Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Damn, once again, I took a while to update... I can't even think of a good explanation to give you, I don't really have one, I just haven't really been inspired to right anything. But I somehow managed to put this together! So, enjoy!
Chapter 8: Truth Revealed
Muscles tensed and fought against the restraints around his wrists and ankles. Muffled whimpers were the only sounds that accompanied the body having spasms on the rough, concrete floor. Cold steel continued to dig itself into swollen flesh as futile attempts at breaking free continued.
"Those restraints were specifically designed to keep immortals imprisoned, and there are people guarding us on the other side of the door that is our only way out. Do you honestly think you will leave this place alive?" asked a familiar monotone voice.
The mortal being in the dark room stood still and merely let his body rest on the unforgiving concrete. He wished to respond to his companion but the rag in his mouth prevented him from doing so. A shuffling of body weight could be heard, and the rag was yanked away. The rag fell to the floor along with a quantity of saliva.
"You owe me your life," said Gaara, spitting once more, "never have I had such a vile substance in my mouth." He lowered his head down to the concrete as he lay beside the mortal.
"Thank you," said Naruto's feeble voice.
Gaara did not respond, he merely acknowledged what had been said to him. They remained silent for a few moments, it felt like an eternity to Naruto – it was exactly five-hundred and thirty-two seconds for Gaara.
"We have to get out of here," said Naruto finally.
"I know," replied Gaara.
Another eternity – another seventeen seconds.
"What are we going to do?" asked Naruto.
"Wait until someone opens the door," said Gaara.
"When will that happen?"
"I am not certain of when."
"Then how can you wait so patiently?"
"I am not, I am planning. As an immortal you learn to use time, after a while you learn the meaning of wasting it and using it."
"What?"
"Time is not precious to us like it is to you, Naruto. We have all the time we could ever possibly want. Waiting is easy, since that is all we are doing, ever."
"Waiting for what?"
Gaara smiled, his fangs slipping past his lips. "Anything," he replied.
Naruto did not understand the other's logic, but he didn't have to. All he needed to know was that there was a way out, a way back to Sasuke.
OoOoOoOoO
Teal eyes studied the snake-like man before them.
"Temari," Orochimaru called.
She was snapped out of her trance like state, teal eyes blinking rapidly for a second – only a second.
"Were you not paying attention?" Orochimaru's voice asked with malicious venom dripping from every word.
"You were ordering us to perform a mission for you in our birthplace," Temari said calmly, signaling to the man with purple battle make-up beside her – her brother.
"So you were paying attention," Orochimaru smiled. Temari felt uneasy.
"Then why are you behaving this way?" asked Orochimaru, wondering why such a cunning vampire had been distracted or unsettled. He debated on disposing of her. Incompetence would not be tolerated.
"I merely feel uneasy for my brother, Gaara," she replied, for it was true.
"He is currently with Kakashi's coven, I am certain that there is nothing to worry about," Orochimaru reassured her. It didn't matter what happened to Gaara, Orochimaru simply needed a good enough reason to get rid of the coven – a bad report or a mutilated vampire would have the same outcome for him.
"Forgive my mortal-like feelings, but the blood still calls," said Temari. "A sister shall always worry for her siblings." Especially when a snake has ordered him around… She distrusted Orochimaru, a reasonable feeling for they were being sent away – what could this elder be planning?
Orochimaru smiled, his fangs delicately showing due to his irritation. "Do not worry my sweet youngling, your sibling shall return soon enough," said Orochimaru. If he is still of use to me.
Temari looked over at her brother, the uneasy feeling within her even more solid than before. "Let us be on our way, Kankuro," she declared.
He did not protest and merely followed as his sister left the room, leaving Orochimaru to dream of his plan while the siblings pondered over their choices of action.
OoOoOoOoO
Neji froze as he watched Sasuke disappear into the darkness of the night. A realization seemed to slap him across his immaculate, undead face. Something had happened to Gaara and Naruto. Sasuke had gone off on his own in search of his lover, a careless mistake. Yet Neji knew he could not blame him. However, this immortal did not know where to begin the search unlike the other. All he could do was warn the other vampires in his coven. He turned on his heel and decided to seek them out.
"Sasuke left," Neji reported to the den full of immortals.
"Where did he go?" asked Kakashi, curious about this development.
"I do not know," said Neji. "However, Gaara and Naruto have not returned either. And Sasuke left too suddenly, he did not announce anything to anyone else. The two events cannot be unrelated."
Curious and bewildered expressions were exchanged among the immortals.
"Naruto was probably kidnapped along with Gaara," said Sakura.
"How would Sasuke find out?" wondered Ino.
"There was a single knock on the door before Sasuke vanished," said Shikamaru, "he must have found out then, most likely with a note of some kind with instructions."
"Who would have done it?" asked Kiba.
Silence fell.
"Itachi," said Tenten. "Who else could know about Naruto?"
"Orochimaru would have caught a mortal's scent," Sakura pointed out.
"But what reason would Orochimaru have to take Naruto and Gaara when he himself assigned Gaara to be here?" asked Shikamaru. "He would have merely killed Naruto on the spot, take Gaara and frame us for it. There would be no reason for him to bother with a mortal. It must have been Itachi."
"Why would Itachi want Naruto and Gaara?" countered Kiba.
"Itachi killed Naruto in his previous life, why would he not want to do it again? He obviously took Gaara because he was with Naruto," said Neji.
"He would have one vampire less to get rid of during the future battle and no one to report back to the rest of the coven. Besides, Gaara would have known what happened and how to find Naruto," explained Shikamaru.
"Then why bother leaving a note with instructions?" asked Ino.
"Why else? To lure Sasuke in,"
"What would he achieve with that?"
"He would get to play out his previous performance."
The immortals fell silent once more.
"What shall we do?" asked Sakura.
"Fight, naturally," said Kakashi nonchalantly, it was more of a fact than an announcement.
Sakura turned to Kakashi. "Where do we begin?" she asked simply.
"We follow Sasuke's scent and make sure he does not do anything reckless," said Kakashi, a smile underneath his mask.
The den was abandoned in an instant as the immortals collected themselves and sought out their other family member. They were all determined to remain together after this ordeal, no matter how insane they knew the situation was. Every single one of them was prepared to do whatever it took to save the people they cared for – regardless of how short or long ago they became part of the family they had all formed.
OoOoOoOoO
Long, blond strands of hair swayed in the air. Dull, piercing eyes stared at the strands of hair in annoyance.
"Stop doing that," commanded Sasori, annoyed by Deidara.
Deidara refrained from swinging his hair side to side. "Would you care to entertain me, then, un?" he wondered.
Sasori huffed, the air sharply leaving his nostrils. His gaze fell elsewhere. "Your stupidity seems to be growing with age, instead of the opposite which is how nature is supposed to function," said Sasori.
"Nature is not quite on my side, un," pointed out Deidara, gesturing to his immortal appearance.
Piercing eyes glared at the blond man. "I wish it were," said Sasori, "then perhaps I would have a partner I did not wish to tear apart myself."
A frown appeared on Deidara's face. "How could you speak to me in such a way?" asked Deidara. "Short lived lives are quite fascinating, but how could you wish to replace me, un?"
"The replacement is not what comes to my mind, only the eternal silence and tranquility your lack of existence can give me," the other countered.
"Do you two ever play nice?" wondered Itachi, appearing before the two men.
"It depends how you define the word," said Sasori. "I have not killed him yet, as you can see."
"He technically is 'dead'," said Itachi, a smile on his face.
Sasori sighed. "I wish he were not."
Deidara frowned once more. He turned to Itachi. "What are our orders, un?" asked Deidara, wanting the previous subject to be forgotten.
"Do not release or kill the prisoners," said Itachi, "the same orders as before."
Sasori gazed at Itachi curiously. "Then why are you here?" he wondered, finding Itachi's presence unnecessary under the circumstances.
Itachi smiled, admiring the fact that Sasori was thinking ahead like always. The vampire's intelligence was quite unique and pleasant.
"I merely wish to visit one of the prisoners," said Itachi calmly, a smile still upon his face.
"Visit or maim?" asked Sasori casually. After so much time – so many decades – he had clearly become accustomed with Itachi and the other vampires around him; violence was the kind of behavior that was of the norm.
"Not to maim," Itachi answered with a chuckle. He wondered if Naruto's mortal ears could hear this conversation. Would he be afraid? Itachi smiled once more.
"You are truly here just to visit a prisoner?" asked Deidara, clearly baffled. "I thought you wanted to kill the vampire and his mortal companion, un."
"All in due time, Deidara."
"Stop asking stupid questions," Sasori sighed.
Deidara crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sasori, wishing the insults of his partner would die along with his unbeating heart. Itachi approached the room that contained the two prisoners and knocked on the floor casually, the sound made someone jump – the mortal inside – and received only one answer.
"What do you want?" asked Gaara casually, he was clearly not bothered by the situation.
"Is Naruto awake?" asked Itachi, although he already knew the answer.
"What do you want from us! Who are you!" Naruto was frightened and he wanted answers.
A wicked grin appeared on Itachi's face. "I am Uchiha Itachi," he allowed the statement to sink in.
"… Itachi?" croacked Naruto.
"That is correct, we met a few days ago, Uchiha Sasuke is my brother," Itachi spoke in a soft, soothing voice. "I believe you know my little brother in a very intimate manner."
There was no response for a while.
"Yes, I know him," replied Naruto, "where is he?"
"He is currently searching for you."
"Did you tell him where I am?"
"In a way, yes, I suppose you could say that."
Another pause. Perhaps Naruto was finally catching on to what the situation entailed. The Uchiha was enjoying this much more than he had imagined. It would have been better if he could see the young mortal's face, but maybe that could be arranged for later when the vampire prisoner was disposed of.
"You were the one that put us in here, weren't you?" asked Naruto, but what he had said was more of a statement than a question. He didn't need an answer from this Uchiha at this point.
"That is correct in a metaphorical way," Itachi decided to play along regardless. "I put the order out."
"… You aren't going to let us out, are you?"
"I never thought I would say this to you, Uzumaki Naruto, but you have yet to be incorrect."
Then, Itachi heard a statement from Naruto that was meant for Gaara, not for himself, "We're dead."
OoOoOoOoO
Naruto's head thunked as he let it fall to the concrete floor that he was now accustomed to, the floor he was convinced he would die on. Would he be allowed to have a merciful death?
"Technically speaking, I am already 'dead'," corrected Gaara.
The mortal didn't bother to respond, he didn't have the mindset to argue with the vampire right now, he was too busy wishing he could see Sasuke. He was willing to fight until the bitter end, he was sure that he would give the vampires a reason to remember him, but he wasn't sure of what would happen afterwards.
"You will reach the eternal death when we are done with you, Gaara," reassured the voice of Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's evil twin. Well, it was Sasuke's evil twin in Naruto's mind. Their voices sounded alike and Naruto wasn't sure just how much older Itachi was from Sasuke, thus Itachi was the evil twin.
"Who said I would allow you to do such a thing?" countered Gaara.
"Who said there was a way out of it?" came Itachi's voice, cold and wicked. Naruto did not shudder, but he did not like Itachi's malicious voice, clearly the evil twin theory was correct.
"Fine, whatever, that's been established," Naruto wanted to move on from that subject, he wanted more answers. "Tell me why you're doing this."
He could hear Itachi chuckle from the other side of the door. There was obviously something wrong with this Uchiha, Naruto had tried to figure it out after they had met but he still didn't have an answer. Naruto could still not understand why Itachi had tortured Sasuke – his own brother – or why he wanted to kill them.
"You are my prisoner and you are demanding answers?" Itachi asked, wanting Naruto to make his actions blatantly clear.
"Yeah, what of it?" snapped Naruto. Naruto had been frightened the last time he saw Itachi, but not because Itachi was powerful or because this Uchiha could and would kill anyone that he pleased. The mortal had been afraid because he didn't want Sasuke to die the final death. Even then, when Naruto knew nothing of Sasuke, he didn't want to lose him. And right now there was nothing that could possibly frighten him. Sasuke was far away from Itachi, he was safe. "Just answer some damn questions, will you?"
"You are quite cheeky," noted Itachi, "You were not like this the last time I saw you." He recalled the fear on Naruto's face that night and he laughed.
"I was looking at your ugly face at the time," responded Naruto.
Itachi frowned, he did not like the disrespect he was being shown by this ungrateful mortal.
"Why are you doing this Itachi? Why are you being such a dick to your own brother?" asked Naruto.
"Do not speak to me in such a tone, you worthless mortal," hissed Itachi.
"I'll do what I want you ugly damned freak!" barked Naruto, furious now.
There was a loud bang followed by a clattering of metal. The reinforced steel door that had kept the room closed was now dented and on the concrete floor.
"Itachi! What are you doing!" Naruto felt like he recognized the voice, but he didn't bother to try to figure out who it was.
Itachi was glaring down at Naruto, he appeared next to the mortal and picked him up by his throat. "What did you just say to me?" hissed Itachi darkly, venom dripping from every word that he uttered.
Naruto gasped for breath as he kicked and fought against the vampire, but his futile attempts merely made his shackles rattle. The two vampires in Itachi's coven stormed in, but not to restrain Itachi, they went in to restrain Gaara.
"What are you doing, Itachi?" one asked in a calm voice, "Are you going to kill him because you lost your temper?"
Itachi stopped himself from snapping Naruto's neck. Sasori was right, he couldn't allow himself to do something out of sheer whim. Naruto continued to fight back, he wanted to say something, which he couldn't do now, so he spat on Itachi. The Uchiha nearly killed the mortal on the spot, but he remembered that his little brother was coming. It would be a waste to kill Naruto right now. He had to wait. It would be all the more pleasant later. He threw Naruto down to the ground and wiped his immaculate face while Naruto coughed and tried to regain his breath. Dark eyes glared down at Naruto, Itachi tried to control himself.
"You. Heard. Me," panted Naruto.
The defiance that this mortal showed Itachi made him nearly lose himself. Itachi wanted to put the filthy mortal in his place.
"Tell me why you're doing this," said Naruto, a bit calmer. "Why can't you just leave Sasuke alone?"
"He deserves to suffer," said Itachi tightly, not as dark as before, but he was still infuriated.
"He's suffered enough! You've already killed one of his lovers, why kill another!" The thought of Sasuke loving someone else made an ache form in Naruto's chest, but that didn't matter right now, he needed to do this for Sasuke. If Naruto could manage to make Itachi leave Sasuke alone, that would be for the best.
Itachi glared at Naruto, more curious than angry now. Had the mortal not figured it out? Had Sasuke really not told Naruto the truth? Well, the mortal was not very bright, perhaps the truth would confuse him and drive him to leave Sasuke's side. Perhaps the mortal would not believe Sasuke at all, and it would break his brother's heart. Or perhaps the truth would merely drive Naruto insane? It might be pleasant for Itachi to tell the story… A smile returned to Itachi's face.
"You mean to tell me that you do not know the truth?" wondered Itachi.
Gaara kicked at the two men that tried to restrain him, he bit them if he could, and clattered his shackles against the floor. The vampire tried to make as much noise as possible. Gaara didn't want Naruto to hear about his past, he didn't deserve to find out this way.
"Take him away," Itachi ordered. The other prisoner was merely ruining the moment.
"Shall we dispose of him, un?" asked the other.
"Do as you wish, just get him out of my sight," said Itachi in a dismissive manner.
"No! Don't hurt him!" screeched Naruto, willing his body after them, trying to follow and fight back at the best of his ability.
This annoyed Itachi. Itachi wanted to tell Naruto the story of his past, but he was being distracted by something as petty as the murder of someone unimportant.
"Fine, do not kill him, just take him to the other room while I speak to Naruto," instructed Itachi. Naruto still seemed uneasy and distracted. "Do not hurt him either."
Naruto did not protest anymore as Gaara was carried away gently while the latter fought against the other men with all his might. The mortal did not understand what Itachi was doing, this lunatic's motives would never be figured out.
"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Naruto," said Itachi, taking pleasure in what he was about to do.
Naruto gazed at Itachi curiously, he couldn't imagine what was going to come out of Itachi's mouth.
"I killed my brother's lover over a century ago." He smiled wickedly as if he was proud of what he had done. "But Sasuke has only ever had one lover," Itachi continued, "and that is you."
So... review, please? I said please! Reviews motivate me to get off my ass and write - or on my ass, whatever you prefer - so yeah, please? It'll make me smile. Don't you wanna make me smile for 5 seconds today? You know you do so click the pretty button! Anyway, until next time, Ja Ne!