Shadow Complex

Author's Notes: From Beverly...With Love

Welcome to my darkness. I'm going to give you a heads up before you start, but this fic goes in some horrible, dark places. This fic is not for the faint of heart. If you want to know what you're getting into before you start reading, look up the Kevin Smith movie Tusks. We're talking that level of dark and twisted. For those of you that don't know me super well, I have a masters degree in counseling, and one of the things that I love to work with is psychosis dealing with it. Normally, I don't give up this information before a fic, but I feel this is important here mostly because FFNd oesn't allow tagging like Ao3 does.

This fic contains: Forced surgical procedures, removal of teeth, breaking of bones, forced bondage, permanent damage to the character, and long term effects that are not "magically better".

This fic is a very twisted tale of stalking, major psychosis, and trauma. This fic does not demonize the mental health issue that the main antagonist has, on the contrary, I strive to make the character, by the end, somewhat sympathetic. I'm looking at showing a very real portrayal of this type of thing. Don't expect magic better things.

This is a Sasuke/Naruto fic. In the end they DO end up together, however, I'll let you know now, it isn't a normal relationship at that point. Because of what happens to Naruto, they are locked in a relationship that is like a constant pet play scenario for a very long time. Naruto does improve, but he is never "fine". Doing so would make it unrealistic. The point with this fic is to delve in to the depths of the darkest part of the psyche.

Before you begin, I'll warn you that the majority of the graphic surgery happens in chapter four, so skim that chapter if you are squeamish.

Now, the following is important if you are considering reading this fic:

Naruto does get rescued. Kabuto is a man undergoing something called Psychosis secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury. He begins to disassociate as the story moves forward, first with a predator "personality" and then a regretful "Savior" personality.

There are two endings planned. One is the "happy" ending, and the other is the "tragic" and frankly more realistic outcome. I will post two separate chapters for this, so if you do not want to read the tragic ending, you can skip it.

Chapter One

Shinobi Five

Sakura Haruno walked with her best frenemy Ino Yamanaka to their first day in Advanced Physiology at Tokyo University. The two girls were somewhat distracted because both had a very similar problem. Sakura was crushing on her friend and bandmate Sasuke Uchiha, and he seemed extremely oblivious to her overtures. Ino, however, had an equally frustrating crush on the lead singer and Sakura's bandmate Naruto Uzamaki. He, like Sasuke, seemed to be oblivious to these things, no matter how many times she flirted with him, or gave him tokens of her affection.

Sakura played the keyboards and did backup vocals for a band called Shinobi Five. Shinobi Five was actually started by Sasuke Uchiha, whose family had the money to back a group of college kids who wanted to start a band. Sasuke, though, didn't sing, but he did play bass guitar. Sakura had recommended her friend Naruto from high school as a lead singer, and so far, it had worked really well. Their drummer was a quiet redheaded boy named Gaara Sands, and their last member was a very lazy boy that Sasuke had recruited named Shikamaru. He played back up guitar and did backup vocals. They were talking as they came into the room.

"Did you see the new outfits that I made for the boys?" Sakura said proudly. "I might have made Naruto's a bit tight in the ass for you."

Ino snorted. "Yeah, well, at least I can see his ass, Sasuke never fuckin' moves on stage…" she muttered.

"Well, I do sit behind him, so that's fine with me. Naruto's hard to make costumes for though, he's so damn energetic and jumpy, he tears them up so fast!" she said as they walked past the Professor at the front, or at least they thought it was their professor. "At least Sasuke doesn't rip the crotch out of every pair of pants I make for him…

The girls sat down and their teacher turned around. He had platinum blonde hair that was almost white and round glasses. He smiled at the class in a very placid way.

"Welcome to Advanced Physiology. I'm a Teacher's Assistant attending the graduate medical program, and I've been assigned to this classroom in lieu of the regular professor. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. Now, since I'm also a student here, things are a bit different, as you will see me outside of the classroom. This is my only teaching assignment, so I'm sure that you may come across me at other school events or classes. My rules are simple in regards to that. Do not discuss class outside of class with me. I am trying to have a life too, you know!"

The class laughed and the rest of the class seemed to go just as any other class despite their teacher being only a couple years older than them. He seemed knowledgeable and very capable, so both Ino and Sakura were pleased with the class. As the class ended, Sakura heard the energetic call from Naruto bounding into the room.

"Sakura!" he said and practically ran up to her. "Sakura!"

He was practically thrumming with energy, like always. He was in his regular outfit, a pair of jeans and a J-pop band shirt. Sakura had no idea why he liked those bands because honestly, his style of singing was much less "pop" and more "metal" as they put it. Maybe "punk". Definitely not "pop", though.

"Naruto, what the hell, class just ended?" she said as she gathered her books.

"But I have news! We're booked at the Station this weekend!" he said, almost hopping back and forth as he spoke.

Sakura looked at him. "We're what?"

"The Station?" Ino said in shock. The Station was a club that had featured many bands that had gone on to stardom. It wasn't a minor venue like they normally played.

"Yeah! I sent a demo over to the guy that owns it! He loved it! He wants us to open for the main band, of course, we're not the main event or anything, but we're opening for Juice Leopards. There are gonna be so many people there!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. His blue eyes were sparkling with the news.

Sakura couldn't help it. Naruto's positivity was infectious. She smiled and hugged him. "Awesome! We have to practice our asses off this week!" she said.

Naruto nodded emphatically. "I can't wait to tell Sasuke!"

"He's not going to even smile, you know," Ino commented, sighing. Naruto was always so excited to tell Sasuke things, and Sasuke never seemed to care in the least.

"He'll be happy, though! We did this without his family's money! All on our own merit!" he said and turned to leave.

Naruto nearly ran right into the Teacher's Assistant Kabuto who had been walking up when he turned to dash out. "Oh!" Naruto gasped and looked up at him. "I'm sorry!" he said and dashed around him and left.

Kabuto looked after him and back to the two girls. "Don't mind him, he's…um…excitable," Sakura said and gathered her books up. Kabuto watched them go, curious indeed over what they had been talking about.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Friday night was, quite frankly, magical for Shinobi Five. Their sets were flawless, and Naruto's energy just incited the crowd to cheer them more and more. This was why he made such a good front man for the band. Sasuke was quiet and reserved, and he would much rather hide in the background than actually get noticed. Naruto on the other hand, loved to be recognized and have everyone's attention. He was sometimes a bit naïve about things, but all in all, it made his charm effective. He was perhaps, the most pure hearted individual Sasuke Uchiha had ever met.

Sasuke hung back as Naruto shook hands and excitedly talked about some of the new songs that Sakura and Shikamaru were working on for them. He was a boundless source of energy to all around him. He glanced over and noticed that Ino was there again, watching every move Naruto made. Sasuke narrowed his glance at her and rolled his eyes. She could not have been more obvious if she tried. She fawned over Naruto all the time, buying him new guitar strings, picks, bringing him coffee and sodas when she came to see Sakura.

Speaking of Sakura, Sasuke thought as he glanced over to see her shooting furtive glances his direction. He sighed in exasperation. Gaara was standing by him as he did so.

"You don't find her attention interesting," he commented in his stoic way.

"No," Sasuke said simply and crossed his arms over his chest. "She just embarrasses herself. Just like Ino in her fawning over the baka. He's so stupid, anyway."

Gaara nodded. "They seem to believe that doing the same things again and again will result in new results. It is quite obvious that you and Naruto are not interested in their affections."

Sasuke snorted. Gaara had no idea. He watched as Naruto hugged and shook hands with a few other people. He held back a biting remark when a girl from the crowd walked up and practically humped Naruto's leg. It wasn't unusual, though, and Naruto always smiled, nodded, and laughed things like that off. That's why he made an ideal front. He could handle those things. Then something changed. He could see him stepping back immediately. Sasuke, however, did step forward when he heard Naruto's nervous laugh as he was pushing the people in the crowd away from him.

"Yo, we need to go, Dobe," Sasuke said, glaring at the girl who was grinning at Naruto.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, um, bye! Come see us again!" he yelled as he let Sasuke pull him away by the arm.

Sasuke started to let go of him, but he saw that something was definitely not right as they came into the backstage area. He growled under his breath and yanked Naruto into the men's room, much to the girls' annoyance.

"What the hell is going on?" Sasuke said. "What happened?"

Naruto turned and blinked at him, and Sasuke saw the look on his face that he was trying to hide. "N-nothing, I'm fine," he said, shaking his head.

"Bullshit, you are freaked the fuck out," he said, putting both hands on his hips.

"It…it's nothing…" he said, but Sasuke saw that his hand was shaking when he ran it over his head. Sasuke grabbed it and glared at him.

Naruto bit his lip. "Th-that girl was handsy, that's all."

"Ng, not all, you've had chicks grab your balls before and it didn't bother you like this," he said.

Naruto shook his head but saw Sasuke wasn't going to let him out of telling him. He swallowed and fished a card out of his pocket. "Someone put this in my hand, I don't know who…"

Sasuke looked at it and frowned. It was a white business card with typed words on it. "I See You" it said and there was what looked like the eye of a snake printed below it. Sasuke put it in his pocket. "That's just something stupid, don't worry about it, Dobe," Sasuke said with a shake of his head.

Naruto nodded. "I guess. Just…it was really weird. Like I felt like someone was behind me, and when I turned, there wasn't anyone, and this was in my hand…"

"Just some idiot who watched the show."

Still, Sasuke worried. The card had been printed, not hastily written.

Naruto smiled after each gig, but after every one he found himself shaking because another card would be found. If not given to him at some point when meeting people, he'd find it in the dressing room. Once, he found one placed in the strings of his guitar. He tried to hide it from Sasuke, but he knew that the bass player knew what was happening. He quietly collected them and put them in a box, wondering if maybe he put them all together, if they would mean something.

It had been almost six months since it began when Sasuke barged into his apartment one night after a rather large venue and found him sitting by the bed with the cards spread out on the bed.

"I knew it."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke's biting remarks died on his lips, though, because he looked afraid. Not anxious, not trying to push it off. He was scared. Sasuke walked over and looked at what was laid out. There had to be fifty of the little business cards. Sasuke began looking through them. Several had the same thing on them. All had the snake's eye on them below three or four word statements printed in plain font. "I See You", "You Can't Hide", "Look At Me", "Too Good To Live", "I Found You", "I Will Have You", "You Need Me", "There's No Way Out"…

"Naruto, these are creepy as fuck!" Sasuke said, looking at him.

"I..I found one in the door when I came home," he said finally, handing Sasuke the one clutched in his hand.

Sasuke took it. "You're Mine Now and Forever".

"Naruto, we need to go to the police," Sasuke said, expecting a fight. However, it was evident of how bothered he was when he just nodded and stood up, staring at the floor.

Sasuke swallowed and gathered all the cards and shoved them in the plain index card box that Naruto had been keeping them. Naruto himself was still in the stage costume and makeup from the night. Sasuke had taken all of his off already. The costumes they were wearing were all unique, but Naruto had been given a headband because of the amount he moved on stage. It had a stylized leaf on it, which over the last few months had become the band's symbol. Each of them wore a band somewhere that had it printed on them. That had actually been Ino's idea, but it had been a good one. Naruto had gone to wearing an orange jacket and pants on stage, mostly for visibility, while the others wore more muted colors. It had a swirl pattern on the middle of the back and the shoulders were black.

"Do you want to change?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded, and took the jacket off and went around the bed to his dresser, pulling out a plain t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He changed quickly and Sasuke watched carefully. He'd never seen him so out of sorts before. He went forward when he just seemed to stop and sit on the bed and he sat down by him.

"Hey, Dobe, we'll figure it out," he said, putting one hand on his leg and sighing. "I know this is creepy, but we'll deal with it."

Naruto looked at him, swallowing thickly. "Are…are you sure? I don't…I mean, what do I do if they say they can't help? Do…Do…"

Sasuke grabbed his hand. "Stop. Don't worry yet. Just let's figure it out, okay?"

Naruto nodded and let him take him to the police station. Sasuke went up to the desk and waited for the officer to acknowledge him. He finally, after a few minutes of ignoring him, looked up.

"Yes?" he said slowly.

"I need to see someone to report a stalking situation," he said seriously. Beside him Naruto was refusing to look up at anyone and kept staring at the floor. Sasuke realized he'd left the headband on.

"Yeah, yeah, why do you think you're being stalked?" the offers said, still uninterested.

"I'm not being stalked, he is, and the reason is this," Sasuke said starting to get annoyed as he slammed the box on the desk.

The desk officer looked up and narrowed his eyes at Sasuke but flipped through the cards. Sasuke looked at him. "He's been getting them almost weekly for the last six months after our shows. He finally showed them to me tonight when he got this one," he said and pushed the last one over the desk.

"Alright," he said, looking between the two. The desk officer picked up the phone. "You available? Might have a case for you. Yeah." He hung up. "Have a seat, he'll be out to see you in a minute."

Sasuke pulled Naruto to the bench and sat down with him. It was obvious he was still trembling. Hey looked up when a man walked up to them. He was a tall, slender guy. He was wearing gray slacks and a white button up shirt. He had a scarf that covered his mouth and one of his eyes was covered with a patch.

"Inspector Kakashi Hatake, hear you might have something for me?" he asked with a gentle smile to the two boys.

Sasuke nodded, standing up and pulling Naruto to stand beside him. "Someone's stalking him."

Kakashi nodded. "Come on, then," he said and gestured toward an office not far away.

Sasuke sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He pulled Naruto to sit beside him. "Sit down, Dobe," he muttered.

Naruto nodded, looking around. The plaque on the desk read Inspector Kakashi Hatake, Special Victims Division. Sasuke handed him the box of cards. Kakashi took them, looking them over carefully, then making several piles as he sorted them.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "Alright, tell me about yourselves," he said as he continued looking over the cards.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, his name's Naruto Uzamaki. We go to Tokyo University, I'm Law, he's Economics, and he told me tonight about how bad this has gotten," Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto.

"So this has been going on a while? Tell me the circumstances."

Sasuke looked at Naruto who was just staring at the floor. He rolled his eyes. "It was about six months ago that he showed me the first, that one that says 'I see you'. Since then, this idiot has been hiding the fact he's gotten one after each of our shows."

"Shows?" Kakashi asked, looking at them.

"We have a band," Naruto said, looking up at him. "Um, Shinobi Five, and we've been paying some bigger venues lately, and I find those cards after all of them. They've been put in my hand, in my pockets, on my door to my apartment tonight…"

Kakashi nodded, noticing that the boy had stage makeup on now that he could see him up close. At first he thought he just was wearing normal makeup, but he could tell it was the overexaggerated type for stage use. "Anything else?"

Naruto shrugged. "I mean, I just…I don't know if it has anything to do with the cards…"

"What?" Sasuke asked, snapping his head around to glare at him.

"Just…things missing. Like my guitar picks, or my busted strings will be gone from the trash when I know I put them there, or clothes…" he muttered.

"Clothes?" Kakashi said, frowning. "What exactly?"

Naruto shook his head. "Just things…"

"What?" Sasuke said, frowning deeply at him.

"I don't know for sure! Just like gloves, one of the headbands that Sakura made us, that glitter scarf from the park event, some shirts, boxers, a pair of my jeans…" he muttered.

"That's a lot, son," Kakashi said, concerned. "I might want to put a detail on you."

"A detail?" Naruto said. "Like a guard or something? I can't do that, I go to school all week!"

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I need to put someone on you, we can't just let this go on unchecked. You came here to report it, so obviously, something about it bothers you enough to report it."

Naruto looked up and nodded. "Okay."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and back to Kakashi. He hadn't argued. Naruto argued about everything, especially something like this. Kakashi saw the look on Sasuke's face and knew that this was definitely not an average situation for the young man in front of him.

"Naruto, tell me, is there anyone you see a lot more than others? Have there been anyone that you've noted showing up at the shows or getting closer to you than others?" Kakashi asked, taking out a notepad.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know, I mean, I see a lot of people, and people touch me all the time, but…it doesn't really bother me. I mean, I know they just want to see me and I like the attention… I mean, I don't know why this bothers me… I should be okay with it, I mean, it has to be some obsessed fan, right? That's good to have someone like me that much, right?" he said, looking up at Kakashi hopefully.

"No, not at all. This isn't normal, Naruto, this is dangerous. People that get this obsessed are dangerous for a lot of reasons. They're unpredictable, and they can do a lot of things that can hurt or sabotage you," Kakashi said with a sigh. He leaned over to the phone. "Send in Officer Lee, please," he said into it.

A moment later a younger man in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt came in with black bowl cut hair and dark eyes. "Yes, sir! Rock Lee reporting, sir!" he said with a grin.

"Lee, I'm assigning you to Mr. Uzamaki here. He's got a stalking situation, it seems, so I want you to keep an eye on him. I'll assign Neji Hyūga and Tenten to the same. I'll let Guy take field lead on the situation. However, you're the only one here tonight, so I want you to follow him back to his apartment and check the area out, look over the place for anything else out of place. Did you drive or get here some other way?" Kakashi asked, looking at the two.

"We walked," Sasuke said.

"Alright, Lee will take you take you back, and I hate to ask, but can you stay at his place tonight?" he said and looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. "I probably am going to stay with him or take him to my house from now on," Sasuke groused.

"But, Sasuke, you don't have to do that…I mean, if he sends…" he said, looking at him.

"Shut up, Dobe. You don't get a say on this."

Naruto swallowed and nodded, looking back at his hands. Kakashi narrowed his eyes and looked at Lee. "Lee, take them up front to fill the reports out at the desk, and come back, I need to talk to you before you take them back."

A few minutes later, Kakashi watched as the two boys filled out the forms. Lee came back and closed the door behind him.

"Inspector?" he said.

"Watch the dark haired boy, Uchiha. He's really possessive of the blonde. There doesn't seem to be a relationship between them, but he's forceful with him, telling him what to do, and Naruto seems somewhat fearful. It could just be Uchiha trying to take care of his friend. But you know as well as I do, stalking is most often done by people that know the victim. Stay close to the Uzamaki boy. I'll discuss it with Guy before I send him to you in the morning. Try and get information of any others that are close to him, especially any others that are actively possessive. I'm most worried about a savior complex with that Uchiha boy. I know his brother by reputation," Kakashi said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Lee nodded and headed back to the front where Naruto was finishing the last bit of paperwork. He nodded.

"Alirght, let's get you back," Lee said and led them outside to his car.

Sasuke put Naruto in the back and got in beside him. Lee arched a black brow but got in and took off. He'd expected one of them to get in the front, but he supposed it was okay like this. Instead he listened to them.

"I don't know if this is necessary," Naruto said and stared out the window. "I mean, how serious could this be?"

Sasuke growled under his breath. "You are stupid sometimes, idiot. You don't know who this is or what they want! They could do anything with you on stage."

"Why, though?" he asked.

"I don't know why any more than you do, Dobe. Why anyone would pick a baka like you to stalk, I don't' know," Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed. "Hey," Sasuke said and reached over to put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, we'll figure this out, okay? It's probably just some stupid girl that thinks you're cute or something, like idiot Ino does."

"Huh?" Naruto said and looked at Sasuke. "Ino?"

Sasuke sighed. "Really? You don't notice? She fawns over you all the time. All the picks she gives you, the coffee and ramen she brings you to sets and practice? She's got the hots for you. She's as bad as Sakura."

"Sakura? Sakura's my best friend, she's not like that," Naruto said. "She…oh, she likes you," Naruto said with a nod. "And you think Ino likes me the same way?"

"Baka," Sasuke muttered. "They're both idiots too. You have no interest in Ino, and I could not care less about Sakura."

Naruto was quiet. "Yeah, I guess. I'm tired, though," he said as they pulled into the parking garage.

"Lead the way," Lee said as he let them out. Naruto nodded and they headed up.

Naruto swiped his keycard for the elevator and they headed up to his room. Naruto stopped and stared at the door. Lee stepped around him and put out a hand to stop Sasuke from grabbing the card that was taped there.

"Wait," Lee said, pulling a glove out of his pocket and slipping it on. He reached out and pulled off the card.

"They Can't Help You."

Lee put it inside another glove to preserve any evidence. "I'll go in first, unlock it," he said.

Naruto used his keycard and the door turned green. Lee pushed it open and went into the dark room. He flicked the lightswitch on and looked around. Nothing looked out of place at first but he saw that there was something taped to one of the doors. He went over and saw another card. That meant that whoever stuck the card on the front door had been in the room. He walked up and read this one.

"You Can't Hide."

Lee pushed the door open and saw that it was the bedroom. He frowned deeply. The bed was made up perfectly. Considering what he'd seen of Naruto, he didn't mark him as a guy that made his bed like this every morning. On the pillow, another card had been laid on top of a white, flat box. It was tied up with red ribbons.

"For My Sweet," the card read. Lee put the card into the glove with the others and pushed open the box. It was a box of chocolates. He pulled out his phone and called Kakashi to send over a crime scene investigator.

It was nearly two am when everyone left the apartment, and Kakashi stood in the living room where the two sat together. If it was the Uchiha boy, he would have to have an accomplice because someone had been there after he'd brought Naruto to the office. He looked up as the door opened and two girls came running in followed by a red headed boy and a black haired boy with his hands in his pocket.

"Naruto!" the girl with pink hair yelled as she came running into his room. "Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" she said and hugged him to her. Sasuke was sitting beside him on the other side and watching Ino who was staring at Naruto with her hands intertwined.

"Yeah, probably nothing, I just…how would someone get in here?" he asked. "I mean, it takes a card to get in the building!"

"Didn't you says of your things had gone missing?" Kakashi said, glancing at Lee.

"Yeah?" Naruto answered.

"By chance, are you missing a card key?" Kakashi said with a sigh.

Naruto looked up at him. "Oh."

"Dobe, are you fucking serious? You lost a keycard and you didn't tell me?" Sasuke said.

"I'm sorry, I just…I thought I washed it in my jeans, but…but…" Naruto said with a sigh. "I can't believe this."

"You're going to my house tonight, idiot," Sasuke said and crossed his arms.

"He could come to my apartment," Ino said and Kakashi saw the slight blush hit her cheeks. "It's close."

Before Naruto said anything Sasuke glared at her. "No. My place has a top notch security system and he'll be a hell of a lot safer under the security cameras than at your crappy apartment. You don't even have an extra bedroom for him to sleep in."

Ino sighed and turned away. Sakura glared at Sasuke. "You don't have to be mean about it, Sasuke," she said quietly.

"Fuck off, Sakura," Sasuke said and stood up, yanking Naruto to his feet beside him. "Come on, Lee or whatever the hell your name is, he needs sleep tonight," he said as he stormed toward the door with Naruto stumbling behind him. Lee took off after him.

Kakashi looked at the two girls. He had an idea, though. Time to interview the rest of them, he thought to himself.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Kakashi sat at his desk and had a huge headache. Another three months had passed since Naruto Uzamaki came into his life, and things had not gotten better. Instead, things seemed to have gotten worse. He'd set up a plant inside Naruto's apartment, but there had been no more issues with it. It seemed that whoever was stalking him couldn't get to him at the Uchiha boy's house, but the cards still showed up after shows and in odd places. They were increasingly possessive and violent sounding.

"He Can't Keep You Forever," "I Will Make You Mine," "Enjoy The Attention," "I Don't Like Them Watching You," "Stop Going On Stage," "You Will Sing For Me Only," and many other variations showed up in strange places. Several accompanied sweets or presents left in various places where he'd find them. Luckily, Sasuke found them and sent them to Kakashi via Lee, Tenten, or Neji. All were doped with various drugs. Some were hallucinogenic substances, others were sedatives. There was no purpose other than to scare him because he was under constant watch.

After nearly a year of the constant stalking had left Naruto paranoid about everything. He didn't show it at shows, and to the outside it didn't appear that there was a problem with him. But afterward he would pace and wait for the eventual finding of a card or gift. There was a shift, though, when one night after a show they found Ino knocked out in front of the stage exit. There was a card on her chest.

"She Can't Have You."

Then, it just stopped. Almost a year, and it all stopped. Nothing changed, there were no changes in the people in Naruto's life, they just simply disappeared. Kakashi worried. Usually, something like a disappearance of stalking activity meant the stalker had been arrested or something else had changed. Naruto, though, took it to mean that whoever it was had gotten bored with him and moved one. Kakashi didn't think that was the case at all.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Naruto fell into the sofa backstage and we positively floating on air. The set had been amazing. Nothing had gone wrong, and this was their first time that Shinobi Five had been the main event at the Station. It was amazing and he couldn't have wanted anything to have gone better. Sasuke had even hugged him and smiled about it. They had a really good shot at making it into a bigger venue at this rate. Gaara was standing on the other side of the dressing room and looked around at Naruto.

"I'm going to get a drink, want something?" he asked.

"Yeah, bring me a juice," he said. "My throat is so sore after that last set!" he said with a smile. "Is Lee out there? Bring him something too."

Three months with his four guards had meant they got really close to each other. He liked Lee's excitement, and Neji's quiet seriousness. Tenten was fun, too. He'd actually dozed off when he heard the door open again. He linked wearily and smiled.

"Took you long enough, Gaara. You take Lee something?" he said and turned toward the door just as he felt something slam into his neck. He looked up to see someone with glasses as he passed out.

Sasuke knocked on the dressing room door and looked around. He didn't see Lee, which was strange. He knocked again, but no answer. He opened it and didn't see anyone inside. He was about to close the door when he saw something that made his heart stop. He went in and saw on the sofa that there was a familiar card.

"He's Mine Now."

There was an immediate frenzy as every video feed and every single person in the area was locked down. Lee was found tied up and unconscious in a coat closet. He'd been knocked out with some sort of sedative. Gaara had also been found unconscious behind the stage curtains. Neither Lee nor Gaara had seen what had happened to them. Everyone who should have been backstage had been there, and there was no one who wasn't supposed to be there. No video feed had caught Naruto leaving, and whoever had taken him had been very good at avoiding anyone catching them.

Kakashi had taken all the band members to the station and was trying to calm all of them down. Sasuke was pacing, and Gaara and Shikamaru were talking quietly. Ino and Sakura were both chattering with each other in a worried manner. Kakashi clapped loudly.

"Alright, let's try to figure this out," he said as he looked around.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Kimimaro spent a lot of his time watching TV, reading, or sitting at the window watching the world pass him by. It wasn't like he could do much else. He was desperately hoping that he could live another twenty years, but he knew that it was unlikely. Kimimaro had been diagnosed with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive at the age of ten when what was thought to be a cancerous tumor had come up in his knee. The biopsy had made the pain worse, and they quickly identified the problem. He'd lost the use of that leg for the most part since then, and for the last two years had been confined to a wheelchair.

"Kimi, you doing okay in there?" Haku called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, just watching the sun set," he said with a smile.

Haku was his caretaker. He'd lost the use of his hands for the most part when it came to fine motor skills after an incident where he's injured his fingers. The more damage his body took, the quicker the disease would turn tissue into bone. It was eventually going to be like he was trapped inside his own body, unable to move, and if he was lucky, he'd die before then. Haku came in, smiling as usual. Kimimaro was eternally grateful for the young man. He'd been one of the best things in his world since he came into it. He set the tray down on the small table and rolled it toward him.

"There, Kimi. Need help, or can you handle it today?" he asked, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"Oh, I think I'm fine. But could you bring me my binoculars and my recorder? I want to pontificate on the sunset and the skyline tonight," he said with a nod to the young man. He said young man, but he wasn't that much older. Kimimaro was only twenty four himself, and Haku was nineteen. Still, Kimimaro felt so much older than that. However, when half your life is gone, it makes one feel old.

Kimimaro ate his dinner slowly, savoring it as he did so. He had learned that savoring the moments around him was more important now than ever. He sighed deeply though, watching people walk by his window. He lived in a nice townhouse style building, tall and thin. It was the second unit from the west end of the row. The end unit was taken by a very strange man who always bothered him. Kabuto or something was his name. He'd come by and talked to him one day about his condition, seemingly fascinated as a med student.

He heard Haku coming back down the stairs. There were technically three levels to the units, but because of Kimimaro's condition, he had converted the living room downstairs into his bedroom and gave Haku the actual bedroom upstairs for his use. Luckily, there was a small bathroom downstairs as well as the upper level. There was also a small storage basement, but honestly, even before he lost the ability to walk, he'd never gone down there. He'd actually locked the place off, mostly because it smelled eternally musty. There were six units in the building, but he didn't know the new neighbors on the east of him, he thought Kiba and Hinata had been the couple that moved in there. He knew down further was a couple of college guys who split the place upstairs and down like he and Haku did, Yoroi Akadō and Misumi Tsurugi. The next couple down had been there forever it seemed, and he noticed that Kurenai Yūhi was pregnant the last time he'd seen her. He understood now why her fiancé Asuma Sarutobi looked so pleased with himself lately. At the east end of the building, there was a very strange college student named Shino who had a fixation with bugs. He seemed to remember he was going to school to be an entomologist or something.

"Here you are, Kimi. Ring me if you need anything, I'm beat!" Haku said as he put the buzzer down beside Kimimaro's hand.

"Sure thing, thanks so much," he said with a sigh as he picked up the binoculars and looked out into the sky. He enjoyed watching the world go by even if he couldn't be involved in it. Before he knew it, it was well into the wee hours of the morning. He should go to sleep, he supposed, but the stars were so attractive tonight.

He was simply watching through the thin curtain when he saw something odd. He moved the curtain just enough that he could see without revealing himself. Was that Kabuto? He was dragging something very big and somewhat heavy by the look. That was odd. And it was well after dark. Why would anyone be dragging in new purchases this time of night? He grabbed his binoculars and tried to get a better look. He knew Haku would chide him for spying but what else was he supposed to do? He couldn't tell anything much other than it was indeed a large bag…like body bag sized bag. But that was impossible…unless. He put the binoculars down.

"October 23rd, spotted neighbor Kabuto entering his unit with what appears to be a body bag by initial observation. Putting that with his position as a graduate student in the medical program at Tokyo University, I would hypothesize that he has brought home a cadaver without anyone knowing about it. Curious, and likely not something he should be doing, but I'll keep an eye, or nose, rather, out for strange smells coming from next door. It is possible that the bag could be innocuous, but as he is bringing such a thing home at almost two in the morning. Continued observation expected," he said into the recorder and put it in his shirt pocket.

He sighed and picked up the buzzer for Haku and rolled over to the hospital bed. He slid himself into it and used his remote to douse the lights and the TV, falling deeply asleep quickly. It wasn't like a medical student dragging a cadaver home was really that odd.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Naruto woke up with a massive headache. He tried to move but found his hands were bound behind him. He moaned and opened his eyes slowly. It smelled damp and dark. Every notecard appeared in his mind's eye. Every strange thing that had happened in the last year came roiling back to him.

"Hello?" he called.

"Hello," he heard someone answer behind him. He tried to look behind him but he couldn't.

"Who…who are you?" Naruto asked, feeling the stress on his shoulders. "Wha…what's happening?"

"You're mine, my Kogitsune, my very own prey, captured and set before me," he heard the voice say and Naruto swallowed thickly. "I told you that it would be like this."

Naruto looked as someone came around from behind him. He frowned. He recognized this person. He'd only met him a couple times.

"Aren't…aren't…you a teacher or something?" he said, staring at him.

"Kabuto. I'm a grad student. I teach a class every semester. I've been watching you a while now," he said with a sigh. He reached out and caressed his face. "You are so lovely, and you have a beautiful voice. I wanted it for myself, you see," he said. "The voice, that was what drew me…the cries of need and desperation…"

Naruto pulled his face away from his hand. "What…what do you mean… Need and desperation? That makes no sense before now, you kidnapped me!" he said.

"I took you away from those awful people who didn't appreciate you, my Kogitsune," Kabuto said as he reached up and adjusted his round silver framed glasses. "I can fully appreciate you."

"Then let me go," he said, looking around frantically. Panic wasn't something Naruto actually did often. In fact, the only time that he had ever been in a panic was when he was lying bleeding on the roadside while his parents screamed in agony as they burned… "I don't…why are you calling me that? Why are you saying these things? Please, just let me go, please, I…I'm scared and I don't want to be here!"

He seemed to be in a basement of some sort. He smelled damp earth, and it felt wet around him. He saw shelves around him and his hands were tied behind him on a pole of some sort. He tried to kick with his foot where the guy knelt in front of him. Kabuto caught his ankle with an exasperated looking face. Kabuto stared at his eyes for a long time, and then simply gripped his heel in one hand, and the end of his foot in the other. Then he quickly twisted his hands to the outside. Naruto stared in shock as he watched his foot twist and there was a loud popping sound before it moved sideways. It took a long moment before he felt the pain as it shot up his leg. His mouth worked for a moment and he wondered if that had just really happened.

"I'm sorry about this," Kabuto said as he put down the now obviously broken ankle. "But you are too precious to me to escape, Kogitsune." He reached over and did the same to the other ankle, snapping the bones quickly and effectively. "You'll have to depend on me, you see, Kogitsune. And you'll love me like no one else. Like I love you," he said as he looked up at him. "Don't scream. I'll break your jaw too, and if I do that, I'll simply thread a tube through your nose to feed you with," he said with a grin. "See, I'm in the medical program, so no matter what, I can take care of you."

Naruto was too surprised to even do more but whimper in pain. He'd broke both his ankles. Just like that, just broke them both as easily as breathing. "H-How…"

"How did I do that so easily?" Kabuto said, stroking his hands up Naruto's calves. "It is exceedingly easy to break bones, especially at a joint, just the right amount of torque and there you have it. So you'll have to do what I say, or I won't give you comforts."

"Comforts?" Naruto gasped as he watched the skin on his legs beginning to purple and puff around his ankles. "What…what do you mean…"

"Why, using the bathroom, a shower, leaving the basement…those sort of things. I want to be nice to you, I do, but you have to earn my trust, my Kogitsune. So I'll leave you here for a while. I have to go to the school, you know. Not showing up after your very public disappearance last night would look bad. Your little friend Sakura and the whore Ino is in my class, after all. I was tempted to poison her, you know, the whore."

"What…why…what do you mean?" Naruto asked with a panic starting to set into him.

"The whore was vying for your affections. It was beginning to grate on my nerves. I had intended to legitimately woo you, my dear. But she kept pushing…talking in my class about how wonderful you were, and how you responded to her affection…"

"Ino?" Naruto asked. "I don't like her like that, she's Sakura's friend, she…she's just a friend. Don't…don't hurt her…"

"I don't have to hurt her, if you are a good boy for me," Kabuto said with a smirk as he leaned forward and kissed Naruto's forehead gently. "But if you aren't…I'll kill them all. I brought you here, and no one knew it. No one caught me, and no one was able to stop me in a year. I can get to them all, and I can make sure they all die."

"Please, let me go, I won't tell anyone about this, okay? I promise, I'll just…" Naruto started but then gasped as he shoved a ball into his mouth and clasped something around behind his head.

"There now, hush," Kabuto said with a sly smile. "I can't have you summoning anyone from outside. And I have a very nosy neighbor."

Naruto stared at him in complete horror as he stood and went up the stairs. The door slammed loudly as he left. Naruto had no idea what happened. He didn't even know this guy that well. He had met him once or twice… This was the person that had been stalking him? This was who had left all those cards and took his things? He dropped his head to the pillar behind him and only had one thought. He wished Sasuke were here.