The moment Naruto passed out when we hit the camp, I became overprotective again. Once Gaara led us to the medical tent, he lowered the sand, and I picked Naruto up gently off of it. I held him close, refusing to allow anyone within six feet of us. When my brother even tried, I took a step back and gave a growl of warning his way.

I don't trust anyone near him.

Only me.

Only mine.

Forever mine.

No one else's.

I slowly and cautiously walked forward, sweat forming on my body as each movement brought such immense pain. My head was throbbing, and my body was numb from agony, but I absolutely refused to let my guard down or show weakness to anyone. I anxiously looked back down at Naruto's face to find him still asleep, and I looked back up and moved into the medical tent.

The moment I did was advanced on by five medical and masked shinobi with Sakura behind them with a worried and horrified face. I hissed loudly and formed Susanoo around me again, face tight with rage as they all stumbled away in fear of their own pathetic little lives.

"Not a single step closer." I snarled, eyes narrowing in pain as even the action of talking hurt me.

Stay away.

Stay right there.

Obey me.

The flame that kept the tent lit bent towards me and snuffed out, throwing the entire place filled with injured people on cots into darkness, save for my glowing justu and eyes. I then walked sideways, keeping my eyes on the frozen staff as I found us an empty area in the corner, walled off with cloth and tarp. I laid Naruto down in the empty cot and sat myself down in the chair beside it and dropped the Jutsu.

The lights came on right after.

"Itachi... I get you're in pain, but I must treat -" Sakura began as she rounded the corner.

"I said, not another step." I rose to my feet, angered she was ignoring my warning.

Her eyes fluttered, and her body physically denied her further movement towards us, and she seemed confused and worried about it. I felt sated and slowly sunk down in the chair, only wanting peace and quiet and not receiving it. She frowned heavily and worriedly glanced at Naruto before looking to my state of being.

"You're badly burned. You need medical treatment. Naruto's arm is swollen and very broken. I need to help you two." Sakura pleaded softly.

I stood with a growl and folded my arms, internally thankful Naruto tied his shirt around my waist. I then tilted my head toward the portable cabinet filled with various supplies.

"Tell me what to grab, how to apply it, and I'll do the rest." I demanded. "Please... I'm tired of wasting my time."

Sakura bit her lower lip and held her hands together tightly over her chest before looking to the cabinet. She then cleared her throat before continuing.

"Th-The first and second shelves have burn ointments. These are twice as strong as the one on you by the smell of the ointment on your body when you walked by. Apply those to yourself only after you clean your wounds. There, on the bottom rack, there are sterilized rags and cleaning water. C-can you take pain medicine?" Sakura began to speak.

"Yes." I huffed as I began to gather things from the shelves and onto the cart beside the cot. I then looked to her." If you want to help, find us a change of clothes... I don't know if they found mine or not." I looked over to Sakura with a guarded look before going back to aiding us.

When she left, I unwrapped myself and began the agonizing process of cleaning my wounds. I started on the worst ones and worked my way to the least bothersome. The cleaning solution burned... and made my nose scrunch up in pain, and I absently licked at my flattened fang as I worked on myself, picking out pieces of metal.

My hands fell still, though. I tiredly glared down at my mangled body, angered I let us fall in such a position. I should have been stronger in the beginning. If I was stronger and smarter, we wouldn't have been subjected to such horrid acts. Especially him.

"I've failed you... Naruto." I whispered, tears falling down my face again. "I couldn't break free... I couldn't s-stop him fr-from ra...." I winced, shaking heavily.

This must have been my punishment. It had to be... after everything I've done in life. The people I've killed, maimed, tortured and otherwise. This must be the divine powers that govern this world's way of making me face my sins. I cleaned my face and shakily exhaled before continuing to patch myself up, tiredly fighting to keep myself awake.

I deserved this pain. But Naruto deserved it least of all. I got the worst physical treatment, but I fear he got the worst mental treatment. I was barely awake for the entirety of that week thanks to the wretched sunlight on these wounds.

Footsteps entered the tent, and I flinched. I looked up and made sure I was covered when Sakura and Sasuke rounded the corner. She stopped where I told her to before. However, Sasuke took my clothes and Naruto's fresh clean outfit and moved forward. I growled, warning him, but Sasuke shot me a glare as he moved right past me, not at Naruto, but at the shelf and set our things down on it.

"Let me help you with your back. It's fucking toasted." Sasuke huffed and sat down behind me.

My adrenaline kicked in, making me tense as he took the rag from me and dipped it in the pale of cleaning solution. I gripped my knees tightly as he dabbed the burns and wounds. I hissed softly and bit my teeth tightly together. Sakura frowned more, looking intently at my exposed wounds, her hands glowing faintly green as her instinct to heal seemed to be getting to better of her.

I don't like her. She's fake, and she hates most of what I am, she disapproves of my relationship with Naruto, and walks all over Naruto for what he is. Her only redeeming quality is her loyalty to the hidden leaf and her devotion to medicine.

I blinked slowly, running my tongue over the flat fang in a worried way, hating my racing heart, as each dab was followed by a microsecond of dread, like it would be replaced with pain at any moment. I sighed softly when he set the rag down and began to rub in the ointment, which burned a lot. I slowly and shakily exhaled, leaning my head against the cot, tiredly staring at the floor as my vision swam and clarified in an unending cycle.

"God... " Sasuke mumbled as bandages touched me, wrapping around me gently. "Those monsters..."

I hummed in agreement, humored that he said this while patching up a living breathing monster in front of him. I sighed heavily and looked over at him, internally thankful he came back for us, feeling pride.

"You did good." I hummed, watching as he looked to me, cautious as he moved everything into the pale.

His eyes filled with light, and he seemed to deflate and smile faintly. He then sighed and stood, me following suit. He then glanced at Naruto, making me tense a little and take a step between them, still way too protective and angry to allow anyone to lay a finger on him.

"Have you set his arm?" Sasuke asked me, making me blink slowly.

"No." I sighed and moved over, studying the swelling and feeling guilty about breaking it. "After suffering... I broke his arm. Salt in the wound." I mumbled and grabbed his limb as gingerly as I could, looking at my wrapped up hands.

"I'm sure he doesn't blame you one bit, brother." Sasuke tried to reassure me.

"Him blaming me would feel much better than telling me I'm okay. I won't believe him if he told me that he didn't hold it against me." I smiled sadly, thumb caressing the swollen skin. "Especially after everything..."

I then looked my my hands, these weakened bandaged digits able to inflict so much damage despite being broken and shredded to the point I was wrapped from head to toe. My own strength was scary, which meant killing Madara was also going to be scary, barely possible... barely doable if even.

I look like a mummy, if his friend Obito was capable of this... I can only imagine the horror that Madara Uchiha could inflict, as someone as legendary as he was for his insane talent of fighting and strength on the battlefield.

I shifted my attention back onto my priority.

I stared at the skin, how it shifted from pale and fair to bruised. Purples and blues and greens and reds blending together around his arm like dried paint. I gave a sigh and popped his arm, setting it with alarming ease that unsettled me. His back arched off the bed, and his eyes flew open with a sharp gasp. His body was then swallowed with orange Chakra, his defense mechanism kicking in full steam as his good hand snatched my wrist so tight it hurt.

I didn't even grunt.

"Shhhh, easy Naruto, it's just Itachi. Just us... you're safe now, I'm sorry, baby, but I had to set the bone. I'm so sorry, I'll make it better." I cooed, moving a hand to caress his face as wide eyes flooded with blind panic and hate glared me down.

Naruto shakily exhaled, looking shocked as he quickly released my hand like it had burned him. He blinked rapidly and dropped the form, slowly moving to sit up, only to growl in pain and discomfort and lay back down. I frowned heavily at this and gently set my hand on his belly, which made him flinch, but I gently soothed the skin with soft caresses, sadly watching him relax and close his eyes.

"Don't leave my side..." Naruto begged me then, his hand grabbing my arm. "Stay here... please stay..."

"I'm never taking my eyes off of you again. I promise you, I won't leave you alone. Never again." I smiled and leaned down and kissed his cheek.

He smiled at me with love and happiness. He kissed my nose in return before gently lifting his good hand to my lips, rubbing them with his thumb. I knew why, I didn't need to ask as I parted my lips and let him see the flattened fang. He ran his thumb over it, frowning softly before looking into my eyes, searching them.

"Do you think it'll grow back?" He asked quietly.

I love how quiet he was with me. He knew about my hearing and always lowered his voice when it was just us. Despite our onlookers, he held that quiet little tone of his. This calm side he only almost ever showed me. It was calm confidence, albeit mingled with hate and guilt and so much worry.

"I'm not sure." I spoke honestly. "It's kind of weird... biting you was a bit odd without the other fang." I admitted.

"Can we make you a silver tooth?" He perked up, poking my nose. "Silver fang of the leaf! You and Kakashi could be like brothers." He giggled quietly.

"Hnhnhn, I'd rather not." I hummed and gave him a weak smile, able to see the pain behind that smile of his. "Let's focus on fixing this arm first, yeah? Besides, Kakashi's father was the white fang, not Kakashi himself." 

Naruto looked down at his arm and gave a weak frown before nodding. "Alright, but I can wrap it or have someone else help -"

"I've got it, Naruto." I refused his request and grabbed a brace from the cart I stocked up.

"But you're so much more hu-"

"I said I've got it." I shot him a very weak glare, to which he responded with worry and quickly shut his mouth. 

I moved to get his bandages and made a splint using two thin rods of metal. I tied the arm securely in place, minding not to tie it too tightly, and then gently cleaned the various cuts and scrapes from when I had initially broken into the room in my fit of desperation.

He watched my every move, my hands specifically, watching them silently and making eye contact. I didn't try to smile at him, nor did he at me. We both knew we weren't okay. We both understood how messed up our situation had been. We both chose not to sugarcoat it, only silently comforting each other while in the presence of others.

Words could wait for later.

"I brought you both clothes." Sasuke piped up and patted the clothes he set down, looking to Naruto. "They're both clean, so help yourselves when you're done. It's... it's good to have you both back."

Naruto watched him and seemed to catch his posture and body language by the way his eyes softened. He gave him a tired smile and nodded. "I'm glad you both made it to safety. Where's Bee?"

"Oh. He's on the next camp from this one, helping out there at the ocean front since it's his preferred terrain." Sasuke replied, folding his arms. "We've had a real nasty time finding you both. I had kiba's dog track your scent down. After we found the location we reconned here, I filled Sakura in on everything, and Gaara showed up after being informed from the middle of the battlefront to come help me get you two. He was insanely worried. He'll probably want to talk to you after you're patched up." Sasuke finished, backing up a few paces and folding his arms similar to how I did.

Naruto hummed, his eyes sliding closed for a moment before he opened them and gave a nod. "Alright. I'd like to talk to Gaara. How close to done?" Naruto looked to me.

"Just finished, love." I hummed and kissed his forehead before moving to our clothes, handing him his before glaring at the two. "Privacy."

Sakura hummed and left us alone, looking down at her fiddling fingers. Sasuke nodded and gave Naruto one more glance before looking at me. He chewed at his bottom lip and left us alone to get dressed. I blinked down at my clothes, then my bandages, wincing since they were form fitting and probably going to hurt wearing. Naruto's were slightly baggy, making me feel jealous.

He sat up with a loud growl, making me hum and quickly rush to his aid. Naruto winced and held a hand over his mouth as I helped to sit him up. His eyes fluttered as if he were dizzy, and he gagged and winced, gritting his teeth together, making me frown heavily.

Rage boiled beneath my skin, crawling across my bones, and made me feel lightheaded as I pulled his head against my chest, cradling it as his words muffled into white noise. I felt his hands push on my stomach lightly, but I refused to let him go. When he tried it again, I found myself growling, which made him stop.

I wanted to kill Madara Uchiha so badly...

This rage had no outlets because the man I wanted to fley wasn't anywhere nearby. I opened my eyes and glared at the tent, breathing in and out deeply and slowly, trying to calm myself down as I ran my hands through his hair, feeling my teeth chattering together as my body buzzed and went numb. The moment I lost feeling, I let his head go, afraid I'd hurt him.

His burning hands gently cupped my face, and his blue eyes flooded my view. I stared into those hurt and concerned eyes, filling with tender affection as he bumped his forehead against mine. Sound came back to me, and I noticed he was speaking soft words of reassurance.

This close to his neck, I could still smell Madara embedded into the skin. My own fangs burned with anger and the need to wash that smell away. It made me was to rip into him... which scared me. I felt unclean... because his smell was where mine had been. I felt personally violated in a way, despite Naruto's neck belonging to him rather than me.

It seriously pissed me off.

"Itachi...?" Naruto whispered, slowly blinking and holding my eyes in a locked gaze.

"Yes, love?" I spoke quietly, hands coming up to cover his, basking in his warmth.

"It wasn't your fault." Naruto spoke boldly.

A pain struck my chest, hard. I felt tears stinging my eyes yet again, but they fell despite me begging them not to. My face screwed up in pain, disbelief flooding me, unable to believe him, wanting to, but knowing deep down it was all my fault.

"Naruto, I should have -"

"Done what? Itachi, your actions didn't result in our capture. We were both heavily out experienced with someone as old as the first Hokage as our opponent. We were caught off guard... and by the wrong people. What happened... happened because we weren't expecting it. It won't happen again. What he d-did... it wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for it." Naruto explained, eyes filled with conviction and honesty.

He really didn't blame me at all.

"Honest?" I spoke weakly, closing my eyes, feeling my body sag, and pain swallowing me so much so that I felt about ready to pass out.

"Nothing but the truth." Naruto smiled and kissed my forehead before letting me go. "Now, take some pain meds. I just know you're absolutely dying from pain."

I calmed down enough to stop crying and cleaned my face. I then took pain medicine dry without the aid of water, dreading the thought of drinking anything besides blood in my current condition. I then handed some to him, and he took it dry as well. I then got myself dressed, groaning in pain as my clothes put pressure on my wounds, but dealt with it.

Naruto slowly slid onto his feet. However, the moment he did, his legs gave, and he collapsed onto the ground with a loud grunt. I saw this and frowned heavily. His face flushed with embarrassment and frustration, punching the ground with his good arm.

"Damn it!" He hissed and slowly stood, me watching and standing right beside him if he needed the aid.

He stood and leaned himself against me, and I happily helped him, walking very slowly as we made our way towards the entrance of the tent where Sakura and Sasuke were waiting. They turned to us when we caught their attention. Sakura watched Naruto with confusion and worry, as did Sasuke, and I shot them both death glares, trying to warn them against speaking about the obvious.

"Where shall we stay?" I spoke first, keeping us about ten feet from the two.

"Gaara will show you both to your tent." Sasuke spoke before Sakura did, his hand grabbing her shoulder tenderly as he spoke to us. "He's just outside the tent waiting on you two."

Naruto went to speak, but the strain on his face was evident that he was struggling. He closed his mouth and focused on his walking as I slowly led him outside. I listened in on his body, hearing a weird creaking in his ankles, muscles grinding against muscles, half healed as if they were sawed into. I don't remember him getting hurt there. Perhaps it was something that occurred while I was unconscious.

Fresh air greeted us, and I inhaled deeply, eyes looking up to the starry night, finding the moon still high up. I hummed and closed my eyes, bathing in its glow once again, enjoying its coolness that completely contrasted from the agonizing blaze of the sun. I looked around, surveying where we were.

It was wooded, concealed, and well hidden in a reduction in the earth. A natural looking dip in the ground that held a medical center and supply center for the different fields of battle. A sort of heart for the wounded and recovering. Many were on edge, scanning their surroundings, and security was extremely tight. I looked to our left to see Gaara standing there, watching us with releif in his eyes.

His gaze locked with Naruto's, and he smiled weakly before pushing off the crate he had been leaning on. He was alone, but his chakra levels were very high. Not nearly on Naruto's level and untouchable to mine, but enough to keep my guard up.

"Hello again, Naruto. It's a shame we keep meeting like this. Perhaps once things are resolved, we can have better visits." Gaara smiled and planted his hands in his hips, maintaining a seven foot distance from us to respect my wish for space.

Naruto chuckled softly, wincing, and leaning into my as I caressed his arm. "Too true. Thank you... for saving us when you did. And for coming here, it must have been a giant hassle with the war going on." Naruto spoke in a grateful tone, stress lining his face.

There was so much hate-

"You have that look in your eye." Gaara frowned heavily then, making me blink curiously at him. "The one I held all those years ago. The eyes of haterid. I gave Sasuke quite the lecture about the vengeful path when he attacked the summit. Must I give you one, too?"

"..." Naruto kept his smile, though it was wavered, and his smell swelled with pain and hate, alarming me as the very air thickened around him like smoke. "Just... angry. About a lot, specifically at two people. Mostly the one with the mask."

"Mn. The one who posed as Madara?" Gaara asked.

"That one, yeah. Kurama hates him just as much as I do. He hates Madara more... though." Naruto nodded, gripping his stomach with his stomach with his injured arm.

"Trust me. I hate the Akatsuki just as much as you do. They managed to kill me before. You saved me, then. It must be fate for us to save each other from them. I'm just glad I found you before they performed their twisted extraction ritual. Just be careful moving forward."

"Yeah... I haven't forgotten." Naruto nodded grimmly.

"You should let Sakura take a look at your arm." Gaara noted the brace, and my eyes grew guarded and angered, but he shot me a glare back, his eyes flooded with authority and mild annoyance." Especially since we are at war. As unfortunate as this sounds, you need to heal as soon as possible. Within the next twenty-four hours, you're expected to join the battlefield. Both of you."

I inhaled and exhaled shakily, knowing he was right. I had to let Sakura heal us as much as she could without spending too much energy. I just...

I...

"It will be extremely hard." Naruto spoke up for me. "After everything. It's best if... if she heals Itachi first. If I enter my nine tails state, I can rapidly heal and hold him still if need be. Our nerves are shot."

"Understand a war front is extremely intense." Gaara tilted his head.

"Obviously." I spoke up. "I have plenty of experience with war. It's..." I trailed off, looking back down at Naruto's abdomen and wincing, shaking my head and looking away from him.

"I'm sorry you don't get time to process everything that's happened to you. By the looks of your injuries, I don't even want to ask what happened. I know you both aren't okay, I'm deeply upset by seeing you two like this. It's unfair... dealing with such a terrible situation only to be forced into war. I'd be honored if you joined my leading force. I'm spearheading the main front, I extend my hand to have you two. It would mean a lot to my men to have two powerful allies on our front." Gaara spoke up, bowing his head.

"Okay." I nodded, grateful he was so understanding, especially for someone as unexperienced as he was.

Naruto grinned at me before looking to Gaara. "I can't wait. So, where's our tent?"

"This way." Gaara motioned for us to follow and moved at a slow pace after noticing Naruto was struggling to move fast.

We were led further into the camp, following through a large row of big tents with resting wounded and tarps filled with medical supplies and food rations. My eyes kept moving back to Naruto, watching him, staring at his blonde hair, his neck, the brace his wobbling legs. I felt my eyes flutter the closer we got. We made it and wordlessly moved into the tent. It was thicker than the rest, blocking out the sun entirely if it were day.

I turned on an electric lantern nearby, led Naruto to the bed, and gently helped him sit down. Once he was sitting, I joined him, slowly moving to sit down. He hugged me tightly, hiding his face against my neck, and I hugged him back, laying us down as sadness swallowed the both of us simultaneously. Tears came to my eyes, and he started to sob into my shirt.

"Let it out..." I whispered as he cried into my shirt, his sobs getting gradually louder.

His shoulders shook heavily, hands gripping onto my shirt like a lifeline as he sobbed in a manic way, his breathing growing unsteady as he lost control of himself. I rubbed his back soothingly as he lost it, orange Chakra swarming his body once more, erupting around him in a rush of rage and agony.

"DAMN THEM!" Naruto wailed into my chest. "I HATE THEM!"

My pain was being shed quietly, tears rolling down my face, lips quivering, but I didn't have the energy to yell as he did. I didn't have the pain tolerance since every part of my body hurt. I let my eyes slide closed as I basked in his warmth and smell, comforted by his presence alone even though he too was suffering.

At least we had each other. He curled up against me, refusing to let go, his strength tightening around me, but not enough to hurt me like he could while in his strongest form. I then flinched when I was swallowed by a film of red. I gasped, as foreign feelings invaded my mind. It was a complicated web of painful memories, childhood memories of abuse and sadness for no given reason, flashes of angry faces, millions of hate filled eyes aimed at me, staring me down as if they wanted to kill me themselves.

They warped into two giant red eyes that glared me down, the Nine Tail's eyes, bloodshot with rage and hate unlike anything I've felt before. Their gaze beamed me down, making me feel dissected and vulnerable, yet the hate that swallowed me gave me a dark sense of comfort, like a hug from a monster far worse than I.

I growled loudly as fire erupted through my veins, spidering its way through my body, making me numb as I was thrust down a pit of so many heavy emotions.

A sense of loneliness, desperation for love, and acceptance. There was happiness, albeit small. Happiness tied to the sight of the smiles of friends, allies, me. Deep compassion and bottomless adoration and love aimed directly at me. A sense of honor, kindness, and gentle hearted intentions.

They were snuffed out rather fast and abruptly by a giant wave of haterid and fear of losing those smiles. A desperation to keep those smiles from being taken away. The sound of Naruto's screams deafened me as his anger became mine momentarily. Blood lust for that, Masked Uchiha. His eyes burned holes into my heart and left them gaping and cold. Guilt flooded through me then, immediately after that hole was planted. Guilt for causing so much pain involuntarily, guilt for feeling such hate, guilt for wanting to kill someone so bad... guilt for taking another breath of air.

My ears began to ring, making my head feel like it was being ripped in half. I covered my ears, tears falling down my face as a bubble of hope grew inside those holes pierced into me. The promise of killing the source of this pain. The idea of the masked man burning or drowning or anything bad left me with hope. Left me with giddy excitement that these lifelong feelings of despair would end.

It was a guilt ridden temptation. So much anger for feeling such things knowing full well how badly it could end up. How terrible the burning want for revenge was. It was so tempting... so delicious...

Much too inviting.

The only dream left fighting for.

The only solution for peace.

The right solution.

My only escape.

I have to escape this.

My mind... it's splitting apart!

"Once he's dead... we'll both be free."

I shot upwards with a strangled gasp, breaking free from the film of Red completely painless. I blinked rapidly down at myself, bone white, and sick feeling as every wound felt healed. I patted myself down frantically over the bandages, feeling no pain or mangled flesh. My fang was even fixed. I stiffly turned to look at Naruto to find him passed out, that orange chakra disappearing from his skin, sinking back to his chakra system, to that seal.

I shakily stared him down, eyes wide and panting heavily as catching my breath felt extremely difficult. I reached out to him, touching his skin, disbelief washing over me entirely.

I... I had no idea just how deep it went, just how much the thought of revenge was consuming him. Even after witnessing it destroy my brother first hand, he viewed it as his only escape from his pain and rage, fueled by Kurama's encouragement, especially after what we both just endured.

This war would grant him his want for revenge. It was the perfect excuse.

His dream for revenge was the only dream he viewed worth fighting for at present.

The death of Obito Uchiha.

I covered my mouth as I stared him down, noticing all of those little scratches and bruises were gone. I looked to his bad arm and reached down, pulling the brace apart with ease to find perfectly intact flesh.

Completely healed by Kurama.

"Naruto... you'll destroy yourself." I shakily whispered, shooting to my feet and slowly backing away from his sleeping form, wishing not to wake him up after everything we endured.

I could handle physical torture... but this... this was...

I shook my head as I slipped backward, walking right out of the tent and looking down at my feet. I gripped onto my chest, where that horrid feeling of emptiness had been. Those cold holes in my heart I've never felt... those deep wounds planted by pain and guilt.

Obito Uchiha planted those... and they've festered... his entire life. He has a face tied to those wounds, and he wanted that face gone. Danzo ripped them open wider, and Obito infected them.

He was getting better. We worked on his resistance to Danzo's seal, and Obito had it removed. He was getting better, I thought he was getting better.

We were working on his deep issues, I thought. That waterfall exercise was to get rid of that hate.

Why am I so blind.

It's been the opposite, the exact opposite. Everything, every situation, every day it's been getting worse for him.

He fully believes this is the right path, to the point of striking a deal with Kurama, exchanging power for a means to avenge everyone who the Akatsuki harmed, but above all of that, himself.

It was all an excuse to get close enough to kill him with his bare hands!

I covered my mouth, feeling light-headed, feeling this horrible fear that I could possibly lose the Naruto I love forever.

I can't... I won't be able to...

Not him... I can't lose another person I care for.

I can't lose him, too.

Not him... not my everything... my light, my warmth, my own personal sunshine. My other half.

"No."