Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

SUMMARY: Duty, honour and love clash with a thirst for vengeance when a decade old lie is finally revealed. How far would YOU go for love? NaruIta, one-sided SasuNaru, YAOI!

Naruto Fanfiction

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All Fanfics created by Sandlewood (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: which madness descends.

~Sacrifice~
By: Sandlewood996

Chapter 5

He drifted along a crimson sea, bobbing on crests of white hot waves, drowning in the blackened glory that stole his breath away with each agonized scream torn from his raw, scraped throat. Above him hovered clouds with grinning skulls painted against dull grey backdrops and cruel taunting breezes fanning over his burning flesh with garbled songs of malicious cruelty demanding, demanding, always demanding the impossible in meaningless garbled sounds of unrecognizable gibberish. Fists and heavy booted feet caressed him lovingly with tender care, drawing more droplets of hot, metallic copper to patter like scarlet raindrops to cooling puddles beneath him.

Hot, steaming bowls of freshly made ramen danced before his eyes, bringing immediate moisture to his parched mouth as he licked dry, cracked lips in gleeful anticipation. He could already feel his taste buds come alive as he envisioned the hot explosion of flavour with each delightful bite. Blue eyes squeezed shut tight as his forehead ground against the rough stone beneath him as he drifted along with the vision before him. His lips curved upwards into a ghost of his usual fox-like grin as a thin trickle of crimson slid from the corner of his mouth to drip off his chin. "Itadakimasu..." He whispered hoarsely, the words scratching painfully over abused vocal chords as he strained towards the simple but oh so delicious meal hovering just out of reach, taunting him with the enticing aroma he loved so much.

Harsh angry mutters drifted over him, through him, as the cruel, booted feet halted their relentless assault on his shaking, battered body. Confusion replaced rough demands as his smile widened even as he coughed and the bitter, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. "Ramen, ramen, ramen..." He sang hoarsely with excited jubilation as a pair of worn chopsticks appeared in his peripheral vision. As he fumbled towards them, they were snatched from his view. Before he could voice a protest, a strong hand with painted fingernails appeared holding the stolen chopsticks. "Sakura-chan..." He muttered as the raw wounds on his back stung and tightened even as his body fought to repair itself with the help of the fox demon's red chakra. "Just one bite..." He slurred as the bamboo sticks dipped into the large steaming bowl before him, fishing through the sweet smelling broth, searching for the tastiest of morsels.

Cruel fingers dug into dirty, blood-encrusted blond hair, snapping his head back with brutal force. Scowling features appeared nose to nose with him as blue eyes opened a crack to peer up with dazed, unfocused confusion. "Where is the scroll?" The rough, grating voice barely penetrated the loud ringing in his ears. The hand fisted in his hair jerked his head further back at an uncomfortable angle. "Listen you worthless sack of shit! Answer me! Where is the scroll?!"

The blunt, ugly face faded into indistinct blurs as his mind fought to decipher the bewildering disjointed words being shouted with rising fury. A well-known dark mask covering the lower half of a face swam into focus above him. "K-Kakashi-sempai..." He whispered with a widening grin as an all too familiar orange book appeared seemingly from out of nowhere. "Reading porn again..." His indulgent chuckle rattled wetly in his throat. "Shouldn't..." His voice faltered with a pained gasp, trailing off into nothingness as he felt his body being kicked over onto his back, his bound arms bent awkwardly beneath his weight. "Shouldn't read that stuff in public..." He finished with another soft laugh.

In the distance, just on the edge of his awareness, the angry voices shouted, the words meaningless as yet another familiar figure appeared beside him. He shivered as a large, scarred hand grabbed the front of his tattered, blood-soaked shirt and shook him violently. His blue gaze remained locked with the cold, emotionless obsidian eyes staring down at him from an impassive face, a fake smile curving thin lips up into a smirk. Elegant hands with long, tapered fingers stained with paint and ink rose slowly into his line of sight, forming into an obscene gesture he'd seen so many times that it no longer offended him. A faint, echoing whisper of memory ghosted through his mind. "Dickless wonder..." And then the vision was gone, the talented artist-nin who lacked any form of social grace but had also become one of his dearest friends in the years that he'd known him faded into the darkness as unbearable cold seeped into his bound, shaking limbs. Tittering, squeaking laughter bubbled out from the shadowy recesses of the dank, dark cell, echoing off the walls as the rats greeted him with friendly smiles revealing sharp, pointed teeth beneath their twitching, whiskered noses. One large, grey rat with glittering black eyes that seemed to swallow what little light there was stared at him with unnerving intensity as it quietly told him to watch out for the purple dragonfly that had been spotted creeping ever closer to its lover.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a warm cavern filled with dark shadows. He turned slowly until a familiar cage loomed up out of the darkness. Quickly looking around, he breathed a sigh of relief when he couldn't see either purple dragonflies or large grey rats in the immediate vicinity. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he casually approached the visibly glowing bars. He hummed a cheerful tune that he vaguely remembered hearing once so long ago in a past life where he lived in a happy village and ate steaming bowls of ramen with a cheerful man with a large scar across the bridge of his nose. He couldn't quite remember the man's name at the moment...though he was fairly certain it was something like Inuka or Iroki or something like it. He knew his memory lapse should be alarming, but it wasn't because today was the best day ever...although he wasn't quite certain why...and a wonderful surprise was waiting for him just on the other side of the large bars rising up before him. He did have to wonder, in a somewhat vague way, why someone would put his surprise inside a cage that he didn't have the key for. Halting before the cage he rocked back on his heels and grinned at the large, red monster staring out at him warily. "Bird's like to swim, y'know." He stated cheerfully as he bounced on the balls of his feet, barely able to contain the nervous energy coursing through him.

The Kyuubi blinked slowly, the angry snarl that had been pulling its black lips fading from its features as it stared down at the smaller form of its jailer. "Birds fly, not swim, brat. Even a simpleton knows that." It grumbled irritably, annoyed that the cutting edge of its rage had been dulled by the befuddling human standing before its cage and uttering confusing nonsense.

He shook his head emphatically. "Nope." His grin widened as he lifted one hand to run his fingers through his hair, tossing the already messy blond strands into further disarray. "Fish fly in the water and birds swim in the sky." He nodded sagely as he clasped his hands behind his back. "Do you know why clouds dance with the trees?" He spun on his heel to peer suspiciously into the shadowed recesses of the cavern, paranoid that the rats had followed him and the dragonflies were now spying on him. "It's 'cause mice hate cheese." He glanced over his shoulder with an almost frightening expression of utter seriousness. "The moon hates the sun because the rocks had an affair with a purple dragonfly." He continued after one last look into the depths of the cavern assured him that no spies were present. He leaned backwards and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper just in case, not wishing to risk this information falling into the wrong hands. "The rats told me."

The nine-tailed fox demon slowly sat back on its haunches and regarded the blond with narrowed red eyes. "They hit you too hard, didn't they?"