Kuro: Snakes and Crows

Chapter 13: Kuro Tunnels

Araya's POV

You know, when I was planning out my day, I wasn't expecting to fall into a hole in the ground and almost drown in dirt. That just wasn't in my planner. Sigh. The things I do for my sister's crush.

Speaking of crushed, I was crushed against Itachi as we were sucked through the ground. I was strangely conscious of the Uchiha as we fell. You would think that my mind would have been on things more important than Crow's well-toned shoulder in that moment. The mind is a strange thing sometimes so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised.

Suddenly, the feeling of dirt lessened and we were falling through air. I landed on a soft sacley thing that writhed under me. I sat up, wiping dirt off my face and hearing Itachi spit dirt out. Sheesh. Didn't he close his mouth when he fell?

"Are you alright?" asked an unfamiliar voice as something smooth wiped dirt out of my eyes gently.

"Yeah, thanks," I said. I opened my eyes and froze. In front of me was a light green snake with a blue underbelly and eyes like Oro.

It flicked dirt from the tip of its tail and tilted its head at me as I froze. "That's good," it said cheerfully. "That was a long fall. I'm Aoi. Nice to meet you."

I shook my head, wondering why I was surprised anymore. A hand appeared in front of me and I followed it upward it Itachi's calm face. He helped me up and, on further inspection, I could see worry in his dark eyes.

I looked around at the dirt around me. We were underground and even the hole we fell through had been filled in as quickly as it had appeared. Light came from the glowy crystals that encrusted the walls and I couldn't see Matsuko or Oro anywhere.

"Hey, Noodle," I said, turning to the snake. "I assume Oro summoned you, right?"

Aoi nodded. "He said I could have marshmallows after this!"

Shaking off the statement that I had not understood, I asked, "Alright. Can you sense that idiot and my idiot sister, then?"

Itachi rolled his eyes at me as Aoi lifted his wedge head, tasting the air. "I can't sense the," he said, a worried tone entering into his voice. "There's something the walls that are blocking me!"

I looked over at Itachi who activated his sharingan eye. He looked around so hard that his eyes started to turn red.

"Stop," I called, my voice strangely deadened by the earth around us. "Please."

With a deep breath, Itachi closed his eyes and turned them back to their dark color. "He's right," the Uchiha said, glancing around with dark eyes. "I can't see anything."

"I told you," Aoi said, looking kind of offended.

"Welcome," came a voice from around us. I growled, pulling out Mum's kunai knife. The voice was Noriko's and she seemed to be enjoying herself. "Consider this a par' of yer trainin'. Ye've been separated. Ye 'ave to get back together before the next challenge. Good luck. Keep careful track of each other till then."

"Oh, noes!" Aoi exclaimed, writhing in panic. "I can't find Oro! What are we going to do? How are we going to find him!?"

"Noodle?" I asked, trying to stay calm for the both of us although Itachi was the only calm one. "Get ahold of yourself! How old are you?"

"I'm seven," Aoi said proudly and my heart sank.

"I don't believe this," I mumbled, putting my hands on either side of my face. "I can't be raising a child right now while trying to stay alive and stay together in a trap set up by Wrath Dragons. I can't do this!"