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AUTHOR’S RAMBLING:
I don’t think this chapter…this story in general…makes much sense. But I’m going to finish it regardless, which makes that whole statement pointless. .

AUTHOR’S RAMBLING:I don’t think this chapter…this story in general…makes much sense. But I’m going to finish it regardless, which makes that whole statement pointless. .

This chapter, like the others, hasn’t been proofed. I was just in hurry to post it and didn’t feel like waiting. Hopefully, I’ll get around to that sometime soon, or at least find a beta for my fanfics.

And yay for me. I updated quicker this time. O.o

…So……Right…the story.
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Final Answer
. Four.:.

Naruto closed the door behind him as he left the house. After leaving Sasuke and Kakashi to their thoughts, the boy had went to pay his favorite female a visit. It should not have been a secret to anyone that the blonde was harboring feelings for a certain pink-haired ninja. When last Naruto had seen her, Sakura was set with a cold and was instructed to stay inside and rest for a few days. That being the case, a short visit was in order.

When he had arrived, he could hear voices through the door. From the sounds of things, Sakura had a few guests and they were enjoying each other’s company; he could tell from the laughter that broke out as he knocked on the door. Waiting patiently with his best smile in place, Naruto was prepared to greet his former teammate. What he did not expect was for Lee to open the door. “Ah, Naruto-kun.” The dark-headed boy stepped aside to let the other in.

Sakura was lounging on the couch, stretched across its length with a blanket thrown partially about her form. She smiled at him as he entered, but he did not pay much attention to the action as his eyes found the other blonde in the room. Ino offered him a small wave as he made his wave to the only available chair in the room. Naruto was set to remove himself from the piece of furniture when Lee made his way over to them, assuming that Lee had been sitting there previously. Naruto did not have time to stand, however, before Lee moved over the couch on which Sakura had been lying on.

The girl lifted her legs and the green-clad ninja sat down, her legs falling across his lap. The raven-haired boy dropped an arm atop Sakura’s legs, his other hand--the one closest to her--reached out to stroke her cheek affectionately, gaining a smile from her. She lifted her own hand to meet his and twined their fingers together. It was cute. Even Ino was smiling at the display. Naruto forced his lips to sculpt themselves into a grin, the same grin he would offer on any other day.

He could not say that he was surprised. Naruto had known for some time that the two cared for each other, even if he did not want to admit it. The fact that now they seemed to be together, as that was the only conclusion his mind could seem to conjure up, he had to tell himself that it did not hurt, that it did not even sting a little bit. Needless to say, it almost worked. The blond shrugged it off, promising himself to stop for ramen on the way home.

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The visit was not long. Naruto asked how she was doing and the four ninjas sat around talking about some insignificant event or that. ‘Even if all of it was pointless, it is nice having friends…’ Naruto’s thoughts had strayed from the meal he had just enjoyed to how he felt now that he was not completely alone as he made his way toward his apartment. The blonde had enjoyed another large bowl of ramen and was feeling quite better. It was funny how food lifted his spirits.

Whistling to himself, the blonde turned his gaze toward the darkened sky, stars thrown about, giving the darkness above just a hint of light. ‘There is no moon out tonight.’ For some reason Naruto could not explain, the lack of moonlight saddened him a bit. There was something comforting about it. It was one of those things he chose not to dwell on.

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he barely noticed the figure trailing behind him on the roofs of the buildings the blonde passed by. After some time, when he was halfway home, Naruto had caught movement from the corner of his eye. He stopped, looking around when it seemed whoever it was had gone. The blonde sighed, mentally scolding himself for not having noticed sooner. When he turned to continue on his way, Naruto stopped again. There was a figure standing nearby, staring at him. The person, whoever they were, reminded him oddly of Sasuke.

The man--well, Naruto assumed it was a man--sported an outfit similar to what Sasuke had worn for years. In fact, as the other turned around, the blonde was sure it was his ‘friend and rival’ but something was different. The other was taller, his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. This being was more reserved and his eyes, eyes much like Sasuke’s when using Sharingen, were blank. It was not the type of emotionless gaze you would get from the young Uchiha, whom was trying to hide his emotions. It was more like…this man had no feelings at all. His eyes were nothing more than spheres of emotionless depths. One could only guess they never ended; it was as if they were staring right through the blonde, reading his very soul. Naruto was more than thoroughly unnerved, not that it showed.

It did not take the blonde long to recall the name of the man. “Uchiha Itachi.” The name sounded as if it was spat rather than simply spoken and the man merely laughed. The sound sent shivers down the youth’s spine. The laugh was sharp and anything but amused. If it had not stopped when it did, Naruto was sure he would have visibly cringed.

Itachi took a few steps toward the younger male, watching with shielded amusement as Naruto took the same number of steps back. “Are you afraid of me, little Naruto?” There was something in Itachi’s voice, something the blonde could not remember hearing before. A small undercurrent of amusement laced the usually cold monotone of the Uchiha. If Naruto was unnerved before, it was nothing compared to the uneasiness that was starting to build up in the pit of his stomach. “Fancy running into you at this time. Surely you should be safely tucked away in bed?” The blonde found Itachi standing right before him quicker than the time it took to blink.

Naruto felt cool flesh wrap around the back of his neck. He did not even have time to flinch or scream out before he fell unconscious. Itachi scooped the boy into his arms and carried the blonde off, going back the same way he had gotten there--atop the buildings.

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It had been some time before either Sasuke or Kakashi had broken from their trance. Sasuke was the first to find his way back to reality. Finding Naruto gone and that nothing around the house needed immediate attention, he made his way to his room with not so much as a goodnight to the other person in the room, who might not have heard him anyway. Sasuke took a quick shower and pulled on a pair of black boxers to sleep in. Feeling that was not enough, he added a white t-shirt to his form.

Sasuke crawled beneath the covers, instantly curling into a near-fetal position. It did not take long for sleep to claim him. That was how Kakashi found the boy: wrapped tightly within his sheets, breathing slow and even as he slept. The elder had actually dozed off after Naruto had left and had just woken while Sasuke was showering.

A small smile crossed the jounin’s face as he turned from the doorway. He wandered down the hall, in search of his own shower and nightclothes. He was not as quick as Sasuke had been with the task of showering. He chose to linger a bit, wanting to enjoy the comfort the warm water brought a little longer than was necessary. Kakashi released a soft sigh as he shut off the water. He quickly pulled on his nightclothes, which consisted of a pair of navy, flannel-like pants and a thin, black cotton shirt.

Before heading back to his room, the jounin remembered to make a detour to the living room to retrieve the book he had left there. He grabbed the item and headed back toward the room he was occupying for the night--usually he might have just slept on the couch or not slept at all.

Kakashi settled down in the bed. He opened the book to the last page he had read with every intention of picking up where he left off. A few minutes and two pages later, the jounin’s thoughts strayed to the sleeping boy a two doors down the hall. Kakashi had been ‘guarding’ the young ninja for some time now and nothing of much interest had happened. This was all very confusing to him. Kakashi was not a fool. He was well aware that the Hokage knew more about the situation than she was letting on. But who was he to go against orders, right? As far as he was concerned, the questions could wait until later if they did not answer themselves.

After a good eleven minutes of staring at the same word on the page, the man decided that he was not going to get much read if he was thinking about Sasuke. He figured if he was going to think about the boy, he could do so until he fell asleep. Reaching out, Kakashi set the book atop the nightstand near the bed and shut off the lamp. The man shifted beneath coverings to get comfortable and before he knew it, he was a sleep.

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Lids fluttered as a set of azure orbs opened. Confused and still half-asleep, Naruto looked around, taking in his surroundings. All he could decipher was that he was in a forest. He was wrapped tightly within a cocoon of thick quilts, his legs bound together at the ankles and his hands tied to his chest. The blonde would normally have moved to free himself, but this time he did not. He felt drained; it was as if someone had sucked all the energy from his body. In addition to his lack of energy, Naruto was in pain. His whole body ached.

“Ah, I see you are awake. I do hope our moving about is not the cause. I would hate to think that we woke you when we were trying so hard to be as silent as possible.”

Naruto was startled by the sudden outburst. He had heard nothing until that voice. That cold monotone did not hold any emotion--not even the trace of amusement from before. That voice made him shiver. The blonde quickly turned his head toward the voice. He winced, fore the small movement caused a jolt of pain. Not too far from Naruto, Itachi and another man--if one would call such a creature a man--were standing. It looked to blonde as if they had been sparring. It was hard to tell; neither of them looked to be short of breath. There was not even a sheen of sweat to prove the theory.

As Itachi began to walk toward the boy with his companion following closely behind, panic began to set in. Naruto began to struggle with the bonds with what little strength he could muster. Itachi watched, his face expressionless. The Uchiha’s companion knelt beside the blonde, his expression much like Itachi’s.

The two waited patiently for Naruto to still. The youth was out of breath and it wall he could do to keep his eyes open. He did take a moment to study the man kneeling beside him. The man’s skin was discolored-a light turquoise hue from what Naruto could see. Another few seconds of observation left the blonde’s brow creasing. Are those….? ….Yep. Those are gills. The blonde had to laugh, despite the situation. The man-whom he would later find to be named Kisame-reached out a hand toward him.

Naruto’s muscles tensed instinctively and he had to bite down on his tongue to keep from screaming out as the urge to do so arose. He did not even notice that he had begun to tremble. The shaking was sudden and he did not have time to process it. A groan escaped Naruto’s lips. A sharp pain shot through the entirety of his form as Kisame removed him from the blankets and cut the bonds from his ankles and arms. He wanted to scream. Every fiber of Naruto’s being called for him to yell in pain. If not for the tightening of his throat, he would have.

The pain was intense. It felt as if a pair of hands were wrapping themselves around his organs and poking at them, squeezing them. Naruto was on the outskirts of consciousness. His eyes widened for just a second as the pain reached its worst. Just as quickly as it started, the pain ceased.

A pair of arms that had wound themselves tightly around the blonde’s midsection loosened their hold. Naruto pulled himself to a sitting position. The boy raked a hand through messy yellow strands, rising to a stand almost mechanically. After using his hands to dust at his clothes, the blonde turned his azure gaze to Itachi. The pupil seemed to have been sucked in by he liquid blue of hi s eyes; it no longer existed. The matching set of orbs regarded the Uchiha with bored nothingness. The stare was returned by the elder. In fact, if one did not know any better they would be certain the gazes were the same in every respect but color.

By this time Kisame had risen and was now resting against a nearby tree. His gaze remained on the others, though his gaze hardly left his partner for long. He seemed to always be watching the dark-haired man, even if unnoticeably from the corner of his eye. Kisame observed how the two watched one another, neither moving except to cross their arms over their chests. Naruto had the same look and air about him that surrounded Itachi constantly. He felt as if Itachi had been separated into two bodies, only one being his own. Kisame watched on in silence as the two began to converse. Neither said very much.

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Sasuke was sweating profusely. The expression on his face was one of emotional anguish. A shadow fell over the sleeping boy as the man knelt at his bedside. Pale digits shuffled damp strands of ebony from the boy’s forehead. Itachi’s lips twitched. It was almost a smile, but just barely. There were images that floated through the man’s mind. He was seeing everything that Sasuke was dreaming. In fact, he was the one triggering the memories. Some were good memories, things Sasuke wanted to remember, things he wanted to return to, a life he wanted to return to. Some were really just nightmares, things Sasuke had blocked out and locked away. Others were just confusing.

Itachi had been staring at the boy for a while, watching the various emotions that flitted through the other’s expression. He remembered Kisame telling him countless times that he could go about his plan in a simpler way, but Itachi was not satisfied with the idea. He wanted the boy to relive his entire life. He wanted Sasuke to feel the happiness he retained in childhood years only to shift into the pain he would feel later. Most of all, Itachi wanted the boy to feel the torment that only came with certain pleasures of life or the need to escape loneliness. Those were the kinds of thoughts that did nothing but confuse the boy.

The man leaned forward, his lips making brief contact with Sasuke’s forehead. Itachi stood, taking but a few more moments to watch his brother. “Sweet dreams, Sasuke.” With a whisper, he was gone.. Part Four.:.

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AUTHOR’S RAMBLING:

I realized I said ‘house’ a lot when Sasuke should be in an apartment. At least, I think it was an apartment in earlier chapters. Forgive that. I live in an apartment and often refer to it as ‘house’. It’s a habit. It’ll probably never change.

This chapter took longer than I expected. It’s a lengthier than the other chapters, which was my goal (2200 words instead of the usual 1500 that I somehow manage to never make or just barely go over). In fact I went over my goal. Even better. I’m getting use to writing longer chapters. Hopefully the lengths will continue to increase. Though, I expect I’ll throw some really short chapters in when I just really want to work on the story and don’t have many ideas. Depends on how long I decide to make this story.

In the next chapter, I think I have got to mess with Sasuke.
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