"I don't believe you."
She should have known something was drastically wrong when an ANBU had knocked on her clan's door. Good news had never been delivered by ANBU.
She should have known something was drastically wrong when she was escorted to the Hokage's office, and was greeted by a shell-shocked and tearful Sakura.
She should have known something was drastically wrong when Hatake Kakashi escorted Kiba and Shikamaru in minutes later, his lone eye unreadable.
The Hokage had sat with her back to them, facing the village until Kakashi had brought the two boys in. She had swiveled to face them, expression stony, and shattered Ino's world.
"Last night, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto defected to Orochimaru's Otogakure," Tsunade declared.
The words hung heavy for what felt like an eternity, ringing through Ino's head like a claxon. That's not possible, she thought. We were just together the other day. They had gotten dinner and made their way up to their spot on top of the Hokage monument. He had only listened to her on and off, but he did that from time to time these days. He's always so wrapped up in his training, she thought, a familiar fondness for her boyfriend creeping up.
Distantly, she could hear Kiba yelling something. At Sakura? She paid it no mind.
We have plans today, she remembered. They were going to get lunch whenever he broke with Jiraiya, and she was going to do her best to draw him out of the gloom he had been in for the past few weeks. He's been so on edge since he brought the Hokage back.
She glanced at the Godaime to find honey brown eyes fixated on her, undisguised pity all too easy to see. Suddenly, the room snapped back into clarity.
Kakashi had managed to hush Kiba, a firm hand on his shoulder, but the feral boy was still growling like Akamaru. Shikamaru looked pensive – which would have been normal if the usually present undercurrent of boredom hadn't been replaced by tension in his shoulders that Ino had never seen before. Saukra was still a mess, tears running freely down her face, though she was silent.
Ino returned her eyes to the Hokage. "I don't believe you." Her voice was clear, belying the creeping panic that had set her heart racing in her chest at the reminder of the Godaime's words. "He couldn't – he wouldn't leave us." Leave me. She pushed the memories of his newfound distance and reticence away. "He hates Orochimaru," she said, and knew it to be the truth.
Tsunade's lips thinned. "Our Barrier Corps team brought us the information this morning. Sasuke's chakra signature exited the village at roughly twenty-hours-thirty, before returning briefly. Just before twenty-one-hundred hours, Naruto and Sasuke exited the village together."
"I followed him," Sakura said weakly; Ino spun to face her old friend. "Sasuke-kun had been acting weird for weeks. Orochimaru did something to him during the Chunin Exams, he wasn't thinking straight. I…started keeping an eye on him a few nights ago, and last night he packed a bag and headed for the gate. I tried to stop him but he…he knocked me out," she finished around a sob.
He came back for Naruto, Ino realized. Her fist clenched at her side. "He must've been trying to stop him!" she burst out, whirling to face the Hokage. "We need to send a team after them!"
"What happened to the team?" Shikamaru asked before the Hokage could respond. Ino turned, only to see one of her oldest friends looking more stricken than she had ever thought possible. "A recon team is dispatched after any barrier disturbance is recorded," the young chunin said, voice analytical even as his face was ashen. "What happened to them?"
It was Kakashi who answered. "I found their bodies this morning," the jonin said. "When the official report came down, Hokage-sama sent me in pursuit. The chunin team had been dead for hours by the time I found them. Their bodies had damage consistent with both Sasuke's and Naruto's techniques."
"No," Ino whispered. "That's not true. He wouldn't!"
Tsunade pushed a slim file folder forward on her desk, nodding for them to take a look. Ino rushed forward and threw it open, Shikamaru and Kiba hovering over her shoulders. She picked up a print of the markings on one of the very clearly dead shinobi.
She winced at the sight of a naked woman's torso with deadly damage all too visible. Deep, purple bruises pockmarked the washed out skin, but the cause of death was easy to see. Fine, twin slashes intersected in the middle, like an 'X', and went so deep that Ino was surprised the torso was still in one piece.
Her stomach turned as she recoiled, and not at the image in front of her. She had seen similar damage more times than she could count ever since Naruto had been gifted Asuma's trench knives.
Ino dropped the photo to the desk and stumbled back a step between the two boys. They rushed forward to get a better look at the pictures, but the blonde wasn't paying attention to them anymore.
Why would he do this? To us? To me? We're a team. We're best friends. We're supposed to be together! He was her rock, the foundation on which she had been able to lean ever since Asuma had died. He was the one who listened when her parents dismissed her. He was the one who calmed her when she was anxious. He was the one who kept her steady when she faltered. He was the one who would always be there.
"Believe me, if you don't believe yourself."
Her vision began to blur and it took a moment for Ino to realize that she was crying. The realization hit her over the head like a hammer and suddenly she couldn't stop the tears. A muted cry left her lips as sobs wracked her body, and she would have collapsed to the ground if not for Tsunade appearing at her shoulder.
"Easy, girl," the older woman soothed. Ino felt herself drawn into an embrace. She clutched at the Godaime's vest like a lifeline and buried her head in Tsunade's shoulder, trying harder than she had ever tried before to hold back the scream that was tearing itself from her lungs.
"Kakashi, take your team," she heard the Hokage instruct from miles away. The sound of her tears drowned out whatever noise Team Seven made as they exited.
How could he do this? she thought as she was guided to and set in a comfortable chair. Her eyes cleared enough to see the Hokage sitting across from her, hands steeped before her face, and the reality of where she was and what was going on struck her like a physical blow.
She wiped at her eyes desperately, trying to regain some semblance of decorum in front of her village's leader.
"Hokage-sama," she began, and managed to hold back her sobs. "I'm sorry for my outburst. It won't happen again."
Tsunade waved her off. "This is understandably…distressing news. Normally, your jonin sensei would work with you in similar situations. As it stands, I'm here to answer any questions you two may have today."
Just today, Ino thought. The Hokage had far better things to do than console two genin. I wish you were here Asuma-sensei.
"I'm gonna kill him," Kiba growled. "Both of 'em."
She whirled to face her teammate, a biting retort on her lips, but stopped dead at the sight of him. He was sat in a chair just like hers, his hands clenched so tight that she could see blood beginning to seep through his fingers. Her anger evaporated at the sight of unshed tears in his eyes, and she reached out for his right hand. He let her take it without a fight, and she slowly began to unwind his claws.
"Is there anything we can do?" she asked the Hokage softly. "To get him back?"
The Godaime surveyed her with a stare that pinned her in place. "As of now, no. We have a hunter squad tracking their whereabouts. Both Naruto and Sasuke have been classified as nuke-nin. A-ranked for Naruto; B-ranked for Sasuke."
"Kill on sight," Kiba said, all the fire gone out of his voice. Ino contained a whimper.
"That's correct."
"Is there…is there any chance there's a mistake?" Ino asked.
Tsunade paused, eyes flickering back and forth between the two genin. "Based on the information we have, it's highly unlikely. But there's always a chance we've missed something."
So no.
"Was there any indication that Naruto was discontent? Any odd behaviors? Deviations from how he normally acted?" the Hokage asked.
Kiba shook his head mutely while Ino considered. "He was…distant. Ever since he and Jiraiya came back from, well…"
"Getting me, yes," Tsunade finished with a slight smile. "Go on."
"He would zone out sometimes – he always did, really – but more when he came back. He seemed…anxious," she finished, wracking her brain for anything that could help.
The Hokage was silent for nearly a minute, electing to observe them. Ino kept a vice grip on Kiba's hand, doing her best to steady herself, the question why burning its way through her mind.
"How much do you know about Naruto's condition?" Tsunade finally asked, voice grave.
"You mean the Kyuubi?" Ino said.
"You know, then." Tsunade nodded to herself, appearing to make a mental note. "Did Naruto ever mention the word Akatsuki to either of you?"
Ino met Kiba's confused gaze. "No," he answered for the two of them.
"They're a group of S-ranked nuke-nin. One of their goals is to capture the nine biju. Naruto ran into a couple of their members when he was looking for me."
"S-ranked," Ino breathed while Kiba swore under his breath.
"My dream, my goal, is to someday be able to content with S-ranked shinobi," he finished with his head held high.
"There's more to life than just being stronger than the rest of us."
Naruto's first words as a member of Team Ten rattled through her skull, as did her own words to him what felt like a lifetime ago now. "That's why he left," she said. Why he left me, she realized.
"Orochimaru has been interested in Naruto for some time, apparently," Tsunade picked up. "He contacted him during the Chunin Exams with an offer of allegiance. They interacted again a few weeks ago. It was clear that my old teammate was doing his best to drive a wedge between Naruto and the village."
"He's never liked the villagers," Kiba said, and Ino very nearly hit him. "Can't say I blame him. They've treated him like shi-er, garbage," the Inuzuka finished with a slight flush.
"Because of the Kyuubi," Ino chimed in, giving Kiba's hand a meaningful squeeze. Her own opinion of Konoha's general populace had been taking hits ever since Naruto had told them about his host. It was only made worse by how they treated him in the wake of the invasion. She could only imagine what Naruto thought of the hypocrisy.
"Regardless of reason, it's safe to assume that Naruto harbored some ill-will toward Konoha given his childhood?"
Ino closed her eyes. "Yes," she answered through her teeth, and was entirely grateful for Kiba squeezing her hand in support. "But he was promoted because of how well he defended the village!"
"I'm aware," Tsunade soothed. "There are no easy answers here, unfortunately. The reality is that Naruto is gone, all signs point to defection, and there's a viable explanation as to why leaving would be an acceptable option for him."
"Your comrade, Sakura, said she spoke with Uchiha Sasuke before he left. He said he needed to cut ties with everything that had been holding him back. Did Naruto mention anything similar? Is it possible he and Sasuke think similarly?"
Ino squeezed her eyes shut at the very thought of Naruto telling her the same. "No. We're…" she trailed off as tears threatened to reassert themselves. "He was my boyfriend," she whispered.
Real sympathy crossed the Hokage's face at her words. "I'm sorry."
"Him and Sasuke have been friends for years," Kiba piped up. "Always used to train together back at the Academy. Still did, I think."
"I see." Tsunade was silent again, observing them.
Do I really mean so little to you, Naruto? Ino thought, and she was powerless to stop the tears that began to flow freely down her face. Unbidden, her fist clenched as a burst of anger shot through her. Did I mean nothing to you?
The anger left as quickly as it arrived, replaced by a dull ache of longing that made it harder to breathe. "Is there…is there any chance of him being brought in alive?" Ino asked.
"If he surrenders. We'd much rather he be brought in to answer for what he's done," the Hokage said.
"Fat chance," Kiba bit out. "Not after what he did to that team. He's not coming back without a fight."
Ino squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, helplessness, anger, and soul crushing sadness each warring for dominance. I need to get my shit together, she thought violently. I'm useless like this.
It was just like it always had been. When the going got tough, she froze. He had been the one who told her everything would be alright.
And now he was gone.
"I know you, don't I?" he offered with a quirk of his lips. Blinking once, he turned his gaze outward to the village. "When we first became a team, you said that Asuma talked to you and it changed something. You said you were gonna work harder and you did, right? When you say you're gonna do something you do it." She nodded against him. "Well now I'm talking to you, and I'm saying you're not gonna freeze next time you get scared. I want you to say it, Ino-chan," he finished, turning his eyes back to meet Ino's burning gaze.
"If you have any more information you think is pertinent, contact Kakashi. As of now you've both been placed on administrative leave until we have a clearer picture of what happened. Talk to your families; they'll be there to help you with this every step of the way."
She felt herself nod and rise at the implicit dismissal. "Hokage-sama," she said with a small bow, and turned toward the door.
"Say it."
"I…I won't freeze up next time."
"Next time what?" he prompted.
"The next time I get scared," she whispered, their gazes locked.
Naruto nodded. "Now make it a promise."
"I promise I won't freeze up next time I get scared," Ino said with finality. A grin broke across Naruto's face at the proclamation.
I'm gonna find you, Naruto, Ino thought as she and Kiba made for the door. And I'm gonna drag you back here. And you're gonna be sorry you ever made me feel like this.
He looked at her seriously, locking eyes once more. "You can't break a promise, Ino-chan. It's not allowed."
I promise.
/~/
The door to her office hadn't even fully clicked shut before she had opened her drawer and drawn out her favorite bottle of sake. She poured a cup with deceptively steady hands and tossed it back, uncaring that it was only lukewarm. She poured another and set it on her desk, replacing the bottle in her drawer.
Tsunade allowed herself a single, heavy sigh that carried the weight of her last conversation to escape her. Placing her hands on her desk, she circulated her chakra, and gratefully felt the tension in her shoulders and back begin to abate. "Small mercies," she muttered with relief.
A quiet knock at her door heralded Shizune's entrance. "Tsunade-sama…I saw the genin on the way out," she said. Having known the woman practically since birth, it wasn't hard to catch the reproachful undertone.
You'll understand soon enough, Tsunade thought. Shizune hadn't lived in a hidden village in over fifteen years; she had been a child the last time they had been here. The tenuous nature of their situation would be made apparent to her in time, but for now, "Introduce yourself to the Inuzuka and Yamanaka. They'll need all the support they can get," she said, the idea striking her.
"I–now, Tsunade-sama?"
"Yes, now. I won't get into any trouble while you're gone, I promise." She toasted her student with her cup of sake and a sardonic smile. The black haired woman favored her with an exasperated grimace but said nothing, turning on her heel and disappearing back out of the office.
She'll be good for them. God knows, if she can handle me for fifteen years… Shizune cared for people in a way that did a credit to her medic-nin training, and Tsunade was glad her rampant cynicism hadn't managed to rub off on the younger woman. It would surely be put to the test given their situation now, but her student was one of the most mentally strong people she knew. Far stronger than me.
She made a half ram seal, channeled her chakra, and was rewarded with a blue-ish green flash of light around the doorframe. "Report."
Jiraiya materialized from nowhere to her right, and his body language told her everything she needed to know. His broad shoulders were noticeably slumped; his very presence, normally so gregarious and imposing, drawn in on itself. He's never looked so defeated, she thought, concern for her teammate almost overtaking her. She reached out a hand and laid it on his arm silently; he gripped it with one of his own so tightly it was almost painful before he swept himself away from her.
"Nothing. Whoever was covering their tracks did a bang-up job," Jiraiya said, dropping heavily into the armchair Inuzuka Kiba had vacated not five minutes previous.
Tsunade considered her teammate for a moment. "You're sure–"
"Yes, I'm sure it was a kidnapping, hime." Jiraiya shook his head. Was he this lost after Minato? she wondered absently. "Naruto wouldn't leave. Not like this. Not to him."
"You know I have to ask."
Her teammate nodded, running large hands through his unruly hair. "Yeah…just doing the job. I get it."
She pulled her sake back out and poured him a cup that he took without hesitation. "You know there's nothing you could've done."
"And ain't that the rub?" Jiraiya growled. He tossed the sake back easily and put the cup back on her desk; she refilled it. "He's been listed, then?"
"A-ranked."
"Kill on sight. Fucking snake played us perfectly."
"You think this was his angle from the start?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "The invasion was its own plan with its own goals. He wanted to weaken us and kill Sarutobi-sensei. He couldn't have foreseen the opportunity to kidnap Naruto from the start. He's not omniscient."
"But he is an opportunist," she finished. She poured herself another cup for good measure.
"And I can't help but feel like we're playing right into his hands by listing Naruto."
"What choice did we have?" Tsunade asked rhetorically. "He's labeled rogue and he at least has the opportunity to turn himself in if he escapes. We don't, and we tell everyone in the village, spies and all, that we're ripe for an infiltration."
Jiraiya nodded gravely. "The big picture. Fucking politics." He took down his second cup in one gulp.
"We can't sustain any more losses, either to morale or otherwise. You know the clans will be up in arms about their bloodlines if they think we can't protect them. We don't need another Hyuuga incident."
"And if the other villages get wind of one of our most valuable shinobi being taken from us they'll be banging down our door," Jiraiya said. "Either trying to steal secrets or to wipe us out entirely."
"Unacceptable either way." The illusion of strength was often more important than strength in its actuality.
"We have hunters looking for him?"
"One team. We're short staffed. All available ANBU are being filtered into Operations until we replenish the ranks." Which was a double edged sword for Naruto's sake. Fewer hunters meant he'd be less likely to be killed by Konoha ninja, but it also meant he had fewer opportunities to be found at all.
"They won't find anything unless it's a team of Inuzuka. Kakashi's hounds tracked them to the border of Rice Fields and no further," her teammate said. "I couldn't find a trace of them past there."
Not for the first time did Tsunade marvel at her old teammate's growth and ingenuity. The fact that he was able to get to and from the border – easily ten hours' hard travel – with such speed was remarkable. It also begged the question, "You came back fast." It wasn't like him to give up so quickly. Especially not where his godson was concerned.
Jiraiya glowered at her. "There's nothing to find, Tsunade." She knew the anger in his voice wasn't for her. "I have a team of toads scouring the countryside looking for clues, but they won't find anything. Best I can do for him is tapping my network for any leads on Orochimaru's movements. He'll have gone dark, but it's the best chance we have."
A thrum of compassion softened Tsunade's expression and she wished, not for the first time, that there was more she could do to alleviate her friend's pain. "You need to rest, Jiraiya."
He shook his head. "You don't have to worry about me."
"Someone has to. And since you're no good at worrying about yourself, that leaves me."
He favored her with a tired smile that was more heartbreaking than reassuring. "I am resting, hime."
"Scouring your network for clues that probably aren't even there yet isn't resting," she said, but knew she was fighting an unwinnable battle. "What do I have to do to get through to you?"
The hint of a lecherous grin peeked through at the edge of his lips, and she nearly cheered. Can't keep him down for long, she thought fondly. "Wellll we could…" he trailed off, pausing in surprise that she hadn't shot him down on principle yet. She raised an eyebrow and he shook himself, looking startled for a moment before settling. "Doubt even that'd get my mind off it, no offense to you, of course."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and withheld her smile at managing to draw even a semblance of her friend's usual countenance out.
"How'd the kids take it?" Jiraiya asked, back on topic, but with more life in his voice.
She shrugged. "How did you take it when Orochimaru left? The Inuzuka is about ready to rip him limb from limb, but that's to be expected. You've dealt with their pack mentality. The girl was distraught."
Jiraiya winced. "They were close."
"Clearly. Can't say I feel good about crushing the hopes of genin. They'll hate him, eventually."
"And they'll hate us even more if we get him back," Jiraiya said.
"I can't exactly plan for that, now can I?" she asked rhetorically. I can only afford to take the world as it is, not how I wish it to be. Jiraiya only shrugged.
"Guess not. I'll take that problem in the long run."
"They didn't know about Akatsuki, only the Kyuubi," Tsunade said, remembering a conversation she and Jiraiya had had once she'd started getting up to speed on all of Konoha's dirty little secrets.
He rewarded her with a pensive expression, his chin falling to his palm as he leaned forward toward her desk. "Interesting…"
The Godaime sipped her sake silently, allowing her friend to puzzle through his thoughts for a few moments. "You said he only mentioned them to you recently?"
"After we had a run-in with Itachi, yeah." Jiraiya shook himself, face settling into a fascinated curiosity that Tsunade had become familiar with during the Second Great War. "He spilled a pretty crazy story to me. I believed it, but it raised a lot more questions…"
"You mentioned. Itachi giving him forewarning of Akatsuki's movements."
"It got me thinking just what the kid would be like if he hadn't been told. Which got me thinking as to why he didn't bother telling anyone before me."
Tsunade frowned. "He was a kid. Probably didn't think anyone'd take him seriously."
Jiraiya grimaced, biting his lip. "But that doesn't fit with Naruto. He doesn't care what people think of him if his life's at stake. He trained with Gai back in the academy to improve his taijutsu. He was badgering Sarutobi Asuma constantly enough that the man gave him elemental chakra training as a genin. He was clearly trying to prepare himself, but he never told either of them what for, and he trusted Asuma implicitly. He never went to Sarutobi-sensei either."
"What're you getting at?"
"He only told me after he fought with Itachi, if it could be called a fight. Itachi was disappointed in his progress, apparently."
Tsunade refrained from rolling her eyes as Jiraiya's gist struck her. "You think he did something to him? Placed an impulse with his Sharingan?"
"Would be a good explanation for why the kid made his life significantly harder by not telling anyone who could realistically help him," he said. "Itachi probably worried about his deception being exposed if Naruto blabbed to too many people."
"So he helped him along, gave him a warning, and covered his tracks," the Godaime muttered. Using genjutsu to influence a person's thoughts was fairly low on the list of esoteric abilities that clan had possessed. The Sharingan's multitude of abilities really were only limited to the creativity to the Uchiha in question, and Itachi was nothing if not a creative genius.
To place so subtle an impulse at so young an age… She contained a shudder at the thought of the infamous nuke-nin being so calculating at thirteen years old. Not for the first time was she glad to learn that the renegade Uchiha was, technically, on their side.
"What're his chances? Realistically," she asked, and hated herself for the dark look that passed over her friend's face. But she needed to know. Their conversation with Danzo was only days ago.
"Of living? High," Jiraiya started. "Orochimaru doesn't want him dead. He wants a lieutenant and a student. Bastard always was jealous of me getting to train Minato…Worst case, he wants him as a bargaining chip if the Akatsuki comes after him, but he'd have to be far gone to give Naruto up now that he's got him. He's worked too hard for him."
"And of escaping?"
Jiraiya sighed. "Not great."
"He's strong. You said it yourself," Tsunade soothed. "He's his father's son."
"He'll need his mother's strength for this," Jiraiya said. "You weren't around much then and never got to know Kushina. That woman…her will was something else."
Her thoughts tracked back to their battle with Orochimaru on the plains. To the indomitable spirit she could see bubbling behind Naruto's ferocious attacks. To the utter contempt he had for her for not mastering her own demons enough to help. "I believe in him," she declared.
"He needs to believe in himself," her friend told her. "He's in a place where we can't help him now."
/~/
He came alive gasping for breath. Darkness greeted him, a low, flickering light the only reprieve. Blue eyes blinked hurriedly, adjusting to the dimness after a few moments of bleary confusion.
With clarity, however, came panic. "Kabuto!" he gasped, his last memories of consciousness asserting themselves violently. Muscles firing, he vaulted himself upward, only to rapidly discover that his muscles weren't working the way they were supposed to.
Naruto tumbled from the small bed he had rested upon bodily, crashing to the floor with a grunt. What the…He pushed himself to his knees, bizarrely straining to support his weight with his arms as he shoved himself upward. "This isn't right," he muttered, feeling his heartbeat begin to climb.
With effort, he leveraged himself back onto the bed and crossed his legs underneath him. Focus, Naruto! he commanded himself. Mind working in overdrive to piece together his situation, he steadied himself.
Jiraiya-sensei had always stressed his situational awareness, and his eyes darted around the poorly lit room with fervor.
The lone source of light was a candle set upon a small, round table back and to the right of where he sat. It flickered weakly, providing only enough light to cast shadows across the walls. Two chairs sat by the table, though no one sat in them.
A bookcase was nestled against the room's back wall. It was empty, looking unused, but Naruto's sharp eyes could find no hint of dust on the shelves. Which means someone's been here recently. Wherever here is.
The room held no other furniture, and was only slightly bigger than his bedroom in Konoha. The walls were cast a deep brown in the low light, but Naruto could clearly see they were made of welded stones, rather than wood. He looked down and the floor was much the same, a series of much smaller stones creating the almost tile-like surface he had collapsed on. Probably not Fire Country, he concluded. No one would go to the trouble of shipping stone to build a structure when there was more wood than anyone knew what to do with.
Doing his best to remain calm, Naruto took a deep breath, luxuriating in the cool air that filled his lungs. I'm underground, he realized. The air wasn't quite stale, but it was far from fresh. Or in a cave…
He glanced to his left from the bed, the singular door that was clearly made of the same stone as the walls looming large. A prisoner's first duty is to escape. His aborted attempt at standing was fresh in his mind, however, as was the ease with which Kabuto had dropped him.
Naruto centered himself with another breath, closing his eyes and drawing up memories of Yamato's chakra control exercises that had been assigned to him before the third stage of the chunin exams. He ignored the escalating drum that was his heartbeat, and tapped into his chakra.
Or tried to, at least. Blue eyes snapped open in alarm at the disjointed mess that greeted him when he channeled his life essence. "The fuck…?"
He squeezed his eyes shut again, reaching for the feeling of his chakra that had been his constant companion since he had entered the academy. Oceans greeted him, but when he reached out to mold them, it slipped away from him like he was trying to grab ahold of water.
He gasped at the unfamiliarity of his own chakra, his heartbeat now almost deafening him. He felt his breath quicken even as the ability to hold air in his lungs was suddenly much more difficult. His hands came up reflexively in a cross-shaped seal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" he gasped, pushing his chakra with all his might, willing the jutsu to work.
A burst of smoke greeted his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. It sank once more, however, at the sight of the lifeless body that collapsed onto the floor before the smoke had even cleared. The useless clone looked sickly, a pale imitation of the original as it struggled for breath and writhed on the ground.
It disappeared in smoke a moment later, no memories forcing their way into Naruto's mind. No connection.
Breath coming in short pants, the blond slammed his eyes shut again, haphazardly grasping at the life essence in his coils. He dove deeper through the mess, mind awhirl trying to do that which had been second nature for years. He reached deep within himself, looking for the malevolent presence that had nipped at the fringes of his awareness ever since that fateful day in Wave Country.
He found nothing.
No rage. No corrosive, bubbling red chakra. Nothing but an endless sea of blue.
His eyes opened once more and he gripped the edge of the mattress with shaking hands. His chest heaved with each breath, but it felt like no air was coming into his lungs.
His trump card was gone.
"Where is it?" he wheezed.
"The Kyuubi?" a smooth voice whispered from Naruto's right. The blond jerked at the unexpected sound, eyes flying to the table. No. Not him… "Still very much within you. Just…out of reach for the moment."
The light of the candle flared, casting the room into a sudden clarity that had Naruto shielding his eyes. He blinked rapidly, tears welling up, and wiped at them furiously even as he slid as far away from the familiar voice as he could.
His vision cleared after a moment, revealing a placid nightmare. In the light of the candle, Orochimaru's pale skin looked almost warm as he sat casually at the table, one leg crossed over the other. Long fingers were steeped together in front of his face, a look of such satisfaction glittering in his yellow eyes that Naruto could almost feel it saturating the air.
"Welcome, Naruto-kun. It's been a long time coming," the sannin hissed. "And finally…here you are."
Naruto felt his knuckles go white as he gripped the thin mattress. The snake lowered his hands, revealing a small smile splitting thin lips. The sannin looked pleased, if not smug; like he was simply happy that Naruto was here, and nothing more.
And why wouldn't he be? The blond reached out with whatever meagre chakra sense he had given how scrambled his system was, and felt nothing. Nothing at all. He wouldn't have even known Orochimaru was there if he hadn't been able to see him.
No chakra, no Kyuubi…
"What do you want?" he asked, finally, once it had become clear that Orochimaru wasn't planning to break the silence. It was nothing more than a strangled whisper, and he cursed himself for the utter weakness in his voice.
The smile widened into a grin, perfectly white teeth somehow gleaming in the low light. The sannin licked his lips and Naruto barely withheld a shudder. "Have you forgotten our conversations already?" he asked. His voice was as thick as honey, like a cat's purr, and altogether unfamiliar from what Naruto remembered of him.
The blond blinked, and lucidity struck for a moment. Can I even…His chakra scrambled as it was, Naruto shut his eyes and, through force of will, centered himself. He inhaled, focused his mind, and gripped as much chakra as he could get ahold of. He only managed it for a moment, and gasped aloud as he felt his ears pop.
"Well done!" Orochimaru complimented, eyes alight. His voice was no longer smooth, but reedy, rasping, and higher pitched; just as Naruto remembered. "I didn't think you capable of dispelling genjutsu in your state."
"What do you want?" Naruto repeated, his own satisfaction at breaking the subtle genjutsu washed away in an instant.
"Have you forgotten our conversations already?" the sannin parroted. The blond glared impotently, gritting his teeth as Orochimaru simply spread his hands, palms up.
"Nothing that you won't be willing to give, in time, Naruto-kun. Of that I can assure you. The more pressing question is what do you want from me?"
Memories from the chunin exams clawed their way to the forefront of Naruto's mind. "I don't want anything from you," he declared, echoing himself from what felt like a lifetime ago.
"So you say, my friend."
Naruto very nearly flinched. "We're not friends."
Orochimaru chuckled, a low sound that seemed like it was caught in his throat, his eyes never leaving the blond. "Not yet. Jiraiya called it 'speaking something into existence.' I never gave him credit for it, but I must say he was right in his own, bumbling way. What are friends but two individuals benefitting from their association with each other?"
"I don't want anything from you!" Naruto screamed. He felt his throat tear slightly at the vehemence in his voice, clinging desperately to his one truth even as despair at his situation began to claw its way into his mind.
"What have I told you about yelling?" the snake sannin rebuked softly. His face was blank, and Naruto recoiled as heavy, oily chakra suddenly suffocated him. He's gonna kill me, he realized frantically, the image of his body being devoured alive by a massive snake flashing in front of his eyes. He saw himself screaming silently, inch after inch of his legs sliding into the snakes open maw. He felt his legs begin to burn as venom ate through his skin and into his bones.
The hellish vision disappeared without warning a moment later, leaving the blond breathless and shaking. "It is simply impolite," Orochimaru finished so calmly that Naruto wondered if he'd imagined the feelings.
No, he thought with even more trepidation. He's just that good.
Unbidden, his mind flashed to Jiraiya's hidden shrewdness, to Tsunade's stares that looked right through him. He's running circles around me. And there's not a fucking thing I can do about it.
He ripped his eyes away from the waiting sannin with effort and inhaled sharply through his nose, trying with all his might to center himself and find some semblance of equilibrium to no avail. His heartbeat was too high. His palms were too sweaty to even grip the mattress beneath him. His whole body shook so badly that, distantly, he was surprised he hadn't vibrated himself off the bed.
He had been kidnapped. His chakra was useless to him. The man in front of him was so far beyond him that it was laughable. His body was too damaged to fight. He was just as outclassed with his mind.
But it didn't matter.
The will that had thrown itself against the Shukaku without hope for success reared its head as he realized just how broken he must've looked. He had to fight.
Naruto's shaking stopped as the familiar veil of singularity settled over him. This was just as much a fight as any he had ever been in.
He turned back to Orochimaru with eyes like ice to see the man with a small, patient smile on his face. "Very good, Naruto-kun. Now we may speak as equals."
The blond didn't bother to acknowledge the absurdity of the words. "I won't serve you," he declared.
"You have far more to gain than to lose by working with me," the sannin said.
Working for you, Naruto corrected. "You won't kill me. You said so yourself."
"You're correct." Orochimaru grinned, teeth gleaming. "I abhor waste. And your death would be a terrible waste indeed. But in answer to your first question, I want to liberate you, my friend. I want to give you the life you deserve."
The blond scoffed, but the snake ignored him. "Free of the shackles Konoha places on you every day. Free of the Akatsuki seeking to destroy you." His head cocked to the side, considering. "Tell me, how often are you looking over your shoulder for those cloaks of theirs?"
Red clouds on a black sky that meant his death. He remembered Itachi and his helplessness in Shukuba Town.
Naruto didn't bother to answer, feeling the point hit home. Even so, "You want me to destroy your enemies for you."
"Our common enemies."
"Konoha isn't my enemy."
The grin turned into a smile so condescending Naruto almost growled. Pity shone in the older man's eyes as clear as day. "They are every bit as much your enemy as they are mine. They spurn you at every turn, deny you your heritage, even set a jonin to contain you if you show a hint of your tenant's chakra."
The blond was shaking his head before Orochimaru had finished. "They were protecting me." His conversation with Jiraiya played back in his mind.
"With a former ANBU captain who specialized in subduing jinchuriki?" A single eyebrow rose at Naruto's momentarily stupefied expression. "You were aware of your second sensei's abilities, no? Yamato, you called him." The sannin leaned back in his chair, at ease as the blonde's mind spun. "The Mokuton was feared for many reasons, but the Shodai's ability to combat bijuu was legendary even among them. You think he was assigned as your sensei by chance?"
There are no coincidences, the age old shinobi adage rang in his head as Naruto replayed the events leading up to Yamato's death. He had used a jutsu that drained the Shukaku of its power. He hadn't paid it any mind given the circumstances – and certainly hadn't dwelled on it in the aftermath – but now could only try to keep his expression neutral as he fought the twisted feeling in his stomach.
"And so you see. All they seek is to control you, to bind you to them completely," the snake said.
"And you don't?" Naruto returned, pushing away the emotions churning in his gut. "You kidnapped me. Brought me here."
Orochimaru chuckled again, the sound in the back of his throat making Naruto's hair stand on end. "I did no such thing. Dear Kabuto took a rather…liberal interpretation of my instructions. No, my friend. I knew that one day you would seek me out of your own accord once you had seen the truth of Konoha's deceptions. I am not, however, averse to you being brought before me…sooner than expected."
"They didn't lie to me," Naruto said weakly.
The sannin snorted a laugh, and it was so foreign an outburst that Naruto started at the sound. "A lie of omission is still a lie, Naruto-kun. Whether about the beast contained within you or your father who put it there, they lied to you. And they did so for one reason and one reason only: control. Your sacrifice saved them and they spat on you for it. So long as you were ignorant they could control you. Fed information piece by piece to keep you obedient; subservient. You would be the same as every other jinchuriki: a weapon to be used and discarded at the whims of the village."
They didn't! They wouldn't! he ached to scream. Jiraiya wouldn't do that! he thought, only to stop himself. Whether Jiraiya would have or wouldn't have was irrelevant. By design or not, the man's absence in his life for nearly thirteen years was an implicit endorsement of everything he had experienced. Even if he hadn't agreed with the villagers' treatment or the Sandaime's omissions, he hadn't done anything to change them.
Blue eyes found Orochimaru's waiting form sitting patiently, content to just observe him. He's playing you, Naruto, he told himself. But he's not wrong, a traitorous part of his mind whispered.
He banished the thought with all of his will. "Two wrongs don't make a right," he said shakily. "They wanted to use me? So do you. Even if you're right, you're no better than they are."
"I've never lied to you," the older man returned easily, leaning forward. "But, for the sake of not speaking in circles, I will concede your point. I wish for you to work for me. I wish to teach you. I wish to unlock the potential that is roiling just beneath the surface of your already considerable abilities. And yes," he said, licking his lips with a tongue too long. He grinned a grin that made Naruto want to sink into the floor and run as far away as physically possible. "I wish to obliterate our enemies from the face of this earth with you as my lieutenant."
Orochimaru leaned back once more, steeping his hands in front of his face. "What that leaves you with is an opportunity to learn. To learn enough to never have to look over your shoulder again in fear. You need only accept," he said, hands spread openly.
"And if I don't?"
Naruto could feel the man's answering smile. "What will you do? Return to Konoha? Plead your innocence? I'm afraid your words would fall on deaf ears, my friend."
"They'd listen to me," Naruto declared. "Jiraiya would."
"You have too much faith in them. They've abandoned you already, I assure you," Orochimaru said. He rose. "You need not decide now, however."
The sannin strode to the door easily, and Naruto remained determinedly in place despite the feeling of his skin crawling as he was passed. "So I'm your prisoner?" he asked with as much venom as he could muster. "You'll keep me here with my chakra sealed so I can't escape? Yeah, you're so much better than Konoha," he spat.
Orochimaru turned to him, yellow eyes glinting. "If you escaped, Konoha would kill you. And as I told you earlier, I abhor waste," he said simply. "My methods are never without purpose, as you will soon find. Your freedom is yours whenever you wish to take it; all you have to do is say the words."
Naruto shook his head mutely, glaring impotently up at the man who held all the cards and knew it. "That's not freedom. At least I chose to serve Konoha."
"Did you really? As a six year old entering the academy, you chose to devote yourself to Konoha's ideals? Or was it simply the only option for you in a village that despised your very existence?" Orochimaru asked, and Naruto had no answer.
"We will speak later, Naruto-kun. Think on your choices."
The door opened on oiled hinges to allow its master through, and it shut with a thud. The airflow extinguished the candle, leaving Naruto alone in the dark.
/~/