Chapter Five: Dream

Naruto was now sitting, still slightly dazed, in a room with food in front of him on the table. He still didn't hear Kurama. "You should eat," Sachio said. Naruto rubbed his eyes as if trying to clear his head. "Really, you might starve if you don't eat."

Naruto ran his hands through his hair. His mind was fuzzy and his vision was blurry on the edges, but he wasn't sure why. They hadn't done anything to him. He had even been free to walk through the village with just that woman's son as his guard. "What is her name?" he asked the young boy.

"Who?"

"Your mother," Naruto clarified.

"I don't think I'm allowed to tell you," he said. "Just eat." He pushed a bowl of soup to Naruto. Naruto closed his eyes and brought the food to his mouth without protest. Maybe if he ate, he'd be able to start working his way out of the village. If he just went along with what they wanted, he could gain strength.

"What is this drug they have me on."

"Chakra blockers," Sachio said. "Developed specifically to deal with Jinchuuriki like yourself. We thought it would kill you, but I think it had a different reaction. We didn't exactly have a Jinchuuriki to test it on, after all."

Naruto tried to follow the conversation, but he felt ill and tired. "I suppose," he muttered. They finished their meal in silence and when the last drop was finished, Sachio stood.

"Come."

Naruto stood shakily. He hated how he had been reduced to this, but the steady stream of toxins and other outside forces was slowly turning him weaker. He stumbled after Sachio and wondered if he should try running. It was getting close to sunset and maybe he could lose them in the mountains. He gathered his strength. The food they had given him had been enough to give him some strength. He looked around as he was being led back to his quarters. He could outrun them, and once he got away from them, he could get his body back to normal.

While Sachio was distracted in his own thoughts, Naruto turned and ran towards the mountain. "Hey!" Sachio shouted, running after Naruto. He didn't slow and he hated that he was resorting to fleeing this way.

You can wake up any time, Kurama! Naruto snapped angrily. He wasn't mad at the fox. He was angrier at the people that were keeping him like this. He couldn't even enter the boiler room with the fox anymore. He dug his feet in the dirt, racing past the people who merely watched him with dull eyes. It was like they knew something he didn't.

Just as he got to the gates of the village, he felt something akin to a bat slam the side of his head. He rolled and laid stomach down on the dirt, trying quickly to clear his aching head. He gripped the ground and struggled to get back to his feet. She was standing there, holding what looked like a club in her hands. "My, my… and here I thought we had come to an agreement, Naruto," she said. She kicked him hard in the side of his head, sending him sprawling on the ground. His vision swam and blurred, focused and then blurred again. His eyes rolled back and he closed them to prevent nausea. He groaned and rolled over, surprising both himself and her as he managed to get back on his feet.

"Interesting. You have quite the spirit, don't you?" she asked.

Naruto held his head and gritted his teeth angrily. He ran at her, trying to get some sort of attack in. She dodged, but he was surprisingly quicker as he dropped to do a round kick to her legs, sweeping them from underneath her. She fell hard on the ground and Naruto spun towards the gates, fleeing out of them without looking back. He had no idea where he was, but anywhere was better than there.

He wouldn't stop running despite his whole body telling him that he needed to stop. Behind him, he heard the sound of an alarm and he ran faster, trying to flee as the sun set around him. He would be lost in the forest soon.

He didn't stop running until the moon was well up in the sky. By the time he finally settled in a hallowed out tree trunk, his head was throbbing and he was worried that if he fell asleep now, he wouldn't wake in time to keep running. He buried his head in his hands and took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. His hands were shaking and he was wondering if he was going into withdraws from the drugs that they had been giving him. Sweat poured from his face and he wasn't liking how shallow his breath was. He rested his head on the tree and closed his eyes. His heart was racing and he was afraid he might be having a heart attack.

The night wore on and his breathing finally returned to normal and his heart had stopped pounding. He hoped that he could now travel down to the valleys and then he could find someone to get him to a village so he could contact Konoha. He stood on unsteady feet and started down. Walking down the mountain was difficult as the ground was uneven. He half walked, half fell down the mountain for a while before he tripped and fell down several meters before coming to a stop against a rock jutting out of the ground.

He coughed. "Okay… That probably means I need to stop," he said quietly. Maybe he was far enough away that he could settle down. He rested his head against the rock and closed his eyes, fading into sleep.

When he woke, the sun was well in the sky. He stood quickly and looked around, but he didn't see anyone from the village. He rubbed his eyes, but then he realized that he could hear music. He messaged the bridge of his nose. That was odd. He looked, but he didn't see the source of the song. He shook his head. It didn't matter. All that mattered was escaping. But he couldn't ignore the sound. He closed his eyes tightly and started forward.

He didn't get far. His whole body felt heavy and soon his legs were too heavy to lift. He stopped again and leaned against the tree. Kurama? He asked, but his connection to the fox was still severed. His finger nails dug into the bark of the tree. The singing got louder. He tried to block it out, but he couldn't. It was… beautiful.

He shook his head, banishing the thought that the music could be anything but wrong. He tried to focus on escaping, but his mind kept wandering back to the singing. He tried to remember what she had said about their vocal cords. Was this a genjutsu? Had he even escaped the village, or was he sitting in his cell thinking that he had managed to flee?

His breath began to sync up to the slow tempo of the song. It was fascinating. He closed his eyes and leaned heavily on the tree trunk. He felt consciousness slipping and he wanted to run, but he was no longer sure if anything was real or not. He slid to his knees and put his head against the trunk with a long sigh. Fight it… he told himself. He could almost imagine Kurama calling out to him, but he didn't know how real that was. Nothing was real.

He forced his eyes opened, but it was an effort. His vision blurred and the forest setting that he was seeing was blurring into a home. He blinked and his eyes scanned the fuzzy doorway. Had it been a late night at the office? He shook his head and looked down at his booted feet. No… he was escaping… work? He had to get home… but he looked around. He was home.

"Daddy!"

He looked up sharply as Himawari ran into his field of vision. He shook his head. N-no… I'm not in Konoha… Am I? He looked down at his daughter and his vision began clearing.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Hinata asked. She too walked up to him. She was slightly taller than him standing on the raised part of the floor.

"This isn't real…" he whispered pitifully.

Hinata cocked her head. "What do you mean?" She reached out and put a hand on his cheek. He leaned into the touch, the feeling of the tree trunk against his face turning into her gentle hand. She caressed his hair, and he felt exhaustion cover his body. "You've been working too hard, Naruto." Her voice was soothing to his sick and tired mind. He looked behind him at the open door leading outside. It was bright and white and he couldn't see the landscape outside. He started for the door. This wasn't real.

Hinata grabbed his hand and he turned back to her. Her eyes were soft with worry. "I'm sorry," he said.

She pulled him towards her. "For what?" she asked, confused. "Come on… dinner's ready." Naruto shook his head and she pulled him close. Maybe he was home. He couldn't even grasp what he had been doing. She leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead. "Come rest now," she whispered in a soft, calming voice.

Naruto nodded slowly and he closed his eyes, allowing her to lead him into the house.

While Sasuke was speaking with Kabuto, Boruto was training with some of the clones that had been brought into the orphanage. He knew the boy had told him his name at least once, but he didn't remember. Sarada and Mitsuki were watching them spar silently. Boruto had gotten good at fighting the Sharingan, but these kids were tough. He was kicked back and he landed on his feet with a grunt. "Nice one," he said.

The pale child smiled and bowed. "Thank you for the match," he said politely. Boruto nodded and the child hurried back inside.

"Aren't your freaked out by them?" Sarada said.

"Why? Mitsuki is just as pale."

Mitsuki frowned, but didn't protest to the fact. "Yeah, but you didn't have to fight their father," Sarada said.

"Yeah, I suppose," Boruto said with a shrug. The trio headed inside where Sasuke was sitting with Kabuto and discussing the village hidden in the mountains.

"What else do you know?" Sasuke asked.

Kabuto sighed. "I don't know a lot," he admitted. "I was young when Orochimaru had one, and we didn't get far in our experimentation on her."

Sasuke frowned. "Then I guess we need to just go out there and find them." He looked up when he noticed the kids in the room. "We're leaving," he said.

"Already?" Mitsuki asked. Boruto looked to his teammate, then to Sasuke. He didn't want to dwell here longer than they had to. He wanted to get out as quickly as possible and find his father. They had already lost a day and night coming to this orphanage for nothing but the same information that they already had.

Boruto flinched as the phone rang. "Pardon me," Kabuto said. He stood and moved into the office to pick up the phone. Boruto watched as the man scowled. "Sasuke! It's for you," Kabuto called. Sasuke hurried to the office and took the phone. He was only on the phone for a moment and then he ran out.

"We gotta go," he said quickly. "There's a village calling out an SOS." Sasuke ran out of the orphanage with Boruto and the others following him just as quickly. Once outside, Sasuke got them ready to transport to the village. Sasuke looked at the kids and shook his head. "I'm going alone," he said. Boruto narrowed his eyes, but just as Sasuke went to take off, Boruto leapt into the Susanoo, leaving Mitsuki and Sarada with Kabuto. "You idiot," Sasuke snapped.

"Excuse me, but you said I could help my father," Boruto retorted. Sasuke looked like he was going to argue, but they didn't have time. Sasuke shut his mouth and they headed towards the village.

When they arrived at the village, Boruto could already hear the sounds of screaming and battle. They landed and Boruto felt chakra rising from the village. "Stay back," Sasuke said.

"Is he here?" Boruto asked.

"I think so," Sasuke whispered. He ran into the village, leaving Boruto behind as he did. Boruto scowled and ran after Sasuke. He wasn't going to stand back. He ran into the village and froze at what he saw. It was a disaster and blood stained the streets. It had been a complete slaughter. Boruto felt his stomach lurch, but he held back his vomit.

"Naruto!"

Boruto shook himself out of his stupor in time to see his father dart past him. He could feel rotten chakra pass over him as he did. The yellow cloak had been replaced now by a dark red and black mess of disease and decay. Boruto could smell it even after Naruto had vanished. Sasuke landed beside the boy.

"I told you to stay out," he snapped.

"And I told you I'm helping my dad!" Boruto retorted. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Sasuke admitted. He was staring back into the village with his eyes blazing. "I've never seen a genjutsu redirect chakra like this one is doing." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Come on!" He ran into the fray with Boruto scrambling behind him.

They caught up to the deranged shinobi as he cornered a family. Sasuke didn't even call out. He tackled Naruto and kicked him hard in the gut, sending him flying into the building behind him. Boruto decided to let Sasuke handle that problem while he ran to the family to help them evacuate. "Where are the others?" he asked.

The father looked down at Boruto, dazed. "Others?"

"The other villagers!" Boruto clarified with a hiss. They didn't have time for this.

"There are no others."

Boruto stiffened, then he shook his head and ushered the family of three forward. "What do you mean?"

"They're all dead…" the man whispered dully. Boruto turned to where Sasuke and Naruto were locked in a death match. He supposed it didn't matter if they destroyed the village in their wake.

"What about the other attackers?" Boruto asked quickly. Surely Naruto wasn't the only one who had torn apart this poor place.

"There were a few," the woman answered this time. "But they fled not long ago."

And they left dad? Boruto thought. That didn't make any sense. Why would they leave Naruto? Were they going after other villages? How many did these people plan to kill?

Once Boruto was sure the family was safe and out of harm's way, he ran back into the village. His eye burned and he could see the faint trail of where Naruto had run and left chakra behind. "Uncle Sasuke!" he shouted and is if to answer, Sasuke came flying by, having been thrown back. "You're pulling your punches," Boruto said.

"I didn't want to kill him," Sasuke groaned, standing up from the rubble. A low growl made them both stiffen and Boruto turned to face his father. He could see Naruto's chakra network now. Everything was tangled and messy. The lines were passing through unnatural knots of chakra at every joint. Black tendrils surrounded his nerves and tangled themselves in his muscles and organs. He blinked and the vision was gone, leaving him staring down the beast he called father.

"What do we do?"

"I don't think I can put him in a genjutsu like that," Sasuke said. "We just have to break the one he's in, but I've landed some hefty blows, so it doesn't look like breaking it with pain is going to work."

Then what will? Boruto wanted to shout, but he held his tongue. Yelling at Sasuke now would do them no good. Naruto ran at them like a bull and Sasuke shoved Boruto to the side, sending him rolling away. Naruto and Sasuke clashed, Sasuke barely missing getting his face ripped to shreds by the sword he was using to block the blows. Usually being one-handed would be a problem, but it seemed Sasuke had learned to deal with the handicap.

Sasuke kicked Naruto away and purple chakra engulfed him, manifesting in his Susanoo. The creature swung its massive weapon, sending Naruto hurtling through the village and finally coming to a stop in the middle of a newly formed rut.

Naruto stumbled to his feet, shaking his head. He howled and the black mass of chakra surrounding his body expanded. It took shape in the form of a disgustingly disfigured fox. The claws were bony like talons and the tails twisted. Some even looked broken or misshapen. A rotten stench was coming from the creature and closer examination showed that the black chakra surrounding the beast wriggled and moved like millions of black maggots.

"Run, Boruto!" Sasuke shouted. Boruto didn't need to be asked twice. This was officially out of his league. As he ran, he couldn't help but think about what they must have done to Naruto to make a transformation this drastic on him. He didn't want to think about it, though. Whatever they had done, it had to be reversed and soon. As he ran out of the gates of the village, he spun to see the two titans clashing and destroying whatever was left of the village.

The battle didn't last long. Despite the need to end this quickly, even Boruto could see that Sasuke was still holding back in an effort not to kill or severely injure Naruto beyond repair. Naruto, however, had no qualms about going full out, though Boruto noticed that the beast wasn't trying to kill Sasuke; it was merely trying to win.

Finally Sasuke came flying back out of his chakra and landed heavily near Boruto. Boruto ran to the man and looked at him. "Now what?""

Sasuke cursed and struggled to his feet. "Whatever it is, it's making him really difficult to subdue," Sasuke muttered.

"How so?"

"Usually he holds back, even just a little… Not so much right now." The grotesque creature had vanished now. "Let's go. Maybe if we follow him, we can figure out where's he's going."

Boruto nodded and the two ran after Naruto, following his rotten chakra trail. "What do you think it is?" Boruto asked.

"I don't know; some kind of chakra manipulation, and with Naruto's amount of chakra, it's no wonder it turned him into this," Sasuke said. "It would kill anyone without a Bijuu, I'm sure. I don't know if that makes Naruto lucky or not," Sasuke admitted with a dark tone in his voice. Boruto looked at the ground for a moment. Was his father in pain?

"And you can't break the illusion, or put him in another one?"

"Not with his chakra flow already so messed up," Sasuke said, crestfallen. Boruto didn't like seeing Sasuke so broken up about this. Was there a way this could have been prevented? If anything, Boruto felt that he was the one who should be feeling the most guilt, given that he had done nothing to stop this from turning into a full blown mess before now.

Boruto shook his head. At that moment, he couldn't think about that. They had to get his dad safely back to Konoha and then they could go from there. He clenched his fists, annoyed. "What can we do?"

"Knock him out and drag him back," Sasuke said with a shrug. "There's not much else that can be done at the moment."

"Right." Boruto muttered.

The two came to a grinding halt when they became face to face with the woman from the village. "My, my," she said. "You two sure have come a long way…"

Author's note: sorry for the delay. I've been working on original fiction, but I'm taking a break from it for now…