Inspiration: My blood- Ellie Goulding

"And I'm caught in the crossfire of my own thoughts; The color of my blood is all I see on the rocks as you sail from me."

Pairing: Main pairings are subject to change. NaruSaku/SasuSaku/and ItaSaku. There will always be more KisaSaku.

Notes: Glad to present chapter 11. I don't think I'll say much, I'll just let you read. As always, thanks for the support, and thanks to Rice, who I'll pay wit smiles and candy for being so lovely and beta'ing this for me. You're a lifesaver.

Theme: Romance/Drama

Rating: M for Mature: following themes are or will be present in this chapter or throughout the fic: some vulgarities such as language, sexual themes, humiliation, drugs, and other dark themes.

[The waves will break every chain on me.]

There was once a time when Kakashi would have pulled out his Icha Icha Violence after he'd packed his bags and lounged around on the couch with no rush. He would grab a snack and relish the relaxation before he would have to leave the safety of his beloved village and put his life on the line.

Being late was just something he did. It was familiar, habitual, welcomed.

And once he would have materialized before a hotheaded team of 12 year olds who would each take turns shooting him dirty looks for his tardiness. An unapologetic smile was all he could do to make it up to them, because frankly he enjoyed bugging them. Seeing Sakura's frustrated huff, Naruto's indignation, and once even Sasuke's annoyance, was a sight that brought a rush of humor over him that helped him forget that they were leaving with the always looming possibility of never returning.

There was no room for such trivial things now. Kakashi appeared amongst a puff of smoke at the meeting destination on time. A steady thrum of anxiousness arrested his normally casual demeanor, making him stiffer and more edgy than usual. His slouched posture was replaced with a straight back and he hadn't even packed his favorite books.

He was met with an onslaught of rain and the sight of a very serious looking Sai who appeared just as anxious as him by the tense expression on his face. The ever so imperceptible frown on that pale face.

Mildly thankful that he had enough foresight among his mental discord to put on his rain proof travel cloak, the water hadn't soaked through to his bones yet, but it fell in pellets against his face. The feeling of a wet mask clinging over his nose and mouth wasn't a thrilling prospect. He could only hope the rain would slacken once they started the journey.

The silver haired man gave Sai a slight nod as they gazed at each other almost in shared trepidation and determination.

"I have the mission scroll in my pack," Sai's voice was almost surprising. There wasn't much Kakashi knew about the new Team Seven member, but he knew the man was professional and proficient almost to a fault at times. On other accounts, Sakura often complained of the boy's tactlessness, though he knew she didn't mean it harshly. "It was amended." Sai added, with his tone and eyes a notch more serious than the Copy Nin had ever seen them.

Kakashi belatedly realized it was probably his job to be the one to fetch the scroll. It was unprofessional of him not to show up but he was so troubled over the thought of Naruto and Sakura's mysterious circumstances that he didn't have the place of mind to do so. He wondered how Sai knew to go out of his way to get it instead.

The question was quickly pushed onto a back burner as Kakashi glanced behind Sai. A figure was drifting up behind the boy, a traveling cloak obscuring any recognizable features from view, but there was nothing that might hide the creature running up behind the person.

Kakashi felt a mix between a frown and a small smirk fight over his features as a third person ran quickly towards them at this early hour in the morning. Though he hadn't been expecting the Hokage to send them a third member, there was an immediate appreciation he felt for it.

The two halted at Sai's side and Kakashi peered at the tan, wet face of Kiba Inuzuka. Rain slipped down the red marks on his cheeks and his eyes were grim as he came to a stop. His nin-dog was summoned and at the ready, the creature- who was definitely not little anymore- had a reservation over him as if he could read the situation. Having Kiba and Akamaru would be a great asset to the mission and Kakashi for one, was glad the two had been invited. It wouldn't hurt to have their excellent tracking abilities to help find his lost teammates, plus he was thankful it wouldn't be solely him and Sai any longer. It could help relieve some of his tension to have someone he knew marginally better along.

Kiba gave them both a bleak expression. "Tsunade woke me up about an hour ago with the details. I'm sorry about Naruto and Sakura." Kakashi knew it was a genuine statement. The young Inuzuka had been friends with his two former students for years and he knew they had grown to respect and care for each other. The seriousness of his appearance was no doubt very real.

Closing his only visible eye in a humorless smirk Kakashi nodded lightly. "Let's just go find them."

The two young adults before him nodded in unison and they all three jumped off into the misty, gray and dreary forest. At least under the canopy, they wouldn't be so heavily bombarded by the rain.

He was trying to convince his foolish little brother to stay put.

Itachi was beginning to realize- already knew long ago- that trying to convince Sasuke to do something he didn't want to, just like trying to talk him out of doing something he did, was a fool's errand.

Really, did his brother know any bounds? Didn't he realize what they were up against?

"You will only be endangering her life further." He said reasonably. They had retreated once again back into his room so that they might avoid being overheard. Now Itachi was saddled with the task of trying to calm Sasuke down. It was rather like running upstream with no chakra to ease the process. "Consider the consequences fully, little brother."

His hotheaded brother gave him a vehement glare. "This isn't Kisame we're talking about." He snapped, his voice was still surprisingly controlled, but it had risen an octave as his adrenaline began to course through his veins. "We can't just leave her alone with Pein." Sasuke grimaced openly at the prospect. "I don't care about Naruto or Sakura-" Itachi recognized that as a flat out lie, but he held his tongue from voicing such a thing, "-But I don't want her to die by his hands. Even she deserves better than that."

The prospect of his two former teammates dying without even a chance to fight properly was indeed very hard for Sasuke to swallow. He may have abandoned them, but he didn't seem to like the thought of them in pain. It was a noble sentiment that Itachi found very charming on his foolish younger brother. Yet, there was no room for it. At least not at this moment.

"Acting on impulse is imprudent and you know it." He chided and Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"You don't know anything." He gave Itachi a very angry glare. "Besides, you're one to talk."

Though it was somehow expected, Itachi still internally recoiled from the attack.

Sasuke and he had always been exceptionally close, much to his ignorant father's dismay. While Fugaku was always pushing Itachi to be more superior and steadfast, he was very tough on Sasuke. Their father had placed a gap between them in his mind. Itachi was the true Uchiha clan master piece; the perfect ninja. Sasuke was just a disappointment. It was something that never failed to infuriate either of the two brothers. The fact that Itachi remained close to Sasuke against Fugaku's insistence that the younger Uchiha wasn't worth the time, made their father enraged.

"Lashing out at me because you're frustrated is also ridiculous, Sasuke." A touch of the indifference had left Itachi's voice, leaving his tone mildly harsh.

Leaving the village with his brother was something the older Uchiha had never regretted in essence. But at times he wondered if he had stunted both of their growth by locking them together with only each other in such a way. They only had one another to lean on, which during times like this one, was quick to become a burden. He didn't want his precious brother to resent him.

The fact that Sasuke had brought up his reasons for leaving the Leaf expressed perfectly how aggravated and desperate he was. They had spoken of such topics exactly one time and his brother respected his wishes not to bring it up anymore afterwards.

Sasuke must have been in a horrifying mental dilemma.

Looking into the deepness of his brothers slate eyes he could easily spot dread, irritation, aggression in waves. The prospect of Sakura being harmed by Pein and the possibility that she might not walk away from it, was too much for him to tolerate without losing some of his trademarked cool.

Not that Itachi blamed him. He was just as worried about the little pink kunoichi from the Leaf. He wasn't under the same delusions as his brother that she was weak or unable to defend herself, but the fact that she technically was currently, didn't escape him. The chakra suppressants were too stout at the moment for her strength or determination to be much of a factor in remaining resilient. In truth, Itachi was also concerned for the girl.

"You aren't using your head, Sasuke." He sparked up the conversation again, avoiding the topic of his own impulses.

His brother lashed out with a sneer, but he didn't respond with words. Rather his only answer was spinning around and opening the door. Had Itachi not been wounded by the pointed bitterness in his brothers eyes he might have stopped him. Rather he watched him go.

Standing and gazing at the door, he tried to decide whether to follow or not.

No doubt this was the most compromising, reckless and possibly the most necessary thing his brother had ever done. It was almost as if Sasuke simply had to do this. As if he was compelled by some internal, irrefutable force to help the teammates that he had damaged so much with his betrayal.

Itachi was certainly no one to deny his brother the right to play the hero.

Every breath produced a shot of pain down her spine. A coating of discomfort made her bones rattle as she stood and the entire left side of her face was throbbing distractingly.

Pein had a hell of a punch and she hadn't seen it coming. It was mostly the suddenness of it that got her. Not being able to brace herself for the pain had really done her in. Taking the full brunt of the attack without a helpful boost of adrenaline to somewhat numb her of the hurt she knew was coming would have only helped.

It was too late to berate herself for her lack of attention, for her laxity during a time like this one. She was surprised she'd been able to forget about Pein's presence, but seeing Naruto just simply moved her to another place.

She had almost forgotten how amazingly empowering and uplifting it was to see her dearest friend. It felt like it had been months since she'd seen him. It really couldn't have been more than two or three days.

Her distraction brought on by the tenderness she felt for him, and the sadness at seeing him in chains, had cost her dearly. Having no chakra to heal herself, and no telling of how long before she would be able to, was going to make any small wounds she received worse over time.

The tendril of coppery blood that she could feel leaking from her nose had already made its way to her lips. She could taste it in her mouth as she tried to sooth Naruto's very clearly rapidly devolving self-control.

If only she could build up some chakra.

During times like these ones, she really envied Naruto's high chakra reserves. Though she had been working on building her own reserves for years, and she had developed a noteworthy pool, it was all but zapped away by the drug and it wasn't in any rush to replenish.

She was standing a distance away from Pein and Naruto both and she didn't want to move. Her legs felt like gelatin and the assault on her face had reminded her once again how dangerous it was to let her guard down around Pein, even in the presence of Naruto.

She wouldn't easily forget how hard he had hit her. She estimated that her face would be so swollen that she might not be able to properly see out of her left eye in a few hours.

No, she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Don't worry about me." She tried to keep her voice as soothing as possible. It was the same tone she spoke to him in when she healed him. Low, warm and familiar and it did wonders to reduce the orange tint that had bled over to disparage the normal ocean blue of Naruto's eyes. His pupils remained thin slits of danger. His posture hunched and his arms at his side, flexing and shaking as he fought to restrain his anger.

She hadn't seen him so enraged in a long time.

She had once thought Naruto had learned to- for the most part- at the very least, calm the Kyuubi. But during times like this, she realized just how wrong she was. The demon inside of him knew how to take a hold of moments like these ones; when Naruto was weak to guard himself against the thought of being able to absorb the power and use it to protect others.

Naruto was too good of a soul to deny the chance to be a hero. It was something she knew and the Nine-tails knew as well. In fact, it was something just about everyone knew about her beloved companion.

Her green eyes shifted away from Naruto after he seemed mildly comforted by her voice, towards Pein. His penetrating eyes were aimed right at her, and his expression, though unreadable, was somehow very intimidating. She could feel herself shaking at the prospect of the pain returning.

How many more wounds would he inflict on her tonight?

With every muscle in her body she fought the instincts to back away from him as his relentless gaze pressed into her.

"I seem to have underestimated you," It was Pein's very even, smooth and low voice and he was speaking to her. Just as she thought she had gotten control of the minor aches in her body he made them return. She imagined all the things he could do and felt the tremor of trepidation pass over her. "I won't make the same mistake again."

She realized that he intended for the punch to put her out of commission so that he could both intimidate Naruto, and have a moment alone with the blond. It was both fortunate, and unfortunate that she was determined enough to get back up. Of course Pein was trying to coax Naruto into using the Kyuubi's power so that he might get a glimpse of it.

Even if it killed her, she wouldn't let Naruto go into that darkness.

As if her pain was just a scratch, she stood straight again, her chin lifted in the air, and some of her well known defiance made her eyes brighter. She'd be damned if she was going to let Naruto do this alone. She was a kunoichi of the leaf, and Tsunade's apprentice. She wasn't going to let a few wounds keep her from standing tall, chakra or no chakra.

Pein continued his silent appraisal, seemingly unaffected by the fact that she had chosen not to answer him.

She met his eyes in unabashed insolence and he returned it with murky ambiguity.

It was instantaneous.

Nothing more than a blink, and she almost didn't have time to brace herself at all.

Where before she was gazing into his lavenderish eyes, ignoring the orange tuff of his hair that fell against his cheek, and trying to pretend his piercings didn't creep her out, he had disappeared.

The effect his vanishing had was immediate. Her body went into shock and her brows pulled down. Her hands were coming up before her to defend herself, but it didn't do any good.

In fact, it was a mistake and her hands only followed to become a hindrance.

He had materialized behind her and she didn't have the presence of mind beneath her drugged stupor to turn on him. Rather his arms were around her immediately. His right arm was clenched around her shoulders suddenly. The arms she had brought up to shield herself were pressed back against her chest, trapped beneath his forearm and her knuckles were pushing into her collarbones. Had she left them down and not attempted to move at all, they'd be trapped at her side. Somehow, this seemed worse. His other arm was tightly draped around her waist, pressing her hips back at a slightly upward angle into his own.

She could feel the outline of his body against hers and his breath was startlingly steady against her ear. It was warm and too slow, almost like he was doing all this in his sleep. Her heart was wild in her chest and she tried to keep the panic out of her eyes, if only for Naruto's sake.

Though she was flush against him, and his arms were bruisingly tight, he didn't move a muscle.

They remained at the very edge of the light radius, shrouded in shadows that brightened only the important planes of their bodies. Her forehead nose and cheekbones were brightest, the other shadows that darkened her face thankfully helped to dim the effect of the contusions that were no doubt covering the entire side of her cheek. She knew Pein must have been startlingly well hidden in the shadows behind her.

She cursed aloud for allowing herself to be captured so easily, drug in her system or not.

Without realizing it she had breathed Naruto's name again.

Her eyes sought his like they were the only thing that mattered.

When she met them, they were bright orange once again, and there was a dark reddish-orange color creeping out from the corner of his eyes onto his cheeks. It was actual chakra, tinged with an ominous black. The Kyuubi's chakra was slowly leaking out, attempting to take him over.

And he was fighting it.

The twitching of his muscles as they fought the transformation was visible.

She knew she was crying again, and like usual, her tears wouldn't help the situation- if anything they were making things worse- but she found it within herself to steady her anxiety and fear for him.

"What are you doing?!" She screeched, but his cat like pupils were too busy glaring at Peins arm hooked around her waist to look back up to her eyes again. "Naruto, don't do this!" She felt Pein's grip press ever-so-slightly more forcefully against her, drawing her back into him even closer. She shivered at the unwanted nearness. Now she was so close that her head was pressed back against him, and his chin had shifted to sit atop her head. "You've got to fight this!" She was almost angry that he would rise to such a bait.

The chakra was writhing on his skin, struggling to hold its ground; first stretching farther down his face, and then receding somewhat. It was a battle that was tearing at her nerves and making her knees feel weak. If Pein weren't holding her so tightly, she might have slid down to the floor again.

"Kyuubi vessel." Pein's voice was just above her and it was just as controlled as ever. "Do you have no power of will?" He almost sounded disappointed, which confused Sakura. She thought his purpose was to coax Naruto into losing control. "We are brothers, you and I. No brother of mine should be so weak." It sounded like a tsk.

Sakura watched a rage come over her blond friend's face, and for a moment the angry demon chakra made a tremendous jump forward, until it covered nearly his entire face.

The absolutely bottomless terror that filled Sakura caused her to, purely on instinct, fight against Pein's grip. Though she barely had the strength to do so, she managed to weakly move her legs.

His response was to simply constrict her more tightly, if possible. She was now certain that she could feel every inch of him beneath his cloak compressed against her. The distinct lack of clothing on her part made it all the worse. It forced another kind of sickness to rise within her.

An eerie, strained silence that contained only the rattling of chains and the sound of ragged breaths fell over them as Sakura watched in horror, the chakra of the Nine-tails spreading over Naruto. When the silence was cut in half by Naruto's groan, the chakra began to regress almost abruptly, as if someone had pulled a plug.

His face was clear of chakra again in mere moments, though his eyes were still alarmingly colored. She stopped her futile struggling in favor of peering at him with her mouth gaping slightly.

The shaking of his limbs had reduced to a mere sort of rolling tremor that was seconds in between each wave. His voice was rough as he spoke and his teeth were rather sharp. "You're not my brother." He sounded indignant and strong, "Now let her go."

Sakura didn't particularly expect Pein to oblige, and she was correct.

Naruto's words didn't have an immediate effect on the man. Though she couldn't see his face, she knew he must have looked like he always did; unreadable, if not a little arrogant.

She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back and he was breathing too calmly to be affected, or even excited. She thought it was a little strange that he could remain so tranquil.

Mostly, she was just glad that Naruto had managed to pull himself back.

She knew this was hard for him. Though not much had happened to her, to Naruto this was absolute torture. In reality, she could and would be able to take much more and worse pain like this if it meant nothing bad happened to Naruto, the blond certainly didn't want to see it. He couldn't stand even the thought of his friends being harmed.

Her arms were still cramped as they were held against her chest, beneath his arm. His fingers, which were clenched around her shoulder, were much slacker than his overall strength. She thought they were almost too gentle to be someone who was threatening.

How tightly she was wedged against him was the only thing that kept her from thinking that he meant her no harm.

She supposed the agony of her face, the liquid copper taste in her mouth, and the chakra repressing drug in her system should be an indication that such a thing wasn't true. Anyone who didn't mean her harm wouldn't do such things.

Still, it was strange, somehow.

She closed her eyes and dug deep inside. A weak pulse of her chakra was present, but it was barely enough to give her her sense back. There was no way she could use it to protect herself or Naruto. Pein would decimate her; the most she could do was stomp and possibly bruise a bone in his foot. In the end it was best not to agitate him.

For a moment after opening her eyes, she was struck by how amazing Naruto was.

To fight his demon. To be so openly worried about her, and yet to get himself under control. Her teammate really was amazing.

There was a shift in the atmosphere of the room, and to go with it, Pein moved so quickly she didn't have a chance to scramble away. His arms released her so abruptly, and spun her so rapidly that it left her breathless. He had rotated her and wrapped her in his arms again in an instant.

His arm was wedged beneath her knees and the other was pushing her shoulders into him. Her head was suddenly smashed a little sharply against his chin, and the left half of her face- which was swollen and absolutely pulsating with pain- barely bumped against him. It produced a terse, mangled shriek from her lips. She immediately shot her hand forward to cradle her wound.

Pein didn't spare her a glance.

The last thing she expected was to be locked into his arms again, especially not now. She had to crane her neck to see Naruto from the corner of her eyes in this position. She wondered briefly if it was a strategic move on his part to sever their eye contact.

Maybe it was Pein's way of letting her go.

Either way, Sakura was furious at the sudden prospect of being stuck in his arms, of not being able to see Naruto, and of the situation in general.

Without a moment's hesitation, acting on impulse, she had pulled her hand back, and from the awkward angle, released it. It was a moment, not even three whole seconds, before her fist- of less than average strength- plummeted into his nose. She felt her knuckles hit several of his piercings, as well as connect with the bone of his nose from the strange angle.

It wasn't going to harm him; in fact the insult and audacity of it might hurt more than the actual attack. Without chakra, it would have been normal strength, but without even her everyday strength, it was positively laughably weak.

Spiral eyes shifted down to her. Naruto had gone eerily quiet, though she wasn't looking at him.

For a moment, her frown remained after her fist retracted. Even as she knew it was unforgivable, and would probably get her into more trouble than it was worth. Regardless it felt so good to finally at least attempt to harm him.

And then, there was a perceptible, surprising, and miniscule drop of blood that started to roll out from his nose. It was a single drop, not even enough to continue and roll down to his lips, it just simply stopped rolling once it had breached his nose.

Even though it was weak, the ungainly angle of her punch had hit the bone in his nose just enough to cause the most minor of damage.

It made her heart flutter happily and immediately twisted her stomach with fear.

His eyes were drilling into her, his expression immovable, and his arms which supported her didn't even so much as move.

She wondered immediately if she'd live to regret that.