"It was the calm be for the storm."
The ding on the elevator sounded ominous as it came to a halt on the floor that held the presidential suite. Maybe it was the rain and sleet that sounded dimly through the hall, or the chill that ran up his spin that made Naruto falter in his footsteps.
He was suddenly reminded of a horror movie, he was just waiting for the lights overhead to flicker out.
A door clicked shut down the hall. A man, similar to the one next to Naruto, came walking down the hall. His polished shoes made no sounded as they hit the plush carpet.
He looked up and smiled at Itachi. "Going out for a walk... I think I'll meet someone interesting today."
Itachi nodded not paying much attention; his eyes had yet to leave Naruto.
Naruto seemed unaware of the gaze as he wondered who in their right mind would want to walk about in this weather. Granted he too had been walking in it, before it had yet to sleet.
The elevator closed behind the man, silence hovered in the air once again.
"Friend of yours?" Naruto felt compelled to ask.
"Something like that." The smiled he received seemed almost forced. Naruto decided that maybe friend might have been too strong a word. Acquaintance might have been better used.
The couple started up again making a slow pace towards the door. The soft slip of a card into the doors slot made Naruto jump.
"Come on, it's warmer in here." Itachi pressed Naruto forward rather forcefully, and the blond stumbled into the room.
His ears picked up the distinct sound of the deadbolt being slipped into place along with the chain lock on the door. It was then that the foreboding wave washed over him, leaving him cold and shaking. Something was not right and it was too late to do a thing about it.
Sasuke sat in the living room, his foot tapping impatiently on the carpeted floor. His whole body felt rigid and tensed, a complete contradiction to how he emotionally felt. To him the day could not get any better, well that was a lie. Naruto laying in bed naked, writhing under him would most definitely make his day better.
A smirk spread across his face; maybe he could work something out with his blond idiot. The only problem was he had not seen him since this morning. It worried him slightly, but it only had been an hour. It was not uncommon for Naruto to get side tracked and take more time then he meant on an excursion.
He would wait another hour before he got up to go look for him. Sasuke would end up finding him off doing some random activity, he always did.
The front door flew open, a panting Sakura and Ino ran in, wet from head to toe.
"I'm fucking freezing." Ino swore stripping out of her coat. "Stupid weather, can't they warn us when there is a chance of sleet."
Both of their faces were flushed with cold and exertion. They must have run here, trying to find shelter from the storm.
Sasuke's face melted into a frown, his eyes taking in sight of the rain from the open door. Naruto would have come back as soon as the first drops of sleet and rain came down.
"When did this start?" His voice was low, showing no hint of the worry that was beginning to bubble within him.
"Umm... about half an hour ago. It started coming down while we were in the studio." Sakura explained. "Well it might have started sooner, since we didn't notice it till we were heading out." She shrugged her shoulders, not seeing any importance in the conversation.
Dark eyes stared at the wall. "You didn't run into Naruto did you?"
"Naruto? No, I thought he was with you."
"He left a while back to go on a quick walk. Work out the kinks." He smiled despite himself.
"Well I'm sure he is somewhere... maybe he went to town. Hinata and Kiba should be getting back from there soon. He could be with them."
Sasuke nodded. That was quite possible. Taking a breath, he calmed his nerves. Sasuke would wait until Hinata and Kiba got back before he started to panic. Naruto would be fine; he would not loose him again.
Naruto did not even get a chance to question the locked door before a hard hand made impact on his cheek. The force of the blow sent him back into the wall, its white surface now lightly splattered with blood.
Blood pooled in his mouth from his cut cheek, causing him to gag and spit the liquid onto the floor. Naruto's head spun trying to piece together what had just happened.
The clicking of the lock, the force of the attack, the knowledge of these sent warning bells off in Naruto's mind. His life was in danger, he had to get away. Run, RUN! His mind screamed at him as he hoisted his form from the wall.
Itachi smiled at Naruto's poor attempt at escape. He would not let the boy get away that easily. Too long had he planned for this to let it be ruined now.
"Where do you think you are going, my little Naruto." Pale hands wound themselves in sun kissed strands, pulling them from the blondes scalp.
Naruto's hands reached for Itachi's wrist trying to free himself from the painful grip. He could feel his hairs ripping, but the instinct to get away was to strong in him to care.
It was a futile attempt; all the struggling got him nowhere. The grip Itachi had on him was too powerful.
"P–please..." Naruto pleaded as his back met the wall in another painful hit. Blood fell to the floor, dripping from his still bleeding mouth.
"Please what? Please let you go?" The older man laughed. "Why? So you can ruin everything again? I think not my little Naruto. You already ruined everything once, I even allowed you to live again."
Naruto looked up at the man, his pale blue eyes meeting deep red. "What..." He was at a loss for words. Those eyes, they were the same dangerous and angry red that he had seen months before, not the loved red that he had seen Sasuke cast upon him. "You... you were the one... not Sasuke..."
"I couldn't have my brother obsessing over you again." The room went unnaturally quiet, the only sound being the soft patter of rain and the gasping breaths Naruto made in desperation as Itachi's hand wound its way around his neck.
It felt so fragile, like the neck of a swan. A little more pressure and perhaps Itachi could hear that pleasing crack and feel the body go limp in his arms. The idea of such a cruel act brought about a sense of power that he basked in.
"When I chanced upon you that night, I knew it was fate. I was given a chance to test my dear brother. I had to be sure that he had learned his lesson." The tension around Naruto's neck tightened, causing him to wheeze and made blood and spit overflow from his mouth. "I gave him the forbidden fruit, and like the little sinner he has become, he partook. You monster! You corrupted him... because of you I am nothing to him. I am his everything!"
Naruto's back hit cold tile as he was thrown back with such a force that it left him even more breathless than before. Each gasp was a way to hold onto life, to regain some sense. The man in front of him had killed his own family, he knew this now. Ino's tale was fresh in his mind, replaying the cruelty that had been done with those hands. This was the man Sasuke wanted to kill, and this man was the one to put such a curse upon him. Yet this man was the one to bring him back to Sasuke, that much he was grateful for.
"Ah! Shit..." The heel of Itachi's boot dug into his wrist and brought tears to Naruto's eyes. God it hurt so much, his whole body throbbed.
"Get up!" Itachi ordered, kicking his other foot into Naruto's side, making him roll onto his back and twisting his captive arm in the process. Crimson locked with blue and Naruto could see the deep hatred and desire for death dancing in them as they glared down at him.
"No..." This might be his last chance to fight, he would be damned if he let himself be killed so easily. Naruto was not going to make this a walk in the park for Itachi.
Naruto felt his skin ripping as he pulled his arm free from the heel of Itachi's boot and jumped to his feet. In a burst of strength, he attacked; aiming a fist to the demons face. It was a brave effort but a foolish one. Itachi sidestepped the attack allowing Naruto to collide with the kitchen counter, before grabbing the back of his shirt and tossing him against the opposite wall. Naruto's body slid down the pristine white wall, leaving a trail of blood as he fell to the ground.
"Fighting me will get you no where, little Naruto. Your fate has been sealed the moment we crossed paths. You will die and I will so enjoy feasting on you heart." The knowledge of what would happen to him made his stomach turn. Never had he imagined that something so hideous would happen to him. This was far from the image he had of his death.
'I'm not ready for this.' His mind flashed with perceptions of how it would be to die in that way. None of them was pleasant. 'I don't want to die.'
Itachi advanced on him.
'God help me.'
It was then that Naruto took notice of the heavy wooden rolling pin in Itachi's hand.
'Come save me...'
Naruto shrunk down in front of Itachi.
'I can't die.'
The rolling pin was raised.
'Save me–'
Naruto felt the hard thud and piercing pain before the darkness engulfed him.
'Sasuke...'
Sasuke jumped, roughly awoken from his mid-day nap as the front door was forcefully swung open, and that mangy dog walked in barking some idiotic thing to a meek Hinata.
"See I told you we could get back here before the weather got to bad."
"I shouldn't have doubted you." Hinata whispered, hanging up her scarf on an empty peg.
"Never doubt me; I have a sixth sense for these things." Kiba gloated.
"I will keep that in mind... I wonder if Naruto is back yet?" She mused. Hinata had gotten a little bag of chocolates and she was hoping to give them to him as soon as possible.
"He'll probably stay with whoever that guy was you saw him with. It would be crazy to go back out in a storm like this." Sasuke's eyes perked up at the turn the conversation had gone.
Naruto was with another guy? Jealousy crashed against his consciousness before fading away to worry. Naruto wouldn't cheat on him, was he kidnapped? No that wasn't right either. Hinata would mention if Naruto looked scared in the mans presence.
"Who was the guy?" Sasuke asked as the duo came into the room.
"Oh Sasuke, I didn't know you were here." Sasuke shook his head. 'No shit Sherlock I just live here and all.'
Ignoring Kiba, Hinata turned to Sasuke and smiled. "I wasn't really sure who it was. I honestly thought it was you till I got a better look."
Sasuke felt his heart thrum deep in his chest, anxiety working its cold path through his veins.
"What did this guy look like?" Oh god, he hoped he was wrong. There was only one man that ever made such a fearful feeling wash over him. For Naruto's sake, he hoped his instincts were wrong.
"Well... like you... kind of except I think he had longer hair... and he was no doubt older than you." Hinata looked at him quickly. "Why is it someone you know?"
Sasuke only sat in the couch staring lifelessly at his hands. The world around him disconnected as he tried to will himself to stay calm.
Itachi.
What would such a man want with Naruto. The blond had no part in the feud between brothers. He was innocent. Itachi had no right to mess with him.
Yet when had Itachi ever played by the rules. That realization was enough to make Sasuke sick. All he knew was that he had to get to Naruto, somehow.
Without knowing how it happened, he was walking aimlessly through the icy rain, Kiba's and Hinata's calls drowned out by the racing beat of his heart.
He had known something was wrong about today. Everything was trying to make him see the hidden danger that lurked so close to home, so close the one he loved.
The mere thought of losing Naruto again was too much to bear. What right did Sasuke have to love him, if he could not even protect him.
Sasuke didn't even feel the cold on his unprotected face. The sleet melting as they made contact with his flushed face.
He could see the street lamp lighting the road just a few yards away. Beneath it stood a figure, someone who Sasuke could care less about. If it was not Naruto, then he could not bring himself to care. He would just walk on hoping to find what he was searching for.
"Hmm... Not very bright of you. Running out into this, not even knowing where you are headed." The man spoke from his spot under the lamp. "Not something I would expect from Itachi's brother."
The mans words froze Sasuke's steps. Onyx eyes widened and turned to the one who had spoken a cursed name.
"At the rate you are going you'll never reach your little lover in time. How sad, the poor blond will die without seeing you one last time." It was mocking, but it had the desired affect. Sasuke was no longer lost in a torrent of his own mixed up emotions. His mind was bringing him back to the here and now.
"Then again you might make it on time... it's not that far from the Bayside Suites. Hmm... that name always caught me as odd. Wouldn't one assume that it would be by a bay with a name like that. What do you think, Sasuke?" The boy was already running down the streets before the sentence could be finished.
"Hmm.. I wonder how this will turn out." The light caught the mans face and he smirked. Madara couldn't think of a better way to spend his night.
Naruto groaned as he slowly came back to the world of the living, granted he knew that he wouldn't be there for long.
Getting a feel for his surroundings, he found himself still in the kitchen. Only difference was that he was tied to one of the cabinets with some sort of wire. It dug uncomfortably into his wrist, halting his movements.
"So sleeping beauty decides to wake." Itachi stood across the room, which was now dark, lit only by a dozen or so candles. It reminded Naruto of something out a gothic movie. Maybe it was some sort of ritual. He didn't really care to find out.
"Why am I still alive? I thought you wanted me dead." Itachi laughed, finding humor in Naruto's outburst.
"So quick to die? Now where would the fun in that be? I just wanted you to be awake when I ripped your still beating heart from your body." Naruto's attention was drawn down to the dagger that Itachi held gently within his hands.
Catching the look Itachi smirked. "This is a family heirloom... it has seen much blood and pain. You should be pleased to know that you are the first person that I will use it on who is not blood related." Naruto wondered if he should correct Itachi on his assumption. It was hard to be pleased about something like that.
"I can't wait to see it glisten with your blood as your screams fill the room. It was such a shame I wasn't able to take your life the first time. I wasn't able to show my face due to obvious reasons."
"What do you mean first time?" Naruto pulled at his bindings. They cut deep into his skin causing him to hiss in pain. 'Just keep him talking. Prolong it as long as you can.' He told himself.
"What? Did you honestly think your idiot of a father could have figured out what was going on behind his back?" The knife glinted in the candle light. "If it wasn't for the hint I gave him, he would have let it continue."
"You!" Naruto was completely shocked to say the least. All his pain, all of Sasuke's pain was due to this man. He never thought it possible to feel as much hate as he was feeling now.
"Yes, I was the one to tear you from Sasuke's grasp. He wasn't supposed to get side tracked. His fate is intertwined with me. I should be the only one he ever thinks of... ever dreams of. Not some filthy human child. Sasuke should have never of dared to taint his blood by associating with something like you." He shot Naruto a disgusted look. "Even now, human blood flows through your veins. Sasuke and I are all that are left who hold only that of the blood of Satan himself. The dark lord's blood flows through Sasuke's veins and mine. We are devils, meant to hate and destroy. We are cursed, no thanks to our grandmother who caught the dark lord's eye. Now we must live in pain."
"You are a devil, but never Sasuke. I don't care what blood flows through his veins. To me he is Sasuke... nothing more, nothing less." Itachi seemed to anger at this.
"Shut up you filth. Nothing will change what Sasuke is and what he is fated to be." Naruto thrashed around trying to get away from Itachi who was advancing on him. Blood bubbled around the wires that held him, but the pain was numbed by the overwhelming fear he felt.
"I will silence you once and for all, and I will enjoy every minute of it."
Naruto screamed in fear as his shirt was torn from his body, leaving his chest bare and exposed. His tan flesh looked pale in the candle light, the only color coming from the red and purple marks that littered his chest. A telltale sign of his and Sasuke's intimacy.
The tip of the dagger trailed up and down the blonde's chest it a teasing manner. Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the feeling the cold metal made on his skin. He couldn't believe he was going to die.
"Aaahh!" The scream pierced the silence just as sharply as the blade did into the soft tan flesh. Blood flowed from the spot as Itachi dragged the dagger down as slowly as possible. He wanted Naruto to suffer.
"Yeah my little Naruto. Scream and soak in the pain. Feel the agony for the sin you have committed." Naruto screamed and cried. He wanted so much for this to be over. He couldn't stand what he was being put through. Never had he known something to be so painful.
His mind mentally flashed to images of angry flames and sneering faces. Maybe this was indeed better than being burned alive.
Reaching his stopping point, Itachi drew the knife away. He would rip Naruto's flesh apart to get to his beating heart. Why use a knife when he did not need it. After all, it would just be a waste.
No sound came from Naruto's lips as his mouth hung open, allowing the moisture in his mouth to slid down his chin, combining with the tears that poured from his eyes. No words could describe the feeling of being ripped apart. Flesh freeing itself from flesh. It was a pity he could not die from blood loss. If that were the case then he would have been long dead.
Naruto was faintly aware of a banging that seemed almost like a dream and Itachi's cold laughter as he reached for his knife again. This would be it. This was his last moment in the world of the living. He would never be reborn again after this. It was rather a rip off. He laughed at the thought. He never really had the chance to get the full experience of being immortal or anything close to it.
He felt the knife enter him, and Naruto knew it would cut away his heart. He heard one fine bang, and that was when everything stopped. The world seemed to freeze as he became aware that another had entered the room.
Itachi smirked. "It's about time you got here."
Naruto felt panic swell within him yet again. Who else could have possible come to bask in his pain?
"Na–Naruto..." That voice he knew that voice.
Sasuke. He really came. Naruto felt the smile pull at his lips. Was he saved?
"Sasuke—" The dagger slashed through the arteries of the heart, silencing anything else Naruto was about to say. His mouth muscles twitched as his body convulsed, before the muscles fell lax and with wide eyes, Naruto slumped to the floor. Blood pooled around him, leaving his now lifeless body and his eyes that once held so much life quickly faded away, leaving them dull and empty.
"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed, begging whatever god might exist that Naruto would look up, smile that idiotic smile, and laugh. It couldn't be, not again. He couldn't loose Naruto again. It hurt so much, not just mentally but physically as well.
The bond they had created was calling for Sasuke to follow his mate. He knew he could not live without him.
"What a shame." Itachi's voice seemed far away as he continued to stare at Naruto's lifeless body, realization finally sinking in that he was too late to save him lover. "I was hoping you would have come sooner. It would have been amusing to see the look on your face as I ripped him apart."
"You bastard!" Sasuke spat. How could he possibly be related to something like that man?
"I did this for your own good. He was dirtying your precious body." Itachi walked to his frozen brother, stroking his cheek softly. "I am the only one who is able to be close to you."
Sasuke pushed the man away, swinging a fist as he did so. It missed but that was beside the point, he didn't want that man to touch him like that ever again.
"I'll kill you... I'll fucking kill you for what you have done." Sasuke snarled, and then charged; his hands aiming for his brother wrist and the dagger he held. It was his only hope; if he could get that weapon then maybe he would have a chance.
Itachi slashed out in response, swinging the dagger in an arch, cutting Sasuke in the arm and across the chest.
Sasuke found that he could not bring himself to care. All that mattered was that this man died, even if he had to die along with him.
He blindly fought, throwing punches and grabbing at the knife. The pain inflicted on him never registered in his mind, no matter how many times he was stabbed or cut.
Itachi just dogged, laughing gaily as if it were the most fun he had had in ages.
"You have to do better than this Sasuke." Itachi sang before grabbing his brother's arm and throwing him onto the table that was covered with candles.
Sasuke hit it with a sickening thud, sending candles everywhere. They landed behind him, and for a moment, the small flame flickered weakly before it gathered strength and began to burn through the material of the tablecloth, as another found purchase on the carpet of the living room.
"Better hurry up and kill me Sasuke, or we will end up burning here... Oh wait, I cannot die. Therefore, you are only going to cost yourself your life. I'll live on and take Naruto's heart for my own." The flames danced in the background, throwing shadows in Itachi's eyes, making him look more demonic.
Sasuke only had a few minutes... or else everything would have been for nothing.
||XxXx||
Hinata ran towards the main building. She had left Kiba to get Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru. She knew something was not right. For as long as she had known Sasuke, she had never seen such a look on his face.
It scared her to think what might have caused it. All she knew that it had to do with Naruto and the man he was with.
She only prayed that they would all be all right.
||XxXx||
Sasuke screamed as Itachi gripped his wrist and slammed him down onto the burning carpet, pressing his back roughly against the fire that had erupted there. The material that made up his shirt quickly burnt away, leaving pale skin to be exposed to the hot flames, which began to burn his skin right off his body.
"Do you like how that feels? If I am not mistaken Naruto went through something similar." Itachi purred.
Itachi released his wrists, letting him scramble away to safety. Sasuke was unsure of what to do anymore; he did not know if he could win.
'I can't think like that. I have to win... for Naruto.'
Getting up again he made his way back to his brother. It was time to put an end to this.
||XxXx||
Sakura and Ino looked at one another as Kiba told them what had just happened.
"Shit, we have got to find them." Ino cursed. She would have never thought that something like this would happen. For Itachi to show his face after so many years, and to take Naruto on top of everything else. His goal had to be to hurt Sasuke even more.
"Don't worry Sakura we'll find them before anything bad happens." Despite her comforting words, she couldn't bring herself to believe them. Was it even worth hoping that they were fine? Ino was unsure, it was Itachi after all.
||XxXx||
Sasuke pushed Itachi back, ignoring the dagger that was now logged into one of his lungs. He had to act fast if his plan was to work.
Itachi went to take a step forward to stop Sasuke's assault but found no purchase on the ground. He cast a quick look at the floor and his eyes widened when he found it covered in blood; blood that had pooled on the tiled kitchen floor from Naruto's dead body and had combined with the blood from his brothers wounds. The bright red blood of Sasuke's mixed with the dulling red of Naruto's and he sneered at it in disgust; it seemed that even in death, the blond had managed to annoy him.
The floor had turned slippery beneath his feet and he found that he couldn't find his footing. He tore his gaze from the tainted blood on the floor when he felt one of Sasuke's hands leave his wrist and he felt himself being pulled forward. The sharp tip of a blade found purchase in his chest and it pierced through the flimsy material of his white dress shirt, and made its way into his skin, but didn't sink in any further. A smirk crossed his face; it seemed like his little brothers last attempt failed him.
However, his eyes widened as his legs were kicked out from under him, and he began to fall back. He reached out to grab a hold of something, his flaying hand catching onto Sasuke's arm, effectively pulling him down with him. Despite the blood that was pouring out of the wound he inflicted to Sasuke's chest, the younger Uchiha smirked as he allowed himself to fall with him. It was then that he noticed the dagger that was previously in Sasuke's chest was gone, and now was being pushed into his own as Sasuke used his falling body weight to lodge the knife deeper into his chest.
The knife dug deeper into his skin and Itachi bit back the pained gasp that threatened to escape from his mouth. It seemed that he had underestimated Sasuke; he would not make that same mistake twice.
"This is it Itachi..." Sasuke wasted no time in butchering his brother's chest, trying to find his heart, his life source.
"Try as you might Sasuke you can't kill me... or what? Are you going to eat my heart? Have you the guts to do so?"
||XxXx||
Kakashi loaded his worried students into his beat up pickup as he pulled out his phone. He hoped that Sasuke would answer.
It went to voice mail as he drove off towards town. He blamed himself for something like this happening. He was supposed to protect those boys.
He prayed that he could still save them. It was the least he could do after all they had been through together. He blamed himself enough as it was for never being able to save Naruto from the villager's cruelty.
'Please be alive... Naruto... Sasuke'
||XxXx||
Sasuke coughed up blood as he dragged himself towards the blazing fire. Within his hand, he held with brother's cold heart.
He might not have the will to devour it, but he hoped with all his being that he could end the curse that was his brother by burning his very soul.
With a sad smile and a pained glance at what had once been his brilliant Naruto, Sasuke threw it into the flames. The deadly flames licked at the muscle as it fell through the scarlet wall of fire in a large arch, landing on the floor with a muted thud. It did not take long before it was entirely covered in flames and it was reduced to nothing but a pile of burnt remains, before the fire ate through that as well, effectively erasing it from existence.
To Be Continued . . . 😈😈