"Speech" 'Thoughts'
Chapter 14: Black Maze, Heated Torture (Part 3)
"You've been tagged!" Naruto hated the electronic voice for one reason: he was out of the game for 30 seconds. Thirty seconds of annoying his friends, shooting people he had some issues with, and just pure fun.
He watched in frustration as Kiba chased after Tenten. 'Damn it Kiba. Leave it to him to try and avenge me. Knowing Neji and Tenten, he'll be ambushed.'
He shook his head and noticed a flash of pink hair flying in and out of sight. He cursed silently while he looked for a place to hide. He didn't want to rejoin the game just to get tagged by someone. Looking around the dark room lit by soft neon colors, he saw he had two choices. One, to run through the foggy maze of black walls, making him a moving target. Two, there was a barrier pressed up against the corner. Making a small alcove with only one entrance.
He weighed his options, if he made himself a moving target he could reunite with his boyfriend or he could miss him and get tagged, again. Or Kiba would come back to this area after he got tagged and while he waited, he could snipe his friends through the hole as they rushed by.
He stood there, staring in the direction the brunet disappeared. If it was an ambush, he would fall for it, too. He opted for staying put. The blond just made it into the alcove as someone rounded the corner. Ino. She looked around as Choji came panting behind her. The lights on his vest gray, Ino's was green. He'd been tagged, she hasn't, yet.
'Come on, ten more seconds and an easy snipe.' He counted down as they talked. 'Five,' Choji's vest came to life. 'Four,' Ino's face brightened at the green glow. 'Three,' they turned away from him. 'Two,' they started to walk away. 'On—'
A pale hand snapped out of the darkness, clamping itself over his mouth. Another locked his wrists together behind his back. Shock and fear rippled through his body; he couldn't shake of his attacker. Not even with his inhuman strength. If it was Kiba, he wouldn't be fighting, but the scent didn't belong to his savior. It smelled familiar, horrifying familiar.
His vest gave an electronic hiss. The dark alcove came to life under the red hue his vest gave off. Naruto twisted his head as far as he could and froze. The red light gave the life to the pale face.
"Uhhmm!"
Ebony hair framing his ghostly features. Porcelain skin. Pale lips twisted into a sneer. Frozen, charcoal eyes.
Sasuke.
"Baka."
'Bastard.'
----
"GAME OVER!"
"GAME OVER!"
"GAME OVER!"
Everyone groaned at the electronic voice and sound effects. The first game was over. Everyone was to head out and receive their team scores. Kiba filed out with everyone else. Currently the man running the game was handing slips of paper to the teams.
"First place, Shikamaru and Shino." Groans filled the small hall. The winners just took the paper and remain silent.
"Second place, Kiba and Naruto." Cheers filled the room will only a few groans.
Kiba turned to embrace the blond. "Wait, where's—'
"KIBA!!" He snapped towards the door in the hallway. Hinata's shrill voice had everyone staring at her in shock. "Sasuke's in there with Naruto!" Tears brim her eyes as she gave them the second worst news he could imagine.
A roar ripped from his lips as he raced into the black room. He ignored the blinding flash of the fluorescent lights, the intercom scratching to life, the odor of sweat. He wove through the black maze, following the scent of the one he would save. He followed the smell back to the clearing he'd left the blond. He spun on the spot, trying to find the source of the aroma.
"Kiba!" He twisted to face the wall. An intercom and camera were fixed to the top of the wall. It crackled to life again. "Head to the corner barrier!" The brunet raced to the wall and stopped. To his left, more black walls. His right, two walls making a fort in the corner.
He reached the recess and flinched as another smell assaulted his senses. It stung his noise, like smoke. His stomach churned at the odor. He needed to ignore it. Naruto was the only thing that mattered. He whipped around the corner, huffing. His eyes assaulted the small area, falling wide on his unconscious boyfriend, slumped in the opposite corner.
"NARUTO!!"
----
Naruto sat up, all sleepiness gone. He looked straight across the room, finding luxurious reds and obsidian accents. "What the…"
He groaned at his monstrous headache. The last thing he remembered was hiding in the black maze on the second floor of Hawk's Games and about to snipe Ino and Choji. He looked around and found no one. How the hell did he end up at Kyuubi's and where was the fox?
The blond noticed two pills and a glass of water sitting at the edge of the onyx coffee table. He groaned as his head pulsed; bringing fresh waves of pain to replace the older ones. He grabbed the water and pills as the ache lessened. He yelped as his hand touched the chilled glass. At first he thought the glass was frozen to arctic temperatures but another wave rushed his head, making him dizzy; until an entrancing aroma captured his attention, draining him of his lightheadedness.
"Easy, you're running an outrageous fever and you probably have a headache powerful enough to knockout an elephant." Kyuubi appeared crouching next to him, expression gentle but his eyes were firm. The blond muttered his thanks as he took the pills and drowned the cool water.
They sat in silence as Naruto sat under the fox demon's wary eye. Naruto was getting tired of it. He glowered in annoyance before he blurted his frustration. "Why am I here and what happened?"
The red-haired being just observed him before he pushed the blond back onto the couch with one hand. He moved his hand to the blond locks, keeping the blond from sitting up.
Naruto wanted to protest in the gesture. He wished that the fox would tell him what was going on already. Suddenly, he felt woozy, his eyes were heavy lidded. He fought the feeling unsuccessfully, barely registering that it was Kyuubi's influence. Before he could compose a single thought, he was unconscious; reliving the encounter.
** - ** - **
Pitch-black. That was all he could describe it as. Not cold. Not hot. No air. Just emptiness. Slowly, sensations warmed his body. As they became familiar, like up was up and not down, he could have thought for he believed to be an eternity.
'What's happening?' No answer
'Why is this familiar?' Nothing.
'Have I experienced this before? When?' A flash of green scenery. A door. A room stained with scarlet liquid. A red fox.
'That's right; this was how I felt after I kissed Kiba. Except, there are no memories of my attempted suicide flashing before my eyes. No memories…yet.'
He felt heavy, like a force was pulling him down. Suddenly, his feet met a foundation. He was running through the darkness, turning at irregular intervals in random directions. His arms swinging as he jogged behind a familiar figure. His right arm felt heavy, weighed down. A bulk… gun was in his grasp, connected to a vest he wore, lit red.
'Ohh, Kiba's birthday party. We're playing laser tag.' The figure he followed turned to shoot at someone behind him. Red tattoos of a fang on both cheeks, russet hair, and warm chocolate hues smiled at him lovingly. Kiba. The Savior. My Savior.
Realization struck. He looked to his left; Tenten danced by them and sniped him. Direct hit. She laughed at taunted, playing with Kiba's protectiveness. The brunet growled, giving into the chase as she disappeared from sight.
'Damn it Kiba. Leave it to him to try and avenge me. Knowing Neji and Tenten, he'll be ambushed.' A flash of pink hair.
An alcove, a fort, a temporary stronghold rested in the shadowy corner. He dodged into it and was out of sight in time. Ino and Choji came out. He counted down till his fun could begin, eagerly waiting.
'Two,' they started to walk away. 'On—'
Pale hands soundlessly grabbed him. He jerked around, trying to free himself. The light flashed on, revealing the pale figure. Sasuke.
"…" The assaulter's mouth moved but nothing could be heard.
'Why can't I hear him?'
The ebony haired teen pinned him to the wall, hands stretched above him. He glared into the offending teen's eyes. Frightening azure hues clashed with amused onyx. His glare was reduced as the figure leaned over him, closing the gap; talking in a noiseless language.
The blonde's eyes widened instinctively, as if he heard what was said. He shook uncontrollably as the silent tongue* slipped past the pale lips. 'What's he saying? Why am I acting like this?'
Abruptly, the teen leaned forward, capturing his lips. Fire unlike anything else burned his mouth. It was as if molten metal was being held to his lips, melting his skin. Slender fingertips brushed trails of venom across his cheek, irritating the skin with sensations of needles.
'Why?'
Pain. That was all that this brought, pain. Not heated passion like some brunet did when they made contact.
The sinister lips left his, welcoming cool air to ease the pain; only to mean nothing as the teen ghosted his neck with pale lips. Pinpricks of pain washed throughout his body with fire. He begged for it to end. He knew he was begging, pleading for it to end. He whimpered, the heat growing, intensifying.
His back arched agonizingly and a spasm rocked his being to the core. A hand roughly glided up his stomach, pushing his shirt up, trailing flames across his skin. 'Kill me; this… torture is… too much.'
The lights flashed on, blinding them. Even blind, he could see the blackness rimming his sight. He was going to pass out, finally.
He felt molten lips press themselves against his ear, whispering a silent vow, a vow to win.
The blond backed away from the figure, into a corner as far as he could get from the bastard in front of him. The ebony haired teen gave one last smirk before disappearing from view. He slumped into the corner, his back sliding down until he was sitting.
A yell broke the loud silence, the sound of feet running closer followed. Darkness claimed him, seconds before he could see his savior rounding the corner.
** - ** - **
Quiet muttering. That was the first thing he noticed as he regained consciousness, again. He rolled onto his side, grunting at the soreness nudging at his body. He wanted to fall asleep, but knowing his sleeping habits he'd been asleep for maybe seven, if not eight hours. 'Time to get up.'
He fought his eyes open to discover that he was no longer in the second home he'd come to love. No lush cherry-colored furnishings. No ebony accents. Not Kyuubi's cavern. An oak desk. Tan walls. Chocolate-colored bedspread. Kiba's room. His new and current home.
He sat up and stretched. His memories were a little hazy but he recalled almost everything. He'd thrown Kiba the best birthday he could. It was ruined by his bastard-of-an-ex. Sasuke had trapped him in a dark corner. Molested him and whispered several things that had terrified him beyond belief. He thought back to it and was frustrated. He couldn't hear what the bastard had said. WHY?
There was another thing bothering him. The last image of the black haired teen was slightly smudged. The sneer, the bone-colored skin, the ebony hair: all crystal clear. The eyes. They were the only detail he couldn't remember. There was something he didn't want to remember, just like the things whispered to him. On some level he didn't want to believe anything the snake said. But something was nagging at his subconscious, something he was missing. But what?
Gladly giving up all thoughts about the ass, Naruto got up and walked to the door, trying to focus on what was being said.
----
Kyuubi stood in the Inuzuka's living room. He'd just explained that Sasuke had ambushed Naruto and had molested him but was interrupted before anything could happen. There were sighs of relief and cries of outrage, only to be silenced by the redhead.
"I do know what is going on, but I can't tell you." He ignored the death glares the two women gave him and stared straight into the male's eyes. "Also, if you were to ask Naruto what Sasuke said to him, you'd find that he can't remember. He remembers what happened but not what was said."
"How is that possible? It's not like his mind erased the words itself, is it? Why not just erase the entire memory?" Hana's question was what he was looking for, a lead to the answer.
"Well, there are four possibilities. One, subconsciously he erased the words to protect himself. Two, something outside of his mind wanted to protect its secret. Possibly a secret that the Uchiha had no right to tell, something taboo. Three, both theories one and two; he erased the words, but something else erased the memory particularly. I'm saying this because his memory was completely hidden when he came to. He didn't remember what happened. This is the one I'm betting on."
They stared at him, processing the information. It was Tsume who spoke up first. "What about the fourth idea?"
He didn't get to answer it. He couldn't but someone that could beat him to the punch. Everyone turned to the blond when his voice rang out behind the brunettes.
"The fourth theory is that someone supernatural is involved, like in the second idea. That someone has a demonic background other than us. And that they want me."
"Who?" Kiba turned towards the redhead, glaring at the impassive fox demon. He didn't respond, couldn't respond. The brunet felt his heart drop. It couldn't be. No, it wasn't him.
"It's Sasuke." The brunet's head whipped around to look at his boyfriend. Noticing the pain in the angelic voice, the tears brimming his eyes, and that his blond was shaking uncontrollably. Quickly he embraced the teen, holding him to his chest. Whispering promises and loving words, caressing his whiskered cheek.
He wanted nothing more that to destroy that bastard that put Naruto through this not once, but twice. He swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to protect his lover.