Naruto 1. Chapter 1, A Bad Feeling

Consequences

_Everyone must accept the consequences of their actions._

_Both the living and the dead_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

A Bad Feeling

* * *

Sasuke woke up to a growling stomach. He went to stand up, but a hand grabbed him arm and pulled him back down.

"It's Saturday," a sleepy Naruto informed Sasuke, "Stay."

Sasuke sighed, but didn't try to stand up again. His stomach growled again. He tried to ignore it. He was having a hard time doing so. He didn't have to eat when he was dead. Naruto had fallen back asleep, and Sasuke, finally too hungry to ignore his empty stomach any longer, crawled out of bed, and went to make breakfast.

After a while Naruto stumbled his way down the stairs.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to tell everyone?"

Silence filled the room. Neither one of them had figured what they were going to tell everyone. Finally, Sasuke spoke.

"We're going to say that my name is Sasuke Uchiha," there was a sound of protest from Naruto, which Sasuke ignored, "And that I'm the younger cousin of the deceased Sasuke Uchiha. I'd come to see the house, met you, and we fell in love."

There was quiet for all of three seconds after that statement.

"Who knew Teme was so corny!"

"Do you want pancakes?"

Naruto shut up.

* * *

"Itachi-san?" a blue shark demon knocked on the door of his partner's room, then opened it. The room was very dark. It had no windows and the walls were painted black. His partner, a sprit who had once been human, was sitting on a bed, his eyes closed. He was concentrating on something, as usual, and, as usual, was mad that he was disturbed. Not that the sprit ever showed that. After all these years, the blue shark demon had learned to read his partner, even the sprit showed as much emotion as a stick.

"What do you want, Kisame?" the sprit asked back, never opening his eyes.

"We have our next mission, Itachi-san." Replied Kisame.

"What is it?" asked Itachi.

"We're going after a revived ghost, and an half-demon."

"Half-demons fall out of our jurisdiction, and Pein knows that," replied Itachi, "He's sending us after someone we have no right to arrest, and if the half-demon court catches wind, we'll be in for another war."

"The half-demon brought the ghost back to life."

"And their names?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

Kisame felt a shiver as anger and thrill came off of his partner. This was personal if the sprit could get worked up this much.  
Itachi finally opened his eyes, revealing them to be a blood red.

"Let's go."

Kisame moved aside to let Itachi pass, and paused before following him, thinking: 'That sprit's a real demon.'

* * *

Naruto walked happily into Iruka's shop, Sasuke walking in after him, a bored expression on his face. A second after walking in, Naruto found himself being hugged tightly by Iruka.

"I heard you were in the hospital! Are you okay? Why were you there?"

"Iruka-sensei, calm down! Yes, I'm fine! And I just fell down the stairs! I came here to introduce you to someone."

Iruka looked up to see Sasuke standing there. He paled a bit.

"Hey, sensei." Sasuke said.

There was a thump as Iruka fainted.

"And I didn't even tell him we're going out yet!" said Naruto.

Naruto had insisted on telling Iruka the truth about Sasuke. At first Sasuke had refused. It was unreasonable and stupid. But then Naruto had pouted, so Sasuke gave in.

Iruka woke up after a bit.

"Iruka-sensei, are you okay?"

"I'm fine… But Sasuke! He's alive again! And you were asking about him the other day-" Everything clicked into place in Iruka's head – Except for the "They're in love part – And he looked from Naruto to Sasuke, stood up, and hit Naruto very hard over the head.

"What did I tell you?! I said not to raise anyone from the dead! Do you listen at all?!"

"But he was haunting my house, and we sorta fell in love with each other!"

Iruka looked towards Sasuke, hoping that Sasuke would deny what Naruto was saying.

Sasuke nodded, agreeing with Naruto, and just to prove it – or maybe just because he wanted to – Sasuke pulled Naruto into a very heated kiss. Iruka sighed, and was very grateful that he had closed the shop for the day so he could put out some new things.

"Naruto, Sasuke," Iruka said when they had finally pulled away from each other. They looked at him, Naruto wondering what he was going to say, Sasuke ready to argue if Iruka said that he needed to be a ghost again. Iruka continued, "Just be careful. I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!"

* * *

"So… Itachi-san, why is this mission so important to you?"

"To become a sprit I killed my family. Including my little brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

Kisame once again had the thought that this sprit was a true demon. He couldn't have killed his family in cold blood and talked about it casually later. Heck, he couldn't even bring himself to _imagine_ killing his family in the first place!

"Are we going to talk to Tsunade?" asked Kisame.

"Yes. That's the only way we're going to be able to find them."

* * *

Gaara looked at the door leading out of the hospital.

"What's wrong, dude?" asked Kiba.

"I have a feeling something terrible's going to happen."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But it's going to be absolutely horrible. When was Naruto's fifteenth birthday again?"

"It's in two months, why?"

"Because half-demons go crazy on their fifteenth birthday."

Kiba paled and Akamaru whimpered.

* * *

**Author's** **Note**: If you like the beginning of this, and like the fact it came out early, you have Spring break to thank for that. I totally forgot about it, and then when I was told my first thought was: Cool! Now I have time to work on all the fanfiction! –cough- So. Yeah. Somehow the scene with Iruka turned from a scene having to do with Iruka being the only person they confide with and how close Naruto's birthday is to one having to do with Iruka's reaction to them being together… and alive… and a very bad attempt at humor…

So for the reviews from the last chapter of Sprits:

**Kiisa**: Thanks! But I'm not that good…

**Mochiusagi**: You'll see, be patient! And is this soon enough for you?

**Sasukesgirl89**: Don't be sad! My fanfiction's not that good! I'm glad you're excited! This one's probably going to end up longer than the last one. –sweatdrop-

**Sunny Soul**: I hope you don't mind the PM I sent you! You wanted me to tell you, so…

**MelissaKS**: Thank you!

**Dragon77**: I know, we just want them to be happy. But then there wouldn't be any plot, would there?

**Kurotorachan**: Did you guess any of what I've revealed so far?


	2. Chapter 2, They

Consequences

_Every action has a Consequence,_

_Sometimes good, sometimes bad._

* * *

**Chapter 2**

They

* * *

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork when a very flustered Shizune walked into her office.

"Yes, Shizune?"

"_They_ are here."

"Let them in. It's not good to keep them waiting. Do you know which ones?"

"No, they've never visited before."

"Okay, now go let them in."

As soon as Shizune closed the door, Tsunade sighed and took a sip from her beer. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to go well.

The door opened, and two tall –could you them people?- walked into the office. Shizune closed the door behind them.

"Hello." Said the taller of the two, a blue demon. The other one was a sprit, which Tsunade recognized almost immediately as Uchiha Itachi.

"What do you want?" Tsunade snapped. She hated working with _them_, but she had to. They were the Lamor, run by a sprit with God-like powers, Pein. Some would go as far as calling Pein god, but Tsunade could tell he was not.

The Lamor was basically the sprit world police, tracking down sprits, ghosts and demons who had stepped out of line, and bringing them to Pein, who decided the punishment. The Rantin was a branch of this, who went after ghosts bugging people, and brought them to the Lamor.

Most of the Rantin members were forced to join. That was the only reason the Tsunade was there in the first place.

"We need to know where the half-demon Uzumaki Naruto lives," the taller one spoke again.

'What did you do that made the Lamor come after you, Kid?' Tsunade thought.

"Why do you want to know? Half-demons are out of our authority."

"Just give us the information," said Itachi, "Why is none of your business."

Tsunade opened a file cabinet next to her and pulled out a file. She opened the file and handed Itachi a piece of paper.

"There you go. Now get out of my office."

* * *

"Teme!" said Naruto, bounding down the stairs and running into the kitchen.

"What do you want, Dope, I'm making dinner." Asked Sasuke, completely unsurprised by Naruto's sudden appearance.

"Can't we just have Ramen?" Naruto pouted.

"No. I, unlike you, can't live off ramen. We're having spaghetti tonight."

"So bite me for liking Ramen so much!" said Naruto, glaring at Sasuke.

"Is that an invitation?"

Naruto turned bright red.

"N-no! You're so mean, Teme!"

This statement was enforced by Naruto's stomps up the stairs.

Sasuke shook his head, but a small smile could be found on his face.

* * *

"Naruto, stop daydreaming and actually work for once!" yelled Iruka, hitting Naruto over the head.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei!" he said before beginning to start cleaning the windows again. Naruto saw Sakura outside and waved. She smiled at him, and waved back, then walked into the store.

"Naruto, guess what!"

"What?" Naruto asked his long time friend. He hadn't seen her in a long time he realized. She had cut her hair.

"There's a new, hot boy who just moved near where you live! He's the last Uchiha too! He's so cool."

"Um, and that's good?" Naruto asked, pretending to not know if that was good or not. But inside he was bubbling with jealously, both for Sasuke was Sakura. Before Sasuke had come along, Naruto was always trying to get Sakura to like him as more than a friend, and Sasuke had gotten her without even trying. And Sasuke was his boyfriend. He had a right to be jealous.

"Naruto, that's great!" she squealed, unable to hold in the excitement.

At that moment, Naruto and Sakura's conversation was interrupted by Ino running up next to her.

"Sakura, guess what!" she said in between pants.

"What?"

"The hot guy said he was taken!"

"What?! Who?"

"He didn't say, but you could just tell he was saying the truth."

After Naruto realized he was being ignored, he turned back to cleaning the window, but not without a smirk on his face.

He looked out the window for a moment, and saw two tall people looking at the store through the crowd of people. He caught eyes with one of them, and was struck by how much the man looked like Sasuke. He blinked, and the two figures vanished. He looked up and down the street before going back to cleaning the window.

* * *

"Gaara, what is it like when a half-demon goes crazy?" asked Kiba. This question had been sitting on his mind for a long time, and he had finally gotten up the courage to ask.

"They release this power -which some people say is stronger than most demon's power- and start destroying everything in their path. They'll even kill the people they care for the most. But it's not because they want to, it's because they're not there anymore. Their souls are completely gone. The only thing left is the instinct to kill everything. The only way to stop them is to kill them, and you can only do that before their birthday. I'm lucky. I'm Shukaku's child. I won't go crazy. But Naruto is the Kyuubi's child and will go crazy. He is much more powerful than I am. But I'd much rather keep my sanity when I'm older than have power."

"But that wasn't his choice!" said Kiba, unhappy about the injustice to his friend.

"Did you decide to see sprits? Did you decide to be separated from your family for the rest of your life? No. And neither one of us decided to be a demon's child. It's just the way it is. Life is cruel."

"One and a half months. Naruto has about one and a half months, right?"

Gaara nodded.

"Someone will have to kill him before then if they don't want him to destroy everything."

"There has to be something someone can do!"

"I don't know if there is anything that can be done."

* * *

**Author's Note**: I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this in time! I'm happy I did though. Look! You can see plot! Now I can go finish my homework! And thanks to everyone who's supported this series-thingy so far! I really appreciate you guys! And yes, this one time I will be the typical everyday fanfiction writer and say Please Review! It makes me really happy! Now I'll never say it again, I promise! The last few chapters of Naruto have made me so mad. Masashi Kishimoto needs to stop stopping at such annoying parts! I want to see Madara's face! And know more about Itachi!

**Sunny Soul**: Um, both! Sorta. I explained about the Rantin thing in this chapter, and yes, Itachi is technically dead. He doesn't need to breathe and stuff, but he can still run around.  
**Ditchiestar**: No, Sasuke doesn't die in shippuden (yet, at least) I just had this idea. I'm really glad you like it and reviewed! –hugs-  
**Sasukesgirl89**: Thanks! –hugs- Such a faithful reviewer! It makes me happy!  
**Mochiusagi**: Itachi and Kisame need to track down Naruto and Sasuke because Naruto brought Sasuke back to life, and that's illegal. And they're part of the sprit police –insert cheesy music- so they have to go after them.  
**KitsuneNaru**: Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3, The Evil Fluff Chapter

Consequences

_Why must everyone choose their path?_

_Why must the consequences fall on us?_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The Evil Fluff Chapter

* * *

Sasuke was suddenly knocked over by a blond flash.

"Teme! I'm home!" Naruto said happily.

"Hey, Dope."

"What's for dinner?"

Sasuke sighed quietly, and tried to get Naruto off of him. It didn't work.

"I thought we could go out for ramen."

Naruto smiled and yelled,

"Yes!"

Sasuke shook his head Naruto, and tried to push him off again. Once again, Naruto did not move.

"You like ramen way too much. I'm starting to think you like it more than me."

"Of course I like ramen more than you!"

"Naruto, I'm hurt."

"I couldn't hurt you, you Teme! You'd just go get yourself girl."

This teasing had become normal between them.

"And you'd just go eat your ramen."

"Of course."

Silence fell on them and Sasuke stopped trying to pry the smaller blond off of him. They sat like that for a while before Naruto spoke up.

"I saw someone who looked almost exactly like you today while I was working at the shop."

Sasuke paled a little.

"What did he sound like?"

"I didn't hear him, or get a good look at him. I just saw him out the window; I think he was a ghost of some sort. Why do you want to know? Do you think I would leave you for him?"

Sasuke didn't answer his question, but said instead:

"Let's go eat dinner, I'm hungry."

Naruto climbed off of Sasuke and held his hand put to help Sasuke up. Sasuke took it and stood up.

"Sasuke, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I just… got some bad memories dragged up."

Naruto hugged Sasuke and kissed him on the cheek.

"We don't have to go out for ramen if you don't want to. I could try to make macaroni and cheese or something."

"No, it's okay, come on."

Sasuke wriggled out of Naruto's hug, grabbed his hand, and smiled. He pulled Naruto towards the door and said:

"Come on, let's go get you some ramen."

* * *

Itachi watched the half-demon consume ramen at an amazing rate. He had come to watch the half-demon without Kisame with him. He had wanted him to be sure. After seeing his younger brother sitting next to the half-demon and talking to him, he was sure. But something was different about his brother. His eyes were lit up and happy, and he laughed at one point. The Sasuke Itachi remembered had a sad and lonely aura around him, and never laughed. Itachi used his sprit magic and reappeared in the hotel that Kisame and him were staying at. He knocked on the door of Kisame's room. The door opened to reveal the half-asleep demon.

"Yes, Itachi-san."

"We're going to get him tomorrow. We have his schedule memorized. We'll grab him on his way home."

With that, Itachi turned and walked into his room without another word. Kisame sighed and went back to bed.

* * *

Sasuke felt someone watching him, and glanced behind him. He saw his brother, and he scowled slightly before turning back to his conversation with Naruto. But thoughts were swirling around his head. The biggest ones were: What is Itachi doing here? And What does he want with Naruto?

After Naruto finished with his ramen they went home. As soon as they were home Naruto asked:

"Sasuke, something's bothering you. What is it?"

"It's nothing, Naruto, don't worry about it."

"Sasuke, I don't like seeing you like this. I really want to help. I hate it when people just shut me out!" the last statement was said with great intensity, and Sasuke flinched.

"I'm not trying to shut you out, Naruto-"

"You may not be trying, but you are!" interrupted Naruto, now shouting.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I-I just can't tell you just yet. I will soon, okay?"

Naruto looked at him suspiciously for a few more seconds, then nodded.

"Okay." Naruto's bright demeanor returned and he smiled.

* * *

Naruto stretched, careful not to wake up the sleeping Sasuke next to him and glanced at the calendar on the wall. He looked back at it and sighed.

'I'm going to tell Sasuke sometime soon,' he thought, 'But I don't want him to get all worried about it. I have a feeling something's really bothering him, and I don't want to add to his worries.' Naruto sighed.

"What's wrong, Naruto? I've never heard you sigh like that." Said Sasuke, yawning. Sasuke pulled Naruto down next to him and kissed Naruto gently. Naruto wiggled out of Sasuke's hug and sat up again. He looked back at the calendar.

"Sasuke… My fifteenth birthday is coming up."

"Yeah, so? I'll be sure to get you something."

"That's not… Never mind."

Sasuke sat up.

"Naruto, what's going on?"

"Sasuke, half-demons go crazy on their fifteenth birthday."

Sasuke just looked at Naruto for a minute. He reached out towards Naruto, who flinched away.

"Naruto, I'll love you no matter what."

* * *

Naruto smiled happily as he finished sweeping the floor.

"Done, Iruka-sensei! What do I need to do now?"

"Mop, then you can go."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei." Naruto quickly got started mopping.

'When I get home tonight, I'll see if I can get Sasuke to take me out for ramen!' planned Naruto, smiling happily, and humming slightly.

"You seem happy today."

Naruto looked up at the unfamiliar voice and saw the same man who had been outside the shop before. Once again Naruto was struck with surprise on how much he looked like Sasuke.

"Yes, I am!" Naruto replied after getting over the initial shock.

"Naruto, are you done mopping?" called Iruka from the back room.

"Yes!" Naruto yelled back. He quickly put the mop away, happy to be able to get out of the shop. Happy that he could go home.

He never got home.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I hate this chapter. I really do. It was absolutely horrible to write and there was way too much fluffish-stuff. And it's just badly written, and the characters are all really OOC and it's horrible!! –sigh- Aw well.

**Mochiusagi**: Maybe –evil smile-  
**Sasukegirl89**: He might, he might not.  
**Roseearered**: Yup. I squeed when I learned that Itachi was good the whole time (I'm, a bit of a fangirl) No offense taken. This story needs some evil people, so I'm going to keep using Itachi.  
**KitsuneNaru**: !!SPOLIERS!! Yes, Sasuke kills Itachi, and so far he hasn't returned to Konoha. We don't even know if he's going to go back to Konoha.


	4. Chapter 4, The Journey Begins

Consequences

_Consequences for every mistake,_

_Consequences for every want,_

_The consequences will tear you apart._

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The Journey Begins

* * *

Sasuke hadn't been worried the first day Naruto hadn't returned from his work

Sasuke hadn't been worried the first day Naruto hadn't returned from his work. He figured that Naruto had fallen asleep, _again_, while at work and Iruka had, _again_, been too nice to wake him up. But after the second night, Sasuke started to feel concerned. By the third day, he was very worried.

That worry had brought him outside of Iruka's shop.

"Iruka?"

* * *

"Iruka?"

Iruka looked up at the obviously worried boy in front of him. This made him uneasy; the Uchiha was not one to show emotion so easily. He must be very upset about something.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Has Naruto been at work recently?"

"The last time Naruto was here was two days ago, why?"

Sasuke ignored Iruka's question.

"Thanks."

Sasuke walked out of the shop, the door closing behind him with a slam. Iruka flinched and wondered what could be going on.

* * *

The hospital doors opened and Sasuke walked in.

"I want to talk to Tsunade. Now." He stated harshly to the girl behind the counter. She eeped and ran off to find Tsunade. The girl came back with Tsunade walking behind her.

"What do you want brat?" she asked, a scowl on her face, "I'm busy."

"Is Naruto here?" he asked.

Some indescribable emotion swam behind her eyes.

"No."

Sasuke turned to go, but Tsunade's voice stopped him.

"But I can tell you where you can find him."

Sasuke turned to face her.

"Where?" he demanded. She gestured for him to follow him. They walked a long ways up stairs and down hallways into her office. They were silent the whole way there. People stared at them as they walked. Sasuke ignored him. As soon as they were in the office, Tsunade turned on Sasuke.

"What did you two do to get the Lamor after you?!"

Sasuke looked emotionless to this bit of news, but on the inside thoughts and emotions were swirling.

'The Lamor was after us? Was that why Itachi was here?'

"The Lamor was after us?" he asked, echoing his thought.

"Yes," she hissed, "What law did you break that was so big they handled it themselves?"

"The only one I can think of is that I'm alive again."

There was silence for a few minutes before Tsunade spoke again.

"What act did your bother perform to become a sprit?"

Sasuke looked at her blankly.

"People have to something very big for them to become sprits. I was wondering what Itachi did to earn the right to be a sprit, and then be part of the Lamor. If it has something to do with you, that might be why this was a much bigger deal than normal. Normally they would have just sent me after Naruto."

"He killed me and the rest of the Uchihas. Before he killed me, he told me that he had to."

Tsunade nodded.

"That could be why Itachi and his partner were sent after Naruto, even though Naruto isn't under our rule."

"What?"

"Sprits, Demons, Ghosts, and stuff like that are ruled by the Lamor, while the humans rule themselves in kingdoms and such. Half-demons are both humans and demons. A long time ago there was fight over who would get to rule them. Eventually it was decided that they would rule themselves. Naruto doesn't have to answer to the Lamor. Not that they're not going to try."

"You said you knew where Naruto was," Sasuke said, changing the subject.

"He's in the prison, in the bog south of here." Tsunade opened a drawer in her desk, and pulled out a map.

"Here. This is a map of the prison. To get to the prison, just follow the path until you get to the crossroads. Take the left route, the one that goes farther into the swamp. Don't go off that trail for _anything_. Even if Naruto appears out of the prison, make him walk to you. _Don't go off the trail_. The journey is a two daylong trek trough mud. Be careful."

She handed the map to him.

"Thank you." Sasuke said.

"Now get out of here and bring the kid back!" said Tsunade, ushering Sasuke out the door.

* * *

Naruto listened to the guards' conversations. He knew that they might be important somehow, and he had nothing better to do in the prison.

"I heard Itachi sent out the will-o'-the-wisps to make sure no one came after his capture."

"The will-o'-the-wisps? Really? They haven't been sent out in a long time. I bet they're just waiting to catch somebody!"

"I saw one once."

"Their lanterns?"

"No, a real one. It was really ugly, and had these huge hands! And it was holding a green lantern."

Will-o'-the-wisps? Naruto had heard of them before. They were lights that lead travelers into the swamps, and their graves. But he had never heard them talked about as if they were actual things, not just imaginary lights made up by the weary explorer's head.

"I could eat a lot of things," continued one of the guards, "But I don't think I could eat humans, like the will-o'-the-wisps."

* * *

"Itachi-sama, the will-o'-the-wisps are out guarding, and said that they would lead away any human that went down the path here," said a very nervous, female, shapeshifter servant.

He nodded, and she quickly walked off, quiet happy to get away.

'Sasuke, if you do come after the half-demon, the will-o'-the-wisp will lead you away, and eat you. And if the will-o'-the-wisps eat you, your soul won't survive, and I'll never have to worry about you again.'

* * *

Sasuke had been on the trail for a day, and it was getting dark. He had taken the left fork – which he had come to much sooner than he had expected – and had been walking for a long time. He thought he saw lights in the distance, but shook his head, thinking he must be really tired. After the sun had gone down fully, he saw the lights again. He rubbed his eyes, and decided that he should probably find some place to rest. He looked around and found a small, hidden place only a few yards from the trail, and went to sleep.

* * *

**Author's note**: Oh my gosh! Sasuke went off the path! He didn't listen to Tsunade! –gasp- You have to thank "Pumpkin Scissors" for this chapter. It wouldn't be done right now if I hadn't read the first volume of it. And sorry for the late update. My friend decided to have a weekend-long birthday party, and I never had time to write it. So it's late. The next update will probably be late too. I have finals coming up, unfortunately. But as soon as those are over, I can probably update more often! –smile-

**Black-Dranzer-1119**: It did? Really? –is amazed- I've read part of the mediator series, and it's good, isn't it?  
**Ditchiestar**: Of course I'm going to put more! I wouldn't just leave it at a cliffhanger like that! But, then again, I am sorta flaky…  
**Mochiusagi**: I mean that Naruto didn't return home!  
**UchihaUzumaki baby**: I'm glad you all liked it! But, don't cry! It'll all work out, possibly…  
**KitsuneNaru**: Oh no is right!


	5. Chapter 5, Lights in the Distance

Consequences

_The consequences are gainning on them,_

_How much longer until they finally know?_

_What they've done._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Lights in the Distance

* * *

"Hey, Takara! I found someone! Is this the guy you were talking about?" asked a red haired, blue-eyed boy, poking Sasuke with a stick. Sasuke looked at the boy blearily before grabbing the stick from him and breaking it.

"Yup! That's couwsin Nawuto's boyfrwind." Said a young girl, running up to the boy. Her hair was red, like the boy's, but her eyes were a deep green.

"You're related to Naruto?" Sasuke asked the little girl. She nodded.

"He's my couwsin," she said, smiling and showing that her two front teeth were missing, making it hard for her to talk.

"Would you just give him the message so we can go home, Takara? I'm sick of the mud."

"Oh, wight. Aunty Chiyo wush sheeing youws and couwsin Nawuto's future, and she saws that couwsin Nawuto would be taken by shome bad guy, shos she shent ush off to tell you that 'the thingsh that might huwt you, might helpsh you.'"

(Translation: "Oh, right. Aunt Chiyo was seeing yours and cousin Naruto's future, and she saw that cousin Naruto would be taken by some bad guy, so she sent us off to tell you that 'the things that might hurt you, might help you.'")

"And she also told me to tell you to hurry;" butted in the boy, "because if you don't it'll be too late to save Naruto from… from… I can't remember what from, but it'll be bad!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Let me get this straight, you're Naruto's cousins and you were sent off the give me these vitally important messages by your aunt?"

"No," said the boy, "We're not related to Naruto. We just met him when he was on some trip last year. And Aunt Chiyo isn't really our aunt, she's an old lady who takes care of us, and she's physic! And she saw that you've got to hurry and save Naruto!"

Sasuke looked down at the kids. The boy glared up at him, as if daring Sasuke to not believe them. The girl hid slightly behind her brother, and kept her eyes on the ground. Sasuke patted the girl on the head.

"Don't look so worried. I'll be sure to bring him back."

* * *

Dusk was crowding in as Sasuke continued down the path.

'It's been two days now,' thought Sasuke, 'And I'm still not there. I can't even see it.'

Multicolored lights drifted on the edge of his sight. Sasuke ignored it. The daylight was quickly disappearing and it wouldn't be too long until he would need some sort of light source. He sighed, and looked around, wondering if Naruto would be alright for another night inside the prison.

* * *

"I don't see why Itachi's making me watch over you," mumbled Kisame, annoyed. He was sitting outside of Naruto's cell. "It's not as if I have nothing else better to do or he's overly worried about somebody getting to you. He has the will-'o-the-wisps out to keep anybody from getting to you. He's just being a bastard."

Naruto said nothing back to Kisame, just sat in silence like he had for the past few days.

"Kisame-sama," said a girl walking up to him, "Pein-sama would like to see you."

"Yes!" said Kisame, standing up, "I get out of this stupid guard duty." He walked off. Naruto stood up and walked up to the bars. He looked around and didn't see any guards. He sighed and sat down.

'If only I could use my demon powers to get out of here. Then I wouldn't have to worry about Sasuke getting eaten by a will-'o-the-wisp.'

"Bored?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden sound of Itachi's voice.

* * *

It was now too dark for Sasuke to see the path clearly. He stopped again and sighed. There was no way he was going to be able to walk any farther down the path in that light. He looked around, and noticed a bright light in the distance.

'Could that be the prison?' Sasuke thought, 'I don't have any other real choices, except find a place to sleep.' Tsunade's warning played in his head, but he disregarded it. Hadn't he spent last night off the trail?

He stepped off the path and started for the large light.

* * *

**Author's Note**: There you go, Chapter 5. It's shorter than normal, sorry. But don't you just love cliffhangers? –dodges tomatoes- Anyway, if you didn't read the semi-important authors note, I just want to say, sorry for being gone for so long. I was grounded for the whole summer from the computer.

**Replies to Reviews**:  
(If you don't remember your review, I'm sorry… You could probably read it again if you click on the review thingy.)

**KitsuneNaru**: ;)

**Mochiusagi**: That is a good question; unfortunately, I'm not going to answer it.

**Black-Dranzer-1119**: Well, if you say so. Thanks for all the compliments!

**Sunny Soul**: Oh, that's a good question too. I'm not answering it. (Right now at least) Although it is a very good idea…..

**Angel T-chan Nekoi**: Well, Sasuke's safe for this chapter. And I might be evil, or I might be nice. –evil smile- And it's my fic, so I could make Naruto go crazy… -evil laugh of doom-

**Shirilyle**: Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6, I Hate You

Consequences

_The consequences get worse.  
Can they get better?  
For they have done the worst._

(Note: For those who didn't notice, I replaced the author's note about being grounded all summer with Chapter 5.)

* * *

**Chapter 6**

I Hate You

* * *

Naruto glared at Itachi's retreating back. Itachi paused after closing the door.

"I wanted to see what about you appealed to my brother, but I get the feeling that _that_ was your first time doing it, right?

Naruto looked away, embarrassed and ashamed. A smirk was on Itachi's face.

"I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Sasuke suddenly felt a hand wrap around his ankle and the mud went above his head as he was pulled down. Sasuke kicked hard, trying to get the creature to let go so he could breathe. He felt his foot connect with something, and the thing let go. He suddenly realized he had no idea which way was up, and which way was down. His lungs were screaming for air and, for a second, he wished he was a ghost again.

'I wouldn't be dying _again_ if I wasn't alive, and Naruto wouldn't be captured… Naruto…' he thought as his slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto kept himself pushed against the wall, while sitting down. He was hugging his knees, even though it was uncomfortable with the chains that now held him to the wall. Itachi had decided to put them on Naruto after Itachi had raped him. Naruto's head rested on his knees. Tears fell slowly down his face.

'There's no way Sasuke would want me anymore. Sasuke deserves so much more than just me. I'm half-demon trash, and I'm not even a virgin anymore. I doubt he's coming for me. I hope he doesn't. I don't want to see his face when I tell him… I want him to be happy – I'm sure Sakura would make him happy…'

The tears came faster as his thoughts became more and more depressed. Unknown to Naruto, a lot of his thoughts were words that Itachi had whispered in his ear while raping him.

'I deserve to rot here and die…'

* * *

When Sasuke awoke, all he could see was a potpourri of different colored lights. There was a strange bubbling sound that Sasuke could not identify. Sasuke finally woke up all the way, and realizing that he was surrounded by will' o' the wisps, jumped onto his feet, ready to fight. A strong voice with an aquatic-like quality spoke.

"We're not here to hurt you. You're the younger brother of Itachi-sama, correct? You're the half-demon's partner also…"

"And if I am?" Sasuke demanded. The circle of lights opened to the side of him and a green light walked through the opening towards him. When it got close enough for Sasuke to see more than just a bright light, he nearly gasped. He had never seen a will' o' the wisp and their appearance surprised him. This one was tall – a good six feet – and held its green lantern in its left hand. Its hands and feet were webbed, and its skin was a dark greenish-tan brown – though the green could have come from the lantern, Sasuke wasn't sure. For the most part it looked almost human. Two eyes – green – looked at Sasuke over. It stood on its two feet and blonde hair cascaded from its head. It seemed to have the basic anatomy of a person. The will' o' the wisp's mouth opened and the same voice came, showing that this had been the speaker.

"We will help you get your half-demon back. You need to rest for about-"

The bubbling sound returned – extremely loud this time, and the will' o' the wisp turned its head. A will' o' the wisp with a blue lantern came running up, and Sasuke realized that the bubbling sound was the will' o' the wisp talking. It seemed very distressed as it told the red will' o' the wisp turned to Sasuke.

"Your half-demon just got raped by your older brother. But!"

The will' o' the wisp said, to keep Sasuke from lashing out in anger. Sasuke almost did anyway, but the authoritative tone in its voice made him stop.

"Even with this news, you will need to rest for a day, or you will not be able to get your half-demon. I'll show you where you can stay for the rest, then I will talk to you about how to get your half-demon."

Sasuke followed the red will' o' the wisp with anger coursing through him.

'How dare Itachi even think of touching Naruto!" Sasuke fumed, 'Does he have to make sure that anyone I get near to gets hurt in some way?! Does he have to prove for the hundredth time that he's better than me?! And Naruto… Does Naruto hate me for not saving him in time? I wouldn't blame him if he does…'

Sasuke didn't even realize that he was crying until the red will' o' the wisp reached up and wiped away some tears.

"Itachi-sama loves to make people hurt. We'll be sure to help you get your half-demon, don't worry."

Sasuke wiped away the rest of the tears, and nodded,

"Thank you."

* * *

**Naruto sat on his favorite swing at a normally empty park. It was spring or summer – probably the latter – and the tree the swing hung from cast a shadow over Naruto. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Sasuke. Naruto held out his hands towards Sasuke. A small smirk appeared on Sasuke's face and he pulled Naruto off the swing and into a hug.**

"**I hate you, Naruto," Sasuke whispered in Naruto's ear, "I'll let you stay with Itachi forever."**

**Sasuke let go of Naruto, who was suddenly chained. Itachi held the end, and started dragging Naruto back. Sasuke turned and started walking away. Naruto was crying.**

"**Please, Sasuke! Don't leave me alone again!"**

**Sasuke kept walking away. Naruto felt Itachi's hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.**

Bang!

The clang of someone's cell closing pulled Naruto at of his dream. Naruto did not open his eyes – he already knew that it wasn't his cell.

'Sasuke wouldn't leave me like that… would he? People have left me before…'

* * *

Sasuke woke the next evening in the small mud hut that he fallen asleep in. He sat up and, going outside, started looking for the green will' o' the wisp, named Temari. He had quickly found that it – no, she. Temari was a girl – was the only one to speak English.

"Temari!" he called, "Temari!"

"I'm right here, you don't have to yell." Temari said, appearing behind him out of the mud, which seemed like ground, but became like water at a will' o' the wisp's command.

"Can we go now?" he ask, almost sounding desperate, which he was. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen if he didn't hurry. Dang kids had scared him. "Please."

"No, we're not ready yet. But soon. We'll go get him soon."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Once again, sorry for the long wait. I was having a rough time in my life, and sort of abandoned all my writing. I'm still having a rough time – my boyfriend just broke up with me – but it's a lot better than before. Anyway… I think that this story is almost over. Wow. I remember when I got the idea for Sprits. And I just started writing…  
Sorry, I'll stop being sentimental and stuff.  
I hate having to rape poor lil' Naru-chan, but my muse was being sadistic…  
… And it really, really likes the pairing ItaNaru…  
After I finish this story, I'm thinking about just rewriting the ending to Sprits. It won't be too big of a change – Not enough to affect this story, at least.

**Sunny Soul**: -laughs- :) No, I didn't rob bank. I got a 79 in my Alg2/Trig class. :P

**Kyoskitten89**: Yeah, it was not fun to be grounded the whole summer.

**LeiseFlustern**: :) "Don't go towards the light, Jak! Don't go towards the light!" From either Jak 2 or 3. Your comment made me think of that, sorry.

**Mochiusagi**: Itachi raped poor little Naruto, that's why he was there…


	7. Chapter 7, The Release

**Chapter 7**

The Release

------

Sasuke stayed close to the yellow will' o' the wisp that was leading him to the castle. Temari had informed him that if he was led by a will' o' the wisp, he would be allowed in the castle with no problem. Why? Because they would assume that he was a prisoner. Sasuke had not liked the idea of pretending to be a prisoner, but Temari said that it would be the easiest way in and the easiest way out with Naruto. So Sasuke had agreed. And to help rid the castle of guards and sprits, Temari said that the will' o' the wisps would attack from forest. Sasuke just hoped that his brother would not be there.

--------

Naruto woke, and for a second could not figure out why. It was the middle of the night and, except for the breathing of the other sleeping prisoners, all was quiet. And Naruto released that the silence had woke him up. Normally the guards were talking or changing shift or otherwise making noise. Naruto stood up and walked up to the bars, stuck his head out, and looked around. No one was there. Naruto backed away from the bars, wondering what was going on. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. He squeaked and jumped.

"Now, Naruto, that's no way to greet someone."

"I-Itachi!"

"Hello, Naruto. My brother is coming for you, so why don't wait for him, quietly." At the last word, he tightened his hold on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto winced and nodded.

Itachi faded into the shadows in a corner and Naruto laid on the floor again, pretending to be asleep.

--------

Sasuke followed the yellow will' o' the wisp into the castle and through the maze that was the inside of the castle, until they got to a door.

The will' o' the wisp made bubbling noises, and Sasuke figured that it was saying that it couldn't go any farther. He opened the door and was immediately assaulted by a putrid stench. He gagged, and, holding down the urge to barf, walked through the door into what was obviously the prison.

He walked down the aisle, looking at every cell for Naruto. After about twenty minutes Sasuke finally found Naruto. He knocked on the door and Naruto looked up at him sleepily.

"Naruto, I'm here to get you out."

"O-okay."

Sasuke looked over at the lock, and cussed inside his head. He didn't have keys, nor a way to open it. He sighed, wondering what he could do to open the door. He looked at it, and in a desperate hope, grabbed a bar and pulled. The door squeaked open, and he walked in, surprised, but in a hurry. Sasuke walked over to Naruto, only to find he was chained to the wall. Sasuke looked at Naruto, helpless. Naruto looked back at him, saying with his eyes that he didn't have a clue about what to do either.

"Sasuke… You should go. I'm not worth this… You can go, and be live, and I'll be fine here."

"Naruto," Sasuke said, "What, would I do without you?" He leaned forward, and kissed Naruto gently.

"Sasuke… Sasuke, Itachi raped me… I'm not a virgin or even human! You deserve so much better than me."

"Naruto, I already know about Itachi. I'll deal with him later. Right now, I need to get the person I love the most out of this hell hole."

Naruto blinked, and pulled a key out of his sleeve, and handed it to Sasuke.

"Y-you had this the whole time?"

Naruto shook his head, and Naruto said,

"I'll tell you about it later."

Sasuke unshackled Naruto. Naruto stood up, dragged Sasuke to his feet and ran, Sasuke stumbling behind him.

"Naruto, what are we running from?"

"I believe he's running from me, little brother."

Naruto and Sasuke were suddenly slammed up against the wall. Itachi immediately grabbed Sasuke around his neck.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"Sasuke, you probably already know that I raped your little half-demon, don't you? I just want you to know, he was a good fuck."

Sasuke blindly kicked at Itachi in anger, but it was blocked.

"You where never very good at fighting, Sasuke. Anger won't make you any better."

Naruto ran at Itachi and kicked at Itachi as well. Itachi blocked and grabbed Naruto's leg, holding him upside down. The distraction made him miss seeing Sasuke kick at him. He got hit on the side but did not flinch. Instead he tightened his hold around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke thrashed wildly, trying to be able to breath, as Naruto tried to attack Itachi. All of Naruto's efforts were blocked, and Sasuke went limp.

"Sasuke!"

"Naruto, why don't you be a good little half-demon and go back in your cage." Itachi suggested.

Naruto slowly walked past Itachi, back towards his cage.

"Now, what to do about my little brother."

"Leave Sasuke alone!" yelled Naruto, turning to face Itachi. He was slipped into his half-demon state, with his hands becoming more claw like, his canines becoming like fangs, his whisker marks becoming more defined, and his eyes turning red. Red magic started to swirl around him.

"So you want to try fighting me this way?" Itachi asked, releasing Sasuke, who slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Naruto ran at Itachi, who stepped out of the way. Black threads appeared out of the ground and started to wrap around Naruto, who struggled against them blindly.

"You won't be able to break those, Naruto. They're made out of magic."

The red magic that was swirling around Naruto converged around the threads, which started on fire and vanished. Naruto ran at Itachi again, but this time had the red magic swirling in his hand, Itachi, going to move out of the way again, found himself held in place by Sasuke, who had awoken and grabbed Itachi while he was distracted. The attack hit Itachi dead on, and he fell to the ground when Sasuke let go of him.

Sasuke timidly walked up to Naruto, who was still in his demon state.

'I've only ever seen him like this once, when he was fighting that rantin member…'

"Naruto? Are you okay, Dope?"

Naruto blinked at Sasuke, and his eyes returned to their normal blue color. The rest of him slowly changed back too.

"Sasuke?"

"Let's go, Naruto."

--------

**Author's Note**: Well, I'm late again… Happy New Year! And one of my resolutions is to keep up with my fanfiction more! So, please don't hate me! Gomen, gomen! I didn't mean to be late, but my friend/Japanese sensei was just like, 'Learn your Hiragana or else! You're stupid Yaoi can wait!' So I'm sorry! (And I still haven't memorized all the Hiragana…) Oh, and this is not the end of the story, obviously. Naruto has yet to go crazy. ;) Also, I **hate** my fight scenes, I know they're horrible, I'm really sorry!

**Mochiusagi**: Naruto was just having a bad dream, nothing too serious.

**newXmoonXfox**: I lufs you too, Kit. And you don't have to wait anymore. :)

**Sunny Soul**: Well, the update wasn't pronto… (Sorry!) And yes, 1 more percent and I would have had a B. But my Dad was like – She's grounded anyway! Yes, Temari is a will o' the wisp (Because I needed a character I hadn't used yet, and she came to mind first, for some odd reason.)


	8. Chapter 8, Going Home

**Chapter 8**

Going Home

--------

Naruto followed Sasuke, who followed a thing that Naruto was guessing was a will' o' the wisp. Soon they were out of the fortress, much to Naruto's surprise. It was eerily silent, and Naruto shivered slightly. Sasuke must have sensed Naruto's nervousness, for he fell back a step and grabbed Naruto's hand.

"Don't worry, Naruto," Sasuke whispered, "I'll make sure you're okay."

'Sasuke… I know I'll be fine. But what about you? You were just nearly choked to death…'

Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hand. The will' o' the wisp suddenly stopped, and the ground beneath them turned to quicksand.

Naruto cried out, alarmed and slightly scared. Sasuke tightened his hold on Naruto's hand and said,

"Just relax, Naruto. It'll be okay. Trust me."

Naruto nodded and they sank into the mud.

-------

When they resurfaced, Naruto was holding tightly to Sasuke.

"Come on, dope. You can open your eyes now."

Naruto opened one eye, and then opened the other and slowly let go of Sasuke. Much to Naruto's surprise, they were not covered in mud. Naruto slowly looked around. It looked like they were in a small camp. Trees surrounded them, bringing him to the conclusion that they were deep in the forest.

"Sasuke!" It was a girl's voice, and soon a green light was next to them.

"Hello, Temari," Sasuke said, "This is Naruto. Naruto, this is Temari. She's only will' o' the wisp that speaks English."

"So this is the little half-demon." Temari inspected Naruto, and then continued speaking, "I've told the half-demon court about this, so you shouldn't be pursued by the sprits anymore. They'll be way too busy trying to suppress war. We're going to get you home soon."

"Thank you."

"It was no problem! We were more than happy to help. We aren't particularly fond of Itachi-sama." She winked.

Naruto nodded.

"Anyway, you should probably get some sleep. It's very late."

Naruto suddenly felt very tired, and nodded. Sasuke and Naruto were led to a small tent by Temari. Naruto fell asleep almost as soon as he was lying down. He kept himself awake long enough to say,

"I love you, teme."

"I love you too, dope."

-------

The next day Temari took them both to the edge of the forest.

"Be careful you two. I don't want to have to see you two under these kinds of conditions again!"

"Yes ma'am!" Naruto said.

"Good. Also… If you ever see anyone named Gaara-"

"I know Gaara!"

"Could you tell him that Temari says hi?"

"We could do that."

"Thank you. I haven't seen him in a very long time."

"No problem. Come on dope. We're never going to get out of here if we stand around here saying bye."

"Stop being a teme! Thank you for helping us Temari! Bye!"

Naruto walked backward and waved until Temari sunk into the mud. He turned around quickly and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"She's gone now, teme."

"Good. Now you can pay attention to me."

"Teme! I'm always paying attention to you!"

"Yeah, but I want all of your attention all the time."

Naruto blushed and mumbled something along the lines of 'stupid, selfish teme'.

"Couwsin Nawuto!" Naruto was soon tackle-hugged by a small, little girl.

"Takara?"

"So you do know these little pests."

"They're not pests, teme. They're my friends."

"Ta-ka-ra!" Michiko panted, running up to them, "Don't go running off like that!"

"Sowy Mishiko."

"It's fine. Are you okay, Naruto-nii-san?"

"I'm fine."

Michiko nodded.

"Okay, Takara. We better go tell Aunt Chiyo."

"Okay. Bye Couwsin Nawuto."

"Bye Takara."

The two kids walked off, and Sasuke and Naruto continued their trek home in silence.

Until Naruto asked,

"Teme, do you ever want kids?"

Sasuke blinked at Naruto, stunned by the question.

"I've never really thought about. Why? It's not like you can get pregnant."

"I was just wondering. Before I moved out of my apartment into our house, I wanted to marry Sakura and have lots of children. I've always liked kids."

--------

**Author's Note**: Sorry this is so short! I had writer's block. It's not my best writing ever… And I wanted it to end on a slightly happy note, for now. (Partly because I'm ecstatic myself, because the guy I love loves me back, and partly because it will get slightly depressing from here on out.) And IT'S ON TIME! W00TNESS! So ha! (I spent 7 hours on homework yesterday; otherwise I would have probably released it then.)

Soooo, yeah…

**Kit-chan**: Stop your complaining! I'm getting it out now, right?


End file.

Naruto, Romance