Disclaimer: I still don't own it; I'm working on it though. Sent a polite letter to Masashi Kishimoto, seeing if he fancied letting me take over. I'll keep you posted.

Naruto found his eyes locked on the young man who sat before him, who went by the name of Sasuke. He wanted to look away but he couldn't.

Does he know what's going on?

Naruto's eyes were torn from Sasuke's eventually by the sound of many feet running, and the occasional thump coupled with pain-filled shouts that joined the familiar sounds of panic and fear that coursed through the underground station.

The fact that the lights were on the inside meant that Naruto couldn't see outside to the pitch black station, but he could imagine what was going on out there. Many of the carriage occupants had spilled out, desperately trying to find the exit, and with absolutely no lights and no means of navigation it had become a frenzied rush; men, women and children alike trampled by the surging crowds attempting to escape from what was rapidly becoming a crypt.

The lights flickered threateningly. It was obvious that leaving the carriage now was a bad idea. They needed to wait for the lights to come on in the station at least. But it wasn't just that; something else told Naruto that leaving the carriage right now was a very bad idea indeed.

The young teen didn't seem to agree, lurching forward, and inspired by the idea of escape he mashed the small red box open with his fist and grabbed the hammer. Raising it triumphantly over his head, he charged at the window nearest the platform.

"No!" Naruto yelled frantically. He was unsure why the idea of the teen smashing the window filled him with so much fear, but a gut feeling told him it was the worst possible thing to do. As the teen approached the window, the mother clutched even more desperately at her son; an instinctive reaction to the fear in Naruto's voice. Naruto saw Sasuke's head twitch up to glance at the charging teen.

At that moment the lights went out.

Naruto heard a horrific crunching noise: the sounds of bones being broken like twigs. The sound filled him up, overflowing his senses, and he cringed, his whole body doubling in on itself. He clenched his ears and fell to the ground. What was that?!

Naruto clutched desperately to the edges of the seat, panic now threatening to overwhelm him. Calm down, he told himself, digging his nails deep into the padding of the seat.

Then it hit him. Why had they stopped running? The crunching sound of bone had come far too close for it to be outside the carriage, but it had marked the end of the crazed rush outside. In its absence Naruto could hear choking; coughing noises; deep rasping breaths. The sounds made Naruto freeze where he was, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. What was happening to them?!

Naruto's breathing began to increase, and he felt his whole body begin to shake uncontrollably. CALM! he commanded himself, but it was no use, and panic surged through his body as he cast his eyes around manically for a source of light, finding none. The walls that he couldn't see seemed to be closing in around him.

As he felt darkness begin to take him, a firm hand placed itself on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. He recognised the strength this arm possessed. His breathing began to slow, and the feeling that the walls were closing in on him seemed to stop. He loosened his grip on the chair in front of him. The hand released his shoulder.

At that moment, enjoying the game they were playing with the occupants of the carriage, the lights flickered back on. Naruto breathed a tremendous sigh of relief. The coughing, rasping noises had almost ceased. He cast his eyes around the carriage and was almost sick for the second time that day.

Lying at his feet was the body of the teenager, and the hand which still clung to his prided hammer was a mangled, bloody mess. Naruto didn't know if he was dead or alive. He looked up at Sasuke, pleading for him to explain with his eyes.

Did he-?

Sasuke sat on the same chair, and he didn't return Naruto's gaze. Naruto was fairly sure he'd just touched his shoulder to calm him, but still the man acted as if nothing had happened. No, that wasn't quite right. Is he...blushing? Naruto didn't know if it was the orange back up lights, or if his mind was tricking him, but his face seemed slightly redder than before. It was an awkward blush that suggested his face wasn't quite sure if it was doing it right.

"Did you -" Naruto didn't get to finish what he was about to say. There was a thump on the window behind Naruto, and turning, he let out a gasp of surprise. Two hands pressed on the windows outside. The windows were steamed from the occupants and it reminded Naruto of the clichéd horror movies he'd watched as a kid. The hands twisted, in obvious pain. They wanted the light. They needed it.

Naruto stood, looking at the hands desperately trying to get into the carriage. He felt tears prick his eyes. And suddenly, he knew the man outside was dying. He wanted to help him. He wanted to pick up the hammer from the mangled teenager's hand and smash the window in and hold whoever it was close to him. He knew he couldn't, and it tore him up inside. He let out one choked breath, closer to a sob than it should have been, before trying to compose himself.

This isn't fair.

At some point the women had stopped rocking backwards and forward with her son and instead bent down, and, seemingly feeling the same emotions that Naruto felt, she picked up the hammer.

Naruto turned to her, feeling suddenly stronger. He had to help the people still alive. He promised himself he would. Slowly and compassionately Naruto raised his arm, palm open facing her. The women looked at him, her eyes welling with tears as the realisation hit her.

Everyone was dead apart from them.

They couldn't be helped.

Naruto's hand gesture got the message across. She put the hammer down slowly and hugged her son to her, hoping desperately that he didn't know what was going on.

Naruto slumped down on the floor. He wanted to tell her it was going to be alright. To take the kid in his arms and promise him that he wasn't going to die. But he couldn't. Something had changed in Naruto when the lights went out; when Sasuke had held his shoulder. His face contorted in determination. Damn it all! he thought.

A faint hissing noise brought Naruto from his thoughts, and a black swirling substance began to fill in through the small vent shafts behind the seats.

He realised what at the same time his body moved. "Gas!" Naruto cried, and he jumped to his feet, quickly running around the carriage and closing all the vents. He breathed a sigh of relief. I don't think much got in.

Five minutes passed before Naruto heard the little boy utter something for the first time since he had smiled at Naruto.

"Mummy, what's that?"

Naruto glanced up and his stomach felt as if it had just flipped over. The black gas crept stealthily along the floor towards him. Looking around, he saw it billowing in from under the doors.

Naruto looked up frantically and saw Sasuke's face, as impassive as usual, as if he had known this was going to happen.

Sasuke caught Naruto's gaze and read it perfectly.

"There was nothing we could have done to prevent it. I didn't see any reason to cause alarm," he said quietly; as if resigned to his own death "It should be over soon."

Naruto was about to open his mouth to sound his confusion and mounting protest but his whole body ignored him, his lips seemingly fused together. He tried to get up, but his legs felt oddly weak, and using the handrail for support he pulled himself to his feet. Sasuke, you bastard! He lurched towards the impassive black haired man, trying to make him feel his anger. He didn't reach him, and hitting the floor hard, his whole world began to spin.

Sound left him, replaced by an emptiness. His throat burned and his lungs screamed in pain as he realised he was no longer breathing.

And as his eyelids began to close, he saw the doors of the train whoosh open. Three pairs of thick leather boots made their way towards the occupants of the train.

"They're still alive."

Naruto's senses slowly came back to him, his head feeling oddly heavy and his hearing and vision still fading in and out.

"They're alive because of you."

The words travelled to him, but they sounded distant, as if someone was shouting them at the other end of a large empty hall. His hearing started to sharpen, and he could hear is own breathing, rasping and hissing.

Where am I?

He tried to open his eyes. They were sore and it hurt like hell but he managed to pull them open, tears of pain dripping down his face. He still couldn't see properly.

It must be the gas.

It was as if someone had placed an elongated circle over each of his eyes, restricting the area he could see. He felt for his face and it felt strange, like smooth leather beneath his fingertips. How much damage did this gas to do my senses?! he wondered, growing increasingly alarmed.

Naruto looked up. In front of him stood Sasuke and one of the men who had sported the thick leather boots. He looked like he was from a military organisation of some kind, a gun slung loosely around his neck and a bullet proof vest over his chest, with khaki undergarments.

The room he occupied resembled a hospital; it had that sterile feel to it. Far too much white to be comforting.

"Well done," he said to Sasuke, shaking his hand. It was the same voice as earlier. "I need to see to the east wing - can you watch over him? The women and child have recovered."

"I guess..." Sasuke said reluctantly, and the man saluted him before marching off.

Sasuke turned and looked at him, an odd expression crossing his face. Almost as if he was fighting between wanting to care for the disgruntled-looking Naruto and kicking himself for even considering the idea.

"Sasuke..." Naruto began. "There's something wrong. I... I can't see properly. There are like two circular patches of vision, and.. I can't feel my face. It's the gas, right?"

"You're wearing a gas mask you idiot." This seemed to have made up the indecision on Sasuke's face as he looked at him with wry amusement across his face.

That damn Sasuke. Naruto would have voiced this opinion, had the gas still not been making talking difficult.

"In the carriage.. you... I.. Than-"

"Nothing happened in the carriage," he replied shortly. Slightly wounded by this conclusion, Naruto looked away from Sasuke.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked, pointing at the mask on his face.

"They don't know if there will be any more gas coming down," Sasuke replied wearily.

"What the fuck happened?"

"I—" He stopped himself, and Naruto, through some odd instinct, thought it best not to push him.

An oddly awkward silence filled the room between the two. The imposing emotionless Sasuke from the very beginning of this whole escapade was gone: there seemed to be something he wanted to say, or rather, do.

Their eyes met again over the bed that Naruto occupied, and Sasuke's expression seemed to have softened again slightly. What is the thinking? Naruto wondered.

Sasuke opened his mouth slightly as if meaning to say something, but before he could utter a syllable, the women from their carriage burst in and threw herself on Sasuke.

"Thank you!" she cried. "Thank you so much, I..." She didn't get any further than 'I' as great sobs of relief shook her body, and she held onto Sasuke's neck for support as she sobbed her thanks inter her mask, tears collecting at the bottom.

"I just don't know what I would have done if he had died. You're so brave!" she continued between sobs.

A look of irritation had swept over Sasuke's face; he didn't know how to react to this. It was obvious he wasn't at all comfortable with it, and after a few more moments, Sasuke peeled her off his shirt and held her at arms length.

"S-sorry, it's just he means so much to me, and I- I just wanted to thank you, but I can see you're busy," the woman said, and she glanced at Naruto and nodded to acknowledge him.

What about all the help I gave her?! he thought.

"My name's Sakura," she continued. "If you ever want anything, just – just let me know, okay?" She smiled sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed, and fled from the room.

The awkward silence returned and remained for the following hour. Sasuke seemed to have reconsidered what he was planning on saying to Naruto, and sat in silence. Finally, Naruto sat up, beyond frustrated.

"This is boring!" he declared. "Where are we? I'm going to go look around."

Sasuke looked up, irritated that he had been interrupted from his thoughts. Reluctantly he followed Naruto out of the room - he had been told to look after him, after all. Naruto wandered down the corridor.

"We're in an underground facility. We were moved here after the tube."

Naruto shuddered at the memory of that tube.

"What did you do in there? Why was that women so happy?" Naruto inquired, walking down the dreary grey corridor. It really did look like a military compound.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke muttered.

They continued on in silence, and Naruto noticed that people had started to take their masks off, so he followed suit. It was itchy. The pair rounded the corner suddenly, to where a group of guards sat huddled around a piece of equipment.

"Are they survivors?" one of them asked, pointing at the machine in front of them.

"Impossible!" the man next to him shouted. "There's no way they could survive without masks."

"Maybe they've only inhaled a little? Or maybe there was no gas at all?" the first one suggested.

"I say we open the gates." the third guard said, and with a majority rule the guard who had objected sighed wearily.

"You know what they said about letting people in," he objected.

"I don't give a damn what they said. What the fuck's the point of this place if we don't offer people refuge?" the first guard replied passionately.

By this time both Naruto and Sasuke had stopped to watch the going's on.

"Fine," the guard said, sighing reluctantly. "We're opening the gates!" he shouted. "Prepare the air lock!"

The guard tapped a number of buttons on the front of the machine before turning to watch the massive gate that occupied the far wall.

Slowly, the door began to open. And Naruto gasped. It was about three metres thick: three metres of reinforced metal.

What the fuck is that meant to keep out?!

Naruto didn't ask Sasuke. He wasn't going to look stupid in front of the capable man again.

The door rumbled on its way, clanging to a halt at the end of its runners. There came a pause, and Naruto could tell that the guards were starting to get nervous as one of them hopped from foot to foot.

"Where are they?" he heard one mutter.

Naruto felt Sasuke's presence behind him.

Naruto squinted. He could see something begin to emerge: it moved forward apprehensively. Soon it was joined by another, and presently there were six of them beginning to make their way through the gate.

At first everything seemed normal. From what Naruto could see they were just people; just people looking thoroughly scared, as if what they'd seen outside those doors was horrific to behold. As they grew nearer, Naruto felt cold shivers being sent down his spine.

The look in their eyes.

They wanted to die.

"Hold it right there!" the sergeant who had been reluctant to let them through shouted. He raised his rifle and the men around him followed suite, clearly reluctant.

Still pointing his rifle at the group assembled some twenty metres in front of him, he punched keys into the machine to his left, and grumbling, the doors rattled shut. The relaxing sound of hydraulics did nothing to ease the tension mounting around them.

Something's not right, Naruto thought, shifting uncomfortably. Sasuke's dominating presence calmed him slightly.

"What do we do?" the younger soldier who had passionately argued they should be let in asked. Clearly he hadn't thought this far ahead, and like Naruto, felt the sense that something just wasn't right.

At that moment the officer who had rescued them strode around the corner, his helpers in tow. A long coat hung casually over his right shoulder as strode towards them, returning from east wing. He stopped abruptly and his face flushed red with anger.

"Sergeant?" he barked. "What is the meaning of this?"

He stormed past Naruto and Sasuke and stopped a few metres from the sergeant and his assembled men.

"I gave clear instructions that no survivors were allowed through." His face was taught with rage. "You know the procedure soldier; it's been reported that survivors who have been subject to the gas for more than an hour have known to become unstable! This was clearly re-laid to all command posts and specific orders not to let anybody in or out of the gates issued!" He spat the last few words, sending beads of spittle into the sergeant's face.

"Y-yes sir, I know sir, but-"

"No buts damn you!" the officer cried in exasperation. He was fearful to behold in this rage that had beset him. "Do you want to compromise the safety of everyone here? Including those who were lucky enough to survive?" He threw a gloved hand in the direction of Sasuke and Naruto, who up to now he had apparently forgotten.

"No sir." The sergeant replied, his resolve gone.

In the silence that followed, one of the survivors who up to now had not uttered a word somehow summoned the courage to speak.

"We-we were inside the whole time," he stammered. "Th-the gas was gone when we came out and we f-followed the emergency radio directions here."

The officer turned and looked at the group assembled there. Their existence disgusted him.

"Rubbish!" he announced.

Naruto numbly wondered what would happen to the group. What did he mean they could become 'unstable'? In his mind he saw them transform into rabid beasts, charging towards him; ripping him limb from limb.

The officer returned his attention to the assembled guards.

"Shoot them," he hissed.