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Winter Release	By : Cepheus Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1260 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Note about the lemon: why
placing it in the previous chapter? Now, the answer! XDXDXD

It was
rushed. It was meant to be rushed.
Why? Because I had to prove the point that it meant nothing. No lust. No love
(obviously). Nothing. Sex is the best way to own
someone, by claiming him physically. There was nothing else but power and
strength and only that. On that basis, it is clear it will add angsty on
Naruto�s part, as well, as the roots for more stable things later on.

It had to
be there, rushed and all that stuff. If you feel like you understood nothing,
you can ask me, I will gladly explain my POV on that argument and my reasons.

Thanks to all the reviewers! And
thanks to my BETA Silent in Nightmares!

Cepheus: nothing else to
add. Read. Konoha�s reactions.

��

Next update: Unknown. Univ courses
jumping on me.

Rating: M (or is it some more?)

Summary: Clich� Plot: Naruto�s friends find out
about Kyuubi but don�t reject him for this. Akatsuki captures him whilst he�s
training with Jiraiya, but the Fox can�t be removed from his body; and before
rescuers come, Naruto finds himself in an interesting situation with a certain
Uchiha genius� (ItaNaru, ShinoKiba, NejiShika)

Warnings: yaoi,
boy x boy relationship, angsty, torture, and such.
Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food. OC
warning as well.

Disclaimer: Not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto
does.

�Talking�
�Thinking�
�Flashbacks, memories, dreams�

��

Winter Release

Chapter 13: Unwanted

Itachi stared at Jiraiya with his crimson eyes, face just as emotionless
as it had always been, but made no move to use the Sharingan. Instead, he
roughly grabbed Naruto�s hair with his hand, and showed the shinobi his pale
face.

�Too late,� he said, his voice low. �He is already dead.�

Time seemed to stop there.

Jiraiya and Kakashi, who had both been Naruto�s senseis,
could only stare at the lifeless face of their student, dried blood on his
cheeks and chin, the white of death already crawling on him.

Naruto.

�I am going to become the next
Hokage datte bayo! Because that�s my dream! Believe it!�

In a flash, his happy face passed in front of them, ocean eyes shining
with mirth and warmth, smiling, fox�like, after having proved he was strong one
more time.

Naruto� was dead.

Everything shattered around them.

Without turning back, the three Akatsuki members turned away and
disappeared with a jutsu.

��

Rain fell hard the day Kakashi and
his group returned to Konoha.

The sky was dark with heavy clouds,
water pouring down like a never ending stream of tears; it looked like the sun
had been taken away, leaving behind only darkness. Crying, crying hard, cold
wind blowing softly around, quietly resounding in the air like a whisper.

Everything around the village was
silent, the harsh rain falling down, covering the other noises, as if it wanted
to hide life away. Droplets hit the leaves, and bounced on the ground, forming
pools under the trees, the air lingering with the soft smell the rain brought.

Five figures walked slowly, uncaring
of the fact that they were being drowned in the storm, with their heads hanging
low, so low that their eyes were shadowed and hidden from view. Their clothes
and hair were dank and dirty, but they seemed not to mind, their thoughts far
away, where no one could reach them.

Mourning.

It had been a long journey back
home, mostly because not one of the shinobi in the group felt like hurrying to
Konoha, too drained of energy to run and jump. They moved almost mechanically,
one step after the other, almost unfocused on what was around them.

Only the four ANBU, who had no
attachment to the cause of the others� pain, looked unaffected by the rain and
the darkened mood of their companions, as they were moving around skilfully to
look at the surroundings for any possible danger.

At the head of the five was Jiraiya,
his face emotionless, his eyes betraying the deep sadness and grief he was
feeling. Again, he�d failed.

The thought weighted on his mind so
much it hurt, deeply, the pain a twinge that would not disappear, no matter
what. Searing pain, grief, sorrow, everything mixed until there was nothing
left but emptiness.

He�d failed once more.

As a sensei, as a person; he�d let
another die without being able to help him, another loss that hurt him too
much. He only wanted to disappear, and never return.

Thinking about those blue eyes, once
warm, now closed forever, reminded him of another pair of eyes, just as bright,
that had been deprived of their light many years ago.

Unfair.

Life was unfair.

And everything crumbled on him, it
was simply too much. It was his fault. And it was his fault he felt hurt now.
He knew that a ninja should feel nothing, but right now, it simply hurt.

The pain was not going away. No matter what. And that pain had the looks of a blond teen.

Kakashi stared in front of him, eyes
glazed over.

Everything he had worked for was
failing him. He�d tried hard not to take a group of genin under him, coming up
with excuses on their lack of teamwork, and everything he could think of. He�d
tried not to feel attached to anyone, knowing that, in a ninja�s life, it was
far too easy to loose your dear ones.

He�d failed.

Because then came Naruto, Sakura,
and Sasuke.

His first team, the first thing
close to a family he had ever had, despite his acting towards them. He had some
kind of reassurance, knowing they were growing under him. Something he thought
he would never feel anymore ever since his friend�s death, and later on, his
sensei�s.

Later on came Iruka. Who he would
have never spoken with in the first place, if not for the loudmouth blond,
their favourite topic of conversation the few times they met.

From rare team�related meetings,
they progressed to daily visits, and from that, it was not long before the two
had started dating.

He had a lover, and a team, and he�d
let his barriers down because he cared, because he�d foolishly hoped it would
turn out ok.

Hoping nothing would happen.

Now one of his team was lost, and
one was�

Kakashi felt his heart tighten in
his chest.

Iruka.

How was he going to tell the news to
the one he loved? How was he going to tell Iruka that Naruto�

Almost unknowingly, his left hand
lifted to press against his hitai�ate and his covered eye. It was hard to
ignore the pain he felt inside. No words, no foolish act could have made it go
away. He felt like a small children once again, fighting against the hurt.

No turning back.

The third shape was Gai. Even the
once cheerful man could not deny the dread the death of Naruto brought to those
near to him. He could see it in the eyes and faces of the two men before him,
and in the two teens walking behind.

Such a youthful person, whose eyes
burned with the strong fire of determination, was now cold and unmoving, dead.

Gai was no idiot. For how stupidly
he could act, he knew how to be serious. He was, indeed, a very deep person,
but having seen pain and hurt many times in his life as a shinobi, he�d reached
the conclusion that he could not bear any more.

He�d tried to act cheerfully, being
true to himself, acting like a fool maybe, but with strong ties to bind him to
reality. His dreams� he would never be able to let them go. One of his dreams
was to protect those he cared for.

Such a dream was shared by every
single ninja, not just of Konoha, but of the entire world. All of them fought
every day to achieve that dream. Many died. But no one gave up.

Gai was not going to give up either,
but the sight of those that were defeated brought him pain. Now, on the long
list of names of the lost, was one of a young shinobi; one that had started on
the way to his dream, putting his entire soul into that.

Gai knew what Naruto was able to do
to people; he�d known Kakashi for years, but Kakashi had never been so open,
and almost content, ever before.

And Lee and
Neji too, and that boy from Suna. And many others Naruto had touched in his
short life span, as well as Jiraiya and Tsunade themselves.

So Gai stared, facing the grief so
clear around him, enduring, himself, the hurt, accepting the pain without
speaking; he could do nothing but mourn. Another dream
disappearing away, slowly being dragged into nothingness by the wind, like
leaves falling from the trees.

Last were Shikamaru and Neji,
walking side by side, trying to take comfort by each others� presence, but
feeling far away at the same time.

This wasn�t the first death both had
seen that was of someone near to them. Sandaime had died. But this was
different. Naruto was someone they had known ever since childhood. Shikamaru
had laughed, played, joked along with, learned, and had been acknowledged with
Naruto, saying he was too troublesome, but inwardly glad because of his
cheerful appearance.

Like a sun, shining and warming
everyone.

He could remember that they had
never been too close, but the distance between them had disappeared ever since
the Chuunin exams, followed by respect, friendship, and care. They were, indeed, friends.

He could almost hear Naruto�s voice,
as loud as ever, rambling on how he would become Hokage. Kiba would then mock
him, saying there was no way someone like him would end up strong enough to be
named Hokage.

�You�ll see,� he used to reply every
time. �I will surprise you.�

Shikamaru was sure the numbness he
felt was the effect of the shock, but he didn�t care. His mind was covered with
a thick, grey fog. �Seems like Kiba was
right�� he felt a pang inside, and clenched his eyes shut.

Only when he felt the coppery taste
of his blood did he realize he�d been biting hard on his lips.
Glancing at his side, Shikamaru saw
Neji. He looked distant, so much so that not even Shikamaru could understand
what he was thinking.

There was pain for him too.

Such a word� it meant everything and
nothing at the same time. Pain. What was pain? Was the
word enough to explain what they were feeling?

The dread, the
utter despair that clung in them, like a beast eating them from the inside,
painfully and slowly.

What could possibly explain what
they were feeling?

It felt like they would never be
able to smile again. It felt almost impossible to think that someday, not far
away, they would move on.

Shikamaru sighed.

Troublesome, he wanted to say. To deny it all. He suddenly felt the need to punch a tree,
hard enough to break it, and destroy it. He didn�t want this emptiness.

Nor did he want to see it in his
love�s eyes.

Neji thought about Naruto. About how
he�d been able to continue his life even though people despised him. How he
changed Neji and his beliefs. How he fought hard everyday.

But now�

�I am going to fight my way up to the Hokage position. I don�t believe
in Fate. I only believe in myself. And I know I will work hard to reach my goal.�

Naruto had been shunned all his
life, going through something that even Neji could only imagine, despite the
fact that his own past wasn�t that bright, but not a single day had Naruto
stopped. He continued to fight against everything, whilst Neji let the thing
called Fate control him.

Fate is bound to stop you, Naruto,
Neji had said to the blond. His only reply was a warm laugh and an amused
stare, as if he thought the Hyuuga to be stupid. Indeed.

Neji started to laugh.

It was harsh, raw, foreign to his
body, out of place, wrong, but he could not stop. The laugh continued, clipped
and hollow, hysterical, taking away his breath, his sanity. In the end, Naruto
had been proven wrong.

Fate had won.

A pair of arms hugged him tightly,
not letting him go, as his eyes widened, and the laugh continued, hysterical
and empty, mixed with sobs and coughs, as he tried to breathe again.

Overwhelming.

So much pain, he felt there was
nothing left inside him.

�Don�t let me go,� was the plea he wanted to scream as his laugh turned into choked sobs.
No tears left his white eyes, but his wild emotions showed just how much he
wanted to cry. His control was shattered away, and, for the first time, he
realized just how much he had changed from before, so much that he was able to
love and care for someone.

He finally realized the depths of
friendship and love.

And even if no words were spoken
between the two, Shikamaru held him close, and let the warmth envelope him as
well.

The sky was crying in their place.

��

The news of the Kyuubi vessel�s
death spread through Konoha like an arrow from its bow, secretly, in an
undertone, hushed and revered. Though the facts were to remain a secret, no one
was left unaware. Any shinobi, and any villager, now knew that the blond was
dead.

The reactions, as expected, were
various.

Many, too many to count, cheered. In
the end, after so many years of pain, someone had rid the world of the demon
runt, and more than one person celebrated at night.

The streets echoed with laughter and
happiness, despite the rain that never stopped falling, creating a sense of
surrealism and tenseness that slowly ate away the light, leaving Konoha
strangely silent, as if a thick blanket of darkness had fallen onto it. Even
the laughter disappeared after the first few days.

Others, so few it was sad to see,
took the news in another way, completely opposite.

Between them, the ones that took it
hardest were Tsunade, Iruka, and Konohamaru.

No one knew how Jiraiya managed to
tell the Godaime Hokage about it, but nothing was destroyed. Tsunade did not
hit anything with her strength, making those who knew her even more worried by
this abnormal reaction.

She never left the Hokage room, no one was allowed to go in apart Shizune, who had red
eyes and a defeated aura around her every time she left the office. Tsunade let
herself fall again into drinking, knowing it wouldn�t help, but not caring at
all anymore.

Nothing mattered.

The void in her heart would not be
filled ever again. Once more, despite all her efforts, the curse of the
Shodaime�s pendant fell onto her beloved ones. Another person died. And even
though both Shizune and Jiraiya had tried to convince her it wasn�t her fault,
Tsunade had fallen into a complete silence, lost deep within herself.

Iruka had simply been devastated.
There were no words to explain it. He stopped going outside his house, and he
gave up teaching at the academy. His only visitor was Kakashi, the only one
that was allowed inside.

Iruka didn�t stop crying for the
first three days, mourning over the death of his student, the one he came to
consider a little brother, a son.

He was by no means a strong shinobi.
He�d never wanted to become an Elite, he was contented with his status as
Chuunin, feeling accomplished by teaching the younger generations about the
right way to be a ninja.

He�d seen many pass under him and leave as Genin, and he�d cheered for them; he�d seen many
return after watching their hopes be crushed to the floor, and he�d consoled
them.

Some died as well, bringing him a
strong pain as he remembered their faces, wishing no one would die anymore,
wishing against everything that they would survive.

But with Naruto, it had been
different.

They were the same, their childhood
similar, and that had created a strong bond between the two of them �affection,
understanding, and acceptance.

Care.

Iruka, at first, had been one of
those that hated Naruto for what he held within, but it was long since he�d
stopped that foolish act and accepted the truth �Naruto was like him, a victim
of something greater that could not be stopped or changed. He�d realized that
he could not continue giving the fault of many innocents� death to a scapegoat,
refusing to admit he was wrong.

He had admitted it.

And the moment he did, he�d seen the
real Naruto, and from that moment, he�d promised to himself that he would care
for the blond.

Konohamaru had refused to believe
that his �boss� was dead, closing himself away from his friends and those who
tried to help him; the only one who had been able to reach him had been,
strangely enough, Ebisu. The man had spoken for a long time with the boy, both
closed inside the boy�s room, and when the door had opened again, Konohamaru
had followed him outside.

But his eyes had lost another glint
of light.

Naruto�s death had been hard to
accept for all his friends; it had caused Hinata to suffer from
hyperventilation, and the girl had ended up being sedated so she would not
cause harm to herself in her deep pain.

Sakura had cried herself to sleep,
knowing another one of her group had left her, and now there was no coming
back. Neither of them, Sasuke nor Naruto, would ever come back.

The rest of the teens had been
silent after the news, and even Kiba had been strangely quiet, simply walking
around with a defeated stance, Akamaru following him with his head and tail
hanging low.

Two weeks after Jiraiya�s return,
all of Team Nine and Gai�s Team reunited for the funeral; there was no body to
bury or burn, but there was the memorial, where Shizune (Tsunade still hadn�t
left the Hokage office) were to carve Naruto�s name.

It wasn�t raining for the first day
in weeks, but the sky was still covered in grey clouds, and the air was heavy
with the lingering smell of rain.

All the teens, the Jounin that had
known the blond, Konohamaru and his friends, Iruka, and even the owner of the
Ichiraku stand, had grouped together in front of the memorial, everyone staring
with eyes filled with pain at the spot where the blond teen�s name would be
carved for all to see and remember.

Shizune let her brown eyes stare at
everyone around her in silence, nodding to Kakashi, and, kneeling in front of
the Memorial Stone, was ready to carve there a new name �a gesture that would
confirm that Naruto was indeed dead.

Her hands lifted, trembling as she
prepared herself, but, suddenly, she was jerked away from the Stone, and
lifting her head she stared in shock at a masked ANBU that had grabbed her
wrist painfully, and was now keeping her in a fierce grip.

�What�s going on?� Kakashi demanded
to know, his uncovered eye flashing with barely suppressed rage.

�You are not going to write his� the
demon�s name� there,� the ANBU hissed in reply.

The face under the mask couldn�t be
seen, but the disgust pouring from the voice of the ANBU shinobi clearly showed
them his grimace.

�Oh? And why is that?� Kakashi
stepped forwards, eye flashing dangerously as his posture tensed. A split
second later Asuma and Kurenai were at his sides.

�We don�t want the name of that thing staining the Memorial Stone, with
the many heroes that�
died in their fight against the demon, people that died for the
village,� the ANBU growled, as behind him, more shinobi appeared to back him
up.

�Naruto is� was a shinobi of this
village as well, and he loved it,� Iruka yelled, anger clear on his face. His
fists trembled slightly at his sides, but he didn�t step back, facing, while at
Kakashi�s right, the higher ranked ninja with no fear in his eyes.

�Naruto protected Konoha many times,
and his name deserves to be on that stone,� Kakashi added quietly. His tone was
mild and low, but chilling all the same.

�We won�t let you tarnish the stone
with his filthy name!� another shinobi behind the ANBU yelled.

�And who are you to say that?�
everyone turned in shock at the sound of the voice.

Tsunade was standing there, looking
as fierce and powerful as ever, with the addition of two black rims under her
eyes, a sign that she�d been crying before, and hadn�t slept well. There was a
fire in her eyes that caused the ANBU and his followers to back away in fear,
afraid of the killer intent they could feel.

�Tsunade�sama�,� one of them
stuttered.

�Leave. Now,� she hissed. Her fist tightened, her stance ready for the kill. There was no
mistaking her actions; she was ready to attack them, ruthlessly, fiercely.

With no more words spoken, the ANBU
and the shinobi disappeared, knowing they could not overpower the Hokage�s
orders.

Shizune smiled hesitantly at her
master, who stared at her with hurt orbs before kneeling in front of the stone,
her hands firm as she carved Naruto�s name on the Memorial. This was a place
her little blond deserved to have, like her brother, like Dan, and all the
others that had died, and were still remembered and cared for by the village.

Tsunade stood up and looked down,
breathing the cool air slowly, in search of something to hold onto, as she
accepted the fact that she would never see those blond orbs ever again. Shizune
walked towards her, and let the older woman lean on her shoulder to support her
as she cried again, silently, tears streaming down her cheeks.

�It seems your desire was fulfilled after all,� Kakashi could only think, as he
remembered what the blond had said, so long ago, when facing the same memorial.

He�d said, not knowing what the
stone represented, that he would one day have his own name carved on there.

And now, among the almost endless
sea of names, some recently deceased, others long gone but never forgotten,
another name stood.

No one turned away from that stone
for a long time. Not even as the rain started to fall again.

��

�What have I become?�

This thought echoed through his mind
with no answer, leaving only emptiness inside.

Blue eyes stared unseeingly at the stony
wall, stray strands of hair falling in front of his face messily, his breathing
deep and calm, dried tears on his cheeks.

Waking up, Naruto had felt sticky
and weary, and slightly hurt as well; for a moment, he hadn�t realized where he
was, because, for the first time in a while, he�d slept deeply and quietly, out
of what he could only recognize as exhaustion. As his eyes focused again on his
surroundings though, as he lifted a little of his upper body to look around,
he�d remembered he was in Akatsuki�s clutches, and, with a sigh, he�d left
himself fall down on the cold floor again, with a deep sigh.

The movement, if only slight, had
brought a soft pain, more like a stinging feeling, up his spine. He groaned and
moved his arms, seeing faint bruises on his there that were slowly vanishing,
leaving his skin unmarred again.

Only then had he realized that he
was, indeed, naked on the cold, stony floor, and he had shuddered, not
remembering how he�d ended in such a state.

As his mind cleared up from the
sleep though, memories came back to him, rushing, shoving off everything in
their hurry, and had assaulted his senses, and his mind, with vivid images,
sensations, remembrance of ghostly touches along his frame, not sweet and
light, but rough and demanding.

Fingers dancing on his skin�

Hot breathes along his neck�

Pleasure rocking his body�

Naruto sat up in a flash, hugging
his knees tightly as his entire frame trembled madly, remembering everything
too clearly, too vividly, every single touch, every single
groan he�d emitted.

He couldn�t help but accept it,
because there was no evading the truth.

He�d let Itachi do�

A part of Naruto�s mind blindly
screamed, accusing the raven haired man of rape, yelling that it wasn�t wanted,
it wasn�t mutual, it wasn�t what Naruto had wanted.

But Naruto knew better.

�I have had sex with someone�� his eyes stared down at his fingers,
remembering how he�d been clutching Itachi�s shirt as if it was his lifeline. �With a man� with an enemy�
with Itachi, of all people!�

He expected to feel disgust now,
anger, hatred.

He was almost disappointed to find
none of this.

He�d wanted this just as much as it
seemed Itachi himself had.

Every fibre of his soul had craved
for his touch, for the kind of intimate contact Naruto longed for, but knew he
would never have.

Thinking straight was not one of his
strong points, but, since there was nothing else to do, and he had to face his
action of the previous night (day, morning, whatever), he felt compelled to
clear his mind.

The blond had to admit that, indeed,
he had been interested in males already, and that it could be the cause of his
somewhat lessening interest for women �so much that the time Jiraiya had tried
to lure him into a brothel to make him become a real man,
he�d escaped with a Kage Bunshin, utterly disgusted.

And he also had to admit that he�d
given up on Sakura long time ago. Mostly because he�d realized she would never
feel for him what she felt for Sasuke.

And maybe, by giving up on her, he
had admitted he was only crushing on her, nothing more.

Considering this, Naruto had to
admit that there was some kind of twisted reason as to why he had been
attracted to Itachi, of all people.

No one in their
right mind would not admit Itachi was hot.

But going from
admitting that to actually having sex with him� this was another thing.

Naruto groaned, accepting the fact
that, indeed, he was screwed up �both literally and metaphorically. But at the
time, it had felt the only right thing to do. He�d been staring up at those
crimson orbs, thinking that he wanted to see below the surface, thinking about
how the man interested him, and he�d ended up with something unexpected, and
definitely more than he was asking for.

Naruto wasn�t one of those that
believed their first time had to be with their undying love or their soul mate.
In fact, Naruto had a hard time believing such a thing existed; having not
known any love in his life, even if short, had forced some sort of pessimism
concerning love matters into him.

He didn�t think he would ever be
loved by someone, but he wasn�t going to let himself drown in depression and
self�loathing for this. It wasn�t really his fault, and he was willingly to
take what he could.

But�

That didn�t mean he was all fine and
well with what had happened.

He�d lost his goddamn virginity to
an S�class criminal for crying out loud! This was really fucked up, nothing he
wanted to add to the position he was in. Something like lust shouldn�t have
even popped up in his head, but, at the time, it wasn�t even lust.

There was simply the need to do it.

Not lust.

Obviously not love.

It had been physical, Naruto knew
this. Feral, almost.

He didn�t know what to do with that.
Probably, he was the first one to ever get (into the pants, a part of his mind
supplied him) so near Itachi ever since� a long time. That didn�t mean it meant
something.

Naruto was confused.

He wasn�t foolish enough to think
this meant Itachi loved him, that he would be freed from the Akatsuki, and
return to Konoha to live a wonderful and full life. This wasn�t even a dream.

Then, what?

The thought that he�d done something
of this kind with someone like Itachi disturbed him deeply; he would have never
thought Itachi was anything but asexual (something that obviously ran in their
family blood, seeing how Sasuke himself was) but there he was, recalling a
�night of passion� with him.

To the blond, this meant nothing and
everything. It wasn�t the sex per se, but the fact that Itachi had complete
control over him, and maybe, this was what mattered. Just before it, Naruto had
been thinking of how power was what moved everything, and now, he had
confirmation of his beliefs.

Itachi wanted to own him, and wanted
to control him.

But it still was detached from the
entirety of what had happened. There had been pleasure, so much it hurt, and
Naruto had felt almost safe �forgetting in the arms of whom he was, and who was
having his way with him.

Now that he was awake, and the only
warmth he had was that of his own body, Naruto felt empty and used. But, at the
same time, he didn�t regret what he had done. For how fucked up it could seem� �Probably, I ended up insane,� he
thought bitterly.

And still, he felt it had helped
him. He�d been close to despair, but something bringing him both pain and pleasure
caused him to feel alive again �which was indeed shocking, considering how many
lives Itachi�s hands surely took in all those years.

And despite the efforts dedicated to
owning him, Naruto was still Naruto. Nothing had changed� well, apart the fact
that, more than likely, he would start feeling regret for what he did once out
of the Akatsuki�s hands.

Naruto could only let a raspy
chuckle leave his lips as he took notice of the situation as a whole. He could
feel the sweat on his skin, he could see his muscles stretch as he moved his
arms, he could feel his hair against his forehead, sticky and wet, and he
breathed deeply.

He felt� alive, despite everything,
despite being caged and left in almost complete darkness.

He�d never felt so alive ever before
�or at least, that�s how he felt right now. He could feel some of his old self
come back, nudging at him, somehow slightly changed, but still the same. Now he
knew that it had been because of him having sex with Itachi.

He�d needed to feel he was still
living.

Naruto shuddered as a cold breeze
hit his naked body, and retrieved his clothes that were scattered at his side,
feeling all sticky; putting them on again, groaning at the fading pain, he
wished there was some place he could wash himself �he had to go and take a look
around, when he could be certain his legs were going to support him.

Blinking tiredly in the faint light
that came from the walls, Naruto sighed and let his shoulders drop. He felt
strangely calm, and, despite the situation he was in, relaxed. Biting his lip
in concentration, he realized that all he could hope for now was that the seal
resisted as long as possible.

There was still hope he could find a
way to escape, return to Konoha (they were surely thinking he was dead, and he
wanted desperately to show them he was not) but right now, he couldn�t take off
the wards, and his chakra was still sealed away from him, where he could know
it was still flowing, but not touch it.

He needed to rest and keep himself
in check, because he would have to gather all the courage and strength he could
to even hope to leave this place �which he didn�t even know the location of.

Carefully, he flexed his fingers,
elbows, and knees, knowing Kyuubi�s healing powers were still somehow active on
him �even if only by a fragment of their previous force. He knew that whatever
seal he had on because of the man with blank eyes, it wasn�t blocking off
Kyuubi completely, only his chakra. The healing effects seemed to still be
effective, but Naruto had to wonder what that meant.

Usually, chakra healed him. Kyuubi
used the link between their chakra to cure his wounds; so what? He was still
healing, even if slower. That meant a part of their connection was still
active.

Was it good then? Could he try and
break the seals even without his chakra to help him?

��

Itachi stared silently down the side
of the mountain, which was indeed only a giant amount of rocks piled up, but
that was normal since they were on the borders with the Earth Country.

The rock he was standing on was
around the middle of the rock mountain, a spot where he could easily observe
what was around him, his eyes moving sharply on the stones and the ground, the
lower part of his face hidden by the neck of his black outfit. His hair was
swaying and curling in the air because of a soft breeze flowing from south to
north, the wind warm against his pale cheeks.

He stood, unmoving, for a second
longer then, without warning, he let his body fall down, facing the ground
under him, that was at least half a mile below the spot he had been before.

The air crashed against his falling
body, his clothes slashing wildly around him, but his face remained
expressionless as his calculating eyes stared unblinkingly straight in front of
him, to the quickly approaching ground.

He was around the middle of the fall
when, suddenly, as gracefully as every one of his moves was, he shifted the
weight of his body, now horizontal with the ground, and, with no effort or
visible strain, he sidestepped on the side of the mountain, his fall gracefully
coming to a halt as he remained attached horizontally with a stream of chakra.

His crimson eyes whirled for a
second before fading to pitch black.

With ease, he walked down the wall,
reaching the ground below and dispelling the stream of chakra that he�d
concentrated on his feet and stared upwards, before flexing his fingers; his
black eyes flickered with a small amount of curiosity, which quickly vanished.

If Itachi were to actually comment
on the latest happenings, he would have said nothing about it at all, because
he would have thought nothing of them in the first place; although, what he�d
done with the Kyuubi vessel wasn�t usual �(on the other hand, it had never
happened before) there was nothing to say.

Or there would have been nothing to
say, on another occasion.

But there was.

Itachi could not deny, as he had the
evidence himself, that doing what he did with the blond youth had let some of
the stress he had on his shoulders drain away.

He felt as if he could get an easier
grip on his chakra, which lately was slightly harder due to the complications
the use of the Sharingan forced on him; he was deeply aware of what he would
end up like, if he continued using the bloodline, but for now, the negative
effects were still weak, and were only showing in the amount of chakra he could
use before tiring himself out.

So, he found it quite strange that
it would now flow easily through his body if called out.

He had to admit, in some part of his
mind, that the kind of pleasure given by such activities was quite different
and even deeper (and unexpectedly so) than that which he received from
accomplishing his duties.

Usually, there was a calm sensation
that washed over him, but it was very feeble and never lasting enough for him
to taste it; there was no satisfaction in a perfect accomplishment, because he
never failed. Unless it regarded the blond, since he twice failed to retrieve
the boy.

Not unlikely his usual uncaring
self, he didn�t think too much about that. It was something that could occur.

And in the end, the Jinchuuriki was
in the Akatsuki�s hands, despite the fact that the extraction had proven
useless.

A faint smirk (since that was the
only thing he allowed himself to show) appeared on his lips, thinking about the
almost amusing situation they were in. They had hold of the vessel, and the
demon as well, but they could not touch it or use it.

But even though he cared neither
about his organization nor about the boy, he still felt some kind of mild
interest for the blond. It had nothing to do with the demon inside him, even considering its strength was alluring per se.
Itachi was interested by who Naruto was.

At first, he�d believed him to be
just another red leaf, only of a mildly darker tone than the others �during his
travels, he�d found many darker reds, this was nothing new.

But there was something odd about
him.

That oddity was what had attracted
Itachi, if the mild interest (which was indeed more than anything Itachi had
ever showed for anyone else) could be called attraction.

Naruto was different. But not like
Itachi had been.

Innocent (he�d never been so),
cheerful (something the Uchiha were not), bright and active (something Itachi
could not comprehend), but all of this was only the surface.

�Underneath the
underneath.� This
was a type of solitude Itachi himself had met before, even though he�d not
cared, whilst the blond did.

Pain as well, and still, Naruto kept
on smiling. Any normal (sane) person would have snapped years before, or ended
his life. Naruto was still moving, and that flame was still burning.

Even after the torture of the
separation from the demon, which hadn�t worked, he still was the same.

Maybe the look in his eyes had
changed slightly, but it was still strong.

Defiant.

Itachi closed his fist, controlling
his strength, and stared back up at the secret entrance of the Akatsuki�s
hideout, masked behind a strong type of Genjutsu. Usually, all the members
would have been already scattering away, since not one of them really wanted
the companionship of the other members (the fact that they moved in partners
was only a way to be sure no one was going to betray the organization) but, due
to the failed retrieval of Kyuubi, who happened to be the strongest of the
demons, they were now all gathered in there, waiting for orders.

Itachi felt appeased by the fact
that he would have time to observe the blond more. He still had to figure out
what kind of leaf Naruto was, after all.

��

Cepheus: � Naruto still doesn�t believe he�s great even
without Kyuubi�s chakra backing him up. I have to change that�

Short and kinda filler, but it was needed. Next one,
there will be more action! ;)

I hope you liked! If you care, drop me a review! :)
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Winter Release