Sunlight in a Dark Room
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
16
Views:
1,438
Reviews:
192
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0
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Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
16
Views:
1,438
Reviews:
192
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Four Tails
Author's Notes: YAY!!! Another chapter done. :D Much thanks goes to my beta, AmuseMe!!! *hug* Annnd, just a little warning. There is character death in here. And it's not because I don't like that particular character, I just needed it for the story. ^^; Also, this chapter isn't as long as it was supposed to be because I'm leaving the update for what's happening in Konoha for the next chapter. ;D I hope you enjoy. :D
Review Responses:
Karin: Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. This is my first multi-chapter/Naruto fic so I'm still a bit nervous about everything. ^_____^ I'll update in a few days. :P
FallenGoddessOfBattle: I hope you enjoy this chapter. 8D The suspense kills me too. D: LOL.
hina88: LOL. No worries. :D Thank you for your comment. ^_____^ Naruto's character jumps a bit...it'll be more apparent later on. So I'm always worried that he's not IC. XD; I'm trying to keep Itachi's dialogue to a minimum. He's so....anti-social? XDDDD
Azl: Well, I have the ending of this fic already in mind, but everything else until then is just me going with the flow...XD; I do hope that it is happy though...*likes happy endings* :D Itachi can be difficult at times to write, but I enjoy writing him. *heart*
*laughs* That's oki. I'm happy you like the story. :D Thank you for your awesome comment. :D
AnA La PaNa83: I'm really glad that you're still enjoying the story. :D Naruto is a cutey and I hope he remains so. *heart* I agree with you about the fic thing. When I started this one, even though it was slow, I made myself try my best to make it work. I hope you do decide to though. Good luck with that. :D
Shadowdog85: LOL. I hope you enjoy the update. :D
sainaru_fangurl: *hugs back* Itachi is love. *heart* 8D I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D
Nusku: Thank you. :D I constantly worry about OOCness in this fic. D: Your comment means a lot. :D
mary: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. ^______^
*nervous laugh* Once again I apologize for the lack of creativity when it comes to review responses. *hides*
~*~*~*~
Chapter 4 - Four Tails
Naruto followed Itachi as he led the way through the maze of caves within the mountain. Images of the person who had been quite literally shredded to pieces kept flashing through his mind. Naruto had seen a lot of violent things in his short life, but that had, by far, been the worst.
When they had reached the entrance to the Akatsuki base, there had been signs of an intense fight. The result, which lay only meters away from where they had stood, was the body of one of the Akatsuki members. Tobi, whom Itachi had identified. Tobi’s blood was everywhere. Unique patterns of blood spatter adorned the ground around a large pool of the liquid mixed with parts of Tobi‘s body. The walls were covered with countless spots of blood indicating that his attacker had been fast; striking the victim’s body numerous amount of times before he had even fallen to the ground. The body was unrecognizable, but the Uchiha had been able to detect Tobi’s fading chakra signature as well as an unknown one. The unfamiliar signature harboured so much power it had made Itachi’s skin tingle. And, whoever or whatever it was had entered the cave. Or rather, judging from the other familiar signatures, it was lured back in.
As they followed the chakra trail deeper into the mountain, Naruto couldn’t help but marvel at the numerous amount of caves they passed. He had never seen anything like it before and was surprised that anyone had been able to find their way through it at all. He supposed, though, that the Akatsuki were not just anyone. Naruto was itching to know more about this place, but with the present circumstances, it wasn’t really a good idea to ask.
Itachi quickened his pace, always wary of Naruto’s presence close behind him. He was not sure if it was best to bring the blond in here at the moment, but he really couldn’t risk him running away. Naruto had promised him that he wouldn’t run, but if given the chance, it was very possible that he would. He continued to scan for any of the other Akatsuki members but had so far found nothing.
And then he felt it. A surge of chakra coming from the direction of the central cavern. With a speed rivalling no other, Itachi scooped Naruto into his arms and raced down a corridor to their left.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing!?” Naruto started to protest.
“Quiet,” Itachi ordered.
Naruto frowned at the command, but nodded and obeyed. Whatever got the Uchiha so worked up must be pretty serious. It bothered him that he couldn’t sense any chakra because he had no idea what the hell was going on. Naruto silently fumed as Itachi turned into an unlit cave. It was pitch black. Itachi set him on the ground and Naruto could hear him walking around like he could actually see where he was going. Suddenly, there was a flash of light that dimmed down to a dull red glow.
“Here,” Itachi said as he handed Naruto the candle and a kunai, “Stay here and don’t move. I’ll be back for you later.”
Before Naruto could say anything, Itachi had disappeared down the corridor from which they had come from. The candle, he could understand, otherwise he would not have been able to see anything. Why Itachi had given him a kunai? Naruto did not know. Protection was the obvious answer, but, protection from what?
Naruto sighed as he looked at his surroundings. He was in a small cavern that contained…absolutely nothing. Aside from the smell, the slimy stuff on the walls, and himself, the cavern was devoid of anything. He sat down and placed the candle in front of him. The light it gave off was rather eerie, but at least he wasn’t completely engulfed in darkness.
Boredom slowly settled in and Naruto was getting fidgety. He had started to consider making a run for it, but the idea of getting lost in the labyrinth of caves was not an appealing thought. Neither was the idea of breaking his promise. Even if it was Itachi whom he had made the promise to. Scrapping the escaping idea, Naruto’s thoughts wandered over to the dead Akatsuki member.
He suppressed a shudder.
It wasn’t really the time to think about such a disturbing thing. Naruto took a deep breath and calmed his racing thoughts. With nothing else to do but wait, he decided to assess his chakra levels…or lack thereof. Maybe even try to figure out what Itachi had done. During that hour that the Uchiha had given him to burn off his energy, he was able to determine that he could still do a lot of what he used to. However, his strength was very limited. He also couldn’t heal anymore with Kyuubi’s chakra being completely blocked. To say the least, it kind of hurt when he had punched or kicked something solid. It bothered him to discover that he was also rather slow. No wonder Itachi carried him on his back. It would have taken them a hell of a lot longer to get here if he hadn’t.
Naruto was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt the ground tremble. Just what the hell was going on?
~*~
Itachi had to go down two more levels before he could reach the central cavern. The correct path was practically branded into his mind, but the twists and turns were slowing him down. He had decided right then that the labyrinth of caves was an inconvenience.
The entire mountain shook again, interrupting Itachi from his thoughts. The entrance to the central cavern was only twenty meters away. The dust from fallen rocks clouded the air and made it difficult to breathe. Itachi covered his mouth and slowed down. He quickly scanned the cavern for his comrades and stealthily made his way over towards the closest signature. The Uchiha remained ever wary of the unknown source of chakra near the center of the cavern. The cloud of dust prevented him from seeing it, but Itachi was very certain of who it was.
“Running a little behind, Uchiha-san?,” Kisame grumbled.
The shark like man appeared to be exhausted and very low on chakra. His Akatsuki cloak was torn in random places. The larger tears revealed several deep gashes along Kisame’s torso that were bleeding profusely. There were also some small gashes on the shark like man’s face and all along his arms. Itachi noted that Kisame was not holding his blade, Samehada. To be able to separate that weapon from its owner was not a simple task. Itachi determined the four-tailed demon they were dealing with was not as weak as they had anticipated.
He could feel the weak chakra signatures of the remaining Akatsuki members. Two more were missing and, counting Tobi, three Akatsuki members had been taken out by this one bijuu.
“I was not given a time limit.”
“Hmph. Well the boss should’ve given you one. That bitch,” Kisame nodded towards the figure amidst all the dust, “has been nothing but trouble.”
“What happened?” Itachi asked quietly as he gauged his own recovering chakra levels.
“Dunno. The boss says I may have performed the sealing wrong and it backfired,” Kisame scoffed, “One minute she was practically helpless, the next, there was a huge surge of chakra and the demon was out and killed two of us. Tobi got wounded and ran out, the idiot, and the thing followed him only to catch a hold of him at the entrance.”
“I‘ve seen.”
“I figured you would. So that’s three of us gone now. But it’s not like we really needed them anyways,” Kisame allowed himself to chuckle then continued, “We managed to lure her back into the mountain, but we’ve only been able to barely contain her here. We aren’t strong enough to immobilize her. I don’t know where she got all that extra power, but she’s put up one hell of a fight and she’s still got lots of chakra to spare. The boss has been preparing barriers, but none of them have worked so far.”
Itachi nodded and processed this new information. If Kisame had performed the sealing wrong and the weaker four tails had turned out like this, what would happen with Naruto and the nine tails? He was sure that he had performed the sealing correctly, but if he didn’t, the result could be disastrous. Far worse than what he was seeing now.
In the blink of an eye, the female bijuu darted towards Deidara. The demon was fast. The blond Akatsuki member stood defensively, waiting for the impending attack. It never came. Instead, she missed the blond on purpose and rammed into the cavern wall causing the whole mountain to shake. She then pushed herself away from the wall and rushed towards Itachi and Kisame. Both men jumped out of the way as she rammed into the wall behind them.
Itachi watched as the demon glared at him and his partner until she caught a scent in the air. She sniffed the air and growled. Itachi activated his Sharingan only to find that the demon had moved again. He scanned the cavern for her. She was gone.
“Damn it! She got out!” Kisame cursed.
Itachi froze when he realized it. There was only one other scent that she could have smelled, and he was not in this room.
“Naruto,” was all Itachi said before taking off after the demon, the rest of the Akatsuki following close behind. The bijuu must have been able to smell the nine tails. Knowing exactly how two demons interact from experience, Itachi knew that Naruto was not safe at the moment. That female was going to hunt the blond down and kill him.
~*~
When the tremors had stopped, Naruto had been sure that the battle was over and Itachi would be coming for him any minute. What he didn’t expect was the sound of something making sniffing noises, a growl, and a pair of green slitted eyes. Naruto’s eyes widened when a creature walked into the dim light. As it edged close to him with four tails swaying through the air, immediately identifying it as a bijuu. Four tails swayed through the air as the wolf demon edged closer to Naruto. It stopped not two feet from the blond and eyed its prey.
It was a rather small demon. It looked exactly like a wolf, but slightly bigger. And compared to Kyuubi’s size, this one was kind of runt-like. However, Naruto would not underestimate this one. It’s fur was sleek and appeared to be black, but he couldn’t really tell with the dim light. It sort of held an air of superiority and pride, which showed in the way it carried itself. If the situation was not as it was at the moment, Naruto would have thought the creature quite beautiful. But there was something off about it. Naruto watched in slight awe as the red light started to dim. The wolf was pulling in the chakra that kept the light going.
Odd.
Naruto was confused as to why the four tails was running loose within the lair of the Akatsuki and standing in front of him, ready to attack. The Akatsuki couldn’t have lost, could they? At the moment, Naruto found that scenario very likely. Once again, he found himself at the mercy of a being stronger that him. If he had his chakra, he would have definitely stood a chance. But in the state he was in now, Naruto could not possibly live through this.
“Here goes nothing,” he sighed and quickly grabbed for the kunai.
The instant that Naruto moved, the wolf demon attacked. He was, however not able to move fast enough and the bijuu had got a hold of his forearm. It hurt and he cried out, but the pain was bearable and Naruto counter attacked and managed to slice the demon’s snout. When his arm was released, he jumped to the side and slowly backed away from the wolf. He ignored the blood that was flowing down his arm and dripping to the cavern floor. Naruto had no idea what he did to piss this thing off, but it looked as if it was ready to attack again. And the look in its eyes spoke of its blood lust.
This time, however, Naruto struck first. He missed and the wolf grabbed his other arm, biting viciously into it. He tried to impale the kunai within her skull, but she jumped back and threw him against a stone wall. The impact was unimaginably painful. Naruto hurt everywhere and his head was spinning. When he tried to stand, he fell back against the wall and tried to focus on his attacker. As soon as the demon was about to strike again, it stopped; growling and glaring at the black clad figure now standing between herself and her prey.
Naruto stared wide eyed at Itachi’s back. He had not expected any help to come. And seeing the Uchiha in front of him now had sent a wave of relief to wash over him. He honestly thought that he was going to die and end up in much the same state as that Tobi guy. Wait. Was he really ready to give up his life at the hands of the Akatsuki?
Naruto shook his head and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to get emotional and ask questions. He had no idea how Itachi was going to deal with a bijuu on his own, especially this one. He had yet to see the Uchiha use his full power. Itachi was strong, but Naruto was well aware of the older man’s limits. He was also well aware that Itachi was not fully recovered.
“You’re late, Uchiha,” Naruto had no idea if he was trying to be funny or not.
“Hn,” was Itachi’s creative response, “Your wounds?”
“I’m fine.”
Itachi didn’t say anymore. Instead, he focused his attention on the black female wolf in front of him. The others should be arriving soon. He had lost the rest of the Akatsuki within that damned labyrinth of caves in his rush to get to Naruto. If the wolf killed the fox, their cause would be lost.
Somehow, in someway, that thought bothered the Uchiha. And he did not know why.
In that instant, the wolf lunged at Itachi. He pushed Naruto to the side and managed to dodge her attack. He countered with a kunai to her ribs. She cried out in pain and lunged again with a speed faster than Itachi could have imagined. He was too slow to evade this attack and she managed to grab his shoulder. He winced at the pain, but sliced her side in that same moment. Another howl of pain filled the cavern and the demon relinquished her grip.
Itachi backed up until he brushed up against Naruto. Never taking his eyes off of the wolf, he slipped behind the blond and wrapped his good arm around Naruto’s waist in a firm grip. Itachi could sense the other Akatsuki members fast approaching chakra an he knew the wolf did too.
“Erm. Itachi?” Naruto asked. Despite the darkness, he tried to suppress the blush that refused to disappear. Naruto could not help but be aware of their close proximity and the almost possessive grip the Uchiha had on him.
“Quiet.”
Naruto was just about to protest when several other people burst into the small cavern. They formed a circle around the wolf and started to initiate several different hand seals. It became apparent that they were performing a barrier jutsu when a yellow sphere began to form around the panicking wolf.
“Itachi-san. Get the nine tails out of here. We cannot risk losing the final Jinchuuriki,” said a man to Naruto’s right.
Itachi nodded and tightened his grip around Naruto’s waist. In an instant, Naruto found himself being carried out of the glowing cavern and away from the ensuing chaos. He was curious as to why the four tailed demon was able to cause the Akatsuki so much trouble. Naruto made a mental note to ask Itachi later. If he had the chance to anyway. He didn’t know where they were going, but it seemed that Itachi was going in an upwards direction.
“Where are we going?” Naruto asked quietly. He was becoming more and more aware of the pain from his wounds. They were deep and hadn’t stopped bleeding, his body ached and his head was still spinning. Naruto was unused to this. Kyuubi would have healed them by now and there wouldn’t even been too much pain.
“Out of here,” Itachi answered.
Naruto nodded and felt something wet on his head. He reached over with his hand and gently felt Itachi’s shoulder.
“You’re wounded.”
Itachi didn’t even bother answering. He could sense the battle continuing below. The Akastsuki seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The four tails chakra was weakening. They had most likely been able to trap the demon within a stronger barrier and he could no longer feel the wolf’s chakra. Had they killed her?
Suddenly, a pulse of chakra struck them. It was so strong, that Itachi had lost his footing and he and Naruto were thrown into a crumpled heap on the cave floor. Broken fragments of rock were crashing down from the ceiling as another wave struck them.
“Ow!” Naruto moaned as he rubbed his throbbing head, “That was a little unexpected.”
“Get up. We have to move. Now,” Itachi said darkly.
“Just give me a sec…”
“No time,” Itachi interrupted and picked the blond up to continue their way out.
The falling debris was making their escape difficult. Itachi had to concentrate on dodging the bigger rocks and manage to stay on the correct path at the same time. The dust was not making things any easier either. Naruto was able to keep his eyes closed, but breathing was becoming difficult. He didn’t complain though and he wouldn’t complain later either. Naruto was well aware that Itachi was having it worse off than him. The Uchiha’s eyes were still open, they had to be. And for all the running he was doing at the moment, Itachi was sucking in a lot more of the dust.
They had one more level to climb before they’d reach the entrance and it the caves were going to collapse at any moment. Itachi hoisted Naruto over one shoulder and performed several hand seals.
“Ack! What the hell are you doing?!” Naruto shouted over the noise of the rumbling mountain.
Suddenly, a blue light engulfed the pair and Naruto’s eyes widened in realization.
“A barrier?”
Itachi felt no need to respond. Another thing he had noticed about Naruto was that he was prone to stating the obvious and Itachi found it best not to even bother answering his questions. They were almost out and he need not waste his breath. There. The entrance was in sight.
There was another, impossibly strong shockwave of chakra and Itachi was thrown forward again. He kept a firm grip around Naruto and heard him shout something before they were engulfed in a roaring darkness.
Review Responses:
Karin: Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. This is my first multi-chapter/Naruto fic so I'm still a bit nervous about everything. ^_____^ I'll update in a few days. :P
FallenGoddessOfBattle: I hope you enjoy this chapter. 8D The suspense kills me too. D: LOL.
hina88: LOL. No worries. :D Thank you for your comment. ^_____^ Naruto's character jumps a bit...it'll be more apparent later on. So I'm always worried that he's not IC. XD; I'm trying to keep Itachi's dialogue to a minimum. He's so....anti-social? XDDDD
Azl: Well, I have the ending of this fic already in mind, but everything else until then is just me going with the flow...XD; I do hope that it is happy though...*likes happy endings* :D Itachi can be difficult at times to write, but I enjoy writing him. *heart*
*laughs* That's oki. I'm happy you like the story. :D Thank you for your awesome comment. :D
AnA La PaNa83: I'm really glad that you're still enjoying the story. :D Naruto is a cutey and I hope he remains so. *heart* I agree with you about the fic thing. When I started this one, even though it was slow, I made myself try my best to make it work. I hope you do decide to though. Good luck with that. :D
Shadowdog85: LOL. I hope you enjoy the update. :D
sainaru_fangurl: *hugs back* Itachi is love. *heart* 8D I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D
Nusku: Thank you. :D I constantly worry about OOCness in this fic. D: Your comment means a lot. :D
mary: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. ^______^
*nervous laugh* Once again I apologize for the lack of creativity when it comes to review responses. *hides*
~*~*~*~
Chapter 4 - Four Tails
Naruto followed Itachi as he led the way through the maze of caves within the mountain. Images of the person who had been quite literally shredded to pieces kept flashing through his mind. Naruto had seen a lot of violent things in his short life, but that had, by far, been the worst.
When they had reached the entrance to the Akatsuki base, there had been signs of an intense fight. The result, which lay only meters away from where they had stood, was the body of one of the Akatsuki members. Tobi, whom Itachi had identified. Tobi’s blood was everywhere. Unique patterns of blood spatter adorned the ground around a large pool of the liquid mixed with parts of Tobi‘s body. The walls were covered with countless spots of blood indicating that his attacker had been fast; striking the victim’s body numerous amount of times before he had even fallen to the ground. The body was unrecognizable, but the Uchiha had been able to detect Tobi’s fading chakra signature as well as an unknown one. The unfamiliar signature harboured so much power it had made Itachi’s skin tingle. And, whoever or whatever it was had entered the cave. Or rather, judging from the other familiar signatures, it was lured back in.
As they followed the chakra trail deeper into the mountain, Naruto couldn’t help but marvel at the numerous amount of caves they passed. He had never seen anything like it before and was surprised that anyone had been able to find their way through it at all. He supposed, though, that the Akatsuki were not just anyone. Naruto was itching to know more about this place, but with the present circumstances, it wasn’t really a good idea to ask.
Itachi quickened his pace, always wary of Naruto’s presence close behind him. He was not sure if it was best to bring the blond in here at the moment, but he really couldn’t risk him running away. Naruto had promised him that he wouldn’t run, but if given the chance, it was very possible that he would. He continued to scan for any of the other Akatsuki members but had so far found nothing.
And then he felt it. A surge of chakra coming from the direction of the central cavern. With a speed rivalling no other, Itachi scooped Naruto into his arms and raced down a corridor to their left.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing!?” Naruto started to protest.
“Quiet,” Itachi ordered.
Naruto frowned at the command, but nodded and obeyed. Whatever got the Uchiha so worked up must be pretty serious. It bothered him that he couldn’t sense any chakra because he had no idea what the hell was going on. Naruto silently fumed as Itachi turned into an unlit cave. It was pitch black. Itachi set him on the ground and Naruto could hear him walking around like he could actually see where he was going. Suddenly, there was a flash of light that dimmed down to a dull red glow.
“Here,” Itachi said as he handed Naruto the candle and a kunai, “Stay here and don’t move. I’ll be back for you later.”
Before Naruto could say anything, Itachi had disappeared down the corridor from which they had come from. The candle, he could understand, otherwise he would not have been able to see anything. Why Itachi had given him a kunai? Naruto did not know. Protection was the obvious answer, but, protection from what?
Naruto sighed as he looked at his surroundings. He was in a small cavern that contained…absolutely nothing. Aside from the smell, the slimy stuff on the walls, and himself, the cavern was devoid of anything. He sat down and placed the candle in front of him. The light it gave off was rather eerie, but at least he wasn’t completely engulfed in darkness.
Boredom slowly settled in and Naruto was getting fidgety. He had started to consider making a run for it, but the idea of getting lost in the labyrinth of caves was not an appealing thought. Neither was the idea of breaking his promise. Even if it was Itachi whom he had made the promise to. Scrapping the escaping idea, Naruto’s thoughts wandered over to the dead Akatsuki member.
He suppressed a shudder.
It wasn’t really the time to think about such a disturbing thing. Naruto took a deep breath and calmed his racing thoughts. With nothing else to do but wait, he decided to assess his chakra levels…or lack thereof. Maybe even try to figure out what Itachi had done. During that hour that the Uchiha had given him to burn off his energy, he was able to determine that he could still do a lot of what he used to. However, his strength was very limited. He also couldn’t heal anymore with Kyuubi’s chakra being completely blocked. To say the least, it kind of hurt when he had punched or kicked something solid. It bothered him to discover that he was also rather slow. No wonder Itachi carried him on his back. It would have taken them a hell of a lot longer to get here if he hadn’t.
Naruto was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt the ground tremble. Just what the hell was going on?
~*~
Itachi had to go down two more levels before he could reach the central cavern. The correct path was practically branded into his mind, but the twists and turns were slowing him down. He had decided right then that the labyrinth of caves was an inconvenience.
The entire mountain shook again, interrupting Itachi from his thoughts. The entrance to the central cavern was only twenty meters away. The dust from fallen rocks clouded the air and made it difficult to breathe. Itachi covered his mouth and slowed down. He quickly scanned the cavern for his comrades and stealthily made his way over towards the closest signature. The Uchiha remained ever wary of the unknown source of chakra near the center of the cavern. The cloud of dust prevented him from seeing it, but Itachi was very certain of who it was.
“Running a little behind, Uchiha-san?,” Kisame grumbled.
The shark like man appeared to be exhausted and very low on chakra. His Akatsuki cloak was torn in random places. The larger tears revealed several deep gashes along Kisame’s torso that were bleeding profusely. There were also some small gashes on the shark like man’s face and all along his arms. Itachi noted that Kisame was not holding his blade, Samehada. To be able to separate that weapon from its owner was not a simple task. Itachi determined the four-tailed demon they were dealing with was not as weak as they had anticipated.
He could feel the weak chakra signatures of the remaining Akatsuki members. Two more were missing and, counting Tobi, three Akatsuki members had been taken out by this one bijuu.
“I was not given a time limit.”
“Hmph. Well the boss should’ve given you one. That bitch,” Kisame nodded towards the figure amidst all the dust, “has been nothing but trouble.”
“What happened?” Itachi asked quietly as he gauged his own recovering chakra levels.
“Dunno. The boss says I may have performed the sealing wrong and it backfired,” Kisame scoffed, “One minute she was practically helpless, the next, there was a huge surge of chakra and the demon was out and killed two of us. Tobi got wounded and ran out, the idiot, and the thing followed him only to catch a hold of him at the entrance.”
“I‘ve seen.”
“I figured you would. So that’s three of us gone now. But it’s not like we really needed them anyways,” Kisame allowed himself to chuckle then continued, “We managed to lure her back into the mountain, but we’ve only been able to barely contain her here. We aren’t strong enough to immobilize her. I don’t know where she got all that extra power, but she’s put up one hell of a fight and she’s still got lots of chakra to spare. The boss has been preparing barriers, but none of them have worked so far.”
Itachi nodded and processed this new information. If Kisame had performed the sealing wrong and the weaker four tails had turned out like this, what would happen with Naruto and the nine tails? He was sure that he had performed the sealing correctly, but if he didn’t, the result could be disastrous. Far worse than what he was seeing now.
In the blink of an eye, the female bijuu darted towards Deidara. The demon was fast. The blond Akatsuki member stood defensively, waiting for the impending attack. It never came. Instead, she missed the blond on purpose and rammed into the cavern wall causing the whole mountain to shake. She then pushed herself away from the wall and rushed towards Itachi and Kisame. Both men jumped out of the way as she rammed into the wall behind them.
Itachi watched as the demon glared at him and his partner until she caught a scent in the air. She sniffed the air and growled. Itachi activated his Sharingan only to find that the demon had moved again. He scanned the cavern for her. She was gone.
“Damn it! She got out!” Kisame cursed.
Itachi froze when he realized it. There was only one other scent that she could have smelled, and he was not in this room.
“Naruto,” was all Itachi said before taking off after the demon, the rest of the Akatsuki following close behind. The bijuu must have been able to smell the nine tails. Knowing exactly how two demons interact from experience, Itachi knew that Naruto was not safe at the moment. That female was going to hunt the blond down and kill him.
~*~
When the tremors had stopped, Naruto had been sure that the battle was over and Itachi would be coming for him any minute. What he didn’t expect was the sound of something making sniffing noises, a growl, and a pair of green slitted eyes. Naruto’s eyes widened when a creature walked into the dim light. As it edged close to him with four tails swaying through the air, immediately identifying it as a bijuu. Four tails swayed through the air as the wolf demon edged closer to Naruto. It stopped not two feet from the blond and eyed its prey.
It was a rather small demon. It looked exactly like a wolf, but slightly bigger. And compared to Kyuubi’s size, this one was kind of runt-like. However, Naruto would not underestimate this one. It’s fur was sleek and appeared to be black, but he couldn’t really tell with the dim light. It sort of held an air of superiority and pride, which showed in the way it carried itself. If the situation was not as it was at the moment, Naruto would have thought the creature quite beautiful. But there was something off about it. Naruto watched in slight awe as the red light started to dim. The wolf was pulling in the chakra that kept the light going.
Odd.
Naruto was confused as to why the four tails was running loose within the lair of the Akatsuki and standing in front of him, ready to attack. The Akatsuki couldn’t have lost, could they? At the moment, Naruto found that scenario very likely. Once again, he found himself at the mercy of a being stronger that him. If he had his chakra, he would have definitely stood a chance. But in the state he was in now, Naruto could not possibly live through this.
“Here goes nothing,” he sighed and quickly grabbed for the kunai.
The instant that Naruto moved, the wolf demon attacked. He was, however not able to move fast enough and the bijuu had got a hold of his forearm. It hurt and he cried out, but the pain was bearable and Naruto counter attacked and managed to slice the demon’s snout. When his arm was released, he jumped to the side and slowly backed away from the wolf. He ignored the blood that was flowing down his arm and dripping to the cavern floor. Naruto had no idea what he did to piss this thing off, but it looked as if it was ready to attack again. And the look in its eyes spoke of its blood lust.
This time, however, Naruto struck first. He missed and the wolf grabbed his other arm, biting viciously into it. He tried to impale the kunai within her skull, but she jumped back and threw him against a stone wall. The impact was unimaginably painful. Naruto hurt everywhere and his head was spinning. When he tried to stand, he fell back against the wall and tried to focus on his attacker. As soon as the demon was about to strike again, it stopped; growling and glaring at the black clad figure now standing between herself and her prey.
Naruto stared wide eyed at Itachi’s back. He had not expected any help to come. And seeing the Uchiha in front of him now had sent a wave of relief to wash over him. He honestly thought that he was going to die and end up in much the same state as that Tobi guy. Wait. Was he really ready to give up his life at the hands of the Akatsuki?
Naruto shook his head and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to get emotional and ask questions. He had no idea how Itachi was going to deal with a bijuu on his own, especially this one. He had yet to see the Uchiha use his full power. Itachi was strong, but Naruto was well aware of the older man’s limits. He was also well aware that Itachi was not fully recovered.
“You’re late, Uchiha,” Naruto had no idea if he was trying to be funny or not.
“Hn,” was Itachi’s creative response, “Your wounds?”
“I’m fine.”
Itachi didn’t say anymore. Instead, he focused his attention on the black female wolf in front of him. The others should be arriving soon. He had lost the rest of the Akatsuki within that damned labyrinth of caves in his rush to get to Naruto. If the wolf killed the fox, their cause would be lost.
Somehow, in someway, that thought bothered the Uchiha. And he did not know why.
In that instant, the wolf lunged at Itachi. He pushed Naruto to the side and managed to dodge her attack. He countered with a kunai to her ribs. She cried out in pain and lunged again with a speed faster than Itachi could have imagined. He was too slow to evade this attack and she managed to grab his shoulder. He winced at the pain, but sliced her side in that same moment. Another howl of pain filled the cavern and the demon relinquished her grip.
Itachi backed up until he brushed up against Naruto. Never taking his eyes off of the wolf, he slipped behind the blond and wrapped his good arm around Naruto’s waist in a firm grip. Itachi could sense the other Akatsuki members fast approaching chakra an he knew the wolf did too.
“Erm. Itachi?” Naruto asked. Despite the darkness, he tried to suppress the blush that refused to disappear. Naruto could not help but be aware of their close proximity and the almost possessive grip the Uchiha had on him.
“Quiet.”
Naruto was just about to protest when several other people burst into the small cavern. They formed a circle around the wolf and started to initiate several different hand seals. It became apparent that they were performing a barrier jutsu when a yellow sphere began to form around the panicking wolf.
“Itachi-san. Get the nine tails out of here. We cannot risk losing the final Jinchuuriki,” said a man to Naruto’s right.
Itachi nodded and tightened his grip around Naruto’s waist. In an instant, Naruto found himself being carried out of the glowing cavern and away from the ensuing chaos. He was curious as to why the four tailed demon was able to cause the Akatsuki so much trouble. Naruto made a mental note to ask Itachi later. If he had the chance to anyway. He didn’t know where they were going, but it seemed that Itachi was going in an upwards direction.
“Where are we going?” Naruto asked quietly. He was becoming more and more aware of the pain from his wounds. They were deep and hadn’t stopped bleeding, his body ached and his head was still spinning. Naruto was unused to this. Kyuubi would have healed them by now and there wouldn’t even been too much pain.
“Out of here,” Itachi answered.
Naruto nodded and felt something wet on his head. He reached over with his hand and gently felt Itachi’s shoulder.
“You’re wounded.”
Itachi didn’t even bother answering. He could sense the battle continuing below. The Akastsuki seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The four tails chakra was weakening. They had most likely been able to trap the demon within a stronger barrier and he could no longer feel the wolf’s chakra. Had they killed her?
Suddenly, a pulse of chakra struck them. It was so strong, that Itachi had lost his footing and he and Naruto were thrown into a crumpled heap on the cave floor. Broken fragments of rock were crashing down from the ceiling as another wave struck them.
“Ow!” Naruto moaned as he rubbed his throbbing head, “That was a little unexpected.”
“Get up. We have to move. Now,” Itachi said darkly.
“Just give me a sec…”
“No time,” Itachi interrupted and picked the blond up to continue their way out.
The falling debris was making their escape difficult. Itachi had to concentrate on dodging the bigger rocks and manage to stay on the correct path at the same time. The dust was not making things any easier either. Naruto was able to keep his eyes closed, but breathing was becoming difficult. He didn’t complain though and he wouldn’t complain later either. Naruto was well aware that Itachi was having it worse off than him. The Uchiha’s eyes were still open, they had to be. And for all the running he was doing at the moment, Itachi was sucking in a lot more of the dust.
They had one more level to climb before they’d reach the entrance and it the caves were going to collapse at any moment. Itachi hoisted Naruto over one shoulder and performed several hand seals.
“Ack! What the hell are you doing?!” Naruto shouted over the noise of the rumbling mountain.
Suddenly, a blue light engulfed the pair and Naruto’s eyes widened in realization.
“A barrier?”
Itachi felt no need to respond. Another thing he had noticed about Naruto was that he was prone to stating the obvious and Itachi found it best not to even bother answering his questions. They were almost out and he need not waste his breath. There. The entrance was in sight.
There was another, impossibly strong shockwave of chakra and Itachi was thrown forward again. He kept a firm grip around Naruto and heard him shout something before they were engulfed in a roaring darkness.