a mirror, a window, a naruto fanfic

"Naruto!" Sakura called out, a bright smile on her face. She poked her head out of the car and waved wildly, her cheeks hurting from how big her smile was. Naruto seemed to light up and become bigger, a matching smile on his own face as soon as he spotted them. He waved, jumping up and down as he bounded down the steps of the porch, racing towards them.

Beside her, Sasuke made a small sound of amusement as he slowed down to park on the side. Rocks crackled and crunched underneath the wheels as they left the trail of ground and soil. As soon as the car had come to a complete stop, Sakura hurriedly took off her seat belt and shoved open the car door.

Naruto was already there and pulling her into a tight hug, stealing the air from her lungs. Sakura gasped in laughter as she hugged him back, her arms thrown over his shoulders and her face buried in his chest.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he spun her, and she squealed the moment her feet left the ground, pushing at him in vain. He let her go, beaming and practically vibrating with happiness. The driver's door closed and Naruto turned to face Sasuke exiting the driver's seat, sunglasses already on his face and as smooth as ever.

"Oi, bastard!" Naruto called out as he jogged over, hundred kilowatt smile blinding. He jogged over to Sasuke and held out his arms expectantly. Sasuke's lips twitched as he pressed them together, trying and failing to hide a smile. He reached out for a one-sided hug but Naruto wouldn't have it, launching and pushing himself into Sasuke's space with a bear hug.
Sasuke bore with it for a few seconds before he squirmed and grunted, pushing Naruto's shoulder. "That's long enough, stop."
Sakura rolled her eyes and made her way to the other side of the car just as Naruto let go.

"This is great!" Naruto grabbed her and pulled her into a threeway hug, ignoring Sasuke's half-hearted groan of exasperation. "Team 7 reunited again!"

"It hasn't been the same without you," Sakura sighed, leaning into his side. "Sasuke and I make do, but it just isn't the same."

"Neither of us is particularly good at making friends with ghosts, unlike you," Sasuke added dryly. Sakura snorted. That was one way of putting it.

She wouldn't quite call Team 7 a dream team, but the three of them worked well together when it got down to it. It had taken a while for them to really be one team, but after a few years underneath Kakashi, they gained quite a reputation amongst the ghost fighting crowd. Naruto and Sasuke dealt with the ghosts or spirits or demons themselves, and Sakura dealt with humans and the practical side of things. It all worked out.

"Hinata," Naruto called, and Sakura peeked through the space between Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto's new girlfriend was there, and she looked awfully uncomfortable. Sakura eyed her curiously as she made her way down the stairs and to where they were, much slower than Naruto. Her shoulders were drawn in towards herself, her hands clasped tightly together.

"Hinata," Naruto started again, smiling widely. "This is Sakura and Sasuke."

Hinata looked up and Sakura almost choked at the sight of her eyes. She had no pupils, just an iris that was a slightly different shade of white from her sclera. Was she blind?

She bowed and then rose up, drawing her shoulders back, clearly forcing herself to hold up. "Hinata Hyuuga," she introduced herself, and oh. The Hyuuga were well known in their circle as well, most of them were born with the gift of sight, their All Seeing Eyes a product of their sensitivity to spirits and ghosts.

Sakura glanced at Sasuke curiously. The Uchiha too had eyes that let them see into the Other, but they rightfully called eyes like Sasuke's as ones that could see both Earth and Hell. Useful when they were going against demons, not so much against ghosts that were just really dead humans.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said as he bowed.

"Sakura."

"Anway," Naruto piped up, motioning towards Hinata. "She can see ghosts, isn't that awesome?"

xxx

When Naruto had mentioned that Hinata wanted to invite them to her clan's summer home, Sakura had expected a huge house, sure. Any house that was owned by a family that had more than one house tended to lie on the big scale. Case in point: Sasuke and the Uchiha clan.

But. Sakura hadn't expected this.

It was an old-fashioned compound made out of wood, a beautiful Minka, but as Hinata started to give them a tour, Sakura very quickly realized how sprawling the one-floor compound was. There was a lovely, well-tended to garden, a small shrine, numerous spacious bedrooms divided by paper partitions with futons laid out, and even the bathrooms were the traditional washing area and tub separated from the toilet. There was a lake a little walk away, and Naruto and Sasuke had already started to discuss the possibilities of different water activities. Sakura couldn't help the impression that the Hyuuga were clearly old money.

The faint smell of the tatami flooring followed them all throughout the house, a pleasant grassy, herbal scent that Sakura couldn't help but breathe in. It was so different from the sterile cleanliness of Sasuke's home, that hotel scent that she was far too used to, and hell, Sakura couldn't even compare it to the mess that was Naruto's apartment.

The longer the tour went on, Sakura started to notice the multitude of mirrors all over the compound. Each room had a wall of mirrors in it, and you couldn't go five steps in the hallway without passing by the mirror. It was a design choice that she would have expected from the Uchiha, what with how vain they all seemed to be, but it was an odd thing to see in such an otherwise traditional Japanese house.

When Hinata led them off the side and revealed the hot springs, Sakura gasped, a large smile forming on her lips. All thoughts about how much mirrors a clan could possibly need faded to the back of her mind.

The whole place just seemed to promise a stress-free, relaxing week. Sakura was sure as hell going to make the most out of it.

"So there are plenty of rooms for you to choose," Hinata concluded once they finished the tour. She reddened slightly, but she met Naruto's eyes readily enough when she looked up, a shy smile on her face, and said, "Naruto and I will be sharing a room."

"Oh, you both can have your own room then," Naruto grinned at them. Sakura immediately turned towards Sasuke, her lips forming into an exaggerated pout, and her eyes doing its best impression of puppy dog eyes. She even added an eyelash flutter. Her puppy dog eyes weren't as good as Naruto, but in this case-

"Fine," Sasuke said in disgust. "We can share."

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, throwing herself at him. Sasuke scowled but didn't brush her off, so Sakura counted that as a win.

"Can we uh, pick a room without that much mirrors in it though? I don't like sleeping with that much mirrors," Sakura said sheepishly.

xxx

The room was dark.

The only thing inside the room was an ornate mirror hanging on the wall. Wooden gates that resembled window shutters enclosed the mirror, and it was kept closed with an intricate lock, chains wrapping from side to side. Sakura stepped towards it, the echoes of her footsteps unnaturally loud in the eerie silence.

The chains on the mirror rattled, an ominous sound that made Sakura's legs weak. A trickle of sweat ran down her forehead, but the urge to open the shutters remained, stronger and stronger until her hands itched with it.

But no matter how much she walked, the mirror never came any closer. It was so far, so far… Sakura reached out, desperate, and—

She woke up with a gasp.

She sat up, her heart racing in her chest, cold sweat drying on her back. She shuddered and covered her face, chest heaving and exhales loud.

"Sakura?" Came a mumbled call of her name, a hand reaching under a blanket to pat against her thigh and Sakura shook her head as she ran her clammy fingers through her sweat-slicked hair.

"I had a weird dream."

"Think it means anything?" Sasuke asked. He yawned and took back his hand as he stretched out before he buried his face back in his pillow, groaning slightly.

"Doesn't it always?" Sakura murmured in reply. Sasuke was silent, and when the soft sounds of his even breathing from the other side of the bed traveled to her, Sakura shook her head fondly.

She settled back into the futon, her mouth twisted and her eyebrows drawn together. What did it mean? The room was unfamiliar, the mirror even more so. It was distinct enough that Sakura knew she had never seen anything like it before.

She didn't understand why there was a lock in the mirror, why there was a gate… She's never seen anything like it.

What was it meant to keep in?

xxx

Sakura sipped at her tea quietly, just listening to Sasuke and Naruto banter over the table. A fond smile was on her lips as she watched them talk. It had been too long. She really did miss Naruto, and she knew Sasuke missed him just as much, maybe even more than her. The idiot would never admit it though.

She looked down at her tea, slumping back onto her knees as she frowned. She was still stuck up on her dream. The details were blurry now, but that feeling of need and desire to open up the gate was still present in her. She felt restless with the want to roam around, to search out that mirror herself, and she couldn't understand why.

"You're quiet," Sasuke observed, glancing at her through the side of his eye. His posture was impeccable compared to hers, back straight as he sat on the cushions.

"I'm just thinking about that dream I had." Sakura sighed and placed her cup down, the jasmine tea swishing at the sides. "Does it mean anything? Or was it just a regular, normal dream?"

"In my clan," Hinata started, and when Sasuke and Sakura both looked at her, she flushed, but kept going. "There's a saying that dreams are sometimes a message from the dead."

"Well, Sakura gets loads of messages from dead people then," Naruto said through a mouthful of noodles, barely understandable if it weren't for years and years of practice of interpreting Naruto-food speak. "She always gets really helpful dreams for when we go ghostbusting."

Sakura shrugged. "Sasuke does the exorcisms, you either fight ghosts or make friends with them, and I guess I take messages."

"Like a secretary!" Naruto said loudly, lifting his chopstick in the chair and nodding in what he probably believed to be a sage manner. Food flew from it and Sakura winced, glaring at him.

"Secretary sounds so…" she trailed off, pouting slightly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and nudged her with his shoulder, practically a hug from him.

"Don't beat yourself up," he said dryly. "You're a great secretary."

"Wow." Sakura gave him a deadpan look. "You're so sweet."

xxx

Sakura padded down the hallway, humming softly to herself. The slippers that Hinata had lent her were unimaginably soft, and every now and then, Sakura couldn't help but just wiggle her toes and appreciate how comfy it was.

She passed by one of the mirrors and glanced at her reflection. She frowned and picked at her wet hair, smoothing it out before she leaned in. She frowned at herself and prodded the start of a pimple forming on her forehead.

"Ugh," she muttered.

In the mirror, she glimpsed a man with long hair passing behind her and she straightened up, turning around in surprise.

There was no one there.

"Huh," Sakura said.

xxx

Steam covered the mirror. Sakura stuck out her tongue and leaned in to wipe it away, the glass cold against her palm. Her hand passed over the steam once, twice-

A man stared back at her, his own hand flat against the glass.

Sakura screamed and stumbled back, arms pinwheeling as she slid over the wet bathroom floor. She slapped a hand to the side of the wall and righted herself, her heart racing in her chest. When she looked back at the mirror, there was nothing there but her own red-faced reflection, pink hair plastered to the side of her face, and her body covered by a white towel.

She gasped for air, eyes wide as she stared at herself.

"Sakura!" someone yelled, and Sakura screeched again as the bathroom door was kicked open, Naruto on the other side.

"There was something in the mirror!" Sakura choked out, uncaring of the fact that she was practically naked. Naruto frowned and looked at the mirror, but whatever Sakura had seen was long gone.

xxx

"Are there ghosts here?" Sakura asked bluntly.

Hinata blinked back at her serenely before veins suddenly bulged at the side of her head, right beside her eyes. Sakura made a small sound of surprise, leaning away, but Hinata was unfazed as she looked around them. In the background, Naruto yelled at Sasuke, the sounds of their squabbling over the Ps4 loud enough to drown out the sound of Tekken.

"Not at the moment, no," Hinata answered, the veins subsiding back into her skin.

"No, I mean like, in the compound itself," Sakura clarified, rubbing at the back of her head. She's seen Sasuke's eyes turn red, but the whole bulging veins and white pupils thing was unnerving and she still had to get used to it.

Hinata frowned at that. "There isn't supposed to be. We try to help ghosts move on instead of lingering, even family members."

Sakura looked away, her thumb tracing over the sides of her phone. "I saw something in the mirror," she confided. She laughed to herself and then tilted her back to smile at Hinata. "Why does this place have so many mirrors anyway?"

"Well," Hinata said, smiling back shyly. She had considerably opened up more towards them, and she bloomed around Naruto, becoming a thousand times more confident in herself. "Mirrors show you what's real, even for those without the Sight. Ghosts, demons—they can't hide from Hyuuga mirrors. That's why demons don't like mirrors, it shows their true faces."

"Mirrors don't lie," a voice added behind them. Sakura flinched and looked up, her heart racing.

"Hanabi!" Hinata scolded the girl half-heartedly. "Sneaking up on people isn't polite."

Sakura tilted her head, noticing the similarities between the two. Hinata had mentioned early on that her sister was somewhere in the compound, but Sakura hadn't expected to see her.

"What about vampires then?" Sakura asked, and both Hinata and Hanabi gave her a blank-eyed look.

"They don't exist, duh," Hanabi sniffed.

Sakura's eyebrows shot up, and she opened her mouth to reply that yes, yes they did, but at their matching, serious looks, she closed her mouth again.

xxx

The room was dark.

She stopped in front of the chained mirror, and through the gaps, she saw her reflection. A pale handsome man with long hair and bandages on his forehead looked back at her, expression solemn. He had the same delicate features as Hinata and Hanabi, the high cheekbones, the white eyes, and his lips were thin, serious. They reached out towards the chain, her heart rising in her chest as finally, finally, she could—

Sakura woke up, a gasp lodged in her throat.

The room was freezing cold, and she whimpered, drawing the blanket tighter around her as she shivered. The design of the house meant that the room stayed cool, even without air conditioning, but Sakura didn't think that it was meant to be this cold. She couldn't even focus on her dream, too wrapped up in her discomfort.

"Fuck," she hissed, teeth chattering, and glanced over to where Sasuke was sleeping, a scant few inches away. She shivered and rubbed her shoulders, trying to make herself warmer. Sasuke snored quietly, shifting. The prospect of warmth was too tempting.

Sakura bit her lip and then sat up, grabbing her blanket to drag it over to Sasuke. She lifted his blanket and then squeezed herself inside, pressing up close to him and almost groaning in relief at the warmth.

"Hng," Sasuke grunted, shifting away from her. "You're fucking cold." His voice was slurred with sleep, words running into each other.

"Shh," Sakura hissed. "I know."

She wiggled around, trying to get comfortable when her eyes caught on the lone mirror at the side.

A man stared back at her, standing behind their reflection on the floor. The same man from her dream.

Sakura gasped, instinctively reaching out to grab Sasuke's arm in a death grip as she turned around.

There was nothing behind her, just the paper walls dividing their room from Naruto and Hinata's. Her head swung back to the mirror, but it was blank aside from the reflection of her and Sasuke.

"What?" Sasuke asked, sitting up. He sounded more awake now, his eyes wide.

Sakura ignored him as she threw the blanket off her and scrambled towards the mirror. Her own reflection met her, nothing else, and all Sakura could do was stare.

xxx

"Okay, look," Sakura said insistently, pushing her laptop and spinning it towards the three. "This has precedent. There are hundreds of stories from multiple different cultures that mirrors can trap souls of the dead. Superstitions hold basis, we know this."

"But he isn't dead," Sasuke argued, and Hinata nodded at that.

"He's not a ghost or a spirit, I don't see him."

"Neither can I," Sasuke added.

Naruto groaned in frustration and dropped his head on his hand. "So, we can take out demon, ghost, and spirit. What's left?"

"Human?" Sakura said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata looked at each other at the same time, expressions of consideration on all their faces and Sakura gave them an incredulous look.

"Really? You think it's human?"

"For one, it's not malicious," Naruto started.

"Second, we always did say that you dealt with humans, we dealt with ghosts," Sasuke continued.

The two of them looked at Hinata expectantly and she reddened, pressing her hands together.

"Well, um, it just sounds reasonable since neither Sasuke or I can see it."

"Okay, so since we're considering the possibility that it's human, let's try to match a description to a face!" Naruto said optimistically and Sakura sighed.

"I already told you what he looks like. He has long hair, his eyes look the same as Hinata's—they look a lot alike, really, and he has bandages over his forehead and—"

"Sorry, excuse me?" Hinata piped up, a furrow to her brow. "Did you say he has bandages over his forehead?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied in surprise. Hinata seemed confused at that, frowning to herself.

"Well, that sounds a lot like Neji, my cousin…" she said uncertainly, and both Naruto and Sakura straightened up at that, leaning in closer towards her. Even Sasuke perked up a bit.

"But, I mean," Hinata continued, squirming slightly at the focused attention. "I haven't seen him in a while but I know he's… alive?"

"Huh," Sakura muttered to herself, slumping in her seat. Sasuke frowned.

"We could still pay him a visit. It wouldn't hurt."

Hinata seemed to deflate at that, her shoulders curving into herself. "Oh, we had a falling out," she murmured, looking so forlorn that Sakura winced and shot Sasuke a halfhearted glare. "He hates me…"

xxx

"Can you believe we actually thought that we'd have a relaxing week?" Naruto asked out loud. Sakura sighed.

Hinata had shown her pictures of her cousin, and she was right, the man in the mirror was Neji. Thankfully, Neji apparently only lived back in the city, an hour's drive away from the Hyuuga summer house.

"He's going to be mad," Hinata fretted anxiously to herself, hands tight on the wheel. "I didn't even give him any warning, that's so rude."

"If he needs help he won't mind a little rudeness," Sasuke dismissed bluntly and Hinata quieted down. Her worries weren't gone though, it was still evident in the twist of her lips.

And, as they reached Neji's apartment, Sakura realized that her worries were rightfully founded.

He opened the door with a scowl and Hinata immediately shrunk back, taking a hundred steps back from how she was just yesterday. "You're not welcome here," he growled, glaring at each of them in turn.

"Ah, Neji-niisan, I—I left behind something and I need—I need it," Hinata stuttered, tugging on her shirt.

Neji eyed her suspiciously. After what seemed like minutes, he finally relented, stepping back with a reluctant air around him.

As Naruto and Hinata went off to look for what 'Hinata had left behind', Sakura couldn't help but look around the apartment. It was quaint, odd in a way that sheets seemed to be thrown over certain pieces of furniture.

Sakura frowned at the bare spot in the wall. It looked naked, almost, as if something was meant to be there. There was a slight discoloration, almost unnoticeable, in the shape of a square.

She leaned in, eyes narrowing as she reached out to run her fingers through the wall.

"What are you doing?" Neji snapped and Sakura jumped. She turned, her eyes wide as she met Neji's furious gaze.

More and more, he looked nothing like the man in the mirror. The man in her dreams seemed gentle in comparison to this man in front of her, serious and solemn yes but not… not like him.

"Sorry," she apologized quietly under his glare. She ducked her head and made her way back to Sasuke. He had an odd look on his face as he eyed Neji behind her, and when Sakura reached him, he placed a possessive hand over her shoulder.

Neji frowned at them.

"What did you say your names were again?" He asked. His voice was deep and smooth, and if he wasn't such an asshole, Sakura could almost be attracted to him.

"Haruno Sakura," she said and dipped her head. "And this is—"

"Hatake Sasuke," Sasuke interrupted and gave Neji a tight smile. Sakura's eyebrows rose but she didn't look at him. He must have his reasons. Any time either of them used their old teacher's name, it was because they didn't want their real names known.

Hinata and Naruto stepped back in, and Sakura and Sasuke followed them out.

The moment they were back in Hinata's car, both Hinata and Sasuke spoke at the same time.

"That's not Neji."

"He's possessed," Sasuke continued briskly. "I saw. I guarantee it."

Hinata nodded fervently. "I didn't think he was possessed, but I noticed that there weren't any mirrors in his whole apartment. Any Hyuuga would have at least one per room."

Sakura sucked in a breath, the pieces falling together. The blank spots on the walls, the sheets that were thrown over anything that could possibly reflect.

"So," Naruto said, breaking the thoughtful silence. "We haven't done an exorcism in a while."

xxx

The room was dark.

She stopped in front of the chained mirror, and through the gaps, she saw her reflection. A pale handsome man with long hair and bandages on his forehead looked back at her, expression solemn.

"Where are you?" Sakura asked the man in the mirror.

Neji opened his mouth, but nothing came out. A troubled expression crossed his face, and he reached out, pressing a hand on the mirror.

Sakura touched her palm to the mirror's surface, their hands separated only by glass. And then she heard it, the same smooth voice from earlier, but gentler.

"Wake up."

Her eyes opened. The freezing cold didn't surprise her anymore, and she looked to their side where the mirror was. Neji was there, silently waiting for her.

Sakura swallowed. She pushed herself up and made her way towards the mirror until she was standing in front of Neji.

A small smile curled up on his lips and Sakura's breath caught. He was handsome, all noble features and the demon wearing his face didn't do justice to his natural features. He looked better like this, softer.

Neji stepped back, and behind him, the darkness continued. Sakura frowned, leaning in closer towards the mirror as her eyes adjusted to the pitch. It took a moment, but then she gasped in realization. It was a stairway!

"Sasuke!" she yelled, and Sasuke immediately shot up, ready for a battle that wasn't there.

She turned back to the mirror and found nothing but her own reflection, Neji and the stairway gone. She bit her lip and tilted her head thoughtfully as she appraised the glass in front of her. Sasuke yawned from behind her and walked over to her until he was beside her, rubbing his eyes.

Maybe…

Sakura reached out and grabbed both sides of the mirror. Without question, Sasuke helped her lift it away, revealing the wall underneath. Sakura frowned. Sasuke placed the mirror down on the floor, silent beside her as he waited for what she wanted to do next.

"Huh," Sakura mused to herself. She pressed her hands on the wood and almost immediately flinched back, bringing her hands back to her chest. It was cold.

Sasuke leaned in closer to the wall and then knocked on it, a simple one-two. A hollow sound answered, and Sasuke's eyebrows rose. They shared a look.

xxx

"Alright, I'll go in first," Naruto announced, a wide grin on his face as he twirled the flashlight in his hands. He was practically bouncing with excitement.

Come morning, Sasuke and Sakura had called Naruto and Hinata into their room. Naruto and Sasuke made quick work of destroying the false wall, revealing the staircase leading to a hidden lower level. Hinata had been shocked. She'd forgotten that this room existed, she said.

"Let's go then," Sakura said. She reached out to give a hard pat on Naruto's shoulder and he nodded.

They went down the steps, their only source of light the flashlights they were holding on to. Naruto had gone in first, like he planned, followed by Hinata, then Sakura, with Sasuke taking up the back.

There weren't a lot of steps, and fairly quickly, they found themselves inside the hidden room. Sakura looked around them, her light flashing around. Something reflected the light and Sakura paused. She quickly brought it back, shining the light on the wall.

She gasped, stumbling backward.

The mirror from her dreams!

She raced towards it, and the rush of gratification that filled her when she could finally touch it was nothing like she had ever felt before.

She reached out to touch it, and just before she could, Hinata was there, grip tight on her wrist.

"Don't touch that," Hinata said urgently, her pupilless eyes piercing, lit up only by the dim light of their flashlights. "That's a mirror prison."

Sakura's eyes widened and she turned back to look at the mirror, the chains and the lock keeping it closed.

If the one wearing Neji's body wasn't Neji, then…

"This is where Neji is," Sakura said, hushed. "I've been dreaming of this mirror for nights now, and Neji's always in it."

Hinata pulled away from her, expression serious and solemn. "We have to adjust the exorcism. We can't just exorcize the demon possessing Neji, it would leave Neji's body empty."

Sasuke cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Leave that to me."

xxx

Sasuke's eyes flashed red, and the demon stilled at the sight of the Sharingan. Its nostrils flared, veins bulging at the side of its eyes as it leaned in, a low growl escaping from within it. It opened its mouth and then-

Laughed. It laughed, and laughed, and laughed, loud and manic, its shoulders shaking, tears pouring out of its eyes as it threw its head back.

"An Uchiha!" It cried and eyed Sasuke with new interest, Neji's lips stretching into a grotesque grin. "Look at you," it purred as it leaned back and then leaned in, chair teetering. Sasuke's jaw tightened as he stared it down, stance strong and chin up.

"You lied to me," it hissed. "Called yourself a Hatake!"

Sasuke ignored it as he started to prowl around the protective circle they had drawn on the floor, checking it one last time for any mistakes.

"You're an embarrassment to the Uchiha name! Your clan was praised as demon summoners, second to us! We gave you those eyes, foolish boy," the demon continued to talk, hatred dripping out of his voice. Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata stayed firm in their places, ready for Sasuke's cue. This was Sasuke's specialty. Any help they could give would just hinder him.

Sasuke cracked his neck and then smiled, a bloodthirsty, fierce smile.

And then he started.

The demon twitched, shaking, its features morphing into a hateful mask.

"I'll just come back!" it laughed even as it convulsed. Sasuke laughed back then and gave it a vicious smile. The laughter cut off, the demon's eyes narrowing at Sasuke.

"Think again," Sasuke hissed, and Sakura took that moment to pull off the sheet covering the mirror, revealing its gate and its chains, the perfect prison. Horror filled the demon's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by sheer, burning anger.

"I'll rip your eyes out of your skull!" It screeched, body contorting and writhing as smoke started to pour off its skin. A strangled noise escaped Sasuke and Sakura glanced at him, her eyes widening as she saw him stumble and press a hand to his eye. Sakura reached over and grabbed him, squeezing tight in comfort until Sasuke took his hand away, blood staining his palm.

His eye was bleeding, Sakura realized in horror, her heart high in her throat.

Sasuke took in a deep breath and then continued on with the ritual, voice tight with pain. The demon screamed, its back arched, a monstrous, ear-piercing sound that had Sakura clasping her ear with her hand. Sasuke's eye continued to steadily bleed, a rivulet of blood dripping down his cheek to his jaw, but Sasuke only gritted his jaw and kept going.

The wind picked up around them, the furniture they had cleared out to the side shaking. All of them stayed firm.

Sasuke continued to speak, his tone strong, no room to disobey.

"Begone, demon! I command you, go back to where you came from!"

The demon let out a final, ear-piercing scream as it writhed, the final plumes of black smoke finally escaping Neji's body and leaving it slumped and lifeless.

"Now!" Sasuke yelled.

Sakura ripped open the wooden gates and beside her, Hinata opened the gates of the mirror the real Neji was trapped in. The black smoke was sucked into the mirror, fierce wind whipping around them and Sakura held on, gritting her teeth until finally, finally, the last of it was gone.

Three things happened at once.

Sasuke collapsed, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Naruto and she slammed the gates shut on the mirror prison, quickly wrapping it in the blessed chains.

And Neji took in a gasping, greedy breath.

They had done it.

xxx

"I've been trapped there for months," Neji confided in her, his voice soft. Seeing him now, the difference between the demon that had been living in his body was even starker. He held himself in a way that the demon could only wish to emulate, and had sadly failed. There was a strength in him belied by softness, a quality in him that Sakura couldn't help but admire.

Neji shook his head to himself and Sakura found herself reaching out to touch his arm, gentle and sweet.

"It drove away all my friends. I could see, sometimes, what it was doing."

"It's alright, Neji," Sakura murmured. "You're fine. Everything will be okay."

He turned his head towards her then and met her eyes, features solemn. Sakura had long become used to the strange Hyuuga eyes now. "Thanks to you."

She flushed at that and looked away, tucking her hair back behind her ear bashfully. "Well. I was just a secretary, really. You got the message to me."

Neji made a soft sound of disagreement and Sakura could only laugh.

xxx

In the room, the gated mirror shook, its chains and locks rattling once, twice, before it stilled.