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 14: Choke
--
Naruto could feel someone's presence just behind him. It wasn't difficult to guess who it was. He sighed. "You're going to have to be sneakier than that if you don't want me to know you're there, Sasuke."
He turned around and froze.
It wasn't Sasuke.
But he looked a lot like him. Long raven-colored hair, piercing sharingan eyes, smooth pale skin, expressionless face. So much about them was the same, except there was something far more sinister about this man. Something that made Naruto's breath snag in his throat; that sent his heart leaping in his chest- a scared rabbit desperate to escape.
He took an unsteady step back.
"Who are you?" he asked, trying to sound stronger than he felt.
The man studied him so intensely it felt as if he could see beneath the layers of his clothes, beneath his skin- like he could read not just his thoughts, but every piece of his past with it. Naruto didn't know who this person was, but his instincts were screaming at him to stay as far from him as possible. He didn't need to say a single word for Naruto to know this was the greatest threat he had ever faced.
He took another step back, then another, slowly making his way to the front door. The man didn't seem bothered by it in the least. He matched each step smoothly, his expression unchanged. Naruto found his gaze shifting back to his face. A face so like Sasuke's. As he studied the man drawing towards him, Naruto noticed something else. Those blood-red eyes, there was something different about his sharingan. Something that made it seem all the more intimidating.
Or maybe it was just seeing those eyes in a face he didn't trust.
"Why are you here?" Naruto asked, his voice a strained wheeze as fear clenched tight in his chest, leaving him breathless.
A sharp predatory grin cut across the man's porcelain face.
The sight of it made Naruto's blood run cold. You need to get out of here, he thought. You need to leave. Now!
Either he read his mind or his fear gave him away, because before he even had the chance to act on his instincts, the man beat him to it. He shifted out of view only to reappear directly in front of him. Naruto stumbled back, or tried to. He took half a step when a hand snapped out and grabbed him by the throat. He pitched forward as the stranger jerked him close, sharingan spinning as he stared down at his prey.
"Wh-what do you w-want?!" Naruto choked out.
His throat clicked as the man leaned in, a dark smile widening across his face.
"You."
--
Kakashi rushed up the long drive and leapt through a window directly into the main house on the Uchiha estate. His eyes darted around, seeking out any sign of the blonde.
Or Itachi.
Just hopefully not together.
He rushed from the parlor and down a long hallway, throwing open doors along the way.
Nothing.
Shit.
He swept through the kitchen, peered into the main hall, and was horrified by what he saw. Itachi had the blonde pinned to the wall- one hand around his throat, another gripping his wrist, forcing an arm above his head. Naruto was staring into his crimson eyes, frozen in fear.
"Naruto!" Kakashi raced forward, but the blonde didn't even blink. Mangekyou. He has him trapped in an illusion.
Kakashi threw a fistful of kunai at Itachi, but the rogue nin easily deflected them. He glanced over long enough to glare at him with the utmost hate, before returning his attention to the blonde.
"Itachi! Let him go!!" Kakashi moved in fast, but a flash of something metallic sent him leaping back.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Kisame."
"Ahh, so you do remember me." The man grinned a large toothy grin as he dropped his massive sword down on his shoulder. "Kakashi the Copycat Ninja. You know, Itachi's not really a fan of you."
Kakashi glanced over at the raven. "So I've noticed."
The shark-like monster laughed, though it sounded far crueler than most. "Must have something to do with that sharingan of yours, eh? Though, it's not really yours, now is it?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Release Naruto."
Kisame glanced over his shoulder. "The jinchuriki kid? Come on. You don't really expect the Akatsuki to ignore all that power, now do you?"
"Itachi! What is it you're really after here?!"
Kisame's grin curdled. "Don't ignore me-" he growled, dropping Samehada down in front of him, "when I'm talking to you!!" Without warning, he rushed towards the shinobi, his massive sword swinging. Kakashi had just enough time to dodge the attack, but it had been a close call. Fighting in such an enclosed space was proving to be difficult.
"Nnnnn!"
Kakashi's eyes shot over to the blonde as he gasped in pain. He was trying to pull out of Itachi's illusions, but was failing miserably. Whatever he was experiencing in his head was likely unpleasant, if not excruciating.
I need to stop him..
Kakashi's hands moved fast, and then he gripped his wrist and shoved his hand down towards the floor. "Raikiri!!"
Lightning-style chakra filled his palm, crackling in the dim corridor, reflecting in his eyes. Kisame's sharp grin gleamed in the harsh purple light.
"Ohhh" he murmured, Samehada clinking down on his broad shoulder.
"Heh, now this is gonna be fun."
--
Sasuke patted his busted lip with the back of his hand, brushing away fresh blood. He forced back a groan.
Damn.. he was a lot stronger than he looked.
Sasuke had managed to pull an arm free, but the guy was unbelievably fast. In the end he used a well-placed shadow clone to throw him off just long enough to buy himself a head start. He had no doubt that the man was hot on his trail, but he hoped he'd be able to get to Naruto before he was stopped again.
He wouldn't let Naruto be another one of Itachi's casualties.
He wouldn't let that man take anyone else from him.
Sasuke's jaw clenched tight as his concern festered into rage. It happens today, he thought, sharingan spinning wildly. I won't let him slip past me again. My parents, my clan- I'll make sure to avenge them all.
I WILL kill my brother.
No matter what.
--
Naruto was utterly horrified. He could feel his body frozen against the wall in Sasuke's hallway, but he couldn't move it. Itachi's hand was wrapped around his throat, another forcing his arm above his head, keeping him locked in place. Keeping him from using a jutsu to get away.
Naruto could feel all of it, but it was like an old memory- faded in the background, no longer relevant. Because he wasn't there anymore. Itachi had forced his mind into some sort of illusion, and he was trapped. Trapped in a place that didn't really exist, with a man he knew nothing about.
And it kept changing.
He was standing in a field one second, kneeling in a damp cave the next. It changed again, and this time he was sitting on a thick wooden chair in an empty, unfamiliar room. His wrists and ankles were bound to it with thick leather straps that were cinched tight, making an even nonexistent escape impossible.
Even knowing it wasn't real, Naruto could feel panic blooming in his chest as he stared down at those restraints. He pulled his arms taut, but it made no difference.
"I don't understand" he said. His voice sounded strained, even to his own ears. Like it was pulled thin, torn apart by the sharp fear pulsing through him. "Who are you? Wh-why are you doing this?"
The man stepped out of the darkness and moved closer. He dragged a chair with him, letting it scrap across the hardwood floor. The sound of it set Naruto's teeth on edge. He watched with growing trepidation as the stranger brought the chair before him and took a seat.
"Do you know where you are?" the man asked.
Naruto swallowed. "I know this isn't real."
The raven that wasn't Sasuke leaned forward, and Naruto pushed back into his chair as far as he could.
"But it feels real." He grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and roughly yanked his head back.
"Ahhhh!!" Naruto cried out, screwing his eyes shut tight against the pain.
Itachi smirked. "Doesn't it?"
"S-stop!"
"Don't be afraid, Naruto." Itachi whispered, dropping his mouth close to his ear. "Be angry. Let your rage consume you. Show me what power you really have."
"I- nnnnn- I don't know what you're talking about!"
The fist in his hair unclenched, and his head dropped forward. He tried to take calming breaths, but he couldn't stop the shaking. "Just tell me what you want from me.."
"What I want, is this-" Itachi pushed his hand under the blonde's shirt and moved it across his stomach.
Naruto flinched violently. "Don't- don't fucking touch me!"
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You misunderstand me." He slowly lifted Naruto's shirt, revealing a tight spiral on his stomach. It was glowing a harsh red-orange hue, like a fire burning just beneath the surface. "That is what I want."
Naruto's eyes shot up. "No.. it's sealed. You can't just-"
"Maybe not." His eyes gleamed. "But you can."
Naruto shook his head. "Even if I knew how, I would never release the Nine Tails."
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I can be quite persuasive."
Naruto stayed strapped to the same chair, but the room around him kept changing, altering to fit memories that Itachi kept pulling to the surface. It was far worse than having Sasuke in his head. Sasuke witnessed things Naruto couldn't stop himself from rethinking, but this man- this man forced it to come to life before him. Forced him to relive it. Images of his past flickered across the wall, and he couldn't make them stop.
A blur of faces flashed by until he finally found what he seemed to be looking for.
Sasuke.
Naruto turned to look at the man. "What do you want with him?"
"Well, for starters I'd like to know why he's letting you stay here."
Naruto glanced back at the image and saw the two of them sparring, grinning from ear to ear as they fought back the other's attack before dealing out a handful of their own. The memory faded and was quickly replaced by another. This time Sasuke moved in front of him, protecting him from Iruka-sensei's anger. Naruto bit his lip and it changed again. They were in the bathroom, and Sasuke was pulling him in closer.. closer.. until he-
Naruto looked away.
"Interesting."
"It's fucking sick going through someone else's private thoughts" Naruto snapped. "Don't you have any-"
Itachi grabbed his chin hard and pulled him forward. "So, my little brother has found himself a little pet, hmm?"
Naruto's eyes widened. Brother?!
Itachi must have seen the shock and confusion in his eyes. "So, even after all of that he hasn't told you about himself. How sad. I wonder.." Itachi grinned, "how much you have told him." He looked pointedly at his stomach, at the half-covered swirl marking, then back to his face.
Itachi released him and leaned back. "I suppose we'll just have to ask him."
The illusion dissolved, and Naruto was in the hallway once more, trapped between the wall and the eldest Uchiha.
Naruto? Naruto?!!
Sasuke?
Fuck. I've been calling for you- it doesn't matter. Where are you? I'm almost back at the house.
NO! No, don't come back!
Naruto looked up at Itachi, who was surveying the remnants of Kakashi and Kisame's fight.
Just stay away, please Sasuke. Don't come back.
He's there.. isn't he.
Sasuke, don't-
"Naruto!!"
"Sasuke, run!"
Itachi raised an eyebrow at the blonde, clearly amused. "Very interesting."
"Itachi!!" The raven skidded to a halt at the end of his hallway.
Or rather, what was left of it.
Utter destruction left gaping holes in the ceiling and blew out the wall into the other room. Dust and debri coated the floor, the walls, and everything in between. Kisame was attempting to prop himself up in the corner, and Kakashi was struggling to bandage a deep gash on his side. And at the other end of the hallway- Itachi. His brother. Pinning the last person Sasuke had left to a wall.
Sasuke took a step forward. "Let him go, Itachi."
Don't look in his eyes, Naruto thought. He'll use his sharingan to pull you into an illusion.
Sasuke thought about his parents, about Itachi's blood-red sharingan forcing him to see-
He shoved the memory back. I know.
Naruto tried to get a read on him, but the hand around his throat tightened, cutting off all other thoughts. He gripped the Uchiha's wrist, fighting to pry it away.
"I said, let him go!!" Sasuke moved his hands fast. "Chidori!!" The piercing sound, like thousands of birds screaming in agony, filled the hall as he lunged forward. His own screams of rage and anguish joined the cacophony, and he forced his chakra filled hand forward.
The wall exploded, sending another shroud of dust and debri around them. Sasuke spun around, searching for the two, desperate to put them back in his sights.
Naruto! Where are you?!
Living room. Sasuke, you should go get help. We need back-up. You can't do this alone!
Sasuke clenched his jaw. I'm not as weak as you think.
Wait, I didn't mean it like th- "Ahhh!!"
Sasuke leapt into the room and found Naruto pulled close to Itachi's chest. He had a kunai to his throat, and one of his arms shoved at an unnatural angle behind his back.
"Itachi! This has nothing to do with him! Just let him go!"
The eldest Uchiha laughed. "Nothing to do with him? How have you become so foolish, little brother? You really don't know what he is?"
Sasuke's eyes darted over to the blonde. "Naruto..?"
Sasuke- don't freak out, ok?
What do you mean?
Naruto grabbed Itachi's wrist and jerked it back, then tore the kunai across his throat. Sasuke screamed and was about to leap forward when a hand yanked him to the side. Naruto's shadow clone popped in Itachi's grasp. Sasuke whipped around and saw his blonde, his real blonde, pulling him out of the room.
"Naruto, how..?"
"Come on!"
The two raced out the side door and stumbled into the backyard. They leapt into the trees and took off, hand in hand, moving as fast as their chakra would allow them. Using every last bit of strength they had to get away.
It wasn't enough.
Author Note:
;7
That's supposed to be a mischievous grin..
I don't know.
Onto the next chapter!!~