Sins on Lowered Wings

Warning: Chapter contains non-conc acts and sexual situations.


Sins on Lowered Wings: part VII: Breaking the Gaze

Sakura’s hand cut through the air furiously, tears staining her cheeks as the sound of her slap cut through the night’s silence.

“What in the hell are you doing?!” she cried.

Sasuke stood there, holding his hand to his cheek, his eyes averted. “Sakura… I was only going to--”

“Again! You were going to leave again!”

“Again…?” Sasuke asked softly, turning to her.

They both stood there near Konoha’s exit. It was late, and a bit cold. But it was as though Sasuke could feel the heat of Sakura’s rage.

“How could you?! After all we’ve been through! You weren’t even going to tell me! After so much!”

Sasuke looked at her sadly as she stood there sobbing. After a few moments he pulled her into a hug.

“I don’t understand, Sakura,” he whispered. “I was only going to try to get Naruto back.”

Sakura started crying without restraint, and soon she returned his hug.

“You don’t even remember,” she cried. “You don’t remember…. You left once, just this way. It took us years to find you… to get you back home. It was a night just like this. And now Naruto is gone. He’s been gone for days now! What if I never see him again?! It’s all happening again! I just can’t take it….”

“You’re tired,” Sasuke said gently. “You’ve been working too hard. You should get some sleep.”

“You can’t go alone, Sasuke! You don’t remember how to use your skills. You learned them under such painful circumstances….”

He stood there for a moment, not moving a muscle.

“You guys went through a lot for me,” he said finally. “I realized that. I never want to become what I once was, and I know people don’t want to accept that. I thought the least I could do, after all that was done for me, even if I have no memories of what happened, would be to get Naruto back. I‘ll get him back, Sakura. Don‘t be sad.”

“I trust you remember what it means to leave the village without permission?” a warm voice asked.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura begged. “Make him turn around!”

“Calm down, Sakura,” Kakashi smiled from under his mask. “Sasuke won’t leave after seeing how sad you are, right Sasuke?”

Sasuke nodded obediently.

“Now, both of you go home and rest. Everything will be fine. We’ll be sending teams out for them as soon as possible.”

Sakura slowly let go of Sasuke and started to head back slowly, allowing Kakashi’s guidance to move her. But Sasuke didn’t move so easily.

“Why isn’t Itachi’s name on the monument?” Sasuke asked softly. “It means he survived, doesn’t it?”

Sakura stopped walking and Kakashi’s smile faded.

“Where is my brother?” Sasuke asked, almost sternly.

“The Itachi you knew has been dead for some time,” Kakashi sighed.

“He was acting strangely when I left for the academy that day,” Sasuke continued. “And I think people were after him. They accused him of killing his friend. He had been acting weird around that time.”

“Sasuke--” Sakura began.

“If he’s not on the monument he’s either alive, or he did something wrong. Which is it?”

The wind blew against them roughly, and Kakashi knew what he had to do.

“Sasuke,” he said, walking up to the young man. He looked at him warmly and sighed gently. “I told you that your clan was killed. Everyone except you. That wasn’t entirely true.”

“Itachi lived too!” Sasuke said, eyes wide. “We were probably in the same place….”

“Itachi survived,” Kakashi said softly. “He survived… because he is the one who killed your clan.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“How is it that you always look so happy?” Neji asked Gai-sensei.

Neji was sitting in Hinata’s father’s favorite garden at the edge of a small pond. It was very close to the huge main house, so the entire area had a peaceful, balanced feeling to it. Gai stood in front of Neji, pondering the question.

“It’s because I’ve been through so much that I’m so happy,” Gai smiled. “It takes some time, but you soon learn how precious certain things in your life are. Things you didn’t notice before. And if you did notice them, you still see them differently.”

Neji’s face held his usual calm, though Gai could see that his eyes were hiding the stress and pain. After so many years of being able to read other people’s emotions, to be able to judge how a person was feeling by the simple shift of an eye or the sudden beat of their heart, the members of the Hyuuga family were well trained in hiding their own emotions. To be able to see so much had it’s own weight. Neji bore it without knowing. It was as though he tended to forget that anyone who wasn’t part of his clan couldn’t see through people so well. They couldn’t look through Neji’s body and see his heart beating rapidly as clear as they could see the sun. But still, Neji hid, and maybe for the sake of others. All of this, as well as his constant meditation, which kept him balanced and trained his chakra, combined to make him the picture of calm.

But Gai knew his students. Tenten and Lee were so easy to read. But it took years to read Neji. Sometimes Gai thought he might be wrong, but this time he could see every spark of pain that went through Neji’s body just by glancing into those white eyes.

“So what did Tsunade-sama tell you to do to me if I tried to go after Naruto and Hinata?” Neji asked, trying to smile.

Gai grinned. “She didn’t get the chance to say anything about you with Lee and Tenten giving her so much trouble.”

“Trouble?”

“They couldn’t stand to see you this way. They’re forming a small search party to find Naruto and Hinata. Tsunada didn‘t want to let them, but she knows better than to lose track of Naruto.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Chouji sat with Shikamaru, staring at the passing clouds. The only thing that didn’t sound as nature intended it was the munching sound that came as Chouji ate his potato chips. The rest of the world was a beautiful mix of the wind and the earth and the sky.

Of course, by now Shikamaru was used to the crunching sound. Sometimes he didn’t even hear it anymore. And the times when he really didn’t hear it because Chouji really wasn’t around, it was oddly too quiet.

“We’re the only team without a problem right now,” Chouji said. “Me, you, Ino… we’re pretty lucky.”

“Always seems that way, doesn’t it?” Shikamaru yawned.

“I wonder why that is…?”

“Having as many problems as the others is bothersome….”

“Yeah, I guess we don’t have pasts as painful as the others. Not much to lose, I guess.”

“Funny things is, no one actually lost anything,” Shikamaru said, reaching for a potato chip and munching on it loudly. “Stuff like that can’t be lost. It has to be buried somewhere. The weird thing is that whatever technique these guys used seems to cause some sort of amnesia.”

Chouji watched another cloud float by. “So you think if we found a way to recreate their pasts, they’d turn back to normal?”

“Can’t recreate years of pain that fast,” Shikamaru said.

“What if it was something big enough to jog their memories?”

“Okay. You go kill someone in front of Sasuke, and we’ll see what happens when he comes to.”

Chouji grinned and ate another chip. “Guess that wouldn’t work too well.”

“Rather than reminding them of the pain we should actually be going for the harder solution. We should be trying to get them to remember what they liked about themselves before all of this happened.”

“True,” Chouji nodded, sighing. “To bad people like Sasuke didn’t seem to like much.”

Shikamaru sat there, and a look of deep thought came over him.

“If that were really true,” Shikamaru said, “Then Sasuke would still dislike a lot of things. Many of our tastes come with our experiences, but a lot of them were there since we were born. Maybe we can jog simple memories using things he liked and disliked only slightly, and then work our way up?”

“Worth a try,” Chouji grinned. “So what do you remember him disliking?”

~~~~~~~~~~

The blonde young man sat there, listening to the hums and the beeping of the machines that the doll-like girl was hooked up to. He narrowed his blue eyes and strained to remember more about her. Hinata didn’t seem like the type of person who could ever hurt him. But perhaps she was part of the bigger picture. And if that was the case, he had no reason to care about her.

Naruto sighed and moved away from her bed. He didn’t want to see anyone from that cursed village of Konoha. And he certainly didn’t want to be here in the middle of the desert. The hidden sand village felt so empty and without life. He had been told by the men in white robes that the previous leader had fallen out of power and that they had taken over. Naruto didn’t care either way.

“Naruto…” the girl whispered softly before he could leave the room. “Naru…to….”

He turned around and glanced at her. Still asleep. It had to have been a trick of the wind shifting the sands outside. But even though he told himself this he walked over to her again and listened. There was nothing. She was still in her coma. And if those sleeping lids were to open he’d have to look into those white eyes. So much like Neji’s.

Neji….

Naruto hated the thought of him. The people who stirred up the most in him were Neji and Sasuke. He wanted them both to acknowledge him more than anyone. And that was saying something, because more than anything he wanted everyone to know him. He needed his entire existence to be known to everyone.

He stormed out of the room, wanting to be away from Hinata as quickly as possible. She only brought on more bad thoughts, more horrible impulses that he couldn’t quench. But it was too late. He was overcome with hunger. The hunger to win against Sasuke, and the hunger to make Neji know his hatred. And then, through them, the rest of Konoha would feel his pain as well.

~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stormed past her but she simply kept walking in a daze. Her steps were unsteady, though she couldn’t remember what could have possibly caused the burning sensations between her legs or the bruises all over her body. She simply walked into the large building of stone and sand and slowly made her way up to one of the rooms. Once there she tapped lightly on the door.

“Gaara?” she called out. “Gaara? It’s Temari. Please open the door.”

No answer. She hadn’t seen him in quite some time.

“Gaara?” she said, knocking a little louder.

She tried the handle, but the door was locked. She knocked again, but there was still no answer.

“Gaara? Please… open the door. I want to talk to you.”

She stood there, smiling sweetly at the door, waiting… waiting… waiting.

“GAARA!” she screamed suddenly, pounding on the door. “OPEN THE DOOR!”

Tears burst from her eyes, though she didn’t know where they were coming from. She pounded fiercely on the door until her hands hurt.

“Gaara please!” she screamed, with a voice so loud and terrible and unknown to her. “Open the door! You must open the door! Run away! RUN AWAY!”

Suddenly a cold hand fell on her shoulder. She turned to see the cold eyes of one of the men in white staring down at her.

“Would you like to see Gaara?” he said lowly.

Temari nodded slowly. Coming to her senses. Not able to comprehend her own outburst.

“Then come with me.”

She was trembling as he led her out of the Kazekage building, then into another more hidden building far from it. And now they went down, into the depths of the prison that hadn’t been used in a long time. The air was damp and the lighting dim.

The man held out his hand to stop her and slowly opened one of the cells.

“Your brother is here,” he said coldly.

Temari quickly ran inside, her heart leaping. But soon she turned pale, tears springing to her eyes. She stumbled backwards against the cold cell bars. Her mouth fell open, but no words or sounds could escape it. She sank to the floor, her face frozen in horror.

“We can’t have you remembering him this way,” the man said darkly. “Such pain you must feel, thinking of the pain he went through.”

A pained wail sounded from Temari’s throat, but she was too choked to do much more.

“The only way we can take this pain away Temari,” the man smirked, “Is to erase this young man from your mind forever. Once you‘ve forgotten having a brother, you won‘t remember the pain you feel now.”

“He’s a fool if he thinks he can erase this,” a young woman whispered behind Temari. “And you’re a fool if you let him so much as try!”

Temari turned to look at a young woman who looked exactly like herself. But this mirror image had stronger eyes, and a furious look on her face.

“Look at you,” the double continued. “Weak and pathetic. If you don’t come to your senses, this village and everyone in it will die. Wake up, you stupid, pathetic little bitch!”

The man in white turned to see what Temari was staring at, but there was nothing there. Her mind was probably just starting to crack, he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura and Kakashi sat there under a tree, long, long after Kakashi broke the news to Sasuke. They braced for the storm, but nothing came. Sasuke simply looked up at Kakashi with tears in his eyes and softly muttered, “So that’s it….”

And then the young man walked away slowly, off to his empty home. Sakura wanted to follow him, but Kakashi stopped her, saying that there was nothing she could do for him at the moment.

“He’s so far gone,” Kakashi said at last. “To find out all of this and still remain without his past. He must have buried and forgotten multiple things. He’s not even going through the normal stages of stress and decision making that we’ve seen with others. The memories aren’t surfacing at all, therefore, he doesn’t need to decide whether or not he wants to keep them. It’s like they are simply no longer there.”

Sasuke flopped down on his bed, once again feeling as though he didn’t have any tears to cry. He believed Kakashi and Sakura, but he could remember nothing. Hours passed as he lay in the cold room, waiting for something to resurface. Waiting to see his brother’s face in his mind.

“So they have betrayed you also?” Naruto said, startling Sasuke.

Sasuke jumped up to see Naruto sitting in a dark corner of the room. He must have been there for hours.

“W… Who?” Sasuke gulped.

“Everyone in this village,” Naruto said, getting to his feet. “Look what they kept from you.”

“Why are you here?!” Sasuke frowned, finding more courage. “Get out, Naruto. Go find Sakura. You’re worrying her to tears. And where is Hinata? You have to have brought her back. I knew it was all a sick joke.”

“No joke,” Naruto shrugged. “She’s not in Konoha anymore.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened at these words. “But… where--”

“I came back for you, Sasuke,” Naruto interrupted.

“I’ll go if it will get me to Hinata,” Sasuke said softly. “Or is it a trade? Even better.”

“Nothing like that,” Naruto said, looking amused.

He walked up and reached out, startling Sasuke, who still sat on his bed. But there were no hits or kicks or any other blows. Naruto simply cupped his hand under Sasuke’s chin.

“I’m here… for you,” Naruto said again, his eyes narrowing on Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked, but then quickly swatted Naruto’s hand away.

“Get out! I’m not in the mood for games!”

“It’s not a game. Have you forgotten me?”

Sasuke couldn’t respond to this, because honestly, there was so much he didn’t know about Naruto anymore.

“Sasuke,” Naruto sighed, crossing his arms. “That hurts. After all we’ve been through. After all we’ve done. And done again….”

Naruto said the last sentence with a smirk before turning away and pacing a few times.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sasuke demanded, clearly afraid of the answer.

“I can jog your memory,” Naruto said, turning back to him. “But since you don’t remember me, I guess I’ll have to go slow.”

“Like I said, I’m not in the mood for games.”

“The only game I see is that for some reason, your mind has replaced me with Neji,” Naruto frowned deeply. “But you’re mine, Sasuke.”

“You’re the one with the screwed up memory here. I remember every detail of being with Neji.”

“He hasn’t touched you once since you came to, has he?” Naruto said, staring into Sasuke’s frightened eyes. “He doesn’t want you, does he? He feels nothing like I feel for you.”

Sasuke froze. It was true. Neji seemed to want nothing to do with him lately.

“All of that about you not being yourself is an act,” Naruto sighed. “The truth is, you were never with him. He just leads you on to make himself feel powerful. That’s the kind of person Neji is.”

Sasuke shook his head, not knowing what to believe. “First my brother, now this. Just… get out! I can’t listen to anymore!”

He dug his fingers into his dark hair, his body shaking. This was all too much to listen to. To much to face. He just wanted this pain to be gone.

“I’ll give you time to think about this,” Naruto said, opening a window and jumping out without a sound.

Sasuke just stayed where he was. Everywhere he went there was puzzle after puzzle about his past. But it would only hurt more to let things lie. He jumped up and ran out the door, heading straight for the Hyuuga main house.

When he arrived he found relatives of Hinata’s. Branch family members, like Neji. Most of them hiding the symbols on their foreheads that marked them as branch members. Some wearing them proudly. It was always unclear how Neji felt about his position in the family. Hiashi had made him one of the most important members of the family, even as a branch member. And he served the family with all he had. They loved him as they loved Hinata.

Some of them saw Sasuke and assumed he was there for Neji, so they pointed him towards a small room where Neji was reading by himself, trying to get his mind off of things. When Sasuke entered Neji didn’t hear him. He sat there completely lost in his story, which, to Sasuke’s surprise, looked as though it was fiction, and fantasy at that.

“Your guard is down,” Sasuke whispered. “That’s unlike you.”

Neji lifted his eyes from the book and turned around, recognizing the deep voice.

“I suppose I’m less alert with so many of my clan around,” Neji said with a small smile. “They’ve all been trying so hard to get me to relax, it seems almost cruel to worry about my surroundings, as if they couldn’t handle what came.”

Sasuke’s mood lightened a bit to see that Neji felt like talking to him. But things still weren’t resolved in his heart.

“Neji,” he begain without hesitation. “Were we ever really together?”

Neji looked a little puzzled at the question, but not alarmed.

“Together?” he said softly. “We were friends. We were close. We… had feelings for one another. I thought you remembered--”

“Nothing physical?”

“We touched, we kissed. But anything more… we never got the chance,” Neji said, completely comfortable with the conversation. “Work and other distractions, Sasuke. We would have if we had the chance.”

Neji smiled gently, which threw Sasuke off guard. But it dawned on Sasuke that Neji also looked more relaxed now.

“You found Hinata?” Sasuke asked softly.

“No,” Neji said, shaking his head. “But Lee and Tenten are taking care of things.”

His eyes drifted towards the floor, and Sasuke could see how happy he was to have friends like Lee and Tenten. The gentle look in his eyes now was probably something he never showed them, however. But he was showing it to Sasuke….

“Neji,” Sasuke said, his voice a sad whisper. “I found out about Itachi.”

Neji’s eyes looked up with surprise. “How--?”

“Kakashi told me. Sakura confirmed it.”

Sasuke thought it best to leave out the part where he talked to what seemed to be himself.

“I see…” Neji said, standing slowly, gracefully.

Sasuke stood rooted as Neji moved closer and wrapped his arms around him. He froze as strong arms pulled him close. Closer than friends should be, but more than appropriate for those who were more than friends.

“I’m sorry,” Neji said. “You have to go through this all over again.”

“I still don’t remember anything,” Sasuke said after finding his voice. “Nothing….”

“Don’t concern yourself with that now. It’s too big a trial.”

Sasuke felt ridiculous. He couldn’t believe he almost fell for Naruto’s lies. But there was still something left undone.

“Kiss me,” he whispered.

Neji didn’t loosen his grip, but Sasuke knew something didn’t feel right.

“Why won’t you do it?” Sasuke asked. “If you can hold me this close, you can kiss me, can’t you?”

He felt himself being released, and watched as Neji took a step back, running his fingers though his long hair.

“I cannot,” he said.

“I’m still him,” Sasuke insisted.

“You’re not him.”

“It’s just amnesia.”

“It’s more than that. You’re a different person altogether. I don’t know you. I’m not even sure if you remember me correctly.”

Sasuke clenched his fists in frustration.

“That’s it then,” he said, taking in his breath slowly. “That’s it Neji. You’ve probably already realized this by now, but I’d kill myself before I turned into that pathetic person ever again.”

Sadness flickered in Neji’s eyes before Sasuke turned and walked out. He quickly walked back to his home, and wasn’t at all surprised to find Naruto waiting for him.

“You lied,” Sasuke glared.

“I didn’t lie,” Naruto said.

“He told me about us. He was being sincere.”

“He is the liar! And consider this. Why does no one else know? I only realized because you were being so obvious every time you even looked at him.”

“That isn’t the kind of thing we should tell--”

“He’s ashamed of you. He doesn’t want people to know how he leads people on. Get it through your head, you complete moron. I’m assuming you got the same results tonight when it comes to him?”

Sasuke looked to his feet sadly.

“I knew it,” Naruto smirked. “But Sasuke, I care about you no matter what. I care about who you are no matter what. I won’t just toss you aside like that. I never have and never will.”

Sasuke glanced at the pictures Sakura had brought him while he was in the hospital. A picture of him and Naruto sat at the top of the pile.

“Let’s say you were telling the truth,” Sasuke said. “It wouldn’t matter much, would it? You’re still acting as a traitor to the village.”

“What can I say?” Naruto smirked. “I’m an avenger. That’s all I exist for. I don’t care if I go to hell, as long as I get what I want.”

Sasuke met Naruto’s eyes at those words. Something twisted inside of him and he felt a pang of emotion. Even though he couldn’t recall what shame or guilt felt like… he knew that’s what the feeling was made of.

“Of course…” Naruto began, chuckling bitterly, “That can’t be all, can it?”

“If you only want revenge then you have nothing to do with me,” Sasuke said lowly.

“You’re the only one who ever made me feel like there was more to life,” Naruto said. “The only one who made me feel like I was worth something more.”

“Look, just leave,” Sasuke sighed. “A lot has happened, and you’re still a traitor and a kidnapper.”

“A lot has happened,” Naruto said firmly. “We’ve both lost our memories, but that doesn’t change the past. We laughed together, cried together, fought together, and fucked together. It’s a long history.”

Before Sasuke could protest Naruto had moved in, kissing him firmly. Sasuke’s first attempt to push him away was an utter failure, as he no longer had the knowledge of how to use his strength properly.

“I want you just this way, Sasuke,” Naruto said, brushing his lips against the confused young man’s. “No matter what memories you lose I’ll always want you just this way.”

Something in Sasuke’s mind turned and turned. He let himself think of Neji again, but now things were different. Instead of Neji in that field that intimate night, he now saw Naruto. Instead of Neji sitting with him in the trees Naruto was now in those memories. Had he really made a mistake so huge? He stood immobile as Naruto’s hand moved slowly up his shirt, the rough palm moving over his chest.

“Your body will remember everything,” Naruto said, his blue eyes staring into Sasuke’s black eyes.

“STOP!”

Sasuke’s eyes snapped up and he saw his other self standing behind Naruto. Naruto clearly didn’t know anything was there, and he clearly hadn’t heard the one behind him yell just now.

“You’ve got one fucked up idea of what’s real and what’s not,” his darker half frowned deeply. “This isn’t--”

“Shut up…” Sasuke muttered.

“You still don’t believe me?” Naruto asked, thinking that Sasuke was speaking to him.

Naruto backed Sasuke against a wall, one arm snaked around him, his other hand sliding down Sasuke’s side as he kissed his neck.

“Everything inside of you is telling you this isn’t right,” his darker half continued. “You’re hurting yourself more by lying to yourself. You’ve dealt with your past pain. Why set yourself up again?”

Naruto’s hand slid over Sasuke’s stomach, then down his naval. Sasuke felt the sensations, but almost forgot Naruto was there. His body was with Naruto, but his mind was focused on the other him.

“Your existence revolved around Itachi for years. Then it revolved around Orochimaru. You can’t continue an existence where you run from dealing with your pain by making someone else besides you your goal in life when you aren’t whole yet.”

As the darker one spoke, he seemed to be growing more urgent. More scared.

“Free me,” he continued. “If what you think is true, and you’re truly happier this way, you’ll be able to erase me and come back.”

Now Sasuke’s other self was standing directly behind Naruto, almost touching, but Naruto didn’t feel his presence. He also didn’t notice Sasuke’s eyes staring over his shoulder as his tongue moved over Sasuke’s collarbones. Naruto’s hand slowly slid into Sasuke’s boxers before he looked up. Sasuke’s black eyes automatically shifted to look at him, though he could still see his darker half’s form standing behind the blonde.

Seeing that Sasuke wasn’t fighting him, Naruto gently pulled him away from the wall. He moved behind him and leaned back against the wall himself, pulling Sasuke back against him. Sasuke now stood face to face with his other self. Yet he felt no shame as Naruto’s hand slid back into his boxers and found it’s prize. Sasuke inhaled sharply as Naruto’s hand wrapped around him and squeezed gently. Soon Naruto was stroking in a slow rhythm, his chest against Sasuke’s back.

His darker self averted his eyes, looking almost hurt under that cold exterior. The emotion he seemed to feel at the scene before him was all too real. This dark half… he was too, too real.

Sasuke’s body shuddered, and he breathed heavily, Naruto’s hand stroked him faster, harder. Sasuke shut his eyes, then opened them to see that his darker self was still there. It was as if he wanted to leave, but couldn’t. And Sasuke knew why. It was because he wanted his darker side there. He was holding him there. He had made his decision.

“This is the real you,” Naruto whispered into his ear.

Naruto didn’t see Sasuke’s hand moving toward the table and sliding over the handle of a sharpened kunai. He groaned loudly, as he was close to release, but that same groan allowed him to slip the blade from the table without the metal being heard.

“I want you inside me,” Sasuke whispered, his eyes staring at his darker half, who now looked up at him.

Sasuke’s body tensed and inhaled sharply, and Naruto felt his hand being covered with the hot release. And just as the intense wave washed over him, Sasuke’s kunai was aimed at it’s target.

He plunged the kunai through his darker self’s chest, who stood motionless in front of him with wide eyes.

“I want you inside me… now,” Sasuke whispered again, directing his voice to Naruto, but directing his eyes to stare into the dark reflection in front of him.

Naruto slid his hand out of Sasuke’s clothes and turned the dark-haired young man to face him. But before they could kiss Naruto’s blue eyes went wide.

“What are you doing?!” he yelled, snatching the kunai from Sasuke.

Sasuke stood surprised as Naruto ripped his own shirt off and quickly pressed it against Sasuke’s chest.

“Was it that bad?” Naruto asked, half joking, half shocked.

Sasuke blinked and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see that he was bleeding. He glanced behind him and saw no one there. No other self. No one. It was only him and Naruto. His kunai had pierced his own chest.

“Just a flesh wound,” Sasuke said softly. “Easily taped up and forgotten.”

Naruto grinned and nodded. And as Sasuke went to get something to bandage himself, Naruto tossed the bloody kunai aside, letting it fall onto the pictures Sakura had brought. A trickle of blood obscuring the only picture of Sasuke’s smiling face.

~~~~~~~~~~

“From years ago?” Kakashi mused. “Well let me see. He hated sweets. He wasn’t fond of most ramen. He hated losing. Actually he hated anything that made him feel powerless. He liked training and working to improve himself.” He blinked. “You know, he didn’t talk much about himself back then.”

Shikamaru nodded. “Yeah, we thought that might be a problem.”

“But we’re willing to try anything, no matter how trivial it might seem now,” Chouji nodded, scribbling down what Kakashi had just told them. “Let’s start with the sweets. That’s easy.”

“And I’ve got another idea,” Ino smirked.

She had insisted upon helping, and they couldn’t deny that she would be helpful.

“I’ll use my charm to bring him back!” she grinned. “But seriously, he didn’t seem to like the attention he got from girls back then. And he got a lot of that.”

“That might work,” Chouji nodded. “But he was just a kid back then. He might take you more seriously at this age.”

“But keep in mind that we don’t know what mental age Sasuke is at right now,” Shikamaru said. “Oh… and we gotta do this fast. The teams are leaving for The Sand and for Naruto soon.”

“They still have to get security running properly,” Kakashi sighed. “To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if invaders were able to slip through the cracks.”

“Naruto could probably come and go as he pleased,” Ino said softly.

They all looked at her for a moment.

“She’s right,” Kakashi said. “Some might be under the illusion and they might let him do as he pleases. Others might not know what’s going on because the messengers are so busy. We‘re just getting the last of those affected now. Meaning, the entire village is being tested and cured.”

“And if they aren’t cured?” Chouji asked.

“Then they are placed into an institution until we can determine they aren’t a threat,” Kakashi said. “I’m going to ask that Sasuke be placed under their care.”

“Sasuke?!” Ino said, shocked. “But he’s harmless now.”

“He’s more of a danger now than he ever was,” Kakashi said, shaking his head. “He doesn’t remember any of the life lessons he learned over the years. Without that growth, and with the possibility that things could resurface at the wrong times, he’s a danger to us all. Especially himself.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“You wanted to speak with me?” Sasuke asked, walking into the dark room.

“Yes,” came the snake-like voice. “There is something I need from you.”

“What is it?” Sasuke asked impatiently. “I was training.”

“Keeping those magnificent eyes sharp?” asked the man with the snake-like voice.

Sasuke didn’t respond. He only crossed his arms and looked more than a little annoyed to be there.

“What do you want, Orochimaru?” he glared.

The man stood up, his eyes wicked and slanted, and his smile wide and dark. Orochimaru was so much like a serpent it was frightening. But Sasuke had no need for fear.

“How far did you say you were willing to go for power, Sasuke?” Orochimaru smiled. It was always the same wicked smile.

“I don’t care if I go to hell, as long as I get want I want,” Sasuke said flatly.

“Then tonight,” Orochimaru smirked as he walked closer and put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “I’ll take you one step closer to hell.”

Orochimaru leaned down and whispered into Sasuke’s ear, the words coming slowly like a continuous hiss. He told him exactly what he wanted. Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Make it quick,” Sasuke sneered, trying to look completely indifferent to the request.

He removed his clothes as though he were simply going to take a shower, and discarded them on the floor. He crossed his arms and narrowed his black eyes, waiting for Orochimaru to make a move.

“The table is as good a place as any,” Orochimaru grinned, walking over to it slowly.

Sasuke sighed and walked over to the table. He faced it and placed his hands on either side to keep himself steady for what was coming. While he waited, he heard the shifting of fabric behind him and inwardly cursed at his present situation.

“Perhaps you need a little preparation first,” Orochimaru chuckled.

“Just get it over with!” Sasuke demanded.

Orochimaru pulled Sasuke away from the table and turned him around. He then effortlessly lifted him to sit down on the table.

“As you wish,” Orochimaru hissed darkly.

He parted Sasuke’s thighs and stepped between them.

“W… wait…” Sasuke said quickly. “Why do I have to--”

“Did you really think that I would be kind enough to spare you the pain and humiliation by bending you over so you didn’t have to look me in the eye?” Orochimaru laughed darkly. “Come now, Sasuke. Don’t you know better by now?”

He roughly pushed Sasuke down against the table and pushed his thighs back slightly. Sasuke felt a wave of panic that he quickly tried to suppress. But he soon felt something threatening pushing against his tight entrance and shuddered against his will. Orochimaru reached down and pulled him back into a seated position, Sasuke’s black eyes forced to stare into the merciless snake-like gaze.

“Don’t look away,” Orochimaru smiled evilly. “Don’t close your eyes. Or it begins again and again.”

It was the most painful, heartless demand that Sasuke had been given so far.

To Orochimaru’s surprise, Sasuke didn’t scream or cry out when he pushed forward. It took a long time to actually enter the young teen fully. He had to grab him by the waist and thrust and force and grind his way into Sasuke’s body, roughly testing the young man’s capacity for pain. Not once did Sasuke complain or beg or scream. But Orochimaru knew it had to hurt. He knew the pain was unbearable, even for Sasuke. If it wasn’t for the ragged breathing erupting from the young teen, he’d think he was unconscious.

For a short time, Orochimaru had Sasuke lie back on the table. He hooked his arms under the teen’s knees and watched himself enter and exit his body. Sasuke was bleeding horribly, and his passage wasn’t widening to lessen his pain. This only made Orochimaru drive into him harder. He continued to watch hungrily as he slid in and out of the teen, Sasuke’s body gripping him as he pulled halfway out and penetrated again. When he looked up he saw Sasuke’s fingernails digging into his own palms, and his black eyes were trying to look away from his rapist. In response to this, Orochimaru reached down and grabbed the teen’s throat, nearly cutting off his air as he pulled him to sit up again. His dark gaze met Sasuke’s black eyes, which were filled with hatred and tears.

“Tears are for the weak,” Orochimaru hissed as his grip tightened on Sasuke’s throat.

Tears slipped down Sasuke’s cheeks and he tried to look away in shame, but Orochimaru held him by the throat and caught his eyes again.

“Didn’t I tell you to meet my gaze?” Orochimaru groaned, growing more excited at the teen’s humiliation.

Sasuke obeyed, even as Orochimaru’s serpent tongue slid into his mouth and far down his throat. It wasn’t long before Orochimaru had completely lost himself as he buried himself into Sasuke’s unwilling body. He felt the walls of Sasuke’s body tighten around him as he came, and finally realized that the teen was no longer breathing. He slowly released his grip on Sasuke’s throat and let the unconscious young man fall back against the table.

Orochimaru revived him, only to remind him of the penalty for breaking eye contact.

A memory from years ago flashed in Sasuke’s head, but only for a short time. He vaguely remembered a snake… or a man who was like one. But he had little time to focus on anything but the sensations running through his body. His cheek pressed against the cold wall, his clothing scattered on the floor with Naruto’s. The only thing that covered Sasuke now were the bandages covering his recent self-inflicted wound.

He grunted softly as Naruto gave one particularly rough thrust, allowing Sasuke to feel every inch that spread his cheeks, stretched his tight entrance, and sank into him, sending both pain and pleasure to every inch of his body.

He couldn’t help but notice that things felt very cold and distant. But something inside him told him that this was preferable to what it could be. In fact, this was probably how it was supposed to be. Before they began, something inside him made his stomach turn at the possibility that he might be positioned in such a way that would require him to meet Naruto’s eyes.

No, it was better this way. He could hide the vulnerability in his eyes and just take in what was being done to him.

Naruto groaned behind him and thrust faster, taking in the view with every thrust as he sank in and disappeared inside of Sasuke’s body. He penetrated Sasuke’s body now, but he could tell that Sasuke’s mind and heart weren’t with him yet. But in Naruto’s mind he was still winning. As he came closer to releasing himself deep inside of Sasuke he drove in roughly, fucking the other young man painfully. But Sasuke said nothing and made no complaints. In fact, it seemed that he wanted it to keep going. Naruto knew Sasuke was getting pleasure out of it, but while Naruto’s pleasure stemmed from control, Sasuke’s was from something else. It was as if he was forcing the shame welling up in him to keep him going. Perhaps something in Sasuke’s past had conditioned him to this? It seemed that his body associated sex with humiliation. And Naruto had no doubt that Sasuke was ashamed. As soon as their clothes had been removed, Sasuke couldn’t meet Naruto’s eyes. Every time their gazes crossed, Sasuke had to look away quickly, as if looking directly into Naruto’s eyes would expose something that he didn’t want exposed.

With a final thrust that pressed Sasuke against the wall, Naruto was spent. He pulled out and moved away to collect their clothes.

“We have to go now,” he said. “There is no turning back, Sasuke. And besides, you’ll see Hinata again.”

Sasuke nodded numbly as he pulled his clothes on. He had killed the part of him that linked him to his past, and now he couldn’t help but feel as though something in him had truly died. He thought about his brother, but found he cared little anymore. He gave one last thought to Neji, but almost cursed himself for actually believing Neji cared. And when he thought of the village… he couldn’t think of anything that was holding him there or anything that made him care at all.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They made their way to the edge of the village before a single kunai cut through the air and landed in front of them, barely missing Naruto’s foot, but he could tell it was intentional.

“Don’t move, Naruto!” someone called out. “The next one will hit you.”


~*~*~*To Be Continued*~*~*~

(Sorry this took so long! It's actually harder for me to write the characters out-of-character. The next chapter is already in the works though! Feedback loved!!)