Naruto swallowed hard as Sasuke paused in front of him, smirking. The raven leaned over Naruto and he could feel his face starting to heat up. The smirk grew and Naruto's heartbeat sped up. "I can beat you at any video game." The words were whispered so close to him that Naruto could feel Sasuke's breath washing over his face, tickling his skin. Shivers went down his spine and he licked his lips slowly as he stared at Sasuke.
The raven pulled back, an amused, taunting look in his eyes. "Scared, loser?" Naruto's brain slowly caught up and when he realized what the Uchiha had just said, he growled, "Not a chance, teme! I'm going to beat your butt." He glared at the man standing in front of him. "Oh, I hope so, dobe." The words were so soft that Naruto almost missed them and somehow, they sent more shivers down his spine. As the raven picked up two controllers and prepared his electronic systems to be used, Naruto watched him move, trying to smother his growing blush.
He focused on the television as a game started up and Sasuke settled back on the couch. He soon became consumed by the game and concentrated on beating Sasuke at racing. He was just about to pass the raven's car when a cold chill washed over him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. "Fishy-fishy..." The controller dropped from his hands and clattered to the floor as he froze, his eyes becoming glassy. "Naruto?" He snapped his head to the side and cried out. Warm hands gripped his arms and shook him lightly as he screamed. His name was repeated over and over until his name changed to dobe. Cerulean eyes cleared and focused on the face before them. "S-Sasuke?"
"What the hell was that?" Worried eyes studied Naruto as the blond shook his head. "Nothing..."
"Do not give me that. You do not scream bloody murder for nothing." A dark eyebrow raised delicately as Sasuke removed his hands from Naruto's arms. "I...I thought I heard and saw something."
"Elaborate?" Naruto swallowed hard and then licked his lips nervously. "Naruto..." Sasuke's voice reminded him of a parent telling their child not to do something stupid. Knowing that there was no way out of it, Naruto replied, "I thought...I thought my father was here. I heard his voice and I thought I saw him sitting beside him, where you are." His eyes flickered to the raven, whose face was unreadable.
"Naruto, he isn't here. It is just you and I." Sasuke's eyes seemed to ask why he was so afraid of his father. Naruto nodded slightly and then turned back to the television. There was a moment of silence before Naruto murmured, "There are many things my father is and a good father is not one of them." There was silence after he spoke; a silence filled with the sensation of waiting. "Enough about me and my problems, I want to know about you. We have not seen each other in three years and you know more about my problems than I, yours." Naruto attempted to change the subject. Talking about his father was something he did not do and he was not going to start now.
Sasuke's eyebrows twitched slightly, evidence that he was annoyed by Naruto's avoidance. Nevertheless, he gave the blond answers, "There is not much to tell. That snake had nothing more to teach me. I have surpassed my brother, as I planned to do from the beginning."
"Why did you come back to this place, then? If you have what you wanted, why return?" Naruto questioned, staring at the raven with confusion on in his eyes. "Several reasons, I suppose, but the most prominent, is that I do not have what I want...What I want is here, and here only." Naruto's heart skipped a beat for some reason and he swallowed hard as he stared into dark pools that seemed to pull him in.
Turning away, he tried to ignore the fact that his cheeks were burning and his heart was racing. The look in the raven's eyes had unnerved him and Naruto did not understand the emotions that had swirled within the dark depths. "Now that I have answered you, Naruto, I want to know why your father scares you." Naruto's face tightened and he licked his lips nervously. He had hoped that Sasuke would move on from the previous subject. His father was a sensitive thing to talk about. Most people hated him after they found out who his father was. Naruto was scared that Sasuke would hate him as well, and that was something he did not want to experience...again. Sasuke had admitted and denounced their friendship when he had left three years ago and it shattered Naruto's barely stable world.
"Naruto, answer me." Naruto was drawn out of his thoughts by Sasuke's quiet voice. He glanced at Sasuke to acknowledge that he had heard the raven, but then quickly looked away again. "My father is an evil man, Sasuke. I had the misfortune of being sucked into his world. There are people who believe that I cannot step beyond his shadow and I will only continue to follow in his footsteps." He finally whispered, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke. After a long pause, he raised his gaze and stared at Sasuke. It seemed that his answer had not satisfied the raven's curiosity. The questions still resided in the onyx eyes looking into his own. "I see you will not tell me more at this current moment, so I will drop the subject, but do not think that it will be forgotten. I expect full answers the next time it comes up." A dark eyebrow raised slightly before Sasuke handed the discarded controller to Naruto and turned to the television. "I have one last question, where is this father?"
Naruto paused, but replied, "Jail, the last time I heard." Sasuke nodded slightly in reply, and then started a new game. Soon, Naruto was once again drawn into the game. However, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that something was going to happen. The pains were getting worse and he subconsciously he knew the reason. As he tried to focus on the game, a slight pain started to twist his gut.
After lunch and several half-hearted games, Naruto set the controller down and stood. He walked towards his room without speaking to Sasuke. He had to use the wall as a support once when his legs shook slightly, but he made it into the room with little trouble. Settling on the bed, Naruto lay on his side and took deep breaths. Somewhere in the house he could hear a phone ringing and then Sasuke answering. He heard his name a few times before Sasuke appeared in the doorway. Approaching the bed, Sasuke held out a phone, which Naruto took after rising into a sitting position, suddenly feeling curious. He found it easy to ignore the slight pain by concentrating on his curiosity about the phone call, though the solemn look on Sasuke's face was worrying.
"Naruto? It's Tsunade." Naruto's eyebrows raised at hearing the Hokage's voice. "Oh...Alright, what do you want, baa-chan?"
"I am assuming you have had to use the medicine by now. Did it work?" Naruto was surprised by the lack of reaction to his disrespectful nickname. "Uh...Yeah, I suppose...Is that all you wanted to know?"
There was a long pause before Tsunade spoke again. "No...Actually there is something that you need to know. I didn't want to tell you, but...I think, for your safety, it is best that you know." Naruto's brow furrowed at the suddenly quiet tone of the Hokage's voice.
"Your father...he escaped..." His heart stopped beating for a moment and the churning pain increased. "They were transporting him to his death row cell and he managed to get free. That was forty-eight hours ago..." Naruto clutched the phone and stared at the wall, shaking slightly.
He's free...He is going to come for me...He is going to find me...
"Naruto, he doesn't know where you are. He doesn't know that you've changed your last name, or that you are in this town. He won't find you." Tsunade said quietly. Naruto shook his head, even though he knew she couldn't see. "No, he will find me...He will take me back and there is nothing you can do about it..." He hung up the phone and let it drop on the comforter.
Kit, he might not find you. You might be safe here. Sasuke will protect you.
This brought forth a harsh laugh from his lips, which earned him a strange look from Sasuke, but he didn't care. "Naruto, what did she say?" Sasuke questioned as he stood beside the bed, staring down at the blond with a worried expression. "He is free and he is coming for me." He could feel his heart as it beat against his rib cage and he swallowed hard. The stomach pains grew and his breath became ragged.
"Naruto, relax..." Naruto shook his head and drew his knees to his chest. His body started to rock slightly in place as he spoke, "He is coming for me...He'll make me...do it...again...He'll make me...hurt...hurt them..." His eyes grew glassy and were soon filled with tears that spilled down his cheeks. He continued to mumble even as Sasuke stood in front of him and drew him to his chest. The rocking came to a stop, though the lack of motion seemed to cause his mumbles to become worse. "I don't wanna'...I can't...I'm not..."
Suddenly, his eyes focused and he stared up at Sasuke with fearful eyes. Gripping the raven's shirt collar, Naruto shot to his knees. "He's coming for me. He's going to give me a knife. He's going to take me away. I'd scream and fight, but...but..." Naruto burst into sobs and buried his face into Sasuke's chest. With a bit of hesitation, the other boy wrapped his arms around the shaking blond. Naruto heard soft words of comfort being whispered to him that eventually calmed his nerves.
Naruto relaxed slightly into the raven's arms, the tears drying on his cheeks. The bed creaked as Sasuke gently pushed Naruto back into his original position, his head resting on a pillow. "Rest." Naruto wondered what he would see as he shut his eyes and curled up. He tried his best to keep thoughts of his father from disrupting his relaxed state, but it was difficult. A warm, comforting sensation went down his spine as Sasuke brushed some of his unruly hair back into place. "He's coming..." Naruto whispered as he drifted into a light sleep.
"You are such a good boy, Ru-ru. Papa is proud of his little fish." A loving smile graced the tan face and the man ruffled the child's blond hair. Naruto grinned up at his father and then looked at the limp, bloody body in a nearby chair. "Is she happy, Papa?" The man nodded and then moved to loosen the bonds holding the body to the chair. "She is, fishy. She's free and can now join the others in their party." He turned slightly to smile at Naruto. "So she's with Mommy, right?" Naruto giggled at the nod that he received and he skipped forward to help his father with the ties. The empty green eyes stared down at Naruto as he fumbled with the tight restraints. "What do we have to do next, Papa?"
"We have to clean up. Remember how I've taught you?" Naruto nodded and hurried to the bucket of cleaning supplies in the corner. It was heavy, but he managed to bring it closer to his father. He was careful of the blood spatters on the floor as he walked, making sure not to step in any of the wet splashes of crimson. "Time to scrub! Time to scrub!" Naruto sang, laughing softly as he got down on poured chemicals on the floor. His father joined in as he sang, "Scrub-a-dub-dub! Clean up the grime by scrubbing. Clean up the grime by burning!"
Naruto opened his eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling. The pains were gone, but the memory replayed in his mind. The room, now dark, felt cold and empty. Forcing himself into a sitting position, Naruto let his eyes adjust to the dim light coming from down the hall. He slid off the bed and stumbled towards the light. For some reason, he needed to see Sasuke, alive and breathing. After the phone call from Tsunade and the bad memories in his dreams, he needed reassurance that Sasuke was still there, supporting him. It was strange that he was so dependent on Sasuke's presence after such a short time, but he didn't think too much about it.
As he descended the hallway, the light brightened. "Sasuke?" He questioned, stepping into the living room. Blinking against the light, Naruto waited for a reply. His vision cleared and as his eyes focused, a voice spoke, "Don't recognize your old man, Ru-Ru? I'm wounded." Naruto's heart leapt to his throat and he stared at the blond standing beside the couch, grinning. The stomach pains began in full force, causing him to give a soft groan. "It has been a long time, and you have grown into such a fine young man." Naruto tried to back up into the hallway, but tripped over his own feet. He landed on the floor in a heap and started to crawl backwards, away from the man before him.
The man's brow furrowed. "Why aren't you happy to see me, Ru-Ru?"
"S-Stay away f-from me." Naruto managed to stutter out. His eyes were wide and full of fear as he backed down the hallway. "Oh my...Seems they have done quite the number on your mind, haven't they...Brainwashed you into thinking I'm the bad one, I see." A deep chuckle came from the man's mouth and he quickly advanced on Naruto, stopping his weak crawling with a foot to the chest. "Come now, shall we get acquainted again? I know the perfect place to take you, since we are here in Konoha and all..." Naruto shook his head and struggled against the foot holding him down.
The man produced a needle, which he promptly stuck into Naruto's neck. Letting out a cry of surprise, Naruto tried to jerk away, but found the contents of the needle was already taking effect, creating a sluggish sensation and slow reflexes. A grin again split the man's features as he picked the blond. "Where's...Sasuke?" Another chuckle filled Naruto's ears, "Worried about your guard dog? He didn't put up much a fight. I surprised him at the door, didn't stand a chance." Naruto's heart dropped and he tried to struggle against the man's hold, but to no avail. "Now, now, relax. We're only going somewhere private, that way no one can interrupt our bonding time. I've missed my Ru." Naruto tried to scream, he tried to yell, but only a whimper came from his lips. As they exited the house, Naruto could feel unconsciousness taking him and he desperately fought to stay awake. He lost the battle and faded as he was placed into the backseat of a car.