Hi everyone! So, this story kind of popped into my head after reading some books and playing Assassin's Creed (well AC IV but I'm thinking back to AC II) I hope you like it and let me know what you all think about this! And please review! –Patch Of Grey

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto….sadly.

Chapter I

With his hands tied behind his back, the young assassin was dragged along the dark, underground passage way. He was surrounded by Royal Guards, who he was able to identify by the crest that was engraved onto their metal shoulder pieces and belt buckles. The assassin had no idea what the Royal Family wanted from him, except maybe they wanted him dead (which is understandable since they have been playing cat and mouse for the past five years). He remembered being close to falling asleep in his small cubical cell when these bastards just busted through the bars, with no questions asked, and dragged him across the floor by his hair. Even though Neji had been imprisoned in the cell for six months, he had memorized every chamber, passageway, stair case, and number of guard posts. He even memorized the distance from his cell to the exit.

"Watch this one. He's slick and can kill you in ha heartbeat." The Captain of the Guard told the others.

"Damn straight I can…" a smirk came to the assassin's face.

It was just seventeen meters until they were to reach the door to the upper ground; In other words, the exit. What should he do? Better yet; how will he deal with these guards? How will he run for it? Guaranteed the sword attached to his handler's was light but sturdy just based on how he was holding his ropes. Grabbing the sword with his teeth would be a hit or a miss. And since he was weak and hasn't seen the light of day since he was captured…plus his magic was no good because his hands were tied behind his back. The cell he was staying in was always moist, the young man never really had a clean feeling for that half of a year, which disgusted him, but it was prison so there was no control.

He still had some sense though. Most prisoners he has seen have gone mad, which would lead them to shout insanely about their past life or the gods themselves. He actually found it a bit amusing when someone in his section loses it and can't keep their mouths shut. But it does get old after the last eight curses to the Crown, the prison, or the floor they sat on. Whenever there was an execution, the other prisoners would be gathered around the area while a prison guard read the charges. And each prisoner got to witness the beheading or fashionable impalement of the convicted. Every prisoner, but Neji. The guards would only pass by his cell, tie him up in chains and weights to make sure he was isolated. A guard was also placed by his cell to alarm the others if he were to try and escape. And he never did. He spent most of his days in meditation with a secret workout routine that only last for about ten minutes a day since he was so mal nourished. Not only did that keep him from killing himself, but it kept him from going insane as well.

"Hold him tight."

The handler tightened the gripping on the assassin's ropes to the point where there was a loud snap in his joints. A low grunt came out of the young man as his wrists screamed. Great now his magic was really useless now. AS the Guards opened the final door, he braced himself. To his disappointment, the sun outside was setting instead of being high in the sky. Pushed in to the grass, Neji gasped as the fresh air punched him in the face. It was cleansing as he filled his lungs with the crisp fresh air with a hint of the herby grass. When he looked up, black leather boots with red lining and laces were present before him.

"These bastards…" the assassin mumbled before raising his head to face the Captain of the Guard.

"Hyuga, if you don't wish to die, I suggest you hold still and not try anything funny." The middle aged man warned him.

"It's not like I can. You broke my wrists!" the prisoner spat.

The Captain of the Guard raised his boot and collided with the Hyuga's chin. A strong kick, but the young man knew he was holding back.

"Enough, Uchiha."

The guards stood at attention. The assassin's face became grimace as a white horse approached them. With a crown present on his head, the young man on the horse looked down at the Hyuga with a disgusted look on his perfectly structured face.

"How nice. You have decided to grace me with your presence…" Neji glared at the prince.

His handler kicked the assassin back into the ground, demanding that he'd bow to his prince. His prince? They Hyuga scoffed; what nonsense. He will never show any form of respect to a member of the family who killed his father.

"Enough, Sasuke. I do not expect him to. He did just crawl out from under a rock after six months."

A wave of chuckles were heard from the Uchiha Guards. Neji gritted his teeth and demanded to know what he wanted form him.

"It's not what I want. It's what my sister needs." The prince replied.

Neji rolled his eyes. What could a princess want with him? Surely not marriage (he would kill himself before marring that brat).

"So what does she want?"

"Actually, it's what both my father and I want." The prince smirked seeing the annoyance grow on the assassin's face.

Neji bared his teeth. What the hell did this silver spoon sucker want? The guard named Sasuke gave a look of amusement, clearly enjoying the teasing.

"Our lovely princess and brave prince have a proposition for you, Hyuga." The Captain of the guard, who kicked his side, announced.

"Which is…?"

The prince gave a dramatic sigh and moved a lock of hair away from his face. There was a break in, two months ago at the palace. They attempted to try and kidnap the princess in the high tower. Once again, the Hyuga rolled his eyes, mimicking the prince{s dramatic attitude. Big Whoop. The prince made another dramatic gesture and continued.

"My father, your king, has decided to look for a champion to guard my precious sister!"

The assassin sucked his teeth. So, Neji was dragged out of his cozy cell by his hair, had his wrists broken, and was kicked in the face by the damn Captain of the guard just to be a baby sitter for the damn brat of the country? Sasuke tensed, he was watching the Hyuga's facial expressions. The young Uchiha clenched his hand around the rope more rightly, his already pale knuckles becoming more drained of color.

"Why not make Duck Butt over here do it? He is part of your Royal Guard, you know." Neji nodded his head toward his handler.

"Would you like to repeat that? May I remind you who had broken your wrists and id holding the rope?" Sasuke snapped down at the assassin, his free hand ready at his sword's handle.

"I can take you all down without magic and my hands!" Neji stated.

The Uchihas grew still. It wasn't a bluff, everyone was aware of the abilities the Hyuga possessed. The Captain of the Guard looked to his crowned prince.

"Your highness, perhaps you should make your proposal."

"I was waiting for Sasuke and Neji to stop having their little bitch fight." The prince looked at his captain amusingly.

The young Uchiha apologized to the Captain and to the prince, pursing his lips together. The assassin looked form the prince to the Captain of the Guard. This was a waste of time. Plus he bet he missed the bread and water that the prison guards were serving the others for dinner… The crowned prince's attitude became serious and he looked down into Neji's filthy face.

"If you agree to participate in my father's little game, and win-"

"I'd rather be done up the ass with a rusty spoo-"

"I will grant you your freedom."

Neji looked at the prince in disbelief. Why would he, Neji Hyuga the assassin that has killed more people than the great mathematicians can count, want to become the princess' bitch just for a little time of freedom? By that, he thought that he will be held in a heavily guarded complex, meters away from the palace itself, thus making the job irrelevant all together.

"Define…'freedom'." The Hyuga demanded.

'Freedom', the princed smirked at his interest, meant that Neji would go free…alone; to do as he pleased with his own life. Neji clenched his jaw. Since he was captured and word had gotten around that his father was long dead, the assassin thought that his master had forgotten about him, or just wrote him as M.I.A. Hyuga Neji couldn't be easily killed, and his master knew that damn well. "Captured" was just another word for "Challenge" to the Hyuga since he was only captured once.

"How long do you expect me to be your sister's lap dog?"

"Ten years." The prince announced.

"What?! No, five." The assassin hissed.

The prince stiffened. He needed this one to protect his sister, especially since he would not be able to do it. The assassin, as he told his father, would be a loyal dependent when given the right motivation and price…at least until the kidnappers where found and killed. Running a hand through his brown hair, the prince breathed in.

"You will be living under my roof, Neji. You will be treated no less than a Royal Guard. Freedom is mighty price, but my sister's life is more mighty."

"Five years." Neji insisted.

"Eight." The prince hissed.

"No."

"It's eight. Unless you want me to throw you back in that cell and have you waste away. I won't even give you the luxury of being executed. You'll be stripped of your magic and never see the light of day ever again."

Neji stiffened. He wanted to decline and tell the prince to go suck a big one, but when he threatened his magic, the Hyuga knew the prince wasn't lying. Many prisoners have gone through that torture. Exractin magic wasn't a pleasant experience. It caused massive pain, according to one prisoner. Pain and the feeling of hollowness wherever you went since they released you after your magic was taken. And with that feeling, many people would just resort to death anyway since they have lost a major part of their identity. Neji's magic was the last strip of dignity he had left. Defeated, Neji glared at the prince and pursed his lips together.

"So…eight years was it?"

The prince grinned and told the Uchihas to move out. A brown horse was readied for the Hyuga, who was hoisted up onto it (still tied up). Sasuke was riding next to him, still holding the rope that held the assassin's wrists behind his back. They rode in silence north, toward the Golden Kingdom. The young Hyuga held back his tongue. Oh how he wanted to tell the prince to burn in hell and tell the Uchihas to jump in a river, but he couldn't; his freedom was on the line as well as his magic. Glancing at each Uchiha, he noticed that one Uchiha (who possessed marks on his face) was using magic the whole time he was being captured. The Uchiha's eyes were red with black brush marks circling the pupil. The Uchihas, to his knowledge, were able to use magic as well. Their abilities varied, but the common magic was illusions. But since Neji was weak at the moment he knew he wouldn't be able to take any of them on if he tried to run while they were traveling.

It seemed like days when it was only a few hours. Neji didn't realize that he had fallen asleep sitting up on his horse. His body must have just shut down since the ride was actually rather soothing to his bottom. That and he was bored out of his mind and didn't feel like annoying Duck Butt. The group had stopped travelling. With his mind still a bit foggy from his nap, the assassin was tugged off his horse and had his wrists switched to his front, still tied in rope. He was brought to a camp fire surrounded by Uchihas. Neji sighed.

"Here, it's freshly fried." The Uchiha with the marks on his face said and handed a plate to him.

The Hyuga looked down. Rice, chicken, and what he thought to be some kind of vegetable. His wrists ached as he brought the meat to his lips, the food felt dry going down his throat.

"I apologize for my brother's roughness. Your wrists will be healed once we reach the palace and have settled you into your chambers." That same guard offered a small smile.

The Hyuga just nodded, unsure of how to respond.

"You're too nice, Itachi." An Uchiha guard grunted.

Neji looked at the one named Itachi. He had an unreadable face, which reminded him of his uncle; however, Itachi had kind eyes. The assassin then looked between Itachi and Sasuke. He could see the resemblance between the two.

"So, you and Duck Butt over there are brothers?" Neji addressed Itachi.

Sasuke Glared, the rest of the Uchihas let out a hardy laugh.

"Yes, Hyuga Neji. Sasuke and I are brothers. In fact, our father is the Captain of the Guard." Itachi pointed past his brother.

Neji followed his finger. There was a separate campfire with two other tents. The crowned prince and the Captain of the Guard sat around their fire, discussing something quietly.

"Family business then?" Neji asked bringing more chicken to his lips.

"Actually, yes. The King prefers families, due to their similar abilities. I believe your family had once worked for the Royal family at some point in history." Itachi sipped at his cup.

Neji grimaced. His so called family did use to work for the Royal family. But that was the main family, not his branch. It was always the main family who was held at the highest standard while the rest of them were marked with a tattoo and swept away; only to be called on to do what the main family didn't want to. What was worse was that his father was twin brothers with the main family head. It was Neji's father who got blamed for killing a stupid lord many moons ago (Neji was only six). And they finally managed to capture and kill his father when Neji had reached the age of ten. Because of that, the Hyugas were demoted from Royal Guard to just another noble family, though they still thought of themselves to be of the highest degree of nobles. The assassin sucked his teeth at the thought of his own family. Family was pointless. He was better off alone.

"Let's call it a night. You'll be sharing a tent with my little brother until we reach the palace. Don't be surprised if you're found on a horse when you wake; we tend to rise early." Itachi informed him.

"…Right…" Neji sighed.

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