A/N: Ah. Finally, my friends, I have finished this chapter. It is only partially beta'd, but that is, hopefully, okay. If necessary, I can send Lae the other portion, but I think it's okay for the most part. This chapter is, by far, the bloodiest one I've ever written. So, I hope you're ready. It's really tense, and full of angst. We see so much stuff in a short span of time, hopefully no one thinks I was trying to end it right here. Which I'm not. On to the warnings

Warnings:

V--Violence, blood, gore, death

FL--Foul Language

Y--Situational, tactical yaoi. You'll understand when you read it.

Legal Stuffiness: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters therein. Kishimoto Masashi, sole proprietor.

In This World of Make-Believe

Chapter 7: Beast of Blood

--Death, Interrupted--

"On three." Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded. "One…two…th—" Before he could get the rest of the word out, the door burst open, and Neji flew at both Sasuke and Naruto, tackling them to the floor. "Neji, what the--" Again, he was interrupted.

The windows over Naruto's blood-stained bed burst inward, spraying the room with glass, wood, and brick rubble. Sasuke and the other two boys shielded their faces, after which they peered into the dust that had only just begun to settle. Sasuke could only stare. There he was. Orochimaru was standing right there, before him. Kabuto leaned against the edge of the gaping hole, surveying them. A small muscle under Sasuke's eye twitched as his blood began to positively boil. The bastard looked rather smug.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun…what have we here?" The reptilian man stepped across the floor, glass crunching under his feet, over to where he crouched with the others. His eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch when he saw the young man on the floor. "Now, Sasuke-kun, you should know better than to get yourself caught and restrained. I'm not sure I need someone so…incompetent." The man's golden eyes strayed to Naruto, and rested there. All his friend could do was stare. Looking Orochimaru in the eyes was like being hypnotized by a snake. Either you looked somewhere else immediately, or you were caught. It seemed that Naruto was caught.

Still speaking to his subordinate, he said, "Ah…this must be…Naruto-kun? He is beautiful." His voice was softer when he looked at Naruto again. "Stand up, boy." Sasuke watched in horror as Naruto did as he was told. For his sake, he hoped that whatever was holding the boy would wear off soon. At the moment, he was simply standing there, arms hanging limply at his sides, a glazed expression on his face as he allowed Orochimaru to step closer to him. "I see why my Sasuke-kun wanted you, little one. Was he nice to you?"

Naruto could only shake his head. "Oh? That's too bad, Naruto-kun. Come with me. I'm much more…gentle." The Sannin held out a hand to the boy, who only blinked at it slowly. "Look at me, Naruto-kun." He was obeyed, and then said, "Come, we will leave this place, and you will never have to be shunned again. No one will taunt you. I will teach you many things, and you will become strong. With me, you will have everything you ever wanted." Sasuke could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was as if some devil had ascended into the world, and began telling the boy pretty lies. Orochimaru had something up his sleeve, and Sasuke wasn't at all inclined to allow him to get what he wanted. He began gathering his chakra to perform one of the more powerful jutsu that he learned while with the snake man.

Before he could, however, Naruto opened his mouth to speak. "I…but…" The resolve that Naruto was so famous for—his Naruto, at least—was very close to breaking.

"But what, Naruto-kun?" That sickeningly soft voice was vexing Sasuke. He hated hearing it.

Still sounding as if he were hypnotized, the boy said, "There's something I want…that…that you can't give me…"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed at his quarry. Sasuke was still poised to move, though he was not sure in what way he could act, as of yet. The gravelly voice he was so familiar with gained a slight edge to its tone as the man said, "What do you want? I can make certain that you have it." Naruto's eyes widened as he looked up at him. No. This was not happening. He couldn't possibly even be considering that offer! Whatever it was he wanted, Orochimaru would not give it to him.

"I…" the blonde boy's hands twitched, and the one not still holding the knife rose...and pointed directly at Sasuke. The boy being indicated was beyond startled.

"Oh, is that all?" Orochimaru asked, as if taking Sasuke would be as simple as picking a daisy. "Well. I'm sure we can arrange something. Kabuto. I have a task for you." In an instant, the pale-haired young man was standing beside his master.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Kill Sasuke-kun." The sannin rasped, pointing to the boy lying on the floor.

"But…Orochimaru-sama…" Kabuto looked as if he were quite conflicted. On the one hand, Sasuke could allow the medic to kill the boy on the floor, and then he could just get rid of both he and Orochimaru. Sounded simple enough. But there was that bit of him that was still too prideful to allow someone other than himself to kill the Uchiha. He was surprised when Kabuto's voice rose and became more firm. "Orochimaru-sama, I would like to ask your permission to keep him."

This seemed to make the man rather amused. His laughter rang out through the room, and his hand rested on Naruto's shoulder. "I suppose you could keep him as a pet. But we shall have to take steps…yes. To ensure that he does not harm anyone. Especially not Naruto-kun's pet." Orochimaru looked intently at Sasuke, his smile becoming infinitely more unpleasant than he had ever seen it before.

Finally, he had enough. "You think I'll just…go with you? You think I'm going to just let you take Naruto? Has your mind gone soft, old man?" Sasuke watched with grim satisfaction as his words hit home, and as golden eyes flashed at him in a way that told him no quarter would be given if they actually fought. Fine with him, since he would return the favor. Stepping between Naruto and the Sannin, he slapped the man's hand away from his friend. "You will never lay a finger on him again, do you understand?"

"What makes you so certain that you would be able to stop me, little boy?" That long, slimy tongue licked at Orochimaru's lips, and Sasuke's stomach clenched. Completely revolted, he turned his head and spat.

"Because I know I can. Do you need a better reason?" Sasuke smirked at the man, feeling some unknown power rising inside him. It was a feeling alien to him, though he was certain that he felt it before. Pushing it to one side, he dropped into a defensive fighting stance. "I'll even give you a free shot." Sasuke's tone became patronizing at this. "What do you have to lose?" At that, the man smiled lopsidedly, taking the bait.

"Kabuto, please take Naruto-kun and your Sasuke. Stand in the far corner, and you—" He pointed to Neji, who was still horror-stricken into paralysis "—get out of my way before I rip your eyes out and eat them." The Hyuuga jumped up, backing warily away from the pair in the middle of the room, and pulling a still-dazed Naruto with him. Kabuto soon followed, plucking senbon out of the prone body he dragged across the floor. The three boys cowered in the corner. Orochimaru nodded, satisfied, then turned to Sasuke. "Are you certain you won't come with us? Naruto-kun will be sad that you're dead."

Snorting, Sasuke relaxed in his stance. "Orochimaru, do you know how to shut up? I've grown tired of your lectures." Shaking his shoulders out, Sasuke brought one hand up before him, palm toward his body, much resembling Rock Lee's stance, except that he raised one eyebrow while crooking a finger at the older man. "Come on."

And so he did. Orochimaru was quite fast, though Sasuke may have been imagining the slight difference between the man he knew and this one, with the current snake seeming to have a strike milliseconds slower than the other. Sasuke stood firm and took the man's blow full in the middle of his chest. Though he was pushed back about a meter, he blinked slowly up at golden eyes, his own dark gray holding amusement. His right hand reached to his breast-bone, scratching it as if it were itching. "Is it my turn now?" He was well aware that it actually hurt. It hurt like hell, but he wasn't going to let the man in front of him know that. "That was actually pretty lame."

Orochimaru's usual calm demeanor seemed to melt. He surged forward, snakes shooting from his sleeves, and Sasuke dodged them, only to be confronted by them again and again. Now on the defensive, he had to put a bit of distance between himself and the older ninja. Wondering if he should pull out his trump card or not, he managed to dodge another volley of snakes before planting his foot firmly into the small of Orochimaru's back. The Sannin flew, and crashed into the far wall, leaving a deep dent in the plaster work.

"Sasuke-san!" He heard this off to his left, and he looked at the corner, where Neji was standing with Naruto and Kabuto. He tossed something at him, and Sasuke nodded his thanks as he caught his katana.

"Are you going to tickle me, Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked, his smile curving menacingly. Sasuke had enough of his jabbering. He merely sent a healthy dose of Chidori through the blade, and attacked. The five rather large vipers that sprung at him were sliced through quite neatly, and he then spun toward Orochimaru, using the momentum of the turn to give his blow more force as he drove an elbow back and up, breaking the man's nose.

That same arm drove down and back, forcing the blade of his katana into a soft abdomen. Turning in place, he faced the skewered Sannin. "Why? Why would you say those things to him?" For once, no words came from Orochimaru's mouth. "He'll believe you, of course. But you wouldn't fulfill any promises you made to him. I'll be used for experiments, and he'll be used for whatever twisted fantasies your rotten brain can come up with." Sasuke twisted the blade to that the sharp edge was pointing toward the ceiling, and then pulled up on it, opening the wound further, and watched the blood gush from the gaping hole. "Say something! Are you just going to stand there?"

"No." Sasuke blinked. The voice had come from right next to his ear, and behind him. It was one of those false bodies…Damn. A blade rested at his throat, and he felt something burning at his neck. The curse…somehow, Orochimaru must have sensed it, and it activated at a touch of his chakra. Sasuke's body stiffened in pain. It was excruciating. So much so that he doubled over, not able to stand, and darkness began creeping in on his vision.

The last thing he heard before the bliss of unconsciousness took him was Naruto's voice. He was saying, voice choked with his unshed tears, "I'll take care of you, Sasuke."

--Not For You--

Kabuto's hands were moving over him. The warmth of healing chakra spread through his arm, repairing the damage done by the other him. He wasn't really sure what to say to the medic. When he was ordered to kill, he instead spared his life, but why? The obvious reason was sex. He had known Kabuto wanted him for a long time. For that matter, the feeling was mutual, but there was nothing he could do about it until now. But things were still too complicated for his liking. There were still two Uchiha Sasukes. Naruto, that gorgeous little piece of ass, was one piece of ass he wasn't going to have again, and Orochimaru would. He did feel a little sullen about that.

And then there was the other him…that other Sasuke. Goody-fucking-two-shoes. He loathed the bastard. Waltzing into his world, replacing him, fucking everything to hell…Who gave him the right? Now, the whole plan was screwed, and he was going to have to go with Orochimaru or be killed by Konoha's shinobi. He supposed that it could be worse.

Nevertheless, his mind seethed as he watched a blonde head bend over the pale young man lying on the floor. What was so special about him? Nothing. He was just a pasty little bitch-boy…who just so happened to be someone that Naruto cared very deeply about. It took everything he had not to sneer at the boy who was now unconscious. Naruto gathered the prone body into his arms, holding it close, his face buried in black hair. When the boy's eyes looked back up at him, they glowed red, pupils slitted, and he was reminded of earlier when he thought Naruto would kill him by snapping his neck like a twig.

The Uchiha cringed when he saw those eyes, but more so when the other version of himself was gently laid down, as if he were made of porcelain, and Naruto as stalked over to where he sat, on the edge of the bed. He was unable to move when a rough, calloused hand took hold of his chin, and oddly long fingernails scratched lightly, teasingly, at his face. An involuntary shiver came over him when a few strands of blonde hair brushed his cheek as Naruto leaned in to whisper in his ear gruffly, "It seems I may have the opportunity to pay you back after all." Coal-colored eyes widened at those words, and it suddenly seemed as if his stomach had no bottom. "I know you want to kill him. But know this: if you so much as touch him, I'll rip off all your limbs, then I'll do the same thing to your cock, and shove it down your throat so that you choke on it. Got me?" This speech was made in a sultry tone, and accompanied by a growl, as well as a harsh bite to his neck. Why did it feel as if the blonde had fangs? And why did the threat of such violence turn him on? I must be going insane…

The teeth clamped down on his neck broke the skin, drawing blood, and Naruto began sucking; and somewhere between the growling, and his own panting whimpers, he felt chakra being forced into him. What was going on? It burned, and sent a strange prickling feeling over his entire body. His arms fell limp at his sides and he leaned against Naruto. The blonde smiled against his neck, then released him, only to leave a hollow feeling, as if he had been inside of the Uchiha in some way, filling him, and was now gone. And then the pain came. It felt as if hundreds of red-hot needles were being jammed into his neck at the same time. He put a hand to the wound, and pulling it away, was surprised to see that it came back clean. Shouldn't there be blood? He was not allowed to think of that for long.

His face was grasped roughly, and a set of red eyes stared at him, daring him to defy the will of this unearthly creature. "You will do as I say, now." Naruto's voice was deep, and held a dark command that he was unable to resist. "Do you know what is on your neck, Sasuke?" Blinking, he shook his head mutely. "If you don't look very closely, it just looks like you have a bite from a dog. It's a rather nasty one, too. I'd apologize, but you'd know I wasn't sorry. The fact of the matter is that I've sealed you. If you do anything that I find…unsatisfactory, I won't hesitate to use it. Does it hurt, Sasuke? I hope it does. But you know, that little pain is nothing compared to what you will experience if you lay a finger on my Sasuke." A rolling growl had him shying away, and he was very glad when Naruto turned back to look at the other occupants of the room.

Had he not been sitting, he was certain his legs would have collapsed. The bitch of the situation was that in spite of the horrible pain, the slight activation of the seal Naruto placed on him caused him to experience pain of another sort. The Uchiha now had an extremely painful erection. And it was because of this that he was certain he was going insane.

"Naruto-kun, come here." He watched as Orochimaru beckoned to the blond boy. Naruto did not move. "I said, come here." A snake slithered from one of the Sannin's sleeves, and moved to wrap itself around Naruto, who merely shot a hand out and crushed the head of the deadly viper. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Ah…I see the beast has finally reared its ugly head?"

"WATCH WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO, LITTLE BOY." Somehow, Naruto's voice became darker, more like a growl that could be interpreted as words, but only after you thought about it for a second. And why was he referring to Orochimaru as a little boy? "IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, LITTLE ONE, YOU'LL LEAVE MY CONTAINER ALONE. AND HIS MATE. IF YOU DO ANYTHING TO EITHER OF THEM, I'LL BE FORCED TO TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB."

"You are in no position to do any such thing." The Uchiha could tell that Orochimaru was worried in some way, because of the tightness at the corners of his eyes. Naruto's threats and tone were enough to scare him, but for Orochimaru to nearly blanch in the face of words that were so insulting, insinuating that he was inferior to the young man who stood before him. Then, Naruto began to laugh. It was a sharp, piercing sound, and his smile did not touch his eyes. Those red eyes…they sent a chill over his body and a shudder through his mind.

That deep, rumbling voice spoke up again. "YOU, BOY! HYUUGA!" Neji, who had been standing in the corner alone, somehow too stunned by everything to move, suddenly seemed to awaken. He appeared just to Naruto's left. "YOU WILL GO NOW, AND INFORM THE OLD MAN OF WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. TELL HIM THAT UNLESS HE WANTS HALF OF HIS VILLGE FLATTENED, HE'LL SEND ME SOMEONE. AND TELL HIM THAT i'M COMFORTABLE." The cryptic remarks were lost on both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. Neji hesitated for a moment, before his hair was grasped between clawed fingers, yanking him forward until Naruto's red eyes were no more than a few centimeters from his. His voice was lower, softer, more like Naruto's voice should be. Neji blinked repeatedly, and the Uchiha imagined that he was trying very hard not to blush. "Go, Neji. Tell them. Tell them that I'm dealing with things for now, but that I'll need help to clean up."

And then Neji was gone, and Naruto was turning back to Orochimaru, and smiling. He stepped closer to the man, quite close, as a matter of fact. His arms crossed over his chest, and he leaned toward the pale snake-like man. "You want this body, do you?" A small twitch of Orochimaru's hands and the way his eyes tried to slide toward being shut said quite clearly that yes, he did want it. Naruto's hands moved to catch at the tunic that the Sannin wore, pulling him close. Even from where the Uchiha sat, he could feel the need that came from Orochimaru in waves. What about Naruto did that? Sure, he was as fuckable as they come, but that wasn't it. It was something more primal, basic, but still complex that was beyond his meager comprehension. "Come now, little one. You can't say it?"

One of Naruto's hands slid down from grasping the man's collar, and somehow snaked between the older man's legs. Golden eyes widened slightly, and though the Uchiha couldn't see what that hand was doing, it appeared that the Sannin found it to be highly satisfactory. That stiff rope around Orochimaru's waist suddenly fell to the floor, cut away by some unseen weapon. Kabuto's hand tightened on his wrist and pulled him further away from the pair near the bed as the sound of ripping cloth filled the room. For some reason, Orochimaru simply stood there watching as his tunic and the underlying black shirt were ripped away, those dangerously sharp nails dragging over his skin, caressing, soothing.

It was like watching a man possessed. Then, all at once, it hit him. The red eyes. The claws and the evil chakra…Naruto held within him something infinitely more evil and destructive than himself, or even Orochimaru. And that thing had come forward, taking control of Naruto's body, and was about to molest the Snake Sannin. As entertaining as it would be to watch his master get fucked senseless by a demon in the body of a fifteen-year-old boy, he felt that it probably wouldn't be pretty. For that matter, Kabuto appeared to agree. He heard Kabuto removing his glasses, so as to be unable to watch. He himself was, unfortunately, transfixed.

Perception is a strange lense to look through. What one person sees as beautiful may be revolting to another. Evil, good, light, dark, day and night. These are all subjective, and depend upon one's point of view. Whether you see the world as beautiful in the dark, or you find the shadows filled with monsters, the fact remains that there is that unknown, that place that you cannot see. And it is what we cannot see that we fear, and it is what we fear that we fight against.

What is it that Uchiha Sasuke fears? Everything. Nothing. Life is fear, life is pain. And he will fight with every breath he has left to keep hold of that fear, that pain.

--Eyes of the Demon--

His eyes felt as if they were lidded in lead as he pried them open. The room was nearly silent, and when he looked over to the corner where he had expected to find Neji, Naruto, Kabuto, and the other version of himself, he only found the last two. Naruto was, instead, standing near his head, and was groping Orochimaru for all he was worth. Kyuubi's red chakra swirled around him, and Orochimaru's face held an odd blank expression. Sasuke tried to sit up, but was only able to push himself up onto his elbows.

With a sudden growl, Naruto pushed Orochimaru down onto the bed, and glass shards went flying everywhere. Sasuke stared. There was a strange feeling in the air, as if…No! This isn't happening…The demon had control of Naruto's body, it seemed. And now, it was going to do something really wrong with Orochimaru. Now that, he didn't want to see. Watching in fascinated horror, Sasuke saw Naruto crawl over a very pliant, very pale man, who gave a small moan as strangely long nails raked over his chest and down his stomach. When he saw Naruto bend down, using his mouth to make a very dark set of marks just above tight black pants, Sasuke was surprised when the blonde boy looked at him.

Red eyes gave him an intent stare, and then flicked to his left. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke was able to see his katana. Comprehension dawned on Sasuke's face, and Naruto (or was it Kyuubi?) smiled as he bit down hard on a new bit of pasty skin. Orochimaru made a strangled sound of pleasure, and an animalistic growl issued from Naruto's throat. It boggled Sasuke's mind how Naruto seemed to have come up with such a brilliant—albeit repulsive—plan so quickly. Then again, even the Naruto in his reality could handle a bit of strategy every so often.

Faster than the naked eye could see, Sasuke reached out and picked up the katana, and was standing at the edge of the bed. He could feel Kabuto approaching, fast and silent, but it didn't matter. It was too late for Orochimaru. Steel flashed down, and blood flew, bathing Sasuke in the crimson liquid as a heavy thud sounded through the room. Looking away from the decapitated corpse, he was just in time to block the kunai aimed at his heart, but not fast enough to avoid the medical jutsu that Kabuto shoved into his side. His right lung seized painfully, and it was very difficult for him to breathe, especially since his diaphragm was only partially functioning. A green glowing fist sped toward his face, but it never landed. Instead, he found himself staring at the back of Naruto's head. The boy had put himself between Kabuto and Sasuke, Kyuubi's chakra beginning to materialize around him.

A low, booming voice filled the room when the demon spoke through him.

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HIM, YOU INSECT…HE IS MY CONTAINER'S CHOSEN MATE, AND HE WILL NOT BE HARMED BY THE LIKES OF YOU."

The floor shook, and Sasuke watched as one of the three chakra tails wrapped around his body. He felt like he was burning. "Aaaah…" It was all the sound he could make. The chakra holding him in place while Naruto's Kyuubi-possessed body advanced on Kabuto was burning and freezing at the same time, creating a sensation not unlike being doused in muscle ointment. A second tail whipped forward at Kabuto, knocking him off of his feet.

"INSECT…FILTH…I DON'T THINK I'LL ALLOW YOU TO LIVE…"

Sasuke's stomach lurched. "N…No…"

As the tail attacked Kabuto once more, Naruto's head turned. The markings on his cheeks had deepened, and the red of his eyes glowed. The beast was near. "WHAT IS IT, LITTLE ONE?" One long nail ran down his cheek teasingly. "WOULD YOU HAVE ME SPARE HIM?"

Sasuke had to fight to keep his eyes open. The touch of that one finger had sent his entire body into a panic made completely out of a blinding desire to touch and be touched. The rational—and still conscious—part of his mind said it was because of the Kyuubi's nature and influence, but had he been released at that very moment, Hinata would have been completely forgotten. Sasuke hated not being in control of his own body, but he would have begged Naruto (Naruto, Kyuubi…didn't make a difference to the hormones racing through his body) to take him, just to get it over with. It was a good thing, then, that one of the fox demon's abilities was not telepathy. Sasuke could only nod at the question asked of him, lest he speak the words that would have him lose what little dignity he felt he still possessed.

"THEN I WILL DO SO, BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO SUBDUE HIM." Naruto's eyes rested on him for a moment, flashing blue for an instant, a longing there that made Sasuke's heart constrict. Did the Naruto in his reality feel this way for him? It didn't matter. All that mattered at the moment was neutralizing the situation. His body was beginning to go numb again from the chakra that surrounded it, for which he was glad. At least he wasn't lusting after the demon for the moment. That feeling was frightening, and far from normal. "ARE YOU READY, YOUNG UCHIHA?" He nodded at the demon, and suddenly, the Kyuubi retreated back into Naruto's body, leaving the boy reeling against the side of the bed, while Sasuke and Kabuto both raced to recover so that one could attack the other.

Sasuke's entire body felt as if it were being pricked by pins and needles. It took several seconds for the feeling to go away, and another few moments for him to flex his muscles to get total feeling and control into those that were not damaged. The good thing was, he had recovered faster than the older nin on the other side of Naruto.

The bad news? Sasuke could barely breathe. It felt like he was bleeding out, too. His vision was blurring, and he wondered how long he could hold out. The katana in his hand felt much heavier than it should, and as he moved forward, he knew his speed wasn't going to be enough. The demon had asked if he was ready, and he had said that he was, so he couldn't back down now. As Kabuto raised a kunai to parry the downward slash of his blade, Sasuke hardened his resolve. "I will not let you live…"Sasuke said, adding more force to his blow, and effectively knocking the smaller weapon away from Kabuto.

"The time for your games has ended, yaro." Sasuke took one final step forward and drove the tip of his blade home. Kabuto jerked as the steel made intimate acquaintance with his heart. "Keep your master company in Hell." He then gave the blade a final twist, after which the taller nin dropped to the floor, lifeless. Sasuke then turned to the corner, where the other version of him stood. There was an emotion painted on familiar features that was almost as alien as a smile was. Fear.

Stepping toward the boy in the corner, he raised the blade. But before he could come within striking range, several clouds of smoke erupted into the room, and strong arms pulled him away. After a long moment of confusion, the smoke cleared, and he found that there were several ANBU holding him. "No, it's not me…he's the one you want." Sasuke raised his finger, pointing at the cowering young man. The masked men cocked heads this way and that, not convinced.

"It's true," came a weak voice from behind them. The lot of them turned to see Naruto leaning heavily against his dresser. "Sasuke saved me from…him…and he killed Orochimaru and Kabuto. He…" The blonde boy swayed on his feet, and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, trying to get past the men that held him. "Let me go, you idiots! If he's hurt, we need to get him to the hospit—aaaaagh!" He couldn't speak anymore as his lung seized up again. He coughed violently, dropping to the floor to rest on his knees. Again, his vision blurred, and he felt himself falling as blood began to well up in his throat, the coppery taste filling his mouth. Sasuke landed face down on the floor, in a congealing pool of blood, staring at Naruto across the glass-strewn, blood spattered floor. He saw black, and for some time, he knew no more.

A/N: Well. That was tense. I'm hoping to make the next chapter a bit more lighthearted. Though, just because the big bad snake man and his henchman are dead, don't think that this is the last of the villainry we'll see. Itachi's lack of evilness might just have left a power-vacuum of sorts. And I wonder who might fill it? If you guess right, I'll give you cookies. Thanks to the ever-wonderful Lae for beta-ing, even though she's so very busy. If you find stuff wrong with this after I post it, please tell me. Typos are my worst enemy.