A/N HIII this is my first story in years, haha. This is a darker AU for Team 7, so it does get pretty dark and angsty, though I do try to lighten it sometimes. Anyway, "the more painful the angst, the sweeter the fluff", is what I like to believe.

The whole basis of this story kinda came about cuz i thought like "what if team 7 falls apart, but they fall together?" ….yeah it makes more sense in the story

LIST OF WARNINGS: Swearing, violence, violence by children (duh, it's naruto), trauma, permanent injury, i'll add more as the list grows, don't worry.

ENJOY!

Naruto flops down on his bed and mutters a curse. Jiraiya had left him to go ogle at women, again. What was so great about them anyway? Learning new jutsu and becoming a kickass ninja was so much cooler than talking to a bunch of giggly girls.

The sudden knocking on the door draws his attention and he smirks. Finally! Jiraiya was back and they could go do something fun, like actually training so Naruto could be an awesome ninja, beat some bad guys, then go be Hokage.

"What's wrong? Did she dump you already?" Naruto teases as he opens the door for Jiraiya. Only, it's Sasuke in front of him, if Sasuke were older, and taller.

And had long hair.

And had the Konoha symbol scratched out of his hitai-ate.

And wore a tacky cloak with red clouds.

Okay, maybe that wasn't Sasuke. He totally had the same Sharingan eyes as Sasuke, so really, you can't blame Naruto for the mistake.

"Naruto-kun. You need to come with us." The man-who-looked-like-Sasuke-but-was-not-Sasuke said. Luckily, Naruto was a super-smart ninja who was not stupid, no matter what Sakura-chan said; so of course he didn't trust the stranger.

"Wh-ah-who are you?" Naruto said, eloquent as ever. He then notices the bigger stranger behind Tall Sasuke. It was a man, but he had blue skin, white eyes, and marks on his cheeks that looked like fish gills. What kind of freak had face markings like that? The Freaky Blue Fish-Man acknowledges Naruto's gaze on him by gripping the hilt of his weapon.

"He looks like he's about to run, should I cut his legs off?" Freaky Blue Fish-Man grins, and all of his teeth were pointy, like…like a fish with pointy teeth! Naruto stepped back, maybe if he jumped out the window-

"Naruto." Tall Sasuke calls for his attention. Naruto looks back at him, at his eyes. Suddenly the world is in black and red, and he is surrounded by his friends.

"Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke? Sakura?" He should have felt relief that his friends were here to rescue him, but something was wrong. His friends looked angry. They were angry at him, for some unknown reason.

He sees Choji and Shikamaru standing behind his team, glaring with cold eyes. Iruka-sensei is somewhere to his left, raising a kunai at him. Hinata and Neji are ready to strike, and their Byakugan seem to glow. Even Teuchi was part of the crowd, holding a cooking knife threateningly in his direction.

Sasuke steps forward, and his fist is lit up with lightning. In this strange landscape, the lighting glowed black. The sound of a thousand screeching birds fill the air.

"Monster." Sasuke's voice cuts through the noise, clear as day. He lunges.

Naruto wakes up then, gasping for air and clutching at his chest. The funny hot sensation in his belly begins to fade, but it is only when his breathing returns to normal that the feeling disappears completely. He shudders as bits and pieces of the nightmare come back to him. A quick glance at his clock tells him that it is too early for him to be awake, but he just had his third nightmare that night. He doesn't really want to sleep again and risk dealing with another.

Ever since Tall Sasuke's - no - Itachi's - Tsukuyomi, he hadn't had a good night's sleep. Ero-sennin was surprised Naruto woke up on his own after that. He said that Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme were exposed to it for seconds and were in a coma until Tsunade healed them.

Ero-sennin told him he'd been under the jutsu for almost a minute. Naruto felt like he was in that strange landscape for months. He saw, and felt, his friends torture him. The things they said and did…

Naruto shook his head. Ero-sennin said it was just a genjutsu. Like an extra scary nightmare. His friends would never turn on him like that. Kakashi-sensei even said it back on that mission in The Land of Waves, that he would never let his comrades die. No, there was just no way a nightmare like that could come true.

He washes up in his cramped bathroom and sees his reflection in the mirror. He makes a face at himself. He looks worse than when he finished the second stage of the Chuunin Exams. The darkened skin under his eyes kind of makes him look like Kakashi-sensei, when the lazy pervert disappears for two weeks on the cool and dangerous missions that he never takes Naruto on.

Well, if he can't take on cool and dangerous missions, he could at least look like a cool and dangerous ninja. Nevermind how exhausted he feels, because maybe if he looked Cool and Dangerous, Sakura would notice him. The thought makes Naruto smile, just a little bit.

He's on his second bowl of cup ramen when Sakura comes banging on the door and calling for him. He hurries to open the door for his team mate, who does not look happy with him.

"Idiot! You were supposed to meet me at the market this morning to help me pick out apples for Sasuke! What are you still doing here?"

Naruto scratches the back of his head sheepishly and hurries to the shower. He totally

forgot about his meeting with Sakura-Chan! The nightmare must've really messed him up, because he never missed out on a chance to spend time with his crush.

When he comes out of the bathroom fully dressed and with his hair still dripping, Sakura is eyeing the growing pile of dirty clothes on the floor with disdain. He quickly shoves the pile under his bed and drags Sakura out of his home before she starts nagging.

"What's wrong with you lately? You're not usually this forgetful." Naruto would have blushed at Sakura's concern, but she continues to speak. "Hurry up, we need to get there early, so we can get the best apples for Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto grumbles but does as she says anyway. They approach a fruit stall when they reach the market. He bends to inspect an orange when a noise from the vendor makes him pause. He looks up to see the vendor. She's a scraggly old woman, who is giving him a dirty look. He huffs indignantly, but straightens anyway and stuffs his hands in his pockets.

Naruto did not care. The vendors treated him the same for years. It would be ridiculous to still be affected by their behaviour. He was going to be Hokage one day, and he could have all the fruits he wanted. Not that he liked the fruits to begin with, but the principle remained. He did not care, at all. Really.

The Annoying Fruit Lady continues to eye Naruto with the same look, until Naruto rolls his eyes and takes a step back. Two more. And another. Naruto makes a face at her then, which the The Really Annoying Fruit Lady seems to really dislike. She raises her fly swatter, probably to throw at him, but Sakura calls her attention and she is forced to turn back and smile sweetly at his team mate.

Sakura hadn't noticed a thing, probably because she had her Awesome Ninja Focus on those apples. While Awesome Ninja Focus was cool, Naruto wished Sakura-chan could maybe turn that attention on him sometimes. That way, he could prove that he was totally more awesome than Sasuke.

The vendor coos as Sakura hands her the payment.

Maybe he should set up a paint balloon trap for The Really Annoying Fruit Lady the next morning, or maybe a stink bomb trap? Sakura pops up in Naruto's field of vision, waving a hand in his face and interrupting his wandering thoughts.

"I got the apples, no thanks to you. Come on, let's go visit Sasuke in the hospital."

They begin the walk to the hospital. It is silent, save for the occasional yawns from the blonde.

"You're awfully quiet today." Surprisingly, it is Sakura who speaks first.

"Oh, yeah? I guess I'm just…" Naruto scrambles to find something to say. "…enjoying the weather." He finishes lamely. Sakura does not look convinced, pausing to study the blonde.

"You look tired. Have you been training all night again?" Sakura asks. Naruto laughs nervously and tries to look guilty. Sakura-chan's assumption sounded better than the truth. It totally wasn't lying if he just let come to her own conclusions, right?

"Idiot! You know it's bad for you to train yourself to exhaustion all the time! It's bad for your body, and what if you're suddenly called for a mission? You can't go on a mission if you use up your chakra during training! And-" Naruto tunes out the rest of Sakura's lecture. He's heard the same tirade from her before and really, he's fine. Just a little sleep-deprived.

"…Oi, Naruto! Are you even listening?"

"Huh?" Naruto asks. Apparently that was the wrong answer because Sakura growls and raised her fist to hit Naruto.

Naruto's chest tightens as he shuts his eyes and raises his arms to defend himself. He definitely does not whimper as Sakura's fist moves downwards, and anyone who says otherwise is a lying liar.

The blow never comes and when he opens his eyes again, Sakura eyebrows are furrowed and she's frowning, like something was confusing her. Naruto looks down to where she's looking at and - oh.

He's holding on to her wrist, stopping her from striking him. After a pregnant pause, Naruto clears his throat.

"Uhm…please don't hurt me Sakura-chan." Naruto tries to make his voice sound playfully petulant, but it comes out a little breathless and desperate. The tight feeling in his chest has loosened a bit, but Naruto has to take a deep breath to relax his muscles again.

Naruto thinks that maybe he really should find a way to get some sleep, because he's seriously getting paranoid. There was no way Sakura would hurt him for real, even if she did hit a little hard.

The rest of the walk is awkward at first, though the incident is quickly forgotten and they talk about mundane topics until they reach the hospital. Naruto is about to open the door to Sasuke's room when Sakura puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, about earlier," Sakura fidgets as Naruto looks at her expectantly. "I wasn't gonna hit you that hard, you know. Sorry if I-"

"It's fine Sakura-chan! I was just surprised, that's all." Suddenly Naruto is grinning widely at her, and she smiles back. Everything was going to be fine, believe it!

Everything was fine.

The Bastard was his usual silent self as Sakura peeled his apples for him while Naruto watched and was not jealous at all.

Sakura was prattling on about something when Sasuke slaps the peeled apple slice - seriously though, who peeled apples? - out of her hand.

"Oi teme! What's wrong with you?" Naruto asks, offended on behalf of Sakura.

Naruto would have said more, but Sasuke turns towards him, glaring. It is different from his usual looks, which Naruto was more than accustomed to. His team mate looked almost exactly like how the Sasuke from his nightmares looked, right before he put a Chidori through him.

Which was never going to happen. Sasuke is his best friend. He may be mad mad, more than Naruto's ever seen him, but not homicidal mad. This was totally fine.

"W-what's with the look? You don't have to glare at me!"

"Fight me." Sasuke says, glaring harder.

"Wait what? Is that a good idea? I mean, Tsunade just fixed you up." Naruto looks to Sakura for help but she is speechless, equally stunned by Sasuke's behaviour. Naruto tries not to back away from his currently very scary team mate. "I don't-"

"Shut up and fight me!" Sasuke snarls, tearing the hospital blanket away from himself. The Sharingan has come into play, and Naruto feels the familiar tendrils of anxiety and fear grip him. "Didn't you say you wanted to fight? Are you chickening out now?"

"You're in a hospital. It's not fair to fight when one of us is injured!" Naruto argues, wracking his brain for excuses. Frustration scrambles his thoughts further. Memories of Itachi's illusion claw their way to the forefront of his mind, and Naruto's mouth goes dry.

Itachi paralysed him as he made each of his friends kill him, over and over again. He seemed to favour Sasuke over the others, forcing Naruto to lay helpless as his best friend did unspeakable things to him for months. The only thing constant in the illusion was the bloody glow of Sasuke's Sharingan. Naruto prayed that he would never have it used against him again, but when did Naruto ever get what he wanted?

"Let's go. Now." Sasuke's tone leaves no room for argument. In that moment, part of Naruto wanted nothing more than to turn and run from the village, never to turn back. A bigger part of himself forces the fear down in order to face his team mate. He was a lot of things, but he refused to be a coward. As he follows Sasuke to the rooftop, the too-hot sensation in his belly returns. It was the same feeling from this morning when he woke up from his nightmare. Naruto's palms are sweaty and he feels a little nauseous, but it is better that only he knows that.

Why was he so worried, anyway? He fights with Sasuke all the time. This is fine.

On the rooftops, he tenses up as Sasuke assumes the position across from him. The Sharingan seems to taunt him, and Naruto balls his hands into fists.

"You think you're equal to me now? Face it. You will always be my inferior." Sasuke says, before lunging at Naruto. He hears Sakura's voice, pleading for them to stop. It is background noise now.

Sasuke's fist meets Naruto's face. Naruto flies backward from the force. The metal fence creaks as Naruto's back makes contact with it.

Something was wrong. Sasuke had never hit him that hard before, not during training, not even when they fought out of sheer frustration with each other. Was Sasuke really trying to kill him?

Sasuke descended upon Naruto with merciless fists and brutal kicks. Naruto tried to fight back, but the sight of the Sharingan caused his muscles to freeze. All of Kakashi-sensei's training left his brain as Sasuke batted him around, like a cat playing with its meal.

The feeling in his belly intensifies. The panic he'd been fighting bubbles up to the surface. He isn't going to be anyone's meal. Especially not Sasuke's.

In a fit of desperation, Naruto finally moves and tackles Sasuke, pinning him by the arms.

"Stop this." Naruto chokes out around the lump in his throat. The look of utter contempt on his best friend's face make his eyes burn. Why the hell did he feel like crying at a time like this?

"You're pathetic." Sasuke spits. He twists his hips to escape Naruto's hold. He leaps away after, in order to create distance.

Naruto notices that Sasuke's hand is forming the Tiger seal a little too late.

A column of fire from Sasuke's mouth races towards Naruto. He does the only thing he can think of.

A clone appears beside him. Moments later, a Rasengan sits in his palm. The swirling chakra from the jutsu clears the fire, and he sees Sasuke high above him. The smell of burnt cloth and smoke make his throat itch.

Somewhere in the distance, Sakura-chan calls his name. She sounds worried. She shouldn't be. Naruto was handling this. Things were perfectly fine.

Sasuke has a Chidori in hand, and the sound of birds fills the air.

Suddenly Naruto is back in Itachi's jutsu. His chest is painfully tight. His belly burns. He feels the chakra of his Rasengan fade from his hand.

He can't move. This cannot be happening, it has to be a nightmare. This must be genjutsu, because Naruto is paralysed, again.

Sasuke is coming towards him with a full Chidori and Naruto.

Cannot.

Move.

Okay, maybe things were not fine,.

When he blinks, Sasuke's fist is inside him. He is staring into the Sharingan, and he is afraid. Sasuke's eyes have changed, resembling something like a pinwheel.

The world is shaking. No, that's his body spasming. Why was it...? Right. Sasuke's lightning fist was in him. That Bastard.

Sakura is screaming somewhere far away. Naruto wants to scream too. He tries, but he ends up spitting flecks of blood in Sasuke's face.

"Why...why didn't you…" Sasuke is staring at him, eyes wide with horror.

Another beat, and Kakashi-sensei is in front of him. Naruto starts to fall backward, but a large pair of hands catch him. Naruto tastes blood.

No. He can't be dying. He isn't Hokage yet. He hasn't made Chuunin, or even turned thirteen!

"Ka..ka..shi-sensei." Naruto chokes on more blood. Was Kakashi-sensei calling his name? His hearing was getting muffled. His chest burns. His whole body aches. There is so much blood. His vision blurs. Why is it blurry?

"P-p-please, sensei. I'm sc-scared." He tries to say, but it is garbled as more blood bubbles out his mouth.

Naruto shudders, and the world goes black.

I hope this first chapter was okay! I do welcome constructive criticism so leave some in the reviews if you like!