Chapter 2
Sasuke was awakened by a stream of light shining trough a crack in the curtains. That source of light had been sent from hell to torture him, he was sure of it. He wanted nothing more than to close the curtains and go back to sleep. As he tried to turn around and change his position on the bed, a rush of pain shot trough his whole upper body. Fuck! He exclaimed, followed by pained groans tearing themselves from his mouth, as he tried to make his body limp again. Trying his best to calm the throbbing pain in his abdomen.
He ended up constantly shifting, trying his best to find a way to keep his pain in check, if only a little bit. It turned out to be a complete failure, many attempts followed by even more hisses and curses. By the time he was done, he was lying limp on his back, breathless. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breath. The pain was still there, but he could bear with it. He just had to make sure not to move too much.
If it weren t for the pain he probably would ve thought of yesterdays events as a dream. It wasn t the first time his brother had done something like this. Sasuke brought an arm up, resting it on his forehead. He felt a familiar stinging in his eyes. It wasn t because of the pain. At least not from any of the bruises. It had been years since Sasuke had last cried, and he was most certainly not going to start now.
A knock brought Sasuke back to reality. He turned his head a little bit to be able to see the figure standing in his doorway. Itachi was looking straight into the eyes of his little brother, and for a brief moment, Sasuke saw a glimpse of sadness, maybe even fear in his eyes. Itachi seemed to pull himself together, but the look in his eyes never really faded.
Sasuke He greeted, a little lower than usual. Itachi Sasuke answered as stern as possible, trying not to flinch at the pain in his abdomen. For what seemed like at least ten minutes, the two brothers stared at each other in a somewhat awkward silence. Itachi however, was the one to break it.
Sasuke Sasuke gave him a look as to signalize for Itachi to continue, though he could see his brother hesitate.
Did I ? The minute those words had left his mouth Sasuke looked away, breaking away from Itachis pained gaze. Itachi said no more, as he had already found the answer to his question. He lowered his head in shame. Sasuke Itachi nearly choked out. Sasuke kept averting his gaze. Sasuke, I-I m so sorry Itachi said so sofly that it came out as a mere whisper, but Sasuke had caught it. He brought his attention back to his brother, seeing his bangs covering his face as his head hung low. Something unimaginable for an Uchiha.
Sasuke couldn t help but feel bad for his brother. He knew Itachi was on the verge of having a break down. He had never meant any harm, and Sasuke knew that. He could never blame his brother for losing control, nor would he ever hold it against him. Itachi had been like that for many years. Unstable and unpredictable. Ever since that night.
When he knew Itachi had turned his attention back to him, he raised his hand a bit, trying his best not to flinch, and silently telling Itachi to stop. He shook his head.
This was enough to make Itachi s shoulders lower. He breathed out a sigh of relief at his brothers forgiveness. He truly didn t deserve it. He stepped into the room to inspect his brother. How bad is it? He asked, stopping just before Sasuke s bed.
It s nothing Sasuke said. He was about to try getting up, only to be stopped by a gentle squeeze on his shoulder. He looked up, meeting his brothers warning gaze as to say Don t even think about it . Sasuke then let his body go limp once again, as he breathed out a sigh.
I m fine Itachi, really. Itachi eyed him, though he wasn t stupid.
I can see the bloodstains on your sheets. He said. His voice was now back to his normal monotone. So unless you ve somehow turned into a woman over the night, I suggest you let me patch you up
Sasuke growled something about stupid big brother before noticing the small smirk on his brothers lips, but no sooner than it had appeared, It was gone again. You re staying in bed. There is no way I m letting you go to school in your condition. Was all he said, before exiting Sasuke s room, closing the door behind him before Sasuke could even get the chance to protest.
This was how he knew his brother still cared. More than anything he knew that what was happening to him was tearing his brother apart limb from limb. He hated seeing his brother like this, and to be honest, there wasn t much he could do about it other than taking the beating when his brother lost control, but it didn t really do any of them any good at all.
The warning bell went off, telling the students to get their ass to the next class before they ended up in detention. A slight warning that made the students aware of how late they were. At least that was how Naruto felt, as he hurried down the hall trying to reach the locker room. His next class was P.E with Gai-sensei, and he did not want to be late. The last time he was late for his class, he d made him stay after class with tree times as much training as the others, causing him to be late for his next class as well, earning him another hour of detention. The thought alone was enough motivation to make him pick up his speed. When did this corridor get so freaking long!?
When he finally reached the door to the locker room, he swung it open with all his might, without a second thought, and stumbled into the locker room. He spent several minutes supporting himself on the nearest wall, trying his best to calm his panting breath. When he finally managed to get somewhat control over his breathing, he looked up, meeting the stares of multiple guys who had stopped in their tracks the minute Naruto had so gracefully stumbled in the door. After finally realizing the situation he was in, Naruto felt his cheeks heat up as he straightened himself up and rubbed the back of his head, giving off a nervous smile.
After the so called show was over the rest of their guys lost interest, and continued changing before exiting the locker room. Naruto waited until the others had left before he started undressing. He was a little afraid to change in front of the others to be honest. He really didn t like feeling exposed, more importantly he didn t want everyone to see the bruises still visible on his body. Not that they didn t already know he got beat up, those who knew of his existence that is, but it was embarrassing It was proof of his inability to take care of himself. No guy would want something like that to be public knowledge.
He put on his gym clothes provided for him by the school, consisting of a pair of grey sweatpants and a white T-shirt, before heading for the gym. Most people didn t bother to use the school s set of clothes, and brought their own instead. Many of them were athletes anyway, and had their own hobby to kill time. Of course, they d own their own equipment. Naruto on the other hand, could not afford such luxury. Not that it was needed anyway, but considering he was pretty much the only one in class who didn t own his own sportswear, he was sure to attract some attention from his fellow students.
The minute he entered the gym, he scanned the room in search of Gai-sensei, but he was nowhere in sight. Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He d made it in time, but his luck was cut short as he noticed something else. The whole gym was filled with the chatter of the other students, but the minute he entered the gym, one of the groups fell silent.
Naruto looked up, only to meet the stares from a group of three people. From his place on the opposite side of the gym, he could still see the smirks beginning to take form on their faces. Naruto supressed a shudder and tore his eyes away from their stares. He cursed himself when he noticed that his hands had started shaking a bit. You fucking coward! He yelled at himself internally. Though he had to admit, that being afraid wasn t unreasonable. He knew then and there that he needed to find a way to stay out of their way for the rest of the day, or else he would be the one to pay for his mistake.
He looked up again, but fear struck him when he saw that they had moved. They were coming his way! Shit! He thought. Shit, shit, shit! He didn t know what to do. How long until class starts? He looked around to find a watch, but the one in the gym had been broken for years. They wouldn t do anything with this many people around, would they? He though, or more like prayed. The group was no longer than 10 feet away when something else, and dare he say, almost equally horrifying as the small threat approaching him.
Good afternoon my youthful students! All heads turned as a tall black-haired man, wearing a skin-tight green jumpsuit entered the room. He flashed a toothy smirk as he gave the students the thumbs up. Let s break some sweat!
The whole class groaned, knowing what was to come. Well Everyone except one. Naruto let out a breath he hadn t realized he s been holing. Never in his life had he found such a disturbing sight so beautiful!
He looked up in search for the predators, only to find them glaring at him, before turning around, and heading back to where they were earlier, giving Gai-sensei their full attention. There is a god after all! Naruto thought. Resisting his urge to throw his fist in the air at his victory.
Naruto huffed as he stomped out of the all too familiar infirmary. He was definitely not in a good mood.
The school nurse s assistant; Shizune, found him earlier today behind the school after practically getting his ass kicked for the fourth time this week. He hated those guys. It was usually the same group of assholes every time, and he hated himself even more for not being able to fight back. He d thought that they wouldn t come back after gym class ended, but apparently he was wrong.
Naruto sighed as his footsteps slowed down, and he calmed down a bit. It wasn't as nerve wrecking to walk these halls after school hours. Everyone was long gone. What time was it anyway? When he was dragged into the infirmary, Tsunade spent a good deal of time patching him up, and throwing threats in his direction. Daring him to show up in her office again with more scratches. It was the same as always. It's odd how you grow used to death threats after a while, though he knew very well that there was no cruelty behind her words, nor did she wish him any harm. It was just how she was. She was just concerned about him, that's all. She's a good old hag, that's for sure.
Unfortunately for her, he had no power what so ever over the damage done to his body. There wasn't much he could do about it. His body was too weak to do him any good if he ever got into a fight, which seemed to happen more and more often these days. The only thing the blond was good at using was his mount. Not that that ever did him any good. If anything it only made it worse.
As he neared the end of the darkened hallway, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard a loud thump, followed by a yelp. There was usually never anyone here at this hour. Naruto thought as he held his ground and strained his ears to maybe figure out who was there. Hopefully he could just walk past them without any trouble, but he wouldn't risk it. He could hear what sounded like rustling of fabric. What was going on? The sounds got louder, and Naruto silently moved over to the wall to his left, as to get a little closer. The warning bells in his head had long since gone off, but Naruto had never been one to listen to reason. Not even his own.
From where he was standing he could hear muffled voices. Not like as if someone was standing too far away, but more like as if someone was trying to speak with something covering their mouth. He couldn't make out the words at all, but there was something about the tone the voice held that made him uneasy.
Naruto felt chills run down his spine as he heard an amused chuckle from around the corner. It was a different voice, that's for sure. Naruto could feel his blood run cold as he heard the voice speak. It was the kind of voice that would haunt your dreams. He spoke in such a sickly sweet tone it made Naruto shudder.
Shh... my sweet. Don't look so frightened my dear. Still, the voice held some sort of familiarity. He knew he had heard this voice before, he just couldn't put his finger on it.
Naruto nearly felt his heart break as his thoughts was interrupted by muffled sobs coming from the first voice. He was convinced now that it was a girl. More ruffling of fabric could be heard, and the girl let out whimper.
P..please.. D..d..don't Her voice was so small and it was shaking violently. He was barely able to make out the words.
An alarm suddenly went off in Narutos head, as he finally realized what was going on. Naruto knew he had to do something. What? He didn't know. He was a weakling and a coward.
Still, he gathered up every trace of courage he possibly could, before he moved to peek around the corner. What he saw made his blood boil, as a wave of anger suddenly hit him. In the darkened lit hall, he could make out three figures. A long-haired girl was being pinned against the wall behind her by another body. The second figure, presumably a boy, was wearing a dark hood over his head. Keeping anyone from seeing his face. His body was pressed tightly up against the poor girl, keeping her firmly in place. An unexpected third person was standing a bit on the side, pinning the girl s arms above her head, also wearing a hood
The boy pinning the helpless girl to the wall let out another amused chuckle as he moved his face terribly close to hers. She tried her best to turn her body away, but it was no use. When she turned her head to the side to get away from the man in front of her, her chin was grabbed harshly, and he turned her head to make her face him. Even in the dark hallway, Naruto was able to spot the tears running down her face. Her breath hitched in her throat when the man leaned in and licked a tear away from her cheek.
Shh.. deary. Naruto could almost feel his smirk on his face as he kept talking in that sickly sweet voice of his.
As much as I'd love to hear your cries for help, you see, I must not let myself get carried away. Surely you understand, hmm?
The girl s eyes visibly widened at his words. She opened her mouth to yell for help, but before she could even muster a sound, her mount was covered with a hand belonging to the third man who was now holding her arms with only one of his own.
The poor girl desperately tried to thrust her body in every direction, without any luck. Her mouth was covered well enough, so that her cries for help was too muffled to reach any further than Naruto s ears.
The man pinning her to the wall smirked as he reached for the zipper on her jacket. Slowly pulling it down until the jacket was completely open. As the jacket slid off, pooling around the girls' feet. Looking into the girls' eyes, Naruto could see a fear much greater than his own. He'd been trembling for a while now. He still wasn't completely sure weather it was from anger or fear, but that didn't matter. He had to do something. He wanted to do something, but his legs wouldn't move.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut tight. He was so ashamed of himself. Here he was, completely helpless in a situation where someone completely defenceless needed help. Every time he'd been picked on, beat up and worse, he'd always been hoping that at least one person would bother to stand up for him. To support him, or at least lend him a hand. Now he himself was in the same kind of situation, seeing it from their point of view. 'Is this how they felt? Helpless? Were they not able to, or did they just not care enough to help?'
No time to think about that now. 'Move!' He tried to command himself, though it didn't do any good. Carefully he opened his eyes to look at the girl once again, and he was shocked to see her missing several pieces of her clothing. He hadn't even noticed. The man in front of her had left her standing in her bra, and was now fiddling with her skirt. Naruto could feel the anger in his body turn to rage, as he clenched his fists. He heard the girls muffled sobs as clearly as he could hear his own pulse in his head. 'Move, damn it!' He thought. Naruto felt an all too familiar stinging in his eyes, as he heard the muffled pleas coming from the girl right around the corner.
mmpfh... mfphh! She yelled as loud as she could, but no one was coming for her rescue. There was simply no escaping the man in front of her, who only seemed encouraged by her distress. The man then roughly grabbed both sides of the girls' skirt, making her breath hitch in her throat before he pulled it down.
Naruto could feel his own tears staining his cheeks, as he watched helplessly. Move.. He whispered. The others didn't seem to notice. His body still refused to move, and he could feel his own frustration grow. 'You coward!' He internally yelled at himself. 'You good for nothing idiot!'
The girl fell to the floor with a loud thump as the man tripped her, and she lost her footing. A pained moan could be heard, followed by a dark chuckle. Naruto was furious with himself for not being able to anything, and now he could feel himself loosing it. 'You fucking bastard, I'm in charge here! So when I tell you to move, you move you piece of shit! Now move damn it!'
What happened next was something no one really had predicted.
