CHAPTER 10:
Naruto yawned and turned over in the bed. Its soft blankets urging him to stay within the covers all day. The thought made him smile a bit and he continued to doze.
The warm sunlight trickled in through his window, warming his body. Birds chirped softly outside.
It was such a lovely warm feeling. The softness of the pillow and the blankets he shoved around his body. They enveloped him in a safe, warm embrace. Something he could only imagine as being akin to a mother's hug.
It was a nice morning.
A harsh knock cam at the door, followed by it opening harshly.
Sakura stomped into Naruto's apartment, a look of frustrated fury painted on her face.
"Where have you been?!"
"Mmm...sleeping."
"Me and Sasuke have been waiting all morning, get out of that stupid bed, lazy head! We have a mission, remember?"
Naruto sighed and slumped into a seating position on the bed.
"Okay, okay I'm up." He chuckles as he slid around to the side of the bed. He placed his feet down on the ground and stood.
The harsh snapping pain sent shivers up his spine and Naruto collapsed immediately and he staggered to the ground. His broken leg throbbed as reality kicked back in.
The dream was over, though he really wished it hadn't left so quickly. He regained his composure and slumped back down onto the floor.
It was sickenly cold and he was starting to feel sick.
Though he was permitted to keep the blanket, he assumed that winter was approaching, that wouldn't be fun.
How long had he been here?
How much time did he have?
How was he ever going to escape?
Those thoughts never ceased in his head, they would just blare incessantly through his mind.
He had to get out.
Sasuke was counting on him.
He can't die here.
He has to save him.
Naruto quickly stood up from the floor. Sitting wasn't going to fix his problems, besides he hated feeling like dead weight.
Naruto knew better than to outwardly oppose Tobi now, he hadn't forgotten the threat. It still rung in his mind, an unceasing echo.
But sitting around wouldn't help her either.
He got up as best as he could and crawled over to one of the corners.
He couldn't exactly move from one side of the room to the other as the chains wouldn't allow it.
But he did have the access to the bottom corners of the rooms.
Naruto had started to keep track of how long he heard the footsteps from the hall. If he listened closely and for long enough, he could tell who the footsteps belonged to.
He mostly heard Tobi's, though to be frank, he wasn't around a lot. His footsteps were harsh and sharp, calculated and precise. He stepped with purpose and intimidation. Just like his personality!
He heard Itachi's the least. His footsteps were soft, and calm. Don't get him wrong, they were still deep and scary sometimes, but they're was much less anger. He sometimes felt others pattering around the hallway but he'd never seen them. He'd only ever seen two people after being here for-
Who knows how long? He stopped keeping count. It HAD to be long… his ribcage attested to this fact.
He was gonna be so lousy and so out of practice when he got back.
If he got back…
Naruto bit his lip, breaking the skin again.
He tried not to think like that.
He tried so hard.
The halls were silent, as they usually were. Though every so often, those unrecognizable footsteps would cross the halls. They were hard to read. They always seem to lack any focus and emotion, they felt hollow…
Yeeesh, what boredom does to you.
He wondered if this is how Sasuke felt.
Probably not, he probably talks to Orochimaru n stuff…
But still.
He wondered if he was okay…
Naruto hit himself on the head. He should've been able to stop him. He was so weak and stupid and dumb. If he was better, then none of this would've happened. If he was a better friend, maybe Sasuke wouldn't have left.
Naruto tugged at the seal on his arm, wishing to rip it off like a bandaid but that wasn't possible. He'd tried several times to dig it out of his skin but this only resulted in pain and blood.
And a harsh 'lecture' from Tobi.
The seal had to be broken. Like the one on his belly…
Yeah, let's not think about that…
If only he knew how to break a seal.
Well… he knows what broke it last time.
But he wouldn't let that happen again, not if he could help it.
He just had to think of something else…
Naruto fiddled with the necklace around his neck, tapping it gently and shoving it around.
Naruto opened his eyes as footsteps approached his door but the anticipation soon turned to numbness as it passed by. The soft footsteps echoed away until he could no longer hear it.
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed.
A flutter of wings caught his attention and suddenly, a large collection of crows beat their wings rapidly.
Naruto yelped, sliding onto the floor and pressing himself into the wall.
"S-STOP SCARING ME LIKE THAT! Use a d-door weirdo."
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to startle you…"
Naruto rolled eyes and played with the cuffs on his hands, "Stop pretending to be a good person, ya know!!"
Itachi sighs and sits down.
"...we need to talk about your behavior."
"Sorry, Tobi beat you to it." Naruto pats his broken leg but winces from the still stinging pain.
Naruto avoided looking into Itachi's eyes. While he didn't really fear him, Naruto was notoriously bad at countering Genjutsu and it was better to just avoid it in general.
"Naruto...I think I need to show you what happens if you don't behave."
He played with his necklace, flicking it to and fro.
"I've been 'good'."
"That's because your leg is broken."
"Not as broken as your nose in about a second."
"That's what I'm talking about. Your attitude is worse than Sasuk-"
Naruto's eyes shot up in sheer anger and he suddenly felt the world start to slip.
The room had vanished leaving them in an empty void.
An illusion.
"Finally, I thought you'd never drop the act."
"WHAT ACT?! I STILL HATE YOU!"
"Gah, for the love of- I don't have time for this," Itachi stated, reaching his breaking point.
"WHAT IS WITH YOU?! IF YOU'RE GONNA TRY AND KILL ME, AT LEAST MAKE UP YOUR MIND LIKE THE OTHERS!!"
"I'm not trying to kill you, you're a little kid."
"Oh well that didn't stop you from murdering the Uchiha clan, did it??!"
"What's with you and the Uchiha? Why do you care so much about what I did to them?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE A SICK MONSTER WHO MURDERED HIS OWN FAMILY!!!"
"It's because of Sasuke...right…"
Naruto wanted to punch him so hard, but he couldn't do that as he seemed to have gone limp with no control over his body.
"As fun as chatting is, there's a reason I'm doing this, alright? Genjutsu is the only way I can have a private conversation with you."
"Why do you need a private conversation?"
"Because… I think we can help each other."
"W-what??"
"Listen, your presence here is jeopardizing my plans."
"WOW! WHAT A COINCIDENCE!"
"Would you please just listen to me!"
"Fine…"
"... The Akatsuki are doing something very dangerous… I don't know all of it but… from what I know… it's not pretty."
Naruto looked at Itachi. He talked as if he wasn't one of them...
"I cannot let them get what they want and you being here gets them one step closer to it."
"If you hate the Akatsuki so much, then why did you join them??"
He shifted and sighed deep, pressing his hands into his face.
"I can't- i can't tell you that."
"Tch, not one can tell me anything..." Naruto laughed and slumped over, " So, how do you plan on helping me? If ya haven't noticed, my leg is broken."
"Your leg will heal soon. It's in your blood."
His his-what??
Naruto rolled and his eyes and bit at his lip, the blood drizzling down his chin.
"This blood?...what do you want from me?"
"Mm?"
"You're just gonna help me for free?! What do you want?"
Itachi stepped back slightly and his hands fidgeted in anticipation. His deep, crimson eyes closed softly, the red glare going out before Naruto had even realized it was there.
He spoke with trepidation.
"Please...please protect my brother…"
author note: the most truth he'll ever say. sorry it took so long, my worries about the story started to blind me to the fact that i need to finish it, whether it's good or not.
