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

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, sexual assault, torture, sexual content (yaoi), & angst.

It's All In Your Head

Chapter 60: Recognize

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Two Years Later

Sasuke exchanged a look with his blonde and quickly jumped in to cover him. Naruto dropped to his knees and focused on his nature chakra, on the life all around him- the towering trees murmuring in the wind, the insects roaming across fallen leaves, the ninjas closing in around them. He took all of it and channeled it through him, absorbing its strength as he cleared his mind of everything else.

He rose to his feet and his eyes shot open, revealing slitted golden irises.

Sasuke glanced over, making sure Naruto was fully in Sage Mode before moving to the other side of the clearing. Naruto grinned, his canines extending as Kyuubi's chakra joined his own. "You guys are going to regret this."

A masked rogue nin gave a dark laugh as he stepped out from the shadows. "Are you kidding? You're outnumbered ten to one. You don't stand a chance."

Naruto's eyes flashed with amusement. "Outnumbered? Maybe. But definitely not outskilled."

The clearing filled with dozens of shadow clones and Naruto moved fast- too fast to track. Sasuke ran in with him, and they worked their way through the crowd, knocking out their opponents one by one.

"Ughhh- you bastard!!"

One man, clearly more capable than his comrades, shifted out of view and reappeared directly in front of the blonde. He shoved a kunai towards him, aiming to pierce through wide golden eyes, when Sasuke suddenly shot between them- blocking his blonde from harm. With incredible speed, he grabbed the man's wrist and stopped his progress.

The man growled and tried to jerk his arm free, but Sasuke's grip tightened and forced him still. Crimson eyes locked onto wide defenseless ones. The guy didn't stand a chance.

"Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Shit!"

It was too late. Before he could do anything about it, he was suddenly pulled into a world of illusions and pain.

Naruto looked over his boyfriend's shoulder and saw his attacker's faded gaze fill with horror and tears, and instantly felt a rush of guilt. He shouldn't show these assholes any mercy, but he couldn't help it. He knew what Sasuke was capable of now that he had the Mangekyou, and it always sickened him to think about it. He had never been subjected to Sasuke's, but he had experienced Itachi's, and he knew how unpleasant it could be.

He grabbed the raven's arm and gave it a tight squeeze. "Sasuke, stop."

He did, but only because Naruto wanted him to.

They'd only been a duo for about a year now, but Sasuke always went out of his way to support him- whether that meant covering him while he transitioned into Sage Mode or while he got Kyuubi to take over, or simply hearing him out as they strategized how to handle a mission. It was still weird to get used to the stubborn teme being so overly considerate of him, but he liked it. And he liked that he was like that at home too.

Before their assailant could clear his head, Sasuke spun him around and restrained his arms. He used the chakra-binding rope that he always kept on hand, a tool he used a lot more now than he ever had before. Too many situations called for it, and he quickly realized it's usefulness after his own experience with this form of restraint.

The band on his ankle had been off for a little over a year now, but it was still fresh on his mind. It had been an extremely long ten months without access to his chakra- a fate he would only wish on his enemies.

They spread out and bound the others, dragging them into the clearing one by one. It was strenuous but necessary work. Once they had collected them all, Naruto dropped onto a log near the incapacitated men and Sasuke did the same. Their eyes slowly returned to normal as they looked over at each other.

"Well, that was fucking exhausting" Naruto muttered.

Sasuke nodded. Do we even know why they came after us?

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You look like you were thinking something."

Sasuke gave him a wry smile. "Yeah.. I keep forgetting that you can't hear my thoughts."

"Me too."

It made sense. Their minds have only been separated for a few weeks now. Naruto had to stay connected to him throughout his extremely prolonged sentence, and it was a few months later that they finally started talking about finding a way to reverse the jutsu.

A part of Sasuke was opposed to it, and he could see that Naruto felt the same way. It was actually useful, being connected like that. He liked being able to infiltrate his blonde's thoughts, and thoroughly enjoyed sharing suggestive ones as often as possible.

Aside from being able to watch him blush constantly, it helped as they got back into completing missions together too. Now that Sasuke couldn't read his thoughts directly, it took some practice to be able to read Naruto's body language. They also had several slight signals that they used that were lost on their enemies while crystal clear to eachother, but it wasn't the same.

He missed it, to be honest, and it seemed like Naruto had similar feelings- though he couldn't tell for sure anymore.

When they finally figured out a way to reverse the jutsu, they had exchanged matching sad expressions. And when it worked, they both felt incredibly dense. All it took was a reversed version of the original jutsu- which they probably should have guessed a lot sooner.

They made sure to prepare for it, so it was a lot less painful this time around. They had set up a space in the clearing outside of Sasuke's house, ensuring that no tables or pictures were shattered in the process, and Naruto's hands were glass-free by the end of it.

Sasuke still had both scrolls- the one that he had used to do the forbidden jutsu in the first place, and the one used to break it. They were tucked under his bed, just in case. There were many times when he considered asking Naruto if he wanted to use it again, but he assumed it would be a pretty firm no and he didn't want to deal with any anger or distrust from him afterwards. So, while he was interested in reconnecting, he kept the desire to himself.

Ten months trapped in the house together had both strengthened their relationship and tested the hell out of it, but they came out stronger than ever. He wasn't willing to risk ruining that. Even the slightest chance that he could hurt their bond wasn't worth it.

Sasuke glanced back at the dazed men at their feet. "So, why do you think they came after us?"

"I have a hunch" Naruto replied, "but you're not going to like it."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Tell me anyways."

Naruto chewed on his lip, looking for the right words. Eventually he gave up and started talking anyways. Sasuke had dealt with so many of his unfiltered thoughts in the past- in the end it didn't really matter if he completely worked through them. "I recognize one of them" he admitted.

Sasuke's expression darkened. "From where?"

Naruto gestured to the man to his far left. They had pulled off their masks to take a look at their faces and they now lay discarded at their feet. He didn't know the others, and truth be told he didn't really know this one either, but he had seen him before.

"Konoha."

"What..? When?"

"He was one of the people who showed up at the house.. after that nurse showed the villagers that picture of us.."

It was a photo of the two of them together in bed when Sasuke was still in the hospital. They had been fast asleep in each other's arms when a pink-haired nurse slipped into the room and took a picture of them. Sasuke had destroyed her camera, or so he thought, but clearly not enough to keep her from developing the film. The bitch printed it and made several copies, then posted them up everywhere.

The villagers were beyond angry to see the Uchiha prodigy, even one who had been deemed a traitor, being intimate with the town pariah. Their rage festered and spread like a plague, and the like-minded monsters eventually banded together. They were determined to separate them, and to make an example of Naruto. It was one late afternoon a few months into their captivity when the angry mob approached the house with cruel intentions.

Their timing could not have been worse.

Sasuke had finally been able to get Naruto to warm up to the idea of being fucked from behind, and he was eagerly taking full advantage of it. He had his blonde on all fours, his ass up in the air and face buried in the comforter, muffling his cries.

He had been afraid the first few times Sasuke tried and shut him down pretty quickly. The last time he tried had been particularly awful. A memory of Itachi had filled Naruto's mind when he made his move, and in turn Sasuke's. He could see his brother flipping Naruto onto his stomach and tearing his clothes off. When Naruto tried to crawl away, he forced his head down and quickly positioned himself behind him. Naruto screamed as Itachi pressed against him, his erection shoved firmly against his hole. Sasuke was disgusted by the images, and Naruto was absolutely mortified. Neither could forget it, and things were awkward between them for quite some time after that.

He had finally found the nerve to try again, and he was not going to let anyone ruin it.

Sasuke looked down at his blonde, who's cries of pain and passion kept him from hearing the approaching crowd. Sasuke, on the other hand, did hear them but he wasn't ready to stop. He grabbed Naruto's hips and jerked them back as he slammed his cock into him over and over, forcing Naruto to meet every thrust.

"Ahhh! S-Sasuke!"

He groaned and fucked him harder. The sound of his blonde's moaning, and the slap of skin against skin as he rammed into him, was driving him crazy. The shouting outside grew louder and even with the noises between them Naruto finally heard it.

He froze and jerked his head back to see if Sasuke heard it too. He couldn't tell because he wasn't stopping. "W-wait.. 'Ske. Did you- uuhhnn- did you hear that?"

"Ignore it." He shoved Naruto's head back down on the bed and dropped forward as he shoved his cock deeper. He grabbed his blonde's length and pumped it fast, bringing him to the brink of his own release.

"S-Sasuke.. we-we can't."

I love fucking your tight little hole.

Naruto's face turned bright red. Oh my god.. It was shocking to hear, but he couldn't deny how hot it was. He shoved his hips back, riding out his release with Sasuke, driving his cock in and out as he got closer.

"Fu-fuck, Sasuke.. please!" His eyes rolled as his climax tore through him and shot out of his pulsing length. He clenched down tight around Sasuke's length, but he wasn't stopping.

He didn't want to ever stop.

He sat back and pulled at Naruto's ass so he could watch his cock thrust into his hole. His breath quickened as he kept watching. He was unbelievably turned on by the sight of his dick penetrating him. Fuck, that's so hot.

He groaned as his own climax drew closer. I want to come inside of you.

Naruto nodded, gasping for air as Sasuke continued to fuck him hard.

Tell me.

"I- I want you to come inside of me" he breathed.

"Uhhnn- Naruto.." Sasuke held his ass tight against him as he filled him with his hot seed.

He gave a few more thrusts and found his cock stirring, already aching for more.

Naruto could feel him getting hard again and turned back to stare at him. "Absolutely not."

Sasuke's eyes were heavy with desire as he rocked his hips. "Just one more time."

"Sasuke!"

The sound of the front door splintering shocked both of them. Naruto's blood ran cold. "What the hell was-"

"Where are you, demon?!"

Naruto quickly crawled away from Sasuke. He hurriedly wiped himself off and pulled on his clothes as the raven did the same. His eyes dropped down to the chakra band around his ankle. "Naruto- you need to get this thing off of me." He knew Kyuubi's power was more than capable of that.

Naruto met his eyes and bit his lip, feeling torn. "I- I can't."

They could hear the mob approaching, and Sasuke's frustration skyrocketed. "Naruto! Take this fucking thing off of me!"

"If I do, you'll hurt them!! I don't want you to get thrown in prison!"

"And I don't want you getting hurt!"

"I'd rather that."

Sasuke grabbed his arm and jerked him close. "Don't say shit like that. I'm not going to let them do this."

Naruto gently pulled his hand away, his eyes wide and sincere. "I can handle this, Sasuke."

The bedroom door suddenly flew open, pulling their focus to the angry herd of villagers rushing towards them. Several Naruto shadow clones filled the space between them and forced them back, but a few managed to slip by them. They rushed the blonde, hands full of chakra-blocking rope. Which was not surprising. It's exactly what they did to him last time. Luckily, he wasn't asleep and caught off guard this time around. And he wasn't a kid anymore.

Alright, Kyuubi. Ready to do some light maiming?

I thought you'd never ask.

Key word there- light. Don't tear them apart.

I can't make any promises.

Kyuubi!

I am not your pet, human. You can't make me obey you.

Naruto rolled his eyes and leapt back from the men in front of him. He could feel Kyuubi's violent chakra consuming him, and saw the fear in the men's eyes at the sight of it.

"Are you surprised?" he said to them, his voice not completely his own. "I thought you knew that I was a monster."

With their attention locked on the intimidating jinchurki, they didn't see Sasuke's attack until it was too late. He punched one across the face, sending him reeling to the floor, and kicked another in the gut. The villager flew back and slammed into the wall before crumpling to the floor. Three more ran at him, their anger distracting them from their original goal, but Naruto made quick work of them before they could close the distance. He shot through the crowd, knocking people to the floor and forced the mob to disperse. Sasuke fought to stay close, prepared to protect him whether he had chakra or not, but several men continued to get in his way.

One managed to get a strand of rope around Naruto's ankle, despite the demonic chakra that tore through their flesh as they did it, and Naruto was immediately cut off from all of his chakra- his and Kyuubi's.

Shit.

Four men leapt at him and managed to tackle him to the ground. One punched him in the head, making his ears ring and his vision darken, as two others pinned his arms down.

He tried to pull away, but someone jammed their fist in his gut and all he could do was gasp for air and fight to stay conscious.

"Nnn! Dammit.."

Someone grabbed his hair and roughly yanked his head back. Naruto held back a pained groan and opened his eyes to glare up at his attackers. He could hear Sasuke fighting to break free of his own restraints and was suddenly a lot angrier.

"You assholes can come after me" he snarled, "but I won't let you hurt Sasuke."

He gritted his teeth and slammed his head against the villager hovering over him. The man cried out as his nose shattered and fell back. The others were distracted just long enough for Naruto to tear free of their grasp and rip off the rope hindering him. Kyuubi's chakra came flooding back and he lashed out as he rushed to Sasuke's side. He managed to free himself before Naruto could help him, and the two worked together to incapacitate the remaining villagers. Many fled before they were next, but some morons decided to learn their lesson the hard way.

When the last of them fell unconscious, they worked together to drag them back outside. Naruto forced them out past the barrier that Sasuke couldn't cross, and then looked back at the wrecked front door.

"We'll want to fix that."

"Kakashi can do it."

Naruto looked over at him, something indiscernible swimming in those cloudy blue eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"They would never have gone after you like that if it wasn't for me."

"They are to blame for that, Naruto. Don't put that on yourself."

"Yeah.." Naruto dropped his gaze, and Sasuke's heart sank with it.

"Come on" he grabbed his blonde's hand and pulled him back inside.

"Where are we going?"

"To cuddle" Sasuke said casually. "Some assholes interrupted us before." He gave his blonde a small smile and was happy to see him return it.

"Maybe we lock the bedroom door. Just in case."

"The locks don't work."

"We'll prop a chair under it then."

Sasuke scooped his blonde into his arms, stepped over the threshold, and carried him back into his room. "I'll take care of it. Go ahead and get undressed while I do that."

"Ok, I'll- hey!! I thought you said we were going to cuddle!"

"And we will." He smirked over his shoulder. "Eventually."

Sasuke shook the memory of that day from his mind and refocused on his blonde. "That's one of the villagers who attacked you?" he asked, his gaze slipping over to one of the men at their feet. Naruto nodded. "So, is this still about that day?" Sasuke wondered aloud. "That was a long time ago."

"They've hated me for twenty-one years, Sasuke. A year and a half is nothing to them."

The thought of those people hurting Naruto throughout his entire life- brutalizing him, tormenting him, trying to rape him, to fucking hang him- it filled him with the utmost hate. He wanted to kill them, all of them.

They deserved nothing less.

"We should report this" Naruto said, interrupting his vengeful thoughts. "This might be something bigger than just a few angry villagers."

Sasuke eyed the rest of the group. "It is weird that he's with them. These are definitely skilled shinobi. And I don't think they're all from Konoha."

"I wonder what they're planning.." Naruto muttered.

"Probably nothing good."

Naruto sent a shadow clone back to the village to inform the Hokage about the situation and got to work making a fire. The men were starting to come around, so they gagged them as well. They would be interrogated later. Right now, they had no interest in what they had to say.

"We should sleep on rotation" Sasuke said, noticing Naruto's eyes grow heavy, his body dipping listlessly to the side.

Naruto jerked upright. "I can-"

"I'll do first shift" Sasuke interrupted.

"Sasuke-"

"Don't argue." Just get some sleep, dobe. He realized that he couldn't hear the thought and repeated it out loud.

Naruto wanted to protest, but a yawn tore through him- making any argument he might have had pretty pointless. "Alright" he said, "but don't let me sleep too long. Wake me up in an hour or two."

"Sure." Yeah right, Sasuke thought. He could see the dark bags under his eyes, the fatigue in his body. He would make sure that his blonde got some much-needed sleep. Whether he wanted it or not.

Naruto was too tired to notice the deceit in his eyes and curled up next to the fire. He was out almost immediately. Sasuke dropped down next to him and gently ran his fingers through his hair.

I will protect you, Naru, he thought to himself. He activated his recently changed sharingan and looked up at the surrounding darkness, ready to keep his word.

Always.