He was feeling more miserable than before seeing Naruto again. The way Naruto was, it was nightmare fuel for Sasuke, and he blamed himself for it more than anything.

They wanted him to return to the hospital after his visit, but he had refused. Instead, he had gone straight home, and from that moment on he had been in bed. Partially because of his injuries, but more so over feeling heartbroken.

Sasuke didn't really know how much time passed, he didn't care, and he knew Naruto was probably feeling the same in that regard. He was restless and his bed was too empty. The house was too quiet. It was like he kept being startled out of his sleep because of how silent and empty it all was and every time reality settled in his mind again, throwing him into another bout of despair.

There was a rumble in the distance. It sounded like loud thunder. Sasuke couldn't help the painful smile emerging on his lips. Maybe that was Naruto coming after him? But no, there was no way even Naruto could escape those bindings he was in.

There were more, lower rumbles rolling through the air. There was no real interval to them. Maybe with a storm rolling in, there would be enough noise for him to finally let him sleep...

Slowly Sasuke realised that there wasn't any rain and that what he thought was thunder were actually explosions. And they were getting closer, accompanied by screams that were becoming louder and louder as well. The cling of metal was added to the turmoil and that was enough to finally get Sasuke to get up and gather his gear, pushing through the pain of his injuries and going outside finding a high place to surveil the area.

At first, Sasuke doubted his own eyes. It was night, but an unusual amount of light was illuminating Konoha. Especially around the mountainside. The light of fire danced through town, casting shadows and forcing screams of pain and fear.

He moved towards the source as fast as he could, already dreading the confrontation waiting for him there. Sasuke wasn't ready for this yet. He didn't want to do this yet. Both mentally and physically he wasn't ready for this.

Sasuke turned a final corner and was confronted with a big part of Konoha levelled to the ground. Many Shinobi were yelling and moving around, trying to get to the centre of it all. Naruto stood there. Unharmed, but covered in blood, grinning as his eyes roamed the carnage around him. Not far from him stood an ANBU with a cat mask and one of his guards from the department. Sasuke recognized them both, but couldn't understand why they stood with Naruto instead of fighting against him. Well, he could understand, but he didn't want to believe that two people had already betrayed the village for Naruto because that meant that maybe he could have validated his own betrayal to the village as well and he did not want to think about that.

Through all the turmoil, Naruto still managed to notice him as soon as Sasuke landed nearby. He grinned at Sasuke when their eyes met, and Sasuke swallowed. He felt like he couldn't move anymore, and he couldn't take his eyes of Naruto. A few Shinobi attacked Naruto, and Sasuke watched as Naruto dashed and evaded them too easily, giving short jabs back and ducking like it was a practised dance. Naruto kept himself low, a method he had used on Sasuke as well, and it brought a smile to Sasuke's face remembering it.

The fluent movements never faltered, and Shinobi dropped like flies around Naruto. Cat and Hisato dealt with their fair deal but had a lot more trouble keeping it as graceful as Naruto did.

With a yell another ANBU squad joined the fight, jumping on Naruto with all they had. Sasuke's squad. They got closer than any of the others Sasuke had seen so far, and he gasped when he saw a blade flicking towards Naruto's face from an unexpected angle. Sasuke would have had trouble avoiding that one and he projected that expectation onto Naruto.

Within the blink of an eye, Naruto was encased in his purple Chakra chains, reflecting the sword with ease. He didn't dissolve the chains but instead utilized them to tear at his adversaries with renewed vigour. If Naruto had seemed like he was dancing before, it was nothing compared to now. Every step was fluent and precise. Deliberate and practised. The chains are a perfect addition and amplification of every move.

Sasuke found himself staring at the display and almost forgetting about his place in all this. He was supposed to help the ANBU in subduing Naruto. He was supposed to care for the village enough to fight Naruto. He was supposed to risk his life for that without a doubt.

He was supposed to, but he didn't. Even after the decision, he made and with all his previous resolution, when he saw Naruto that all seemed not to matter at all. The only thing that mattered was Naruto. Sasuke closed his eyes and averted his face. He hit the wall next to him with his fist, hating himself for how he was feeling and the contradictory thoughts going through his mind. He hated this. This seemed to be unending and he was just stuck in the middle of it all without knowing which path was the right one.

When he opened his eyes again, Naruto was right in front of him, smiling. He actually looked happy and excited to Sasuke. "Hi!" Naruto said but before Sasuke could answer, Naruto moved forward as though he was going to hug Sasuke. Instead of a warm pair of arms closing around his shoulders, Sasuke felt metal enclosing around his neck. As soon as the click was heard, he felt his energy drain. Enough so to make him light-headed and woozy. Everything was muddled and even his body felt out of his control.

It felt horrible. Incapacitating. The feeling of his strength being reduced like this was nauseating. He clung to the wall and watched Naruto step back. Sasuke realised Naruto spent literal years with this around his neck, and cuffs as well, while being kept in the dark. That thought consumed his mind for a moment before Naruto stepping away from him drew his attention back to reality.

Naruto said something quietly to Hisato as he passed him. Hisato turned his attention to Sasuke and grinned an unpleasant grin at him. He nodded to Naruto and walked towards Sasuke while Naruto joined back up with Cat, back into the fray of the fight.

"What do you want..?" Sasuke asked. He noticed his speech was sluggish, which irked him to no end because he didn't want to show his weakness.

"That is quite the collar he picked for you." Hisato mused, tapping against the collar. "One of the strongest ones. It's nasty. It's the same one he was kept in. I wonder if you'll be able to resist them as well as he did." Hisato said. There was a clear sense of tenderness in his voice as he talked about Naruto, which sounded weird in combination with the sneering undertone Hisato spoke with. Sasuke didn't like that. It made him feel jealous and possessive. "I'll be completing the set." Hisato said and pulled a pair of cuffs from his pocket. He kept them up as he gave Sasuke a sweet smile that made Sasuke sick to his stomach. He knew Hisato a little, but Hisato had never given him this feeling before. It was creepy.

Hisato made a grab for him. Sasuke moved to defend himself, but like his speech, his movements felt slow and sluggish, and Hisato had no trouble catching his wrists and binding them. As soon as the metal closed the sensation he felt from the collar increased tenfold. He sagged to the ground fighting to stay conscious. This was beyond horrible. It was like his whole body was drained of all his strength, replaced by a dull hum, a kind of aching that settled in his very bones and rang through him.

Hisato stepped closer to him, towering over him for a moment before lowering himself in a crouch. "You know, I don't get what he sees in you..." Hisato said. "Must be the same thing that pink-haired girl seemed to love so much." There was an unpleasant look on Hisato's face as he spoke. "But Naruto will belong to me alone soon enough." He tapped Sasuke's cheek and gave him another unpleasant smile. "You'll see. He won't even look at you anymore..."

Hisato suddenly stood up and kicked Sasuke in the stomach with all his strength, leaving Sasuke gasping for breath with a body that didn't even have enough strength to breathe normally. "Good night, sweet prince." Hisato hissed and delivered a kick with the same conviction to Sasuke's head. The kick was enough to make Sasuke black out for a moment.

When he regained consciousness, he felt himself being dragged by the chains around his wrists. Hisato was dragging him somewhere. Black ashes rained down around him and the ground was soggy with blood. They passed crumbled and burning buildings. The smoke and ash, mixed with the scent of blood were nauseating and the dizziness from the kick didn't help settle that.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw movement within the buildings. People were struggling to escape and their faint cries for help were drowned out by the blaze of the fires. When Sasuke saw a small girl crying and trying to get into a destroyed building while calling for her mother, he gave a fierce tug at the chains, but Hisato didn't even seem to notice. "Help her!" Sasuke growled at Hisato, attempting another tug at the chains.

"Oh, you're awake... I hadn't noticed." Hisato answered, but he didn't even glance back at Sasuke nor did he show any intention of helping the girl.

"You asshole, help her!" Sasuke repeated. Hisato stopped and sighed. He dropped Sasuke's chain and turned his attention to the girl. Walking over to her, he gave Sasuke a nasty smirk, and for a moment Sasuke's blood ran cold at the idea of Hisato killing the girl in cold blood. To his relief, Hisato didn't. He walked over to the girl and picked her up, whispering a few comforting words to her and carried her with him. Along the way, he grabbed Sasuke's chains again and continued to his destination.

Hisato brought them into one of the last standing buildings where the market used to be. Once inside, he dropped Sasuke's chain and turned around to leave again with the girl. "Hisato..." Sasuke said as he struggled to get himself to sit up. "Why are you doing this? He is destroying Konoha. Destroying our home!" Sasuke said. He was short of breath and speaking managed to get him even dizzier.

Hisato stopped but didn't respond directly. The girl in his arms was now hiding her face against his shoulder and was quiet as well. After a moment he looked at Sasuke. "Is it really that hard to imagine more people than just you have been wronged by this village? Itachi was my friend, and I will never forget what this village did to him." Hisato turned around to face Sasuke fully. "Besides, Naruto deserves this, to finally be free. And I sure as hell will make sure he can be, unlike you." Hisato said. It was clearly he blamed Sasuke for Naruto's imprisonment.

"I had no choice." Sasuke said.

"Oh, don't you dare give me that crap! There is always a choice and you chose to lock him up again! To abandon him!" Hisato snapped at Sasuke. "You have no idea what went on in the department and you have no idea what he's been through." Hisato stepped closer to Sasuke and loomed over him. "It's people like you that break people like him." Hisato stared down at him for a moment. Sasuke expected another kick or something, but Hisato abruptly turned around and left the small building, the girl still in his arms.

The sudden silence was unpleasant. Sasuke struggled to sit up and leaned against the crumbling wall behind him. He focussed on his surroundings, trying to figure out why they would leave him here without guards when they had just gone through the trouble of putting the shackles on him, but it didn't take long to figure it out. The shackles were still draining him, leaving him barely able to stay conscious, let alone try and escape.

The rumbling of the village around him seemed to slowly die down, but Sasuke had no idea how much time past or if his mind was just less and less able to register his surroundings. The silence that followed was eery. It made Sasuke tense with anticipation. Before Naruto suddenly appeared before him again, he knew Naruto was coming. The smile on Naruto's face, framed by the blood and ashes of battle was unsettling, but at the same time, Sasuke was just in awe of what he saw. Maybe it was his diminished consciousness that made him see things differently, but all he could do as Naruto stood before him was smile a genuinely happy and pleased smile. He never wanted Naruto to be away from him again.