AN: Hey! I'll just explain a few things about this fic... Its an AU, its supernatural, it will contain demons, and dark themes (lol which of my fics don't have dark themes...). Its also gonna contain yaoi as well as het.

Pairings: NaruSasu, some InoSasu (friendly) later on, KakaIru, some KakaYama later on, purely brotherly MadaSasu (yes, Madara is his brother in here)., HashiMada, KibaHina, one-sided NaruHina and one-sided SasuSaku, NejiTen, LeeSaku. Yep, that about covers it.

Rating: M

Warnings: Dark, violence, character death, supernatural AU (so if that isn't your thing...), dark!Naruto later on. Use of honorifics and certain Japanese swearwords (teme : bastard, dobe : moron and usuratonkachi : total dumbass... I couldn't find it in my heart to translate these three, sorry!)

I: Beginning of the End : Neji;Naruto

Hinata shivered. Beside her, Neji squeezed her hand comfortingly, sparing a quick glance in her direction. He could tell that the shiver had more to do with the place they were in rather than any real chill. In fact, the weather was uncharacteristically warm for a December night.

"Hinata, you don't have to do this..." he told her, frowning. Seriously, these courage tests were nothing but stupidity. If anyone asked Neji, they were only amusing to ten-year-old kids and sopped being anywhere not ridiculous or entertaining after one reached teenage.

Well, apparently not to two hyperactive, idiotic classmates named Naruto and Kiba. Neji rather suspected that this was only because both of them had the mentality of said ten-year-old children. And unfortunately enough, they were all close enough that the two morons had seen it fit to invite them on their "Super Awesome Secret Outing". Which turned out to be a glorified courage test in the abandoned manor that lay just outside their town, where the town ended and the wood hadn't yet begun. It was a large manor, and for the life of him Neji couldn't understand why someone hadn't bought it and put it to better use yet. He stubbornly refused to believe it had anything to do with the rumours that floated around about the manor and the several deaths that had occurred in it. Well, he amended mentally, maybe all of the deaths weren't rumours. At least the death of the family that had last been living in there – the Sasagawas, if he remembered correctly, was certainly true. He had heard about it from his great-grandfather, who had lived to be ninety-three. The man had been a child of five or six at the time of the massacre, and so the details hadn't been too clear, but he had been able to confirm the truth of the rumours to his great-grandson.

Not that that meant anything. So a murderer somehow managed to murder all of the people living in the manor at that time. By now, the murderer was dead and gone, or, even in the rare case that he was alive, would be over a hundred. They had nothing to fear. As for the manor itself, that bloodbath had given it its stigma of being haunted – as many other houses that people were afraid of and labeled haunted just because of deaths. The truth was that people were so scared of death that they shunned the places related to it. It was the same with graveyards or the residence of infamous killers. A simple psychological fact. It meant as much to Neji as the rumours about "strange sounds" and "red eyes" reportedly sighted in the vicinity of the mansion did. How someone could even believe them was beyond his comprehension. Obviously the people who reported such absurd things were either drunk, fearful and over-imaginative or lying, whether for attention or as a prank God knew. Or maybe it had a perfectly rational explanation, and they were just blowing things out of proportion. Although Konoha's woods weren't known for having any large animals, a stray animal or two might have wandered over from the conjoined forest of Oto. It may just as well have been some small animal – sounds were magnified during nighttime, and God help him if half the idiots that lived in Konoha could wait to try and seek out the actual source of something or a rational explanation behind it before shooting their mouths off, by which point it was too late to try and talk some sense into them. Who would admit they had made a mistake after their statements reached the grapevine? Any credibility they had ever had would be completely ruined.

Having said that, it might have been surprising that Neji had seen it fit to attend this little 'outing'. Hinata had been so surprised at his acceptance that she had dropped the book she had been holding at the time, and Naruto, who had not really been expecting him to agree so easily, had gaped at him till Sasuke, passing them by, had snapped at him to shut his mouth before he swallowed a fly, after which the blond had ceased caring about Neji and chased his friend-slash-rival-slash-brother down the hall, screaming obscenities all the while as the pair disappeared into a classroom. In truth, Neji had only agreed because Hinata had. He wasn't about to let his cousin, who might it be added was scared shitless of ghosts, go to a place like that alone. At night. Never mind the buffoons (at that time he had presumed Kiba and Naruto and their cronies – none of who were exactly sober or sharp people) that would go with her, because they could hardly compare to Neji's protection. Besides, said buffoons were a source of danger too – which brother would let his little cousin alone with a bunch of unruly boys? Not Neji.

At first, he had tried to dissuade her from going, but once Hinata got something in her shy but stubborn little head, she wouldn't give up. It was anyone's guess as to why she would be so willing to risk it seeing as how the mere mention of ghosts had her paling... actually, Neji (and everyone present with the possible exception of Naruto, and maybe Sasuke) did know why. His cousin had had a huge crush on said blond since the first time they had met. She probably thought that this would impress Naruto enough to make him look at her as something more than the timid girl who had been his friend since kindergarten, and whom he relentlessly teased for her steadfast belief in all things supernatural. Neji personally thought that was stupid. Did she really think a silly little thing like this would change Naruto's whole opinion of her? Hinata might be timid and easily scared when it came to ghosts, but she was a strong and determined girl. The problem was that because of her shyness, others – and often she herself – did not recognise her own strength. He had his own suspicions that she was trying to prove to Naruto that she could be as brave as Sakura, the girl Naruto had had a crush on for as long as Hinata had crushed on him. Sakura was known for her braveness as well as her sheer physical strength, and her immense crush on Sasuke and tendency to castrate any other male who dared to so much as make a pass at her. She, too, was a member of their party – a fact Hinata had apparently been aware of. Doubtless that had influenced her decision to come along – along with her friend Tenten, who was standing on the other side of Hinata.

Looking up, he caught Sakura hanging back, staying close to Sasuke, who was trying to stay away from them all. Honestly speaking, none of them had any idea why the withdrawn Uchiha had decided to come along. It wasn't really his scene... anything that included crowds wasn't his thing, to be fair. His idea of a crowd also meant anyone other than him. After the death of his parents and two of his brothers, Itachi and Izuna, he had become emotionally closed off, and rarely talked unless spoken to, and even then. If he thought hard, Neji could remember a boy with bright eyes, eager and with one of the kindest smiles he had ever seen, but that Sasuke was long gone. He hadn't seen Sasuke actually smile or volunteer words for over eight years now. The present Sasuke was a loner, and the only time he smiled – a faint and wispy twitch of his lips that could hardly be called a smile – it was at his surviving brother, the only family he had left : Madara Uchiha, who hadn't fared so well himself. As usual, he hung back, holding himself at a distance from the group gathered in front of the iron gate of the Sasagawa Manor.

"Whaddaya mean, ya can't go back from here!" Kiba Inuzuka protested loudly at Neji's words, making the white-eyed boy glance over at him irritatedly. Hinata just offered her cousin a shy smile. She knew Neji was worried about her – everyone in their group always was. Even Sasuke, anti-social and aloof, protected her in his own way. This was exactly why she was here, to show them she didn't always need to be protected. Especially Naruto and Neji. She was well aware that more likely than not, nothing would really change in her and Naruto's friendship, but it was still a step. And she would take it.

Her reassuring smile only made Neji frown. He had known, of course, that she would not change her mind once she had set it on something. Even so, he couldn't help but be worried for her. The least he could do was try and comfort her as much as he could. He wasn't worried about any danger – except maybe one of the idiots accidentally lashing out at their own groupmate because of surprise or fear, or maybe the floorboards giving way – but he didn't want her to be scared out of her wits for no reason. The last time someone had told her a ghost story, she had broken down into tears, which had prompted Neji to politely inform the boy what would happen the next time he brought up the topic of ghosts anywhere near Hinata. He wasn't sure why Hinata had been upset with him. If nothing, it had been an interesting anatomy lesson in his opinion.

Sakura frowned as another figure hurried towards them through the darkness, his flashlight cutting through the night.

"AM I LATE?" Lee's unnecessarily loud voice boomed across the space between them, making Neji and Sakura wince. "SAKURA-CHAN! YOU LOOK EXTREMELY YOUTHFUL TODAY! WHY SO GLOOMY, UCHIHA-SAN?" The last, aimed at Sasuke, was accompanied by a pat aimed at said boy's back that would have probably had him wheezing and coughing had it connected – Lee never meant to hurt anyone, but his over-enthusiastic personality coupled with his utter inability to keep his considerable strength in check often resulted in such situations. As it was, having been on the receiving end of several such 'pat's before, Sasuke quickly ducked out from under Lee's outstretched hand, backing up towards Neji and the others only to ram into someone.

"OW!Look where you're going, teme!" A voice complained. Sasuke didn't even have to turn back to smack Naruto on his arm, grumbling about morons that screamed in his ear. Sakura angrily rounded on the blond, clucking threateningly.

"Naruto! Did you invite Lee?" she hissed lowly so Lee wouldn't hear. Naruto promptly ignored her because there was literally no right answer to her question. If he said 'yes' (which was the truth) he would yelled at for being an idiot and inviting Lee to what was supposed to be a secret test – Lee could be secretive about as well as Naruto could be mature, which wasn't saying much. Even if he lied and said 'no', he would get chewed out for being a blabbermouth who told everyone about their secret plans.

In Naruto's opinion, Lee didn't necessarily warrant the wide berth most people usually gave him, despite being socially retarded and eccentric. But hey, most girls in their class liked Sasuke freaking Uchiha, who was quite possibly the most socially retarded and eccentric person the world had ever seen, so Naruto couldn't really see what their problem was with Lee. Granted, maybe Lee's eccentricity was on a whole different level, and he was way louder than Sasuke – or even Kiba or Naruto could ever be – and his fashion sense was atrocious... well, okay. Naruto could sort of see why some people would find him a little weird. But in spite of all his shortcomings, Lee had a genuinely nice heart. He competed with both Neji and Sasuke, but there was no real malice in his interactions with them, and he had more than once cheered Sasuke on during his kendo matches. He really couldn't see why Sakura wasn't half as accepting towards Lee as she was towards Sasuke and his aloofness.

Thankfully, while Naruto was contemplating the complexities of (mostly one particular) human (named Sakura's) mind, Sasuke came to his rescue with a grunt and a "Didn't think you would show up, dobe."

Though Naruto probably should have felt relieved at having the focus shifted from Sakura and her loaded questions, it had exactly the opposite effect as Naruto immediately bristled, so much so that he even forewent staring star struck at Sakura until she lost it and bopped him on the head as was his routine whenever he came across her.

"Hey teme! Watch your mouth." came his indignant response, before he smirked. "And I'm just surprised that you actually showed up." And he was. When he had invited his sort-of-but-not-really-best-friend, he hadn't actually expected him to come. Not without a fair amount of badgering and Naruto following him around like a puppy for a couple of days – or weeks – at least.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, before setting off towards the others, with an adoring Sakura and a babbling Lee on tow. Naruto watched them go with a frown on his face.

So Sasuke-teme really did come... this is the first time he has voluntarily hung out with me without me having to pester him into it... I wonder why he came? And I wonder why that makes me so happy...

He shook his head, trying to shake the stray thought off just as he had shaken all the dreams about Sasuke – innocent and progressively otherwise – off. He assumed it was because Sasuke had been his friend... erm, rival for a long time. His hormones had probably just confused Sasuke with Sakura-chan.. that was it, wasn't it? Sasuke was always calling him a moron, maybe it were just his hormones that were idiotic. That seemed completely plausible. Sort of. And he was only happy because Sakura was there too. Because he and Sasuke were both boys, and boys didn't like other boys. At least, he didn't. And Sasuke most certainly didn't... even if he did, Naruto would never be his type. And that thought didn't make Naruto a little sad... not even a little. It didn't have any right to.

"Oi, Naruto!" the last member of their party, Tayuya's voice barked. "Lets get going. I need to be back before 2." Tayuya's mother sometimes worked late into the night, and this was one of those days. If she decided to check on Tayuya on returning and found her gone, not only would Tayuya get into trouble, but the whole group might be busted.

Naruto shrugged, walking up to the wrought iron gate and getting to work on the lock. It was a skill he had learnt from the housemate of his father figure, Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi and Iruka, Naruto's adoptive father, shared a house because none of them needed a whole house, and splitting the rent between them was easier on both of their paychecks. Despite his tendencies, Kakashi was surprisingly civil towards Iruka – by which Naruto meant he wasn't dripping sarcasm from each word that came out of his mouth in Iruka's presence. Anyone who knew Kakashi would admit that as far as civility went, this was Kakashi's equivalent of being a chivalrous knight. The silver-haired man had taught Naruto how to pick locks on the pretext " in case you get yourself kidnapped, brat." Naruto had pointed out that Iruka would surely have thrown a fit had he known, and Kakashi had pointed out the keywords of 'had he known' to effectively close the argument. If someone in this little group wondered how Naruto had acquired this particular skill, they didn't voice their questions out loud. This was fine with Naruto, who worked in silence, getting the large padlock undone in a matter of minuted. For all the times people called him stupid, he could be surprisingly good at something if he set his mind to it.

As they filed in, the blond couldn't help but see Hinata clutch at the hem of her shirt that peeked out from under her windcheater, and even Kiba wrap his jacket a little tighter around his frame. His gaze immediately flickered to Sasuke, who looked oddly tense for some reason. Heh, was he afraid...? Naruto would protect him no matter what …... only because he owed the noirette one. Not because he wanted to. He didn't even consider Sasuke a friend, to be honest, and he didn't think Sasuke considered him one either. What kind of friends exchanged insult as casual banter on a daily basis, and ended up trying to kill each other at least once a week? Naruto smiled despite himself. Definitely not a friend...

The only reason I feel so protective of him when he looks like that, pale and tensed and mouth drawn in a tight line, is because he saved my life. More than once, maybe. Naruto argued. Besides, the bastard is always so smug and high-and-mighty that any kind of fear just doesn't suit him. That's all. Its …. unnatural.

Just as the blond came to this satisfying conclusion, surprising him the object of his thoughts abruptly whipped his head to the left, eyes narrowed and body poised for a fight. Stratled and suddenly apprehensive, Naruto followed his intense gaze to one of the third-floor windows in the left wing. Both the left and right wings of the manor were larger than and detached from the central wing, and hence overlooked a good portion of it.* A roofed corridor was the only thing that served to connect it to the central portion of the house. Damn, this manor is huge, Naruto thought, more than a little awed.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's honeyed voice rang out, sounding concerned. Naruto felt a twinge of something unnamed (that he refused to name jealousy) when he turned to them and saw one of her hands was resting on Sasuke's tense right shoulder.

Why isn't he shaking it off? He thought, irrationally upset. He always does that when its me. And then, I'm only feeling upset because its Sakura-chan. I've always liked Sakura-chan, for a long time now.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun? " This time, it was Hinata's timid voice asking the question, the shy girl worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Nothing..." Sasuke hesitated for a brief moment, eyes intent on the same window, before flicking uncertainly over all of the other windows in that wing as if searching for something.

" I just … I thought...someone was watching us." His words trailed off at the end.

Naruto would forever deny the slight chill that stole over him at Sasuke's words. Instead, he forced out a laugh. "Heh, teme, if you are afraid, just go home."

Sasuke flushed hotly, his eyes narrowing and turning to Naruto in a glare as he denied the accusation. "I'm not afraid, usuratonkachi!"

"Then quit acting like a wimp." Tayuya sneered at him, and Sasuke looked determinedly ahead, glaring at the air.

After he repeated the same procedure with the three padlocks on the manor door, they entered one by one, blissfully unaware of the eyes following their every move.

TBC.

AN: Phew. This is not even the whole prologue and its 3k words long. Anyway, please tell me what you think. This is a new style I'm trying out, and as I said this is my first time in this fandom, so I'm really unsure of the characterisations and stuff... Feedback would be greatly appreciated. That said, thank you for taking the time out to read, and I hope you enjoyed. - Miraze.