NOW. This story includes Supernatural Themes, Murder, Suicide, Gore, Vore, Molestation, Violence, Strong and Suggestive Language, and LOTS of blood. THIS STORY IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Read at your own risk. I own nothing but the plot and story line. Please Read and Review.

Sasuke continuously let out a soft string of curses, his hand still halfway holding his nose, though the blood had long dried by now. He paced the floor, trying to think of what was happening, and how to get out of it. He was sure that he'd followed Naruto's path completely, and he'd known the dobe hadn't come all the way around the mansion; it hadn't been a long enough trek for that. But yet… here he was, and with no Naruto. Sasuke's scowl deepened as he threw his hands into the air. No matter how much time he spent thinking about this, it wasn't going to help. With a frustrated sigh, Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, trying to decide on a course of action, willing the answer to the riddle that was this odd mansion to pop out in front of him and lead him out.

Nothing happened.

Finally, Sasuke's eyes re-opened and he started down the long, entrance hallway, trying to see if there was anything he could use, perhaps as a marker to show him where he'd been already, some string; anything. There was only one thing that he found, however, and that was halfway down the hall. A low, ominous growl from behind Sasuke caused him to stop walking, a slight shiver traveling up his spine at the odd sound. For a split second, Sasuke thought about just continuing to walk on; that perhaps nothing had made the sound at all. That it had just bee his imagination fooled by this creepy mansion.

The sounds of nails scraping on the polished floor dissolved that thought and caused Sasuke to spin around, only to see a black, flame like shape of a dog type animal. There was little detail that Sasuke could see from the burning blackness of its outline, but the eyes… the eyes were glowing red, menacing and blood-thirsty. It was in full run, each of its paws as it hit the floor creating the sound that made him turn around finally, and the growl was still emanating from it.

Vicious.

For a split second, Sasuke couldn't move, as though holding its eyes had somehow paralyzed him, but the second the beast opened its jowls, close enough that Sasuke could now see its sharp fangs, his legs finally burst into action, propelling him to the side just as the beast lunged. Nails scraped Sasuke's left shoulder, the ripping sound of his sleeve echoing out around the two combatants. Sasuke didn't wait to see if the beast's nails could slice his flesh as easily as they sliced the fabric of his shirt. He rolled into his dive, picking himself up as quickly as the beast landed and rounded itself, and was after Sasuke as he thrust out his hand to the nearest door handle and turned.

Locked.

Sasuke's eyes widened, but he turned himself back around, as quickly as the beast came upon him again, but this time, Sasuke thrust his leg out, catching the dog like creature on its muzzle, sending it to the side with a whining growl. Sasuke knew though, he hadn't hurt it much, so he took off again, this time to the opposite side of the hall, hearing with a sense of dread as the creature quickly picked itself back up again. But to Sasuke's dismay, the next door he tried was locked. It was all he could do to keep the creature at bay, but if he couldn't get out, then he was as good as dead.

Sasuke shuddered; that was a thought he didn't need.

One more door; that was all he needed. He'd bust it down if he had to, but he had to try one more door. The beast was nearly upon him again, and so Sasuke tried to kick it like he had before, but it seemed as though the creature was as smart as he was vicious. Sasuke's kick connected to its muzzle again, but not before its front paw came down in a malicious arc, creating a deep gash in Sasuke's trousers and thigh, causing the boy to scream out in pain, his kick losing a little momentum, and not sending the beast as far as he would have hoped. Sasuke gritted his teeth, his entire body shuddering with adrenaline and pain, but he couldn't stop; he couldn't wait.

He forced himself to the next door over, chanting over and over in his mind as a mantra, 'Don't be locked. Don't be locked.' His fingers came down on the handle, fumbled, and turned.

*~*~*~* Meanwhile *~*~*~*

Neji's fingers fumbled with the handle of the locked door, jiggling it in vain. The fire rose to astounding heights, licking at the ceiling and blazing all the way across the hall, cutting off any path between Neji and the two ninja on the other side of the room. Hell, he couldn't even see them through the red blaze and black smoke filling what parts of the room the flame didn't yet reach. It was already spiraling overhead as Neji's hands frantically worked the bronze handle, trying to somehow make it come loose, even as his widened gaze was riveted on the ever burning fire, moving closer and closer to his location with every second.

Neji could feel the heat of the flame pushing against his skin, and the sweat starting to pour not just from his forehead, but from every other crevice of his body. Was he… actually going to die? Here, like this…? A faint sound could be heard over the roar of the fire, sounding like Kiba, but the words he shouted were indistinct and unable to be made out clearly. Either way, they had their intended effect; Neji instantly snapped to attention, turned away from the fire and started working more feverishly on the door, pushing and kicking, putting all of his hard earned strength into somehow getting the door to open for him.

The fire raged behind him, crawling steadily closer and closer, and no matter how much strength Neji put into his efforts, it wouldn't budge, even when Neji felt a sudden, overwhelming sensation of pure agony at his back, causing him to arch forward, a gasp spilling from his lips as the fire reached him. The burning became quickly traumatic, scorching and filling his body with the absolute, terrifying realization that his flesh was melting. With one final burst of effort and tears of agony in his eyes, Neji thrust his entire body at the door, expecting to be bounced back into the flame and lost forever.

But the door cracked and groaned against his weight, and swung open in that second, causing Neji to fall out onto the clear, polished floor, his breathing quick and heavy as survival instinct kicked in and he began to try to crawl away from the burning sensation, still at his back. It was getting worse, his entire body trembling from the pain and the way it seemed to stab into him from all corners now, ebbing his life away in a blaze of anguish. With one final attempt to control it, Neji flipped himself onto his back with what strength he had left in his body, the coolness of the floor beneath him instantly soothing the raging burn that had long since sunk into even his bones.

From this angle, Neji could see through the still open door, the fire that had almost taken him still making its way toward his laying form, and tears formed in his eyes. Even though he'd made it out, it was still going to consume him and everyone here, wasn't it? It was… useless. There was nothing anyone could do now. But while Neji's thoughts turned dark, and settled on a bitter acceptance that death was their only path now, his eyes widened as slowly, the blaze began to recede, before burning itself out completely, leaving the dining room exactly as it had been before; pristine, beautiful, all with burning candles placed perfectly in a line, one by one, down the center of the table with it's pretty tablecloth.

Neji's entire body was shaking, his wide eyes staring at the perfect and empty room, even as the door he'd barely made it out of slowly began closing on its own. When it shut, it did so softly. The gentle click of the handle sliding into place, however, sounded more like a gunshot to Neji.

*~*~*~* Meanwhile *~*~*~*

"Neji! Get out of there!" Kiba cried over the roar of the fire.

Akamaru was barking wildly along with him from inside Kiba's jacket, more out of alarm than intimidation. Kiba's hands went around the front of his jacket, trying to make sure his dog didn't jump out and into the fire, though he doubted his partner would be so stupid as to do that. Still, as the sweat trickled down Kiba's neck, he found one foot moving forward, and the other slowly following it, pushing him further into the room, and towards the flame; towards Neji. The path was mostly cut off by the blazing wall of fury, but there was still a little space. If he hurried, then maybe…

Kiba jumped as a hand came down on his shoulder, pulling him backward and causing him to spin around, thinking someone had come up behind him and meant to throw him into the fire; so it was with a relieved and heavy sigh that Kiba's eyes found Shikamaru behind him, holding him back. But his relief only lasted for a moment, because the next second, he began arguing with Shikamaru, trying to get him to let go.

"Neji's still in there! If we don't do something, -!"

"Calm." came Shikamaru's reply, his grip never wavering even as he tried to pull Kiba back. "Neji can take care of himself. There's a door on the other side of the room; Neji will be fine. What we need to do is get out of here and find something to quell the fire with. Otherwise, this entire mansion might come down on us."

Kiba's panicked gaze centered on Shikamaru's own worried, but calm gaze for a moment, before Kiba slowly nodded. With one last glance at the huge wall of fire, the two turned their backs on the dining room, moving out as quickly as they could. But before Shikamaru could reach for the door to close it, to give them even a few more seconds against the blaze, the door itself slammed forcefully shut in his face, causing him to jump back in surprise. And just like that, the constant roar of the flames died down to absolute silence, causing Kiba and Shikamaru to share an astounded look.

When Shikamaru tried the door again, it wouldn't budge.

Naruto's situation coming next time. Review!