Hehe, I was actually kind of fast this time.. Many of the new reviews (from new people) say it's creepy..but cool. So that's kind of cool, right? I try to be original.

Beta: SaphireWhiteWolf-thanks!! ^^ I decided to post before you read to the last part as a sort of surprise. It's funner if you don't know everything, right?

---Chapter 14 All Kinds of Bad

Bad. Unpleasant, miserable and unkind.

There were many definitions of bad, and many kinds to be felt.

Feeling ill was one; no one in a healthy state of mind would enjoy being sick. They may enjoy reaping the benefits, skipping school, and being able to stay home and rest instead of work, but experiencing the actual ailing was something no one wanted.

The heart wrenching feeling of bitter failure after coming so close to victory. To have it snatched away after hours and hours of work..months of time that went to waste...It was a hollow, but also very deep feeling. Sadness and anger, mixed with frustration in an endless pit.

Depression intermingled with the feeling of loss, but also had a category of its own. Dark, unhappy and ultimately indescribable unless experienced.

And then there was just bad: miserable, and in so many ways, not enjoyable. The opposite of joy, happiness and other light things. It mainly constituted of anger. Rage fed it, and it grew under bitterness.

But what the blond was feeling was none of the above, and more over the most intense thing that had ever hit him: pain, confusion, and betrayal all wrapped into one deadly recipe.

From an outsider's point of view, of someone who just happened to wander into the cell, he was rather pathetic.

His back was against the wall, and he was curled into a ball, arms around his knees. He didn't seem to notice the rough rock, and had his blue eyes were locked onto something far away, something visible only to him. Dark shadows under his eyes made them seem bigger, and the purplish tinge made his face appear paler. The boy was gaunt and miserable looking.

Empty and bloodshot, his eyes flickered nervously, hopelessly.

What might have been tough, durable clothes, were now tattered rags, and had no identifiable color. His jacket was gone, only his pants were left. A bystander could count a few ribs, and it appeared as if he hadn't moved from that spot in a long time.

Light! He jerked, painfully jarring his funny bone. Ignoring it, the sensation subsided to an odd tingle. Naruto shut his eyes, and turned away. It was painfully bright after so long in the dark.

Footsteps. Not heavy at all, but loud in the absence of sound.

Squinting, he made out a figure, not terribly tall but towering over him none the less. The outline was disturbingly familiar..

What sealed it was the glowing eyes.

But despite the horror, a sick joy rose up in him. A person!! Human contact which he thirsted for with a twisted desperation.

"It wasn't real, Naruto-kun," the voice was strangely kind in his ears. "You never left."

And then Naruto woke up, but it wasn't him. The new not-Naruto was here, and ready to see the world.

---

Inside his mind, he was screaming. Screaming, screaming and screaming for all it was worth.

Kyuubi's eyes looked down at the tattered body in disdain. It was like a ragdoll, painted in red. Skin and bones, messily spilling everywhere. "So it seems your spirit is dead." The demon observed, not particularly moved, but sorry that his jailer was gone so soon. "Such a waste." It said with distaste.

"I..agh." Naruto croaked. He gurgled as blood gushed out of his mouth.

It splattered to the ground, mixing with the water, but mostly staining the inside of the prison.

The kitsune glanced down, and then placed his paw in the small puddle, wiping onto his claws. The gesture was oddly like when Naruto had made his vow to defeat the pesky white-eyed human. Staring for a moment, the demon observed silently and licked his claws in a bored manner.

Splat! Naruto's body fell forward into the water, face first.

Out of the shadows, another Naruto appeared behind him. His eyes held shadows not present in the original's, and the clone had a mad air about him. A kunai rested in his hand.

And he was smiling.

--

He would do anything for him. Anything. Just talk to me! The blond thought madly, staring hungrily at the man, who stood beckoningly at the entrance. His eyes roved over the form, eagerly, drinking in the site of another sentient being he could talk to.

Just barely a man, perhaps seventeen. Short and lithe, he would never be bulky, or overly muscular. But he was intimidating none-the-less; pitch black eyes bore into him, like a ghoul wishing to suck out his soul. His hair was just a shade lighter, and pulled back in a short low ponytail, keeping most of it from his face. Despite this, a few shorter strands fell loose, to the side of his face, nearly framing it.

"Itachi," he rasped in a low whisper. Naruto's eyes and mind absorbed the image, hardly believing the reality around him was "real" and not fake.

A quick quirk of the lips, so fast that if one blinked, they would miss it, and the older man smirked in response. Perhaps his lips had twitched in errant amusement. "Hello, Naruto-kun."

For so long Naruto had lived in a world of delusions. All his adventures: Nina, the damn dog, even his brief act of cannibalism..were all illusions. Created by his mind, unable to cope with how things were.

Ironically the first moments back into everyone's "real world" were spent with Itachi, a master of genjutsu, who created his own truths.

The world wasn't perfect. And the Uchiha couldn't live with that-so he made it perfect.

The flaws of humanity were so annoying.

Uchiha Itachi would guide this lost soul, even if he had to use lies to reveal the truth.

The boy watched him, with desperate eyes, locked onto his form. Frozen, unmoving. Waiting with bated breath. Naruto was trembling, nervous energy rolling off him in waves.

"Follow me," He ordered quietly.

A furious relief swept through the jinchuuriki, as he stood shakily on weak legs. Although at first it was slow in coming; it took him a few moments to process what was happening to him. Once it "clicked" though, it came flooding in, breaking the dam.

Not waiting to see if he would follow, Itachi spun on his foot, and began to walk down the corridors at a swift pace. He strode with purpose.

Naruto nearly tripped over his own feet, eagerly following. Though he stumbled at times, he was never left behind. He feared being lost in this labyrinth, and loathed the idea of being alone again.

It never crossed his mind that he was following a murderer, nor the fact that this constituted as an act as betrayal.

---

Anger..such anger..he hadn't felt in such a long time, centuries..

It bubbled and simmered, like a pot of water about to boil, but struggling to take the final leap from rippling and frothy water, to wild and popping liquid, hot and energetic.

Emotion given phsicsal form was such a dangeroud thing. Especially in a normally incoporal being. Spirit not flesh. His very essence roiled with the srong sensation.

Liquid metal, rushing like a crazed river. It heated normally cold veins. Such a rush of energy! It made him want to move. He was twitchy. His whole scaled form was screaming for movement..

His limbs quivered, all of his muscles agitated. On fire! Someone had lit him aflame, for he was strangely hot. It must be flames that licked him on the inside, scorching his heart.

Must be still..not destroy. So, bound by this, he found release in the only way possible.

He roared, like sense had fled his mind. A terrible loud screech. Deep and throaty, like rumbling thunder.

The tension that had flooded him, soaked into his flesh, fled suddenly, flowing out.

Calm. Sedate.

Angry!

But it was a cold, calculating anger now.

And infinitely more dangerous for it.

---

Here! She could feel his presence, that she'd yearned for, searched for this long. Her soul tugged impatiently to be united with him once more. The dragon wasn't a fully corporal creature, as her spirit nature proved true.

By and large, in many ways, instinct ruled her, shadowing every decision. Despite her high intelligence, some things caused automatic reactions.

She gave away her solid body, crashing through the stone, heading straight for him. Keilan was going the direct route, to the thing that had fascinated her for so long. Disconnected, no one could see her, but she was free to move through things that stopped the measly, limited humans.

She came to a resounding halt, and screeching back into her body in her haste. If she took a bit more time, she would have reformed her body with a low pop, or even silence to human ears. This was a painful sharp hissing screech. A terrible, bloodcurdling sound.

He gave her a look of shock; she knew not nearly as much about human facial expressions as her brothers and father, but his jaw had dropped, showing sharp serrated teeth much like her own, and his eyes seemed to shrink on themselves.

Finally getting over it he pointed to her, working his mouth. "You..you.."

She got comfortable, curling around him, and stared at her blue human fondly.

---

Words:1,700

Hopefully that cleared up a few issues. :) Listening to Rise Against btw. (Prayer of a Refuge, Ready to Fall, Good Left Undone, Hero of War) Pumped me up as I was editing stuff. I intended to get to at least 2,000 words, but I figure this is close enough, and it'll be 2000 with notes. Not to mention the Halloween magic! If anyone is still confused: you know how Naruto "left" and had all his "adventures" on his way home? None of it was real. It originally was intended to have him really leave, but after talking to Saph, I decided to blend her original idea with mine.

10/31/09