Kyuubi the Bitch

A.N. Okay so this week started off… odd. I had to run the PRT (Physical Readiness Test) which means 25 push-ups and 50 sit ups in under 2 minutes (a piece) and a 1.5 mile run in under 15 minutes. Not too bad, except I was an idiot and did it in the rain and well… I got a little sick from it. I managed to finish this chapter Thursday night but wanted to edit it since… well this is the key stone for the sequel and yeah… it has to read right. So here it is, hope you enjoy.

 

Kyuubi the Bitch

 

Naruto

 

Chapter 11: Truths, Secrets, and the Rule of Mothers

 

            The dripping told him where he was before he even bothered to open his eyes. Naruto could feel the water—temperate and rippling with a tense energy—lapping against his skin, dipping into his ears and leaving a tingling feeling behind. The water echoed with his emotions and fears and those screams penetrated his mind like shards of glass tearing at his sanity. He was, no doubt, in the sewers of his mind.

            “So… this is the room of a corrupt soul.” Itachi’s slow drawl had Naruto’s eyes flying open and his body tensing. How could he be here in his mind? Sure he knew Sasuke could do it, but he’d thought that was because of Orochimaru’s training. If Itachi could do this, then how…

            Rolling his head back until the water rushed into his ears and trembled around his eyebrows, Naruto could see the other man standing above him, red eyes pursuing the different tunnels and the decaying walls with the water rot and cloying rust. His mental body hurt in ways he couldn’t quite put into words, but then again he had just been privy to Itachi’s damned Tsukiyoumi and he remembered being sore after that first time as well. So, maybe that was to be expected.

            Itachi glanced his way, his expression unreadable. “I had always wondered what your soul would look like, what with the demon’s influence and the lack of family. I see the results are vastly unappealing.”

            Naruto frowned, rolling over and pushing himself up. The water weight made him slip as his whole form protested the action. He still forced it though. This was merely a mental projection of himself, fighting with Itachi wouldn’t do much good here, but at least he could fight him without consequences. And he desperately needed to punch something. “Fuck you.”

            Itachi seemed unaffected by Naruto’s words or his sudden verticalness and that was far more insulting than the fact that he was in his mind to begin with. Hell, he couldn’t even refute the comment on the state of his mind because, seriously, who imagined a decrepit sewer system to represent themselves? If that’s what this place was, he’d always hoped it was Kyuubi’s cage, but that theory was getting rather frayed and thin now, especially with Itachi’s commentary.

            The ass-hole was making this all sound normal. As though he usually trespassed into random people’s souls and minds just to take a look at the décor. Hell, for all Naruto knew, maybe the sick bastard did.

            “If you don’t like it you can leave!” Naruto snarled, forcing his dizziness and fatigue away. “But that won’t save you from the shit-kicking I’m going to give you.” Naruto said in a low hiss. Itachi seemed amused by that last statement and turned to face him, still silent and waiting. “You’re on my turf now.” Naruto bluffed. He’d never battled on this plane before, and he definitely didn’t know what he was doing. All the same, he was going to try.

            “I do not think that will much matter.” Itachi said and Naruto launched himself forward. Water sloshed around him as he approached dropping and tackling Itachi at the knees. The other fell in to the water but flipped with the motion kicking Naruto in the shoulder as he flipped over head.

            Overall it was an awkward move,  probably impossible to physically do in the real world, but Naruto was too busy trying to halt his temporary flight to think on it, though he did take a moment to feel relieved that Itachi had not aimed for his stomach. Even though the baby couldn’t be hurt on this plane of existence—at least he hoped to god it couldn’t—Naruto was still wary of hurting the growing person in his gut.

            He collided with the wall and the broken pipes with surprising impact and the pain was rather realistic. The air was forced from his lungs and it made his chest hurt. He knew this was all in his head, that technically like a dream he could morph the room to make it soft or pliant, but he’d always been crap at controlling those kinds of things. That was probably why he still had nightmares and was an utter putts at Genjutsu.

            He lifted a hand to his chest, expecting Itachi to be in his face once more taking advantage of his slip and using that fucking Uchiha speed to kick the ever living shit out of him like Sasuke would, except, he wasn’t. The man was right where he’d been before flipping Naruto, standing in the water—obviously better at the mind games as he was bone dry, the prick—and looking at him. Naruto scowled, guessing the immobile posture was a non-verbal insult to his abilities. The fuck-head was mocking him, at least that was what Naruto wanted to believe. Itachi’s eyes where not condescending though, nor was his expression—which was blank—no it actually looked like he was genuinely curious about his surroundings. As though he was attempting to find something elusive in the craggy corners of his being.

            “Hey! What the hell are you looking at?!” Naruto snapped, trying to remind him that they were fighting, but Itachi only narrowed his eyes and looked… sad.

Okay. That shit was just wrong.

            “I don’t see what he sees in you. I don’t understand how he can choose you over me.” Itachi stated his voice somewhat distant and surprisingly truthful. Naruto wondered if it was a side-affect of being inside their minds, like their subconscience was inhibiting that facet of their personality or something, but he didn’t really care enough to look for an answer.

He’d ask Sasuke later.

Maybe.

            “Uh, maybe because I’m not the psycho who chopped up his family and then played psychological hide-and-seek on his mind!” Naruto found the anger and betrayal he felt boiling to the surface. How dare Itachi look like he, Naruto Uzumaki, had stolen Sasuke away from him when he was the one who pushed Sasuke away in the first place! How dare he come in and mess with Naruto’s mind when he was already unstable due to being fucking pregnant, and how dare he even speak of Sasuke now when he was again attempting to rip his family apart! Though, there was a chance that Itachi didn’t know everything. But… he did avoid my stomach…

            The Akatsuki member didn’t respond, he only smiled slightly, still watching the dripping pipes and Naruto’s teeth grit harshly. The water rose as his emotions grew in intensity, the rushing sound and dripping became far more increased until the sound was overwhelming. Itachi blinked looking down as the echoes of memories filtered through. Some were pointless; garbled words and emotions that were fragmented and merged together, but one rose pristine and clear to the surface.

           

            “Please, help me save him!”

 

            His pleas to the anbu member that fateful night rose above the cacophony of noise and penetrated both of their minds, and from the way Itachi looked at him, he remembered that night as well. The rage climbed higher inside. “Why?”

            Itachi just lifted a single eyebrow at him and Naruto lost it. Charging forward, he threw reckless punches aiming for the weak points on his opponent. Itachi calmly blocked the moves, fluidly and with such ease, Naruto could understand why Sasuke had been so pissed off when fighting him.

            Without thinking he formed a rasengan in his hand, not too shocked when it glowed red instead of blue. Even in his mind any chakra use was limited to the fox. “Why?! Why did you help him back there?! Why did you help save him if you were just going to hurt him again?!”

            He thrust the rasengan at the other’s stomach, for once actually wishing for the other’s demise. Not to save himself or anyone from the threat that they posed, but because he was angry and hurt and wanted to make Itachi feel that too. It was frighteningly similar to his reaction to Orochimaru that time on that god awful bridge.

            “Why did you leave him to me?!” His scream echoed with the other cries, those of a small abused child, as Kyuubi’s chakra enhanced rasengan ripped through the Uchiha. The excess power caused the water to ripple and the walls to squeal but it was absorbed easily enough, as though it was used to channeling the chakra through its walls, and it probably was.

            Blood splattered around the room fogging the water, clinging to wet pipes and wires, running down the walls like thick paint, and in its wake a silence fell that was frightening in its unnaturalness.

            “Because I loved him…” The whispered words were shocking and unexpected. Itachi was looming above him, his form covered in blood from a wound in his middle. Naruto blinked, amazed that it had worked, and wondering what happened when you injured the soul of another being. What happened when you killed it on the mental plain?

            Orochinaru’s body-transfer Jutsu came to mind and Naruto shivered pulling back from Itachi. His hand made a sick squelching sound as it escaped the open wound in the gut, and he tried not to think of the press of organs on his skin. The body fell forward into the water and sank like a stone below its surface once that stationary object was moved from its middle and Naruto jumped slightly back. The dark cloak made it look like he sank far lower than Naruto knew the water to be, and the eerie feeling of discontent simply wouldn’t abate.

That was way too easy.

            “Kit! Leave now! Get your ass out of here you stupid, simple-minded human!” Kyuubi sounded desperate and suddenly he remembered why it was Kyuubi hated Uchihas.

They held power over her.

More so than he did.

            And that rasengan had been made solely from Kyuubi’s chakra.

            “Oh, shit—“ Hands grabbed his ankles and he had but a moment to glance down in fear before he was dragged underwater, his scream bitter on his tongue and his pride in tatters about his hind-sight.

 

-3-

 

            He was in the Uchiha district again. It was odd, filled with faces that were just as alien as they were familiar, and they all passed by him as though they could not see him at all. Naruto blinked, wondering how so many people were able to get away with wearing the Uchiha crest, when he realized the ignoring people weren’t being rude to him, they just simply didn’t see him, which was proven when two walked straight through him as they passed.

            “What the hell?!” Panic setting in, Naruto spun in a circle looking for anything to tell him where he was, something to center him when he saw him.

Sasuke.

            But this was a child Naruto had never known, he was tiny, much smaller than even Konohamaru had been when he’d seen him for the first time. The child was crouched down before the front gates to the family home Naruto had left through just that morning, knees pulled up to his chest, hands and chin resting on the knobby little joints, frowning at the dirt. He was waiting for something, his still position said as much, and Naruto was wondering why he was dreaming this at all. Because he had to be dreaming this, there was no way this was real, not with a little Sasuke involved. What am I doing here? Why am I dreaming at all… what was I doing… Naruto had to shake his head several times before the haze lifted enough for him to recall where he had been before this, and he straightened bringing his hands into the dispelling form. “Kai!”

As usual, it did absolutely no good.

            “Damn it!” Naruto cried out, his fists shaking at his sides. While he was trapped in this dream… nightmare… genjutsu… whatever, who the hell knew what Itachi was doing either inside of his mind or to his actual body! “I fucking hate Uchihas!”

            His tantrum did nothing to abate the dream—he was sticking with that just because he knew dreams eventually had to end, and at some point they started to make sense—but it did make him feel better.

            His dream theory was proven correct when a shadow passed by and a very recognizable voice spoke out. “Sasuke, what are you doing out here?”

            Sasuke’s head snapped up so fast, Naruto was shocked that his neck didn’t break, and then he smiled. Naruto’s insides clenched at the honestly open and loving expression on the small child, on the face of the one he loved. Sasuke had never smiled that way before, and Naruto had a feeling he never would again. Because this was a smile reserved for his brother; that love was the one he kept only for his brother, and Itachi would never return this way to his waiting sibling.

            The irony was not lost on him as he watched Itachi walk up, crouch down, expression softer than the stone mask he’d seen before, and poke Sasuke’s forehead. It was a sentimental action, one that made Naruto’s chest tight with the sudden understanding of the enormity of Sasuke’s loss.

            Blue eyes scanned the Uchiha district. It was up-kept, bright, and filled with people; ninja and civilian alike. They all had similar dark hair and eyes, and they all held themselves in a regal manner, proud of their history, blood, and name.

And all of them were dead.

            Sasuke complained at the treatment, hands clasped over his forehead as though to protect it, but he was smiling through it all. Naruto was struck by the moment as yet another piece of the puzzle that was his best friend fell soundly into place. Sasuke was still waiting, he would deny it, vehemently and loudly, but a part of him was still waiting for his big brother to return and give him that affectionate poke to the forehead. To tell him it was all right now.

It made Naruto sick to his stomach.

            Dream Itachi followed Sasuke into the house and the scene blurred.

            Suddenly, Naruto was inside a building. It was old and held several items that appeared to be relics of some sort. They all seemed important, sort of like the giant stone tablet in the center, and most of them had the Uchiha crest embossed on it somewhere. Some didn’t, but those were few in number and somehow seemed less important.

            One thing that did stand out to him was the scrolls that lay scattered about the floor. They looked old, yellowed and frayed with time, but they held a plethora of information. Even from this distance he could see that some were Jutsu lists, others appeared to be tactical strategies, and a few seemed to be maps. One in particular mapped out a room, a room that could have been built into a mountainside—if he was reading it right—and it had some sort of field and directions for activating it listed. It appeared to be highly important with all the details listed there, but it meant nothing to him.

            What did he care for a secret cave in the shore nearest the Hidden Mist Village? Although, strategically that was a prime place to have control over, he would admit to that, but his attention was once more snagged by the dark-haired teen in the room with him, also entranced by the scrolls.

            Itachi stood there, in full anbu gear holding a scroll open and reading. When nothing more exciting happened Naruto walked up along side him, peering over the scroll as well.

            It took a moment for him to realize what he was seeing, but once he did Naruto almost staggered back in shock. It was the details to achieving the Mangekyo Sharingan. Well, more specifically it was a historical documentation on its origins. He certainly didn’t see that bull shit about killing your best friend written there. He bent to read more hoping that maybe something here would prove helpful. Dream or not, it could happen.

Madara.

            Naruto froze, his eyes locking on that name before reading everything that was there. He didn’t understand most of it, but he could clearly see that there was a problem with the sharingan’s next form and that Madara had found the ‘cure’ for it. Prolonged use of the mangekyou caused blindness of some sort, and the only way to stop that, to use the technique without consequences, was to take the eyes of another mangekyo user. And a cold kind of understanding settled into him long before the memory—because that made more sense then dreams at this point—shifted again this time to show Itachi, in full anbu gear, a mask over his face, standing over a sleeping nine year old Sasuke.

            Itachi was soaked, and the water dripped down to the tatami mat floor nearly soundlessly, the woven reeds absorbing the moisture quickly. In the shadows he watched over Sasuke, his blood-red eyes glowing with the unmistakable pin-wheel of the Mangekyou, like some sick guardian angel or perhaps he was more like a grim reaper. Regardless, is silent vigil made Naruto certain he now understood.

            Sasuke was his back up.

            Naruto felt sick to his stomach and dizzy as the horrific pieces fell into to place around him. He didn’t kill Sasuke because he’d need his eyes to preserve his vision. He left him with the task of defeating him because killing him, the beloved older brother, would grant Sasuke’s eyes the Mangekyo Sharingan, and when Sasuke obtained that… when the emotion was sufficient, he’d steal his eyes.

            But… no, Itachi would have to die to give Sauske his eyes… that wouldn’t work... can’t steal the eyes if your dead— Naruto’s thoughts broke abruptly as the scene changed again, this time to the blood soaked district he’d found all those years ago.

            Itachi was crouched over an unconscious Sasuke, his hands hovering over him as though he were hesitant to touch him; as though he didn’t want to hurt him. The contradicting actions left him baffled, until he saw the other jerk his head up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Itachi moved swiftly outside, and Naruto followed perversely drawn to see what he already knew would happen.

            He watched as his younger self—dirtied and sickly looking—stumbled into the house. He couldn’t continue, it was unnerving, and he didn’t want to know what his face had looked like when he’d fought to save Sasuke. Did he leave Sasuke in my care to give him a friend to kill for his eyes? Naruto turned to glare at Itachi, confused even further by these odd jumbled visions, and was hit by the protective glare he found there.

Itachi loved Sasuke.

            That was clear, and it made no sense why he would do this, because as he watched Naruto, those features smoothed out in sudden realization and he then approached the small children. “So… you’re the one…” The words were whispered so lightly, Naruto’s child-self did not hear them, but he did, and all it did was confuse him more. Was this some trick? Some genjutsu Itachi was showing him to keep him complacent? But why show him this at all? Why not build some happy universe if he wanted to trick him into trusting him? Why try at all?

            He followed the three out of the house and down the path to his apartment. He watched as Itachi laid Sasuke down with the care someone placed on something indefinably precious, and then he saw the moment Itachi took to watch his window from outside, his face a mask of contradictions.

Something wasn’t right.

            The image blurred once more and he found himself facing the third Hokage. He was amazed by the pain he felt at seeing the old man again. It was too bad he had to see him with the strain of his decisions marking his face, his frown pulling his lips down until he looked years older than he obviously was.

            “It is done.” Itachi stated, his voice bland and level, the tone of an Anbu, and he watched as Sarutobi flinched and looked away from the crouched, rain and blood soaked boy—because Itachi was barely older than he was now if that, still just barely a man—as though he was sending an innocent to his death.

Naruto was starting to think he had.

            Naruto felt a lump of uncertainty form in his throat. It’s a trick… its not real this can’t be true…

            “I will inform Danzo. You should leave. His men will be after you swiftly, a delay could be too damning.” Even the old man’s voice sounded weary and Naruto jumped on that as the name was mentioned.

            Danzo. That was the name of the old man who had tried to make Sai kill Sasuke. Sasuke who had been on a mission from the beginning. This was the old man who hated the name Uchiha and had created his own Anbu squad. Danzo was the man Yamato had not trusted.

            It was all starting to make some nasty mess of sense in Naruto’s mind, and he didn’t want to think about it. Because if this was true… if the Third had known and abided by something set in motion by Danzo then…

            What if this wasn’t some trick? But no, Itachi was trying to kill him! How could he doubt that? How could he mistake his character so badly? And what was the point of this now? Why tell the truth now?!

Unless…

            He’s saying goodbye… his last words before death… the truth before its lost, before the love for his brother is… Naruto shook his head harshly to dispel the useless thoughts.

            “Your promise?” Itachi’s words were harsh and clipped, less of a question and more of a demand, and the old man returned his gaze to the boy’s. The look weighted and heavy.

            “It will be kept. Sasuke…” He paused and then nodded, which of course pissed Naruto off to no end. What about Sasuke? What were they talking about, what promise? He had the feeling he knew already, but he didn’t want to give that idea any power just yet. A conspiracy theory wasn’t something Naruto really wanted to contemplate right now. “It will be done Itachi. You have my word.”

            Itachi nodded once, his head bowed low; eyes intent and convicted. He would not regret his actions.

And just like that, Naruto was left in darkness.

 

-3-

 

            “Kit! Damn you and you’re fragile pathetic mind! Wake up now!” Kyuubi’s screeching brought him around, and Naruto was again aware of laying in the water of his memories. The water flow was thin compared to what had been there before, and slowly he opened his eyes.

            He was floating before Kyuubi’s cage, and the fox was glaring out at him, her eyes violent and angry, her lip curled to show large fangs and dark gums. “You weak, pathetic, excuse for a mammal! You could have at least tried to fight! What if he’d killed us you fucking idiot!” She was rather pissed, and Naruto guessed he could understand. Against the sharingan she was about as dangerous as the fluffy bastard. That had to rankle some what. All the same, her fear was a little odd, but she had been out of sorts lately, maybe the pregnancy was affecting her more than she was letting on.

            He rolled over, grunting as his body protested the movement with screaming agony. That was not a good sign. “What he do? Beat my unconscious body?”

            “We wish.” Kyuubi grumbled.

            “Gee, thanks for the confidence there… bitch…”

            “You are lucky to be breathing! He didn’t even have to touch you! If he’d wanted he could have—“ Kyuubi’s abrupt stop made Naruto jerk to attention.

            “What? He could have what?” he narrowed his eyes as Kyuubi turned her gigantic glare down upon his small form. A large breath of heated air puffed out at him as she let out a huff. The air pressed damp against his skin and made his clothes flatten against him. He glared right back, pulling himself to his feet, his knees buckling unsteadily under his own weight. He forced his non-physical body to listen and righted himself before his demon.

She was, as always, unimpressed.

            “Killing you would be an embarrassingly simple task.”

            “And yet I am still breathing, so what could he have done?” her words implied far more than a simple life or death issue, and he would be damned if she was going to weasel out of this mess again. Kyuubi turned away as though to escape from the conversation, and Naruto bristled. He’d just gotten his ass handed to him by Itachi, the man who had chased after him for years and had failed to capture him until now…

            No… not failed… he let us go… That confused feeling was back in force. Itachi had not fought him when he’d tracked him to that room while Jiraiya had been away, it had appeared as though Sasuke had saved him, and yet, Itachi and his back up had waited for Sasuke to attack, and had retreated when Jiraiya approached. Naruto hadn’t though much of it then, it all seemed like nothing just coincidence, and yet, Itachi had been Anbu. He’d slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan, there was no way Sasuke had surprised them, nor had Jiraiya.

            Again in the woods, he could have easily grabbed them without talking first, but he had waited for Kakashi, and even just now, he had stalled on the Hokage Monument, as though, waiting for someone to intervene. What is he up to?

            Now incised, Naruto stalked up to the bars and gripped them tightly, as though they could somehow hurt Kyuubi. The bars were hot to the touch, and the connection made the seal on his belly tingle but he ignored it. “Enough with the mind-games you fucking monster, what do you know? I need to know this if we’re going to survive you great and mighty stomachache!”

            Calling her names probably wasn’t the best option or choice to make but he simply didn’t have time to be nice. “Tell me!”

            Her snarl was all rage now, and her muzzle dwarfed his figure as she pulled close. Her right nostril was larger than he was. He found a whole new respect for the Fourth. How he had faced her in real life was beyond him. He was only able to stand his ground because he knew she couldn’t truly get out of the cage.

            “You have some balls on you Kit… facing an Uchiha isn’t wise. Their origins trace back nearly as far as my life span. It makes them powerful and far too wise.” She paused to coat him with more hot breath. It smelled rank and he wondered what he’d eaten that made her breath smell that way. “The mind is their playground, just as the eye’s perception is their toy. You allow one into yourself with out a mastery of your mind, and you might find yourself caged in with me, or no where at all.”

            “You mean like The Snake bastards Body Transfer Jutsu?” He really didn’t like being right this time.

            “Heh, perhaps he gained that knowledge from Madara, but it is not the same. When an Uchiha takes a mind, there is no going back, there is no deep sleep, they scrape you out; hollow, and move in.” She paused to give him a grim smile, the kind he imagined she’d given her meals once upon a time and he felt the urge to step back from her. “Tell me, Kit, how useful would a body that is fused with a demon’s soul be? As long as you do not do something too stupid, I can heal you, with my life span you are immortal by human standards, how useful would that be to one who wants to rule the world?”

            Naruto did stumble back then, his hands gripping his middle and feeling decidedly ill. “Then why bother ripping your soul out…?” He could barely focus beyond the fear she had instilled in his being and he couldn’t stop shaking. He was in serious shit now, how could he protect his child from someone who could do that? Itachi had just proven that he had full reign in Naruto’s head. Hell he’d taken Naruto’s memories and turned them to his own to drown him and pulled free at some point. He’d allowed Naruto to remain in control that much was obvious. Now he only had to wonder if it was a warning, or a test.

            “When it becomes obvious that they can’t separate us, what do you think they’ll do?” Kyuubi sounded bored again, and Naruto stumbled back some more curled around himself, his breathing off.

            Think, he had to think, there was no way he was going to just mildly sit by and let this happen to him. He was Uzumaki Naruto and that meant, he had a reputation to maintain. He’d find an opening, he had to.

            “Although, it does pose several questions…” Kyuubi rumbled, and her tone wasn’t mocking or haughty. She was honestly confused, and it shocked Naruto enough to glance up from his escape plans.

            “What is?”

            “Why didn’t he take over? Once in your mind it should have been clear that he cannot separate us, and yet, he didn’t try to clear you out.” Kyuubi seemed unnerved by this fact as her tails flicked about like some nauseating dance of flames. “He did not even attack your person after you initiated the battle, if you could even call that a fight at all.”

            “The hell he didn’t!” Naruto snapped, insulted that she was implying that Itatch had beaten him without trying. Sure, that was essentially what had happened, but the fucker cheated! He flipped him and then used that stupid trump card of his to… to…

            Naruto blinked, his mouth falling slack as the indignant anger slipped away from him, petering out like smoke. Itachi had not once actually attacked. He’d deflected, dodged and then trapped him in memories, but he had not once tried to harm him. But… but what does that mean? Naruto felt his stomach flop with the inconsistencies and the actions Itachi did or didn’t take.

            “You see it now?” Kyuubi mocked.

            “… none of it makes sense. I mean sure he could have been mocking my abilities—“

            “Or lack there of.”

            “Piss off! The point is, if he was just mocking me, why bother at all? Why drown me in memories or meet me here? Why not mock me in the open?”

            “You’re chakra—excuse me—MY chakra, would have alerted several individuals who would have made our capture difficult. So he decided to show you your place mentally.” Kyuubi’s teeth were bared once me. “Why couldn’t my host have been slightly intelligent?”

            “Well, why now? He had several opportunities to snatch us! Why wait till now?”

            “Kit… try to keep your idiocy to a minimum. I hate repeating the obvious…” Kyuubi lay down finally. She would have appeared bored had her tails not been slicing the air in her unease, it was the only reason he held his tongue. “Though your talents are laughable, you do have access to my power. Certainly, I have no hold over one as skilled as himself, but I would still pose a threat if for some reason his damnable eyes failed him.”

            Naruto was hit with a sudden epiphany. “… like if he was going blind…”

            “Oh, if only…” Kyuubi shivered all over, her jaw smacking a bit as though biting through something much thicker than air. Naruto didn’t want to know what she was imagining right then, and steadied himself.

            “So… he waited until I was unstable? But, does he even know about the baby?”

            “Kit, anyone with any eye technique would know just from looking at you. It’s in your chakra, and the balance of your being. If he did not already know, than he is already blind and he has lost what puny senses he does have. Seeing as he made it here, he is neither.”

            Well, that did give him a motive. Keeping him alive to kill him in front of Sasuke was an option. Though, Naruto was starting to think that the massacre was a cover up for something much more sinister. All the same, the fact remained that he had killed the entire bloodline before; this would be child’s play. So why keep him alive? Why not possess him and abort the baby? Unless Itachi was only a tool, but a tool for who?

            “…who would want to take over us… to rule the world?” He had a bad feeling he knew who was behind the Akatsuki, Itachi, and worse yet, stood a chance at having a hand in whatever Itachi had been talking to the third about in the memory.

            “I told you, I do not appreciate repetitive conversations.”

            “You should be happy to have any.”

            Kyuubi snorted at him unimpressed. “I am not the one lacking information.”

            “It’s Madara, isn’t it?” Naruto felt his hands curl at his sides.

            “Oh, so he can learn.” Kyuubi’s eyes shut, tails still whipping back and forth; a clear sign of her dismissal. Naruto looked down at his feet, anger burning low in his belly, mixing with bitter resentment and hopeful ignorance.

            He wanted to believe what he’d been told all along, but things were becoming clear, that lies and shades had been made to hide many layers of truth. Not just about the Kyuubi and himself, or about the Uchiha’s power over her, and he dared to think perhaps Sasuke’s family, and at the heart of it all was a man that should have been dead for years.

            His frown turned into a hard decisive stare. He was through with running by the rules those who had died had left before him. The parameters were dull and outdated and it was time to change them out. This was his life, Sasuke’s life, hell the life of everyone was being played with because someone thought it ‘would be best’ to keep things quiet. Well, Naruto would find out what was going on and then he was going to blow this whole stupid thing wide open and let the people decide for themselves what was best. To do that he needed to play along, let Itachi lead him through whatever it was he was plotting and then find a moment to break free.

            Sasuke would no doubt be on his way, and Tsunade would notice him missing soon enough, he simply had to hold out until then, and he had a feeling, Itachi would make sure that he did.

            “I know that look well.” Kyuubi rumbled, her eyes mere slits of crimson. It wasn’t a look of approval so much as wary acceptance.

            Naruto made no comment of his own there was nothing to say as he turned around to stalk back down the sewers toward his consciousness. It was time he got some answers.

 

-3-

 

            It was cold. Damp and cold, and he was laying on stone. Grunting, Naruto rocked his head. The bite of rock against his skull was familiar and matched the dank ordure that clogged his befuddled senses. It was an odd combination of musk, mildew and excrement. A cave then… Naruto deduced, not yet ready to open his gritty eyes. His skull was pulsing with his blood flow and large flickers of color were sparking behind his closed lids.

Not a good sign.

            Smelling, with the slow indrawn breath—he’d gotten better and faking unconsciousness over the years—he was certain that though this part of the cave was mostly dry, there was a water source further down. He could vaguely hear its echo in conjunction with the mildew smell. It didn’t tell him much yet, but it would be helpful later when he made his escape.

And he would.

            Just as soon as his body stopped imploding around him. Mental note to self… Mangekyou mind and memory swaps fucking hurt… Naruto made a note to kick Itachi in the balls, a bitch move to be certain, but he was pregnant and pissed and so long as the estrogen was pumping through his system he’d use it as an excuse. At this point, he couldn’t even bring up the nerve to feel bad for plotting it.

            A coo.

            Naruto jolted, eyes snapping open and body heaving on impulse before sense told him the moment he needed had not yet arrived and he had just blown his cover. Fucking fox… Instantly, several things happened; his brain exploded into pretty psychedelic patterns inside his skull, his stomach rolled threatening to vomit, and his arms pulled painfully as his wrists scuffed inside the thick stone restraints which encased them.

            He noticed right away that he could easily break free if he wanted to. A little flex of Kyuubi’s chakra and he’d be good. He refrained from doing so, as he still needed answers, and he had to locate that bastard with the chakra eating sword first. And the fluffy bastard…

            Naruto forced his senses to extend looking for the pissing irritant. If that damned fox was around he might be able to pull off getting a message out. Doubtful, but he could at least try.

            “You finished pretending now?” Itachi’s voice sounded tense, though that could be Naruto’s own interpretation and his ears were ringing around the thick cotton currently residing there. “Or are you going to insist on playing opossum?”

            “… you’re the only rodent here.” His voice sounded worse than his head felt. He wondered if he had been screaming out loud before while trapped in the genjutsu or whatever the hell it was. If he had that was more than humiliating and took away the last of his reservation about ‘sack-tapping-with-a-vengeance’ Itachi’s ‘Mr. Happy’.

            “Still defiant.” Itachi looked bored but something about that statement made Naruto think that, that pleased him, and if he was understanding the man correctly, he probably was. “So irritating.”

            Itachi’s eyes glowed in the darkness, it was unnerving in a way that Sasuke’s had never been. Then again, Naruto wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen the older Uchiha without his sharingan activated. Was it habit; a defense developed from dealing with other criminal’s in the Akatsuki, or had his assent to Mangekyou eliminated his ability to deactivate it? He’d never asked and never really thought about it before. Perhaps the Sharingan stained the eyes over time with extended use, but that was neither here nor there and it served no purpose in this moment.

            He wanted to ask questions, to bother Itachi until he gave him the information he needed, but Itachi wasn’t anything like Sasuke, and Naruto had grown up enough to realize that yelling wouldn’t always gain him what he wanted. Too bad the questions still burned in his head and danced on his tongue just wanting to burst out in a fit of temper. Still, he held back, if just barely.

            Itachi smirked when he came up along side Naruto’s prone form, as though he knew of the effort being exerted to stay silent and found it amusing. Naruto glared and looked away. It was best to find any weakness in the structure that he could use in his escape. What he saw made his heart constrict.

            Statues lined the walls like freaky deities all standing in some jutsu form, in the gloom he couldn’t see which seals their hands made, none-the-less he knew what they were for. It’s just like with Gaara… Naruto wondered if he could expect another five-point seal to be awaiting anyone who might attempt to rescue him. The thought that he might need to be rescued rankled deeply and thourally pissed him off, but it was what it was, and Gaara had needed help and that hadn’t tarnished his masculinity or power any. Then again, he wasn’t pregnant and contemplating acts of violence against male bits.

            That somehow made all the difference.

            “You can be silent. I had wondered if that was a possibility or not.” Itachi continued, though this time, his words did seem to simply display boredom, even if his reason for voicing them seemed lacking.

            “Yeah, well the stimulating conversation is lacking as well weasel-face.” Blue eyes turned to red and held them. Kyuubi stirred uneasily inside from the contact, but the bastard couldn’t control him. Okay so he could, but Naruto didn’t think he would, and he had a feeling the only way he’d get his answers would be if he left himself open for another mental mind rape. For several long moments nothing happened as Itachi seemed to debate over whether Naruto was insanely stupid or simply taking a risk—at least Naruto assumed that’s what it was doing, he really couldn’t be certain though. He was a Sasuke-translator not an Itachi-translator—before his stance relaxed slightly and those red eyes blinked once.

Naruto’s world shifted.

            Itachi was planning something, and Naruto was willing to bet his left nut that it was against the Akatsuki when his next words escaped, almost crystal clear in its horrifying cunning.

            “Madara’s coming in person to oversee your extraction.” Itachi began. It wasn’t mocking, nor was it really gloating, it was simply stated as a matter of fact. Madara was coming and Naruto was going to die in the same manner that Gaara had.  It was simple and precise and that was displayed clearly in his tone and inflection. If anyone over heard them, they would assume that Naruto had asked and Itachi had answered out of mere boredom. His deceptive skills were nearly horrifying. “He’s bringing all of the Akatsuki members with him. It is reckless and dangerous, but he feels it worth it. After all, it has been many years since he lost Kyuubi, and he has been anxious to re-obtain her.” His gaze turned imploring and the black commas started to lazily spin making the room seem fuzzy beyond them. “He cannot achieve his goals without her.”

Itachi knew he’d fused and that was what Madara wanted.

            But if he was secretly trying to take them down, why bring Madara exactly what he needed? Unless… And Naruto felt his mind go curiously blank with understanding. He purposefully took the risk to get them all in one place. He waited at Hokage Monument to be certain someone would come for me, and the Akatsuki members would have nowhere to run. Naruto felt dizzy with the possibilities and the fact that they were most likely to be true. It was the only thing that made sense with his contradicting actions, but the possibility that he could be buying into Itachi’s lies was still heavy on his mind and heart. He would treat Itachi as an enemy until proven otherwise, but he would still listen to his gut. After all it was usually right in regards to people.

            Just how much has he lied about? How well does anyone really know him? Naruto thought frantically. He could sense a heaviness to the air that denoted a strong sealing jutsu and his instincts screamed at him causing his fingers to twitch with the urge to break the restraints before the blue, fish-like dude made an appearance. Itachi’s stance straightened and he started talking again, still calm and pleasant as can be.

            “You see, we all have come to this group because the world is corrupt, and we had hopes of recreating it, making it better.” Something about that sentence was mocking. Itachi intoned his disbelief the same way Sasuke tended to do on missions where insulting someone outright could get them into trouble. It was mildly calming in a weird sort of way. “We need the tailed beasts who have been said to appear at the turn of each new beginning, and Kyuubi is the one that will destroy this world. Bathe it in fire, and like a phoenix from the ashes, a new dawn will break.” Here he paused for emphasis and Naruto tried not to roll his eyes at the platude obviously taken verbatim from another member—it was a bit too poetic for any Uchiha—and waited for the next bit.

            “A new world, with one at its center.”

            It took a while to comprehend what he was trying to get at, and still, like everything else, it was only hypothesis. He was certain that once again, Itachi was alluding to Madara, and even more the fact that though the Akatsuki believed they were working towards a common goal, Madara was working towards something different all together. Naruto wondered why Itachi was even there if not for the ideals of a new world or in support of Madara, but it was a minor thought.

            “It is a shame my little brother was unavailable the first time around.” Itachi said darkly, his eyes burning into blue, demanding that if nothing else, Naruto remember; that he understood this. “It would have ended back then, but no… killing him now is not an option.”

            Too many possibilities flittered through his mind, each more fantastical than the last leaving Naruto in a messed up whirlwind of incomprehension. Again, someone was lamenting Sasuke’s importance in this whole fiasco, but he had yet to truly grasp why his bastard was so important. Whatever the reason, it was why Itachi was doing this, and he came to the conclusion that he had previously been correct when seeing Itachi’s memory of  the Third Hokage.

            Itachi was protecting Sasuke. By playing the villain and keeping his brother moving, it made tracking and capturing him difficult if not outright impossible. By challenging Sasuke to get stronger, he was preparing him to face opponents who might otherwise have crushed him with ease. It all made sense, save for one aspect.

The murder of the clan.

            What purpose did that have? How had that aided Sasuke? By taking away the protection and the support of the family who would have shielded and protected him, that made him vulnerable. It just didn’t add up.

            Damn it! Why must he talk in fucking riddles? First Kyuubi, then Tsunade, now this idiot! Why can’t he just tell me why Sasuke is so important so that I can protect the bastard and call it a fucking day?! Naruto was at his boiling point, and finally he dared to speak up. If Itachi’s stance was anything to go by—and at the moment he was tense enough to be mistaken for a slab of concrete—they were quickly running out of time. “Why?”

            He wanted to elaborate, but he was certain Itachi would catch on. Hell the whole family—well from the two he’d met at least—seemed to excel in the art of unspecified speech patterns, so this should be more than enough to convey his question.

At least, he hoped so.

            Itachi’s lips tilted up in a sneer. “Precious Kyuubi.”

            What the hell does that  mean? Is he addressing me, or answering the question and what does Kyuubi have to do with Sasuke being wanted by every bad guy in a twenty-mile radius of fire country?! Naruto frowned, and opened his mouth to reiterate in case Itachi was just less educated in “Sasuke-speak” when Itachi’s eyes flickered to the door and then back to him, his entire expression shifting.

            Red eyes glowed as commas spun and then spread to form a pinwheel in their center, expression bled from the features until he looked like one of the statues built into the walls around him and he raised one hand already glowing with chakra toward the blonde trapped on his back. “But all of that hardly matters now.”

            Naruto could hardly focus as those eyes made reality blur and contort around him. He wasn’t certain if Itachi was dragging him to a genjutsu or attempting to fuck with his mind again and it made him violently ill. Curiously he watched as the hand, still glowing with the negative chakra—sparking, angry, and volatile—hovered over his stomach that was only just starting to swell. It looked like a thin layer of fat on his lower abdomen, the muscles less defined, but all the same, it was a swell. “W—hat?”

            Itachi’s look was cold and calculated when he spoke next, and it sent a chill straight down his spine. “Sasuke will achieve his full potential when he arrives too late to save you.”

            Naruto’s head was spinning and vomit was racing up his throat again and made deciphering that statement impossible; he barely understood it at face value. Sure killing him would solve the Kyuubi issue but what was the purpose if he was trying to keep Sasuke from Madara? Or was he misinterpreting this whole scenario?

            “B…but—why are you—“

            “And he will lose you. Tell me Naruto, how attached to this child would you say you are?”

Cold and bitter understanding.

            Itachi would kill the child to spur him into a rage freeing Kyuubi to feast on the Akatsuki, and while Kyuubi ran rampant, Itachi would distract Madara making sure that no sharingan would stop or inhibit Kyuubi’s bloodlust. He was a tool to complete Itachi’s main goal which was to wipe out the threat to his baby brother. He was just another necessary sacrifice, and with his death Sasuke would kill Itachi ending the nightmare and truly making himself the last Uchiha.

            “…no…” He could barely make his voice rise above a choked whisper and he shook his head, eyes stinging with panicked tears as that palm lowered to press, thick, warm, and painful against his stomach. “No!”

            “Say goodbye Naruto. It will only hurt for a second.” And the chakra pressed inward.

            It was instantaneous, the sudden backlash from Kyuubi so strong it knocked the wind right out of his lungs and Naruto didn’t even try to stop it. His hands jerked free from his bonds, shattering as his nails grew and sharpened with the rush of power. His eyes snapped up to meet red just as he allowed himself to fall inward. Kyuubi! I don’t care what it takes, stop him! Stop him!

            Kyuubi growled in response already pushing against the cage and this time Naruto saw no reason to stop her. She might not be able to fully fight against Itachi but he would not calmly allow the death of his child, and since his own chakra was unavailable, he’d make this work with Kyuubi’s. Somehow, he would win this!

            Pin-wheeled red bore into blue and suddenly a sharp pressure shoved him further into his mind and then…

 

            Water.

            He was standing before the cage and the water was rising rapidly with his panic and he didn’t even attempt to quell it. Kyuubi stood almost regally before him, her eyes a flame and her tails whipping behind her. “What are you waiting for Kit, you are running out of time! If he gets here it’s all over!”

            He knew that, and he had known he was willing to do whatever it took to save the child, but he hesitated. Sasuke would never forgive him for giving into his monster. He’d stated so before, and yet, he could see no other option.

            “Kit!”

And then it was too late.

            “It’s time.”

            Naruto could only watch in horror as Itachi reached up, and tore the seal from the front of the cage.

Pain.

Rage.

Fire.

Blood.

Explosions.

Screams.

Crunching.

Gurgling.

Silence.

And then…

            Kyuubi was free.

 

A.N. Okay so, before you all lynch me, YES YOU WILL GET MORE DETAILS OF THIS FIGHT SCENE! There I think you can all see this. ^-^ In Naruto’s next chapter you will get more flashes of the actual battle here, I just didn’t want it in this chapter. Also, Itachi’s motive will be explained through his POV in the side story “End Game” which I will be posting soon, and lastly, yes everything will be explained if not at the end of this fic then in the sequel. Now, I’m going to hide from the angry mob out for blood for yet another cliff hanger and see what I can do about Sasuke’s next chapter.