Chapter Thirteen

"Some day… after I am dead, you may perhaps come to learn the right and wrong of this. I cannot tell you."

-R.L.S., "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

His legs fidgeted despite conscious efforts to keep still. He stared at the blank TV screen which was angled toward him as Kakashi rummaged through a box of black tapes, each marked with random letters and numbers. There was something indescribably off-putting about the silence they were keeping. It was bad enough that he had been made exceedingly uncomfortable by Kabuto the day before, but the tension did not ease up when met by the doctor's odd silence.

"Are you prepared for your weekend alone?" he finally asked once he found what he was looking for, not sounding particularly interested.

Naruto's stomach churned painfully before he nodded. "My sessions are set up with Haku and Kiba as well as some time to hover in the lobby. But, I still don't think I should go to the second floor without you..."

Kakashi seemed to be fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Because that has stopped you before?" Naruto opened his mouth to retort but was cut off. "You will never believe me when I tell you that I can't help you with Sasuke. That much is clear. So, I've decided to show you what I mean to give you some perspective."

"Don't!" He implored though he was not sure why. His heart was hammering so fast that he felt like he was about to choke.

Kakashi paused, if only out of curiosity, staring at Naruto rather blankly. "You can't possibly have any moral objections to this."

Naruto shook his head, staring nervously at Kakashi's hand against the spine of the tape. His hands were trembling even more noticeably as he tried to fight for the words to come forth. There was something unpleasant about the atmosphere ever since he had visited Tsunade. Everything was out of place and none of the pieces he had gathered ever seemed to line up because certain ones were purposefully withheld. If there was anything that he could sense from what he had heard and Kabuto's inconspicuous hinting, he knew nothing at Konoha ever happened without a reason.

"Why now?" His voice was surprisingly level though his body was beginning to shiver continuously. "You could have answered so many questions before, but you choose now to show me something that will answer them?"

Kakashi tried to conceal his smirk as he tapped a finger lightly against the tape. "As you are now, I see no reason why it should be hidden any longer."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Your egotism, Naruto. You cannot tell me that you are the same hotheaded apprentice who first entered my office and audaciously declared how you were the answer to everyone's problems."

"I never thought that!" But he knew that there was some truth to what was said. "Things were more... concrete. Of course I'm going to be confident with things that I can directly understand. Though if it makes you feel any better, I admit that I don't have all the answers."

"No, it doesn't, because there's so much more that goes on inside your head that every word is just to shield your true selfish motives," Kakashi bit sharply, though not losing an ounce of cool. "If you want my complete honesty..." Naruto scoffed, earning a mild glare "... Despite all the things that I cannot begin to understand about you, I know that your intentions are good, they always have been. There's a part of me that believes that you will do something about it."

"Huh?" was the only intelligible sound he could muster as he watched the doctor push the tape into the TV's slot. The screen was black for a moment before cutting to a gray image that he was all too familiar with. Nothing could be done to change the appearance of the room where he first laid eyes upon Sasuke, and his nostrils immediately stung with the smell of bleach. The picture was like static with a strange hum into the silence before a loud creak brought the tape to life.

A young Kakashi walked briskly into the room, though age had little to do with why his appearance had become somewhat adolescent. There was an acuity to his movements which gave the odd impression that he was nervous, a trait that the doctor would never dare to expose in front of anyone, let alone Naruto. Documents in his hands became a disorderly pile scattered at one side of the table as if he was desperately looking for something that he knew wasn't there. After another minute of hopeless shuffling, he let out a slightly unsteady breath, glancing toward, what he assumed was, the glass window in order to gain some sort of composure. His face was without fatigue or dark shadows beneath hollowed features and after a long, thoughtful blink Naruto realized he was without his scar as well. Without it his expression seemed unsure, which was probably why it was difficult to admit that this man was the same person.

The door slid back again and a young woman walked in. Though the lack of color wouldn't show as much, it was evident that her long hair was a bright color. She had a sharp and serious gaze through her thick rimmed glasses as she approached Kakashi with a clipboard in hand.

"You're supposed to be in there, Karin," he said with a point toward the camera. Regardless of how rushed his movements appeared, his voice was still low and steady.

"Need I remind you of who his psychiatrist is?" She shot back with a haughty glare.

"Throwing titles at a time like this? Are you that insecure?"

"Don't pretend like you're not elated that I'm here," she said boastfully. "You look like you're about to piss your pants."

He responded with a bored stare, one that Naruto had seen a number of times, which meant he was regarding her as conceited. "With such a precise analysis, how could I have doubted you?"

She stuck her tongue out at him before turning toward the door. There are muffled sounds coming from the darkness outside. The squeak of shoes against slick concrete and strained grunts sounded before a guard appeared in the doorway, holding a blindfolded Sasuke in a head lock with his feet kicking wildly off the ground. Kakashi and Karin keep still as Sasuke is thrown into a chair.

"Let go of me! Have you lost your fucking mind!" Sasuke's voice rings differently from what Naruto is used to. The sound is not hollow or scarce, but lucid and harsh.

Kakashi straightens his posture, clearing his throat. "Sasuke, just be still a moment," his quiet demand made the room become visibly tense.

With one arm zip-tied into place, the guard pulled the blindfold from his face. Even in black and white, Sasuke's eyes burned, looking directly at Kakashi with an expression that Naruto had never seen. There was something noticeably different about him that suddenly seemed obvious when all movement ceased; Sasuke's garments were tinged a different color, but which one could it have possibly been?

"Why are you here?" he asked, his eyes blinking a beat to fast though trying intently to remain focused.

"Sasuke."

"Where have you been!" the shout cut the doctor short. His hand gripped the chair's arms and he took in abnormally deep breaths. His blinking became more severe with a slight twitch of his shoulders.

"I will tell you once we have all calmed down," Kakashi explained, unfazed by the outburst. "The more violently you act, the more aggressive they'll handle you."

"They?" His hands twitched almost rhythmically.

"The guards; them."

"You're a liar. You've been a liar from the start."

"It is a cruel reality, but I have never lied to you."

"You're doing it RIGHT NOW!" Sasuke gave an almost animalistic growl. "Get me out of here! Now!"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I just don't see that happening with what little progress you've made. Sometimes, it seems as if you sabotage yourself."

"Don't fuck with me! You let him out! Why would you let him out?" Sasuke's body began to twitch more violently, and he closed his eyes tight to keep from blinking anymore.

"Progress," Kakashi decided to answer, though offhandedly.

He looked up with a shudder. Sasuke looked around, eyes wide with a discernable panic. "What have you done?"

Kakashi sat back, his eyes tired and pleading. "I'm afraid it's about what you've done, Sasuke."

Sasuke's bod began to tremble more visibly. His breathing was heavy, but somehow even as he looked down at his lap, hiding his face behind his black locks before he began to mutter to himself. "I'm going to kill you... I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Kakashi's expression turned remarkably grief-stricken as he stared at the boy's convulsing form. "Sasuke... Please."

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Sasuke! Calm down!" Karin, until that paint, had been a part of the background, so still that Naruto had completely forgotten she was there. She gently placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder with a look torn between fascination and genuine concern.

"Karin, wait!"

The Uchiha's free hand immediately seized her wrist, pulling her down as he bit viciously into her arm. There was a quick, nauseating crunch followed by her earsplitting scream. Her howl pierced Naruto's ears, distorting through the speakers and making his heart race even faster than before.

"Sasuke! NO!" Kakashi dove across the table, unaware that the boy's free hand had grabbed something out of Karin's pocket.

He released her arm, blood dribbling from his lips as she fell unconscious at his feet. Before the doctor could catch her, Sasuke lifted himself from the chair, landing a kick so hard on Kakashi's stomach that all the air could be heard escaping his body. Winded, he keeled over, falling out of view under the table.

Sasuke stood alone in the image, body twitching as blood began to soak into his shirt. He raised the object into the air, glinting briefly before he dropped quickly out of view.

"STOP!" Naruto gasped as is he'd been under water the entire time. The screen turned black and a welcomed silence replaced the static. There was no more sound but the ringing in his ears refused to stop. It was a disorienting and haunting sound that remained even after Karin had stopped. The sound grew louder and louder until it was unbearably suffocating. He dug his nails into his legs, letting what little pain he could muster flood into his mind to ease the ringing out.

He looked to Kakashi who sat calmly behind his desk, staring intently at Naruto as if he had not expected such a response. Naruto immediately focused on the scar shining against his skin in a jagged line.

"Yes," the man sighed, closing his eyes as if he'd grown tired of the conversation before it had begun, "Sasuke gave me the scar."

"What happened to her?" His voice was hoarse and dry, but he couldn't do much other than try futilely to hold himself together.

"Karin recovered faster than you would think and resumed care of Sasuke."

"Why?" Naruto could feel his muscles shudder. "Where is she?"

"You have a knack for asking completely wrong questions."

"What did you do?"

"Oh? What did I do?" Kakashi questioned with a more obvious snarl, running a finger along the bottom of his scar for emphasis. "Are you quite sure you're asking the right person that?"

"Why did he call you a liar?"

"The same reason Haku and Kiba called you one. You're smart enough to figure that one out," Kakashi's voice turned cold, making the apprentice wonder if he had crossed the line.

While the doctor was clever at making such horrific occurrences seem commonplace, he would unknowingly warn Naruto of the events to come. Perhaps this lethargic nature was the only way he could cope with the things he had seen and what had been done to him. Naruto stared back quietly for a moment, trying to imagine the same pained expression he had shown Sasuke. There was always something more as if every move he ever made was planned beforehand, and that usually did not include a look that could be perceived as vulnerability, a weakness.

"You regret something that you did to him," the words found him faster than he realized, but they remained firmly as Kakashi frowned.

"This might not be something that someone who jumps to such enlightened conclusions would understand."

"I'm not a child," Naruto grumbled with annoyance, feeling a thin layer of sweat at the base of his neck as his skin began to feel hot. "Don't... try to distract me."

Kakashi's eyes reflected something resembling exasperation. "Naruto, I don't know what I have to gain by trying to deceive you to this extent. This is all I can do for you."

Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow, moving his fingers frantically in an attempt to keep them from trembling. "I know that, but your pride and your guilt are getting in the way of my answers..."

Kakashi hesitated, a look of pure bewilderment made his eyes seem more alive before he conceded with a chuckle. "If it will help you, Sasuke had an older brother."

He shook his head which only succeeded in making him dizzy. "No. I can't..."

"Naruto!"

Two arms wrapped around him before he hit the floor. The last of his self-control had finally slipped and he could do little more than lay limply in the man's arms. He could feel how close he was, but his vision had turned to a hopeless blur which made everything look like a part of a taxing dream.

"What did you take?"

"Don't..." he mumbled dizzily. "Promise me you won't."

"Damnit, Naruto, I promise. Now, tell me what you took!"

His body felt weightless, coaxing the blond into a most unwanted sleep.

A/N: Thank you to those of you who have recently favorited/followed me/the story.