Action chapter! Also the shortest so far, but only because it was a good stopping place and I thought I should give those loyal fans who have stuck around this long something to gnaw on. The next chapter is in progress and about 40% done. That should be the last chapter, apart from the epilogue and a possible bonus chapter where I'll answer any remaining questions you might have.
Chapter 16
Pain, short and sharp, is what finally roused Naruto from unconsciousness. He slowly opened his eyes, only to wince and close them against the harsh glare of an overhead light. His head ached and his cheek stung, and he really wanted to just go back to sleep. However, sleep didn't seem to be on the agenda of whoever had woken him. Another slap to the face and a hissed, "Wake up asshole," robbed Naruto of the option of slumber.
Forcing himself to carefully open his eyes, Naruto took in the situation at hand. Judging by the sensation of cool metal and rough leather against his skin, he was naked and strapped down on some sort of surgical table. Lifting his upper body as much as possible, Naruto looked down to confirm his suspicions. He then let his shoulders return to the table and turned his attention to the woman sneering down at him. It wasn't until their gazes met that he became aware of the fact that he should be panicking. Once that thought had crossed his mind Naruto started to notice the terror bubbling up inside him, along with a scream that was waiting for the right moment to be released.
"Are you wondering why you're alive?"
Naruto forced down the urge to scream and focused on the voice of the person standing just outside his field of vision.
"The answer to that question is that a quick death is too good for you. Your father killed people who we cared about, and for that we are going to make you suffer agony beyond mortal comprehension. And then, before the sun rises, we're going to kill you."
Feeling that this was his cue to offer a witty retort, Naruto replied, "You're insane."
When wit fails cliché works just as well.
The vampire released a low, dark chuckle and stepped forward. Silver hair, glasses, pale skin, and the yellow eyes of a snake. Naruto flinched as the man trailed a finger across his cheek – a touch of gentleness to make the torture to follow seem that much more painful. "Perhaps," the vampire mused. "Even if I am, my mental faculties are no less diminished for it. I've constructed a plan that is foolproof, and that means that nobody is coming to save you. Oh, I'm sure Gaara will discover this place at some point in the future, but by then you'll be dead and there will be nothing for him to do but mourn."
"He could still rip your head off."
The vampire smirks. "Only if he catches me."
"He will. Gaara's awesome like that. You shouldn't underestimate him."
"I have no intention of doing so. Now, as much as I am enjoying this little tete-a-tete, my colleagues appear to be getting restless. I'm afraid we're going to have to conclude the pleasantries and move onto the torture."
Picking up a scalpel from a nearby surgical tray, the vampire held the instrument up to the bright overhead light. The light reflected off the sharp edge of the blade into Naruto's eyes. The boy screwed his eyes shut against the light as dread settled in his stomach and the scream that had been slowly building inside him made its way to his throat.
Still smirking, the vampire said, "This may hurt a bit," before lowering the scalpel to the human's skin.
Naruto screamed.
True to cliché villain form, the vampires had hidden themselves inside an abandoned warehouse on a moderately busy industrial park. When Gaara and the others arrived the place was as silent as the grave and (apart from a few rats and night creatures) seemingly deserted. Yet the vampire whose mind Itachi had read had divulged this as the place he was to rendezvous with his comrades, and as far as they were aware the information was accurate. Unless this location had been planted in the vampire's mind as a red herring to send them running in the wrong direction, then this was where they would find Naruto.
A familiar scream rent the night air, and Itachi and Zabuza immediately grabbed Gaara to stop him mindlessly rushing in. "Remember the plan," Zabuza hissed against Gaara's ear. "A surprise attack will be more effective than a full-frontal assault. If you can't remember that then you can stay out here and wait for us to call you in."
Gaara growled, the sound of Naruto's suffering striking him like a physical blow. He wanted to murder whomever was causing his human such pain, the darkness within him wanted to tear the asshole limb from limb and then set fire to the remains. Nevertheless, Gaara was able to force down that desire and focus on the matter at hand. He'd be damned if he was going to be left behind; he could control his rage enough to channel it into a more stealthy attack. He was going to save Naruto, and he was willing to make any sacrifice to achieve his goal.
Seeing him regain control, Itachi and Zabuza released their hold on him. They carefully measured each other with their gazes, studiously making sure that they were all able to block out the continuing sound of Naruto's agonised cries. "Ready?" Itachi queried.
As one they nodded and moved swiftly and silently into the warehouse.
There was one official entrance to the warehouse: a large set of rusted doors where trucks had once loaded and unloaded goods. There was also a fire door on the ground floor and another on the walkway above. Each exit was guarded by a vampire, and in the centre of the warehouse stood Kabuto's operating theatre.
After scouting the perimeter and divining this much about the interior of the building, the three vampires had decided to launch their assault from the rear. Although there was a padlock on the door, Zabuza easily picked the lock whilst Itachi ensured that the door would open as soundlessly as possible. As they worked they listened to the vampire on the other side of the door urging her leader on; it was painfully obvious that she was relishing the sounds of Naruto's torture. Gaara clenched his fists and forced down his fury until the others had completed their tasks. Itachi opened the door, its groan mostly masked by Naruto's screams. The vampire supposedly guarding the door still heard it, however, and spun to face them. Before she could raise the alarm Gaara rushed forward and clamped a hand over her mouth. Eyes wide, she launched a mental barrage as her nails reached for his eyes. Gaara effortlessly deflected the double assault and bared his fangs. Then he snapped her neck and dragged her into a corner where her corpse would hopefully go unnoticed.
Whilst all this had been happening, Zabuza and Itachi had crept ahead to scout the area. Gaara followed in their footsteps, his eyes constantly searching the gloom for any signs of the female vampire's comrades. Zabuza was the first to spot one of them; he halted and pointed up to the metal walkway. The vampire there was leaning heavily on the handrail, his eyes alight with fascination as he stared down at the main event in the centre of the warehouse. Deciding that the sentry's attention was elsewhere, the three vampires edged their way past the last remains of boxes and old equipment until they were able to properly view the night's entertainment.
Gaara saw red. He saw red, as in he was filled with rage, and he saw red. Blood dribbled lazily from the surgical table to pool on the dusty floor or stain the clothes of the vampire merrily flaying Naruto's flesh. The human teenager whimpered as the vampire paused his ministrations and reached for a glass of what looked like water. The sound torn from Naruto's throat when the liquid was poured over his wounds made Gaara think that it was in fact salt-water.
A hand landed on Gaara's arm and the redhead bared his fangs in a silent snarl. Itachi didn't bother to look away from the spectacle in front of them; it was then that Gaara realised the young vampire's hand was shaking. The redhead turned to meet Zabuza's eyes and saw that he had also seen more than enough. These bastards wouldn't be receiving any mercy from either of Gaara's friends tonight.
Using silent hand gestures Zabuza laid out the play. Gaara and Itachi nodded in agreement before returning their attention to the scene before them. They needed to move before the absence of their colleagues was noticed.
Once everyone was in position, Gaara rushed forward towards Kabuto. As expected, the vampire on the walkway sounded the alarm and jumped from his position to aid his leader. Itachi intercepted him in midair, tackling him to the ground. The commotion alerted the vampire at the front gates to the problem and he rushed in to help, only to be stopped by Zabuza. Both of them had swords and Gaara was able to tune out their battle as he focused on his own prey. The vampire didn't put up much of a fight – he swiped his scalpel at Gaara's throat but the redhead easily caught his wrist and crushed the bones there. He slammed the vampire to the floor and followed him down, the scent of Naruto's blood temporarily overwhelming his senses as he stared into the eyes of his human's tormentor. Kabuto stared back, his grin oily and unruffled. "Gaara, I presume? So nice to finally meet you."
"I should chain you to an east-facing rock so that you can greet the sun and your death," Gaara snarled.
"You would be living up to your reputation if you did. I heard you use to be more of a monster than I am. What happened? Has life among humans made you soft?"
"Shut up," Gaara growled, his hand circling the vampire's throat.
Kabuto half laughed, half choked. "Revenge is sweetest when you get to rub salt into the wound."
Gaara's grip tightened reflexively. He forced himself to let the vampire breathe as he demanded, "What have you done?"
Grinning, Kabuto answered, "I gave the little human a healthy dose of poison. Insurance, in case I was interrupted. I didn't want to die without ensuring that his fate would be sealed too."
Fury flared within Gaara. As much as he would have loved to spend time avenging Iruka and the suffering Naruto had been forced to endure, time was now of the essence - again. He pulled a dagger from the inside of his coat and aimed the blade at Kabuto's eye. The silver haired vampire stared impassively at the weapon as Gaara raised it and thrust it through the eye into the brain. Then Kabuto screamed.
Pinning the vampire's wrists, Gaara decided to check how the others were faring. Itachi was approaching him with no more than a busted lip and blood-soaked clothes; Zabuza was still engaged in combat, but appeared to be in no danger. His opponent had realised that he was the only one still fighting and appeared to have lost the fire needed to win the match.
Reaching Naruto, Itachi checked the human's vital signs with a look of distaste. "His pulse is very slow and he's lost a lot of blood." Itachi's eyes flickered to the puddle at his feet and added, "Obviously."
"He's been poisoned. I need you to get him to a hospital."
Itachi looked at him sharply. "You should take him; I'll help Zabuza clean up here."
"I trust you to make sure he's safe," Gaara said, and was surprised by just how true those words were. "I want to stay and finish what I started."
"Gaara." Itachi stepped forward, his tone one of warning. "For what they've done I can condone you killing them, but torture is another matter entirely. I'm not going to turn a blind eye to this." Before Gaara could snarl a retort Itachi continued, "Naruto will not thank you for letting your darker nature dictate your actions. I'm sure he would consider death a suitable punishment for all of them."
Hating that Itachi was right (again) Gaara turned his attention to Kabuto. The vampire squirmed futilely in his grasp as life-giving blood and other fluids drained from his wound. Gaara wanted nothing more than to prolong his suffering, but he knew that would achieve nothing. He was not that monster anymore and he would not allow himself to slip backwards – for Naruto's sake if nothing else.
Wrenching the dagger from Kabuto's eye, Gaara unceremoniously stabbed the vampire in the heart before standing. He approached Itachi, who nodded approvingly before returning to undoing Naruto's restraints. Gaara shuddered as he joined him – a mix of revulsion and bloodlust. The scent of Naruto's blood was almost overpowering as Gaara picked up the teenager and held him to his chest. Gaara would have loved to feast on that blood, but the rational part of his mind was able to subdue the impulse. Instead of indulging he set off at a run for the hospital, half glad and half terrified that whatever Kabuto had given Naruto had caused the boy to lose consciousness. He just hoped that time was still on his side.
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