AN: Hello people of Fanfiction! Yes, I have decided to once again go against my standings for the number of reviews and just decided to post them up on the normal times, I really want to get this story over with so I can post up the two new ones I've written. Yay for the new stories! So, now you have your new chapter so be happy! Now enjoy!
Note: Suna Akurei, Hyūga Hisae © Anna Uzumaki
Pairing(s): Naruto/Sasuke With: Neji/Gaara, Shika/Kiba, Sakura/Lee, Kakashi/Iruka, Hinata/Shino, Ino/Choji, Kankuro/Hana, Temari/Tenten, Jiraiya/Tsunade, Itachi/Kimimaru, Suigetsu/Sasori.
Warning(s): Yaoi, lemon(s) in later chapters, sexual content (Duh!), slight nuggets of OOC-ness (bear with me), adult language, blood/gore, angst, drama & slight child abuse.
Disclaimer: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
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Chapter Eight
Flashback: Summer Festival- Part V- Darkness
M.P.O.V.
As we got further down the path, I thought I heard something in the wind, though I was not sure. The dog however, did hear something and began to bark wildly, then took off full speed ahead of us. We all automatically ran after the hound.
"He has found them!" Tsume shouted from in front of us. We all at that time heard the unmistakable small cries of pain from more than one person; we came upon a bridge and quickly crossed it.
"NARUTO!" Kushina cried and bolted past me.
"GAARA!" Karura cried as well and took off after Kushina.
"NARUTO! Kushina wait!" I called out to them both and easily caught up to Kushina and Karura. My guards were right behind me, pistols ready. As we got closer we heard voices.
"Shit! Now Yashamaru!" Someone cursed.
"I know…. I'm truly sorry Naruto, and I Love you Gaara." Yashamaru said. I easily recognized his voice.
Once we crossed the bridge my façade fell away completely, as my eyes landed on my son and Gaara. Narutos' eyes were closed in unconsciousness, and his face and stomach were covered in blood. Gaara too had blood pouring from a spot just above his left eye. I saw Yashamaru and a masked man quickly put knifes' to the boys' throats, however Tsumes' dog agilely leaped over a circle of candle's and bit down on the masked mans arm.
"Fuck!" He cursed.
Then I heard a pistol fire from beside me and Yashamaru was hit in the shoulder, the bastard didn't even cry out in pain, instead the two just took off into the woods. A few of the guards and the dog took off after them.
"NARUTO!" Kushina screamed from beside me, where I was frozen in shock.
"No… GAARA!" Karura cried and ran towards her son.
"Oh no…" Tsume breathed.
"Minato, snap out of it!" Fugaku yelled at me, which cause me to successfully thaw out.
"That Yashamaru!" Akurei growled and ran after his wife, I followed right behind him to Naruto and Kushina, When we reached them 'A' and another guard carefully cut the boys' down.
"Naruto! Naruto sweetie, wake up, its mommy." Kushina cried with Naruto in her lap, I kneeled beside her, and tears fell from my eyes. My calm demeanor had completely vanished, as I saw that he was absolutely covered in blood!
"Naruto, son, please… wake up." I sobbed at my son, who was still bleeding profusely. I then noticed the fiery red glowing marking on his stomach and shallow cuts on his cheeks, I automatically felt sick.
"Gaara! Akurei, he is not waking up!" Karura cried, while holding her son close to her.
"Karura, give him time, he has to wake up." Akurei said in a low voice.
"Minato-sama, Akurei-sama, we must move the young sirs' away from this place quickly." One of my medical guards, named Shizune, instructed us.
"Why? What is wrong now?" I asked rather harshly.
"My Lord, this is a sacrificial ground. The boys were most likely meant to be used as a sacrifice to the two fox spirits, and being that they were so close to actually succeeding in summoning the spirit's, the boys' are still at a huge risk staying here. That is why they are not waking up. If we don't move quickly I fear they may never wake up, Sir." Shizune quickly explained to me and the others.
My mind went completely blank at her exclamation, I felt as though my feet had been knocked from underneath me, had I not already been kneeling beside my sobbing wife and unconscious son, I would have surely fell to the ground. My son never waking up, that was preposterous and unacceptable.
"Kushina, give me Naruto," I told her and put one hand on her shoulder and the other I put on Naruto's head, "We should do as Shizune says for now." I continued.
She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to let go of him, then finally placed him in my arms gently, as I took him from her I noticed that her gown was now covered in our sons' blood. The sight sent a faint trickle of rage down my spine. As I stood up I could see Karura begin to stand with Gaara in her arms, until Akurei put his hand on her shoulder.
"Karura do not be foolish, let me carry the boy." He said to her. She simply nodded and loosened her hold on the unconscious child, and Akurei picked him up.
"Quickly my Lords', this way." One of Fugakus' medical guards, named Kabuto, instructed us and hurriedly retreated back across the bridge, as we crossed the bridge I could still faintly hear Tsumes' dog barking…. along with the fireworks. Once we got quite a ways away from the temple, Shizune turned around to us and motioned for the remaining guards to keep watch.
"Tsume, will your dog be fine without you to command him?" Karura spoke softly, obviously strained from the chaos.
"Yes, he will not kill them but he will immobilize them." Tsume informed her.
"He very well should kill them!" Akurei spat.
"No, death would just be an easy way out for them. I want them to live and suffer for this traitorous act." Kushina almost hissed.
"I could not have said it better myself." I second her, all the while never taking my eyes off of my son.
"Okay my Lords', please place the boys down here." Shizune instructed us.
We did as she said and placed the boys' down on the soft grass, I looked towards Shizune as she gathered her medical instruments. As she started her examination of Naruto, Kabuto examined Gaara. I briefly glanced down at my royal attire and saw that there was much more blood on me than there should have been from Naruto's wounds, but I was quickly brought back to the current situation, as everyone sharply inhaled as Shizune and Kabuto opened the boys' eyes to examine them, I felt numb and sick as I followed their gazes, until I stared at my sons lifeless eyes' which were a piercing red, instead of my azure. Kushina leaned into me and I had to will myself to stay upright as well, I looked over to Gaara and his eyes' were just as shocking, they were black with yellow irises.
"What is wrong with his eyes'?" Kushina exclaimed in nearly a whisper. I could tell her nerves were frayed and exposed.
"I believe it is a side-effect of the ritual, my Lady." Kabuto informed her.
"How could Yashamaru do this, I just do not understand." Karura sobbed quietly into Akurei's chest.
"Do not fret Karura, he will pay for what he has done." Akurei comforted his wife.
"Their eyes' should not remain this way for long," Shizune said as she moved to examine his chest and pushed lightly, "The young master has a broken rib, Kabuto, I need a chest brace." She continued.
"What?" Kushina and I asked in blatant disbelief, my son was bleeding and broken. I could feel the rage inside me building and twisting in to something hideous, I turned to Kushina and her anger was just as clear to see on her face.
"He must have received a massive blow to his mid-section. He was most likely kicked or stepped on." Shizune explained to us as she fixed the brace to his small chest.
"What about Gaara? Does he have any injuries?" Karura spoke quickly too Kabuto.
"He has some swelling inside his mouth, he bit down on the inside of his cheek pretty hard my Lady. It looks as though he might have been struck across his face, also there is this…" Kabuto informed her and then wiped the blood from his forehead to reveal a red marking, "Someone has tattooed his forehead." He continued.
"Love?" Karura questioned, "Why love?" She continued.
"It must have been for the ritual, which proves as much because it is in kanji." Kabuto explained to her and us.
"Young master Naruto also has a marking on his abdomen, it is no definite saying, I assume it is a seal." Shizune informed us. Once she finished with the brace she went back to clear some of the blood off of his face before she paused and opened his tiny mouth, her eye's then showed pure shock and disbelief. She then almost hastily did another quick overview of him, until she finally stopped at his waist and tilted him slightly so the side, at this her eyes became even wider, she then almost hesitantly looked up to Kushina and I.
"What is it?" I anxiously asked her, I felt Kushina take hold of my hand then, possibly bracing herself for the answer. 'Please…' I tried to think of something more to say, but my mind was already to chaotic as it were.
"M-my Lord, he has tearing around the corners of his mouth a-and…" She stuttered to a pause and looked quickly at all of us, I noticed her breathing picked up and she was slightly shaking. 'This cannot be good.' I thought to myself.
"And?" Kushina prompted her to continue in a whisper.
"I-I see evidence of seminal fluids, bruising and swelling in his mouth, a-as well as…." Shizune paused to inhale deeply before continuing, "He- he's bleeding rather heavily from his backside, and, well, it-it appears as though h-he's been s-sodomized from the amount of blood loss… my Lords." Shizune informed us and quickly dropped her gaze.
Silence thickly filled the air around us, which held the shock and disbelief of her observation. It was a loud silence, my head throbbed and my hand felt numb from Kushina holding on too tightly. I did not want to, but I had to ask, it seemed like that was the only question that I could decipher in my chaotic mind… my mind, just didn't seem to want to process anything she just said, her words just buzzed angrily around in my head, stinging in random places over and over during the time it took me to open my mouth and voice my question.
"What do you mean?" I asked in a voice that sounded dead even to me, and as I stared at her, waiting for her to reply, I could see that she obviously couldn't explain any further.
"What she means my Lord is… that someone must have forced the young sir to perform a sexual act, hence the tearing and bruising at the back of his throat and continued to… have anal intercourse with him. I am sorry to have to explain such an act to you my Lord." Kabuto answered, the look in his eyes clearly displaying apologies, uncomfortableness and sorrow.
"A-are you sure that is the cause?" Karura asked quietly.
"Yes Milady." Shizune nodded, though she answered in a voice that was just barely above a whisper.
"Minato…." Kushina called my attention, I had just barely even registered her voice, and as I turned to her I saw the tears pouring, unabashed, down her face. Kushina was definitely at her limit. I put my arm around her, pulled her to my chest and held her tightly, I absolutely couldn't, and didn't want to, focus on what was happening, and my mind had completely shut down at such blasphemous information. As I held her, I heard several people approaching and heard 'A' speak.
"You are to immediately remove those two from the area Tenui, understand?" 'A' spoke to one of my guards.
"Understood, sir." Tenui answered.
However, before I could even register the movement, Kushina had pushed away from me quickly and ran towards the two captive kidnappers. Though in that same moment I was also on my feet as well, only I was not running to catch my wife, I was running to deliver my personal punishment to the two bastards who dared to do such unthinkable actions to my son. However, 'A' and Tsume quickly grabbed a hold of Kushina just before she reached the two.
"I will kill you Yashamaru, you son of a bitch!" Kushina screamed and thrashed in 'A''s arms, struggling desperately to free herself. I on the other hand swiftly ran past them and dealt a jaw breaking punch to Yashamaru's jaw, I did my punch perfectly because he then spat up blood. But, before I could deal a blow to the masked man, my guards and Fugaku restrained me. As I struggled violently in their arms, my vision was locked onto the masked man, my whole being was being drawn to him in particular and I wanted nothing more to comply with it, I wanted to kill him, to strip the skin right off his bones. And with these thoughts in mind, I was surprised that I was even able to comprehend that someone was trying to calm me down, which was very unlikely to happen right now.
"My Lord please, don't injure yourself over him!" One of my guards, I recognized as Genma, said to me as he held me back.
"Minato, I understand your current rage but you must not quarrel with him at the present moment." Fugaku implored upon me, I didn't fail to notice how he looked at the masked man with a furrowed brow as if he was trying to figure out what face was hidden underneath. Just then, as I finally somewhat calmed my movements, Akurei ran past us and dealt another hard blow to Yashamaru's nose and a perfect roundhouse kick to the side of the other mans' face, which would have knocked him to the ground had not a guard been holding him in place. Oh how I wish I would be given the chance to do as he had just done!
"If I ever see you again, you pathetic excuse for a royal, I will kill you myself." Akurei said in a deadly tone towards Yashamaru.
"You will pay for what you have done brother." Karura seethed at him. She was still on the ground by her son.
"I will see to it personally that you two are slowly burned and torn to shreds, you son of a bitches." I said in a deathly calm voice, which surprised me because, on the inside, I was boiling over with rage.
Just then Karura, Shizune and Kabuto gasped, but I did not take my eyes' off of the two bastards to turn around at their quick intake of air. Only did I turn around when I heard two small groans, and Kushina broke free from Tsume and 'A' to run back behind me. I then turned to what was possibly the best sight I have seen since all this started… Naruto and Gaara groaned again and shifted slightly, Akurei and I then quickly ran back towards our waking boys'.
N.P.O.V.
I guess I finally passed out or was I dead? I really hoped not I wasn't ready to die. I was only five years old for crying aloud! Though, as I was now, I no longer felt any pain and for that I was glad, I have never experienced any pain close to what I had just been through. 'Wait, where is Gaara?' I thought. I did not want to leave him alone he and Sasuke were like my brothers… Sasuke, I wonder if I will ever see him again. Why hadn't anyone come to save us, did they not realize we were missing yet?
As I sat in the darkness I had a feeling that I was not alone, but as I looked around me I saw nothing. I then slightly remembered hearing someone call Gaara and my name and someone whispering in my ear before I lost consciousness. I could not have imagined that, could I? Just then I felt something brush past me in the darkness, I quickly scrambled to my feet and looked around me but still saw nothing but darkness. 'I know I just felt something.' I thought. Then I felt something grab on to my arm tightly, I gasped and quickly spun around and somehow saw Gaara standing behind me.
"Gaara?" I asked blinking at him.
"Naruto, are we dead?" He asked.
"I-I don't know, how long have you been here?" I asked him, I had been her for…. Well, far too long, for my liking.
"I just got here, wherever this is, and saw you." He told me.
"Gaara, did you happen to hear our parents calling our names before we came here?" I asked him.
"I thought I did but… but the pain was the only thing I could focus on." He admitted and looked very sad. Though all I could do at that answer was sigh, sat back down and pat the black space next to me for him to sit down too. As we sat there in silence, we leaned against each other and waited for something, anything, to happen. But there was nothing, nothing until I felt the same thing from earlier brush past my hand and as I jerked away from whatever it was I noticed that Gaara jerked to.
"Gaara, did you just feel something as well?" I asked him.
"Yes, it kind of felt soft, like fur." He told me.
As soon as he said that we saw something red and yellow far off in the darkness, I could not make out what they were from where we stood, but it they did not feel very welcoming, not at all. I quickly looked at Gaara and saw that his forehead had begun to bleed again, but he was also looking at me, only with wide eyes' that focused towards my stomach. As I looked down I saw blood quickly spilling from my stomach, slightly soaking my torn garbs and in between my legs.
"Ahhhhh!" Gaara screamed loudly and it echoed off the darkness. I snapped my head back up at him and he was grabbing his forehead, where the blood was now pouring down to his face.
"Gaara what's- Ahhhhh!" I began to ask him but I was taken aback by a searing pain in my stomach, face and backside, my legs buckled and then completely gave out. As I fell to the ground in a heap of unbelievable pain, I began to hear voices' penetrate the darkness.
"Minato-sama, Akurei-sama, we must move the young sirs' away from this place quickly." Someone said my father and Gaara's father's names'. I desperately wanted to call out to him but I was in too much pain.
"Naruto," Gaara cried to me, "What is going on?" He whimpered.
"I don't know…" I gasped at him and suddenly noticed the two red and yellow objects begin to move quickly towards us, I then heard a pair of fierce snarls bounce around the darkness. I tried to keep my eyes' open and stare at the two colors. However, the pain was too much. I quickly gave into to the pain and closed them but not before I was able to make out the red and yellow foxes speeding at us.
"Kushina, give me Naruto." I heard my fathers' voice speak to my mother. Many voices started to come and go in the darkness, they were all but drowned out by Gaara and my screams of pain.
"Karura do not be foolish, let me carry the boy." We heard Gaara's fathers' voice pass through the darkness, I wanted to open my eyes' to see if our parents' were actually in the darkness with us, but I was too afraid that I would see the foxes even closer to us.
"Quickly my Lords', this way." Another strange, but slightly familiar, voice passed through.
I dared to open my eyes' and saw the foxes still quite a ways from us, but they seemed to have stopped running. As I noticed that, I also noticed that the pain was subsiding and I found myself no longer needing to cry out from the pain, though it was still there, just not as strong as before. I looked over to Gaara and he was still holding his head, while curled into himself like me.
"Gaara, are you okay?" I asked hoarsely at him, my throat had begun to hurt again with the pain in my stomach, butt and my broken rib, which was dully throbbing.
"I'm not sure, but my head still hurts, as well as my mouth." He replied.
"I know, all my pain came back as well… I-I heard our parents', Gaara." I told him.
"I did to." He said.
As we both lay there, we continued to cry slightly from the pain that had not gone away. I kept wondering how long we might have been in that place and I often glanced over to where I saw the two foxes, but they were completely gone now, which I was thankful for. I was soon tired of being here, I just wanted to go home and see my parents', friends' and Sasuke… I wonder if he is worried about me. Then very suddenly, I heard an all too familiar voice flow through this void.
"What is wrong with his eyes'?" I heard my mother cry out. 'Is she talking about us?' I wondered.
"How could Yashamaru do this, I just do not understand." Gaara's mothers' voice seeped in after a while.
"Mommy…" Gaara whimpered.
It was quiet after that, I wanted to her my mother and fathers' voices again, they made me feel safe but at the same time made me feel sad. I was still not sure whether we were dead or not, though I had a feeling that we weren't because if we were, we could not be in this much pain. Some time passed before I heard the voices' again.
"I will kill you Yashamaru, you son of a bitch!" My mothers' voice screamed through the darkness. I have never heard her use such language, she must be really mad, she mentioned Yashamaru so I am none too surprised. It was only then that I realized our parents had found us, but maybe it was too late because we were still surrounded by darkness.
"Gaara, I think our parents' found us." I rasped at him.
"I hope, I just want to go home Naruto." He whispered to me.
"I know." I told him.
It became quiet once again, except for Gaara and my pained breathing. I started to feel something just then, I felt lighter, as though I might be waking up and as I thought this, I heard another familiar voice, but it sounded off, it sounded cold and threatening.
"I will see to it personally that you two are slowly burned and torn to shreds, you son of a bitches." My fathers' voice threaten in a deadly voice, his language was just as harsh as my mothers. As I slowly opened my eyes' in the darkness and pushed myself to my feet, still holding my bloodied stomach as I reached for Gaara, who had his eyes' closed.
"Gaara it is time to find a way out of here, if we don't do something we might stay here forever." I informed him.
"Right, Naruto." He opened his eyes and nodded. As he got up, the darkness seemed to open up and we felt a warm breeze blow through, the darkness then got lighter and lighter. I turned to look at Gaara with a hopeful expression, but he was gone and as I quickly spun around in search of him, I heard someone sharply in hale, followed by a slight scuffling. Once again, all I could do was sigh into the disappearing darkness, which was not a good idea considering I had a broken rib, I groaned for the sharp pain and dropped to the floor only to have said floor vanish as I fell into consciousness.
"Unnn..." I groaned and writhed slightly in pain.
"Mother, Father." I heard Gaara cry.
"Oh, Gaara! You-you're…." Lady Karura sobbed.
"Naruto!" My mother cried and gently pulled me onto her lap, I then opened my eyes' to see her tear filled face that showed nothing but happiness and relief.
"Naruto, son…" My Father said and kneeled beside mother, his face was slightly wet, 'Was he crying?' I thought.
"M-mommy, D-daddy." I rasped a cry. My throat was now hurting even more than before.
"Hahah, I'm glad to see that you still can't barely speak brat, I told you not to." I heard someone say from a distance, I automatically froze in fear. I remember hearing that voice from before, but the harder I tried to remember who it belonged to, the more my head began to throb.
"Get them out of here!" I recognized my fathers' guard 'A' command someone, I could not see who since my head was in my mothers' lap and they blocked my view of the people I was sure were behind them. I felt my mother shift from under me and I looked up to see her glaring harshly at someone behind her, my father then placed his hand on her shoulder, which seemingly calmed her back down as she turn back to focus on me.
"Gaara, just remember, I still love you." I heard Yashamaru speak. I turned my head slightly and finally saw Gaara who was now sitting up in his mothers' lap, the blood on his face was almost completely wiped away and he had gauze wrapped around his head, successfully covering the red tattoo. He looked down at his hand with tears in his eyes' and then looked over to me with a sad face. I tried to sit up in that moment to view my surroundings, but was struck by a sudden variety of sharp pains, mainly in my side and lower back.
"Oww..." I whined from something pressing against my stomach.
"Young Master, you should refrain from unplanned movements at the moment." Shizune said. I now realized it was her voice that passed through the darkness and prompted my father to move Gaara and me.
"But it hurts." I whimpered in pain, tears started to fill my eyes'.
"It is okay sweetie! We will take care of you. Everything will be alright." My mother soothed me and ran her hand through my hair.
"My lord, we should get the young sir's back to the main village, they still require further medical attention, especially young Master Naruto." A silver haired man with round glasses instructed. I vaguely remember him from Sasukes' castle. I believe his name was Kabuto. 'Sasuke, I wonder where he is.' I thought, then looked around and Saw his father and Kibas' mother all had slightly furious expressions at what Kabuto had said.
"Where is Sasuke?" I rasped and whimpered at the pain.
"He and the other children are currently at the royal tent." Fugaku-sama told me with a kind slightly forced smile on his face, I looked at Kiba's mother and she had the same smile. Actually, as I looked around I could see that everyone had the same relieved smiles on their faces. Yashamaru and the other man now no longer anywhere to be seen.
"Son, you need not strain yourself to speak or move right now." My father told me and rose to his feet, it was then that I realized that he was covered in blood, "Let us get them back to the village now and quickly." My father announced, pulling me from my observation, and then reached down to carefully pick me up and cradle me.
"You are safe now, Naruto." My mother said and kissed my hair.
"Naruto…" Gaara called to me, I looked over to see his father holding him, slightly blood splattered, and then he smiled at me. I smiled back sincerely, but winced slightly from the pain in my cheeks, I raised my hand to rub at them and felt that I to had gauze on them.
"Naruto…." Another all too familiar voice called to me. It shocked me because I knew this voice did not belong here, "Naruto, wake up." Sasuke called to me again. 'Wake up? What is he talking about?' I thought.
"S-Sasuke?" I rasped into my fathers' chest sleepily, as the previous events washed over me, and drifted back in to an exhausted state of unconsciousness.
AN: Okay! How was that? Daddy and Mommy, Along with a few of their friends, have finally saved their boys! But are their going to be some side-effects from have come do close to dying? Well, I haven't mentioned any yeeeettt, so maybe there will be! So, until next time! Ja ne, And as always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! (but, whether you do or don't, I will put them up anyways... but there still very much appreciated.)
Please note: Suna Akurei, Hyūga Hisae are mine, well my versions of Neji, Hinata and Gaara's parents names. But mine none the less.
- Anna Uzumaki