Broken Hearts, Shattered Dreams

[22]

Sasuke grinned widely at the shock on the three ninjas faces. He'd never felt so…alive. He sent another shock through the collar and chuckled when Mikomi squalled in pain. He observed the way Naruto's muscles tensed and reveled in the fact that his old friend was suffering. Oh, how he was suffering.

Naruto growled at the ebon haired man across the river from him. Why did his family have to get involved? His baby girl had never done anything to the Uchiha. Why did he take her? In the back of his mind, Naruto knew the answer. It was to make him suffer, to supposedly feel what Sasuke felt. Naruto closed his eyes and hoped that his plan would work. It had to work…if his little girl was to survive this.

"Whatever you're planning Naruto, it won't work. I have control of this situation and the only way it ends is with this little monster's death. I want to see the fear in your eyes as I kill her, watch the tears roll down your face, revel in the hopelessness you experience. I want to watch as you feel a fraction of what I have."

Naruto grit his teeth, his fangs poking over his bottom lip. He'd only get one shot. He turned back to Lee and Sakura to find them petrified.

"Guys, I'm going to get my daughter back. Stay here and wait for a sign to leap in."

Lee was nearly frantic. He knew that Naruto worked best on the fly, but this was a little girl's life he was playing with.

"Naruto, wait! Let's think for a second here."

"About what Lee? He's going to kill her if I don't get her away. Just trust me…I got this…I hope."

Sakura and Lee watched with wide eyes as Naruto began to channel chakra only for Sasuke to raise his sword to Mikomi's throat and tsk him.

"Nuh uh Naruto. You wouldn't want my blade to slip and cut something precious would you?"

"Damn it Sasuke! Let her go. She's done nothing wrong."

"Nah, I think I'll just shave a little bit off of her."

Sakura screamed and Lee began to remove his weights, but a quick hand motion from Naruto made them pause. The iciness of his voice even made Sasuke take notice.

"Go ahead Uchiha, do it. Cut her. I dare you."

Sakura was ahast at the callousness toward his own daughter.

"Naruto! What are you thinking? He'll do it, he's crazy."

"Yes Naruto, don't goad him. Sasuke is lost in his madness."

Naruto looked at the two out of the corner of his eyes and they were quiet.

"He won't do it because he can't."

His two friends looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

"What do you mean he can't? He has his sword to her throat right now."

Sasuke laughed loud and pushed the sword closer to Mikomi's throat.

"Are you really so naïve to believe that I won't slit her throat you fool? Fine! Believe it when you see her crimson river flow!"

Sakura screamed and Lee gasped when the steel made contact with flesh only to go bug-eyed when the baby disappeared with a poof. Sasuke ground his teeth in anger and looked toward the trio across the river. A second Naruto appeared with Mikomi in his arms. Sakura and Lee were dumbfounded and only Sakura could stutter out a simple 'how?'

"When I let my chakra spike I made two clones. Since the bastard didn't have his sharingan activated due to his arrogance and I had the air saturated with chakra, he couldn't feel me switch Mikomi with a Kawarimi. It was risky, but it worked."