Naruto 1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello everyone. Welcome to my new story :]. If you are a subscriber who is waiting for me to update Small Town Girl, I would like to apologize in advance because I've completely forgotten where I wanted to go with it and I've just been really busy and unmotivated. Maybe I'll finish it later on down the road, but my focus will be mainly on this story now. Sorry. I hope you enjoy this story though!**_

_**Anyways...I do welcome constructive criticism, but please be respectful. I would never send someone a review or message that was rude or degrading so I would appreciate if you all would do the same for me. Oh and the pictures I used for my story cover **__**are not mine**__**, I found them on google and put them together like that in paint. Please speak up if one of those pictures is yours and you aren't comfortable with me using it. I will figure something else out. And please don't tell me it's yours if it isn't. Thanks.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the pictures used in my cover, just the plot and my OC.**_

_**Now on to the first chapter of "Endlessly"! Please rate and review! Thanks again!**_

_**ENJOY!**_

_**~XAngelicWallflowerX  
**_

* * *

Curled in a ball in the corner of a dark room sat a young woman of twenty-two. She had long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes that had a tinge of red in them in the sunlight. Trembling uncontrollably in the corner, she feared that she would never be free. And that she would never see her beloved friends again. It has already been a year since she her abduction. Her beautiful face contorted with sadness with that thought.

_Naruto…I miss you so much_

Since her abduction, she's been beaten, touched in the wrong places, and humiliated countless times. No more does she cower when her captor comes to see her. No, she pushes away any feeling but anger and hatred when he arrives. On the outside she seems fierce and strong, but on the inside, she's just like a five-year old trembling in fear of the monster in her closet. She'll be damned if she lets her captor see that though. He would just use it against her.

Sudden light filled the small room and Yuki had to raise her hand to shield her eyes from the onslaught. As quickly as the light came, it faded. Having not heard footsteps come in, she lowered her hand. Her eyes settled immediately on the pair of black tennis shoes before her. She could recognize those tennis shoes anywhere. Her dear captor has come to play.

* * *

Naruto paced impatiently in the living room of his apartment in Konoha. He just wasn't able to keep himself still. He was just too anxious for that. He hated knowing that Yuki was somewhere out there with that guy—that son-of-a-bitch— probably getting farther and farther away from him as time ticked on. And he was here, waiting for his friends to arrive as he paced back and forth.

He stopped pacing briefly to glare darkly at the floor. _If Yuki has been hurt in any way, I swear on my life that you won't see the light of the next day. And that's a promise, you fucking bastard._

Naruto seemed to get madder and madder the more he thought of it, so he shook his head and resumed his pacing. God! What's taking them so damn long?! _I want to get there already and bring Yuki home._

Recently they've gotten a lead to where she might be. His eyes hardened in determination at the same moment his face fell, consumed with guilt. _Yuki. I'm so sorry this happened to you. This whole thing is my fault. I will find you, Yuki. I promise!_

According to their source, she was being held in a warehouse in a small town north of Konoha. The warehouse was about forty miles from his house, and knowing this has Naruto more anxious to get out there and look for her then he normally was. It almost felt as if his skin was alive and crawling.

Five minutes later, headlights flashed across the window and Naruto all but ran out the door. In his driveway was a black two-thousand and seven Chevy Suburban filled with his friends. _Finally, sheesh._

He could see that Kiba was in the driver's seat sporting a confident grin and Shikamaru was in the passenger seat staring impatiently at him. He grinned at them and waved.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, or are we going to get moving?" someone asked, sounding annoyed.

Naruto looked to the voice. Of course it was Sasuke. Sasuke never was one to wait around very long. _Impatient jackass__._

Nodding, he jogged over and hopped through the open door, courtesy of Sakura, and buckled up. Sasuke was sitting directly behind him with Itachi. Naruto sent him a half-hearted glare over his shoulder. Hinata changed seats with Sakura quick so that she could sit next to him and he sent a warm smile in her direction as he turned towards Kiba and Shikamaru.

"Lets go get her," He said grinning, his eyes sparkling with his excitement as he wrapped his arm around Hinata's neck. It's time to finally end this.

_Yuki..._

* * *

Meanwhile, Yuki was in the passenger seat of an old beat up Monte Carlo. A blindfold was over her eyes so she couldn't tell where the hell she was or where they were going. About eight minutes later the car came to a stop and she felt hot breath on her neck, causing her to tense and recoil into herself. She wanted to flinch away, already knowing who the breath belonged to, but she held herself in place.

"Now you behave," Kye, her captor, practically purred in her ear. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I just have to grab a bag from the house." He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she had to stop herself from barfing and rubbing her cheek on her sweater to get it off. She could hear the car's crappy leather squeak under his weight as he shifted to open his door. He closed the door and she could hear the sound of his shoes hitting concrete as he walked away. She held her breath in anticipation.

Quietly, with patience she didn't know she had, Yuki waited for a sign that he was inside the house. A distant slam of a door put her into action.

She pulled her hands free of the bounds and yanked her blindfold off, glancing around. She was in front of a house that sat basically in the middle of nowhere. As far as she could see, there wasn't a house on either side for miles. The darkness probably wasn't helping either, but she pulled her eyes away from the darkened landscape and sent her hand out for the lock on the door.

"Damn it!" She cursed loudly to herself, slamming her fist down on the door.

The top of the lock had been either filed down or cut off so that she couldn't even pull it up with her finger nails. That only left her with one choice. It looked like she was going to have to go out the window.

She groaned. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

**_A/N: All right, so that's chapter one! I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry if it seemed too short. I will try to make the chapters longer as I continue this story. Please don't forget to rate and review. I really do want your opinion. It'll help me see what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right. Don't be shy :]_**

**_And thank you for taking the time to read it!_**

**_Side note: The title of this story was inspired by the song Endlessly by The Cab. They have two great songs that I just love. Endlessly and Angel With a Shotgun. Go check them out if you haven't heard of them! :]_**

**_Until next chapter!_**

**_Au revoir!_**

**_~XAngelicWallflowerX_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Here's chapter two! Please don't forget to review and rate! **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just my OC and the plot**_

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Naruto and the crew arrived in the town around four in the morning. He could hardly keep still and it was annoying the hell out of Sasuke. All he could hear the whole ride was Naruto in the backseat fidgeting, shifting around and sighing. Kid was annoying as hell. How they became friends in the first place remains a mystery.

When Kiba finally pulled the Suburban to a stop, Sasuke had to hold back a sigh of relief. Now Naruto would finally stop fidgeting and shifting around like there were a bunch of red ants biting his ass.

Naruto hopped out first, like the impatient idiot he was, and stretched briefly before striding to the back and pulling out a nine millimeter pistol. After he stuffed it into the inside of his trench coat-the trench coat that everyone else also wore because he's an idiot and wanted them all to match-he filled his pockets with some ammunition. They were probably going a little overboard with the whole "search and rescue mission", but the way Sasuke saw it, he would rather be safe than be a sorry-dead-motherfucker.

* * *

Yuki didn't much like the idea of going out the window. Not only was it noisy, and she was bound to get caught, but she failed to see any other way of escaping and she had already made up her mind that she wasn't going back to where ever she was being held. A year of abuse and torture was enough for her. This ended today, even if it killed her.

She considered herself fortunate to tell the truth. Not once has Kye tried to rape her. He has fondled her and touched her down there, but has never forced her to have sex with him. Most girls in her situation would've been raped probably on the first night…or at least by the first week. But not her. Thank goodness. She was sure that it probably crossed his mind. Because really, what guy doesn't think about sex most of the time? Definitely not most of the guys she's dated. Hell about eighty percent of her dates had wanted to have sex on the first date. And what did they get? A door in the face and a big fat **delete** from her cell phone. That shit wasn't happening. She wasn't just some booty call. She wanted passion, lust...desire. Love.

Shaking her head, she got back on task. No time for those kinds of thoughts. She glanced out her window to make sure Kye wasn't coming back. Upon seeing that the coast was still clear, she leaned to the side, bringing her right leg up to her chest, and sent her leg flying toward the window after taking a deep breath. She hit it with as much force as she could muster, feeling relief when the glass shock and cracked with the force.

The glass shattered loudly after another kick and the shards flew everywhere. Some landed outside while others landed on her leg. A few were actually embedded into her ankle and shin. _Oh joy..._

A dog started barking from inside the house, probably hearing the commotion she made, so Yuki quickly undid the seat belt around her. She climbed out of the window as quick as she could and was just righting herself when the door flew open and Kye ran out on the porch. Their gazes collided and time seemed to stop completely. After a second, her gaze landed on the large black duffel bag clutched in his left hand. Unfortunately she didn't have time to register what the things she was seeing hanging out of it were because by now Kye was racing down the sidewalk toward her.

Turning on her heel, she took off in a random direction, hoping like hell that she was going the right way.

* * *

"Any sign of her?" Naruto asked as everyone meet up by the Suburban after searching the abandoned buildings north of the town. All their faces were grave. Except for Sasuke. He sported the same emotionless expression as always. He almost seemed bored, but Naruto knew that deep down Sasuke was worried about Yuki. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't.

"Not yet." Sakura said, sighing. Hinata nodded from her spot over by Kiba as well. They'd found no trace of Yuki either.

_Ugh!_

None of this was working. They weren't any closer to finding her then they were before!

On a burst of anger, he swung around and punched the tree behind him, crimson blood dripping from his knuckles. No one moved or made a sound as he turned around, forcefully hitting his back and head against the tree, and then sliding down to the ground. His eyes stared to water from frustration, but everyone just stared at him in shock. No one moved an inch. They were probably waiting to see what he was going to do next.

He clenched his hands that were settled on his lap as several thoughts raced through his head.

_I'm such an idiot. Why did I let her go by herself?_

His hands started trembling as the day of Yuki's abduction replayed in his head for the infinite time since it happened.

_(Flashback)_

**_"Naruto!" Yuki exclaimed happily as she browsed through clothes at this small store called Chic. It was right in town not very far from their apartment building. They had decided to get apartments in the same building so that they could be closer to each other without actually having to live one another. And to their surprise, they actually got apartments on the same floor. His apartment was at one end of the hall and hers was at the other. Walking distance. It was perfect._**

**_Yuki smiled happily as she bounced from clothes rack to clothes rack, browsing the articles that hung there. Naruto actually didn't mind shopping with Yuki. She didn't bombard him with thousands of bags to hold or carry like most girls did. Actually, she's never made him hold or carry a bag. He has always just done it for her, like the gentlemen he was. Or at least the one he tries to be anyways._**

**_"Look at this! It's so pretty!" She held a pink and neon yellow jacket in her hands. She chuckled to herself before sending him a devilish smirk._**

**_"It's soooo your color, Naruto. You should try it on." Naruto rolled his eyes, smirking back at her. She loved to mess with him. That's one of the reasons they got a long so well. They had similar personalities. It rarely ever got weird between them. Yuki knew that he was with Hinata, so they made sure to never let their friendly teasing cross the line. A little fun was no problem, but when things went too far it tended to get really awkward between them and Naruto hated that._**

**_He snorted, smirking still._****_"The day I wear that is the day you and Sasuke start dating." She chucked the article at him, nailing him right in the face._**

**_"Shut up! He doesn't like me like that, anyways. We're just friends." She had a pretty pink blush on her cheeks as she scowled at him, pouting her lips slightly. He noticed that she didn't deny it. A smirk appeared on his face. _**

**_He just couldn't pass up the opportunity to mess with her some more. As they walked towards the shoes on the back wall he chuckled evilly to himself before he spoke._**

**_"You too, huh?" _**

**_"Me too what?" She asked, confused._**

**_"I thought you had better taste than that," He feigned disappointment. "Are you going to become one of his fan girls too?"_**

**_She chucked a shoe at his face this time. He ducked just before impact and it sailed over his head, rebounding off the wall behind him._**

**_"Hey!" He exclaimed, chuckling. Damn, she had good aim. If he hadn't of ducked he'd have a shoe print on his cheek._**

**_"I never said I liked Sasuke!" She was all flustered now. Score one for Naruto. "I mean, I like him, just not more than a friend."_**

**_"You never said you didn't like him either," He mumbled, glancing side ways. She didn't respond either because she's ignoring it or she didn't hear him. It didn't really matter. After a couple more minutes of browsing they walked out of the store and onto the dark sidewalk. They took maybe ten steps toward the apartment building when she cursed loudly. _**

**_"I think I left my purse in the fitting room when I tried on those jeans earlier."_**

**_He stopped walking and turned as if to go back to Chic. "Let's go back and get it then."_**

**_"No," She shook her head and stopped him when he went to start walking. "You wait here. It'll only take me a second to run back in and grab it. I'll be right back."_**

**_Before he could stop her or insist on accompanying her, she was already jogging for the door and disappearing inside. He sighed as he shook his head at her and leaned up against the nearest building to wait. _**

**_About five minutes later a young guy with dark eyes and a hoody strode passed him just as Yuki came out of the store with her bag. The guy was sending Naruto all kinds of bad vibes, but he got distracted when Yuki smiled, holding up her bag as a signal that she found it. Just as she went to take a step in his direction the guy with the hoody grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with his gloved hand. Naruto could hear her muffled screams as he pushed off of the building behind him. When hoody-dude started to muscle Yuki in the other direction, she reached her hand out to Naruto, her big brown eyes pleading for his aid. _**

**_"Hey!" He exclaimed, but the guy didn't even flinch. If anything, he started dragging her faster. He could see tears rolling down her cheeks as he stumbled over an empty trash can, her hand still outstretched for him._**

**_Naruto pushed his legs to go faster as the two neared a corner, but suddenly a big burly dude in another hoody stepped out from the dark alley to his right and decked him right in the face. He and the burly guy exchanged a few punches before the guy punched him in the stomach and ran off._**

**_By the time Naruto stood up, Yuki was gone. The only thing left of her was her bag that she dropped at the corner as the men took her away._**

_(End Flashback)_

Naruto knew that he should've gone with her. He knew it, but yet he didn't. _I'm such a __**fucking**__ idiot!_

An emotion filled yell tore from his throat as he punched the ground repeatedly. God, how could he be so fucking STUPID?!

Hands pulling at his face had him looking up to see that it was Hinata pulling him to her, her lavender orbs full of so much sadness...it was almost his undoing.

She pulled him close, cradling his head in her arms as he leaned against her chest and she rubbed calming circles on his back. She hushed him comfortingly and scratched his scalp with her nails just like he liked. He didn't know how long he sat there in Hinata's embrace before someone spoke up.

"We'll find her, Naruto," Kiba vowed. "I promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't even keep!" Naruto growled, his voice harsh, but laced with emotion. Kiba recoiled. He was only trying to help. Naruto knew that. The poor guy was only trying to cheer him up. Not to mention Kiba thought of Yuki as a sister, but Naruto was too angry at himself to think rationally.

After a few tense minutes passed, Naruto inhaled deeply. And after holding his breath for a few seconds more he let it out slowly. Now that he was thinking clearly, he looked to Kiba.

"I'm sorry Kiba," He apologized as a tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't even bother wiping it away. "It's just...I feel so useless and I have this nagging fear that we're running out of time," He paused. When he spoke again his voice trembled slightly, "...that _she's_ running out of time."

Silence followed. Seems like no one knew what to say. Is it because they feared the same? That question had Naruto gripping on to Hinata a little tighter. He didn't even want to consider it.

A hand on his cheek had Naruto looking up to meet Hinata's beautiful lavender eyes once again.

"You aren't useless Naruto," She said softly. She overcame her stutter a while ago with Yuki's help. He remembered how happy they both were when he walked through the door that day and Hinata said a full sentence without a single stutter. "You're doing all you can, as are we. We _will_ find her." The "_dead or alive_" part was unspoken, but it still hung in the silence between them.

He sat there, looking into Hinata's lovely eyes for a few minutes more until he smiled, nodding. She was right. He laced his fingers with hers and stood up, pulling her along. "Then what are we waiting for?"

She gave him one of her sweet smiles as she nodded. A chorus of agreements followed and Naruto couldn't even begin to suppress the smile on his face. It was time to bring Yuki home. He would never stop or give up on her. Not as long as he was still breathing.

* * *

_Running_. That's all Yuki has done for the past three hours…or at least that's how long it felt. Her lungs were burning and her legs killed, but she refused to slow or stop. No way in hell was she going back to captivity with that sick bastard! Not after what he emerged from that house with. She shuddered as she thought about it.

At first the contents in the bag didn't register in her head-shock maybe?-, but as she ran she had time to decipher what the things in it were. And decipher it she did.

_Ugh, sick!_

In that black bag was an array of _sex toys_. She recalled seeing rope, handcuffs, and the tip of a dildo. _Shutter._ No way in hell was she going to let some sick asshole do something like that to her. Never in a million years would she consent to that. She was just glad that she escaped when she did. There were probably a hell of a lot more things in that bag, and knowing him, he'd use every last thing just to try to break her. Or maybe it was for his own sick, twisted pleasure. She didn't even want to know.

Shaking her head abruptly to clear the remaining thoughts, she ascended a steep hill. What was beyond the hill made her heart beat quicken and her breathing to stop briefly. Civilization! Finally!

With a burst of speed, she took off down the hill toward the town below. Now all she had to do was stay hidden until she found someone who was awake and would allow her to borrow their cell phone.

* * *

Kiba checked another abandoned warehouse, only to come up with the same result. Nothing. Not-a-fucking-thing. Each passing moment of failure made him even more frustrated and a little discouraged.

_At this rate we'll never find her_, he thought depressingly, running his hand through his brown locks.

He still couldn't believe that they had been fortunate enough to pinpoint her location in the first place. That Kakashi must have tremendous connections. Even though they still have yet to find her, Kiba had a gut feeling that they were on the right track. She was here. Somewhere.

* * *

_**A/N: So that was chapter two. I'm considering switching to first person, but I haven't decided yet. What do you all think? Oh yeah! I'm in the process of uploading the next chapter, so it should be up within the hour! :] Happy reading everyone!**_

_**Please don't forget to rate and review! As I've said before, I really want to know what you guys think about the story so far! (I know, I know we're only two chapters in, but I want to make sure that it all fits together well. I guess you could say that I'm a little paranoid. Haha.)**_

_**As always, thanks for taking the time to read my story!**_

_**Until next chapter (which will be in a few ;P)!**_

_**Au revoir!**_

_**~XAngelicWallflowerX**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: So here is the next chapter! Hopefully the chapters aren't too short XP. Please feel free to let me know if they are. I am trying to make them longer, I promise! **_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, just my OC and the plot.**_

_**Please rate and review! **_

_**And enjoy!**_

* * *

She had to stop and rest. She couldn't go on any longer. _Man, I need to work out more or something. Sheesh_. She plopped down at the base of a tree in an alley and tried to catch her breath. Her body ached all over. Especially her leg. Speaking of her leg…

She pulled herself up straighter and gazed down to her right leg. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, but some of the shards from the window still remained. It amazed her that it hadn't bother her sooner. It must've been the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Sighing, she reached down and grabbed a hold of a shard, wincing and flinching from the pain. _God damn!_

She held her breath and quickly, but carefully, pulled out each shard until her leg was once again a bloodied mess. All the bloodied shards were laying on the ground next to her in a pile. Staring at them for a moment, she wondered again how she ran for as long as she did. After burying them in the dirt, she sat there for a minute more. Thoughts of home, Naruto, her nice comfortable bed and a hot shower ran through her head.

_Man, I could really go for a nice hot shower right now..._

Sighing once again and pushing those thoughts aside, she stood up and headed off, anxious to finally be able to go home after so long. She didn't have anything with her to wrap around her leg, but she was hoping that she would find some help her soon. So far the very little people she talked to were either complete dick-wads or they didn't have a cellphone. She refused to get discouraged though. She missed her friends and she would be damned if she wasn't going to find some way to get back home. She would walk there if she had to.

She walked along the sidewalk thinking again about how a nice hot shower sounded at the moment, when she suddenly heard a car coming and saw her shadow before her. Turning her head, her eyes widened as she saw the Monte Carlo coming toward her. She stood there for a couple of seconds, shocked at how he could've found her so easily. Adrenaline once again pumped through her veins as she took off running as fast as her legs could take her. What has her pumping her legs as hard as she can wasn't that she was just standing there like a deer caught in the headlights. It was the gun Kye had leveled at her. When he got a gun, she wasn't sure, but she sure as hell wasn't about to stop and ask him.

Ahead of her was another alley, so she followed the wooden fence up to the opening. Just as she was rounding the corner, a gunshot sliced through the air and a sudden sharp pain on the back of her right upper thigh made her cry out in pain and fall to the ground. She reached her hand back and lightly touched the area, and when she pulled her hand back to her face it glistened with her blood. She whimpered at the pain, but pushed herself to her feet when she heard the car approaching. No way was she going back after getting this far.

She limped away as quick as she could, pain shooting through her with every step. But she just pushed on. She'd rather die from blood loss than go back with him.

* * *

It was really quiet. It made sense though. It was almost five o clock in the morning after all. There were only a very few people out this early, him not included. Some were clad in slacks and dress shoes, while others were either still in their pajamas or dressed casually. He sighed, feeling the morning air relax his tense muscles. Everything was peaceful...until a sudden gun shot rang through the air. Without a second thought, he launched himself towards the sound, hoping like hell that it was just an old car backfiring and not someone actually being shot.

* * *

After the many failed attempts to use a cellphone, Yuki gave up. How could every person she asked not have a cell phone? That was just fishy.

**_What if everyone here knows Kye and supports his habits? Maybe this is his home town..._**

That voice in her head has whispered nonsense like that for twenty minutes now. The sad thing was that she was starting to believe the nonsense its been spewing. Seriously though. It couldn't just be some coincidence that _everyone _she asked didn't have a cell phone. Who in their right mind didn't have a cell phone now-a-days?

After the man she just asked told her she couldn't use his cell phone, she decided to just keep limping passed the remaining people out and about. She made sure to keep her head tilted so that her hair cast her face in shadow, just in case that voice in her head turned out to be right. Every time she heard a car coming she hid behind something, fearing that it was Kye. It kept being false alarms so far. They were most likely going into work or something.

She wasn't dumb though. She knew that Kye was still looking for her. So until she got somewhere else—anywhere other than where she was now—she was going to continue hiding.

A car could be heard coming up the street and Yuki quickly scurried into the nearest alley and crouched down behind a garbage can. Turns out her paranoia paid off. It was Kye in the Monte Carlo. The drivers window was down and he was hanging out of it, scanning the alleys and streets for her. She kept quiet from her spot, peeking around the trash can to watch him. He crept along leisurely, almost as if he was out for an early morning ride. He wasn't even going 15 mph, for Pete's sake. Her body tensed as the car stopped in front of the alley she was hiding in and she stopped breathing, fearing he would hear her shaky breaths sawing in and out of her lungs.

After a couple of minutes he rolled on. When she could barely hear the car anymore she cautiously limped back out the sidewalk. He was down to the end of the street at the stoplight by now and was just disappearing around the corner. There was a sign by the stoplight that read '_21st St'_. Kye had turned left on twenty-first street, so she decided she would go right. She chuckled a little sadistically to herself.

_Good luck finding me that way, you prick_

There were a few cars waiting at the red light as she walked closer, but it seemed looked like most of the people who were out earlier disappeared. They all must've gotten to where they were going. Sighing, she followed the sidewalk around the corner...

Only to run into something hard and warm.

* * *

_**A/N: So there it is! I will try to get the next chapter uploaded before I have to go to work :] **_

_**I would like to thank DrPepperMonsterKitty and an anonymous reader for their reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far.**_

_**Until next chapter!**_

_**Au revoir!**_

_**~XAngelicWallflowerX**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Here is chapter four! Sorry for not having it up sooner! I tend to get distracted with YouTube, Facebook and Spotify XP. Not sure how long it'll be before I have the next chapter up. I haven't even written it yet, so we'll see. I have an idea where I want this story to go, the hard part is just getting there interestingly. Haha, anyways enjoy chapter four! Shoot me a review and rate it please!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, just Yuki and the plot.**_

_**Happy reading everyone! :]**_

* * *

She gasped and recoiled, taking several steps back. Staring wide-eyed with fear, she watched the figure engulfed in the shadows that were being cast by the rising sun as they started walking toward her. She couldn't stop herself from trembling as she took steps back with every forward step they made. In her haste to keep distance between herself and the unknown person, she tripped over something—most likely her own feet since she's a klutz—and fell backwards on her butt. Her injured leg screamed at her, making her wince and cover the wound in a futile attempt to ease the pain. She couldn't find the strength the get back up and it wouldn't have done any good anyways. The figure was already upon her.

"Are you all right?" Asked a deep male voice. A voice that sounded familiar. But, why did that voice sound so familiar?

She remained silent, still trembling. From blood loss, or fear, she couldn't say for sure. All she could do was watch this mystery man as he slowly crouched down level with her face. In doing so, he pulled his face out of the shadows and her heart skipped a beat as she instantly recognized him.

From the jet black hair that framed his porcelain face, to the onyx eyes he shared with his brother, she had never been happier to see Itachi Uchiha in all her life than she was at that moment.

"Itachi?!" She couldn't believe her eyes. Was she dreaming?! Stretching out her hand, she placed it on his cheek.

Warmth and smoothness. This wasn't an illusion. He was really sitting in front of her!

He covered her hand with his and she gasped, shocked.

"Oh my god. This isn't a dream! You're really here!" She threw her arms around his neck, forgetting about her leg, and cried tears of joy. He was really there!

He embraced her tightly. "Yuki! Thank god you're all right."

He hugged her tighter and she pulled him closer. It had been a long time since she'd been hugged. It was nice.

She was so relieved to see him.

After a few minutes, she pulled away to look him in the eyes. Her voice and hands trembled slightly when she spoke. "We have to get out of here, Itachi. Please get me out of here! I want to go home!"

She probably sounded like a five year old throwing a tantrum, but she didn't care. Even though she went the opposite direction as Kye, he was bound to come back around. Yeah, she'd been fortunate so far, but she didn't want to risk having her luck run out.

Luckily for her, he noticed her desperation and became concerned. He frowned and his eyebrows pulled together. "What's wrong, Yuki?"

"Kye is looking for me. Please, let's just go. I want to go home." She repeated. She really was desperate.

"Kye? Who's that?"

"He's the guy who kidnapped me a year ago. Can we please go now?!" She replied urgently. She didn't want to talk about this right now. She just wanted to get out of there.

He nodded, smoothing down her long brown hair affectionately. Her hair had to of grown at least two feet since she last seen everyone. Kye never really took her out anywhere, so it hasn't been cut in a year. Hopefully it didn't look too unkempt.

"Don't worry," He said, helping her to her feet. "I'll protect you and he won't ever get you again." He has always been like a big brother to her and she found great comfort in his words. She truly believed that he could protect her.

"The others are probably waiting for me by the car by now," He said, pulling her out of her thoughts. Her heart skipped a beat. _Others? Does he mean Naruto and everyone else?_

"Let's go home, Yuki." He said, offering her his hand with a warm smile.

She nodded vigorously, taking his hand. God, was she ever ready to get the hell out of here. As she went to take her first step, her leg throbbed, and she stumbled in pain. She winced, clutching it.

Thankfully, Itachi was there to keep her from tumbling to the ground. He looked at her, concerned.

"Yuki? Are you hurt?"

All she could do was nod at him. Itachi's face contorted with worry as he crouched down to look at her leg. He pushed away her blood stained hand and she noticed that he clenched his fist tightly by his side.

"It looks like a gunshot," He observed, moving to look at the front of her leg. "No exit wound either." Yeah, that was just her luck.

He looked up at her and she wasn't surprised to see anger in his eyes. They almost looked red from where she stood.

"I'll have to carry you," He stated. His voice was soft, not even a hint of anger in it even though his eyes clearly stated he was pissed.

She nodded, suddenly feeling worn out anyways. He grimaced a little. "But, the easiest way would be piggy back style. It might put strain on your leg and I don't want to hurt you, Yuki. I'll go get the car an-"

"No!" She interrupted him, grabbing his hand tightly. "Please don't leave me alone Itachi. Just carry me. I can handle the pain." He looked at her, seeming to search her face for something. She didn't know if he found what he was looking for, but he sighed and palmed his forehead.

After a moment more he said, "All right. Hop on."

She smiled and did her best to get on his back without hurting herself. Upon doing so successfully, she found that the position didn't put strain on her wounded leg at all. It was actually really nice to take a load of and not have to walk. She was more tired then she thought. She still had no idea how long she'd been running earlier that morning.

They walked on in silence for a little while before she spoke. "Itachi?"

"Hmm?"

She laid her head down on his shoulder, a slight smile on her lips. "Thank you."

He turned his head to look at her as he kept walking. "Don't thank me, _Koibito_. Naruto was the one who pushed us all to this point. He wouldn't give up, even when the police did. You know how he is when he sets his mind to something."

She chuckled. That was her Naruto. Stubborn as an ass. "Yeah, that's my Naruto." She chuckled a little. "Well thank you for not losing hope then...I know there were times where I almost did."

Her face fell as she told him that. She felt ashamed of herself, but one of the few reasons she didn't lose hope was because deep down in her heart she knew that Naruto was looking for her. He was her best friend. And she was delighted that her feeling was right.

As they rounded another corner, Itachi let her know that the car was about a mile away.

"Everyone is probably waiting for me," He shifted her higher on his back, sending a smirk her way. "And boy will they be happy to see you."

She smiled at him. "I know, I can't wait. I've missed them all so much."

"All of them?" He glanced back at her, surprised. She nodded. It was no lie that there were a few certain people who she couldn't stand.

"Sounds odd, but yes. I've missed all of them. That includes Sai, Lee and your grumpy brother." He chuckled, shaking his head at her statement. It wasn't that she couldn't stand Sasuke, the exact opposite really, he just really irritated her sometimes. But, he was actually one of her closest friends. They started getting closer six months before Kye took her. And in that time, her and Itachi also became close. Ever since her and Sasuke's friendship grew, her relationship with Itachi seemed to also. That was probably because Itachi and Sasuke used to live together, so it would make sense for her to get closer to Itachi also. She considered Itachi to be her older brother. Even though he isnt blood related.

"Speaking of Sasuke," She began. "Do you two still live together?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "No. Things started to get bad between us a couple months after you were taken." He seemed sad at the fact.

"It didn't help that he probably felt a little awkward and like a third wheel with me having Sakura over all the time."

_Sakura_? Yuki gave him a quizzical look. Even though he couldn't see it, he must've felt it because he continued on as if she had asked him out loud. "Her and I kind of hit it off after you disappeared. I could feel the tension between them the first time I invited her over. To be honest, I didn't expect her to show up. I was glad she did though. We've been together now for a year."

"Congratulations. I'm glad you both found happiness. You deserve it."

He thanked her and then suddenly said, "I can see the car from here."

Her eyes darted up and sure enough there sat Kiba's black Suburban. Unshed tears started to blur her vision, but she hastily wiped them away. There was no time to cry. She was too excited to see everyone. Crying could wait until later.

"Itachi, where have you been?!" That was Kiba's voice. Her heartbeat accelerated, tears threatening to cascade down her cheeks. _Kiba!_

"Yeah! We've been waiting for you for fifteen minutes!" Her breathing stopped. _Naruto!_

"What took you so long, man? Waiting is so troublesome. Yuki could be anywhere by now." _Shikamaru_. Her eyes softened.

_How many people did you recruit Naruto?_

"Did everyone else hear that gunshot earlier?" _Hinata_!

"Itachi," Yuki whispered. "Put me down."

He stopped walking and glanced at her over his shoulder. "What about your leg? What if you collapse?"

"Is he talking to himself?" Someone asked over by the car.

"Itachi, what's the hold up? Let's go." Her eyes widened. Sasuke was here too? And he sounded as impatient as ever. She found herself smirking.

_Sasuke_...

"I'll be fine," She held on to Itachi's shoulders as he lowered her to the ground. "I feel better now."

"I'll be right by your side if you need me." She smiled at him and took a deep breath.

"Am I going crazy, or do you all see someone standing next to him too?"

There was one person at that moment who Yuki absolutely needed to see. Her being gone had to have eaten him up inside. He probably blamed himself for what happened to her. Especially since she was with him when Kye grabbed her.

"Naruto?" She called out, unable to clearly see him through the darkened streets. The sun was rising, but it wasn't quite light enough yet.

"Y-Yuki?!"He exclaimed, surprised. His voice cracked a little bit at the end and if it hadn't of been a serious moment, she might have laughed.

After a few tense moments, he ran to her and she ran to meet him halfway. When they collided, the tears she had willed away now fell down her cheeks freely. "Oh my god, it's really you!"

She hugged him as tight as she could; her voice trembling with emotion when she spoke. "I've missed you so much, Naruto."

He held her like she would disappear at any moment. Itachi walked up to the pair as Naruto called out to everyone else. "Guys, it's really her! We found her!"

"You're safe now," Itachi said to her, affectionately caressing her hair for the second time that morning. She had yet to let go of Naruto, but she beamed up at Itachi through her happy tears.

Everyone rushed up to them and a chorus of 'Thank god' and 'I'm so happy you're all right' met her ears. She glanced to their surrounding faces and smiled once more, reluctantly pulling away from Naruto.

The first person she pulled into a hug was Kiba, followed by Shikamaru. Both were so happy and relieved to see her and she was just as happy to see them. Next came Sakura. The pinkette had tears streaming down her cheeks and a great big smile as she embraced Yuki. She had always considered Sakura a sister, just as she did Hinata. Yuki helped Sakura get back on her feet when her and Sasuke broke up a while ago. Let's just say, it wasn't a pretty sight. The poor girl was a wreck.

**_Hell, look at the man. Of course Sakura was devastated over Sasuke. He's a stud muffin!  
_**

_Shut up!_

She pushed that voice back in to its' corner in her mind. Stupid thing. To be honest, she was a little surprised to find out that Sakura was dating Itachi now. She really meant what she said to Itachi earlier. Sakura deserved happiness, as did he. She was happy to see that they seemed to have found that in each other.

She moved on to Neji with a smile. He may not have said much to her before, but she was still happy to see him. She appreciated that he came along, whether it was for Hinata's benefit or his own she didn't really care. He was there and that's all that mattered.

Sai was next in line and he almost plowed her over with the force of his hug. Had it not been for Itachi, who has been following her along in case her leg gives out, she might have fallen over. Even though he annoyed her to no end most of the time, she was kind of happy to see him.

"Easy Sai," She chuckled out. Poor guy still isn't used to stuff like this. Let's just say he had a difficult childhood. After he apologized several times and she insisted that it was all right, she moved on.

"Hinata." She embraced the lavender eyed woman as she started crying again. Hinata cried with her, the girl's tears dripping on to Yuki's shoulder. Smiling, she alternated between rubbing calming circles on Hinata's back and squeezing the girl tightly.

Lastly was Sasuke. Her expression softened when her brown eyes landed on his form. He was standing back from everyone else, watching. She noticed that his hair was longer, the ends almost to his collarbone now, but it still stuck up in odd places like always. He wore the same black trench coat that everyone else seemed to have, with black jeans and a pair of red Chuck Taylors. Her heartbeat accelerated the longer she looked at him, which confused her.

_What's wrong with me? I've never reacted this way to him before. What gives?_

She was so grateful though. He didn't have to come along with everyone else to save her and she would be in debt to every single one of them for a long time. Just the fact that he was in front of her meant that he valued their friendship at least a little. Sasuke was a hard card to decipher sometimes.

Yuki's stomach started doing somersaults as she got closer to him. She smiled at him as she limped to him. She really hoped her limping wasn't noticeable because she didn't want to explain what happened at the moment. She knew that she needed medical attention to get the bullet out, but she didn't want to deal with it right now. She just wanted to go home and take a nice hot shower...after she was done hugging Sasuke of course.

She probably smelled like shit and that made her a little self-conscious. She ignored it though. Surely Naruto—or even Sai—would've said something if she smelled that bad. Even though Naruto was her best friend, he had a tendency to say things he shouldn't. She still loved him, regardless.

As she came to a stop in front of Sasuke, their eyes met and she had to stop herself from gasping in shock. There was relief and a tinge of joy in his onyx orbs. He hardly ever showed emotion and the fact that he was showing some at that moment made Yuki smile wider and throw her arms around his neck tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, which surprised her even more. She was average height, so that placed her face was just above his shirt, but just below the spot where his neck and shoulder met. She inhaled sharply, her nostrils now filled with his scent. Embarrassingly, she found herself inhaling again despite herself.

_Mmmmm he smells really good..._

She mentally slapped herself, trying to just focus on the hug itself and not on the body and smell of the immensely attractive, five foot ten, walking hottie hugging her.

_Hottie? Since when do I refer to Sasuke as a hottie?!_

"-hurt." He said.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes, not having heard him over the battle going on in her head. "What?"

"You're hurt." _Well fuck. I was really hoping you wouldn't notice._ Who would've thought that Sasuke was the observant type?

"I'm fine, Sasuke." She insisted. His eyes hardened and she sighed to herself. So much for the tender moment.

"No you're not 'fine'. You're limping. What happened?" He emphasized the word 'fine'. He almost seemed insulted. Did she say something?

Just great. Everyone was looking at them now. She really didn't feel like explaining everything at the moment, so she remained silent as she stared into his eyes.

"You're hurt? Did _he_ do that to you?" Naruto asked, infuriated. "I'll kill that mother—"

"You've got to be exhausted Yuki," Itachi interrupted. _Good timing Itachi._ "Why don't we just head home and discuss it another time? She needs to rest."

Naruto's anger dissipated almost instantaneously and everyone voiced their agreements, heading for the Suburban. Sighing in relief, Yuki went to follow. Sasuke suddenly stopped her by grabbing her wrist. Confused, she looked into his eyes to see cold hard determination.

"Let me help you." That's all he said. She knew there was no way he was going to let her walk by herself, she could see that much just by the way he was looking at her. Persistent bastard.

She sighed again, not wanting to unintentionally insult him again. She wasn't up for the fight that would most likely follow if she refused either. Giving in and letting him have his way for now was the only option. "All right."

He pulled her flush to his side and put her arm around his neck. "Put your weight on me…there you go."

It was a little awkward being so close to Sasuke after so long, especially with all the thoughts that have been going through her head lately. But, damn if he didn't just smell amazing!

Yuki blushed fiercely.

_Stupid hormones. Knock it off! Ugh...I really hope he doesn't see me blushing. How embarrassing would THAT be...just calm down, jeez._

When they approached the vehicle, Itachi smiled at her from the seats that were farthest in the back, beckoning her with his hand. Sasuke lifted her inside effortlessly, causing the blush that stained her cheeks to deepen. He lifted her as if she were weightless and she couldn't figure out why she felt a little breathless afterwards.

When her hand clasped around Itachi's, he gently helped her sit down on his lap since there wasn't another seats. He was careful not to cause her any pain and it warmed Yuki's heart. Everyone was talking amongst themselves as they started getting in to the vehicle. Naruto sat between Hinata and Sakura, who were seated directly in front of her, Itachi and Sasuke. Hinata was in front of her and Itachi while Sakura was in front of Sasuke. In front of Sakura and Hinata sat Neji and Sai. Then came Shikamaru, who was riding shot gun, and Kiba, who was obviously the driver.

Kiba put the keys in the ignition, revving the engine before taking off after everyone was buckled up. The ride was silent for the most part, aside from the friendly chatter between Naruto and Kiba.

About twenty minutes later Yuki started to feel strange. She was starting to sweat profusely, but she felt cold. She kind of felt a little dizzy too. Her body started to quake, rattling her teeth slightly. Itachi pulled her a little closer and started rubbing her back comfortingly. Her chattering teeth didn't stop, however.

"You okay?" He whispered, concern lacing his voice. She swallowed hard and braced her hand on the back of the seat in front of her. Nausea could be added to the list. She felt like she could yak all over at any moment. She didn't trust herself to speak, in fear of doing just that, so she shook her head 'no' to answer Itachi's question.

He brought his hand up to her forehead, checking for a fever most likely.

"You don't feel like you have a fever." He stated. She felt cool as a cucumber, aside from the clamminess.

"Is she okay?" Sasuke asked Itachi, having heard and seen everything. How could she forget that he was sitting over there? God, what was wrong with her? Her breathing started to accelerate as Itachi talked with Sasuke. It was almost like she was hyperventilating. It made her nervous. When she looked up, her gaze locked with Sasuke's for a few moments and whatever expression she had caused him to sit up straighter and halfway turn towards her.

"Sakura," He put one of his hands on her shoulder, causing her to jump and turn to look at him. "Something's wrong with Yuki."

Sakura's eyes snapped to Yuki to see that her skin looked gray, she was shivering and it looked like she was sweating. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Does she have a fever?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, she feels fine. A little clammy, but no fever. Her breathing just accelerated about two minutes ago. It's almost like she's hyperventilating."

"I feel really dizzy," Yuki mumbled, bowing her head.

Clammy. Gray colored skin. Accelerated breathing. And dizziness...Fuck!

Yuki was going into shock. Shit! This isn't good!

"Lay her down immediately and lift her feet about twelve inches high!" Sakura instructed urgently. The two did so as Itachi swiveled to face Sasuke, gently but urgently placing Yuki's head in Sasuke's lap while Itachi lifted her feet up and held them there. Her lower back was braced on Itachi's long legs, so it was almost like she was laying across another seat. It was comfortable despite how it sounded.

"Keep her warm and remove any tight clothing!" Sakura instructed again.

Sasuke tugged on Yuki's sweater, but found that it wasn't that tight and that it would help to keep her warm. He carefully shimmied out of his trench coat and draped it over her trembling form.

"She's going into shock, so don't move her around much and just make sure you guys keep her warm." Sakura said. Yuki faintly noticed that the urgency in her voice seemed to be gone now.

Sasuke said something to Sakura, but Yuki was already half asleep. Man, she was so tired. Sasuke's lap was actually very comfortable.

The last thing that went through her head was a single thought...

_He still smells good. Mmmmmm_

* * *

_**A/N: Wow! Over 3,000 words! :] **_

_**I hope you are all still enjoying this story. I'm sure having a lot of fun writing it. **_

_**So, I haven't received very many reviews. Thank you again to those of you that have reviewed. And I would also like to thank those of you who have favorited and followed my story. That makes me very happy :]. And a happy me, is a getting-chapters-out-more-often me. Just an FYI. Hahahahaha.  
**_

_**Anywho...so that was chapter four! Please let me know what you all thought about it!**_

_**Until next chapter!**_

_**Au revoir! :D**_

_**~XAngelicWallflowerX**_


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Naruto, Humor, Romance