I know it's been a while since I updated this. And I'm sad to say this isn't a full update. I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm paritally done with this chapter and have not forgotten about this story! I hope to post a reall update within the next two weeks. Here's a preview though.

Bleeding Out

Chapter 1

A land bleached of all of its color, lay before him. It was no ordinary land though, this color-stripped world was filled with tall crosses as far as the eye could see, all stemming up from the reflective, dark water that was so opaque it was impossible to see below the surface. Red, black, white and gray made up this landscape, and the dismal colors drove home the message that whoever was imprisoned in here would far from enjoy their time. It was a place of torture, a place that resided neither here nor there, but in a fold in time and space, a solitary cell that ensured pain and, for the weak, loss of sanity.

When the black receded, quite quickly actually, he could only stare disorientated at this unfamiliar place. Taking in the colors of his surroundings, a discontented feeling settled in his stomach. The whole area was deathly silent, giving the blonde the impression that his hearing had been disconnected. The feeling of being swallowed whole by the stifling silence sent him into a panic. His angry yells soon echoed through the space, reverberating off the wood structures and carrying off to the unknown. His physical struggles made him aware that his wrists and ankles were tied securely around the beams, sending him into more of a panicked state. Not one to think things through rationally and calmly, he continued yelling for him, the name being absorbed into the air and disappearing before another yell erupted. It felt like hours before his voice finally refused to come forth, his throat sore and burning from overuse. His body sagged, held up by the ropes, a shaky, pained sigh escaping his lips. He had been aware for a while now that he couldn't call forth any chakra and he wasn't sure why, but it just helped to aid his theory that this place was not right and he did not want to be here. This had to have been his doing, of this he was certain. Thinking of his former teammate sent his mind whirling. Images of Sasuke taking out the three ANBU in cold blood flashed through his mind and he was forced to swallow the bile that rose in his throat. He knew Sasuke had changed, the raven had said he had cut all ties with Konoha, but to see him brutally kill Konoha ninjas was like a bucket of cold water over his head. Sasuke's actions disgusted him and sent a throbbing pain to his heart, but he felt even more disgusted with himself that he found such egregious actions maybe not dismissible but definitely forgivable in the raven's case. The blonde held back the desire to scream out in frustration. His failure to bring Sasuke back and subsequent kidnapping, combined with his conflicted emotions over Sasuke, threatened to push Naruto over the edge. The unnatural silence and mysterious, dangerous feeling permeating the air around him prevented him from voicing any noises that would allude to his inner conflict.

Blonde strands of hair shielded blue eyes as his head lolled forward, a tired sigh escaping his lips. He wondered again if this could be a dream. He dug his nails into the palm of his hand, hoping that pain would wake him from this borderline nightmare. He shut his eyes and pushed his chin into his chest. When his eyes slid back open, the smooth silky surface of the water lay before his eyes, the reflection of his own strung up figure surrounded by an ashen world staring back at him.

"Goddammit Sasuke!" Naruto shouted in anger and frustration. These emotions sparked his body to twitch, the desire to move about and be free of any and all restricting ropes coursing through him. As if acknowledging the peak in his frustrations something happened. Naruto eyes widened as ripples shifted through the water in his view. His head straightened up to its normal position as his eyes followed the ripples to their source. His breathe caught as his eyes landed on Sasuke standing on the water, his dark eyes boring into Naruto's. Sasuke began walking closer and Naruto, who was oddly quiet, eyed him. Suspicion swirled in the depths of his blue eyes.

"What were you doing in Kuroi Forest?" Sasuke spoke, his voice cold and measured. Naruto flinched at the first sound he had heard in what felt like days.

"Where am I, teme?" He demanded. Black eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as his question was ignored. Sasuke repeated his question again, causing Naruto to scowl at him.

"I'm not answering your question until you answer some of mine." He replied stubbornly, his voice lilting in a childish fashion. He had no desire to let Sasuke waltz in to wherever he was and interrogate him after leaving the blonde here to stew in silence with nothing but his torrent of emotions and erratic thoughts to keep him company. Sasuke fought to keep his annoyance from showing. Three phrases had been exchanged and already Sasuke felt overly frustrated with the blonde. The urge to pinch the bridge if his nose in annoyance was crushed immediately as it entered his mind. It was something he hadn't done for quite a while. His eyes slipped away from Naruto's face, staring into the sky next to his head.

At Sasuke's silence, Naruto spoke up again. "Where am I? And why did you take me? Why won't you come back to Konoha?...Sasuke!" The raven didn't react to his words until his name was called in an angry, impatient voice. Cold onyx eyes met Naruto's as a pale arm reached back and grasped the katana's handle.

Ripples danced across the smooth liquid surface, as shoes danced with feather-light touches as the figure rushed forward in such an accelerated speed that it was imperceptible to the human eye. Moments later droplets of red rained down upon the ripples, adding hints of color to the pale reflective mirror. A pained cry tore through the suffocating silence, ragged and agonized. Blue eyes, which had been shielded from view by tanned lids due to pain, once again were revealed as the lids fluttered open. In their oceanic depths swam shock and pain. The glowing orbs locked onto the emotionless mask of the one in front of him, trailing from his black as night eyes, to his hand grasping the katana. The red flecks on the very edge of his sleeve drew Naruto in like a moth to a flame, his curiosity burning brightly inside of him as he analyzed the curious substance and the precarious reasons it would be on Sasuke's clothing. The pale hand just past the sleeve, was drenched in the liquid that sparsely covered the end of the sleeve. This hand gave a twist and a harsh scream ripped from Naruto's throat. The lethargic gaze of Naruto moved with a new speed to the end of the katana. He was unable to locate it though. Any part of the katana, past the hilt, was buried in something, something that was profusely seeping a deep crimson. Blue eyes stayed locked on it, with wonder, curiosity and pain. Slowly, once Sasuke was sure Naruto's eyes were on his sword, Sasuke pulled the blade out. Stifled whines and gasps flowed from the blonde's mouth.

Sasuke's own eyes, black and soulless, strayed from Naruto for the first time to look at the slick substance that encased the weapon. Even the blonde's blood seemed brighter, better, than any other blood that had every touched his blade. After admiring the thick liquid, which coalesced at the lowest end and trickled, like it's very own stream, into the limitless sea at his feet, Sasuke looked at Naruto's face. The face was still turned toward the blood, watching it in dull curiosity.

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice held the authority and weight of a command given by a god, and in this world he was one. Blue eyes, wide and frantic, now fully awake, snapped up to Sasuke's own. With the attention of a coherent prisoner upon him, Sasuke reveled in the power he held for only a millisecond. Then he thrust he wrist forward, his blade slicing through the vulnerable, tanned flesh and then, with a finesse of an expert, seamlessly through the crevice between two ribs, piercing the heart. A bloodcurdling noise splintered the delicate balance of this mute, unnatural world.

*Kuroi means black.

Let me know what you think of this very, very brief beginning to chapter 1.