Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
Rating: PG-13 for things like cursing and stuff.
-Underground-
Chapter 8
As Sasuke led the family down, he his mind wandered back to his brother.
How scared must his brother have felt when his father told him that it was the duty of the Uchiha heir to remain in the Hokage Mansion, in the cellar, and keep watch over the Kyuubi? The only time he was ever to come back to the surface was when the Uzumaki heir went out or when the heir died. But considering that the heir rarely went out anyway, there was a slim chance of Sasuke ever seeing the light of day now.
Sasuke looked up at the dark cement-bricked ceiling and then looked back down. It was his duty now. He was to stay in, what the villagers called, the 'Underground', watching over a beast that could easily overpower him.
Fugaku pressed his large hands onto Sasuke's shoulders. There was a reassuring squeeze, but Sasuke just proceeded all the same. The cold air sunk into his skin as he descended the steps and, being only 8, Sasuke kept hallucinating that there would be some sort of demon spawn crawling at the bottom. He gripped the katana tightly again, his knuckles bleaching white.
He was so young—his brother was a full 5 years older than he. Itachi should have done this. It was unfair. Why did he have to do this?
At last, the family saw the bottom step—only it was submerged in dark, clear water. Sasuke gave a gulp; what if something reached out and grabbed him in the dark water; what if it dragged him into the beast's den and made him demon food; Sasuke's mind reeled.
"Come Sasuke, we must continue."
Sasuke hesitated: he could go down and forever stay in this wet and cold basement or he could run away like his brother. Sasuke's grip slacked, but came back, squeezing the weapon tightly.
'No,' he thought angrily,' I will not be like Itachi.'
He stepped down into the water, goose bumps racing up his arms. The water seeped through his sandals and numbed his toes. Sasuke bit down on his lips and attempted to still his chattering jaw. With sloshing steps, the young Uchiha continued down the dark hallway. The water lapped up and splashed his calves, causing his cold clothing to stick to his skin.
Taking a left, the Uchiha family came to an open room with a platform that rose above the water. A mattress was laid onto the platform, along with a lamp. There wasn't much of a need for the lamp though because there were numerous candles embedded into the wall.
"Now then, Sasuke.."
At the sound of his name, the boy turned around and looked at his father. The older knelt down and gripped Sasuke's shoulders reassuringly.
"Don't worry Sasuke. The demon won't attack you as long as you keep the Kusanagi on you at all times," instructed Fugaku.
Sasuke looked down at the thin blade and doubted his father's words. How could a piece of metal save the youngest Uchiha from being demon brunch?
At the sound of his father standing back up, Sasuke watched as the large man's back turned to him. There came a muffled whispering between Fugaku and the rest of the Uchihas. Sasuke searched for his mother's kind face, only to see that she was standing near the back with a steely expression.
"Sasuke."
He looked up and saw that instead of his father patting his shoulder, it was his grandfather Madara. The elder Uchiha looked into Sasuke's eyes and whispered," It's time."
Sasuke squeezed the Kusanagi and asked shakily," W-what do you mean, M-madara-sama?"
Madara smiled darkly and spun Sasuke around. Holding onto Sasuke's shoulder, the young-looking grandfather swerved the boy across the room towards another dark hallway.
"Ah! So young, my grandson! So young and naïve!"
Sasuke allowed his grandfather to tug him into another rectangular room, similar to his 'bedroom' but without the actual 'bed', and allow his grandfather to stop him in front of a solid wall. Sasuke glanced about the room and saw that on both sides of the room, 3 doorways opened up into dark rooms.
"Wanna know what's behind this, grandson?"
Sasuke blinked and looked up at his grandfather with owlish eyes. The long-haired Uchiha smiled sadistically.
"Ding-ding, your eyes tell all," Madara waved a hand in front of the wall, continuing," Indeed, the fabled and feared Kyuubi lies beyond this slab of concrete!"
Sasuke flinched and unknowingly took a wet step backwards. His grandfather, having other ideas in mind, nudged the little Uchiha forward.
"Don't worry boy! The beast is in a cage and can't harm anything unless released."
Sasuke wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but something ate away at his mind. He looked up fearfully at his grandfather and clutched his sword to his chest.
"W-why did you take me here?"
Grandfather Madara gave a wide, toothy smile. He replied slowly," You're going to meet him, that's why."
With a swoosh of his hand and a low 'kai', there came a click somewhere beyond the wall. The solid wall gave a pop and a gust of wind blew against Sasuke and Madara as a dark opening materialized on the wall.
"Gr-grandfather, I don't think this is a good idea," Sasuke stuttered, pressing his heels into the floor.
The young-looking elder grinned fiendishly. With a single push, he and Sasuke strode through the doorway into a dark room. Sasuke, terrified in his grandfather's hold, looked around wildly. The room was exceptionally larger; so large that the ceiling wasn't visible through the darkness. On the walls on Sasuke's left and right, there were candles that seemed to be on the edge of losing their fire; the wax and the wick nearly gone because of the hungry flames. The water that submerged their feet rippled towards them every now and then. Sasuke's only rational thought was that the origin of the ripples came from the opposite wall from them.
Across from where Sasuke and Madara stood erected a large jail-looking wall. The thin metal poles descended up into the darkness while in the center, stood a slightly thicker bar with a small seal taped onto it. Sasuke couldn't help but think that the bars were paper thin—after all, it was the Kyuubi that was being barred in. Madara lifted his free arm up and waved it in front of the two sighing blissfully.
"Isn't wonderful, Sasuke? We're so close to one of the most powerful creatures on the face of this planet," Madara smiled, his teeth bared. "And we can control it at last…"
Sasuke looked up at his grandfather, blinking widely. What did that mean? He watched the dark-haired man put down his arm and stare into the dark cage. Behind the pair, sloshing and quiet murmuring reached Sasuke's ears. He turned a little and sure enough, he saw the rest of the Uchiha line trail into the dark jail.
"Should we really be…?"
"Quiet fool! We need this to happen."
Sasuke tried to turn his head more, to see who was whispering what.
"Its power can help us."
"Exactly—we need it."
Who was saying what? Sasuke craned his neck to listen harder. Suddenly, his grandfather nudged the back of the young Uchiha's neck, causing the other to look straight back forward. Madara's draped arm patted Sasuke's shoulder in an almost comforting manner.
"Do you see it Sasuke?" Another wave. "Beyond those bars is our salvation!"
The whispers behind Sasuke grew louder.
"With Elder Madara leading us…"
"Of course, there's nothing that can go wrong. Afterall, he's got the…"
"Yes, yes. He has those eyes…"
Sasuke glanced at his grandfather again. Whoever was whispering about 'those eyes', Sasuke realized that they were talking about their family's Sharingan. Madara stooped down to Sasuke's height and stared into the younger's dark eyes.
"Sasuke, do you know how much power our eyes have? How much power the Sharingan has?"
Sasuke bit his lip and looked downwards. "I know that with the Sharingan activated, a person can do more than m-manipulate the elements with their chakra…"
Sasuke felt himself shiver under his grandfather's piercing stare. What was his deal? At the sound of his grandfather's little chuckle, Sasuke looked back up at Madara.
"Correct, boy!" He stood and threw both arms into the air, turning to the rest of the Uchiha. "Our bloodline, the Sharingan, not only can manipulate the elements to do our bidding, but as well as other people!
"We can control their bodies, their chakra… The very substance found in each living things cells—we have the power over it! People all over the land fear us for this very reason… Yet… yet by some ironic and blasted twist of fate… we are pawns of a village that refuses to use us for our worth!"
There was a hushed 'hurrah' amongst the Uchiha crowd and Sasuke clung tighter to the Kusanagi. Madara stepped forward, his hands waving around and his eyes growing brighter and more alive with each word he spoke.
"How is it that a village, with only 1% of their population knowing how to use their chakra, controls us so easily? Nearly our entire clan, with the help of our Sharingan, can manipulate our chakra and the chakras around us! When did the Uchiha become so weak?"
There was a thick silence to the elder's question and Madara scoffed.
"That's exactly the reason why we're in such a pinch: none of you lot wish to take charge. What's there to lose? Their population outranks us by the thousands, but who has our eyes? The only family I would think that has even the slightest chance in beating us would be the Hyuugas, but I doubt they could do any harm. Though our Sharingan descended from their Byakugan, they don't have our power. Besides, they've grown weak under their 'Hokage' that they worship.
"We, on the other hand… we have power and we can turn it against this damned village! And what better way to overthrow them all, is by using the being that they set us in charge of?"
Madara turned this time towards the cage, his arms outstretched before him and the rest of the Uchihas.
"The Kyuubi! The demon whose chakra reserves know no bounds and no limits! If our Sharingan can control things that have even the slightest chakra in their cells, then we can control the Kyuubi. After all, he is practically made of pure chakra!"
Then Sasuke realized where exactly this was going. They would release the Kyuubi and then use its infinite chakra reserves to destroy the village… and he, Sasuke, was the one who let them in. He clutched tighter to the Kusanagi and felt his throat grow dry.
It had been odd in the first place that his family had even come with him today, when usually (as written in tradition) the Uchiha heir was to go by himself to the manor, present himself, and stay there for the rest of his life. Alone. Not with his entire clan following… And now he knew why.
He was being used.
Then, suddenly, Sasuke felt a wave of remorse for his elder brother. It was no wonder why the other had turned down this position. To sneak in the Uchiha clan and then allow them to wreck destruction upon Konoha… Sasuke felt ashamed at his previous thoughts on his brother. He had thought that the other was running away from his duty. Instead, the other was trying to save his village… But what about his family? Sasuke knew that he had a duty to both his village and his family… But blood was always thicker than water.
Madara spun around and smiled widely to Sasuke.
"And to you Sasuke… You are the only reason why this plan will even work. When your blasted brother ran away with his tail between his legs… it nearly foiled our plans." Then there was a gentle smile that adorned the elder's smile.
"But then you volunteered…"
Sasuke's breath was stuck in his throat and he felt the colour drain from his face. It was his fault that this was happening. But what could he do? He couldn't turn around and fight his family.
Blood was always thicker than water…
There was a violent surge of sloshing and Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts as he was being pushed out of the way. He stumbled a bit and saw his family storming towards the Kyuubi's cage. Sasuke felt himself panic.
On impulse, Sasuke backed up and started to slowly make his way to the exit. His family, however, took no notice to his retreat. It didn't matter anyway. They were finally in the room of the Kyuubi. They didn't need Sasuke anymore—it wasn't like he was going to run and find any legitimate source of help to stop them now.
As he neared the exit to the other room, Sasuke's eyes landed on Madara. In a split second, Sasuke felt as though Madara was watching him, but then turned away to look down at the object his hand was resting on: the seal of the Kyuubi's prison. With a wild smile and his eyes spinning red, Madara pinched the edge of the seal and pulled.
There was a heavy silence as the family stood in front of the cage, Sharingan activated and ready to fight. For a moment, there was nothing. No eruption of chakra. No wild attacks from the Kyuubi… No Kyuubi at all. Until a cold, but loud whisper pierced through the Uchiha.
"Who's the pest disturbing my sleep?"
There was a scattered hushing amongst the Uchiha crowd. Madara gave a cocky smirk and faced the cage once more.
"Mighty demon, Kyuubi! We, the Uchiha clan, have come to ask for... your assistance, if you may."
There was silence from the cage and then the family jumped in surprise—there was a loud roaring noise, something akin to thunder bellowing out from the cage.
"Uchiha? Haha, don't make me laugh!"
Sasuke backed up quickly. He felt his back touch a wall and he turned to look for the exit. There was another shaking laughter heard and this time Madara shouted back. The young Uchiha didn't hear whatever Madara had said, but instead concentrated on escaping. He slid his stomach against the wall and felt the cold surface with his right hand.
"Go back to your hole and stay there, you bunch of snakes… Where is the Uzumaki heir?"
Sasuke felt his hand leave the solid surface and he turned to find himself next to the doorway. He shot back a fearful glance to the mob of Uchihas and saw that two blood red slits were looking down on them. The slits narrowed as Madara shouted up at them.
"We did not come here to play your games, you demon!"
"Oho, then what else are you here for? An autograph? A cup of tea? Scram while I'm nice and fetch the Uzumaki heir!"
Sasuke tumbled backwards and sloshed his way back out the doorway and into the next room.
"Be QUIET! Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Sasuke watched through the doorway and saw no movement. Without warning, the cage of the Kyuubi slammed open.
"How dare you try and control me, Uchiha-scum! How DARE you!"
The water nearest to the cage bubbled and from within the cage, a grungy orange light sent life into the water. The water began to bubble up and Sasuke watched as the bubbled water began to take shape. The water towards the middle of the room churned upwards into the shape of two long, clawed paws. Nearer to the cage, the orange bubbles meshed together and something akin to a fox's head began to mold. The mouth opened wide, revealing rows of pointed white 'teeth'.
"Fools! Fools, every single one of you!"
In terror, the nearest Uchiha gave a single scream and launched a storm of kunai at the still-forming head. Quickly, the mob-effect came into play and the rest of the family began to fight the orange demon. In the midst of the chaos, Madara stood still, his Sharingan fully activated, but not working.
"I—I don't understand… Our, m-my Sharingan should have worked—it had to work! Why didn't it..?"
Suddenly, the newly formed paw of the Kyuubi swung at Madara, sending the elder into the wall. The Uchiha stopped moving and watched as their leader crumbled into the water. All at once, the family began screaming and struggling to run back to the entrance where Sasuke laid. And without remorse, the paws effortlessly began to swat and crush any of the slower ones. Sasuke stood up on shake-y legs and opened to call out to his mother and father who began to near the entrance when Sasuke quickly felt a presence behind him.
He turned around but was knocked to the side and into the water, the Kusanagi clattering into the water. Sasuke groaned and blinked out the stars from his eyes to look up at the assaulter. As his eyes adjusted on the figure, he struggled quickly to his feet.
Stuttering, Sasuke couldn't have felt so relieved to have seen him," A-aniki! You're here… it's a disaster…!"
Emotionlessly, Itachi turned to look at his brother. Sasuke slowly muted and began to unconsciously look down.
"P-please help them… Mother and Father…"
"Will die."
Sasuke's head snapped up. He stared at the profile of his brother's head and saw that his brother was no longer looking at him but towards the inside of the room. Inside, the hands and the head began to viscously attack the scattering bodies. Fugaku and Mikoto, Sasuke saw, were beginning to lose momentum. They were slowing down, and each step they took, they barely brushed past the Kyuubi's attacks..
Sasuke grabbed the front of Itachi's Konoha uniform and pleaded," You have to help them, you have to…!"
Itachi looked down and gave a cold glare. Wordlessly, he grabbed Sasuke's hands and threw them off. Pushing Sasuke aside, Itachi bent down and picked up the fallen Kusanagi and held it firmly in his hand. Sasuke blinked down and looked at the sword in his brother's hand. Suddenly, it looked like the sword was a toothpick in his brother's grip.
Itachi stepped forward and then spoke aloud," Helping them is not on my agenda."
With a quick hand sign, the eldest muttered 'kai' under his breathe. Sasuke felt a familiar cold wind whoosh past him and towards the doorway to the Kyuubi's room. Kyuubi, noticing the change looked up and gave a blood curling scream. Quickly, the demon's arms suddenly stretched through the door and clawed at the wall.
"You Uchiha scum!"
There was a single pop and Sasuke watched as the claws began to forcefully be sucked back into the other room. A click resounded the air and Sasuke watched as his mother and father helplessly tried to run towards the door, only to disappear behind a slab of concrete.
Sasuke blinked and slowly looked up at his brother's back.
"Y-you," he gulped down the knot in his throat and squeaked," you sealed them to their death…?"
Itachi turned a single eye to the shaking boy and replied smoothly," They were traitors to the village."
There was a roar and Itachi's eyes widened slightly as his younger brother grabbed the front of his uniform again.
"You killed my Mother and Father!"
"No," Itachi replied. "The Kyuubi killed them."
"But you LET the Kyuubi kill them!"
Itachi gripped the Kusanagi in his hand and glared down at his little brother. The boy was shaking and he was already letting his tears run down his face.
"You killed them! You traitor!"
Without warning, Sasuke felt the back of Itachi's fist connect to the side of his face, sending the youngest Uchiha into the water again. Sasuke coughed as he felt blood dribble down the side of his mouth. Itachi towered over him, his eyes in full Sharingan mode.
"Sasuke," he began. "Even if I let them go, the village would have killed them."
Sasuke struggled to his feet, his head bent low.
"Besides. They used you, did they?"
Itachi walked around Sasuke, circling him carefully. He stopped behind Sasuke at last and looked at the boy's tense shoulders.
"Face it, Otouto. They're traitors. They deserved to die."
In a second, Itachi winced in pain and looked down. He stumbled back a bit and held his stomach with his free arm.
"No, only the weak deserve to die! Mother and Father," Sasuke began. "They were strong, but did wrong!"
Sasuke finally looked at his brother eye to eye and Itachi blinked. How had his little brother activated his Sharingan? Itachi gave the other another emotionless stare and then shook his head.
"At least the weak know their place. Unlike the Uchiha back there, the weak know what's good for others. Not just for themselves."
Sasuke roared again and charged up to his brother, fist clenched and ready to attack. Itachi, who was on guard already, turned around and grabbed Sasuke by the neck with a single hand. He slammed the younger against the wall and held him up above the water level. Sasuke began to scratch away at the older's hand, but Itachi paid no attention. He leaned in and gave another dark glare to his brother.
"It would do you good to know your place, Otouto. You're not the only one in this village—our family isn't the only one in this village."
Sasuke coughed out," B-but they did—didn't need to die…!"
Itachi's glare turned into slits and he dropped the boy into the water. He looked at the crumpled body and turned away, scoffing. He glanced back at the now sobbing Sasuke and then disappeared down the hall.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he saw himself staring into something white. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face and plopped into the water below him. Faintly, he noticed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles into his back. He looked up haggardly into the concerned stare of a pair of brown eyes.
"Better, brat?"
He looked back down into the white bowl and somewhat realized that he was in a bathroom. He was in a bathroom and was staring into the toilet.
Then he hurled.
Naruto picked himself up and stretched. He looked around blearily and yawned. Math class was so boring. How could Sakura stand this class? Naruto was having trouble just listening to old Ebisu. There was a pat on his back and he turned around to come face to face with a taller boy with pulled-up brown hair. Naruto grinned.
"Shikamaru! Hey, how was your weekend?"
The brunette, Shikamaru, gave a yawn and pointed to the door. "Neji," another yawn," asked me to tell you to meet up."
Naruto blinked and then gave another full toothy grin. "Oh yeah," he laughed.
He began humming as he pulled out the bento Iruka had thrown at him on the way to his 2nd period. Shikamaru stared at his friend and sat down on someone's desk.
"You know, Shika…"
Shikamaru looked up and gave a lazy blink. Naruto leaned on the brunette's leg and sighed in his face.
"It must be good to get to be in a class with seniors. I bet the girls there are," Naruto leaned in," built with more bust than the ladies here."
Out of nowhere a hit fell onto Naruto's head and the blonde howled, clutching his head. He looked up teary-eyed at another blonde haired girl.
"Ino," he rasped. "That hurt!"
Ino put a hand on her bicep and smirked," You better watch your back, mister. Even though I'm not as brutish as Billboard Brow, I can still kick your ass."
There was a shout behind Ino and Sakura stormed up to the blonde, slapping the girl's arm lightly. Shikamaru sighed and kicked Naruto in the back.
"You have a date with Hyuuga, remember Naruto?"
Naruto jumped and snatched up his lunch, thanking Shikamaru and pushing past the two girls. He ran down the hallway and out of the building, straight for the senior side of the school.
The school was divided into 4 sectors, a sector for each grade level. In the northern side was the freshman's quarter. To the east of the entrance was the sophmore's and to the west was the junior's. In the south, the nearest to the entrance, was the 'elitist' sector—the senior's quarter.
The senior's building was considerably smaller compared to the freshman's building—mostly because half of the kids that made it into Shinobi High dropped out after their 1st year. Therefore, the kids that stayed till the very end were always given special privileges.
Naruto walked under the walkway's covering and made a turn, hopping up the stairs to Gai-sensei's classroom. Gai's class wasn't hard to miss, as Naruto had learned in his sophomore year. After he and Neji had gotten into a fight, Naruto was forced to attend detention with the Hyuuga for a month in Gai's class. It was a pure, green, nightmare.
Landing at the top of the steps of the 2nd floor, Naruto made another turn and looked for the bright green door (the school's doors were all painted red, but Gai insisted to have his 'youthful green'). Spotting the door at the end of the hallway, Naruto jogged a little faster to the door and knocked on it. He peered through the small window and saw that Neji was sitting next to Rock Lee and their friend Tenten.
Lee glanced up and then gave a large grin, jumping to the door. He slid it open with a bang and grabbed both of Naruto's hands, clasping them into his own.
"Naruto-kun! You're here at last!"
He dragged Naruto over to the other two and plopped the blonde next to Tenten. The Chinese girl looked at him and smiled.
"Hey Naruto," she chirped. "How're you?"
Naruto scratched his head and chirped back," Good, good!"
He looked at Neji who was talking to Lee. Naruto squinted at the scarf wrapped around the pale-eyed boy's neck. The Hyuuga blinked and his eyes glanced over to Naruto.
"Hey, I heard you ditched last Friday!"
Naruto turned to Tenten and lied," I didn't feel like coming to school. Wanted a three-day weekend, ya know?"
The brunette girl sighed, an open palm against her cheek. "I want more of those."
Naruto nudged and replied," But you kinda do. I mean, you guys were gone yesterday and all."
"That's because we have a job, Naruto. Auhhh, and how I wish we didn't need to do it."
Naruto tilted his head and Tenten laughed. "I mean, like… It's cool and all to be interns for the government and all… But the job is so boring. Can't they have, oh I don't know… bring your dog to work days?"
Naruto grinned and was about to reply when he heard the Hyuuga cough into his hand. Naruto and Tenten turned and looked at their pale-eyed friend.
"Naruto," he began. "I think we should go now."
"Ah, okay."
Tenten gave a whine," Why do you guys get to hang out? Take us with you!"
Lee shook his head and put a hand on Tenten's shoulder," Tenten! We must leave these two to their devices! Since we have free time, let us go to the gym and see Gai-sensei!"
"And train? No thank you, Lee. Last time you dragged me there I nearly collapsed of exhaustion!"
Naruto stood up between Lee and Tenten and scooted next to Neji. The two walked through the door, saying their goodbyes quietly. Neji closed the door behind the two and then started walking off. The blonde strode silently next to the Hyuuga.
Although they had a rocky start in Naruto's sophomore year, Naruto felt that Neji was a very respectable man. He came from a rich and prestigious family, and yet he rarely flaunted his wealth. Before, he used to rave about his amazing skill and that it was his fate to become the next President. Naruto, whose goal was also to become the President, eventually bumped heads with the other and they fought up until the accident in the warehouse district. Now the two were good friends—Neji gave Naruto advice about how to survive the rest of his high school career and Naruto provided entertainment in the stoic Hyuuga's life.
Neji made a right and sat his bag down at a table near two large vending machines. Pulling his wallet out, he made his way to the vending machines and began picking his food. Naruto plopped on the other side and unwrapped Iruka's homemade lunch.
As he began to dig in, Naruto heard a squeak across from him and looked up to see the Hyuuga chewing a chicken sandwich.
"So Neji," Naruto started. "What did you need to tell me?"
Neji chewed and then took a gulp of his water. He put the bottle down and looked straight into the blue eyes.
"Have you heard of the tailed beasts?"
Naruto nodded," The fairy tale ones, right?"
The blonde squinted and looked at his friend. He put a fist onto the table and leaned in. "You're not gunna tell me kid stories are ya?"
Neji continued to eat calmly, eyes closed. He took another swig of his water and replied," You do know the stories, right?"
Naruto scrunched up his face and summarized," There were 9 big, bad demons that ran ape-shit on the 'Underground'. They liked to destroy and make people miserable so 9 families got together and decided to take on 1 demon. Uhh, each family won and the demons were blasted away into infinity. But their spirits still curse the 'Underground' and they eat the souls of little brats who act like demons here."
Neji nodded and licked his finger of the last of his sandwich.
"That's the basic story of it. Now," the senior started. "Let me ask you a couple of questions. I'd like to prove my theory before I tell you."
Naruto shifted uncomfortable and chewed the meat in his lunch.
"First: you told me once that you have heard weird noises, especially near areas where the pipes can open up."
"…Yes…?"
"Okay. Second: when we fought in the warehouse district, there was some sort of tornado. Two weeks after that, in Gai-sensei's room during detention, you stated that the reason you won was because you thought of some sort of gust of air pushing you forward, right?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Third: you told me, at Sakura's last pool party that the tattoo on your belly has been there as long as you can remember."
"Neji, seriously, if we're gunna play Good Cop, Bad Cop, then at least tell me why!"
"Answer one more question and I'll tell you. Finally: who is that guy with the dark spiked hair and black eyes?"
Naruto jumped. Sasuke? Was he talking about Sasuke? He put his chopsticks down and stared intently at the Hyuuga. He never spoke about Sasuke to Neji. Well, anything specific about the dark-haired. So how did Neji find out how Sasuke looked like? Moreover, when did Sasuke wander around for the Hyuuga to see?
"How… how do you know Sasuke?"
Neji gave a strained smile, and tugged his scarf off, revealing dark bruises that formed something akin to a hand.
"The guy almost killed me yesterday."
Naruto's eyes widened. "No way! Sasuke wouldn't… I mean, I don't know, but… That teme, he…"
Neji rewrapped his scarf and took a gulp of his drink. His look darkened as he recalled yesterday.
"Naruto, that guy's dangerous. Stay away from him."
"H-how did you know that I know Sasuke?"
"He was wearing my jogging pants that I left at your house and the orange jacket that Jiraiya had given you."
Naruto stared and sputtered," But how, I mean.. Why did he?"
Neji chuckled dryly," It was probably punishment for eavesdropping on his and Lady Tsunade's conversation…"
Naruto stood up and stared at his friend," He knows Baa-chan?"
Neji put a hand on the other's arm and whispered," Not so loud. Who knows if the government is recording this…"
Naruto bit his lip and sat stiffly in his spot again.
"How come he knows Baa-chan and Pervy Sage…?"
Neji gave a surprised look and repeated," He knows Jiraiya-sensei also?"
Naruto nodded," Yeah. They acted… well, buddy-buddy. Kind of."
Neji put a finger to his chin and thought quietly. He then looked back at Naruto and replied," Well, whoever Sasuke is, it may play into what I believe may pertain to you, Naruto."
Naruto blinked and then frowned. Sasuke? With something that had to deal with him?
Neji looked at the back of his hand and rubbed it. Then he looked up and stated quietly," I believe that you and this… Sasuke guy, are somehow related these 'fairy tale demons.'"
Naruto stared.
Neji continued," And I also believe that I have proof that these 'demons' are real and that the reason why that new village, Otogakure, was made."
Naruto furrowed his brows and hissed," Are you crazy? That stuff is a fairy tale! Things that moms and dads tell their kids so that those brats listen!"
Neji sighed and replied back," Well think about it Naruto. You're always saying that there's something down in the 'Underground', something calling to you. What if it's one of those demons?"
Naruto backed down. He did know that when there was the great earthquake a couple years back that he began to spout nonsense of things whispering to him at night. And he did know that he was specifically talking about things from the 'Underground.'
"So… how does that teme fit into this… this theory?"
Neji sighed and shook his head," That, I don't know. But right now I only have so much evidence that I can only tell you this much: that guy is dangerous. You'd best keep away from him and attempt to cut ties—immediately."
A/N: I'M BAAACKKK~! Did you miss me? Or did you miss Underground more? Huuu. Sorry guys! I know I was such an active updater at first, but then I took like… a 4 month hiatus…! I'm sorry! During my 4 month hiatus I was trying to think of a way to move the plot forward in an interesting and engaging way. So… I spent 4 months on this chapter alone. HUUUU!
But everything's alright now. I've updated and so on and so forth. Hopefully I'll crank out more chapters at a bit of a faster pace (1 chapter per 4 months is kinda bad). So yes. I'm still going to continue to write on this story, so don't worry.
Oh! And special thanks to SasuNaruLover22 for critiquing me on how to space sentences during a conversation! I've always had that inkling that something was off;; oh well! Hope you enjoyed!
Please review below! Thanks!
