Naruto 1. Prologue: Chaos In The Court

**A/N: Looks like I've finally plucked up enough courage to write my own story. Don't worry! I have got a general plot outlined in my mind, I just need your help to see if its any good. All reviews are appreciated!**

**Rated M for future chapters.**

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_"He who does not punish evil commands it to be done."_

**-Leonardo Da Vinci**

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**Purgatory**

_Prologue_

_Chaos In The Court_

"Kill him!"

"Make him suffer!"

"Torture him and then hang him!"

The judge stayed silent as he listened to the chorus of shouts from every corner of the room. He was sitted at the front, drumming his thick fingers against the wooden arms of his chair in deep thought. He knew that everyone was entitled to their own opinion, yet he was still disgusted at some of the more gruesome comments. 'Cut off his head and put it on a pole were everyone can see!' and whatnot. Although, what disgusted him the most was the trial he was about to oversee. He grimaced as he read the paper again in front of him.

**The suspect is accused of mass murder, including the slaughter and destruction of the Namikaze Village.**

He sighed and turned his head to look at the photographs. He'd seen many pictures of crimes during his time as a judge, but these where by far the worst. _A true bloodbath,_ one could say. Why did people want to kill others? What made them end another person's life? He had often asked himself. But alas, no-one knew the answer. Funnily enough, not even the killers themselves.

He scanned the room, looking over the array of people still shouting absurdities, until his eyes landed on the suspect, a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. _Those eyes_, he thought. Eyes he couldn't understand. Eyes that stayed bright and showed no signs of breaking. He had watched as the man walked down the aisle earlier, to shouts of _demon_ and _monster_ and other hateful names. He had watched as they stayed forever strong. They sickened him. He stared at them and they continued to stare back, twice as fierce. It was as if he didn't care that his future was in the hands of a bunch of strangers who thought of him as a beast. They not only sickened him, he realised, they terrified him too.

The noise of the room slowly rose until it was almost deafening. He could practically feel a headache coming along. He took a deep breath before continuously shouting 'Order! Order!' in that practised tone that only experienced judges ever seemed capable of. It was loud enough to be heard above the scuffle, yet it wasn't shouting and it required no great effort on his part. He slammed his small, wooden hammer on the desk until the ruckus gradually calmed down and only silence remained. It _was_ his job to maintain order in the court, after all.

If the suspect was found guilty, it was also his job to determine the sentence.

A man on the front row of the jury bench stood up, grabbing everyones attention. In a loud voice he announced, "The Court calls to order the case of Naruto Uzumaki. All rise for the honourable Judge." Soft rustling sounds could be heard as each person rose to their feet, careful not to disrupt the silence in the room.

The judge in question gave a small knod of his head to signal for everyone to be seated again. When all focus was on the podium at the front again, he took it as his que to start. He let his eyes rest upon the young suspect again and decided to waste no time and cut to the chase. He quickly cleared his throat before speaking.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he began. "Did you or did you not annihilate the people of your village?"

He was the kind of man who earned respect through his words and not just his actions. With years of experience as being a judge, he knew that demeanour was everything. His straightforwardness would intimidate criminals enough to confess, to reveal their deepest secrets. He would tear them down until they broke.

"I did."

But not Naruto Uzumaki. He realised it would take much worse to crack him, nevermind break him.

Such a simple reply was enough to send the room back in uproar. For the second that evening, he slammed his wooden hammer down and yelled at the top of his voice until silence followed once again. Hushed whispers could still be heard towards the back of the room, where the visitors and defenders usually sat, but he chose to ignore them.

"_Why did you kill them?_"

It was a question he had always asked, mostly for his own benefit. It was a question that he hoped more than anything to find an answer to one day.

He watched as the suspect lifted his head in thought for a moment.

"I don't know." came his reply.

Today was not the day, it seemed. It was expected, he guessed. Maybe he never would get a clear answer after all.

He glanced over at the jury bench, who were already in heated debate. He gave them a little while to come to a decision. A small, plump woman stood up abruptly and waddled over to the podium at the front. She ushered with a chubby hand for him to lean in closer so he bent down just enough so that she could whisper in his ear. Once she was finished, he gave a curt nod before she took a small bow and returned to her seat.

He waited until she had sat down before taking a deep breath.

"_Naruto Uzumaki is to be locked up until a further verdict is decided.** Court dismissed!**_"

He frowned. He had thought the suspect would get a death sentence without question. He presumed maybe they had decided that death was a too easy way out. Maybe they were right.

As the court went back into conversation, two doors at the back of the room swung open to reveal two uniformed guards, who marched in and each roughly grabbed one of the suspects arms, hurling him to his feet.

He continued to stare at those terrifying blue eyes, until the young man was forced to turn around by the guards and led away to a police van, ready to take him to the notorious Konoha State Prison, where what awaits him is yet to be decided.

He also continued to stare at those two wooden doors even after they had closed. How did he stay so strong? He'd seen hundreds, no, thousands of criminals and every one of them had all been nervous wrecks. Yet this Naruto had no signs of feral shaking or heavy breathing, not even eyes that never stopped darting around the room! He expected at least some protest when he was dragged out of the room, but none ever came. He sighed deeply for the umpteenth time that day. Gathering his sheets into a neat pile, he lifted himself up and quietly left the room.

Really, _why did people have to kill?_

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**TBC**


	2. Blindfold

**A/N: I forgot to do this last chapter so I'll do it now: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

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_"We can easily forgive a child afraid of the dark;_

_the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."_

**- Plato**

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**Purgatory**

_Blindfold_

Even with a blindfold on, Naruto could tell the room was of extremely poor condition. The constant dripping of some water droplets was slowly driving him mad, and the occasional scurrying of rodents was starting to irritate him too. The young man was currently in a dungeon, waiting for his punishment and honestly, he was bored stiff. He tried to picture the cell to pass the time. A faint breeze could be felt on the side of his face, so he placed a small window in the tiny room inside his mind. _The windows are probably barred,_ he thought. Most likely to stop prisoners from escaping and not just for decoration. The thought of escaping made Naruto want to laugh. Like he was going to run away with the amount of chains they had locked around his limbs. He could just about wiggle his fingers. _Just. _

Being inside or _outside_ a cell didn't really matter to him. In fact, he preferred to be where he was. At least he had a solid roof over his head. Don't get him wrong, he wasn't a poor man - he could afford at least 2 hot meals a day and a warm bed every night - it was just that he lived under a roof that leaked buckets every time rain would fall. His townspeople were often too busy getting drunk to fix any of the houses, and for some reason, the bars and taverns seemed to have no leakage troubles at all. The memory of him finally getting fed up and trying to fix the roof himself made him smile, despite his situation. He remembered nailing random pieces of wood around the hole, testing it out, and falling straight through it - resulting in an even bigger hole. Unfortunately it had rained that night, and frankly, he got soaked. Having to hire a craftsman from a nearby town after had cost him quite a bit of money too. He'd had to work extra time at his job for a month.

His happy reminiscing was cut short at the sound of approaching footsteps. Naruto counted at least 3 pairs of feet before the cell door was flung open with a loud crash.

"Afternoon Uzumaki, your heading to jail." The new voice was low and throaty. Naruto could tell the man was smirking. The very thought made goosebumps rise all over his body.

Wait, _jail?_ Naruto was certain he'd get a death sentence.

"But don't worry about tha' death sentence lad," _Ahh, there we go. _"we're gonna' let ye' rot in jail before we kill 'ye!" The man snickered, sending a shiver down Naruto's spine.

"So this is the one in cell 13? What a boring looking guy." A different voice this time. It had an accent that he couldn't quite place.

"Well, he doesn't look like much, that's for sure." A third voice. Shrill and spine-tingling, like nails on a chalkboard.

It took a moment for it to sink in what they had just said.

"How rude." Naruto grunted.

"Ooo, feisty one we got ere'!" That first voice again, the one he especially didn't like.

The sound of the three of them laughing made his ears hurt. It was a sound he hoped he wouldn't have to get used to.

He listened to the trio crowd round him and begin to unlock the chains fastened around his body. They managed to do this without a sound until only a chain around his ankles and wrists were left.

"Lets get you to your cell then." The second voice spoke up, the one with the weird accent.

Naruto stood up and winced as he stretched his limbs. He began to roll his arms around in circles to relax his stiff muscles. He didn't know how long he'd been chained up, the silence just made it seem like hours. A tug on his chains told him to get moving. The blindfold made it harder to move, but he managed to walk without tripping. He tried to think why they had put one on him in the first place, but he couldn't remember the reason. He made note to ask someone when he could.

The stone floor was cold under his feet as they continued down a maze of hallways. Every now and then, they would go up a flight of stairs. A tug on his chains was a sign that told him to go faster. The day had been pretty rough, he hoped that they would arrive at his cell soon so he could finally get some rest.

After about 20 more minutes of walking and climbing stairs, they suddenly came to a stop.

Out of nowhere a new voice thanked the three men before they walked off. He jumped slightly when he felt long, nimble fingers on the back of his head, untying the blindfold. He watched as it fell to the ground in front of him to reveal a small, uniformed guard, not much taller than himself. Brown hair had been tied back into a small ponytail, and a long scar ran across the bridge of his nose. He would of looked like a scary man, except his kind eyes revealed no ill intention but instead a certain kindness he hadn't seen in a while.

Behind the guard stood a cell with a barred door.

"My name's Iruka and welcome to Konoha State Prison, Naruto."

Instead of replying, Naruto gave a small nod of his head.

He watched as the man - Iruka - pulled out a set of rusted keys and proceeded to unlock the chains fastened around his wrists and feet, the only light coming from the faint glow of a candle on the floor, which was most likely placed there when he'd arrived. The fact that it was dark meant that most of the prisoners had gone to bed for the night. If he listened carefully, he could hear the babble of night sounds. Breathing and snoring. Muttering and whimpering.

When all the chains had dropped to the floor, Iruka attached a small metal ring around his ankle. Iruka tapped it and nodded when a small, red light began to flash before he carried on.

A separate key was pulled out to slot into the cell door, which Iruka opened with a small push and stepped back, ushering with his hand for Naruto to enter.

Once inside, Naruto gave the cell a quick look over. It was small - not much bigger than the bedroom he had at home. In the right corner there was a toilet cubicle next to a white ceramic sink. Above the sink, a mirror hung on the wall behind a case, assumably to stop prisoners using broken shards of glass as weapons. To the right, a small, metallic frame with a worn out mattress and thin blankets made up his sleeping area.

The whole place felt cold and unpleasant.

Naruto turned around and was handed a set of clothes consisting of a pale grey yukata and a pair of sandals.

"Put these on by the time you leave your cell in the morning. Breakfast starts at 7:30 and stops at 9:00. Lunch at 12:30. Dinner at 6:00. Lights out at 10:30. You'll have to find a way to entertain yourself between those times. I think that's all, so I'll leave you to get some sleep. Goodnight."

Naruto didn't bother saying goodbye to the guard, who had already began to leave after picking up the discarded blindfold and chains off the floor with one hand, the candle with the other. He instead climbed into the bed after placing the clothes under it and pulled the thin blanket over his shoulders. He'd had a pretty eventful day, and had no trouble falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

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Iruka frowned as he walked away from the newcomers cell.

He had been surprised when he took off the prisoners blindfold. He was never expecting to be greeted with those piercing blue eyes at all. They had looked so soft and gentle and, well, so full of life. Nothing like a killers.

He'd heard the rumours, about how a young man slaughtered his whole village in just a night. How he had stayed there, dancing in their blood and guts. A true monster.

But him? He had just looked like an innocent young boy.

The man sighed as he blew his candle out.

He had worked here long enough to know that looks could very well be deceiving.

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**So is our favourite blonde really a murderer? And what about Sasuke? Where does he come in to this? **

**You'll just have to wait and find out! **

**Don't forget to leave a review!**

**- rhyme**


	3. First Impressions

"I have my own version of an optimist.

If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door.

Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present."

**- Rabindranath Tagore**

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**Purgatory**

_First Impressions_

Naruto opened his eyes and immediately closed them again, having being overwhelmed by the morning light. He groaned as he blindly grabbed for his covers. When he couldn't feel them anywhere, he finally opened his eyes fully to find them sprawled across the floor. Naruto sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He'd have to fix that annoying habit of being a messy sleeper.

After climbing out of the extremely, repeat, _extremely_ uncomfy bed while rubbing his stiff neck, Naruto picked up the sheet off the ground and threw it back onto the mattress, not bothering to fix it in place. Next, he grabbed the clothes handed to him the night before from under the bed and swiftly slipped them on. The sandals were tight and the yukata a size to big, but it was something he could live with. He didn't know what to do with his old clothes, so he just threw them on the bed too. It was a simple blue yukata which had been kindly given to him by the court since his other clothes were full of dirt and, well, _blood_.**  
**

Naruto quickly shook his head. He had promised himself he wouldn't think about that now. It was then he noticed another bed at the opposite side of the room. Wait? Did that mean he had a roommate? If one put two and two together it was obvious. Although, the bedcovers where neat and tidy, as if it was unslept in, and Iruka hadn't mentioned anything about it either. He sighed again. It didn't really matter to him. If he didn't have a cellmate, he wouldn't mind the peace and quiet, if he did, he'd appreciate the company. He just hoped it wouldn't be some stuck up bastard.

"So the rumours are true!" Naruto turned round to immediately come face to face with a young man about the same age as himself. His hair was dark brown and messy, his eyes black and sharp complete with upside down triangles marring both his cheeks. All in all, he kind of reminded him of a dog. Naruto could tell he was friendly, and a person he could easily get along well with. He didn't fail to notice the cell door wide open behind him.

"Rumours?"

"That's right! Everybody's been talking about it for days!" The newcomer replied, a large grin plastered on his face. "Uchiha's been assigned a new cellmate!"

So he did have a cellmate after all, he thought. And a well known one by the sound if it. Though he didn't expect news of his arrival to travel so fast among prisoners. He never liked too much attention.

"The name's Kiba, you?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto."

"Well Naruto, it's nearly 9:00 and I'm guessing you haven't had breakfast yet. I'm going the dining hall now, you coming?"

He was about about to decline but his stomach decided it wanted to protest, giving off a loud and rather embarrassing growl. Naruto laughed sheepishly before asking, "I don't suppose they have any ramen do they?"

"Who has ramen for breakfast?" Kiba joked. He was starting to warm up to this Naruto. He hoped his personality was as good as his looks. The striking blonde hair and tanned skin hadn't gone unnoticed, as well as his bright ocean blue eyes. The three whisker-like scars on either cheek just added to his charm.

Naruto grinned.

"Who doesn't?"

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Naruto noticed his cell block was really just a corridor off the main open-plan dining hall. It was divided into 6 similar cells with vertical bars all in a line. The front wall was all bars. Half would open outward to form the door. The metal work was dull and rusted, although Naruto could tell they had steadily done their job of holding back men and women alike from the freedom they longed for ever since the place had opened, a good 5 decades back. And still could. Above every door was a number to designate which cell belonged to whom, his own being 13. It seemed him and Kiba were neighbours, their cells being right next to each other. A camera was stationed in every hall to monitor and surveillance every prisoner as they slept, making sure no one tried escaping during the night.

As Kiba lead him towards the dining hall, he explained how every cell housed two prisoners.

"Who are you roomed with?" Naruto asked.

"Shikamaru." Kiba replied, happy to answer. "He mostly lazes about in bed, thinking everything's 'too much of a drag'." He tried to imitate his friends voice, but he knew he didn't do a very good job when Naruto burst out laughing.

"But he's a great guy once you get to know him." He added.

"You said something about an Uchiha, what's he like?"

"Sasuke Uchiha? A huge prick. Total bastard. I'm pretty sure he has a permanent pole stuck up his ass." Was the curt reply.

That wasn't what Naruto wanted to hear. He had hoped to have a cellmate like Kiba, but it happened to be the complete opposite.

Naruto didn't have much time to contemplate over it, as they soon arrived at the dining hall.

Several wooden tables and benches were spread out evenly around the room. One or two guards were standing towards the back of the hall while the other prisoners happily ate away at their food and chatted amongst themselves. The cheery atmosphere was another thing Naruto never would of expected.

There was a soft clunk as Naruto placed his tray down on the table and sat down opposite Kiba. They sat on the bench nearer to the food bar, incase either or them wanted seconds. Naruto was glad nobody really bothered to look up at them when they entered the room, but then again, it was a prison. It's not like he was transferring into a new class at school or something.

He had been amazed at the wide selection of food at the food bar. Cereals and breads with complementary jam, butter or marmalade, pastries and fruits, even tea and coffee, which was served all day. It wasn't exactly top quality, but it wasn't piles of slop and gruel either.

Unfortunately they didn't have any ramen (Kiba had told him not to worry, and that they bring out the hot food at lunch), so Naruto settled with a simple piece of toast and a cup of coffee. He needed the coffee to wake himself up, as he was still exhausted from all he'd been through in the past couple of days.

"This Sasuke," Naruto began, returning to the previous topic conversation. "He can't be that bad, right?"

"Well, he's basically just a moody jerk with the shittest personality to boot." Kiba couldn't help but laugh when he saw Naruto's gloomy expression. "But don't worry, I'm right next door if you ever get sick of him!"

"Sick of who?" Naruto jumped slightly when a sudden voice came from behind him. He turned his body until he was met with a toned chest under the same grey yukata. He continued to look up until his eyes met with piercing black ones. Immediatly, he found himself being swept away in those black orbs. They looked as if they held no emotion, yet Naruto could tell there was something..._more_. A reason behind the emptiness.

It took a moment for it to register, but Naruto could see it.

A young man trapped in the darkness, waiting for a chance to be rescued from that lonely world. He was only familiar with such eyes because he had once been met with them every morning, in the mirror. But that was a long time ago. A time he vowed never to return to.

The sound of Kiba's voice quickly pulled him back to reality. His situation suddenly dawned on him, and he hoped he hadn't been staring for too long.

"Speak of the devil, it's the Princess himself."

"Hn."

"Wait, your Sasuke?" Naruto questioned.

The man in question gave Naruto a quick glance over before deciding he wasn't worth his time, and turned to leave with another, "Hn."

Naruto, being the stubborn idiot he'd always been, decided he didn't liked to be rudely ignored like that.

"What? Are you so much of a jerk that you can't even piece together a decent sentence?"

Sasuke felt his eyebrow twitch, and turned to face this blonde idiot who thought he could talk to him like that. He'd show him what happens when you mess with an Uchiha.

"I cannot formulate a tangible expression in any language that would even begin to express how much you piss me off." He paused a moment before adding, "Dobe."

Sasuke smirked when he saw that his insult visibly struck a nerve in the blonde. Although, he was surprised when he watched him rise from his seat.

"What did you just call me, Teme?"

Sasuke stared in astonishment at the blonde man standing in front of him.

Now that he was face to face with Sasuke, Naruto noticed how much taller the other was, by at least a foot, and the way his ravin hair matched his onyx eyes, which were obviously glaring at him.

Kiba was shocked. It took guts to argue with Sasuke. Naruto certainly had them. He was just about to butt in, but someone else beat him to it.

"Already arguing so early in the morning, Uchiha? Do you mind, your distracting everyone from eating."

Naruto tore his eyes of Sasuke for a minute to look at the source of the voice. He was met with a man of a similar age, although this one had long, brown hair reaching the end of his back, along with unusual pale eyes.

Neji, noticing the angry blonde next to Sasuke, realised it must of been the new arrival. It had been the talk of the prison for quite some time.

"Your the new prisoner?" Neji questioned, giving the man a look over. "I heard you were meant to be a terrifying hulk of a man with no mercy. 'Look into his eyes he'll beat you to a pulp!' they said. You look more girlie that anything. How...disappointing."

Naruto, still pretty pissed from Sasuke, was quick to retort.

"Your one to talk about girliness. You have longer hair than most girls in my village."

It was the second asshole he'd met that day, and it wasn't even 10 o'clock yet. Naruto hoped everyone wasn't like this.

He noticed everyone was looking at him like he'd just stabbed someone. Except Kiba. He was clutching his side, trying so hard to retain his laughter. Even the ever stoic Sasuke couldn't help smirking, despite his efforts to hold it in.

Neji, if anything, was shaking with rage. No-one dared to talk to him like that. With gritted teeth, he turned to walk out the now quiet room. He'd make him regret saying that.

Naruto returned to his seat opposite Kiba after watching Neji leave the room and calmly drank from his coffee. He frowned when he found it luke-warm. By then, Sasuke had already began to walk over to the food bar, and would probably return to eat in their cell.

"Please tell me not everyone's like that."

"Don't worry, I think it's just them two." Kiba could hear the sigh of relief. "I guess Hyuuga thinks of himself as the king of the prison or something. Not many people want to mess with him after what happened last time, that's why everyone was surprised."

"Hyuuga?"

"You know him?"

"The name sounds familiar." He'd definitely heard it somewhere before. In the news, maybe. Naruto thought hard, but nothing came to mind.

"Nevermind that. What happened last time?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, you know," Kiba was reluctant to tell him. Neji didn't look happy when he left the room. He'd certainly want revenge. He knew from past experience that it never ended well. But Naruto had the right to know.

"About two months ago, there was a guy, locked up for brutally murdering his wife and kids, punched the Hyuuga right in the face after they accidentally bumped shoulders. A week later they found the guy dead in his cell. I heard it was pretty messy. The guards were cleaning up for months. Some say his cell mate went insane and hung himself not long after. They never did find the culprit, but we all know it was Neji." He laughed nervously. "No ones messed with him ever since."

Kiba was more than pleased when he saw that Naruto didn't even bat an eyelid. Wimps didn't last long in this place.

He grinned and stood up, playfully wrapping his arm round Naruto's shoulder, drawing him in close so he could whisper in his ear.

"I need you to watch out. Don't want the newbie getting killed in his first week here do we? Damage our reputation, you know?"

Naruto rolled his eyes when Kiba winked at him.

"I'm not worried." He smirked. "How weak do you think I am?"

Naruto never thought of himself as lacking strength. He could easily hold his own in a fight. Growing up like he did, he had no choice to be strong. It wasn't often you could walk down the street in his village and not get assaulted by some drunkard anyway.

"At least you've got me to back you up!" Kiba laughed. "C'mon, the great Kiba will personally give you a tour of this penal institution.".

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**TBC**


	4. Introductions

_"It is absurd to divide people into good or bad._

_People are either charming or tedious."_

**-Oscar Wilde**

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**Purgatory**

_Introductions_

As Naruto exited the dining hall and took on a tour of the building by Kiba, he realised how big and important the place really was. The beehive of rooms on each floor were accompanied with a team of nearly 13,000 guards and other workers, their agenda clear. Strive to oversee more than 600 of the most dangerous criminals and offenders at the largest law enforcing system in the nation. 13 floors in total, all the same. Apart from the bottom floor, which was reserved for visitations, holding cells and other less important facilities. It was easy really. The more dangerous your deemed to be, the higher the floor you were sent to.

Naruto had to admit the prison's layout was well-planned and thought out. Tall fences surrounded the premises, fully hooked up with electricity strong enough to knock you out for at least a week. At the entrance and exit are strict checkpoints, where you would be stripped and searched, your transport thoroughly checked. Every night there would be regular surveillance by roll call. And when dusk takes over, the cells are on complete lock down.

Amongst the facilities on every level of the prison were a workout room, a medical room, a religious room, a recreational area and a garden. The largest room, excluding the garden, was the dining hall situated in the middle of it all.

As Kiba was leading Naruto down the corridor, he described the 4 different types of cell blocks.

"First there's the Segregation Unit, used to separate the more dangerous criminals. Next there's the Protective Custody, which is used to accommodate prisoners classed as vulnerable, or the PV's we tend to call them. They're basically for the ones who have gotten into trouble with other prisoners. Then there's the section of safe cells where they keep prisoners under constant observation when they're considered at risk of suicide. And finally there's the Open Cells, where the badass' like you and me stay."

Naruto was still amazed at it all. He never knew that prisons were so complicated.

"Which floor are we on by the way?"

"Floor 12."

That meant they viewed him as a dangerous criminal. Not that he could blame them. He realised that meant they also considered Kiba to be just as dangerous as himself. He wondered what the dog-like boy had done to be placed on a such a high floor like this.

_"__**Kiba**__, what did you do?"_

Naruto got a surprise when he suddenly bumped into Kiba's back. He was just about to ask what was wrong when he noticed the inner-turmoil in Kiba's eyes. He noticed the way his breathing increased, if only a little. He noticed how his whole body began to tremble, how that one question was tearing him up inside.

Kiba jumped slightly when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw how concerned Naruto was for him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Naruto smiled softly when Kiba nodded glumly.

"Thanks." He said, quietly and with a lot of resignation in his voice. "It's better that way."

He just wasn't ready to tell him. Not yet anyway.

Naruto knew Kiba wouldn't want him to dwell on the subject, so he quickly asked the question he had forgot to ask earlier.

"They put a blindfold on me before I got here, what was that about?"

"Oh, that thing. This place has 13 levels right?" Naruto nodded. "It's so you don't remember the way down to the bottom. It's just a precaution so you don't escape."

Naruto never thought about that. He guessed it was plausible. Although it was near impossible to escape anyway.

They stopped when they came to a door marked 'Workout room 24' which Kiba opened with a small push.

"This is the Gym," he explained. "It's only got some weights and a treadmill but it's alright since hardly anyone comes here."

Naruto was aware that the treadmills where bolted to the floor, the weights chained to the wall. All precautions, he supposed. All potential weapons, he knew.

"Hey, that sounds like Lee!"

When Naruto listened carefully, he could also hear faint counting. He followed Kiba through another door on the left which lead to a even bigger room with exercise mats spread across the floor. In the middle of it all was a man doing push ups.

"4097, 4098, 4099, 5000!"

Naruto was astonished. He'd never particularly tried doing push ups, but he knew that he'd never make it to 5000. This man hadn't even broke into a sweat.

"This is Lee," Kiba said. "He's sort of a fitness freak."

"Ah, Kiba! How are you today?"

Lee's choice of speech came as a surprise for Naruto. He hadn't met someone who spoke so formal for a long time.

"This is Naruto, he's the newbie roomed with Sasuke." Kiba said.

Lee turned to the blonde and introduced himself.

"Hello Naruto, my youthful friend. My name is Rock Lee, it is nice to meet you!"

Naruto was more than taken aback. His bowl cut style hair was as black as his thick eyebrows. His body was covered with a green jumpsuit complete with orange legwarmers. This man sure was full of surprises.

Naruto accepted his outstretched hand. Despite everything, he didn't seem all that bad.

"My condolences, but I have to leave to shower right away. I will see you guys later!"

Naruto watched as Lee exited the room, the green jumpsuit still fresh in his mind.

"So what do you think?" Kiba spoke up.

"Well he's, uh, certainly...different."

"Right?" Kiba laughed. "Let's go, next up's the recreational room."

* * *

The recreational room consisted of a large box TV, two sofas and a set of table and chairs. Sat on one of the sofas was was a man with sunglasses. Naruto could tell how infatuated he was with the bug programme that was showing on the TV.

Naruto sat down at the table and chairs next to Kiba, who had already taken a seat opposite two other men. There were playing cards scattered over the table, so they had obviously interrupted their card game.

"Hey guys, this is Naruto."

They both looked up, one of them with a grin on his face, the other with a look of absolute boredom.

The first to introduce himself was a chubby man with spiky brown hair and swirl marks painted on his cheeks. Even then he had one hand in a bag of potato chips. The other was already occupied with the playing cards.

"My name's Choji, want one?" He said, offering some of his snack.

"No thanks."

Naruto turned to the other man, expecting him to introduce himself too. Instead he just sighed and murmured, "What a drag."

Kiba decided to introduce him instead.

"This is Shikamaru, my cellmate I told you about." Kiba smiled apologetically. "The one over there is Shino." He said, turning to the man still transfixed on the TV.

"Bug freak?"

"Bingo."

"So what do you think of the prison?"

Naruto wasn't expecting Shikamaru to speak to him. He assumed he was going to remain quiet the whole time, to be honest.

"Security's tight that's for sure." He replied.

Shikamaru nodded.

"You see that bracelet around your ankle?" Shikamaru pointed to the metal ring wrapped around Naruto's ankle that Iruka had clipped on. The red light was no longer flashing, he noticed. Naruto nodded.

"It's a tracker." Shikamaru explained. "Even if you make it outside the walls, that thing injects some kind of drug into your bloodstream. It could knock you out for days, even weeks."

"I just thought it was some kind of ID tag." Naruto laughed.

"You could say that. It also measures your blood pressure and heartbeat."

"Why would it do that?"

"Like when your about to fight someone. Your blood pressure and heartbeat begin to rise. Or other things. Choji would know. He learnt that the hard way."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?" He asked.

"The guy had too much sugar which made his blood pressure high. The same drug was injected. He was out for days!" Kiba laughed.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault!" Choji defended.

"I did warn you." Shikamaru said.

Naruto smiled at the friendly banter and turned back to Shikamaru.

"How did you know about the trackers?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Did you know? Shika here was part of a big criminal organisation. He was the one who hacked into the computers. So one day, he goes and hacks into the biggest bank security system in the world!" Kiba answered. "But someone has to go and rat him out after the big robbery. Who knows what he could've done if he hadn't got busted!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes pushed Kiba off when he got up and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

Naruto understood why Shikamaru had been put on such a high level floor. If he could break into systems as good as the best in the world, he could of used his skills to access guns, drugs and even top secret Government files.

"I got curious." Shikamaru said, coming back to the trackers. "Found some makeshift tools and took the thing apart."

"You didn't get caught?"

"Put it back together before anyone noticed."

Naruto was certainly impressed. To be able to take something so complex apart without the proper tools, analyse it quickly and piece it back together in a short amount of time was not easy at all.

He turned and looked at Choji questioningly.

Choji smiled.

"I was the leader of a secret criminal food company. I know just the ingrediants to put into your food that will kill you in an instant. Or whenever time I want really. Not even the most cautious people would realise until it was too late." He explained. "I was planning to poison the High King after he accused and killed my sister of a crime she didn't commit. I was able to serve it to him thanks to some connections but it turned out the King had servants who tasted every dish before he did. When he saw that one had died after eating my food, he realised I didn't work at his castle and had me arrested. And that's how I ended up here. Not as impressive as the computer genius, huh?"

Naruto grinned.

"But just as badass!"

Naruto was glad to see Choji's face light up at his compliment. If you could even call it that. Losing his sister must've been hard, he thought. Naruto knew the pain of losing a family member, and it wasn't a walk in the park.

"You joining us for another game?" Shikamaru asked, gesturing to the cards.

"No thanks." Kiba said. "We still haven't finished our tour."

Naruto nodded and got up from his seat.

"What's next?" He asked.

"Your gonna' love the next one." Kiba joked. "Next up's the Hell room."

Naruto was more than worried when Shikamaru and Choji both muttered "Good luck!" in unison.

* * *

Turns out the Hell room was the medical room. And Naruto saw the reason why Kiba called it that. The Hell room was home to two devils.

Even before they entered the room, Naruto could here two loud voices arguing.

"Brace yourself." Kiba warned.

As soon as they entered, Kiba froze. Just moments before, a scalpel had dangerously flew straight towards him. Fortunately, it had landed only millimetres away from his head. It was still wobbling in its place in the door frame.

Naruto wondered if it was even safe to enter.

Realising Kiba was still fearing for his life, Naruto slipped around him and further into the room.

The two voices came from two women. One with shoulder length, bright pink hair, the other with long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Instead of the normal grey yukata, they were instead dressed in medical gowns.

He listened as the argument escalated.

"He does like tomatoes the best!"

"No he doesn't! He wouldn't eat such inelegant food!"

"Oh please! He makes any food look elegant! Only a true lover would know that!"

The pink haired one laughed.

"A true lover would know his favourite food! Such as me. His favourite is Foie Gras."

Foie Gras? Naruto thought. He hadn't even heard of the thing. He internally scoffed. This person had obviously never tasted ramen. Now that was truly the food of the Gods.

"Sorry to ask but who are you even talking about?" Naruto interrupted.

He felt his eyebrow twitch when the two looked at him like he was stupid.

"Why Sasuke-sama of course." The blonde woman said.

Sasuke? The guy had took a piece of toast with jam for breakfast. He bet he hadn't even heard of Foie Gras, same as him.

"Who are you?" The pink haired woman asked.

This time it was Kiba who spoke, who had finally got control over his bearings.

"This is Naruto. He got thrown in here today."

Naruto smiled politely when they stared at him. The blonde one was the first to introduce herself.

"I'm Ino."

"And I'm Sakura. And we are Sasuke-sama's biggest fans!"

Naruto looked at Kiba like he'd just shot him.

'It's true' he mouthed.

Naruto turned back to Ino and Sakura.

"Why Sasuke?"

"Because he is a God in human form!"

"Because he is a gentle flower that has graced us all!"

"God!"

"Flower!"

"God!"

"Flower!"

"Ladies!" Kiba shouted. He had a headache already and he hadn't even been in the room for five minutes.

Before the arguing could start up again, Naruto asked a question.

"Are you the nurses here?"

Sakura nodded.

"But we volunteered."

"Volunteered? Don't you work here?"

"Nope, we're prisoners just like you." Ino said.

"They couldn't find any people who were willing to help such dangerous people in the end." Kiba said. "Still can't, I guess."

Of all the people Naruto had met, he hadn't exactly considered them dangerous. Except Neji maybe.

"So us two volunteered. We're the only ones with medical knowledge after all."

"We're hoping that one day, Sasuke-sama will need his wounds treated and then he'll instantly fall in love with me!"

"No, he'll fall in love with _me_!"

"No _me_!"

"_Me_!"

"**_Me_**!"

Kiba grabbed Naruto's arm and quickly pulled him out of the room before his headache got any worse.

"Scary women."

Naruto agreed.

"Are they always like that?"

Kiba nodded.

"They're always together, anyway. Both got locked up for murdering their boyfriends after they cheated on them. So I guess they sort of share a special bond, you know. Having similar pasts and that. Too bad the guy wants nothing to do with them though."

Naruto laughed, realising he was talking about Sasuke.

"Are you religious?" Kiba asked.

"No, no particularly."

"The we'll forget the religious room." Kiba grinned. "I've saved the best till last."

* * *

**TBC**

**Foie Gras is a paté made of the liver of a duck or goose. It's good stuff, you should try it!**

**You'll find out why Lee's in prison in later chapters, don't worry. Although I think you can already guess.**

**Don't forget to leave a review!**

**-rhyme**


	5. Garden Behind The Glass

**A/N: I've read through all of the previous chapters and fixed all the mistakes I noticed. If you see any more please tell me! Sorry about the wait for this chapter, I've been super busy with exams. **

* * *

_"For happiness one needs security,_

_but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair."_

**-Anne Morrow Lindbergh**

* * *

**Purgatory**

_Garden Behind The Glass_

Kiba's 'best-till-last' was situated almost as far away as the dungeons where from the 12th floor. When Naruto asked where they were going, Kiba just answered with a quick _"Secret." _before continuing to direct him down the maze of corridors and hallways until they reached an enormous plate-glass window.

Naruto's eyes widened at the sight. Inside was the first most beautiful thing he had saw since arriving at the prison: a replication of a meadow. A bright green field of grasses and shrubs were clearly visible through the transparent walls, filled with real hummingbirds, trees and flowering plants. A patch of daisies here, a patch of poppies there. Every section of the grass was alive with plant life. Roses, daffodils, red clovers. Even dandelions and flowers Naruto didn't even recognise. Towards the back was a sea of trees, alive and green.

"This is amazing." Naruto shook his head to express his disbelief. "How did they even allow something like this here?"

"They built it a few years back," Kiba replied. "They thought that we wouldn't get as violent if we had an peaceful area like this."

"Did you?"

"Not in the least. But no one's complaining, the place is a blessing."

Kiba turned back to Naruto and sighed when he realised the blonde wasn't even listening to a thing he was saying. He noted the way Naruto's eyes shined bright with amazement. Now that he thought about it, the blondes eyes always seemed to show his emotions, whether it be anger or happiness. They were certainly uncommon in a prison full of people with dead, insincere eyes.

"Now that I think about it, Sasuke normally comes here around this time."

"Sasuke?"

Kiba nodded, scanning the field.

"See, over there." Kiba said, pointing in the direction of Sasuke.

When Naruto looked over, he spotted Sasuke sitting motionless in the centre of the meadow, watching a multi-coloured bird hover in mid-air. His eyes observed the bird until it flew away, where he caught sight of Naruto and Kiba.

Naruto gave a friendly wave from behind the glass. He watched as Sasuke's peaceful demeanor changed and his eyes closed to slits. Even from that distance, Naruto could tell Sasuke 'Hn'd' before he turned away and focused on something else.

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch, just like it always did when faced with Sasuke.

"Well that's officially the end of the tour!" Kiba said, interrupting their unspoken conversation. "Looks like we've missed out on lunch too."

Naruto frowned. He'd been looking forward to his ramen. Now he had to wait until dinner to get it. That is, if they even served it for dinner.

"I'm gonna' go join Shika and Choji in their card game, you coming?" Kiba asked.

Naruto thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No thanks. I think I'm going to look around a bit more."

Kiba shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

Naruto waved as Kiba walked down the corridor and out of sight. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The place was crazy. The prisoners even _crazier_. And that was just the twelfth floor! He wondered how bad you'd have to be to make it to the top floor. Pretty bad, he supposed.

Naruto sighed again and turned back to the garden. Two hummingbirds were flying around each other, almost as if they were dancing. They acted so carefree, when in reality, they were just birds trapped in a cage. The cage being the prison they were forced to spend their life in until they died. A bit like himself. They never told him exactly when he'd be executed. But maybe that was even worse, not knowing whether today was his last or not.

He walked to the entrance of the garden, where a guard was stationed wearing the same uniform as Iruka had. Although this one had an unusual mask hiding half his face. His silver hair covered one of his eyes, the other one closed in an upside-down 'U' shape, the only indication that the strange guard was smiling. Smiling at him, he realised.

"First time at the garden?"

Naruto nodded.

"Then you must be the newbie Iruka was talking about. The place is impressive, right?" He said.

Naruto nodded again. He hoped Iruka hadn't been the one spreading those rumours about him. Although he doubted it. The guard looked and acted too kind to do anything like that.

"It's beautiful. I never would of thought something like this would be in a prison."

"It never really fulfilled it's purpose, but they kept it in the end anyway. A woman gives us the funding to keep the place alive."

"Funding?"

"Of course. Who do think feeds the birds, powers the lighting, powers the wind _and_ makes sure the flowers get the water they need? Don't forget, the place is mostly artificial."

Wrong, Naruto thought. His village wasn't exactly known for it's gardening - not many people even owned a garden in the first place. Even the ones that did never made much of an effort to plant any flowers, so the wildlife behind that ill-fitting glass was more real than anything to him.

"The donator must be a really kind person."

"She is." The guard agreed.

Naruto smiled at the guard before entering through the door.

Inside, he noticed the extremely high ceiling, which rose up to a point in the middle, similar to a cathedral.

He took a deep breath, breathing in the oddly fresh air which was cool and breathable, not humid and muggy like he'd expected. There might not of been a sun, but the beauty of it all was still undeniably stunning.

He looked around before his eyes rested on Sasuke once again, who was now lying on the grass with his arms folded behind his head. He smiled when he realised he'd caught the man in one of his rare serene moments. He looked peaceful. Beautiful, even. Naruto walked over and took a seat on the grass next to him.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke said, sitting up.

Naruto stared at him.

"What? Can I not sit down without getting interrogated?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not we're cellmates. That means your going to have to get to know me whether you like it or not."

Naruto ignored the murderous aura hanging over Sasuke and smiled benignly.

"Anyway, I don't believe we've formally introduced ourselves." Naruto said. "I'm Naruto, and I'll be in your care from now on."

Sasuke grunted. The blonde was already becoming a nuisance.

Naruto grumbled when realised Sasuke ignored him. The raven hadn't even properly told him his name. In fact, he wouldn't of even knew he had a cellmate if it weren't for Kiba.

"Oi, it's rude to ignore people when they're talking to you. Didn't anyone teach you any manners?"

"Tch. Be quiet, Dobe."

Sasuke smirked when he noticed the blonde take a deep breath. Probably to calm himself down. Really, he was too easy to rile up.

The young man who sat beside him breathing deeply was rather strange for Sasuke's taste, but he guessed he wouldn't have to put up with him for long. As the strange personage turned to him with a bright - too bright - smile, he introduced himself again.

"My name's Naruto. You are?"

"Why are even bothering? You already know who I am and I don't care who you are."

"Geesh, there's no reason to be like that. I'm just trying to be nice." Naruto said. "It looks like we're going to be together for a while, therefore, it would be much easier if you'd stop being so awkward."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Sasuke said.

Naruto frowned.

"What?"

"I said, you don't have to worry about that." Sasuke repeated.

"Why? Are you getting released or something?"

Sasuke grunted at the thought. "Wrong."

"Then what?" Naruto realised he got curious way too easily.

"I've had cellmates before," Sasuke began. "They deliberately got themselves into a fight so they could be moved to a different cell."

Naruto stared at the flowers swaying in the breeze, confused at where the wind was coming from. But eventually, he couldn't hold in his laughter any longer.

Naruto laughed. As in, _really_ laughed. In the customary Uchiha fashion, Sasuke merely glared at him.

"I can see why," Naruto managed to say in between fits of laughter. "You do know your a complete asshole."

He was rewarded a sharp kick to the leg for his insult.

"My apologies," Sasuke said in the most sarcastic way he could. "My foot slipped."

"That hurt, Teme!" Naruto snapped.

"Hn, Dobe."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde's pout. He mentally smacked himself when he realised he shouldn't be staring at Naruto's lips in the first place. He cursed himself once again for letting his face heat up. Fortunately, Naruto had distracted himself by running his hand through the grass, so he didn't notice a thing.

Sasuke returned to his previous position of lying down on the ground.

"Don't worry, I won't be going any time soon."

Sasuke's eyes snapped back open. He stared at Naruto, who had already joined him in lying down. What did he say? The fact was meant to intimidate Naruto, just like it had with all the others. But the blonde wasn't nervous in the least.

He was still staring when Naruto opened his eyes and grinned at him.

"I won't break as easily as those guys."

"Hn," Sasuke said while turning away from Naruto. "We'll see."

He opened his eyes again when he heard a shuffling sound behind him.

"Leaving so soon are we?" Sasuke said.

Naruto decided to ignore his cellmate's comment.

"I'm going to join Kiba and everyone in the wreck room. It will pass some time until dinner. You should come."

"No thanks." Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto frowned.

"You know, the reason they all think your an ass is because you hardly ever socialise with them. That's why, I really insist you come."

"Once again, no thanks."

Sasuke refused to go with the idiot blonde. He hadn't made any effort to get close to anybody since the day he came here, why should he start now?

"_Why_?" So why did Naruto keep insisting?

"Hn."

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch for the umpteenth time that day.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak grunt."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, feeling his patience wear thin.

"As in, I don't speak to them because I don't feel the need to. Their not worth my time."

"Not worth your time?" He said, irritably. "Stop being such an antisocial bastard. We're in a prison for God's sake. You have time. And plenty of it."

Naruto pushed himself off the ground.

"That's why, your coming."

"Wait, what?!" Sasuke snapped.

Naruto once again ignored him and grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling him up and dragging him out of the garden. He ignored the odd glance Kakashi gave them both when they exited, too.

"Why are you even doing this?" Sasuke questioned. "It's obvious I don't want to be with them, and from what I can see, they don't have any intention of wanting to be with me either."

"Really, where do you even get those ideas from?" Naruto replied. "Anyway, I know the pain of being alone, and it's not pretty."

Pain of being alone? What would Naruto know. He wasn't him. The hurt. The sadness. The betrayal. He had no idea what he'd been through.

_So why was he letting himself be dragged along like this?_

He was just curious. That must be it.

* * *

Neji clenched his fists irritably. This was going absolutely no where.

"...And then, did you know? Her frail little hand reached out and touched my face right here," the man behind the glass said while pointing to his cheek. "And then, and then, she said 'Papa'! Her first word! It sounded more like 'bwah-bwah' but still! Can you believe-"

Neji banged his clenched fist against the small ledge in front of him. If the glass was not there to protect the man behind it, he knew for sure that he would be dead by now.

Neji took a deep breath. He had to remember why they were here in the first place.

_Information._

Any great mind would know that without the right information, it would be impossible to conduct a foolproof plan. However, Neji's 'foolproof plan' involved a dead body. Maybe even a few if anyone got in the way.

Anyway, back to business.

"Are you nearly finished?" Neji asked.

The man shook his head.

"Well I still haven't told you about the time she took her first steps or even the time-"

"_Your really pushing your luck," _Neji interrupted. "Or have you forgotten who your talking to?"

Neji smirked when he noticed the man gulp.

"My my, your Neji Hyuuga from the Hyuuga family are you not? I've been working with you for some time now, how could I forget?"

Neji sighed again and dismissed the mans babbling for now.

"I do have to say, you've been quite the faithful dog."

Neji didn't give the man time to retort. He'd prefer to get this over with as quick as he could.

"How much information have you got on Naruto Uzumaki," he stated.

The man smiled and closed his eyes before leaning back on his chair.

"As an information broker there isn't a single thing I do not know. You should of realized that by now, Hyuuga-san."

"Then we'll move this along quickly. Who is he? Where's he from? What did he do? _Everything._"

"Naruto Uzumaki. Only son of the Uzumaki family. A notorious criminal who is currently serving time in Konoha State Prison before he is executed."

"He only came here today, so that trivial information should be in the news anyway. Stop wasting my time and tell me something _more_."

"If the poor boy only started today, shouldn't you give him a break? Knowing you, I'm sure your planning to make his life hell."

"Of course not. The blonde idiot insulted me, a petty reason like that is no excuse."

"Still the same as ever I see."

Neji ignored the man's comment. He waited for him to carry on but the man remained silent.

"If your looking for your payment, just visit Hinata. Explain why your there and she should understand."

The man nodded.

"500."

"Take whatever you want."

"Furthermore, you will trade me one piece of information about yourself too."

Neji frowned.

"Information?"

"That's right!"

Neji pursed his lips to show his displeasure.

"What will you do if I tell you?" He asked.

"What good is an information broker that has no information?"

"If I tell you and someone wants to buy that information-"

"I'd sell it to them, of course. That is my business, after all."

Neji was beginning to lose his temper. Why should he tell a man like that anything about himself? It was uncalled for.

"Not a chance." The man behind the glass frowned. "I'm not going to tell you anything. If you ask for something unnecessary like that again I'll-"

"You'll what?" The man interrupted. "Excuse me. With the nature of this business, things can get rough. While your the one on the other side of this glass, your powerless to me. Your not the only one with connections either, don't forget that, Hyuuga-san."

Neji glared daggers at the other. Who was this man, thinking he could go against him?

"Now then, are you willing to take me up on my deal?"

Neji wasn't happy. _At all_. He hated to admit it, but he needed the information on the Uzumaki. He'd have to be careful on what he'd say to the broker.

If anyone happened to buy any information of him he'd have them disposed of anyway.

Neji sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you anything you want."

The man's lips turned into a smile again.

"I'll take your word for it." He said. "Now, I don't suppose you've heard the rumour about the monster of Namikaze Village have you?"

* * *

**TBC**

**Looks like Sasukes had a rough time in the past! **

**And what's our little Neji up to now? **

**I have to say, Neji is one of my favourite characters, it's a shame I had to make him the bad guy though. **

**Well anyway, I want to say a huge, _huge_ thank you to every who has reviewed this story so far! It's a pleasure to see what people think, so please keep them coming! **

**-rhyme **


	6. Nightmares

**A/N: Exams are**_** finally** _**over for the first semester. I'm actually happy with my results, especially considering I'd thought I'd done awful. Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews guys!**

* * *

_"To be strong means that you know weakness._

_To be weak means that you are afraid._

_To be afraid means that you have something precious._

_To have something precious means that you're strong."_

**-Tablo**

* * *

Purgatory

_Nightmares_

**Evaluate.**

Long experience had taught him to evaluate and assess. When the unexpected gets dumped on you, don't waste time. Don't figure out how or why it happened. Don't recriminate. Don't figure out whose fault it is. Don't figure out how to avoid the same mistake next time.

All of that you do later.

First of all you evaluate. Analyse the situation. Identify the downside. Assess the the upside. Plan accordingly.

Do all that and you give yourself a better chance of getting though to the other stuff later.

Sasuke ran an irritated hand through his hair.

There was no upside.

The downside was extensive.

So when he turned his head and looked at the young blonde man fast asleep on the opposite side of _his_ cell, he got all the more angry.

Why was he roomed with yet another prisoner? Had they not got the idea that he refused to be roomed with someone? After the first 5 prisoners had been relocated, he'd of thought they'd at least catch on.

Although, he had to admit, Naruto was a weird one. Not many had the guts to just waltz into the state's largest prison, insult the most ill-tempered criminal around, befriend everyone else you met _and_ then get himself, Sasuke Uchiha, to join a card game with the annoying dog and the biggest sloth in the joint, all in your first day.

He thought back to the day before and the silly card game. He didn't appreciate the odd glances he got from the others, or the fact that they were too easy to beat. All in all, a complete waste of time.

He had made sure to avoid them at dinner. He did not wish to be acquainted with them in any way, any more.

Like he said, they weren't worth his time.

The bed frame creaked when he stood up and stretched. The cell beds had never been particularly comfy, but if you'd spent the same amount of time Sasuke had in that cell, you got used to it. In his first few nights of sleeping in one, his back ached and his neck was always stiff. If he asked one of the guards for a different bed, they would just laugh and turn their backs away. He didn't know what he expected. Of course they wouldn't give you luxury king-sized in a prison! Just maybe one a little less back-breaking.

He quickly slipped into some clean clothes before exiting the cell.

The dining hall was just like it always was at this hour. He liked to wake up early, so he didn't have to interact with anyone. The more annoying prisoners didn't get up until much later. But some others were early risers too, it seemed.

Rock Lee was in the middle of an overly enthusiastic conversation about stretches. Most ignored him and chatted calmly among themselves. The nurses, Sakura and Ino, were in their usual bicker, which stopped immediately when they caught sight of him, and switched to swooning endlessly.

He repressed a snort and strode silently passed them, just like he did every day since they arrived here, tuning the buzzing conversations around him. Catching sight of a short hallway to his left, he quickly grabbed a piece of toast before walking into it.

* * *

_It was midnight, but the sky was on fire. The flames reached into the sky_, _pushing forth massive fists of smoke, swallowing everything in their path. Even the moon. The ground turned to swamp. Burned ashen ground that had been drenched by the rains that preceded the fire. _

_If only it had rained that day, he thought. _

_Naruto choked back the smoke that burned his throat so badly it hurt to breath. _

_It was the end of the world. Of his world._

_He could hear the screams, mixed with cries and the unrelenting roar of the flames. _

_He knew he was running through the chaos, but he couldn't remember why. Something was missing. Rather, **someone**._

_Then it struck him. _

His mother.

_That's why he was running. _

_Was she safe? When was the last time he had saw her?_

_He couldn't remember._

_Mud clung to the bottom of his yukata, causing him to stumble every few seconds, but he forced himself to carry on moving._

_"Keep bringing the pails of water. Put out the fire before it spreads!" He could hear them shouting behind him. _

_But he knew it was pointless. Useless. Futile. _

_He watched as the row of houses, mostly taverns and bars, were set ablaze one by one._

_It was impossible to stop a fire this big from spreading. Their hope would eventually die out, unlike the fire._

_He watched as the homes of his villagers surrendered to the flames. And in the worst circumstances, many of the villagers surrendered as well, eaten by the flames in the very home where they were born._

**_Let them burn._**

_Wait, what was he thinking? _

_True, deep, _deep_, down, he hated them all for what they did, for what they continue to do. But he would never wish for there death, right?_

_The reason why he was running, into the smoke, toward the fire - right into the mouth of the beast. He had to get to his mother before the blaze did. And he didn't have much time._

_Old man Sarutobi's house was burning to the ground, so they would be next._

_Naruto pushed through the door to his home and into the room that served as the kitchen, dining room and living room all in one. _

_But his mother wasn't there. _

_He checked the bedroom, the bathroom and even the basement. _

_But his mother was nowhere to be found._

_Had she ran into the village to look for him already? Had she already been consumed by the flames? Had she-_

_An especially loud bang from outside pulled him back to his senses. The smoke was probably getting to him. _

_He ran back to the kitchen-stroke-dining-room-stroke-living-room. He took his first sigh of relief when he saw the lemon tree sitting safely on the table. At least that was safe._

_You see, his mother loved lemons. He never did understand why. The sour and sweet taste didn't mix in his mouth and made him feel sick._

_So when his late father visited a plantation in the next village over when he was a boy, he had bought her three lemon trees. One for each of them._

_Everyone said they wouldn't grow, that cold winter and autumn nights would kill them. In fact, two of them didn't survive. Although, one of them was his fault. Nobody had told him how to care for a tree, so when his parents realised he had been giving it milk instead of water, it was already too late._

_ But his mother didn't listen. She tended to her lemon tree as if it was her own child. On those freezing winter nights she had covered hers with a wool blanket and piled dirt along the edges to keep the moisture out. And her tree grew. _

_It had made him so happy to see his mother so glad that the sweet lemon tree had flourished at her hands. _

_He'd never be able to face his mother if i__t was gone. _

_He'd never be able to face his mother if he couldn't even find her either._

_He refused to admit she was dead. _

_He turned and ran back out from his house and back to the village. It never occurred to him it might of been the last time he saw the building._

_He felt exhausted. His legs were now shaking vigorously from all the running. But he couldn't stop._

_There was a chance she'd be in the village, a chance she'd still be alive. _

_But fate never really liked him. So of course, when he got there, the whole place was ablaze. He saw them all, having failed to get enough water to put out the fire, now dead. Burnt to a crisp. _

_But some others, they were covered in blood, not covered in burns? _

As if they were murdered.

_He cursed loudly. He couldn't save his village. He couldn't save his family. He couldn't save the lemon tree that was so important to his mother, which was probably engulfed in flames by now too. _

_He finally let his legs give way and fall to the ground. _

_Why was he so powerless?_

_He watched his fingers curl and grab a mix of ash and mud. The tears mixed with the smoke stung his eyes, but he couldn't stop them from falling. _

_It was then he noticed the black figure on the hill. How long had he been there? _

_ He could tell it was a man. Young. About his age._

_Had he survived too? Was he not alone? But then why did he have blood on his hands?_

_Blood? Did he cause this? Was it all his fault?_

___He pulled himself off the ground and advanced towards the hill._

**_Who was he?_**

_He paused._

_Ah, that's right. _

_It was himself. _

_He looked down to his hands. Yes, it was _his_ hands that were covered in blood. Their blood. _

_He forgot, he killed them all. _

******_Let them burn. Let them all burn._**

* * *

Naruto sat up with a jerk, trying to catch his breath.

He had stumbled out of bed and over into the toilet cubicle before his eyes had even adjusted to the light.

His throat burned, just like it did from the smoke, as he spilled last night's contents into the toilet.

His head was pounding.

When was the last time he had a nightmare like that?

He had once been plagued by them when his father died, but they soon went. They weren't that vivid, but they were emotionally more painful.

When he felt like his stomach had no more to offer, he lifted himself up and moved over to the sink.

The pounding in his head had turned into a small throbbing.

The nightmare had left him wide awake, but his appearance said otherwise.

As he observed himself in the mirror, he once again felt bile rise in the back of his still burning throat.

His wild blonde hair was even wilder than normal, and dark circles were easily noticeable under his eyes.

However, he was shocked at the tears which stained his face. When was the last time he'd cried? The answer came to him in a vinegary rush of memory.

His father's death. At the hospital, at the wake, at the funeral and for days afterwards until he prayed for the tears to stop and they did. Even though he was a young boy at the time, he hated the wet eyes and the streaked cheeks, the awful heaving of the chest, the lack of control over his own body and he vowed to banish henceforth this kind of eruption.

But worst of all, he hated the nonexistent feel of the blood,_ their blood_, on his hands.

He shoved them under the cold water tap until they went numb and scrubbed and scrubbed so hard, but the feeling just wouldn't go away.

They felt dirty. _He_ felt dirty. Did people always feel like this after they killed so many?

He looked up and stared at himself in the mirror, until his breathing eventually evened out. But his hands still remained under the tap. He could tell they were turning blue, but it didn't matter to him.

He took a deep breath and wiped the tears away from his eyes. He turned the tap off and sat back down on his bed.

He hadn't bothered drying his hands, so there was now a trail of water leading to his bed from the sink.

He didn't care though, they would probably dry up on their own accord anyway.

His eyes focused on a small patch of water.

He had friends now, who would help him. He had Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji. Sakura and Ino, maybe even Sasuke too. Okay, probably not Sasuke but he was working on it.

Where was Sasuke anyway? He wasn't there when he woke up yesterday either, so he must be one of those early risers.

He guessed he was thankful. What would he have said to explain his little episode just then?

He sighed and climbed back into bed, pulling the sheets over his head.

_Probably some kind of lie,_ he thought.

Naruto rolled over on the narrow bed trying to float away into some kind of limbo, but after a dream like that, he was restless. After tossing and turning he began to feel irritated and decided to just get out of bed anyway.

He stood up and checked himself in the mirror. He didn't want to be asked any unwanted questions.

He could easily comb his hair with his hand, but he could do nothing about the circles under his eyes, even if they were less noticeable by now.

He pulled on a clean yukata before attempting to fix his bed sheets. During roll call, they handed you a set of clean clothes, which was helpful. He tried to ask Sasuke were to put his old clothes, but he just grunted and went to bed.

After dinner, Sasuke had acted like his usual cold self again. He could tell how annoyed Sasuke was after he had forced him to join in a game of cards with them, and he had to admit, Kiba was too easy a player to beat. Added to the fact Shikamaru wasn't even trying.

Naruto smiled. But it was fun either way.

He exited the cell with the same small smile on his face.

The clock in the hallway read 8:53, so he'd just catch the end of breakfast.

* * *

Kiba and company weren't in the dining hall waiting for him, or near his cell either. His guess was they'd already gone to the wreck room for the day. He'd join them later, when he felt like it.

Naruto stared at his plate of toast. He wasn't in the mood for eating after his nightmare. He looked down at his hands again. After all the scrubbing, he still felt so dirty. It was if the blood wasn't able to come off. Like a permanent scar you couldn't see.

He closed his eyes, he was beginning to feel sick again.

Butterflies in your stomach. That was such a crappy metaphor. More like killer bees.

Maybe he was losing it, or maybe he just needed a shower.

He quickly opened them when he heard a shout behind him.

"Thank God your here, Naruto. We have an E-mergancy on our hands!" Kiba said, pronouncing the 'E' as if it was a word all by itself.

Naruto looked up and saw Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji making there way over to him.

"What's up?" Naruto asked, setting his toast back on his plate.

"Kiba kicked a dog." Shikamaru replied.

"Wait, what?"

"Don't you tell tales, Nara," Kiba growled. "I just tripped over him. It was an accident!"

"How did a dog get in here?" Naruto questioned.

"Who knows," Kiba answered, taking a seat next to Naruto on the bench. "We were just coming back from the showers when I suddenly tripped over, repeat, _tripped_ not _kicked_, something. Turns out it was a dog." Kiba frowned. "The poor thing was filthy too."

"I've heard the guards talking about an animal running loose in the prison. Maybe it's him their talking about." Choji spoke up.

Naruto nodded. "Probably."

"But it still doesn't explain how it got in here." Shikamaru said.

"Who cares! It's my first time seeing a dog for the first time in ages!" Kiba said happily.

"I care," Shikamaru responded. "If that dog got in here without no-one noticing, it means there might be a way out."

Naruto raised his eyebrow at this, but decided not to question it.

"Grace, the Lord as my witness," Naruto said, making sure to sound as dramatic as he could. "If that poor, injured dog dies..." He clutched his yukata by his chest to emphasize his point.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted when he felt Kiba punch him in the arm.

"Stop kidding around," Kiba said angrily. "But what should I do? I'm really worried about him." He frowned.

Naruto sighed. He could tell Kiba was genuinely worried about the dog. And he guessed he owed him for taking him on that tour and all that.

He lifted himself off the bench. "C'mon, where did you see it last?"

"What?" Kiba said, who had already began to eat Naruto's disregarded toast.

"Where did you see it last?"

"It was heading for the wreck room, why?"

"Because we're going to find it."

"Huh?"

"Your worried, right?" Naruto asked, irritably. Kiba nodded. "Then let's go find it. If it's injured," Cue glare from Kiba. "It might need our help."

Kiba nodded again and smiled. "Thanks man."

"What about us?" Choji interrupted.

"Your helping too, of course." Naruto smiled.

* * *

**I'm so happy and thankful at the amount of views, favourites, followers and reviews this story is getting.**

**That alone gives me the encouragement I need to keep writing. **

**Boring-ish chapter I know, but you can look forward to some guaranteed action next chapter!**

**-rhyme**


	7. Lets Make A Deal!

**A/N: Just so no one gets confused:**

**The small section in the beginning with writing in**_** italic**_** indicates it's flashback.  
**

* * *

_"I have always thought the actions of men_

_are the best interpreters of their thoughts."_

_- **John Locke**_

* * *

**Purgatory**

_Lets Make A Deal!_

Kiba grunted as he pushed the dusty armchair to the side to look behind it. "Fuck," he grimaced, pointing at the trail of mould leading down the wall. "That's what your fetid innards look like, Choji."

"Your obsessed by my bowels," Choji answered with a bemused shake of his head.

"That's because I can never escape them! You keep making me breathe them in all the time!"

"You love it!"

Any further bickering was quelled by a fierce glance from Shikamaru. "Stop dicking about you two."

Naruto smiled at the friendly banter, his eyes fixed on the box in front of him. He'd already searched through five of them, but this dog was nowhere to be found. They had already looked around the wreck room first with no luck, and next was here - were they kept all the unused furniture. The room was as moudly as it was old. Kiba had said it never got cleaned, as things were only quickly dumped in after they'd got replaced. Wooden, chipped tables were piled on top of each other next to two or three torn couches and stacks of boxes. In the boxes were hundreds of books, most of them were leather journals about traveling, but there were a few other stories in there too.

This was turning out to be a real pain.

_"So what does this thing look like?"_

_"This thing," Kiba mocked. "Has a name you know!"_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You've met this dog before?" _

_"No," Kiba paused. "It looked like a stray anyway."_

_"So you've already given it a name yourself?"_

_"No," Kiba repeated. "But I'm thinking of one!" He added quickly. _

_"Exactly." Naruto grinned smugly. "So I have the right to call it 'this thing' until it officially has a name."_

_Shikamaru rolled his eyes when Kiba looked away embarrased. The idiot had it coming._

_"So what does this thing look like?" Naruto asked again. _

_"White," Choji replied. "With brown patches on his ears."_

White with brown patches, Naruto thought, opening his sixth box. He raised an eyebrow, more than a little surprised at it's contents.

"What you got there?" Kiba said, walking over after watching Naruto rustle through the papers.

"This," Naruto said, holding up a magazine. "Kids' magazines. Although most of them are yellow and crinkly."

"Sweet!" Kiba kneeled down next to him. "There's some old cans and sweet wrappers in here too." He said, picking one up. "Been a long time since they gave us any of these." he muttered.

"Long time?" Naruto asked.

Kiba didn't have time to answer before Choji called him to help to move yet another dusty chair. "I'm coming, Gasguts."

"There you go again!" Choji cried. "Your obsessed!"

Naruto sighed. He'd probably find out what 'long time' meant later.

White with brown patches, huh. Naruto closed his sixth box and moved onto his seventh.

White with brown patches. This box wasn't closed properly, as if it had only recently been opened, so he blew the remaining dust off before unfolding it.

_White with brown patches...just like-_

Naruto yelped when a small ball of fur leaped up at him, knocking him over. The other three quickly turned to him to see what the problem was, but their eyes promptly caught sight of a dog moving towards the doorway.

It's fur was more of a gray colour, having collected a lot of dust, but it's brown ears were easily recognisable.

"Hey!" Kiba shouted before dropping his hold of half of a sofa and running after it. This caused another shout from Choji, whose foot managed to be crushed under one of it's legs.

Naruto picked himself up too, with the help of Shikamaru.

"It's a chance to catch him, let's go." Naruto nodded and wiped himself down.

The small dog had already reached the corner, but stopped and then turned around to face the scruffy haired man jumping at it.

Kiba cursed when the animal managed to wriggle out of his hold.

It barked at him before carrying on running away. He was just about to get up when Naruto called.

"Kiba!"

Kiba was still grumbling at the floor when he arrived, followed by Shikamaru, then Choji. "Thanks for the help, guys!" he said sarcastically.

"Thanks for the broken toe!" Choji fumed.

"That can heal," Kiba grunted. "Unlike my conscience."

"So you admit you feel guilty for kicking the dog." Naruto said.

"I accidently tripped over it!"

"Stop being a prat," Shikamaru snapped, rubbing his temples. "Now which way did it go?"

"I didn't see." Kiba said, shaking his head and sitting up. "B-but he couldn't have gotten far, right?" He quickly added when he noticed the heated glares.

Shikamaru sighed irritably. The sooner they got this over with the sooner he could go back to sleep. He couldn't remember why he even agreed to help in the first place. He closed his eyes and stayed quiet for a moment.

"What's he doing?" Naruto asked when he couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Thinking of a plan." Kiba answered from his spot on the floor. "Shika's our strategist," he explained proudly. "Give him time and you'll see."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru's hands, whose fingertips were pressed together in an unusual formation, and raised an eyebrow.

"It's thing he does." Choji explained.

Naruto could see in Shikamaru's face he was working things out, jumping from step to step, ahead of the steps we were already on.

Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at Kiba. "Kiba, get up and have a look down the corridor to see if it's there," he ordered. Kiba nodded and stood before running down the left passage. "Choji, you check the dining hall, I'll check the wreck room again," Shikamaru turned to Naruto. "Can I trust you to check the garden, Naruto?" Naruto nodded. "Great. Lets go."

* * *

The strange guard with the grey hair and mask was standing outside the door to the garden again. "Back again?" he asked after noticing Naruto coming down the hallway.

Naruto smiled and gave a small wave. He didn't think it smart to tell him about their search for the annoying dog. After all, who knows what the prison would do to it after they'd found it. Why weren't they looking for it in the first place anyway, he wondered? Did they think their fortress was unbreakable, and small dog would find it impossible to intrude in it? Or had Shikamaru been right in thinking that there was a way out?

Naruto had to admit, he missed the outdoors. The garden might of been a good substitute for it but it wasn't enough. The funny thing about facing the fact that you could be hung any day now was that it really snaps everything else into perspective.

Take now, for instance.

Now that he was back inside the garden, he was beginning to notice things he'd failed to notice before. Like how the hummingbirds weren't the only birds fluttering around the room, but mockingbirds too. Or how Sasuke's handsome features seemed to soften every time he-

_Ha!_ What was he thinking!

Naruto mentally slapped himself. He didn't normally get sidetracked with thoughts like that. _Especially _thoughts about a certain raven. That he'd only known for a few days as a matter of fact.

What was Sasuke doing here again? He must come here often.

Wait, he was getting sidetracked again. Back to the annoying dog.

His eyes scanned the room for the little dog but to to avail. White with brown patches. Nope, nowhere to be found.

He decided he was going to ask Sasuke. What other choices did he have?

* * *

"Hey, Sasuke!"

Sasuke's mood instantly dropped when he heard the annoying voice approaching. He knew who it was. Who else would it be? Why couldn't the blonde just leave him in peace?

Peace. He hadn't got any of it since this man arrived. This is specifically why he refused to have a cellmate.

"Hey Sasuke, I need your help." Naruto said.

Sasuke sighed, like he often did when the blonde was near. "If I help you will you hurry up and leave me alone?"

"Depends."

Sasuke grumbled and sat up from his comfy position on the ground. "What is it?"

Naruto grinned and joined Sasuke on the ground. "We're looking for a dog."

"Dog?"

"Have you seen it?" Naruto asked. "White fur with brown patches." he added.

Sasuke had overheard the guards talking about a dog earlier. Was that what he meant? From what he'd heard they had been unable to catch it. Stupid thing turned out to be pretty crafty.

"No." Sasuke replied. "Why the hell are you looking for a dog?"

"Kiba wants to, so why the hell not."

Sasuke grunted and lay back down. "Just leave it to the guards."

Naruto frowned. "What will the guards do with it?"

"Kill it, most likely."

Naruto grimaced. "Teme, have you no heart?"

"Probably not."

Naruto ignored the reply and scanned the area again. There really was no sign of white fur and brown patches. "You really haven't seen it?"

"That's right. So now that you know I can't help you, you can leave."

Naruto stared at him. Why did he always want to be alone? Had something happened in the past? He decided to question it.

"Do you enjoy it?"

Sasuke thought for a minute. "I guess so," he replied. "I appreciate the solitude, the anonymity. Like I'm invisible."

"But why not broaden your horizons, make new friends?" Naruto paused. "Hey, maybe you can he-"

"There is no way I am helping you look for a dirty mutt, Dobe." Sasuke quickly interrupted.

"We could really use your help." Naruto insisted.

"No." Sasuke repeated.

And then it hit him - a perfect idea in Naruto's opinion.

"Then lets make a deal."

Sasuke stared at Naruto. Everything about him was like light. The blonde hair, the radiant blue eyes - as if they had little flecks of the sky in them. It made him severely doubt he could in any way be a dangerous criminal. "Deal?"

"I'll stop annoying you if you help out this once."

_Damn_. It was a _very_ good deal. The blonde was a real nuisance, albeit a beautiful one. Was it really worth it? Yes. Yes it was.

"Deal."

"Great. Let's get started."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, instantly regretting to help.

Naruto stood up and offered his hand to Sasuke, who just batted it away.

What was that saying again? Oh right. 'Hook, line and sinker'. That was exactly what this felt like.

* * *

"This is hopeless!" Kiba exclaimed. "He's nowhere to be seen and when we do find him, he's impossible to catch!"

The group were walking down the one of the corridors leading to the dining hall. After hours of searching and endless chasing, they were all starving and even more exhausted.

"Don't give up now," Naruto encouraged. "He's got to be tired too."

"And if he's hungry, there's a chance he'll go to the dining hall for food. We could set a trap up there to catch him." Choji offered.

"Maybe." Kiba replied. However, he perked up when a loud bark sounded from around the corner.

He grinned before grabbing Naruto's arm and to pulling him to the source of the bark. "That's him!"

Naruto shouted, "Hey!" before he was forced round the corner. His eyes immediately landed on the long-haired man who was standing behind the dog that had given them so much trouble. What was Neji doing here? Then it clicked. "Kiba, wait!"

Kiba growled when Neji kicked the small dog, sending him flying in front of him.

Naruto rushed to grab Kiba's shoulder and arm before he pounced on the pale-eyed man. If if wasn't for the help of Shikamaru who had caught up to them, he probably wouldn't of been able to hold him back. Naruto had come to realise Kiba had a one-track mind, like most guys. The difference was, Kiba's mind led directly to his mouth.

"What do you think your doing you fucking evil bastard!" Kiba all but barked.

Neji raised his eyebrow. "_Excuse me?_"

"You had no reason to kick him!" Kiba managed to pull himself from the locks on his arms and marched up to Neji. "Apologise!"

"What?" Neji looked at the dog he had kicked. It's back leg was tucked up underneath it, and it dragged behind him when he tried to get up. "I'm not apologising to a filthy mutt that happened to be in my way."

"_What did you say?_" Kiba's scowl deepened. He harshly grabbed Neji by the shoulder and slammed him into the wall behind him.

"Don't move." Neji said, taking a knife from his pocket and pointing it a near inch away from the Kiba's neck.

This quickly stopped Kiba from doing anything drastic.

Instead Kiba spat at him, only narrowly missing after Neji quickly tilted his head. It was Neji's turn to growl this time as he lifted his fist ready to aim a punch at the scruffy haired man he had hold of. How_ dare_ he do that to him! He'd have his throat slit for it!

In a surge of violent anger, Neji aimed his knife at Kiba's throat, but before it could break any skin, there was a sudden movement along the fringe of Neji's vision and his knife was caught. He grunted when he saw Naruto's hand grabbing it, inches away from the other's neck.

Kiba was ignored as he stumbled over in all the confusion. It was only then he realised two other men leaning against the wall near where Neji had just been.

Neji was more than surprised, as was most of the others.

Where had he come from? Neji thought.

He had been well trained due to his family's situation, and even he did not even notice the blonde move.

So he did what he was trained to do, he glared daggers at the blonde man now in front of him. Wait a minute, had his eyes always been that red?

However, he quickly forgot about that when the man glared those daggers right back, making him feel even more enraged.

Neji opened his mouth to voice his anger but was rudely interrupted.

"_What do you think your doing?_" Naruto said. Neji knew well enough it wasn't a question he expected to be answered.

"Move it before I break your neck too." he responded.

"_No._"

Neji smirked. It wasn't often he had to play dirty, but if the the other was asking for it...

He leaned in closer, and next to Naruto's ear he whispered, "Or do you want me to tell everyone about your little murder fest, hm?"

Naruto stopped cold. He felt like someone had knocked the wind right out of him.

How did he find out about that?

He wouldn't tell them would he? But this was Neji Hyuuga. He would.

Naruto clenched his other, free fist. He wasn't ready for them to know. Not yet.

He couldn't deal with everyone hating him, just when he had only just arrived. He had had enough of that back in his village.

Naruto lifted his head and stared Neji straight in the eye.

"Leave." he demanded.

Neji made a satisfying grunt and dropped his arm.

So that was the little blonde's weak point.

He made sure to glare at Kiba once again before he left corridor. He wanted to make sure the man knew he should keep an extra eye out for him from now on.

"Let's go." He commanded to his two followers.

* * *

Sasuke felt awkward.

It wasn't often he did, but now was one of them times.

Kiba was still sitting on the floor next to Shikamaru, who seemed to be in deep thought about something, and Naruto, who had not moved from his position, seemed to be in even deeper thought.

He himself had been just as surprised as everyone else, but being an Uchiha, he couldn't let it show on his face - pride's work.

Was it possible for a human to move that fast? Although he _was_ paying more attention to the other show the dog boy and Hyuuga were putting on to really pay attention to Naruto.

Everyone finally seemed to snap back to reality when they heard the forgotten dog lying on the floor begin to whimper.

Kiba was the quickest to react, having already began to half-run-half-crawl to its side.

"Why isn't he moving?" Kiba panicked. "He's not dead is he?"

"Let me see." Sasuke said.

"We're losin' him!"

Sasuke pushed the flustered Kiba to the side with a quick, "Be quiet."

The small dog was lying on his side, looking traumatized but nowhere close to death.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He's not going to die, Kiba," He assured. "But I think his leg is broken."

He heard quiet steps behind him, which he assumed was Naruto walking over and watched him crouch beside him.

"Take him to Sakura and Ino," Naruto insisted. "I'm sure they'll be able to help without informing any guards."

Kiba nodded and gently picked the dog up before tucking him in to his yukata, careful not to hurt the broken leg.

Sasuke took his eyes off the injured dog and fixed on Naruto's hand. Blood was now running freely from the wound Neji's knife had left. "We should get you there too."

Naruto looked at his hand. Sasuke noticed his unreadable expression as he viewed the blood on his hand. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Why did he care anyway? It was probably nothing serious, and Naruto must of felt nauseous from the loss of blood which explained the expression. No other reasons behind it.

"Careful with his other bruises." Choji said, noticing the black and blue dotted around the dog's body.

"How did it get those anyway?" Sasuke asked.

"Kiba tried to kick him to death." Naruto and Shikamaru both said in unison.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

* * *

Sasuke was walking back to his cell. He had left Naruto and everyone at the medical room with Sakura and Ino, as he was tired and didn't think he could put up with them a minute longer. He was just about to round the corner to his cell block but noticed a long haired Hyuuga leaning against.

"Ah, Sasuke, just the person I wanted to see."

"What do you want Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked angrily. They had never talked before, so what was going on?

"Nothing much I suppose." Neji responded, pushing himself off the wall and walking closer to Sasuke. "I've just come realise you've become awfully close to Naruto Uzumaki."

When he thought about it he probably had. Of all his past cellmates, Naruto had been the one he'd talked the most with, considering it had only been a couple of days. But he was working on changing that. "What's it to you?"

"Sasuke," Neji gasped playfully. "Don't you have any idea who Naruto really is?"

"What?"

Neji smirked. "I guess you don't."

Sasuke grunted and turned to leave. "Why should I care?"

"I think you'll care when he's got you on the floor with a knife at your throat."

"He's too much of an idiot to do that, you don't have to worry."

"Are you sure?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow and turned back to face Neji again. "What are you implying?"

Neji chuckled. "I'm just telling you to watch it, that's all."

Sasuke just stood there, watching Neji's retreating back.

* * *

"LOCK UP AND LIGHTS OUT!" A guard shouted from outside.

The now familiar buzz of the cells locking sounded, followed by the click of the lights.

Naruto was washing his hands under the cold tap again - yes, the horrible feeling was _still_ there - as the lights switched off and plunged the cells into darkness for the night. It was dark, but just light enough to see in front of him. "Goodnight Sasuke~" he whispered cheerfully.

After he had gotten Sasuke to help look for the dog earlier that day - even if it _was_ because of a deal - he had hoped he was getting somewhere with his cellmate.

"Hn." But apparently not.

"Anti-social bastard." Naruto mumbled before climbing into bed. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard Sasuke unexpectedly speak up.

"The dog," he whispered quietly. "How is it?"

"I don't know, Sakura kicked us out before we could ask anything." Naruto replied. "He's probably okay though."

"And you?" Sasuke heard a soft shuffle, when Naruto clutched his bandaged hand.

"Just a scratch, nothing to worry over."

"Why did you do it?" Sasuke asked.

"Look for the dog? Well I needed to return a favour to Kiba and I thought this would be the best way to."

"Not that, idiot," Sasuke grunted. "Catch the knife, I mean. It was dangerous, you could of been killed even."

"Because I like to live like everyday could be my last," _because it is, _he added internally. "It's much less boring."

Sasuke thought back to his encounter with Neji. Was Naruto really as dangerous as Neji made him out to be? It was obvious he had got some information on Naruto. After their short fight in the dining hall the previous day he shouldn't be surprised. But how much had he found out?

"Who are you, Naruto?"

Naruto sat up and raised an eyebrow, confused as hell. "Come again?"

Sasuke grunted. "Who. Are. You. Naruto." he repeated. "Must I spell it out for you, dobe?"

"Shut up, Teme." Naruto replied angrily. "Anyway, I'm nobody. Just a normal guy getting locked up for a petty crime." He paused a moment. "Well, maybe not petty, considering we're on the 12th floor."

"Nobody's nobody. We've all got a story to tell. Tell me yours." Sasuke was now lying on his side, watching Naruto intently for any small signs.

Naruto shrugged. "Like I said, I'm just your average guy."

"Average guys don't end up in prison."

"I guess your right." Naruto gave a nervous laugh. "Besides," He lay back down and folded his arms behind his head. "How about you? What's your story?"

"How do I know?"

"How do you know what?"

"How do I know that your not some mass murderer who's going to stab me in my sleep?"

_Damn_, Naruto thought. He got it right on the mark. The mass murderer part, not the stab him in his sleep part, anyway.

"Did I guess right?" Sasuke was getting worried when his question was met with silence. But he was reassured when Naruto burst out laughing.

"Don't worry," Naruto managed to get out. "I'm not going to jump you in your sleep."

Sasuke watched Naruto pull his sheets over his shoulders after he calmed down.

Sasuke gave an irritated sigh. After all that, he never got any answers. Why wouldn't Naruto say what he'd done? Then again, it wasn't like he was any different. He was getting really annoyed. Naruto always made him feel like this, he realised.

He lay back down and rolled to face the wall. He'd never get a peaceful sleep if he kept thinking about Naruto. If he kept filling his mind like this he would-

"Let's make another deal." Naruto interrupted his thinking. He remained quiet, unable to think of what to say.

"I'll tell you why I'm in here when your ready to tell me too."

Sasuke nodded. Although he doubted Naruto noticed.

"Deal?"

Without knowing what he was stumbling into, Sasuke consented. "Deal."

* * *

**I apologise at my attempt at 'action' but hey, I tried my best!**

**Looks like Sasuke's just as secretive as Naruto here. ****Oh, the tension!**

**-rhyme**


	8. Visitations

**T/N: Sorry it's been a while guys! I've just been really busy with moving house and everything. Plus the only thing I've wanted to do in my spare time is sleep. In other news, here's the next chapter. **

* * *

_"Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself."_

** - Friedrich Nietzsche **

* * *

**Purgatory**

Visitations

Sasuke lay on his bed staring at the specks of dust drifting through the air. There was only one window in the room, a small one in the corner. It never really caught the sun except at dawn. He liked waking earlier than necessary. For the past few days it was his only quiet time of the day, his one chance to lie back idly and contemplate his troubles.

Yes, troubles.

What troubles may you ask? Blonde troubles.

The cunning idiot managed to make him look for the idiot dog with the other bunch of idiots. _Idiot._

And he hated to admit it._ Hated. _But he was worried about the dog. Last time he saw it, it was battered, bruised and bloody. It didn't look so good. He wouldn't be surprised if it didn't make it to be honest. _  
_

He told himself that it was only because he wouldn't be able to take the whining that would come from Kiba (and probably Naruto too) if it died.

He dragged himself to the mirror where he battled his bed head, running his fingers through it, until it looked suitable enough. He glanced at the still sleeping Naruto.

_He's an idiot and all of this is stupid. He's and idiot and all of this is stupid. _

He kept chanting it over and over again in his head, as if it would help convince him it was true.

_He is a complete and total idiot and all this is so fucking stupid._

He glanced at the clock outside. 8:14. He took one last irritated look at the blonde before he sighed and left for another day at this god-forsaken place.

* * *

Kiba had woken quite early and after worrying about the dog all night, he was still pretty beat. However, the dog came first. What if it had died from his injuries overnight? He'd skin that Hyuuga alive if this was true. With what happened at the animal shelter that night, Kiba couldn't let yet another poor dog-

_No_. We don't think about that, Kiba reminded himself.

First things first, Naruto needed to be woken up so they could go see Sakura and Ino in the medical room. As much as he liked them, he just couldn't bring himself to face the two alone. The probability that he wouldn't come out unscathed was reasonably high.

Shikamaru would probably kill him if he woke him up this early after all.

* * *

Naruto had never seen anyone breathe a bigger sigh of relief.

"He's going to be okay, just a fractured leg and some cracked ribs." Sakura explained. "Serious injuries, but not life threatening."

Kiba grabbed Naruto by his shoulders and shook him until he began to feel dizzy. "He's going to be okay," he exclaimed. "He's not going to die!"

Naruto had to shove Kiba off him before he actually passed out. "Calm down you idiot, before you fracture a bone too."

Ino smiled after seeing Kiba so relieved. He was pretty shaken after they had brought a bloody and battered dog to them yesterday. Of course, they had their questions, but the look in his eyes was enough to make her forget about them and tend to the animal right away. "We've bandaged his leg, so in a week or so he'll be able to walk. In a month or two he'll be completely healed."

"The news just keeps getting better." Kiba said happily. Naruto ignored him and shook his head as Kiba began to do dance around the already small medical room. Don't get him wrong, he was definitely happy that the dog was alright too.

Naruto turned to Sakura and Ino. "Thank you," he said. If it wasn't for them, chances are the dog would be dead already.

"It's nothing," Ino answered. "What about you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, confused. "Me?"

"Your hand, stupid." Sakura said, pointing at his hand. "Where are you bandages?"

"Didn't need 'em, it's all healed up." Naruto replied, holding his hand up to prove his point. "I told you it was only a small cut."

Sakura and Ino looked at eachother. "Naruto that was not a small cut, you caught a moving knife for god's sake!" Ino shouted, grabbing his hand. She examined it carefully but sure enough, only a scar remained where a deep cut was the previous day.

"What can I say, I'm a fast healer," Naruto joked. It's true, he did heal fast. His emotional trauma wasn't healing any time soon but his body sure damn did. "Look, about the guards-"

"We won't tell," Sakura reassured. "Don't worry."

Naruto smiled warmly at them. "Thank you. Again."

Naruto turned back to watch Kiba. He had now found a chair and sat down next to the dog which was sleeping on top of a makeshift bed of blankets. He began to run his hand softly through it's fur, the silly smile still etched on his face. Naruto could here the quiet whimpering of the dreaming animal.

"What are you going to name it?" Ino asked.

"Akamaru." Kiba said quietly. "I want to call him Akamaru." He turned to Naruto for approval.

Naruto shrugged. "Fine by me." Kiba grinned and went back to stroking the newly named Akamaru.

Naruto turned back to Sakura and Ino. "You two...must have questions, huh," he said nervously.

"Sasuke's explained everything to us already."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasuke? He came here?" He asked, surprised.

"Sure did. Early this morning. To check on the dog, just like you two I guess."

Kiba's ears perked up at this. "And here I thought he had no heart," He remarked.

"You and me both buddy." Naruto laughed.

"Hey! Sasuke-sama has a heart of gold!" Ino retorted.

"Exactly! Of course he'd check up on the poor thing. Or maybe he just wanted to visit us?" Sakura continued.

"Yeah, that must be the re-" Naruto decided to tune the two out at this point. He looked at Kiba who seemed to have done the same. The two nurses may be amazing, but when they enter they're Sasuke-sama-filled world, they're gone for good.

"Wanna get some breakfast?" Kiba asked.

Naruto nodded. "I'm starving."

* * *

The dining hall was the same as usual. Naruto could hear movement and shouted conversation as he strolled past the numerous tables and benches to were Shikamaru and Choji were sitting. It was the first time Naruto had had a good look at the other inmates.

At one table sat a group of large, dark skinned men all dressed the same. The standard pale grey yukata but with red bandanas tight over their shaved heads. They were huge, obviously body builders. Several had torn the sleeves off their clothes, suggesting that no availible garment could contain their massive bulk.

They were an impressive sight. God knows where they got the bandanas from, Naruto thought.

On another table sat a group of three. Two men and a woman. The tallest of the men had purple facepaint smeared across his cheeks whilst the other's most notable feature was his fiery red hair. The woman had a pretty face, Naruto noted, with blonde hair gathered into four ponytails.

Kiba nudged Naruto when he caught him staring. "Siblings." He whispered.

It was then that Choji noticed the two. His look of surprise quickly changed to excitement. He alerted Shikamaru by hitting his arm. He looked around and gave a little wave when he spotted them.

"Where've you two been?" Choji asked when they took a seat.

"To visit Akamaru." Kiba answered.

"Akamaru? Is that what you've named him?"

"Yup." Kiba said with a smug grin.

"Why do you get to name him?"

"Because I saw him first."

"What kind of reason is tha-"

"Does it really matter?" Shikamaru interrupted Choji, eyebrow twitching. Choji grunted in defeat. Naruto guessed it was an unspoken rule not to argue with Shika.

The blonde chuckled at the bickering and grabbed a piece of toast from Choji's plate. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke enter the room and grab some food before sitting at an empty table.

Had he really visited the medical room that morning? It wasn't like him at all, but after spending more and more time with the raven, Naruto could tell that there was some emotion in those empty eyes. Maybe he did care, deep, _deep_ down.

But why did he go on his own. He obviously didn't want anyone to know about it. Naruto hated the way Sasuke was messing up his thoughts. He couldn't understand why he wouldn't be friends with him. Or anyone. What was the point in keeping to himself all the time? Naruto knew he was hiding something, but getting Sasuke to tell him what was going to be a problem.

"Jesus Naruto, if you stare any longer people are going to thing your a love-struck teenager." Kiba joked.

Naruto felt his face heat up and quickly grabbed the nearest thing next to him to throw at Kiba, which happened to be a fork. Fortunately it wasn't the spiked end that hit him, however Kiba still cried out in pain when it hit him square on his forehead.

"That's gonna leave a mark." Shikamaru commented.

"W-W-What did you just say?!" Naruto stutted.

Naruto watched Kiba fall off the bench and clutch his head, realising he may have thrown the fork with a bit too much force.

"I was only joking! Please don't kill me!" Kiba squeaked, defending his face with his arms.

"Idiot." Naruto mumbled as Kiba climbed back on his seat wearily. "Well why were you staring?" He asked.

"Before," Naruto replied. "Sakura and Ino said that Sasuke came to visit earlier this morning. Do you think that's true?"

"It's hard to believe I know," Kiba nodded. "Does it bother you?"

"I just want to know."

"Then ask him." Shikamaru stated.

"Huh?"

"Your the only one he seems to want to talk to," he explained. "If one of us asked it'd just be weird."

"Yeah that's a great idea!" Choji chimed in.

"Wai-that's-"

"Perfect!" Kiba beamed. He picked himself up off the table, followed by Shikamaru and Choji. "We'll be in my cell if you need us."

"Oi!" Naruto called after them, but they had already left.

Naruto groaned. What did they mean he was the only one Sasuke spoke to? That can't be true. He sighed. Did he have to?

Naruto stood up and casually walked to Sasuke's table and sat down opposite him. "Hey!" He chirped. He waited for an answer but none ever came. "Hey." Naruto repeated, a little more irritated this time. Sasuke's onyx eyes flicked over him before they returned to his food.

Naruto was getting annoyed. He lifted a finger and poked Sasuke on the cheek. "Oi."

Sasuke jumped at the sudden contact and slapped the hand away. "What the hell do you think your doing, Dobe?"

Naruto glowered at him for the use of the stupid nickname before saying, "So you can hear me, Teme."

Sasuke glared at him. "I can hear you, I just don't want to."

"There's no need to be like that now is there." Naruto retorted.

"Hn."

Naruto sighed. "So what are you planning on doing today?" He asked.

"Nothing that involves you, obviously." Sasuke grunted.

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch as his patience wore thin. Sasuke smirked. This made Naruto even more pissed but he knew he couldn't hit Sasuke until he had answers.

"Hey, I learned something interesting from Sakura and Ino today."

"Did you now." Sasuke replied, impassive.

"You visited Akamaru this morning didn't you?" Sasuke flinched. He seemed to remember telling them _not_ to say anything about it. He was stupid to believe those gossipers would keep there mouths closed.

"So what if I did." Sasuke finally lifted his head and really looked at the blonde.

Naruto felt uncomfortable under the intense stare. He felt his face heat up for the second time that morning, although this time not as much. He tried his best to ignore it. He hoped it didn't show.

"So your actually a nice guy! Underneath all the broodiness that is." It was Naruto's turn to smirk. "What a surprise."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the extra comments. "Believe me, I'm not."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and stared at Sasuke, who had now went back to picking at his food.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto didn't get to receive an answer as a hand was abruptly placed on his shoulder, startling him and causing him to jump slightly.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" A deep voice sounded. Naruto spun around slowly, half afraid it was another prisoner come to beat him up. However it was just a normal guard.

"Yeah?" But was that even worse?

"There's someone here to see you."

* * *

The girl opposite Naruto sat quietly, not speaking. She hadn't said a word since Naruto had sat down. Nor had she looked at him. She had kept her eyes down, staring at her twiddling thumbs. Naruto looked away from her and instead looked around. They were in small, square room, no windows, just a security camera and a table with two chairs opposite each other. Similar to an interview facility. The air in the room was set very cold. Naruto had to rub his arms up and down to stay warm. The girl had a coat on so she was okay.

Naruto knew he wasn't in a proper visiting room. Those rooms were divided in two by a wall with a strong window - you know, to stop criminals from pouncing on their visitor. This girl trusted him too much. She should of known it was possible she could be facing an angry murderer psychopath who can't wait to break her neck.

Well, he might of been a murderer but he certainly wasn't angry, a psychopath or wanting to break her neck.

They had been sat for a while now. The man watching the security camera footage must of been bored stiff. The silence didn't exactly feel awkward to Naruto, he was waiting for her to speak first.

After another minute or so, she finally lifted her head, opened her mouth and closed it again. Opened it for a second time. Closed it.

Naruto couldn't stifle a laugh, to which she blushed. "You look like a fish."

"I-I..." She stammered. Naruto couldn't take it any longer. They'd be here for days if he let it carry on like this.

"So why are you here?" He asked her. "What are we doing?"

"We're n-not doing any-anything." Naruto wanted to rub his temples, but that would be rude.

"Lets...lets start again. My name's Naruto, you are?"

"Hinata." She introduced herself. Her eyes met his and she blushed and looked away again. But Naruto didn't miss it. Pale, purple eyes. Just like Neji's.

"We'll, Hinata, is there a reason you called me out here today?"

Naruto watched her take a deep breath to compose herself. Cute.

"I'm going to get straight to the point," Hinata said sternly, but still blushing furiously afterwards, realising she may have been to hard.

"Carry on." Naruto said, reassuring that everything was fine.

"Neji has been g-gathering information on you," she spoke nervously. "I'm scared he's going to do something really bad t-to you."

"Like he does to all the other people that mess with him?"

Hinata nodded shyly. "I'm sorry." She apologised.

"I guess I saw it coming," Naruto sighed. "Why are you apologising?"

Hinata blushed again, causing her to begin to stutter. "I-I-I don't k-know I'm-I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay! I'm not angry at you or anything." She nodded again, knowing that it was best for her to stay quiet. "These people...they normally end up dead don't they?"

Hinata was ashamed to nod, but she had to anyway. Naruto sighed once more and looked down. So he would either be executed by the state or killed by Neji. Well didn't that sure sound like a win-win situation.

"So how do you know Neji?" Naruto asked.

"We..we're cousins." She replied.

"Cousins?"

"Plus we were very close as children." Naruto hummed in response.

Hinata was frantically thinking. She'd read the newspapers. She knew all about Naruto and what he had done. No, what she knew was what the media knew. What they assumed. Naruto wasn't what she thought. He was being nice and for once in her life, it wasn't an act.

"I'm going to give you a choice." Hinata said.

"Choice of what?"

"A choice of apologising strategies."

"Say what?" Naruto said, confused.

"W-What I mean is, you can either apologise to Neji yourself, or...or I can speak to him myself a-and explain that you were just too scared to say sorry."

"What will apologising do?"

"I can s-speak to him. Convince him to forget about you," she persisted. "But I need you to apologise for...for it to work." She bit her lip. "I don't want you to die. I don't want anymore people to be hurt because of him."

Naruto paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but I just can't let him go around bossing people around like that," He explained. "And when it's my friends he's hurting I...I just can't apologise..."

Hinata didn't look hurt by his response only saddened. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something, he noticed.

"I hope," she started. "I hope you can be the one to make him change back." She finished quietly.

"Change back?"

"He never used to be like this!" She cried. "His father, my uncle, was killed trying to protect my father. He doesn't say it, but I know he bears a grudge against me and my family. After that he started training furiously and never showed any other emotion apart from anger. It's...I-It's all my fault Naruto." She was crying by now, tears freely falling down her red cheeks.

"Shh, shh it's okay." Naruto comforted. He wanted to hold her, like his mother used to hold him when he was upset. But he knew the guards would just come in and pull him away and the conversation would end. "But I don't understand how it's your fault."

"The people who killed his father were there for _me_." She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes but more kept falling. Naruto had to think of something quick. He wasn't much for comforting.

"Stuuuupid."

"Huh?"

"Your over thinking everything." Naruto explained. "He doesn't hate you. He just wants to protect you."

"I-I don't understand."

"You said you were close when you were little right?" Hinata nodded. "I'm sure that when he lost his dad, he didn't want to lose his best friend too. So he trained hard. He only wants to protect you."

"But why does that make him hurt people?"

"It's...um...his way of showing authority," Naruto said, unsure of where he was going with this. "So when people find out about you, they know that they'll have to go through him." Hinata was completely silent now. "It's so you don't get hurt anymore."

* * *

"Tell me again," Sasuke started. "Why your still visiting me."

"Why Sasuke," the woman said clutching her chest. "I thought we were friends by now."

"Very funny." She smirked. Sasuke hated this woman. She'd been visiting about once every two weeks now for nearly two months. It was always the same questions. It was always the same answers. She never told him why she was doing it. Or who sent her.

"I've told you, I've got to see how your doing, how your coping, if anything's troubling you." She explained. "_Has_ anything be-"

"I'm doing fine, I'm coping fine and believe it or not, nothing has been troubling me." Sasuke interrupted. "Now if that will be everything, I'll take my leave."

"Now now, are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem to have a different...how can I put it..._air_, about you."

Sasuke pondered for a minute. Was it safe to tell her about his troubles? She would either pester him about them or try to fix them. She could be very persuasive when she wanted to, so he was sure she'd be able to do something about it.

"I got a new cellmate."

"Really now?" She feigned surprise.

"I'm sure you knew anyway."

"Well it's always nice to hear it from the person himself," she remarked. "What's his name?"

"You don't know?"

"Sadly, no," she sighed. "They don't tell me everything all the time you know."

Sasuke grunted. "Naruto Uzumaki." The woman seemed to be genuinely surprised.

"Uzumaki, huh."

"You know him?" Sasuke asked. Maybe he could get a little more information on Naruto. After what Neji said you could say he was..._mildly interested_.

"Know him?" She laughed. "He's pretty big news. Massive, even."

"Really," Sasuke pressed. "What did he do?"

The woman noted his fascination with the boy. "Why? Do you like him?"

Sasuke blinked. "What? N-no! No. He's...um, different." Different?

"Different? How?"

"He tries to speak to for one." The woman understood what he meant. "Even after I've told him not to bother."

"So you like him?" She asked. "Because he's not scared of you?"

"Yeah." Sasuke had said it without thinking. It was too late before he noticed his mistake. He mentally kicked himself.

"Oh. Progress."

"No! I-I didn't mean that!" Sasuke stammered. "I didn't hear the question right!"

"Sure, sure. I believe you." She so didn't believe him. She paused after that. As if contemplating something in her head. "I'm not saying you shouldn't but," she hesitated. "I wouldn't get close to him if I were you."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked. "I mean, if I did want to get close to him, which I don't." He quickly added.

She knew that Naruto was going to be executed. She didn't know when, neither did they, but she guessed it would be sooner rather than later. She wanted to scream at him. _You'll just be hurt. **Again**_. But she wouldn't.

"Hey Sasuke," she quickly changed the topic of the conversation. "Have you ever heard of the chair?"

"The chair?" Sasuke repeated. "No, what is it?"

"This big family have been working on an electric chair recently."

"Why would they do that?"

"I think they're going to torture prisoners with it." She explained. "So what I'm saying is, don't get yourself in any trouble."

"This chair," Sasuke wondered. "What does it do to you?"

"They strap you in and send electricity through you. A lot of it. Pretty simple huh," She explained. "However, it'll leave you dead. Or so close to death you'll be praying you were."

* * *

**Thanks for waiting so long for a new chapter. I don't know if it was worth the wait or anything. I tried to make it as long as I could to make up for it. Anyway, please keep on reviewing! Every one I read either gives me motivation or some good advice.**

**I don't know when the next chapter will be up but I'm hoping it's pretty soon. **

**-rhyme **


End file.

Naruto, Drama, Romance