A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back!

Thank you for the comments thus far.
It makes me feel good to see that others are enjoying my story and hard work!

Rated: "M" for gore, fighting, and some love between Naruto and Sasuke (yaoi)

Note: I'm not really a gory person in real life. I just like to write about it.

So, without further delay, Chapter 2 of "The Collector"

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Chapter 2 – Troubled Travels

"Where are they?" Sakura tapped her foot impatiently. "It's nearly dawn." Crossing her arms, she squinted at the pathway leading from the village. It wasn't long before she spotted a huge dust cloud headed her way down the main road.

Coming to a halt in front of Sakura, Naruto panted out, "I made it!"

"Naruto, orange is not part of the anbu uniform," Sakura scolded.

"What?" Naruto looked down at himself. In place of the black turtleneck tank he was issued, he had thrown on an orange tee shirt instead. "Yeah, well, its sort of my signature color," he grinned back sheepishly.

"Have you seen Sasuke?" Sakura cut in quickly, her green eyes darting behind Naruto's spiky blond head.

"You mean he's not here yet?"

"No, he's not, and that has me worried," Sakura frowned.

"I'm sure he'll be along any minute," Naruto replied blandly, removing a cup Ramen from his pack.

"What are you doing?"

"Having breakfast," Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of noodles.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Did you bring the envelope with the mission's objectives?"

"Yeah, it's right in there," Naruto gestured over to his pack.

"Good. Since it's getting late, we'll just have to review it once we get to the Village of the Trees," Sakura sighed, watching the sky change from dark blue to a soft hue of reds and purples. She expected this kind of slack performance from Naruto, but not Sasuke.

"We better get going," a rough voice called from behind them.

"Sasuke!" Sakura turned quickly heaving a sigh of relief.

"Oh goodie." Naruto feigned excitement. He slurped down the last of his ramen and rose to his feet. Giving his teammate a glance over he couldn't help but notice that Sasuke's normally cool dark eyes were now bloodshot. "What happened to him last night?" he wondered.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear them of the grime from his restless slumber. Stifling a yawn he said, "Well, what are you two waiting for?" He turned and took off into the forest.

"What? No insult this morning." Naruto questioned. Despite how annoying it was, Naruto missed his banter with Sasuke. It was always good to keep the rivalry going and see who came up with the snappier comebacks. He shrugged; there would be other chances. Taking a fleeting look towards Sakura, he caught the deep concern etched on her face. "She saw it too," he sighed.

"Let's go," Naruto said softly, taking Sakura's hand into his own.

Together the two left the safety of Konoha on towards their new mission.

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The trip into the Village Hidden in the Trees was to take two full days. Naruto was chatty as usual, and Sakura kept scolding him for being so loud and obnoxious. Sasuke kept to himself, and everything seemed to be back to normal.

They had been bounding through the dense forest for hours when Sakura finally announced it was time to stop for the day. Unloading their packs, each one had a specific task to do to help set up camp. Sakura took to pitching the tent, Naruto went out to gather firewood, and Sasuke went to find dinner.

"I hate gathering firewood," Naruto groaned. "Damn splinter," he hissed as a thin shard of wood entered his palm. After finished gathering the last of the tinder, he happened upon Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke!" he called.

"……"

"You don't have to ignore me," he grumbled. Turning to leave he asked, "Are you coming or what? Sakura has the tent ready and I'm starving! You better have gotten us something good for dinner," he threatened mockingly.

"……"

"Gaah!" Naruto shouted, dropping his pile of kindling and starting towards him. "That's it Sasuke, we're leaving even if I have to drag your sorry…" He abruptly halted.

Naruto peeked over at Sasuke with apprehension. "Sasuke?" He caught sight of Sasuke's dark eyes that were completely transfixed on the ground. Following that intense stare, Naruto swept his gaze down to the hole that Sasuke was creating. His hands were raw after digging so intensely at the earthy ground, his fingernails chipping and snapping on the various pebbles and stones that littered the soil, yet he continued to tunnel. Easing himself closer, Naruto reached out a hand to grab Sasuke's, but was cut short when Sasuke started mumbling. The raven said no comprehensible words, and Naruto grew more baffled. Naruto cast curious azure eyes on him, watching as Sasuke's eyes flickered back and forth, then narrowed. "Where was he going now?"

Sasuke could feel the heat of light pass over his body, and then quickly change to a cooling darkness. Light, darkness, light, darkness, the pattern seemed to continue forever. He was laid against a hard surface, covered only by a thin sheet. He could barely make out the squeaking of wheels running over the slick linoleum floor. He was being pushed, but to where he had no idea. A voice could be heard from over his head, "Suigetsu do this, Suigetsu do that! I'm not her frickin' dog," he grumbled. "Though I suppose rather her pet than one of her victims," he shuddered.

Sasuke attempted to thrash about, but there was no response from his dead, strapped down limbs. Startled, he next attempted an attack with his Sharingans, only to discover that his eyes wouldn't open. He wanted to call out, but his mouth wouldn't open either. His tongue felt around his jaws and discovered a thick thread had sewn his lips together. Terrified he thought, "I must be trapped inside that horrible carved up version of myself from my previous nightmare."

A thin steel door was flung open. "Damn it. Just figured there'd be a storm." Suigetsu crossed his arms and was now rubbing them in attempt to generate some heat. "I better make this quick."

After tightening the straps on Sasuke's gurney, Suigetsu stomped down a stairwell. Sasuke could hear boats crunching. "Snow?" he wondered.

"Here we go," the man heaved, popping back up behind Sasuke's head. He gave a small push and began guiding the stretcher down a very icy ramp.

Once at the bottom, he started again. Taking hold of the handles on the front of the wheeled bed, he lowered his head, and pushed, the wind greatly reducing his progress. Sasuke felt the gurney bump and shake over the various drifts of snow. Oddly enough, he didn't feel the cold, or anything else for that matter. Perhaps he had lost all that when the incisions and cuts were made.

What had seemed like tedious hours, the gurney finally came to an abrupt stop. "Whew!" Suigetsu wiped his forehead. Despite the cold, with all the energy he was using, he had built up a good sweat. "Man, she really did a number on you, kid," he had picked up the corner of the thin sheet covering Sasuke and grimaced. "Why bother doing this for a body so ripped apart as yours?" Grabbing a swig from his water bottle, he shrugged his shoulders, reaching for something underneath Sasuke's table. "Time to finish this," Suigetsu said cheerfully. 'Clang!'

Then the sound came again. 'Clang!' 'Clang!' 'Clang!'

"Just what the hell was going on?" Sasuke thought desperately. He lay motionless on the stretcher, except for the wind that caused his lank bangs to tussle widely around his face. He didn't have much time to contemplate the situation when the straps loosened around his body. The gurney was tilted sideways, and Sasuke felt himself sliding off. Within seconds, he hit the cold, dank ground, face first, with a hard 'THUD!'

"Ironic," the man thought to himself, "the darkness that he enjoyed so much in life will comfort him in death." With a smug smile, the man raised his shovel and began moving dirt on top of Sasuke's body.

Sasuke felt the pressure as each pile of soil poured onto his rotting corpse. Dirt, rocks, and snow formed a slushy mix as they made contact with his back. The weight continued to compress his body causing what little remained of his broken ribcage to fully collapse onto itself. Paranoia quickly escalated into claustrophobia. After a few agonizing moments, everything became deathly still.

"Well, that should do it," Suigetsu wiped his brow. Placing the shovel back under the stretcher, he took hold of the rails and began the tedious trip back through the howling wind. With his back turned, he failed to notice the decaying hand clawing desperately upwards through the earthy muck.

Finally breaking the frozen surface, a pale, chapped hand groped blindly for something to latch onto. Finding what seemed to be a makeshift tombstone, Sasuke felt some indentations scrawled hastily on the surface. Tracing the rough exterior, he was mortified to discover that it spelled Uchiha Sasuke. Broken, scarred fingers dug their shattered fingernails into the rock face, sliding dejectedly back down into the dead soil, leaving a jagged trail of blood.

"Sasuke, Sasuke," Naruto shook his friend's shoulder, his voice edged with concern and fear. Sasuke's glossy stare instantly turned harsh, the blazing red of his Sharingans spinning wildly, and they locked dead on Naruto. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and growled.

"Stay the hell away from me!" he shouted while simultaneously forming various hand signs.

"Crap," Naruto muttered, recognizing one of the Uchiha's specialty jutsus. He quickly did a series of back flips and barely dodged the intense flames that came shooting towards him. Taking rapid deep breaths, Sasuke puffed his chest and sent more fireballs into the surrounding area. Naruto continued to evade the balls of heat by flipping, twisting and turning, bouncing from tree to tree.

"What the hell, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted back. Now he was annoyed. Or rather confused. Sasuke's fireball attacks were completely random, not to mention the fact that he had no focus. It seemed as if he was aiming at anything and everything, choosing a complete defensive maneuver rather than an offensive one. Then, there were his eyes, and for the first time in his life, Naruto sensed real fear from Sasuke.

Naruto took cover high up on a branch and furrowed his brow. "The forest can't take much more of this, and either can Sasuke. He's burning up way much chakra way too fast." Snapping his fingers, he brought his pointer and middle fingers together and formed a cross shape shouting "Kage Bushin!" Six identical clones were summoned to keep Sasuke occupied while the real Naruto readied himself for the final blow.

Dropping to the forest floor, Naruto sprinted over to a tree and leapt towards it. He glanced back to see Sasuke firing off one of his Body Chidoris, quickly destroying all the clones at one time. Now was the time to act. Naruto's feet planted firmly on the trunk, and pumping as much chakra as he dared into his legs, he launched himself directly at Sasuke. Dropping his knees, he rammed Sasuke in the chest, shoving him to the ground and skitting to a dusty halt a few feet from the initial impact.

After the dust had cleared, Naruto had Sasuke pinned to the ground. He sat on Sasuke's chest and held Sasuke's wrists above his head with his hands. The effort was taking every ounce of energy to restrain the thrashing Uchiha.

"Sasuke, quit fidgeting and tell me what's going on!" Naruto demanded. Sasuke fought back, his motions erratic and panic-driven. "Now what?" Naruto thought hastily to himself. "Sasuke won't let me stay on top of him for long." Glancing around and looking for options, he spotted a red blur heading his way. "Sakura?"

She held something between her fingers and nodded towards Naruto. Taking the signal, Naruto did what came natural. He bent down and forcefully took Sasuke's trembling lips into his own. His tongue thrust deep into Sasuke's throat, darting in and out in a tantalizing way. Sasuke's eyes widened, changing back to their usual dark gray, and his struggling weakened.

A moment was all Sakura needed as she bounded down next to Sasuke, jamming a small syringe into his arm. Sasuke winced as the needle's sharp tip made contact with his skin, then fell silent. Naruto lifted his head reluctantly, and licked his lips. Sakura's jaw dropped as she took in what had transpired between her two teammates. "What?" Naruto blushed. "I got him to hold still for a minute, didn't I?"

Easing himself up from Sasuke, Naruto scratched his sun yellow hair wondering, "You know, I don't think Sasuke even recognized who I was. I mean, sure, he's tried to kill me in the past, but this time it was different. There was none of that smug confidence I usually get from him."

"I'd assume it had something to do with another of his nightmares," Sakura added. "Though this time, it attacked him during the day." She furrowed her brow and sighed looking down at Sasuke, who was now laying still, his dark eyes glazed over, his hair ruffling slightly in the light breeze. Bending down, she placed her hand upon Sasuke's forehead. "He's heating up. We need to get him back, now."

Naruto pulled Sasuke onto his back piggyback style. "Hey, Sakura?"

"Hm?" she replied while re-dosing her syringe with more of the sedative.

"What do you think Sasuke was doing clawing at the ground like that," Naruto looked back at the small gap in the ground.

"Honestly, I don't know. And I doubt Sasuke would ever tell me," she shook her head in disgust and took off back to camp. Naruto stared and couldn't help but feel bad for her. Letting Sasuke's arms drape over his shoulders, and getting a better grip under his butt, Naruto headed back towards camp as well.

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Later that night, Sasuke lay, staring angrily at the roof of the tent. He was dressed in his black tank and gray sweats. Gritting his teeth, and closing his eyes, he rolled onto his side. "How humiliating," he muttered, "losing control like that."

Suddenly, a blush flashed across his pale cheeks. Naruto. "Did he really…?" Slowly, Sasuke bought two bandages fingers to his lips.

"Ah! You're finally awake," a cheerful voice called from the tent flap. Caught off guard, Sasuke dropped his fingers immediately and shifted his dark eyes to meet with a cerulean ones. Propping himself onto his shoulders, he grimaced in pain, and nearly flopped back down as a wave of dizziness flowed over him. "Relax, Sasuke. You're not at 100 yet, and there's still that fever you have to get down."

Seeing the scowl spread across the Uchiha's face, Naruto opted to quickly change the subject. "You hungry?" he inquired, pulling a ramen cup from outside the tent. He lifted the cover and inhaled the smell of miso pork. Mouth watering, he licked his lips in anticipation. Sasuke eyed the soup with disgust and looked away. "I know you're jealous, but this is my dinner," Naruto smirked. "I got something else for you." He reached outside the tent again, this time reaching for a skewer. He brought the roasted rabbit meat inside. Sasuke's stomach answered with a loud growl and Naruto laughed. "Well what do you know, you are human after all." He passed him the meat.

Sasuke ate vigorously and within moments had picked the skewer clean. Tossing the empty stick outside the tent flap, he licked his fingers sensually, trying to get in those last few drops of juicy meat. He slid a side-glance at Naruto, who had stopped dead in the process of eating, curly noodles hanging from his lips, and was now staring at him in a peculiar way. Flashing dark obs in Naruto's direction, he deadpanned, "You look really stupid." A quick blush appeared on Naruto's tanned cheeks and he sloppily downed the rest of his broth.

Averting that penetrating gaze, Naruto busied himself by pulling off his orange tank top. "Well, now that you are awake, I can finally get some rest. Sakura's already asleep on the other side of me. Sliding his orange tank top off over his head, he then nestled down into his orange sleeping bag. Giving a loud yawn, he turned onto his side, closed his eyes, and drifted to sleep.

Sasuke found himself staring at the orange lump. "I wonder," he thought. Easing himself closer, flinching at the pain, he lifted a pale hand. He instantly froze as Naruto switched positions and was now lying on his back, his sleeping bag dropping to reveal a tanned, well-muscled chest. Sasuke gulped, and brought his unsteady hand to Naruto's face, sliding his fingers across the whiskers that marked his cheeks. Naruto snuggled towards Sasuke's touch. "Why put your life on the line for me?" he whispered. He never could understand the passion that drove Naruto to protect him.

Sasuke dropped his hand, and then leaned in close, taking Naruto's tender pink lips to his own. After the slow sensual kiss, Sasuke pulled back to admire the sleeping ninja. Naruto's eyes fluttered open. "I take it someone is not ready for bed yet," he drawled lazily.

"Shut up dobe," Sasuke growled, taking Naruto's left ear between his teeth. Nipping and biting, he then slid down to Naruto's throat, kissing and licking the sensitive skin at the nape of the neck and the junction of the shoulders.

"Um..Sasuke, you know that Sakura is over there and I don't think.." he gasped as he felt a hard tug and bite on one of his hard, pink nipples.

"Then don't," came the annoyed reply. "Am I weak?" he added bluntly, tracing the contours of Naruto's finely toned chest with a slim pale finger.

"Hardly," Naruto replied breathlessly.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, continuing his trek down Naruto's body towards his stomach, covering every inch of the tanned flesh with kisses. He stopped at the naval, his tongue darting in and out of the small indentation. Naruto ran his hands through Sasuke's raven locks, and arched his back, moaning in sweet pleasure.

Naruto's hands then slipped down from Sasuke's hair to cup underneath his chin, bringing those intense ebony orbs to lock with his own azure ones. "Tell me about these nightmares," he pleaded. Sasuke ignored the question opting instead to slip his pointer and middle fingers inside the band of Naruto's shorts, feeling for the coarse blond curls that were neatly tucked away along with Naruto's hardness, the effect of which only he had on the blond. "And they say he likes Sakura," Sasuke thought smugly.

Naruto's mind whirled, how he wanted this with Sasuke. Badly. And yet, how did he know if this was the real Sasuke, not just one whose actions were driven by the sedative given earlier or the fever that he still had? He'd just have to wait, he sighed dejectedly.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke, bringing him back up towards his upper body. He caught a glimpse of disappointment in Sasuke's eyes, but he didn't resist. Laying Sasuke's head upon his chest, he calmly began stroking the ebony colored bangs lightly. Sasuke listened to the rhythmic beats of Naruto's heart, finding safety in the one thing that was constant in his life. Closing his eyes, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

Naruto continued to smooth Sasuke's hair, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Feisty, aren't you, teme." Sobering his expression he vowed, "I will help you beat this Sasuke. You are not alone." With those final words, he too drifted into the land of slumber, dreaming of the raven and all the things he wanted to do with that beautiful, pale body.

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END CHAPTER 2

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And so concludes Chapter 2.

I hope you all liked it.

Please comment and review, as I'd really love to know what you guys think about all of this. Plus, it makes me very happy when people take a minute to express their thoughts on something I've worked rather hard on.

Look for Chapter 3 coming next week!

Thanks again everyone!