A/N: Thank you for all the reviews last chapter!

Captured. Girl talks with him, and he's enjoying it, but then he's attacked by one of the jonin. Oh god–he's going to kill me. I'm going to die–

Naruto doesn't open his eyes. He doesn't scream or make a sound. Despite his heart racing a mile a minute, the only indication of this was a slight exhale.

Where was he? By the cushioning he felt underneath him, he was lying on a bed. Naruto relaxed, relieved beyond imagination. Those jonin–

Monsters. They were not humans, people, or anything similar. They were animals and nothing more.

Naruto could feel himself about to burst into tears, but he wouldn't be able to control himself if that occurred. He focused on those breathing exercises Iruka taught him. For over a minute, he breathed in and out until he felt calm again.

It didn't work completely, but, for now, he was in control.

Naruto opened his eyes and examined his surroundings. He cracked a small smile when he recognized the room he and Sasuke were forced to share.

Good. That meant they were still in the Land of Frost.

Sasuke was nowhere to be found, but that was a blessing. Naruto needed to be alone right now. He got up from his chair and paced, hoping beyond belief that he'd feel better if he just moved. When that didn't work, he mentally growled.

Naruto had a shirt and pants on. They must not have been his because they barely fit him. His shirt didn't have any sleeves, so his unblemished right arm, that shouldn't be so, was there for the world to see.

The memories of what happened rushed through his mind unbidden. He had been so focused on recovering his chakra that he didn't notice the jonin before they were on top of him.

Never again, he swore. That would never occur again. He would have a clone constantly spamming Earth Tremor Sense so he wasn't caught off guard if he was in that position again.

Naruto was a pseudo sensor now. Not utilizing his ability was an egregious mistake he hoped to never repeat. It was his fault he was caught by the enemy.

And because of that carelessness, he lost his arm. He grabbed it now, holding onto his limb for dear life. He cautiously caressed it, marveling at how it felt like he had never lost it at all. Then his hand went up to his eye. His eyesight was the same as before, with no hint of any degradation.

Was this the power of the kyuubi? Granted, it couldn't stop those animals, but it kept him alive. His memory of the incident was hazy, but the animals–as cruel as they were–didn't seem to want to kill him. One of them did, the scarred monster who had originally started the whole incident, but the others almost always tried to hold him back so they could get their own licks in.

They wanted to make Naruto suffer, so they extended the fight as long as they could. That fact was obvious to him at the time, but he was so full of bloodlust, hate, and fear, he fought back regardless.

Without the kyuubi, he would be a cripple. Completely bereft of an eye and an arm for weeks until he was well enough to journey back to Konoha to get himself patched up.

The door to the room was suddenly opened. Naruto turned towards it and was met with the sight of Sakura, her eyes wide before she lunged at him.

Naruto flinched, expecting to be punched but was instead given a fierce hug.

"Naruto! I can't believe you're awake!" Sakura yelled, relief evident in her voice.

Naruto, uncomfortable with the situation, didn't know how to react. He had never been hugged before, or even touched affectionately, by another person.

The closest thing was when Sasuke occasionally flicked him with his index and middle finger, but Sasuke was always embarrassed afterwards. He didn't seem to do it consciously, and Naruto had never asked why. He just understood it was Sasuke's way of showing he was grateful for him being his friend.

But now, someone–a girl, to be exact–was pressing herself up against him. He kept his hands to his side, not knowing if it was okay to touch her. Sakura let go of the hug with an understanding smile, but kept a hand on his chest. Her hand glowed green for a moment before she cut her technique off and removed her hand.

"Thankfully, everything seems to be okay. You were on the edge of dying when we saved you, Naruto." Sakura's face was grim. "I had to watch you for the past couple days so you didn't die. And, suddenly, you're just magically fine?"

Naruto nervously chuckled, still cut off guard by the earlier contact. "My body can be weird like that sometimes. Um, Sakura, did you say two days? Is the mission over already?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No, the leader of the village asked us to watch over the bandits while they're transported to the prisons. The rest are occupied with that while I'm here, watching over you. But that doesn't matter right now. Would you say you're okay enough to move around?"

Naruto blinked in confusion. He cracked his right knuckles to test them. "Uh, yeah, I think so. Why?"

Sakura clapped excitedly. "Good! You and I are going to go shopping!"

Naruto titled his head slightly, wordlessly asking her to explain.

"Because, silly, you're literally wearing Sasuke's clothes. You barely brought any. When I needed to find clothes to dress you, all the ones that belonged to you were dirty. Do you even have an extra jacket? Because the one you had was destroyed," Sakura said, her hands on her hip to emphasize her exasperation.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, a flustered smile on his face. "I, uh, actually don't have an extra, Sakura." He really did like that jacket. It was a shame it was gone.

"Well, all the more reason we need to go shopping. This isn't the most ideal place to do it, but they must have shops that sell decent clothes. You have twenty minutes. When I get back, you better have freshened up and gotten dressed, alright, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked again before smiling. "Sure, Sakura-chan, I'll get ready," he said, before stilling. Did he just call her chan?

Sakura didn't even seem to notice. She just winked at him before turning to leave.

Well… if she didn't mind, then what harm was there in using honorifics? He and Sakura may not have been the closest, but Naruto could say they were friends.

He smiled. Two friends were already far more than he thought he would ever have.

Without even being able to perceive it, a kunai slashed through his eye. Pain was his closest companion in that brief moment before he pulled it out. He could feel the eye gradually healing, but it was intensely agonizing every second it took. The agony became his friend. When he saw how hopeless it was fighting the jonin, hopelessness became his friend. When the despair washed through him–

Naruto slammed his mask on, hoping it would help him hold himself together. Outwardly, he showed no emotion, but inwardly, he was close to breaking. The mask only stopped the tears from flooding out, but that was enough. He couldn't afford to cry right now. Instead, he focused on carefully breathing.

It wasn't working.

He could feel his arm being bisected again, his eyes being pierced, and his friends creeping back into his psyche, wishing to breach his mask to become one with him.

They wished to destroy him.

Sakura knocked on the door, waiting for Naruto to call for her to enter. She really didn't want to accidentally see him naked. When she didn't receive an answer, she frowned. She knocked again.

Nothing.

Sakura shrugged. If he was still putting on clothes–after she gave him over twenty minutes, mind you–then he should've said so. If he wasn't, she was just going to have to enter.

When she opened the door and entered the room, she was met with a disturbing sight.

Naruto was standing in the same spot she had left him, staring off in the distance with a completely blank look on his face.

"Naruto?" Sakura called. She didn't receive an answer. "Are you okay?" He didn't even seem to notice her.

Sakura carefully approached him. It was always dangerous to approach a ninja who wasn't paying attention to their surroundings. If you startled them, you could have a kunai pressed up against your throat without warning.

When she was arms length away from him, she called to him again. She still didn't receive a response. She pursed her lips. She'd have to risk touching him

Eyeing him warily in case he got spooked, Sakura placed her hand on his chest. It glowed the brilliant green that indicated one was using medical ninjutsu. His heart was beating rapidly–so quickly that a normal civilian's heart would have burst instantly. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized what was happening.

Naruto was having a panic attack.

Throwing caution to the wind, Sakura embraced him, gripping onto him tightly. "Naruto, it's okay. You're safe," she whispered.

Distraction–that's what one of the textbooks advised when someone was having a panic attack. Sakura whispered to him about what she planned for them to do today.

"Of course, we were going to go shopping. You really do need new clothes, but I was hoping you and I could hang out as friends, too. You and Sasuke-kun are really close, but I always feel like a third wheel," she said, trying her best to make her voice as soothing as possible. They were the same height, she realized. She snorted at the random thought, idly toying with his hair. Curious, with her left hand, she felt his whiskers.

She'd always been curious if they were just markings or if they were honest to goodness whiskers, so she took advantage of the opportunity. She rubbed them up and down, hoping to feel any type of texture that resembled hair follicles. She was disappointed when she wasn't able to. They must have been birthmarks.

Sakura almost shrieked in surprise when Naruto suddenly hugged her back. She calmed down before she followed through it, but she couldn't help but smile against his shoulder. He didn't say anything, but this was proof she was at least helping him.

She continued. "So I wanted us to hang out after we were done. When you weren't at risk of dying, I didn't have much to do, so I sometimes went out exploring the village. It's a lot smaller than I'm used to, but this place has some good restaurants. I swear, I know of this one place that can put even Hebi's out of business. The dangos there are so delicious!" she breathed, getting excited. Those dangos were truly out of this world. She was going to buy some for the whole team soon so they could all experience it.

"Do you want to try some, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

He nodded against her shoulder, squeezing her tighter. His hold was starting to become painful, but she didn't complain. Her friend was hurting right now, and if she had to deal with a bit of pain to comfort him, that was a sacrifice she'd always be willing to make.

As Sakura continued regaling him with potential plans she had, Naruto's hold started to lessen. Eventually, he released his hold of her entirely, but Sakura didn't let go. She wouldn't until he asked her to.

He did a moment later. "Sakura-chan? I'm okay. You can let go now," he said softly.

Sakura stopped her embrace, but she kept one hand on his chest, examining his heart rate. It was still a bit too fast for her liking, but it wasn't too worrying. If he focused on his breathing, he could get it back to acceptable levels.

She then examined his face. Thankfully, the unreadable void that was present earlier was gone. Now, he just looked embarrassed, not even making eye contact with her; instead, he looked between her eyes to make it seem as he was, but he couldn't fool her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, his usual tick when he was nervous. "That's okay, Sakura-chan. I've kinda bothered you enough already," he said, chuckling nervously.

A tick mark appeared on her forehead. "We're teammates and you just had a panic attack. If you think helping you has bothered me, that couldn't be further from the truth. Naruto, I want to help you."

Naruto bit his lip. He kept looking from her and to the back of the room. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to run away. Sakura felt a little hurt. "You don't have to, though. It… the jonin must have treated you horribly. I can understand it being hard to talk about," she said, forcing a smile. She didn't want to pressure him into something he didn't want to do. As much as she wanted them to be, Team 7 wasn't close yet. While others bonded with each other during the many D-ranks they completed before they took their first C-rank, their team went down an unconventional path.

Kakashi decided to cease all D-ranks and train them individually for hours every day. They all tried their best to hang out occasionally, but they were too exhausted to commit to it. They did a little about each other, at least.

During one escapade at Ichiraku's Ramen, Sakura had asked Naruto how he was able to afford buying all the ramen he consumed every time they went out. That led to him revealing how much of a stipend he received every month.

It was more money than some chuunin earned.

It completely baffled her at the time. She pestered him for why exactly he was given so much money until he shrugged and said he didn't know. Apparently, all the Hokage told him for how it was so much was because some perverted old man had many regrets and this was his way of taking care of him.

That had led to the three of them speculating on who the Hokage was referring to.

She enjoyed moments like those, but they rarely happened.

"Sakura-chan, I… don't know if I'm allowed to," he said, but he sounded hesitant.

Sakura looked into his eyes, looking underneath the underneath, as Kakashi always implored them to. Naruto kept breaking eye contact, but it was obvious, now that she looked closer, that he really wanted to tell her, but he was unsure of himself.

She smiled at him. "I promise I won't judge, Naruto. I just want to help you. We're friends, aren't we?"

Examining him, she could see the turmoil beneath his eyes reach a crescendo. But–biting his lips hard–he eventually gave in.

"Do… you know how the Fourth Hokage defeated the Nine-Tails?"

The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky. There was an evening chill in the air that could raise anyone's goosebumps. The scent of the surrounding forest could be smelled for miles. The sky was completely bereft of any obstructions, but at the very edges of the horizon, clouds could be seen timidly nearing.

A red-haired man sat atop a giant statue and passively kept them away. The clouds were close enough to streak to his location when needed, but far enough to not block the sight of dawn turning to dusk.

The sound of footsteps approaching him reached his ears.

"The Valley of the End," the newcomer softly said. "Why did you choose here of all places?"

The red-haired man turned his head slightly to gaze at his companion, catching sight of a singular red eye beneath an orange spiraling mask. "This was where you last fought Hashirama, was it not, Madara? It's a fitting place to have our talk."

Madara's voice turned dangerous. "And why would that be?"

The red-haired man turned back to staring at the sky, giving Madara's tone no mind. "For ten years, I have studied you and your history. Being a relic of an age of constant warfare, you triumphed over everyone but one man. A man said to be a god."

As he spoke, the clouds began coalescing atop them, with slight droplets of rain falling down to earth.

"You claim to be weakened ever since that fateful battle. Answer this if you will, Madara. Why do you exist? What ambition must a fossil like you possess to continue living on?"

The slight drizzle became crashing waves of water descending down to flood humanity. Sizzling, electrifying lightning zipped across the night sky. Crashing thunder that roared furiously followed soon after.

The red-haired man slowly rose from his crouched position, now staring at his counterpart. Four crimson chains erupted out of his back, standing guard to zip towards the wizened Uchiha.

Madara didn't make a move in retaliation. "You are a fool, Uzumaki, if you believe betraying me to be wise."

"For ten years, you have led my organization. You have forced me to entertain plans I find preposterous and commit deeds I find barbaric."

With nary of even a puff of smoke, the red-haired man palmed a kunai that appeared from his storage seal. "But the greatest sin–the reason I loathe you–is that you forced me to go against Yahiko's wish for peace."

The kunai blitz towards Madara's sharingan eye, but it disappeared from existence a blink later.

A smile flickered across the red-haired man's face but it disappeared a moment later. "For too long have I feared you. Kamui is a dangerous ability, I must admit, but Space-Time ninjutsu to an Uzumaki, well… It's only a matter of time before we find a counter."

Nagato Uzumaki's eyes, the bright red he inherited from his mother, screamed murder.

A/N: I am not too happy with this chapter, but I was battling writer's block. It was either I get it out now, or have it take longer far longer than I am comfortable with.

The next one will be out faster than this one was.

What did you guys think of the chapter? I'd appreciate any reviews - you guys were brilliant with the last one.