His body was weak, his legs no longer strong enough to keep him standing, and a part of him knew that it was too late for him, that he was just living on borrowed time, that if he stopped fighting for even a second he would die. Which was why he wasn't stopping. He dragged himself forward by one arm, keeping the other arm pressed to the wound on his stomach. His vision was narrowing, growing grey on the edges, but he didn't need to see, he could smell where they were, the acrid stench of beasts mingling with the heavy copper of spilled blood.
He couldn't be too late, not now, he had to keep them safe, had to make sure Kushina and Naruto was alive. He had promised her he would keep them safe, that as long as they got away it was going to be fine.
He should have known that it wouldn't be that easy. The one they were fleeing from wasn't a forgiving man, and he would see Minato leaving as the ultimate betrayal.
The door to the nursery was wide-open, a man lying right there, skull bashed in. That's my Kushina, Minato thought. She'd always been a fighter, so strong and fierce, she wouldn't' give up without a fight.
The man wasn't the only one lying on the floor, and as Minato pulled himself halfway through the door opening he saw her, his heart breaking into a million pieces. Her red hair spread like a fan around her, and her face was turned towards Naruto's crib, a hand outstretched as if she had tried to reach him even in her last moment. Her eyes were staring blankly into nothing, and Minato knew he had lost her.
He couldn't afford to mourn her, because there was someone else in the room, his son and two more beasts, one of them standing by the wall, pressed against it, red ears twitching. No, Minato thought. He knew who that was, who was trembling, terrified to the point that it drowned out the killer instinct of his other side. He looked even smaller than Minato remembered him.
It wasn't right, the kid shouldn't be here, he was too good for this, and it was breaking him, Minato could tell as much.
The other beast, a fully fledged wolf, had no qualms, his paws lying on the edge of Naruto's crib, the whole thing tilting to the side as he leaned in, jaws openingand—
Minato wasn't going to make it, his last vision in life was going to be the death of his son, and all he could do was yell out in horror, his voice ragged as he tried to get his broken body to move, just one more time, to change, but he was too weak.
He wasn't sure if it was his yell or something else that spurred the terrified kid into moving, but the next he knew a flash of reddish fur shot by him, slamming bodily into the wolf, long claws slashing out, cutting right through the matted grey fur of the wolf's neck. It didn't stand a chance, dying in a gush of blood and a series of broken gasps.
The kid was left sitting on the floor in front of the body as the wolf turned into man, staring down at his hands as they too slowly turned from that of a beast into human hands, slim and bloodied. He looked towards Minato with wide eyes filled with tears.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered on a broken sob. "I didn't know, I wouldn't… I'm so sorry…"
His small frame shook, making him seem just as young as he was, just a kid thrust into a horrible situation he hadn't been prepared for at all.
The sobs were broken with a loud wailing from Naruto's crib, his baby boy still alive, scared and possibly hurt, but alive.
The kid looked towards the crib before turning back to Minato. "I won't tell him about your baby, I promise. Hedoesn't know, hedoesn't ever have to know," he said, and Minato knew there was nothing but truth in that. The kid wasn't going to let him know about Naruto, and then Naruto would be safe, safe to live on.
"Thank you," Minato said. He wasn't sure the kid could hear the words at all, he couldn't seem to get his voice to really work, couldn't get enough air in his lungs to form words, but it doesn't matter, because at least Naruto wassafe.
He twisted his head towards Kushina and dearly hoped he'd see her again as he exhaled heavily. The world grew dark.
There was a chill of approaching winter in the air, the trees around him splashes of red and orange that was thinning out as the leaves fell to coat the ground underneath. The beauty of the forest was at odds with how he was feeling, and he had no idea why he had ended up going here of all places. He hadn't really been thinking, just knowing he needed to get away.
When the sobbing had cleared up Naruto had found himself sitting in the middle of the wreckage that was his living room, and the destruction hadn't done anything to relieve the pain inside. He had no idea what Sasuke's condition was, and he had been debating calling to check, but he couldn't find his phone, and he wasn't sure he was ready to hear anyway. He still saw Sasuke's pale face in front of him, eyes unfocused, and he could still feel the stickiness of blood as he tried to staunch the blood flow.
Most of that blood had been scrubbed off on the furniture he had tossed around, but there had still been smears of it around his nails and in the lines of his hands, and when Naruto had noticed he felt bile in his throat, and barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up until his throat was sore and he was just dry heaving.
His fault. It was all his fault.
He had washed out his mouth and scrubbed his hands clean of blood, eyes staring blankly into the mirror. He had felt like he should look different, should look more like the villain he was, but the beast had retreated deep within, leaving him looking perfectly normal, and Naruto thought maybe that was worse. He was just a sham, looking like any other person but hiding a monster within, a monster he couldn't contain.
It was stupid, seeing the monster as a different being than him. It was all him, just another part of him that he thought he could control but that he had let free. It was all on him, no beast within he could blame. He was the beast.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do now, but what he had known was that he needed to leave, because someone was going to come look for him, and then he might hurt them as well, and he couldn't let that happen. Next thing he knew he was leaving his apartment, finding the Lexus and driving away.
He guessed it was the need to get away from people that drove him to come here. He had been here a lot with Sasuke, and he had noticed on their last run that the people coming to the forest to exercise was getting fewer and fewer as the temperature dropped, so he'd gone to that familiar parking lot and when he saw the forest opening before him, just a narrow pathway cutting through it he had started running, not stopping until he was at their usual place to turn back. And now he was standing here, feeling just as lost as he had back in the city.
The forest was quiet around him save for the odd chirping of birds and rustling of leaves, and as he sat down on a rock, heaving for breath as he slowly froze his ass off, he wasn't sure if the quiet was comforting or oppressing.
He buried his face in his hands.
He just… didn't know what he was supposed to do. Should he turn himself into the DPA? Should he run away to find answers on his own? He had so little to go on. A single term, Protos, that so far had yielded no results.
He should have worked harder to figure it all out, shouldn't have given up after Google and the DPA archives turned out to be no help. Someone would know, someone always knew. Maybe Itachi had been full of crap and there was no such thing as a Protos, but Naruto wasn't a normal shifter, and there had to be someone who knew what he was. He wanted this side of him out. Wanted to grab the metaphysical beast out and just be normal. He didn't need accelerated healing or powers, he just needed to be like everyone else.
He just wanted to be Naruto, DPA agent, boyfriend of Sasuke Uchiha.
Right now he was Naruto Uzumaki, monster on the run. He didn't even know if Sasuke was alive, but he knew he couldn't see him again. Best case he had hurt Sasuke, bad. Worst case?
No, thinking about worst case just made his breathing catch in his throat, and his hands shaking with fear. Sasuke was going to be fine. Pissed off and hurt, but he'd pull through, he had to. Then he could move on with his life and Naruto could…
There wouldn't be room for Naruto in his life any more. Now Sasuke had seen him for what he truly was, he'd know that he really was a monster. Naruto needed to figure things out, and then maybe he could think about coming back, begging for forgiveness, start mending what he had ruined.
He had no idea where he'd go to find answers, but he knew they weren't to be found here, in the middle of a forest. This was him escaping his troubles, like a frightened mouse scuttling away. He needed to figure out what had happened that day years ago when his parents were killed and he was left like this.
He stood up, shook his hands to clear the trembling in them and started trudging back through the forest, kicking his way through the fallen leaves, trying to form some semblance of a plan in his mind.
By the time he came back to his apartment building the plan was no more than that he needed to pack up and leave. He'd take Sasuke's car and get away from the city. He had no idea where to go or who to contact, but he'd figure it out as he went. He was debating whether to go by the hospital first, desperately needing to know about Sasuke's condition, but at the same time afraid that if he did see Sasuke he'd be too scared to leave, and right now he needed to be strong.
He was considering going back home to start at the beginning. Find the house his parents had been killed in, see where his life went from normal to something else entirely, but he brushed the idea away. Someone else owned the house now, wasn't like it was a crime scene frozen in time. It would yield no answers. Besides, going home would mean going back to where his dad was, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stay away from the comfort of the one who had been the first to truly care for him and show him that he too could have a place to call home, somewhere safe where he was loved.
He missed his dad, now more than ever, but he couldn't risk seeking him out. If he hurt him as well he wouldn't… no, it wasn't safe. He needed to protect his dad, and that meant he couldn't go back there. His answers needed to found somewhere else. It could take forever, but he wasn't risking those he loved, he couldn't.
The door to his apartment was standing ajar, but Naruto figured that it was just because he had forgotten to close it when he rushed out earlier. He dreaded the chaos he would find inside, and as he pushed open the door he realised it was even worse than he remembered. Broken objects littered the floor like some battleground, all of them victims to Naruto's despair. He should probably clean up before he left, but he didn't know if he had the ener—
Naruto froze.
There was someone else in the apartment. Sitting cross-legged on top of his kitchen counter he was looking at Naruto, head cocked to the side as if he was analysing him. Naruto stumbled a step backwards, almost tripping over some piece of debris he had no idea had once been.
The guy looked to be about his age, sickly pale with dark hair. There was a notepad in his lap and a pen in his hand, as if he had been in the middle of writing something.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded, taking a step to the side to keep plenty of room between the two of them when the other man slid off the counter top to land on light feet, his notepad closed and stuffed into a back pocket alongside the pen.
He smiled at Naruto, but there was nothing comforting about that smile. It seemed oddly devoid of emotions.
"I'm Sai," he offered.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. That didn't tell him anything, he didn't know any Sai. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."
Sai stepped over broken odds and bits, seemingly not picking up on the fact that Naruto was trying to keep space between them.
"Don't come any closer," Naruto hissed, moving backwards again. This time his leg caught on the edge of the couch that was no longer overturned, and he flailed with his arms as he fell backwards, dropping onto the couch. Suddenly Sai was right in front of him, leaning too close to his face. Naruto wasn't really afraid of him, the guy didn't look particularly scary, but already he felt a familiar stirring in his gut, and he couldn't give into the feeling of power waking up. He'd tear Sai apart if he didn't get away, Naruto couldn't be trusted.
"I don't care if you wanna steal my stuff, not like there's anything worth anything here any more, just get away before…"
"I'm not here to steal anything, Naruto," Sai said, head cocking to the side again, smile widening, still eerily dead looking, as if it was just a twisting of muscles, no feeling behind it at all.
Wait, how did Sai even know his name? Naruto looked around the apartment, trying to figure out if he had anything with his name written on it, but it was impossible to tell. Maybe he'd left a bill or something on the kitchen counter, that explained it, right?
"Then why are you here?" Naruto spat out, leaning back on the couch as he tried to focus on keeping his feelings in check, leaving no room for the beast to break free again.
"I'm here to talk, obviously."
Naruto didn't understand how that was obvious, but he refrained from saying as much. Sai was probably some psycho high on some crap. He didn't seem to be all there.
When Naruto didn't say anything Sai seemed to take that as his cue to continue. "You are a Protos, aren't you?"
All the air in the room seemed to leave as Naruto's throat closed up, eyes blowing wide. Protos, Sai knew about Protos?
He was vaguely aware of gaping, probably doing a marvellous fish out of water impersonation, as he ran the words over and over in his mind, not sure if he had heard correct or not. Sai knew about Protos? He knew what he was? How could he, no one did, not even Naruto. The only one who had ever seemed to have any idea was Itachi, and he was most definitely dead.
Sai pulled his notepad out of his pocket again, flipping through it and then tearing out a page, handing it to Naruto.
Naruto stared at it for a long moment before he finally grasped it. The white paper had a series of numbers in the middle, and all around the edge there was pictures of various animals, draw in blue ink. Naruto wondered if that's what Sai had been doing when Naruto came into the room, but unlike Naruto's doodles which usually consisted of crooked stick figures these all looked incredibly lifelike, even being this small.
"This is a phone number you can contact us with when you grow some balls and want the answers you are looking for," Sai said, and then he made his way out of the apartment, closing the door behind him, leaving Naruto completely baffled, hands shaking as he clutched the piece of paper.
Iruka was trudging through a stack of papers that appeared to be taller than him, reading through and marking, feeling tiredness making his eyes scratchy, a constant headache settled in the back of his head. He wanted to go to sleep, but he knew the kids were expecting back their assignments soon, and he didn't want to disappoint them. He'd thought he would have time to finish up at work, but he'd have to step in for one of the other teachers who was sick. No money at the school for hiring temps.
Iruka emptied his coffee cup, wincing as he realised it was nothing but cold sludge left, but swallowing anyway. Caffeine was what fuelled him right now, and he was too exhausted to go into the kitchen to brew a fresh cup.
"B-, good work," he mumbled to himself, a tired smile on his face as he realised this was a full grade better than the last test this student had handed in. He'd spent a while after school helping her work through some of her issues with the subject, and it appeared to have helped.
This was the one thing that made him stick it out in this job, knowing that he was making a difference, that he was helping these kids, preparing them for what came after school. Seeing them improving was the one good thing about an otherwise thankless job.
He was about to start the next paper when his phone rang. He hoped it wasn't the principal calling to ask him to work more hours the next day, he wouldn't be able to say no, but he didn't have time to add anything more to his plate.
It wasn't the principal calling.
"Hello?" he answered, silently wondering why Kakashi was calling him this late at night.
"Iruka?" Kakashi asked, as if there would be anyone else answering his phone. It'd been a while since they talked. Naruto's boss would occasionally text him, mostly completely mundane things he had no idea why he would need to tell Iruka, but he had no idea why he would call him out of the blue, not unless...
"Yes, what is it?" he answered, wincing at how snappy it made him sound. It hadn't been his intention, he was too tired to even converse like an adult.
"I didn't wake you did I?" There was no hint of teasing in Kakashi's voice at all, and Iruka didn't think that was very promising.
"No, I was awake." He didn't ask again, waiting instead for Kakashi to tell him why he had called, placing his pen back on the desk and stretching his back. He didn't think he was going to get through all the papers tonight, his eyes too sore as it was.
When Kakashi didn't actually say anything, the quiet stretching out ominously Iruka found himself straightening in his chair, gripping the phone a little harder, suddenly remembering too well other times Kakashi had called.
"Kakashi, has something happened to Naruto?" he demanded, cutting straight to the chase.
"Iruka, I…"
"What happened?" Iruka felt his voice grow stern, the same tone he used when the teens he taught did something remarkably stupid. He really needed Kakashi to tell him that Naruto was perfectly safe, that Kakashi was just bored and wanted to mess with him or something.
"There was an incident," Kakashi said, voice sounding strained.
Iruka's breath left him in a whoosh of air as he was suddenly filled with images of all the things that could have happened. He never should have let Naruto leave, should have kept him here where he would be safe. There had been nothing but bad things happening ever since Naruto moved away. "Is he… is he?" He wasn't sure he wanted to finish that sentence, so he was almost glad his voice gave out midway.
"He's not physically hurt, not as far as we can tell," Kakashi said.
Iruka felt his eyes prickling and blinked away the tears that fear brought forth. "As… far as you can tell?"
"Iruka, how much do you know of Naruto being a shifter?" Kakashi asked, avoiding his question altogether. He would have to try harder to pull one over Iruka, he dealt with shifty teenagers on a daily basis, he wasn't easily fooled.
"Kakashi. What. Happened," he gritted out, pushing away from the desk to pace around his small living room, eyes drawn to the framed pictures of Naruto he'd placed on one of the shelves. Most from his teenage years since that was when he adopted him, but a couple of him as a kid too, pictures he had been able to hunt down from previous foster homes.
"Iruka, tell me what you know first, please."
Still pacing Iruka took a moment to catch his thoughts. Naruto being a shifter, what was there really to know? He'd been attacked as a baby, in the same attack that killed his birth parents. He'd survived, barely, and had been left a shifter. According to the papers blood work had showed that he was a fox shifter, but as far as Iruka could tell he hadn't ever shifted, too scared of what people would do. They all knew who he was, it was a small town, you couldn't keep something like that hidden away, but he had never shifted, had never hurt anyone.
He told Kakashi as much, and was met with a deep sigh. "And no one ever saw him shift? Not accidentally at school or anything?"
"Not from what I could tell from the paperworks, and not while he lived with me either, he would have told me, I'm sure of that. Why does it matter? Did he shift at work?"
"Iruka, I… As far as I can tell Naruto isn't a fox shifter."
"He… what… But the tests they ran?"
"I do not know what he is, but no shifters can control it like that, to never shift."
"So, he's just human?" Iruka said, suddenly imaging Naruto growing up with that knowledge, not having to be afraid of people's scorn, a failed test had ruined his—"
"No, he's not," Kakashi said, cutting off that strain of thought. "He's… something else."
Iruka sunk down on his couch, his legs no longer quite up to the task of holding him up any more. "Tell me what happened, Kakashi," he implored. The way Kakashi said something else, it didn't bode well. Something had happened, something bad, and his Naruto was right in the middle of it all.
When Kakashi hung up he felt completely drained and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and stay there for a week. Everything was falling apart around him, and he felt so completely useless. He should have known something was wrong with Naruto, should have figured it out and helped him before it was too late. Now Naruto was gone who knows where, and Iruka was hurting and Sasuke was in the hospital, and still the vampires were out there, tearing apart the city, not caring about his issues at all, so he'd have to hold up the façade and send the remaining teams out there to hunt down more of the demons, assuring them that there had been an incident last night but everything was going to be fine.
He hated lying to them. He was in no way positive that everything was going to be fine. Sasuke had already been verging on what might have been PTSD, Naruto being the one thing that was keeping him sane, and now Naruto had not only hurt him physically, but he'd left him too, left Sasuke alone, and that was probably more painful than any physical pains. Naruto had left, whether out of fear of what was going to happen to him, or what would happen to anyone else around him.
His top priority right now was to find Naruto, but it was impossible to tell where the agent had left for. He didn't have his cellphone turned on, so he couldn't track that, and it was a big city, plenty of nooks and crannies to hide away in, if he was even still here, he might have left the city behind. Kakashi had no idea where he was supposed to even start looking, but as he rubbed at his throbbing temples a thought struck him.
The car. According to Kiba they had parked right outside the building when they arrived for their mission, but the car hadn't been there any more so that probably meant Naruto had taken Sasuke's car. It made sense, it would make him get away pretty much undetected, and give him plenty of time to trash his apartment and leave again before Kakashi came there.
Kakashi typed up a quick email, asking someone he knew over in one of the intelligence gathering units to track down the number plate of one Sasuke Uchiha and report back. There would be plenty of traffic cameras, if they found the car maybe they'd find Naruto too. Right now it was all the ideas he had.
He had just sent off the email when there was a knock on his door and he pulled up his mask out of instinct. All of his unit members were out on the streets, so he had no idea who it would be, probably one of Tsunade's lackeys summoning him to a meeting. If there was one person he didn't want to see now it was her, because that meant he would have to tell her exactly what was going on, and he really wanted to avoid doing that until he knew more, until he could find Naruto preferably.
No, as far as Tsunade was concerned Sasuke had been hurt in the line of duty, and that was where he was leaving it off for now. He didn't want to force her into action right now. If words came out that one of the DPA agents had lost control and harmed another agent there would be an uproar. Tsunade would be forced to send out teams to bring Naruto in, and with an offence like this, and the fact that they didn't even exactly know what Naruto was any more? He was likely to be thrown in isolation until they could figure out, which meant a barrage of tests and questioning. If they didn't figure out? Then he might not ever be let out again, deemed a danger to society. Kakashi wasn't ready to take that chance just yet.
It wasn't one of her lackeys, thankfully, it was one of the girls working down in reception, bringing him a cardboard box, plain with a dented corner, no address on the top apart from his name. Had to have been dropped off down at reception in person. Some information package from an informant most likely. A few of them were odd, preferring to stay off the grid.
The girl's gaze kept flicking from his mask to his eyepatch and back. She'd probably heard more of the rumours circulating about him. The latest he had heard himself was that he had been hurt in the war, grenade or GSWs, the stories varied.
Kakashi had only placed the one about the grenade, so he had no idea where the gunshot one had come from, but right now he wasn't in the mood to be amused by it, waving the girl off and popping open the top of the box, which wasn't even taped close.
He stared down at the content of the box for a long moment, eyes growing wide as he realised what it was. The items chattered together when he dropped the box on the desk and rushed out of the office, stopping the receptionist halfway across the bullpen, pulling her to a stop, fingers locking around her wrist.
"Who dropped this off?" he asked insistently. She looked uncomfortable, stuttering a little before she could gather her words. Kakashi realised how he probably looked and unfurled his fingers from her arm and took a step back.
"Ah, it was… was one of yo-your agents," she finally said. "The blond one? With the scars on his face?"
"He was here?"
"Yes? Like fifteen minutes ago, dropped off the box and told me to give it to you, that you would know why. I figured it was evidence of some sort?"
Fifteen minutes ago. Naruto would be long gone by now, definitely not about to linger around. Kakashi let the girl get back to her job and made his way back to the office, opening the flaps of the box again. The contents hadn't changed. Right next to the gun Naruto had been issued when he started working last spring was his badge and ID-card. Everything that marked Naruto as an agent of the DPA. This was about as good a resignation as any, and Kakashi knew what it meant. Naruto wasn't about to stay around, he was leaving.
Naruto knew it was stupid, that he shouldn't risk it, but he had to see Sasuke, so the moment he had dropped off the cardboard box at the reception of the DPA headquarter he immediately left for the hospital. He felt hollow inside, giving up the thing he had worked so long to get. Less than half a year he'd lasted as an agent before everything fell apart. He'd had his dream, and then it had been ripped away from him because of what he was. He should have known he wouldn't be allowed to keep it, his life seemed destined for him to be alone and hurting, he might as well stop fighting it.
He made his way through the hospital, dodging anyone that would question what he was doing there this late. This would have been so much easier with his badge, but he was resourceful, so after pulling up a hard-fought smile to charm information out of the nurse on duty he was on his way through the hallways to the right room. It had helped to name-drop Kakashi.
When he was finally outside the right room his courage left him, and he stopped there, staring at the door. It looked like any of the other doors down the hallway, but inside was the one person Naruto had wanted to protect the most, and the one person he had hurt the worst. He had been filled with a sharp joy when the nurse told him that Sasuke was stable, his worst fears hadn't been fulfilled, but he'd still hurt him, almost killed him. He had no business searching him out.
To do what? Apologise? No apology would be good enough for what he had done.
Still he pushed the door open, his hands shaking as he peered inside the room. The lights were out, but the light from the hallway and the street light through the windows was enough that he could see. There was a lump on one of the beds, sheets pulled up far enough only a tuft of black hair was visible above it. He had his head turned the other way, but Naruto knew it was him, knew he had the right room.
He walked inside, making his way around the bed on unsteady feet, feeling like he was about to collapse any moment.
Sasuke's eyes were closed in sleep, but he didn't look relaxed at all, his face seemed strained, his hand twitching underneath the thin sheets. A nightmare? Naruto wouldn't be surprised, Sasuke had a lot of bad memories to dream about. It had been Naruto's job to protect him from those, but instead he made it worse, added to the nightmares to torment Sasuke.
"I'm so sorry," Naruto whispered, and Sasuke's head twitched a little, but otherwise he kept quiet, not waking. Naruto was glad, he didn't want to disturb him. Sasuke needed his sleep, needed to recuperate so he could move on with his life, find the happiness Naruto hadn't been able to give him.
Naruto wanted to kiss him goodbye, but he was afraid it would wake him, so instead he lifted a hand and gently brushed away a stray lock of hair from his face.
"I'm going to leave now. If I… If I find a way maybe I'll come back so you can punish me yourself, okay?" he said. Part of him wished it was this easy. He left, found his answers, and then he could come back and get his punishment, whatever it may be. He'd stay the rest of his life in prison if that was it, but he couldn't yet, not until he figured out what he was and how to deal with it. He'd be too dangerous to be around.
He left the room, looking back over his shoulder one more time, knowing it was very likely the last time he ever saw Sasuke.
He made his way back down the hallway, hands deep in his pocket, fingers brushing against a folded piece of paper he'd placed there earlier. He hesitated when he neared the nurses' station, then took a deep breath and walked up to the nurse on duty, smiling wide, looking as innocent as he possibly could.
It was easy to make her borrow him a phone, he just said that he needed to contact the DPA office, and she handed it over immediately before turning back to the paperwork she had been working on. Naruto stepped away far enough that she wouldn't overhear, pulled out the folded sheet of paper and smoothed it out.
He typed in the numbers, then hesitated with his thumb over the call button. Sai had given off all kinds of weird vibes, the fake smiles and the fact that he seemed to know more about Naruto than Naruto knew, but right now it was the only lead he had, and he wasn't about to let that get away from him. He traced the small drawing of a fox that was curled up in one corner of the sheet, and with a sigh pressed the green button.
Someone picked up three rings in, but they made no move to introduce themselves.
"I want answers," Naruto said.
A/N: I have listened to Bigbang's Monster too many times while writing this, it fuels the angst perfectly. Also, I need to write some fluffy oneshots soon, because this fic man, things are not going the right way for Naruto and Sasuke right now. XD
