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 23: Hurt

--

Sasuke tore his gaze away from the blonde and turned to the self-satisfied sage before him. "I don't see how this concerns me" Sasuke finally said, trying to keep his mind blank now that Naruto had access to it again.

"Don't you?" Orochimaru rose to his feet and walked around the blonde. He dragged his fingertips along his arm, smiling when he jerked back in attempts to avoid his touch. He traced the edges of the chair as he moved to stand behind it.

"You know him, Sasuke. You know his strengths, his weaknesses. His fears."

He suddenly lashed out, and grabbed a fistful of blonde hair, forcing his head back against the chair.

"Nnnn.." Naruto groaned.

Orochimaru moved closer to his face, but kept his eyes locked onto the raven. "Some of our greatest fears come from our childhood. You know this well, don't you Sasuke."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes but chose not to respond.

"So, tell me-" Orochimaru tightened his fist, his smile widening as the blonde gasped in pain.

"-what does Naruto fear most?"

Before Sasuke could stop himself, an image from their past came to mind. Of those men forcing themselves on Naruto- pinning him down, running their hands down his body..

Blue eyes widened with horror, and he quickly slammed a door shut on the memory. He stared at the Uchiha, struggling to hide the fear that was rising in him.

Sasuke clenched his jaw, forcing back his own feelings. "I am not Kabuto" he said sharply. "I thought I made that clear, Orochimaru." He looked around the lab, his disgust on full display.

"I will not help with this."

Then he turned and left- leaving Naruto to the mercy of a cruel and unforgiving world, without him, all over again.

--

After a few more unsettling gazes and ambiguous threats, Orochimaru left as well, and Naruto was alone. Or so they thought.

Kyuubi? Come on- talk to me. I'm losing my mind just staring at the wall.

If you let me out, I will kill every last one of them.

We talked about this. You can't kill-

I see no reason to show Uchiha mercy.

Naruto sighed. I know. That's why you're still in there.

The Kyuubi growled, a low feral sound that reverberated through Naruto's mind. Maybe I should just leave you there to face them alone then.

The door suddenly swung open, and another man came in. He had silver-hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, and a youthful face behind large wire-rim glasses. Naruto had been researching these two for a long time, and he recognized him immediately.

Kabuto.

His reputation preceded him. While clearly Orochimaru's loyal servant, and not much more than that when it came to the snake, the man was just as perverse.. and just as dangerous. Especially if you were trapped in his lab.

Kyuubi, come on. You know I can't let you out yet.

Nothing.

It would seem the fox had retreated, leaving the blonde to fend for himself.

Fuck.

"The Nine Tails jinchurki" Kabuto murmured as he stepped closer. The light caught in his glasses, a fly in a spider's web, the refractions blinding.

Naruto looked away, his face calm, undaunted. But beneath the surface he was fighting off Sasuke's distant yet prying thoughts, desperately searching for Kyuubi's, and trying to hide his growing discomfort.

His apparent lack of fear seemed to set Kabuto off. He marched over to the blonde, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed his head back hard. Naruto winced, then looked up at the man bearing down on him.

"So.. you don't think you need to be concerned with me, is that it?" He pulled Naruto forward and slammed his head back against the chair again, smiling as he groaned in pain.

"Feel that I'm not much of a threat?!" Kabuto screamed. His eyes were wild, the soulless windows to a man who had lost his humanity a long time ago. The sight of them set Naruto's teeth on edge. He would need Kyuubi if he was going to be on the other end of this man's cruelty.

Kyuubi, come on. Don't be like this-

The grip on his throat tightened, severing his thoughts. Naruto's eyes bulged as his lungs screamed for air. His convulsed against his wrist and ankle restraints, fighting to break free- desperate to get Kabuto away from him. He tried to turn his head, anything to loosen his grip, but Kabuto kept a firm hold on him. He smiled as Naruto's wide desperate eyes sought him out.

"Oh, do you have something to say now?" Kabuto asked, loosening his hold.

"S-stop", Naruto croaked.

Kabuto released him, his grin widening as he stepped away. "If you had a tough time with that, you might not survive the rest."

--

Sasuke couldn't hear Naruto in his head for a quite some time, and wondered if maybe he was too far for the jutsu to keep up, when a few words started to slip through. Apparently, he wasn't too far. The blonde was just a lot better at shutting him out than he used to be. He clearly kept mental walls up to keep Sasuke in the dark, and he couldn't blame him. He wasn't exactly proving he could be trusted. And frankly, he didn't want to be.

Sasuke left his old self, his old life.. and Naruto.. in Konoha three years ago.

That's where they should have stayed.

He went back to his training, forcing back all other thoughts, when a voice snaked into his mind. It was far more menacing than Naruto's, but it did come from his thoughts. Sasuke had heard this voice before, and it had been shocking to hear it come from Naruto back then too.

Kyuubi.

Maybe I should just leave you there to face them alone then.

Sasuke listened for more, but whatever connection he had been able to access was gone.

You and Kyuubi seem.. closer, Sasuke thought. Naruto didn't respond, but another thought came to mind. How're you even able to access him right now? Your chakras are blocked.

His eyes widened. Or maybe just yours is..

An image of Kabuto storming towards the blonde suddenly slammed into Sasuke's mind, and then he was cut off. He tried to pry Naruto's mind open again, but he couldn't get through.

Fuck.

He found himself leaving his training area to walk back into the hideout, moving quickly through the corridors. He kept his mind blank- refusing to acknowledge where he was going, who he was going there for.

"Sasuke. I'm surprised."

The raven paused, then turned to meet Orochimaru's accusatory gaze.

"Is there a reason you're down here and not out there training?"

"Do I need to ask permission to sharpen a dull blade?" Sasuke snapped.

Orochimaru slithered towards him and placed a cold hand on his shoulder. "No need to get so defensive, my dear pupil. I suppose I just worry that our little jinchurki is distracting you from your plans."

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "My goals have not changed."

"But surely it brings back memories seeing him again, does it not?" Orochimaru studied him closely, searching for any break in his reserve. "Are you not tempted?"

Sasuke shoved his hand away and stepped closer. "What are you implying, Orochimaru?"

The snake grinned, but before he could respond a piercing scream shot up the halls and filled the space between them. Sasuke could feel all of the blood drain from his face, and he knew the snake could see it. He gave the raven a knowing look.

"Come, Sasuke. Now that I am free, why don't we get back to more of your training. Unless.. you no longer wish to kill Itachi."

Sasuke knew what he was doing but saw no way to defy it without proving him right.

Orochimaru is mistaken, he thought to himself, making sure his own walls were in place to keep the blonde out of his thoughts. Naruto is part of my past. A past I left behind. All I care about is destroying Itachi. He is my burden to bear.

My life in exchange for Itachi's death.

That is what I have chosen.

Naruto won't get in the way of that.

He won't.

Sasuke let Orochimaru steer him back up the halls, away from the screams that echoed through his mind even after they were too far to hear them.

--

"Ah, so you do scream. I was starting to worry that I wouldn't get to hear it."

Kabuto fidgeted with his instruments as Naruto gasped for air on the other side of the room. He kept his head back against the chair, pulled away from the thick leather strap Kabuto had attached to his neck.

When Kabuto first attached the thin metal probes to his temple and sent a voltage of electricity through his body, Naruto had jerked to the side, grabbed a mouthful of wires, and ripped the thing away, destroying the device.

Kabuto lashed out, slamming his fist into his blonde captive until he could finally rein in his anger enough to return to his experiment. He fastened a thick leather band around Naruto's neck, holding his head still, before putting another one of his devices against his temples.

"You won't escape this one" he growled.

And he didn't.

It was excruciating, and Kabuto still wasn't satisfied. Naruto didn't know how far the man was going to take this, but he wasn't sure he'd survive it if he had to face it alone. He closed his eyes and called out for Kyuubi again, hoping the sadistic fox would finally give in to mercy, pity- it didn't really matter what. Just as long as he would step in.

Naruto used to hate the fox with all of his being. He despised that it existed inside of him- that it existed at all. Until one day he realized that that was the exact mentality that the villagers had, the reason his life was full of so much pain and cruelty. Naruto didn't want to be one more blind vengeful villager.

He refused to be like them.

He had been working with Kakashi for months to strengthen his mental fortitude, preparing to face off against Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan, when he decided to test his newfound strength within his own mind. He delved deep inside and found a dark part of himself, a part that made him nervous to venture into. But his resolve was stronger than his trepidation. He slipped deeper into his mind until he came face to face with the Nine Tails. A large cage contained him, and a small seal insured it.

At first, he was petrified. Kyuubi was beyond intimidating, and he didn't want to be responsible for unleashing devastation on his village- even if at times he felt like Konoha deserved it. And besides all of that, Kyuubi was incredibly volatile- anger and resentment trapped behind bars with him. He seemed to hate the blonde just as much as he despised him, if not more so. But the two came to realize that they had a symbiotic relationship- one that would benefit both of them if they worked together.

So, they made a deal.

Kyuubi was not as sensitive to pain as humans were, so he agreed to take the brunt of attacks from their more difficult foes. He would force Naruto's consciousness lower, letting him maintain their form while he absorbed the blow. This way Naruto could fight more challenging enemies, and the damage to them was minimal.

In exchange, Naruto had to agree to let him out from time to time. Which he did, warily. And in situations where the Kyuubi couldn't hurt the innocent. He had to keep him on a rather short leash, and the Kyuubi consistently tested the length of that leash, but the more they worked together the more they started to respect one another- even to the point of caring for each other.

Naruto didn't want Kyuubi to suffer, isolated and caged, and Kyuubi could only handle seeing the blonde get hurt so many times before he was ready to tear someone's flesh from their face. Unfortunately, the Nine Tails was still a sadistic fox with a vile temper, and Naruto often made the mistake of setting him off.

"There we go." Kabuto pushed his glasses up, grinning behind the glare. "Now, let's see how you do with a little more power."

"Nnnn nnnn!" Naruto pulled at his restraints hard, fear boiling in his gut, rising in the back of his throat.

K-Kyuubi..

Fine. I'll help you, weak human.

I thought we were on a.. f-first name basis.. Naruto breathed.

Do you want my help or not?

Ye-yeah. Tap in.

Before he had the chance, Kabuto pushed a thick handle up several notches, sending sharp electricity through the length of wires that snaked over to the bound blonde, and straight into his temples.

Naruto bit back a sob as pain wracked his entire body. Pl-please, Kyuubi!

Dammit! Hang on!

Naruto fell deep inside his mind until he was in the pits where his demon resided. The sealed nine-tailed fox reached out from the bars of his cell, palm facing out. Naruto stumbled forward, exerting every last bit of his strength until he was standing in front of him. He held out his hand, then raised his eyes to meet Kyuubi's.

Thank you, he murmured, then pressed their palms together.