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

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

Blind Sighted

Chapter 14: Survive It

"I look at the world from awakening eyes."

- Langston Hughes

--

Several men managed to pin Naruto down and his wrists and ankles were tightly bound with thick pieces of rope. It was coarse and relentlessly rubbed the skin beneath it raw, but that was the least of his concerns. While it was uncomfortable, that on its own would be a minor inconvenience if it wasn't for the fact that it also blocked chakra- his and Kyuubi's.

Naruto wasn't surprised that they would use something like this, but he was frustrated by it. He couldn't see shit, and now he had no way to defend himself. Which was made quite clear when a pair of unfamiliar arms tightened around him and carried him off into the unknown. He tried to pull free, but they were like steel- solid, cold, utterly unaffected by the hands fighting to tear into them.

Naruto screamed, his fear for Sasuke merging with his threats of a painful demise for his captors, but it was useless. All of it fell on deaf ears. But it was the only thing he could do, so he did- constantly. Even when his voice cracked, jagged words catching in his throat on the way out. Even when his mouth went dry, and his desperation barely made it off his tongue. He wouldn't stop. He couldn't. But the man holding him could only tolerate so much of it.

It didn't take long for his patience to snap.

Naruto inhaled sharply when, without warning, they suddenly dropped from their immense height and down to the forest floor. The man threw him onto the ground and Naruto groaned as his elbow slammed into the frozen terrain.

"Nnhhn.."

The crunch of his footsteps approaching him snapped Naruto back to reality and he hastily scrambled back, trying to keep some distance between them. He didn't know what to expect from the guy, but assumed he was better off not giving him the chance. As it turned out the man's intentions were quite simple- he just didn't want to hear him.

Another gasp tore from the blonde as his captor grabbed him and dragged him over to him.

"W-wait!"

A cloth closed over his mouth, effectively silencing him. Naruto winced as he tightened it, forcing the gag between his lips, but the man ignored him and cinched it even tighter. Naruto brought up his bound hands to try to pry it away, but his captor grabbed his wrists and forced them back down.

"Clench your teeth" he growled.

Naruto barely had time to process what he was saying when a fist smashed into his cheek. His head violently snapped to the side and he dropped to the ground. He tried breathing through the pain, gasping for air past the cloth stifling it, but he couldn't seem to pull enough of it into his lungs. He blinked back hot tears as the ache in his jaw radiated through his face. He could feel his face reddening- as much from the pain as from sharp embarrassment.

Naruto Uzumaki should not be this easy to capture. One punch shouldn't send him reeling, and one fucking traitor shouldn't be able to completely overpower him. And yet..

The man grabbed him by the throat and pulled him up to face him. Naruto couldn't see him but he could feel his gaze, and the intensity of it sent a chill down his spine.

"That was a warning" he snarled. "Next time will be a lot worse."

Naruto attempted to glare back at him, but he had a feeling that his cloudy eyes weakened the threat flaring inside of them.

The man chuckled, amused by his efforts, then scooped him up in his arms once more and pulled him close. "That fire in you won't last long" he murmured.

"Might as well enjoy it while you can."

--

Kakashi paused and begrudgingly tore his gaze away from his book. His instincts were never wrong, and he had learned to trust that uneasy feeling a long time ago, but- dammit, it was a new Icha Icha novel! And he had just gotten to the good part!

With a heavy sigh the jonin dog-eared the page and scanned his surroundings. He was standing on the edge of Konoha, propped up against the main gates that ran along its perimeter, and he had yet to spot anything suspicious. He was just about to return to his reading when he caught a glimpse of something rising in the distant skyline.

Smoke.

Definitely too much to be from campfire.

He had a feeling that he was going to need backup for whatever was out there, but something also told him that he needed to be there. Now. That whatever it was- it couldn't wait.

Kakashi decided to go with his gut on this one, no matter how reckless that may turn out to be. He knew he could summon help if he ended up needing it, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something out there that didn't have that kind of time.

His mind made up, Kakashi tucked his book away, forced up his headband, and activated his sharingan. "Alright Obito" he murmured,

"Let's go see who needs our help."

--

Naruto wasn't sure how long they had been out there, but it didn't feel like much time had passed by before the air around them grew frigid and their pace began to slow. They dropped down from the trees soon after, likely into the nearest clearing, and Naruto was casually tossed to the side as the group went about making camp for the night.

The thought of being out there with them overnight was unsettling, to say the least, but it did give him hope. They were stopping, and he knew that Sasuke wouldn't.

That is.. if he's coming after me.

If he's able to..

The thought of Sasuke left out there, injured and alone, tormented Naruto. He couldn't stand the idea of just being quiet and complacent, of doing nothing while his best friend's life slipped away. Naruto was desperate to find him, to save him, and he was willing to do whatever it took to have the chance.

The moment his gag was removed, a scream tore from his bruised throat. "Let me go back!" he cried. He didn't care that he sounded weak and pathetic. All he cared about was saving Sasuke.. before it was too late. "Just let me make sure he's ok, please!"

Kabuto eyed the panicky blonde, a smile creeping across his face. "So.. even after all that time you're still on about this."

"I'll go with you!" Naruto said hurriedly, spouting out anything and everything- desperate to convince him. "I- I won't fight this. Any of it. Please, Kabuto, just let me save him!"

The smile widened. "And I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I told you, I'll fucking cooperate if you just let me help Sasuke!" Naruto screamed. "Please! Just let me help him and I'll do whatever you want!"

Kabuto took a knee before the bound blonde, a smirk stretching his reptilian features into a fearsome sight. Sadly, his little captive wasn't able to see it.

But he could feel him.

His presence, the promise of something far worse than a tight smile. Kabuto could see his knowing, his fear, quite clearly. He saw it in the way Naruto flinched as he leaned in. In the way he jerked away from his touch when he grazed a knuckle against his cheek. How, despite the heat in his opaque gaze, he still winced when Kabuto grabbed his jaw and forced him still; how his breath caught in his throat when he didn't let go.

And Kabuto loved all of it.

This incredible sense of power.

The way his prey quivered at his feet, knowing that he could do anything he wanted to him and there was nothing that could stop him. The pleasure of such control was.. unmatched. It made things he never considered before seem so incredibly..

Tempting.

Kabuto kept his reptilian gaze locked on his anxious captive as he leaned in. "Whatever I want?"

--

"-ke!"

Hmm..?

"-ke! Christ- what the hell happened to you? Sasuke, where is Naruto?!"

I.. I don't…

"-suke!"

Is someone.. calling for.. me..?

"Goddamnit, Sasuke! Come on- stay with me!"

Kakashi cradled the boy's head, keeping a firm hold on the massive gash running down the length of it. Warm blood pulsed in his hand and he tightened his grip, willing his fingers not to tremble.

He's lost a lot of blood, he thought, his mismatched gaze flickering from the raven's deathly pale face to the crimson pool surrounding him- a horrifying contrast that filled him with dread.

How long has he been out here like this? he wondered.

Am I too late?

"No, I won't lose you" he choked. "Just stay with me, Sasuke. Stay with me."

I.. I'm trying, Sasuke thought.

He tried to open his mouth, to move his hands, to tell Kakashi himself, but his body wasn't responding. He could feel himself being pulled away again, but he didn't want to leave. Not until..

Naruto.

His blonde's cries still echoing in his head- sharp and insistent as images of him fluttered through his scattered mind. He could see all of it so clearly- his surprise, his dismay, his beauty, his pain.. his fear.

I need to find him.

I.. I can't let this happen..

Kakashi pulled one hand free and quickly summoned his Ninken. As tempted as he was to carry Sasuke back to Konoha, he wasn't sure he should move him with an injury like this. He didn't waste any time when they appeared.

"Pakkun!" he shouted, knowing he could count on him the most. "Get a healer here, now!"

His loyal companion didn't bother with unnecessary questions. He didn't have to. The nearly lifeless body in his master's blood-soaked hands told him everything he needed to know. Pakkun moved fast with most of the pack at his heels, all of them feeling Kakashi's desperation. And driven by it.

The few that stayed behind huddled close to the two, hoping to offer what little comfort they could as they waited in the unsympathetic cold. The stillness of the forest, it's suffocating silence and Sasuke's slowing pulse, sent a rush of terror through Kakashi- something he has not felt for quite some time.

"Sasuke" he murmured. "Please, just hang on a little longer, ok. Just a little-"

Naruto..

I.. I'm sorry.

The raven fell limp in his hands.

"Sasuke? No.. no, no, no- hang on. Come on, Sasuke. Sasuke! Sasuke!!"

--

Naruto could feel Kabuto lean in, could feel his space invaded by a snake he knew not to trust, and it set his teeth on edge. Being blind already put him at a disadvantage, but now his hands were bound with chakra-blocking rope, and he was being closely monitored by a hoard of cultists. There was little he could do as far as bargaining went, and he was sure that was why Kabuto was messing with him. He liked seeing his fear- the kind of snake that prefers for its victim to squirm in his grasp before sinking his teeth in.

"Please" Naruto tried again, ignoring Kabuto's latest taunting. He wasn't about to feed into it, but he was still desperate enough to set aside his pride and fully plead with the monster. "I'm begging you- just let me make sure he's ok."

"And if he's not?" Kabuto said with a smirk.

Naruto froze. "Do you already know.." he breathed.

The snake shrugged and offered another charming, unseen smile. "Would you believe me either way?" he said. "If I said your precious Sasuke was bleeding out in the snow, or that I let my men finish him off a while ago, or that he escaped and hightailed it back with his tail tucked between his legs- which one are you most likely to believe?"

Naruto swallowed. "Are.. are those my only options?"

Kabuto's grin stretched as he grabbed the blonde's jaw once more, pulling him in to study him closely. He watched his teeth clench down on whatever emotion desperately wanted to shove through them, saw that flicker of fear in his eyes once more and the way he hardened them to force back any others.

It was.. incredibly intriguing.

"One of them is not a lie" he said. He licked his lips with his long serpentine tongue and was surprised to find that he was tempted to run it up the length of his prisoner's neck. He wondered if he would be surprised by the taste of him as well.

Naruto must have sensed the danger he was in, a rabbit in serpent territory. He tried to jerk back, away from him, but Kabuto only tightened his grip. He wasn't ready for the blonde to break free- not that easily.

"Let go" Naruto growled.

Kabuto considered him for a moment before leaning closer. "You know, I don't think I will."

Naruro's heart slammed violently against his chest, terror seizing it in its icy grip. He couldn't see the venomous look in Kabuto's eyes, but he could feel it. And something about the sound of his voice.. it made him feel more vulnerable than he has felt since the jutsu. Maybe even before that.

"What are you-" He swallowed. "What are you doing?"

Kabuto tilted his head as he eyed the nervous blonde in his grasp. "You know.. I never noticed it before" he purred, "but I think I'm starting to see what Uchiha sees in you."

Naruto stared back into the dark, horrified. "What..?"

"I wonder" Kabuto murmured, bringing his lips close his ear, "if I should have a taste for myself."

Naruto sharply inhaled as Kabuto's long serpentine tongue slid up his neck, his words quickly coming to fruition. Naruto tried to shove him back with his bound hands, but Kabuto just leaned into it, a smirk pressed tight against his throat.

"St- stop" he breathed, his words trembling with him.

Kabuto slowly lifted his head to study his perfect prey once more. "Now I'm even more tempted" he murmured.

After a terrifying pause he finally released Naruto and rose to his feet. "Though I suppose I can wait until we have a little more.. privacy."

Naruto didn't have to wonder what he meant, and his body was quick to respond to it. He felt bile rising in the back of his throat, his stomach tangled in sickening knots. He didn't understand why Kabuto was suddenly interested in him, in.. in doing that to him, and he didn't want to. All he cared about was making sure that he didn't.

Naruto dropped his head, gazing into the inky darkness above his bound wrists. But how am I supposed to do that?

He didn't have an answer for that either.

--

Shoulder-length pink strands slipped forward, partially covering Sakura's face as she leaned in. She didn't bother to move them back, and Kakashi didn't offer. He watched for a moment longer as Sakura closed her eyes and murmured to herself, her chakra filling her hands, before returning his gaze to the raven lying beside her. He watched as her chakra flowed from her palms and into the back of his scalp, consuming the deep gash sliced across it.

Pakkun had found the girl picking herbs on his way back to Konoha, and the minute he said Sasuke's name she was all in.

Sakura has had the Uchiha in her mind since puberty, and he was sure that candle still held a steady flame. It never mattered that Sasuke didn't return her feelings, not even when he completely and often publicly rejected them. Her sights were set, and nothing was able to convince her otherwise.

Though, Kakashi supposed it was lucky that she felt that way. She had made it here faster than anyone else would, and she was hellbent on saving him. Sasuke wouldn't be pleased to know it was Sakura who did, but he couldn't really afford to be picky at the moment either.

"It's.. taking a long time" Kakashi murmured, his fear lingering despite having a healer beside him.

"It's a bad injury" Sakura murmured back.

Kakashi studied her patient, desperate for any sign of consciousness. He eyed the long raven hair splayed out around him, damp with blood. Several strands had fallen across his cheek when Sakura turned his head to reach his injury, and Kakashi carefully reached out to brush them back. He wouldn't let them obscure his view. He wanted to see his student the moment his life returned to him.

"Nnhn.."

Kakashi froze. "Sasuke?"

"Naru... to.." he breathed.

Sharp jealousy flickered in the girl's eyes, but she kept it to herself. She had faced the Uchiha's anger quite recently- she wasn't eager to face more of it. Instead, she kept her focus on healing her crush and ignored his concern for someone who wasn't her.

"Sasuke, where is he?" Kakashi asked quickly. "What happened to Naruto?"

"Ka.. Kabuto.."

"Kabuto?" he repeated, eyes widening with surprise. "Kabuto took him?"

"Y-yes" he breathed.

"Wait.. is he the one who did this to him? Is he behind the attack? The jutsus missing?"

Sasuke tried to nod but the motion sent a wave of nausea through him, and he was forced to stop.

"Why?" Kakashi wondered aloud. "Why would Kabuto do this? What does he want?"

"Me" Sasuke said quietly.

"You? What does he want from you?"

"My.. nnhnn.. my eyes."

"The Mangekyou.."

Another nod. Another wave of nausea.

"He's forcing you to make a choice" Kakashi said. "Your eyes for Naruto's."

"No. Nnnn, not- not at first" Sasuke said. "It was.. never about him. It's.. it's my fault that it is now. He.. he saw us.. together."

Sakura's head shot up at that, but she kept her thoughts to herself and kept healing.

Kakashi noticed her reaction, but ignored it. Finding Naruto was their priority now. And if she wasn't here for that, she was welcome to leave once Sasuke was healed. "Where did they take him?"

"I don't know" the raven admitted. "But I- I have a guess."

"Tell me."

Sasuke shook his head, and this time he managed to do so without the threat of getting sick or passing out. "I'll show you" he said, forcing his voice to sound stronger than he felt.

"Sasuke.."

"I'm going with you" he said firmly, his eyes hardening against the persistent pain in his scalp and the doubt in his sensei's eyes. "I won't abandon Naruto" he said.

"I owe him that much."

Author Note:

Too angsty? I wasn't planning on doing that to this story, but I just couldn't help myself.

I won't make things too bad though.

.. I think.