A/N: Here comes chapter three! I've read this over several dozen times and run it through some spell checks but I'm still searching for a commited beta! I can't catch everything myself no matter how many times I read these damn things! Oh, and as a warning, there is a serious 'WTF' mind fuck moment in this but just let yourself be confused, you're supposed to be. ;)

Group therapy days came and went in Konoha Asylum. Sasuke wasn't even sure he knew exactly what days were therapy days. It didn't matter though. Sasuke was sure that plenty of patients didn't know, too absorbed in their madness to give a damn about the date. The staff never said anything about it and Sasuke didn't care to ask. They simply came together, without warning or call.

Sasuke had to, for inexplicable reasons, help supervise one of the groups. He had begrudgingly accepted the duty without ever questioning how it applied to his internship. Sasuke didn't really care what the asylum made him do as long as it wasn't beyond his station. Still, he couldn't quite get over how creepy it was to watch them file in, dull and lifeless, one by one. Sasuke said and showed nothing of this observation. He merely kept it to himself and left the patients and staff to their strange ritual.

The group was an odd bunch, even for an asylum. Karin was it's most notable member for obvious reasons. She was the most vocal and volatile. She had been commited due to her violent outburtsts as well as her obsession and extreme hatred of men. She almost appeared to be schizophrenic, seductively flirting away at one moment and attacking in another.

There was Shino, a mute with a distiurbing love for insects. He actually believed he had the power to control them. He had a generally calm demeanor and he never seemed angry or unhappy. He was just a loon who thought he was a bug. He was particularly good at cards though. It tended to upset some of the more emotional patients.

Kiba was an overly aggresive and conflict driven boy who valued a dog's life more than a person's. He tried working in a dog shelter but after he released the hounds onto the streets, claiming that they deserved their freedom, he was fired. He had an imaginary pet when he began his stay in the asylum. It was a dog he called Akumaru and he described it as a male, small, white dog. He often growled at the staff and other patients and had decided that any area he occupied was his territory.

Then there was Gaara, who was by far the most frightening of the the group if not the entire asylum. Gaara was a redheaded sociopath. He might have been a handsome young man if it wasn't for some added features. Gaara had no eyebrows and dark circles under his eyes from his insomnia, an insomia that no drug seemed to help. The most hideous part of his appearance was the symbol for love on his forehead. It was a groteseque burn protruding from Gaara's head as if he'd been branded. The lines bulged out, a stark red color. The only feature that equaled the scar's disturbing quality was the way Gaara's eyes watched the people around him. Gaara would stare and his green eyes had a calm and calculating hate behind them. He was strapped to a metalic device, with his mouth muzzled much in the style of Hannibal Lector but his eyes made its target feel like he would strike at any moment and without mercy or emotion.

Shino had an odd friendship with Gaara, if one could call it that. Since Shino was a mute and Gaara preferred not to speak, they got along in an odd way. Shino would sit with him, blinking at Gaara and Gaaara would be strapped there, blinking at Shino. Frequently, they kept one another occupied during group therapy since the two of them never had much to say.

The group sessions were rather boring since Shino and Gaara didn't converse, Karin did nothing by try to seduce Sasuke and Kiba played catch with a figment of his imagination. It hardly seemed like it was time well spent but a ritual is a ritual.

"Welcome to today's group," Dr. Kabuto said.

Dr. Kabuto was a nice enough man but despite his professional and somewhat gentle nature, there seemed to be something secretive about him. He would smile at everyone but there would be this split moment when he'd shift his glasses down and the light reflected on the lenses hid his eyes. It made Sasuke suspicious but not to the extent that he'd go beyond his own business with Dr. Kabuto. Still, the feeling always lingered.

"Please be warm and inviting to Haku and Naruto," he said with a smile.

As Dr. Kabuto spoke, Naruto walked into the room followed by Haku who was being pushed in a wheelchair by Ino. Sasuke watched Naruto with a sense of wonder and frustration. Was this kid destined to follow him everywhere?

Karin glared at Naruto and when he made eye contact with her, she winked at him. Kiba sniffed the air at the new comers. Gaara's demon eyes watched their every move, casually glancing back and forth between Naruto and Haku. Shino was uninterested as he tracked on imaginary bug across his sleeve.

Naruto looked nervous until he noticed Sasuke. A bright grin spread across his face, his eyes locked on Sasuke. Sasuke remained cool and uneffected.

Stupid kid.

Naruto took a seat across from Sasuke, with Shino to his left and Kiba to his right. His eyes stayed on Sasuke, his goofy grin still intact. Kiba leaned over and sniffed at Naruto.

"Smells like a bitch," he laughed, looking to Akumaru.

Naruto's brow furrowed.

"Hey!" Naruto snapp`ed.

Kiba kept laughing and patted the figment's head. Naruto shifted from being upset to being curious. He stared at the patch of air that Kiba was petting.

"Um, what are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"Idiot," Kiba snuffed, "This is my dog, Akumaru."

Naruto looked confused at first. Sasuke watched as Naruto tried to conentrate, squinting to see Kiba's imaginary pet. Sasuke sighed, Naruto was either really stupid or honest to God crazy.

"Oh," Naruto said suddenly, "Yeah! I see him!"

Kiba looked up from patting the imaginary dog. Sasuke's jaw dropped slighty and he quickly covered up his reaction. He glanced at Dr. Kabuto who studied the scene intently.

"Really?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, he's kind of cute. What kind is he?"

Kiba's face seemed to lighten up as Sasuke watched in confusion. Surely Naruto was kidding.

"He's a mutt. He has a lot of smaller breeds in him though. Makes it easier for me to keep him around," Kiba answered.

"Can I pet him?" Naruto asked.

Kiba smiled for the first time since he'd been at group. Sasuke was almost in wonder of Naruto. The little blonde seemed to have this strange talent for befriending even the most opposing and unhappy people.

"Sure, but are your hands clean? White fur's a little hard to keep clean, man. You can pet his ears though. Brown's not difficult at all. Let him sniff you first."

Naruto held out his hand in the air as Kiba's imaginary pet sniffed away. Naruto waited a few minutes and then procceeded to give Akumaru a scratch behind his ear.

"That quite enough," Dr. Kabuto anounced.

Kiba immeadiately picked up his dog and held him protectively in his lap. Naruto, confused still held his hand out frozen and in place.

"Naruto," Dr. Kabuto began, "While it's nice to befriend other patients, I'll ask you not to indugle in their delusions."

Naruto frowned.

"Delusions?" Naruto asked.

"I've had enough of your playing along, Naruto. You and I both know that Akumaru is not a real dog," Dr. Kabuto continued to scold.

Naruto looked over at Kiba, who was defensively holding Akumaru. Kiba glanced away from growling at Dr. Kabuto. His eyes lingered on Naruto for a moment, questioning him.

"But, doctor," Naruto aruged, "Akumaru's right there!"

"Naruto," Sasuke called.

Sasuke was irritated with Naruto's insistance almost as much as Dr. Kabuto was. Sasuke didn't give a damn though if Naruto furthered Kiba's delusions but Naruto's own delusions were in question. Sasuke didn't want the blonde to be any more unstable than he was whether that meant losing a new found friend or not.

"Yeah, Sasuke?" Naruto awaited.

"Hush," Sasuke commanded.

Naruto pouted at Sasuke.

"I don't have to do what you say!

Dr. Kabuto smiled at this.

"I see you're becoming more yourself, Naruto. I'm pleased," he stated, "Your records indicated that you were a mischievious one."

Naruto stopped pouting and , embarrassed, tucked his foot behind his ankle and stared at his knees. Sasuke smiled, realized he had smiled, and quickly rid himself of the expression.

Meanwhile, Karin had been eyeing Haku. She stared at the comatose patient with a sense of judgement and disatisfaction. She pointed to him.

"Why is there another woman here?" Karin asked, agitation leaking into her words.

"Now, Karin," Dr. Kabuto assured, "Haku isn't a woman. Haku is a man."

Kiba and Naruto looked surprised. Even Gaara's eyes seemed to widen at the prospect of this beautiful person being a man. Haku had big brown eyes rimmed with dark, long lashes. His dark hair cascaded down his back. Women who wore makeup hardly held a candle to him. Even Karin paled in comparison.

Haku...that's the patient who-

Sasuke forced himself to ignore the disturbing memory of Haku and tried to focus on his surroundings.

Naruto stood over Haku and and peered down at him. He seemed to be examining him. Sasuke felt a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

He's like a child!

"Naruto!" Dr Kabuto was getting annoyed with him, "Take your seat, please."

Naruto turned around and sat back down, still displaying doubt that Haku was a man. Karin accepted it reluctantly. Kiba had simply loss interest and the others never really had any to say in the first place.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Dr Kabuto directed, "Does anyone have anything they'd like to share or will I have to force you?"

The group said nothing. Instead they figdeted or drooled or played with the figments of their imagination. It was much like trying to get any group of people to talk, sane or not.

Sasuke watched as Naruto looked to his left and right and then energetically raised his hand.

Dr. Kabuto, a little surprised and amused by the action, laughed lightly.

"Yes, Naruto?"

" I want to apologize!"

Dr. Kabuto pushed up his glasses and the mysterious sheen came over them.

"It's all right, Naruto. You were just trying to make friends with Kiba. You're forgiven-"

"No, I want to apologize for poking Karin the other day."

Dr. Kabuto's mouth dropped open. Sasuke stifled a snicker. It wasn't every day that Dr. Kabuto was wrong. In fact, the good doctor often prided himself on always being right. Yet he had assumed something and as result, made an ass of himself.

Karin, in true bipolar fashion, quickly became enraged at bthe memory. Her face had become the same color as her hair and eyes in a manner of seconds. Her hands were poised to either choke or claw, it was difficult to say.

"You fucking son of a bitch!" Karin screamed at Naruto, who cowered before her mighty insanity.

"Karin," Dr. Kabuto warned, "Go to your happy place."

Karin closed her eyes tight and her hands gripped the chair as she tried to focus. A sudden look of calm overcame her face returning her complexion which then grew pink with a look of mild pleasure. Sasuke couldn't help but assume that Karin's happy place was a love chamber occupied with all of her past victims of obsession. Needless to say, Sasuke was about as thrilled at Karin being calm as he was at her being furious. Both were frightening in their own ways.

Karin came out of her trance and sighed in a way that seemed inaproppriate.

"Well done, Karin," Dr. Kabuto praised, "Now, Naruto was just apologizing for his behavior, that's nothing to get angry for."

Karin looked over at the blonde who blinked back at her with an expression of wonder from her earlier transformation.

"I forgive you," Karin pushed herself to say, "After all, who wouldn't want to touch?"

She finished on a cocky note and swung one leg over the other. Naruto looked relieved.

Sasuke wasn't quite sure why Naruto apologized. If anybody needed to make ammends it was Karin. She had tried to kill Naruto. Naruto never meant to upset her, even Sasuke could see that. He was a bit of an innocent. Naruto really hadn't known any better.

Sasuke stared down Karin. She blushed and pushed her cleavage out towards him the moment she noticed. The usual disgust didn't even register to Sasuke. He had something more important on his mind.

"Apologize to Naruto," Sasuke demanded.

Karin's face dropped as well as her attempt at seduction.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You heard me, apologize."

Karin was at a loss for words. Her face shifted emotions rapidly. She was hurt. She was furious. She was confused. She was jealous.

Naruto was less indecisive about his emotional output. He sat there with wide eyes. He was surprised but pleasantly so. The faintest blush hinted at his cheeks. Sasuke had glanced over and caught the expression.

Don't look at me like that...it just isn't right if she doesn't apologize. I'm not doing it for you, idiot!

"Sasuke," Dr. Kabuto interrupted, "I'll ask you kindly not to interfere with the therapy."

Sasuke was tired of Dr. Kabuto being on his high horse. What did he have to be so authoritative over? A therapy group where half the patients never spoke?

"If I do nothing, then what's the point of me being here?" Sasuke fired.

Dr. Kabuto adjusted his glasses once more to their infamous glint.

"Your being here is to observe," he corrected, "You are here to learn."

"I've learned nothing from this."

Dr. Kabuto was beginning to get irritated.

"Sasuke, need I remind you that you are not a patient? Please stop arguing, you look terribly childish."

"You're the one compensating by using what you think is a more sophisticated vocabulary," Sasuke pointed out.

Dr. Kabuto, no matter what, never seemed to lose his temper. He had this calm fury about him. It was as if his anger was embodied into the atmosphere behind him, leaving him free to smile. It made it all the more intimidating but not to Sasuke.

"Perhaps," Dr. Kabuto replied, "The warden will set you straight?"

"You're joking," Sasuke said.

Dr. Kabuto shook his head. As Sasuke stood up to report to the warden's office, he felt like a school kid being sent to detention. Sasuke glanced at Naruto on his way out and Naruto looked back at him with awe and gratitude.

It turned out to be a long walk to the warden's office. Then again, it always felt like a long walk anywhere in the asylum. It was like traversing an endless white abyss. Sasuke was only grounded by the hints of texture and definition here and there. If Sasuke blurred his eyes even the slightest bit, he felt it might be possible to drift off into an endless alabaster sea.

Sasuke had never sat down with the warden before and as he stood outside his door, he felt hesitance rear its ugly head. What if the warden really was some sort of devilish miscreant? His voice certainly gave the impression.

Sasuke ignored his paranoia and knocked on the door.

"Come in," the warden's voice hissed.

Sasuke fought the instinctive urge to tuck tail and run for it. He would stand his ground whether his survival instincts knew it or not. After all, it was just his boss, wasn't it?

Upon opening the door, Sasuke was confronted with what know seemed like an enternity of shadows. The warden's office was so dark that it appeared black.

"Hello?" Sasuke called.

Sasuke could hear shuffling inside the room.

"Yes, come in," the warden said once more.

Sasuke took a step into the room and as he did a chill ran up his spine. The warden's office was dark and cold.

"Close the door behind you," the warden invited.

Before Sasuke did as he was told, he took one last glance at the light. Suddenly, he felt a small longing for the stark, bright white of the asylum.

There was a moment of absolute darkness after Sasuke closed the door. It was so dark that Sasuke couldn't see his own hand. There was more shuffling noises and Sasuke could feel his heart rate steadily rise.

"Good," the warden's voice said.

The warden switched on a desk lamp which illuminated a purple glow. It was like a small plum colored lantern in the empty darkness. The light was dim but at least it was light.

"Forgive me," the warden stated, "I have an oposition to bright lights. It's a bit of a medical condition."

Sasuke said nothing. He was too busy concentrating on what little he could see of the warden. It was just a set of arms fading into an obsure torso-like figure. His face was lost amongst the dark.

"What's your name?" the warden asked.

Sasuke was the type of person who purposely chose not to make eye contact with people. However, in this situation he had no choice. Sasuke couldn't see any eyes to refuse.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he answered, "You're the warden."

"Call me Orochimaru," the warden replied.

The warden's hands were pale so much so that they appeared to be gray. He had grown his fingersnails a bit too long and they'd started to turn yellow. Sasuke looked down at his own hands. They were a white pale but with pink undertones. Orochimaru didn't appear to have any undertones at all.

"It seems that Dr. Kabuto is concerned for you," Orochimaru said.

Sasuke glared.

"Dr. Kabuto should be concerned with his patients, like Karin for example."

Orochimaru chuckled and the sound seemed to radiate bad vibes to Sasuke.

"Do you blame her for your ouburst, Sasuke?"

Sasuke thought about it. Naturally, he blamed both Karin and Naruto. He blamed Karin because she was the one deserving of blame and he blamed Naruto for making him care enough to blame her. Had it been anybody else, he wouldn't bother. Still, he couldn't bring himself to admit it.

"She attacked another patient the other day without any retribution or scolding. If Dr. Kabuto cared for his patients, he would have addressed it."

"Dr. Kabuto is very caring of his patients," Orochimaru assured, "But perhaps you should be a little less caring?"

Sasuke felt his face get hot depsite the bitter cold of the room. It was the embarrassment of being caught going beyond his station and the insinuation of his odd feelings towards Naruto. Sasuke knew Orochimaru wouldn't know anything of those feelings but his own knowledge convicted him none the less.

"I'm doing my job," Sasuke lied.

Orochimaru said nothing and slowly a face emerged from the shadows. Orochimaru's face was as pale and lifeless as his hands but his eyes were bright and golden. His black hair draped the edges of his defined and somewhat comely face.

"Be wary of what the insane will do to you," Orochimaru warned, "Never forget who are the superior ones."

Sasuke felt his stomach churn. It was a simple enough statement and yet it took Sasuke's innards and twisted them about.

"Who would that be?" Sasuke asked, masking his sudden sickness.

"Us," Orochimaru smiled as he put his cold hand on top of Sasuke's, "You and I."

Sasuke stared at Orochimaru's hand. He felt as if he'd vomit at any minute and he couldn't understand why. Orochimaru wasn't exactly the most relaxing person to be around but he certainly shouldn't have been this discomforting.

Orochimaru was both hideous and handsome. It was like looking at a dying man with his nails too long and his skin so lifeless.

Like a good looking corpse... Sasuke realized as his sickness tried to conquer him.

Sasuke slipped his hand out from under Orochimaru's and stood up quickly. He turned, unable to utter a goodbye as he made way for the door in the dark.

"Sasuke!" Orochimaru called out.

The warden's voice sounded as if it had changed. The hiss had disappeared along with the air of deviance. Sasuke couldn't help but halt.

"Be careful with the others," Orochimaru warned once more, "We don't want to lose you."

Sasuke's hand gripped at his chest. A sudden pain had overcome his heart and it was near unbearable.

A heart attack?

Sasuke tried to force a foot forward.

"Sasuke?" Orochimaru called, his voice still tender.

Sasuke grunted as his body rejected the movement. The pain was too great and Sasuke fell to his knees. His eyes grew heavy and his vision began to blur as he looked at the floor. The colors almost seemed to change and the textures shifted. The dark concrete fazed in and out being replaced and reformed into something softer. Sasuke tried to concentrate on the in and out vision. The floor kept changing into something soft and blue. Something with...ducks on them?

Blanky? Sasuke managed to question, Why is my blanket-?

Sasuke tumbled over to his side.

"Sasuke!" a voice called.

Sasuke felt arms cradle around him and for a moment, he felt at peace. Sasuke gazed up at what appeared to be himself.

Is that possible?

Sasuke's double was surely some clone or vision yet he wasn't quite a replica. Sasuke tried to concentrate on the difference but as he did, Orochimaru's mug blurred onto the clone.

"Sasuke," the being said, "Don't leave. Stay with me. I'll take care of you!"

Sasuke felt the disharmonic emotions of pain and comfort. The creature's face blurred back and forth between Sasuke's own and Orochimaru's. His own face appeared to be crying while Orochimaru's licked his lips in some sort of anticipation. Sasuke fought the urge to blink. He fought for it and against it.

"I'll take care of you!" his clone face sobbed.

"I'll take care of you," Orochimaru said seductively.

Sasuke felt the room get dizzier and dizzier and the faces of the shape shifting being seemed to meld with one another. The shadows of the room grew closer and closer and as they did they consumed the hideous creature. Sasuke could hear it cry out as the black overcame Sasuke's world.

Somebody...I'm fading...I'm fading away...help me...

A/N: Confused? Good, you ought to be. XD Hope you guys liked it and I will put up the next chapter as soon as I finish writing it, then reading it over...and over...and over...