Tainted Embrace

Yo! Thanks again for the reviews and faves. 2 more for the next chapter please. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

A.N. This chapter contains yaoi and reference to violence. Italics means that's someone's thoughts or emphasis.

Onwards!

Chapter 5 - Culprit

Sasuke stood in his kitchen, boiling up another cup of tea. He was worried. He had been in a strange deep sleep that morning, but was suddenly woken to Naruto jumping out of bed and shooting into the bathroom joined onto his room. Concerned about the blonde's well being, he had followed to find his lover leaning over the toilet, throwing up. The Uchiha had stayed with the blonde for who knows how long, rubbing his back to help the sickness pass. Naruto had silently remained in the bathroom, coughing harshly while his body shook. His usually tanned skin was pale, and there were bags under his eyes. His face was tired and worn, and for a while Sasuke thought he would have to take him to hospital when the blonde started holding his head in pain.

Sasuke had taken Naruto back into the bedroom and seated him on the bed, and strangely, after throwing up he looked a little better, as if he needed to get rid of something in his system. Now, hours later, the blonde sat at the table next to Sasuke, holding the cup of tea he had just been passed in his hands. He had regained some of his colour, but still looked ill. He couldn't eat, only drink. Sasuke hovered by his side protectively as if to catch him he suddenly fell, or to drag him to the toilet to throw up again. The Uchiha didn't complain. He didn't tell the blonde off for eating too much ramen the previous night. He simply stood by his side, wishing for the other's pain to end.

A heavy but polite knock brought both shinobi out of their thoughts, and Sasuke went out into the hall and opened the front door, finding Sakura in full gear. She had been on duty last night, and her face was full of sadness. "There's been another attack, the Hokage had called a meeting for all jounin." Sasuke watched her green eyes leave his and wander over his shoulder. "Naruto! Are you okay?"

Sasuke turned to see the blonde in his black trousers and pale yellow t-shirt, standing against the door frame of the living room. His eyes were droopy, but other wise he was attentive. He gave a small smile. "I'm just a bit under the weather. We should get going, the Old Granny doesn't like to wait," he said, starting to turn around.

"Maybe you should stay here, or Sakura could tell us what happened after the meeting. You need to rest," Sasuke scolded lightly, walking over to him and leaving the door open.

"I'm fine. Catching this killer is more important than me getting the flu." Naruto made his way into the bedroom and started the search for his boots.

"Is he really okay?" Sakura asked, a small frown on her forehead.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure. He was being sick before, but he's improved since this morning."

The pink haired shinobi nodded, and patiently waited as the dark haired man went to retrieve his own boots. The Uchiha was already wearing his shinobi clothes, and strapped on his side pouch just in case. The trio left the house, with Sasuke's arm securely around the blonde's waist, his gaze never leaving him for too long. Naruto seemed to be doing better. The fresh air must be doing good for him. They made their way to the Hokage's office, walking through the empty streets rather than over the rooftops, not wanting to risk weakening the blonde any more than he already was. They arrived to find other jounin still filing into the room. Tsunade stood behind her desk, her back facing them. Sasuke immediately brought Naruto to the front of the room and seated him in one of the chairs that was usually used for guests after pulling it off to the side.

"I'm not an old woman you know," the blonde mumble to him quietly, but was thankful for the rest.

The dark haired shinobi simply smirked and leaned his arm on the back of the chair, his hand resting on Naruto's shoulder. Soon, conversations drifted off and the room became quiet, everyone looking at the Hokage's still back. She sighed and turned to them, casting her gaze over each of their faces, noting how ill Naruto looked.

"Yet another murder has taken place," she informed them solemnly. This they had expected. "But this time the killer has deliberately left a witness." At this the jounins started to chat amongst themselves, sharing thoughts and rumors. They were silenced as Tsunade raised her hand. "The man in question has been left permanetly scarred in the mind. His ordeal has taken his future and life as a shinobi. It took a special medical jutsu to find out what happened to him." The Hokage sighed again and sat down in her chair, linking her hands together and leaning on them.

"The survivor told us that both he and his partner were imobilized by a dark chakra that could control their movements and voices. The killer was described to be a tall, hooded figure wearing a rich red jacket that covered his whole body. We couldn't get much more information than that as the survivor kept going on about the killer's laughter."

Naruto briefly remember when he followed the second victim and blacked out, just as he head that low, amused laughter as he lay on the ground. He shivered at the memory. He wondered what the survivor must be going through, seeing his partner being tortured like that, watching those horrific wounds cover his body as his life was practically sucked out of him. Naruto vaguely heard Tsunade going on about more detailed reports; hypothetical theories and motive behind the killing, what the men had in common, their links and possible reasons for them being attacked. But the blonde was too caught up in his own thoughts to hear her. His mind tugged at him, and he struggled as he tried to remember something that should be important. He felt like the thought was being dangled in front of him, and when he went to reach for it, it was pulled away like a sick joke.

Suddenly, something Tsunade said caught his attention, pulling him out of his thoughts

"W-what did you just say?" Naruto spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him. He sat forward in his chair, his eyes a little wide.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at having to repeat herself. "The first murder was five days ago, just after midnight. The second murder was two days later, right before dawn. The latest killing was last night, somewhere in between both previous times." Naruto was still for a moment, his mind racing.

"That's it..." Naruto whispered to no one in particular. He slowly stood from his chair, stepping towards her desk and looking at his hands out as if he were showing her something.

"You've figured something out?" the Hokage questioned, raising an eyebrow. She didn't expect Naruto to be the detective type.

He looked up at her, and she was frozen to the spot with the horror and sorrow in his blue eyes. "The killings... they coincide with-" Suddenly, the blonde gasped and grabbed his head with both hands, pain etched onto his features. His chakra levels dropped dangerously low. Slowly, the blonde tilted and fell to the ground. Sasuke darted over just in time to catch him before he hit the floor. After checking over his lover, Sasuke looked up. "He's blacked out again."

The other jounin whispered among themselves, wondering what Naruto was going to say and if he had really found something out. He looked like he was really serious, and it wasn't his usual way of expressing his thoughts. Tsunade sighed and shook her head; the look in Naruto's eyes still floated in her mind. Something was obviously troubling the blonde, and he looked desperate to tell someone. She made a note to herself that when this killer was found, she would give Naruto a full physical. In all her years, she hadn't seen a case like his before, besides the Fox's influence.

Tsunade bent and lifted a small jar out of one of the draws in her desk. "Take him home and put him in bed. Crush these leaves and boil them in water. Leave the solution next to him so he can inhale the fragrance, it should help a little for now," she said to the Uchiha. The man nodded and took the jar, tucking it into his jacket before running through hand signs and both he and Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Alright, listen up the rest of you. I want you to split into teams and set up a perimeter around the village, sweep through the town and check everywhere. Anyone matching the description or any suspect is to be brought in. Is that clear?" Tsunade barked, and everyone shouted back their understanding before disappearing.

Shikamaru sighed for the hundredth time that day. Darkness poured in from the window, and stars dotted the sky above. Everyone would have just gone to bed. After an unsuccessful search of the village, Tsunade had given him all the available information on each and every man that had been killed; practically their life story. He was going through family history, every school they attended, every mission they were on, every report they handed in. He went through folders of papers, trying to find a link between the men. It was taking him ages. He had started on missions, thinking that the killer might be pin pointing certain shinobi for some sort of revenge or pay back. So far it had gotten him nowhere.

Shikamaru sat in one of the offices in the academy, and having taught there many times, he was sure no one would be hanging about to disturb his thoughts this late. He sat on the floor with the stacks of paper spread out in front of him, his legs crossed beneath him and his hands in the strange position he always used when he was thinking. He just got comfortable when there was a knock on the door.

He sighed again and opened his eyes, mumbling under his breath, "How troublesome."

The door slid open after he called for them to come in. It was Iruka. The older shinobi closed the door behind him and sat opposite Shikamaru, avoiding moving any of the papers.

"How's it coming?" he asked quietly.

"That's the problem. It's not going anywhere."

Iruka nodded and looked at some of the papers on the floor, reading them to himself. "Need any help? Do you want something to eat or drink? You've been in here for hours." Instead of answering, Shikamaru just frowned at the man before him, his mind swirling a thought around. "What is it?" Iruka asked, but the younger shinobi ignored him.

Instead, Shikamaru looked down at the papers in front of them, his eyes skimming over their titles. He found the three sheets he had been looking for and held them in his hands, reading the first quickly.

"...Took his wife to hospital but was killed due to her wounds in the grave battle where the village almost perilled..."

He looked to the second sheet.

"... Taken off the battle field after receiving a life threatening wound..."

He looked at the last paper.

"...Survived the battle which took so many people's lives..."

Almost with shaking hands, his eyes wide, he looked at the dates of the battle in question. They were all the same. It was the same battle. One that took place nineteen years ago, the year he was born, the year the village came under attack of a terrible beast that almost destroyed them if it hadn't been for a certain man. Shikamaru's eyes widened even more as all the pieces fell together. His illness, his multiple collapses, his sudden realisation of what had really been the cause of them...

Shikamaru looked up to Iruka who was studying him closely. The man's own parents had been killed in the battle that linked the men together. "I've figured it out, and I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't come here," he said with a small triumphant smile.

"You know who the killer is?" Iruka asked, his eyes lightening up. The other shinobi nodded, but the smile quickly slid off his face. His thoughts went over the events of that day. He suddenly shot to his feet, making Iruka jump. If he was right, another attack would be happening tonight.

"Come on, we've got to go. Now!" Shikamaru barked and bolted out of the door, the other man following him, full of confusion. The younger shinobi didn't know what he would do if he suddenly found himself up against this ancient foe, but at least he could try.

He was floating. His mind was blank, but he knew something was wrong. He couldn't concentrate on anything, but knew something important was happening in the waking world. He struggled; he pushed his boundaries and broke down the barriers around him with his sheer will. Someone needed him.

Sasuke woke with a jolt. At first he didn't know where he was. It took him a long time to figure out where he was, and what he was doing. He was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, his newspaper in front of him. He remembered making himself tea. But it was cold. How could it be cold if he made it no more than five minutes ago? And how did he fall asleep? He wasn't tired. Sasuke looked down to the crossword he had been filling in. He had been writing the letter 'F', but it was missing a stroke. He hadn't finished writing it. Why would he stop half way through writing a letter? Sasuke was confused. He hadn't just fallen asleep. It was more like someone knocked him out.

The Uchiha froze. Something was wrong. He stood and rushed into his bedroom, where Naruto had been unconscious ever since he blacked out earlier that day. He skidded to a halt and his breath caught in his throat. Naruto wasn't there. He started searching through the whole house, checking every room with rising panic. Naruto wasn't in the house. But where could he be? Sasuke concentrated and tried to pick up the blonde's chakra. He almost fell over in shock when the chakra he sensed flooded through him. It wasn't Naruto's. Dread filled him as he realised who it belonged to. Suddenly, everything clicked together. Everything was related.

It had all started with the dreams, and then the first murder took place. The black outs followed, and after that came the second killing. The throwing up and the sick state came just after the third murder. His illness, his multiple collapses, his sudden realisation of what had really been the cause. He had known but had been stopped before he could tell anyone. And now the killer was back.

Ooh, they've figured it out, lol.

Thanks for reading, please review, fave or alert!

KCT