Shopping Mall - Nightmare

"Naruto."

He turned his head painfully and looked at his teammate. Sasuke frowned, waiting for him to sit up.

"So what's your plan?" Sasuke asked, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Shut up," Naruto responded.

"Well, you went ahead and forced this to happen."

"Excuse me for acting irrationally," Naruto spat back at him.

"Cut it out!" Sakura jumped in. "We don't have time to argue. We have only a limited amount of time here before that thing comes after us again."

"What are you thinking?" Sasuke inquired, switching his attention from Naruto to her.

"We need to find Hinata first," Sakura stated. "As long as she's alive, this world will remain intact."

"That's what we want?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded. "For the moment. We've been running in this world without really understanding it. Sasuke-kun and I explored the mall in the normal world so we can see how things match up here."

Naruto nodded, slowly getting the idea. "So we need to find Hinata, explore the world and then what?"

"Kill the beast," Sasuke stated before Sakura could answer.

"Ah, that's an idea I can understand," Naruto smiled.

Sakura looked at both of them with a small frown. "Just remember, it keeps growing two extra arms."

"We'll have to get it this time," Sasuke added. "The longer this lasts, the harder it will be to defeat."

"Che, I could take that thing on any day of the week," Naruto gloated, earning him a bop on the head from Sakura.

"Idiot, you already faced it twice and both times it whooped your ass," she sighed, looking down the halls. "Naruto, you look for Hinata. Sasuke and I will start mapping the halls here. Anything that looks like a weapon pick up. We'll need all the help we can get."

They nodded at each other and went their separate ways. Naruto walked into the nearest store and started to look around. It had obviously been a clothing store once but it was in severe disrepair now. He tried to pick up a shirt off the rack and it dissolved into dust the second he touched it.

He checked every corner of the store until he was satisfied Hinata wasn't there. Behind the cash register was a long pole, probably used to put clothes on the wall hooks. He knelt down and touched it, relieved that it remained solid.

There was a noise and Naruto tensed. He slowly poked his head around the side of cash register. The store was still empty and nothing had been disturbed. He was about to continue when he heard it again.

It was a hard sound to place, something between a whine and a skittering bug. His hand still gripped on the pole, he stood up, prepared to face whatever it was. But the store was still empty.

One of the racks tipped over and came crashing to the ground. Naruto's brow furrowed and he charged forward, no longer afraid of whatever it was. He raised the pole high above his head and prepared to strike.

Hinata cried out and covered her head to protect herself but Naruto quickly let down his guard. "Hey," he said softly. "You okay?"

She blinked and looked again. "It's you. It's always you that finds me." Her blank eyes stared up at him, still rimmed pink from crying and carrying black bags beneath them. Her pallid arm reached out slowly. "I don't even know if you're real," she whispered.

He grabbed her hand. "I am," he said firmly. "And this time, we're getting you out of here."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Don't… please don't try again. You'll get hurt this time. He's gotten angry, angrier then I've ever seen him."

"Good," Naruto stated. "Because I'm pretty pissed at him myself."

"Please," she begged. "You don't understand. You can't stop him. It's always going to be the same. There's nothing you can do and I don't want…I don't want you to get hurt too."

Naruto's face softened. "I'll be okay. It takes a lot more to hurt me than that. Come on, my friends are all looking for you."

Hinata nodded slightly, letting Naruto help her up. He reached down to grab the pole when he heard the noise again. Looking up, he saw the panic on Hinata's face. He followed her gaze to the other side of the store.

It was no wonder he hadn't seen it before. He'd been looking for something that would be visible above the racks. The wretched creature on the ground resembled a human that was mangled and bent backwards, forcing all four limbs onto the ground.

It attacked and Naruto barely had time to push Hinata out of the way. Despite moving in a deformed crawl-walk, it had speed and it hit his leg, sending him to the ground. A second later, teeth sank into his shoulder and Hinata screamed.

The pole useless in this close of a fight, he curled his fist and started to pummel it until it released its grip on his shoulder. He followed with a swift kick, sending the creature back several meters. He rolled to standing and grabbed the pole, thrusting it downward just as the creature attacked again. Trapped to the ground by his attack, the creature writhed as it tried to escape. Naruto didn't pause before smashing his foot onto the part that looked like its head.

The creature stopped and Naruto yanked the pole free, only to feel his shoulder explode in pain. He stumbled to the wall and Hinata rushed over to examine the wound.

"You're hurt," she cried.

"I'll be fine," he said, trying not to cringe.

"You won't. It'll just get worse." She took a few steps backward and Naruto reached out to stop her. She tried to wiggle free. "If I stay, they'll come for me and you'll get hurt worse. Let me go."

"No," he said through clenched teeth. "Not again." His grip loosened a bit as a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. "Not…" And then the world went dark.

Sasuke had prided himself on being one of the best ninja in the world. And that was before he had been lured by Orochimaru to a dark path he didn't like to think of. He was stronger then he had ever been but weaker in some ways too. Returning to Konoha had only been partly his decision. Most people there had branded him a traitor and were ready to turn what once was praise into open scorn.

Then there had been his two teammates, who had seemed happy to have him back. Naruto had taken up their rivalry again the moment he had gotten back. And Sakura had fallen back into his shadow, trailing him with her incessant "Sasuke-kuns."

But he had seen past that, into the years that haunted them too. They wanted it to be the same but it couldn't be. They had all changed in the years they were separated. They could never be the old Team 7 no matter how hard they pretended.

And yet, he never spoke this out loud to either of them. That was what made him weak. Because somewhere, in a place he refused to acknowledge, he wanted it to be like it was, too.

With a huff, he determined that the stress of this world was affecting his thoughts. He returned his concentration to the task at hand, mentally tallying the stores as he passed them by. The windows had been smashed and the signs were rusted to a maroon color. The lettering was barely visible but he could tell that they were the same.

This world was an exact mirror of the other, just draped with a blanket of decay and death. He reached the staff door at the other end and turned the handle, finding it unlocked.

The interior was worse then the rest of the mall. The floors, ceiling and walls had been replaced with grating making the hallway look like an elongated cage. He looked down at the grating, half expecting the same monkey beast from before to be there.

There was a noise behind him and Sasuke jumped, looking back into the main mall. The lighting made it difficult to see anything but he let his hearing pull his eyes to the right direction.

On the second level, something was gripping the railing, slowly pulling itself over. The twisted human form began to slide across the railing, using all four limbs to traverse it. It paused for a minute before slowly turning its head to face him.

It let out a chittering cry that echoed in the empty halls. Sasuke's grip on the door frame tightened. He was weaponless but if it came down to it, he could take on the creature hand to hand.

Suddenly from the darkness a dozen calls answered the creature's and Sasuke frowned. There was no way he could deal with that many at once. He slipped into the staff hallway and shut the door. It clicked behind him and he tried to open it again only to find it had locked shut.

At least that meant that creatures couldn't follow him, he thought grimly as he storde down the hall. He feet echoed on the grating and he tried to keep his mind focused ahead, not daring to looking down or up at the endless darkness.

The hall split and he recalled the security office was nearby. Slowly, he turned the corner and headed towards the only solid wall. The door was still there and he turned the knob, satisfied that it opened easily.

Inside there were several monitors lit up, showing various places in the mall. He examined each of them, taking note of the one showing the spot in the mall from which he had entered here. A group of creatures was milling about trying to get in, butting uselessly against the door. If the situation hadn't been so grave it would have been comical.

And suddenly they all stopped moving, heads turned up as if listening. Something called them and they scurried quickly away from the door and into the darkness. Sasuke followed their progress across several monitors, watching as they traversed the mall.

The frown on his face grew when he realized where they were heading. And worse, most of the monitors on that side were displaying snow. Frustrated, he hit one as if the jolt would bring the picture back.

Much to his surprise, it worked and the screen began to display the image of the other end of the mall. He saw Sakura at the door. She was pulling at it but it refused to budge. A creature appeared behind her and his eyes opened wide. She didn't see it. She was still pulling on the door.

Three more appeared suddenly and she turned around. Nothing was in her hands but she slowly slipped into a fighting stance. The first one attacked and she punched it away. The next two came at once and she fended them off as best as she could but the last one jumped forward and got her leg. Blood began to spurt out from the wound. She faltered and started to fall down just as several more creatures appeared.

Sasuke left the room in a hurry and began to run down to the other door. The hallway seemed to go on forever but after a while, he heard her, screaming in pain. He could only imagine what was happening.

Finally, the door appeared and he slammed into it, only to be thrown back. He pushed again but it was jammed shut. He took his shoulder to it and still it refused to budge. The screams outside were getting louder and from underneath the door a pool of dark red blood was draining through the grate on his side.

"Sakura!" he yelled, slamming into the door again. Something in his arm began to protest but he didn't care. He just kept pushing again, trying to drown out her screams with his own calls.

The door suddenly opened and he stumbled forward, running into something soft when he did.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke gripped her tightly, looking at her with wild eyes, searching for any signs of injury. She repeated her inquiry trying to keep the worry out of her voice at his current state of panic.

"The screams," he said, looking back at where he had come from only to find the grating clean of any blood. "They were… eating you alive."

Sakura blinked, trying to hide her own fear at what he just said. "It's okay… it was just an illusion," she said slowly.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the images in his mind. But they stuck there, forcing his heart to continue racing in panic.

"Your arm," she cried, suddenly noticing the odd angle it was in. At her words he suddenly came back to the present, realizing the overwhelming pain that was coming from his arm.

"Don't move, I'll go get some supplies from…"

Before she could move away, he had grabbed her with his good arm. She looked at his face, studying the expression there. He didn't need to say it. Whatever had happened, he was obviously unwilling to let her go off by herself.

"It's over here," she said, trying to smile a bit to reassure him as she led him to the fabric store. "Most of it is just dust but I think there are enough pieces to make a splint."

He nodded dumbly and slid down against the wall to a seated position. He watched as she scurried about, trying to erase the images he had imagined with the ones he was seeing now. The way she blew at her hair every time a piece of fabric disintegrated without leaving her anything to use. The way her lips moved as she spoke to herself. The way her eyebrows arched down dangerously when she realized her actions were futile.

"There's nothing here," she sighed. She shook her head and slipped off the school jacket she wore, leaving just the button down white shirt there. "I think I can use this," she said softly, going to work.

He watched as she slipped his arm into the bulk of the jacket. She slowly tied the sleeves around his neck and then started to secure his arm.

Years ago, this sort of close contact would have made her giddy, Sasuke knew that. But now, she was working with a professionalism he never knew existed in her. He realized that she wasn't the genin he remembered or that she pretended to be. She had grown up. And he… he was no longer the object of her affection.

He was something broken to her, something she wanted to fix and she thought that by acting as though nothing had ever happened, she could help. But it was a lie. He knew now that there was nothing behind her actions anymore. She was doing in out of a mixture of regret and sadness, not any form of love. He had lost her and worse, he regretted it.

"There," she said with a smile. "All set."

He nodded slowly and reached forward with his good arm, pushing a strand of her pink hair away from her eye.

"Sasuke?" she asked, surprised at his action.

And there it was. No "kun," but the real way she looked at him. And for a second, it hurt worse then his arm.

"We should move," he said softly, starting to stand.

"Let me help," she replied, taking his good arm and helping him up.

"Did you find anything to use as a weapon?" he asked.

"There was nothing that stayed together long enough," she frowned. "I think it's getting worse."

"Worse?"

She nodded. "The world is falling apart. Before, things could retain their shape when we interacted with them."

"There are fewer walls as well," he added. "It's being replaced by grating mostly."

"We need to find a way out of this place fast," she noted grimly.

"What happens if the illusion does crumble?"

"If we're still in it…" She trailed off and shook her head. "It's hypothetical. Let's find Naruto and hope he's found Hinata."

They proceed slowly, still searching for anything that could be used as a weapon. They didn't dare call out Naruto's name for fear of attracting the monsters, so they were reduced to searching each store.

"What's that?" Sakura asked suddenly, forcing Sasuke's attention to a tall glass elevator shaft. Inside one of the cars was a shock of blond hair that could have only belonged to Naruto.

Sakura walked around to find the doors, jamming her fingers into the tiny crack to push the doors open. Sasuke pounded on the door, trying to get Naruto's attention. It might attract more monsters but from where he was, Sasuke could see the white bandages that were wrapped around Naruto's arm.

Sakura finally pried the doors open and rushed inside, shaking Naruto until he woke up.

"What?" he asked, coming out of his unconscious state.

"Naruto! Wake up!" Sakura ordered as she quickly checked over his wounds.

"Hinata?" he said suddenly, looking around. "Where am I?"

"In an elevator," Sakura replied.

"She… she must have put me here," he started. "Shit! I was hurt and she thought it was her fault."

"It was a good place," Sakura interrupted. "The creatures couldn't get to you in here."

"Why the fuck didn't she stay with me then?" he demanded.

Sakura didn't answer but something else did. The all too familiar cry of the beast suddenly reverberated through the mall. Sasuke looked around, trying to place the source as Sakura helped Naruto out of the elevator.

"Where is it?" she asked, seeing the confusion on Sasuke's face.

"It sounds like… it's above us."

The trio looked up at the skylight above them. A shadow crossed it and they managed to move just before the glass exploded.

The beast landed on the ground with loud yell. The last remnants of Iruka were already fading, peeling off like a snake sheds it skin. It turned to them with a wicked look on its face and howled.

"Take cover!" Sakura cried, dragging Naruto out of the way just as the first appendage lanced towards them. It pierced the glass shaft and the entire thing came apart, raining down glass shards.

"Naruto!" Sakura called, seeing his eyes flutter. "Stay awake!"

"Hi… Hinata…"

"Where is she, Naruto?"

The beast roared as if annoyed it was being ignored. With one limb still wrapped around the metal of the elevator, two others shot forward at them and the fourth went the opposite direction after Sasuke.

Sakura ducked but the second one got around Naruto and lifted him off the ground.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, watching him disappear from her view.

"Sakura!"

She turned and saw Sasuke throwing what looked like a pole at her. She grabbed it and steadied it in her hand.

"It was just outside the shaft," Sasuke said, coming up behind her.

Sakura nodded and brought up any knowledge she had on bo fighting. "It got Naruto," she added, pointing to where he was trapped.

"You'll need to free him," Sasuke replied. "I can't fight with this arm. So I'll just distract it."

"What?" Sakura demanded.

"The other two limbs, look, it's already starting to grow them." Sakura turned and saw the tell-tale signs of something trying to push its way from beneath the beast's skin.

"GO!" Sasuke yelled, taking off and running towards the beast. It attacked but Sasuke was too fast, nimbly dodging the first two limbs.

Sakura frowned but followed his plan anyway. She needed to get up to the second flight to reach Naruto but the stairs were far away. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the metal part of the elevator shaft and started to pull herself up while avoiding the remaining glass.

Sasuke did his job well, the beast didn't pay attention to her until she made it to the second level. Then it realized the threat and tried to attack just as she dove for cover behind the railing.

The limb hit the railing and pushed it free, propelling her towards the wall. She let it take her, sliding on her rear with her feet outstretched. The moment her feet hit the wall she pushed off the ground with one and used the second as leverage on the wall to push herself into a flip.

Sakura arced in the air briefly, avoiding the crushed railing and landing on the beast's limb. She ran down the length of it, trying to reach the one that held Naruto. The boy was still limp in the monster's grip and she called his name out, hoping it would rouse him.

Blue eyes blinked open and stared at her, suddenly shifting past where she was to where she had been. Sakura turned her head at his movement and cried out when she saw the familiar figure walking towards them.

Hinata shuffled slowly, the white robe around her fluttering slightly as she did. Sakura reversed her course and tried to get back to Hinata as fast as she could. She heard the beast roar and dove into the other girl, pushing them both out of the way of its attack.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura demanded.

Hinata looked at her and Sakura realized she had been crying. "You keep getting hurt because of me. I can't let you do that anymore."

She tried to squirm free but Sakura held her fast. "Stop talking like that. We need you."

"No," Hinata cried, the tears reappearing, "you don't. I can only hurt him… hurt you."

"That's bullshit, there's a way, there has to be a way."

"Let me go," Hinata replied softly. "The longer you keep me away from him, the more you will get hurt."

"No! I won't…"

"SAKURA!"

Sakura turned around and found that the beast had captured Sasuke. He writhed for a moment but then slumped forward. Sakura stood up to go after them, only realizing her mistake too late.

Hinata stood up and ran to the edge of the level where the beast had torn away the railing. The beast roared and shot a limb forward. Sakura tried to protect the girl again but it was too late, the limb pierced through her and the beast howled in victory.

The noise brought Sakura to her knees but she managed to get one last glance at Hinata. Her eyes were still moist from the tears and she moved her lips slowly, making sure that Sakura understood.

Do not come back.

And then the world went black.