Naruto sat quietly beneath the shade of the large oak, basking reverently in the melange of red, orange, and golden beams that emitted from the sun. It was a sempiternal display that spread suffusedly across the darkening sky, filling him with a sense of peace that the sun had never cared to bestow upon him up until this moment.
It had been three days since he had last seen the Uchiha. Naruto had been too afraid to confront Sasuke as of late, and this was the first time in three days that he had even left the village. What would the Uchiha say once he arrived? What if Sasuke didn't even bother to show up at all?
And as the sun slowly reached it's final point before disappearing behind the horizon, Naruto's fears were met. For two hours after the sun was gone, Naruto waited. And waited. Every minute brought more and more hurt. What if Sasuke had given up on him?
"So it was true."
Naruto turned quickly towards the unfamiliar voice.
Another child of the moon now stood before him. Dark ebony hair cascaded down his back in a loose tail, and piercing black eyes peered into his own shocked orbs. The man's smirk reminded him of Sasuke's.
"I'd had doubts." The stranger admitted, taking a few steps closer to the blond. "But I really must say, this is quite a shock."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Naruto replied hotly, wishing the dark-haired man would stop smirking. Naruto stood once the stranger was no more than twenty yards away.
"What is your name?" The man inquired, pausing under the tree.
"Naruto..." The blond answered hesitantly. What harm could it do to let the man know his name? Maybe he was even a friend of Sasuke's? No, scratch that. Sasuke didn't seem like the 'friend' type.
"Well, at least he does, indeed, have wonderful taste." He commented as he looked the blond up and down. It seemed as if the man was talking to himself again...
"Listen," Naruto started, standing his ground. "I don't know what it is you want—"
"My name is Itachi. It is a pleasure to meet my brother's... friend."
Brother... Naruto's eyes widened. "You're Sasuke-teme's brother?!"
"Teme?" The smirk appeared again. "What an interesting term of endearment."
"Where is he?" Naruto asked without thinking, anticipating his reunion with the dark-haired man. "He's coming, right?"
Itachi's smirk vanished. "My foolish brother is in confinement. So to answer your question; no, he will not be joining us."
"Confinement? What the hell does that mean? Where is he?" Naruto exploded, interrogating the elder Uchiha.
Itachi frowned. "Sasuke has been locked up because he has broken one of our greatest rules." Before the blond could interrupt, he held up his hand and finished. "Three days ago he announced that he had been seeing a child of the sun for years. This, of course, was unacceptable. So the elders locked him away."
A mixture of feelings rushed through Naruto as he let the plethora of information settle within his mind. Confinement? One one had, he knew that Sasuke hadn't given up on him. However, the larger part of his mind was screaming bloody murder. How long did this 'confinement' last? Naruto voiced his question to the elder Uchiha.
Itachi's head moved slowly from one side to the other. "I do not believe that you fully comprehend the situation." He began, "As soon as he confesses to his apparent sins and repents, they will set him free. The issue at hand is my foolish little brother's pride. He simply will not comply."
Itachi turned, leaving his back towards the conflicted blond. "It is late, and there are things I must attend to." And with no other words of departure, the male started his tread home.
"Wait!"
The Uchiha did not wait. He continued onward.
Naruto cried out frantically. "Show me where it is, and I'll save him!" He ran after the dark-haired man, desperate in his quest. There really was no other solution than to follow the Uchiha to the land of the Moon. It was the only way for him to see Sasuke again...
"Please wait!"
The second the words left Naruto's mouth, the Uchiha vanished, leaving him stranded.
In the dark.
Under the Moon.
Alone.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(
If Uchiha, Sasuke was anything, he was most definitely not a lier. The Uchiha prided himself greatly in his truthfulness. There were a few exceptions, of course. For example, screwing around with his dobe. Though he hardly considered his teasing lies.
So when the Elders commanded that he never see his precious blond again, and that he swear against his own life that he would obey their wishes, how could he not spit in their faces and carry on silently? However, there were obvious consequences.
Sasuke regarded the room surrounding him. The walls were completely made of stone. Not a single spec of light shone aside from the diminutive candle they allowed him. And when that ran down or blew out, he was alone in the dark until night, when they would feed him and replace his only source of light.
Was throwing his and Naruto's relationship out in the open worth the consequences now restricting him? Sasuke couldn't decide. One on hand, he had enjoyed immensely the horrified looks on the wretched old mens face's when he had outed himself. However, he wasn't entirely confident in his flight, knowing that he was still in the planning stage of his escape plan.
Yeah, so he had acted like the dobe and jumped the gun a little bit. Whatever. He still had time to make it back to his Naruto. There was no way in hell that he was going to stay in his village any longer than he had to.
A slight noise alerted Sasuke of his visitor before Itachi even came into sight. The elder Uchiha closed the heavy door behind him, illuminated by his own miniature candle.
"Itachi," Sasuke started wearily, "To what do I owe this... pleasant surprise?" The sarcasm trailed thickly in his voice.
"Is it so wrong of me to care to visit my little brother?" Itachi replied, smirking slightly.
"What do you want?"
"You know what I want." The older Uchiha replied.
Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, I do. What do you expect me to do about it in prison?"
"There are simple remedies to that particular problem, little brother. That is not what is keeping you from holding your end of the bargain."
"Even If I could leave, what would you have me do?!" Sasuke yelled, bringing himself up to his feet. "There's no way for me to gain the kind of information you need. It's impossible!"
"Impossible, you say?"
"Yes. Impossible." Sasuke repeated, lightly this time.
"And what about your friend, Naruto?"
Sasuke fained confusion, though his heart chose to skip a beat as the blond's name came gliding out of his brother's mouth. "Who are you—"
"Do not play coy with me, little brother, you are bad at it. I met the boy yesterday, actually. He seemed quite infatuated with you."
Sasuke paled, though he could feel a slight burning at the bottom of his throat. "What about him?"
Itachi's smirk reappeared. "He seems naïve enough to handle. If you only—"
"Don't you dare fucking involve him!" Sasuke shot out, balling his fists. He could now feel his anger souring through his veins like a hot wave. There was nothing cool left about him. He was an inferno. "I don't care who you play your games with, but you leave him the fuck alone!"
"I don't believe it."
Sasuke turned quickly towards the door as a large man came towering in. The man's skin was so pale, so translucent, it almost seemed to give off a fine blue tint.
Kisame chuckled, coming in to stand next to Itachi. "God, Itachi told me that you were with someone, but I didn't believe it until now! What a load. And someone from the Sun village?" The man shook his head.
"Who I associate with does not concern you." He added as a second thought, "Either of you."
"Oh, but it does, brother." Itachi chided. "Who my puppets associate with greatly involves me. And you are mine."
Hopelessness rushed through him in seconds. This was what it was like to be tied down. He hated it. Despised it. Would do anything to be free of it. And here he was, confronted with the one man that would never let him free.
However, despite his own imprisonment, he could still protect his treasure. He had to.
"I will not allow you to involve him. It is unacceptable."
An irritated look passed over Itachi's features before it was replaced with his usual blank facade. "As long as you belong to me, you have no choice in the matter."
Sasuke glared up at his brother defiantly. "I will not trap him in my mistakes."
"You will do as you are told."
"And what if I don't?"
His dobe was more important to him than—
Itachi took a step closer. "Let me put it this way, little brother. If you help complete this one mission, I will let you go."
Time seemed to freeze. Sasuke's whole body chilled down to his bones. Free... This was the one thing he needed. His ultimate goal. His life aspiration; his freedom.
He could be free?
Itachi seemed to answer his unspoken question.
"You will be free."
Sasuke, as if resigned to his fate, knelt down, head bowed before the man in front of him. The man that had left him with nothing. That was about to give him everything...
Except one thing.
But the one was not as important as the rest. What was the one, without his freedom, anyway?
"Tell me what to do."
Itachi's face remained blank as Kisame make his exit. "You will know soon enough."
With that, he was gone.
And Sasuke was again, alone.
So there was no one to hear his choking, nor to see his distraught face as his tears threatened to recklessly tear away from his body.
The moment the first droplet hit the stone ground, he let the rest fall in a silent shower, causing his body to wretch uncontrollably. Crying was a weakness, but it was okay, because this was what was to be left of Uzumaki, Naruto in him. He was letting his treasure go, just as he was letting the tears.
His weaknesses were to be vanquished.
Because his freedom was worth any price.
However, no matter how right his decision may have seemed, the pain would still be there.