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

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 69: The Box ~ Naruto's Darkness

"Dammit!" Naruto yelled. "Put me down already, Teme!" Sasuke dropped him. "Ow!" He jumped up. "What the hell Teme! Why did you do that?"

"We had to get away from them," Sasuke said. "There is no way we are getting involved in their mess."

"That's not what I meant," Naruto said. "Why did you use Tsukuyomi?"

"To stop him," Sasuke said.

"You could have just knocked him out," Naruto said. "He may never wake up now!"

"He deserved it," Sasuke said. "And he'll wake up. My Tsukuyomi doesn't work the same way Itachi's did. He'll only be out for a little bit as I stopped Tsukuyomi almost right as I started it."

"Still," Naruto said, pouting.

"We'll be staying somewhere else for the night," Sasuke said, changing the subject. "Luckily we have our bags this time."

"Are you serious right now?" Naruto inquired. He moved before Sasuke, forcing him to a stop. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You changed the subject."

"Do I have to give you a reason for everything I do?" Sasuke challenged.

"Well, no, but…" Naruto began.

"What I do is none of your business," Sasuke snapped.

"It is when it involves me!"

"The world doesn't revolve around you."

"Says the man who thinks Konoha should just bow to you."

"Konoha, Konoha, Konoha. It is always about Konoha! Do you ever stop to think that maybe I don't care about Konoha?"

"I'm not stupid Sasuke! You say you want to destroy Konoha, when I can tell you don't even want to go back there!"

"Can you blame me? Konoha took everything from me."

"I'm still here!" Naruto looked away, clenching his fists. "I've always been here. I thought we were best friends."

"We're not."

Pain flickered through Naruto's eyes as he held back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. "I… I see." He stepped away from Sasuke. "You're right. We can't be friends anymore. Not when you want to destroy my home."

"Usuratonkachi..."

"I understand. If you want to stay behind, go ahead. I won't stop you, not this time."

"Dobe…"

"I'm going back to Tsuna." Naruto turned on his heel and began to walk away. "He may need my help with healing Mukuro."

"Naru…"

"Bye, Sasuke." Without another word, Naruto vanished.

Sasuke turned around and punched a tree. The tree made a cracking noise as it broke into pieces. Sasuke let out a scream of frustration as lightning sparked around him. His breath came out in heavy pants as he took a step back. "Dammit." His legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He clenched his stomach as his body shook with pain. "I'm not healing right. Orochimaru's genes have died out." He crawled over to the tree and flipped his body so that his back was leaning against it. "This body is weak." Sasuke looked up to the sky. "I messed up, didn't I Nii-san." He closed his eyes.

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Naruto stopped several feet from when Tsuna and the others were. Tsuna was holding Mukuro up while Ryohei stood before them. Yamamoto seemed to be comforting Chrome. Naruto watched as the strange yellow glow surrounding Mukuro vanished. "It's not working," Ryohei said. "He doesn't have any exterior wounds."

"That's because it is a mental one," Naruto said, slowly approaching them.

"You Bastard!" Hayato yelled. "You dare come back to…"

"Then what do we do?" Tsuna asked.

"Can any of you enter his mind?" Naruto asked. Chrome and Tsuna looked at each other. "You need to save him from whatever nightmare he has been locked in. Sasuke didn't fully use his power so it should be easy to break." He dropped to the ground. "Forgive me for not stopping him."

"Reborn shouldn't have put the Box in your pack," Tsuna said. "He put your lives in danger."

"Still, I'm sorry," Naruto apologized.

"Boss," Chrome called. "We have to go save Mukuro-sama."

"RIght," Tsuna agreed. "I'm not really sure how it works, but I'll do my best." He placed a hand on Mukuro's forehead and closed his eyes. Chrome did the same. Time ticked away quickly as neither of the three opened their eyes. Hayato had been knocked out by Hibari after his irritation of watching Hayato walk back and forth got the better of him. Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Dino passed the time by playing cards. Reborn kept his eyes on the Box. Naruto noticed the change first and moved behind Tsuna and Chrome, hands out to keep them sitting up. The two opened their eyes. "Did it work?"

"Nehg," Mukuro groaned.

"Mukuro-sama!" Chrome explained as the other opened his eyes.

"Where is he?" Mukuro demanded. "Where is that red-eyed man?"

"He's not here," Naruto said.

"You," Mukuro hissed. "You're with that Bastard."

"Not anymore," Naruto mumbled. He then smiled. "You should be fine now." He stood up. "I'll take my leave now."

"Wait," Mukuro ordered. "Bring that man here right now."

"I won't," Naruto refused. "Besides, you can barely move right now." Naruto was proven right when Mukuro tried to get up, but he fell back down. Chrome and Tsuna managed to catch him. "Rest for a bit. Your body and mind need time to resynchronize."

"Who… who is he?" Mukuro asked. "His illusions are stronger than mine."

"He's an Uchiha," Naruto said. "All Uchihas are geniuses when it comes to genjutsu. They are able to see through them with their eyes." Naruto pointed towards Mukuro's right eye. "I can tell that you went through great trouble to get that eye and its power. Tell me, what did you do?"

"I died several times during experiments only to be reborn each time in one of the six realms," Mukuro said. "I can control the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Naraka Path, Preta Path, Animal Path, Asura Path, Human Path and the Deva Path."

'The Six Paths of Pein,' Naruto thought. 'So those Paths are illusions here.' "I see. But you can't use them all at once?" Mukuro's eyes widened. He had tried to do that many times, but he could never combine the Paths. "Sasuke first awakened his power when almost his entire family was massacred. He tapped into it again when we were in grave danger several years back. It grew even stronger until he defeated his brother. After taking in the new eyes, Sasuke's power is far more powerful than that of a simple Genjutsu user."

Mukuro's anger spiked at that and he glared at Naruto, his eye flashing until it read Two. Naruto locked eyes with Mukuro, but he didn't react as Mukuro entered his mind. The boy's eyes moved back and forth as he took in the strange room. "How interesting," a voice said. Mukuro instantly spun around and gasped as he took in the giant creature laying down behind what looked like bars. Mukuro took a step back and noticed that the fox was indeed in a cage. "You're a strong one if you have managed to come here," the fox said. "However, and I hate to admit this, but you're not as strong as him."

"What are you?" Mukuro asked.

"His name is Kurama," Naruto said. Mukuro flinched slightly as he hadn't realized that Naruto was right there. "He is the Nine-Tails that my father sealed inside of me to protect my village."

"Don't think you can control me boy," Kurama snarled. "Only the Kit has the right to." He shifted slightly. "Leave now, before I eat you."

Mukuro closed his eyes and opened them back to the outside world. He saw the concerned look on Chrome and Tsuna's faces. He must have looked strange while he'd been in Naruto's mindscape. He glanced at Naruto and noticed that the boy looked like he was spacing out. The look soon vanished as the blond blinked. "I really should be going," Naruto said.

"Wait!" Mukuro yelled. "How strong are you two really?" Naruto remained silent.

"We need to talk about the Box," Reborn said, changing the subject. "If Dino isn't its target, then which one of us is?"

"How can we tell?" Tsuna asked.

"When I held it, it felt like it was rejecting me," Dino explained. "Maybe if we each take a turn holding it, we'll find out."

"We'll have to be careful," Reborn said. "If we see it trying to kill someone, the rest of us will have to interfere." Everyone nodded. One by one, Tsuna and his guardians took turns holding the Box. Luckily, none of them seemed to be affected by the Box, including Mukuro who willingly gave the Box up after seeing the look on Tsuna's face when he handed it to him.

"If none of us felt its acceptance, then who is its target?" Yamamoto asked.

"There is only one person it may belong to," Reborn said. Everyone followed his gaze to Naruto who was leaning against the fence. The blond sighed before he walked over to Tsuna and took the Box into his hand. Instantly, the Box began to glow. Naruto's chakra turned into flames as they were sucked into the Box. Tsuna tried to grab the Box back, but it seemed to be glued to Naruto's hand. Reborn fired at the Bow, but the bullet rebounded, causing him to dodge. It hit the ground in an explosion of dirt and grass.

"What do we do?" Tsuna asked. Naruto suddenly let out a scream. Tsuna took a step back in horror as wave after wave of anger slammed into him. He wasn't the only one that felt it. The anger and hatred radiating off of Naruto pinned the Guardians down. They each took out their weapons, but none of them could take a step towards Naruto. Tsuna managed to take a step forward before a wave of sadness hit him. "The Box, it's causing him to release all of his negative emotions."

"What he is feeling isn't normal," Habari noted. He was struggling to move forward, his willpower allowing him to inch towards Tsuna slowly. "No normal person can bottle things up like that."

"Naruto isn't normal," a voice said. Heads turned slightly to see Sasuke standing a few feet away from them. "Naruto has been holding those emotions back for a long time. Fear, anger, sadness, they are just a few of them."

"It's like Pandora's Box," Chrome said. "In Greek mythology, a girl named Pandora opened a box, letting out all the evils into the world."

"There was only one thing left," Mukuro glowered. "Hope."

"Then what he needs is hope!" Ryohei declared.

"You idiot!" Hayato yelled. "Hope isn't going to help him."

"He needs someone to accept it," Sasuke said. He dropped his pack near Tsuna. "Someone strong enough to handle it." His eyes shifted right into the Mangekyo Sharingan. Without a second of hesitation, Sasuke charged at Naruto, Susanoo activated. He wrapped his arms around the blond, hugging him against his body. He ignored the cuts caused by Naruto's chakra and continued to hold him. Several memories of the past flashed through Sasuke's head until one remained. Sasuke moved his hand towards Naruto's backpack and he began to dig through it. His hand soon came upon his goal and he took out the blue gem. It instantly began to glow, its light surrounding them.

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"Sasuke," he knew who was calling him. "Sasuke." The older man shook him until Sasuke opened his eyes. "It is time to get up. Kaa-san made your favorite."

"Nii-san?" Sasuke asked.

"What is it Ototo?" Itachi smiled. "Did you have a bad dream?" Sasuke looked at him in confusion. Itachi moved a hand towards Sasuke's face, brushing a finger under his eyes. "You're crying."

"I… I don't know," Sasuke admitted. "I don't remember." He then smiled. "Maybe you made it disappear."

Itachi chuckled. "Maybe." He helped Sasuke get out of the bed. "If you ever have a scary dream, I'll be there to protect you."

"I know," Sasuke giggled. "You're my Nii-san, greatest shinobi of Konoha!"

"Even better than Shisui?" Itachi joked.

Sasuke pretended to think. "Of course." His smile was infectious, and Itachi lifted him into the air.

"Now lets go before Kaa-san sends Ninneko at us," Itachi teased.

"Right!" Sasuke followed after Itachi until they got to the kitchen. Once there, Sasuke ran up to Mikoto and hugged her. "Good morning Kaa-san!"

"Good morning Sasuke," Mikoto smiled. "Itachi."

"Morning," Itachi said. "Where is Outo-san?"

"Fugaku is out with the other clan elders," Mikoto said, sharing a look with Itachi that Sasuke didn't understand. Itachi simply nodded before taking a seat. Sasuke did the same, accepting the small plate of Tamagoyaki. Sasuke's smile brightened when he saw the tomatoes inside. Mikoto put the rest of the dishes on the table before joining her sons. They talked about their plans for the day. When the meal was over, Mikoto sent them on their way. Sasuke and Itachi went into the forest when Itachi showed off his kunai and shuriken skills.

"Amazing!" Sasuke exclaimed. "You're so strong Nii-san!"

"One day, you will be stronger than me," Itachi said. Sasuke gave him a look of disbelief. "The younger generation will always beat the older generation. As time flows on, people with better abilities are born. To be called the best, that is a foolish thing to wish for. What we need to seek is the happiness in protecting the ones we love. As long as I am strong enough to do that, I'm content."

"Then when I grow up, I'll protect you," Sasuke said.

"No," Itachi shook his head. "I'm not the one that needs your protection. Your most precious person is someone else."

"Is Shisui your most precious person?" Sasuke asked. Itachi just smiled sadly.

Sasuke opened his eyes and let out a groan as he moved slightly. His body ached, his wounds making it difficult to move. 'I'm surprised it doesn't hurt more.' He glanced down with his Sharingan activated. 'I see. Kyuubi's chakra is still healing me. It is very slow though. Is something wrong with Naruto?' Sasuke hissed before biting his lip as he used his sword to stand up. He made a pained noise as he began to walk. His eyes widened when he felt the change in the air. "Naruto."

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Once the light was gone, Sasuke and Naruto lowered themselves to the ground. Tears rolled down Naruto's face before he closed his eyes, falling asleep. Sasuke held Naruto against him as he and the others watched the Box suck in the blue gem. The red on the Box shifted to blue before it exploded.

"It's over," Tsuna said, falling backwards onto his butt in happiness and relief. "It's finally over."

"So it is," Reborn said, his eyes remaining on Sasuke and Naruto.