Author's Note: Longtime, no see. Sorry about that. But I'm back. I will be updating and finishing ALL of my stories. But, I'm sure that you are mad enough at me for leaving this alone for what... just three months shy of four years to the date? (Seeing as I last updated this story on 11/27/08.) If you are returning to this story from then, thank-you. I won't let you down again. If you are new to this story, then please bare with me as I try to get my writing back on track. Without further ado, the disclaimer and then to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


The room was different the next time that Naruto awoke. Instead of the cell that he had come to know over the past week or so, he was in a room with all sorts of devices that only Anko or Ibiki would know or want to use. He suspected that he was about to endure hell of the worst kind. And as the heavy metal door in a wall made of rock swung open, admitting the one person who haunted his nightmares, he was proven right.

"But you were dead. I saw the other Anbu take off your head. I was there. I saw it!" Naruto screamed in denial. The figure in the doorway said nothing as he made his way over to the other side of the room, to the left of Naruto.

Turning around with a kunai and a jar of a purple-ish liquid that smelled strongly of hemlock and death, the tall man said, "Now, Naruto. Didn't you learn anything in that academy of yours? Or while you were so desperately chasing me for your pathetic Uchiha? I don't die so easily. I am immortal! How could I die when I have all the Jutsu in the world? How could I be beaten by mere Anbu? Rule One in being a Ninja: Live. Do all that you must to live. Never forget that. Although, I do so believe that particular lesson will be lost on you. You won't be getting out of here alive."

Orochimaru stalked closer to the metal table that Naruto was strapped to and proceeded to uncap the jar that held the lethal poison. Dipping the kunai into the liquid, Orochimaru's face morphed into a psychotic grin. He placed the jar on a table that was near the one on which Naruto was being held, and reached out his now free hand to caress the blemish free skin of Naruto's chest. Naruto, who had only now realized that he was in just his undergarments, hissed as the older man's nails dug sharply into his skin.

Orochimaru watched in morbid fascination as the long, red scratches that his sudden attack on the young demon container's chest faded as if they had never happened. "Your regenerative capabilities are impressive, but let's see how long they last. I hope that you don't die too soon. There's no fun if you can't scream. Your precious Sasuke won't be able to help or hear you. So, you'll just have to scream for me." He said as he put the flat of the kunai against the very place he had just scratched. Gently, he put the sharpened edge to the middle of Naruto's collarbone and asked, "Will you scream for me, Naruto?"

Naruto glared at the man and turned his head. Orochimaru growled and roughly grabbed his hair, forcing the blonde to look at him. "Will you scream?" he asked again. Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment and then spat in the insane man's face. Orochimaru saw red and punched Naruto hard in the face.

Caressing the bruise that was quickly forming, only to be fading just as fast, Orochimaru asked once more, "Will you scream, Naruto?"

"Never." He spat at the man. Orochimaru smiled eerily. "Your Nindo, your ninja way, is to never go back on your word. Correct?" the dark haired man asked a wary blonde. Naruto nodded, hesitantly. It wasn't like it wasn't well known after all.

Orochimaru's smile turned into a frighteningly insane grin. "You should never make promises that you can't keep." He said as he slashed through the skin of Naruto's chest, laughing as he relished in the sound he had needed to hear from the blonde.

And for the first time, Naruto went back on his word.

In Konaha:

Sasuke shot up from his place on Naruto's bed, hand clutching a phantom pain in his chest. He was drenched in sweat as he stared out into nothingness, reliving the nightmare he had just dreamt. He laid down once more, Naruto's coat clutched into his arms. Tsunade had ordered him to sleep, but every time he tried, the nightmares came. They were heading out tomorrow at dawn. Finding Naruto was their top priority. Sasuke had tried to argue that they were wasting time, but had been overruled by the hokage.

Tsunade argued that the time they were wasting, as Sasuke had put it, was being used to form search parties and gather needed equipment. Things like this took a little time if they were to be successful. She didn't like it anymore than he did and she took the opportunity to assure him that if she didn't have a village to run, she would have been out searching for the boy that she considered family as soon as she had gotten the news. But it was not so simple. It was not a sound idea to storm out in blind rage, searching for things that could easily be missed in such a state. They were not even sure that it had been Orochimaru who had abducted the blonde in the first place. She needed more information so that she could act. Moreover, there was no one that was in any shape to be taking off after the boy and his abductor.

Sasuke saw the truth in her reasonings. He saw them, but that wasn't to say that he liked them. This was the part that bugged him the worst. The waiting. He acknowledged that it was necessary, but he grew antsy just the same. All he could think about was what Naruto was enduring every moment that they wasted. Was he already dead? No, he'd be able to feel if he was. He was sure of it. Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to find that it was nearly time to meet at the gate. He stood from the bed and dressed quickly. He grabbed his bag, which was loaded with scrolls of all sorts, most of which had his things sealed into them. The last thing he did as he walked out of the house was put on Naruto's jacket and lock the door.

As he came to the meeting place, he nodded to all of the gathered ninja's. If anyone had a comment about his added clothing, they kept it to themselves. When all were present, they did one last check of equipment and took off to find their missing teammate. Sasuke leapt thru the trees, Sharingan activated, silently vowing to find Naruto and kill whomever got in his way.