Chapter 20

Kakashi burst through the hospital doors, he needed to find everyone and tell them what he found out. When he got to the Observation Deck he saw that Ino and the others had all shown up, the kids were all huddled together, sobbing as Gaara sat in the corner, his body wracked with silent sobs. He didn't need much to figure out something happened.

"Where's Sasuke?"

"He's out looking for Naruto... Taka's soul's been taken and Naruto's missing!"

"Damn... I just found somethings that may interest you. Naruto had a former lover, Sai."

"No shock there. Sasuke's the one who put him in the loony bin." Sakura said.

"I see, well it turns out he's been dead since the beginning of the summer. Everyone in the hospital, including Sai, were killed." He said.

"WHAT! Why didn't they call us?"

"Fuck that! Why the hell wasn't it on the news?" Kiba demanded.

Everyone was demanding to know what was going on and Kakashi was having trouble catching up.

"It means that whoever it is that killed Sai did it because Sai's the most familiar person to Naruto. Whoever this is, Orochimaru or someone pretending to be him, they are after one thing and one thing only: To make Sasuke suffer. We have less than 48 hours to find out everything we can and to get Takahiro's soul back into his body. So I suggest you all shut up and stop freaking out so I can formulate a plan." He said as his eyes wandered around the room. "Shizune, Tsunade, Ino and Sakura, you take the kids home, Taka too. Lock down the house and don't move unless we tell you too." Kyuubi said as he walked towards them.

"Aki and I are going to try and find Sasuke and Iruka." Hitomi said as she and Aki vanished in a blaze of fire.

"Kakashi, catch up with them. Kiba, gather your whole pack and hunt down every snake and reptile you can find and if they know anything about this, get the information and kill them. When this is all over and everything's back to normal, we're not going through this again. Gaara, are you up to helping?"

The redhead nodded as he stood, wiping his face and squaring his shoulders. The scelra of his eyes had turned black while the irises turned a brilliant gold.

"More than ready..."

"Good. Everyone, just a quick reminder time is short. Konan, Pein call if you need anything, but don't call me or the girls."

"Shino, you be careful." Kiba said, kissing his mate before leaning down to nuzzle his daughter. "Luna, you be good now, take care of Taka-chan for me."

She nodded as everyone who was demon vanished and the humans gathered up and headed for the cars to head back to the house. Shizune offered to stay behind with Deidara so if and when he woke up, she could bring him home and if someone tried to attack, she'd kill them. They would not fail this time, they would end it...

-Naruto-

Naruto groaned weakly as he began to come back to the world. His memory was fuzzy and his body ached all over. What was going on? what was he doing before-

"Taka!"

"Calm down, he's right here." Came a voice that sounded familiar and yet was really vague. There was a red flag waving in his mind and he knew something was amiss, it made his blood start to feel cold in his veins. He looked to where the voice was and saw a crystal ball and inside of it was Takahiro and Itachi, both of them were hitting it and yelling, but there was no sound and he couldn't understand what they were saying. he looked up when the ball was yanked back and then shaken violently.

"Stop- no... no! You're-"

"Hello again Arashi... Did you miss me?"

"Kabuto..."

The snake laughed as he tossed the crystal off to corner of the room and lunged at Naruto, quickly pinning him down and grabbing his face in his hand. Naruto spit in his face and then kicked him in the gut. He scrambled off the bed trying to get to the orb, but fell to the floor when a snake wound itself over him, trapping his arms and legs before a second, smaller one forced itself into his mouth when he tried to gasp for air. Taka and Itachi watched helplessly as Naruto struggled and cried.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Arashi, you should know better than to try and run away... But not to worry. Sasuke will be here soon and when he shows up we'll have a nice civilized chat. There will be no fighting, biting, kicking, screaming, no spitting and no magic. If we can be civilized then, and only then will I let you're son's soul go back into its body. Am I clear?"

Naruto looked at his face, looking for hints of lying or foul play. But it was like trying to read a brick wall. Seeing he had no other choices, he nodded, and looked pleadingly at the orb and Kabuto sighed, letting him go and letting him grab the orb. Naruto looked at the image of Taka and Itachi, and held the orb close, silently praying over them to keep them safe. A faint glow appeared before Kabuto snatched the orb away.

"What- Noooo! Kabuto, let me out! Don't hurt them, please! Kabuto!" Naruto cried out as he banged his hands on the door.

Kabuto stood on the other side laughing at his pitiful begging as he turned and walked away, now to deal with a certain thief once and for all...
-

Sasuke felt a cold sweat coming from his brow as he entered the narrow pathway where guards stood, watching with wicked smiles and taunting laughter that floated in the space around them and making its way slowly to Sasuke's ears. There was confidence in the laughs, a derisive and mocking confidence that made Sasuke want to break all of their necks like he would a twig in the forest. Their yellow and orange eyes shone deeply against the thick, rich darkness that surrounded and encompassed the sweeping iron wrought archways where ivy and strange white, luminescent flowers bloomed, hauntingly beautiful. Sasuke knew all to well, however, that this beauty was a facade, a mask being put up by the snake bastard who laid deep within the bowel of the stone and mortar encrusted walls. He walked in silence, except for the occasional hissing and teasing snap of a snake's jaw. Sasuke looked over as one of the more daring men flashed him a glassy toothed smile, showing milky white fangs that at first glance seemed as though it could make the very air bleed.

All of them had a mocking air about them and it was really starting to get on the Uchiha's nerves. He'd barely been there for two minutes and they were had already decided that he wasn't going to come out on top. Though, Sasuke was beginning to feel a hesitation in his stomach about coming here. Kabuto had given up his location without a single thought about the consequences, and he trusted him not to bring anyone or inform them of where he was heading. Sasuke hated that he was a man of his word.

He reached grand doors, with intricate carvings of snakes biting their own tails and devouring other smaller, less power animals as they seemed to slither across the door towards the other side. Sasuke shook his head, slightly amused. Snakes always thought they were the dominant species, especially demon snakes. But they were such a useless creature, forced to spend most of their lives stuck on their bellies, glancing up at the sky where all the potential and greatness lay untouched by their cold, coiling scales. When snakes finally learned to fly, that's when they would be dangerous.

He knocked on the door, expecting an instant entrance, or for the doors to pull themselves open and frame around Kabuto's throne, where he would sit triumphantly and make the Uchiha beg for his family's safety. He had already planned most of this out in advance so the cliches would be expected and wouldn't annoy him so much. But when nothing happened he raised an eyebrow and pushed the doors in, making his way inside. The room was completely empty, save for the crystal ball that was resting on a sculpture that depicted four snakes reaching up, arching their bodies and using their mouths to hold the crystal up, almost as if they were trying to swallow it.

Sasuke felt unsettled as he stood in the vast room alone. The open space made him nervous, like Kabuto was plotting something much bigger than he had anticipated. He wandered up to the crystal and let his chakra flow through his fingers and into the ball. The lights inside of it spun with every color before melding together into a blindly pure form of white. That's when the white started to bleed with black streaks and Sasuke could tell it was hair before Itachi and Takahiro even appeared.

" Daddy!" Takahiro practically screamed, tears bursting from his tiny eyes making Sasuke's heartache immensely. He reached tried to pick up the crystal but the snake statues started to hiss and coil around Sasuke's ankles, giving warning squeezes and flicks of their tongues. He glared at the smaller animals, letting out a growl that was buried in his throat and they only slackened their grip slightly.

" Where's Mommy, Taka-chan? Where did the bad man put him?" Taka shook his head and even Itachi shrugged.

" It all happened too fast, I can't tell you where he is, and I know he probably put up a barrier so you can't smell him out." Itachi said as he grabbed the small boy's frame and held him against his already fading image. " Sasuke, I don't like the feel of this. There's something big that's going to go down, I can just feel it. Kabuto is going to try something dangerous and I need you to listen to me, little brother. Leave Taka-chan and I, we've already decided that we're not as important as getting Naruto out safely. Please Sasuke, forget about us and go save him."

Sasuke was shaking. He couldn't tell if it was with rage and anger or just simple depression and pain. He knew his brother was right in some ways, but this was his child and the only piece of his past that hadn't been completely taken from him by Orochimaru, he couldn't just throw them away like they meant nothing at all. Sasuke bit his lip then. " I can't do that Itachi-nii, and you know it. I'm far too stubborn...You're asking so much of me, to let you go. Both of you are a part of me and I just can't let you die so easily. There is such a deep, strong love that bonds us together that I can't just toss you away like yesterday's garbage. Besides, you have no confidence in me, Itachi-nii. I've taken down Kabuto before but this time, I'll make sure the job is finished. I'll be damned if I play into his hand so easily."

Itachi sighed and nodded his head. It was like they said, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Itachi knew Sasuke would take the hard way head on, but at the same time, he was happy that his brother, even when the chips were down, hadn't given up the most important thing. Hope.

" Daddy...I'm scared." Taka said in a small voice that made even Itachi want to wince with how pained it sounded.

" Don't worry baby, Daddy will save you. I promise, even if it's the last thing I do." A scream tore Sasuke's attention away. He looked towards the throne where wooden snakes seemed woven together and arched over, biting the tails of the other before it to make a chain. He set the crystal down as he walked over, examining it more closely. He put his hand on the air of the chair and it sank in, making the wall pop open and swoop forward. The screams came pouring out more and more gradually and Sasuke knew that the dungeon was not far beyond the stairs.

" Sasuke! Where are you going?"

" To see where the stairs lead, he may have Naruto down here..." And that was the last thing Sasuke said before he was enveloped in the darkness.
-

-to Kabuto-

He could tell just with smell alone that Sasuke had arrived, a little before the scheduled time. But he could forgive that. Sasuke may be an eager beaver but he knew why the little Uchiha was so jumpy and skittish. Yes he had practically threw away his own soul just to make sure Naruto and his child would be alright. Not that it wasn't a noble thing, it was just foolish.

Kabuto smirked a little as he walked down the stairs, making sure his footfalls echoed against the moist stone walls of the dungeon. He wanted Iruka to know he was coming. He had allowed this man to live for far too long, but now he could rectify this mistake and finally end his reign of interference. Luckily though, he wasn't followed, nor did anyone else know where he was. Kabuto could easily kiss the poor fool.

He laughed sinisterly as he heard a whimper from the bottom of the stairs where small puddles of condensation and blood were mingling and mixing on the floor. He hoped Sasuke would come down soon, he planned to give him a good show.
-

And that's where we're ending it. And just to clear up any confusion, the only reason Iruka thought Kabuto was Orochimaru was due to the fact that he didn't overhear the conversation with Sasuke so he didn't know his true identity, just like everyone else. Only five people know its Kabuto, excluding himself of course and his lackeys; Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, Deidara and Taka.

Rye: Well duh, that was obvious.
me: Not really. The ending to the last chapter made sense to us because we wrote it, it translates differently to those who read it.
Rye: Whatever.
Me: Yes, exactly.
Both of us: -silence-
Me: I have nothing important to say...
Rye: Neither do I, my pet...This was your master.
Me: This was Hitoko-sama?
Rye: How do you not know if its you or not?
Me: Evil twin...
Rye: -sighs and rolls eyes before walking away-
Me: COME BACK! -slumps-