I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 53: Yugure

The wind blasted through the forest. Naruto and Sasuke felt the change in the air. Without speaking, they pack up their things and began to move. Naruto stopped suddenly, making Sasuke do the same. "It sounds like someone is fighting."

Sasuke closed his eyes. "There are several people up ahead. I can count at least ten."

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

"Let's go around them," Sasuke said. Naruto nodded in agreement.

The two only made it a few hundred feet before they felt it. Both dropped to the ground. Suddenly, nine figures appeared before them, a few ready to attack. But one stepped forward to stop the others. This one reached up and removed his hood and mask. A man with tanned skin and red hair was revealed. "Stop!" he commanded. Five of the six behind him put their weapons down.

"How do you know they aren't enemies in Henge?" the one still holding his sword asked. "I mean look at him." He pointed at Naruto. "He is obviously a fake!"

"He's real," the redhead said. "I can sense an exact duplicate of my Chakra in him. Hisoka can tell that these two are indeed real. The question is how is this possible."

The shorter of the two beside him stepped up to the blond. He bent down slightly to look into blue eyes. Then he lifted his hand and touched the tan cheek. For some reason, Naruto knew this person wasn't going to harm him. He felt safe with this person. Sasuke flinched. He didn't trust this mysterious group. Their cloaks reminded him of Akatsuki.

The one in front of Naruto pulled back. "He says they are from a different time and place," the redhead said. He looked around. "It would be best to take this somewhere else." The others nodded.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I think we should go with them."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in agreement. The redhead led the way to a cave. It was large enough to fit the group of eleven people comfortably. Sasuke watched as two of the masked strangers went around the cave. One was setting up a fire while the other looked to be pulling out food from various places hidden in the rock walls. Sasuke could that they were women since he could see their curves through their cloaks. He glanced at the one who was clearly the leader. Still masked, the leader grabbed a cup of tea but didn't drink it. Sasuke believed that the leader was also a woman, but the figure lacked the womanly curves. The leader was small compared to the others, yet taller than half of the group. This confused him. Was the leader male or female?

Naruto looked at the redhead. He looked very similar to how Kurama did back in the Pandora Hearts world. "You can sit," the man sat down. "We are not going to hurt you." He took a cup of tea from one of the females. "Thank you." He took a sip, his red eyes looking at Naruto and Sasuke. "So, I'd like to know exactly who you are and why you are here."

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Sasuke asked.

The man grinned. "Exactly the same. Tell me Uchiha, are you always this way?"

"How do you know who Sasuke is?" Naruto asked.

"Please," the man said. "I will know that Uchiha brat anywhere."

"You shouldn't call him names," one of the others said. He took a seat next to the redhead. "It's nice to see you, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared. "Who are you?"

"Let's just say we're acquaintances," the masked man said.

Sasuke was going to ask more but the leader suddenly came up to him, two cups of tea in his hands. He held up a cup to Sasuke. Sasuke hesitated for just a second before taking it. The leader then walked over to Naruto, handing him the other cup. He took a seat next to the redhead.

"Are you sure?" the man asked. He was looking at his leader. "Ok." He nodded. "Rina, Kaya, Aki, Dai, Masaki, Mitsuo, take off your masks and come over here."

"Fine," the man with the sword said. The six others formed a half circle. Taking off their masks, six more people's faces were revealed.

"Cain?" the redhead asked.

The man on his left sighed. "If I get attacked, I'm blaming you Hisoka." He removed his mask. Two pairs of eyes widened.

Sasuke stood up. "Itachi."

"Hi, Sasuke," Itachi said. He kept his eyes on Sasuke, watching for any signs of attack.

"Itachi!" Sasuke jumped at Itachi and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry!"

Itachi's eyes were wide. He glanced at the others before hugging Sasuke back. "It's ok."

Sasuke pulled back as realization hit him. "You're not him. I killed him."

Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke?"

"This is another version of our world.," Sasuke said. "It isn't ours."

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked. Sasuke fell silent.

Naruto could tell that Sasuke had retreated inside himself. "There are several different worlds. We are from a different one."

"I'm dead in your world," Itachi said. Naruto nodded. "Well that explains what Hisoka said."

"Hisoka?" Naruto asked. The leader raised his hand and waved.

"He can't speak, but thankfully our connection lets me read his mind," the redhead said. "And by the way, I'm called Kyu."

"So how did you know we weren't the Naruto and Sasuke of this world?" Naruto asked.

"Because of Hisoka," Kyu said. "Besides, the Uchiha's chakra is different. Sure it has been a few years since we last saw him, but his chakra wasn't so dark."

"Then your Sasuke didn't go to Orochimaru?" Naruto asked. There were several angry noises from some of the others.

"He did," Kyu said with a bit of hatred in his eyes. "And because of him we…" Hisoka put a hand on Kyu's shoulder and shook his head. Kyu sighed. "Doesn't really matter. Orochimaru is dead."

"He's dead in our world too," Naruto said. "Sasuke killed him."

"So that's where our worlds begin to differ," Itachi said. "Hisoka killed Orochimaru, just a month ago."

"Why doesn't he take off his mask?" Sasuke asked. "He made you all do it, so why didn't he? Is he hiding something?"

"Look here you…" Aki began, but was silenced when Hisoka raised a hand to his mask.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Kyu asked. "Knowing who he is won't change anything." Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other before nodding. Kyu sighed. "Go ahead Kit."

Hisoka removed his mask and smiled at Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened even further than Naruto's. Naruto had a feeling about who Hisoka was and when Kyu called him Kit, he had even more proof that he was right. It was still a surprise though. Hisoka was older than him by just one year, but there were several differences. Sasuke looked between Hisoka and Naruto wondering how their could be such a power difference. His eye then turned to Kyu. It was now obvious that Kyu was the Kurama of this world, though the question rose as to how he had his own body.

"You must have many questions," Kyu said. " I believe however that it is time for dinner. Rina, Kaya?" The two women nodded before standing up and disappearing further into the cave. The twins followed after them. Aki and Dai also stood up, deciding to leave the five to talk it out. They sat several feet away, playing cards. "As you now know, Hisoka is the Naruto of this world and he is the leader of the Yugure."

"What is the Yugure?" Sasuke asked. "You're cloaks look a bit like Akatsuki's."

"First, the Akatsuki is our enemy," Kyu said. "We are a group of… how should I put it… shinobi that were wrongfully accused of various crimes."

"Except the twins," Itachi said. "They use to be thieves."

"True," Kyu said. "Each member has their own story, but we won't be going into theirs. The only pasts you are entitled to our ours." He pointed to himself, Itachi, and Hisoka. "I suppose Cain's is the most simple to explain."

"Let me guess," Sasuke said. "You killed your entire clan save for yourself and your little brother. Then you joined Yugure?"

"Yes, the Uchiha Massacre was done by my hands," Itachi said. "I was ordered to do it."

"By the Council Elders and Danzo," Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded. "I threatened them for Sasuke's safety then joined Akatsuki as part of a final mission that was partly my decision and the Third's. But one time when I ran into Hisoka, I decided that I had enough and I quit the Akatsuki. Together, the three of us created Yugure."

"So the only difference is that in my world, I killed you," Sasuke said, a bit sad and angry. The guilt of what he had done was obvious. "And that you left the Akatsuki to form the Yugure." Itachi nodded.

Before Sasuke or Itachi could speak, Naruto spoke up. "How are you two separate? Why can't I… he… Hisoka speak? Why is…"

Kyu held up a hand. "I'll answer all of your questions. Just…" Hisoka's hand was once again on Kyu's shoulder. "Are you sure? Fine. Do it." Hisoka stood up and walked over to Naruto and Sasuke. He grabbed one of their hands, causing both of them to look into his eyes.

Naruto and Sasuke suddenly found themselves in a light blue, almost white room. A couch with a table faced a small tv. Neither moved as they had no idea where there were. A LoveSeat appeared near the right end of the couch with Hisoka sitting on it. "Take a seat," he said. Both were surprised to hear his voice, but both followed his command. They sat in silence for a few seconds when a door neither had seen opened and Kyu walked through it.

"Cain said he'd wait for us," Kyu said, sitting next to Hisoka.

"He's probably making sure Aki doesn't act foolishly," Hisoka said.

"I thought you were mute," Sasuke said.

"I am," Hisoka said. "This is my mind. I invited you here since it is easier to speak this way."

"Tsukuyomi," Sasuke said.

"Kind of," Hisoka said. "Cain and Kyu taught me how to do this after their relationship deepened." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not sure what Hisoka meant. Hisoka ignored it. "Anyway, instead of telling you what happened, I can show you. I'm assuming the two of you fought at the Valley of the End with Sasuke walking off to the Snake-Bastard and Kakashi taking Naruto back to Konoha?" The two nodded. "Then let's start there." He picked up the remote that was on the table and turned on the tv. Like a movie, the group was shown Hisoka's past. See what Hisoka had gone through at the hands of the Leaf just made Sasuke hate them even more. Naruto didn't know how to react. Part of him wanted to count his blessings that he had been lucky that his past was so different. Hisoka had fast forward through some of the more graphic parts of the past few years. When it got to the part of Yugure arriving at Orochimaru's hideout, Hisoka turned the tv off. The room was silent as Kyu and Hisoka let Naruto and Sasuke take everything in. Soon, the room faded away and the group was back in the cave.

Itachi looked at the group, wondering who would speak first. To his surprise, it was Sasuke. "Do you blame them, Konoha for what you went through, for anything?"

"You're asking if we want revenge," Kyu said. "The answer is no. We've decided to move past our hatred."

Sasuke turned to Itachi. "And you?"

"I do not regret what I have done," Itachi said. "There are some things I wish I had done differently, but nothing I regret. If I had to, I would do it all over again."

"And the Sasuke of this world?" Sasuke asked. "What does he think about all of this?"

Itachi glanced at Kyu and Hisoka. "He doesn't know."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I want him to live the life he choses," Itachi said.

"He went back to Konoha," Kyu said. "We have reports of him trying to find Hisoka, though the world believes him dead, as you surely saw." Sasuke nodded. His feeling were all over the place and he had no idea which one to focus on. Anger was probably the strongest, but just looking at Itachi made him want to keep it in check.

Naruto noticed how Sasuke was feeling. His own were messed up as well. His faith in Konoha wavered a bit. The knowledge that this Konoha wasn't his own helped, barely. Then he remembered one thing. "We saw the separation briefly, but I want to know more. Can I give Kurama his own body?"

"I don't know if I'll be able to teach you how to do it," Kyu said for Hisoka. "But It won't hurt to show you how. It will however have to wait." Kyu smirked as Rina appeared.

"Dinner is ready," Rina said.

"Alright," Kyu said getting up and stretching. "Enough talking. Let's eat." Hisoka and Itachi got up. "When you're ready, just come out back. I'm sure your Sharingan will let you see through the darkness." Sasuke and Naruto sat for a few minutes, their minds going through everything. Finally, they stood up and followed after the Yugure.

In the back of the cave was what looked to be a house. Someone had used the smaller part of the cave to form a house. The best part of it was the fact that it had electricity and water, just like a normal house. Sasuke and Naruto followed the sound of laughter to a kitchen and dining room. The Yugure were sitting at a table, eating.

"'Bout time you got here," Kyu said. "Kaya." The brunette stood up and waved some signs. The table extended where she had been sitting and two more chairs were formed. She moved to sit next to Aki who flinched slightly. Ignoring Aki's reaction, Sasuke and Naruto took the available seats, making Naruto sit next to Kaya and Sasuke sit next to Itachi. The twins brought up their previous discussion as Naruto and Sasuke were passed a plate of food each.