It was close to midnight when they finally found a decent place to camp out; as decent as you could get underground. Sasuke and Kei had holed up underneath a dock near the filthy green river that ran through the city.

The stench was terrible, reeking of fish and garbage, so not many people actually used the boats. It was an ideal place for two wanted criminals to stay.

Sasuke lay down immediately, exhausted from the day's happenings. His arm had started bleeding again during the fight, which he hadn't even noticed until now. He hoped it hadn't left a blood trail.

Kei stretched out on his back beside him, gazing at the ceiling of rock where the sky should have been.

"See anything interesting?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Shut up," Kei muttered.

They lay in silence so long, Sasuke thought Kei had fallen asleep. He curled up on his side, preparing to sleep himself, when Kei spoke.

"Sasuke?"

"Hmm?"

"Earlier...when we were fighting that cop..."

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, him. He said you...killed his mother?"

Sasuke sighed. "No. I've already told you, I've never killed anyone."

"Why does he think that then?" Kei rolled over to stare at him, his blue eyes studying Sasuke's. Something flickered in them. Sadness.

"He mistook someone else for me. My...older brother. He's dead now," Sasuke said harshly. "We looked a lot alike, and it was dark, so...my brother wasn't a well known criminal. I was. I got into a lot of trouble after our parents died. Naturally, Naruto assumed it was me."

"Oh," Kei murmured, rolling back over, away from Sasuke. "Good."

Sasuke frowned at the back of his head. "Why would you ask that? I thought you had no qualms about taking lives."

"My mom..." The boy said softly. "She died when I was six. She was a good person. She protected me from my dad, when he got real drunk. He ended up killing her when he was off. Tried to kill me too. I ran away. Been living on my own ever since..." His voice trailed off for a moment. "Anyway, I don't want people's mothers to be taken away from them. It hurts. I still think about her every day."

Sasuke bit his lip, his stomach turning. He knew a lot about how Kei felt. But he still had one question. "Why do you condone killing then?"

Kei's voice hardened. "To make sure scum like my dad doesn't do anything like that to anyone else. Especially people I care about." He curled up in a ball, clearly done talking. "Good night."

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes. "Good night." Especially people he cares about, huh? Am I...one of those people to Kei?

***********************************

Orochimaru walked down the destitute streets, his yellow eyes prowling back and forth. Kabuto hurried to keep up, his hand on his sword. He glanced about nervously, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Calm down, Kabuto," Orochimaru muttered. "There isn't anything down here except a few vermin."

"Yes, Orchimaru-sama, but--" Kabuto swallowed. "We are in the underground. This is not our turf. You know how the people down here hate us police. We could be attacked at any minute."

Orochimaru simply shrugged. "All we need to do is sniff out one little rat."

"I heard he's got an ally now," Kabuto persisted. "Remember what Naruto said when he came back today? 'He's got the arsonist with him' is what he told Tsunade."

Orochimaru made a sound of annoyance. "Enough, Kabuto! We will find him and capture him, no matter how many allies he has! Come, we're going to where he fought with Naruto. Those incompetent investigators couldn't find any clues in regards to his whereabouts, but I'm sure I can."

They arrived at the scene of the crime minutes later. It had been sectioned off with yellow tape, but no one was on guard duty. Orochimaru glared. "What's going on with our police department these days? They've been slacking off. No one knows how to manage a real investigation anymore."

Ducking under the tape, he clicked on a flashlight. Shining the bright beam of light over the area, he poked around the area, finding small traces of blood. Kabuto stood by nervously, on the lookout for anyone in the vicinity.

"They said he and his partner climbed up this pipe over here," Orochimaru murmured. "And used the rooftops to outrun the men." Holding his flashlight between his teeth, Orochimaru climbed up the pipe.

"O-Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto cried. "Where are you going?"

"Up to where the rest of our men were too stupid to look," Orochimaru growled, hauling himself to the top. Kabuto quickly followed his lead, wanting to avoid being left behind.

Orochimaru was grinning when Kabuto finally grabbed the top of the wall and stood up beside him. "What is it?"

"Blood," Orochimaru smirked. "Dried blood." He knelt down and scraped a bit off with his finger. Putting it close to his nose, he inhaled deeply. "Yes! Yes, Kabuto, this is it! The Uchiha's blood! The fool left a trail, and I've found it. Let's go, I want to find him now!"

He dragged Kabuto across the rooftop, following the spatters of dark red with his flashlight.

"Sir!" Kabuto cried as Orochimaru leaped across to the next rooftop. "Aren't you acting a bit extreme?"

Orochimaru paid him no mind, smiling to himself as he kept his eyes trained on the blood. "I've finally got you, Uchiha!"

***********************************

Sasuke bolted upright from his sleep, his breathing coming in quiet gasps and bursts.

Kei shot up as well, his eyes darting back and forth. He looked at Sasuke, who nodded, his eyes wide.

They'd both heard it. The loud thump that had come from the dock above them.

Keeping one hand over his mouth to silence his breathing, Sasuke soundlessly worked himself up into a crouching position. He glanced at Kei, who was squinting into the blackness of the night that enveloped them. All was quiet. Too quiet. It was as if the entire city was holding its breath.

Creeeeeeaaaak.

Their eyes shot up again, staring at the bottom of the dock. Water dripped on Sasuke's face. That wasn't right. He hadn't felt a single drop of water all night. So it must have dropped from something that was right above hi--

"Aghhhh!!!" Something slammed into his side, and he flew back, landing in the dirty river. It was deep, he realized. Much deeper than he'd originally thought. He sank like a stone beneath the surface.

No! He moved his arms upward, kicking and pushing. To be honest, he wasn't that good of a swimmer. There weren't many opportunities to learn underground. But he knew the basics, he wasn't going to die in some scummy river--

Something jerked on the bottom of his feet. His ascent stopped.

Looking down in the murky water, he realized his feet had been tangled in the long, thick weeds that lined the bottom.

Sasuke fought the urge to panic, but that became increasingly difficult as his air began to run out. Reaching down with his hands, he tugged at the weeds futilely, only succeeding in tying a knot even tighter around his ankle.

He couldn't breathe.

His consciousness began to waver as his oxygen supply depleted. This was it. He was going to die down here, in this fetid water. What a laughable death. Tied up with weeds at the bottom of the river. Not exactly heroic.

Something glinted in the dark depths, catching his fading attention. It was slowly falling, twisting in slow spirals as it made its descent. He watched it as it moved, almost hypnotically toward him, so slowly, so peacefully...

Sasuke snapped out of his trance, realizing what the object was. His pocket knife! It must have drifted out of his pocket, and in his desperation, he'd completely forgotten about it. Snatching it, he bent once more, sawing with renewed vigor at the green leafy plants.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

They broke one by one, each snap bringing him closer and closer to air, to life--

The last weed broke, and Sasuke frantically paddled upward, his lungs screaming. But he refused to open his mouth, refused to swallow a single sip of the garbage infested liquid.

He broke through the surface of the water gasping, shaking the water out of his eyes. He was out, he was safe.

But a shout reminded him that his troubles were far from over. Swimming as quickly as he could to the shore, he dragged himself back onto the gravel. His arms were still tired, his muscles still burning from the lack of oxygen.

Ignoring it, Sasuke stood, searching for Kei. There! He caught sight of three shadowed figures in the distance. One of them turned to him. "Sasuke! Get your butt over here and help me!"

Sasuke's eyes flashed. Whoever had hit him had nearly drowned him. There was no way he'd let them get away with that.

He ran to Kei's side, grabbing his sword that he'd placed on the ground before falling asleep.

But who he saw nearly made him drop it again.

Those yellow snake-like eyes glared at him, illuminated on his pale face. His long black hair made his skin seem sickly pale, and that too-wide smile stretched across his face.

"Orochimaru!" He hissed.

"And Kabuto," the snake man reminded him, pushing the nervous gray haired man forward. "Ahh, Sasuke-kun, I'm so glad to have found you. I've been searching for a while now, you know?"

"You know this creepy dough face?" Kei asked, eying the duo with disgust.

"Yeah," Sasuke snarled. "He's the one who killed my brother. The gray haired freak, too."

"Well then, I can kill them with a clear conscious," Kei said.

"The only one dying here will be you, mister arsonist," Orochimaru smirked. "I can't kill Sasuke-kun just yet. He and I have some unfinished business from four years ago. Kabuto, get ready. This will be a quick fight. That dip in the water took its toll on you, didn't it, Sasuke-kun? Those heavy clothes will weigh you down, apart from the fact that you're already tired."

Sasuke scowled. "You're going to die, Orochimaru."

"And be charged with the murder of another police officer, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru laid emphasis on the word 'another'."

Sasuke felt the anger driven heat rise to his face. "I will kill you, and expose everything you've done."

"And what have I done, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru sneered. "You don't really have a clue, do you?"

"No," Sasuke admitted. "But Itachi did. He knew that something was wrong with the police force, and I know that you two are the ones behind it. Whatever you've done, I will find out."

"Maybe," Orochimaru smiled. "If you don't die, first."

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