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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
- 1
- 2
- 3
Edited:14/04/2011
Cepheus:this is the second chapter, slightly longer than the first. Akatsuki has appeared, or at least Itachi and Kisame did. :P things might get complicated soon, but I hope I’ll be able to follow through with the original timeline… though not completely, of course.
Enjoy!
Ah, right, there will be some side pairings, though the spotlight will be with Naruto and Itachi. Possible side couples are Shino/Kiba and Neji/Shika, with possible mentions of KakaIru (though nothing big) and Lee/Gaara or Lee/Sakura, depending on how the fic itself goes. Anyway, it’s nothing you should concern yourself with as they might only be mentioned and that’s it.

…–…–…–…–…–…–…

Rating: M
Warnings:yaoi, boy x boy relationship, angsty, torture, and such. Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

“Talking”
‘Thinking’
–Flashbacks, memories, dreams–

…–…–…–…–…–…–…

Winter Release
Chapter 02: Reaction

Fright slithered through Naruto and clawed at his chest as he stared up into the burning hells that were the man’s crimson eyes; the very person he had thought he would not meet for the following three years was right in front of him, glaring down at him with emotionless eyes.
The one person that Sasuke wanted to kill so badly he had deserted his village after trying to murder his best friend.
Uchiha Itachi.
Akatsuki was here.

…–…

Hastily scrambling away from the figure standing still in front of him, Naruto choked on the waves of fear washing through him, unable to think.
This was the one person who had defeated with ease even someone like Kakashi –who was considered a genius in Konoha– and that had made it into the ANBU at thirteen. There was no way for Naruto to even think about fighting him –he wouldn’t make it if Itachi wanted to attack…
Naruto was not stupid. Itachi was way above his league…
To say he was scared would have been an understatement… he was totally and utterly frightened.
The feeling wasn’t unknown, as every time he met someone way stronger than him, he could feel the gap between their strengths and thus be afraid –it had happened with Zabuza, during that mission of long ago, then it had happened with Orochimaru and Gaara, and then, twice with Itachi.
But like this… this was ten times worse. Just by meeting that deathly stare, the complete absence of emotions, the confidence and the coldness those eyes exuded… Naruto knew that Itachi would not stop until he completed his mission –and that was to take Naruto away.
He’d do anything, even cut Naruto’s arms and legs away if that meant the teen would not escape him… Naruto was painfully aware of that, because that first time, when the fish–face had proposed exactly that, Itachi hadn’t said no.
Nothingmattered to Itachi, nothing at all.
Naruto was cold.
Everything that had happened before, his friends searching for him, the ANBU revealing his secret… everything was forgotten, blurred away in his panicky mind… because he knew, he knew, he knew he was doomed.
He was alone somewhere in the forest surrounding Konoha, and even he didn’t know where. No one was around, no one would know if Itachi took him away… he’d be gone, and nobody would even know where he’d disappeared to, or why…
Would anybody care? Would anyone feel bad if he were to disappear like this? Or would the village be glad he was gone, be glad that the threat of the Kyuubi was finally taken away from them? They would be glad, because… because no one ever acknowledged Naruto as a person instead than as the demon. He was hated, so maybe… no one would really care…
Naruto shook those thoughts away, because he couldn’t dwell on this now. No self–pity, not now, not ever. The only thing he could do at the moment was run, run away and try to reach Tsunade.
Yes, she would help him, and Jiraiya as well. ‘The two of them would miss me!’ he cried to himself, in distress, as he tried to force his body to move. ‘They would care… they do care! Iruka–sensei too!’
He had to move, to fight the fear, because he didn’t want to lose the ones he cared for. Because he cared, and he knew (he wished) they cared too.
“Well, what a pleasant occurrence, Naruto–kun,” Itachi’s voice caused Naruto to freeze.
It was not cold. It was not warm. It was… nothing. The voice was void of any emotion, any tone, and it was chilling in its emptiness. Crimson eyes were looking down at him, the commas of the Sharingan intensifying in the glare.
But really, it wasn’t a glare, because glaring would have meant showing some kind of emotion, which he was not. Itachi looked hollow.
A black hole.
‘No!’Naruto shook his head forcibly and he stepped back, shaking, gritted teeth, fist clenching and unclenching, breathe ragged.
“Don’t try to run, Naruto–kun,” Itachi said, tone almost pleasant if not for the chilling lack of emotion. “I don’t want to start chasing you around”.
There was a low undertone of warning in his words, but Naruto did not care.
He backed away more, eyes darting around to see if there was a chance for him to run, panicking even more when he felt a surge of chakra coming from behind him. He turned and in shock saw another figure, taller than Itachi but wearing the same black cloak, visible in the snow falling around them like a dot of ink on a white paper.
He had seen the other man once already, the same day he’d met with Itachi. ‘Tsunade obaa–chan once said they move in pairs,’ Naruto’s mind reminded him. ‘I wonder how they can do it if they are nine’. He had to call himself idiot for that one, but his mind could come up with really stupid things in the most inopportune moments.
His brain tried to focus on the situation, ignoring anything else. He knew he couldn’t fight, hell, even if it was only one of them he couldn’t hope to land a blow.
‘They will kill me,’he thought trembling, blue eyes flashing from one of the two silent and unmoving figures to the other. ‘Not here, but they will kill me if they catch me, and I can’t do a damn thing against it… no! I don’t want to die!’
He wanted to live. He didn’t want to sacrifice his life for his friend, no matter what Sasuke wanted, and he seriously didn’t want a stupid organization to extract the demon from him –not if he’d die because of that! Being freed from the demon would be nice, but not in exchange for his life.
Seeing his friends in the village, before, playing around with them, having fun for the first time in a long while… it had filled him with happiness. It made him feel like he belonged somewhere, finally.
And now, he risked losing everything because of a stupid demon…?
No.
He wouldn’t let this happen. He wasn’t a coward, he was going to become the Rokudaime Hokage one day! He couldn’t let someone like Itachi, or the fish–face guy either, try to stop him or kill him.
All they wanted was the Kyuubi inside him. all they cared for was extracting the demon.
Like the villagers, like that ANBU before… they were all seeing the demon, they never saw Naruto behind that. The person behind the demon.
Well then, he would show all of them that they were wrong –that they were underestimating him. he’d show them that Uzumaki Naruto was more than that stupid fox demon.
He was positive, always had been, through his childhood and even afterwards, he had looked up and hoped for the best, because he believed in himself, and he would make things change. Of course he wouldn’t give up now, would he?
Never.
“Try me,” he said, smirking –a shaky smirk, but one nonetheless.
As an answer, he got a raised eyebrow courtesy of Itachi, while the other one, Fish–face (Naruto really didn’t care about his name, at least not in such a situation) extracted the lump on his back and unsheathed a giant sword by unrolling the soppy bandages. Naruto gaped at it, in awe at the size of the weapon once again.
It was… well, its name spoke the truth. Samehada, skin of shark. It was not a blade per se, but a collection of scales, or pieces of skin. He’d never really seen it in a fight, but Naruto would bet a stock of ramen that the smallest contact would give him a shocking damage.
Not to mention the other power the sword had… the ability to suck chakra, which he had indeed experienced once on his own.
Naruto knew there was no time to waste there.
He had to run now.
“Can we at least cut an arm, or something, Itachi–san,” it didn’t sound like a question, much more like a demand. Fish–face’s voice was deep and husky, almost if he was looking forwards to spilling some blood.
Some of his blood, Naruto had to inwardly add. Which only made it worse.
Itachi stared at his companion without bothering to reply, and the other simply shut up. It looked like Itachi scared off his own companions as well as his enemies…
Naruto crouched on all four, praying to be lucky enough to manage to escape and reach Tsunade, not knowing anywhere else to go; he was in the forest, an environment that he felt comfortable into, snow or not, and that was an advantage.
Though he had to consider the weather.
To say that it was snowing harder would be an understatement, because it looked like a storm was building up, and as it was, Naruto could barely see behind Itachi’s back –and the Uchiha shinobi was barely a few feet away from him.
Naruto bit down on his lower lip; in order to get away and use the snow at his advantage, he’d have to use a set of skills that he had grown to hate. When he’d been much younger he had used them without thinking, but after learning about Kyuubi, things had changed.
He was human, yes, but he was the vessel of a fox demon. Growing up, he had discovered having slightly advanced hearing and sense of smell –not overly so, but enough to help while running away from enraged villagers after he pulled one of his usual pranks.
After seeing the people around him react viciously to his enhanced senses, Naruto had stopped using them, feeling that if he was treated even more harshly because of them, maybe they were not worth using, in the end.
After finding out of his tenant, of course, Naruto understood where these particular skills came from.
He did still use them if he had to, especially since he couldn’t just tune them off at will –but as the source of this power was not his own, he had felt better forgetting about it entirely.
Right now though, in a life-threatening situation, he needed all the help he could get, and he was not above using something he had received from Kyuubi, either.
He jumped.
Crimson eyes followed him as he flew in the air, landing on the lowest branch of the tree that was right above them, grabbing it with both hands and pulling himself upwards, briefly concentrating and closing his eyes.
He was running, and this time it wasn’t a matter of cowardice, because his opponents were on a completely different level; he would never hope to beat them, not with his current strength and chakra… asking Kyuubi for help wouldn’t work either, not because the demon wouldn’t give him the power if asked (after all, Akatsuki would kill the demon, too, during the extraction), but simply because the cold affected the Fox too.
With the cold, he wasn’t sure he would be able to use those powers.
No, he had to get to Tsunade. Trying to think rationally, Naruto quickly weighted his options; using his enhanced senses and his familiarity with the forest, he would maybe get to Konoha safely… using Kage Bunshin no jutsu wouldn’t be an option either –he’d only waste chakra, since Itachi could use his Sharingan to detect the real Naruto between the copies.
No, Naruto wasn’t stupid.
If anything, Naruto learned with practice, on the field, not on books. The fact that he acted boisterous and often reacted without thinking didn’t mean he was a fool –he was just too hasty.
Still, if he kept his profile low, the probabilities of having the villagers attack him were lower, so he had allowed himself to fall into an easy pattern –he hadn’t truly cared at that point, and then, with time, he’d fallen deeply into his mask, until even Naruto himself had started to believe it.
It was easy to be convinced of being stupid when he was told the same thing over and over all day, with villagers whispering behind his back, and even the teachers at the academy withdrawing information from him.
For years, Naruto had managed out, barely scraping as a ninja, but now, with so many enemies out to get him, with Sasuke away from Konoha to get more power by borrowing it from Orochimaru, with everything he was going through…
Naruto was slowly changing to fit in with the dangers he was encountering.
Masks of cheerfulness and idiocy were forgotten as he jumped from tree to tree, all noises dulled out by the snow covering the world around him.
As he jumped, Naruto kept his eyes close; he would be lost within the storm if he were to open them, so he relied solely on his other senses.
His nose caught on the scent of the two Akatsuki members that were following him –the distinctive scent that he filed away for later– so he tried his best to mask his chakra, suppressing it as much as he could; it wasn’t enough –he was still a Genin, and the only one with a good control in his team was Sakura– but at least, if he was lucky enough, he could gain a few precious seconds.
It was hard to hear something, with the snow rushing in his ears, falling from the branches and onto the ground, the wind lashing against his face in harsh, raging blows, and the noises of his own movements amplified whenever he landed and crouched and jumped again –he concentrated on every single sound, increasing his speed with every step, fighting to be as inconspicuous as possible…
Landing on another branch he almost slipped, grabbing the bark with his fingers and hissing out as he realised they had grown numb from the cold.
His attention went outwards again when a chakra pulse suddenly appeared somewhere in front of him; it couldn’t be Itachi’s, nor Fish–face’s, because they were still somewhere behind him. a part of him stiffened at the familiar feeling, but he was too caught up in his running to pay attention.
Hopeful that the person in front of him would be able to help, Naruto managed to speed up some more.
He opened his eyes when the chakra signature was at less than a few feet away from him, and through the snowstorm, he managed to recognise that the figure, a black dot amongst the whiteness around, was an ANBU.
The moment he landed in front of the man, who was observing his surroundings, the mask set in place, Naruto was hit by two thoughts.
First –the fact that he could sense Itachi and the Fish–face clearly as the two chased him down was strange; they were not masking their chakra at all… and that was against all rules about hunting a prey.
Maybe it was simply self confidence, but the fact that someone his level could still sense them this clearly… he shouldn’t have been able to, which meant they wanted him to.
They were playing with him. Chasing him around and knowing that no matter how far he could go or how fast he could run, they would still get him in the end.
And…
They knew their own strength, and knew that whoever was there, they would be able to take him on evenly.
Second– the ANBU in front of him had the same mask as the one who had revealed his friends about Kyuubi. He was the Usagi.
The ANBU member, protected from the harsh wind and snow by his mask, glared hard at the teen that had appeared in front of him. It was not enough he’d met the demon back in the village, and had to face the Genin who had been so deeply deceived by the monster to even dare calling him their friend… now during his patrolling (he had lost track of the two intruders and was looking for their chakra signature) he was again disgraced by his presence.
“You–” he started, venom in his voice, but then, he felt an unknown chakra approaching and stilled.
With the chance of being helped gone, Naruto did not waste time thinking about the ANBU anymore; with the Akatsuki playing cat and mouse with him, he didn’t have to stay around a man who uselessly hated him. There was no time.
Besides, any second mattered, and he had no intention to be defeated or captured. Even if he was afraid, even if against Itachi he was weak…
He would never accept defeat.
He jumped forwards.
An alarm went off in his head as his attention snapped to the right, only to see something coming his way so fast it was nothing but a blur. He reacted instantly and using his hands to prop himself upwards he managed to evade the blow, barely escaping from what he could now recognize as the sword of Itachi’s partner, Fish–face.
That thing absorbed his chakra, and he abruptly suppressed his flow so not to let the sword steal it –Kami knew if he would need every single ounce of it.
As he floated in midair for a millisecond, eyes darting around, trying to discern where the attack had come from, the sword moved again, aiming at his head again.
‘Damn,’he thought, knowing he would not avoid it.
He prepared his arms for the hit and the blow sent him flying against a tree, his back slamming hard against the trunk. The pain racked through his body, and it hurt like hell, but there was no sound of snapping bones.
That was ok. He could still run.
He slumped down, sinking in the snow that was now reaching his hips. He was damn cold –he hated snow. He hated winter. His body was number than normal, and it also worked against Kyuubi’s fire.
Blue eyes stared down at his hands, that were frozen and stiff, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to do any hand seal like that; he wondered if Itachi and Fish–face would have trouble moving because of the cold, but quickly dismissed the stupid thought. They were surely above mundane problems such as freezing because of the cold…
‘Kuso kuso kuso kuso,’he cursed over and over, grimacing.
He stood up again, blinking to clear his vision, but this time he was unable to see, hear of sense anything. The cold was finally getting to him, his senses mixing together, lost in the storm and the whiteness.
‘No… I must focus,’he scolded himself as a wave of dizziness hit him.
He tried to pinpoint the position of the ANBU even knowing the man would not help him; he would at least give him a sense of depth, so he could realise where to go… and damn it, he was basically alone against the two Akatsuki members, and the only person around would not help him at all.
Shit.
Then, a figure stepped out from the twirling snow.
Looking up in a flash, Naruto faltered slightly when he met a pair of crimson swirly eyes.
Kakashi–sensei’s words returned to him full force. “Don’t look at him in the eyes!” followed by the memory of what had happened to him and Sasuke… but it was too late.
Naruto observed in rapture and mock fascination as the Sharingan swirled and bled crimson, the charcoal commas moving in a circular pattern, almost calling him, lulling him into a weird state of calm…
His heart was racing in his chest, but the rest of the world was strangely dulled out, and there was someone calling his name somewhere, but it was so faint, far away, and he wasn’t in the snowy forest anymore then, he was–

…–…–…–…

Tsunade arrived at the gates a split second after the usage ANBU had disappeared from her office, and was instantly overwhelmed by the heavy, penetrating smell of blood.
She ran close to the walls, heart clenched painfully in her chest, ignoring the wooziness that hit her at the putrid scent; she was able to control her phobia for blood, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t affected by it anymore.
Snow was falling more heavily now, but she was still able to notice where the body of the second ANBU was.
It stood clear against the white snow on the ground, blood drenching his candid outfit, mask discarded a few feet away from the unmoving body. Tsunade knew at first sight that the man was dead, but she nonetheless crouched at his side him to dutifully check his pulse, or at least to see if there was some remains of chakra that could help her understand what the cause of his death was.
The body was slashed pretty badly; it was a gruesome sight since the man was unrecognizable, his face almost scratched away, and she fought the bile down at the disgusting stench of blood.
One arm was missing, she thought faintly as she stood up, looking around to see where it had ended. ‘Oh, there it is’ she spotted it underneath a tree, almost completely covered by snow.
The cut had been neat, right on the main vein just above the elbow; the fingers were still holding tightly onto a kunai, rigid and unmoving. It was a gruesome sight. He had been attacked and killed shortly after having spotted the two unknown shinobi, probably after his companion had left to report the Hokage about them.
Tsunade swallowed twice, shaking away her nausea and closing her eyes, concentrating in order to feel any suspicious chakra that could still be lingering around. She just hoped Naruto was fine and safe at the hospital, because if they were really Akatsuki members, like the description suggested, they had to be kept away from the teen.
“Tsunade!”
There was a cloud of smoke and Jiraiya appeared at her side, glancing around with narrowed eyes and grimacing a bit at the sight of the lifeless body on the ground, the grimace growing when he noticed the lack of an arm on the corpse.
Taking in the surroundings, the legendary pervert frowned, knowing that the news he was about to deliver would only serve to anger Tsunade more.
For once, his smug expression was gone, replaced by concern and worry, and the way he assessed the situation, without smiles or fake happiness, was disturbing in its seriousness; he truly looked worth of the name of Sennin.
“Naruto’s not at the hospital,” he reported her once teammate.
Tsunade gasped loudly, shifting her whole attention to him. Jiraiya spoke before she could open her mouth.
“I talked with a nurse, she reported having eavesdropped on two patients talking and heard they were going to sneak outside to play –she thought it would be better to let them out to enjoy the snow,” he grimaced again. “I wanted to have a look around for them, as Naruto might be there too. It looks like Akatsuki took on an independent attack”.
Tsunade’s shoulders relaxed slightly as she nodded at him curtly, “I’m going to hunt down the intruders. The rest of the ANBU will come shortly, and Kakashi and Gai have been warned”.
Jiraiya nodded and disappeared again.
The storm around her increased in strength, and Tsunade’s expression returned impenetrable; this was a real storm, and it would be working against her. At least, the storm would make things hard for Akatsuki too… she could use it to her advantage.
Tsunade looked around, noticing the snowing was more and more harsh. This was turning into a storm, which wasn’t good for both them and the Akatsuki.
After what felt like ages, four chakra flared up at her side, and she turned around sharply to look at them; two were ANBU members, and the other two were Gai and Kakashi, both looking serious and focused.
“Tsunade–sama,” Gai called her. “What’s happening?”
Kakashi remained silent, his eye noticing the body on the ground before fixing on her again; he had been interrupted in his personal time with Iruka, something he hadn’t appreciated, but the moment he saw the dead ANBU and the blood, Kakashi realised this was by no means a hoax.
At his side, Gai vocalised his shock with a loud gasp, and he stood straighter, waiting for instructions.
“Akatsuki was seen close to the gates,” Tsunade stated, refusing to look at them and keeping her eyes on their surroundings.
Kakashi’s single visible eye widened, but other than that, he did not show his surprise at the news; Gai stilled, his mind lapsing back to the last time the Akatsuki had been sighted –it had ended with Kakashi in the hospital for a few days after having received a full Tsukiyomi by Itachi’s Mangekyou Sharingan.
“Naruto?” Kakashi asked, tone urgent.
“Jiraiya is looking out for him,” Tsunade answered, not looking at either of them. “Let’s go”.
While the ANBU waited for instructions, Gai, Kakashi and Tsunade closed their eyes, stretching their senses to catch any hint on the two Akatsuki members’ whereabouts. A split second later a strong burst of chakra flared up not too far from their position; Tsunade, who had never met Itachi before, couldn’t recognise it but was rather surprised at its strength, while Kakashi and Gai recognised it instantly.
“Itachi,” the silver haired jounin hissed.
Tsunade sharply twisted her neck to stare at him. “This is the older Uchiha?” she was amazed, but then again, it was expected from a genius shinobi such as Itachi was.
They hurried towards the chakra signature, running swiftly through the snow, unfazed by the storm and the cold wind –it was slowing them down a bit, but they were all seasoned ninja and had already been caught in similar situations before…
The snow was not enough to stop them.
“Tsunade–sama, I feel another chakra signature together with that of the two Akatsuki,” Gai looked at the Hokage, frown evident on his face –hell, anything involving his eyebrows would be evident.
“What?!” Tsunade concentrated on the signatures. He was right, she could feel it too –a chakra flare weaker than the other two, but that was pulsating in a different way.
‘Please, not Naruto,’she pleaded inwardly, suddenly afraid. ‘I don’t want to lose someone I care for again… I won’t let this happen!’
What she saw when she got close enough, though, sent her heart in a frenzied pace, making Tsunade freeze on the spot.
She could barely see through the storm, but there were four figures there; one was wearing an Akatsuki cloak and held some sort of giant sword in his hands. The second shape, much to her surprise, was the ANBU that had alerted her about the intruders. Usagi was standing there, his chakra masked enough that the incoming squad could only feel it at this close distance, not moving at all, just staring at the last two figures, barely visible.
The third was obviously Itachi –the resemblance with Sasuke striking enough that Tsunade would have been blind not to recognise him– and the other was…
“Naruto!” she cried, tone filled with anguish.
Naruto was in a bad shape; his lips had a blue tinge to them, and as she looked him over, she could see the signs of overexposure to cold in the tenseness of his shoulders and the tips of his fingers. She belatedly realised that maybe the cold affected him more due to Kyuubi, and being a Medic–nin, Tsunade could easily see that any more time spent in the cold would worsen his situation.
Unfortunately that wasn’t the worst –Naruto was looking straight into Itachi’s eyes, and the incoming group of Leaf–nin could only stare ahead with dread filling them, recognising the Mangekyou Sharingan spinning wildly.
“No! Naruto!” she cried out again, drawing the attention of the other Akatsuki shinobi and that of the ANBU on her.
‘Why would Itachi use the Tsukuyomi on Naruto?!’Kakashi wondered, staring in shock and worry at the scene in front of him. he had been on the receiving end of that attack, and Sasuke, too, and neither of them had been able to stand the technique (especially not the Uchiha, who had not been trained to resist to torture), and now… Itachi was using it on Naruto?!
Clearly, Itachi was making sure Naruto wouldn’t be in any shape to run away from him again.
Seconds ticked by, as if the world had turned sluggish, then Itachi blinked and looked away, the Mangekyou shifting back into the normal Sharingan.
The moment he did so, the blond teen slumped limply on the snow, falling on his knees with an empty gaze, blue eyes glazed off, body trembling.
“Naruto, no!” Tsunade finally lunged forwards, wanting nothing more than to reach her little adopted brother and protect him from the Akatsuki, but the second member of that organization, the one Kakashi had called Kisame, moved in-between them, sword pointed at her.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, remembering what Kakashi had explained to her about the chakra–absorbing properties of that weapon.
“I’d suggest you let Itachi–san have his way with the Kyuubi vessel, Hokage–sama,” Kisame grunted, lips stretching to show a threatening smirk, pointy teeth glinting maliciously.
Then, he attacked, sword swinging towards the woman.
Tsunade reacted instantly, slamming her fist on the sword; both Tsunade and Kisame were pushed backwards by the resulting collision, and the smirk on the man’s face faltered as he analyzed her physical strength; she was clearly enhancing her strength with chakra, but not outwardly, so he wouldn’t be able to suck it out from her without allowing her contact with the sword, and with that strength… she would probably manage to crack it before Samehada could absorb her chakra.
Kakashi and Gai quickly moved to her side. “Go to Naruto, Hokage–sama,” Gai offered, body tense in preparation for the fight. “We will be enough for that prick!”
Tsunade nodded as Kisame’s eye twitched in annoyance –he wasn’t a prick!
As the shark–looking man and the two Jounin stared impassibly at each other, waiting for the opponent to make the first move, Tsunade moved towards Itachi and the trembling Naruto, right in time for the Uchiha man to shift his attention to her, eyes emotionless and cold.
Recalling what Kakashi had stated, and what Jiraiya had seen from their encounters with the Uchiha, Itachi could only use Tsukiyomi once, because it caused a great effort on the body and a loss of a good amount of chakra.
Tsunade was a medic–nin, and knew enough of Genjutsu to be able to take on any illusion this man would throw at her –because of that, and the reassurance that the Mangekyou wouldn’t make another apparition now, she was able to look at him straight in the eyes, showing no fear.
Her worry was concentrated on Naruto, who had yet to move, his empty gaze scaring her the more she thought about it; she had to get to him, and fast.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Tsunade–sama,” Itachi murmured, voice chilling cold and barely reaching her in the storm.
The Hokage straightened her back, glaring at him. “I can’t say the same, Uchiha Itachi”.
With that, Tsunade readied her fist and lunged towards him.

…–…–…–…

None of the teens present could say a word as they looked at Naruto running away, their eyes moving from him to the ANBU, who was still there, also looking at the blond disappearing in the distance.
They were taken aback by the revelation, and it was truly the last thing they had expected to hear.
The ANBU had said that Naruto was the vessel of the demon that had attacked Konoha thirteen years before. The same demon that Yondaime had given his life to supposedly banish from the world forever?
But if it was sealed within Naruto, then what they knew had always been a lie…?
The ANBU grunted and shook his head, staring at them. “Do you see what I mean? He deceived all of you,” his voice was almost smug. “Now you know the truth –he is nothing but a monster”.
Since they were far too shocked by what they had been told, none of them knew what to say against the ANBU.
The only one who stepped forwards to face the man was, surprisingly enough, the one nobody would have expected to be able to do something like that –Hinata.
“Y–you’re wrong, Naruto–kun isn’t a monster!” she blushed slightly, but her tone soft but firm, and as she spoke, she didn’t stutter even once. Even Neji was taken aback by her fierceness, but there again, Hinata had always cared about Naruto. “Even if… even if what you said is the truth, it still does not mean Naruto–kun is a monster! He is strong and nice and has a big heart. He’s saved all of us more than once, and Sasuke betrayed Konoha, while Naruto has always fought loyally for the village… if anything, the real monster it’s you! Naruto–kun is the nicest person I’ve ever known!”
Although taken aback by her harsh words, the ANBU didn’t seem touched by what she had said, and laughed harshly at her. “You will realise soon enough that you are wrong, Hyuuga–san”.
And with that, the ANBU disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Hinata stood still, panting hard for her outburst, cheeks flushed and heart racing wildly in her chest, embarrassed but at the same time proud of herself for standing up to that man.
She had meant every word. She admired Naruto, and not only because of the major crush she had on him… he was strong and caring, and never backed down from a challenge, no matter how strong the opponent or how dire the situation.
He had managed to defeat the Sand–nin Gaara, protecting Konoha from the demon, then had helped Neji, allowing him to give up on the resentment her cousin felt towards her and the whole Hyuuga clan. He had even managed to befriend the Uchiha, even though Sasuke had still betrayed the village in the end…
Even if Naruto hosted a demon inside him, that didn’t mean he was a monster.
If anything… if anything that made him even stronger. If he could still smile and act like nothing was wrong, if he could still fight and stand back up, Naruto was stronger than any other shinobi Hinata had ever met before.
He could understand Neji because they both had a seal on them. He could understand the Sand shinobi because they were both vessels for demons. Sacrifices…
Suddenly aware of the silence that had dawned upon the group, she turned around in a flash, white eyes glinting dangerously as she stared at her friends, shifting her attention from one to the other to gauge their reactions to the news.
Kiba was biting his lip so hard it was bleeding, and his eyes were filled with anger, but Hinata wasn’t sure what to make of it. Whether he was angry at the ANBU, at Naruto, or at himself, she couldn’t know.
Next to him, Chouji had stopped eating, the potatoes scattered on the snow, eyes slightly wider than usual, and face pale. He wasn’t looking at anything in particular, eyes unfocused on the ground.
Shino… Shino looked the same as usual, eyes hidden behind his glasses, and Hinata couldn’t see enough of his face to understand what the teen was thinking, and yet… his fists were clenched tightly at his sides, displaying some sort of strong emotion he could not completely hide.
Neji was standing there, tense and stiff, lips fixed in a thin line, eyes wide as he stared at the ground as if it held all of life’s answers. He wasn’t moving, but the way he was fighting to control himself was testament enough of the emotions battling inside him.
Lee was trembling, staring down at his clenched fists with determination in his black eyes, but even though Hinata could read many emotions flashing in them, she couldn’t understand what he was thinking.
Last was Shikamaru. He was staring at her with the usual bland, almost bored expression, but his eyes were sharper and the corner of his mouth was twitching as he pushed his hands in the pockets of his coat.
He was the first one to speak, and as if right on cue, the moment he opened his mouth the snow started falling harder on them.
“Let’s go back to the hospital,” he muttered. “There is no point in staying here anymore”.
Everybody looked at him in shock, feeling the commanding underline in his voice. Hinata felt her muscles relax slightly at his tone, but as she was about to say something, Kiba beat her to it.
“After everything we heard… after everything that happened to Naruto… that’s the only thing you can say?!” he growled with bared teeth. “How can you be so calm about it?!”
He stomped forwards and grabbed Shikamaru by the neck of his coat, but the taller teen simply let himself be shaken around, not even lifting one eyebrow.
“This is so troublesome,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Is us staying here going to help Naruto in any way? Are you angry at him, Kiba, or are you angry at the ANBU? Or worse… are you angry at yourself now?”
Kiba let him go, backing away as if scalded.
“Wha…?” he stuttered, looking away. “O–of course I’m angry at Naruto… that bastard, hiding something like that from us… we’re friends, are we? We wouldn’t abandon him because of that. And…” he growled, ruffling his hair in distress. “I’m angry at the fucking ANBU for how he treated Naruto, and for his words… he had no right to say that”.
And most of all, Kiba was angry with himself. He had let his delicate teammate handle yelling at the ANBU while he remained in the back, acting like a coward.
Shikamaru simply smirked, while Chouji didn’t say anything, simply bowing to retrieve his chips from the ground, mourning for the ones that had fallen out of the bag.
“You knew already, am I right Shikamaru?”
The lazy teen and the rest of the group turned towards Neji; the teen was still staring at the ground, but his fists were trembling slightly, and he was clearly barely restraining himself. Shikamaru did not reply anything to disprove Neji’s words.
“You… you knew…?” Hinata asked tentatively, her hesitant speech pattern coming back full force. “Why… why didn’t you tell… us, then?”
Shikamaru shrugged, looking at them straight in the eyes, clearly showing no regrets.
“What was the point? This was nothing I had to be involved with. Naruto is my friend, and knowing his secret did not change it, just like knowing the Hyuuga family treats Neji like a slave doesn’t make me treat him any different. If Naruto didn’t want to tell us, that was his choice”.
When he finished talking he grimaced, not liking having to talk so much in one sitting. He was much better at thinking than at explaining, and that was too much effort.
Taking a deep breath, he concluded his speech. “We all have our secrets. It’s not like we have to know everything about someone to be friends with them… he was afraid we would reject him for this…” he paused. “Did this make any of you want to stop being his friends? Does this change anything, in the end? He suffered from someone else’s actions and hid his pain, and still was able to smile”.
‘How. Damn. Troublesome…’he groaned inwardly.
“No! Of course… no…” Hinata mumbled, though she had already expressed her feelings before, with the ANBU. “Naruto–kun will still be the same nice person… to me”.
“I still think he’s a troublesome bastard, just like before,” Kiba growled, shaking his head. “At least now I know what is the weird scent I smell on him at times… fox, damn it, that’s why I always felt like I wanted to bite him…” that last part was added in undertone so none of the others heard him.
Shino said nothing, but he slowly uncurled his clenched fists. Unknown to the others, a trail of bugs flew away from him, disappearing from view, not at all disturbed by the rash snowing.
Neji was the most troubled by what had happened. Now he knew why Naruto had looked so touched by what he’d said at the Chuunin exams. Because he could understand. His hadn’t been just empty words… Naruto could truly understand what Neji felt.
And still, instead of growing resentment like Neji had, Naruto had simply smiled against all odds, moving to trounce every obstacle in front of him.
‘The next time I see Naruto… I will have to thank him properly for his words, for what he did… for his help,’he thought, a new purpose set in mind.
Chouji started eating again, unfazed. It didn’t really matter to him –Naruto was a good eating companion with whom he could make exciting ‘who eats the most ramen’ races. That was good enough for him.
The loudest reaction, as expected, came from Lee. He jutted his head up, crying out, tears streaming down his cheeks, “Naruto–kun!” he brought his fists up to his chest. “You are really the personification of the Flame of Youth! I admire you so much! To bear such a strong hatred while still showing your youthful smile… that is, indeed, the Burning fl–”
“Tell him that when you see him, you stupid,” Kiba groaned.
Hinata smiled a little. “I think… we should do what Shikamaru said…” she murmured. “It’s snowing hard… but I want to find Naruto–kun…”
Lee wiped his tears away and patted her softly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry! Naruto–kun can take care of himself! We will wait for him in his room at the hospital to show how we respect his Flame of Youth! And to reassure him that we are still his friends, no matter what!”
She nodded, blushing for his direct speech.
She wished she could do that too… talking without hesitation.
‘Naruto–kun, trust us, we really care for you…’ she thought warmly as she followed her friends.

…–…–…–…

It was all black.
Not simply dark, but pitch black.
It was as if the entire word had been dyed in ink. The colours were… wrong. Unfocused, switched.
There were no sounds –no wind, no rustles, nothing; the silence was so complete it was almost haunting, unreal… as if he wasn’t standing in the real world anymore, but somewhere else, somewhere false and wrong.
There was no snow anywhere. There were no trees, just a long expanse of barren land… and he was alone… alone with Itachi.
He blinked, trying to move. What had happened? One second he was half covered in the cold, white snow, and the next he was…
His arms couldn’t move. He looked at his sides and found he was tied up on some kind of wooden cross, and his eyes snapped wide open –when did this happen?!
This situation was all wrong. Wrong and–
“It seems like you still don’t understand, Naruto–kun,” Itachi commented, attracting the teen’s attention to him. “You are trapped in an illusion created by my Sharingan… Tsukiyomi”.
Naruto glared at him, trying not to show the fear mounting inside him. If this was an illusion, he couldn’t get really hurt… What was the meaning of telling your opponent –more like prey?– that you had him caught in an illusion?
“Here, time has no meaning… I can repeat an action for hours, even days, and in the real word not even a second would pass by… that’s what I am going to do with you, Naruto–kun, since you thought it would be fun to run away –it wasn’t polite of you”.
What Naruto thought that moment could be easily summarized with a‘that guy really is out of it –damn, I’m stuck with an insane killer!’
He tried to remember if he knew how to break a Genjutsu, but he came up with nothing. That’s when Itachi stepped closer, his crimson eyes, the only thing that was not black, staring into his own without blinking.
“Three days, to feel hatred,” Itachi stated.
A split second later, images started to flash in the blond teen’s mind, painfully wrenching through him, as sharp as needles, each one stabbing him deeper and deeper. The pain was almost unbearable, not just physical, but mental as well, and it was growing stronger, harsher and more violent with each minute.
The glares of the villagers
The look in every mother’s eyes as she hushed her child away from him
The whispers
The hatred
The villagers insulting him for no apparent reason
“We hate you”
“Monster!”
“Stay away from us! Demon!”
A man trying to stab him
More glares, more whispers behind his back
And then, Mizuki–sensei
“You are the fox demon”
“You are the Nine Tailed Demon… that killed Iruka’s parents and destroyed the village”
“We hate you”
“Monster”
“They all lied to you, all the time, over and over again”
“Nobody will ever accept you”
“No one will care”
“You are a demon”
“You are nothing”
“No! Stop!” he cried, shaking his head, trying to stop the memories, the scenes, but they mercilessly continued, hurting him, never stopping, never faltering.
He tried to back away, but he couldn’t move
Couldn’t breathe
Couldn’t think
“Stop! Please, make it stop!”
Minutes, hours, days.
The memories continued, more hatred, more pain cutting him deeply, and he cried, he kicked, he screamed, tears falling down from his eyes, until he could no longer cry, he could no longer scream because his voice was gone…
But the pain continued on.
Until the word finally faltered and slowed down, and the moment Naruto thought he would not be able to take any of it anymore…
They were gone.
The black world.
The images.
The pain.
The voices.
All of sudden he was cold again. A different sort of pain caused by snow rushing against his body without warning, the abrupt return to a world where he could feel air and sounds again confusing his shattered brain.
His body hurt –everything hurt, from the tip of his fingers to his head to his lungs. He was trembling, unable to control his body, and it hurt so much he could barely keep himself standing.
He felt like he had spent months in that darkened world, drained out of all his energy, both mentally and physically…
But he was deaf to anything going on around him, too focused on the anguish.
“Monster…”
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Cepheus:so, how was this chapter? Please review and tell me what you think!
As an ending note, this won’t turn into one of those super powerful, super smart, invincible Naruto. He will be slightly smarter thanks to him growing up and learning things, but he’ll still be the same Naruto we all love. I hope you appreciate it. :)
Kuso– means shit. It’s a typical Japanese swear word.
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Winter Release