AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews! So utterly happy! Here is the next chapter, and I'll be making a serious effort to update weekly (usually Sundays or Mondays). I've revised Chapter 1 for those of you that don't know. Also, I'm going to be revising Cloud Cover at some point (I want to clean up a lot of the writing), and deleting a lot of the author's notes that won't be relevant to any new readers. Finally, I have changed the rating to Mature to be safe. I've been sorting out the plot, and let's face it, knowing me with all my angst, bad language, etc. this rating will go up in future, so I might as well do it now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll update again soon. :D

Red Storm

Chapter 2: The Underground

"Never hide things from hardcore thinkers. They get more aggravated, more provoked by confusion than the most painful truths."
~Criss Jami

Sasuke sat alone at the small desk in his blue wallpapered room.

Usually, Naruto came round and they did their homework, or at least Sasuke would try to do his homework. Naruto would usually chatter about random things, hanging upside down over the side of the bed in sheer boredom and pleading desperately to do some video games to get him in the mood for studying.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Yeah, like that guy was ever in the mood for homework. Sasuke stared at the books lying in front of him. For once, the algebra, rather than engaging his mind only succeeded in staring dully back from the page, black and white, and meaningless.

He frowned at the numbers.

Ok, so maybe he'd been a bit harsh today, but seriously someone had to open Naruto's eyes. Come on, he'd never had a chance with Sakura.

She said yes.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he remembered those words.

Fine. So let Naruto date her and find out for himself. It wasn't his problem.

He slammed his book shut with a growl and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

Then what was bothering him?

Naruto could get hurt. He's been through a lot. I'm concerned, Sasuke reasoned with himself.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the calendar on the wall above his desk.

It had been over a year, yet for him, not much had changed. He knew things had been different for Naruto. His life had transformed from one of abuse and misery, not knowing what the next day would bring, to a stable and loving home with good friends. The change in him had been amazing. Sure, the long dragged-out court case had not been easy, but each day he'd become brighter and when Orochimaru was finally pronounced guilty and given a life sentence, he'd never looked back. It was pretty damn remarkable.

Sasuke didn't think he could have gone through something like that without personally killing Orochimaru and everyone who had ever helped him. But then maybe that was the difference between them, maybe that was why Naruto was better at connecting with people, because he knew how to deal…

Even though…even though Sasuke still didn't really know all the details of everything himself.

That was the only sign now that it had ever bothered Naruto. He never talked about it and if anyone brought it up, he'd change the subject.

People soon learned not to ask, and no one dared to approach Sasuke with questions. Naturally, rumors had spread like wildfire around the school for a while. Everything from Naruto being more amazing than Superman and foiling Orochimaru singlehandedly, to being a cowardly rat in the organization who turned over his criminal friends in order to escape prison. On that point, Sasuke had set people right, telling them in his coldest tones that if Naruto was a rat, what did that make him for doing it too? Nobody dared tarnish the Uchiha name. Eventually the students had leaned towards the more positive of the rumors. Sasuke's popularity had increased, much to his annoyance, and Naruto became pretty popular for a while – a celebrity even.

Sasuke smiled grimly to himself. It was better this way. They didn't need to know the details. Then again, it was frustrating that Naruto wouldn't tell even him much of what had happened between him and Orochimaru. That stung.

Sasuke sighed and leaned forward, resting his chin on his arms and brushing away the strand of dark hair that strayed into his eyes.

Had it really been so bad that not even he could know?

The words were still branded like fire on his brain. He closed his eyes, thinking back to that day.

"Sorry, Sasuke. This is something I'd rather do alone."

"Don't be an idiot." He snapped. "You'll be in a court room full of strangers and Orochimaru. Hell, I'd be fucking nervous. I'm coming in with you."

"No." came the firm reply. "I do this alone. It's not your concern."

"Not my concern?" was Sasuke's disbelieving question. "Fucking explain to me how this is not my concern? It's because of me that you…"

He hadn't been able to finish the sentence, breaking off, and Naruto frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's why I don't want you coming in. I made my own decisions. I don't want you blaming yourself over it.

He shifted as Sasuke stared at him intensely. "And you think I'll feel less guilty sitting out here, not knowing, just imagining and letting it burn away at me?"

Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. But this time, I'm being selfish. I don't want you in there."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, but what choice did he have? "Fine. Have it your way. I'll be right outside though."

"Thanks." Naruto's reply had almost been a whisper.

Neither of them had noticed the lawyer appear during their exchange. A smartly-dressed man with graying hair and a surprisingly honest-looking face was acting as prosecution. "Are you ready, Mr. Uzumaki?"

Naruto nodded, and Sasuke watched as the blond teenager swallowed and turned towards the great carved wooden doors to the court room. They made him look so small. What had people in the past been thinking, creating such intimidating doors? The doors in question opened, revealing the large court room, and an austere judge peered at them from his high wooden dock, presiding over the sea of serious-looking faces that turned as one, all eyes on Naruto Uzumaki. And he stepped inside. The doors were closed on Sasuke. His turn was to come next. Until then, silence and waiting, and the waiting seemed to stretch into an eternity out in that white lobby.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. He was lying on his desk, his cheek crushed into the sleeve of his sweater. Sitting up, he rubbed at the red imprint of the material on his face. He must have dozed off. Sasuke frowned at the clock sitting on his bedside table. Red, glowing numbers stared back – 9:57 p.m.

Great. He'd gotten zero homework done. Sasuke looked at his textbook cover. It was an ugly mustard yellow with brightly colored letters and numbers, as if that would somehow make algebra more interesting.

No, there was no way, he would be getting this done tonight. There was only one thing for it.

Sasuke switched off his desk lamp and grabbed a large black hoody from his closet. He made his way swiftly down the stairs and grabbed his keys. Then he was out into the night, slamming the front door behind him. Tonight there was only one place he could go to forget about things.

The music was pulsing and the bar was teeming with people, not surprising, considering it was a Friday night. That was good. It made it easier for Sasuke to disappear amongst the crowd. It didn't matter. Most of the people were plastered already, barely noticing the under-age teen who slipped past them. This wasn't the kind of place for light drinking and socializing. He pushed through the crowd, the smell of sweet alcohol and sweat assaulting his nose. The soles of his shoes had to be peeled off the sticky floor with each step, and he barely moved out of the way in time to avoid a scantily clad woman almost falling over on top of him.

She looked up at him, her lipstick slightly smeared. "Hey there, handsome. Wanna buy me a drink?"

Sasuke turned his head away from the smell of strong alcohol on her breath as she hung on him.

"No. You're all right." He replied, prying the arm off from his shoulders.

She screwed up her heavily made-up face. "Suit yourself."

The woman stumbled away before falling once again. She laughed loudly along with the man who grabbed her, helping her up, and helping himself to a good feel before setting her right. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The people here were idiots, and the place was a dive, but unfortunately, it came with the territory.

He shoved his way to the bar where the barman looked at him skeptically, his brown eyes narrowing as he tried to judge the age of this suspiciously young-looking customer on sight. At 17, Sasuke was lucky enough to look older than his years, but it didn't always work. Lucky for him, he wasn't here to drink, so the barman wouldn't need to worry.

He shouted over the loud music banging through the speakers. "I'm looking for Mizuki."

Now the barman looked even more suspicious. "I don't know who you're talking about, sorry."

He began to move away to serve the other customers vying for his attention, but Sasuke wasn't finished.

"Oh really? Well, then, you won't mind if I call the police to come down here and search the premises. I'm pretty sure you've packed this place beyond capacity."

He broke and looked meaningfully at a group in the corner who were clearly high off their faces, giggling as they not-so-inconspicuously sniffed lines off one of the tables. "And I'm pretty sure, they'll find some stuff here you don't want them to."

The barman frowned, glaring at Sasuke. He jerked his head, indicating an area further into the crowds, "He's in the corner on the sofas." With that short statement, the barman moved away and began taking orders, ignoring the teen.

Sasuke peeled himself away from the bar, allowing the pushing people behind him to squeeze into the gaps and start flashing their money in an attempt to get served first.

He made his way further into the heart of the crowd. People were dancing on the floor, knocking into each other and writhing, past the point of caring if they were following the rhythm. Sasuke managed to get through without being violated too much and finally found himself on the other side, a small oasis between the dance floor and several booths with groups of people drinking and talking, or rather shouting over the music.

Sasuke saw his target - a wiry-looking man with white shoulder-length hair. Like Mr. Kakashi, the man's white hair belied his age, and in fact, was quite young. Sasuke would guess mid to late thirties, despite the fine lines that had already formed on his brow and on the bridge of his nose, giving him a constantly mean expression. Guess the saying was true. Make a face too much and it'll get stuck that way. The wind had nothing to do with it.

Sasuke walked over to the table where Mizuki sat in an expensive-looking, smooth black suit. He had his arm around two girls, laughing and making jokes as they drank.

The music was a little quieter surrounded by the tall booths and the man looked up as the dark stranger approached.

"Hello, Mizuki." Sasuke said with a nod.

The man's thin mouth stretched into a feral grin. "Why, if it isn't the little Uchiha. You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here after what you did."

Sasuke shrugged. "Orochimaru got himself in that mess. If he'd played straighter with me from the beginning, he wouldn't have landed himself in jail." He raised a brow in mock surprise. "Speaking of which, I can't help wondering how you managed to weasel your way out of prison yourself."

Mizuki nodded at the two women next to him, indicating for them to leave. They slid out of the booth, the younger one glancing back at Sasuke, a little reluctant to leave after such a good-looking guy had joined them.

Sasuke sat down in the booth and Mizuki smiled, but it was not a look of pleasure. "I know how to protect myself when things go south. As a little Uchiha rat, I'm sure you know how much the police are willing to be lenient when you cooperate."

He pulled back the lapel of his jacket, revealing a shining silver knife. "Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut you for almost getting me put away."

Sasuke's eyes flicked to the blade and back up to Mizuki's threatening expression, utterly nonplussed.

"Don't be stupid. You really think it's worth risking jail just to kill me? You'll be back inside before you blink."

Mizuki reached into his jacket and fingered the knife. "Maybe I think it's worth it."

Sasuke shook his head. "You've got it good right now, don't you? You don't have to answer to Orochimaru anymore. You've got connections. In fact, you've become one of the major players now, am I right?" He relaxed back against the soft cushioned back of the booth. "As I see it, I did you a favor."

Mizuki's lip curled, and then his face brightened and stretched into a grin. He took his hand away and let his jacket fall back into place, slapping Sasuke heartily on the shoulder. "Haha! You've got that right. You might have screwed over a lot of people, Sasuke, but I made it out on top." The grin stayed stretched on his face. "And as you said, I'm one of the major players, so it's better if you don't screw with me."

Sasuke shrugged off the hand that was still on his shoulder. "I'm not interested in 'screwing with you'. I just want information."

Mizuki's eyes lit up with amusement. "And why the hell would I give you anything?"

Sasuke raised his voice above the din. "Because I know enough about you and your little drug cartel-"

"Keep it down!" interrupted Mizuki, glancing around the bar nervously. People were oblivious, dancing and lost in their own drunken haze.

Sasuke continued with a smirk, in a slightly quieter voice. "I know enough about you to have you put away for a long time, Mizuki. I didn't bother to expose you before because I knew you could be of use to me. Well, now you can. You provide me with the information I need, and I leave you alone to carry out your pathetic little operation."

Mizuki leaned on the table and took a moody swig of some brightly-colored sugary blue drink. "You sound just like Orochimaru. No wonder he liked you."

Sasuke ignored the comment. "I'm looking for a man who worked for the Akatsuki."

Mizuki's eyes flicked towards Sasuke and back to his drink. "The Akatsuki are finished with."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Their members are still around. I want you to give me a profile. I want you to tell me where I can find a man who goes by the name of Deidara."

Mizuki's gaze didn't move from his glass. "You'd be smart not to mess with anyone involved in the Akatsuki. They're not as easygoing as I am."

"If I wanted a lecture, I'd ask for it. Give me a location."

Mizuki stretched and leaned back, finally meeting Sasuke's eye. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't tell you. Akatsuki aren't stupid enough to make their whereabouts known to the likes of me."

Sasuke frowned. "You've never had dealings with him then?"

Mizuki cocked a brow. "What do you think? A low-level runt in Orochimaru's organization dealing with Akatsuki? You give me too much credit, Sasuke."

Sasuke leaned forward and his eyes flashed as the lights of the dance floor passed over them, illuminating the dark depths. "I prefer it when people play straight with me. Orochimaru found that out. If you are a lying to me-"

Mizuki spread out his arms in a plaintive gesture. "Why would I lie? I have no interest in protecting the Akatsuki. Look, all I know about Deidara was that he was their weapons and chemical specialist. He worked closely with a man called Sasori. Beyond that, there's nothing I can tell you."

Sasuke stared into the man's face for a moment. Mizuki glared stubbornly back, his own dark eyes were the dull, muddy gray of a storm cloud, made even hazier by the alcohol in his system.

Finally, Sasuke pulled back. He stood up. "Fine. I won't interrupt your evening any longer." He turned away from the booth. "I'll be seeing you around, Mizuki."

Mizuki curled his lip and picked up his drink, tipping it towards Sasuke in a mock toast. "Great. Can't wait."

He watched, his face sullen as the Uchiha made his way back through crowd, disappearing into the darkness. He took another swig of his Blue Lagoon.

Ugh, too sweet.

He glared around the club, looking for the girls that had long since disappeared. That kid had really put a damper on his night.

Sasuke shrugged off his hoody as soon as he arrived home.

It hadn't been a completely pointless night. He had some more information on Deidara, and a new name - Sasori.

Sasuke made his way up the stairs and along the corridor. He flicked on the hallway light and pulled a small key out of his pocket. At the end of the hall was a white door, plain and unassuming. Sasuke fit the key into the lock and opened the door to reveal a small dark room. Turning on the light he walked in, shutting the door behind him, and with it, shutting out the rest of the world.

He sighed and looked around him. This was his haven, his sanctuary, his mind packed into one, single room. The walls were covered in pictures, notes and old newspaper articles. Red strings connected some of the papers and a large map of Konoha City covered a large section of the wall, littered with small tacks marking various areas.

Sasuke hadn't just been wasting his time this year. He wasn't just going to give up looking for Itachi. In this room was every scrap of information he had been able to find on everyone who might be connected with him.

And the time spent with Orochimaru hadn't been completely fruitless. Sasuke had met people. He'd found out a lot of the hang-outs of the down-and-outs, the criminals of society. He'd made connections. And more importantly, as that file had burned in the factory that night, he had seen one name before it curled up in the heat and turned to ashes. Deidara.

That was the only lead he had to go on these days, and armed with only a single name, it had been nigh impossible to pry any information out of the people in the underbelly of society. They still lived in fear of the Akatsuki.

Sasuke sank down at the desk situated in the room and turned on the large desktop PC. It hummed into life. This computer was a powerhouse, bought especially for compiling Sasuke's information, and with just a few tweaks to allow a little discreet hacking here and there. The platform loaded up and beeped its welcome sound. Sasuke typed out his new information swiftly -

Deidara

Weapons and Chemical Specialist

Known Associates - Akatasuki, Sasori (identity unknown, possible Akatsuki member)

He waited impatiently as the information printed out and grabbed the sheet, tacking it to the wall next to Deidara's name. There was no picture of the man, only a picture of a head Sasuke had put up with a question mark, reminding him to find out his appearance. A red string was tacked from the picture stretching across to a photograph of Mizuki. Sasuke frowned. The connection was tenuous at best, but he had a feeling Mizuki knew more than he was letting on.

Sasuke printed out another picture of a head with a question mark and wrote the name 'Sasori' under it. He pinned it to the wall, and connected the two faceless pictures with a red string. Finally, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. It wasn't much, but now he had two names. It was more to go on than before.

Sasuke stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock on his computer. 2:12 a.m. Reaching over, he clicked the mouse, shutting down the computer, and turned out the light, making his way back to his own bedroom. He'd done enough thinking tonight. Tomorrow he would feel fresher. Sasuke pulled himself out of his clothes, stripping down to his boxers, and flopped into bed. He couldn't be bothered going through the routine of getting ready for bed tonight. He was too tired.

Still, it was a while before he fell asleep. Despite the distraction of the night, a pair of electric blue eyes and sunshine-colored hair kept haunting him. He screwed his eyes shut harder, frowning into the pillow as he turned on his side.

Maybe he should visit Naruto at the cafe tomorrow. Try and set things straight.

With that last thought easing the turmoil in his mind, Sasuke drifted off to sleep, completely unaware of the chain of events his actions that night had set in motion.