Heya folks! Long time no see, eh? First and foremost I'd love to thank all my readers, reviewers, favoritors, and subscribers. You guys feed my will to keep this story going. I was gone for a while. Yeah. I discovered the wonderful world of roleplay, so I was off making my character for this Bleach forum's life miserable! But now I am back to torture Naruto-kun some more! Or rescue him. Oops. Spoiler. Whatever.
Me no own Naruto or characters.
Word count not counting the Author's Notes: 2,308
Enjoy.
Kabuto sat back in his desk chair feeling smug. Trying to break the Namikaze brat's spirit was difficult, but oh so very satisfying. The white haired villain licked his lips at the prospect of his next attempt to break his new toy. The only thing that could have made his victory sweeter was if he could somehow rub it in the faces of the brat's parents. Or those idiots in Akatsuki and ANBU. They needed to know who was in control. He, Yakushi Kabuto, was the one with power. Not Namikaze Minato, Not Uzumaki Kushina, not the ANBU Black Ops, or even Akatsuki. He was.
For years, people thought they could discount him, take him for granted. For far too long, people had refused to recognize him as someone powerful, an authority figure, as a threat. But now, he had it all. He had ruined the most powerful ANBU agent of the century and his bitch wife, too. Not only that, the life of their brat rested in his hands alone. Ah, yes, power was sweet. No one would ever underestimate Kabuto again. Ever.
Maniacal laughter echoed from the office of the crazed man. The sound was chilling and cold, sending shivers down the spines of all who heard it. The white haired maniac laughed and laughed, gripping the edge of his ornate desk. Bellowing chuckles ripped through his body, causing his slight frame to shake. Even when he could no longer breathe and his eyes teared up, evil giggling wracked his thin form rather painfully. Yakushi laughed until he cried, until he nearly passed out from oxygen deprivation.
Kisame hummed cheerfully as he proceeded to disarm the defenses protecting the warehouse containing Naruto, Tayuya, and Anko. The actions of the monster he worked for sickened him. A sort of vindictive pleasure settled in the large, muscular man's chest as he imagined the shocked look on his boss's face when the white haired bastard realized his control wasn't so complete. When he saw that Naruto had escaped and all of his most loyal followers had abandoned him. Revenge would be sweet, the henchman knew. Nodding in satisfaction at his work, he whistled a bright tune.
Upon hearing the whistle, Kakashi sent a text message. Within minutes, the rest of his team would arrive and they would be rescuing one Uzumaki Naruto from ROOT's clutches. Tensing anxiously, the ANBU agent looked around, scanning for any signs of Kabuto's return.
Sasuke pounded on the door to his dorm. "Shikamaru, man, I'm sorry! You didn't have to lock me out for two days," he groaned. "Come on, just let me back in already!"
"I'll forgive you when Ino forgives you," his roommate's voice floated through the door.
"Why do I need her forgiveness? She had no right to stick her nose in my business and criticize me!" The Uchiha boy glared at the door.
"You shouldn't try to hit a girl any more than you should stalk people." Shikamaru wasn't budging an inch. Sasuke only grumbled in frustration and let his forehead thunk against the door in response.
Sai jumped up and ran to the door of Itachi's house. No words were needed; Kyuubi and Itachi already knew to follow him. Quickly, the three young men gathered their equipment and piled into the eldest Uchiha brother's car. The silence in the vehicle as they drove towards their destination was tense. None of them wasted a single moment talking, all too tense to break the quiet with useless chatter. They were out of the car as quickly as they had entered it. Within a few minutes, they made their way to their rendezvous point to meet Kakashi and Gai.
"I see you made it on time, good," the silver haired ANBU captain nodded. He wore fitted black jeans and a black wifebeater. Strapped to his hips were a gun holster, a taser, and a pair of handcuffs.
His companion, Gai, wore a dark green muscle shirt and black cargo pants. He also had handcuffs and a gun. A pair of simple nunchucks were strapped to his lower back on the left side. "Yes, timeliness is of utmost importance. Now that we are all here, quick introductions are in order so that we may communicate more effectively." Despite his calm demeanor and deep, serious voice, the tensing of his well toned muscles gave away Gai's anxiety to start.
"I am Uchiha Itachi," a slim, slightly muscular young man intoned monotonously. He wore a black, fitted t-shirt and matching pants. Itachi also wore a black jacket. While no weapons were visible on his person, that jacket probably held all the items he'd need.
"I'm Sai," the other black haired boy said with equal expressiveness, or lack thereof. He, unlike the Uchiha, had short hair. He wore a fitted black semi-shirt that exposed his well toned midriff and tight black pants. Sai had a taser strapped to his side and a pair of handcuffs, but seemed to have no other weapons.
"You didn't introduce yourself," the redheaded guy noted irritably. With his hair pulled back in a low ponytail, much like Itachi's, the redhead almost looked feminine. "I'm Kyuubi," he grumbled, crossing his arms. Kyuubi wore a black pea coat and matching pants, similar to Sai's although not nearly as tight. No weapons were visible on Kyuubi, either, but that didn't mean he was unarmed.
"You're right, I'm sorry. That was unyouthful of me. I am Maito Gai and this, as you might already know, is-" the muscled man with the bowl cut hairstyle was cut off.
"Hatake Kakashi. Enough time wasted, I'm going in. Itachi, you're with me. Kyuubi, you back Gai up and Sai, make sure your get away car is ready. Get in contact with your other partner to make sure he's ready to switch cars. Go." Without further ado, the silver haired man strode towards the old house.
"Ino-chan, please, just tell me what's going on. Don't you know anything about where Naruto-kun is? He hasn't shown up for any of his classes in a week," Hinata pleaded, pale eyes beginning to water.
Ino sighed, "Hinata-chan, I have no clue where he is. Honestly. If I knew, everyone would know because he'd be here. He could just be sick." The blonde continued with her math homework. It wasn't going to do itself.
"How can you be so calm about this? Aren't you worried about him?" The ravenette pressed. Her friend's lack of concern scared her.
"Hinata, I think you are overreacting. You and Gaara both. I'm sure Naruto is just fine wherever he is." Ino closed her eyes. Why did Hinata and Gaara insist on pressing her and Sasuke for information? She couldn't tell them anything. If she let slip that Naruto had been kidnapped and his takers found out, that could be the end of the male blond as they knew him.
"Ino! We are not overreacting. I think you're underreacting. Don't you care?" Hinata implored.
"Of course I care, Hina-chan, of course I care," the blonde answered softly.
Deidara tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his car impatiently. How long was it going to take them to rescue Naruto? Would the kid even be alive when they found him? What was that Kabuto bastard doing to his little brother? Sighing, the blond tried to calm himself. Even though Minato and Kushina had adopted him, he couldn't really call the guy his brother when he had been absent from most of the kid's life. Not that it was Deidara's fault Naruto went off the radar when his parents went missing. Several plans had been enacted to ensure no one would find the boy. But now that Naruto had been rediscovered what would they do? Rescue him and expect him to return to his life without answering any of his questions? Admit him into their ranks? Hide him somewhere else and trust him not to blow his cover?
Tayuya and Anko sat beside Naruto crying quietly. The blond moaned in pain, but opened his eyes and tried to smile anyway. "Don't... blame yourselves," he whispered hoarsely, "I wanted... I wanted to do this. I couldn't let that... couldn't let him kill you." Tayuya only cried harder and hugged Naruto, who lay with his back against her torso and his head against her chest.
Burying her face into the blond's hair, the redhead wept. "I'm so... sorry..."
Anko sat beside the other two, her legs entwined with theirs. "How are we going to survive this?" The purplette asked quietly. "How are we gonna get through another one of Kabuto's screwed up games?" She screamed.
"Anko-chan, we can get through this," Naruto took her hand, "we have to. My shoulder will heal. We can get strong. It will take a while, but we can do it. If we can overpower Kabuto-teme we can break out of here. I've seen the way that body guard of his looks at him, I bet that guy hates Kabuto as much as we do."
"You're right," Kisame agreed with a wry smile. The three captives looked up in surprise to see the tall, navy haired man with Itachi and Kakashi behind him. "We do hate Kabuto," the silver hair man added, walking towards the three briskly.
"Itachi! Kakashi-sensei," Naruto cried out in surprise, his voice barely above a harsh whisper. The raven ran toward him and crouched before the blond, gently picking him up bridal style.
"Naruto-kun," the elder Uchiha brother greeted softly as he stood.
"What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you three," Itachi replied, carrying Naruto out of the horrid basement.
"Can you walk?" Kakashi asked the two girls. Nodding quickly, they scrambled to their feet, still too shocked to speak. "Good. Follow me." Without question, they obeyed. This was their only chance of escape, of survival, and they were going to take it.
Upon seeing his teammate, Itachi, and Kisame return with the captives, Gai rushed forward. "Naruto-kun! You are alive!" The muscled man looked up to see the girls. "Kakashi! How could you let them walk in this state?" Stepping forward, he swept Anko off her feet.
"Whatever. They can walk..." Kyuubi grumbled, but picked Tayuya up anyway. "Guess we can move faster if we carry them. Let's go."
They ran just as a car pulled up. Out of it leapt Kabuto and some henchmen. "You thought you could fool me?" The maniac laughed crazily, "That kind of thinking gets you killed!"
The thugs ran after the Akatsuki/ANBU team. Kisame, Gai, and Kyuubi turned down a seemingly random alley and were in Gai's black 2013 Lincoln MKZ. Once the doors were slammed shut, the muscly ANBU agent hit the brake before pressing a button. The car came to life with a smooth hum and peeled out of the alleyway with a shriek as gunfire followed them.
"Are you alright?" Gai asked Anko, who he'd carelessly shoved into the passenger seat.
"We're really escaping," she said disbelievingly. "We're free. We're really free..." "Free as birds, hell yeah!" Tayuya cheered, not seeming to notice she was still in Kyuubi's lap.
"Yeah. Free as soon as we get these idiots off our tail," the male redhead muttered, rolling his eyes. Kisame merely chuckled.
"But we're not stuck in that basement anymore!" The female redhead exclaimed throwing her arms out and whacking Kyuubi in the face with an arm in the process.
"Oi! Sit still or get off my lap!" The Akatsuki agent glared. When the car rounded a sharp corner, causing everyone except the driver to fall to the right, all arguments were ceased while they put on their seatbelts.
Naruto was gently, but quickly pushed into Sai's arms before Itachi and Kakashi jumped in the Uchiha's car and began driving like mad men. "Naruto-kun, please hold on. We'll get you care as soon as we get to safety."
"How... how did you find me?" The blond asked as Sai helped him lie down.
"That's a long story," Kakashi told him, "one we'll tell you once we get out of here. The car screeched to a stop. Sai jumped out the car and rushed into Deidara's car, carrying Naruto with him. Kyuubi got in the passenger seat while Anko and Tayuya scrambled in the backseat on either side of Sai.
"Heya kid!" Deidara said cheerfully as he raced away. "Who're your friends?"
"Anko," the purplette replied, still sounding dazed.
"Tayuya the free woman!" The girl with dull red hair announced happily, still high with excitement.
"Good to meet ya! I'm Deidara un. We're just going to our headquarters. If you guys are hurt we can take care of you there. How ya holdin' up there Naruto? You seem pretty quiet," the older blond looked at the younger in his rearview mirror.
Naruto was no longer conscious. "Oh my God, Naruto!" Anko shrieked.
"What! What's going on back there?" Kyuubi demanded.
"Naruto-kun seems to be unconscious," Sai reported, "but otherwise alright except for the bullet wound in his shoulderblade. That looks pretty painful. One of his arms is injured, too, I think. He also has several contusions. We should probably hurry. Tayuya and Anko also have bruises and cuts."
"Well then, good thing we lost those losers. Straight to HQ!" Deidara nodded to himself, pressing his foot down harder on the gas pedal.