Chapter 13

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

Naruto was in the middle of a dream in which Sasuke was dead, had become a Dark Angel, and was dating Deidara when someone shook his shoulder to wake him up. He was really grateful to wake up from that dream, even though he had found it strangely hot somehow… Huh.

He looked up and saw long dark hair with gray eyes staring down at him.

"Hinata? Oh shit. I'm so sorry."

Naruto blinked, straightening up his shoulders and clearing his throat. Hinata was lifting her phone in the air.

"I was looking everywhere for you. You never answered your phone."

They were outside. Naruto had been sleeping on a bench. The boring brown walls of the public school he attended loomed over a grassy patch and parking lot.

"You're early though," he told her, sitting up straight and zipping up his slim black sweater. He felt all shivery.

She sat next to him. "No, I'm not. Are you okay?" Her voice was low. Worried.

He considered the cold wind and fading daylight. His eyes scanned the almost empty parking lot. Shit, how long had he been asleep?

Next to him on the bench were his school bag and an empty coffee cup. He'd had coffee, and fallen asleep anyway. Wow… He examined the contents of the bag really quickly just to make sure everything was there. When he saw that his wallet and phone weren't missing, he sighed in relief.

"I'm fine, just tired I guess." He ran a hand through his messy hair, placing it behind his ear. But the wind just made it slip from there again, so he gave up, and crossed his arms against his chest. He folded his leg, propping up a red converse shoe onto the bench.

Hinata didn't go to his school. Her parents had money, he knew that much. She went to a private school. But she had come to meet him here after her classes, so they could hang out a bit. They hadn't been friends for very long. And Naruto figured, if they were going to transform into canines together and spend the night running in the park like a pair of wild stray dogs, they should at least get to know each other better, because that was kind of intimate, no? That was how he felt, anyway. He felt a bit anxious about it actually, for some reason. But the desire to not be alone on the full moon was stronger than his anxiety.

As though reading his mind, Hinata asked, "Do you still want to do it?"

And he knew right away what she was talking about, of course. "Yeah," he answered simply.

Cars drove by, one after the other, as the lights in the street beyond the parking lot turned to green. He could hear really good electronic music from one of the cars. Naruto smiled without really realizing it. He remembered dancing with Sasuke. They had been so close. Holding each other. Sasuke's scent. Those dark brown eyes, so eager, so entrancing. And the way his body had been so desperate for more…

"What are you thinking about?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing."

"Were you thinking about Sasuke?"

"No." He scratched his hair, shrugged. "Maybe." He felt his face heating up. Was he really that obvious?

"Are you still avoiding him?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I just don't know if I can be in a relationship with a guy, you know?"

"So? Be his friend. Take things slow." She looked down, fiddling with the long white scarf wrapped around her delicate neck. "Take it from me," she said, "if you avoid someone for too long, they'll move on to someone else. And then you won't feel too smart."

Naruto let out a low grunt. "That guy you liked is still seeing that other girl then? Sorry I'm bad with names."

"Doesn't matter. And yes, he's still seeing her. Whatever… My parents didn't approve. My brother didn't approve… I'll find someone they approve of eventually." She didn't sound convinced at all.

He looked at her. "Who cares about them though? You should be with the person you want to be with."

She gave him a little smile. "And you should follow your own advice."

Naruto was annoyed with this conversation. He checked his phone. Then grabbed his bag.

"I have band practice. You wanna come?"

"I thought they kicked you out?" But her smile was bright and she looked all excited.

It was contagious, so Naruto smiled back. "They're giving me another chance." He shrugged. "Apparently they couldn't find a better singer. No one can compete with my sexy raspy voice."

"Of course I want to come! Obviously!"

She laughed. They started walking across the parking lot, Naruto taking her to the bus stop.

"My friend's parents have a basement where we can practice. Cliché, huh?"

"It's cliché for a reason." She slid her hands in her jeans pockets, though they were so tight that it seemed only her fingers fit in there. "I don't think Itachi would appreciate it if you brought your drummer and guitarist friends with their instruments to his tiny living room."

Hinata had come over for dinner one time. It was nice; Itachi and Hinata had gotten along well. They were both polite and well-mannered people, of course. They'd talked about the economy and capitalism and how big corporations should be taxed more and stuff. Actually, now that Naruto thought about it, he was really bored during that dinner. Pretty much thought about Sasuke the whole time.

Also, Itachi was so annoying now. He kept asking him if he was straight, bi, or gay, or what. And that it was okay, and that he would love him no matter what, and that they could talk about it if he wanted to, and ugh.

"Itachi can be annoying sometimes."

Hinata looked confused, but she didn't push it. They were on the sidewalk next to some other people waiting for the bus. They were all listening to music, or texting, or both.

"Have you ever invited Sasuke to see your band practice?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He wouldn't like it anyway," Naruto said defensively. "He just likes electronic music."

"Still, you should ask him. Maybe he'd like it."

"Whatever."

Again, she didn't push it. They didn't talk much after that. He was a bit annoyed with her.

He was annoyed because he knew she was right, of course.

Later, in his friend's basement, they practiced their cover of Smooth Criminal. As his friends butchered the song on their guits, Naruto was having fun, forgetting about all his problems, singing, "Annie, are you OK?"

Hinata was smiling, sitting with the other guys' girlfriends.

But Naruto found himself thinking that it would be really cool if Sasuke could hear him sing. Thinking that he should just grow a pair already and tell everyone that he was into a dude and if they weren't okay with that they could just fuck off.

Next time. Next time he would invite Sasuke to hear him sing. They were playing at a shitty bar soon. He would definitely invite Sasuke then.

The decision made him smile. "You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a smooth criminal."

…

On the day of the full moon Sasuke got a note. On a tiny pink piece of paper that smelled strongly of vanilla and roses—it reminded him of Temari's perfume and he felt sick. The note was right next to his face on his pillow when he woke up.

'Dear colleagues, you are cordially invited to the fight for the territory of New York City. It shall take place in a week from now, at the White River battlefield. A portal will be left open for the occasion in Central Park, at The Pond, in the night of April 22nd to 23rd for our army and your, well, whatever you've got, to get through to the other side more easily. We believe this is quite fair on our part, and we've left you quite enough time to prepare. Farewell, friends, and see you on the battlefield.

Yours truly,

Sasori and Temari

P.S. Quite amusing, your fox spirit protecting Sasuke's brother. He did a good job, we were well impressed. Best regards to Naruto for performing such magic.'

So Temari had been here. And she wanted him to know that she'd been here, too. She could've killed him in his sleep. Maybe she didn't want to stoop so low. Or maybe Sasori and Temari had simply decided to have a bit of a laugh and go through with this fight. After all, Sasuke must be a joke to them, with his army of two.

He had become pretty good at sword fighting, and it had been a lot of fun, actually, all things considered. Rough at first—it didn't help that Deidara sucked at teaching—but very rewarding and kind of exhilarating as he got better at it.

Sasuke glanced under his bed where he usually left his sword. It was missing. He wasn't surprised. Oh, he didn't suspect Temari of taking it. She was more into guns, as she said so herself.

"Suigetsu," he called loudly so his roommate would hear him across the apartment. "Did you steal my sword again?"

At first only silence answered him as he sat on his bed, one knee propped up against his chin, waiting.

Then, "It's not stealing if I just want to look at it!"

"You know you can just ask, right?"

No answer.

Sasuke sighed, kicking the duvet and jumping to his feet. The room started spinning. Ah, damn it. Got up too fast.

Anyway, what good would it do to be good at sparring? Temari liked guns. And yeah he could block bullets if he really concentrated. Time just seemed to slow down for everything but his arm and the sword and it was amazing. Deidara had said he'd never seen anyone learn that quickly before. Said it must be Malachy's powers living through him. Oh, well.

Still, it was pretty bad ass, and Naruto had totally been impressed that time. He grinned at the thought.

But his smile disappeared quickly. He couldn't block bullets with his blade if fifty other people—or who knew how many she had now—attacked him at the same time.

Suddenly his eyes caught that last part of the letter, and he grabbed his phone, deciding he should call Itachi to make sure he was okay. He went to his window, clutching the phone as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Itachi, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you? Is something wrong? You sound nervous."

No shit.

"I'm okay. Are you sure you're all right? Nothing weird happened?"

"No… Well, now that you mention it, last night was really weird. I was walking home from the subway, and I thought I saw this big… dog. It looked more like a fox actually, but way bigger—bigger than Naruto in his fox form, too. I know you've never seen him like that, but… Anyway, after that it just disappeared, so I thought maybe I imagined it. I've been so tired because of work lately; it wouldn't surprise me if I started having hallucinations or something. Nothing happened, so… Should I be worried?"

"No, no, everything's fine." Sasuke breathed out in relief, feeling his shoulders relax a bit. "I'm glad you're doing okay. Don't work too hard, though."

"I'm trying, but these clients, I swear, they're never satisfied. Never go in public relations, Sasuke, it's awful."

"Okay, I won't." He felt like laughing. If only choosing a path in life was his only problem, like most other young adults.

"Sasuke… Are you handling everything well with the… supernatural stuff?"

"Yeah, absolutely. Everything's under control. Don't worry about it."

"All right, if you say so, I believe you."

Ouch. Lying to his brother sucked.

"How's Naruto?" Sasuke asked before he could stop himself.

"He's okay, I think. He's always a little nervous around the full moon but he's used to it by now. How come you're asking me? I thought you guys were friends."

"We are, but… We haven't been talking that much. We text almost everyday, but when I call he doesn't pick up, so I just stopped trying."

"Naruto doesn't really like talking on the phone. Don't take it personal. I think he's just really busy with school and work. But he's finally quitting that coffee shop, so that's good."

"Yeah," Sasuke said softly, "I'm glad. That was too much."

"Listen, I have to go to work. But thanks for calling. It's always good to hear from you."

"Yeah, no problem. Have a good day at work."

"You too."

Oh, right, Sasuke thought as they hung up, he had to work at Love Needles today. Not quite yet, though.

Sasuke looked outside his window, fingers squeezing at the pale gray curtain. It was raining, which was kind of depressing. It matched his mood. He needed to tell Deidara about this note.

Well, at least Itachi was okay.

Maybe he should tell Naruto about the note, too.

He missed Naruto, actually. They texted. But Sasuke missed the sound of his voice. And he missed seeing him. Reaching up to touch his chest, his fingers felt for the silver chain that hung from his neck, with the feather and wing pendants. Naruto had caught him staring at his necklace in the morning after that night they'd spent together one week ago. And then he'd taken it off and slid it around Sasuke's neck instead, just like that. 'I want you to have it,' he had said. 'Why?' 'I just want you to. It looks good on you.'

And Sasuke wore it all the time. He'd never worn necklaces before, but he liked the feel of it against his skin. That wasn't the only reason, obviously. Sasuke pressed his forehead to the cool glass of the window. He listened to the sound of the rain rattling the building, watched as cars drove by, splashing water on the sidewalks.

Naruto said he needed time. So Sasuke was giving him time. But it was frustrating, more than he cared to admit. And it kind of hurt like someone stabbed his chest when Naruto said things like that. He needed time. What did that even mean? How much time?

He felt cold now just thinking about it. Feeling that way about someone, liking everything about them—the way his blue almond shaped eyes looked so soft when he smiled, the glow of his skin like he'd always just been out in the sun, the way he sometimes pinched his lip when he was nervous, and then it got all darkened like it was asking to get kissed better, and his laughter, and just everything—it almost wasn't worth it, because it felt like it hurt more often than not.

Almost wasn't worth it.

Sasuke was suddenly yanked from his inner monologue about Naruto when his favorite reaper appeared in his room. Holding a pink piece of paper.

"Oh you got one, too? Lucky you." Sasuke said, turning to face him and crossing his arms against his chest.

"Yeah, I did." Deidara smiled. "Nice boxers."

"Thank you," Sasuke said evenly, like he hadn't just realized he still wasn't dressed.

"So what are we going to do?" Deidara grabbed the computer chair and rolled it around so he could sit backwards on it.

"Well I suppose we have two options. We surrender or we fight."

Deidara tucked his hair behind his ears. "Yeah surrendering isn't an option. Even if we surrender, they'll kill us. Especially if we stay here. A third option would be to move to another city. But then we'd be stepping over another reaper's territory, and the same problems might arise." He hugged the back of the chair, sighing.

"I'm not moving, anyway." He had friends here. And he might look older than his age and be charismatic—or so he had been told, anyway—but that didn't mean he would find a new job in another city. Without any contacts it wouldn't be easy.

"Well then we're fighting. We have no choice, Sasuke, we need more... helpers."

"Helpers?"

"Well, you don't want me to say minions, so…"

"Not an option, Dei. You know this."

"Well what do you suggest?"

"Anything but that. We'll figure something out. Three people in this apartment is already too much. I'm going crazy here."

As if to prove Sasuke's point, they heard the others arguing for the bathroom loudly.

"How much time do you need to spend looking at yourself in the mirror? Get out of the bathroom!" Suigetsu was shouting. "For fuck's sakes I need to pee okay? Get out or I'll tell Sasuke you're an annoying bastard and we have to kick you out."

"Why would you tell him that?" Kiba shouted back. "You're such a jerk! What if he stops liking me? What would I do without him?"

Sasuke looked at Deidara pointedly. "See what I mean?"

"I do see your point," said Deidara thoughtfully.

"Look, we'll figure something out. Kiba's a good fighter, and I'm not too bad myself. We can teach Suigetsu as well. He seems to like swords, so I'm pretty sure he wouldn't say no."

Deidara sighed. He didn't seem convinced, but still, he said, "I guess that's a start."

…

That night in Central Park, Hinata showed him all her favorite spots. There was so much green and the cool night wind carried the scent of the flowers in the trees. Among others, some cherry blossoms remained and it smelled amazing. The transformation had been painful, as always, but now Naruto felt relaxed. It was good to spend the full moon with someone else, even though that someone was a werewolf, and his mother had always told him to beware of those. But Hinata was cool.

Her wolf form was the size of a husky dog, all shiny black fur, and with silvery gray eyes. She was graceful and she could run very fast. But Naruto could run just as fast. They were having fun, running around in the park at night and hiding from humans. There was something liberating about the full moon. They had to transform—it was out of their control. And sure it was painful at first for the body but then they could just forget about all that and rely on their instincts more.

It was nice because they didn't have to worry about all the social conventions anymore. They didn't have to worry about humans. All those things that people always worry about without really realizing it—being judged by others, getting harassed by some stranger in the street, getting one's bag or wallet stolen, being late to an appointment, or simply the stress and fast-paced city life—all of that was gone. Just gone. They were animals. They were just like big dogs playing together, really. And it felt fun and free.

All in all it would've been a really awesome, carefree night if it hadn't been from that other black wolf showing up and stalking them across the park.

They were all the way up in the North Woods when Naruto saw their stalker, his black fur gleaming in the moonlight that slipped between the tree branches. They had strayed quite far from the path and Naruto wasn't too sure where they were. It wouldn't have mattered that much to be lost but that other wolf was making him nervous and uneasy. It didn't help that Hinata seemed reluctant to go towards him, too.

But she knew him. Naruto could tell. They couldn't really communicate but they could somewhat get a feel for what the other was thinking. Hinata was disappointed right now.

Why disappointed? And it seemed she felt guilty, too. Why would she feel guilty? What was going on? Naruto glanced her way but she wouldn't look back. She put her head down, like she was submitting to the other wolf.

As he approached Naruto recognized him. He recognized his scent, and his eyes. That was Neji, Hinata's older brother. Naruto had met him a few times, but he didn't know him that well. Neji was always very elusive and distant. Naruto had a very developed sense of smell so he recognized it despite the fact that it was different right now, more animalistic of course. But it was still Neji's. And he recognized his eyes, too. They were the same as Hinata's; pale gray irises. But somehow Hinata's eyes looked very soft, whereas Neji's eyes were menacing and scary. Bone-chilling even. Naruto felt cold despite his thick reddish fur.

Neji approached slowly and quietly among the trees, with a fighting stance and a snarl. Why would he want to fight? Naruto was a fox not some dog or wolf. He didn't want to fight him.

Naruto felt scared, and his instincts told him to run. But Neji's wolf-alter ego was much bigger than he was and the smarter part of his brain reckoned he would be outrun anyway and maybe that wasn't his best bet. He wondered what Sasuke would do in this situation. Sasuke wouldn't be scared. He'd act all confident and arrogant.

He'd say something like, Hello there, Neji. May I ask what the fuck you want? I haven't got all night. But right now Naruto couldn't talk. And even if he could, he'd probably find Neji way too intimidating to say something like that.

Neji was closing the distance between them. Hinata was definitely feeling guilty, but she lowered her head even more in submission. Naruto didn't like this. What was going on?

Telepathically, Naruto got some kind of message from Neji. It wasn't really words, more like feelings, but it was something along those lines: 'Sorry Naruto, it's nothing personal. We just need you for something, so be a good boy and cooperate…'

Naruto didn't like this. Instincts became too strong to ignore, and they were pulsing inside him, making his four legs want to spring from the ground and run away as fast as possible. But it was too late. Other dark wolves approached. He became aware of them and fear escaladed quickly within him, paralyzing him. Those big wolves were surrounding him, forming a wall that circled around the two smaller animals. There was no breach.

This was a wolf pack.

Hinata hadn't told him she was part of a pack. Well first of all, she had promised him it would be just the two of them tonight. Otherwise he would've never agreed to it. He rarely ever trusted anyone, but he'd chosen to trust Hinata because he could tell she was a really nice person and she just wanted to be his friend. He supposed he had been wrong… Great, now he would have even worst trust issues.

The leader of the pack took Neji's place and advanced from the circle. He was even bigger than Neji. He was the pack leader. Naruto also got the feeling that he was Hinata's father.

Wait a second. Were they angry because they thought he was dating Hinata, or something? This was ridiculous. They were strictly friends. Why would they come out here and surround him and stare him down so aggressively? He was a fox, damn it, not a wolf. He didn't want to be caught in their drama. Couldn't Hinata's father come to him on any other night and just tell him to stay away from his daughter like a normal person? This was crazy.

Naruto was worrying at the forest ground with his claws, wanting to hide while knowing it wasn't possible now. As he looked at the wolves more carefully he thought he knew which one was Hinata's mother, too. And there was one big bristled wolf that flanked Neji's side—his best friend maybe. There were eleven of them in total, including Hinata.

Her father—the pack leader—gave off a strong vibe that said, 'You can't fight us. So just be a good submissive dog and come with us, and we won't hurt you.'

Well, what choice did he have? The wolves started heading North-East and Naruto followed them. The leader was right. He couldn't fight. He'd been practicing some fire magic spells at home and he was definitely getting somewhere—he could light candles, that kind of stuff—but he wasn't sure he could do anything that would be strong enough to frighten those wolves away. Actually, he wasn't sure he could do anything at all in fox form. It was difficult enough to concentrate on following them. Those instincts to run were nagging at him, making him restless and unsteady. Animal instincts were pretty simplistic—and kind of stupid sometimes. Basically, he knew it was a bad idea to run, but he still wanted to very badly.

They crossed the woods but before reaching the path, some of the wolves started digging in the ground, in between two fallen tree trunks. They seemed to just be moving branches and leaves out of the way. And then Naruto saw it.

It was small, but there was an opening in the ground, that led to a tunnel. The wolves went through there, and again Naruto had no choice but to go with them. Trotting next to him, Hinata had her ears and her tail down, and she was still averting her gaze.

Shit. If she feels this guilty about it, then it must be really bad…

What did they want with a fox anyway? Couldn't they just ask? Or at least tell him what was going on? Give him a freaking hint or something?

Naruto wasn't unfamiliar with using telepathy in fox form. In fact, fox spirits were much better at it than werewolves, usually. Kushina had written about that in her journal. It took a lot of concentration but it was possible. The thoughts had to be really clear, and he had to picture the person they were meant for in front of him, as though he were talking to them face to face. It had to be almost like an out of body experience; he had to picture himself saying the words to the other person. And his mother had written that it should work with most supernatural creatures. And that it could even work at great distances.

Sasuke was a necromancer. So he was supernatural. Feeling utterly terrified and helpless, Naruto figured he should at least give it a try. He had nothing to lose. And what if these people locked him up or something? Then he wouldn't be able to use telepathy for another month, since he could only transform on the full moon, and his mother's journal said that the ability was pretty much limited to the fox form.

He should try. He should really try. It was now or never. And it might work…

The tunnel was damp and dark. Once the wolves had led him far from the opening, it was complete blackness. They kept advancing, Naruto caught in the middle of the pack, behind Hinata, in front of Neji. He kept his head low and his tail down, just like Hinata. He had no choice but to submit.

He pictured Sasuke in his mind. It wasn't difficult. He already did that all the time without having to concentrate. He hoped Sasuke would forgive him for avoiding him and ignoring his phone calls. He just needed a little more time to figure things out. He just wasn't completely sure he was ready for a relationship with another guy. But at the same time, he didn't know if he could be just simple friends with Sasuke. Every time he saw him, the desire to touch him and kiss him and be close to him in every possible way… Well, it was just too strong. So it was kind of confusing.

But he had no choice right now. He had to try to communicate with him. This was beyond silly relationship problems. This could be life or death. And Sasuke was the only supernatural creature that could, hopefully, hear him. With a little luck.

He could see him right now. He didn't even need to close his eyes or anything. Sleek raven hair, pale skin, gracefully tall and athletic, long legs, relaxed attitude like he didn't care about a thing, cynical humor in his eyes, high cheekbones, piercings in his ears… He could see everything, and almost feel him if he thought really hard about it—the softness of his skin, the deepness of his voice, that delicate but deliciously masculine scent of his that Naruto liked so much.

'Sasuke, I don't know if you can hear this, but I have to try. I'm in trouble. It's those wolves… They're taking me somewhere. I really don't know what they want, but… I have a bad feeling. I'm scared. I… You know what? Never mind.'

Right. What was he doing? What was he thinking? What could one half-demon boy do against eleven werewolves?

'Seriously, I don't even want you to come after me. These wolves are dangerous. They could hurt you. And I don't want that… I'm sure it'll be fine. Maybe they just want to talk or something.'

The tunnel went up in the ground, and it smelled bad and there were rats, and also crawly bugs, and it was gross. It eventually led to a hatch which was already open, and the wolves climbed out of it one after the other. When Naruto got out he realized they were still underground, in a basement. It was all cement, and wide and empty. Completely bland, in fact, except for solid chains installed on the walls. Naruto shuddered. It was humid and cold down here, a coldness even his fur couldn't protect him from. He figured the chains might be for young and uncontrollable werewolves during their first full moons. He didn't want to think that they might be to torture people…

He hadn't noticed before but now he saw that there were some piles of stuff in the corner of the basement; clothes and shoes mostly, and some accessories and jewelry. And cell phones and wallets. This was the pack's hideout—or one of their hideouts anyway. They came here to transform and leave their stuff some place safe. And then they could use that underground passage to get to Central Park. Smart, Naruto supposed. Looking nervously around, he wished that they would've just asked him what they wanted from him instead of capturing him and bringing him to their lair. It made him feel very frightened and vulnerable to be here.

Stupid insensitive wolves.

Then he remembered how he had come up with that stupid plan to get Sasuke to come to his place without even explaining anything first, and he realized he wasn't one to judge.

Something weird happened then. Hinata's parents transformed back into humans. Naruto's mom had once told him that some were-creatures had the ability to change back and forth whenever they wanted, even on a full moon. But still, Naruto was impressed. That took some tremendous control, clearly. Their transformation was pretty quick and it seemed so effortless and painless, too.

Show offs.

Then they put their clothes on. Well this was awkward. Naruto looked away. Just being polite.

Hinata's mother then collected a little box that had been left on the floor among the piles of clothes. It looked like a first aid kit. She produced a syringe and stepped closer to Naruto. His blood ran cold in his veins and a shudder ran through him. He didn't like needles. Who liked needles, anyway? No one.

The wolves closed in on him and snarled at him threateningly. Just to show him there was no escape, as if he hadn't already gotten the message. Hinata stayed back, looking ashamed and guilty. 'I'm sorry,' she seemed to be saying to him. Well, what good was it to say sorry now? Her mother was about to plunge a needle with some unknown liquid through his skin.

Think about Sasuke. Just think about him.

The syringe was getting closer. His instincts made him step back in a desperate attempt to dodge it, but the wolves were getting aggressive. Their teeth were almost on him, ready to bite. Their claws ready to tear at him if he tried to get away. Saliva slipped from their mouths as they growled at him.

'Sasuke I don't know if you can hear me, but it might be bad after all. I really don't think they just want to talk. See, there was this tunnel in Central Park, in North Woods, and they took me to some creepy basement…'

When Naruto tried to crawl away from the syringe, some of the wolves clawed at him and bit him to keep him into place. One of them even bit his neck, pinning him down to the cold cement floor. He couldn't help but let out a noise that sounded kind of like a pained mewl. Hinata's mother stabbed his back with the needle and a cold liquid was slowly released into his veins, spreading all across his body. And the stuff was pretty fucking strong.

He made one last feeble attempt at getting away—again, instincts. But it was completely and utterly pointless, of course. Soon he stopped feeling the pain from the claws and fangs that tore at his flesh; he couldn't feel anything at all anymore. Black seemed to spread even as he tried to keep his eyes open. His ears buzzed. He couldn't hear the growls anymore. He couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, couldn't move at all. And he collapsed, feeling like a prey that had been defeated.

The last thing he felt was a poignant fear. But consciousness was fading.

'Sasuke I'm so fucking scared. I… need you. But… no matter what, don't get hurt. Just don't… get hurt. If you can hear…'

…

Right, so he had been getting these really useless, frustrating and freaky telepathic messages from Naruto, and it was driving him insane.

"How am I supposed to help him?"

He paced back and forth in his bedroom, the old wooden floor creaking underfoot, as Deidara sat on his desk next to his laptop, legs crossed, leafing through one of Sasuke's books on writing fiction and screenplays.

"Your characters need to have a backstory. Your characters have a past and a future. No way," Deidara said sarcastically. "How much did you pay for this book?"

Sasuke ignored him. He had a hand pressed to his temple. His head kind of hurt.

"A basement. A basement."

Now Deidara closed the book and tossed it aside on the desk. Instead he looked up and examined a drawing of a tribal fox tattoo design which Sasuke really liked and had taped to his wall.

"This is cute."

"A fucking basement, Deidara. That could be anywhere."

"Sasuke calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down." He stopped pacing and pointed a finger at nothing in particular. "I knew that Hinata chick was bad news! I knew it!"

"No," said Deidara, "you didn't. You were just jealous because he was spending time with her, and not with you. And they have loads of things in common."

Sasuke glared. "Shut up. And I have stuff in common with Naruto, too."

"Like what?"

"Like… We… We're both… Very, um… Shut up okay. Can we focus here?"

"We could try a locator spell."

"Come again?"

Deidara shrugged. "Your mother was a witch, wasn't she? You might have some of her powers. That might be partly why you were able to hear Naruto. It's worth a shot."

"I'll try anything." Sasuke was desperate.

"Call your helpers. We can use their energy. It's time you guys start working together, if we're ever going to have a shot at defeating Sasori."

"Let's not talk about that right now. And don't call them my helpers. It's disturbing. It's not like they're my servants or anything. Suigetsu, Kiba," he shouted, "get your asses over here right now."

And immediately, rustling sounds could be heard from the living room and other bedroom as the boys simultaneously stumbled out of bed and threw clothes on, and then they ran up the hallway to try to show up at his door faster than the other, out of breath, their hair ruffled from sleep and their eyes still blinking.

Deidara snorted with laughter. Sasuke ignored him.

"What's wrong?" Suigetsu asked urgently.

"Why are you freaking out?" Kiba added.

Suigetsu pushed Kiba out of the way and stepped in the room. "Can I get you anything? A nice cup of tea?"

"Or coffee?" Kiba asked.

Suigetsu shook his head in disbelief. "Coffee in the middle of the night? How is he supposed to fall asleep, you idiot." He turned to Sasuke again. "You look really tense. Do you want me to run you a bath? Or I could give you a massage." He made to grab Sasuke's shoulders but he was pushed away.

"Stop it. What are you talking about? And I don't even take baths I shower you know that."

"Yeah Suigetsu," Kiba arched a dark eyebrow, "ever read that book He's Just Not That Into You?"

"Dude," Suigetsu replied, waving a finger in the air, "I don't know how long you've been dead, but no one makes that joke anymore, so—"

"Guys," Sasuke snapped, "shut up. I just need your help for a spell, all right?"

They went quiet, looking sheepish.

Then Suigetsu asked timidly, "What kind of spell?"

"A spell to find Naruto. He's in trouble and we need to help him."

Their expressions changed. For some reason they didn't seem to like Naruto very much.

Deidara jumped from the desk and stepped in. Sasuke could tell he was showing himself to everyone right now.

"Boys, you're being ridiculous. Stop being jealous of Naruto. You know Sasuke would do the same for you. Kiba, mate, don't forget that Naruto saved your life once. You owe him for that."

They went quiet once more.

Nicely done, Deidara.

"So what do I do?" Sasuke asked him.

"You can start by lighting some nice scented candles…"

"Fuck the candles," Sasuke said. "I don't have time for candles."

"Okay, okay," Deidara put up a hand in surrender, "no candles. Let's just all sit together in a circle."

So they did. The room was dim. Only the night table lamp was lit. And the moonlight slipped in softly from the window.

Something occurred to Sasuke, and he looked to the side at the reaper. "Hey, can't we just teleport to him?"

He shook his head. "We don't know where he is, so it wouldn't work."

"But when you were hurt I just thought about Nagato and it worked."

Deidara bit his lip. "Hell is different. It's easier. But in the real world it's more detailed and subtle, it takes more energy, and you have to know exactly where you're going. You know this."

Right. "It's just so frustrating…"

Sitting on Sasuke's other side, Suigetsu crossed his legs. "Can't you tell Sasuke's upset? Can't we hurry up and do this spell thingy?"

"We need to hold hands and think about Naruto. But there's nothing much the three of us can do. Sasuke will be the one to locate him. If you have something of Naruto's, that would probably help."

Sasuke thought of the chain with the pendants hidden under his shirt. "I'm wearing his necklace right now."

Deidara gave a slight nod. "Okay, that should do it. Remember when you heard Naruto's voice. That was telepathy, but wasn't it like you could feel his presence?"

"Yeah," he frowned, "it was like he was right in front of me for a moment. I could hear his voice clearly. But then it was gone."

"Well, you're going to do the same thing to find him. You'll close your eyes if that's easier for you, and you'll pretend he's right in front of you. Witchcraft is often an out of body experience. You have to travel to him if you want to find him. Do you understand?"

"Not really…" God, Deidara really sucked at explaining sometimes.

Still, they all held hands, and kept listening to Deidara's instructions.

"I'll try to help you," Deidara said. "You have to meditate, all right? Calm your thoughts and be detached from your body. Kind of like astral projection. We both know this city so it should be easier. I'll guide you through it. It'll be like when I made you visit a bit of Hell, those first times."

"Good times. That was sarcasm, by the way." In case Deidara couldn't tell.

"Because you were working against me! You were afraid of me."

"Yeah well you were creepy."

"I'm a bloody Reaper I'm supposed to be scary! Leave me alone. Now, concentrate. I might be able to help you, but you're the one who has to find Naruto. You two obviously have some kind of connection, if he was able to reach you using telepathy."

"All right," Sasuke closed his eyes, and squeezed both Deidara's and Suigetsu's hands lightly, "let's do this."

Well, this took some time.

Sasuke had no idea how many minutes passed. To him, it felt like hours. The silence was heavy. He had never meditated before, so he wasn't too sure how to do this. He did rock climbing, not yoga, for Christ's sake. And Deidara wasn't guiding him much so far. He was very aware of the three others, and he was aware of the floor and his bedroom. But somehow he realized he should let go of all that. He should ignore it and just be somewhere else, searching for Naruto.

He thought he felt Deidara pulling at his hand, and then suddenly he saw trees. Woods. It was dark and the moon shone upon the branches, leaves and flowers. The wind was light and smelled of spring and night time. Sasuke wasn't in the forest. Then where was he?

It was like he was floating. Suddenly the thought scared him, and he felt like he was falling. His first reflex was to open his eyes. But then he felt Deidara's presence behind him. And he placed his hand against his eyes.

"Keep your eyes closed," he whispered. "You haven't found him yet, have you? Don't be afraid to fall. Let it happen. Don't be afraid of anything. Nothing can happen to you. Just keep looking."

Deidara was right. He had to keep searching. Naruto wasn't here; he wasn't in those woods, not anymore. Sasuke saw Lenox Avenue. He saw a white arrow sign that read 'One Way' and he saw the trees, and he saw a man in a hoodie taking a nocturnal walk. But this wasn't it. He wasn't far, though… He couldn't be far…

"Keep your eyes shut," Deidara's voice insisted in his ear.

How long had it been? Sasuke felt tired. His head hurt, his heartbeat pulsing in his temples. But he fought to remain in this vision. There was the falling sensation again.

Then nothing but darkness. And it seemed to last a long time. But he fought to remain in the darkness, and keep exploring it, until he could find something, see something, anything…

Where are you, Naruto?

He saw a building on 110th Street. Tall—taller than its neighboring buildings—and all beige with columns and an arched doorway. Wrought iron fences in front of it and small trees planted at regular intervals in the paved stone sidewalk. If he could just—

"I've got it," he said, panting, as he came back to reality. His bedroom walls surrounded him again, with his friends with him. He was short of breath, and completely exhausted all of a sudden. His body felt drained and his head throbbed painfully. "I've got an address," he said.

The others were all looking at him weird.

"What is it?" His voice wasn't much more than a whisper.

"Nothing," Suigetsu said carefully, "just… you were out of it for an hour. We were really worried."

An hour? Fuck. No wonder his body hurt so much.

"I didn't think it was that long…" He staggered up to his feet but he really wasn't steady. The floor seemed to be tilting under him, threatening to send him sprawling. Deidara held his arm to keep him from falling.

"Maybe you should lie down," Kiba suggested.

But he was shaking his head. "No. No. We need to go right now. They could be hurting him right now."

"Calm down," Deidara said, "if you were able to locate him, that means he's still alive. You should write down the address, in case you forget. Doing witchcraft for the first time could make your mind very fragile."

Why does he always mention those things after?

"I won't," Sasuke said weakly, but stubbornly, "I won't forget… We need to…"

But then he saw black. And it engulfed him.

…

Author's Note: Special thanks to my reviewers. Special acknowledgments to xRememberxMe for suggesting an extra scene with Hinata and also to Guest for coming up with the term 'helpers' and for pointing out one of my mistakes. You guys are great. Thanks for encouraging me. Hugs.