The Price We Pay

Sasuke lay in bed, feeling like a traitor. Here he was in an nice soft bed while Naruto was probably laying on some cold floor somewhere. He was safe and sound, surrounded by family, his Uncles in the room on the left of him while Itachi, probably still sitting up studying, was on his right, while Naruto was probably being beaten right now, or even...he shook his head violently. He couldn't think of that, even for a second, or he'd drive himself crazy and would be no help to his brother WHEN they found him.

He sighed to himself, rolling over to snuggle into his pillows, clutching the one Naruto used to sleep on when he slept over. The smell of his brothers smell had long since faded, but the knowledge of who once slept there always soothed him and helped him sleep, as well as strengthened his resolve.

They had been only young then and had never slept together in the sexual way, only cuddling together for comfort and peace, Naruto had soothed him through the anniversary of his parents death and other bad episodes, his safety and peace in the storm of his emotions and, he later came to realize, his love and loved. When he first entered the Umino household he had thought he was destined to be with Sakura, but her attitude had only irritated him where Naruto's amused him. She had an annoying voice, where Naruto's was musical when he wasn't whinning.

Breathing in deeply a few times he forced his chaotic thoughts to slow and the remembered scent of his love to let him drift, gently easing him towards sleep.

He was on the verge of deep sleep, drifting deeper and deeper down when his instincts trained from so much martial arts told him he wasn't alone. Alert now he lay still, breathing evening out to appear deep under, all senses trained on the room around him, feeling for something different, something not supposed to be there.

There, on the right side of his bed, a slight movement and slight, almost inaudible sob.

Continuing to play asleep he locked onto the figure, waiting for whatever would happen next and ready for it.

There was another soft choked sob and an sudden sharp movement above him. In barely a second Sasuke had opened his eyes, seeing the tell-tale glimmer of metal before he was rolling away, leaving the blade to thud into the pillow he had been hugging. This was followed by another choked sob and the blade lifted and Sasuke hit the floor with a thud as it slashed at him.

He then sprung to his feet and at the figure, knocking it back and grabbing the knife-hand tight he fought to overpower the figure. His almost silent assassin cried out as he squeezed the others wrist, the knife dropping to the floor. Sasuke grabbed the knife and rose, face and body ready for attack, but was shocked to stillness by what he saw.

Naruto lay on the floor, shaking, nursing his right hand and wrist which was obviously broken, fingers and wrist completely destroyed, face filled with pain and grief.

As his eyes met Sasuke's his face and eyes went hard and he looked up at his friend with an flicker of his old spirit and made a motion at his throat. Eyes wide Sasuke stuttered his friends name in protest, only to have him shake his head and motion again, eyes saying 'do it!'

Sasuke remembered what Ino had said about her friend finally loosing her last spark of soul and committing suicide. Was this it? Was Naruto so gone he wanted the only happiness in his life to destroy him? Unable to stand the thought his eyes locked to the motioning hand instead and froze. Looking back up into the one he loved eyes he nodded to show he understood and raised the blade, bringing it down sharply.

Naruto's cry was of neither pain nor protest, but triumph and joy as the sharp blade peirced the collar.

Sparks flew as Sasuke destroyed the camera\microphone.

A brief surge of electricity flashed up the blade, throwing Sasuke back and out for a few brief seconds, but he came back to Naruto as soon as he was able to move again. His brother lay, brokenly sobbing in joy and all other emotions he had been forced to hold in and Sasuke could think of nothing to do but hold him close and comfort him.

Slowly Sasuke became aware of rapid knocking and an concerned and confused voice on the other side of his bedroom door, Madara's voice. "Sasuke what's going on in there? What was that noise?"

"Don't ask questions, uncle, just come in and move slowly. I'm on the floor on the far side of the bed." Madara did so, slowly moving around the bed until he saw them, eyes confused "who?"

"Naruto uncle." Madara didn't question why or how, just nodded. He took a step forward, then another, then froze suddenly. Sasuke frowned at him and asked quietly "what is it, uncle?"

"His back, don't you see?"

"No, what?" Sasuke strained to look behind his friend while holding him still. Naruto must have realized what he was doing, for he tried to hide his back up against the bed. But he was having trouble because something huge and softly white was between them. Sasuke realized whatever it was was what he had seen under Naruto's coat at the bank.

What was it, a hump?

"You're not going to believe it, but they're wings, huge white feathered bird wings" Madara said to which Sasuke raised an eyebrow and came back with "you're kidding."

"No, look for yourself." Sasuke forced Naruto around and looked for himself, gasping when he saw he was true, only, like his beaten and cut body, the wings were bloody and missing feathers in places.

"Sasuke, look at his face." When he did so he found the other boys eyes were slowly clouding over in shock, pink under the lids. Sasuke started to shake him desperately "no, dammit, Naruto stay with us! For Sakura's sake!" But the other boy's head merely flopped to the side and he looked at Sasuke, eyes saying in clouded confusion "who?"

"Naruto we need you to find Sakura! We can't do it without you! Stay with us, for me, and Madara and Gaara and for YOUR PARENTS, Iruka and Kakashi! Your fathers need you and Sakura! How do you think they feel without you? So much has happened since you were gone, like Iruka graduated medical school and done his residency and is now an fully qualified doctor!"

Naruto winced in fear and looked at the floor, Madara frowned and asked softly "did you see that?"

"What is it, uncle?"
"His reaction to Doctor, try it again."

Sasuke did so and again the same reaction. He frowned and asked softly "what is it about doctor that upsets you, Naruto?" The other boy frowned and then reluctantly showed them his inner arms. Sasuke and his uncle gasped in horror at what they saw there. Covering his wrists and elbows were old and new puncture marks, two fresh punctures on his bad hands inner-wrist.

"Naruto, did an doctor do this to you? Is this guy who grabbed you and Sakura a doctor?"
Naruto shook his head.

"A GP?" Madara asked.
Again a shake.

"An medic?"
A third shake.

"An vet?"
A fourth.

Sasuke hesitated then asked softly "what about an chemist?" A nod, an tired nod and followed up by an shudder of fear. Madara looked at him and asked curiously "what made you think about an chemist, Sasuke?"

"The wings and punctures. What if this guy was using Naruto and maybe Sakura for some sort of test subject, and that's where the wings came from, some sort of side-affect."

"It's possible, I suppose" Madara said thoughtfully. Sasuke looked up at him from his friend, asking softly "what do we do now, uncle?"

"First thing's first, we get this collar off him. While I take him downstairs and into the kitchen for better light, go to my wardrobe and up the back shelf is my old bomb-disposal tools box. Bring it to me and then go to the phone and call Iruka and Kakashi, say what you must, just get them here ASAP. Then call Gaara and tell him everything."

Sasuke nodded, released his friend then moved off to do so. When he was gone, Madara bent and picked the boy up, Careful of the wings, and carried him downstairs to the kitchen. Sasuke met him there. He had ran to get the kit and grabbed the doonar while he was there, spreading it on the table under the light.

"Good Idea, Sasuke" Madara approved as he gently placed the boy onto the thick feathered blanket, sitting him up and continuing to talk to him "did you call Naruto's parents and Gaara?"

"Yeah, uncle Gaara's gonna pick them up on the way in."

"Good. Get me the first-aid kit, some warm water, towels and cotton swabs. Let's clean these cuts and bruises first." Sasuke nodded and left them for a few minutes, while Madara headed for the light switch. After flipping it on and turning he gasped in horror once when he saw the knife still embedded in the destroyed collars camera\microphone, then again when he saw the color of the boy's eyes.

Violet.

Not the deep intense blue Madara was used to seeing, but violet and as he watched they faded to pink, darkened to black, then back to violet. When Madara took a step forward, Naruto's eyes clouded, went yellow and he cringed in fear. "Naruto..." he started, but the boy was too frightened of him to listen.

"Uncle?" Sasuke had heard him and the tone of voice and was concerned and confused. He came in the room carrying a bowl of water, the first-aid kit and some cotton swabs and guazes, towels over one arm. "He doesn't want me near" he explained "you better assure him I won't hurt him or we won't get anywhere."

Sasuke nodded, put the things on the table beside him, and started to gently assure Naruto of his uncles good will and intentions. Eventually, with Madara moving a step at a time, slowing his movements so Naruto could see and anticipate each one and keeping the gentle and concerned look on his face, the boy let him near so both could clean and dress his cuts, and roughly wash him all over, even thought Sasuke had to frequently return to the sink in the kitchen for clean water.

Pulling down Naruto's torn dark pants the first thing Sasuke saw was obvious finger marks on either emaciated hip, starting to slowly turn into bruises. Realizing what it meant he bit his tongue and forced a rein on his anger, but it only grew when they were removed to find the entire area of the ass red and bleeding from cuts over the cheeks with an obviously identifiable white creme leaked around the area and drying between the legs and buttocks.

Sasuke almost completely lost it when, gently easing the cheeks apart not only did Naruto cry out in terror and start trembling hard but the flesh inside obviously damaged so bad the muscles never would heal and fully work again, although if it was an product of the rape\s or the man purposely doing it so Naruto would never be able to keep him out Sasuke didn't know.

Forcing himself to calm down by doing some deep-breathing exercises Sasuke instead concentrated on cleaning the entire area, almost biting his tongue through when he found his friend and loves private area damaged as well, the cock was purple and misshappen, as if it's been squeezed hard enough he could see fingermarks on it, the balls barring criss-cross bloody fresh marks.

And the very tip, that sensitive head was burnt badly, branded with an symbol Sasuke didn't recognize but strongly suspected was the kidnappers name. It was an mark of ownership, claiming for his own what had once been Sasuke's to claim.

Seeing this he saw red. Calming himself took only seconds when he heard his love cry out in fear again, looking up he saw the boy's eyes yellow in terror, looking at his face and moving slowly to his hands and knees, obviously offering himself to him. Sasuke was both nauseated when he realized his love was reacting instinctively to him, just as Ino had said her friend had, to his anger, having been programmed into submission by this asshole raping him in anger.

Although a small part of Sasuke was thrilled by his loves submission to him, it meant he wanted him, finally, the rest of him knew the truth, this wasn't the boy he loved submitting because he loved him and wanted him, it was pure instinct, pure terror. He would NEVER even DREAM of touching his love in that way.

Instead he forced himself to calm, gently lay Naruto down on the doonar and began to clean, avoiding his uncle's look as he spoke gently and soothingly to the boy while he touched him. Under his and his uncle's gentle hands and strokes of the cool soft clothes the boy eventually relaxed again.

When he was almost clean and Sasuke started patching up the cuts, burns and wounds-especially what Madara identified as rope burns around his wrists and ankles-then Sasuke suggested they put antiseptic on them. "No, nephew" Madara said to him sternly "I may not know much about complicated chemicals, but we don't know what's in him and how he'll react to the creme, he may have an severe allergic reaction and die."

"Good point" Sasuke agreed.


They had just finished patching Naruto up when they heard the front door unlocked and opened. Madara rose and looked to Sasuke "stay here with Naruto" he said, the black haired boy nodding to his uncle as he left, meeting his lover and the other two confused men at the door.

Gaara was carrying a box of large photo-album type books, a couple Madara recognized as the missing person books plus at-large criminals. At his intensely curious look the red head explained "I thought he may be able to identify our kidnapper for us, as well as any other captives."

"Good idea but in his state I doubt he'd be able to do so for a while."

"Who's state? What are you talking about?" Iruka asked through his confusion. And Madara frowned at him "didn't Sasuke explain when he phoned you?"

"No, he just said for me to bring my medical bag, that someone needed my help, who is it?" Before he could answer Sasuke appeared, trotting towards them as he spoke "he's gone to sleep. He curled into a ball, THEY curled around him and he's sleeping."

"What are you talking about!" Kakashi stormed "tell us instead of keeping us in the dark!" Wordlessly Sasuke took Iruka's free hand and lead him silently into the kitchen and too the table.

Naruto lay on his left side on the doonar, curled up with his head tucked protectively inside, gripping the long darkly clad legs and his wings curved forward to hide his head and neck from them. A little blood showed through the bandages on his wings and the harshly brilliant kitchen light shone off the small visible parts of the metal collar where the feathers didn't hide. He clutched his right wrist with the left, since he couldn't use it, fingers an visible purple and swollen, bone grown and healed wrong.

Sasuke gently moved the wing out of the way of his face and said softly "recognize him?" Iruka looked quickly and said "no, why?"

"Look closer" Sasuke urged and the man did, frowning thoughtfully. Just as the black-haired boy was about to tell him his eyes widened all the way and he gasped out "my god! Naruto!" Sasuke nodded and Kakashi moved to his husbands side, frowning as he looked closely at the sickly injured boy. Slowly recognition dawned and he realized his own son.

"How..." was all Iruka could manage.

Sasuke spoke before his uncle could "about half an hour ago I woke up and he was there. I think the man who did this to him and has Sakura sent him to kill me as a danger to his experiments and as an witness to his robbing the bank. But I'm his only mental link between his past and happy memories and reality, so he gave this guy the ILLUSION of trying to kill me. But when I destroyed the camera\microphone he didn't have to try and let himself go."

"And Naruto's the one who needed my help. But where'd the wings come from?" Madara spoke out "Naruto showed us needle punctures on the inside of his arms made by an chemist. We think he's using Naruto and maybe Sakura as human guinea pigs, and the wings are some sort of side effect."

"It's possible, I suppose, Naruto WAS always genetically unique and strong that way. Maybe some chemical cocktail adjusted his genetic code to produce them. What bank robbery?"

"You didn't tell him?" Sasuke asked Kakashi curiously. Who answered stiffly "no, I didn't see the point. Even if it WAS Naruto, all it would have happened was it would get him worked up" only to receive an fierce glare from his partner and who said in an hard voice "tell me about it NOW."

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