Yoru No Koishii

This set is turning out longer then I expected.

Sasuke really doesn’t show up much in this one. Mostly it’s just revealing just how devoted Naruto is, while showing that despite being Sasuke’s lapdog (lapfox?) he’s still as stubborn as ever. And Itachi shows up, to make people happy.

******

My body complains bitterly as I shift slightly, tugging again at the chains that hold my hands above my head, even though I know I can’t break them.

It’s become a daily ritual now. I’m dragged out of Sasuke’s bed, long after he’s up and gone on some mission or another, and taken down to the training room, where someone or another tries to force me to obey them. Then, after they finally get tired of my stubborn refusal and smart-assed comments, I’m chained here and whipped into unconsciousness.

In just a little while, when I don’t hurt so much, I’ll dig the bobby-pin out of my hair and use it to get out of these chains. Then it’s back to Sasuke’s room to clean up, have the chakra restraints around my wrists taken off so I can heal, and curl up beside him, all the while listening to him murmur apologies and promises. Then in the morning it starts over again.

But I’m surprised to hear voices coming closer now; normally no one comes down here, except for my guards. I’m even more surprised when the door to my cell squeaks open.

I look up, then swing my gaze away again, refusing to look into those red eyes, even for an instant. I know first-hand what it feels like to have Sasuke’s sharingan used against me; I don’t even want to think about what I’d feel like with even a small taste of his.

“Naruto-kun.” His voice is as cool and emotionless as ever, maybe a bit deeper pitched, as he tugs my chin up to study my face in the light thrown from the hall. I pull back, still careful not to meet that gaze.

A hand flies up and cracks across my cheek, and I let the hiss of pain slip out as the movement irritates the welts across my back.

“Look at me.” He orders, and I can’t stop my eyes from flickering in his direction. It’s barely more then a glance to see where he is though, not even enough to note what he’s wearing.

“Fuck you, Asshole.” The answer earns me another slap, and I step back, then kick out at him, the chain holding my weight. He only steps out of the way carelessly.

“Hmm. Sasuke’s spoiled you, I see. We’ll have to fix that.” I let a smirk cross my features, one that would have made the younger Uchiha proud.

“When are you idiots going to give up? I’m not going to be your little plaything.”

“We’ll see. My foolish little brother has been sent on a rather long mission and isn’t here to play nursemaid anymore.” That makes me a bit nervous, since I know he did prevent some of the things the rest were quite willing to do to me, but I don’t show it.

“Starve him.” Itachi tells the guard with him, then he jerks my chin up again. My eyes meet his, just for a second, only a natural reaction, but it’s enough. It’s not like Sasuke’s, a gentle swirling into oblivion. Itachi’s gaze hits me like a ton of bricks, and I can already feel the headache building, before darkness claims me.

******

I groan as I awaken, lifting one hand to rub at my head. It feels like Baa-chan’s been using it as a drum. If that’s just Itachi’s regular sharingan, I can see why his Mangekyou put both Kakashi and Sasuke in the hospital.

I look around, once the pounding begins to recede slightly, and realise I’m still in the same cell I was in before, though now I’m sitting in a corner on a bedroll. There’s a choke chain around my neck, a padlock clipping it to a heavier chain that’s secured to a ring in the wall. There’s just enough length for me to reach the hole in the floor that serves as a toilet, and a brush through my hair shows that someone’s finally found my bobby-pin and removed it.

A dog’s bowl, full of water, sits a bit away, also just within reach of the chain. I ignore it; who knows what drugs they could have mixed in with it. I wouldn’t put it past that red-eyed freak to try to get me addicted to something so he can use it to control me.

My stomach growls loudly, but, remembering what Itachi said just before he knocked me out, I seriously doubt it’s going to get anything to fill it. I glance at the water bowl again, feeling just a bit thirsty, and decide that it’s worth the chance, reaching over to lift the bowl and take a sip. It doesn’t taste odd at all, but the edges of the bowl are rounded out, and it’s impossible to drink from it without spilling some. Finally I just set it back on the floor, sucking the water up through my lips.

The clang of the door opening draws my attention, and I back away against the wall, watching cautiously. It’s only a servant, bearing a jug that presumably holds more water. She edges closer, keeping a cautious eye on me.

“Tch. I’m not going to leap out and attack you or something.” I snap, and she jumps with a squeak. Hastily she moves just close enough to refill the bowl, spilling some of the water in her nervousness, then darts back out of the cell. I’m confused by her behaviour until I realise it’s probably not a secret that I’m being given no food, and Kyuubi was known for his love of human flesh. Just another bunch of idiots who’ve decided, or been told, that I actually am the Kyuubi, rather then just its cage.

Growling at the stupidity of people in general, I stretch out on the bedroll again, deciding to while away the hours with sleep. Who knows, maybe when I wake up, Sasuke will have returned and I’ll be out of this mess.

******

Two weeks. My stomach stopped growling at the end of the first, when it finally realised it wasn’t going to get an answer. Even the water doesn’t fill it up anymore.

Despite that, I’m more concerned with Sasuke. I know Itachi said he was sent on a long mission, and it’s only been two weeks, but I can’t stop worrying about him. I keep on wondering if they haven’t just killed him and won’t tell me because they think they’ll lose what little control they do have over me.

I don’t move when the door opens. The servants who bring water every day are as nervous as ever, and it’s not worth my energy to try to calm them. They seem to prefer it when they think I’m asleep anyway.

“Naru-chan.” I glanced up at the voice, curious. It’s Itachi, of course, bouncing a huge apple in his left hand. The right holds a knife.

The oddest thing is his eyes. I’ve only ever seen them red, but the sharingan’s gone for once and they’re as black as Sasuke’s. Nor does he seem to have anything that could be considered a weapon, other then the knife. I wonder why. It almost seems like he’s trying to put me at ease or something.

“Where’s Sasuke?” I demand. He doesn’t answer, only slicing a piece of the apple off, and eating it slowly. My eyes flicker down to it, and then away, pointedly ignoring it.

“Hungry?” He asks. I don’t bother answering, trying not to look as I hear the knife cutting through the apple again

“Do you want a piece? Sit up and take it then.” I glare at him, wondering what game he’s trying to play now. Cautiously I sit up, reaching out a hand. He jerks the apple out of my reach.

“Animals don’t take things with their paws, Pet.”

“I’m not an animal, and I’m not your pet.” I snarl. I don’t like the nickname when Sasuke uses it, and I’m not about to let anyone else get away with it.

“Maybe another week, then?” He asks, almost conversationally. I glare at the hand still holding the slice of apple out, wondering if I should see if his blood tastes any better then the shark’s. But then the intelligent part of my brains sits up, informing me that that really wouldn’t be a good idea. This once I decide to take its advice.

We’re both still for a moment, him just standing there, holding out the fruit, me glaring at it, my pride fighting a losing battle with my hunger. Finally, I reach out, still glaring, and let my lips close around the apple’s flesh. My teeth dig in and I jerk it from his hand, pulling back to sit against the wall again. The piece is only a bit more then a mouthful, and I chew it slowly, relishing the taste of something that’s not water.

He doesn’t comment on the way I snatched it, only cutting another piece off and holding it out again.

“Take it nicely this time, or there won’t be any more.” It’s a moment more before I reach out again. I had thought I could manage on just that piece, but it only made my hunger all the more obvious.

This time he holds on when I tug, and I’m tempted to just bite off what I have in my mouth and to hell with the consequences, but then he lets go, and I pull back with my prize.

“Better.” The rest of the apple’s tossed at me and I grab it out of the air, taking chunks out of it and stopping to chew just enough so that I won’t choke.

“Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I pause a moment, my mouth too full to answer, and by the time it’s emptied, my brain has caught up enough to point out that my retort probably wouldn’t be such a good idea. So I just suck on the apple core, making sure I get everything off it before I toss it aside, into the waste hole.

I bolt to my feet as he moves closer, but I still have to look up to meet his gaze. Not for the first time I curse the fact that I’m so damned short. Even Sakura tops me, if only by an inch.

I try to move away as he reaches out toward my neck, but his other hand tangles in the chain, tugging it tight around my throat, holding me in place as he reaches around to touch the clasp on the choker. It refuses to open, the jutsu still active, and he tugs on the ribbon instead, trying to rip it. I flinch, but it resists that as well. Apparently it’s just as sturdy as Sasuke claimed it was.

Finally he gives up, dropping the chain and turning away.

“Get him cleaned up.” He tells the guard at the door. “I want him chained in the training room by sunrise tomorrow.

I drop back down, my anger turning inwards now. It’s clear Itachi’s won this battle, and something tells me I may have already lost the war.

******

Poor Naruto. He’s just helpless when it comes to the Uchiha men.

The plotkitties are ecstatic that you like their story. A couple of them have decided they want to go on to be senior muses themselves.

Yeah, he is quite the submissive when it comes to Sasuke, isn’t he? I like to call it ‘Beaten Puppy Syndrome’. (I don’t know if that’s a real title) Basically, Naruto was abused so much, both physically and mentally, especially at Orochimaru’s hands, that he latched on to the first person who gave him positive attention, willing to do anything to get more attention from said person. And the random ‘here now, gone tomorrow’ encounters have only made it worse.

In case anyone didn’t notice, there is a new chapter two inserted, the time in Sound from Sasuke’s point of view.

Actually, the only real reason Kisame’s with Sasuke is because Akatsuki doesn’t trust him, that and because of the sword’s ability to drain Naruto. He might show up again, but he won’t be helping Sasuke with any of his private plans.

On another subject, I’m thinking of entering this in the Mediaminer Maximum Challenge Contest, once it’s finished.