A/N: I'm baaaack! (grins) And, there's a new chapter in my back-pocket.

BUT, first of course… MAN, thank you so much for all those AMAZING reviews you've taken the time to leave! (GLOMPS) You can't even imagine how much they mean to me, so THANK YOU! As per usual, responses to anonymous reviews can be found from underneath the chappy.

Awkay, because I bet you'd like to keep going already… Let's roooooll – I really hope ya'll enjoy this!

CHAPTER 7: The Falling Shadows

Five Days Later

Sasuke's eyes opened – so simply that it surprised him – and in a matter of moments they stung as chlorine filled them. He felt a tremor inside when his body ached for oxygen, but he didn't allow himself the pleasure of reaching for the surface just yet.

He felt weightless, flawless, painless. He wasn't willing to let go of such freedom just yet. He wanted to feel good for a little bit longer.

But then it became too much, and he was forced to swim to the surface of the pool. He gasped hungrily when air filled his lungs, and felt a tremor of pleasure. For a while he felt free and calm.

His relaxed state of mind was disturbed when the person who was escorting him to Tengoku's pool section spoke. "Geez, Sasuke – you almost gave me a heart-attack!" Naruto was looking at him with something that could've been amusement or irritation. "I thought I'd have to dive after you."

He wasn't entirely sure how to react. It was humiliating to be in front of the boy in nothing but his swimming trunks, all the scars in his body much too clearly visible. It was also confusing to be around Naruto with all Kabuto's threats ringing in his ears.

He looked down towards the water, shuddering either from the cold water or for the sight of his body. Couldn't the blond at least freaking turn around? "Hn."

There was something that felt like confusion lingering in the air as they remained absolutely still, both sensing that they were at a standstill.

"You've been quiet." Naruto's words caught him so off guard that he shuddered. He discovered that the blond was looking at him with a thougthfull, almost sad expression. "I mean… Quieter, than you were a while back. What's going on?"

He would've wanted to answer – give anything that would've chased away the suspicion – but all he could focus on was the cold striking him numb. "A towel." He didn't realize he'd spoken out loud until the other boy looked towards him. "Give me… my towel, will you?"

Not until then did Naruto seem to notice his most likely bluish lips, aggravated expression and the much too visible trembling. He was fairly sure the boy cussed under his breath. "Geez, Sasuke – you should've told me you're freezing!" It felt far better than it should've when the blond helped him out of the pool, then rubbed him with the towel to warm him up. "You're as cold as a block of ice."
Those words surprised him. Most people would've commented how thin he was, gasped in horror at the scars all over him, asked him why he was torturing himself with not eating. But Naruto, of course, had never been an average person.

He was almost starting to relax when he noticed that they weren't alone anymore. From behind a corner, Kabuto observed them with eyes that told everything necessary. During those cold moments reality crashed down on him.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" Naruto was looking at him with confusion and near-fear. "You're shaking even worse than before."

He looked at the blond with frustration, irritation and utter, nerve-wrecking hopelessness. He'd never felt as helpless in his life. He was trapped by silence all over again, and this time the choice hadn't even been his.

It was almost ridiculous how badly he would've wanted to speak out right then.

No matter how much he tried to deny being affected, seeing the disappointment that appeared to Naruto's face hurt. "So… you're not in the mood for talking, huh?"The boy tried to grin, but failed miserably. "lt's okay. Just… You're going to start talking to me again eventually, right?"

He wanted to say 'yes', hoped he could've chased away that insecurity. But at the moment he could only wrap the towel more tightly around him and look away, his eyes stinging a little.

-

Naruto couldn't understand.

Only days ago Sasuke had been talking a little more each day, and now… Now, Sasuke was slipping from his reach again.

It was around then he noticed something on Sasuke's arm that would've gone unnoticed if the raven had been wearing a shirt; narrow, rather short red stripes that seemed to be screaming against the almost white skin. They'd obviously been made by something sharp – and they were much too neat and many to be accidental. The marks weren't deep – only enough to pierce the skin and cause some minor bleeding – but that didn't make them any less alarming. In fact, it only made things wordse. It meant that the cuts were fresh.

He shivered a little, and all of a sudden the need to pull Sasuke close and hold him was almost too much to resist.

What the heck was going on under Tengoku's roof? How much was there in Sasuke that needed to be fixed? What had caused this relapse?

Suddenly he was terrified for the Uchiha – far more so than would've been professional.

"I… I'm here for you, okay?" He had no idea why, but he had a feeling that he needed to say that. He would've said anything, if… He looked towards the raven, but the boy refused to meet his eyes. "I care about you." More than you know. "And I want to help you. But I need you to trust me – to talk to me. So, please…" Suddenly he caught himself pleading, and almost swallowed his tongue.

For a few fleeting moments, he saw a storm of emotions flash by Sasuke's haunted eyes while the raven grit his teeth so hard that it must've hurt. For some moments he was sure the Uchiha would start to scream, but in the end the words were smothered, most likely only echoing inside the boy's head. "I'm fine", the raven breathed out barely audibly instead, still refusing to look at him. "Just… cold."

Feeling almost defeated, he restrained a bitter moan of disappointment and nodded instead. "Then let's go and find you some clothes."

-

Naruto didn't even sense him, and Sasuke wouldn't look his way.

With a very satisfied, cruel little smile Kabuto turned around and walked away with light, smooth steps.

Who might've thought; Sasuke Uchiha could be very obedient when you found the right strings to pull.

Much later that evening, Naruto got some much-needed distraction when escorting Sakura to the girl's new home with Sai.

He'd known Sai for years – the boy had never acted the way he did right then. And he didn't think he'd ever seen Sakura quite as happy and lively as the girl was then. The two of them kept dancing around each other without probably even noticing it.

Despite his own problems, he got a warm feeling when seeing the two of them so happy.

He blinked twice when realizing that they'd already stopped. Sakura gave them a grin. "Okay, you guys can stop shadowing me already, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

Something strange could be seen on Sai's face. "Yeah… See you."

Without saying a word they watched how Sakura waved, then all but rushed to the door and knocked. Quite soon a girl with brown hair showed up to open. Naruto could actually feel how stiff Sai became beside him when they watched how the girls almost kissed – most likely caught up by some memories – then hugged each other tightly instead before going inside.

He couldn't help it. He chuckled.

Sai gave him a clearly confused look. "What's so funny?"

He shook his head, still grinning. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Suddenly the light mood from before was gone. For they noticed Ino walking towards them.

Surprisingly enough it was Sai who broke the silence that fell. "I've heard the rumors." All Konoha had, actually. The boy's dark eyes were filled with something that'd never been seen in them before. "It's Shikamaru's, right?"

Ino nodded, obviously not knowing what to say. "I'm keeping it." Judging by the look on her face, even she didn't understand why she wanted to say that.

"So…", Naruto spoke slowly, feeling that he had to say something. "Have you managed to talk to him yet?"

Ino shook her head, appearing pissed off and scared – all of a sudden the usually tough girl was a scared teenager. "He needs… time to think, I guess. Though I don't have a fucking clue what he's thinking about."

Naruto tried to offer a frail smile. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

Ino's shoulders slumped while she sighed. "Yeah, I guess…" She then started to walk on. "I've… gotta go."

There was a strange look on Sai's face while the boy moved as well. "I'm going, too." The boy looked towards him. "See you tomorrow."
He could only nod.

For some reason it felt wrong and painful to him to watch how Sai chose the direction that led him away from both Ino and Sakura.

Suddenly the world felt like a very cold place.

When coming home, Naruto frowned at how dark and quiet the house was. A cold fist squeezed itself around his heart. "Iruka? Are you home?"

Following his instincts, he made his way to Iruka's bedroom and knocked. "There's no need to knock, Naruto."

He grinned somewhat cheekily when opening the door and entering. "I didn't know if Kakashi was here or not." Because the doctor had visited a lot lately.

Gosh, how good it felt to see the healthy blush that flashed on Iruka's cheeks for a moment! The normality was, however, ruined by a wrenching coughing fit. "I… was just… reading", the man barely managed. "Or… trying to." Finally managing to catch his breath, the brunet went on, appearing… scared almost, although the man tried to hide it. "I just… can't keep my eyes open."

Once again he felt so helpless that it was hard to restrain a whimper, and there was a painful tug in his stomach. If only…

And suddenly he came up with one thing he could do. It was childish and pathetic, but he wanted to try anyhow.

Walking slowly, as though fearing that he'd startle Iruka somehow, he walked up to the man's bed and sneaked in, fitting scarily well next to the much too thin man. With a somewhat faked grin, he grabbed the book the brunet had been trying to read. "Then why don't I read a bit for you?" Meeting a surprised look, he shrugged. "What? I think it's a good book, too."

Seeing Iruka smile made him feel warmer than he had all day.

And so he started to read, and couldn't bring himself to stop even when he noticed that the man was already fast asleep.

Four Days Later

That rather late afternoon, Tsunade decided that it was time to start joined therapy-sessions again. The mood was tense at first as the teenagers gathered into a huge room, and saw that a particular spot was empty.

Haku had never been a loud person, but nonetheless something was missing without him.

But it looked like he wasn't the only one amiss, as they soon noticed. "Where's Hinata?" Sakura beat Neji to inquiring.

Something strange flashed on Tsunade's face. "There was… something she needed to take care of." A careful observer could see Neji shudder at those words. Tsunade then clapped her hands together, earning everyone's attention. "But now… Today we'll try something very different. I'm going to play some music, and in the meantime I want you to let your thoughts drift. When the song ends, we'll talk about the emotions it aroused."

And then the music – a lullaby, Naruto discovered with some confusion – started, making its way through the huge room like a gentle breeze or a whisper. Without a warning his mind indeed did start to drift, and the memories jumped on him.

/ He, at the age of nine, could do nothing but watch as Sasuke winced and emitted something close to a moan. The little bit of moonlight sneaking in through the room's window revealed much too clearly all the patched up injuries on the boy who'd just been discharged from the hospital.

He swallowed thickly, feeling quite close to tears. "Your injuries hurt, don't they?" he asked quietly with childish innocence. He gulped again. "I… I don't understand. Why would Orochimaru do that to you?

Sasuke shot something close to a glare towards him. "Go away, Naruto", the boy rasped out.

But leaving wasn't something he was planning on doing. Instead he moved slowly, and eventually lay himself down beside Sasuke. He didn't dare to touch – who knew how many painful wounds there were – and hoped dearly that his presence was enough. And then he started humming a melody he didn't remember hearing ever before.

Quite slowly, Sasuke drifted into a somewhat untroubled, much needed sleep.

-

And then Naruto heard the same melody again, this time hummed by someone else. His eyes flew open. "…'ke?"

There was movement around him. "Hey, are you awake?" The male-voice was unfamiliar. Turning his still blurry gaze, he found a man with brown hair and warm eyes of the same color. The brunet smiled slightly. "Were you dreaming of someone?"

He soon realized that he couldn't remember, couldn't make his mind focus on finding the name. He shook his head, his heart breaking for some reason. "I… I don't remember", he whispered. /

And then the memory abandoned him, just as swiftly as it'd first arrived – and he opened his eyes with a gasp the exact second the song ended.

It appeared he wasn't the only one feeling the affects. For beside him Sasuke stiffened completely – almost started to shake – and before he could open his mouth the boy had bounced up and dashed away, face even paler than usual.

He swallowed thickly, not managing to make himself move just yet. "Sasuke…" The room's door slammed closed.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Turning his gaze towards the voice, he met Neji's somewhat worried face. "You're shaking."

Looking down, he realized that he indeed was. And the fact that Neji's hand was on his shoulder didn't make it any better. "Yeah, I'm fine." He then frowned, feeling far from comfortable. "Just… Let go, will you?"

Just then the room's door opened and closed again. They looked up to find out if Sasuke had come back, only to discover that Gaara had left as well.

Tsunade sighed heavily. "Naruto, Neji, go after them, will you? The rest of us will continue the session."

Naruto was moving long before she was finished, something uncomfortable squirming inside him. He never noticed Kabuto following him with his gaze.

Naruto didn't know how long he'd been looking, until he realized that he'd forgotten one place. He knocked firmly on the bahtroom's door, and emitted a sigh of relief when hearing someone moving around inside. "Sasuke?" There was no response apart from the sound of someone throwing up. Something squeezed to a tight ball in his stomach. "I'm coming in."

He pushed the door open to find a sight that almost broke his heart. Sasuke was kneeling on the floor, visibly fighting against the trembling that'd taken over his body. The boy's face held a sickly pale shade, and slightly wide onyx eyes shimmered with tears the raven would probably never allow himself to shed. The reek of vomit was thick in the tiny room.

He swallowed a little, taking a hesitant step closer and wondering what exactly the Uchiha had remembered. "Hey, it's… It's okay." He placed a hopefully comforting hand to the boy's shoulder. "You're safe now. Whatever you saw… It's in the past. Everything okay." He wasn't sure if Sasuke even heard him.

And so they spent there for a long time, Sasuke throwing up from time to time and never remembering to push his hand away. No further words were needed.

Neji managed to find Gaara surprisingly easily. The boy was leaning against the wall of a nearby library, seeming ready to explode.

He approached cautiously. "What just happened?" he inquired.

There was something… almost dangerous in Gaara's eyes when the boy looked at him. "Leave him alone already, Hyuuga – leave both of them alone."

He frowned, not quite understanding. "What's that to you?"

Something he didn't quite manage to read flashed in the redhead's eyes. "Just forget about him already. Because whatever it is you think you could accomplish with him… It's too late for that." So saying, without giving him the slightest chance to ask questions, the boy had already left, leaving him wondering what had just happened.

He never had the time to process his thoughts on the situation at hand before a voice he recognized far too well spoke. "Hello, Neji." Turning around slowly, unwillingly, he met the solemn face of Ibiki Morino. "It looks like we need to talk."

His steps stiff and heavy, Neji allowed himself to be led into a tiny room, where Hinata was already waiting for him. It was clear the girl had been crying – there were still some tears on her cheeks.

He frowned. "What the hell is this?" he demanded in a sharp tone.

Hinata trembled as she spoke. "I… I couldn h-hold it in a-any longer, Neji. I… I told t-them – and y-you should, t-too." She sobbed dryly. "Y-You saw him, t-too. So p-please, Neji…" Her voice faded away.

Ibiki also looked at him. "We know that you saw the same thing as your cousin. The sooner you speak, the sooner we'll have him convicted."
He could've ended the hell he'd been living in for years right then, he could've brought it all to a stop. But he just wasn't courageous enough that – not when both Hinata and Ibiki were staring at him expectantly. This was all too much.

And that's why he took a step backwards, shaking his head. "You won't be able to stop him", he announced rather sharply before turning around and walking away. He slammed the door shut as he left, his eyes stinging as all the memories flashed before them.

Sorry, he mused, but it didn't help.

All he could see was Hanabi's accusing face.

Sasuke's head was whirring from too many thoughts and lack of sleep as he lay on his bed, staring at the roof above him and the shadows dancing on it in entrancing patterns. Breathing was a difficult task all of a sudden, and thinking was even harder.

All of a sudden the room's door opened. He wasn't entirely sure why his chest reacted the way it did when he found Naruto stood there.

He frowned. "What…?"

Naruto seemed sheepish, uncertain. When the blond pulled the door closed it became completely dark. Somehow he preferred it that way. "I… I was just… worried, about you, I guess."
Something close to ache flashed inside him. He shifted so that his back was to Naruto. "Don't be", he muttered.

He wanted Naruto to go away and leave him alone, wanted to…

But, of course, none of such happened. Instead of leaving Naruto walked closer, making the bed dip when sitting to its side. "Are you still feeling sick? You feel kind of warm."

His eyes narrowed. "Just drop it, will you?"

Naruto sighed heavily. "Look… I'm tired, and I can tell that so are you. So let's drop this crap already." And before either one of them realized what was happening the blond had laid down to the bed next to him, so close that their warmths couldn't be told apart.

He knew he should've snarled at the blond to go away, for the sake of the boy's safety. He also wasn't comfortable with… intimate contact like this. But suddenly all he could do was lay perfectly still and let Naruto wrap a pair of warm arms around him. He frowned at the sensations inside him.

His heart… was beating in a strange rhythm, and he felt a little bit too hot to his own liking. But, no matter how little he liked it, he also felt safe – just like all those years earlier.

In a matter of moments he'd fallen asleep, his head falling softly to rest against Naruto shoulder. And for the few hours they both slept everything was alright in the world.

One Week Later

When arriving to Tengoku that day, Naruto could immediately feel that something was wrong. His suspicions were confirmed when when he accidentally ran into a conversation he probably shouldn't have heard.

A rather huge, scar-faced man groaned while folding his arms. "He wouldn't say another word. Most of the time I wasn't even sure if he knew I was there."

Tsunade's expression was somewhat defeated while she sighed and rubbed her face with one hand. "Damn it… I was hoping he'd be ready for this already."

The man's expression turned wry. "So was I." The man then glanced towards a nearby door. "How is he now?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I sent one of the younger doctors, Kabuto, to give him something to calm him down. But it's going to take a while before recovers fully from an episode like that – he hasn't had as bad in a long time."

"Hmm." The man emitted something close to a growl and punched the wall so hard it almost left a mark. "We're never catching Orochimaru like this."

Naruto's eyes widened a little at the mention of the name, and unable to stop himself he stepped forth. "Orochimaru?"

Both adults looked towards him. Tsunade took her time before trying talking. "Sasuke's… in an unstable condition in his room. Could you go and make sure he's alright? But be careful."

Naruto didn't have to be told twice. He nodded, and was on his way before anyone could say another word.

-

Ibiki frowned while watching the blond hurrying away. "Who was that kid?"

"Naruto Uzumaki – our new trainee." She gave him a frown. "Why?"

Ibiki's eyes flashed. "Tsunade… I think there's something I should tell you."

-

Naruto peered rather cautiously into Sasuke's room, and felt something inside him break at the sight that greeted him inside.

Sasuke was sitting in the furthest corner, his face pale and carrying a nearly haunted expression. The Uchiha didn't give any sign whatsoever that would've told the raven had even noticed him entering.

He swallowed thickly and braced himself, then approached. "I… heard you had it rough."

Sasuke moved his head so that his eyes were directed towards the room's ceiling. The Uchiha's onyx eyes had gained a shade even darker than the usual. "Just drop it. I'm fine."

Naruto wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, wanted to shake Sasuke – anything to make the Uchiha realize just how badly things were wrong. "Damn it, Sasuke – don't you dare do this to me! I'm not letting you shut me out when you were just getting better!"

Sasuke looked at him with eyes that carried absolutely no emotions. "You shouldn't care, and you shouldn't remember", the boy stated a voice that was raw from the lack of use. "Just get out of this when you still can. Because no matter how much you seem to want to, you can't save me."

If he hadn't known it useless, he would've grabbed the Uchiha's hand when the boy got up. "I want to help you."
For a moment Sasuke stopped, not looking towards him. "In that case you're an idiot." And with those words the raven was out of his reach.

He didn't even realize how badly he was shaking as he stood there, barely managing to control his stinging eyes as he watched how the raven disappeared, for some reason seeming to take a lot of him along. And as though wanting to torment him a memory came, carrying along such pain that it almost swept him off his feet.

/ A ten-year-old's eyes shouldn't have been able to look like Sasuke's did that night, as they stood together in pouring rain. The bruises covering the raven's face were a stark, disgusting contrast to the unhealthily pale skin. The boy's skin, however, wasn't burnt yet. "No matter how much you seem to want to, you can't save me. So leave me alone already."

Just as stubborn as he was now, Naruto shook his head vigorously. "I'm getting you out of this, I promise." He grit his teeth, squeezing the hand he hadn't realized he'd taken. "Tonight… Tonight, we'll run away from here – just you and me. I promise you that you'll never have to be scared and hurt again. Neither of us will have to be." /

"Naruto?" It took a long moment before he realized that the voice came from the present, and belonged to Neji. "Are you… alright?"

Tears had practically blinded him as he lifted his gaze to glare at the brunet. "Leave me alone", he muttered, his voice blurred by tears. "Go away." He wasn't in the mood for a 'conversation'.

But just as so many times before, Neji wouldn't listen. Before he could do more than cry out in a protest the boy had wrapped a pair of rather clumsy arms around him and pulled him close.

In his right mind, he would've snarled at the brunet, told him to let go and get the hell away from him. But the moment he had no strength for such. Instead he leaned his exhausted, throbbing head against Neji's suddenly familiar shoulder and let the tears keep rolling.

-

Naruto, of course, remained unaware of the drama he was causing.

All of a sudden feeling that he was being watched, Neji lifted his gaze. He found Gaara stood not too far away. There was a clearly hurt, dark and threatening look on the redhead's face as their gazes met.

No words were said before Gaara had already spun around and walked away. For some reason watching the boy walk away felt worse to Neji than it should've.

And he couldn't help wondering what he'd done wrong.

Iruka didn't dream often. But that night, flashes he'd already almost managed to push away came back to haunt him.

He heard the shouts.

He smelled the tears.

He felt the other child's trembling.

He tasted blood in his mouth as he accidentally bit his tongue.

It was the first time he ever saw his best friend – his whole damn world – cry.

And then his eyes flew open, blurry and itchy. "Kakashi…"

A hand squeezed his, most likely reflexively. "It's okay." Turning his gaze, he met the same eyes that'd just been so filled with hurt and pain in his dreams. Kakashi's voice was soothing, although it seemed to lock away something. "It was just a dream."

His voice broke when he first started to speak, so he tried again, cursing how weak his tone was. "I… I never wanted to leave. But… They said…" His eyes blurred again. "I'm sorry. I didn't even…"
Kakashi's thumb rubbed the back of his hand, making him feel even drowsier than he had already. He couldn't read the man's eyes. "Shh. Just go to sleep. Everything's alright."

He really did want to sleep. He was so tired…

Kakashi's warm hand guided him into the world of oblivion.

-

Kakashi didn't know what to think and feel as he sat there, watching how Iruka finally drifted back into sleep.

The brunet's onchologist had warned him that Iruka would be exhausted and disordered now that the medication had basically crushed his immune system – that's why the man was in the hospital. But… Somehow he'd never prepared himself for this.

This pale, rapidly balding and skinny man before him just couldn't be his Iruka. None of this felt real.

The sight becoming almost too much for him to bear, he prepared himself to leave. But just as he was about to get up Iruka's hand squeezed his tightly. And although he knew it was only out of a reflex, he just couldn't deny the request.

(He didn't even notice how night turned into morning as he sat there, soundlessly guarding Iruka's sleep.)

Tsunade was, to say the least, surprised by the look on Naruto's face when he entered her office quite late that evening. For the first time ever the boy seemed sad, even defeated.

She frowned. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

The boy swallowed laboriously, obviously fighting to find the will to meet her eyes. "I… I don't think I can keep working here much longer."

Shock struck her into a state that was close to utter muteness. He was one of the best trainees ever worked in Tengoku – why…? "What are you talking about?" she all but spat out in the end.

Naruto's blue eyes shimmered with nearly spilling tears. "I… I just can't, okay?" The boy grit his teeth and looked away, which told her that she'd soon hear a lie. "Iruka… Iruka's in the hospital again, and the school start soon. I just… I don't have the strength anymore. There are other things I have to focus on."

Her shoulders slumped, and she was fairly sure her eyes filled with everything there was swirling inside her. "Naruto… Are you sure you want to do this?"

The blond gave her a heartbreakingly sad smile. "There's nothing I can do for anyone here, anyway."

It took a long moment before she could speak. "One week." She went on when facing the boy's disapproving expression. "I need to find someone to replace you first. Just one more week. If you still want to go after that, then so be it."

Naruto nodded somewhat stiffly. "'K." Just then her phone started to ring. Seeing his opportunity, Naruto started to leave hurriedly. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll fill out my resignation report then." And with that he was gone.

There were only few occasions when she'd wanted to scream as badly as she did when looking at the closed door right then.

-

Naruto's steps had never been as heavy as they were when he left Tengoku that day, his head bowed with defeat and his eyes stinging so badly that it was almost impossible to hold the tears at bay.

He didn't know how long he'd walked, but he shuddered once realizing where his feet had led him.

He was stood behind the gate of a rather modern-looking orphanage, watching how fifteen or so kids of different ages played around, laughing and shouting.

All of a sudden something caught his attention.

On the orphanage's yard, a rather young man with long, loosely tied black hair was ushering giggling children to go inside with a soft tone. The man's eyes were hidden by a white fabric that was most likely supposed to protect them from something.

He blinked twice, shivering a little.

The raven… looked so familiar. If only he'd been able to put his finger on it…

Just then the other male seemed to sense his presence. A frown appeared as unseeing eyes cast about. "Is someone there?"

Embarrassed, he realized that he'd have to say something. "Just… me. I was passing by and…" He trailed off, realizing that there was no need to explain.

The other nodded slowly, then frowned again. "Your voice sounds familiar."

He was just about to ask when a girl of about his age with black hair and somewhat menacing dark eyes appeared, grabbing the other male's hand. "C'mon, 'Tachi." She cast a threatening look towards him while speaking again in a chirping tone. "It's time to go inside – the kids are waiting for you."

Tachi nodded, then tried to glance his way. Whatever the raven had been supposed to say became swallowed down in the end.

He shuddered as he watched the two of them walk away.

Why did he have a feeling that he'd just found something important?

That night, Sasuke dreamt of fire burning his flesh, of fire stealing away his brother, of screams and the stench of burning flesh.

He wasn't sure if the dreams or reality were worse when he woke up to Kabuto's voice, coming from behind the door of his room. "Don't worry about the nurse – with how much medication I gave her, she'll be asleep for hours."

"Very good." The velvet voice was smooth, made him feel sick to his stomach.

Go away, he pleaded, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Just go the fuck away and leave me alone. Not tonight…

But despite all the door was pushed open. Steps approached him, and before he could even catch his breath he'd been pulled up. "Open your eyes." Snake's eyes looked directly to his when he obeyed reluctantly. "You… have caused us a great deal of trouble lately. But that's alright – we have ways to take care of misbehaving children."

His eyes narrowed as he balled his fists. "Don't you dare touch me."

Orochimaru had, however, never been one to listen to anyone's orders. The man leaned to his ear. "Remember what could've happened to Naruto because of you. Remember what happened to Itachi", the snake's voice whispered. "Remember what could still happen."

And then the needle pierced his skin. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut when the burning sensation came. Right then there was only one thing that could distract him from the affects.

Naruto…!

-

When leaving the room and locking the door some time later, Orohimaru and Kabuto failed to notice that they weren't as alone as they'd thought.

In the shadows, Juugo frowned when watching the two of them. Cold shivers danced on and underneath his skin.

TBC, un.

A/N: Uh huh, and the mess keeps getting worse. (winces) Poor things!

GAH, I'm in a huge hurry right now, so I've gotta start tuning out. PLEASE, do leave a review – it'd mean a lot to hear what you thoughts about this chapter!

IN THE NEXT ONE: Some secrets are revealed and mistakes realized when the going gets even tougher. Is it too late to fix the damage?

ONLY THREE TO FOUR CHAPTERS TO GO! (sniffs)

Until next time – I REALLY hope ya'll all join in then!

Be good!

ZakuKura: (gawks) You enjoyed the chapter THAT much – and you check out for an update every day?! (beams, and hugs) You're making me blush here!

Super-sized thank you for the heartwarming review!

I REALLY hope you'll enjoy the next one as much.

-

kai: Sasuke has some wicked self-control, doesn't he? I know I wouldn't have been able to hold myself back!

All those problems – and Haku died! (sniffs) Those poor things. All we can do is hope that things will turn for the better soon, ne? (sniffs again)

BUT, at least it looks like Iruka's recovering. Let's hope that'll last – he'd deserve nothing less!

Monumetal thank yous for the review!

Until next time, I hope.

-

qyolover1: Let's hope Naruto and Sasuke will find happiness, especially with all they've gone through, ne? (sniffs)

Gigantic thank yous for the review – you can't even imagine how happy I am to hear that you've had that good of a ride with the story thus far!

I really hope ya'll be staying tuned.