Captive by Hope in the Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I claim to.

Warnings: Crappy dialogue and unfortunately too much of it probably

a/n: Alright you crazy people! You want more? I'll give you more! Just don't expect fast updates with my hectic life and the fact that I have only a vague idea of where this is going. So leave me reviews and ideas and inspiration. You guys are my muses this time!

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Chapter 2

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Time seems to crawl by slowly when you keep track of it in its precise seconds, minutes, hours, days. But once you lose that track and its precision time seems to just simply float on by, neither with great haste or unbearable slowness. It's probably why it seemed so hard for me to imagine that a whole year had passed since I had joined Akatsuki.

A little over a year ago I had been captured by the criminal organization known as Akatsuki after I had fought with one former traitor known as Uchiha Sasuke. Or at least that's what the official report from Konoha says. The truth had varied greatly. I had fought with Sasuke in order to subdue him long enough to bring him back to Konohagakure to fulfill the whims of a girl who had been rejected by above named Uchiha. When two members of Akatsuki had shown up with the obvious intent of capturing me, my supposed sensei Kakashi had chosen to save the traitorous Uchiha and had left me there knowing that I would without a doubt be killed. That was the last time anyone from Konohagakure had heard of me.

They just figured I had met the early demise they all seemed to expect of me.

They had even etched my name into the memorial stone as if to say there was no way I was still alive. I had seen it myself one time while I had been on a reconnaissance mission. I had laughed out loud at the irony of it but on the inside the anger and resentment I had started to feel towards the village had only seemed to grow. I no longer had any qualms about putting Konohagakure into harm's way even if I was doing the harming. Sunagakure was an entirely different matter however. From what I had heard and sometimes witnessed myself Gaara had never given up hope that I was still alive and always followed whatever leads he got with an almost obsessive determination. It had felt somewhat good that there was at least one person who had not accepted my disappearance as my death.

"What are you doing up Naruto-kun?"

I turned my head to look at the person sleeping next to me, the reason I had not fallen into despair at my captivity. He had offered me a way out of my cage only to end up capturing my heart.

"It's nothing, Itachi," I assured him, rolling over to cuddle against him. "Just thinking."

"About what?" he asked while sleepily kissing my forehead.

"Just that it's been a year already," I answered lavishing in his affection. "It seems like it was only a short time ago that I was chasing after Sasuke, but at the same time it feels like this has always been this way."

"That's just how time is," he said wrapping an arm around me to pull me closer. "Even though it is always passing by at a steady rate it confuses us into thinking that is slower or faster than it actually is."

"So what was this year like for you?"

"It was wonderful," he said with a sleepy smile. "And I know the next one will be as well. Now you better go to sleep if you want to be alert for the mission tomorrow."

"Un," I mumbled affirmatively before I drifted off to sleep in his arms feeling for all the world that I belonged there.

~--~--~--~

I yawned as we watched our target go about as if he believed he would never be a target for assassination. It was laughable really. Especially since he was giving up his village secrets just because he had been dissatisfied with their treatment of him. Luckily the secrets he had were ultimately useless for anyone else to use against his village but it had been enough for his village to get rid of a traitor. Now if only the bastard wasn't hanging around Gaara.

The traitorous leach had nearly adhered himself to the Kazekage and the irritation was clearly visible in Gaara's mannerism. But as stated before the leach had no self-preservation instincts. I itched to get rid of the bastard right then and ther-

"We are not risking your cover no matter how much the target is bothering Kazekage-sama," Itachi said with a tone that warranted no objections. Too bad that I still objected.

"But-"

"No," he said turning his sharingan on as warning. It still bothered both me a little whenever I saw them. I know he never used them on me without a genuine purpose but it was the fear of them that Kyuubi had subconsciously instilled on me that made them such a good threat towards me. "I know you still care about Gaara but we can't let you blow your cover. If Konoha found out that you were still alive they'd be obligated to pursue you and take you back dead or alive to save face. It's bad enough you leave little clues for Gaara to give him hints that you're alive."

"Meh, you're right," I agreed reluctantly, my hand moving to scratch the back of my head. "And I hate that you're right. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to play dead."

"I wish I hadn't of had to play the mass-murdering traitor, but we all can't have things that are out of our control. That's just how fate is."

"Uh huh…" Something caught my eye. "Hey do we still get paid even if we aren't the ones to take out the target?"

"No we don't," Itachi responded with a confused look on his face. "Why are you asking about that?"

"'Cause Gaara's about to kill him."

"Oh."

"…"

"…"

"Just make sure you keep yourself hidden at all times and don't bring attention to yourself," Itachi ordered switching into what Kyuubi and I called killer mode. "And no giving the Kazekage another lead."

"Alright, alright," I agreed with a sigh, standing up from where we were staked out on top of some civilian's house. I stretched out my slightly stiff muscles quickly and adjusted my black bandana to make sure it covered my hair. I had already hidden my whiskers under makeup, an almost daily ritual now. I shrugged off the Akatsuki cloak though, not wanting the extra weight slowing me down. "Be back in a minute."

With that I was off, jumping from ledge to ledge to quickly make my way down to the courtyard outside the Kazekage tower. I could feel the sand shifting under my feet as Gaara was getting more and more agitated and ready to strike. I saw my target in front of me, still painfully oblivious to his imminent demise. A kunai was in my hand almost instantly. A second later it was plunged into the target's jugular before being just as quickly withdrawn. I'd be gone before the man fell to the ground and bled to death.

Well I would have been except for the sand that snagged my ankle.

I landed ungracefully on my face, hands splayed out in front of me. I started scrambling to get free when I felt more sand starting to wrap itself around my other leg, but it turns out even I can't get free of Gaara's sand that easily. Soon I was wrapped in sand from my neck down and was facing all three of the sand siblings.

"Normally I would thank you for getting rid of a pest like that for me but I doubt that you are a hunter nin from this man's village because I know that they are not large enough to have them and have been giving such work to the Akatsuki."

"Heh, got me there. I am Akatsuki." I replied casting my voice deeper to hopefully prevent Gaara from recognizing it. "So watcha gonna do with me Kazekage-sama?"

"I would like to kill you here for you being part of that demonic organization," Gaara said before an absolutely sadistic look appeared in his eyes. "But that would get me nothing in the end. Instead I'll see what information I can get out of you."

Now to say I was scared would be an understatement. Being interrogated by Gaara was on my top ten don't-want-to-do list. However it seemed that I wouldn't have a choice in the matter.

"What happened to Uzumaki Naruto?" Crap. He had to ask that question. I really didn't want to lie him either.

"No clue. I joined up right after that and they never thought to tell me about it." Well that was true enough for my conscience. It would have to be until Itachi figured out how to free me.

Tsukiyomi could fool Kankurou and Temari but not Gaara, because genjutsu fooled living things not sand. With the unfoolable sand Gaara would be able to tell if I was escaping or not. Itachi would have to figure out a different way to get me out.

"Do you know if he is alive or not?" he asked as the pressure from the sand increased.

"I told you I don-"

A gust of wind picked up and the bandana, which had loosened during my struggles, flew off revealing my bright shock of blonde hair.

"Na-"

My Akatsuki cloak was suddenly thrown over my head and I heard Itachi touch down in front of me.

"Kazekage-sama, I humbly request that we continue this conversation in a place where unwanted eyes cannot see and ears cannot hear."

"I expect you to explain everything." Even though I could not see, I knew that Gaara's glare would be icy-cold and demanding.

"Agreed." Itachi said without hesitation.

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I had been led by Itachi's hand on my arm and Gaara's sand around my ankle to the Kazekage's office. It had been hard to tell at first when the cloak had finally been removed for all the walls including the ceiling and the floor had been covered with a thick layer of sand. Luckily Gaara had left the light fixtures exposed so we would all be able to see. But after seeing Gaara's expression it made me wish I couldn't see.

To most people the expression on Gaara's face would be unreadable but to people who actually knew him his face was full of subtle giveaways that could form numerous complex expressions like the one that was currently on his face. His eyes showed betrayal in them and yet they were glossy from unsheddable tears of joy. The set of his mouth told me that he was also angry at me.

"Why haven't you told anyone that you're alive?" Itachi opened his mouth to answer but Gaara instantly added, "I want him to answer me."

"I had to pretend I was dead," I answered. "If Konoha knew I was alive they would be obligated to send a team to retrieve me for appearance's sake. And frankly I don't wish to go back to a village that chooses traitors over those that are loyal."

"I understand why you couldn't let anyone from Konoha know, but I fail to see why you couldn't tell me."

"We were just being overcautious," Itachi put in.

"I really wanted to tell you too, but they wouldn't let me. The most I got away with was leaving you all those clues and they always scolded me for that." I put on my best pleading face and hoped that it would work.

Gaara sighed. Victory! "I forgive you for not telling me but I'd like to know how you ended up a member of the Akatsuki when last I heard you had been captured by them so they could presumably extract Kyuubi out of you."

"Well that is kinda what happened but I guess the Kyuubi is too powerful for them to extract. So while they were debating on what to do with me…" I started to explain.

"I went to where he was being held and offered for him to join Akatsuki or remain in his cage." Itachi finished for me.

"You put him in a cage?" An aura of fury started to leak from Gaara.

"I was a captive at the time Gaara and I hadn't quite processed Kakashi's betrayal," I tried to assure him. "I probably would have tried to return to Konoha if I hadn't been in that cage. I would've returned to a place where I was miserable and lived with people who saw me as little better than a monster. You know how that's like Gaara, how horrible an existence that can be."

He nodded in agreement and the furious aura retreated. "So you chose to join Akatsuki?"

I nodded a smile breaking out on my face. "I'm really happy Gaara! They treat me like an actual person and they're not really as bad as people make them out to be!"

"But they're making you kill people…"

"Konoha would have forced me to kill people. In Akatsuki I can choose not to," I explained to him. "I'm more free now than I ever was in the village."

I wanted to celebrate my victory when Gaara sighed in defeat. "But what of the other bijuu and jinchiuuriki?"

"We've stopped pursuing them now that Naruto is one of us. I believe that even if we were to gain the power necessary to extract and seal the Kyuubi, none of the members would be willing to do it. We're all too attached to him." Itachi answered. I don't know if it was a good thing or not that he left out how if anyone tried to extract the Kyuubi that he would kill them without hesitation.

"I see. Then I'll make sure that Sunagakure no longer gets in the Akatsuki's way, though I will hold off on ending the truce between Sand and Leaf until the most opportune time."

"Eh?" That last part caught me off guard. "Why break the truce?"

"I do not wish to be connected to a village that is going to be led by a traitor."

"I still don't know what you mean…"

"He's talking about the Hokage in-training," Kankurou spoke for the first time. "It seems that the next Hokage is going to be none other than Uchiha Sasuke."