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tampered2007-02-24 01:29 pm
relimited.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-02-24 01:29 pm
Log: Complete
When; February 20th
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Itachi
Summary; After the effects of the greed day curse, one uber!pissed off Naruto finally managed to stalk down Itachi. The fight is on.
Log;
He stood alone, stark black and red a blot against the creamy evenness of the desert sands, the only sound the rustling of silk and the howling of the winds that had picked up. It wasn't as though Itachi really wanted to be there, but he had assumed that humouring the Kyuubi might prove amusing. Not to mention an effective gauge to see if the youth's power level had indeed increased during his time in the City.
It'd taken long enough, but finally Itachi's location had been given to him. The desert. They would meet there, and that very same place would be Itachi's grave. After everything that'd happened, it was due to happen. But after Sasuke...
Feet barely touching the ground, Naruto moved quicker than he ever had before, chakra stopping his feet from sinking into the constantly shifting sand. Even as the familiar black and red cloak came into view, Naruto didn't stop. Instead, his hand dropped to his weapons pouch, a kunai brought straight out and up for an attack as he closed the gap between them.
Crimson eyes narrowed in a self-righteous smirk as the Uchiha's stance shifted ever so slightly in anticipation of the boy's attack. Mere child's play, it was, to avoid the blade. Especially given the frantic and infuriated way the blonde rushed at him, emotions wild and unchecked and running rampant through his mind. Hardly the sensible way to fight, and it only served to add the advantage that the Akatsuki already had over the youth. Sidestepping, one hand closed around the outstretched wrist with it's kunai. With a cruel twist and a somewhat bored look, he simply tossed the offending blonde over his head. "Pathetic, Kyuubi."
He wasn't put off. Not in the slightest. Instead, the moment he touched the ground, Naruto was back on his feet, barely a pause before he was reclosing the gap between them again. "Shut up, bastard!" His chakra increased, though not through his own means. He was upset. He was angry. And there was no way he was thinking straight about the entire fight. "I'll kill you!"
A yawn, and the seemingly-bored Uchiha resigned himself to the likely monotony of this fight. Afterall, with the way the boy was wound up, it wasn't as though Itachi would get a decent workout from this, much less anything he could remotely all a "real fight". With a graceful sidestep, he turned as the Konoha-nin flew past, helping the blonde along his way with a well-placed strike to the back of his head.
Again, he was one his feet in no time, a hand rubbing the back of his head as he glared back at the elder Uchiha. Kunai slamming into the ground by his feet, his hand was back to his weapons pouch once more. This time, a set of tagged kunai were pulled out, all being thrown at once to scatter the area.
Time to show the bastard what he could do.
Hands held up in the familiar sign, his chakra built up once again. "Kage no Bunshin!" Seconds later, six identical copies stood in a row, each glaring daggers at Itachi.
A slightly raised eyebrow was the only break in the bored expression on Itachi's face. "Is that meant to impress me?" With a slight smirk and a few simple seals, an identical copy of Itachi stood in front of each of Naruto's bunshins. "Really. Such a mediocre technique and you actually expect to be any sort of threat?"
A smirk, and each of the Naruto's performed a series of seals, three of them disappearing from where they stood, to appear much further away; right next to a single tagged kunai. They stood there, each concentrating on gathering the required chakra for his next attack.
It left three copies of himself, against six Itachi's. ..... "I'm going to kill you." That was the only thing that mattered to him right then. And he'd do whatever it took to do just that. And so, the three remaining clones moved ahead as one, each trying to attack a pair of the Uchiha's.
If he was surprised by the sudden move of the clones, Itachi didn't show it. Rather, he simply smirked. "Like father like son, it would seem. Though do you really think that will make any difference?" Two of him, against one Naruto. The odds were really quite stacked against the blonde.
He honestly didn't care what Itachi said. As long as he could keep Itachi's attention for a few more moments, he didn't care what happened. The three continued to work, gathering wind infused chakra together, forcing it into the spiralling sphere of his newest attack.
Each of the clones ran forward, kunai or fist ready, as they each aimed an attack at each of the different Itachi clones.
As the clones stood and took the attack, the real Itachi simply smiled to himself. Now that won't do, boy. An unfamiliar series of seals, and a whispered word and the red seal on the back of Naruto's neck flared, carrying with it a crushing pain and an invisible force to slam the boy into the ground.
A sudden explosion echoed throughout the area as the pair of clones gathering chakra forced the attack away. His Rasengan was nulled the moment his original body was forced to the ground. It left enough time for the three clones to disappear, sending the half completed jutsu toward the copies of Itachi.
From his position on the ground, Naruto forced his head up, eyes flicking toward Itachi. What did he do? How was he able to stop his attack? ...he hadn't even touched him!
The copies of Itachi simply stood and waited, as their maker watched to see what sort of effect this new jutsu would have upon them. Afterall, there was little point in not knowing what one's enemy was going to do. Stepping forward lightly towards the original who lay prostrate on the ground, he intensified his own chakra, watching in twisted pleasure as the seal pulsed, pushing down harder on the boy.
His clones tried to move in for another attack, only to find themselves slowly flickering out of existence. He...couldn't focus. Couldn't move. There was something stopping him from getting back up, and whatever it was, he couldn't see it.
But....his arms. His legs. They could still move. Even his body was able to. It was just his head. Or more precisely, his neck. "...shit." Raising a hand to his neck, it took a moment for him to catch on to what was going on. The seal.
"So, it seems you've realized it, Kyuubi." Another push of chakra, another searing gout of pain sent through the seal as it ruthlessly crushed the young man against the ground. "It seems you would do better to inquire as to all the stipulations of something before agreeing to it."
His eyes narrowed, glaring at Itachi. If he really thought things would be that easy... Chakra increased, building up inside him enough to let him shift to the side. Reaching out toward the tagged kunai, shaking fingers wrapped around its handle, before a fresh wave of pain took over. Refusing to yell out, he instead focused on the glinting blade. He...needed to get rid of the seal. Somehow. Even if that meant...
The point of the kunai dug into the skin of his neck, gouging at the point he knew the seal sat. It had to work. It needed to! And the burning feeling in the pit of his stomach told him it would.
Itachi allowed himself a momentary feeling of amusement as he watched the boy dig at his own neck with the point of the kunai. Oh, but it wouldn't be that simple. A sandaled foot shot out, crushing fingers of the other hand under it. Let's see how well the brat could do with this as a distraction. "I wouldn't advise that, Kyuubi." As the point of the metal dug into flesh, the seal flared angrily, it's coils digging into the boy's chakra, hungrily draining his energy to further it's own purposes.
His teeth grit together, holding back a yell...which turned to a growl. Pupils narrowed, elongating into slits, as blue faded into red. His body began to glow, a red aura appearing around him, helping him to slice away a chunk of flesh from the back of his neck. The blood poured, cutting itself off almost immediately as his flesh began to knit back together. His knees pulled up underneath him as his canines began to grow. ...and the growl escaped him. One filled with anger.
Stepping back slightly, he watched for another moment as the boy dug at his flesh. Not that it would be that simple, the seal was more then skin-deep and he doubted Naruto really had the strength of will to dig deep enough with the kunai to destroy it. Not that Itachi planned to let him try. A vicious kick to the ribs to knock the blonde's hands and feet out from under him as the Akatsuki pulled out a few kunai of his own.
Sliding to the side, a pair of clawed hands dropped to the ground, twin pairs of gouges appearing in the ground. The kunai was long forgotten as his attention turned back to Itachi, the scent of his own blood enough to further incite his anger. A single tail flicked out behind him as he moved up into a crouch. And a moment later, he was moving forward, faster than before, a clawed hand brought back to slash across at the Uchiha.
Well, that was interesting. He hadn't really gotten the chance to see the Kyuubi's power firsthand. Ducking out of the way, he managed to avoid anything beyond slashes to his cloak and the barest of scratches. But even then, the red chakra burned like fire. With a hiss of annoyance, he let the kunai in his fist fly, one hitting each of the boy's hands as the other two struck his shoulder with enough force to knock him back to the ground.
Growling low in his throat, Naruto forced himself back up, remaining in his crouch once again. It was easier to move as such. A low growl escaped him, as he tore the kunai free from his hands, set to throw them straight back at the Uchiha. And they would've flown, if he'd had the time to.
With another speedy series of seals, and Itachi split into 3. Two of them sped towards him, slamming into him before he could throw the kunai and driving the boy back against the sandy ground. The original Itachi smirked as he watched his copies pin the chakra-covered boy down. Brushing sand off of his own cloak, he stalked over with a triumphant smirk on his face. "So, you hate me, it seems. Because of my foolish little speck of a brother? Oh, that's right. You love him, don't you?" Leaning down, he cocked his head to the side slightly. "Shall I tell you, then? Tell you how he moaned for it? How he whimpered and begged for my touch?"
:He growled, tail thrashing angrily as he struggled to escape. No. Struggled to get to Itachi and tear him in half. To rip that tongue out of his throat, the eyes from his head. He would kill him in the worst possible way he could. "You're never going anywhere near him again!" A hand struggled free, the claws slashing toward Itachi's face as he ducked down. "I'll rip you to shreds!"
Fast enough to save his eyes, but not fast enough to prevent the slashing claws from gouging deep furrows in his chin. One foot stamped down hard on the offending arm, heel twisting with the satisfying crunch as bones cracked under his weight. "You think you can keep him away from me? After you've broken your promise to him? You of all people should know he'll never trust you again, Kyuubi." Another twist of his foot as he ground it into the injured arm. "You know it wasn't your name he was moaning, brat. It was mine. Keep that in mind.
He was lying. He knew it. Sasuke hated Itachi. You didn't even have to know him that well to realise it. The only way he'd say Itachi's name would be while trying to...escape. "Bastard!" He could feel as the bones crunched, breaking beneath Itachi's foot. But that didn't hurt/ Not as much as the words that accompanied it. He wanted to forget, almost as much as Sasuke. And to have Itachi, of all people, remind him of it. "You're wrong!"
"Am I? Why don't you ask him, then. Ask him about the way he responded to it, the way he wanted it. I have to say, it's only a pity that my name wasn't the first one he ever moaned that way. It would have been fitting, seeing as he owes me his very existence." Another crunch of bone as he idly shifted, pulling out another kunai. A flash of steel and the blade embedded itself to the hilt in the shoulder of the broken arm.
A loud growl erupted from him as he shifted forward again. His tail flicked dangerously, before suddenly shooting forward toward Itachi, almost slicing through the air in its attack. Already, bone began starting to knit together, trying to reform bone and flesh. An added bonus of the creature inside him.
Ignoring the way it seared and charred his hand, Itachi grabbed the offending appendage as it shot towards him, using the momentum to fling himself away from the downed Kyuubi. His two clones released their hold on the boy slightly to pull identical kunai, jamming them into the boy's side.
A smirk covered his face as Itachi was thrown. However, it only seemed to last a few seconds as a twin set of attacks were launched on him. Now free of the two clones, Naruto moved back into a crouch, his arm hung limply, instead the appendage being replaced with a Kyuubi's own chakra. Barely a second after being released, he was moving again, closing the gap between he and the previously thrown Itachi once again.
The Uchiha scowled as the chakra-encased boy flew at him. This was growing quite annoying. Spinning around to face his attacker, the Sharingan whirled, shifting into the dreaded wheel of the Mangekyo. There was no more time for games. "Tsukuyomi." The world seemed to slow, to freeze, colours melting into the blood red and washed out black of the Tsukuyomi's realm.
His body stilled for a moment, tail thrashing angrily. Tsukuyomi. Itachi was going to draw him into his 'personal world', and undoubtedly try to mess with him again. He wouldn't let that happen. His chakra continued to increase, refusing to believe the sight ahead of him. Reconnect with his body. It was as he'd been told before. And now, he wouldn't mess up.
Itachi laughed, a cruel and chilling sound as he watched the Kyuubi's tail thrash about in fury. "Thinking to force your way out of it? Ignore the phantoms I show you and cling to reality? You truly have a limited imagination if you think that phantoms are all that I can bring you. Perhaps a taste of that reality you cling to?" With a simple gesture, the Tsukuyomi shifted, and it was no longer the phantom world, but the world of days past. Standing off on his own, Itachi watched with a triumphant look as he showed the boy exactly what had gone down on that curse day. Forced him to watch every second. To watch Itachi's hands and Itachi's mouth on Sasuke, to hear every whimper and plea. To sit through it over and over again.
For longer than he had hoped, Naruto found himself stuck, unable to move from his spot. His build up of chakra began to fade, the red glow slowly starting to die away. Itachi was... And Sasuke... "...stop..." He didn't want to see this. It shouldn't have happened. It was all...
"STOP!" Eyes flashing red once again, he turned his attention to Itachi. He was the one behind it all. He was the one who'd hurt Sasuke like that. And he was the one who had to pay for it all. In less than a few seconds, a pair of tails burst forth, his red shield of chakra reappearing. Galloping toward Itachi, his pair of tails split once again, four now trailing behind him. "I'm going to kill you!!"
Rather then stepping out of the way, Itachi instead darted forward. Meeting the chakra-enshrouded boy head-on, his arm shot forward to bury a kunai hilt-deep in the blonde's throat. With a vicious twist, he bore down on the boy, carrying them both to the sand as he twisted the blade yet again, seemingly oblivious to the warm blood that gushed over his hand and coated it with it's vermilion slickness.
A load growl tore out of his throat, a combination of pain and anger escaping at once. Eyes narrowing further, his head turned, teeth clamping down on the extended arm. Over that, red chakra shaped jaws clamped down to join him. And as one, the pair pulled, the arm being torn away from its owner.
To Itachi's credit, he managed not to cry out in pain as his arm was ripped away from his body. This was definitely not in his plans. Darting back away from the rampaging beast, he dropped to one knee as he contemplated his next move. He knew the basics, knew that the more tails appeared the more power it gave to the boy. But it also came at a heavy price. Observing, he could see the droplets of blood that sprayed off the smaller figure whenever he moved, and it wasn't very hard to ascertain that the terrible chakra surrounding Naruto was to blame.
His jaw continued tightening around the arm, teeth sinking into the flesh, even as a hand rose to tear the kunai out of his throat. Finally releasing the arm, the set of jaws turned, throwing the arm away to the side. A moment later, he was on the move again, bounding toward the now injured Uchiha, claws ready for an attack. The hole in his throat slowly began to close up to the point that he was no longer dribbling as much blood. However, his skin was another point altogether. Flesh burnt away, only to reform moments later, the red chakra burning away constantly. But none of that mattered to him. As long as he was able to move, he was able to fight. And as long as he could fight, he could kill Itachi.
It was time to get serious. Given his lack of information on the Kyuubi's powers, Itachi had no way of knowing how long the child could hold the Kyuubi's power like this. Not to mention whether he could keep his head. There wasn't time to waste in ending this soon.
The gap was closed in seconds, a clawed hand slicing through the air, a silhouette of red claws accompanying the limb in attack. "Bastard." No matter the cost, Naruto was willing to pay it if it meant revenge on the man who'd hurt Sasuke so much during his life.
The mangekyo spun, as he gathered chakra for the technique. "Amaterasu". Without one hand, he was limited to things he could do with his eyes. But that certainly didn't mean he was any less dangerous. The ebony-black flames shot out in a black inferno towards the chakra-covered shinobi hurtling towards him. At this point, the death of the host was an acceptable side-effect.
His feet paused, quickly diving to the side. Even he wasn't stupid enough to take on an attack like that. Reopening the distance between them once again, Naruto began moving in a large circle around him, need to keep away from the flames. It left him with a single attack he could use. Kyuubi. His arm wasn't fixed enough for him to use, leaving him without his jutsu. And now, he wasn't able to get close. Not if Itachi planned on using the same attack again. He couldn't even keep still just then.
Thankfully for Itachi, years of training had made it so that there were a few jutsu that he could now do without the usual seals. Mostly, it just stretched to the katon jutsu that his clan was known for, but it didn't much matter as long as it was offensive. Sucking in a deep breath of air, he blew a series of searing fireballs towards the blonde, trying to see to it that the smaller shinobi couldn't avoid the flames.
It was the same attack he'd faced that previous time, only Sasuke had been the one to use it. Bursting free from Itachi's mouth, the same katon was the one thing standing between him and the Uchiha. Sucking in a deep breath of his own, Naruto turned to face the attack head on.
The red chakra grew darker, intensifying around him. The markings on his face thickened, growing angrier by the second. A clawed arm short out ahead of him, slicing through the closest of the Uchiha's attacks and continuing forward toward the Akatsuki member, with all intent to kill.
Sidestepping out of the way, he managed to narrowly avoid the slashing red claws. The Mangekyo spun again, as the sand itself surged upwards in a ferocious manner to pull the boy's legs down into it's maw.
He sunk backward a little, feet sliding into the sand despite the chakra forcing himself up. No, the chakra had faded a little. It wasn't... "Bastard!" The word came out as a roar, before he was moving again, all four tails trashing behind him, ready to protect the boy as he quickly closed the gap between them yet again.
Itachi stood his ground, eyes spinning faster as the sand surged after the boy in a manner reminiscent of the sort of techniques used by the Godaime Kazekage. Holding his one hand behind his back, he concentrated as the chakra moulded itself, concentrating and flowing down to his hand. First things first, that chakra needs to go.
He continued forward, the wave of sand rushing toward him causing the blond to push up from the ground, landing briefly on the crest of the wave. Slipping slightly into the sand, he pushed again, completely off course from such a small interruption. Landing off to the side of Itachi, he quickly spun, a pair of tails swiping horizontally ahead of him while he moved full speed toward Itachi.
The sharingan-user allowed his own speed to falter slightly, as though he were running out of stamina. Mentally, he calculated. Certainly the boy's speed was formidable, but it was in exchange for his life and his stamina. That being said, it would have been simple to finish the blonde off simply by holding him still long enough with bunshin to hit him with Amaterasu. Afterall, Kyuubi or not, no one survived those black flames at point-blank range. But that wasn't Itachi's goal, however. He didn't need to kill Naruto. But he still needed to deal with the destructive bijuu's power. That's it...come and get me, Kyuubi.
Launching from the ground, Naruto jumped onto Itachi, forcing him back onto the ground. Sharp claws dug into his shoulders, relishing the scent of the blood that already covered his prey. Lifting an arm, a fist was brought down suddenly, embedding itself in Itachi's chest. The other soon joined it. And within moments, he found himself pounding away at the body beneath him, an almost sadist smirk on his face as the blood made its way onto his hands.
Despite the fact that a beating wasn't in his calculations, it still worked. As the fists above him pummelled into his body, Itachi gritted his teeth and shoved upwards with his remaining hand, glowing fingertips slamming into the centre of the boy's stomach. The glow intensified for a moment, shifting into the familiar form of the 5-element seal. But then, Itachi's hand twisted, almost as if he were turning a crank, and the blue characters turned a blood-red as a second set spiralled their way out from the first.
A feral growl escaped him as his chest arched away from the touch. It was too little, too late however. Already, he could feel the change. His chakra slowly faded, the red glow completely disappearing as he collapsed forward onto the outstretched hand. Claws faded away, his canines returning to normal, as he a sudden jolt of pain washed through him. His arm. His stomach. His entire body was starting to burn, his skin slowly turning red as Kyuubi's injuries escaped unhealed.
As soon as the chakra melted away, so too did Itachi's "tiredness". His hand gripped the front of the orange jacket as he pushed himself to his feet before slamming Naruto to the ground. One sandaled foot came down on the back of the boy's head, shoving his face into the sand. "Not so cocky now, are we?"
Breathing heavily, Naruto began calling on his own chakra once again, trying to form a counter-attack. Only...nothing. He couldn't find anything inside of him. His reserves were already at their minimum, and Kyuubi... "...I'll...I'll kill you..."
"Oh I think not. Afterall, without the Kyuubi, you're nothing. Just a broken, discarded remnant of a past the world would like to forget." Planting his foot harder down on Naruto, he crouched down and pulled out a kunai. Licking his tongue along the razor-sharp edge, he spun it around in his hand, the crimson tassel jingling with each rotation. "Now, I don't think it was very nice of you to take my arm off like that. And I certainly don't give my flesh away for free, Kyuubi. So how to settle on the price
:Hands pressing down against the ground, Naruto tried to force himself upward, only managing to find his hands sinking into the sank. A frustrated growl escaped him as he dropped back yet again, only managing a few inches each time. Why wouldn't Kyuubi help him? Why couldn't he draw enough chakra to just...get free? "W-what?!" ...a price?
Keeping his weight planted on the smaller boy, Itachi reached over with his good arm. Grabbing the blonde's wrist, he smiled a slow, chilling smile and pulled. There was tension, then a popping crack as wrist bones dislocated. Seeming to enjoy that, Itachi gave the now-injured joint a cruel twist.
His teeth grit together, eyes squeezing shut as he forced back a yell of pain. He refused to give him the satisfaction, no matter what he did. How long that would last, he didn't know. But he had to hold out. His other hand grasped at the sand, tightening aimlessly in the loose grains. "B-bast-stard..."
"What was that? I didn't...hear you." He punctuated his words with actions as his hand slid up Naruto's forearm. Shifting one of his feet, he pressed it down on the back of the boy's upper arm. A swift jerk with his hand, and the elbow joint snapped against the pressure, splintered ends of white bone breaking through skin that was already burned and bleeding to glisten in the desert sun like sparkling ivory. Almost gleeful in his torture, Itachi ruthlessly twisted the appendage, revelling in the crunching as bone shattered and flesh tore as it strained against the force he placed on it. The kunai in his teeth was pulled from his mouth and rammed into the boy's shoulder as he gave the elbow yet another rotation in the wrong direction.
He wasn't pulling his arm off. He was tearing it, breaking it into as many pieces as he could. Every movement only served to bring around another agonising wave of pain. The sudden snap called forth a yell, muffled into the sand. However, the crunching bone brought out a very different reaction. Almost screaming from the feeling, Naruto began to buck, trying to just...just get away. For the first time in years, he just wanted to leave the battle field. He wanted to be back home. He didn't want...
Another sound, this time a loud yell of pain and Naruto found himself shaking, almost violently, as his arm was pulled once again, the kunai barely noticed above everything else.
Itachi wasn't the sort of man who considered himself a true sadist. Not like Morino Ibiki of Konoha. But somehow, the thrill he got from hearing the bones snap, from the screams that issued from the small shinobi, from the power-trip. They had an almost..arousing effect. Enough that he wanted more. More screams, more pain, more blood gushing in bright arterial spray from the torn flesh. Releasing his grip on Naruto's ruined elbow, he gripped the handle of the kunai in sanguin-slicked fingers and pulled, ripping the blade down through muscle, tendon, skin in a ragged path around the joint. Pulling it out, he cut again, licking his lips slightly as the tip of the blade snagged in bone and cartilage. THIS wasn't orders, or necessity. No, this was personal.
Arm released, it simply dropped lifelessly to the ground. He couldn't move it, even if he'd wanted to. Even his shoulder didn't seem to be working well enough for him to do anything more than shake. Each shake served to amplify the pain, as his teeth grit tighter together, grinding slowly. The sand beneath him began to grate, already sodden with his own blood.
It only seemed to grow worse. A scream tore from his throat, as the kunai ripped through what was left of his arm, only to repeat its methods moments later. He couldn't stop the tears that seemed to appear, pain alone being enough to force them out, despite himself. "K-ki...kil....kill....y-...yo....you!"
Tossing the kunai aside, Itachi stood up to plant a foot against the rent shoulder. Other foot resting solidly on the back of Naruto's neck to keep the boy from moving, the blood splattered face broke into a wide grin. "No, you won't." With a horrific crunching noise, the foot's applied pressure was met with the torque on the shoulder. There was another stomach-churning pop and the tearing sound intensified as the joint came apart, the socket cracking along one side as the ball was forcefully wrenched free. Straightening, Itachi dangled the ruined limb in front of pain-wracked blue eyes. "Whoops. Looks like I broke it."
He was soundless for the first time as his arms was torn from the socket. It hurt, more than he wanted to admit. And had he been able to, he would've been screaming by then. Instead, he could only lay, eyes wide with pain, too much to even produce a sound.
The moment Itachi's foot left him, Naruto was rolling onto his side, his arm reaching up to clamp down on his shoulder as orange continued to morph into red. Curling up tightly, Naruto stared dumbly at the arm in front of him. His arm.
With a satisfied smirk, Itachi tossed the arm aside, sending it sailing into the dunes before turning and aiming a vicious kick at Naruto's ribs. That would teach the boy a lesson. Reaching down, he grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and yanked, pulling Naruto up to meet his gaze. "Had enough, Kyuubi?"
Moving onto tiptoes, Naruto found himself shaking yet again. He was cold. He was hurt. And he was in trouble. But despite that... Scowling at Itachi, Naruto did his best to keep some of the pain from his eyes, as he spat a mouthful of blood ahead at the Uchiha. "F-fuc-kk....yo--you!"
With a chilling chuckle, Itachi yanked Naruto closer. "Oh I could certainly arrange that, you know. Perhaps it would help you "relate" to my little brother?"
His eyes narrowed, glaring intensely at the elder Uchiha. A moment later, all his effort was put into a kick, aimed straight at Itachi's groin. That wasn't going to happen.
He'd anticipated that, and so the kick fell short as his arm flexed, hurling the boy facedown into the ground before the Akatsuki kicked him aside. Turning, he glanced back over his shoulder. "You're a waste of time, Kyuubi. Consider yourself lucky that your death doesn't suit our purposes."
Groaning in pain, Naruto curled up on the spot, his hand tightening around his shoulder, as another wave of pain washed through him. Coughing only seemed to make it hurt worse as sand travelled down his throat. Trying his best to stop them, Naruto forced his eyes open again, looking up tiredly toward Itachi. Was he...?
Itachi smirked slightly and turned to walk away across the sands as soundlessly as he always moved, leaving the bloodied and broken Konoha shinobi in his wake
Breath. In, and out, and in, and out. Right. Now, legs. The left and the right. Both were working. Taking a few minutes to regain some energy, Naruto forced himself back onto his front, his knees being drawn up underneath him.
Right. Get up! His hand dropped away for a moment, using it to help push himself up onto his feet. Finally standing again, he staggered a few steps, before a fresh wave of pain forced him back to the ground once again.
Maybe a little longer.
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Itachi
Summary; After the effects of the greed day curse, one uber!pissed off Naruto finally managed to stalk down Itachi. The fight is on.
Log;
He stood alone, stark black and red a blot against the creamy evenness of the desert sands, the only sound the rustling of silk and the howling of the winds that had picked up. It wasn't as though Itachi really wanted to be there, but he had assumed that humouring the Kyuubi might prove amusing. Not to mention an effective gauge to see if the youth's power level had indeed increased during his time in the City.
It'd taken long enough, but finally Itachi's location had been given to him. The desert. They would meet there, and that very same place would be Itachi's grave. After everything that'd happened, it was due to happen. But after Sasuke...
Feet barely touching the ground, Naruto moved quicker than he ever had before, chakra stopping his feet from sinking into the constantly shifting sand. Even as the familiar black and red cloak came into view, Naruto didn't stop. Instead, his hand dropped to his weapons pouch, a kunai brought straight out and up for an attack as he closed the gap between them.
Crimson eyes narrowed in a self-righteous smirk as the Uchiha's stance shifted ever so slightly in anticipation of the boy's attack. Mere child's play, it was, to avoid the blade. Especially given the frantic and infuriated way the blonde rushed at him, emotions wild and unchecked and running rampant through his mind. Hardly the sensible way to fight, and it only served to add the advantage that the Akatsuki already had over the youth. Sidestepping, one hand closed around the outstretched wrist with it's kunai. With a cruel twist and a somewhat bored look, he simply tossed the offending blonde over his head. "Pathetic, Kyuubi."
He wasn't put off. Not in the slightest. Instead, the moment he touched the ground, Naruto was back on his feet, barely a pause before he was reclosing the gap between them again. "Shut up, bastard!" His chakra increased, though not through his own means. He was upset. He was angry. And there was no way he was thinking straight about the entire fight. "I'll kill you!"
A yawn, and the seemingly-bored Uchiha resigned himself to the likely monotony of this fight. Afterall, with the way the boy was wound up, it wasn't as though Itachi would get a decent workout from this, much less anything he could remotely all a "real fight". With a graceful sidestep, he turned as the Konoha-nin flew past, helping the blonde along his way with a well-placed strike to the back of his head.
Again, he was one his feet in no time, a hand rubbing the back of his head as he glared back at the elder Uchiha. Kunai slamming into the ground by his feet, his hand was back to his weapons pouch once more. This time, a set of tagged kunai were pulled out, all being thrown at once to scatter the area.
Time to show the bastard what he could do.
Hands held up in the familiar sign, his chakra built up once again. "Kage no Bunshin!" Seconds later, six identical copies stood in a row, each glaring daggers at Itachi.
A slightly raised eyebrow was the only break in the bored expression on Itachi's face. "Is that meant to impress me?" With a slight smirk and a few simple seals, an identical copy of Itachi stood in front of each of Naruto's bunshins. "Really. Such a mediocre technique and you actually expect to be any sort of threat?"
A smirk, and each of the Naruto's performed a series of seals, three of them disappearing from where they stood, to appear much further away; right next to a single tagged kunai. They stood there, each concentrating on gathering the required chakra for his next attack.
It left three copies of himself, against six Itachi's. ..... "I'm going to kill you." That was the only thing that mattered to him right then. And he'd do whatever it took to do just that. And so, the three remaining clones moved ahead as one, each trying to attack a pair of the Uchiha's.
If he was surprised by the sudden move of the clones, Itachi didn't show it. Rather, he simply smirked. "Like father like son, it would seem. Though do you really think that will make any difference?" Two of him, against one Naruto. The odds were really quite stacked against the blonde.
He honestly didn't care what Itachi said. As long as he could keep Itachi's attention for a few more moments, he didn't care what happened. The three continued to work, gathering wind infused chakra together, forcing it into the spiralling sphere of his newest attack.
Each of the clones ran forward, kunai or fist ready, as they each aimed an attack at each of the different Itachi clones.
As the clones stood and took the attack, the real Itachi simply smiled to himself. Now that won't do, boy. An unfamiliar series of seals, and a whispered word and the red seal on the back of Naruto's neck flared, carrying with it a crushing pain and an invisible force to slam the boy into the ground.
A sudden explosion echoed throughout the area as the pair of clones gathering chakra forced the attack away. His Rasengan was nulled the moment his original body was forced to the ground. It left enough time for the three clones to disappear, sending the half completed jutsu toward the copies of Itachi.
From his position on the ground, Naruto forced his head up, eyes flicking toward Itachi. What did he do? How was he able to stop his attack? ...he hadn't even touched him!
The copies of Itachi simply stood and waited, as their maker watched to see what sort of effect this new jutsu would have upon them. Afterall, there was little point in not knowing what one's enemy was going to do. Stepping forward lightly towards the original who lay prostrate on the ground, he intensified his own chakra, watching in twisted pleasure as the seal pulsed, pushing down harder on the boy.
His clones tried to move in for another attack, only to find themselves slowly flickering out of existence. He...couldn't focus. Couldn't move. There was something stopping him from getting back up, and whatever it was, he couldn't see it.
But....his arms. His legs. They could still move. Even his body was able to. It was just his head. Or more precisely, his neck. "...shit." Raising a hand to his neck, it took a moment for him to catch on to what was going on. The seal.
"So, it seems you've realized it, Kyuubi." Another push of chakra, another searing gout of pain sent through the seal as it ruthlessly crushed the young man against the ground. "It seems you would do better to inquire as to all the stipulations of something before agreeing to it."
His eyes narrowed, glaring at Itachi. If he really thought things would be that easy... Chakra increased, building up inside him enough to let him shift to the side. Reaching out toward the tagged kunai, shaking fingers wrapped around its handle, before a fresh wave of pain took over. Refusing to yell out, he instead focused on the glinting blade. He...needed to get rid of the seal. Somehow. Even if that meant...
The point of the kunai dug into the skin of his neck, gouging at the point he knew the seal sat. It had to work. It needed to! And the burning feeling in the pit of his stomach told him it would.
Itachi allowed himself a momentary feeling of amusement as he watched the boy dig at his own neck with the point of the kunai. Oh, but it wouldn't be that simple. A sandaled foot shot out, crushing fingers of the other hand under it. Let's see how well the brat could do with this as a distraction. "I wouldn't advise that, Kyuubi." As the point of the metal dug into flesh, the seal flared angrily, it's coils digging into the boy's chakra, hungrily draining his energy to further it's own purposes.
His teeth grit together, holding back a yell...which turned to a growl. Pupils narrowed, elongating into slits, as blue faded into red. His body began to glow, a red aura appearing around him, helping him to slice away a chunk of flesh from the back of his neck. The blood poured, cutting itself off almost immediately as his flesh began to knit back together. His knees pulled up underneath him as his canines began to grow. ...and the growl escaped him. One filled with anger.
Stepping back slightly, he watched for another moment as the boy dug at his flesh. Not that it would be that simple, the seal was more then skin-deep and he doubted Naruto really had the strength of will to dig deep enough with the kunai to destroy it. Not that Itachi planned to let him try. A vicious kick to the ribs to knock the blonde's hands and feet out from under him as the Akatsuki pulled out a few kunai of his own.
Sliding to the side, a pair of clawed hands dropped to the ground, twin pairs of gouges appearing in the ground. The kunai was long forgotten as his attention turned back to Itachi, the scent of his own blood enough to further incite his anger. A single tail flicked out behind him as he moved up into a crouch. And a moment later, he was moving forward, faster than before, a clawed hand brought back to slash across at the Uchiha.
Well, that was interesting. He hadn't really gotten the chance to see the Kyuubi's power firsthand. Ducking out of the way, he managed to avoid anything beyond slashes to his cloak and the barest of scratches. But even then, the red chakra burned like fire. With a hiss of annoyance, he let the kunai in his fist fly, one hitting each of the boy's hands as the other two struck his shoulder with enough force to knock him back to the ground.
Growling low in his throat, Naruto forced himself back up, remaining in his crouch once again. It was easier to move as such. A low growl escaped him, as he tore the kunai free from his hands, set to throw them straight back at the Uchiha. And they would've flown, if he'd had the time to.
With another speedy series of seals, and Itachi split into 3. Two of them sped towards him, slamming into him before he could throw the kunai and driving the boy back against the sandy ground. The original Itachi smirked as he watched his copies pin the chakra-covered boy down. Brushing sand off of his own cloak, he stalked over with a triumphant smirk on his face. "So, you hate me, it seems. Because of my foolish little speck of a brother? Oh, that's right. You love him, don't you?" Leaning down, he cocked his head to the side slightly. "Shall I tell you, then? Tell you how he moaned for it? How he whimpered and begged for my touch?"
:He growled, tail thrashing angrily as he struggled to escape. No. Struggled to get to Itachi and tear him in half. To rip that tongue out of his throat, the eyes from his head. He would kill him in the worst possible way he could. "You're never going anywhere near him again!" A hand struggled free, the claws slashing toward Itachi's face as he ducked down. "I'll rip you to shreds!"
Fast enough to save his eyes, but not fast enough to prevent the slashing claws from gouging deep furrows in his chin. One foot stamped down hard on the offending arm, heel twisting with the satisfying crunch as bones cracked under his weight. "You think you can keep him away from me? After you've broken your promise to him? You of all people should know he'll never trust you again, Kyuubi." Another twist of his foot as he ground it into the injured arm. "You know it wasn't your name he was moaning, brat. It was mine. Keep that in mind.
He was lying. He knew it. Sasuke hated Itachi. You didn't even have to know him that well to realise it. The only way he'd say Itachi's name would be while trying to...escape. "Bastard!" He could feel as the bones crunched, breaking beneath Itachi's foot. But that didn't hurt/ Not as much as the words that accompanied it. He wanted to forget, almost as much as Sasuke. And to have Itachi, of all people, remind him of it. "You're wrong!"
"Am I? Why don't you ask him, then. Ask him about the way he responded to it, the way he wanted it. I have to say, it's only a pity that my name wasn't the first one he ever moaned that way. It would have been fitting, seeing as he owes me his very existence." Another crunch of bone as he idly shifted, pulling out another kunai. A flash of steel and the blade embedded itself to the hilt in the shoulder of the broken arm.
A loud growl erupted from him as he shifted forward again. His tail flicked dangerously, before suddenly shooting forward toward Itachi, almost slicing through the air in its attack. Already, bone began starting to knit together, trying to reform bone and flesh. An added bonus of the creature inside him.
Ignoring the way it seared and charred his hand, Itachi grabbed the offending appendage as it shot towards him, using the momentum to fling himself away from the downed Kyuubi. His two clones released their hold on the boy slightly to pull identical kunai, jamming them into the boy's side.
A smirk covered his face as Itachi was thrown. However, it only seemed to last a few seconds as a twin set of attacks were launched on him. Now free of the two clones, Naruto moved back into a crouch, his arm hung limply, instead the appendage being replaced with a Kyuubi's own chakra. Barely a second after being released, he was moving again, closing the gap between he and the previously thrown Itachi once again.
The Uchiha scowled as the chakra-encased boy flew at him. This was growing quite annoying. Spinning around to face his attacker, the Sharingan whirled, shifting into the dreaded wheel of the Mangekyo. There was no more time for games. "Tsukuyomi." The world seemed to slow, to freeze, colours melting into the blood red and washed out black of the Tsukuyomi's realm.
His body stilled for a moment, tail thrashing angrily. Tsukuyomi. Itachi was going to draw him into his 'personal world', and undoubtedly try to mess with him again. He wouldn't let that happen. His chakra continued to increase, refusing to believe the sight ahead of him. Reconnect with his body. It was as he'd been told before. And now, he wouldn't mess up.
Itachi laughed, a cruel and chilling sound as he watched the Kyuubi's tail thrash about in fury. "Thinking to force your way out of it? Ignore the phantoms I show you and cling to reality? You truly have a limited imagination if you think that phantoms are all that I can bring you. Perhaps a taste of that reality you cling to?" With a simple gesture, the Tsukuyomi shifted, and it was no longer the phantom world, but the world of days past. Standing off on his own, Itachi watched with a triumphant look as he showed the boy exactly what had gone down on that curse day. Forced him to watch every second. To watch Itachi's hands and Itachi's mouth on Sasuke, to hear every whimper and plea. To sit through it over and over again.
For longer than he had hoped, Naruto found himself stuck, unable to move from his spot. His build up of chakra began to fade, the red glow slowly starting to die away. Itachi was... And Sasuke... "...stop..." He didn't want to see this. It shouldn't have happened. It was all...
"STOP!" Eyes flashing red once again, he turned his attention to Itachi. He was the one behind it all. He was the one who'd hurt Sasuke like that. And he was the one who had to pay for it all. In less than a few seconds, a pair of tails burst forth, his red shield of chakra reappearing. Galloping toward Itachi, his pair of tails split once again, four now trailing behind him. "I'm going to kill you!!"
Rather then stepping out of the way, Itachi instead darted forward. Meeting the chakra-enshrouded boy head-on, his arm shot forward to bury a kunai hilt-deep in the blonde's throat. With a vicious twist, he bore down on the boy, carrying them both to the sand as he twisted the blade yet again, seemingly oblivious to the warm blood that gushed over his hand and coated it with it's vermilion slickness.
A load growl tore out of his throat, a combination of pain and anger escaping at once. Eyes narrowing further, his head turned, teeth clamping down on the extended arm. Over that, red chakra shaped jaws clamped down to join him. And as one, the pair pulled, the arm being torn away from its owner.
To Itachi's credit, he managed not to cry out in pain as his arm was ripped away from his body. This was definitely not in his plans. Darting back away from the rampaging beast, he dropped to one knee as he contemplated his next move. He knew the basics, knew that the more tails appeared the more power it gave to the boy. But it also came at a heavy price. Observing, he could see the droplets of blood that sprayed off the smaller figure whenever he moved, and it wasn't very hard to ascertain that the terrible chakra surrounding Naruto was to blame.
His jaw continued tightening around the arm, teeth sinking into the flesh, even as a hand rose to tear the kunai out of his throat. Finally releasing the arm, the set of jaws turned, throwing the arm away to the side. A moment later, he was on the move again, bounding toward the now injured Uchiha, claws ready for an attack. The hole in his throat slowly began to close up to the point that he was no longer dribbling as much blood. However, his skin was another point altogether. Flesh burnt away, only to reform moments later, the red chakra burning away constantly. But none of that mattered to him. As long as he was able to move, he was able to fight. And as long as he could fight, he could kill Itachi.
It was time to get serious. Given his lack of information on the Kyuubi's powers, Itachi had no way of knowing how long the child could hold the Kyuubi's power like this. Not to mention whether he could keep his head. There wasn't time to waste in ending this soon.
The gap was closed in seconds, a clawed hand slicing through the air, a silhouette of red claws accompanying the limb in attack. "Bastard." No matter the cost, Naruto was willing to pay it if it meant revenge on the man who'd hurt Sasuke so much during his life.
The mangekyo spun, as he gathered chakra for the technique. "Amaterasu". Without one hand, he was limited to things he could do with his eyes. But that certainly didn't mean he was any less dangerous. The ebony-black flames shot out in a black inferno towards the chakra-covered shinobi hurtling towards him. At this point, the death of the host was an acceptable side-effect.
His feet paused, quickly diving to the side. Even he wasn't stupid enough to take on an attack like that. Reopening the distance between them once again, Naruto began moving in a large circle around him, need to keep away from the flames. It left him with a single attack he could use. Kyuubi. His arm wasn't fixed enough for him to use, leaving him without his jutsu. And now, he wasn't able to get close. Not if Itachi planned on using the same attack again. He couldn't even keep still just then.
Thankfully for Itachi, years of training had made it so that there were a few jutsu that he could now do without the usual seals. Mostly, it just stretched to the katon jutsu that his clan was known for, but it didn't much matter as long as it was offensive. Sucking in a deep breath of air, he blew a series of searing fireballs towards the blonde, trying to see to it that the smaller shinobi couldn't avoid the flames.
It was the same attack he'd faced that previous time, only Sasuke had been the one to use it. Bursting free from Itachi's mouth, the same katon was the one thing standing between him and the Uchiha. Sucking in a deep breath of his own, Naruto turned to face the attack head on.
The red chakra grew darker, intensifying around him. The markings on his face thickened, growing angrier by the second. A clawed arm short out ahead of him, slicing through the closest of the Uchiha's attacks and continuing forward toward the Akatsuki member, with all intent to kill.
Sidestepping out of the way, he managed to narrowly avoid the slashing red claws. The Mangekyo spun again, as the sand itself surged upwards in a ferocious manner to pull the boy's legs down into it's maw.
He sunk backward a little, feet sliding into the sand despite the chakra forcing himself up. No, the chakra had faded a little. It wasn't... "Bastard!" The word came out as a roar, before he was moving again, all four tails trashing behind him, ready to protect the boy as he quickly closed the gap between them yet again.
Itachi stood his ground, eyes spinning faster as the sand surged after the boy in a manner reminiscent of the sort of techniques used by the Godaime Kazekage. Holding his one hand behind his back, he concentrated as the chakra moulded itself, concentrating and flowing down to his hand. First things first, that chakra needs to go.
He continued forward, the wave of sand rushing toward him causing the blond to push up from the ground, landing briefly on the crest of the wave. Slipping slightly into the sand, he pushed again, completely off course from such a small interruption. Landing off to the side of Itachi, he quickly spun, a pair of tails swiping horizontally ahead of him while he moved full speed toward Itachi.
The sharingan-user allowed his own speed to falter slightly, as though he were running out of stamina. Mentally, he calculated. Certainly the boy's speed was formidable, but it was in exchange for his life and his stamina. That being said, it would have been simple to finish the blonde off simply by holding him still long enough with bunshin to hit him with Amaterasu. Afterall, Kyuubi or not, no one survived those black flames at point-blank range. But that wasn't Itachi's goal, however. He didn't need to kill Naruto. But he still needed to deal with the destructive bijuu's power. That's it...come and get me, Kyuubi.
Launching from the ground, Naruto jumped onto Itachi, forcing him back onto the ground. Sharp claws dug into his shoulders, relishing the scent of the blood that already covered his prey. Lifting an arm, a fist was brought down suddenly, embedding itself in Itachi's chest. The other soon joined it. And within moments, he found himself pounding away at the body beneath him, an almost sadist smirk on his face as the blood made its way onto his hands.
Despite the fact that a beating wasn't in his calculations, it still worked. As the fists above him pummelled into his body, Itachi gritted his teeth and shoved upwards with his remaining hand, glowing fingertips slamming into the centre of the boy's stomach. The glow intensified for a moment, shifting into the familiar form of the 5-element seal. But then, Itachi's hand twisted, almost as if he were turning a crank, and the blue characters turned a blood-red as a second set spiralled their way out from the first.
A feral growl escaped him as his chest arched away from the touch. It was too little, too late however. Already, he could feel the change. His chakra slowly faded, the red glow completely disappearing as he collapsed forward onto the outstretched hand. Claws faded away, his canines returning to normal, as he a sudden jolt of pain washed through him. His arm. His stomach. His entire body was starting to burn, his skin slowly turning red as Kyuubi's injuries escaped unhealed.
As soon as the chakra melted away, so too did Itachi's "tiredness". His hand gripped the front of the orange jacket as he pushed himself to his feet before slamming Naruto to the ground. One sandaled foot came down on the back of the boy's head, shoving his face into the sand. "Not so cocky now, are we?"
Breathing heavily, Naruto began calling on his own chakra once again, trying to form a counter-attack. Only...nothing. He couldn't find anything inside of him. His reserves were already at their minimum, and Kyuubi... "...I'll...I'll kill you..."
"Oh I think not. Afterall, without the Kyuubi, you're nothing. Just a broken, discarded remnant of a past the world would like to forget." Planting his foot harder down on Naruto, he crouched down and pulled out a kunai. Licking his tongue along the razor-sharp edge, he spun it around in his hand, the crimson tassel jingling with each rotation. "Now, I don't think it was very nice of you to take my arm off like that. And I certainly don't give my flesh away for free, Kyuubi. So how to settle on the price
:Hands pressing down against the ground, Naruto tried to force himself upward, only managing to find his hands sinking into the sank. A frustrated growl escaped him as he dropped back yet again, only managing a few inches each time. Why wouldn't Kyuubi help him? Why couldn't he draw enough chakra to just...get free? "W-what?!" ...a price?
Keeping his weight planted on the smaller boy, Itachi reached over with his good arm. Grabbing the blonde's wrist, he smiled a slow, chilling smile and pulled. There was tension, then a popping crack as wrist bones dislocated. Seeming to enjoy that, Itachi gave the now-injured joint a cruel twist.
His teeth grit together, eyes squeezing shut as he forced back a yell of pain. He refused to give him the satisfaction, no matter what he did. How long that would last, he didn't know. But he had to hold out. His other hand grasped at the sand, tightening aimlessly in the loose grains. "B-bast-stard..."
"What was that? I didn't...hear you." He punctuated his words with actions as his hand slid up Naruto's forearm. Shifting one of his feet, he pressed it down on the back of the boy's upper arm. A swift jerk with his hand, and the elbow joint snapped against the pressure, splintered ends of white bone breaking through skin that was already burned and bleeding to glisten in the desert sun like sparkling ivory. Almost gleeful in his torture, Itachi ruthlessly twisted the appendage, revelling in the crunching as bone shattered and flesh tore as it strained against the force he placed on it. The kunai in his teeth was pulled from his mouth and rammed into the boy's shoulder as he gave the elbow yet another rotation in the wrong direction.
He wasn't pulling his arm off. He was tearing it, breaking it into as many pieces as he could. Every movement only served to bring around another agonising wave of pain. The sudden snap called forth a yell, muffled into the sand. However, the crunching bone brought out a very different reaction. Almost screaming from the feeling, Naruto began to buck, trying to just...just get away. For the first time in years, he just wanted to leave the battle field. He wanted to be back home. He didn't want...
Another sound, this time a loud yell of pain and Naruto found himself shaking, almost violently, as his arm was pulled once again, the kunai barely noticed above everything else.
Itachi wasn't the sort of man who considered himself a true sadist. Not like Morino Ibiki of Konoha. But somehow, the thrill he got from hearing the bones snap, from the screams that issued from the small shinobi, from the power-trip. They had an almost..arousing effect. Enough that he wanted more. More screams, more pain, more blood gushing in bright arterial spray from the torn flesh. Releasing his grip on Naruto's ruined elbow, he gripped the handle of the kunai in sanguin-slicked fingers and pulled, ripping the blade down through muscle, tendon, skin in a ragged path around the joint. Pulling it out, he cut again, licking his lips slightly as the tip of the blade snagged in bone and cartilage. THIS wasn't orders, or necessity. No, this was personal.
Arm released, it simply dropped lifelessly to the ground. He couldn't move it, even if he'd wanted to. Even his shoulder didn't seem to be working well enough for him to do anything more than shake. Each shake served to amplify the pain, as his teeth grit tighter together, grinding slowly. The sand beneath him began to grate, already sodden with his own blood.
It only seemed to grow worse. A scream tore from his throat, as the kunai ripped through what was left of his arm, only to repeat its methods moments later. He couldn't stop the tears that seemed to appear, pain alone being enough to force them out, despite himself. "K-ki...kil....kill....y-...yo....you!"
Tossing the kunai aside, Itachi stood up to plant a foot against the rent shoulder. Other foot resting solidly on the back of Naruto's neck to keep the boy from moving, the blood splattered face broke into a wide grin. "No, you won't." With a horrific crunching noise, the foot's applied pressure was met with the torque on the shoulder. There was another stomach-churning pop and the tearing sound intensified as the joint came apart, the socket cracking along one side as the ball was forcefully wrenched free. Straightening, Itachi dangled the ruined limb in front of pain-wracked blue eyes. "Whoops. Looks like I broke it."
He was soundless for the first time as his arms was torn from the socket. It hurt, more than he wanted to admit. And had he been able to, he would've been screaming by then. Instead, he could only lay, eyes wide with pain, too much to even produce a sound.
The moment Itachi's foot left him, Naruto was rolling onto his side, his arm reaching up to clamp down on his shoulder as orange continued to morph into red. Curling up tightly, Naruto stared dumbly at the arm in front of him. His arm.
With a satisfied smirk, Itachi tossed the arm aside, sending it sailing into the dunes before turning and aiming a vicious kick at Naruto's ribs. That would teach the boy a lesson. Reaching down, he grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and yanked, pulling Naruto up to meet his gaze. "Had enough, Kyuubi?"
Moving onto tiptoes, Naruto found himself shaking yet again. He was cold. He was hurt. And he was in trouble. But despite that... Scowling at Itachi, Naruto did his best to keep some of the pain from his eyes, as he spat a mouthful of blood ahead at the Uchiha. "F-fuc-kk....yo--you!"
With a chilling chuckle, Itachi yanked Naruto closer. "Oh I could certainly arrange that, you know. Perhaps it would help you "relate" to my little brother?"
His eyes narrowed, glaring intensely at the elder Uchiha. A moment later, all his effort was put into a kick, aimed straight at Itachi's groin. That wasn't going to happen.
He'd anticipated that, and so the kick fell short as his arm flexed, hurling the boy facedown into the ground before the Akatsuki kicked him aside. Turning, he glanced back over his shoulder. "You're a waste of time, Kyuubi. Consider yourself lucky that your death doesn't suit our purposes."
Groaning in pain, Naruto curled up on the spot, his hand tightening around his shoulder, as another wave of pain washed through him. Coughing only seemed to make it hurt worse as sand travelled down his throat. Trying his best to stop them, Naruto forced his eyes open again, looking up tiredly toward Itachi. Was he...?
Itachi smirked slightly and turned to walk away across the sands as soundlessly as he always moved, leaving the bloodied and broken Konoha shinobi in his wake
Breath. In, and out, and in, and out. Right. Now, legs. The left and the right. Both were working. Taking a few minutes to regain some energy, Naruto forced himself back onto his front, his knees being drawn up underneath him.
Right. Get up! His hand dropped away for a moment, using it to help push himself up onto his feet. Finally standing again, he staggered a few steps, before a fresh wave of pain forced him back to the ground once again.
Maybe a little longer.