In this godforsaken land

The people seek not of salvation

but the will to survive.

Uchiha Sasuke walked down one of the many corridors of the Shura branch research facility whose full name he didn't bother to remember. With the trademark Uchiha glare, he worked his way out of the long corridor, only to arrive in the Central Wing of the facility.

This damned place may be the best, but it's so big that it's annoying. I can't find him anywhere!

Ah yes, Uchiha Itachi is the person that can put a scowl on Sasuke's face anytime, anyday. He is the bane of Sasuke's existence, but he doesn't stop there. At least, not in Sasuke's opinion.

Itachi. . .

A known child prodigy by the age of 8, he excelled at everything. It doesn't seem hard for him too. Their father had thought Itachi could take over in the business sect. for the Uchiha clan, but apparently, Itachi had thought otherwise. Now, he devotes himself solely to observing and researching the retroviruses along with nanotechnology. Of course, his father didn't complain, for that anything Itachi does will bring the clan a good name. Plus, it's not an easy job, and definitely not an average job that anyone can take.

Everyone is in the palm of his hand.

Ah, another reason why Sasuke hates him so. Now this goes past the sibling rivalry, though sibling rivalry is one of the main reasons why he hates Itachi.

Just with a look, Itachi can get what he wants. He can speak, he can persuade, and he can definitely threaten. Even his own parents. He looked so detached and calm that it sent a shiver down Sasuke's spine. No one knows if Itachi had really killed someone before, but judging by his demeanor, Sasuke doubts the fact that he hasn't.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke mentally sighed at the sound of that voice. Not now. . .what was her name? Sa. . .Sakura! Both of the Uchiha siblings are known for their abilities, but they're also known for their looks. Second day on the job and she's already tracking me down? Damnit, why can't they go bother someone else? Sasuke gets a ton of fangirls everywhere he goes. Although he's sure many people are attracted to his brother also, no one has made the move. It's weird how Itachi can be cordial and cold at the same time. Sasuke would've gone insane if Itachi was the social type. But then again, the anti-social Itachi also grates his nerves. Either way he would still suffer.

Which makes the hatred towards his brother grow even more.

"Sakura, can you please tell me where the east block of the North Wing is? Specifically the Archive?"

"The North Wing is the coldest and creepiest place, Sasuke. Why are you going there?"

The question revived the scowl upon Sasuke's face.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to pry! Go to that elevator there on your right and stop at level 4-C. Proceed to go north from there. The path splits up into three after that, but they are color-coded. Take the one with the black line. Eventually you'll get to the east block. The Archive is on the second floor."

Sasuke immediately nodded and left. Yet Sakura stood there, watching and smiling like an idiot.

He remembered my name! Is he starting to notice me?



It was extremely dim, with only the turquoise-ish light that lined at the bottom of the walls to brighten the area. The whole vincity was like an icebox, the coldness so strong and the air so dry that the room felt like a morgue. It was still daytime outside, yet little light came from the tall glass windows.

Sakura was right. . .it's creepy here. So suitable for that bastard.

Ignoring the chills, Sasuke went straight to the lift and went up onto the second floor. He finally found the room after a bit of exploring around the seemingly haunted place.

No doubt that hell would look like this.

The translucent double doors slid open and Sasuke went in. The walls were covered with large glass panels and screens with tons of information zooming from up and down. Lines and lines of recorded data in blue flew past, illuminating the room with its blue light. In fact, the only light in the room seems to be emitted by these tiny words. There was only one table and it was in front of the largest screen within the room. Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Cursing his luck, Sasuke went around the room examining every visible object out of boredom. Surveying the room, his eyes suddenly fell on an unopened, pure white envelope. It seemed so out of place, that envelope being there. Curious, he walked and reached out for the envelope. The thing looked plain from a distance, but on a closer glance, the envelope wasn't made from any cheap paper. The whole envelope was thick and smooth with some glossy areas. Flipping to the front, Sasuke saw one of the weirdest design he has ever seen. There was a large, black spiral symbol embossed on the smooth surface. Incomprehensible words filled the spaces within the spiral, all of them a dark crimson color. There are nine curvy lines surrounding the spiral, some straighter than others but all containing a weird symbol. None of the nine symbols looked the same. Two kanji in a semi-small font under the design read:

Shinma

Now this has definitely grabbed Sasuke's attention.

Hiding the thing under his jacket, Sasuke left the room. From there, he walked as fast as he could. He finally reached the Central Wing, and immedately began to seek for a secluded place where he could hide. Seeing that some of the halls were empty, he proceeded to go into one. Sasuke took out the envelope as soon as he sat down. After admiring at the cover for a bit longer, he opened the envelope. There was a little stack of documents within the folder with nothing else that's interesting. However, there was another file in there. Sasuke decided to pull that one out instead of the papers inside. It was a plain, old file with the name "Uzumaki Naruto" on the cover.

Uzumaki Naruto. . .?

Opening the file, he came face to face with what he assumed to be the picture of Uzumaki Naruto. The picture wasn't large, and it was clipped onto the paper. However, this picture seems older than the file, for some of the colors are faded. But there was one thing that stood out the most. It was Uzumaki Naruto's eyes, the color were not as faded as the rest. They seem to look right through him, it felt like the picture itself was alive and looking right back at him. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Sasuke continued to examine the rest of the picture. The boy in it appeared to be younger than Sasuke but not by much. He had three dark marks by each side of his cheeks, with a hint of a smile on his lips.

That expression disturbed Sasuke for some reason.

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why he felt so bothered by that expression. The person in the picture was just about to smile and that is all.

But why does it feel so out of place?

Sasuke was about to turn the page when a shadow loomed over him.

"Hello little brother."

Shit. . .

Slowly raising his head, Sasuke glanced up to see Itachi hovering over him with an ominous aura, face not conveying any emotion. Itachi continued to regard Sasuke as he slowly got up. Returning everything to Itachi, Sasuke also included a mini disc and said "all your recent orders are contained in here with updated information if you need them."

Itachi received the things Sasuke handed to him and turned to leave without another word. That is, until Sasuke stopped him.

"Who was that in the file?"

Itachi turned his eyes to Sasuke.

"Answer me."

There was no reply at first, Sasuke didn't even think that Itachi would reply. He was surprised when he did get one, albeit one that is too short.

"Someone we will meet soon." With that, Itachi turned and walked quietly away.


AN:

Whoo first chapter away! Finally got it out, even though it laid there, half finished for so long. Now, let me explain a couple of things:

: Now, Itachi and Sasuke, as mentioned, work in this facility for nanotechnologies and retroviruses. Sasuke kinda watched Itachi, but never really knows what Itachi will be doing or is doing. The whole facility has four main sections, with four other mini sections. Just imagine something like the Sorceress Memorial in FFVIII but 4 of them, with 4 other little parts in between each other. The four main blocks form a cross sign while the four small ones form an X sign (Central Wing being the round center, of course). So picture the building like a sun with 8 beam of rays shooting out!

: "Shinma" is the Japanese pronounciation of "神魔" (or at least, that's what I assume :I. Also, I didn't think of "Shinra" when I came up with this). Now, why did I pick this? Simple, because of the 九尾の狐 (Kyuubi no Kitsune). For those of you who knows and understands the youkai of Chinese and Japanese legends, or for those who paid attention, the Kyuubi no Kitsune is under the category of "妖魔" (youma). There is only a slight difference between "youkai" and "youma". Youkai is a very general term, it does not necessarily have the meaning of "demon," though that word is the most accurate Western translation. However, "youma" would fall under the category of "demon" or "devil," for the words "youma" actually hint at some malevolent being. You can say that "youma" is a more specific term for a type of youkai. Then I thought about a word that would go with "ma," and I got "shin." So basically, I took two contrasting items and combined them, thus forming "Shinma" (simplified "kami" into one sound and cut the "you" off). There are more reasons, but I guess this is my main one.

See the big letters centered at the top of the page? Anyone who played HA would be familiar with that. Whether or not HA used the same wording, I don't remember, but those words are inspired by it.

Last but not least, I GOT REVIEWS! THANK YOU ALL WHO REVIEWED XD! I wish I could just glomp you all XD!