Sai heard something behind him and jerked around. Naruto was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs that led to the second floor. His hands were clenched tightly, and his eyes were focussed on the floor, but he didn't say anything. Sai turned away from him.
"I've got everything under control, auntie. Please trust me."
She huffed into the line, and he could tell she didn't want to be excluded. But really, she had to understand, right? Sai was doing this for Naruto's good. Not because he wanted to, but because it was necessary.
"Let me talk to brat number two." Sai cocked an eyebrow.
"Naruto?"
"No, he's brat number one. The stupid Uchiha who's not doing what he promised." Sai's eyes snapped towards Naruto to make sure he hadn't heard. And, of course, the blond chose that moment to look up and saw the panic in Sai's eyes. He stood.
"What is it?" he demanded. "Is Kiba all right?!"
Shit, Sai winced and turned away. He shouldn't have reacted. His hand tightened on the phone. "He's not available."
"What do you mean he's not available?" Tsunade barked.
"I mean he's not available, all right!" Sai snapped. "Call us back if you have any news on Kiba. Otherwise, don't call again." He hung up and rubbed his eyes with one hand. Shit, this was falling apart and it'd only been two days.
Naruto was suddenly in front of him, gripping his shirt and breathing hard. His eyes were wide and panicked. Sai could relate. He wished he had something—anything—to tell him about Kiba. But he didn't. Hayate hadn't gotten back to him yet.
"Is he okay? What happened?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know."
"Fuck!" Naruto shoved Sai away violently, tugging at his hair. "You should've let me go!"
"You know I couldn't do that, Naruto," he whispered, wincing. "You know it would have given Pein a reason to hurt Sasuke."
Shit! He'd said the other boy's name. And the reaction was instantaneous. Naruto bolted for the stairs, tearing up them so fast Sai barely had time to turn around before he could hear the other's footsteps overhead.
Naruto's phone was in his hand in a second, scrolling through his contacts and calling the name—ironically—right under Sasuke's.
"Ahoy hoy."
"Put him on."
"I'm sorry, him who?"
"Don't fuck with me!" Naruto shouted angrily. "Let me talk to Pein! Now!"
"I don't think you're in any position to make demands, Naruto." Suigetsu's playful tone was gone, replaced with one of seriousness and disapproval. "You'd do well to watch yourself."
Fuck! Okay, calm down... calm down. You can rip the fucker's head off later. Just calm down for now.
"I apologize," he bit out through gritted teeth, ignoring Sai's presence as the other walked into his room. "Would you be so kind as to let me speak with Pein, please."
"Better." Suigetsu was definitely grinning. "Yo, boss! Blondie's on the line." He heard Suigetsu call. There was some shuffling, and then a new voice spoke.
"Hello, Naruto."
Don't yell! Don't explode! He still has Sasuke! Be calm!
"Why?" He forced out, hearing the plastic of his phone crack as he gripped it. "Why did you shoot Kiba?"
"I didn't," Pein replied. "Juugo did."
Naruto clenched his eyes shut and inhaled sharply. Pein was trying to rile him up. To make him lose control. He couldn't. He couldn't lose control, he had to stay calm. Calm.
"Why?" He struggled to control his rage. It was hard. "You're not making this very easy for me, or for you. How am I supposed to keep this all hidden from everyone if you're going around shooting my fucking friends?!" He heard his phone crack ominously, and suspected he might need a new one.
"It's part of the game, of course. It would be too easy and boring if there weren't any small setbacks for you, don't you think? Besides, Kiba isn't your friend anymore, remember?"
Naruto closed his eyes, his entire frame shaking with both anger and sadness. He honestly couldn't decide which one was more powerful right now.
"Is he dead?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe?"
Sai's hand fell on his shoulder then, and Naruto looked at him. His eyes seemed to be trying to convey some silent meaning, and he figured it would be best to drop the Kiba subject for now. Besides, after listening to Sai's one-sided conversation with Tsunade, they had bigger problems.
"If people find out about this, about what you're doing, you'll kill Sasuke but the game will also end because of it, won't it?"
"Mm, yes," Pein said. "A sad but true story. I suppose I should stop going around taking out your friends."
Naruto clenched his jaw. Calm! Remember Sasuke! Stay calm!
"Tsunade wanted to speak to Sasuke today."
"Oh, well... that is a problem, isn't it?" Pein was actually thoughtful, here. That relieved Naruto a little bit. It meant maybe he was going to get some leeway. Doubtful, but hey, a guy could hope.
"It's only been two days. If you don't want the game to end, you need to give me something. Let Sasuke call Tsunade. If he calls, you can have him say whatever you want. That he's going to be out of town, that he and I got in a fight, whatever, it doesn't matter. But if you want this game to continue... He has to call her."
"Why?" Pein was suspicious now. "Why would the game end if he didn't?"
Shit! Naruto hadn't been anticipating that. Honestly, the game would only be over because of Sai. His presence really was fucking everything up, but he couldn't tell Pein that. He wracked his brain and finally found his answer.
"Because of last year." He hoped it sounded convincing. It was a half-truth, at the very least. "Because she's protective, and she watches me closely, now. Whenever anything looks wrong to her, she immediately contacts the authorities. I have friends in both the Mission police department and in CSIS. She'll call them without warning if she suspects anything is off."
There was a long silence on the other end, and Naruto frowned, wondering if they'd gotten cut off.
"Hello?"
"Tomorrow, you will get in your car and drive to the old building where Akatsuki used to have their base. Come alone, and be there by noon."
The line went dead.
Yuugao was sitting at her desk chewing on the end of her pen when someone knocked at her door, she looked up and called for them to come in. One of her coworkers poked her head in and grinned.
"Your fiancé is here to see you, Yuugao."
Normally, the purple-haired woman blushed, or stuttered, because she hated being teased about Hayate. This time, however, he wasn't there to see her. He was there as a favour to Sai. She nodded curtly and stood, heading out of her office and down the corridor. She got to the waiting room and Hayate stood, wearing a visitor's badge.
"Hey honey." She smiled, moving closer and ready to kiss him when he covered his mouth.
"I'm sick."
"You're always sick." She pulled his hand away and kissed him, then sat down, her husband-to-be doing the same. "So, how is he doing?"
"He was in surgery for a long time." Hayate's face was grim. "They stabilized him, but he hasn't woken up. They said he may have fallen into a coma." Yuugao winced, knowing that two years ago, Sasuke had also fallen into one. This wasn't looking good.
"But he's alive."
"For the moment. He's lucky to be, Dr. Kimeda said it was almost a miracle. The bullet was so close to his heart he should have died."
Yuugao frowned, pressing her lips together and thinking this through as calmly as she could. She had to tell Sai, of course, but she didn't want to have Naruto know more than he needed to. He would just panic unnecessarily, which would cause problems for them.
As much as she knew Sai cared about the blond, they were working. This was a job, just like any other job. And their priority, sad to say, wasn't Sasuke's safety. It was Pein's capture, or his death. Sasuke would be a necessary sacrifice if things came to that, but for the moment, she was hoping they would get through this without having to throw the Uchiha to the wolves.
Kiba was badly injured, but he wasn't dead. He was in a coma, but at least he felt no pain. He would wake up eventually—she hoped—so there was no need for Naruto to worry. All she had to tell them was that he was alive, and hadn't woken up yet. She didn't have to say he was suspected of being in a coma. Not to Naruto, anyway.
"Thank you, Hayate." She turned to smile at him. "I'm sorry for asking you to do this."
"No, it's fine. I understand." He coughed into his hand roughly before continuing. "Sorry. I understand, though. Since we're not publicly known as engaged, there's no way to link me back to CSIS. I was the only option. I'm happy I could help you." He smiled.
"Me too. Thank you." She stood up, kissing his forehead. "I need to go, I'll see you at home."
"All right." He watched her walk away before also standing to leave.
Yuugao cracked the knuckles in her hands as she approached her office. It wouldn't do to procrastinate this. For one thing, Sai would kill her, and for another, it wasn't fair to Naruto. She didn't know the kid, but she knew Sai, and he was important to her friend. So he was somewhat important to her. Kind of like Sasuke was important to Sai because of Naruto. It was strange, the human mind.
Picking up her phone, she dialled his number from memory and waited. When he answered, he sounded downright exasperated.
"Tell me you have some good news."
"Well, Inuzuka is alive." She heard the sigh of relief. "But he hasn't woken up." She winced. "Don't tell the kid, but he might be in a coma."
"I'm glad he's okay, though." Sai sounded like he was moving, and a few seconds later, she could hear wind blowing loudly into the other's mouthpiece. He was outside. "Is it confirmed he's in a coma?"
"No, they're still hoping he might wake up. According to what Hayate said, it sounds like he's lapsing back and forth between the two. He could wake up at any moment, but could also fall into it at any moment. Let's just try and be optimistic."
"Right." Sai let out a slow breath.
"How's he holding up?"
"This is shit, Yuugao." The other agent groaned, obviously sitting down. "Aunt Tsunade knows, which means the doctor probably knows, as well as Uncle Jiraiya. They don't know the full details, but they know something is wrong, and they can't find out about Sasuke. They can't. His friends at least don't suspect anything is wrong, so Sasuke being at co-op is believable, but if Tsunade or Jiraiya find out, we're screwed."
"Honestly, Sai... at this point, isn't it easier just to tell them?"
"No, we can't tell them." Sai rubbed his face. "It's against the rules, and if they know, then Naruto will expect one of them to go to CSIS, and he doesn't know the team is on this."
There was a long, tense silence as both of them tried to consider what to do. Telling everyone wasn't an option, but they were all slowly finding out, one by one, anyway.
"I'll talk to Homura." Yuugao said. "I'll see what he thinks. If the biggest problems are Tsunade, Jiraiya and Dr. Kimeda, we'll have to have them sent away insisting it's for their own good. At least until this all blows over."
"And the friends?"
"Well, there's only so much we can do. You'll have to find a loophole for them on your own."
Yuugao hung up, and sighed. This was turning out to be a much harder assignment than she'd anticipated.
Naruto parked his car outside the all too familiar building, looking out at it fearfully, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He didn't know why he was here, and though he and Sai had argued for over two hours the night before, he had come alone.
The place was just as gloomy and dreary as he remembered it, and once he got out of his car, he could swear the smell of blood and death was still permeable in the air. Unlikely, it was probably just his imagination, but still. It made his stomach clench.
He walked slowly towards the door, his mind echoing back to the last time he'd been here. He could hear people shouting, and guns being fired, and Deidara... Deidara telling him about his mother. About how she wasn't who he thought she was.
Pushing open the door, he walked slowly towards the door to the left, walking down the long, narrow corridor towards the center of the building. It was a weird setup, but he knew Akatsuki had cut off the front from the back in order to ensure no one uninvited could enter.
When he was in the familiar back room, looking around slowly, he heard a gun cock and froze. A barrel pressed itself against the back of his skull, and his heart rate increased considerably.
"On your knees." It was a woman, not that it mattered much considering she had a fucking gun to his head. Not exactly the first time he'd encountered this particular situation.
He moved slowly to make it clear he wasn't about to try anything stupid. He didn't want a hole in his head, that would be rather uncomfortable. He got on his knees, the barrel not moving from the back of his skull.
"Put your hands on your head." Naruto complied, staring straight ahead and keeping his breathing even, though his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest and run away. He heard her dialling on a cell phone behind him, and waited.
"It's me. He's here. Tell me if you can't see him on the camera, I'll make him move." There was a pause. "All right." She hung up.
"What's going on?"
"Don't ask questions. Just stay there, don't move, and I won't splatter your brains all over the concrete floor."
The blond winced at the mental image that gave him. Nice.
So, he stayed put, kneeling on the ground with his hands behind his head, having absolutely no idea what was going on. It wasn't like Pein had explained anything to him, after all. He'd just told him to show up there, and he had.
And then there was the matter of the camera. The blond shifted his eyes, trying to spot it on the wall. He couldn't, but it was obviously there if the woman mentioned it. Why was this happening? Why was he just kneeling there with a camera aimed at him.
The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed until something clicked, and he understood. This was about Sasuke. Pein was having Sasuke call Tsunade, but he needed to make sure the raven obeyed. That was why Naruto had come, alone, and was kneeling on the floor with a gun aimed at his head. Because Sasuke was watching, and if he fucked up, he was going to watch Naruto die.
Sasuke was thrown violently into a chair, the raven wincing and clutching as his arm. The wounds he'd inflicted on himself the day he'd been kidnapped had never healed, because the stupid fuckers he was with kept roughing him up and reopening the wounds.
He glared as Juugo walked away, resisting the urge to leap out of his seat and strangle the shit out of the orange-haired man. But he knew that wouldn't be a smart move. As he'd learned, Juugo was insanely strong. Sasuke was like a fly to him.
The raven jumped when something was thrown onto the table in front of him. Looking down, he saw his cell phone, and frowned. Pein moved to sit on the edge of the desk, the Uchiha glaring at him suspiciously. What was this?
"We're going to have to help your little boyfriend, because he isn't as capable as I assumed him to be." He sniffed and turned towards the television positioned in front of Sasuke. It was off. "You're going to call Tsunade Sannin. You're going to act as though you are still residing with Naruto, and the two of you are still together, but you're going away for a little while." He looked back at Sasuke. "You need a vacation from Naruto and his little friend."
Friend? What friend? Sasuke frowned. Naruto had been allowed to tell someone? He had someone helping him? Who?
"You'll say you're going to... I don't know, Whistler. Or Victoria. You have a home in Victoria, don't you? Tell her you're going there."
"Whistler is better."
Pein's eyebrow twitched at Sasuke's words, as if wondering how the raven could dare to speak without permission.
"What?"
"If I say I'm going to Victoria, Kakashi will go home and I won't be there. Whistler is safer." He grit his teeth. "Safer for your little game."
"Hm, fair enough. Whistler, then." He picked up the remote he'd placed on his thigh and aimed it at the television, but didn't turn it on yet. "Just to make sure you don't try to give her any hints, think of what you say before speaking it. Or else."
The television turned on and Sasuke tensed when the image cleared. His hands gripped the desk tightly and it took a conscious effort for him not to stand up and punch Pein across the face.
Naruto was on his knees, his hands behind his head in a room Sasuke didn't recognize. Konan was standing behind him with a gun aimed at his head. He didn't know if it was just a flicker of the camera recording this, but he could swear he saw the woman's hands shaking. As if she wanted nothing more than to "accidentally" pull the trigger.
"Just to prove this is live, go ahead and call Naruto's phone." Pein motioned Sasuke's cell. The raven grit his teeth, but did as he was told, flipping it open and dialling his number.
On the screen, Naruto jumped, and Konan bent down to grab his phone, opening it and placing it to her head. "Hello, Sasuke. This is a live feed." She turned to look at the camera, one hand holding the phone, the other still aiming the gun. "If you don't want blondie's pretty locks covered in red, don't fuck up."
She snapped the phone shut and Sasuke slowly did the same. He turned to look at Pein, the redheaded man fiddling with wires he'd pulled out of his pocket. He held his hand out for the phone, and Sasuke handed it to him. After plugging one of the wires in, he put on a pair of headphones, and handed the phone back.
"Go ahead and call her. I'm listening, so be careful."
Clenching his jaw, the Uchiha complied, scrolling through his contacts for Tsunade's office number. Once it was ringing, his eyes focussed back on the screen in front of him. Fuck, he missed Naruto. Seeing him again was hard. He wanted to go home, to hug him. Hold him and tell him everything was okay, and they were both fine.
Tsunade answered, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"I heard you wanted to chat, old lady."
"Sasuke!" She sounded furious. "Well it certainly took you long enough to get back to me! I told Sai I wanted to speak with you last night!"
Sasuke's blood froze. Sai was with Naruto? But then that meant CSIS was involved, didn't it? That was a good thing, the blond had help. But how would he have been allowed to aid Naruto? Right... Sasuke realized slowly. Sai was supposedly Akatsuki. They don't know he's CSIS. He's with Naruto, helping him, though Pein doesn't know that...
"Sasuke?"
"Yeah, sorry. Bad reception," he blurted out, trying to recover from his shock of hearing Sai's name. "I came home really late last night, I didn't have time to call. No big deal, I'm calling now, right? So calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down, Sasuke Uchiha!" she shrieked. "Do you have any idea how worried I am about your stupid boyfriend? What the hell is the matter with him?! Kiba was shot, and he didn't even think of coming to the hospital to see if he was all right?" Sasuke felt like the floor had fallen out from under him. He almost dropped his phone. Tsunade merely continued. "I mean, really, even if they had a huge fight, the guy was shot! He's in a coma! Naruto should've come, and so should you! I can't believe you both haven't shown your faces!"
Kiba had been shot. Was it Pein's doing? What was he thinking, of course it was! Kiba had been fucking shot! Was he okay?! He was in a coma, but—that didn't mean it was bad, right? Sasuke had been in a coma, and though he didn't remember any of it because of his amnesia, he'd been out for a long time. And not all coma patients woke up. Was Kiba going to wake up?
How was this happening? No one else was supposed to be involved, this was about him and Naruto. Just them! Why the fuck had Kiba been dragged into this?! Why had he been shot?! Had he found out what was really going on? Had Pein tried to get rid of him because he knew too much? Was that where Suigetsu had gone off to this morning? Was he going to finish him off at the hospital?
"Sasuke, did you hear a word I just said?!" Tsunade sounded furious.
"Yeah," he forced out, swallowing hard. "It's complicated to explain. I'm sorry about Kiba, I really am. But I can't—I'm not able to come see him right now. And Naruto's not in any position to, either."
There was a long silence on the other end.
"Sasuke, did something happen?" His eyes flickered to Pein, but the redheaded man was staring at the ground. He looked to be thinking. Shit, was Tsunade next? "Something like-like last year?"
"You worry too much, Tsunade." Sasuke forced a laugh. He hoped it didn't sound as fake as he felt it did. "No, everything's fine, it's just—Naruto and I have had a bit of a rough patch, and with Sai here it hasn't really been helping much. And then Naruto got into a fight with Kiba, it's just—too much has happened, between his-his father, and then me, and then Kiba..." He trailed off, trying to compose his thoughts. "It's been hard on all of us, but I think Naruto needs to be alone right now. I think he needs space. So—I'm going away."
"What?" Tsunade sounded stunned.
"I'm leaving." He sighed. "I'm going to go up to Whistler for a while; clear my head. Naruto and I talked about it, and he's agreed it'd be for the best. Please don't tell anyone, though, I really don't need them coming up to Whistler looking for me. Especially Kakashi. He'll just worry, but I promise I'll be fine. I won't do anything stupid. I'm only telling you because I know you'll freak out if I bail on Naruto without saying anything first."
"Sasuke, I really don't think that's a good idea right now."
"I feel like it's my only option." Understatement. "I have to do this. I'm sorry."
Tsunade sighed, sounding exasperated. "Kids these days. You're all a pain." Another sigh. "You'll keep in touch with me, right? Keep me posted?"
Sasuke glanced at Pein, and the redhead smirked before nodding. The raven averted his eyes, clenching his jaw. "Yes. I will. As much as I can."
"All right then, if you're adamant."
"I am."
She sighed again. "Well, enjoy the weather. I don't know if you ski or whatnot, but make sure you do a lot of it up there. It'll help clear your head faster so you can come home to Naruto. He's going to miss you."
The raven looked up at the screen, the blond still on his knees. "Yeah," he whispered. "I know."
"Take care, Sasuke. And keep in touch, you hear?"
"Yes. Good bye." He snapped the phone shut before she could say anything more.
"I've decided the safest way for you to keep in touch with anyone who demands it is by email." Pein pulled the earphones off, twirling them leisurely as he looked over at the television. "It's easier to keep an eye on it because then you won't have any awkward pauses like you did this time."
"Is Kiba okay?" he asked, still staring at Naruto. He wanted to savour this for as long as possible.
"Who knows? Suppose he's lucky he's in a coma, means he'll miss all the drama." Pein smirked at him, then stood up. He pulled his phone out, and Sasuke saw Konan pull her own from her pocket a few seconds later. "You can let the kid go, now. It's done. Make sure he leaves first, I don't want him following you."
She hung up and then took a step back, lowering the gun. Naruto turned and stood up as she spoke to him. He didn't say a word. Before leaving, though, his eyes scanned the wall until he was looking straight at the camera, his eyes boring into Sasuke's though he couldn't even see him.
The raven clenched his fists, unable to tears his eyes away from the screen. Then, it went black. Pein had turned it off. He glared down at the desk, gritting his teeth. Pein was going to pay for all the shit he was putting Naruto though.
And he was going to get his kneecaps blown off as a way to pay him back for hurting Kiba. Because the asshole had crossed a line bringing him into this, and Sasuke was going to make sure he paid for that mistake.
AN: Yes, I know way back when I said Hayate was going to stay dead, but... he was needed so... I broke my own promise -sigh- And OMG KIBA IS DYING! Now anything goes, right? -smirk-