Sorry for taking so long! Enjoy!

-x-

"Fears are nothing more than a state of mind."

[Napoleon Hill]

-x-

I could see the despair in his eyes. I was only a Genin, and I could clearly see it. Now he was wearing that look he always gets when he's in deep thought. The man trying to abduct me wouldn't know that, of course. After a couple seconds of scenarios, Itachi made up his mind.

"Take him. He's not of any worth to me." The words felt like they were tearing my heart in two. How could he? How could the bastard say those words without even wincing? But somehow, I knew. Itachi had come up with a master plan that would end nicely. I ignored my inner self that told me that knowing was simply me hoping. The man holding a kunai against my neck seemed satisfied with Itachi's answer, and easily lifted me into his arms.

"Alright then. I'll make sure he enjoys every bit of his visit." The sound of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. Holding me with one arm, he began making hand signs with his free hand. I tried to fight the sudden wave of drowsiness that overcame me, but I couldn't hold it off for long. The last thing I saw before my eyelids dropped heavily was a vibrant blend of red, black, and white.

-x-

I'd gone blind. I couldn't see anything. It was all dark. I knew better, but couldn't stop myself from screaming out for someone. Any sane person would have done the same thing, if they were tied up and on the floor in the dark. I tried to force my wrists apart, but the rope seemed to have been made out of chakra. I soon realized this was the same case with my ankles. Even worse, my whole body felt strangely numb. A cold liquid dripped onto my face from above, and I had to roll over so it would trail off. I was lying on hard stone which was slightly damp from whatever substance was dripping from above. My breath ghosted back against my skin as I lay face down, listening to the quiet 'drip drop' of the substance hitting the floor. My stomach churned angrily. "I'm hungry..." I whimpered, curling into myself. By the time I worked up enough courage to yell again, I was practically bored to death. You never know when you'll be alone.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" I asked, glancing warily around me, but only meeting pitch black. I'm really hoping my eyes just haven't adjusted yet.

A sharp pain in the back of my head caused me to wince. My head was finally beginning to clear up, as brief memories flashed before my closed eyes. A tall brunette with amber eyes. A vast warzone. A piggyback. A dart piercing skin. I couldn't make sense of what it was, but a feeling of dread filled my stomach. Exactly like when you drop from a high altitude to a low altitude and your stomach goes berserk.

"Is somebody in here with me?" I shouted, but only an echo answered me. Where am I? What is this place? Why am I tied up? Is this some sort of trap?

My mouth felt strangely dry, but there didn't seem to be anybody around to offer me water. I could feel the liquid seeping through my thin jacket. Well, this is certainly uncomfortable. I tried to sit still, but being the, "Number One, Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja of the Leaf," made this a difficult task. I wonder if this is how prison inmates feel.

"At least they're not tied up..." I whispered to myself. I wasn't typically one to talk to myself, as I had been surrounded by people for the most recent part of my life, but being alone in the dark does that to you. I had been lying down this whole time, and not once did the option of sitting up strike my mind. I planted my feet on the ground and used my remaining strength to sit myself up. It felt like all of my chakra had been drained out of me, even that of the Kyuubi's. Kyuubi! I've never just 'talked' with him... maybe he'll know where I am!

I shut my eyes tightly, summoned up the red chakra, and opened my eyes again. I was inside a sewer. I hadn't been through here too many times, so I slowly walked through, examining every doorway. I finally reached a long tunnel, and knew. Taking up a sprint, I found myself at the end of the tunnel, facing a large cage that held the Nine-Tails. Said Nine-Tails was growling threateningly at me, making his pure rage at being locked up known.

"Kyuubi? I... I need your help." I said, starting off slow. I wasn't sure what reaction I would get.

"Why should I help you, brat?" The fox sneered, showing off his long, sharp canines. I stepped closer to the cage, glancing behind me every once in a while. It was dim in here, but still brighter than the place I had been before.

"Because... I don't know what to do. Please." I pleaded, taking a seat in the murky water in front of the cage. To my surprise, Kyuubi didn't snap at me, he simply stared at me. I could feel the coolness of the water, but it didn't soak through my pants.

"You don't remember." He stated. His voice still held a hint of malice, but he probably couldn't shake that off. This was as nice as I was going to get him.

"No. I don't." I replied, tilting my head to get a good look at the face ten times bigger than my body. His muzzle twitched slightly.

"The Uchiha traded you for your escort, the other brat." He answered, narrowing his eyes. A sharp claw made a small indent in the metal bar closest to me.

"Sasuke?" I asked in surprise. Kyuubi shook his head. What other Uchiha do I know?

"Your boyfriend, brat." The fox said. Recognition flared inside of me. Itachi? Itachi traded me for... Kenji. Yes. Why?

"It was for the sake of the mission... all humans are so ignorant."

"Wait- what? I didn't say that out loud. Was that just a coincidence?" I asked stupidly, bringing a hand to my hair. I tried to untangle some of my knots, but I only ended up making them worse.

"It wasn't a coincidence, brat. I've been able to read your mind since I was sealed in you." Kyuubi snarled. I expected this however, as he had somehow always known when I needed help or when I needed chakra.

"Wow... wow. So where am I, Kyuubi?" I rubbed at my sore wrists. It was so much better being in here, with my hands and legs free.

"In a prison cell below the Village Hidden in the Darkness." Kyuubi replied, watching me with a frown. My wrists and ankles bore burn marks, due to the intensity of the chakra rope.

"The Village Hidden in the Darkness? What's that?" I asked. So many questions, so little time.

"It's an underground village. They live in the darkness, if you couldn't catch that from the title. It's somewhere in Earth country. I visited it once, as a matter of fact. I was young then, however. Hundreds of years ago."

"Oh. Okay... How long have I been down here?" I wonder how young he was. Maybe he was my age! I wonder if he was my size... or if he was always that enormous.

"I can read your mind, remember, brat. Don't say anything insulting, or this pleasant chat will be over," Kyuubi growled, "And no. I wasn't always this... size... You've been out for about three days, and slipping in and out of consciousness for one, which was yesterday. So all in all, you've been here for four days."

"Four days! No wonder I'm so hungry and thirsty... sorry, Kyuu..." I mumbled. My head began to throb in tune with my breathing.

"Kyuu? We're not friends, brat. Even if- You have to go now. Someone's coming." Kyuubi said, ears perked as he listened.

"O-okay, Kyuubi. I'll come back sometime, alright?" I managed to stutter out before I was pulled out of my subconscious. It was darker than before, and there was a slight... musk in the air. My pants were now thoroughly soaked. I wonder how long I was with Kyuu... bi. Almost forgot there.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the darkness, and finally stopped in front of my cell. At least, it sounded like they did.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki." This comment sounded familiar, as did the voice.

"Who are you?" I shouted, staring intently in the direction the voice had come from. I could vaguely make out the outline of a long face and broad shoulders.

"That is none of your concern. If you want to get out of here alive, that is. Just cooperate nicely, and we won't hurt you too bad." Th

"Try your best! I won't give up!" I retorted. I was surprised at how steady and confident my voice sounded. The sound of a lock being opened, and seconds later footsteps had approached me.

"You stupid, stupid boy!" The voice yelled as they kicked my stomach. He kept kicking me, making me gasp in pain. It was over a couple minutes later. It felt like my insides had been vaporized to dust. He grabbed me by the ankles and held me upside down as I was led to another room. The blood was rushing to my head, and in a matter of seconds my head was pounding.

"Bastard! Let me go!" I screamed, kicking my legs as fervently as I could. My efforts were useless, however, as my ankles were tied up, and the motion only made me feel sicker. I stayed still, gasping for air exactly every 2 minutes. I didn't want to have to inhale the putrid smell that had filled my nostrils. It was rotten and sour. I was finally flipped right side up and tied to a chair. A loud clanking noise sounded from my left, and a bright flash of light appeared. My eyes stung slightly, as I hadn't been exposed to light for days. It was a small orb of white light, but it was of no use to me as it was so far away.

"Enjoy your visit here, child. I've left you a lantern so you can see exactly what goes on in the dark. I'll come back in a day or two, to check if you're still alive. You'll be lucky to die of starvation, even dehydration."

And he walked away. He hadn't locked me up anywhere, simply tied me to a chair. I'm not scared of the dark. What a loser.

Silence. It was so quiet, that it felt like my mind was speaking to me in real life. Not just in my head. Maybe I should go visit Kyuubi. He makes my stay here a little bit better.

A loud noise reached me through the darkness, jolting me from my thoughts. What was that? Rocks shifting, that's what had caused the noise. But why are the rocks shifting? Could it be that someone's here?

I opened my mouth to shout, but my insides churned, almost warning me. Guess that's not a good-

A scream. It wasn't any scream, however. What. Was. That. Some sort of animal? It definitely wasn't human...

I could feel goose bumps slowly appearing over my skin. So maybe the dark is kind of scary.

Another scream, but this time it was accompanied with the quick pitter-patter of feet. I could hear them- it- crawling everywhere. I just didn't know what it was. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid. Anyone would get paranoid in the dark, right? I'm not going crazy. This is all just a dream.

I could tell myself it wasn't real numerous times, but it couldn't change the fact that I was scared. I'm scared. I don't know what's in the dark! What if it's some kind of creature? Does it eat meat?

I tried shutting my eyes, but they flew open when the pitter-patter sounded dangerously close. I stared at the white light. Is that what he meant by, 'You'll be lucky to die of starvation, even dehydration?' And the light. He wanted me to see exactly what was out there.

A dark shadow loomed over the bright orb, clearly visible to me. It was tall, and its back was curved. A human physique, but somewhat lengthened. Longer arms, legs, torso. I gasped quietly, hoping it hadn't heard. What I had forgotten, though, was that the people of the Village Hidden in the Dark had honed their other senses. So why wouldn't this creature have? What exactly had happened down here? It growled predatorily as it slowly turned towards me. It almost happened in slow motion. One second it was standing in front of the light, and the other it was breathing on my neck. The foul smell of blood and decomposing flesh covered me like a blanket, but I kept as still as possible. I held my breath, tightened my muscles, and willed my heart to stop racing. It sniffed me, and I vaguely noticed a sticky, viscous liquid drop onto my shoulder and trail down my arm. My lungs throbbed for air, but I kept my breath sucked in, refusing to be the prey. Finally, I let out my breath. It didn't matter anyways. I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do about it because I was tied to a chair. The thing sniffed me one last time before letting out a loud, terrorizing squeal. Almost immediately, there were four more things examining me. One of them took my hands into their mouth. I felt a slimy tongue slip through my fingers and jagged teeth lightly scratch my skin.

"Please, stop!" I pleaded, trying to yank my hands away. The movement made the thing angry, and he sunk his teeth into my flesh. My eyelids shut, leaving me in the dark, with my scream reverberating through my ears.

"Naruto!" Someone's yelling at me. They're yelling my name. Who are you? What do you want?

"Naruto, Naruto!"

"Help me, please! I'm going to die!" I shouted, thrashing around in the... I'm not in a chair. Where am I? Somewhere firm, but soft.

I opened my eyes slowly, and was met with darkness. Pitch black, like always.

"Sh, it's okay, Naruto. Everything's going to be alright." A voice whispered in my ear. I then realized someone was clutching me to their chest.

"What? What? Who are you?" I asked, pushing against their chest. Note: I now know it's a guy.

"Itachi, Naruto. It's Itachi." He said, disregarding my attempts to break free. The smell of sweat and grass filled my nose. It was comforting in a way.

"Itachi? Which Itachi?" I questioned. I thought Itachi had left me here to die.

"The only Itachi you know, Naru. Unless you made a friend down here..." He trailed off, desperation creeping into his voice. My senses suddenly peaked.

"Where are those... those things? Where are they?" I screamed, tossing my head back as I tried to break free.

"Naruto, it was just a hallucination. They weren't real. Are you hurt anywhere?" Itachi murmured, pulling me closer. His breath tickled my neck, and I fought to restrain a chuckle. I'm okay. It wasn't real.

"I think so... I'm feeling sort of dizzy."

"We're going now, alright? We're going back home." Itachi said, casually standing up. The motion made my head swim.

"I feel sick." I commented as he took me somewhere I couldn't see. His sharingan was obviously helping him make his way through the darkness.

"I know. But you're going to get better when you get some fresh air. There's a toxin in the air, that's what's making you feel sick."

We travelled in silence, with a couple questions regarding the mission from me. Something in my head nagged me to ask Itachi something. But what?

"Where are Sasuke and Sakura-chan?" I asked. My gaze was set on a bright pinpoint of light somewhere in front of us. That isn't the question.

"They're with Kenji in his village." Itachi replied, trudging forward with ease.

"You know, I never found out where that was." I said, lazily letting my eyelids droop.

"And you won't find out." Itachi laughed bitterly.

"Itachi?" I began, finally remembering what I had been trying to say. "Did you mean it?"

Somehow, Itachi caught on fairly quickly.

"No, Naru. No, never. I'm sorry I had to say such hurtful things. It was for the sake of the mission. But I didn't stop thinking about you these past five days. I was always coming up with new plans and ideas to find you and rescue you. I'm sorry, Naruto." He mumbled. His pace slowed slightly.

"It's okay, Itachi. I forgive you. I'm glad Kenji's safe. I'm glad the bastard and Sakura-chan are safe. But most of all, I'm glad you came back." I said, nuzzling my face against his neck. I missed you.

"I love you, Naruto." Itachi said, lowering his face to mine and giving me an Eskimo kiss.

"I love you too, Itachi." Somewhere in the darkness, was an animalistic scream.

-x-

As soon as my eyes made contact with the light, they watered profusely and stung painfully.

"Ow, ow! My eyes!" I screamed. Itachi wore a grimace as he held my hand in encouragement. Once the pain became tolerable, I took the time to look around. We had come out into a mildly lit forest. There were patches of dead grass randomly placed here and there. The trees were leafless, and the branches were cut into odd shapes. I probably would have been frightened had Itachi not been standing next to me.

I stood on my tippy-toes and playfully laid a kiss on Itachi's cheek. The moment was ruined, however, when a wave of harsh nausea came over me. Muttering a quick 'excuse me' I fled into the forest surrounding the hole we had come out of. Placing a hand on the tree trunk for support, I leaned over and let out all of the contents of my stomach onto a sturdy ant hill. The ants are probably drowning in my vomit.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and in turn wiped my hand on the bottom of my shirt. The slightly acidic taste of puke still lingered in my mouth when I returned to Itachi.

"You drowned some poor forest creature in your vomit and enjoyed it, didn't you?" Itachi asked, draping an arm around my shoulders.

"What can I say? I take pride in what I do." I mused, leaning into the muscular body that was Itachi.

-x-

I'm terribly sorry for not having updated any of my fanfics for a month. I went on a vacation and that messed up my update schedule, and then I was lazy, and then I didn't have any inspiration. Anyways, thank you so much for reviewing. You guys are all so great. Hope this wasn't too bad? I really just wanted to get the mission over with. It had a kind of... scary twist. Haha. Love – WTR.