*coughs* Been a long time guys. But guess who's back. Back again. Hachi's back, with chapter ten~! Fuck you slim-shady. My rhymes are sicker yo.

CHAPTER 10

The wind against his face felt good. He was feverish—floating and drowning and more alive than he'd ever felt in his entire life. Shadows flashed over the grey behind his closed eyes. Naruto grunted and buried his face in the sweaty shoulder blade against his cheek when the amazing feeling came to an abrupt halt. Cerulean eyes cracked open when he realized… this wasn't a dream.

"Shit", he shrieked. He squirmed and thrashed before Sai—struggling to hold him for one infantile moment—allowed him down at a look from his superior.

"Naruto", Itachi's rasp rent the quiet air of the clearing. "Calm down."

The blond curled up at Sai's feet and shivered for a minute. His fingers dug into the cool dirt as nausea sloshed in his stomach. A moment too late, he rolled to the side and vomited. Sai blinked down intently as bile speckled his pants and bandaged feet. He stepped back when Itachi motioned for him to do so, the elder Uchiha kneeling and rubbing Naruto's back until his shuddering eased to the occasional tremor.

"Are you alright", he murmured in the blond's ear.

Naruto pushed him back and rose on shaky legs. The drug was mostly out of his system but he was left feeling jittery, like he hadn't actually stood for days. Cerulean blinked and adjusted to the twisting shadows. He peered harder and saw a fenced off Dojo in front of them.

"Where are we", he rasped.

A bitter smiled curved Itachi's lips. "One of my father's training estates."

Pain darkened Naruto's eyes for a moment but he shoved it down again and schooled his features back to blankness. "No—" He cleared his throat and hawked a remnant of vomit into the dirt, wiping the back of his mouth with a liberal swallow and a grimace. "Now what?" The boy crossed his arms and widened his stance so he wouldn't sway quite so much. He felt haggard, wretched, and if the events of …however long it had been were anything to go by, Naruto needed to stop dinking around. Sasuke had turned on him. He'd been kidnapped. A cock tearing his throat, fire and shadow and….Itachi. Then darkness. Now they were here and Naruto needed to be on his guard. Not for himself…but for his rescuers. The Kyuubi was gnawing on his mind, tickling his blood with the sweet temptation of oblivion. But nothing good ever happened if he gave in. And he was so very close now. It would be easy…

But he needed to protect them all from himself.

Before Itachi could answer the hurried shuffle of footsteps sounded behind them. Though Sai and Itachi were unconcerned, Naruto stiffened immediately. He was about to turn when a pair of pale arms shot up in his peripheral and pulled his back into the hard planes of another chest.

Sasuke buried his face in Naruto's hair, breathing him in. "You're finally here." Hands wandered down, tracing the robe—the only thing covering Naruto's naked form—as they groped for injuries. Sasuke's sigh choked into a sharp, surprised gasp when Naruto flipped him over one shoulder.

Naruto's chest heaved with anger as he glared down at the pale boy. "Don't fucking touch me."

Dazed, Sasuke blinked up at him. "Wh-what's wrong with you?"

The raven's question startled an incredulous laugh from the blond. "Are you serious?"

Helpless, Sasuke reached for him but was only able to watch while Naruto stepped over him to stalk through the gates. Sai followed shortly after.

"Get up, you're embarrassing yourself."

Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and clasped his brother's proffered wrist. He regarded his elder with a wary look as he brushed off his clothes. "I feel like I should be weirded out that you and I have fallen back into our old rhythm so easily."

Itachi scoffed. "You mean the one where I'm always picking you back up after you've fallen on your ass?"

Sasuke snorted. "I didn't fall. I was flipped."

Itachi sobered then jerked his chin at the dojo. "You didn't really think it'd be that easy, did you? That he'd just fall back into your arms after everything you've done?"

Sasuke stiffened then looked away, a scowl puckering his features. "I don't know what you mean."

"Careful brother", Itachi clapped him on the shoulder. "You know more than you realize. And I know things about the two of you that would chill your blood."

And indeed that is what happened. His brother had always been a freak, it didn't mean that Sasuke didn't love him any less or miss him terribly when he'd left but…he could be scary at times. He shook off the cold shock and was the last to enter the inner sanctity of the Uchiha fortress.

_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_

Left jab. Sweep with the right leg. Fists cracked against parched earth and splintering wood in the sweltering afternoon. Sweat snaked down Naruto's naked chest, seeking the tender places in his groin to sink their fangs into. He brushed a wrist over his eyes and cleared the caked grime away before plunging with renewed vigor at the dummy.

Slam with the elbow, grapple close. Squeeze. Break.

With a final blow, Naruto took the dummy's head. He landed in a crouch and his shoulders stiffened when another presence behind him tickled the hairs on his nape. He straightened slowly, head bowed as he turned with a steely deliberance.

Sasuke stood with his arms crossed, hip cocked to one side and a smirk curving his thin lips. "Having fun", he murmured. Naruto caught the towel the other male tossed his way and made to walk past him. Sasuke's firm grip on his elbow gave the blond pause.

"Why don't you and me have a go around?"

Naruto scoffed. "Isn't that what you're best at?" He shrugged Sasuke's arm off. "I don't need to fight you."

"Let's let our fists do the talking."

The blow came faster than anticipated and Naruto didn't have enough time to dodge. Sasuke's knuckles buried themselves against Naruto's sweaty cheek with an audible crack.

Flying back, the blond landed hard in the packed dirt. He rolled to his side and spit a clot of blood out before finding his feet again. "Alright", he growled. "Fine."

The two males flew at each other and clashed in a cloud of dirt and grunts. Their feet scratched the ground, they exchanged blows and circled each other for a few minutes before Naruto shouted, startling Sasuke.

"Why can't you just leave me alone, huh?"

"Why?" Sasuke took a step forward, his voice low and dangerous. "You're really asking me 'why'?"

"What, you want me to repeat myself? Haven't you done enough to me already? When will it be enough Sas? Huh? What more do you want from me?"

Sasuke winced at the blond's voice, tight with pain and anger and confusion. Indeed, he could understand where Naruto was coming from. It was unfair now. With everything…he'd been confused and full of hate himself until he'd been handed enlightment on a platter, next to the pill he hadn't swallowed. Deidara was nothing to him.

It was the principle of the thing, but the principle had ceased to matter long ago. Everything was clear to him now. He knew what he wanted, he knew what he wanted to give. Sasuke's posture softened, which only made Naruto bristle more as the other boy took a few more hesitant steps forward.

"Naruto…can't we just…"

"No." Kyuubi's voice growled inside his mind. What's wrong boy? Isn't this what you've wanted all along? Take him, use him as he's done you for years.

Naruto shook his head and palmed his eye. He didn't notice Sasuke try to take his hand until their fingers linked. Naruto ripped himself back then kneed Sasuke in the groin. The raven sank to the ground with a groan that was just a couple of octaves too high.

Leaves rustled nearby and Naruto scurried inside.

"Well", a voice said above him. Sasuke was in the fetal position by now, pale face crimson from pain and shame as he glared into the tree at Sai's grinning face. "It would appear that little blondie is bilingual."

"Come again", Sasuke wheezed. He groaned and rested his head in the dust, squeezing his eyes shut as waves of pain rippled through his body.

"You said 'Let's let our fists do the talking'. But Naruto speaks with knees too."

Sasuke smacked his head against the ground until the parched earth cracked.

_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_

Itachi passed him a cold beer and plopped down next to him. Steam still rose from his skin, a delicious aftereffect of the outside baths here.

Naruto cracked the can open and tipped his head back, taking a loud couple of swings before sighing. "Thanks. There's nothing better than cold beer after a good soak."

"No problem."

Naruto set the can down and leaned back on his hands, enjoying the way the cicadas buzzed against the skin not covered by his loose-fitting yukata. He wasn't sure if they'd been here a week or a day. But it was much needed time for him to recuperate. "Shisui's a good cook", he said after a long moment.

"I know."

"Want to tell me why you're out here then, instead of inside with him?"

Itachi hunched forward and crossed an ankle over his knee as he readjusted his own Yukata. "You're avoiding my brother."

"So?"

"So…from what I remember, you two used to be inseparable."

Naruto barked out a laugh. "That's something you grow out of, believe me. Things change."

Itachi didn't answer, instead allowing the peaceable silence to lap around them like lazy ripples in a pond.

"I'm tired…" The blond's voice was small.

"I know."

"Thanks for…uh…" The beer. The save. The protection.

"You're welcome."

Naruto snatched the can up then emptied it. The thin metal crinkled when he crushed it.

"Some things", Itachi started. "Some things have a startling tendency to remain the same. Strength is one of them because… it doesn't just come in the physical form. Only Gods and Heroes can be brave in isolation."

"Itachi…"

The elder held up a hand.

"Naruto, you're stronger than you might ever realize. Remember that."

With that, he got up and patted himself off, taking the two empty cans and heading inside. Naruto was left with his thoughts, and for once it didn't feel quite so ominous.

_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_

"So why not just fuck him, if you think that'll make this all better?"
"Sai?"

"Mhm?"

"Shut up."

"Okay." Sai shrugged and tucked his hands in his pockets. Sasuke turned back to the open crack in the door, watching Naruto train outside with an intensity that gave him goosebumps.

_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_

Karin patted her submissive's head as he nuzzled into her thigh. Orochimaru was consulting with the Sound Five. Even their elite tracking skills were drawing a blank it seemed.

"What do you mean they just disappeared? Nobody can disappear. I want you to find them. But do not engage, do you hear me?"

"Yes sir", the leader rasped. The group melted into the shadows as silently as they'd come.

Orochimaru rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned towards his last apprentice. He gave her a tight smile. "Tell me you have better news, my love."

The girl nodded and Takahaya whimpered softly when she moved her hand away. "Fugaku is on the move as well. It seems your plan panned out there, my lord. Get to the son, strike the father."

Orochimaru nodded, his eyes glittering like a snake regarding a mouse. "And?"

"And…it would seem he has just as much an idea pertaining his son's whereabouts as we do sir."

Orochimaru bit his thumb and rocked back in the chair. It was slow, starting again but they'd managed. The new headquarters was comfortable but bare. It was something he could work with and would lovingly use to rebuild his empire over time but first…there were loose ends to attend to.

"You've done well Karin."

She dipped her head at the praise with a small smile. He waved his hand. "Leave me."

Karin got up without a sound and her and Kazahaya left, whispering something together about a taking nap.

For the briefest instant, Orochimaru allowed a smile to curve his lips while he watched his children go but it was gone before the impression could be left.

He got up and padded into his adjoining apartment on bare feet. He was torn. This had gotten out of hand. Sure, he'd wanted to strike back, to get high on manipulation because that in itself, coupled with hefty doses of lust, was a most heady concoction. It was better than anything he could synthesize in the sterile confines of a lab.

But he'd been greedy. Careless. People weren't supposed to die, but they had. And now he found himself wanting the very man's head who he'd tried to seduce in the first place. Sure it had been his son, that Itachi brat. But when Orochimaru was slighted, he made sure to go for the heart of the matter.

Through the sons, the father would cripple. He would live with the pain of having to bury his children. And by the end of it, Fugaku would be forced to do something no other man had ever done. He would kiss the hands of his sons' murderer.

This thought comforted Orochimaru until he stepped into his room. The gloom was oppressive with no one occupying his bed. The sheets were crisp and tight and would no longer dip with Kabuto's familiar weight. The gaunt beauty jerked away from that line of thought then cursed at the photo of himself and his young assistant resting on his nightstand; smiles as blinding as the white of their lab coats, arms around each other, the world…at their feet.

Breath shuddered in his chest. Look for him in the shadows and he's nowhere to be found, he thought with a dark chuckle. But the moment you least expect it, the moment your guard is torn down from the weariness of your fault…you can see every hair on his damn head as clearly as the day you took that photo.

This was his purpose now. To protect, to avenge, and to conquer the unconquerable.

Orochimaru didn't sleep in his bed that night.

MOAR COMPLICATE…I think I want to fiddle with the idea of Kyuubi as a blood virus a little more. It's kinda cool O.O And big reveal next chapter…Naruto has a mystery visitor!?