AN: So pissed I had to reupload this fic. Someone reported it for inappropriate content when there was NOTHING in it other than language! So just to annoy whoever that was, here it is - reposted.

Just an AU semi-short fic to get my imagination kick-started to fuel my major project, Underwater. This story is different in that it isn't a genre I normally write. Make no mistake, there are still elements of humour - I literally cannot stray from that genre.

Anyone up to the challenge in doing a fic trade with me? Check my profile.

Summary:
No memories. No identity. Nothing. His only hope of answers lies with a man whose features mirror his own. Ten years later, while working under that man, events arise that will allow him to find the answers he had been longing for... But he won't like them. AU. Assassin-theme!

Suspense/Romance/Humor

Warnings:
Alternated Universe – Modern World.
No Ninjas
Assassins :D
Language
OOC-ness may occur. But attempts have been made to keep it minimum. (Reasons behind changes in character)

Copy

Chapter One

By BlueRedemption

The constant whoop of the evacuation alarm was deafening, and the whirring flashes of red alert lights beginning to get really irritating - especially when they were now the exclusive light source. It seemed that the laboratory's self-generated electrical power was programmed to cut off as an emergency precaution to an infiltration event such as this.

"Code 62. Code 62. Danger. The emergency destruct system is currently activated." The timed automated announcement of a woman's monotone voice boomed through the building, echoing down through its halls. "Detonation countdown in process. Time remaining is T minus fifteen minutes."

The blonde teen hissed through gritted teeth as a tell-tale 'twang' of a bullet beside the steel machinery he had rolled behind - coupled with sudden pain searing jolting up through his left arm and leg - told him that he had been grazed. He crouched low behind his cover as another spray of shrapnel rained upon him and his team.

The large tank made of thick glass sitting atop his makeshift shield made a sound similar to a bone breaking as a bullet from one of their assailants pierced it. The glass held for a tiny fraction of a second; the growing crack quickly weaving spidery vein-like tracks across its cylindrical surface. Too weak to uphold the clear, viscous substance contained within, it finally gave way with a loud crash - spilling its contents along with jagged fragments of glass onto the space surrounding it. That space, unfortunately, included him.

He swore loudly as he belatedly raised his arms in a futile attempt to protect his head. Unknown substances in contact with your skin was never good news. Especially in a lab owned by this particular person! Ignoring his injury and drenched state, he popped his head up past his temporary shield in order to observe and to fire a round at the white-robed figures frantically fleeing through an exit on the other side. Emptying the round, he released the trigger and lowered the firearm slowly to his side, realizing that firing the piece was futile as the last of them had already disappeared into the shadowy darkness.

"'After him!" Inuzuka's voice cut loudly above the wailing siren and the last few stray bullets being fired from their side in a location somewhere behind him.

The blonde teen stood abruptly from his hiding place, in the middle of reloading his gun. "Stop! Don't pursue." He commanded his small team, raising his own voice so as to be heard over the emergency signals. A swift glance thrown behind him and at the barely visible form blinking into view every time the red lights flashed on assured him of his team mate's location.

"But-!"

He cut him off, "No. There's a possibility of a trap if we follow. We can't see shit, either. We have to get out, everyone's safety is my first priority, Inuzuka." He cast a regretful look into the darkness in which their targets had fled, clenching his fist helplessly. As much as he wanted to give chase, they were dealing with a very dangerous man here. It was better to retreat.

"Code 62. Code 62. Danger. The emergency destruct system is currently activated. Detonation countdown in process. Time remaining is T minus ten minutes"

He signalled towards the way they had entered, "Move out!" He ordered. Despite the darkness, his observant gaze caught Inuzuka's head nodding stiffly in assent.

As they all started running towards their exit, he noticed a movement behind one of the machines with a fluid-filled tank on top. He immediately stopped and gripped his gun with both hands, turning off the safety and cautiously stalking towards the contraption with a large panel of buttons.

The commanding teen noticed from his peripheral vision that his team had paused to stare when they had noticed that he wasn't following. Annoyed, he agitatedly signalled for them to continue on; his gaze never moving from the spot where he had seen something shift.

Keeping his breathing in check and his footsteps light and stealthy, he neared the device. As soon as he was in range of the liquid-containing tank, he threw his weight over to the right side. He directed his momentum by landing on his shoulder and pushing his weight - body rolling along naturally with the motion so that he ended into a half crouch, one knee on the floor and gun pointed at the observer.

A fair-haired child dressed in clothes several sizes too big for him gasped in shock and fell from his half-squatted position and onto his back. Eyes wide with fear, he lifted his bottom up from the floor and vainly attempted to scuttle back on his hands and feet, looking like an odd, unco-ordinated spider. His head hit the solid wall behind with a force that made him wince, but he defiantly ignored the pain, choosing instead to press his small, quivering body against the cold wall.

The blonde teen's surprise at seeing a tiny child in such an environment caused him to pause for a moment, his gun still trained on the small boy before he realized what he was doing. He clicked the safety back on and tucked the gun into its holster on his thigh, belatedly becoming conscious of the reason why he was scaring the young boy. Awkwardly, he scrambled for something to say, "You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous." Way to state the obvious. He winced at his self-depreciation and tried again when he didn't get a reply. "We have to leave. Can you walk? You aren't hurt, are you?"

The child only looked at him in an unsure, curious manner, tilting his head at the offered hand like a wounded, untrusting dog.

He didn't have time for this! He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, ok?"

A dry, unconvinced look was shot at him.

Damn it! Kids shouldn't even be able to make faces like that.

"Code 62. Code 62. Danger. The emergency destruct system is currently activated. Detonation countdown in process. Time remaining is T minus five minutes."

"You know what? Fine! You either follow me out and stay safe; or you don't, and you die here. It'll be really, really, really painful." He childishly exaggerated. Standing, he turned and started jogging towards the exit at a slow pace to show that he was leaving, but wanting to see if the boy would rise to his bait.

He did.

"W-wait!" The child's voice was nearly drowned out by the irritating sirens echoing around them.

The trained assassin could hear frantic scuffling before the light pitter-patter of running footsteps followed after him. He almost smiled in satisfaction but supressed it as he stopped and looked down, his face melding into a more serious expression as the boy slowed to a halt a few metres from him, still clearly apprehensive at the prospect of approaching him. Not that he could be blamed. He did point at a gun at the kid. He turned his back on the child and dropped to a half crouch, indicating for the child to get onto his back. "Come on, up you get! We have to get out of here, fast!"

"Umm…"

He craned his neck to look behind him, blue eyes darkening as he glared, "I'll carry you like a sack of potatoes, if you prefer." He threated. His instincts were calling out now - itching to get away from this building. They didn't have time to spare.

The thin child hurriedly did as he was told.

The teenage youth stood and adjusted the light weight on his back, "Hold on tight." He cautioned, before sprinting towards the exit, adrenaline now pumping rapidly his veins as his intuition screamed at him to get a move on.

"Oi!" His in-ear communication device suddenly crackled into life, his team mate's voice hissing in his ear. "We're all out. Where the hell are you? Building is gonna blow, man!"

"Hold your horses, I'm on my way!" He huffed, pausing to take a deep breath as he turned a corner, "Just ended up with some spare baggage, ok!"

Reaching the emergency exit door, he tried the handle, only to find it locked.

"Code 62. Code 62. Danger. The emergency destruct system is currently activated. Detonation countdown in process. Time remaining is T minus two minutes."

"Shit, shit, shit! Come on, you fucking piece of shit!" He swore, swiftly pulling out his handgun, and firing several bullets into the lock of the door. He brutally kicked the door in, feeling a hum of satisfaction at his form of revenge against the inanimate object that had blocked his path.

He felt the child quiver behind him, and felt a little regretful at his savage actions and litany of swear words. "Hey, it's going to be ok. We're going to be ok." He gently whispered as he turned his head towards his shoulder to talk to his 'passenger', growing unsure as to whether his words were for the benefit of comforting the child or himself.

"Inuzuka! We're exiting down at the parking lot!" He advised, tapping the button on his communication gear, "Wait for us, but clear away from the building!" He ran down the flight of emergency staircases, jumping two at a time to increase his pace. His breathing started to get laboured, and he could feel a slight, but steady burn growing in his legs. Not just from his gunshot wound, but because of the lactic acid slowly building. Come on, come on! He mentally urged his muscles on. Just a bit further!

"Code 62. Code 62. Danger. The emergency destruct system is currently activated. Detonation countdown in process. Time remaining is T minus sixty seconds."

Peeking slightly down the safety rails as he charged downstairs, he almost left out a cry of relief to see the lowest level in view. Rushing down the last few steps, he clasped the handle of the door, feeling rather lucky when it turned and opened. He rushed out into the parking lot, and his stomach dropped in anxiousness as he could hear the start of explosions far above him. He knew without a doubt that the building was collapsing starting from the very top level. And he was going to be buried along with it if he didn't clear away from the underground parking lot now.

He raced towards the bright sunlight that he could see at one end of the parking lot, roughly two hundred metres away, if his depth perception was as accurate as usual. His loud breathes were starting to become gasps as his legs pumped rhythmically beneath him. Damn it! He was a trained assassin for goodness sake! Just a bit more… fifty metres! Come on! Not for the first time in his life, he cursed his low tolerance to the hydrogen ions that caused his muscle to fatigue and slow down.

In his peripheral vision, he could see the columns far in the right side start to fall as it could no longer support the crumbling roof above them.

They had run out of time.

Five metres away from clearing the edge of the overhang of the building, a quick analysis in his head told him that they wouldn't make it as a another column collapsed dangerously close to him with a groan, and he actually had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Scattering fragments of brick and limestone rained in all directions; smogs of dust clouding the air and filling his lungs.

With all his knowledge of how buildings collapsed and how rubble fell, he sent a quick prayer and put his life into the hands of fate. He ducked next to the side doors of a parked four-wheel drive, wedging the quiet child between himself and the car in a protective stance just as the roof caved in on them.

"-ive? Hey! Answer me!"

Pain.

He could barely feel his legs. But damn it, they hurt like a fucking bitch!

He swallowed and fought the urge to retch. It felt as though he had eaten sand or something since there was a gritty, tasteless feel inside most of his whole mouth and a good portion of his throat.

"Please!"

The high pitched voice again. Frantic. Panicking. It sounded watery.

He felt something small and warm land on his shoulder and shake him. He groaned and swatted at it, his head screaming for peace. He just wanted to rest right now.

"You're alive!"

Sniffling, and hiccupping.

Someone was crying?

He forced his eyes open, and he found himself staring into teary twin pools of sapphire blue in dim light.

He felt confused for a moment, before his memories caught up to him and he realized his situation.

A quick survey of their cramped surroundings told him a few things.

First and most importantly, they were alive and there was a possibility of an exit – if the light shining behind the boy was any indication. That was good. He smiled grimly, looks like they were lucky. A column had fallen on top of them, but its top half had landed on the four wheel drive, squashing the car beneath it beyond all possible recognition. But the resulting compression of the car had left a small triangular space between it and the slanted fallen end of the column… a space that they were lucky enough to occupy.

But unfortunately, his communication device didn't seem to be working. Now that was shitty. How were they supposed to be rescued now?

Tear tracks were running down the unknown kid's face, making clear tracks on the sooty skin which was covered mostly in dust and dirt. He felt a twinge of pity for the boy, and a surge of anger directed towards the people who had dragged this kid in the lab. Innocent children shouldn't have to be involved in twisted crap like this! Reaching out, he brushed a few tears away, making a clean patch on the boy's dirty cheeks. "Hey, you alright?" He croaked out, voice hoarse. He could barely recognize it as his own.

His question drew an incredulous expression from the boy, "Me? …I'm fine. But, I thought you died and left me." His small voice ended in a trembling whisper.

He let out a humourless chuckle, "Me? I'm too awesome to die." He cracked a small, encouraging smile up at the child peering down at him. His vision was beginning to waver and the edges were starting to dim. He knew without a doubt that he had suffered a concussion at the very least. "Hey kid, can you do me a favour?"

"Hm?"

He grimaced. It took a hell lot of effort to pull off his necklace and give it to the child who held it in his palm like something precious - unsure of what to do with it. "You see the light behind you?" He asked. He could barely make out the nodding motion the boy made - he was so sleepy… "Well, can you crawl out?"

The thin child looked hesitant at the thought of leaving his side, but pursed his lips, looking more determined each passing second. "… It's a bit small, but I think I can make it."

"Well, I need you to crawl through, ok? When you get out, I need you to call for help. Can you do that for me?" He was starting to slur his words now. He was no longer able to fight his heavy eyelids, and they fluttered shut. His straggled breathing evened out, and he welcomed the calling of the darkness, devoid of pain.

The answering reply never made it to his ears.

A startled, strangled gasp was torn from Mitarashi Anko's lips, "That kid!"

Her companion, a dark-haired teenage boy who was still frantically trying to contact their team leader, paused for a moment. "What kid?" He snapped, tension and nerves keeping him highly strung.

"That necklace he's holding-!" Was all she managed to choke out before sprinting off towards the remains of the building that they had been inside mere minutes ago.

Pale lavender eyes quickly trained along where Anko was headed and he froze when he caught sight of a familiar light blue pendant that was held in a crying, sooty boy's hand.

His throat tightened.

AN: Confused? XD How do you think I did, writing action? It's not my usual style. I'm normally a comedy writer. Teehee.

Please review if you appreciate my work.