Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 3: The reason
AN: Thank you for waiting patiently. I know I promised Naru/Sasu intimate talks, but I will bring it in the next chapter. This chapter is angsty. Sorry for that too. I hope you like it.
Pain, blinding and numbing spread throughout his body. His eyes were glazed over with an amount of hurt he had never faced in his life. What could he call such a pain, a pain that came from wounded his dignity and pride, his self confidence and his purity?
His whole body seem to ache in places he had never imagined. Blood, beautiful crimson flowed through various wounds that now adorned his being. Pitiful whimpers seemed to be the only sounds that ensued from his throat.
His attacker's painted nails dug into his soft skin, marring the golden mass may be for life. Merciless fingers sought to leave their mark on untainted and untouched flesh, aching to cause the most damage.
Nothing would compare to the scars that were being inflicted on his very soul. The innocence that was the essence of his being and his recognition was lost in this act of cruelty. His flawless skin was not perfect anymore. His virgin mind could not even comprehend what was happening to him. He cried out when sharp rocks dug into his back, deepening the wounds already inflicted by those cursed nails that were like talons of demons.
"Stop... What would you gain from this... please!" His voice did not have its previous volume, it was a hoarse whisper. His pleas were ignored with a small smirk so familiar yet so different from the one he was used to. His body arched off the ground to avoid more damage to the burning flesh of his back. His head connected painfully with the rocky surface making him gasp.
Tears clouded his beautiful eyes, so innocent and so wide with horror that it was wonder his assailant was unaffected by it. Those very eyes gazed helplessly at the murderous ones above. The red eyes were emotionless, dispassionate. They seemed detached, unconcerned of the horror he was inflicting on that adolescent demon carrier.
Trapped in a world of pain and despair, he could only whisper weakly, "Stop it... it hurts.. please.."
Naruto locked his hollow gaze with the person standing in front of him. Pearly eyes bored into his seemingly searching his soul. He did not flinch away from those penetrating eyes. His own crystalline blue gaze sharpened and his lips twitched in a slight smirk.
"You are too smart for your own good Neiji." He spoke warmly to his friend. Shaking his head slightly he looked at the sky and murmured, "Not that I expected Kakashi's plan to work. Whatever his plan was anyway..." Neiji smirked slightly, even though it was barely visible Naruto could see it. The Hyuuga boy settled down beside him and spoke softly, "You should not have left.. There were people who were worried about you Naruto."
The fox boy grinned and turned to face Neiji, a familiar friendly expression on Naruto's face proved to Neiji that a lie was in order for Naruto. He sighed mentally. "What's life without a little bit of adventure and exploring Neiji? I know much..."
"I know why you left so you can stop with the lies." He said abruptly.
Naruto did not show any reaction to that declaration, he just relaxed and smiled cheerfully, "Do you now, Neiji?" He knew that Neiji knew nothing of why Naruto left the village. The blond haired boy was calm as he started off at the sky that matched the color of his eyes not expecting Neiji to answer. But the Hyuuga did, and his answer shocked the Kyuubi holder to the core.
"I saw it all, I heard your screams but he had some jutsu on me that held me still, I could not move to help you and had to see everything helplessly." came Neiji's voice, bland and cold even though his countenance showed and lot of anger.
His bright orange clothing lay abandoned and torn somewhere as his assailant straddled his waist. His breathing was raspy, painful because of the broken ribs piercing his lungs at every moment. He prayed that Kyuubi let him die for once, anything that would end this pain.
A silent scream tore through his throat as sharp teeth dug into his shoulder.
A calm voice, seemingly devoid of any sign of life whispered in his ear, "You are a hindrance Naruto-kun, or should I say your strong will is a hindrance. I cannot kill you for the precious cargo you carry within you. So I'll do the next best thing, I will kill your soul and hamper your greatest weapon.. your will." A finger trailed gently down his chest, the seemingly tender touch held the promise of death, a very painful death.
Naruto gasped when cold fingers found purchase of his golden hair and tugged it viciously, reveling the long, slender column of his neck. Red eyes gained a glint at the sight of the unmarked golden skin. He brought his fingers up to brush against the fascinatingly smooth mass as he said, "So tragically beautiful."
His touch felt like a slide of slime against his skin. He shuddered in repulsion, trying to escape the polluting touch but found yet again that he cannot move.
How much could a child at that age bear. It was a height then, even with his extreme tolerance to physical and emotional pain. So he fled, he fled from the village that did not seem to care.
Neiji observed the demon carrier through shrewd eyes and was surprised to see that Naruto's expression was as bland as before. His eyes had the same icy glint as he always carried these days, nothing about Neiji's declaration seemed to affect Naruto. Then again, he was thinking about the master of facades here. Even as a child Naruto was an expert in hiding himself under and foolproof mask. Not even Uchiha's cold countenance could surpass the cheery smokescreen that Naruto had put up all these years.
'A genius under the cloak of an utter fool..' Neiji thought as he continued his silent inspection of the boy was even more baffled by the soft smirk that found a way to his companion's visage.
Neiji let out a silent laugh. All his life the Uchiha sulked around staying silent in an attempt to not to draw attention he drew all the attention, however...
"You intrigue me Uzumaki Naruto." At that statement Naruto turned around to look at him, his expression that of curiosity. Pearly eyes closed and a small smile curved at his lips as he answered the silent question. "All your life you claimed that you wanted everybody's attention. You were loud and boosting. I realized it was a classic case of reverse psychology later on. When you are being loud and stupid people promptly ignore you."
At that Naruto laughed, a soft sensuous laugh that sent a shiver down Neiji's spine. "You read too much into things Neiji. It's true that I lied to everybody... I was afraid to show them my true self for the fear that they may destroy it. I guess in a way you are right. May be it was a deception." he muttered thoughtfully, a smile gracing his features. It was a smile of a person wise enough to know how to run his life to his benefit. It was a smile of a selfish person. His following words all but confirmed it.
"There are millions of people around me. That does not mean that I have to see for all their needs.. I am a ninja, true. It is my duty to serve this village, but my duty has its boundaries. I am not a slave, I am an employee of the Hokage. That is how it is and how it will always be. I don't need to fear people for I no longer care." Neiji looked at Naruto with somewhat startled eyes. That was something that he thought would never slip out of Uzumaki Naruto's lips.
"You have changed.." Neiji declared softly.
Naruto sighed and relaxed by stretching his legs and spoke, "May be I have, I dare say, grown up." he smirked, a smirk full of mockery. "They are all lies... every time I repeat these words they become more and more false and artificial." He laughed then, at Neiji's confused expression. "That's just me, Uzumaki Naruto, the idiot who would rather die before let anyone else die before his eyes.. the idiot who cares for people who would rather have him dead and rotting in hell. No matter how much I try, it is always like that. No matter how much I tell myself not to care, i always end up caring."
He laughed at the irony of it all, "I am talking in contradictions, aren't I? I hate this place for all its foolishness yet I love for the simple reason that it is my home. Love.. it over powers it all."
His eyes become solemn as he said, "That is what Itachi wanted to kill that night you know... He wanted to erase that compassion and the strength I gained from that compassion simply because he could not understand. Unknowingly to him, the more pain I suffer, the stronger I become. I don't know if I should be thankful for that incident or mourn the loss of something I may never regain."
For once Neiji was speechless, how could a boy such as Naruto speak with such forgiveness in his voice for a person as vile as Itachi. Then again, how could he not. Naruto was a constant contradiction within himself.
"I left that night because I did not want Sasuke to find out, I had barely managed to bring him back to sanity the last time. I did not have the strength to do it again. He would have surely gone after Itachi if he found out that his best friend was raped by his brother just to agitate him. Later on he would blame himself. I did not want that."
His soul shattered into a thousand little peaces when his body was invaded. Wide eyes still gazing at the crimson once above him lost their luster with each thrust. The smirk of triumph that graced Itachi's face only made it worse for him. His could feel himself slipping away, he could feel sanity slipping through his fingers.
Pain made its way throughout his body, eliciting a moan from his throat. A grave mistake, for Itachi wanted to hear more noises like that for the blond underneath him. Itachi seemed to rejoice in the destruction of his soul. He seemed to love the fact that he was corrupting the most innocent person he had ever met. His smile conveyed as much.
"How beautiful you are.." he whispered. "A container holding something so tainted is the epitome of purity and innocence. I love it... I love to see your eyes at this very moment." Something inside of his shattered at the moment. His back arched off the ground, his eyes falling shut decorated with crystalline tears.
"Go tell your beloved Sasuke what happened Naruto-kun.. Cry on his shoulder as you tell him that I once again took from him what was rightfully his and he could do nothing."
Even through his haze Naruto could comprehend what Itachi was saying and still did not understand what he meant by those words. Blood tickled round his thighs and stained the ground crimson. Naruto felt the pleasurable shiver that went through Itachi on his skin as the older Uchiha breathed against his neck saying, "I will have you Naruto-kun.. again and again. You are MINE."
Naruto jolted out of thoughts when Neiji rose from his seat and said, "You are a complex individual Naruto yet I suggest you try to trust your friends even if they are few. And I suggest you trust Sasuke the most." With that the Hyuuga left.
Naruto sighed and folded his arms under his head. Smiling to himself he said, "Sometimes in life you need to forgive and forget. To dwell on painful events would only cause more pain and anger and shatter your inner peace." wise words for someone so young yet he knew they were true.
It did not hurt that much anymore. The pain had been immense during the first few days of his travels. Emotional wounds took a lot of time to heal. It was a good thing he did not stay in the village, his travels taught him a lot. He had learned many new jitsus, improved on his skills. Over the years he also learned to melt into the shadows in large crowds.
His hand unconsciously went to the junction of his neck and shoulder. An old bruise, a perfect crescent lingered there, tainting the soft, glowing skin.
Cold eyes looked down on him as he lay crumpled on the ground, bloody and bruised. Sinful fingers ran down one single mark on the blond's neck and he chuckled. "Feel that mark Naruto-kun. Let it remind you, every minute and every day of your life who you belong to." With the the older Uchiha left him.
His eyes fell shut at that particular memory and a shuddering sigh escaped his lips. Not particularly happy so as to where his train of thought was heading he frowned, trying to divert his thoughts.
After a few seconds though reason presented itself as Sasuke walked over to him. Opening one eye he assessed his former teammate and asked, "Why are you imposing on one of my more serene moments?" Sasuke did not respond. His eyes held a glint that immediately told Naruto that he would not like what is going to come.
The Uchiha heir knelt beside him and brushed the scar on his neck causing him to shudder and pull away. Before Naruto could escape though, Sasuke had his chin in his grasp as he questioned huskily, "What did he do... gods tell me what did that bastard do!"
The only thought that went through Naruto's mind at that moment was, 'Don't get angry...'
AN: I know this is a little confusing but Naruto is confused right now. I will try to clear everything in the coming chapters. R&R please