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 1: For You

"There are poisons that blind you, and poisons that open your eyes."

- August Strindberg

--

Naruto struggled to break free of his hold, but the man shoved both of his wrists in one hand and with immense strength completely restrained him. Naruto jerked back, surprised and confused, but the grip on his arm was insistent and his masked chakra was vast- forcing him to keep still.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" he shouted, angry but unable to hide his growing fear. "Let go!"

A hand slowly, unexpectedly, slipped up the back of his neck and tangled in his hair. Naruto's breath hitched in his throat.

"Who.. who are you?" he breathed, finally finding his voice.

Nothing.

Not a single word.

The man just silently tightened his grip in the blonde's hair, keeping his face turned up and his head stationary. Naruto could feel him leaning in, getting closer, and his heart leapt up his throat.

"W-wait.."

He didn't.

--

One Week Earlier

--

Naruto brought his numb fingers close to his lips and forced out a breath, offering the meager warmth he had left. It did little to alleviate the pain, but it was better than nothing. He shuddered and breathed into his hands once more as they raced across the snowy path. The harsh apathetic winter tore ruthlessly into exposed skin, leaving it reddened and raw, and still they continued their pursuit. They didn't really have a choice. This was a direct order from the Hokage, and therefore could not be ignored- no matter how fucking cold they were.

Sasuke glanced over at the blonde- noting his pink nose, tired eyes, and nearly frostbitten fingertips. His jaw tightened. He didn't like seeing him like that, but he knew it would be impossible to get him to stop and seek shelter for the night. He would go until Sasuke couldn't, or until the mission was done. There was no third option when it came to the headstrong dobe.

Truth be told, it was one of the many things Sasuke loved about him- though you would never hear him say it.

He often thought it- hell, he often thought a lot of things- but he would never breathe life into it. He had accepted a long time ago that these thoughts would live and die with him. And he was ok with that, for the most part.

Or so he frequently told himself.

Naruto was his comrade, his continuous rival, and his best friend. He had betrayed him numerous times as a kid and worked hard to regain his trust as a man. He couldn't ask for more than that.

He sensed someone's chakra several paces ahead and looked back at the blonde. Naruto met his eyes and gave a quick nod and the two spread out. Words were not necessary at this point. They've been a two-person team for almost three years now- they could read each other better than anyone. And for the rare times that they weren't completely in sync, they had a collection of signals they gave that spoke for them.

The Nine-Tails' chakra flared to life in the blonde as he leapt through the trees and prepared to cut off their target from the front. Sasuke's Mangekyou slammed into his charcoal eyes- a sudden fire burning a bright angry red. He channeled more chakra into his legs and zig-zagged up behind the men, closing in fast. He moved his hands and shot a rod of electric energy into the nearest one. The man cried out and dropped heavily to the ground. No one stopped to help him. Sasuke took out another as Naruto's voice cut through the screaming wind.

"Rasen Shuriken!"

The group leapt away from the swirling mass of chakra, but Naruto's Rasengan moved with them, cutting two of them down before they could escape. The remaining four sent several attacks their way, but mostly as a distraction so that they could get away.

Naruto and Sasuke avoided the handful of kunai and leapt out of the way before an explosive one could cause any damage. Their eyes met once more, and they took off in a new formation. They would close in on them from either side, forcing them together before sending one powerful attack their way.

That was the plan at least.

As they closed in, however, they could sense more chakra wielders nearby- a lot more. And suddenly it looked like plans would be changing.

Naruto's eyes widened. An ambush?

He glanced over and managed to catch the Uchiha's eyes. He seemed to be having the same thought. Between the two of them, they were powerful enough to take out many enemies at once, but this far exceeded that. The group closing in was massive, and they could sense that they were formidable opponents. It wasn't smart to jump into something like this with just the two of them.

Naruto reluctantly pulled back and Sasuke did the same, joining him on a thick branch to regroup and rethink their strategy. The blonde turned to look at him, his eyes still red and feral, Kurama's power elongating his canines, darkening his whisker-like markings, and tinging the ends of his hair red. Sasuke always found the look incredibly.. appealing- especially now that Naruto's hair had grown out, his body lean, his cheekbones more prominent.

Another private thought he would never admit to.

"We need to report this" the focus of his hidden desires said, his voice not completely his own.

He didn't wait for Sasuke to respond. He summoned a shadow clone, gave it clear instructions, and sent it off. He turned his attention back to his comrade, brows furrowed. "This.. doesn't make sense. I thought we were just after a few rogue nin. Why would they have so many people suddenly show up like this?"

Sasuke looked around them, wary of any approaching threats. "Not sure. We don't even know what forbidden jutsus they stole." He looked back at the blonde. "This might be a lot bigger than Tsunade thought."

Naruto bit his lip, and Sasuke tried not to stare at the tempting gesture. "Are we seriously going to just walk away from this? Whatever jutsu they stole, it seems like a bad idea for us to just let it get into enemy hands. We don't know who they're working with."

Sasuke's jaw clenched tight. "You want to go after them."

Not a question. He knew Naruto, and he knew it was difficult to get him to turn away from a fight once he got started. The blonde was far too reckless for his own good.

When he gave a small nod, the Uchiha gave a heavy sigh. "Fine. But if anything seems off, I expect you to high-tail it out of there."

Another nod, though it was less than reassuring. But there wasn't much that Sasuke could do when Naruto had his mind made up, and he clearly had. "Alright, let's move."

The two continued their pursuit, but this time they made sure to keep their distance. If this really was an ambush they would need to be able to have enough of a head start to get away. As they moved closer, though, they realized that the men they had been trailing had suddenly stopped. They signaled to each other and slowed down, then paused a few meters off from their location, still hidden in the trees. The men were on the ground now, but they weren't sure about anything else apart from that.

Naruto, ever impatient, leapt down to them and Sasuke quickly joined him. They faced off against the rogue nins, eyes narrowed, ready for an attack, but they both stiffened when they noticed the scroll unfurled across the ground between them. They were too far away to see what kind of jutsu it was, but they knew it was forbidden, so there was no way it was anything good.

"Alright assholes, times up" Naruto snarled. "Hand over the scrolls- now!"

One man took a step towards them, a humorless laugh muffled behind his mask. "Now, why would we do that?" he said smoothly.

"It doesn't fucking belong to you!" Naruto snapped. "Return it, traitor, or I will make sure you regret it."

The man didn't seem fazed by his threats in the least, which pissed off the blonde even more.

"Fine" he grated out. "You want to do this the hard way- let's."

He lunged towards the group and shifted out of view mid step. He reappeared behind them as Sasuke suddenly appeared before them.

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

The men dispersed in time to avoid their attacks, and unfortunately brought the scroll with them. Naruto and Sasuke launched themselves into a vicious attack, but they were pretty well-matched this time. Sasuke knew that Naruto could hold his own, that he was far from weak, but he couldn't help but feel protective of him, and every attack directed his way filled him with terror. It wasn't helping on his own end. He was becoming far too distracted by his concerns, and his enemy managed to land hits they shouldn't have been able to get.

One particularly brutal attack sent him flying before he could stop it. He slammed into a tree, hard, before collapsing to the ground. He groaned and his eyes shot up in time to see one masked nin closing in on him, the forbidden scroll clenched tight in his hand. Sharingan eyes widened as the man dragged a bloodied hand across the parchment and raised it towards him. Chakra tore at his palm and the man screamed with victorious rage, clearly expecting to land his long-awaited attack on the Uchiha.

He had not anticipated the jinchuriki getting in his way.

As chakra blasted out of his hand, Naruto jumped between them and took the entirety of the blow.

"Naruto!" Sasuke leapt to the side, catching him as he flew back. Well, he tried to. The intensity of the blast threw him off his feet and he crashed back into another thick oak. Naruto slammed into his chest and fell heavily into his lap.

Sasuke groaned, then lifted his head. "Hey, are you-"

Naruto threw his head back as a jagged shriek tore from his throat, shooting icy tendrils down the Uchiha's spine. He covered his face with his hands as another scream tore free. His voice cracked, but he couldn't seem to stop. Sasuke grabbed him and spun him around, trying to see what the hell was going on. Naruto dug his fingers into his face, clawing at it, as he shrieked in agony.

"Fuck- what's wrong?!" He tried to pull his hands away, but the blonde jerked back and scrambled away from him.

"Naruto.."

Crimson eyes shot up to glare at the man quietly observing his pain, his eyes expressionless aside from the faint curiosity flitting through them. Sasuke leapt to his feet and closed in fast. He grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and yanked him towards him.

"What the fuck did you do to him?!" he screamed in his face, Naruto's own screams nearly drowning him out.

Those dark, apathetic eyes locked onto him. "It wasn't meant for him" he said slyly. "Whatever his fate is now, it is entirely on you."

He could see how his words affected the raven-haired shinobi and a sharp grin stretch beneath the mask in response. It surprised him- this sudden emotion, but he found himself welcoming it. It's been some time since he felt anything- he'd say he was long overdue for it.

"Are you saying I was your target this entire time?" Sasuke stared at the nin, eyes wide, then looked past him at the others as they slowly moved closer. He turned back to glare at the one in his grasp. "What was all this? What the hell do you want?!"

Those eyes gleamed back at him. The man seemed to be enjoying himself and it sickened him.

"To rid the world of those undeserving of its power" he said smoothly, his smile growing taut beneath the mask. He slowly reached up and tapped the corner of his eye, slowly, purposefully, drawing the Uchiha's attention to it.

Sasuke furrowed his brows, clearly not understanding.

"You are not worthy of the Mangekyou's power, Sasuke Uchiha."

The man's sly voice took on a sharp edge and his wild eyes narrowed, all amusement flickering out- a lone bulb shattered into countless jagged pieces. "So, we intended to remove it from you."

That dark gaze drifted over to the blonde on the ground, still gasping in pain as he gripped his face. He could see blood seeping between his fingers, his body shaking violently. Things he should have seen the Uchiha do.

The man shook his head in disappointment. "Unfortunately, I missed." He sighed. "It will be a while before the jutsu can be used again." He looked back at the raven. "But it will be used again- you can count on that."

And before Sasuke could question him more, the nin bit down hard on something with his back molars.

"No! Dammit! Tell me how to reverse it!" Sasuke screamed, shaking the man, his Sharingan spinning, but it was too late. He watched those shadowed eyes roll as he started convulsing. Sasuke's grip loosened and the man fell in a heap to the forest floor.

Cyanide capsule, Sasuke realized.

He looked up and realized that the clearing had quickly filled with several others- all masked, all watching him carefully. The raven looked back at his tormented friend, then studied the crowd, trying to see if he could find an opening. He couldn't afford to fight these guys- not when Naruto was like this. He wasn't sure what was going on with him, but he obviously needed medical attention- the sooner the better.

Dammit, I need to just fucking move! I don't have time for this!

Sasuke leapt back, scooped Naruto up in his arms, and shifted out of view. He reappeared high in the trees several paces away from their enemy and was surprised to find that none of them had moved. They weren't coming after them.

This.. doesn't make sense, he thought.

He decided to worry about that later. Right now, he was just relieved that he would be able to make his escape with Naruto. He moved fast, fighting the harsh wind for as long as he could, but night was settling in, and the temperatures were dropping fast. Naruto shivered against him, his pained gasps growing quieter as his consciousness began to slip away.

I can't keep him out in this.

Sasuke shifted course and headed east. He knew that one of Orochimaru's old hideouts was out that way, and hoped it was close enough that they would be able to take shelter there for the night.

Luck, finally, was on his side, and they made it to the bunker faster than he expected.

He leapt down to the ground and Naruto's body went limp in his arms. Fuck. Sasuke gently laid his unconscious friend beside him as he pushed snow off the hatch. He quickly used the jutsu the snake taught him years ago, breaking the seal placed on it, then threw it open. He peered inside, but his Sharingan didn't pick up anything suspicious.

Still seems to be abandoned.

He hoped he was right.

He went over to the blonde. His head was turned to the side, his long hair covering his face. His hands had slipped away, and he could see that they were covered in blood. Sasuke forced down his fears, scooped him into his arms once more, and carried him into the bunker, sealing them inside along the way. He padded through the dank corridors until he found a room with a bed. He laid him down on it and brushed his hair away so he could finally look down at the face he had been struggling to hide from him.

Sasuke stared in horror. There was dried blood caked on his face- a lot of it. And it looked like it all had come from… his eyes.

The man's words rang in his head as he stared down at Naruto's blood smeared face. "You are not worthy of the Mangekyou's power. So, we intended to remove it from you."

Sasuke could taste sick in the back of his throat. Fuck.. what did they do to him?

He stirred in his sleep, and Sasuke found himself holding his breath as he waited to find out. "Nnnhhn" Naruto groaned. He brought his hands up to his eyes once more, clearly in pain. But Sasuke had to know what happened to him- he couldn't keep hiding.

He gently took hold of his wrists and pulled his hands down. "Naruto.." he said softly, "open your eyes."

He swallowed and shook his head. "H-hurts" he choked, "s-so much.."

"I know" Sasuke said quietly, "but I can't help you if you don't show me."

Naruto finally gave in and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked through a thick layer of blood to clear his vision, then froze. "Sasuke.."

He looked up and the Uchiha found himself staring at those wide blood-streaked eyes. They were pale blue- so unlike the usual bright cerulean pools that belonged there. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

"I- I can't see.. anything."

"What..?" Sasuke breathed, hoping that he just misheard him.

"Sa- Sasuke" he choked, "I'm.. I'm blind."

Author Note:

'Blind Sighted' is kind of a play on words. Naruto was blindsided by the jutsu, quite literally, but some things will be made very clear to him along the way. Some very eye opening things ;)

Yes. There will be puns and plenty of blind jokes in between all of the angst and sexual tension. I'm sorry if you're already exhausted by me, because truthfully I'm just getting started.

Don't go anywhere, reader!

There is plenty more to come~