When Hinata woke up, she had no idea where she was or how she got there. The room was very small and empty. The only things in the room were a small bed that had been pushed against one side of wall, a small stand that held a lantern for light and another door that led to the bathroom. There was a small window on the opposite side of the room but it looked as though it had been nailed shut. Hinata sat up on the bed and frowned as she tried to remember what had happened. Alright. Let's see. I had my shower and then I went outside to sit with sensei. I…We were...

"Oh no," she whispered. "I must be with Orochimaru." Hinata laid back onto the bed and started crying. It's all my fault. I should have stayed inside like Kakashi sensei told me to. I am just as useless on his team as I was on Kiba's. I hope Kakashi and the others are alright. The door suddenly opened and in walked the man with the fish face.

"Ahh so you're awake are you?" he grinned. Hinata sat up quickly and slid back as far as she could against the headboard. God, please don't let him hurt me! "So I scare you huh? Hmpf. To be honest pretty lady, I don't really think it's me you should be fearing. That Itachi is another story. Anyway he sent me to make sure you were still alive. Said he wouldn't put it past Kabuto to poison you or something. I'll see about getting you some grub. Hope you like raw fish," he chuckled before heading out, locking the door behind him.

--xx--

Naruto awakened not too long after Hinata in another room on an entirely different hall. His room was just as dark but it was a little bigger than Hinata's room. He tried to sit up but sadly he could not. What the…? His arms and legs had been chained to the bed so that he couldn't move. He wriggled and squirmed for the next five minutes or so but it was no use. All he was doing was making noise as the chains were clinking against the bed. The door suddenly flew open and his eyes met those of Itachi's.

"My my aren't we the little noise maker."

"YOU!" Naruto screamed. "LET ME GO! LET ME OUT OF THESE CHAINS SO I CAN BEAT YOU!"

"I'm sorry little one but I can't do that. I am in no mood to fight you and besides, you barely have enough chakra to breath let alone fight. I let Kisame get his fill of you before I sent him to run some errands. It's not everyday that we complete a mission successfully."

"I'll kill you," Naruto growled. "I'm going to kill you and when I do, you'll never hurt Sasuke and me again." Itachi's eyes flashed dangerously. Before Naruto could utter another word, Itachi was at his bed side, a hand now clasping his throat cutting off his air support.

"You will do well to learn not to ever mention Sasuke's name around me. I can't stand him and he can't stand me. The fact that someone as weak and pathetic as him could find someone to love him is beyond me."

"I…I never said that…I…loved him…" he managed.

"Oh? So it's a one-sided relationship is it not?"

"I don't…know what you're…please," he begged. "I can't…breath," he choked. Itachi stared down into the young blonde's eyes and smirked as he tightened the grip around Naruto's neck. The look of fear and sheer panic that his face bore just amused him to no end. There were tears now forming in the corner of the blonde's eyes and Itachi fought hard to suppress his amusement. Moment's later the blonde quit struggling, his eye lids becoming heavier. Itachi removed his hand, smiling sadistically as the blood trickled down the sides of the blonde's neck. Poor Sasuke. If only you could see your lover now?

Itachi backed away from the blonde and started towards the door.

"Sasuke's name should never be mentioned around me. Remember that and I may remember to be gentle with you in the future. Try me and I'll snap your neck in two." Naruto let out a sigh of relief as the door slammed shut. Though he normally wasn't scared of anything or anybody, he had to admit to himself that Itachi really was quite scary. He was almost scarier than Orochimaru.

Naruto's cuts along his neck seemed to be taking a lot longer to heal. He could still feel blood trickling down his neck and it was bothering him. He hated that sticky feeling that blood left not to mention the tickling sensation on his neck. He closed his eyes and tried to think of a way out of the situation but for some reason, all he could think about was Sasuke. Because Sasuke and Itachi looked so much alike, it was like looking at Sasuke when looking at Itachi. It was…weird. However, for some odd reason he just knew in his heart that Sasuke would never intentionally hurt him like that. In fact, he was certain that Sasuke would do everything he could to make him feel all better.

Most people only saw the arrogant jerk side of Sasuke. The pretty boy Sasuke. The genius and Sharingan warrior Sasuke but very few saw the sensitive side of Sasuke. The Sasuke that played with him when he was having a bad day. The Sasuke that carried him home in his arms when he'd collapse during training sessions. The Sasuke that stayed awake until he fell asleep after watching a scary movie. The Sasuke that held him close when they slept outdoors because of the cold. The Sasuke that kissed him…Naruto's eyes suddenly closed to let a tear roll down his cheek. Oh God Sasuke…I'm sorry for making you angry and now I wish you were here…I'm scared and I need you…

--xx--

Kakashi and Sasuke both woke up in the hospital in Konoha. They had no idea how they'd gotten there but both were somewhat relieved…that is until they remembered why they were there.

"HINATA!"

"NARUTO!"

"BOTH OF YOU CALM DOWN!" They jumped at the sound of Lady Tsunade's voice. She and Sakura were standing at the foot of their beds, arms folded out of disgust.

"Lady Tsunade please, you have to let me go and look…"

"Kakashi, this isn't like you to be so rash. You have to stay in bed because I am not clearing you to leave just yet. You and Sasuke both lost a lot of chakra in your last fight so you need to get some rest. Kakashi, you're worse off than Sasuke right now so you can bet you're not going anywhere right now," she scolded.

"What…exactly happened to you guys anyway?" Sakura asked. She went over towards Sasuke and started checking his blood pressure. Sasuke only continued to stare down at his covers as if in another world. Tsunade shook her head and sighed.

"Hey Sakura? Could you give me a minute alone with these two? I have quite the scolding to dish out." Sakura bowed politely before exiting the room. "Alright Kakashi. What happened and please don't leave anything out. I understand that this had something to do with Itachi and all but still…it's so unlike you to be unprepared. You would have never let them get both Hinata and Naruto. What's got you off your game?" Kakashi let out a sigh, staring at his covers as well. He really didn't know what to say. He knew he had no excuse for his actions but at the same time there was no other excuse except that he had been occupied with a student.

"Tsunade I…I was distracted and I let my guard down. I know that a person of my rank should no better and I did but…"

"I don't want to hear anymore." She let out a sigh as she stared at the snowy haired jonin. "I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later." Kakashi's head snapped up as he eyed the hokage with a look of bewilderment. "Don't give me that look Kakashi. You and Hinata. Need I say more?"

"But…it's not even like…but how did you…how would you…?"

"You men are all the same. Blind. I've known for a while now about the child's feelings for you. Though she may have had strong feelings for Naruto as well, you were the only person that actually paid attention to her…next to Neji of course. Then again, she never pays him any attention whatsoever but I think that's partly due to her being afraid of him. It's kind of sad really. But he'd be better off gay. He's much too pretty…"

"Lady Tsunade, I uh…I get your point."

"Oh yeah. Sorry. So…you let your feelings get the best of you during a mission and you've managed to fuck up. Of all the fuck ups to come along this year, this is by far the worse since the Chunin Exams a few years ago. You any idea what the kyuubi…?"

"Cut him a break," Sasuke snapped. "It couldn't be helped. He…It was either that or lose all of us."

"What do you mean lose all of you?"

"Orochimaru and Kabuto were there as well," Kakashi said softly. "Kabuto took Hinata and attempted a trade for Sasuke but I lost my temper. As you know, I already can't stand that show-offy little brat and then Itachi came along and just made matters worse. I'll get them back Tsunade. You have my word."

"That Orochimaru! I wish I could find him and just finish him off. Despite what Jiraiya says, there's no hope for any good to come out of Orochimaru. I swear if I ever find that snake I'll kill him without thinking twice!" She punched the nearest wall which left a huge hold in it. "Oh damn," she muttered.

"How soon can we get out of here?" Sasuke asked.

"I…uh…why?"

"Just please. I need to know!"

"A few days. Kakashi will need three to four and since you can't leave the village alone, the same applies to you as well."

"DAMMIT! THAT'S…WE HAVE TO LEAVE SOONER THAN THAT! HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT HE'LL DO TO HIM?! I WON'T LET HIM TAKE NARUTO! HE'S TAKEN EVERYTHING I EVER LOVED FROM ME BUT I WON'T LET HIM HAVE NARUTO! I'LL GIVE MY BODY TO OROCHIMARU IF I HAVE TO BUT…"

"Sasuke get a grip will you?! If you try to go after Itachi now, you'll only end up getting him killed faster. Besides, I don't think they'll start the extraction just yet. Plus, I was told it took precisely three days to extract the bijuu from Gaara. That gives you just enough time to get to him."

"But Lady Hokage…"

"No Sasuke. You'll wait with Kakashi until you're healed. Pakkun and the other dogs have already given us Itachi's whereabouts and I highly doubt he's leaving the area anytime soon. That cocky bastard just knows he's gotten away with Naruto, but you'll get him back. Somehow you'll get both of them back."

Sasuke cursed softly then fell back against the pillows angrily. He turned to face the wall so that no one could see his tears. I'm such a fool. I don't know what it is I feel for Naruto but I just shouted to the world that I love him. Maybe I do love him. Yeah, I do love him and I miss him. He's all I got left and I'll be damned if I let that sick bastard take him away from me. Naruto…God Naruto I love you…hang in there. I promise, no…I SWEAR I'll come for you…even if it costs me my life…

Kakashi closed his eyes trying to drift off to sleep but it was no use. An eerie feeling had come over him and he was certain that he knew why. In exactly three or four days, I might lose my life. Thoughts like this had never scared him before in his life. Ever since the fall of his comrades, he'd trained himself to never fear death. That was because he was always willing to give up his life to save another. That was his ninja way and that was alright with him. He never thought he'd actually see the day when he'd come to fear death. It wasn't that he was afraid of dying. If you were a ninja afraid of dying then you were in the wrong profession. Ninjas die everyday but that's just how it goes. No. This time, his fear of death had been triggered by the sweet taste of happiness that he'd received within the last couple of days.

He had always considered himself to be pretty happy. He had very few worries and he never bothered with idea of love. All that had changed now. A cute, barely legal shinobi princess had thrown all of that out of the window. She had shown him in the last few hours or so that it was possible to find true love and that it was okay to take risks. The shyest woman in the entire village had given him a glimpse into the world of the true love with a taste of happiness and just that small taste had left him longing for more. Longing to hear more of her cute giggles when he teased her spine. Longing to hold her close and whisper words of comfort when she was sad. Longing to kiss her goodnight and longing to be at her side when she awakened. Part of that dream he knew he could make come true but every chance at happiness came with a price. The price for the Hyuuga princess was more than he could ever bargain for. I love her. I just know that I love her but would he understand? Is it worth the risk? This is the one time I feel like I can be happy for a lifetime but…

"I'd give it all up if it means saving your life. I'd give up my life and forget I ever loved you if that's the way he wants it," he whispered. But for the first time in my life, I am going to take that risk. I want this. I want this happiness for the both of us but more importantly I want you to be happy princess and I swear…I swear I'll do whatever it takes to see to it.

AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Will update again eventually.