Guys I'm EXTREMELY sorry for the delay! First week of school got in the way of pretty much everything... As the title suggests there WILL be a death. Who's is it? You will have to read and find out 8D.

Warning: CHARACTER DEATH! And this chapter is a little different from the rest because I don't solely focus on Naruto. Somewhat gory... not really, I think you'll be fine. And possible OOC? Just kinda happened that way -shrugs-

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, sadly.

Enjoy guys :DDD! This chapter was such a bitch to write...

Chapter Sixteen: Death

"Blood was everywhere... then all I saw was black."-Naruto Uzumaki age 17.

"You look... happy."

Naruto looked up from the manga he was reading and cocked a blonde eyebrow. "Do I?"

Deidara nodded fervently, leaning in closer so he could get a good look at Naruto's smile. The blonde was grinning from ear-to-ear, so much that Deidara had to question himself once or twice as to whether or not such a smile was fake. That's when he took a quick glance at Naruto's eyes, surprised to see that his shit-eating smile reached up there as well. Now Deidara may be known around the kingdom as some psychotic vagabond with a strange addiction to explosions, but the man was a bloody genius when it came to things such as reading people. If he knew Naruto as well as he thought he did—which was pretty damn well—then Deidara could easily put two and two together.

"Oh my God... The Uchiha brat asked you out didn't he?" the older blonde was bouncing on the balls of his feet. Since it was midday and most people rarely stepped into his weapons shop, Deidara had allowed Naruto to take a seat on the stool behind the counter while he did some inventory of the front of the store. On any other day, the older blonde would have the smaller blonde whining down his throat about things being "too fucking slow" and "absolutely boring", but today Naruto was docile. Such abnormal behavior sent all the warning bells ringing in Deidara's mind, hence the sudden point blank observation.

Naruto's smile was finally teared down so his lips could form an 'O' while his eyes turned wide as saucers. "How'd you know?" Naruto highly doubted Sasuke came down here himself to tell Deidara, mostly because Sasuke found the older man annoying.

Deidara scoffed and rolled his visible blonde eye. "I'm offended, brat! You think I'm too oblivious to see the fuckin' facts! You might as well had painted "I'M IN LOVE" right on that forehead of yours!" the smaller blonde couldn't help but cast his eyes upwards at the mention of his forehead. Was he really that transparent? "Yes, blondie. You are." Deidara said as if reading Naruto's thoughts, and pretty much proving his point.

"Ugggh, I can't believe I'm that obvious!" the blonde dropped his face into his opened manga. He was greeted with a rather gory image of someone having their own arm ripped out of its socket. Who knew the blonde liked horror so much?

Grabbing a nearby stool, Deidara walked around the counter and set the stool down, plopping right next to Naruto with a scowl on his face. "No! What I can't believe is that you didn't fuckin' tell me such important shit! I've known yah since diapers! Get the fuckin' decency to keep me in the loop."

Naruto looked up from his manga with, laughing awkwardly as he had to face Deidara's intense stare down. Deidara could be fucking intimidating when he wanted to be—which was most of the time. "I'm sorry! It seriously slipped my mind to tell you... honest." he added weakly when Deidara's glare turned even more fiery. The blonde could feel that if he didn't start some serious groveling, his hide was going to be plastered on the wall above Deidara's fireplace. "Hey! At least I'm telling you now!"

"Yah should have told me sooner, brat."

"I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry don't fix shit!" Deidara was having enough of the bullshit and slammed his fist against the counter top. He was rather pleased to see Naruto jump a few inches off his seat from the act. "Now you're going to tell me every single thing that happened between you and that Uchiha, got it? And then when you're done you're gonna let me brand your ass cheek with my logo for holding out on your best friend."

The way Deidara's visible eye was gleaming with such twisted intent on carrying out every word he said, Naruto found himself inching farther and farther away from his demented best friend...

"Now... Now Deidara... let's be reasonable here!" Oh, Deidara zoomed passed reasonable a long time ago. "Do we really have to brand my ass cheek again? I couldn't sit down for a week the last time you did it! My dad was really pissed too!" the more Naruto tried to worm and wriggle his way out of Deidara target zone, Deidara just kept on coming closer and closer... a sadistic smirk curling on the ends of his lips.

"Oh Naruto... You were always cute when yah tried to make up excuses." he chuckled darkly as he was walking by and picked up a branding weapon. Twirling it around with his fingers, Deidara couldn't help but feel a rush of exhilaration course through him as he watched Naruto's scared and panic face try to plead for forgiveness. In Deidara's mind, the blonde had it coming for holding out on him. That, and it had been a really long time since Deidara had branded anyone—for punishment or recreation purposes—and he was itching to make Naruto suffer a little...

Their friendship was a weird one, that's for sure.

+Eclipse+

Minato was sitting at his desk, taking a break from the throne room today, looking through some important documents that needed to be signed and passed through to the council by Monday. If there was one thing he loathed about being the king of Soleil, it was all the paperwork. His hands would be aching, his joints screaming with inflammation, by the end of the day because of the mountains of papers concerning complaints from the citizens, diplomatic issues, military advancements, etc that needed to be signed or addressed. Sometimes there would be the really interesting news, such as a new piece of land being found and dominated by Soleil. And then other times the complains he'd get from the citizens were of the eye-twitching variety.

'You'd think people would grow up and learn to accept Naruto...' Minato carelessly tossed out yet another complaint dealing about his son written with tactless words and jabs. He supposed he should probably do something about the citizens of Soleil. With the way they were acting now the prospect of Naruto becoming king was only a fleeting dream. Sure, over the years Naruto had grown very close with a few of the citizens—that was remarkable in itself. But a majority of the population still resented him for the beast he harbored deep inside. 'They really should be hating me.' he thought with a frown as he leafed through a packet dealing with a proposal from the southern general. 'I did seal the Kyuubi inside of him after all.' The king shook his head sadly as he wrote his signature down on the dotted line. Sometimes trying to figure out someone else's thought process was bothersome.

The sun outside was starting to bleed in with the hazy purples and blues of the night. Four, long, hours Minato had spent in this, very uncomfortable, chair away from his son—though he was out for the day—and his lover, who seemed to have disappeared without a trace. 'He'll come back. He always come back.' Feeling like it was finally time to take a much needed break, Minato pushed himself away from the table—rolling chairs came in handy sometimes—and reclined in his chair. Thoughts with no beginnings or apparent endings swirled through his mind. They were simply going nowhere, and for once Minato was content with the chaos in his mind. The strange feeling in his gut that had been attacking him for the past week or so had not yet gone away. It was warning him of something, he could tell. His first thought was something horrible was going to happen to Naruto, so for a few days he assigned Pein to secretly watch his son in case anything happened. So far nothing detrimental had happened, but that still hadn't eased the worry or anxiety pooling in his gut.

That's when Minato realized the faintest of presences lingering along the outskirts of his city. He had this nifty little power, you see, brought along by Soleil's exceptional technological resources. Hidden deep underground were metal spokes that formed a circle around the entire city of Soleil. It's frequency extended from the city—the central point—all the way to the outskirts of the country bordering the Luna Empire and the southern kingdoms. The sole purpose of such a machine was to sense the presence of outside forces—such as humans, animals, natural occurrences, etc. Of course a little magic helped here and there, though Soleil was more for their technological advances rather than their magical ones, unlike the Luna Empire.

Back to the unknown presence. Minato could already tell by the aura that the person was a male, though the person's intents, thoughts, and feelings were shadowed heavily by a magical barrier meaning one thing: this man was highly suspicious. Rather obviously, really, but Minato was set into high alert mode for the next couple of days until the presence randomly... vanished. The thought of something being able to walk into his city and then vanish so suddenly was unnerving, to say the least. And since then Minato's nerves were always threatening to snap, his mood was rather cranky and insatiable, and his gut feeling was screaming at him that something terrible was going to happen.

Blowing air upwards to push away his bangs from his eyes, Minato once again found himself getting lost in his own murky thoughts as the stars came out to play. The moon was fully lit tonight, a rare occurrence in Soleil—but welcomed nonetheless. The king was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even hear the door opening nor hear the familiar soft, quiet, footsteps entering his study until a pair of arms snaked around his shoulders and a heated mouth pressed against his neck.

"Something's on your mind." Pein stated quietly. He pressed another kiss to the man's skin, loving Minato's taste that always seemed to linger on his lips and tongue for days on end.

The king instantly felt calmed when his lover's arms wrapped around his shoulder. All his anxieties and fears seemed to have been swept away by the fiery kisses Pein would leave on the back of his neck, an enticing vein, his delicious collar bone... A soft gasp escaped the man's lips when Pein bit exceptionally hard on his neck—enough to draw blood—only to suck on it gently afterwords as if apologizing for causing the pain in the first place. Minato never cared, though. He liked the pain—relished it—because it was Pein inflicting it. Just the thought of the man pounding into him roughly with every bit of passion and emotion fueling him on made Minato shudder in anticipation.

"I suppose I am." Minato sighed as his lover started to massage his shoulders. He leaned his head back on to Pein's shoulder and smiled seductively. "I'm thinking about how much I want you inside of me right now..."

The orange-haired man with a face full of piercings simply smirked and hoisted his lover out of his chair before sitting down on it himself. He slammed Minato down on his lap, grinding his already throbbing, clothed erection against the man's stomach.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing."

+Eclipse+

Nimble and lean fingers casually drummed against the rising and falling chest of his lover, seemingly content to be snuggled up against his side. Pein had—as always—lived up to his promise and made Minato scream, trash, and beg in pleasure. Now he felt completely spent, but that nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach had still yet to leave him. No amount of euphoric afterglow could remove the rock that had settled in his gut.

"You're not asleep, yet." whenever it came to Minato, Pein rarely every asked but stated things instead.

"Neither are you."

Pein chuckled lightly and brought Minato closer to his side. "That's kind of hard to do when you have someone groping your chest."

The king chuckled."What can I say...? I like touching you." snuggling in closer, Minato took the time to truly feel his lover's aura—his essence—and get a little drunk off it of. He relished being so close to Pein, feeling the man's steady heartbeats, the intakes of his breathing. Being near Pein always made the rest of the world turn blurry because the only thing he was focused on was Pein. Now, though, no matter how much he tried to drown himself in all that was Pein... that horrible gut feeling had not left.

Pein sighed softly as Minato's fingers kept caressing his skin pleasantly, but he still wasn't content. He carefully shifted himself on his side so that he could stare right into Minato's eyes. "You still haven't told me what was on your mind."

"Hmm?" Minato hummed, cocking a lazy eyebrow in the air. "I thought I did. And if I remember correctly you were thinking the same thing." he said with a sinful smirk.

"And you thought I wouldn't have seen through that? Please. Don't pull that bullshit with me and tell it to me straight." Pein hated when his lover hid things from him because it made the man feel as if Minato didn't trust him enough to let him in on his thoughts. Sure, Pein wasn't the type of person to openly tell people every single thought that was racing through his mind at the moment but at least he would go to Minato if something was truly bothering him. To see Minato try to evade him made his heart sink a little.

The two stared at one another for what seemed to be ages. Blue eyes classed with ringed eyes in a test of sheer will to see who would cave in first. To Minato's dismay, he was could never hold up against Pein's intense glare for too long and found the words and feelings he had desperately tried to hold in spilling out of him...

"Something bad is going to happen, Pein. I can feel it... And before you interrupt me, hear me out. You remember that strange presence we felt awhile ago that suddenly disappeared, correct?" Pein could only nod. "I just can't seem to get that out of my head... I know that worrying over it probably will not lead to anything good but... my nerves are so frazzled right now I don't know what to think."

In these moments when Pein was lucky—or in some cases, unlucky—to see Minato's vulnerable side, Pein had learned that the best thing to do was silently comfort his love and allow him to get whatever was bothering him off his chest. Scooping Minato up in his arms, Pein held him as tightly as he dared; almost to the point of breaking bones. A kiss as light as a feather was pressed against Minato's forehead, proclaiming words of reassurance and comfort.

"As long as I'm here you have nothing to fear, Minato." Pein continued to whisper sweet nothings into his king's ears until the sun started to creep up into the sky.

Guilt started to overtake Minato next when he realized that Pein's words of encouragement did nothing to ease his anxiety...

+Eclipse: A few Days Later+

Nighttime was approaching, covering the city of the sun in it's dark blanket. As always, Minato was closing the door to Naruto's behind him after another long conversation the two normally shared at nights. They talked about many things. Sometimes pointless matters such as what ramen they should try next time they're free or what stiff official they would love to prank. Other times they talked about more personal issues such as Naruto's progression in warming up the citizens or, more interesting, Naruto's relationship with Sasuke.

Naruto's would sparkle with delight as he talked about the raven, and Minato would always sit back against the headboard with a pleased smile on his face. It was the first time he'd ever seen his son so animated about someone else. Though he hated to bring his son's mood down a notch, Minato had made it very clear that Naruto should keep his relationship with Sasuke under wraps for numerous reasons. A few being that for one, not everyone was accepting of gay relationships. Two, the citizens of Soleil really didn't need another thing to add onto their lists of 'Why we hate Naruto'. And three, there was no telling what sort of reaction they would get from Sasuke's father, Fugaku, if news spread around but their relationship. The man could be highly eccentric when he wanted, but no one was a stranger to his darker side that was just as terrifying as his flamboyant side.

His son had taken the news rather well—actually, Minato had hoped Naruto had taken it well. Naruto had just looked at him with calm yet searching blue eyes for a total of ten seconds before nodding to his father that he was right. Obviously the king was shocked that Naruto hadn't flipped out as he had expected, but the smaller blonde had informed him that Sasuke already told him the same things earlier. Now the king found himself standing in the dimly lit hallway wondering when Naruto had grown up so fast...

'To think that only a few years ago the boy would throw a tantrum over the littlest of things... and now he's dating.' Minato sighed listlessly, "They grow up so fast." he muttered as he started to walk down the hallway to his bedroom where, hopefully, Pein would be waiting there fully clad in his birthday suit.

Footsteps echoed down the seemingly empty hallway. Torches flickered to life once Minato passed them, leaving a trail of contained flames behind him. His thoughts this time were simple ones clouded with lust and wanting but then... something made Minato stop in his tracks. He was just a few steps away from the door now, but the presence he was sensing behind it was not Pein's.

It was the aura belonging to the person who had appeared in the city a few weeks ago...

The aura behind the door was faint, but still noticeable enough so that the right person walking by would have noticed it. Caution took over as Minato went for the knife hidden in his robe pocket—sometimes it paid off to be paranoid. Placing his palm flat against the wooden door to his room, the king exhaled a breath and pushed his aura to the tips of his fingers. A blue-ish green aura surrounded his hand as he chanted an incantation that would block of all aura-sensors as well as lock the room so no one could get in and no one could get out except for the person that applied the spell.

"About time he came here..." Minato whispered, pushing open the door crack by crack and peering into his room. Inch by inch was exposed until the king took his very first step inside where... absolutely nothing was waiting for him. No one on the bed. No one sitting on the chair positioned at the small desk in the corner. No one anywhere.

Such realization made his blood go cold.

Minato hesitantly stepped inside until he was fully immersed in his room. His senses were on full alert, ready to snap at the tiniest of movements. Turning his head slowly from side to side, Minato surveyed his surroundings. His bed looked in order—as in no earlier signs of a mid-afternoon romp could be seen. His desk located in the far off corner seemed to be in the complete disarray it was when Minato had left it a few hours before. The windows positioned on the west and east ends of his room were locked securely, no augury of someone slipping through. Everything was in order; complete perfection.

The king's hairs stood on end as paranoia kicked into overdrive.

And then, he felt it... the subtle movement of an aura making itself known. A tiny flicker of ignition was enough to have Minato turn on his heel and point his knife at the neck of his creeper.

"Hm, you seem tense." the man drawled, sparing a bored glance downwards at the knife positioned at his throat. "Now this isn't nice. Pointing sharp objects at your guest is a social no-no." the raven tilted his head slightly and smiled, revealing a sharp set of teeth perfectly polished to a dazzling white. "Nice room. Though it could use some color... Gray is so bland."

"You have five seconds to tell me who sent you and why you're here before I slit your throat." Minato stated blandly, adding a little more pressure with his knife to prove his point. As the king it was common sense to know that someone somewhere would want your life at one point. Whether it was out of hatred for your belief system, an assassination, or to simply gain power. Though such knowledge did nothing to settle Minato's pounding heartbeat.

The raven clucked his teeth in feigned disappointed and let out a yawn. "What would I matter if I told you anyways? You'll be dead in less than five minutes." he grinned once more. "Oh, I know how I can liven up the room! I'll splatter the walls with your blood. Or even better, I'll hang your bloody corpse as a mantel..." the man shivered in sinful ecstasy as fantasy's of the blonde's beautiful corpse pinned the walls by his knives flooded his mind. The man was truly a visionary at heart...

Minato growled in utter disgust. 'Alright, so he's an assassin. And from the looks of it he's less than sane.' he mentally shook off the fear that wanted to crawl up his spine and forced himself to remain calm. He would not let this psychopath get to him. "I'll ask you one more time," Minato narrowed his eyes into slit at the man dressed in all black with bandages wrapped around the left side of his face, "Who. Sent. You?"

"You know I'm not too sure of that myself..." the raven chuckled once more, amusement flashing in that empty black eye of his before freezing over with a chilly indifference. He lowered his eye at the king who had yet to secrete the terror he longed for and fed off of from his victims. This one had resilience, a backbone, and for a minute Zabuza felt almost... guilty he had to kill someone with such tenacity. Such an annoying feelings quickly vaporized as wave after wave of sick and twisted pleasure coursed through his system. He loved the wily ones—they put up such a delicious fight.

Zabuza licked his lips in anticipation of the kill, deciding that anymore talking and he'd lose his adrenaline rush. Faster than Minato could track, Zabuza had unsheathed his sword and pushed him back with the handle, flinging him into the wall. Back met brick, causing a scream to rip out of Minato's throat as pain coursed through his system.

'So... fast.' his mind gasped as he slid to the floor, his subconscious flicking on and off. 'Can't pass out...' Minato struggled to get up to his feet, refusing to lose to this man so easily. He was the king, damn it! If he had gone down without a fight it would forever place shame no the Namikaze Line! Overwhelming pride and stubborn determination were the driving forces that helped Minato stand up, albeit a little wobbly. He spat up blood onto the tiled floor below him while he glared at the man who was examining his heavy sword with boredom.

"Aww... you stood up." if Zabuza was anyone else he would have pouted, however the disappointment signed brightly in his words like a child who didn't get what they wanted. "You're a tougher bitch then I thought." a wicked grin spread on his face, the rush of the kill coursing through his system, swinging his sword to his side where the tip of the blade hit the ground with an audible 'thud'. He saw the visible twitch—though small—go through the king's body and smirked. Ah, the first signs of fear...

Somehow Minato still find the ability to smile coyly as he dug out another hidden knife from his coat pocket, making a show of twirling it around his fingers before it was carefully grasped in his hand. "I am Soleil's king after all. It would be a pity if I died from such a weak attack."

"Weak attack my ass!" Zabuza scoffed. He placed himself into an attack position, sword gripped with both hands. The pleasure and passion of being able to kill the king was sending his mind into an almost high-induced buzzed. He could literally taste Minato's blood on his tongue. Licking the sweet liquid off his blade was something he relished to do. Hm, maybe he'd even ask to keep the corpse after his boss was all said and done with the plan...

"All this talking is a huge turn off. Let's dance, pretty boy." like lightning, Zabuza disappeared in a flash, only to reappear Minato swinging his sword aimed for the king's waist—surely a clean cut through and through. But Minato was just as fast, and disappeared the attack, though a piece of his robe was cut off in his attempts to dodge. He landed a few feet away, the soles of his feet skidding across the floor as he crouched into position. Pushing all of his energy to the bottom of his feet Minato took off, crouched low with his dagger in hand he aimed for the man's stomach. He expected the man to move, dodge, defend—do something—but Zabuza simply stood there with a smile on his face as if he wanted to be stabbed.

Well, if he insisted...

The blade was plunged deep in the man's abdomen. Minato twisted it to the left, specifically aiming for the vital organs before pulling back to see his knife stained in blood. He would have been satisfied and waited for the man's body to start shutting down, but something inside of him was saying that this fight wasn't over yet...

Zabuza looked down at his thoroughly soaked shirt, that was still bleeding, and placed a few fingers near the wound. His fingers were drenched with his blood, just the sight of it was making the man woozy. But not of disgust or faintness... oh no, Zabuza was getting turned on from the sight and was taking all his willpower to not melt into a pool of bliss. Instead, he focused all that pleasure and twisted into his craving for more of the red substance. Bringing the blood up to his lips, he sucked and licked on his fingers until the only thing they were covered in was saliva. His eyes were gleaming with pure sadism, and possible insanity, as he watched Minato turn stiff in front of him.

"How'd you know I loved blood? Though I'm more into others blood than my own..." he sighed and lapped at his index finger, the aftertaste of his blood still sent electrifying tingles in his mouth. Granted the wound was hurting like a bitch right now and would probably slow down his speed significantly, Zabuza still didn't care. Blood was the thing that gave him life, essence, a kick more so than it should...

"Y-You... how...? Minato stuttered but before he could finish his sentence Zabuza was charging for him. With the devil's luck Minato managed to evade his attack but Zabuza just kept on coming and coming. 'Damn it. How is he still able to move after such an attack.' his eyes traveled to the wet spot on the man's black tunic, the pool of blood becoming larger and larger as the assassin kept attacking, but it was like the wound didn't even bother him! 'Shit!' he was barely able to dodge that last attack as he rolled on the floor, his back nearly crushed by the sole of Zabuza's boot. 'Just who the hell is this guy?'

It took more effort this time to stand up. The world seemed to spin around the blonde king. His vision was sorely disoriented, and he felt the urge to puke rise and fall in his stomach. Minato was still adamant on ending up on top though he knew if this battle continued any longer he may seriously end up being mantled to his wall. 'This guy is different...' he thought as he tried to calm his staggered breathing. Precious seconds were spent analyzing his opponent. The air around the assassin was lax—too lax—for such a situation but Minato could sense the deadly venom hidden underneath such an aura. Speaking of his aura... Minato could barely pin-point anything from it. It was like the man was dead. No more feelings, emotions, nothing. The man seemed to be a walking zombie...

'I have to end this now...' His body was in poor condition, and any minute now the assassin would probably rear up and attack though it seemed like he was having one hell of a time toying with Minato. There was one way out of this. One sure way to finish things once and for all. It was a risky move. And if the spell wasn't completely or performed right Minato would be dead. Also, if the man was none the wiser and figured out what he was doing... Minato shook his head of such thoughts and focused on the words needed for the incantation.

The language of the Ancients spilled out of his lips in a hushed whisper as his blue eyes locked with the demented black eye of his assassin. He saw the man grin wryly at him, but that did nothing to stop the string of words flying from his lips.

'A few more lines...'

"Yah little bitch," Zabuza wagged his finger mockingly and clucked his teeth. "Who told yah that muttering under your breath was okay? I'll have to cut those pretty little lips off yah... pity." he sighed as if the whole situation was a bother to him before charging at the king once more. This party had gone on long enough. Zabuza wanted blood to be spilled all over the stainless white tiles at his feet and splattered along the gray, rock, walls. He was charging blindly at the king, completely unaware of what his actions would spiral in to.

Everything seemed to have slowed down as Minato came to terms with his choice. This was what he wanted—no needed to do. It was the right choice. Naruto would most likely be furious... a wave of pain and guilt attacked him as the face of his grieving son flashed through his mind. He never wanted to be the source of such pain for his son... but he would be leaving him in capable hands—Sasuke and Pein. Pein, his lover, the man who was by his side for longer than Minato could remember; ever since they were pupils under the legendary warrior, Jiraya. He felt another pang of sadness and guilt attack him as he heard Zabuza's heavy footsteps dance across the floor, drawing the distance between them closer and closer. He hated to leave Pein behind as well, but he was confident that he would know what to do. They had gone through this before. If anything were to happen to him... Yes, Pein would know exactly what to do.

The thought did nothing to stop the tears flowing down his cheeks, though.

"I'm sorr—" his sentence was cut off as Zabuza's sword was plunged deep into his stomach. Blood was choked from his mouth, spilling onto the floor and dribbling down his chin. The life was immediately diminished from his awe-struck eyes. Zabuza twisted his blade, satisfied to see more blood pooling around the proliferating wound, but he wasn't truly content yet.

He still hadn't placed the king's corpse as a mantle on the wall. With a grunt, Zabuza ran straight for the wall, embedding his sword into the surface. The king's corpse dangled lifelessly, pinned to Zabuza's huge blade. Zabuza couldn't control himself much longer and leaned forward to lap at some of the blood dripping from his blade.

A shiver coursed through his body as the taste of foreign blood hit his tongue... delicious.

"Now then, Kingy." Zabuza cupped the king's face, loving how he could still see the fear and surprise in the king's eyes. "Time to make you pretty."

+Eclipse: Black and Red+

Naruto awoke from a rather frightening nightmare, one that left him in a cold sweat and jumpy as all get out. The dream had felt so real that for a minute Naruto had to pinch himself to make sure he was actually awake. In his dream he was standing on top of a hill, staring into a barren land strip of life. Eternal darkness painted the sky and the stench of Death was everywhere. Naruto didn't feel anything though. No fear, nor remorse, or even sympathy. He felt an emptiness caked deep in his stomach that made his whole body turn numb. Then he looked further down and found the sea of corpses lining the hill. His father stared up at him with soulless eyes, followed by Pein who had no eyes at all. Then there was Sakura who was only a torso with a head attached... Deidara's and Sasori's limbs were literally intertwined, stitched together with thin black threads stained in blood. Konohamaru's state wasn't any better. The poor child's body was twisted at unimaginable angles... Itachi was barely even recognizable...

At the top of the gruesome pile was the last person Naruto ever wanted to see in such a terrible state. Sasuke's horribly mutilated body was throw at the top, limbs ripped form his body, gashes all along his torso, face, neck—everywhere. His lovers lips were sewn shut by blood-stained threads and his eyes were black holes of nothing...

Naruto's body started to convulse then, the severity of the situation finally settling in. Everyone he had ever cared for, loved, were now dead. This world—his kingdom—was dead, just an empty wasteland full of absolutely nothing.

And now he had to live in a world alone.

You're not alone. Did you forget about little old me?

Imaginary arms had wrapped around his shoulders, pulling Naruto flushed against the foreign body's chest. A shiver went up his spine, but it was out of pure fear of what would happen next. Naruto couldn't open his mouth to speak, the words just wouldn't come. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as his thoughts all circled around one phrase...

'What happened...?'

That's easy: You happened.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, trying to voice out his confusion, but no words came. The voice behind him chuckled, a dark rumble that reverberated around the empty space. The man motioned downwards and Naruto followed his gaze... His hands were coated in blood, so much blood. His body shook once more as the realization dawned on him and knocked him senseless.

He had done this. Naruto had killed his own friends...

After that Naruto had jolted awake. The first thing he did after he woke up was dive for his Holo-pad so he could send off a quick text to Sasuke. His raven always seemed to be awake in the dead of night, something Naruto had scolded him about over and over again but to no avail. Now, however, Naruto was rather glad for that tiny quirk of Sasuke's because he really needed to talk to him.

KyuubiKid (Yes, Naruto made his screen name that purposefully): bad dream. Need 2 talk.

One minute... three minutes... ten minutes passed and still no reply. 'Fuck it.' Naruto chucked his Halo-pad onto his bedside bench. The one night Naruto wanted to talk to his boyfriend about something important and the freaking prick couldn't even reply! Kicking off his covers, Naruto decided that if he couldn't vent to Sasuke, his father would be the next one in line. Stepping out of his bedroom Naruto took the familiar path down the hallway to his father's room. With each step he took the blonde felt a weird sense of foreboding pool in his gut. Something was definitely... off.

'What is this feeling?' it made him want to turn around and get the hell out of the castle. Just run away as far and as fast as he could... but why? 'It's just the nerves from my dreams. Yeah, that's it!' that was a logical explanation, right? Right. Whatever it took to keep on walking through the hallway.

When he finally reached his father's room he was surprised to see so many guards standing outside the door... but no sign of his father anywhere.

"Hey guys..." he yawned, waving lazily at the men who seemed to stiffen at the sound of his voice. "Umm... what's going on here? Did I sleep through another fire again? Haha..." Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, waiting for someone to snap at him for being an idiot... again. Such a thing never came though. And that sinking feeling in his stomach only grew deeper...

Iruka stepped out of the throng of people, his body silently shaking and a shadow across his face. He looked up at Naruto with distraught eyes, almost surprised to see the teen there in the flesh, and wiped away the tears that were straying his face. "Ah... Naruto, you're awake I see. Did we wake you?"

"Uh... No not really..." Naruto tried to peer over his teacher's shoulder for a better of view of what exactly was going on but was blocked. "Why were you crying just now? And... where's Dad?"

Iruka paused for a moment, tears threatening to spill once more. Naruto saw the hesitation and instantly brushed passed his teachers, bursting into his father's room at lightening speeds.

Blood, everywhere; caking the walls, the floor... His eyes were wide in horror as he saw Pein's form crumpled over another body... A body he was very familiar with...

"No..." he whispered. All the strength left his legs and his knees crumbled to the floor. Naruto kept shaking his head back and forth, willing the nightmare to just end already. But this was real. It was all real. As if possessed by some outside force, Naruto began to crawl. Slowly... ever-so-slowly... The closer he got, the louder Pein's sounds rang through his ears. He was crouched next to Pein, now, a shaking hand reaching out to gently push his friend away so he could see the damage himself...

Dead, blue eyes clashed with fearful blue eyes...

There was so much blood... Blood everywhere...

A scream ripped from Naruto's throat as an overwhelming sensation overtook him, and then all he saw was black.

I'm a monster. I know. You may all now shoot me with missles.

BUT I'LL DODGE THEM ALL MWAHAHAHAHAHA coughs-

Please do leave a review! I'd like to hear how well I'm doing and if I need to improve in anything. And really, I do love simple flattery as well, but who doesn't love flattery? ;).

Till next time :D Probably in the next two weeks depending on how hellhoundish my teachers want to be.