Sunlight in a Dark Room

I'm leaving the Author's Note until after the chapter. :P

Review Responses:

Thank you, everyone that's been reviewing. :D It makes me so happy. ^_____^ *hugs*

Devious Lil Devil: *laughs* He'd definitely kick their ass. XDDD I love Itachi. Leaving a sign that's like a slap in the face. *evil laugh* XDDD I hope I can keep him IC because I want him to be his seemingly emotionless self, but yet he isn't. If that makes sense. :P

Nusku: I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D

AnA La PaNa83: Thanks again. ^_____^ I had a really tough time trying to find the right way to explain the seal. I almost didn't, to be honest. XD; But that would have left a lot of loopholes. I'm reserving a chapter much later on just to explain more about the seal. You should write a fic. :D I'd be more than happy to help if you want. ^_____^ Hehehe. Big bad Itachi. *heart* XDDD

kyu-chan: LOL!!! I've never been described that way before. *hugs* That's the greatest. XDDD Nope, he doesn't. D: Originally, he was supposed to because this fic was going to be a SasuNaru. It didn't really turn out that way though. 8D Poor Sasuke. XD; Thank you, I'm glad you liked this chapter. :D

I hope you all enjoy. ^^

~*~*~*~

Chapter 3 - Their Arrival

When Naruto roused from his sleep, he was glad to note that he was warm this time. He seemed to be pressed against a warm body; his head resting on a solid shoulder and long hair tickled his nose. The hair smelled of some sort of spice that Naruto could not name, but it smelled good. Naruto could faintly hear the rhythmic beating of a heart beneath his ear. It was oddly comforting to him. The gentle beat was slow and steady and relaxed the awakening blond. He dimly noted that his legs were wrapped around the warm body and strong arms were holding him up. Naruto’s own arms were draped over a pair of muscular shoulders.

Amidst all of his sleep muddled thoughts, Naruto decided that he rather liked to wake up holding somebody close. And he liked being held as well. It was so foreign to him, but it felt nice and comfortable.

Safe.

Yes, he liked it very much.

Naruto sighed and lazily lifted his head so his chin rested on the right shoulder of whoever was carrying him. His eyes drifted over to the face of the unnamed person.

Naruto froze.

The last person he ever expected to see was staring right back at him. An expressionless face with a pair of blood red eyes, each of which contained three spinning tomoes.

Red eyes.

Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi was prepared for the outburst that he was sure would come from the Jinchuuriki. It didn’t. Instead, Naruto was quiet, watching him with calculating and somewhat surprised blue eyes. It was a trait he noticed countless times during the month he had observed Naruto. And he had kept it well hidden from anyone other than Sasuke. Yet, this collected Naruto he was now carrying seemed different from the one he had been watching, but he couldn’t figure out how.

Itachi watched as Naruto turned away from his gaze and looked around at their surroundings. They were traveling through the trees at a reasonable pace. Naruto guessed that their trail would be harder to follow this way. Judging from the foliage and unique rock formations on the mountains in the distance, they were in the Rock Country. A hell of a long way from Konoha. And, considering that they were a long way from the Wind Country, help would not be coming anytime soon. Naruto was rather grateful for his and Sasuke’s intensive training for situations like these. It was really helping. Sort of.

Naruto, still tense, tried to assess his chakra levels. There were none. Frowning, he pulled himself into his mind and called out for Kyuubi.

Silence.

He tried again, resulting in more silence.

He and Kyuubi had not spoken in almost four years. He should be used to her, and he was pretty sure that the fox was a she, not responding. But this was different. Naruto could not feel Kyuubi’s presence nor her chakra. It was as if she had vanished.

Knowing that he was powerless to do anything about his situation, Naruto released a small sigh of resignation and relaxed his tense muscles. He was at Uchiha Itachi’s mercy and he was prepared to face it.

“How long?” Naruto whispered. The words, ‘do I have left?’ were left unsaid. He knew the Uchiha would understand.

Itachi had watched Naruto with growing fascination. The blond’s continuous myriad of expressions that crossed his face were interesting and had curbed Itachi’s curiosity over the last month. The façade Naruto had put up with his Konoha brethren would have resulted in a loud and heated battle. Chakra or no chakra. This Naruto, however, had given in. He was aware of what was about to happen and he was willing to accept it.

‘Perhaps he changed because he was without the nine tails influence. Losing such a huge part of himself could result in some form of transformation,’ the Uchiha thought to himself, ‘Or maybe, Uzumaki Naruto has learned to accept defeat.’

“Three days, Naruto-kun,” Itachi answered quietly.

“What happened to my chakra?” Naruto wanted to know this. To be able to suppress both his and Kyuubi’s chakra was an amazing feat. No matter who did it. Naruto was very impressed despite his situation.

“It’s gone,” was all Itachi said and would say. It was not necessary to explain or make conversation.

Naruto knew this immediately and merely nodded his head in acknowledgement.

They traveled in silence.

~*~

At nightfall, Itachi stopped to rest near a small river. Carrying Naruto around was starting to take a toll on him. However, that infamous Uchiha pride forbid him from acknowledging his weakening strength. He had practically drained what little chakra he had recovered after sealing Naruto’s chakra. Itachi loathed to admit it, especially since he was in the presence of an enemy and captive, but he was tired.

Letting go of Naruto’s legs and allowing him to stretch out his sore, unused muscles, Itachi gave the blond a rather threatening look that said, ‘Try to leave and you’ll regret it.’

Noticing this, Naruto frowned, “I’m not going anywhere. It‘s not like I really can do anything now, is there?”

Itachi merely nodded as he sat down and leaned against a tree. His low chakra was starting to affect his nerves. He needed rest, but the Uchiha was unwilling to let his captive out of his sight. Naruto wouldn’t make it far if he did manage to escape, but to lose him now was not an option for Itachi despite his fatigue. Again, his pride was overruling his judgement.

Naruto sat across from Itachi and watched the older man weigh his options. He had a pretty good idea what exactly it was that the elder Uchiha was thinking and he did find it rather amusing. It was odd though. Naruto had noticed that Itachi’s eyes were slowly fading back and forth from the Sharingan blood red to that typical, Uchiha ebony black. The man must really be tired and low on chakra for something so natural as his Sharingan to deactivate. Naruto had only met Itachi face to face three times before. The first time had been at the inn when Naruto was twelve. The second time he had experienced one of the older man’s genjutsu while trying to rescue Gaara, but Itachi was technically not really present for that encounter. Because of this, he was unable to use the Mangekyou Sharingan. Finally, the third time was a little skirmish between Itachi, Sasuke, and himself before Naruto was able to bring his friend back to Konoha. Not once during those times had Naruto ever seen Itachi without his Sharingan activated. Sasuke even said that Itachi had kept it activated for as long as he could when the brothers were younger, before the massacre.

Naruto winced at the thought. That man that was now sitting across from him. The man that had managed to take him from his home without a fight. The man that had massacred his own entire family. Itachi, the one responsible for causing Sasuke so much pain. Naruto knew that with his own impending death, Itachi was going to cause Sasuke to suffer a whole lot more. Naruto inwardly cursed the younger Uchiha for confessing to him. If he’d known things were going to turn out this way, he would have rather remained ignorant of Sasuke’s feelings.

Looking back at his weary captor, Naruto made his choice “You can rest. I’ll keep watch.”

Itachi’s expressionless face showed no sign of giving into his fatigue.

‘Damn Uchiha pride will probably be the death of both remaining family members,’ Naruto thought angrily. He had a lot of experience dealing with the younger Uchiha. And realizing it now, Itachi was not too much different from Sasuke. They were both stubborn to the point of personal harm, their pride clouded their better judgement from time to time (much like now), and they spoke little or not at all. Well, Sasuke had learned to talk a little bit more over time…a lot. Sometimes, Naruto wouldn’t be able to get the bastard to shut up. He stopped his thought there. Any more and Naruto would give into this reality and acknowledge that he wasn’t going to be going home this time.

Naruto looked back at Itachi and sighed. If he can deal with the younger Uchiha, he sure as hell will be able to deal with the older one. Naruto stood up and walked slowly, as to not startle his captor and stopped a few paces away from him. He gestured with his hands to the empty spot on Itachi’s right and waited for a response.

Itachi was unsure of Naruto’s motives but he nodded his head in a silent ‘yes’ and allowed the younger man to sit beside him against the tree. He stiffened when Naruto shuffled a bit closer to him so that their arms touched. When he turned a questioning gaze to his captive, Itachi was welcomed with a bright and true smile from the blond.

“Get some rest, we still have two more days to travel, right?” Naruto asked softly.

Itachi nodded.

“Then get some sleep, Old Man,” Naruto teased and gently nudged Itachi’s shoulder and turned away. He added, in a quieter voice, “I promise that I’m not going to run away.”

Itachi was surprised at Naruto’s friendly gesture. He had never been on the receiving end of anything remotely friendly considering his history and his overall cold demeanour. This was also foreign to the elder Uchiha and to be honest, he was confused by it. Naruto’s behaviour towards him wasn’t normal at all in a situation like this. The blond was taking his capture and imminent death rather calmly and even offering to keep watch for enemies. Enemies of Itachi that would most likely be allies to Naruto.

Strange.

Naruto waited until he felt Itachi relax before turning back to look at the older man. His eyes were closed and his slow and steady breathing indicated that Itachi was finally asleep.

‘Maybe they’re more different than I thought.’

~*~

Naruto had stayed awake until Itachi woke up about five hours later. The elder Uchiha had told him to go to sleep and that he would keep watch for the remainder of the night. Naruto agreed without arguing and fell asleep against Itachi’s arm. Again, a little surprised by this action, Itachi frowned at the slumbering blond but did not wake him nor move away.

Itachi woke Naruto up an hour after sunrise for a light breakfast and a quick wash in the river. The Uchiha had indulged in his own bath before he had woken the blond up and allowed Naruto the same courtesy. They were getting too malodorous for his liking. As soon as Naruto was finished, they continued their journey through Rock Country.

The day was practically uneventful and Naruto was bored. Two days of traveling on someone’s back was starting to get to him and his limitless energy was about to reach an all time high. Naruto really didn’t mind the silence between himself and Itachi, but if he didn’t move around and burn that energy off, he was going to go crazy.

“Say, Itachi?”

Naruto had been quiet all day again but he had been rather fidgety. Itachi had an idea of what the blond was going to ask him and right now, he really didn’t mind. The constant shifting on his back was starting to annoy him. He had never met anyone as restless as Naruto was. If he had, they probably wouldn’t have lived long enough to annoy him like his captive was doing right now.

“Hn.”

“Do you mind if we stop for a while? Or maybe…”

“Fine,” Itachi interrupted and leapt down from the treetops, “We’ll stop for an hour.”

Naruto, surprised by Itachi’s quick agreement, jumped off of him when they were landed safely on the ground. He was still unsure of his limits, so he didn’t want to risk hurting himself at the moment. Naruto put his arms up in the air and attempted to stretch out all the kinks in his body. With a yawn and a few cracks of his back, he was set to go.

“Now that feels better,” Naruto looked at Itachi who stood stiffly beside him and frowned, “You know? You can relax if you want. It’s not going to kill you.”

Itachi didn’t reply, but sat down anyways. He was tired and he could recover his chakra levels during this short period of rest. He gave Naruto a warning look before speaking.

“Don’t stray too far, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto nodded and smiled brightly, “I’ll be back before the hour’s up.”

With that, Naruto darted into the surrounding forest. He thought that it was rather strange that Itachi allowed him to go off on his own. Maybe it was because the elder Uchiha knew that Naruto would only be able to get so far before being caught if he ran. After all, Itachi was the one out of the two of them that still had his chakra as well as a very active Mangekyou Sharingan. Naruto also took note that he would also lose this little bit of freedom that the Uchiha allowed him before they reached wherever it was they were going.

Naruto slowed his pace until he came to a stop. He was not going to live for very much longer. He had only days left until Kyuubi would be extracted. Naruto forced out a small chuckle in spite of himself. Would it hurt? Will I be alone? Even his own answers for those questions were not very encouraging.

‘Yes. It was probably going to hurt like hell.’

‘Yes. I’m on my own this time. No one is coming for me because they don’t care. Or, because they have no idea where I am and who I’m with.’

Naruto believed that they just didn’t know where he was, but a small part of him truly believed that no one cared. He had lived the better part of his life on his own. The treatment he received from the villagers didn’t really help his situation either. He had always been alone and he had thought he always would be. So, instead of dwelling on his insecurities and loneliness, Naruto did the only thing he thought would make things better. He built a mask. It was difficult at first. The tiniest thing would set him off and he’d have to rebuild it all over again. It took a few years, but Naruto had been able to perfect it. A mask of smiles, laughter and hyperactive antics. That was the Naruto everyone knew. Right now, however, he was a far cry from smiles and laughter.

“You’re wasting your time standing there like that, Naruto-kun,” a cold voice spoke from behind him.

Naruto turned to see Itachi standing several feet behind him. His black and red cloak and the Konoha hitaiate had been removed. He was wearing, what looked like regular ANBU garb minus the white vest and gloves. His feet donned the typical ninja issue sandals in black. His pants, also black, accentuated his long and muscled legs. The sleeveless, black shirt was lined with mesh and fit snugly against Itachi’s strong torso. His beaded necklace glimmered in the sunlight; ebony hair billowing softly in the wind. Naruto realized then, that he had not seen Itachi without his Akatsuki cloak and thought that the older man looked better without it.

“Naruto,” he said softly as he looked at Itachi.

The questioning gaze from the elder Uchiha was the only response he got, so Naruto continued, “Just call me Naruto. The way you say it with the honorific is kind of creepy.”

Naruto laughed at the unexpected frown that formed on Itachi’s face. It was comforting to know that there was more to Itachi than just cold indifference and duty.

“You should frown more often. It suits you, Itachi.”

Naruto never ceased to surprise the Uchiha. He said the strangest things that, for some reason, made sense to him. Itachi was wary of the way Naruto had been acting, but the younger ninja’s behaviour seemed genuine. There was no falsehood. This was probably why the older man had allowed Naruto certain freedoms despite his captive status. He could trust that Naruto would not try to take advantage of said freedoms and run. There was also something else that compelled him allow this. At the moment, Itachi could not, for the life of him, figure out what it was. He may be a genius, but everyone has his flaws. Emotions just didn’t come as easily to him as they do to others. That, though, had been forced upon him by the superiority and high expectations of the late Uchiha clan.

‘Ninja are trained to hide their emotions. Exceptional Uchiha’s, on the other hand, do not have emotions. Emotions and feelings are useless and only hinder one’s growth.’

Itachi had heard those that same quote everyday of his life until the massacre.

He hated them, but like every exceptional Uchiha, he lived by them.

“You are an enigma, Naruto,” was Itachi’s quiet response.

“Eh? What’s an enigma?” Naruto questioned but Itachi had already left.

The blond shrugged his shoulders and decided to ignore the cryptic response. He had some energy to burn.

~*~

The next day went by fairly quickly and they reached their destination close to sundown. Naruto had been quiet all day. Itachi had expected as much. The jounin had proven his strength of mind about the whole situation. However, when it finally must have clicked that he was not going to live for much longer, Naruto’s whole demeanour had changed. Itachi felt this rather than saw it. The younger man had loosened the hard grip on his shoulders and had subtly slipped his arms around Itachi’s neck. Naruto’s whole body had gone tense. Apprehension is what Itachi supposed, but the fact was he didn’t know how to react to such a gesture. Naruto was hugging him. His captive was seeking comfort and disguised it by the necessity to stay on the older man’s back. He did not know why he did this, but Itachi tightened his grip on Naruto’s legs briefly. The blond seemed to understand and relaxed again.

“Thank you,” Naruto said quietly into Itachi’s ear.

The older man showed no sign of acknowledging what he had said so Naruto turned and rested his head on Itachi’s shoulder. Looking anywhere but the direction in which they were heading. He didn’t want to. Not yet.

It felt like no time passed at all before Itachi spoke again. And the words were not what Naruto wanted to hear, but they were what he had expected.

“We’re here,” he said, nodding towards the group of mountains that the pair were fast approaching.

When Naruto turned to look at the home of the infamous Akatsuki, he was rather surprised, maybe disappointed, to find that it was only a mountain. He frowned. He had expected something a little more…spectacular? Maybe malevolent? What he saw before him was a mountain like any other that was covered with trees. There was a rather large waterfall further to the east, and rocks. Lots of rocks.

Naruto didn't really know what he was expecting, but just a mountain? He supposed that, logically, Akatsuki would want to keep a low profile. That made more sense.

Itachi released Naruto's legs and allowed the younger man to get off of his back.

"From here, we walk," was all Itachi said.

Naruto nodded and followed the older man towards the mountain. His time was slipping by faster than he had anticipated it would. It was a frightening thought, but from the looks of things, his end was inevitable. There was no way a rescue team would show up because they had no signature to follow. There was a chance that they may have been able to follow Itachi's signature but the Uchiha had full chakra levels then. They were hidden so well that even Naruto had not been able to sense Itachi’s presence.

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice the older man ahead of him stop abruptly. The blond, much to his chagrin, walked into Itachi's back and fell ungracefully to the ground. He looked up at Itachi to glare at him, but when he saw the stiffened posture and defensive stance he turned his attention to the direction in which the elder Uchiha was looking.

The mountain they were heading to reeked of blood and death.

~*~~*~

Author's Notes: Phew. Another chapter done. ^^; Much thanks to the fantastic AmuseMe for the beta. ^_____^ *hug*

So, about Naruto's character here, I wanted him this way. If you remember the flashback in Chapter 2, Sasuke caught saw his first glimpse of who Naruto really was without his mask. In this chapter, I was trying to get Itachi acquainted with him. I did try to write Naruto being Naruto at first, but it didn't work out the way I wanted it to. And Itachi would have had to talk more, but I really wanted to focus on him analyzing everything for now rather than talking. Naruto's character will be jumping around a bit, but I hope it works out. :D

I hope that explains things. ^^;;;