Sunlight in a Dark Room

Author's Note: Much thanks to the amazing AmuseMe for the beta. ^_____^ There's a wee bit SasuNaru in here...not as much as the last chapter, but...yeah. XD

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. :D

Review Responses:

Olivia: Thank you. I'm glad you like the story so far. :D I agree. ItaNaru is one of my most faved pairings. *heart*

Carmen: I hope you enjoy this update. :D And I'll try to update every four days or so. That won't last very long though, unfortunately. XD; Thanks for reading. :D

Devious Lil Devil: I know this chapter will your first question. XD; But the second one will be addressed later. :D I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. ^_____^

anonymous pervert: *nervous laugh* There may be more cliffies later one. XD; Thank you. I'm really happy you like it so far. :D

AnA La PaNa83: *waves* Much thanks for the suggestion. *hugs* ^______^ I'm glad I decided to post here too. :D

kaa-san: Here's the next chapter. :D Hope you like it.^_____^ To answer your question...maybe. :P Thanks for reading. :D

~*~*~*~

Chapter 2 - The Sealing

Itachi had followed the two jounin to the clearing and hid himself in the over casting shadows of the trees. He had watched their little scuffle with little interest. Itachi concluded that Sasuke had been right in saying that Naruto let his emotions overrule his actions. This was something that he, himself had also noticed during the last month. Naruto was a very interesting person.

Slowly getting bored, Itachi’s eyes widened a fraction when he saw his younger brother kiss Naruto. Sasuke’s sudden forwardness had caught the unsuspecting blond completely off guard. If Naruto didn’t get the hints before, he sure as hell got them now. Itachi was surprised at this turn of events. He had no idea that Sasuke could be so bold with his emotions especially to a member of the same sex. It made sense. His younger brother never, not once during the last month, responded to a girl in any way that was not necessary. It was clear that Sasuke was not as cold as he appeared to be. Naruto was the only person able to make Sasuke smile; to make him feel.

Itachi could not help but feel a twinge of anger at his brother for that.

The elder Uchiha ignored the feeling and continued to observe the two men before him. Naruto was absolutely dumbfounded. His bright, blue eyes wide and staring unbelievingly at Sasuke. His mouth was slightly parted and moving to speak, but the words were left unsaid. Itachi thought that look suited him. Quiet, wanting to speak, but having no words whatsoever. This was a part of Uzumaki Naruto that no one, save for Sasuke, ever saw. A personality hidden well behind his mask of cheerfulness and stupidity. What Itachi saw now, was Naruto unmasked and very exposed.

Sasuke was a different matter altogether. Itachi had seen his younger brother express emotions countless times over the last month and only in the presence of Naruto. Now, however, what Sasuke felt for Naruto was practically radiating off of the younger Uchiha. It spoke volumes of his feelings in regards to the younger man.

Love. Itachi frowned.

Itachi watched with growing interest as Naruto battled with his conflicting emotions. When Naruto kissed Sasuke with that look laced with confusion and uncertainty, Itachi smirked. He knew at that moment that the Jinchuuriki was not in love with his brother. It was written all over his face. Maybe, Itachi thought, given time, Naruto could return Sasuke’s feelings. It was quite possible.

Itachi suddenly felt a surge of chakra and looked back towards the clearing. Sasuke had left and Naruto was lying on the ground. Somewhat irritated at himself for getting so caught up in his own thoughts, Itachi scanned the area for any hidden chakra signatures. There were none. The ANBU must have been waiting for Sasuke to bring Naruto back, seeing as how they left the village together quite loudly. Surprised and amused at this turn of events, Itachi stepped out into the clearing and calmly glided over to the Jinchuuriki. Naruto seemed to be lost in his own thoughts over his recent encounter with Sasuke at the moment.

Itachi leaned over the unwary jounin and began to form the correct hand signals for the sleep jutsu he had learned to use on Naruto. It was a little more complicated than most sleep jutsus because Itachi needed Naruto and the fox to sleep for three days. Being the vessel of Kyuubi, a simple sleep jutsu would not keep either asleep. This particular, forbidden jutsu would be able to suppress both Naruto’s and Kyuubi’s chakra, but only temporarily. He was going to need one those three days to place another seal on the blond to lock away both chakras until the extraction. Naruto would become all but helpless; losing a large amount if not, all of his chakra use as well as the power of Kyuubi.

When it began to take effect, Itachi watched as Naruto opened his eyes briefly before falling prey to the sleep jutsu. With that done, Itachi gently lifted Naruto up and carried him bridal style until a thought occurred to him. Pulling Naruto closer, Itachi freed one hand and slipped off Naruto’s leaf hitaiate, letting it fall to the ground. Itachi turned towards the north-west and disappeared into the darkness with his prize.

~*~

On his way back to the village, Sasuke mentally berated himself for practically forcing his feelings on Naruto. He had confused him. Naruto tried to hide it, but Sasuke had seen it clearly. Maybe it was a mistake to surprise Naruto like that, but it couldn’t be helped. Sasuke had dropped all of his barriers and let himself get caught up in the moment.

He chuckled softly.

Naruto had finally rubbed off on him. Sasuke had known it was inevitable. Naruto’s personality and attitude were so infectious that even he, infamous for his cold personality, could warm up and change for the better.

About a year after his return to Konoha, Sasuke had found himself smiling more and was even surprised to know he had a pretty good sense of humour. Unfortunately for everyone other than Naruto, Sasuke only showed this rare side of himself when in the presence of the blond. Without Naruto, Sasuke resumed his natural, cold bastard-like ways. And the villagers hated Naruto even more for this. They had long since forgiven Sasuke’s defection and were glad to have him back, but their narrow mindedness had lead to further mistreatment and hate of Naruto.

Sasuke scowled.

It was on Naruto’s birthday, two years after Sasuke’s return, that he learned about the villagers’ hatred and Naruto’s mask. It was the first time Sasuke had seen who Naruto really was. Honestly, seeing his best friend so unlike his usual idiotic self had scared him.

~*~

Two years ago.

Sasuke found Naruto sitting on Yondaime’s head overlooking the village. Today was a memorial of the ninja who had lost their lives during the battle with Kyuubi. It was a memorial commemorating Yondaime’s defeat of the nine tailed demon. It was also Naruto’s birthday. This was why Sasuke had sought out the blond. Of all the years they had known each other, they had never celebrated Naruto’s birthday. Not once and this bothered him. Sasuke shuddered at the memory of his own ‘surprise’ parties that Sakura and Naruto had organized for him.

Walking silently towards Naruto’s quiet form, Sasuke sat down beside his friend followed the blond’s gaze towards the village. They sat in comfortable silence just watching the twinkling lights of the countless homes and occasional fireworks. Every now and then, Naruto would sigh loudly, but he never said anything. Sasuke knew his friend well enough to let him speak when he wanted to. Right now, Naruto was lost in his own thoughts. Of what? Sasuke did not know so he waited for Naruto talk first.

It was almost midnight before Naruto made a sound other than his occasional sighing. When Sasuke looked over at Naruto, he was shocked to see his best friend crying. Not really knowing what to do, Sasuke reached over and pulled Naruto into a comforting embrace. At least, he hoped it was comforting. Sasuke was not used to comforting people. When he felt Naruto’s smaller hands cling onto his shirt, he knew that he was doing something right. Sasuke held onto Naruto even after his silent sobbing started to ebb.

“S…Sasuke?” Naruto whispered.

“Hn.”

“Thank you.”

“Hn. Dobe,” Sasuke replied, then added, “Happy Birthday, Naruto.”

Sasuke looked down at his friend and came face to face with someone he knew so well, but at that moment, he realized that he didn’t know this person at all. Sasuke took a moment to study the unfamiliar features of Naruto. He saw immediately, that his eyes were different. They remained that bright, ocean blue colour, but they weren’t as wide and youthful looking. They were slightly smaller and made Naruto look older than he actually was. They were the eyes of someone who had lived a hard life alone, fending for himself in a cruel world who would not accept him; constantly trying to prove himself.

Sasuke realized then, that this was the true Uzumaki Naruto.

Those eyes somewhat unnerved Sasuke. They were so different from the eyes he was used to seeing on his best friend. Their honesty and vulnerability, outlined with that hidden wisdom, scared Sasuke. He was partially relieved when Naruto averted his gaze and started to speak.

“You know? There was never a time I truly felt safe,” Naruto whispered softly, “It was only a law that prevented them from hurting me physically, but I could still hear them. And that hurt even more than the beatings.”

Sasuke tensed at that, “They really…?”

He felt Naruto nod against his chest, “They did a lot of things, well, not all of them, just the ones who were brave enough to. Sandaime was not able to keep track of all of them.”

“Do they still…?” Sasuke never had to finish his sentence.

“No. I’m a lot stronger than I was when I was younger,” Naruto chuckled softly, “It’s kind of ironic.”

“What is?” Sasuke asked, tightening his grip around his friend.

“It’s ironic that I continue to protect the village that still hates me for something I’m not.”

“Are you happy, Naruto?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you happy? Here?” Sasuke asked again.

“Well, yeah. I guess so. My friends are here and this is my home. I can be a ninja and I’ll be hokage. Yeah, I’m happy,” Naruto answered a little too quickly.

“Hn. Dobe. I don’t believe you, but I can accept that.”

“Wow,” Naruto said in awe, “I didn’t know you could be so nice considering how much of a bastard you are.”

Sasuke scowled and smacked Naruto upside his head.

“I’m trying to be serious here, and you’re making jokes about it. Tch. Figures.”

“Owww,” Naruto whined pathetically, “Sasuke-teme.”

Sasuke was glad that Naruto was cheering up a bit, “Naruto?”

“Yeah?”

“You…you can act like yourself…you know? When you’re with me,” Sasuke muttered.

Naruto grinned madly, “Awwww. Now you’re just being sweet. Ouch!”

Sasuke hit him again.

“Thanks, Sasuke.”

“Don’t worry about it, Dobe.”

“Will ya stop calling me that?”

“No.”

“Bastard.”

“Hn.”

~*~

They had talked all night. The occasional comfortable silence befell them often, but it never lasted for long before one of them started to talk again. Sasuke had asked Naruto a lot of questions about Kyuubi and growing up on his own. Naruto had answered honestly and asked Sasuke quite a few questions of his own.

Sasuke had learned more about Naruto during that one night than he ever did during all the years he’d known the blond. It had been quite a wake up call for Sasuke. He had finally found someone that he could truly call a friend.

After that night, anyone that so much as looked at Naruto the wrong way was on the receiving end of a very infamous Uchiha death glare. Sasuke had once overheard some villagers speaking quietly as he and Naruto walked through town. The second he heard the words: ‘monster,’ ‘tricked our Uchiha heir,’ and ‘forced friendship’ in the same sentence, Sasuke had snapped. He made sure that every person within yelling distance knew exactly what he thought of them and their gossip. Amidst all the cursing and yelling, Naruto dragged him out of town and quite literally knocked some sense into him. This, of course, lead to another fight until both of them nearly passed out from over exertion. After both of them had calmed down and got some energy back, Naruto had berated Sasuke for his lack of tact and made him promise to ignore the stupidity of the villagers. Naruto explained that it was up to him to gain the people’s respect and that it was something that couldn’t be forced with tyrannical outbursts of anger. Even if he had to earn respect from each villager, one by one, he would do it because that was his ninja way.

Sasuke smiled at the memory. Naruto truly was the number one at surprising people. If anyone could pull that arduous task off, it was him.

At least after that incident in town, it was very rare that someone would speak ill of or act coldly towards Naruto in front of Sasuke. It was damn well taboo; an unwritten Uchiha law.

Sasuke chuckled at that.

As he made his way to the Uchiha compound, Sasuke noticed several ANBU making their rounds over the city. He was physically and emotionally worn out from everything that had happened that day, thus, he had failed to realize that the ANBU were moving too irrationally for mere guard duty. He went straight home and straight to bed, completely disregarding the ANBU.

~*~

By midnight, Itachi was well on his way out of Fire Country. He was making better time than he had previously calculated. The borders of Earth Country were only a few hours away. The elder Uchiha traveled at a steady pace through the trees, briefly stopping only when the extra weight of Naruto started to hinder his balance. He had estimated that he’d need at least one whole day to reach his destination. A cavern within the range of mountains near the heart of Earth Country.

Itachi had made the proper preparations of the area beforehand to prevent any interruptions of the sealing of Naruto’s and Kyuubi’s chakra. The forest was riddled with complicated and deadly traps. To think he’d have to sink so low as to set mediocre traps to protect him irritated Itachi to no end. He may be a tensai, but he did know his limits. Limits were something even he had. He purposely never used his full powers when fighting an enemy. It would give his opponents an advantage over him. And that was unacceptable.

Apart from the traps he set, Itachi had also created some bunshins to keep guard over the forested area before the cave. For him, bunshins used up very little of his chakra so he could spare a bit. Just to be cautious.

Finally, taking the word ‘caution’ to new levels, Itachi had made a few more bunshins to hide within the trees. Three were ordered to form a barrier once he and Naruto reached the cavern and the final one was to perform and maintain a genjustu.

Despite all of his precautions, Itachi remained concerned about his inevitable vulnerability. Should an enemy, namely Konoha nin in search of the blond, manage to thwart his traps and genjutsu during the sealing jutsu, Itachi would be at their complete mercy. The Uchiha suddenly felt annoyed at being sent on this mission alone. Kisame would have been able to stand guard, but he was elsewhere at the moment. Itachi did not like this feeling of helplessness.

He did not like it at all.

The elder Uchiha was interrupted from his thoughts by an almost inaudible murmur emitted from Naruto.

‘Strange,’ Itachi thought.

The sleeping jutsu he had used on Naruto should have put both his body and mind to sleep. He shouldn’t be talking at all. But…

“Naruto is no ordinary shinobi,” Itachi finished his thought out loud, taking one last look at his captive before looking ahead at the expanse of trees before him. His senses were on full alert, continuously scanning the direction from which he had traveled from.

A soft laugh escaped his lips.

It appeared that Konoha was losing its touch. They didn’t make shinobi like they used to.

~*~

It was cold.

That was the first thought that came to mind as Naruto started to regain consciousness.

His second thought soon followed when he opened his eyes. He couldn’t see a damn thing. Wherever he was, there was absolutely no light and it was starting to bother him. Naruto wasn’t afraid of the darkness, he just didn’t like to feel so alone. Being in the dark by himself made him realize just how lonely he was. It was one of those fears that he kept to himself. No one, except for Sasuke, knew about it. And Naruto was fine with that. Sasuke had not teased him about this fear of his, but he had made it clear with Naruto that, technically, he was afraid of the dark. Naruto had disagreed and he and Sasuke had gotten into an argument after that.

He was not afraid of the dark.

Along with his clarification, Sasuke had asked him why.

‘Why are you so afraid of being alone?’

The question had surprised Naruto, but the sincerity of it had encouraged the blond to talk about it. And Sasuke had listened to him. Not once did Naruto feel uncomfortable as he spoke to his best friend about his phobia.

‘Sasuke.’

Naruto suddenly remembered what had happened between he and his rival before…

Then it hit him.

Where was he? Why was he by himself in the darkness? What the hell happened? Question upon question raced through his mind. He had no absolutely no idea where to start and how to answer. He couldn’t remember anything after kissing Sasuke.

He remembered laying down in the grass. And…Red eyes!

Naruto’s eyes widened in shock as he recalled the burning eyes that bore into him before he had passed out. They were oddly familiar, but Naruto could not place them.

Storing that thought for later, Naruto sighed as he sat up and tried to gather his bearings. With wherever he was being so dark, he couldn’t scan his surroundings. Relying on the next best sense, he cautiously felt the area around himself with his hands. The ground was wet and chilled Naruto to the bone. As calloused fingers felt along the rough surface of the ground, he determined that it was stone. He was in a cave.

Other than his breathing, the only other sound Naruto could hear was water dripping all around him. There was also a gentle, continuous and dripping flow of water landing on his head. Irritated, Naruto attempted to stand up and move away from the barrage of water droplets, the moment he stood up a wave of dizziness prevented him from achieving his goal and he fell back to the ground. With a defeated sigh, he settled for just rolling away from the increasingly annoying spot. When Naruto managed to find a spot in the cave that wasn’t wet, he smirked up at the darkness triumphantly.

He glared when another drop of water landed on his nose.

Naruto was pained to admit that the ceiling had bested him.

At least he could find a little humour in his situation. Grinning and gaining back some motivation, Naruto started to move around the cave in an attempt to find a wall. He was grateful when his outstretched hand hit solid rock not too far from where he had woken up.

“Why do I feel so damn weak?” he asked no one in particular.

As Naruto expected, nobody answered him. He sat in silence and wondered why Kyuubi hadn’t healed him.

“Damn Fox!” Naruto cursed loudly.

Again, nobody responded to his outburst.

Suddenly, Naruto felt a surge of power coming from his left. His eyes widened at the magnitude of it all. Naruto sensed that whatever that power was, it was angry and very frustrated. It also seemed to be in some sort of pain. This power seemed familiar, but for the life of him, Naruto could not place it.

‘Now that’s strange,’ Naruto thought.

He could feel the power moving closer to him. Naruto didn’t mind that at all. Hell, he’d welcome whatever it was with open arms. He hated to admit it, but the loneliness was starting to get to him.

It was not the darkness.

As the power got closer, Naruto turned his head in the direction it was coming from and waited for the unknown being to show itself. To his surprise, Naruto could see a dim, red light. Said dim, red light suddenly became a bright, flash of red as it came into view and enveloped the blond in its warmth. Naruto could feel his strength slowly return to him so he chanced opening his eyes he hadn’t even know he’d shut.

Fascination overwhelmed his surprise of the situation. Naruto found himself engulfed in a giant, red mass of chakra. He lifted his hand to examine it and marvelled at the red flames gliding all over his skin; healing all of his injuries.

Relaxing, Naruto let himself go and fell into a peaceful slumber. He was completely unaware of the chakra lifting him up and carrying away from the darkness he had awoken in.

Almost as quickly as he had fell asleep, Naruto was once again, roused from his sleep rather rudely this time.

“Hey Brat! Wake up!” an angry voice ordered.

When Naruto didn‘t acknowledge the voice, it spoke again, laced with venom, “Wake up now or I’ll kill you where you lay!”

That got Naruto’s attention. His eyes fluttered open and he was surprised to see that he was no longer alone in the darkness. He was even more surprised when he realized that he was laying beside a giant, brightly lit cage. A cage in which a being he hadn’t seen in a long time resided.

“Four years,” Naruto murmured.

“You’re damn right it’s been four years, Brat,” was Kyuubi’s annoyed response, “Four years that we haven’t spoken nor seen each other. Whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know. I was really enjoying my slumber, you sad excuse for a ninja.”

“Why?” Naruto asked dumbly not even catching the insult. His mind was still half asleep and he was ready to slip back into unconsciousness.

Noticing this, Kyuubi growled, “Stay awake! I’ve healed you enough and we must speak. Now!”

Naruto groaned indignantly and sat up. Rubbing his eyes, Naruto looked up at the fox and pouted.

“Why?” Was all Naruto said, gesturing between himself and Kyuubi.

“Idiot. That’s why we must speak. Last I checked, you had suppressed me farther into the confines of your childish mind. I’ve been sleeping since then, but whatever happened to you outside has woken me up. You have some explaining to do, Brat.”

Naruto frowned at this new information.

‘What had happened? I sparred with Sasuke. We had ramen,’ Naruto tried to backtrack through his foggy memory, ‘The bastard pissed me off…’

Naruto suddenly blushed.

Sasuke had kissed him and he had kissed his friend back.

“Shit,” Naruto cursed out loud.

“You’re remembering that Uchiha you kissed?” Kyuubi chuckled.

Naruto’s blush intensified, which only fuelled Kyuubi’s amusement.

“H…How’d you know about that? I thought…”

“Just because you think you completely suppressed me, does not mean that I was gone,” the fox interrupted, “I may have been sleeping all of this time, but I still felt your emotions and trust me, I’ve heard all of you thoughts. Unfortunately.”

Kyuubi grinned, or seemed to grin, at Naruto’s expense, “That Uchiha brat is quite the character. I’m surprised you responded to him at all.”

Naruto sighed, “I don’t know why I kissed him back.”

“You don’t love him,” Kyuubi bluntly stated, “It’s as simple as that.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Naruto resigned. He really wasn’t sure he had any feelings for Sasuke that were more than friendship. Naruto shook his head and forced thoughts of his best friend down for the moment. This was not the time to be discussing his and Sasuke’s relationship. Or lack thereof. So Naruto changed the subject.

“Do you know what happened?” Naruto asked.

Kyuubi snorted, “If I did, I wouldn’t have asked you.”

“Oh. Right,” Naruto chuckled and scratched his neck in embarrassment.

“You were distracted with thoughts of the Uchiha brat. Those were the last thoughts I heard before everything went black. Something or someone powerful suppressed your power and mine as well. That explains why you’re here now. But to make me fall into a forced sleep as well…”

“Kyuubi?” Naruto asked when Kyuubi stopped talking.

“Something’s not right.”

Naruto was about to question the demon again when he felt it.

It was very faint at first, but it slowly escalated. Naruto did not know what the feeling was, but he was starting to feel very weak. When he looked over to Kyuubi, Naruto could see that it was also affecting it as well. Kyuubi appeared to be in a lot of pain.

It soon became apparent to Naruto exactly why the fox was in pain. His eyes widened when he could see Kyuubi’s red chakra leak out from the demon’s body and was pulled by some unseen force towards the seal on the giant cage. The red chakra snaked around the seal, completely engulfing it with red flames. Kyuubi’s vast amount of chakra began to spin as the seal literally sucked up every bit of it from the fox.

When the red light dimmed, Naruto could see the unconscious form of Kyuubi on the other side of the cage. He was glad to see that the demon was still breathing.

However, Naruto’s relief was short lived. That same strange feeling washed over him again, but this time, it was painful. The blond released a choked scream as he felt his own chakra being forcibly removed from his body. Naruto managed to open his eyes and he could see his blue chakra flow out of his body and towards the spinning orb of Kyuubi’s red chakra. As the two chakras merged, there was a blinding white light that filled the entire cavern.

Before Naruto lost consciousness again, he saw a small, violet globe of flames spinning slowly where the seal on Kyuubi’s cage used to be.

~*~

Itachi collapsed beside Naruto’s small form in exhaustion. The sealing had taken a lot more out of him than he had expected. He should have known better. Naruto was renowned for his endless supply of chakra as well as the nine tails’ own. Itachi was almost completely drained of his own chakra. His bunshins had long since disappeared, leaving him in completely vulnerable to possible attack.

Ignoring his current dilemma for the moment, Itachi checked over the new seal on Naruto’s abdomen. Yondaime’s seal was still intact, but there was now a new marking surrounding the older seal. This new seal encircled Yondaime’s seal with interlocking designs that formed four points of a diamond. Thinner lines from the new seal intersected with Yondaime’s seal. The Akatsuki had created this seal specifically for Naruto. The jutsu was designed to absorb both Kyuubi’s and Naruto’s chakra within Yondaime’s seal and block all outlets to release it. In a sense, it was a cage within a cage.

It appeared that the new seal had worked perfectly. Itachi could not sense Naruto’s chakra signature, nor Kyuubi’s, at all. He covered his captive with a blanket and left the cave to scan the area outside for any possible threats. He didn’t make it far before he resigned to turning back. His chakra reserves were very low at the moment and he’d rather not pass out as he jumped through the trees. The landing may prove fatal to himself and his mission. Itachi was satisfied to sense that there were no posing threats in the area of the forest or on the mountain. He returned to the cave quickly and checked over Naruto once more. Itachi managed to make himself comfortable across from the blond and watched him silently before he gave in to fatigue and fell asleep.