Naruto woke up slowly, her entire body burning in excruciating pain. She could feel where her skin had been pealed off, where her flesh melted down to the very bone. Carefully she tried to move her arms, however they were bound together tightly, the rope chafing her already sensitive skin. Quickly her eyes shot open in panic, only to see the blood red eyes and uncaring disposition of a mass murderer.

"Naruto Uzumaki, welcome back to the realm of the living," Itachi drawled.

"Itachi Uchiha…" Naruto gasped, struggling against her binds. Her fingers curled into the familiar position of her favorite hand-sign, yet as she awaited for the normal pool of chakra to gather; nothing occurred.

"I'm sure by now you've noticed that your chakra isn't quite working as it should; at least not enough for you to actually cast a jutsu," Itachi spoke monotonously, "Your binds are littered with various chakra suppression seals, I've even placed a few on your stomach. You have no hope of escaping, so I would stop struggling."

"I will never stop struggling you bastard!" Naruto bit out in fury.

The Uchiha shrugged nonchalantly, "Waste your energy for all I care, it won't help."

Naruto struggled in vain for several more minutes, trying every trick in the book to override the suppression seals, to no avail. The damn Uchiha was a genius, and it seemed as though he covered all his bases. Okay breathe, she reminded herself, you have been kidnapped by a mass murderer who wants nothing more than to turn you into a weapon, thus killing you in the process. The same guy who murdered his entire family, your best friends family, without a twinge of guilt or remorse. It's going to be okay… I hope. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura will know I've been taken. They'll come help me.

"Why kidnap me?"

"The Akatsuki has use for you."

Naruto glared, "You're a bastard."

Itachi smirked as he tended to the fire, the flames roaring high and casting shadows across the walls of the dark cave. Naruto cast a glance at her surroundings, taking note of each inconsistency. It was just them, alone. The cave was vast and dark, droplets of water dripping from the walls. The cold seeped through to her very bones, causing her undeniable discomfort.

I might never get out of here alive…

Kakashi stalked down the hall with a purpose. He threw open the door so hard, it almost flew off the hinges.

"Sakura," He gasped out in relief, glad to see his young, pink haired student alive and well in the hospital bed.

"Kakashi-sensei," She muttered with a small smile, "You're okay."

"I am," He spoke, "How are you feeling?"

"A few minor burns and scrapes, nothing too serious," Sakura stated with a wave of her hand, "But… Naruto?"

Kakashi sighed, "She's… she's gone."

It was only a few minutes previous that he woke up in the hospital; disoriented, confused, injured. The last thing he recalled was fighting Orochimaru and Kabuto… but then… nothing. Until he woke up to the blank white walls of the hospital room and a grim faced Tsunade, who held even grimmer news.

"What do you mean by 'gone'?" Sakura questioned, her eyes widening in panic.

"We were all found completely knocked out by a group of patrolling ANBU. They brought us back to the village hospital. Naruto wasn't with us."

"Where could she be?! You don't think Orochimaru…?" Sakura's sentence fell off as her panic built.

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted, "But we are going to find out. If it's the last thing we do, we'll find Naruto."

"Where's your boyfriend?" Naruto questioned sarcastically, her eyes darting around the room, resting anywhere but the eyes of her best friends brother.

Itachi frowned, "For someone who's been kidnapped, you sure are flippant about your situation."

Naruto huffed, "You said it yourself, I'm stuck here. I might as well know what kind of situation I'm in. So should I expect to see a shark-faced moron walk in here any minute now?"

"Kisame is not here. He's delivering Orochimaru back to our headquarters," He responded candidly.

"And why should I believe you, huh? What if you're just saying that so I can let my guard down?"

"Believe what you want. Either way, you're still my prisoner."

"So why haven't you killed me yet? Why haven't you taken me back to base and forced the Kyuubi out? What are you waiting for?"

The Uchiha shrugged, "We all have our priorities. As important as you might be, Orochimaru is more so."

Naruto blinked in confusion, "I would have thought a psycho like you would like a pedophile like Orochimaru running around."

He scoffed, "The man is a vile creature who tried to murder me more times than I can count. He stands for everything that I'm against."

"Coming from the ultimate traitor of Konoha."

"Take it how you will. Orochimaru betrayed the Akatsuki, so he had to be dealt with."

Naruto let out a bitter laugh, "Of course that's why you hate him. Why would you care about the fact that he marked your little brother like cattle? Or that he's planning on wearing him like a skin suit? After all, you're the murderer Itachi Uchiha, I bet you were glad that Orochimaru got rid of Sasuke for you. He's just your annoying pathetic little brother."

Itachi rose and marched towards the tied up young blond. Grasping her chin, he forcefully turned her head so that she could meet his eyes, "You talk too much."

Naruto's vision went black.

Itachi stifled a groan as he lay down across the cold, hard floor. He messed up, he knew. He shouldn't have let the young blond get to him; but the annoying little jinchuriki was good at that. She managed to get under his antisocial little brothers skin too, after all.

Ugh, why did she have to mention Sasuke?

The elder Uchiha didn't have many weaknesses. He was a powerful, frightening ninja who belonged to the most evil group of missing-nins that ever existed. People across the Nations were afraid of the man, spreading ghost stories of how the heartless ninja would sneak into your home one day, and kill everyone you loved.

It was a horror story told to children. It was a horror story that Sasuke actually lived.

It was a horror story that Itachi caused.

He closed his eyes in contemplation. He didn't know what he was going to do with the blond. Itachi didn't want to just hand Naruto to the Akatsuki, but he was starting to think he didn't have a choice. He couldn't risk his position as a spy; no one could suspect him.

If he let her go, it would be obvious to the others that he did so on purpose. Itachi was known to be powerful, there would be no way that the girl could get away without him specifically allowing her to do so.

He could only hope that her friends came to rescue her before Kisame could arrive back. Otherwise… Itachi grimaced. He never did like to see girls wither in pain. He didn't need any more red in his ledger. It looked like he just had to make sure that the Konoha ninjas found them before his partner did.

He wiped away a tear of blood as he closed his eyes, finally falling into a deep slumber.

"Wake up," Itachi commanded.

Blinking her confusion away, Naruto rose from her position on the floor, "You made me fall asleep."

Itachi ignored her glare with grace, "I did."

"Why?" Naruto questioned, rage seeping into her tone.

The man rolled his eyes, "Because I felt like it. Now come on, get up."

"Where are we going?"

"You're my prisoner, I don't have to answer your questions. Hurry up and stand."

"I can't," Naruto taunted, "I'm sort of tied up here."

A small hand-sign from Itachi later and the binds on her feet were broken, allowing Naruto to rise. "If you even attempt to run, I'll make sure that you're physically incapable of performing such an act ever again."

"Harming your prisoner? Are you sure your masters would like that?" She drawled sarcastically, thankful to even be able to stand after so long.

"I have no masters. Plus, it's not like we need you unharmed. I'd keep that in mind, if I were you."

"Wow you're soo scary." Naruto teased, her eyes rolling in the process.

Itachi once more grabbed the girls chin, forcing her to peer into his fully developed Mangekyō, "Are you certain about that? If you want to survive the next few days, then I would suggest shutting up and doing what I say. Otherwise, I'm under no obligation to keep you in one piece."

"You're a monster."

"Yes. I am."