CHAPTER 3

Treasure Hunters

Ok, again, VERY VERY VERY sorry! It's been like 2 months, huh? I promise it won't take as long next time! Thank you everyone who put this in their favorites and alert and such! Again, please R&R and tell me any opinions and advice.

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THE GREAT BIG TREE, 8:00 AM

NO ONE POV

"So does anyone have any ideas?" Mika asked. Yumi can up and nervously whispered in her ear.

"Um...well, there is that cave they were mining in a week ago. No one is there now…"

"That's perfect!" Mika declared. "Everyone! Yumi just had a great idea!"

"Oh, no…please don't draw any attention to me…" Yumi said in vain.

"Yumi remembered that cave those guys were mining before, and now its empty! It's perfect, don't you think?" She cheered.

"Yeah! That was a great idea Yumi!" Hiro said.

"Let's go!" Aoi giggled. Kagemaru went over and put his arm around his sister.

"No way! It could be very dangerous and Aoi would get hurt!" He declared.

"Kagemaru!" Aoi groaned. "Why are you saying that like I would be the only one to get hurt? As if anyone would get hurt anyway!" She shrugged away from him and went over to Mika.

"I-I think it would be fun, Kagemaru." Shinhana said. Kagemaru glared at her and turned to Isha.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"Well, it can't be that dangerous, I heard from my dad that they left it because they couldn't find anything, not because it was dangerous." He said, and then, puffing out his chest, he said, "And besides, I'll be there to protect her!"

Aoi glared at both of them. "I'm not a baby, and I'll go if I want to! With or without you! AND I don't need protecting, Isha!"

Isha looked at her, hurt. "Oh yeah, you don't like her." Shioku whispered in his ear. Isha blushed. "I don't."

"I think it's a good idea, Mika." Shioku said in a louder voice. She smiled at him.

"So, whoever wants to go, raise your hand. And no, Kagemaru, you can't force Aoi not to go. She's only a year younger than you, and you're not her dad."

Yumi, Shinhana, Mika, Aoi, Shioku, Isha, and Hiro all raised their hands. Kagemaru was the only one who didn't.

"Well then that decides it. Kagemaru, you can come, or just stay behind and be a sourpuss. Come on, everyone! Let's go!" Mika said. She raised her arm and started off, then stopped. "Um…does anyone know where the cave is?"

Kagemaru rolled his eyes. "I do. Everybody follow me." He said, starting off in the other direction from where Mika had been going. Because of where they had been standing, Yumi, Hiro, and Shinhana ended up walking along next to Kagemaru.

Trying to strike up a conversation with him, Yumi said, "So…um, Kagemaru, how do you know the way to the mine?" She asked.

He looked at her, surprised that she was even talking to him. "My dad took me there before while the men were working…well, before he left."

Yumi looked at him sadly. Oh yeah, she thought his dad works a lot and is gone most of the time. I remember Aoi and Mika saying Kagemaru was acting like the man of the house, trying to do everything. "I-I'm….sorry he's not around more."

Kagemaru glared at her. His eyes blazed and he turned away. "Sorry? Sorry?!" He hissed at her. "You're sorry?!? Oh yeah, that's great! You feeling sorry for me is going to fix everything! And besides there's nothing wrong! He's working and making money for the family! We are fine, and don't need your pity! I can take care of my mother and Aoi just fine!"

Yumi looked at him for awhile, her eyes turning red as she tried not to cry. But then the bold Naruto side of her forced her to reply. "I n-never said that you couldn't take care of them…or that you even needed to."

"Of course I do!! If I don't, who will be the man of the house?!" Kagemaru yelled at her. She flinched back, about to cry. Aoi, who had been coming forward to ask how much farther it would be, heard him. She grabbed his shoulder and glared at him. "Who will be the man of the house?!" Aoi hissed. "How about who should?! Dad! Dad should be the man of the house! But he's always gone and even when he's home he makes Mom upset! I've heard them yelling and he always hurts her feelings and she's always depressed when he leaves and you try to be the 'man of the house'!!"

Kagemaru simply glared at her. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it, then turned away, then turned back around and said. "Don't talk bad about Father!" He said. "He takes care us this family, and when he's gone, I do. Mother is just sad because he's gone, but she'll get used to it. You are wrong about him! They don't fight either! What do you know? You're just a dumb girl!"

Aoi gasped and turned away and went over to Mika.

Yumi looked at him, her eyes wide. He glared at her and walked ahead. Shinhana wrapped her arm around Yumi; she knew how much Yumi liked him.

(Farther back in the group)

Isha was walking in the back with his head down, feeling bad for Aoi, but he didn't know what to do. It was just when he decided to try to comfort her that the group arrived at the mine. It was surrounded by a small wood, but there was a big path from all the trucks and stuff that had drove though. They all crowded around the opening, Kagemaru standing a few feet away with Isha near him.

"So what now?" Hiro asked.

"We go in…." Mika murmured.

Everyone slowly wandered in single file. When it became so dark they couldn't see, they joined hands with whoever was next to them. Kagemaru was leading, and Yumi blushed when she realized she was holding his hand. Shioku had shoved past Isha to get to Mika, but Shinhana got in the way, so he ended up holding hands with Shinhana. It looked like Shioku had purposefully shoved his way to her, so Hiro got jealous, for some reason he couldn't understand. Hiro got in line behind Shioku, and Isha behind him. Isha self-consciously grabbed Aoi's hand, even though neither of them was scared. She looked at him strangely, but she was still upset about what had happened with Kagemaru, so she didn't do anything.

The cave was never completely dark, because of the many times the miners struck air, opening up holes in the ceiling. The walls were slick and a single file path hand been made.

"I say we go to the places the miners didn't go, so maybe we'll find gold!" Isha yelled. His voice echoed though the mine, scaring Yumi. She accidentally clung to the Kagemaru. He shoved her off, whispering 'stupid girl'.

"Hey! Don't call her stupid, she just got scared!" Mika hissed at him.

"Fine, whatever, I'm sorry." He said. Yumi sighed and stayed closer to Mika.

"Oh yeah, Hiro, that's a good idea." Mika called back to him. Kagemaru led them down a tunnel that looked more natural and less like it was mined.

They wandered though the tunnels, not paying any attention to where they were going, or how the light coming though the smaller number of holes was getting darker. It was Shinhana and Yumi who noticed that the light was almost gone.

"G-guys! The light-" Yumi stuttered out.

"Don't walk to the light!" Aoi joked.

"No, seriously! Look up there! I see the sky! It-It's red and yellow!!!" Shinhana cried. Everyone gasped and looked up.

"We've got to get out of here!" Aoi yelled.

"Quick! Aoi turn around! We have to get back before the light is totally gone!" Kagemaru called to her. Aoi hurried down the cave, grabbing Isha's hand on the way. She got to a four-way tunnel intersection and stopped.

"Uh…um…." She looked around confused.

"Which way do we go?!" She cried. The rest of the group piled into the little clearing. Everyone glanced around, confused. Yumi started to cry.

"W-we'll never get out of here!" She stammered. Mika wrapped her arm around her, and Kagemaru lightly put his hand on her shoulder.

"B-but seriously guys," Aoi said. "What are we going to do? We're lost, losing light, and no one knows we're here!"

Her only reply was silence.

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Well there it is! A dramatic ending to the 3rd chapter of ALNC! Hoped you liked it, R&R again! The next it might be a awhile before I update again. Enjoy!

~Jamie