Hunted
By Zenerific1
Chapter 6:
The light pierced his eyelids with sharp needles, causing Naruto to lift a hand to try and block out some of the brightness. The ache in his skull was amplified a thousand times. His stomach rolled with nausea while his throat felt like someone had poured sand down it. Swallowing, Naruto tried to relieve his parched throat and get rid of the foul tasting cotton.
He opened his eyes again, moaning. Squinting, he looked around trying to get his bearings and figure out why his bed was rocking.
"Ah, you're finally awake. Good. I'd hoped that the drugs wouldn't cause you to slip into a coma, but you never know. 'Brids can be sensitive to them. I've lightened the dose so that you are aware but they'll keep you from trying anything stupid."
Naruto turned his head towards the smug voice and blinked to clear his blurred vision. A young man with dull grey hair and rounded spectacles peered down at him. Smiling—not a comforting one—the man shifted to lean against the side of the cart.
"Who are you?" Naruto rasped, barely any sound came out of his dry throat.
"Hm? I'm Kabuto. Itachi sold you to Orochimaru. You were quit a pretty penny, I have to tell you. I advised him not to take the deal but he's determined that he'll recoup any losses at the next town." There was a malicious turn to the smile he was giving Naruto.
A spike of terror rushed through him causing his heart to jump. Naruto struggled to sit up, to run, but his body wouldn't respond to the order his brain was giving. His whole body felt heavy and limp. Kabuto didn't move to stop him, only watched in glee as the fox struggled. Finally spent, Naruto collapsed back onto the thin pallet he'd been laying on.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" Kabuto chuckled merrily.
The rush of adrenalin burned through some of the haze and Naruto was able to think a little more clearly.
Itachi. Sasuke.
"Why?" He asked himself but was surprised when Kabuto spoke.
"Because you're dangerous."
"What?" He didn't understand. Naruto knew that he'd never hurt Sasuke, or anyone else for that matter. How could he be dangerous?
"You're dangerous. You're a threat to Itachi's—and the rest of the Uchihas'—way of life. They are comfortable with 'brids as servants, people that clean and are biddable. But there will be a time when people are going to start to question the ethics of keeping them oppressed. In fact it's starting to happen and the Uchihas are just trying to keep it at bay as long as possible."
Naruto didn't really understand half of what Kabuto had just spouted but he really didn't care. "Where's Sasuke? He wouldn't have let Itachi sell me!"
"Well from what Orochimaru said, he was still passed out when Itachi gave you the drugs. So he didn't have a say, now would he?" Kabuot chuckled. "He's probably awake now and tearing the mansion apart looking for you. But if he comes after you, we are supposed to euthanize you. I don't think it will come to that, or at least, I hope it doesn't. You were very expensive and I'd hate to see that much money go to waste."
Kami, the man spoke way too much and used words that had no meaning to Naruto. "Euthanize?"
"It means that I'll get to kill you," chortled Kabuto.
Ice froze in his veins as Naruto felt his heart seize, but it didn't last long before a slow, burning anger replaced the fear. He wasn't a stray kitten to be taken away from his parents the way he had been, and neither was he a purebred dog to be bought and sold in such a callous fashion. He was a sentient being who could think and reason for himself.
Unaware, a low growl began deep in his throat and his eyes went from crystal blue to a deep, muddy crimson. Kabuto watched the change with the same fascination as a mouse watched a snake approach. The humor he'd felt moments ago died and he slowly inched towards the small medical kit he'd laid down when checking on the fox. Keeping his movements slow and steady, he opened the bag and withdrew a small syringe and a vial. With one eye on the boy, he filled the shot, then in one swift movement he jammed the needle into the kits leg and depressed the plunger. The yelp Naruto gave satisfied Kabuto's masochistic craving for the moment. He quickly moved out of reach just in case the 'brid decided to attack him.
The growl abruptly cut off, and the kit jumped away from the sudden sting, crawling into a corner of the cart, and huddling as far away from the mad who'd hurt him. Staring at the unpleasant Kabuto, Naruto felt the lethargy creep into him. The man blurred out of focus then his image began to swim. The last coherent sight was of Kabuto's slow, malicious smile returning and, "Good night, Naruto. Tomorrow's gonna be a really hard day for you."
Consciousness returned to Naruto and this time he found that he was lying on a soft bed instead of the hard pallet in the cart. His shoulder ached and it was in an awkward position. Lifting it he found he could only move it a couple of inches before it was caught on something. Frowning, he looked up and discovered that his wrist was wrapped into a leather cuff, the buckle had some sort of lock on it, and the cuff was attached to a silver chain that was attached to the bed post. His other wrist was similarly chained. No amount of yanking and pulling yielded him his freedom. He even twisted his body around to use his legs to help. The bed frame remained unmoved and unbroken, and the chain solid. All he succeeded in doing was making the joints in his arms and shoulder to burn and throb.
Breathing harshly, Naruto looked around. The room was opulently decorated with red wall paper and velvet bed hangings. Gold and gilding were everywhere, from the ropes that pulled the hangings and curtains back to the pictures of 'brids in impossible positions with humans—Naruto refused to look at them for more than a passing glance—to the ridiculously, cheerful cherubim that laughed down at him.
He snarled at the naked—and well endowed—figures and yanked once more on the chains. The covers had been dislodged during his struggles and a cold draft whispered across his skin, making him realize that his situation was worse than he realized as he was just as naked as those stupid child-angels. If he'd been a different animal, he'd have howled and gnawed his arm off, but he eventually subsided in his abuse of his wrists and arms. Panting he tried to think but his mind was too occupied by the claustrophobic feeling that being held captive gave him. In fact it was worse now that it had been that first time.
"Sasuke." He whimpered and fought back the tears. If he gave into to those he might as well give up besides he was tired of crying. Naruto had survived everything that his life had dishes out in the past two weeks, he could survive this, couldn't he? He didn't know what it meant for him to be in this place, but he suspected that it wasn't going to be good.
The door knob rattled and Naruto steeled himself for what was coming next. He watched the knob turn as if in slow motion for time had ceased to flow properly. And agonizingly the door crawled open. A hand appeared then a mop of red hair and silver-green eyes. Naruto blinked to clear his vision.
"Gaara?"
"Naruto." A slow, somber smile graced the elegant lips of Naruto's pack mate. Gaara slipped into the room and gestured to someone outside and the door opened wider. Gaara stepped aside and a mountain of a man filled the doorway. He was dressed in light weight khaki clothes and wore a turban wrapped neatly around his head. A white veil covered half his face and the rest was darkly tanned. A somber brown eye studied Naruto before cutting to Gaara giving him a questioning look.
"He's my pack mate," Gaara said simply with a helpless shrug.
With a quick nod, the man turned back and strode across the room to approach the bed. Untrusting the new event, Naruto shrank back as the long stride ate up the room far too fast for his comfort. Seeing the fearful look in the other fox's face, Gaara ran to his side. A small hand petted his shoulder.
"It's okay, Naruto. He's my mate, we're here to get you out. No one is gonna hurt you," Gaara murmured soothingly. Gaara's presence more than the words helped to calm Naruto, but he was still unwilling to trust the stranger or his pack mate completely. There had just been too many things that hadn't gone right in too few days. "This is Baki," Gaara said introducing the stranger. "Oh, Naruto, I've so many things to tell you, but we have to wait until we are out of here."
Baki examined the locked cuffs then pulled a small leather pouch from one of the many pockets on his trousers. Opening it he pulled out a slender metal rod that was bent oddly at the end. The man pulled Naruto's wrist closer to him and Naruto winced at his shoulder ached fiercely.
"Sorry," Baki said absently with a frown.
Setting to work on the lock, it took less than a minute before Naruto was free. A flood of relief surged through the young fox as he drew his numb arm into his chest cradling it. It was nearly useless and began to prickle as blood began to move through it again. The awkward position had put it to sleep. Hissing, he waited until his other arm was free. Gaara reached out and rubbed his right arm brusquely to help return circulation.
Once a little feeling had returned, Gaara helped him off the bed. Baki pulled open the wardrobe and searched through the clothes. With a small sigh, he withdrew a dark blue robe as well as white undergarments. Dressing quickly, Naruto tried to keep the disappointment from overwhelming him.
He couldn't, Naruto reminded his inner self, if he had, I would have been killed. But he still couldn't help the ache in his heart. He pulled the scarf Baki had found in one of the wardrobes drawers over his bright, blond hair, effectively hiding it. Keeping his head down should help to conceal him further.
The trio, went through the door quietly, Baki first, then Naruto and Gaara at the rear. They headed down the hallway away from the noise coming from the front—now that they weren't in the room anymore, Naruto was amazed at how noisy the place was. Turning the corner at the end of the passage way, there was another narrower, flight of stairs.
In mid decent, Naruto's knees buckled as a heat surged through him. Gaara caught him as Baki swung around.
"He's in heat," Gaara said incredulously. "He's a year younger, but he's in heat." When Naruto had gone down, a spicy, almost cinnamon-like musk had waft through the air and Gaara was now inhaling deeper, trying to catch that addictive scent again.
Baki tugged Naruto away from Gaara. A low growl slipped out.
"Gaara!" Baki snapped. "You will control yourself."
Inhaling deeply, Gaara tried to gather his wits and keep his instincts under control. He watched as Baki reached into another pocket and drew out a tiny, blue vial. He pulled Naruto's head back and dumped the contents into his mouth. Convulsively, the kit swallowed the citrus-flavored concoction. Gaara knew it to be an inhibitor, one that he'd seen used only once on another 'brid. A low groan came from Naruto as the drug began to work on his senses, dulling the hot sensations that were running through him.
"It will only last a couple of days," Baki explained, "before the heat will overwhelm it. But by then we should be home."
Immediately, Naruto could feel the difference as a cooling sensation started in the depths of his stomach and spread outward. Shivering, he glared at Baki.
"Well, it does have its side effects, most medicinal products do. The chill should subside within a few hours," Baki shrugged. "Let's move it. More time wasted means that the chance of being caught is greater."
The three men silently descended into an even darker narrower hall the cut across the back. A couple of open door ways lead to a kitchen that had several people scurrying about trying to serve the customers and to a office that was empty. The kitchen workers paid them no mind and they didn't meet with anyone else as the slipped from the building into the dark.
Kakashi stepped into the tent unannounced to find Sasuke pacing from one side to the other, hand behind his back and jaw clenched. He watched the younger man for a moment, a gleeful smile gracing his lips—though one wouldn't have been able to tell unless you paid attention to the slight squinting of the eyes. Wanting to chuckle, he coughed to get Sasuke's attention.
"Well?" Sasuke asked rounded on Kakashi.
Ducking his head, Kakashi answered. "The house is in a uproar and Orochimaru has placed a bounty on the kit's head."
"What!"
"Seems that Naruto disappeared. He'd been sedated and placed into a room, chained to the bed and when during the bidding, the kit disappeared."
Sasuke closed his eyes and fought to remain in control. Relief that the fox hadn't been harmed was nearly overwhelmed with the fear that someone else had him. The possibilities were endless that the kit could be in greater danger than Orochimaru's sadistic hands. The snake might have been indiscriminate about who he did business with, but the 'brids that were in his care weren't harmed or used until the ink had dried.
"I did find a witness that says that he saw a man, a red fox 'brid, and someone else leaving the house by the back door. Though he saw an angel but then he could have been wrong because he was drunk."
"An angel?"
"Said the wind pulled the hood off for a moment and it looked like the man had a halo."
Sasuke waited for Kakashi to elaborate, but after a minute, "Kakashi, finish the report."
"Please?"
"What?"
"You need to say please."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and spoke through them, "Kakashi, will you please tell me where Naruto is?"
"Oh, I don't know that."
Sasuke felt the deep seated need to shove a kunai through one eye that smirked at him. Inhaling, Sasuke tried to calm his frustration. Kakashi had ever been a pain in his ass. The man had a mean streak a mile wide when it came to the young Uchiha. "Will you tell me what you do know…please?"
"Hn. From the description that the drunk gave me, the guy that took Naruto out of the house is a desert nomad named Baki. They were last seen headed out of town, going east. That was last night."
"Does Orochimaru know?"
"According to the drunk I was the first person to ask. I gave him a handful of gold and told him to leave town with a warning that if Orochimaru got a hold of him for questioning, he won't be around to see another bottle of whiskey."
"Good, the more obstacles we can create for Orochimaru, the better for us. We need to break camp and find Naruto."
"I informed Neji, when I returned, that you would want to head out as soon as possible. Oh and one more thing, Orochimaru has called in his dogs."
Terror still Sasuke's heart, but he was able to keep it from his face. "You forgot this bit of information earlier, why?"
Kakashi smiled genuinely, "Good, Sasuke, use your head instead of your heart and Naruto will be fine."
"So its foolishness on my part to try and keep Naruto safe?"
"Depends," Kakashi replied. "I don't know your heart, but mine says that if Iruka was ever taken from me, I would cut out my own heart to get him back, because I couldn't live without him."
Sasuke swallowed. The man was not only serious in a way that the Uchiha had never seen before, but a steel core of deadly intent ran through the words. Sasuke felt the same way. But whether or not he loved the kit, or just felt the need to keep his property safe, Sasuke couldn't say.
The camp was broken down in record time, as everyone wanted to help Naruto as quickly as possible.