Vie

Hello everyone, and welcome to another chapter of Vie! I apologise for taking so long since my last update - I've been building a Tales Fanfiction Archive and it's taken a lot of my time (not to mention Harry Potter...). So anyway! Here's chapter 3, which isn't as long as the others. I meant to get a lot more into this one, but I ended up cutting one massive chapter into two smaller ones.

This chapter is back to Naruto and Sasuke, as will the next one! After that, though, I'm not so sure.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love you all! (Especially you, Dreams Raven!)

Chapter 3: Spider's String

Sasuke made it a point to express extendedly his distaste over Naruto's prescence to whoever would listen. It was Sasuke who had come to be with Orochimaru - Naruto should have been taken by the throat and thrown alone into the middle of the desert without food or water. Instead, the Legendary Sannin had just chuckled at him, leaving Sasuke to bristle in silent fury.

"There there, Sasuke-kun," he murmured, his voice coated with serpentine slime. It was a sound that Sasuke would either learn to tolerate or grow to hate. "Do not worry - I won't change my mind. But Naruto-kun..."

Naruto carried a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, sealed somewhere deep within the depths of his body. Somehow, this concept had failed to occur to Sasuke in spite of how long they had known each other. How many times had he seen the red chakra born from nowhere take over Naruto's form? How often did the genin's wounds heal rapidly with no explaination, without even a scar to mark where the gash had been? The pile of evidence was massive, but the connection had never taken place. He had known Naruto most of his life, and the concept had never come up. He never really knew...

Naruto had been cheating. In every battle they fought either alongside or against each other, there was what could quite easily be an infinite amount of chakra lying stagnant inside Naruto. When their competitions ended at a close finish between them, Sasuke would train with the thought that Naruto might eventually be stronger than him. He would spend entire evenings practicing his chakra balance climbing trees and walking on water, all with the stubborn determination that he would never let Naruto surpass him. He had to stay on top.

Now he knew that every single night he stayed awake to throw shuriken at a poor unfortunate tree stump, Naruto had been sleeping soundly without a concern to be seen for miles. If one day - an event that Sasuke had always known would happen - a head to head battle between himself and Naruto finally occured, where the two of them were at their strongest and used all of their skill and effort... he knew now thanks to Orochimaru that he never could have won.

Sasuke would never admit it. If Naruto hadn't stopped fighting the day before, would Sasuke be back in Konoha right now? Trying not to consider the concept, Sasuke turned to Orochimaru more than ever. The man might be able to make him strong enough to stand a chance.

"Kabuto-kun..." Orochimaru murmured, his fingers raised and gesturing the traitor to him. "Bring the boy to me."

Kabuto approached from the doorway behind Sasuke, carrying Naruto in his arms. The genin watched in agony as the traitor of the Leaf bent slightly to lay Naruto across the sick man's lap. He had his new body now, but it was still rough over him and required some breaking-in. Sasuke watched the man with disgusted anticipation.

"Ahhh..." Orochimaru sighed, and he took a moment to remove Naruto's forehead-protector and let it fall to the floor before running a finger down along Naruto's round face. He took a moment to trace a thumb down one of his whisker-like scars before moving to unzip the collar of his jacket. "To have the Kyuubi in my grasp... this is fortunate."

Sasuke bristled with discomfort and stared at Naruto's fallen forehead-protector as Orochimaru took his time opening his rival's coat. Naruto was still unconcious, but it was questionable that he would be for very much longer - it had already been several hours since Sasuke had knocked him out in the woods outside of Sound country.

"Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto spoke up politely. "Are you sure it would be a good idea to do this? You're still weak from the exchange."

Orochimaru hummed thoughtfully in response as he opened the jacket around Naruto's neck. "You are right," he murmured, causing Sasuke to relax temporarily; "but it's too risky to have him here, otherwise."

Sasuke had no idea what Orochimaru had been planning to do - he believed the actions of the Legendary Sannin would slowly become more predictable as their time went on, but he wasn't relieved by the notion somehow. He looked on in silent, watchful fury as Orochimaru ran his eyes over Naruto like he was tracing his form for memory as he ran his hand along the blonde's shoulder. He pulled Naruto's jacket further to make room as the snake leaned over to hope his mouth over the curve of Naruto's neck, sinking his teeth deep into the Leaf-genin's skin.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stiffened in unison, recieving an unreadable expression from the onlooking Kabuto. Naruto's muscles twitched slightly in an unconcious spasm of pain - clutching his fists and grinding his teeth - for less than a second before Orochimaru pulled slowly away, leaving a graceful line of blood from his teeth to fall against Naruto's naked shoulder. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized-

"Kabuto-kun..." Orochimaru said, sitting up the best he could while bending with obvious fatigue. Kabuto stepped forward quickly to retrieve the blonde once again, raising the boy quite easily into his arms while Orochimaru sighed wearily. "Take Naruto-kun to his room."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied obediently while moving to exit the room.

"Hey!" Sasuke roared before allowing Orochimaru to believe that he might be okay with the situation. "Why is he still here! Didn't you say it was me you wanted!" Kabuto and Orochimaru stared blankly at him, which didn't settle his unease at all. "...did you just give him a seal!"

Orochimaru met Kabuto's gaze long enough to nod faintly, and Kabuto caught the gesture and nodded low before leaving the room slowly in spite of the dirty looks Sasuke fixed him with as he passed. "We have a lot in common, don't we, Sasuke-kun?" The snake man drawled, placing an open hand against his face, leaving one finger to hang against his lip. "We want everything, you and I. We're selfish. However, I am well aware of the advantages of having the Kyuubi."

Kyuubi... Sasuke snarled quietly. There was that name again...

"Silly Sasuke-kun... I won't replace you." Orochimaru moved his hand from his face to stretch it out to Sasuke, gesturing the boy closer. The Uchiha hesitated for a long time, and the Legendary Sannin didn't miss the conotations of that. His eyes narrowed and his smile widened, challenging Sasuke in his own way. Sasuke didn't want to lose to Naruto... and he would win in any way that he could. Conflicted for a moment, Sasuke only had to look up to stare into Orochimaru's eyes to remember the reason he had come in the first place.

I will give you the strength to kill your brother. No sounds came from his voice, but Sasuke could see the message clear enough in his eyes... and he believed that it was true.

Using his hands to push himself from his knees, Sasuke rose from the floor to cross to his new master's outreached hand. "Not to worry, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru spoke as Sasuke approached him and reached awkwardly to the man's white palm. "Naruto-kun's chance of survival is very slim, but should he break the margin we will have his power at our whim. If it takes a lifetime, we will take him to our purpose together. We won't need the allies that your friends destroyed. We will have the Kyuubi."

Sasuke was calm as he watched Orochimaru's eyes as he spoke. Naruto will survive, and no matter what happened, they would not be able to 'tame' him. Naruto would never be tamed. Sasuke was tempted to tell this to his new master, but he quickly decided that he would learn soon enough on his own. There were no words to describe what Naruto was.

Kabuto refused to feel guilty - that wasn't his place. He was ridden with a heavy feeling when he was faced with the people from Konoha. They were all familiar names and faces that he had seen from the inside once... but when Orochimaru gave the orders, Kabuto would do as he must. He would kill those who had once been his colleagues; just like Sasuke would learn to now.

However, as he carried Naruto down the familiar halls of Orochimaru's home as the boy's fever and breathing pace steadily rose, he felt a distinct rendition of pity. Naruto had taken everything that he had, rolled it up into an enthusiastic ball of devotion, and followed Sasuke all the way there of his own free will. As single-minded as ever, Naruto had put his lifelong goal, his friends and his own life on the line and he risked everything just to drag his friend home. Knowing Konoha, Kabuto decided that they would welcome Naruto back with open arms in spite of the traits they would call stupidity. Sasuke, on the other hand... Kabuto doubted strongly the two of them would ever make it back together, if they managed to escape at all.

By the time the medical ninja arrived at the designated room, Naruto had been beaten back into unconciousness by his fever. He twitched and groaned unconciously in his sleep, but Kabuto had seen the curse seal at work before and knew that this reaction was far from unusual. It would be like this for a day at the most - by then, the victims would either die or ease in and accept the curse. Kabuto knew that Naruto wouldn't be destroyed by this. When they had left Orochimaru and Sasuke in silence, the new apprentice had been conflicted. It might be interesting to see what influence Naruto's prescence would have on the situation; it was something neither of them had predicted.

Kabuto slid Naruto from his arms and onto the stiff bed at one side of the room and he considered for a moment what the Kyuubi's influence might mean in the lair of Orochimaru. Before it had been a slight concern, but now that Naruto was in their posession, it was guaranteed that the Akatsuki would try to seek them out eventually. Now they had no Sound-nin left to watch over them... they would have to trust Naruto to fend for himself.

The boy twitched in his sleep and snarled loudly at Kabuto as the Sound-nin draped a cold cloth against his forehead. Kabuto wasn't surprised by it, but he raised his eyes to stare at the boy as he growled and dug his nails into the stiff mattress beneath him. His chakra was almost visible, and Kabuto could actually feel the heat of it pouring off of the boy. Kabuto realized that he wouldn't be able to remove his jacket, lest he be ripped to shreds.

The med-nin walked around the front of the bed to reach Naruto's side in time for the blonde to toss his head violently. Kabuto caught the cloth mid-air and turned to dampen it again, having practically charred against Naruto's skin. Kabuto smirked as he ran the cold water, recognising the bitter distaste of the Kyuubi - furious she was being forced to make way for Orochimaru's curse seal. For a moment, he even entertained the thought that the Kyuubi might even be able to purge Naruto of it before it was given a chance to settle in.

Returning to Naruto's side, Kabuto peered to see the shape of the seal on Naruto's neck. It formed three straight lines pointing to one clear spot on Naruto's neck. As he looked, Kabuto placed the cloth back into position. "Interesting," he thought out loud. They looked like scratches.

Kabuto straightened and sighed, allowing his hands to fall against his hips as he stared down at the blonde. "You had better stay next to him, Naruto," he spoke to the uncooncious boy before snatching the cloth from his forehead and dampening it again. "That master of yours calls Orochimaru evil, but he never forces anyone to do things they refuse to do. You came walking right into our hands by following Sasuke here. You brought all of this down upon yourself." He placed the cloth against Naruto's forehead once more, watching the boy a few moments longer in silence. "I hope it was worth it, Naruto-kun."

No one was surprised when Naruto was fine. Sasuke would like to have been, but he wasn't. There was a feeling that arose in his stomach that he would never find the words to describe... more like several feelings all combined into one mix of unpleasantness. It made him uncomfortable.

"Very good," Orochimaru murmured, smiling his eerie little smile as he watched Kabuto in the doorway. "Get him something to eat when he wakes up and give him the biggest room in the dungeons - he's earned it."

Sasuke didn't move through the whole conversation. He simply continued to stare at his tea that he had been drinking with Orochimaru in the main chamber, willing himself not to care. He pictured Kabuto bowing behind him, silhouetted by the light of the doorway.

"Right away, Orochimaru-sama," he said loyally. Sasuke heard his sandals hit the ground rhythmically as he left.

"How is that, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru asked, turning his attention to his new apprentice. "Aren't you happy? Now you have that friend of yours to keep you company."

Sasuke continued to stare through his tea. "No," he said as rudely as he dared.

"Hmmm..." Orochimaru's voice rolled in his throat. There was a long hesitation as if he might say something more regarding the subject, but to Sasuke's relief, he didn't.

One day; that was all. One day he had been there and now he was dressed in Orochimaru's clothes, living in Orochimaru's home, learning Orochimaru's ways... He would never admit that he found it strange. Awkward, even. The night before he found himself placed into a nice room with a stone floor covered with an extravagant rug. His blankets were thick and warm and there was plenty of space, but as he pulled the covers over himself, all he could breathe was the mildew. All he could feel was the chill of the room. As a ninja, he had been trained for versatility. He had spent hours still in more uncomfortable places and he had managed to camoflauge perfectly... but there was something unnerving about the fact that he would be there every day for the rest of his life.

...so he pulled the blankets over his head and pushed the cold away, ignoring his own discomfort. He would never admit to himself that something was wrong.

Nothing was wrong.

Naruto wasn't happy.

He woke up on an uncomfortable bed in an uncomfortable position with a chill and aching all over. Fighting against his own body, he managed to well up the energy to sit up after a few tries, only to curl limply over his knees and clutch weakly at his head. "Ugh..." he groaned audibly, trying to will away his pain. He quickly became aware that all of his body parts were in tact, and he could faintly feel a shifting unease from somewhere indecipherable, only to realize after a moment of thought that it was coming from the Kyuubi.

Naruto's physical concern stopped for a moment as he reached down to rub absently at his stomach where the Nine-tail's seal was now visible. It was the first time Naruto had actually felt physically aware of his demon's prescence... and he wasn't quite sure what to think... except that he sensed she wasn't very happy with him.

I know... he thought to her... but he couldn't begin to justify his actions.

Finally awake, the ache remained although it became more and more distant with each passing moment. With his chin on his knees, the blonde investigated the room with his eyes.

...it was a prison if he ever knew one.

He was sitting on an uncomfortable cot that was pressed to one side of the room and was hanging from the wall. The chains that pinned it there were rusty and covered with cobwebs, but they were still holding strong. Across the room was all he ever needed; a toilet and a sink with a towel hanging onto it.It was yellowed with age, but clean. When Naruto turned, he noticed that there was also a smaller cloth on the floor. Turning, he kicked his feet over the edge of the bed and sat naturally, but his head spun with the motion, and he was forced to hesitate. Gazing down at the cloth, he decided he would rather avoid moving more than he had to and he managed - with little difficulty - to pick it up with his toe. His shoes and jacket had been strewn across the room - most likely by him in his sleep.

One end of the room had an opening... it was a cage with thick metal bars that were connected too tightly for him to be able to squeeze through. There was nothing but a stone wall ahead of him, and it appeared that the hall extended either way, one direction which allowed in a pale gray light for him to see by, but it did little more than add shine to the moist rocks of his prison. Staring at the door of the bars that kept him in, Naruto estimated that he might be able to position a shadow clone outside to pick a lock, or go find a key...

...he just couldn't find the energy to do it.

Naruto fell helplessly back against the hard pillow of his cot with a hopeless sigh. There was no point in trying to escape, anyway... He knew where he probably was... and he knew why he was there. In spite of having slept for who knows how long, he was scraping the bottom of his chakra well without having done much ot anything, and he imagined that was why the Kyuubi was so uneasy.

Rolling onto his back, Naruto busied his anxious mind by brushing away the empty cobwebs from the hanging cot that spiders long dead had left behind.

What happened when he was asleep? The blonde considered silently, running his tongue along his teeth as his uneasy somach remembered how to be hungry. What was happening now?

"I want ramen," Naruto groaned for the sake of hearing his own voice, only to be shocked to discover how weak it sounded. He'd never heard himself sound that way before - and he was the one to talk until his voice broke... to himself, even. It was lonely when you had no company, and silence wasn't good enough. You learn when to stop before anyone can hear you.

He sighed, dropping his hands to his stomach. He had to get out... What else could he do?

Nothing.

With a pathetic whimper, Naruto ran a hand down across his face before running his hands up into his dusty hair where he scratched at his scalp sleepily. Although aware of where he was, he knew he could be down there for days before anyone came to get him.

...and he would conserve his energy and make a break for it, and he would drag Sasuke out along with him!

The blonde sighed and ran his hands down the back of his head and his palms over his ears until his hands folded casually behind his neck.

He would plot his escape until then...

He sat in stillness and silence for what felt like a long time while his stomach distracted him with noises. Impatient with himself as well as the still unsettled Kyuubi, he shifted his weight to find a more comfortable position on the uncomfortable bed, and he felt a dull ache at the base of his neck. With something he would have called a sigh - but would have sounded to anyone else like a whimper - he reached back and pressed a pair of fingers to the spot.

"A bruise..." he concluded, running his fingers over it to feel the sensitive flesh. His eyes open, he stared off into space as he thought of a significant bruise Sasuke had in the same place as his; something Sakura had mentioned he recieved from -

"Oh, shit..."