The Lineage

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


The Lineage
By 11


Chapter 23
Traitor: Escape

What a let down. Some final trial!

Genma is dead. I glare up at the iron ceiling of my cage. So I am back in chains regardless and that poor shitless bastard is dead. The fact I know his name and saw him die right in front of me seems to give me enough reason to feel a little pissed about it.

My parasite growls unpleasantly inside me, curling and uncurling like an agitated fist that can’t find the right target to strike.

If you had just killed him we’d be out of here by now…

He was a sentient being.

He was an idiot! You barely knew him, if at all!

The only reason he was fighting was so he could have the chance to live, he even said so. A sigh hisses out of me in irritation. Stupid Sasuke. I could have let him live, another trial would have been given to pass instead! I could have talked Tsunade and the council into it!

The power difference was obvious, it was an insult and no one was satisfied with the fight. As final trials go that one sucked and I could have gotten another one – and probably let the regen go in the process.

Who’s to say they wouldn’t have killed him anyway? They’d have killed him and you! Fool!

My parasite has become irksome and I refuse to respond to that thought. I mean that whole thing was just--! Ugh!! “Hey Haku!” I call out. “Haku? What’s going on with the outside huh? Any reason the Order’s keeping me in here again?”

No answer, not like I expected one but it gives me something to grouch about. “Did I pass or not?” Silence again, and I can’t say I’m shocked about that.

I can feel him and the other guards all lurking around on the outside of this offshoot, but they probably have orders not speak to me. So I’m a little surprised when he does respond.

“The council is debating whether you passed or not.” He tells me as he steps in from the outside, leaning against the wall to watch me. “I don’t think many noticed, but there were a few that did. You weren’t the one to actually end the regen.”

Haku shakes his head, “The thing about this is there’s also just been word that the hunters are on the move. Now that they know there the High Lair is,” and I catch the unspoken ‘thanks to you’, “they’re probably on their way here.”

“This is bad for me because despite the punishment they’ve decided on they still blame me?” I ask. It makes sense.

“Not really, they won’t rescind and redistribute your sentence,” Haku tells me, “All this means is that they’ll make this a quick decision, since we’re in the middle of arming and battle simulation. Since they want this over with quickly they may not take all accounts into deliberation.”

“What’s that mean?”

Dictionary abuse.

No, pretty sure it’s just long winded.

“It means they’ll probably make the simplest decision so you’re very probably fucked in a very bad way.” Haku huffs.

I can’t resist scoffing at that. “They can’t get away with it, that trial was stupid. Regardless of the trial being set in stone it was stupid. There was a clear difference in power – everyone could tell.”

“Gee, I wonder why?!” Haku bites out angrily. “Even forgoing your idiocy; this was the worst time for these two events to coincide. The hunters on the move and your trials.”

“Aw,” I grin, “Haku, I didn’t know you cared.”

He glares. “I don’t.” then stalks back out.

“Hey wait! We could talk some more!” I call after him – it’s awfully boring here.

Even with me?!

Even with you.

“Haku?”

His name dies in my throat as an oppressive chill settles over the room. I could swear icicles start to form on the ceiling – there are several presences. Tsunade I recognize, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru… Sakura and Sasuke… Kabuto?

Their shadows block the doorway and I can just pick out Haku stepping aside for their way in. All faces hard, and eyes void of emotion – council-mode huh, Tsunade? I draw back and sit with my arms propped on my knees – glowering.

“So am I out yet?” I ask, not caring for how petulant that sounds.

“You are aware of the ‘questionable circumstance’ of the final trial, are you not?” Kabuto scoffs adjusting his glasses – steely lenses framing his despicable dark beady eyes.

“Yeah…” I mutter, my eyes glancing briefly at Sasuke then back to freaking four eyes… white-haired freak. Where does he get off anyway!

“It has been decided,” Tsunade’s voice is dead – like her lightless eyes.

“You did not pass the third trial.”

Shut up Kabuto. Tsunade speaks again.

“Naruto Uzumaki is hereby sentenced to death.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

The cage is unlocked. Everyone looks so calm though. I step out and Kabuto locks more iron around my arms and legs. It vaguely stings the skin – the same as the clasp around my neck.

“Idiot.”

A furious hiss and my eyes lock momentarily in emerald irises. Anger polluted with a veneer of water and frustration. The final test – it was a gimme – it was supposed to be – it was for me.

Don’t tell me… oh shit.

They set it up so I couldn’t lose, and I botched it.

Sasuke’s chill hand pushes me forward and I walk. Kabuto leads. My feet move without me thinking. Sasuke walks just behind me. The halls empty out and wind downward – the lower levels. I’m walking but I don’t feel myself moving. It doesn’t feel real somehow.

How did this happen?

I glance back at Sasuke. Obsidian eyes stare through me without seeing. His face is so calm. I don’t understand it. This is real?

Don’t let them do this, kit! We can stop them! Just let me out!

Kabuto’s hands shove my shoulders. I’m sitting on a metal chair. My hands are bound to the sides of it, my ankles at the legs. I pull at them, and needles sink into my skin.

How can this be? They can’t kill me?

Let me out!! I’ll kill them both!!

I hiss as cold starts flowing up my arms. They start to feel sluggish. This isn’t real. It’s too slow. “What is this?” my voice laughs but it’s hollow. Is that really me speaking? “You can’t kill me.”

Sasuke… he won’t let this happen.

“To the contrary.” Kabuto ‘hm’s to himself, “can and will.”

No. This can’t be happening.

My parasite’s voice… I can’t hear it anymore. More machines. More metal. It smells like poison. Sasuke hands Kabuto a gun. No it’s another needle. Kabuto grins.

“This is a potent decomposer,” he gestures to the syringe-gun. “You will be injected and your body will fall apart on it’s own – torn apart starting on the inside. You won’t be coming back.”

My body tugs at the restraints again. I can feel the needles sinking deeper. Kabuto moves the syringe toward my arm.

Glinting silver edge, so small – it’s thinner than pencil lead, and death seeps from the tip. Cold chills through me and the burning I felt before at my eyes, in my arms and legs, it’s dulling.

My parasite’s curses and thrashes… I can’t feel them, I can’t hear him anymore. My heartbeat is too fast – but I can barely hear that too.

Were my veins always so apparent? Kabuto touches the needle to my skin and frowns as my arm squirms beneath it. His lips move but I can’t hear the words… then I do –

“… Sasuke.”

His covered hand is chill. It locks over my elbow – I can’t move. Sasuke what the hell are you doing?

My eyes stray a moment from the needle. Darkeyes locked at my arm, glance up at mine – his eyes always were lightless. He’s still so calm. Why?

I swear I’m shaking – my mind is going away, I feel the needle drawing slowly beneath my skin.

Sasuke.

I jerk as I feel it sliding in. I still can’t move. Kabuto makes a strange sound. His mouth grins too happily. My parasite is screaming. I can’t hear him at all.

Sasuke.

The needle pokes past the layers of muscle. Kabuto’s thumb moves over the pump. One movement. One simple movement. Should have broken out earlier. Damn consequences.

You can’t do this to me.

Why is he helping him? How can he look so calm? Am I nothing to him? What the hell was everything before this then?!

Sasuke, you can’t kill me.

Then his hand is gone. Too fast. Kabuto’s head is halfway across the room. He’s a bloody splatter on the wall.

Kabuto’s body falls limp to the ground. There’s blood on my face, but I can’t feel it. The metal clasps still hooked beneath my skin.

That needle death is still locked in my arm. My heart – I can’t hear it anymore. Sasuke’s hand closes on the death-maker.

Fire rips through my skin. He tore it out of my arm and a howl drags it’s way up my throat. My ears feel deaf – but I can hear it.

His claws draw around the metal at my throat. Shit no! I scream again as the metal bits drag out of me and I feel the skin rip open and blood soaks down my back and front.

“Shit Sasuke!!” I growl. But it’s not over. Right side arm. I scream – my wrist is broken. Left side arm. A ragged howl – the muscle is torn halfway out from my arm.

Not yet over. Left side ankle – a screech – my tendon is twisted and torn. Right side ankle – a dying cry, my throat too raw – my legs are useless again.

“You could have…” my voice cracks and the inside of my throat feel swollen. Like I swallowed a toad and am now forced to breathe through it, “been a little more gentle…”

“No time.” His voice is so level. Bastard! You could act a little sorry! You could act a little more like you were about to kill me just a second ago! “Someone’s heard you by now.”

I fight the urge to laugh, but I can stand and my parasite burns through my limbs raging in the forefront of my mind – a thousand insults for being so careless to get in the situation where I could have died. Nothing I haven’t heard before.

“Move!” he orders already at the entrance, agitation in his movement. I scowl and glance at Kabuto’s head, eyes barely started to widen – he’d hardly even seen the attack. I rush out after darkeyes… can Kabuto even wake up from that? Is he dead?

Wait, Sasuke killed Kabuto? Just for me?

I rush after him to catch up, but he only pushes on faster until I’m racing at his heels when we break past the rocky tunnels into the open forest ground. The outside feels especially cool due to blood and it’s starting to dry and crack on my skin.

“Sasuke!”

No answer – just speeding through the forest. Faster and faster, and I’m so fed up with not having answers!

Shut up and wait.

So I wait. I wait for dawn and hours later, racing through the trees, a full day – and dusk. Parts of the forest I don’t recognize – the wolves are due east, two days, maybe one and a half since we ran at a slant. Too far, too close? I can’t wait anymore!

“Sasuke!” it’s the second time and he still won’t answer. “Damnit Sasuke!!” and every time I pick up the pace to catch up, he speeds up even more. “Bastard! I’m talking to you!”

Darkeyes glance over his shoulder back at me, at the dying sun. He turns back. His body abruptly turns and stops. My feet catch hard in the ground to stop before I plow into him – bastard!

“Is Kabuto dead?” Why the hell is ‘that’ the first thing out of my mouth?!! “You tore off his head right, but he’s a vampire?” I don’t give a fuck about Kabuto!!

“It’s not like he’s a Regenerate,” Sasuke scowls. “You want me to lie and say he ‘can’ come back?”

So he is dead.

Cool pale fingers tread lightly on my cheeks, and dark echoing caverns of shadow glare back into me with possession. “I told you,” that silver voice a gentle hiss, “I can’t lose you.”

Soft lips seal to mine and dark eyes shut themselves. I let my eyes fall too and my arms grip tight at his sides, drawing his body closer, as my tongue seeks in to map his mouth. Burning heat through him and absorbing it back into myself.

I remember his taste, I remember this bitter texture, metal taste, and sweet quality. Winter and searing at once – a storm. But there’s something else my tongue encounters. There’s still blood on my face – it’s not mine. It tastes… sick.

Disgusting. Gross. Death. Kabuto.

Kabuto is dead. This is a distraction again. I curl my tongue viciously in his and my claws sink into him a moment, savoring this body tight to mine. Then I fight it. I shove his away.

“What the hell is up with you, Sasuke?!” I demand, “Where are we going and--!! I mean; what the hell?!!”

“I thought that much was obvious!” he barks back at me, his voice scathing, downright vicious. What the hell is up with this?!

“Well you saved me – but didn’t you just betray the Order?” I growl back – and why the hell are we yelling?!

“My ‘existence’ betrays the precious ‘Order’!!”

Existence?

“What the hell does that mean?!” I ask back – always with the cryptic confusing crap! Can’t he ever say anything in plain English?! Ever?!!

Sasuke snorts something – and his head whips to the side, west. What? I turn and the wind snatches a familiar scent to my nose. I know this smell…

“Hunters.” Sasuke’s voice crackles with distaste. “We should move. They’re less than a few miles away.”

“No.” I know this scent… Shikamaru? “I need to check something.”

I take off – I can find Sasuke again, provided he doesn’t go too far. But he’s after me in a heartbeat. I’m already halfway there – it’s getting darker and I can smell fires too. Sasuke’s hand closes around my wrist – violently yanking me backward.

“What are you doing?!” he hisses angrily, “They’ll kill you too idiot!!”

My parasite coils inside me, I already know his opinion – ‘fuck everything’, right?

No, ‘Fuck it all.’ But close enough. You’re still an idiot, and don’t think I haven’t forgotten yet – I haven’t forgiven your idiocy!

I know.

“I’ll be fine.” I rip my hand away and speed off toward it – I know exactly where Shikamaru is now. He won’t attack me – he knows me. Hell that chick he was with asked to see me.

Even over the phone I’m sexy! I mean if they’re in the middle of something and she’d rather talk to me…

She wanted to talk to Naruto Uzumaki. Last I checked, that wasn’t ‘you’.

Brat.

Worse comes to worse, I can mist out – I’ll be fine regardless of what happens. But this is actually really close to the High Lair all things considered. I should have figured about that though.

The camp is huge… it’s like an entire army is camped out here. I smell cigarettes and Shikamaru – having a smoke already. I follow it and I can see him. Sitting with an older burly man, taking a drag the both of them.

Smoke swirls in the air and I see it move as I step before them, speed stopping but my blood still thrumming my eyes locked on the brunette.

Shikamaru. His eyes are the same. Too old – but young, deep dark, brown, and right now stunned. The man beside him leaps to his feet, a look of shock and anger across his face – marring it; he looked almost kind before.

“Kurenai!!” he bellows lifting a strange looking cannon to fire up in my direction. Is that sunlight it’s condensing?

Shikamaru leaps to his feet, his fingers clicking to the lock of the cannon. “Shika – what the hell?!!”

“Aburame! It’s okay – that’s Naruto!”

The man’s eyes widen and he stares back at me – his face something between shock and disgust. “Naruto? Uzumaki’s kid?” well doesn’t he sound flabbergasted. It’s just my name, you know?

“Shika?” I wonder idly, “I thought I was the only one who called you that?”

He shrugs and looks over me, grimacing at the blood. “A lot has changed hasn’t it.” It’s more of a statement than a question, “That’s all yours isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah.” I grin. “I almost got myself executed… just last night I think.”

“Don’t sound so pleased with yourself.” Shikamaru shakes his head, and steps over to me. His hand is warm and he puts it flush against my chest, pressing past the bloody cloth. A heartbeat… doesn’t mean shit. I’m not human Shika… I don’t think.

His expression softens. “Still beating.” He smiles, and the lines it makes across his face make me think it’s been a while since he’s done that. “You are safe.”

“Aburame?! What’s wrong?!” a woman’s voice, not the same one as on the phone. Rounding the tent her figure has all the right curved, even in her dark armored hunters uniform.

She has long thick dark hair and dark brown near-black eyes. She sees me and immediately her knives come out. A youth roughly Shika’s and my age, maybe a little older, steps out with her and a series of bombs march across his arm into view. “Shikamaru! Move!”

“False alarm everyone – looks like the target came to us instead.” The burly man raises his hands talking the woman and the boy down. Others appear as well, weapons out or putting them away, peeking around to see the commotion.

Shikamaru turns to the portly guy, “Chouji, have any spare clothes lying around? It’s his blood.” He point to me. The kid looks over at me – again torn between disgust and shock, but the bombs disappear and he bolts off for some tent or another.

“Ino’s been waiting to speak to you actually.” He says ushering me over toward the far end of the camp.

The rest of the hunters have gone back to their regular activities it seems. Some are working on getting food, others are buffing up their weapons. One’s actually taking a nap outside his tent.

“Who’s ‘Ino’?” I wonder, “And what was that guy talking about when he said ‘target’?”
Shikamaru turns toward a tent but the wooden structure next to it is steaming – there’s another human inside.

“Ino, I’ve got Naruto, see you inside in a bit.” He speaks loudly to the block as he leads the way inside the burlap cloth tent.

I follow and inside it’s a setting of chairs, no logs, a relatively high ceiling, a sleeping bag and… teacups of all things. Right next to the most high-tech looking crossbow I think I’ve ever seen.

“So?” I wonder as we take our seats, and I choose to ignore the pink teacup in front of me. The tea in the kettle is still warm too.

“Your phone was destroyed,” he starts, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

“They took it away when they caught me with it last time I called,” I confirm. Jerks, they destroyed it? That’s a cell phone! They cost money!

Shikamaru nods in agreement, “I figured something had happened, and you really needed to be rescued sooner than this.”

Pfft. Like I need rescuing.

Ironic. You did need rescuing – shit for brains.

Shut up.

“The Hunters planned to move when we were more prepared, once all our numbers had gathered.” He picks out one, offers one to me, I decline, he reaches for his lighter. “We moved early, at my suggestion actually. But it’s going well, we haven’t been detected yet.”

“That’s really good.” I nod. Or the High Lair’s just stupid not to have scouts going out this far. But it is a day’s run even at moderate speed – which is saying something a guess considering vampire pace.

“Glad you’re safe though,” he breathes in as he lights up his cigarette, “Still alive, and you’re still you.”

What else would I be?

“Regardless, before we could have gone in we’d have had to wait for the vampire factions to start fighting.” He gives a short laugh.

“Stupid. Even among vampires they still fight each other – something to do with purebloods vs. nonpure-bloods. Did that have anything with your ‘execution’?”

Regen and the Order… born vampire and turned vampires. Purebloods and nonpure-bloods; that makes sense.

“Not really, they found me and you on the phone.” I shrug, “Pass a few trials and I can live. I didn’t pass them all – before that though they wanted to say I was a regen and kill me anyway.”

“Regen?” Shikamaru repeats in question, “As in regenereration?”

“They’re sometimes called Regenerates. So I guess.” But that does raise a question – are regen capable of regeneration? Where’d the name come from?

“To think that vampires can spawn things that are already dead as well as infect humans and turn them. It’s a sick thing.” The burlap flap pulls back and a damp warm bare foot steps inside, milky pink but pale. Her nose wrinkles horribly though as she enters the tent.

“Shikamaru! How dare you smoke in here!!” Her voice cuts across the space like so many jagged knives, “Get out! Get out!! You’re making it stink!!”

Shikamaru looks down at his cigarette and curses blotting it out against his kevlon and stumbling back and from his chair as the girl whirls toward him – and he flees out the tent doorway. “Sorry Ino!!”

Her hand closes on a tin covering and a sweet foul smell expunges forth to cover up the smell of the smoke. Her voice grates and growls and she’s fuming right before me. Golden hair knotting in on itself, a life of it’s own in a rage.

“It’ll take forever to air it out and make the smell go away! How dare you!!” blue sapphire eyes flash and I’m captivated by her full body.

Her skin and hair are still damp, limbs and torso covered by loose white pants and top – she smells like soap and strawberries. She just got out of the shower. So that’s what that steaming wooden thing was.

Then her eyes land on me and she sprays the air freshener again, eyes not leaving me. “Uzumaki’s only son?” she wonders aloud, or is she asking me?

“Naruto! We’ve got clothes – get out of there and let the girl change, huh?” I follow Shikamaru’s advice and duck out the tent. I can hear the blonde spraying the tent space again.

Chouji hands off the clothes to Shikamaru and he offers them to me. I guess I’ll be changing out here. More black… between Hunters and Vampires – no imagination; although I guess it does camouflage fairly well.

“Ino, you good?”

“Yeah, you can come in if you leave your cancer-stix outside this time.” She barks back after I’ve finished wiping up the blood and pulling the black sweater over my head. Idly I look back toward the forest and wonder how far Sasuke might have gone without me.

Probably far by now.

Inside the girl is back in the routine black gray and kevlon I see everyone wearing, and I take a seat with Shika back at the crazy tea-table setup. It smells too much like flowers, and I can still detect the cigarette scent beneath it.

Her eyes focus on me again and for a moment she doesn’t say a word. Then breathes, “So this is Naruto Uzumaki,” she smiles, apparently trying to recover a first impression, “I’ve been waiting to meet you.”

“Ino is actually the one who got me started in the Hunters,” Shikamaru mutters to me, scratching his nose to cover for himself, “you know, after you disappeared from school for good.”

Interesting. Really. “So you know about my mother or something?” I ask her directly. It’s one thing I still remember from that cut-off phone call.

She seems a little surprised but purses her lips and nods anyway. “Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, both your mother and father were Hunters.”

Well isn’t that annoying – I mean that sort of figures in somehow now doesn’t it!

“But they were both human.” I try to confirm – maybe one of them was turned or something so I really am technically a half-breed?

“That is true.” She confirms.

No such luck then. I’m definitely human… or turned by Jiraiya… but then why would Jiraiya have ever been confused about you being a vampire and agree with Sasuke when he pushed this ‘Naruto is a half-breed’ thing?

I dunno!

“I suppose you’ll want to know how they died.” No not really, couldn’t care less. “Minato fell under the power of a vampire woman, about the time Kushina was about to deliver – she wasn’t in the field, as his partner she couldn’t protect him at that time.”

Like I care.

“He died due to that vampire’s influence. Your mother died protecting you from that vampire.” Does my face say I care? Fine, tell your story and be done with it.

“She, the vampire, infiltrated the Hunters underground due to her control of Minato – he defended her and in the fighting he was killed due to that vampire’s influence, trying to protect his master. His mind was already a drone at that point.”

“Your mother died when that vampire woman came after you – you had just been born then.” Kuu?

“So there’s that clear tie between me and the vampires.” I sigh – why does this all seem so stupid. I mean they were both human right? “So why does this matter at all? It doesn’t pertain to me, not really.”

“I thought you’d want to know about your parents.” Ino frowns, “Uzumaki created most of the weapons we still use against vampires today.”

“Up until her pregnancy – losing her husband to the vampire, and protecting you through infancy and up until her death – she kept the fight.”

“So basically I have some natural affinity for vampires or hunters or something?” I wonder. Is this some kind of sales pitch? I mean, really?

She snorts, a smile breaking over her face, “Maybe, but-” she leans forward and like Shika her hand presses hard to my chest – heartbeat, so fascinating, I know. She smiles, “-you’re not one of them, and you never will be.”

She’s basically saying I’m human. But I already know that’s not true…

“Both your parents were exceptional hunters in their time,” she draws back, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you to join us. You know their lair inside and out. You’d be our greatest asset if you did.”

“Just because I have a heartbeat you’re saying I’m human.” I try to contain my laughter, “But that doesn’t explain anything – that can’t be true, it doesn’t explain anything about what’s happened to me. What I can do.”

She looks unfazed. “You’ve already developed their talents and characteristics, due to your proximity to them.” She nods at my widened eyes, “It’s a mental state that happens to humans sometimes.”

No.

“In such close proximity with monsters you start to exhibit monster-like behavior and believe you have their strength, their power, their abilities and you may even fit in with them so well you’re fully convinced.”

There’s more to it…

“You may even develop an alternate persona in your mind that appears to be you and one with them – making you the same as them.”

There’s more to it than that…

“Don’t worry, I know it’s hard to accept – but your heart beat doesn’t lie. You’re not a vampire – no matter what kind no vampire has a heart beat. It’s a physical impossibility.”

She explains, and it’s so rational, and it makes so much sense. But then what am I? Am I really just human… with a psychosis?

You think I’m a psychosis?!

You only showed up after I became a ‘vampire’ remember?

Forget this broad! We have better things to fuck!

“There’s a series of blood tablets you can take to wean you from their habits, their cross-over power. So you won’t go into shock or your body can’t stop – it’ll help.” She explains.

“I thought something like that had happened to you to stay with them for so long. I can get some tablets from Kurenai for you – within a week you’ll even have restores regular motor functions. Two weeks you’ll be completely back to your old self”

But I don’t want it.

Even though the Order sentenced me to death, I can’t go back. I’m not human – even if I was, I don’t want it. I’m not human – there’s more to it than that. I’m definitely not just human.

Narcissist.

I stand up, and cut her off with a look. “Thank you really, I’m sorry but no thanks. I have to go now. Don’t worry about the Order – I won’t tell them anything. They’d rather execute me anyway.”

“But then you don’t have anywhere to go?” Ino wonders.

Shikamaru’s eyes lock on me, but something in his gaze is calm – he already knows what I’m going to say doesn’ he. “What’s going on Naruto?”

“I have to tell you what I should have those times before,” I admit, and he only nods. That fervor in him has died in an instant and for a moment I glimpse that laid-back who-gives-a-rip guy I knew in school.

“I’m not human, I don’t ‘think’ I can do these things, I can. I held off a regen swarm. I fought a wolf, and I won. I fought and defeated a lava monster, fell through a three way maze. I am not human. And if I were I don’t want to go back.”

Ino looks skeptical.

“I don’t know what I am, but you’re right. I’m not a vampire. But I’m not a human-” I feel my bones crack and bend and in an instance I stand a wolf before her.

My eyes stare back at her before my shape twists back around as I flip around behind her. Only a little faster than I saw that Aburame guy move – impressive nonetheless I think. Ino tenses up and I mist through her back to where I stood before.

Shika’s eyes never left me, still so calm, but his fingers give a twitch, betrays his want for another smoke.

“Sorry Shika; I still love my friend,” I try to smile, though his calm features do not return that gesture – I may as well be explaining why I’ll be skipping class today. “I’m now dead to that world.”

“Yeah,” he grunts, “I guess you are.”

I can’t tell if he’s mad or just wondering what to do now – but I don’t wait around. In a flash I’m gone, a stunning exit, and bolting through the trees.

I’m trying to catch the last thread of Sasuke’s presence – he must be so far away by now. I spent too long there and I didn’t learn anything except that both my parents were humans. I let my eyes close for the moment groping outward with my consciousness for a trace of his.

I search outward but I can’t find anything – what did he not leave any kind of residue of being here?! No! I caught something!

I dash off after the trail – so glad he taught me that trick for tracking! I’d have never found his trail otherwise – let alone him!

Actually the trail gets stronger – Sasuke isn’t far at all. In moments even I’m standing in front of him. He’s hardly moved from that first spot I broke away from him. What’s up with that – he was waiting for me?

Dark eyes lock on mine and he’s scowling, but his eyes flicker when he sees me – like relief. “So you came back to me.”

“Relieved?” I grin at him. “I got clean clothes at the least.”

“I see that.” He nods turning back toward the wood, away from the Hunters camp. “Let’s go now.”

I don’t question him for now, following farther and father into the wood, past, over, and by endless mountainside. Hey a road – been forever since I’ve seen one of those. No cars, obviously not a well traveled highway.
It’s apparent enough that I can’t go back to the High Lair and the Order – but then neither can Sasuke. So where is he taking us, I have to wonder.

Dusk approaches quicker and I catch the chatter of a thousand bats as they pour forth like hellspawn from the throat of a toothy cave that descends deep almost straight down into the mountainous valley jaws bridging upward.

Sasuke slows and steps to the lip and edge of the beastlike structure. I step beside him, and don’t hesitate, when he leaps off to the darkness below, to follow.

Below we change shape catch ourselves and drop to the stony cave floor – a network of stairs and series of underground caves branch out and off winding around. The wind rushing through makes it sound like the caves are drawing rattling breaths.

Some private hide-away or what? No… there’s others down here. I can feel the chill, the presence of thousands, hundreds of thousands. Vampires – there’s tons of them down here. Another nest?

Descending deeper, following Sasuke, the way opens up and electric lights filter across the cave ceiling wound high among stalactites. Structures built around stalagmites cut on the ground, making it a strange kind of organization.

Sasuke walks to the entrance, a large vampire with shock-pale hair and hard flinty eyes. “Juugo.” Darkeyes greets.

He nods to Sasuke, “My prince.” And the two of us walk past without incident, but that Juugo guy’s eyes follow me. Intelligent eyes though - and they all have those eyes, they’re all sentient vampires. They all recognize Sasuke and they all stare at me.

I realize – I’m new here. Think you’ve never seen a new guy!

I don’t get this… I mean what the hell? Sasuke stops in front of a larger structure and greets a larger vampire with almost blue skin and strange gashes cut and burned – it looks like – on the sides of his throat.

His eyes glance at me too before he pokes his head inside the tent and comes right back out to stand.

Sasuke stands tall and I step up stopping around a meter or so behind him. The tent flap comes away and a pale hand I very nearly recognize grabs my attention. But then I recognize that skin color, that exact tone. That texture.

I know that dark feather-black hair, although it’s much longer. I know those dark eyes and that soft expression. I know it almost exactly but not quite – because this guy looks exactly like Sasuke, and he’s not he’s older.

But there’s something else… I’ve definitely seen him someplace else before, but where?! “This is him?”

Sasuke nods and turns back to me. Their heights… I’ve seen this before. I’ve definitely seen this before. “Naruto, I’d like you to meet my brother, Itachi.”

Come to think of it… I gotta know exactly what this place is. There’s no other possibility of what it is.

This is the regen camp!

“Itachi is leader of the Regenerates.”

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