Disclaimers: Naruto is not mine, sadly. This is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes rape, strong language, violence, & obviously a lot of angst.

Naruto's Path of Pain

Chapter 3: Finding Naruto

--

Naruto didn't know how long he was out, but he guessed it had been at least a day. When he woke from the darkness, he tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees, but horrific pain ripped through him. His eyes rolled back in his head and, once again, he collapsed.

The second time he woke up, he dragged his body out of the middle of the canyon and over to a small opening in the rock wall. He dropped just inside, closed his eyes, and fell into a fitful sleep.

His body was unbelievably weak and battered, and he had no food, water, or supplies. He needed to get back to the Leaf, but he didn't know if he could get there like this. And he didn't know how he could face all of those people. He couldn't tell anyone about this, but he was terrified that he wouldn't be able to hide it. He was disgusted by what happened, but mostly with himself. With what his body was now- what it had been used for. He still couldn't completely process that someone would do this to him, that an enemy would use that to hurt him.

It never even occurred to him to be afraid of it..

But he was afraid now.

Among other things. Shame and revulsion and.. embarrassment. I'm supposed to be strong- a shinobi, a sage, a vessel to a fucking demon. And none of that mattered. I was completely powerless.. weak.

And he..

Naruto buried his head in his hands, sobs wracking his body. He could do anything to me, anything he wanted, and I.. I just fucking laid there!

He hurt me and forced... and I did nothing!!

He bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed, dragging his teeth across the wound, widening the gash. He didn't want to think about it, didn't want to remember, but he couldn't get it out of his mind. The feel of Pain inside of him..

Naruto roughly dragged his hands through his hair and grabbed bloodied fistfuls of disheveled dusty locks, tightening his grip until it hurt. Then he threw his head back and screamed. His throat was torn and raw, his cries jagged on the way out, and still he screamed.

--

Sasuke stopped and spun around, surprised to hear someone screaming out here. He was in the middle of a barren wasteland- and assumed he was the only one. And that wasn't the only thing he found odd about those screams.

It kind of sounds like..

He activated his sharingan, searching around him, but he was alone and silence soon settled in around him. He was about to shake it off as a figment of his imagination when he heard the screams start up again. And this time he was sure of it. That voice- he knew it.

Naruto.

He hesitated at first, not completely sure what he wanted to do. His was determined to exact his revenge on the Hidden Leaf for all that had happened to Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha clan. But..

Those screams..

I've never heard him scream like that.

He had tried to keep Naruto out of his life, but it was constantly a challenge. The goddamn blonde just wouldn't take no for an answer. He was always on the hunt for him, always trying to persuade him to come back. But Sasuke wasn't the boy he used to be. And he didn't want to go back to being him either. Too much had happened, too much had changed. But there was something that hadn't, and it complicated his life far more than he'd like it to.

He's still my important person.

He had tried to force Naruto from his mind- hell, he had even tried to kill him- but his heart couldn't be swayed.

Wait- my heart?!

What do I feel for Naruto..?

He knew it was pointless standing there thinking about it. His mind had already been made up the moment he heard Naruto's tormented screams. He needed him. And that alone was enough to get him to alter his course. To give up his mission for the time being and once again put Naruto first.

It can't always be like this, he thought. At some point I really do have to let him go.

But now wasn't the time for that. Not after what he just heard. Sasuke channeled his chakra to his legs and moved as fast as he could to the one person he couldn't seem to let go.

--

The screams stopped, but Sasuke knew he was on the right track. He was bound to find him eventually if he just kept going in that same direction.

Or so he hoped.

He knew that the Akatsuki were after the Nine Tails, but he assumed they meant to control the demon or use its chakra to create a weapon. He didn't think they would actually torture Naruto, or kill him. They needed him.. didn't they? Now that he thought about it, he really didn't know what they were going to do with the vessels of the tailed beasts. He needed to know though.. especially with his blonde being one of them.

MY blonde?!

Jesus, Sasuke- get a hold of yourself.

He scanned the rocky landscape for any sign of the blonde, when he spotted him in the distance. He took in his appearance as he drew closer and was horrified by what he saw. Naruto wore a long tattered red cloak, soaked in blood. His usual jacket was unzipped, revealing a torn mesh shirt beneath it. Large gashes cut through his hands and blood steadily fell from between his fingers. His long blonde hair was disheveled, even more than usual, and his deathly pale face was grimy with sand.

Naruto ran a bloody hand along a wall of jagged rocks as he slowly moved forward. Sasuke could see him staggering, clearly struggling to stay on his feet. All of it was upsetting, but it was his face that really drew back Sasuke's attention. Dirt was smeared on his cheeks, though there were streaks that cut through it. From crying.. he thought. Naruto's mouth was twisted into a grimace, revealing just how much pain he was in. Beyond that, it was his eyes that really surprised Sasuke. Those huge blue eyes weren't the eyes of the Naruto he knew. They were.. empty. Vacant.

He looked so lost. Broken. Like the real Naruto wasn't in there anymore.

Naruto finally looked up and saw him. His steps faltered, his expression blank for a moment as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Confusion flitted across his face as his eyes locked onto concerned obsidian ones.

"Sasuke..?" he breathed. And then, once again, his eyes rolled back in his head, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, skidding to a stop in front of the unconscious blonde. "Shit."

He bent down, eyes scanning over his bruised and bloodied body. "Fuck, Naruto. What happened to you?" He moved his thumb down the side of his face, following his jawline, as he studied his incapacitated blonde.

What do I do..?

He activated his sharingan and checked their surroundings, but he didn't sense anyone nearby. When he was sure there was no threat, he scooped Naruto up in his arms and held him close. The blonde was surprisingly light, so it wouldn't be a problem carrying him to a safe place. The real problem was figuring out where to go. He should probably bring him back to Konohagakure, but he couldn't bring himself to go back there. Not like this.

He decided to bring him to one of the many hideouts that he had set up for himself over the last few years. One he knew would still be abandoned and away from any watchful eyes.

He still intended on carrying out his vendetta, but..

He looked down at the tortured blonde in his arms.

Helping his person had to come first.

"I've got you, Naruto" he said softly.

"I've got you."