Chapter Text
“I see your pain, and it’s big. I also see your courage, and it’s bigger."
- Glennon Doyle
--
Naruto scrambled back to the far end of the tent, desperate to stay as far away from Kabuto as possible. He pulled his legs close to his body and glared at him, trying his best to look just as threatening as Kabuto felt despite the tears still drying on his face. “Stay away from me” he growled.
He could hear what he assumed was Kabuto dropping down to his knees before him. The snake chuckled under his breath and Naruto’s breath caught in his throat at the sound of it.
“Do you really expect me to do that?” he said, his amusem*nt palpable.
“If you touch me, I’ll f*cking kill you.”
Kabuto grinned. “Is that right..” He shifted closer to the blonde. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”
“Don’t underestimate me” Naruto snarled, trying his best to sound stronger than he felt.
It was clear that Kabuto wasn’t buying it.
“Heh. Well, I would love to see you try.”
He sprang for the blonde, and Naruto leapt to the side to avoid him. He was relieved that it was a larger tent and that there was room to do that, but he knew that it wouldn’t be enough. He needed to get out of there. A confined space with Kabuto wouldn’t end well for him.
Naruto jumped for where he assumed the opening of the tent was, his bound wrists and ankles a hinderance that did him no favors in the process. He frantically dragged his hands against the plastic, searching for a way out.
Zipper, zipper- goddammit, where the f*ck is it?!
Before he could find it, Kabuto grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him back. Naruto gasped as he threw him down to the ground, his head smacking into the unforgiving surface. He tried to pull away on his elbows, shoving himself back with the heels of his feet, but Kabuto had no intention of letting him get away. He grabbed the rope around his ankle and jerked him back, forcing his head to slam into the ground again.
“Is this it?” Kabuto taunted. He climbed on top of the blonde, unaffected by his struggles. “Is this really the best that the infamous Nine Tails host can do?”
Naruto gritted his teeth, his hazy eyes burning with rage. “I won’t let you do this.”
Kabuto grabbed his hips and pulled him down to meet his.
“You already have.”
--
Tsunade leaned back in her chair, weighing the benefits of leaving for the day to the extra work she’d have to do in the morning because of it. She side-eyed the never-ending mountain of paperwork and silently flipped it off, knowing that it had already won.
With a dramatic sigh she dropped her elbows down on her desk and reached for one of her many incomplete tasks when something suddenly flew through her window and skidded to a stop before her.
“The hell-?!”
She jumped to her feet, eyes blazing, but her temper cooled when she saw the small dog in front of her desk. “Pakkun?”
His huge sad eyes looked up at her, and Tsunade’s heart plummeted to her stomach. “What happened?”
Kakashi’s loyal companion gave her a heavy look that did little to calm her nerves.
“An ambush” he replied. “Naruto was taken, and Sasuke was left for dead.”
Bloodshot chestnut eyes widened. “What..?” she breathed. “Where are they now?”
“Sakura healed Sasuke in time, and he left with Kakashi to try to find Naruto.”
“Do they know who’s behind this?” she asked, already thinking through her next move.
Anbu, she thought. I’ll send out a team. We’ll need someone who can track them- maybe Kiba and Akamaru. They’ll need to move fast, and they will need to be effective traveling at night. Sai could-
“Kabuto” Pakkun said, tearing her away from her thoughts.
“Kabuto?” she repeated incredulously. “He’s behind this? You’re sure?”
The canine nodded. “Sasuke told us. Apparently he is behind all of it- the stolen forbidden scrolls, blinding Naruto, and the recent attack.”
“Did he say why he was targeting Naruto?”
Pakkun shook his head. “He isn’t. The intended target was Sasuke. Kabuto didn’t turn his attention to Naruto until he stepped between them, and..”
The Hokage quirked a brow. “And?”
Pakkun cleared his throat. “Ahemm. I guess he saw them.. together.”
Tsunade had a bad feeling about this. The fact that that is what drew his attention to Naruto was.. concerning, to say the least.
She refocused her attention on her messenger. She could see how exhausted he was and guessed that he had probably done what was asked of him when he was summoned. And then some.
“Thank you, Pakkun. You are free to go.”
The weary canine nodded and disappeared from her sight, eager for a much-needed rest before Kakashi summoned him again.
“Shizune! We need to gather a team. Now!”
Before it’s too late.
--
“Stop! Get away from me!”
Kabuto grinned down at the blonde, his fingers digging into his hips. “Still so much fight in you. I’m so curious to see what it looks like to break it.”
Naruto’s heart slammed in his chest and a scream tore out of his throat. “f*ck you!”
He bucked against the snake, but not to throw him off of him- which is what Kabuto expected. Instead, he forced him further up his body. Kabuto was surprised when he felt his core thrust against the blonde, pleasantly so, and it distracted him enough for Naruto to get what he needed. He moved fast, hoping that his guess was right as he reached down. He was very aware that he only had one shot at this and could only hope that luck was finally on his side.
He reached low and felt a handle against his fingertips.
Bingo.
Naruto ripped the kunai free and spun it in his hands, slicing through the rope binding them. But before he could cut through the rope around his ankles, Kabuto grabbed his wrist and snatched the kunai out of his hands. He threw it to the side of the tent and punched him across the face. Naruto’s lip split open and his head snapped to the side. He tried to retaliate but Kabuto forced his hands down to the ground on either side of his head, pinning him beneath him.
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you” he snarled.
“Nnnn- let go!” Naruto fought to free his hands a furious scream tearing through him. He tried to call out to Kurama, to access his power, but the fox was silent. The rope on his ankles still kept their chakra bound, and the Nine Tails completely out of reach.
I need to get the f*cking rope off, he thought frantically. Where did he throw the kunai?
His mind raced as he tried to figure out a plan, a way to fight Kabuto off and get his chakra back, but he had yet to manage the first part.
And Kabuto was getting impatient.
He enjoyed the fight. Thoroughly. He liked feeling his prey buck beneath him, screaming for an escape that stayed just out of his reach- seeing the fear build in his eyes as he came to realize it. It was exhilarating. It made him want more and his body was quick to respond to it. His desire flared to life, shooting heat through his core and deep in his groin, and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to wait any longer.
As Naruto fought beneath him, Kabuto lowered himself and thrust his throbbing want against him. A horrified gasp filled the space between them, and Kabuto groaned as it echoed through him.
“St-stop! Get the f*ck off of me!” Naruto shrieked, his terror rippling through him.
Kabuto moved against him again, shivering as the blonde flinched beneath him. “It’s too late for that, jinchuriki” he breathed. He pulled himself up to get a good look at Naruto’s terrified face as he thrust against him again. “Who knows” he murmured, leaning closer, “you might come to like it.”
Naruto clenched his jaw tight as he glared into the darkness above him. “You’ll die for this.”
Without warning he threw his head up and smashed his forehead against the snake’s vile grin. He could hear Kabuto’s glasses shatter between them and felt hot blood and shards of glass against his face. Kabuto cried out in shock and pain, and his grip loosened just enough for Naruto to pull free. He threw his arm up fast and slammed his elbow into Kabuto’s already bloodied face. A satisfying, pained scream echoed back at him. Naruto kicked him away with his bound feet and threw himself to the side of the tent. His hands moved fast, sliding over the ground, desperate to find the kunai Kabuto had thrown.
f*ck, where is it?!
A shriek of pure rage tore from the snake and he ripped another kunai free from his pack. Naruto tried to move away from him, but he wasn’t fast enough. Kabuto raised the knife in the air and slammed it down into Naruto’s leg, burying it to the hilt. Naruto threw his head back and screamed, a jagged cry that violently tore from his chest. Kabuto ripped the blade free, then drove it down into his other leg, his eyes razor sharp as Naruto shrieked in pain.
“We’re not done here” he snarled.
He pulled the blonde back and threw him down on his stomach. Naruto tried to twist free, but he grabbed his arm and yanked it behind his back, wrenching it up at an unnatural angle. Another cry tore through him, which only seemed to fuel Kabuto’s cruelty. He grabbed a fistful of his hair and clenched his hand tight.
“Ahhh!” Naruto cried out as he forced his head up.
Kabuto slammed his face down into the ground- muffling his pain. “I promise” he growled, a bloody sneer sliced across his pale face, “this is going to hurt.”
He slammed Naruto’s face into the ground again then, keeping a firm grasp on the arm behind his back, he reached beneath him and unbuttoned his pants.
“N-no! Stop! STOP!”
Naruto tried to pull his hand away, but Kabuto overpowered him. He pulled his zipper down and reached for his waistband. Naruto screamed and threw his arm in front of him, digging his fingers into the ground as he fought to pull away. And as he reached into the darkness he found something.
Something he had thought he wouldn’t be able to find in time.
Something he had nearly given up on.
Hope.
--
Kakashi’s mismatched eyes widened. “Sasuke!”
“I see it!”
The unmistakable flicker of a campfire was only a few paces away. With their sharp Sharingan eyes they could see several silhouettes gathered around it- some sitting around it, others already stretched out on the ground, likely asleep.
The two masked their chakra and Sasuke leapt down from Kakashi’s back, eager to rush in first. Kakashi could see the fire and desperation in his eyes, and quickly reached out to stop him.
“What the f*ck are you doing?” Sasuke snapped, making sure to keep his voice low even as his anger raged inside of him.
“I know you’re angry, but you can’t forget the deal you made with the council. If you use your full abilities here they will exile you.”
“I don’t f*cking care!’ Sasuke snarled. “Naruto is-”
“Sasuke! Don’t do that to him. If you are banned from Konoha he will be devastated. You need to think.”
The raven ground his teeth together, his frustration palpable. He couldn’t stand the idea of holding back, especially when he was trying to save his blonde, but he knew Kakashi was right. He had to be smart about this.
“Fine. But I won’t hesitate to kill that snake.”
Kakashi nodded. “I don’t think it will take much to do that. Kabuto isn’t as powerful as he thinks he is. Which is probably why he stole the jutsus in the first place.” Kakashi eyed the raven. “We will probably have to be careful of those too.”
“I know.”
Kakashi finally released him and signaled for them to split up so they could close in on the camp from both sides. Sasuke nodded, showing that he understood, and rushed towards the encampment. He frantically scanned the group for a mass of blonde hair, but he had yet to see him. His stomach twisted in knots, terror rising in his throat with every passing second that he didn’t.
Where the hell are y-
A sudden burst of chakra tore from a tent on the outskirts of the clearing and consumed everything around it. Violent power scorched the flesh of the men unlucky enough to be caught in it, and the rest scattered- desperate to avoid the same fate. Sasuke leapt back and stopped on a tree branch, his crimson eyes widening as he took in the scene. A blur of red flashed across the clearing and blood splattered everywhere, bodies falling one after the other.
“Naruto..”
And Kurama.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and tore his gaze away from his destructive blonde to see what it was.
Someone was struggling to break away and failing miserably at it. He was dragging his battered body with the sharp desperation of a dying man refusing to accept his end. His face was bloodied, his arms a mess of burned and torn flesh. And yet, despite the horrid state he was in, Sasuke recognized Kabuto right away. And he felt absolutely no pity for him. In fact, he was about to jump down and finish what Naruto had started, but he didn’t get the chance.
Naruto had paused as Sasuke studied the snake and sniffed the air- clearly trying to seek Kabuto out. He finally pinpointed him and closed in fast. He grabbed him by the throat, and lifted what was left of the dying snake straight up, letting his feet dangle a foot above the ground. Kabuto’s eyes bulged as he fought for air, but Naruto wasn’t willing to give him any.
Kabuto clawed at the hand around his throat, but the fox’s violent chakra tore into his flesh, weakening his attempts. Naruto’s grip tightened and a sharp snap echoed through the clearing.
Kabuto went limp in his grasp and Naruto threw him to the side with a look of disgust. Sasuke expected him to continue his rampage but Naruto stayed perfectly still, his eyes locked on the snake’s corpse.
Then he dropped to his knees and threw his head back as a feral scream tore from his throat and straight through Sasuke’s chest. It was filled with so much anger, so much pain.
God.. what the hell did he do to you..
Kakashi dropped down from the trees and Sasuke hurriedly did the same. They rushed over to the tormented blonde, though were careful to keep their distance. Kurama’s chakra completely engulfed him and still seemed eager to cause more carnage. They had to be careful not to become his next target.
“Naruto?” Sasuke stepped closer, his eyes fixed on his blonde. “Naruto, it’s me. It’s Sasuke.”
Cloudy red eyes glanced his way, a flicker of blue flashing through them. He could see Naruto in there, struggling to pull free.
“Kurama” Sasuke said quietly. “Please. Please let him come back.”
He wasn’t sure he would- there was no reason for the Nine Tails to listen to him- but he had done so before back when Naruto was desperate to fight him. He could only hope that he would do so again.
Kakashi moved in, prepared to do a jutsu to restrain him, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Shockingly enough, the fox listened to him. His violent chakra slowly retracted into the battered blonde until all that was left was Naruto’s cloudy lost eyes, and a bloodied and badly scorched body. Sasuke swallowed back the rush of emotions that climbed up his throat and rushed over to him.
“Naruto!”
“Sa.. suke..”
His eyes rolled back and he fell forward. Sasuke shifted out of view and appeared in time to catch him. He pulled him into his arms and cradled him close to his chest, then looked up to meet Kakashi’s gaze. “What did they do to him..?” he breathed.
Kakashi shook his head, just as afraid to hear the answer as Sasuke was. “That can wait” he said. “We need to get him out of the cold and treat his wounds first.”
Sasuke nodded, appreciative that there was a voice of reason to cut through his panicky thoughts. “The hideout” he said. “It’s close.”
Kakashi stepped over to the two and took off his coat. He carefully wrapped it around the blonde, hoping to protect him from the freezing wind.
From something.
Since he failed to do so when he needed him to.
Sasuke blinked back sudden tears and leapt into the trees without a word. Kakashi followed his lead, and the two rushed off into the night- with more questions than answers and a shared fear that things had been far worse for Naruto than they imagined.
