Nasari opened her' eyes and sat up in alarm. Where am I? She wondered.

Her' head cleared and the events of the previous evening came flooding back to her.

Flashback:

Diachi snapped his fingers and Nasari was instantly plunged into darkness. From his tight hold on her' arm, Nasari knew that Diachi was still beside her. After a few moments the darkness abruptly disappeared and Nasari saw that she was standing with Diachi at the door of an enormous castle! Diachi walked up and spoke to one of the guards. "Open the gates and send for Hoshi." He told the man.

"Yes Sorakage Sama."

Wait, Nasari thought. The Sorakage was the leader of the village hidden in the sky. If Diachi is the Sorakage then that means that he is that guy, Icharo! Diachi is the leader of the UCA!!

Before Nasari had enough time to fully process this information, The Castle gates opened and Diachi shoved her inside.

A moment later a middle aged woman hurried in and bowed respectfully before Diachi. "You wished to see me Icharo-Sama?"

"Hai." Diachi replied. He turned to where Nasari stood. "Nasari, this is Hoshi, she manages my' household. Hoshi, this is Nasari, my' bride to be."

Hoshi smiled and bowed to Nasari. "Konichi wa Nasari Hime."

"Konichi wa, Hoshi-san." Nasari replied. She wondered how a seemingly kind, old woman like Hoshi could be mixed up with the likes of Diachi.

Diachi addressed Hoshi. "Take Nasari to the room I have prepared for her."

Hoshi nodded and motioned for Nasari to follow her. Hoshi led Nasari up several

flights of stairs, and down several long, corridors, before stopping at a door. She drew out a key from within the folds of her' robe and unlocked the door. She opened it and bid Nasari enter. "Dozo."

Nasari entered the room and the door closed behind her with a click. She could hear the sound of the key rattling in the lock as Hisho locked the door.

Exhausted as she was, Nasari collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.

End of flashback

Nasari stood up and took in her new surroundings.

She was lying on a black, king-sized bed. The circular walls of the room were painted red, the carpet was black, and the heavy draperies that framed the single window were black. An open door to her' right led to the bathroom.

Nasari was still dressed in the torn, Kimono that she had worn the previous night. She quickly decided to take a shower and see if she couldn't find some close in better condition.

Five minutes later, Nasari stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and walked over to the massive, black wardrobe that stood at one end of her room. When she opened it, Nasari found that it was packed full to overflowing with clothes, shoes, and other necessities. Upon closer inspection Nasari saw that most of the clothing was rather revealing and permitted far too much skin exposure.

Nasari shook her' head. "That pervert!"

She had to dig through a lot of clothes before she finally found a dress that was acceptable. The dress was black (I know, Diachi seems to have an obsession with that color doesn't he?)with cropped sleeves and a reasonably high neckline. It had a very short skirt, but Nasari fixed that by putting on a pair of black leggings underneath.

It took Nasari a rather long time to dress on account of her' hand cuffs.

Less than two minutes after she had finished dressing, the door opened. It was Hoshi and she had come to escort Nasari down to breakfast.

Neji groaned as he awoke from his' state of unconsciousness. His head ached and his' back was killing him. He was lying at an odd angle and seemed unable to move. Neji opened his eyes and saw why. He was in a dark dungeon stretched out on a rack! Turning his' head, Neji saw that Kusame (Who was still unconscious) was in a similar state.

Neji wondered how long they had been like this. After Nasari and Diachi had disappeared, one of the UCA shinobi had hit Neji over the head with his' mace, and he had passed out.

Neji glanced about him. Light from a single torch reflected off the walls forming numerous shadows.

He could hear the scurrying of rats as they ran to and fro across the floor.

Next to him, Kusame moaned and stirred. "Wha- where… am… I?" He mumbled.

Suddenly, the door at the opposite end of the room swung open and seven, large men carrying whips and clubs stepped into the room.

Uh oh…Neji thought nervously. I don't like the looks of this!

The door to the dining room swung open and Diachi looked up from his' place at the head of the table. "Ah, if it isn't my' lovely bride to be. Did you sleep well?" He inquired.

"No." Nasari replied coldly.

Diachi overlooked her' rudeness. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm sure you will sleep much better after we have been married." He looked at her as a cat might look at a mouse it was toying with.

Determined not to give him any satisfaction, Nasari did not reply.

"We will be married tomorrow evening." Diachi told her.

Still, she remained silent.

Diachi decided he had had enough of her' silence. He leaned over and she tensed. "You know…" He hissed in her' ear. "It is bad manners to be so unsocial. I suggest that you make an effort to be more friendly or who knows, I may just have to hurt your' little Hyuga boyfriend."

Nasari started at the mention of Neji. "What have you done with him?!" She demanded.

"Oh don't worry. Nothing has been done that would seriously harm him… at least, not yet…" He taunted.

Nasari clenched her' teeth. "You beast!" She hissed furiously.

"Careful Hime." Diachi reminded her in a singsong voice. "That is just the kind of talk that could get your' little friend in deep trouble." He chuckled cruelly at the glimmer of fear that flickered in her' dark eyes.

"That's right Nasari. You had best dance to my' tune if you want your' darling Hyuga to remain alive." Diachi threatened ominously. He paused to let the words sink in, and then he asked, "Would you accompany me on a walk with me in the gardens?"

The words were perfectly polite and the tone seemed pleasant enough but his' eyes were menacing and beneath his' agreeable tone there was a note of hostility.

Nasari lowered her' eyes in defeat. "As you wish."

He smiled. "Good girl. I knew you'd see it my' way."

Neji flew through the air and hit the floor of the dungeon for what must have been the five hundredth time in the last ten minutes. His' body felt as though it were on fire. He glanced over at Kusame and saw that the young man was not any better off that he was.

One of the men grabbed a hold of Neji by' the back of his shirt and dragged the young man to his' feet. Instantly another club collided with his' head and he fell back to the floor.

Normally Neji would have fought back, but the shackles he wore cut off his' chakura flow making it impossible to retaliate.

Suddenly the door swung open and a male voice called in to the men. "The master wants to see ya!"

To the relief of both Neji and Kusame, the men ceased their' abuse. They chained both young men to the wall and left the dungeon.

Neji wiped the blood from the corner' of his' mouth and glanced at Kusame. The other young man was wincing and holding tightly to his' left arm.

"Are you okay?" Neji inquired.

Kusame looked up in surprise, amazed that Neji was speaking to him. "Yeah, I'm fine." He growled gruffly. But even as he spoke he winced in pain.

Neji rolled his' eyes. "Look, we're both in the same predicament so just drop the tough guy act, okay?"

Kusame glared at him. "What is it to you? Who are you anyway?"

"I am Hyuga Neji." He replied.

"Never heard of you. How do you know Nasari?" Kusame asked.

"She's my' wife." Neji replied pointedly.

Kusame's eyes widened and his' jaw dropped. "You! You are the rich kid they forced her to mary!" He screeched.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "What exactly is that comment supposed to mean?" He inquired coldly.

Kusame clenched his' teeth. "You are the kid she was going to stay with instead of coming with me!"

Neji cocked his' head and looked the man up and down. "Answer me this, why did you disappear and let everyone think you were dead?"

"That's what the master ordered me to do." Kusame told him.

"What master?"

"My' master, Zaro-sama. That is not his' real name, I don't actually know his' real name, Zaro-sama is just what he told me to call him. He's been like a father to me since the death of my' parents when I was eleven." The young man explained.

"What does he look like?" Neji inquired.

"Tall, well built, with spiky, shoulder length, black hair and hazel eyes." Kusame said. "He usually wears a long, black cloak."

The description fit Nasari's uncle perfectly. "No wonder!" He growled. "That scheming, wicked, selfish menace!"

Kusame shot Neji a confused glance. "Huh?"

Neji proceeded to tell Kusame all he knew about Nasari's uncle.

"I've been such a fool!" Kusame exclaimed once Neji had finished. "All this time that evil man has been using me so that he could get to Nasari!"

Neji eyed the young man curiously. "I have a question to ask you." He said finally.

Kusame cocked his' head to the side. "Such as…?"

"Why did you try to force Nasari to come with you even after she said she didn't want to?" Neji asked.

Kusame looked down at the floor. "Diachi told me that you and all the others would probably guilt her and make her feel like if she went with me, she would be letting everyone down. Nasari's always been a very loyal and devoted person so when she refused to come I assumed that Diachi was right and that once I got her away from society's influence, she would realize that I was right." Kusame shook his' head. "I should have realized that Diachi was up to something, he was always so interested in my' descriptions of her. He was always asking about her' abilities especially."

Neji looked at the young man seriously. "There's something else."

Kusame's head snapped up. "What?"

"Diachi has Nasari. The only reason we are still alive is that Diachi is using us to make certain Nasari will do what he wants." Neji told him.

"That jerk has Nasari?" Kusame shrieked. Suddenly he turned back to Neji. "What is it that he wants her to do?"

The next words were so appalling to Neji that he had to force himself to say them. "He…He wants her to… marry him."

All the color drained from Kusame's face. For a few moments they sat in a disbelieving silence. Then…

"WHAT?!" Kusame exploded. "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT, THAT PERVERT IS USING MY LIFE TO GET NASARI TO AGREE TO MARRY HIM??"

Neji nodded.

"I'll kill him!" Kusame shouted vehemently.

"Calm down! I would love to kill him too, but we aren't going to be able to do anything if we are still stuck in this dungeon! We need to calm down and if we work together, maybe we can find a way out." Neji growled.

Kusame nodded. "If only we knew where Nasari was…"

Neji sighed. "If only I could use my' Byakugan." He said.

Nasari stood staring miserably out of the window in her' room. She was dressed in an exquisite wedding gown of striking black silk. Tonight it would be over. She was getting married to the man she hated most in the entire world. She sighed.

I wonder if Neji is okay… She thought. A thought struck her. Diachi told that man to take Neji and Kusame to the dungeon. Maybe if they are close enough, I can send them a message using my' Tisran… Then she recalled the shackles she wore. Hmm…she thought. I need to get these things off of me, but how?

She began to inspect the cuffs that encircled her' wrists. "Hmm…" She whispered. "It looks as though this is actually being held together by someone's chakura… If I can take out the person who possesses this chakura, maybe I could disable these."

She turned to the door. "I wonder…" She picked up an iron fire poker and walked over to the door. She lifted it and brought it down on the door handle with all the strength she possessed. She smiled triumphantly as she heard the lock crack in two. Then, she carefully opened the door and slipped out into the corridor.

Nasari wandered down the many twisting halls until she noticed that the power of the shackles she wore seemed to be increasing in strength as she neared a door. Nasari opened the door and found herself at the foot of a steep flight of stairs. As quickly as was possible, she ascended them and found herself in another corridor, this one being much darker, much narrower, and much dirtier than the last.

She cautiously made her way down the hall to the single door that stood at the end. The strength of the cuffs had now tripled. A huge padlock held the door closed. Nasari saw a computer screen in the wall and stepped over to it. It flickered on and Nasari saw the following words displayed on the screen.

Password question: What is the name of my family's kekei genkai? Answer:

Nasari's eyes widened. Could it be? Had Diachi really used the "Tisran" as his password?

Holding her' breath, Nasari reached up and typed in the word, "Tisran".

She continued to hold her' breath as the computer processed her' answer. Suddenly the screen turned dark blue and the words: "Access Granted" Flashed across it in large, bright green letters.

Nasari turned as the door slid open soundlessly. She stepped through the door and into a large, dark room that appeared to be some sort of a lab. Computers and machines of all shapes and sizes were set up throughout it. Nasari noticed that all of them had wires running from them under a door at the south end of the room. Nasari tried the door and found it unlocked. She hesitantly nudged it open and stepped inside.

The room was small and very dark. In the center of it stood a bed that resembled one you might find at a hospital. Someone- Nasari was fairly certain it was a man- lay in the bed, tubes and wires running from his' body to a large generator to which all the cords from the machines in the other room were attached.

After waiting a few minutes to be sure that whoever it was laying in the bed was not going to get up and attack her, Nasari stepped forward for a closer look.

The man's face was covered in some sort of mask; even so, something about him seemed familiar to Nasari.

Tentatively, she reached out and removed the mask revealing the face of the man…

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Ooooh! Cliffhanger!

Hey everyone!

Sorry it took me a bit long to get this one posted.

I'll try to hurry and get the next chappie of this story posted soon so that you don't have to wait to long to find out who it is behind that mask!

Remember to review! (No flames please.)

Until next time,

This is Yaruhi over and out!