Chapter Text
Sakura Haruno had been missing for six hours, and Naruto was praying that Sasuke had nothing to do with it.
The other ninja was still unconscious, and Naruto released his vise-like grip on his arm and flexed his fingers. "What the fuck," he muttered lowly, getting up to inspect the scorch marks. There was no mistaking that the ones Sasuke had made around the crystal were almost identical to the ones he had seen on the walls earlier, and-
"Naruto?" He whipped around, and Sasuke was trying to stand up, his arms trembling as he tried to support his weight. Naruto blinked, trying to process. "Sasuke!"
Sasuke's gaze flitted around their surroundings, finally pulling himself up into a standing position. "What did you...what did you do? I can't-" He dragged in a shallow, shuddering breath- "My body doesn't feel right. Did you-"
Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"What did I do? You fucking collapsed and got us stuck in here! I was out! The only reason I'm even in here is because I went back to save you from getting fucking crushed, Uchiha."
"No, that's not..." Sasuke paused, trying to remember, and Naruto saw the exact moment he realized that Naruto was telling the truth. His eyes widened a fraction and his knees threatened to crumple under him, the tips of his ears turning red. Naruto fought back a smirk and walked over to slide his arm around him, supporting him slightly.
"Uzumaki, get your filthy hands off of me. I can stand on my own."
Naruto shrugged amiably and withdrew his arm. Sasuke wavered and reached out to the wall to steady himself, but failed miserably, a loud thud reverberating throughout the cave as his body hit the floor. Naruto looked down at him, the smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth. "What was that about being able to stand on your own?"
Sasuke stared up at him, his eyes fiery with anger. Naruto paid him no mind and hummed a random tune, wandering around the cave aimlessly.
The Uchiha pretended to pay him no mind and made no move to get up.
Finally, Naruto turned to face him, his eyes narrowing. "Do you want me to help you, or are we going to just sit here getting nothing done?"
Sasuke lifted his head to look up at him and Naruto held his gaze, a small smile lifting his lips. The Uchiha gave a terse nod, his lips pressed together furiously.
"Say please."
"Fuck you."
Naruto grinned, delighted. "You said it wrong. I'm not surprised, I doubt you've ever said it in your life, but still, I expected more from you, Uchiha. You're supposed to be at the top of our class. How can someone who can't say a one-syllable word be at the top of any class? Here, I'll help you. Let's sound it out. What sound does p make? We can start with that."
The smile faded from his face as he watched Sasuke close his eyes, all the fight leaving his body. He swallowed and tentatively walked over to the other ninja, kneeling next to him. He touched his shoulder, and Sasuke's eyes fluttered open again, focusing on him.
"Please."
His voice was so small, so weak. Naruto pulled him into a sitting position gently, his hand lingering on Sasuke's. "Are you...are you, you know...okay?"
Sasuke mumbled something under his breath, not looking at him, and Naruto leaned closer. "Huh?"
"What, do you care about me or something?" Sasuke asked derisively, his voice not carrying enough venom for the words to sound malicious.
"Yeah," Naruto replied simply.
The look on Sasuke's face was almost worth the flash of embarrassment that ran through him. A flush spread across the other boy's face and Sasuke looked down, his hair falling over his eyes. Naruto sucked in a breath through his teeth and removed his hand from on top of the Uchiha's. "I wasn't expecting you to actually say it. I would've helped you anyway, you know. And usually you would just wait until I caved-" he realized his accidental pun and a wide grin spread across his face- "literally. Get it? Because we're in a c-"
"Shut the fuck up, Uzumaki," Sasuke replied promptly.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "No one appreciates my superior sense of humor. Anyway, don't think I forgot. You didn't answer the question."
"What question?"
"Don't be an idiot," Naruto deadpanned, unamused. Sasuke heaved a sigh and looked away.
"I don't know what happened. I was looking at the crystal and then I started seeing spots and my ears began ringing. I felt hot and dizzy, and then I opened my eyes again and I was on the ground and you were trying to get me up so we could escape. And- did you pick me up?" His eyes narrowed.
"What, did you want me to drag you? You like the feeling of dust and rocks in your hair? And here I thought you were the most reasonable person in Team 7."
Sasuke glared at him. "Whatever. After you picked me up, I stopped feeling everything around me. I couldn't hear or see anything, and I just...passed out, I suppose."
"You think the crystal did something?"
"It's likely. I studied them a few days ago. The trap is temporary, but it can have adverse effects on those near it. I'm sure someone probably fainted once or twice. And to escape, the people inside the trap have to do harmful and practically lethal things."
Naruto paled. "Like what?"
"I don't remember."
"You don't remember? You're studying killer crystals that force people to do deadly things and you can't remember a single example?"
"I was tired," Sasuke retorted. "It was like 5 am, and I'd been studying for 6 hours-"
"Sasuke." Naruto took a small breath, trying to find words. "You studied until 5 am?"
"Yes. And-"
"And so...did you get any sleep after?"
"Obviously not. Training starts at 6 am."
Naruto blinked, an idea springing to his mind. He turned to Sasuke slowly, contemplating. "And that was...when?"
"4 days ago."
"Wait, did you make up for the sleep you missed, though?"
"I had to train. I didn't exactly-"
"Sasuke, have you slept at all since then?"
There was a long, heavy pause. "No," Sasuke replied, barely audible.
Naruto stared at him, incredulous. "The crystal didn't do anything. You fainted from exhaustion, Sasuke."
Sasuke stared back. "No, I didn't. I've gone on missions with less sleep than that and I was fine."
"Sasuke?"
"What?"
"That's not good."
"It's fine! I'm alive, I'm surviving. It's fine. I'm fine. Get out of my business, you have no right-"
"Sasuke, I care about you. Alright? You're my teammate. It's not fine to me. I'm not trying to be on your ass," Naruto said earnestly.
Sasuke swallowed hard and glanced at him, his eyes full of hurt. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you care. Are you trying to make me look stupid?"
Naruto looked at him, his eyes softening against his will.
I love you, you fucking idiot.
"'Cause...'cause you're my teammate." He felt almost sick. The lie burned his tongue, and he couldn't bring himself to look at Sasuke.
If he had, he would've noticed the other boy's face fall, the tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes dying.
"Look, what's wrong?" He asked, studying him intently. "Why aren't you sleeping? Really. I know you don't give a shit about the Chuunin Exams."
"I do. I'm training-"
"You don't. You don't have to lie. Not to me." His voice was quiet, and he nudged the other ninja's shoulder. "I'm serious."
Sasuke stiffened slightly, his shoulders rigid with stress. "I can't...you wouldn't understand."
Naruto looked at the walls again, his eyes narrowing. "Sasuke, this is stupid. Do you know how this looks? You didn't sleep tonight, the scorch marks that were on the cave when we went inside exactly match the scorch marks you made when you lit the leaves on fire, you're lying about what you were doing at night, and Sakura is fucking missing. I keep telling myself you wouldn't do anything like that, but-"
"I have fucking insomnia, okay? I can never fucking sleep and I have to study or train instead, and fucking fine, Naruto. I don't care about the Chuunin Exams. I didn't lie because I kidnapped our teammate. I ran to your house, so fucking scared that something happened to you, and you didn't even- you didn't even care. I lied because you would never- you would never understand and I'm so fucking tired. I'm sick of feeling like this. I feel alone. And you think- and you think I'm l-lying-" Sasuke's voice broke, and Naruto's eyes widened in horror.
"Sasuke, no. No, I believe you, okay? I could never- fuck, you think I don't understand? You think I don't get it? We're similar, Sasuke. And even if I didn't understand, even if I hadn't spent countless nights trying anything just to sleep, I would still care. I would always care." He took a breath. "I jumped to a stupid conclusion, and I'm sorry. I don't want...I don't want you to feel alone, yeah? Please believe me."
Sasuke's breath hitched and Naruto watched tears threaten to spill from his eyes. Naruto had never, ever seen Sasuke cry.
He didn't want the first time to be because of him.
He pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Breathe. I got you."
Sasuke tensed and then slumped into his chest, taking a shaky breath through his shirt. "I'm just...tired," he mumbled weakly.
"I know," Naruto murmured. He traced small circles on his back soothingly and rested his head on top of Sasuke's. "We're gonna get out of here, yeah? And then you're gonna sleep."
"I can't." His voice was uncharacteristically exhausted, and Naruto felt a fierce pang of protectiveness run through his body.
"You can. Okay? Please. I need you to try."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Then we try again until it does. But right now, we need to get out of here. Or else we'll have problems that are a lot harder to fix. Like...dying of thirst."
"What do you want me to do? I can't even get up. I can't even- we'll never get out of here, Naruto, and I won't even be able to try because we'll be dead. I won't even have a chance, because-"
"Shut up," he responded gently, not unkind. "We're going to be okay. You think that a stupid cave could kill us? We're basically...." He thought for a moment. "Sasuke! I was lying earlier. You're at the top of our class for a reason, no? You're strong. And you might not be at your best right now, but we can't always be. So. Tell me everything you remember about entrapment crystals. And we'll figure it out."
Sasuke looked up at him, and Naruto held his gaze firmly, loosening his grip on him. Finally, Sasuke let out a small breath and muttered, "Entrapment crystals have the ability to change the environment around them, and what that means depends on whoever set the trap. For example, the rocks falling and blocking the entrance was a specific reaction that someone- the person who put the crystal here- designed. To use an entrapment crystal like this, you have to have a good amount of chakra control, or else you won't be able to control what the crystal does. And...it can only trap specific people."
Naruto blinked. "Specific people?"
"Yeah. Whoever sets the trap needs a sample of someone's chakra to place inside of the crystal beforehand, and once that person- and only that person- is inside, that's when the trap is triggered. Immediately."
Naruto tilted his head to the side. "But that means..."
"Yeah. Someone designed this trap for us. Specifically. If a random person came inside the cave, they would be able to walk out, perfectly fine."
Naruto frowned, processing. "No. Not us. Right? Because if the trap is triggered immediately once the right people are inside, then it would've been activated as soon as we walked inside."
"What are you getting at?"
"The trap was for you. The rocks only started falling once I was completely out of the cave, remember? When you were the only one inside. I don't think I was supposed to be here."
Sasuke looked at him, realization dawning on his face. "You're right. But I thought- there are two chakra samples in the crystal. I saw them. I thought the other one was yours."
"Wait, hold on. There are two? You're sure?"
"Yes."
"So..." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't make sense. Whoever set the trap knew that you would come inside the cave, but not only you. They set the crystal to trap two people in here, but if the other person isn't me, who is it?"
Sasuke looked over at the crystal and stood up shakily. Naruto got up and put a steadying hand on his shoulder as he walked over to the center of the cave, kneeling in front of the crystal. There were little orbs of light swimming beneath the surface, illuminating the pink crystal. "The chakra looks familiar, but I can't place it."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "I mean, yeah. Why would you come searching for Sakura with a stranger? And we've probably encountered whoever set the trap, too. Because they had to get close enough to get a chakra sample."
Sasuke sighed, frustrated. "I don't know. I don't- there's almost no way to figure it out, I can't-"
Naruto squeezed his shoulder, sensing that he was overwhelmed. "Nah, it's okay. It doesn't really matter anyway. We need to figure out how to escape, not who put us in here."
Sasuke took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes. "Okay. What else? The crystal requires the people who are trapped to follow very specific instructions to escape. If these instructions are followed, the trap releases them."
Naruto groaned. "Fuck. Where are the instructions, then?"
"I don't know. They're supposed to be engraved on the crystal. But the instructions are often impossible, or deadly. The survivability rate is extremely low. I think it was...19% of people that made it out alive."
"Shit. That's...not great." Naruto attempted to stay optimistic. "But, uh, we got this. I think."
Sasuke didn't respond, just stared at the crystal as if it would magically let them out if he tried to burn holes in it with his eyes.
"Is it possible to destroy anything in here? Can we break rocks, or break the crystal, even?" Naruto tried.
"No."
"Oh. Well. Um, so what do we do?"
"We sit here and die of thirst."
"No, absolutely not. Sasuke. We are going to at least try to get out of here. What about your vow? You promised to kill your brother. You wouldn't let a single person stop you. We've fought so hard for everything we have, you and I. You're going to let a fucking cave ruin all that? Hell no. So I'm gonna need you to stop being such a negative bast-"
"Naruto."
"No. Listen-"
"Naruto! Shut the fuck up for one second and look at the fucking crystal!"
He paused in surprise and glanced down at the crystal. He gasped, his eyes widening.
Words were being etched by a seemingly invisible hand on the surface of the stone, and Naruto watched, speechless. Finally, the writing stopped, and Naruto read the words aloud slowly.
"To escape, you both must orgasm a total of 10 times together. 5 orgasms each, no more, no less. If this is not fulfilled, you may not leave."
Sasuke stared at the crystal in horror, then turned to look at Naruto. "What?"
Naruto stared back, a thousand thoughts racing through his head. "I don't- what the fuck?"
"You must have- you must have read it wrong."
"You're looking at the same words I am. See for yourself." He watched Sasuke's eyes scan the crystal multiple times, his expression steadily growing more and more mortified.
"Oh, god." Sasuke dropped his head to rest on his knees.
"Wait, no. This is good. I mean, not good, but listen! This means we're going to survive, Sasuke. Because the instructions aren't impossible, or deadly. Just...not great."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "We have to masturbate inside a dusty cave, Naruto. It's worse than not great."
Naruto looked around the cave, considering. "Yeah. But we don't have a choice. So."
The other ninja rubbed his eyes frustratedly. "I fucking know."
"Listen. It's going to be...awkward. Definitely. But we can go sit on opposite sides of the cave, and, you know...do our thing, and then we're out. And we'll never, ever mention what happened to anyone else. Just pretend you're in your room or something, alone." He shifted uncomfortably, running a hand through his hair.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. Let's do it."
Naruto grinned at him. "I didn't expect you to be so easy about it."
"I'm exhausted, okay? My back hurts from the cave walls and I'm so tired I can barely move. And it's not like you're the worst person to be stuck in here with, anyhow." His eyes widened and he looked at Naruto, closing his mouth. A sly smirk spread across Naruto's face, and he tilted his head to the side.
"What in the world does that mean, Sasuke? You think I'm hot or something?"
"No, I- no! I just- it could be worse. You get what I mean! I didn't mean it like that, I just- like, what if it was Sakura, or Kakashi, or something? It could be worse than this! That's all I was-"
"I get it, I get it. Damn." He grinned widely and moved to the opposite side of the cave. "Shall we?"
Sasuke flushed and moved to the other side. "I suppose. Look away."
Naruto obliged, turning so that his back was facing Sasuke. He reached into his pants, gripping his already half-hard cock, and sighed.
It was going to be a long night. Or morning. Or whatever the fuck it was.