AN: *shuffles in awkwardly* Eheheh, hi there, oh sweet and patient readers. Uh...sorry this took so long. (^_^;;) Writing has been like pulling teeth. The chapters hated me, and didn't want to be written, and I had to write ahead to figure some stuff out. Then I lost a rough draft I wrote, and well, the excuses go on, so I'll stop now. xD Your reviews have been my fuel as per usual. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback! I'ma keep going!

The next couple chapters may be a bit messy since I just could not get them out smoothly. The good news is it won't be long until I have the next one up (like a couple days). Sorry that this one's so short for now.

Chapter 37: Hopeless

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on."

~Franklin D.R.

Sasuke jolted awake to the sound of a loud crash, his heart hammering. He jerked his head back and looked wildly around the four bare walls for the source of the noise.

The room was empty, silent and calm. Sasuke concentrated on slowing down his breathing . It had just been a nightmare. He must have fallen asleep. He glanced down at his arms, covered as they were with red marks and spots of dried blood. The breaks between his struggles against the bonds had grown longer and longer. He sighed and closed his heavy lids.

That was when he heard it.

"No!"

Sasuke's blood froze inside his veins, and his eyes shot open. He knew that voice.

A loud thump resounded across the farmhouse followed by several thuds and yells.

"Wait!"

"Naruto." whispered Sasuke. The desperation in Naruto's voice was something Sasuke had never heard before, and a sickening flash of fear bolted like lightning through his gut.

"Don't!"

The scream was shrill, drenched with terror.

Sasuke started forward, straining against the chains.

"Naruto!" he yelled, praying to whatever god would listen that he could break free.

Please, he begged silently, yanking at the bindings. Please, just this once. Give me something, just this once.

He kicked his calves hard against the chair and the left support split with a satisfying crack releasing his left leg. A surge of excitement flowed through Sasuke before being consumed by an almighty dread as the floor came rushing up towards him.

Shit.

His chair-bound body hit the floor with a crash. Sasuke's head and left arm took the brunt of the force, crashing against the hard floorboards, and he lay there dazed for a moment. It was the chain around his neck that brought him back to quick awareness, urgency shooting like lightning through his mind as his air supply was cut off. This was definitely not an improvement. He struggled hard against the restraints on the chair arms and right support, but it was no use. They didn't budge.

Blood trickled down Sasuke's arms and his head felt like it was about to burst from the pressure. He tried to yell Naruto's name again, to let him know he was there, but the chain around his neck choked the words in his throat. He ignored it, using every last bit of strength to strain against his bonds until a fog flowed into his mind and darkness crept into his vision. His head flopped forward as he began to pass out from the lack of air.

Naruto.

He pulled at the chains on his arm rests with weak movements, then stopped.

He would be no good to Naruto dead.

Using every last ounce of his strength, Sasuke lifted his head up and pinned it back against the chair, coughing and gulping in much needed air.

I'm sorry.

He closed his eyes as the screams kept going, over and over.

"Don't! Don't! Please! Don't!"

A tear seeped from Sasuke's eye and trickled down his cheek.

I'm sorry.

Orochimaru hurled Naruto into the closet, sending him flying into the wall. He crumpled to the floor onto his hands and knees, pressed against the skirting board as the man advanced.

"You haven't made me happy, Naruto." He said. "You don't want me to be unhappy, do you?"

Naruto mumbled something incoherent, and the man stepped closer.

"What did you say?"

Naruto looked up, his gaze hard as flint and calm hatred emanating from his face.

Orochimaru pulled back a little instinctively, and Naruto pushed himself onto his knees.

"I said, 'You're going to die.'"

His face split into an odd smile, crooked from the busted lip, at the man standing before him, this pathetic, disgusting man.

"You're going to die." He said in a calm voice. "It doesn't matter what happens today or tomorrow. You're going to die. Die horribly. People like you always do."

Orochimaru knelt down in front of Naruto, and cupped a hand under his jaw. He sneered, squeezing Naruto's face in a tight grip.

"You first, Uzumaki."

He took his hand away and swiftly smacked Naruto hard across the face, making the boy gasp in pain.

He stood up. "Perhaps I'll pay Sasuke a little visit, hmm?"

Naruto's eyes shot up at those words. He fixed Orochimaru with a hard stare.

"Don't touch him."

"Well, you haven't behaved very well, Naruto. You know there are consequences for bad behavior."

He turned away, but Naruto scrambled after him on all fours, grabbing at his leg.

"Don't touch him!" he yelled.

Orochimaru shook him off as if he were a mere fly buzzing about before kicking him hard in the stomach. Naruto rolled onto his back with a gasp. The kick had winded him and he struggled to breathe.

He could hear the man's footsteps walk slightly away and then come back, and a moment later Orochimaru was leaning over him. Naruto couldn't get up, couldn't move. His body had taken too much of a beating over the past hour. He was sure he had some broken ribs. After all the adrenaline, his strength had finally deserted him. His head pounded with pain and dizziness. Naruto blinked, trying to focus, trying to breathe.

The man shoved the helpless figure roughly onto his stomach and pulled his arms behind his back. Naruto felt the tight pinch of plastic and heard the light buzz of the zip tie as it was yanked into place, binding his wrists together.

Orochimaru tugged Naruto onto his back so that he was forced to stare up at the man above him, a pale face silhouetted in darkness. Only the dull light from the hallway shone in, casting harsh shadows on his features.

The man sneered at him, taking in the sorry state of the boy on the ground. Naruto's lip twitched as blood trickled from his nose. He glared back, meeting Orochimaru's heated gaze with every scrap of hatred he could muster.

Orochimaru leaned in and whispered, "You lie here and you think about all the things I can and will do to Sasuke while you recover. Think about how you could have prevented it." He smirked and swept a lock of blond hair from Naruto's sweat-soaked forehead. "Enjoy the screams that'll reach all the way down this hallway as I torture him."

Naruto screwed up his face and spat at the man above him. It was a direct hit, a mix of spittle and blood landing on his cheek, but Orochimaru just laughed and wiped it off as he stood up.

"I'll see you again soon, Naruto. You get some quality rest now." He said before exiting the room with a casual wave, leaving the boy drenched in darkness.

Naruto lay on the floor, the rough wood scraping his cheek with each breath. Every particle of his body thrummed with agony, but it hadn't been in vain. He tucked his legs up as high as he could and pushed his backside through the loop made by his bound arms. After a bit of struggling and rolling around on the floor in various painful positions, he finally managed to get his bound hands around past his legs so that they were held in front of him, resting against his stomach. Using his feet to shimmy himself back, he wriggled himself up into a sitting position.

Naruto took a few moments to rest, his chest heaving in short, quick pants. He wasn't looking forward to what was coming next.

Rubbing his fingers together, he felt the hard metal of the nail he had discreetly picked up in Orochimaru's room from the broken cuckoo clock. He pricked the top on the tip of his finger. It wasn't particularly sharp, but sharp enough for his purposes. At least, he hoped so.

"You got this, Uzumaki." He whispered to himself.

He lifted his hands up to the back of his neck. The position was awkward with both hands on one side of his neck, but he was able to reach the nail around to touch the scar above his hairline.

Naruto swallowed the suffocating lump that had formed in his throat. He closed his eyes and pressed down hard on the scar, digging the nail tip into it and dragging it across.

"Nnnngghaa!"

Naruto stopped, hands shaking slightly. He felt the scar with his fingertip. The surface of the skin hadn't even been broken.

He gritted his teeth and dug the nail in again, harder this time. Much harder.

He cried out as he broke the surface of the skin, and dug even harder.

Dizzy nausea flooded through him, making his head feel like a hot air balloon ready to burst. His body detached from his mind as weakness prevailed him, but he pushed through, continuing to dig deeper and scraping away skin at the site of the scar. Blood streamed out now. Naruto could feel the warmth of it, which was oddly comforting and frightening at the same time. Every instinct screamed at him to stop.

Finally, he pulled the nail away, dropping it on the floor, mentally marking its place so it wouldn't disappear in the darkness. He stopped only for the briefest second, allowing a few choking sobs to escape, before he lifted his hands up to the back of his neck. It was wet and sticky as he probed at the cut he had made. His finger slipped a little as he pushed at the small bump of the tracker and guided it towards the large cut. He bit his lip to stop any cries of pain. It took a few tries, but finally the sharp edge of the chip peeked out from the cut. Naruto's breath quickened as he worked himself up, his fingernails gripping the edge. Then, with one last cry, he grabbed the chip between his fingers and yanked it out. A few tiny pieces of flesh ripped out with it.

Leaning forward, Naruto curled his arms around his knees and allowed himself to shakily sob into the material of his pants, muffling the sounds. After a while, the intensity of the pain and body tremors subsided.

And so, taking a deep breath, Naruto dropped the chip between his legs, and lifting up his feet, he brought them down hard onto the chip, smashing it into tiny, useless pieces. The tiny green light died, leaving him in the dark once again.

He relaxed back against the wall with a heavy sigh, and closed his tired eyes, the warm sensation of blood trickled down the back of his shirt.

"Come get me, assholes." He whispered before slumping to the ground and passing out into welcome oblivion.