Tainted Remains
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
A.N.: Obviously this is the sequel, though I decided to have several chapters for it, though I don't plan on making it so long.
He was floating. It felt nice, this warmth he felt….so this is how death felt like.
He rather liked this feeling, no more pain….no more sorrow….no more Sasuke.
Sasuke..?
Wait where was Sasuke?
Sasuke….oh right he had a fight with Sasuke before he allowed himself to be killed.
Naruto couldn't open his eyes.
Yes, he had longed to end his own suffering. Though he had never imagined that in order to end his suffering he would in fact have to have to end his life. Never in his dreams had he thought that he would ever die, so soon, so young and with his dreams unfulfilled. There were so many questions he had, still so much to do.
But Sasuke, he needed more of a reason, a will if you may. Orochimaru wouldn't be the best course. So he gave him another option. He let him take his life, if only to further Sasuke's dream, his goal, his…purpose. Would that change anything, though? Would Sasuke still go to that evil man, regardless of his sacrifice, of his promise. Was it enough, no better yet was he enough of a force to stop Sasuke? Still so many questions left unanswered.
Well, it didn't matter now….after all he was dead….dying.
Naruto gave a tired sigh and continued to float until he felt this pain this….searing hot pain. That made his whole body convulse and quiver.
Make it stop.
Please stop it!
Something was pulling him, dragging him back. No he didn't want this insufferable pain, but it kept going. Viscous.
No, not again.
Let me die.
Anything besides this pain, he just wanted it to stop just let me-
Please….just let me die.
His pleas went unanswered as he was pulled until finally he breathed.
Pain, so much pain.
Torturous pain.
Naruto sat upright and screamed, screamed until his throat was left raw.
His body was shaking….trembling.
Wait…his body?
He moved and he felt agony coarse through his body.
He opened his eyes and was greeted with darkness.
Naruto cried out in suffering as his jaw was forcibly jerked up in a painful grasp.
"So you're finally awake" came the malicious voice.
Naruto shuddered in pain and in….fear?
This only seemed to make his captor let out a dry laugh.
Naruto finally found his voice, regardless if it was dry and hoarse. "Why am I here?"
"Such an ungrateful child"
"Who are you?" Naruto continued.
"You're here because I brought you here and if you must know I am your master"
With that the faceless and undistinguishable man exited leaving Naruto to remain in the darkness.
A darkness in which he would remain in for the next three years.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
As Madara left he felt a smirk tug at his lips.
It had been a success.
He had brought Naruto back to life, had brought back his pet.
It was easier this way, with Konoha thinking that Naruto was still dead there would be no distractions. The last thing he needed was having to deal with annoying interferences.
It was fairly easy, switching Naruto's dead body with another, that he had made to look like Naruto, before they could open him up.
Of course there was a miniscule chance that he would be unsuccessful in bringing his dear pet back to life.
That jutsu that he had put on Naruto before he headed to fight Sasuke had truly helped him. If he hadn't placed it upon him, he would have surely remained dead… both he and the Kyuubi, seeing as they had started to merge.
An undesirable outcome.
Now he had to break his pet, break him until he obeyed…break him until he became a mere hallow shell. A perfect, bloody, shell.
Though that would have to wait, Naruto had yet to recover.
He would let him remain in darkness, for now. At least until he was healed. He was weak, his soul had not completely reattached itself to his own body.
Regardless of this minor set back, he still had his ultimate weapon. And that was all that mattered.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
For Naruto it felt like an eternity.
He hated waiting, hated being unsure and most of all he hated being weak.
As a child he had strived to become stronger, stronger so he could protect those he cared about and to never feel the loneliness that nearly consumed him as a mere child.
He brought his legs up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
It was cold.
He wasn't afraid, he was just cold.
He started rocking back and forth.
He was not scared.
The silence was drowning him.
He was not scared.
"Hello" he whispered just to break this silence.
The whispered word echoed all around him.
Instead of growing softer and dying out the way echoes usually did they seemed to grow in volume.
Louder and Louder, unbearably so.
He was not scared.
He couldn't take it……. it was unbearable.
He screamed in pure agony.
He clenched his eyes shut and he covered his ears with his hands.
He was not scared.
His scream had worsened the noise, again it continued to increase in amplitude. It was deafening, and he felt like his mind would split in half.
He gripped his head.
He was not scared.
'Sure you're not' a malicious voice whispered in the confines of his mind.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Naruto watched Sasuke's crumbled form sadly.
He wanted to go over and tell him he wasn't dead but, he didn't have a say in that.
He closed his eyes and remembered his captors words.
'This will be the last ounce of freedom you will have'
He had chosen to see Sasuke one final time.
"Let's go" Madara commanded
He did not move, he could not and didn't want to leave. Not now, he wanted to stay longer. It seemed Madara would not allow him any more time as he felt searing pain clawing at his neck.
One single black ring could now be visible around his neck. His chain.
He grunted in pain, he would not cry out, or else he'd alert Sasuke of his presence. Sasuke, mustn't know.
"F…nggh…ine" he grunted out painfully as his body spasm.
The pain did not recede and Naruto silently cursed Madara in his mind.
"Y-es, Ma…dara-.s..sama" and the pain finally receded.
He hadn't showed his respect…his obedience. That was why he was punished. And he didn't like being punished.
"That's a good boy Naruto, now let's go" Madara said articulately.
Naruto turned to follow but, gazed at the crumbled form longingly. No, he could not be selfish. He didn't deserve Sasuke.
He couldn't be with him…..he wasn't in control, not anymore. He had limited free will, and he knew that in time he would have none.
'I'll be back Sasuke. I promise.' he could at least be selfish enough to hope.
Hope, that he'd escape from this wretched man. And hope to return to Sasuke and all those that he had been forced to leave behind.
They left, like the wind, no trace of them being there left behind. Almost as if they were never there, never existed.
-- -- -- -- 3 years later -- -- -- --
He stumbled into his vacant house. Another mission completed and successful. He was tired and needed a shower.
The shower could wait, he was hungry.
Sasuke made his way into his kitchen, shuffling through his cabinets until he found a styrofoam cup of ramen.
Sasuke looked at the cup, he had started having a craving for this unhealthy little snack. If Naruto could see him eating ramen daily he was sure he would have the funniest expression on his face. First shock then joy, they would become Ramen buddies, he was sure.
But Naruto wasn't here and they would never share any time together. He didn't realize how hard his grip around the cup was until he heard a -crunch-and the contents were scattered on the floor. He gave an audible sigh and went to work on cleaning the mess he had made.
He reached into his cabinet for another cup of ramen and waited as the water was being boiled.
Thinking about Naruto, something he did on a daily basis, got him to think about the rest of his team. Though now they weren't much of a team. Kakashi, was the only one who could really look him in the eye and say that he truthfully didn't blame him for Naruto's death. Though others said they didn't begrudge him he could tell by the way they spoke those dishonest words or the way their eyes would shift that they were lying.
He knew that there was some sincerity in their words, they were trying to make everything less awkward and tense. They said they forgave him but in reality he imagined that they were on the road to forgiving him. They were on it but not there yet, sometimes it was better to just tell the truth. Lying made it worse.
Sakura was the only one who openly accused him of murder, but even then she was silenced by others. Iruka, avoided any confrontation with him. Tsunade never looked at his face, always stared at his shoulder or past him but she hadn't looked him in the eye since the news of Naruto's death, she had gone into grieving and wouldn't let any other medic nin near his body after she saw his unmoving figure. Though she had been forcibly removed by Shizune, when it came to preparing Naruto's body.
He didn't know of Jiraiya's reaction, though his absence was enough. Kakashi had told him that he had caught a glimpse of Jiraiya during the funeral. And after three years he hasn't so much as step foot in the leaf village.
The rookie nine, plus Gai's team, have not been the same. Though how could they ever be with the death of well…anyone. Naruto especially. Even if he had come back with Naruto, both alive, there would still be tension. It was bearable, the few interactions he had with them were moderate. He avoided group get-together's and killed and mutilated the thought of dating.
Though it had been secret, Naruto's and his relationship, it had been hard to keep it away from Kakashi. Through some unfortunate events, their teacher had stumbled upon them during the act. They had been embarrassed but regardless of that they had come clean, lying would have been pointless. With Kakashi's approval they continued their relationship, forcing Kakashi to be tight lipped over the whole subject.
He loved Naruto, that was for certain. And even now he still loves him, and no one will change that. After all this time he was the only one who hadn't truly moved on. He had nightmares, though not daily, they happened at odd intervals. The time lapse between them stretched from a day to several months. Regardless of the infrequent nightmares, he still felt utterly miserable when he had them.
It was during these times that he requested as much missions as he could get, to keep his thoughts from wandering into treacherous grounds. His missions were a means of escape, a way to cope.
He was sitting on a chair with a cup of warm ramen, ready to be eaten. He hadn't realized that he had prepared everything while having his inner monologue. He just stared at it, not eating. For some reason he had lost his appetite, and he really didn't know why.
But what he did know was that; He was miserable, alone, and irrevocably in love with Uzumaki Naruto.
Tbc…