Disclaimer (1)see below

The Risk

by Nine Tailed Vixen

Naruto was going out of his mind. Two weeks he had been trapped in this room. He was beginning to break down on a daily basis. Two weeks without free movement let alone any training. His muscles were having spasms, twitching without his control. Tsunade tried to move his body for him in a series of stretches at first to keep him fit as well as sane but when that failed to alleviate the problem she ended up using an additional jutsu just to keep him sedated. If he couldn't move then he damn well was going to sleep.

The dreams with the fox had disappeared but their memory had left Naruto in a constant state of distress. He knew deep in his heart that the dreams were not only pieces of his fragmented psyche but they were also drawn from part of his memory. Freud would have had a field day with him. Naruto thought a lot lately; too much. He couldn't help but feel that something big was brewing on the horizon and that it had something to do with him.

Time was flowing in an unsteady pace now, Day and Night no longer mattered. There was no visible clock in the room and no sound that one was nearby. Without time or movement Naruto was beginning to lose himself in this room. He became one with the shadow and artificial light. It could follow his command and do anything he wanted it to. It had swallowed up the fox that kept coming to visit him and soon it would swallow him as well.

"Talking to your self again, Naruto?" Sai spoke softly in the otherwise silent room, nonetheless it practically echoed. He knew how sensitive Naruto was now with his eyesight now rendered null and void. He saw how the other man winced whenever anything was dropped on the other side of the building. He recognized the eye movements that Naruto made whenever he mumbled to himself. Now that Naruto was unable to move even his lips all he did now was move his eyes in an erratic fashion. Naruto turned his eyes towards the sound of Sai's voice. Offhandedly Sai realized that Naruto probably couldn't see him from that angle.

Sai stepped forward watching as Naruto flinched from the sudden sounds of his shoes on the floor. The soft scraping of the rubber souls on the cement floor must have been like nails on a chalkboard to the hypersensitive teen. Sai said nothing as he stood over Naruto. The bound man's eyes didn't even see him anymore. It was like they had simply shut down. Naruto was now in a more primal state of mind. It was a good thing that all mammals at least had a sense of friend and foe so as long as Sai remained one of Naruto's friends then Naruto would not fear him.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a chocking sound. Sai knelt by his first real friend after his brother. The poor man had lost his lustre. His eyes were dim, his skin was pallid and even his hair no longer seemed to be as bright as it was supposed to be. Without even thinking Sai reached out and stroked Naruto's torso, feeling out the other man's ribs which were protruding because of the spread-eagle position that he was kept in.

Naruto flinched at the gentle touch on his torso he so badly wanted to squirm away but he could not. He could feel the laughter bubbling in his gut but it found no expression as he felt the muting seal burn on his throat.

Sai saw the quivering of Naruto's belly and found it odd. He had seen children touching each other like this in the parks and they liked it. He had never been touched this way before but the smiles on their faces stood out so maybe it would make Naruto feel better.

Naruto's face turned into a grimace. This was torture worse then the darkness. Oh how he so desperately wanted to get away from those gentle fingers currently playing with his ribcage. Tears formed in his clenched eyes. He really prayed that Sai would stop his sick little game lest he embarrass him self with the clenching of his abdominal muscles and partially full bladder. The tickling stopped as a hand made its way to Naruto's cheek. Blue eyes opened to see the neutral face of Sai studying him. If Naruto could have moved he would have struck the other man. Did he seriously not know the pain of tickling? Naruto gave Sai a warning glare not to try that again. To his shock Sai smiled.

"There you are, I was wondering where you had gone." Sai whispered.

Naruto's eye twitched in confusion.

"You looked like a corpse just laying there. I wanted to see if you were still alive." Sai looked at Naruto as he continued. "I really don't want you to be in here. Whatever is wrong with you can't be fixed like this." Sai's had stroked through Naruto's hair. "I was so…angry, I guess is the word, with you that night but I can bear no grudge against you for it. I thought about it and I'll be content if you see me as a friend if nothing else."

Naruto smiled at Sai, grateful.

"But as a man in love I will not see you rot away in here." Naruto's eyes widened as Sai did the counter measures to remove each and every seal on Naruto.

Naruto could not stop the sound of relief that exited his mouth. He could have kissed Sai in gratitude but at this moment he needed answers. Before he could so much as move his tongue to form words, Sai raised his hand to keep the silence. Walking over to the door he opened it and looked around. The halls were empty, good.

Naruto looked at Sai. The other was literally risking his life, betraying the Hokage for him. Betraying the Hokage was betraying the village and that was punishable by death. Sai had only just discovered what life was and now he had just thrown it away. While it was not too late to have Sai simply put the restraints back on he simply could not bring himself to allow the loss of movement again.

You got that right, boy. The lost voice of the fox flooded his mind along with his hot presence. Like a flame he warmed Naruto's body. Suddenly Naruto knew what he had to do. Turning he saw Sai looking at him. The fool was willing to go with him! To give up everything and go with him after only finding what it means to be human. Naruto couldn't leave him here like this.

Stepping forward Naruto opened his arms to Sai. The other hesitated, looking ready to back away if this turned out to be a cruel joke. There was no joke to be had. Sai being his only companion during his imprisonment he was also the one to help Naruto escape. But now Naruto needed to hold someone and be held if even for a moment.

Sai saw this and thanked the sky for the cruelty of fate and his luck. Just once. Only once. Naruto would hold him. Maybe he could sneak a kiss? Just one? He stepped forward and into Naruto's arms and breathed in his scent. Oh man, the warmth! The shear pleasure that coursed through Sai's body at the contact with Naruto's nude body was more then anything he could have imagined. Caught in the moment Sai pulled back and looked into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto saw what he wanted, and he couldn't bring himself to deny Sai this time. Slowly; so slowly their lips met and Naruto at once knew what he had lost out on by denying Sai. Regret bubbled forth into his heart as he realized this beautiful could have been had sooner and he could have had many more moments like this with Sai. Now their time together could never be enough.

Sai was in a state of absolute bliss. Never had he felt so strongly. He thought his ribs might crack with the euphoria. A strike to the stomach had him out before the realization hit him.

0o0o0o0o

Sai came to with a silent groan. His entire body ached all over.

Tsunade's face loomed above him.

"Naruto escaped."

0o0o0o0o

(1)see previous chapters. haha made you look, didn't I? No? Aww... well anyway I didn't buy Naruto between last chapter and this one. Ergo I still don't own it.

A/N: Sorry this took so long. Like I said before updates are probably going to be inconsistent. I'm horrible with responsibility.

Keep up with the reviews please! I love to hear from my readers!