Took me a while to get this done. Mainly because I finally got around to revising the first three chapters. I've now completely taken them out and replaced them with a chapter of my own, which is why the chapter numbers are different now. The content is similar, but I guess you can still read it if you like. It's very different.

This chapter is… the beginning of a lot of fuckery. Prepare for lots of bullshit following this chapter. You guys know how much I love messing with you.


Chapter XXIX
– Revenge –

For some reason, Naruto's heart began to pound rapidly upon standing in front of Sasuke's apartment. It wasn't his first time here, of course. But it felt like his first time since he hadn't been exactly aware of his surroundings during his last visit. The walk to the apartment had been silent, as was the actual entrance now. Sasuke had said they should talk, but Naruto couldn't imagine that ever happening with how things were right now. When they passed the threshold of Sasuke's not so small apartment, he very vaguely recognised the staircase at the side and some pieces of furniture, but his memory failed him after that.

"Do…" Sasuke sighed in a frustrated manner, again avoiding Naruto's look. "Do you want to… drink anything?" He clearly felt uncomfortable asking this, but good manners had been pounded into him from a young age. Usually he would cast those aside, but seeing how he had actually invited someone, his parents would turn in their graves if he acted like a rude asshole even now.

Naruto fumbled for words, but ended up stammering out a S-Sure.

Sasuke couldn't get over himself to ask what he wanted, so he came back with a glass of water and placed it on a small couch table, then sat down and waited until Naruto sat down in the armchair opposite to him.

He didn't show signs of wanting to talk any time soon and Naruto didn't even know what he was supposed to do here besides talk. His eyes shifted around and took in the sight of Sasuke's scarcely furnished apartment. It was more bleak and boring than he had expected it to be. He had expected something grand, looking as though lifted straight from a catalogue, with simple designs and painted in dark colours. Instead, he was surrounded by grey walls, a few couches and chairs and a small kitchen with only the most necessary things. It wasn't much bigger than Iruka's apartment, perhaps even smaller.

Naruto glanced down at the carpeted floor, the large wood-framed windows reaching from the floor up to the ceiling. Maybe thirty years ago this would have been considered a nice place, but now it was simply bland.

"How did you know?"

Coming back to the present, Naruto needed a second to process Sasuke's question. Seeing the other coldly staring at him and waiting for an answer, he cringed inwardly. "I just… had a feeling."

That answer didn't seem satisfying to Sasuke, but it was the only one that made sense. He didn't think Naruto would have been able to pick up on any clues to come to that kind of conclusion.

"So you really were going to leave," the blond sighed, glancing at the raven-haired teen's bag. "Were you–"

"I was getting documents to arrange my leave from school."

Naruto's eyes searched the other's face, but only found indifference. His guts churned thinking that somehow, his nightmare was slowly turning out as true. Would Sasuke be devoured soon, corpses littering the ground around him? Naruto turned sickly pale as he glanced at Sasuke again. "Is… something wrong?" he timidly forced out. "Did something happen?"

Dark eyes now focused on the blond's face with suspicion. Then again, this was the oblivious Naruto, so there was no reason for suspicion. "How would you know?"

"Just a… feeling." Naruto smiled a little seeing the small annoyed shake of the teen's head. He scratched his ear awkwardly and despite Sasuke glaring at him when he left the couch to lean against a wall, the blond kept smiling like an idiot. "Wanna… you know… talk about it?"

Sighing exasperatedly, Sasuke rubbed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose in an agitated manner. "There's no way around it, is there? I can already imagine you nagging me until I tell you anyway." He opened one eye just a slit to see Naruto nodding with vigour, immediately regretting his words. "I've told you about it before. The reason why I left."

Trying to remember what he meant, Naruto's mind drifted off for a second, but drew up a blank. "I don't remember."

Sasuke's eyes never met the blond's, as if he was still hoping the other would suddenly disappear. "My revenge. It didn't turn out they way I wanted it to." The other teen didn't reply to this, forcing the Uchiha to elaborate further. "I initially left to execute revenge on my brother for killing off my entire family. I searched for him and when we met after nearly five years for the first time, we… clashed." He paused at this, raising out of his slumped posture to sit upright. "My revenge failed and I was about to try again, when I met… someone that told me entire truth of what happened back then. When my family was annihilated. Of course I didn't believe him at first, but then I found evidence that confirmed it all. I…"

For the first time, Naruto saw proof that even the infallible Uchiha Sasuke had moments where he nervously fiddled around with his fingers. His words hadn't registered with Naruto quite yet, but they were already making his heart sink. There was some twist to the thing that had absolutely traumatised Sasuke and it was already scaring him.

"Even then I still wanted revenge. But not on Itachi. I wanted to exact revenge on all of Konoha for what they did to him. So I came back." Sasuke raised his head again as he set his eyes on Naruto's shocked face, waiting for the response he knew was coming. He could already see the gears turning in the other's head, everything falling in place. The blond backing away just a tiny bit didn't go unseen by him. "I came back to take revenge on this rotten place."


Iruka's day had been quite calm, as usual. He had settled into the new school well, his students already liked him and he got along well with his colleagues. And even Naruto seemed completely back to normal. Aside from the occasional nightmare or small episode, the teen seemed happy. And seeing Naruto leave his house with a smile every morning nearly sent tears of joy to his eyes each time. Iruka honestly wanted to be fully happy with how things were going, but he couldn't. Knowing the things he knew, he simply couldn't.

Rummaging through his cupboards, the man tried to find himself a snack before starting to work on some assignments the principal had given him. A pack of crackers found their way into his hands, but before he could rip open the wrapping, he heard someone ring the doorbell. Setting the crackers down onto the counter, he rushed to the front door. When he swung it open, his eyes clearly showed confusion upon being unable to identify the person at first glance. He nearly choked on his spit though when he did find the name belonging to the person's face.

"J-Jiraiya?"

The white-haired man laughed heartily, pushing through the door despite never having been invited. "Been a while, Iruka!" he shouted, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Yes," the other man replied weakly, wondering what this was all about. "Excuse me for asking, but why are you here?"

Jiraiya's expression turned a tiny bit more solemn as he averted his eyes. "You have any sake here?"

Standing with his arms crossed, Iruka sighed quietly and wordlessly went to a cupboard and pulled out a small bottle of sake and a cup. He placed both in front of the man with a polite smile, but remained silent.

"How are things with Naruto going?" the older man inquired, pouring himself a cup and downing it in one go.

Iruka awkwardly scratched his head when the man released a satisfied Aaah. "Fine."

Staring down into his empty cup, Jiraiya nodded. "That's good." He felt the other man's piercing eyes on him as he downed another cup. "You're probably wondering why I'm here." Iruka gave him no response, so he simply poured himself yet another cup. "Naruto's bodyguards were killed."

"Hayate and Kumade?!"

Jiraiya finally looked at Iruka, a pensive look across his features. He stared at the younger man's shocked face for a while, before looking into his empty cup again. "They stopped contacting their colleagues last week and they've been searched for ever since. Their bodies were found yesterday in a pit in the woods outside of Konoha." He heard Iruka huff quietly and could see the man lower his head out of the corner of his eyes. "I've already arranged for another bodyguard to come. He should be arriving tomorrow."

Still struggling to comprehend the situation, the brunet rubbed his eyes and nodded. "Wait," he suddenly murmured shakily. "Does that mean Naruto's been without bodyguards for an entire week?"

Downing another cup with his cheeks beginning to redden, Jiraiya's face turned bitter. "Kakashi is still there. Don't forget that. His actions are extremely limited though, since he still needs to keep his cover, otherwise the stalker would know about him too."

A heavy sigh pushed out of Iruka's chest as he lowered his head into his hands. "I think the stalker approached him yesterday. He came back looking like he saw a ghost and barely talked to me. He also had a nightmare again last night."

Jiraiya was about to pour himself another cup, but found the sake bottle to be empty and shrugged as he put it aside. "I'm at fault here for not noticing it sooner. I should have been a lot more suspicious when Hayate and Kumade stopped responding." He knew Iruka was about to vehemently disagree when he abruptly raised his head. "You're already doing what you can and you're doing it well. Just be there for Naruto. I'll take care of the rest."

The brunet simply nodded, silently promising to watch over his favourite blond as best as he could.


Any alarm bells in his head that may have been inactive before were now going off all at the same time, deafening out everything with their loud ringing. His head began to throb from the noise and time seemed to stop as he incredulously stared at Sasuke. His rival who had just admitted that the reason they had become rivals again, the reason he had come back again was for revenge. On Konoha.

"You're that surprised?" the brunet mockingly asked, grinning slyly. "You weren't even suspicious?"

Naruto felt like crying as the feeling of betrayal stabbed him like a razor-sharp dagger, the only thing stopping him from crumbling the firm wall against his back. He didn't dare move when Sasuke suddenly left the couch to approach him, slowly closing in on him until they were nearly nose to nose, his onyx eyes staring into the blond's cerulean ones. Goosebumps rose all over Naruto's skin as the other tilted his head a little and brought their faces even closer to each other.

"None of you noticed, huh?"

A chuckle so unlike Sasuke emerged from his throat, sending waves of fear through Naruto's body as he remembered the Sasuke in his nightmare, the one that had had that sick grin on his face. Although he was barely stopping himself from shaking like a leaf now, Naruto didn't budge and stared into those dark apathetic eyes. "Why are you like this?" he whispered, his tightly clenched fists shaking.

"What's it to you?"

Even though they were standing close enough they were breathing the same air, Naruto suddenly felt like Sasuke was miles away from him. Much too far away for him to reach. "Was this all just… a game to you? Didn't any of what we all went through together mean anything to you? Just what exactly are we to you?"

"You're really obnoxious, you know that, right?"

Naruto suddenly felt fingers trailing up his side, then wander over his chest. They unsettled him with their touch that seemed so feeble, yet felt like they were scorching his skin. Until they wrapped around his scarf-cladded neck.

"I could easily kill you right here."

The grip around his neck suddenly tightened, but not enough to completely cut off his air supply. Choking noises and gasps emerged from Naruto's throat. Suddenly remembering the day before, a thought suddenly hit the blond. What if… Suddenly panicking, Naruto desperately tried to free himself and ended up hitting the other teen's arms and face. All of a sudden, he was let go and stumbled around, bumping into a shelf.

Sasuke now awkwardly stood in the room, staring at the floor and rubbing the back of his neck.

Meanwhile, Naruto only slowly realised that he wasn't in any kind of danger and with shaky legs remained leaning against the wall. His eyes stayed fixed on the other at all times, never letting Sasuke out of sight. While keeping an eye on the other, the blond realised that the other teen wasn't staring at the floor, but at something in his hand. Not again!

Dark eyes soon shifted to the blond's now bare neck, eyebrows creasing and features turning sour. "I didn't do that just now, did I." It wasn't a question, but something Sasuke knew was a fact.

Still suspicious, Naruto tried to read this enigma that was Uchiha Sasuke, but once again came up with nothing but confusion. Not trusting his voice yet, he shook his head and with his senses becoming clearer now, he finally realised that his throat wasn't hurting like it had the last time. Sasuke hadn't put that much force into his grip after all.

The scarf silently slipped out of the Uchiha's grasp as he lowered his hand. His eyes shifted around the room, always avoiding Naruto's frightened form as he rubbed the back of his neck. His fingers then slowly shifted to his face where a bruise was already forming. He flinched a little when he touched it, a frown forming on his face. "I…"

If he could have, Naruto would have jumped back a few feet in hopes of gaining some more distance.

"…apologise for just now." Sasuke's cold eyes focused on the blond's and he stepped just a tiny bit closer. "That wasn't supposed to happen. For a second I forgot it was you and not…" A small smirk widened the teen's lips all of a sudden as he noticed the confused look on the other's face. "You just asked me what you are to me."

Naruto finally decided that Sasuke wasn't going to hurt him and was able to stand up straight without fear of being attacked at any moment.

"These past months… and years," The smirk disappeared from the Uchiha's face, once again making it blank, "they weren't meaningless to me at all."

Even though there was no imminent danger now, Naruto still had the feeling that there was something unexpected coming. That Sasuke was scheming something.

"To me, you have become my best friend."

The words instantly swept away any suspicion Naruto had and made him feel as if the floor beneath his feet was being torn away. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped a little, thoughts seemed to run through his mind in slow-motion. A grin so bright it looked as if splitting his face formed and he took a step towards Sasuke. "Seriously?"

A curt chuckle fell from Sasuke's mouth as he turned his head away. "I refuse to repeat myself, dumbass."

The grin on Naruto's face softened into a beaming smile directed at his rival. With that grin, eyes bright, mood lifted sky-high, he silently stared at the other.

"Stop looking at me like that, you twit," Sasuke mumbled indignantly, rushing off into the kitchen.

Naruto's face became one of surprise when he caught a slight blush along the other's cheeks. The blush that he was trying to hide by escaping into the kitchen. He chuckled to himself, suddenly feeling light as a feather now that the heavy weight of thinking Sasuke had betrayed and deceived them all was gone. Sitting down on the couch, a wide smile still stretching his lips, he fell back into it and sighed. As he rubbed his eyes, something suddenly hit his forehead. Hard.

"The fuck…" the blond mumbled as he picked up whatever had slapped him. It was a triangular rice ball in a plastic wrapping from a convenience store. "Aw, now you're even feeding me! I'm so touched–"

"Don't give me some ridiculous nickname, you damn buffoon," Sasuke hissed dangerously. "Just eat."

Still quietly laughing by himself, Naruto silently ate his rice ball, but never failed to mockingly beam at Sasuke, who was trying to ignore him.

They stayed like that for a while, Naruto picking on Sasuke and the other calling him names, throwing things at him, kicking him, hitting him. Naruto just pestered him even more, saying the reason no one liked him was because the way he showed his love to others was weird. It just angered Sasuke even more.

At some point, Sasuke ended up throwing Naruto out of his house with a kick to the blond's butt and saying his farewell with another insult. The blond again simply giggled a little and walked out towards the street. Soon, he realised that he barely remembered how he had gotten here. Turning around towards Sasuke's apartment, he contemplated asking Sasuke to accompany him home, but could already imagine the fuming teen closing the door into his face. Sighing, he opted to just keep going into the same direction until he found something familiar. In Konoha, this was usually the best way to find home. It always worked.

Walking past a group of people from his school, Naruto began to contemplate everything that had happened lately. He remembered that there were other things besides the issue with Sasuke planning some kind of revenge still weighing him down and stopping him from being genuinely happy. The fact that Sasuke was intending to leave still remained, although he had weaselled his way out of explaining why. There was Naruto's still damaged relationship with Sakura, the issue with Kiba, whom he now didn't know how to deal with anymore. They had become a little awkward after that episode in the bathroom. Then there was Madara and his business that unfortunately involved him. Eventually he would have to leave Iruka's place too. He just couldn't occupy the man's bedroom any longer and force him to sleep on the couch. Contacting Jiraiya soon was becoming inevitable. Most of all, the apparent absence of his bodyguards was upsetting him enough to let his mood instantly deflate. If something had happened to them because of him he wouldn't be able to live with himself. And he didn't even know their names.

Then it suddenly struck him that he was alone. His bodyguards unable to protect him for some reason. And with a stalker probably watching his every move. It just now occurred to him that this person may be really watching him at all times. Even right now.

He nearly stopped in his tracks abruptly, but didn't want to seem suspicious in case he was being watched. But he couldn't stop himself from quickening his pace, digging his hands into his pockets. With an uneasy feeling clawing at his guts more and more, Naruto slowly sensed eyes on him. Just a few months ago he had prided himself on being able to easily sense when people were looking at him weirdly, but now he realised his grave mistake. Now, after regaining his memories, he had not only gained back his trust in people, but also lost any type of paranoia he might have had. He had lost his edge, his ability to sense if someone was watching him.

All this time, there might have been eyes on him, constantly.

Hanging onto only a shred of his composure now, Naruto struggled to keep a straight face. He slowed his pace, not yet wanting to widen the distance to his closest safe point, Sasuke's apartment. Turning around and going back was the safest option and at the same time the most dangerous one. If he showed signs of knowing that he was being following, perhaps he would find brutally strong fingers clawing around his neck again.

Carefully coming to a stop, Naruto plucked out his phone. He was about to dial Sasuke's number, but decided otherwise.

"You again?"

The voice calmed Naruto a tiny bit and made him feel safe, even though he was in just as much danger as before. "Yup," the blond replied with a sheepish chuckle.

"Did something happen again or are you just bored?"

"Both… I guess." Eyes beginning to restlessly scan his surroundings, Naruto continued walking in a slow pace. Shit, I sound too intimidated! I need to get it together. "There's this bastard I know," he continued, voice a bit firmer and louder now. "I was just at his place and some crazy shit happened." Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see a faint silhouette hiding in the shadows of the alley he was walking by. He pretended to glance around, taking in the sight of his surroundings. "I think I'm lost now though." He turned on the spot, heading back into the direction where Sasuke's apartment was. "I don't recognise a single thing." When his eyes briefly swept over the alley he had seen the silhouette in, he now found it completely empty. Had he just imagined it?

"You sound weird."

"Don't make fun of me!" the blond growled irritatedly. "It's not like I get lost everyday."

"Something's up, right?"

"Right, I could just ask someone for the way." It was silent on the other line for a moment, making Naruto a bit edgy, that feeling of safety slipping away with the silence.

"Where are you?"

Naruto gulped, trying to come up with some way to not give himself away to his follower. He didn't want anyone but himself to be involved in this. It was enough that his bodyguards probably had been hurt in some way. "I don't need a damn map! I can find my way back home on my own!"

"Don't be stupid, you idiot! This is not something you deal with on your own! Tell me where you are! I'll call the police."

"Don't make such a fuss over it! It's not like I'm in the middle of nowhere. I'll find home eventually."

"You really–" A heavy sigh sounded, extremely distorted through the phone. "Dumbass."

"I know, I know," Naruto chuckled, seeing Sasuke's street in the distance, a smile forming on his face. "You know, I'm thinking about moving out next week from where I'm living right now. I can't keep staying where I am now. It's just hard on my caretaker." Receiving no response, his remaining confidence wavering once again, Naruto fervently tried not to run towards the Uchiha's house. His legs were beginning to shake with anxiety, the corners of his lips trembling. With each step his feet felt heavier and heavier, as if they had turned into rocks that refused to be lifted. "I met this guy…" the blond forced out, a cold shudder running from the roots of his hair down to his toes when he heard the obvious shudder in his voice, "in an onsen." Gulping, he briefly clenched his teeth, then bit his tongue to calm himself down. "He seemed nice. I think I'm gonna move in with him."

"You're not overreacting?" the other suddenly questioned in a slightly apprehensive tone. "There's really someone following you right now?"

"Sure, he's definitely trustworthy," the teen laughed, glancing towards the corner he had to turn next. Relief slowly overpowered his nervousness, since Sasuke's apartment was right beyond that corner. He could hear some noise on the other line, but paid it no mind, quickening his pace a little.

"Tell me where you are!"

Naruto was about to respond, but stopped on the spot all of a sudden. That sentence had not only come from his phone, but also from close by. What is this?

"Hello?"

Again, that voice. It came from behind the corner Naruto was about to turn.

"Answer me."

It sounded awfully familiar, now that he actually heard it.

"Hey!"

He still didn't move, the trembling hand that had been holding his phone to his ear slowly dropping.

"Answer me!"

Naruto was frantically trying to come to some kind of conclusion, some explanation, but his ability to think properly was suddenly gone.

"Naruto!"

And then he was standing right in front of him. Looking slightly disheveled, seeming a bit out of breath. His eyes wild.

The only thing Naruto could manage now was not letting his phone fall from his shaking fingers as he watched the person marching his way, before suddenly looking up at him, realisation quickly dawning on him. The other too lowered his phone from his ear, those usually stoic eyes widening a fraction.

All this time…

Taking a slow step forward, the other tried to approach Naruto.

He knew?

But with each step the other came towards him, the blond backed away more and more.

He knows everything.

Every little secret.

Everything I couldn't even tell my closest friends.

Everything that I wanted to take to my grave.

Everything that's haunting me.

Unable to stand the endless thoughts wildly racing through his mind, these feelings of betrayal, confusion and hate occupying every inch of his body, Naruto ran. The direction didn't matter as long as it led him away from the other. He couldn't stand the presence of him anymore, the person that knew absolutely everything that was paining him, the one person he didn't want to ever seem weak in front of. The one that had become his goal. His idol.

His best friend.

Why him of all people?

The harder he ran, the more blank his mind became. Pushing himself past his limits, he ran harder and faster, just to push those thoughts and feelings out of his mind more and more. The people he ran past were faceless to him. The sceneries he passed by just a blur. Even when he ran into someone and was thrown to the ground, he wouldn't register anything at all and just carried on.

There was no time. No feelings. No thoughts. Just the pain in his chest, his legs. The pain that was spreading all over his body.

This state of nothingness…

It didn't seem so bad.

Too bad his body didn't think so.

His trip to blissful nothingness came to a screeching halt when his legs gave away beneath him. He was violently forced back to reality, collapsing onto the harsh pavement beneath him. Only his reflexes prevented him from smashing his face into the ground. For the first time, the powerful ache properly reached his brain, letting his features contort in pain. Curling in on himself, he pressed the side of his face into the pavement, gritting his teeth and barely suppressing the whimpers that wanted to escape him. The ache in his lungs felt as if daggers were repeatedly stabbed into his chest, his heart hammering against his ribs. Everything turned and twisted in front of his eyes, colours washing into each other. Even though he was lying still on the ground, he felt like he was still moving and for a brief moment he was frightened by the thought of rolling onto the street and being run over by a car.

Once his head stopped feeling like his brain was doing not so elegant flips inside his skull and his chest wasn't feeling like bombs kept going off inside anymore, the blond slowly came back to his senses.

This time he had really overdone it.

For a second, Naruto doubted if he would ever be able to ever get up from the ground again, let alone stand. Taking in enough air was exhausting, his throat still feeling as if he had swallowed barbed wire. He would have laughed at his pathetic self, had he not started to suspect his throat of bleeding by now.

Suddenly, he fell. At least he thought so.

There was something around his arm and he was thrown around, before feeling something concrete slam against his back. Was this how death felt like?

His so far blurred vision began to slowly clear up. A warmth began to envelope him, contrasting the harsh cold against his back. He could make out a face, framed by white. It wasn't an angel, was it?

A cold chuckle.

Hands tightening around his arms.

Manic eyes glaring at him.

Lips crashing against his.

Teeth biting into his lips.

A tongue forcing itself into his mouth.

Instead of feeling a rush of adrenaline and the urge to escape, Naruto felt only emptiness. He couldn't get himself to care for the hands roaming all over him. He was too exhausted. Still, he couldn't stop the fearful shivers or the tears beginning to collect in his eyes.

"Been a while, huh, Naruto?"

This voice. This cruel laugh. It made his guts churn and his blood turn cold, incinerating that flame of constant dread that had slowly died down and now came back with a vengeance.

A guttural moan against his throat, a mouth sucking at his skin. His hoodie was roughly pulled down to reveal the flesh between his shoulder and neck, a pained gasp leaving his lips when teeth clamped down on his skin. He squirmed, finally raising his hands to push at the man's chest, but quickly realising how meek his efforts were, all of his strength gone.

These past months, he had thought that he was becoming stronger. That slowly he was gaining more and more confidence. That he would be able to face any danger. That he would be able to protect himself. Clenching his jaw, he realised that he was still the same. This kind of thing would always happen, with him helpless against his perpetrator. It wasn't even physical strength he was lacking. In a fair fight, he probably could take Mizuki out easily. What he lacked was the confidence that he was able to win against his tormentor of many years. Adding his current state to that put him at the man's utter mercy.

"Stop struggling, Naruto," the man whispered in a disgustingly sultry voice. "Or do I have to seriously hurt you?"

Naruto couldn't suppress a small whimper when Mizuki suddenly buried a fist in his guts. He nearly stopped breathing when the man didn't remove his fist and instead spread his fingers over his stomach to trail them over it in an almost soothing way. The moment of gentleness was short-lived though, Mizuki's hand quickly wandering south.

There was no teasing, no preparation. Just the white-haired man treating the blond like a cheap whore as he fisted the teen's crotch.

The different scenarios of what would follow played out in Naruto's mind. All of them resulted in him lying broken on the ground, sullied, used. Knowing this, a spark of defiance flashed in Naruto's eyes. As he eyed Mizuki, he noticed how the man was completely focused on getting him out of his clothes, clawing at his hoodie now. His legs were not aching anymore, but he knew it wouldn't stay that way. He would have to deal with cripplingly sore muscles the next day. His throat was still burning, but his chest seemed back to normal. Hope began to bloom in his heart when he weighed his options and came to the conclusion that maybe he was able to get out of this after all.

By now, Mizuki was sporting a rock-hard erection that was poking into Naruto's stomach. Cold air hit his arms, his hoodie discarded into a dirty puddle. Even colder fingers began to trail underneath his shirt and over his skin. They were in an alley, the street just a few steps away. Outrunning Mizuki was not an option. He somehow had to get a head start, gain some distance and then lose the man.

He waited. Waited until Mizuki was completely absorbed. The man was still a tiny bit alert, but with each passing second he lost himself more in his lust. Yet they both knew how terrified Naruto was.

Just when Mizuki slid his hand down the front of the blond's pants, Naruto slammed up his elbow into the other's chin, the man's hair flying around his face as his head snapped back.

Naruto quickly dashed to the side, away from Mizuki. He ran towards the street, away from the darkness of the alley. At least he tried to.

A harsh tug at his hair sent him flying backwards, low cackles reaching his ears. Naruto tried to get up again, but instead he got the air knocked out of his lungs when a body dropped onto him, Mizuki straddling him now.

"Only a brief moment away from me and already you think you can be feisty." Mizuki's amused laughter echoed from the alley's walls, the man not affected by the punch to his jaw in the slightest. Although there was an angry bruise forming on his face now.

Frustrated by the way the man brushed off his effort like he was a powerless child, Naruto began to violently struggle against Mizuki's hold on both his hands. Just the fact that his tormentor was restricting both his arms with just one hand sent an angry blush to his cheeks, his legs uselessly flailing around. He nearly cried, realising that even if he tried to escape, it was useless. His plan had been so simple. So promising. And yet it had been easily shot down.

"It's time to just give up and come back to me now, isn't it?"

Naruto stopped struggling and could clearly see the victory in the man's eyes. Oh, how much he wanted to rip out those gleaming eyes. "And go back to a pathetic pig like you? Over my dead body!"

This seemed to surprise Mizuki a little for a moment, but it didn't stop him from going on with what he had been planning to do all along.

Naruto didn't want to admit that he was fighting a losing battle. That this was going nowhere but in the direction Mizuki wanted it to. No matter what he did, he couldn't get out of this. This was over.

He had lost.

Fingers looped into the rim of Naruto's pants, about to pull them down, when suddenly Mizuki stopped what he was doing, turning his head towards the street.

Curious about what had interrupted the man's onslaught, Naruto as well glanced towards the street, spotting a figure walking towards them. No, marching towards them. He could briefly hear Mizuki's sickening chuckles, before the man was suddenly thrown off of him. Eyes wide, he glared at the person that had suddenly appeared. In the darkness, he was unable to make out the person's face, but knew who it was nonetheless, judging by the string of enraged curses leaving the other's mouth.

Mizuki, again, was unaffected by the kick to his side and merely got up from the ground to walk towards the newcomer. He easily dodged the next punch thrown at him and sent his fist flying into the other's jaw, grinning when he heard a small crack and saw the other fly into a brick wall. When he heard a groan of pain, his high-pitched laugh could be heard in the dark alley.

It instantly died down though when a kick sent him flying into a brick wall.

Before Naruto could even realise what had happened, the newcomer grabbed his arm and hauled him up, dragging him away from the scene. They began to run, Naruto nearly tripping over his own feet with the speed the other was running at. The angry growl that sounded behind him inflicted a deeply rooted fear in him. Usually, that kind of growl would have made him stop immediately for fear of being hurt even more than usual. It would have made him instantly turn back and just accept whatever Mizuki did to him, hoping the man wouldn't be too angry at him. But despite the hand around his wrist being quite cold, it filled him with warmth and gave him a tiny shred of courage, dragged him away further and further, forcing his feet to move faster and faster. It forced him to go on. To not turn back. To not give in to his fear.

What scared him the most right now wasn't the seething beast following them. What scared him the most right now was the fact that for the first time in his life, he was defying Mizuki like this. He didn't even want to think of the consequences should they not be able to escape.


Anyone able to figure out who the Mystery Caller (like you guys dubbed him) is? I've made it pretty obvious.