Hey everyone! I hope ya'll are enjoying my story so far. I would love to know what you guys think, so feedback anyone? Hahaha anyway I'll let you get to the story. Enjoy!
Air. She needed air. The pressure on her throat made it feel as if she was trying to breathe under water. The same pressure was on her arms and chest making it impossible to move away from the suffocating pressure.
Long ago she had stopped struggling. It was useless. Just like calling for help. No one was going to help her. She had already tried pressing, bucking, pulling against the pressure on her throat, but no one came. No one answered her pleas.
Salty tears streaked down her face as she gasped like a fish out of water: desperate and shallow. Wrists strained against the metal confining them. Her blue eyes were clouded over and dancing with stars and black holes.
Somewhere off in the distance she could hear the cackle of flames. She also heard the steady breathing of the object above her. The pressure increase causing the stars to grow in size and number.
"Ah!" She hoarsely moaned against the pain. Through the battling stars and black holes she could see a smirk flash on the object above her. It was enjoying her pain. That much she could tell from just that brief flash of pearly white.
Suddenly the pressure was gone. Sweet, sweet air rushed into her lungs. She greedily gulped the oxygen down, trying to rid her vision of the stars she had come to know and hate.
However, she couldn't gain any sort of balance because she was roughly yanked up by the chains around her wrists. Her shoulders burned in pain. She could feel the hot liquid of blood drip from where the shackles had cut her. Shaky legs barely held her up.
Her face set fire with pain after each punch. She stumbled back until her back hit a cold stone wall. She was trapped. The punches kept coming and coming. Stars covered her vision until one black hole took over bringing her into the state of unfeeling: unconsciousness.
Kazu woke with a start. Her skin was sticky with a thin sheen of sweat. Blonde strands stuck to the back of her neck. The already thin sheets felt hot, stuffy, and confining. Cold air brushed against her heated body as she lifted the sheets and moved to the edge of the bed.
Hugging her stomach, she leaned over and closed her eyes trying to block out the horrible memory. She could never get away from them. They haunted her dreams and her every waking moment. She was scared.
Shaku purred softly as she curled up into Kazu's lap. The last Hotoya tightly hugged her familiar. She needed someone right now.
Harsh pain attacked her senses. Shaku was ripped from her arms as she was pulled back. Her stomach churned and tickled as she free fell in the black obis. Hadn't she woken up? What was going on? Was this one of Itachi's tricks? Oh God, was she in one of his genjutsu? Please tell her it wasn't true.
Crystal blue eyes searched frantically for any light within the blackness. Faintly, above her, a blue-ish glow began to brighten. Needing to escape the darkness around her, she began to reach for the light. Strong legs kicked against the black as if that would push her forward. Kazu's arm stretched, straining to touch the luminescence in the bleak surrounding her.
Something strong gripped her ankle and pulled her down. She let out a scream only to hear gurgles and feel cool thick water rush into her mouth. Her eyes frantically lowered, fearful of what she might see. Red Sharigan eyes met her gaze.
Panic began to dig its claws into her senses as once again she screamed. This time kicking aiming for the place she last saw those horrid eyes. Fire erupted from her mouth illuminating the man below her.
Shadows danced across his features. She could clearly make out the line across the bridge of his nose that indicated the older Uchiha brother. Desperate, Kazu once again pushed upward trying to break the surface of the black syrup around her. It was suffocating her.
Soft fingers burned against the feeling of air before being plunged underneath once more by the pull on her ankle. More fire escaped her open mouth. Prey like blue eyes glanced down only to see the features of the man below her slightly changed.
The scar across the nose was gone. The facial features were younger. The red eyes held more pain than malicious intent. The grip around her ankle was more frantic than demanding and punishing. His mouth opened, allowing bubbles of air to bellow lazily to the surface as he spoke.
"Please . . ."
Sleep laden blue eyes opened slowly to reveal the beige walls of the hotel room she was staying in. The black syrup was gone. Sweet breathable air surrounded her. She inhaled greedily and ran a clammy hand through her hair.
What could that dream have been about?
Shaku's purr began to lull the blonde back to sleep before she could investigate and analyze her dream more thoroughly. As she fell asleep, the look in his eyes faded into a faint memory as well as his soft whisper into the nothingness.
"Please . . ."
()()()
Kazu walked the streets of Suna with Moru. They were scouting once again for the Akatsuki. A shiver silently traveled across her skin causing an array of goose bumps to cover her arms. This was definitely one fear she didn't want to face.
The Akatsuki wasn't the only thing on her mind. Last night she had dreamed something terrifying, yet she couldn't remember what it was about. It was a blocked memory. She knew she dreamed; she remembered that. It was just the actual dream that avoided her. However, she wasn't that concerned. There were several dreams she couldn't remember.
So lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the sudden tensing of her charcoal haired partner. Her momentum abruptly stopped as she ran into his outstretched arm. Blue clouded in confusion as she stared at it for a second. Why did he stop her?
Once looking up, Kazu saw the hardened, battle ready emerald of Moru. Oh God. Did he see the Akatsuki? She glanced around. Where? Where were they? She wasn't ready. She wasn't-
"Kazu, can you turn around and check back with that merchant? I'll follow the thief." Her racing heart install calmed as he spoke those words. She nodded, turning around quickly. She gripped the lie tightly to her chest. Greedily, she swallowed it as the truth. Kazu needed it to be true.
Moru glared at the black clocked man before him as he smirked. His legs moved on autopilot as Itachi turned his back and walked away. He sneered as he quickly followed behind him.
He wasn't powerless now. He wasn't tied to a wall as he watched Kazu suffer. She wasn't crying out to him to save her, while he could do nothing.
Moru was strong. He could and would destroy the older Uchiha. No one hurt Kazu and got away with it while he was around. Fumes of anger radiated off of him as he stalked the Uchiha to the outskirts of town. The man only stopped when all they could see was sand in every direction.
He turned and showed his smirking face to the fuming man. Blazing emerald watched on as a smirking black stared back. He would end him.
Panic started to consume her. The merchant had been fine. There were no thieves; there hadn't been any every since Gaara had become Kazekage. This meant that… Oh god! And Moru was fighting him alone!
"Moru!" She called through their earpiece desperately. She needed to hear his voice, to know that he was okay. He couldn't be fighting those black cloak wearing bastards. He just couldn't be.
Claws of fear scratched and gripped at her throat. Her heart rose causing a lump to painfully sit in her throat. Her body pumped chakra into her feet making her cover each building in one bound.
Shaku worriedly swirled through the air above. This was not good. Kazu wasn't thinking; she wasn't ready. Her skin itched as Junkin tried to force his way out. He wanted to growl, claw, and burn Itachi. He had watched silently as she was tortured, but he hadn't been able to do anything about. He hadn't connected with her yet.
It had been torture, for a lack of a better word, for him too. Just like this, the event that was folding out before him. She was just going to hurt herself more if she went through with this. But, she would anyway. Kazu went to great lengths for her friends no matter what it was.
After scaling and hopping over the wall surrounding the village, she ran over the unsteady sand. Anxiety coursed through her veins. She needed to find him. She-
She skid through the sand. Her heart stopped as well as all of her thoughts and movements. Itachi held Moru up by his neck. Her green eyed partner hung limply in his arms. Oh god!
"Moru!" She screamed as she ran forward again. Her body forgot about the chakra coursing through her. She forgot about Shaku and Junkin. Kazu just acted.
Itachi smirked. There was his favorite play thing. Carelessly, he threw Moru behind him. Kazu once again stopped her advancement as Itachi blocked her way. A flinch rocked her body as Moru hit the sand rolling.
"Moru!" She called again; her desperation was as thick as honey. She stepped forward slightly her hand reached out. But, she dared not to take another step.
"Moru! Get up!" Her eyes glanced pleading to his still body. He had to get up. He had to.
"Long time no see, Kazu" Her eyes shot towards Itachi. They widened and watched the predator. Her mind screamed to run, but she couldn't leave Moru here. Who would she be then? A coward and a betrayer. She would be no better than Sasuke.
"Are you not happy to see me? I thought you would just love our reunion." He mocked her.
"Sir, Kazu and Moru were just seen chasing an Akatsuki member to outside of the village limits." Naruto's blue eyes widened as the guard explained the now escalating to a head. She was confronting an Akatsuki member?! That's not good.
"Which way did they go?!" Naruto desperately asked. Gaara looked at his blonde friend questionably. What was his problem?
"Over the south wall." Naruto was out the door before the sentence was finished.
Sasuke followed Naruto. What could he be worried about? From what he had seen, Kazu had no problem taking down an enemy. So why was he freaking out? What was the problem?
Kazu desperately gripped at the hand around her throat. A whimper left her throat as she silently begged for Moru to get up. She couldn't stand alone. She couldn't fight him.
Shaku had been abandoned. She didn't register her familiar's cries or that they were growing stronger and fiercer with each squeeze of Itachi's hand. The incoming chakra signatures were lost to her, but not Itachi.
Tears flowed and cooled her flushed face. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The grip tighten and lifted her off the ground. The unheard feet stopped. Shocked.
Naruto couldn't move. He could barely breathe. His throat tightened as if it was himself being held by his throat. Itachi held a crying Kazu above the ground by her throat. Her hands weakly clawed at his hand leaving faint red lines.
"Moru . . ." He heard her whisper, heard her plea. Itachi chuckled. Her cries were so pathetic . . . so pleasing to a hunter like him. Naruto looked for her partner only to find him lying on the ground a few feet behind Itachi, motionless.
Sasuke stopped angered and awed by the sight before him. Crystal clear tears streamed down Kazu's cheeks. Her face was pleading, was broken. It was how he pictured her before him when he beat her. She would beg for her life.
However, at this moment she begged for a man he had never heard of. Moru? Who was Moru? His eyes narrowed. Who the hell was Moru? Why the fuck was she calling out to him? Just who the fuck was he?
His anger grew as he watched his brother. He was hurting yet another person Sasuke knew. Itachi was beating him yet again. Sasuke was supposed to be the one that broke her. He was supposed to beat her. She would fall to him and him alone.
"I will come back for you puppet." He heard Itachi whisper to her before throwing her to the ground as well. A sob had escaped her as she hit the ground. Itachi disappeared happy with his work so far.
Kazu scrambled through the hot sand to the prone body of her partner. Another sob escaped her lips. Sasuke watched with growing anger as she broke down before him over another man. He watched as she pulled the man into her lap after turning him over.
Sasuke inspected the man on her lap. A faint memory of a man she had been with on a mission with when they had confronted each other was brought forth. But, it was gone in a flash. This man had black hair like his. But other than that, they were different. His skin was tan and his features weren't as sharp as Sasuke's.
"Moru! Please wake up! Please!" She pleaded. Kazu, not caring who saw, broke down. The men Gaara had sent arrived just in time to watch her fall apart. She cried to the heavens not just for Moru lying on her lap but also for the pain Itachi had cause her. She cried and all those around her could do was watch.
Sasuke snuck away as everyone was focused on the broken girl. Her cries were still heard as he walked back to his hotel. Why had she broken down? What had caused it? She feared his brother. That much he could tell.
I'll come back for you, puppet.
Just what the fuck was that supposed to mean? Was his brother playing tricks on him or on her? Why would he be playing tricks on Kazu? Would it just be to get on his nerves?
"Sasuke!" He heard his fan-girl of a team member yell. Oh great. What did she want? He shuddered at the possibilities. Sasuke turned, hiding all of his questions behind a mask, and glared at the magenta haired women running over the sand to him.
"What?" He was unease by her smirk.
"I think I found what you were looking for."