Pain Fades

Chapter 8

"Because it won't!" Naruto raised his voice as his fear and discomfort overrode his common sense. "If you don't get out of my way, I'll make you!" He shifted nervously like a cornered animal. But while he was getting angry, I didn't see any signs of Kyuubi's chakra. Was that because of what Kurama said that he can't help him anymore?

"You can try. But there's only one way out of here and that's to start talking." I said calmly.

Naruto leapt at me and despite days of inactivity, he was still fast. Normally, I'd stay clear of Narutos attacks, But if Naruto needed a target that badly, I'd give him one. I shifted and let the hit pass harmlessly by my ear. If he couldn't get it out in words, maybe he could work through it with his fists. Naruto spun and aimed a kick at my ribs. Twisting my torso out of the way, I crouched and swept my leg across the ground as I tried to knock him off he feet. He back flipped to avoid me but when he landed, his left foot slipped on a loose stone and he stumbled.

I made no move to take advantage of the opening and let Naruto come to me. As soon as he regained his footing, he came back at me with a flurry of kicks and blows. I had to concentrate to keep blocking all of his hits but I was able to avoid them on my own easily enough. Naruto's breath had already started to become heavy. Lack of sleep and decent meals were slowing him down and sabotaging his natural stamina.

Bringing his hands together in a familiar sign, Naruto cast the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It was a testament to how distracted he was that he hadn't used it until now. It was usually his first move to test out an enemy's defenses. I spent the next few minutes dodging angry clones from every angle. Spinning, kicking, and punching, I dispersed them all in startled puffs of smoke until only the original remained.

Naruto came at me again. "I just-" Punch. "want-" Kick. "to be left alone!" he huffed hoarsely.

"I won't let you sabotage yourself," I told him. "You're better than this." My own breathing had become heavy.

"You don't know anything!" Naruto spun and tried to come at me from another angle.

"Only because you haven't told me." I gripped his wrist and took hold of his arm with my other hand. Using his own momentum, I rolled him over my hip and tossed him to the ground. When he didn't immediately rise, I began to worry that I'd gone too far. But I heard him growl into the dirt so I knew he wasn't unconscious. Naruto pressed his forehead into the ground and pounded his fists in frustration. "Just leave it alone."

"I can't," I said between deep breaths.

Naruto lifted his head slightly before rolling his eyes up to glare at me. "Let me go now!"

I said nothing. In his determination to beat me, he was showing more life than he had in days which was hopefully a good sign. But I was pretty sure he couldn't win since I was the one who had the edge here. I was fighting to protect someone who was precious to me even if he didn't know it. Getting slowly to his feet, Naruto gathered himself in a fighting stance before coming at me again. I wasn't sure if he was avoiding using his Rasengan because he didn't want to get serious with me or if it was because he didn't have enough chakra to generate it. The Shadow Clones seemed to have drained him quite a bit.

After several more failed attacks that got increasingly weaker, Naruto paused and braced his hands on his knees. I waited patiently for him to catch his breath. When he rose again, he glared at me sullenly. "What do you want from me?"

"Tell me what happened. It's not healthy to hold it in." I kept my tone soft. He was worn down and there was no need to antagonize him further. It didn't seem to help calm him much.

"It's none of your business!" he spat as he straightened and began to pace back and forth while he looked for an opening. I could have told him not to bother. It was just as strong as when it was made.

Maybe it wasn't any of my business but his ongoing denial just increased my determination to find out what had happened. I did a genjutsu that made a cage in the training field so Naruto could leave. Naruto shot me an angry look. For every minute he remained silent, I would do it again. The cage had started out about thirty feet across. By the time it had gotten down to half that distance, Naruto looked about ready to snap. He bit his lip hard and appeared to be trying to calm himself. Perhaps he was finally going to give in.

I rolled and got to my feet as Naruto kept coming. It seemed that the emotional dam holding in his troubles was on the verge of breaking.

"You really want to know?" he yelled in my face as he attacked me again. "Is that the only way I'll get you off my damned back?" Naruto was practically screaming, his anger pushing every blow to the limit and I was hard pressed to keep up with the force of the attacks. "It was Sasuke. Is that what you want to hear? Are you happy now?"

Naruto's desperation was taking its toll but he kept pushing. "Because-" His voice had taken on a harsh edge and his breaths were starting to wheeze. "Because-" He stopped abruptly and the silence was almost deafening.

We were almost there. One last push. "Just tell me." There were another few moments of silence before I tried again. "Naruto-"

"Because he raped me! And that isn't even all my problems!"

The words hit me like a blow and my thoughts went completely blank. I didn't even have the presence of mind to block the next hit and my head snapped to the side as Naruto's fist plowed into my jaw. I sprawled gracelessly on the ground and fought to overcome the sudden ringing in my ears. I had no idea. The possibility had never even occurred to me. It took everything I had to look up and meet Naruto's gaze but he wasn't really looking at me. His eyes were wide and unfocused, his expression a mix of horror and panic. I began to wonder if this was the first time he'd really acknowledged what had happened to him.

As his whole body began to tremble, I saw that he was taking small gasping breaths without exhaling. He was going to pass out if he kept going like that.

"Naruto."

He wasn't listening. I wasn't even sure he could hear me. Getting gingerly to my feet, I approached him cautiously. He collapsed and I ran and caught him

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[N/A] Sorry about not updating so much, and that I've been ignoring this story for awhile now. The contest I was holding before, I've cancled. I've been going through a lot in real life and writing stories is becoming a little bit harder for me so; I'm going to shorten the story and shove it all together and make it end sooner than later. Sorry for the two people who entered,(XxShadow_GirlxX and Spuddy) You're art works looked amazing!