Disclaimers: Naruto is someone else's, this is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, angst, hopefully some decent jokes, and (of course) beautiful SasuNaru love.

Chapter 12: The Ties That Bind Us

"I just want your extra time. And your kiss."

-Prince

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On the other side of the portal was a small room with a rough rock wall and solid metal door. There were bars on one side of the wall- giving enough of a view to see a long dark hallway leading to who knows what. Likely something terrifying and torture-related. Naruto shuddered at the thought.

The man wrapped a thick cord around Naruto's neck and tightened it. He then quickly bound his hands behind his back. More chakra rope. He grabbed the restraint around the blonde's neck and gave it a sharp tug to drag him to the other side of the cell.

"Nnnn!" Naruto groaned as his breath was cut short. Pain radiated from his neck. The man pulled harder and Naruto's feet slipped out from under him. He had just enough time to twist his body so he didn't smash his face into the ground. With his hands behind his back, though, he wasn't able to catch himself, so he landed full force on his side and his head cracked on the floor, hard. His vision blurred and his teeth snapped together at the jarring impact. He could feel blood slipping down his head, knotting in his hair, and he was pretty sure he fragmented something in his shoulder.

His eyes refocused and he looked up at the cruel smile gleaming down at him.

"You don't have to do this" Naruto's breath caught in his throat, and he struggled to swallow past it. "I- I know you're in pain.." he forced out, past his own pain pulsing down his side and in his head, "I.. nnnn-I can help you."

The man laughed humorlessly. "You. Help me. The same monster who did this to me in the first place. Oh- that'd be something, wouldn't it?"

He grabbed the rope around Naruto's neck and pulled him up onto his knees. Naruto's eyes bulged as the rope tightened around his windpipe. He couldn't breath, and his head was pounding, blood still dripping from the wound. When he finally released it, Naruto thought he was going to be sick. He gagged as he desperately pulled air back into his lungs. He bent forward.. could feel his consciousness slipping.

A hand grabbed him by his hair and forced his head back. "Nnnnn!" he bit his lip, but the pained sound still slipped through.

The man's grin widened, and Naruto could do nothing but just stare at it in horror. "Please" he gasped, "that wasn't me. I had nothing to do with-"

"Is it difficult being separated from the one you love?" he asked casually, as if they had been talking about it the entire time.

"What..?" Naruto breathed out.

"Does it cause you pain to know how badly your person wants to be with you, but can't be? Oh- that must be terrible. I wouldn't want anyone to experience a pain like that!!" His sneer twisted into something dangerous, something inhuman as he screamed, eyes burning into him.

"What.. what are you talking about..?"

"I saw what happened to my curse" his voice slithered from his lips, venomous, ready to strike. "At first I thought I would just hunt you two down right away and fix my mistake. But then I saw that spark- the look in the Uchiha's eyes, so much like the look that used to be in mine when I looked at my love."

Blue eyes widened as Naruto processed what he was saying. He wanted us to be close- had hoped for it. So that he could break it..

"This is so much better than what I originally had planned for you two. Now, both of you can truly suffer as I have suffered."

"I'm sorry for what you went through." Naruto gasped, panic flooding through him. "I wouldn't wish pain on anyone. But I wasn't there! That isn't my fault."

"But your demon was!!" he screamed. "He's part of you! You can't deny that!"

Naruto's knees started shaking, both from the exertion of staying on them, and the fear traveling through them. He couldn't stand how helpless he was- bound, without chakra, without weapons. What the hell do I do? He struggled against the ropes binding his wrists, hoping to loosen them just enough where he could slip one hand free. That's it- that's all he needed. Just one hand. But it wasn't working, and time did not seem to be on his side.

I've got to talk him down. Get him to see reason. If I stall him long enough, I might be able to free myself, or Sasuke might be able to find me.

Stall him.

Keep him talking.

"You could talk to him, you know.. the nine tails." Naruto started, thinking this was as good a tactic as any. "I could bring him out, and you could face him. Find closure. Have your vengeance against the one who actually hurt you."

"You must think I'm a fool." The fist in his hair tightened, bringing tears to his eyes. "Like I would actually fall for that. Cut away your chakra binds- just like that. Nice try, demon." He backhanded him across the face, sending Naruto reeling back down to the floor.

"I think I'll leave you in here for a while. Give you time to think about your impending death. About the hourglass that, I assure you, won't be reset in time." He smiled. "Don't you fret though. I'll be back to keep you.. entertained later on"

And with that the man stepped away from the bruised and bloodied jinchurki, and walked out of the large metal door, slamming it shut on the way out. Naruto could hear heavy locks slide into place on the other side. And then he was left alone, in a darkened cell, waiting for inevitable pain and a timely death.

Naruto laid there for a while, trying to formulate a plan- trying to stay conscious enough to formulate a plan. All he could think was that he had to get his hands loose. He tried to pull his arms down by his feet so he could step through them and bring his hands in front of him, but his shoulders were too stiff. He nodded, knowing what he had to do. He steeled himself, pulled his arm down by his feet, then slammed his shoulder as hard as he could. He shrieked in pain as his shoulder dislocated. But he was also relieved that the first part of his plan worked.

He pulled his legs through the loops of his arms, now that the loop had loosened enough to accommodate them, and brought his hands up to his chest. He knew that he needed to set his shoulder, and he knew it was going to hurt. Just get it over with.

He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and rammed his dislocated shoulder into the ground, jarring it back into place. He cried out, then his eyes rolled back in his head, his body slumped over, and he slipped into darkness.

Sasuke took out all of his rage, all of his fear, on the remaining masked shinobi. It was a bloodbath.. it was a slaughter- he didn't feel bad about it in the least. He pummeled one of them to being nearly unconscious, then dragged him down the hall and into his living room, where he secured him against a post. He knelt in front of him and tore the mask away, throwing it to the side. He grabbed a fistful of hair and jerked his head up, while simultaneously pulling out a kunai. He shoved it against the man's throat, pressing the blade just enough to cut a thin line into his skin. The man gasped.

"Talk."

Sasuke watched a line of blood slip his neck, waiting for the panic to set in. "I don't know anything." Well- he caved quickly, Sasuke thought.

"You either talk, or you die." His eyes darkened as he bore down on the intruder. "Your choice."

"I don't even know him! He just hired us in to do a job. We were just supposed to apprehend the blonde guy. That's it! I swear!"

"Where is your rendezvous point?"

The man clenched his jaw, shaking his head as he looked away.

Sasuke spun the kunai in his hand, grabbed the hilt in a tight fist, and stabbed it into the man's leg. He threw his head back and shrieked in pain. His howls echoed through the manor, screaming back at him. Sasuke ripped the knife out, ignoring the sob that tore through the man as he did.

"Now. Let's try this again." Sasuke grabbed his face in a vice grip and forced his eyes on him. "Mangekyo Sharingan" he ground out, forcing him into a world of illusions.

"Wha-what is this?!"

"This is a place where you can face countless deaths, unlimited amounts of pain, years of it in fact, with nothing but mere minutes passing by outside of it. I can destroy your mind with a thousand deaths, or you can tell me where they went."

Sasuke leaned in. "I warn you, though. My sharingan can see past your lies. You don't want to test me."

"I- I don't know where he's keeping him." he said, his fear making his words come out fast and garbled. "But- but we were going to meet him outside of the Hidden Mist."

Sasuke studied his face carefully, trying to determine if he was being deceived, but it was clear that the man was speaking the truth. "You are going to tell me exactly where you were going to meet him. Every. Last. Detail."

The man swallowed, but quickly nodded.

Please be ok, Naruto. I will find you, I promise. Just hold on. Please- please just hold on.

When Naruto came to he was still lying on the hard stone floor, hands still bound, though- thanks to his efforts- they were now in front of him. His hair was matted with blood and his whole body hurt, but his shoulder drew his attention the most.

Naruto tried to push the pain from his mind as he looked around him. He had no idea how long he had been out. There was no telling light from a window, no sounds from outside that might give away what time it was. He could've been out for minutes or hours.

How much longer do I have before the hourglass has to be reset?

He wasn't sure, but not knowing was definitely a terrifying feeling.

He tested the restraints around his wrist, but there was still no give in the rope. He brought it up to his teeth, and started working on pulling at the knot that way, when he heard footsteps. Fuck.

He pushed himself up and scooted back along the floor, as deep into the shadows as he could get. His back hit the wall when he got to the far corner of the room, and he waited. After multiple locks were undone, his door creaked open. The man stepped in, bringing with him a small stream of light from the hall.

This is my chance.

Naruto bit his lip hard, shot up to his feet, and rushed him. The man looked up at him in surprise, clearly not expecting Naruto to be mobile, just before he smashed into him. He sent the man flying backwards, his head slamming into wall behind him as he fell. Naruto didn't stop. He raced out of the cell, and pushed the door closed. He slammed a bolt across the door just as the man banged against it.

"Damn you!!" he screamed. He slammed his fists against the door over and over, now a prisoner in his own cell. "You fucking monster! I'll kill you! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!"

Naruto scrambled back from the door after sealing the rest of the locks. When he looked closer at them he noticed something strange. A chakra seal.

You can't use chakra in that cell.

With a newfound surge of relief, he looked around the hallway he was in, picked a direction at random, and stumbled through it. He looked around for any signs of a weapon or something sharp he could use to cut through the rope, but there was nothing. Just empty hallways surrounded by empty cells. Some had chains embedded in the walls and ceiling.. many of them had dark stains thrown against the wall and covering parts of the floor. He tried not to think about why.

He found a set of stairs; he stumbled up them, and pushed through the door at the top. Are you serious? Another freaking hallway? He moved through the dimly lit corridor, still with no luck of finding anything to free himself with. Then, off to the side of the main hall he noticed a small set of stairs leading up to a latch in the ceiling. He stopped. Looks like a way out.

Naruto climbed the steps, shoved open the latch, and fell onto a thick patch of grass. He felt it against his face, beneath his trembling hands. He rolled onto his back and, looking up at the night sky, took several deep breaths as tears fell from his eyes, one by one. A sob tore through him and he pulled up his bound hands, burying his face in the crook of his arm as all of the fear, pain, desperation, and relief rushed through him.

"You're ok.." Naruto whispered to himself. "You're ok."

Author Note:

Special shout out to guest reader- Xavior :

Your comments make me laugh, and honestly I keep refreshing my page hoping to see another. I'm loving your random thoughts after reading each chapter, and I hope you like the rest of the story. Xoxo~