Pairing: SasukexKakashi (Yaoi, Don't like, don't read)

Rated: M (For obvious reasons)

Take place between Naruto Shippuuden chapter 282 and 309 in the manga. In the anime…I don't remember…

Note: Dedicated to Tineyninja, and a lot of others (whom I can't seem to remember now that it's two in the morning, I'm so sorry) who wanted me to badly update this story. Thanks for all the reviews and support that you guys gave me. All of you are the best! (hugs you all with extremely long arms)

Chapter 8: For It Was a Dark day for all but the Snake

The forest was quiet. Soft breeze gently rustled the canopies of the trees. The road itself was small, about two or three metres wide, consisted of only natural earth. A few tuft of grass popped in and there, slightly yellow. At one point, the wall of trees broke off to reveal a fantastical view over a chasm; huge tower of rocks shaped naturally by Mother Nature herself, like towers of a Daimyo's castle. Water heavily gushed over the rocks at high speed, forming a waterfall. The end of the rapid wave of water into the seemingly bottomless chasm was not to be seen. The wind whispered again. A few leaves fell onto the hard ground in a slow rhythm. A squirrel scurried about the branches of an oaken tree, stuffing its face full of nuts in supply for an incoming winter. Unknowingly, the creature's banter was keenly observed by a keen pair of hidden eyes, masked by a porcelain face of an animal.

Mouse stood silently behind the looming shadows, as quiet and solemn as her namesake. Her gaze switched to a sudden movement on the ground; a hare, its brown coat turning white, hopping quickly to its destination for fear of a nearby predator.

The wind whispered courteously, beckoning her forward.

This is the route. She signalled, silent.

In a blink of an eye, several other shadows stood around her, surveying the area. One, tall and bulky, kneeled before the ground, placing a palm on it. After a couple of seconds later, he withdrew.

Well? Mouse gestured.

The man signalled back. Yes. The trail is a about a few weeks old, but this is definitely the way they took.

Mouse nodded, before glancing at the others. They bended their heads in short, quick movement of agreement.

Just as sudden as they came, the shadows disappeared.

Three months.

That's how long Kakashi had been being held captive, by his former student. For three months, he had been denied his freedom and his return to the Leaf Village. For three months, he was forced to interact with the members of the Invasion Force that took away the Third Hokage's life. For three months, he had to deal with his missing-nin-of-a-student trying to get in his pants.

With his back against the wall, Kakashi laid on the Spartan-style bed, flipping a book with one hand as the other rested on his stomach. The book was old, maybe even older than he was, judging by its torn cover and the various smudges on the yellowish pages. The title text on the cover had long faded, and the index ripped off. Leafing through, the silver-haired man guessed it used to be storybook, one about fantasy and mystical creatures. He found it by accident when he ran into the sorry-excuse for a library during his third escape from Sasuke. He didn't know why he took it; maybe it was desperation because he knew he was going to get caught again, and to better take a book with him as he was going to get lock up in Sasuke's empty bedroom once more.

Speaking of Uchiha Sasuke, the jounin haven't seen him in the past few days lately. The last time he did, the Uchiha walked into the room, glaring venomously but otherwise silent, sheathed his sword and petted Kakashi's head before wandering off again. The door was locked with various seals, which responded to only specific chakra. The seals themselves weren't too complex, only several cutting Hiragana to act as the key locks. The copy-nin was confident he could overwrite them, if he was provided with the right kind of tools –a brush and ink that was made from special carbon black located only in a few areas in Lightning country - but he was not, and so he was stuck here for the time being. With nothing to do, Kakashi was glad he took the ancient book, though it was children oriented.

Scratching the skin under the new metal collar, Kakashi skimmed the words. The collar was a new type of chakra-blocking device, developed by the growing technology of the Snow country. Orochimaru himself picked it for him, saying that it was getting troublesome to waste precious manpower on finding and capturing the stubborn copy-nin when it was quite obvious that the man was very keen on escaping and that a few chakra seals on a pair of cuffs wasn't going to stop him anytime soon. The collar was built solely for the purpose of rendering the jounin useless, and that he was the first guinea pig for it; Kakashi was a very skilled shinobi that possess fine chakra control, if the collar could stop him from accessing his chakra then it would very well stopped other shinobis beside him. He tried breaking it once, and almost got himself a broken neck for his effort. That didn't stop him from continuing trying to find its weakness, though.

To be honest, he was quite worried for his comrades back at the Leaf Village. For the duration of the time he was here, he didn't even hear of a rescue attempt for him, much less the real one. No, he didn't feel contempt by the lack of concern of his fellow Leaf shinobi; he was an elite jounin, it was almost customary for someone of his calibre to be captured during a mission. (Although, being swept away by one's missing student to be his plaything was unheard off. Not to mention, he was the one who went on an unofficial mission inspired by a personal agenda). He knew that there were other important things to be taken care off. Akatsuki continued to be a great threat to them all. The powerful organisation could be trying to capture Naruto, even now. The Uzumaki might be a hyperactive powerhouse that displayed battle prowess every once in a while, but even he could crash and burn at the most inappropriate time. Tenzou and the others would not be around to save him all the time. Simply put, the jinchuuriki wasn't strong least not yet, he's not. He had a lot of potential. Kakashi knew that he could be the first key to unlocking them all and the fact he was stuck here, in this snake den, doing nothing while he could do something, infuriate him to no end.

A particular title caught his interest. The Tale of the Sage of the Six Paths. Hmmmm…. He flipped the next page.

'Before the world had chakra, the only one who possesses the ability to do is the Sage of the Six Paths. With a power that nobody else had ever displayed before in the context of human history, he developed Ninshuu, and stirred the chaotic world into an era of peace. With powerful and unique chakra, he was able to create matter out of nothingness and breathe life into form. He mastered both Yang style and Yin style, creating the rare technique to master; Yin-Yang style. Using the Creation of All Things ability, the Sage of the Six Paths developed the world and its ninjutsu capabilities. With this, and the harbouring of a ten-tailed beast within his belly, he split it into nine different consciences, before departing from this world on his deathbed. He left two legacies, two brothers, one which form the infamous U-'

Just when things started to become interesting, his ears prickled up, catching the sound of soft, quick footsteps in the stone hallway. It seems to be heading at this room at a fast pace. Kakashi tried to figure out the unknown chakra signature, but with his non-existent chakra network being decommissioned, it proved to be quite a task. He continued to focus on the presence, preparing for any danger. The presence stopped in front of the door, giving him just enough time to shove the book under his pillow before the door was opened. Light shone off from a pair of round-bottom shaped glasses from the flickering candle. Kakashi scowled deeply, as he instantly recognised the unwelcome visitor.

"Why, hello there Kakashi." Kabuto said sleekly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his noise, "You look comfortable."

Kabuto observed the jounin in front of him, who, even now, was trying very hard not to spring to his feet and attack him. He managed to keep himself in check though, though the way he glared and the tensing of his muscles, even hidden beneath the loose navy jounin uniform, informed him that he was very well not letting his guard down around him.

Good, then. No fun for him if he didn't do so.

"And how are you feeling today, hmmm?" the younger man asked, walking closer to the bed. He didn't close the door behind him and, a spark in the jounin's grey eye, brief as it was, told him that the Hatake was going to use it to his advantage. The medic-nin smirked. What fun.

"I'm honoured, really." Kakashi schooled his masked face into a look of disinterest. He didn't move from his spot. "That at least you pretended to care about me."

Kabuto raised a grey eyebrow in amusement. "And what made you think that I am pretending in the slightest?" He asked, feigning hurt by the accusation. He placed a gloved hand on his chest.

The jounin tilted his head. "Just call it an intuition." A pause. Kakashi looked at him, slightly alarmed. "Though, you could even call it a coincidence instead, as you had never come in here before. Aside from Sasuke and couple of those idiotic goons you had the nerve to call jounin-ranked, unfortunately, you're not on the list. So forgive me if I'm being cynical."

The snake's right hand man chuckled humourlessly, now standing next to the bed. He pulled out an empty hypodermic needle from his medical pouch, stripping it from its transparent case. Kakashi stared at him, tense and fidgety. Looking quite smudge at the jounin's anxiety, he produced a small cocked-up bottle containing a clear liquid. He filled the syringe with the odourless drug, before wiping the metal needle with anaesthetics.

Kakashi pressed himself harder against the wall, appearing like he wanted to blend into the surface. The Yakushi made an annoyed sound, beckoning the jounin forward.

"If you don't mind, I am quite comfortable laying right here." Kakashi answered with false mirth. He then made of show of snuggling into his pillow, eyes closed. The mismatched eyes snapped opened however, when Kabuto dipped his right knee into the mattress, looking every bit as the sadistic medical ninja that he is.

"I don't really care. Now, come here before I drug you forcefully." The grey-haired shinobi threatened.

The silver-haired jounin shook his head in reply. "You're going to drug me either me way." He said in accusation. The sharingan-bearing jounin narrowed his visible grey eye when the medic-nin moved in closer. "At least tell me the reason why you wanted to drug me so badly; it's common courtesy, after all."

Kabuto sighed in dismay, placing a free hand on his head, rubbing his forehead as if to thwart off a headache. He frowned. "Fine, but only because I don't want to appear rude in front of the guest. You are, after all, a beloved pet of Orochimaru-sama's most prized student." Kakashi glowered at the last sentence.

Kabuto withdrew. "Orochimaru-sama requested a full body medical check-up on you. Making sure your body is at its most optimum health, physical aspects are not hindered by controlled internal environment and no mental strains on your mind. For whatever reason, you ask? Well," the Yakushi muttered, turning his back towards the silver-haired jounin on the bed, who was now kneeling on the mattress in a quick stance for combat, alarm bells ringing in his mind. Kabuto paused for a dramatic effect, a sadistic smirk on his face. "You'll just have to find out for yourself, don't you?!"In one quick movement, he whirled around, the syringe gripped in his right hand as he aimed for the jounin's neck. Kakashi was prepared however, for in an instant, he placed a foot on Kabuto's shoulder, leveraging himself up as he twisted, kicking the Sound nin into the wall. Even if he had been held captive for over a month, his body still remembered the ruthless strategy of a battle.

He also didn't forget the fact that Kabuto was also as cunning and skilled as he is.

With a poof, Kabuto's body was replaced with a log. Substitution technique. The copy-ninja ducked just in time to avoid the real Kabuto's overhead kick. His reaction time was delayed however, when Kabuto quickly manoeuvred himself, placing a hand on the cemented tile to give him the momentum needed to side swept Kakashi into the open hallway.

With a heavy grunt, the silver-haired man slammed into the opposite wall with enough force to reverberate the ceiling. Despite his dazed state, Kakashi slid to the ground in an effort to avoid Kabuto's jab with the needle. It worked. Using the few precious seconds he had gained, the Hatake gripped both of Kabuto's cloth covered arms, and using all of his strength, he kneed him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The grey-haired medical ninja faltered, crumpling to the ground after Kakashi rolled out from underneath him. The hypodermic syringe clattered onto the floor with an annoying 'cling'.

The Sharingan no Kakashi stood to his feet with a shaky breath. The sudden exertion of his muscles after weeks of inaction left him feeling as breathless as Kabuto. With a quick look at the still conscious Sound ninja, Kakashi slammed his foot down onto the syringe, shattering it. The colourless liquid seeped into his sandal, but the job was done.

Using his nearly photographic memory of his earlier escapades, he broke off into a run into the left corridor, leaving the gasping Yakushi on the floor. Two sound ninja met him at the interjection, obviously checking out the source of the earlier disturbance, but with adrenaline filling his blood, he punched one in the jaw, immediately disabling him, before using him like a jackhammer on the other one, throwing them both into the other empty hallway. It seems like a trap was triggered upon their impact; a fire-style jutsu engulfed them both, roasting them alive. Their piercing screams were agonising to hear.

Kakashi came to a halt. He should take a right here, but where there used to be a doorway, instead there was nothing but solid concrete. He cursed softly to himself. Looks like he underestimated the snake sannin's deceptive capabilities once more. He checked the wall more thoroughly, in hope of finding a secret passage. No such hope. He was only wasting time, time that he didn't have; surely Kabuto had recovered by now and sent a troop after him. For the umpteenth time in his life, Kakashi swore crudely.

He was about to backtrack –there was another way around, fifteen metres before he took a right at the previous junction, right next to the seal that would trigger a raining kunais upon his head – when something hard and muscled coiled around his left leg to his thigh.

He barely uttered a word or a gasp when he was suddenly slammed into the ceiling, immediately followed by a series of thrust downwards and upwards alternatively between the top and bottom of the passage.

He was on the edge of consciousness when the hold was relinquished during mid-air, sending him flying to crash into the beam of the archway. He went limped, falling to the cement in a grotesque-like fashion. He spat out a mouthful of blood, uncaring of the mask in the way. Pain flared all over; without chakra to aid him, his body took most of the direct impacts, and he was sure that he broke at least six ribs. And his left ring finger was definitely not supposed to bend that way.

Through his muddled senses, he heard a familiar voice hissed out in malice. "…uto, how much trouble do you really have to go through to even sedate him? We lost two of our precious men in the process because of your clumsiness."

"My apology, Orochimaru-sama. He caught me off guard. I will not let it happen again."

A scoff. "Obviously. Or it will be on your head, regardless of how much useful you are to me. This mistake will put us behind schedule." There was a series of shuffling footsteps. Step, step, step. His head was lifted by steel-grip fingers in his hair. Half-lidded eyes met sickening yellow slit orbs. Orochimaru smiled aberrantly when Kakashi tried, to no avail, turn his head away from him.

"Honestly, Kakashi-kun. Must you be such a stubborn ass just like your father? It will be much easier if you just give in. There will be less pain that way."

Kakashi spat out in disgust. "…A-as if I'll give in… to a sick bastard… like you…"

The pale man shrugged, brushing off the offensive words as if they were normal everyday chatter. He gestured to Kabuto, who handed him an object that Kakashi had learned to seriously hate during his long career as a shinobi. The needle of a syringe, one that looked exactly as the one that the Hatake had stomped on earlier, greeted him menacingly in the dim light of the passageway.

"Goodnight, Kakashi-kun." The ominous sentence was the last thing Kakashi heard before the needle was plunged into his neck, the injected liquid rapidly robbing him of his conscience.

"Bring him to the experiment room C-1E."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"And so, we gathered here today in order to mourn the passing of one of our great shinobi, Sarutobi Asuma-"

It hurt. It hurt so much. Why did Asuma-sensei have to die? It was his fight, his fight against the Akatsuki. Akatsuki wanted him, him alone, so why did Asuma-sensei, of all people, have to die in a fatal fight against them?!

The ceremony passed by slowly and solemnly. Naruto stood behind the trio members of Team Asuma, blue eyes dull just like the overcast brewing above them. Sakura stood beside him, caught between casting pitiful looks towards her blond Yamanaka friend in front of her while throwing him sad glances at his clearly disarray state. Naruto tried to smile reassuringly at her, truly he did, but he faltered the moment he worked his nerves up.

There was so much sadness.

"-a son to the great and respected late Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sarutobi Asuma was a remarkable Leaf shinobi in his own rights-"

Stop saying 'was', Grandma Tsunade, just please, stop saying 'was'-

Ino clearly tried to keep her rumbustious nature in check, instead gazing solemnly on the grassy ground in front of her, beads of tears dripping down her chin. Chouji though, was openly crying, letting a few hiccups and sobs filled the dark air but otherwise remaining calm and silent. It was Shikamaru though, who Asuma-sensei's death seem to hit the hardest. He kept uncharacteristically glaring at the ground, eyes wide while he occasionally shook his head in anger and vehement. He kept clenching and unclenching his right fist, and he bit his lip when it was too much to keep it in. Naruto was truly worried for him.

The Uzumaki managed to tear his gaze away from the Chuunin to look at the other front side. Gai-sensei was sobbing, hiccupping while he mourned his lost comrade. Yamato-taichou stood next to him, looking sad while he tried to comfort the crying Jounin. Kurenai-sensei stood directly in front of the memorial, her usual shining ruby eyes lifeless and listless.

There was someone missing from the picture.

Kakashi-sensei.

The lazy jounin should be here, mourning yet another lost comrade. He should be standing next to Gai-sensei, with a hand of his shoulder; he should be offering words of condolences to Kurenai-sensei; he should be glancing at Yamato-taichou to speak in a silent language that only the darkness knows; in short, he should be here.

(But he's not.)

One sensei dead; another one missing in action. One teammate abandoning his village and friends for the sake of power. Naruto hated his life right there and then.

Grandma Tsunade continued her speech that does not reach Naruto's ears.

Rain began to fall, carrying a scent of an approaching thunderstorm.

Aside from the dripping sound of raindrops and the occasional sniffles from Chouji and Gai-sensei, it was quiet. Then, the ceremony was over. The crowd began to line up in order to offer flowers for the fallen jounin.

It was sudden.

The roar from the Kyuubi within was sudden.

"NOOOO! HE COULD NOT PROCEED! DAMN HIM! DAMN IT ALLLLLLLLL!"

"Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura sounded so far away, almost like she was across the seven seas. Naruto couldn't concentrate enough to form a reply; the seal on his stomach felt hot, burning on his skin with extreme heat as if his skin was melting. His guts felt like they were arranging themselves, and with a fervent shout, he fell to his knees.

Sakura was shouting, but he could not hear her. His surrounding began to blur; faces began appearing in his vision, faces he was familiar with but he could not decipher at the moment. More silent screams aroused. His whole body throbbed like it was on fire.

The grass he was kneeling on melted until they were orange liquid. The sky changed into a metallic ceiling. The open space shrunk into an unwelcome visage of the underground-like structure that is his mind. He was now in his mindscape.

Hot gas filled the room as they escaped from the broken pipes on the bolted walls. It was hot, but it was not unbearable, unlike before. Water sloshed around him, a shade of reddish orange that threaten to wash over him. With a shaky sigh, he stood.

The giant, nine-tailed fox in front of him was thrashing in his cage. He stomped and stomped, growling ferociously as he stood on his hind legs like a human, his red nine tails swirling around him in a mad crescendo. He slashed at the golden bars with his sharp claws, but they stood steadily in place. He howled in a beastly tone, the animalistic sound echoing in the small space.

With alarm, the Uzumaki looked at the paper seal located at the centre of the Kyuubi's prison. It was fine and untouched however, so what was causing the nine-tailed beast to be so freaked and uncontrolled?

"Hey, you stupid fox! What's the deal?! Why are you acting like this?!" Naruto yelled in anger and frustration. One of his sensei had died because a powerful organisation that wanted the gigantic kitsune had killed him, and that very same fox was behaving horridly at his sensei's funeral.

Kyuubi didn't pay him any attention however, much to Naruto's dismay. He continued to howl with such force that some of the ceiling began to collapse. The blonde gasped as the ceiling directly above him began to fall apart. He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being flattened by the falling debris. The resulting waves hit him, drenching his black funeral clothes.

"KYUUBI!" The Uzumaki roared in retaliation. Unknowingly, his own chakra began to flare in response.

The nine-tailed fox paused in his ministrations. He glanced at Naruto with some degree of shock, nose flaring. He seems to be looking right through the blond, right into his soul. Looking into another life, another time. Naruto was tempted to look behind him in order to see just what exactly the stupid fox was looking at, but before he could do just that, Kyuubi started acting up again, though in a much calmer manner. In a composed and deep tone, he grouched out:

"For thee who broke the rules made by He who made us;

For those who uttered such words that no man should speak upon,

For them who made foolish actions that made them suffer,

Be beware,

For the Moon would not look kindly upon them,

And with madness, She strike out,

Hoping in salvation, redemption they seek upon,

He, among his kin, who sealed Her,

He, who brought upon us the gift of Ninshuu,

With that, humans rejoiced,

For the very reason that they suffered, they mastered,

And they remade their past mistakes,

For they think that they can control the very Heavens above,

Forgive thee, He thought,

For they are right.

With his own powers,

They will manage to create or recreate life themselves,

Abusing the law of Nature.

And She shall be revived once more."

Naruto blinked owlishly in confusion. "Err..What? Is that a poem?"

Kyuubi ignored him. He repeated the whole thing over and over again. Naruto called him again. The fox paid him no mind. His voice echoed creepily in the metallic prison. The Uzumaki suddenly heard eight more voices joining the Kyuubi. He looked around, but saw not another soul. The searing pain in his guts started acting up again.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you stupid brat." He heard Kyuubi muttering to himself. He was going to retort back, but found himself falling to his knees once more. The fire within him continued to spread. "I cannot believe an idiot like you could be the reincarnation of the other stupid idiot. Then that idiot must be the transmigrant of that other idiot. Great, so many idiots…" The monstrous fox sighed. "Oh, Sage of the six paths, I hope you are watching, because I know that you know hell is going to break loose soon."

It was gold. The flames were pure golden, giving off a radiant light.

With one last flare of pain, Naruto passed out.

The shinobi, bleeding from various cut on his body, let out a weak grunt. Sasuke knocked him out with a well-placed hit from the butt of his sword. Limp, the unknown man fell on top the unconscious bodies of his other comrades.

Surveying the area with a crimson gaze, the Uchiha sheathed his sword when he deemed the area was safe enough to let down his guard. His right hand, which holds a scroll, the one he had come for, gripped it tightly. It was barely the size of his fist. He frowned, so why would all these ninjas fought so hard to prevent him from taking it? He could not fathom why.

Sasuke turned to the west, steadily making his way back to the border of Snow country. It would take days, even with his current speed. His frown intensified.

The sky darkened, cold wind harshly blowing. Lightning flashed in the distance. His darks bangs blew in rhythm with the howls of the sky.

He didn't once look back to the clearing full of sprawled bodies of ninjas of unknown alliance.

Author's Note:

Well, looks like somebody finally decided to update her story, neh? Don't worry, I'll work on the others as well, given my sister doesn't nag me to the ground for being on the computer too long. Merry Christmas! And happy holidays!

This chapter contains some spoilers regarding the climax of the Naruto manga. It's not too obvious though, and it plays an important role of how Kakashi will be able to conceive later on. (Yay, I spoiled my own story! :L)

Next chapter contain lemon. HARD lemon. Not the soft, chewy kind. (Don't get too excited, though)