Darkness That Binds Him (ItaNaru) |Under Editing|

Chapter~2

Blue eyes, dull in color, gazed blankly at the ceiling above them. Their owner lying almost listlessly on the blood stained floor. Chains, attached to the wall beside him, clung tightly around his neck, wrists, and ankles. The cold from the metal burned against his exposed skin. What was left of his clothes had been reduced to rags that were now torn and dirtied even further. Underneath the rags that covered him, his pale body was covered in deep gashes, cuts, and bruises. And once golden blonde hair was now dyed red with blood.

He didn't know how long he'd been trapped in the small cell, though it seemed like years—he had long ago stopped counting. Stopped hoping, even though he didn't remember what he was hoping for. But he didn't care, not anymore at least. He supposed he had at one point in time, but that too, seemed like ages ago.

A loud 'clank' echoed in the damp air, but he didn't move. Not even when he heard the footsteps getting closer or when the cell door was unlocked and three ANBU stepped in, the animal masks hiding their disgusted looks. He didn't need to see their faces to know it was there. It always was.

He continued to not be affected by their presence, just like he tried every time someone would come and invade his Hell—for that was the only thing it could be. Every last one of the little..."visits" would always involve him getting beaten within an inch of his life. Or on more special occasions, his visitors would tear into his bloodied skin...sometimes their violation of his already broken body made him feel dirty, different from the dirt that covered him from the outside. It left him with the feeling of degradation...one of the few feelings that was a constant now a days.

He briefly wondered which would happen today.

A barely audible gasp left cracked lips at the sharp pain that shot through his ribcage, jousting a couple of broken ribs against his lungs. A quick look up at the Bird mask supplied his mind with the answer of which of the men, he assume it was men, delivered the harsh kick to his left side. A whimper left his lips, only to come out as a haggard rasp.

The other two ANBU joined in with their teammate and placing a swift kick or punch here or there. Suddenly, the one with the Dog mask reached up behind him and removing the katana that was strapped to his back. The boy wearily eyed the blade, too deprived of anything to even defend himself from the pain he knew was coming. Dog raised the blade slowly above his body before swiftly plunging the blade into his lower abdomen. He let out a strangled cry, his body jerking weakly, rattling the chains that held him in place. The ANBU waited until his cry had stopped before twisting the blade slightly, enlightening another shallow cry from his dry throat. His body twitched under the pain. The other two ANBU held him down while the other plunged the blade a few more times into his body.

Finally the blade stopped. He didn't move an inch as it was roughly pulled from within his skin. The screaming pain from his body was slowly receding as his body went numb. Slowly, blue eyes closed, the harsh laughter above him was the last thing his mind comprehended before he entered the welcomed darkness.

TDTBH*TDTBH*TDTBH

Tsunade sat at her desk with a tired look on her face. The last few months had been absolutely hell. The amount of paper work she had to do had more than doubled, leaving her office in even more chaos then it had been previously. Empty sake bottles lay scattered and buried under paper.

One of the more pressing issues was the disappearance of shinobi throughout the villages.

In the past month, Konoha's neighboring villages had been attacked—along with villages further out leading to Suna. They weren't big villages, just smaller ones neighboring the borders. There was belief that it was Akatsuki's doing, some thought it was the work of Rouges. But the case still remained that ninja from all of the attacked villages were reported missing. Even a few Konoha shinobi that were sent on scouting missions had disappeared without a single trace. But that was not what worried the Godaime.