Perfect Aim

In the end she stop it all as it began.

"You're supposed to be dead."

I smile at his voice. It's been too long since I last head it. I'm tempted to quote that famous line (you know the one), but instead I just look up and innocently ask, "Who said that?"

"I saw you. You were not breathing when they took you from us." From me is the unspoken connotation.

"Leaf intelligence must be worse than we thought since Jiraiya died. Surely you know of Orochimaru's revival technique?"

"You are not one of those abominations." I can tell his thoughts-There's no kunai in your neck.

"Then I must be a traitor." And I smile again. His frustration and anger are entertaining to watch play across his face. This is, after all Konoha's elite ANBU captain, famous among the Sound for defeating thirty jonin to try to reach his . . . teammate.

"No, you would never betray us." Betray me. It's almost a plea from his lips rather than a statement. He's trying to be strong for those behind him, and perhaps for me.

Here is the climax of the battle: facing the last Leaf shinobi with the very last of my Sound lying at my feet. Their elite have come for me . . . although I don't see their strongest demon. . . and I find that watching their reactions are the most fun I've had in years. None of the others standing behind the Hyuuga say anything. They just stare at us, watching the play like entranced theatre-goers. Some are still even wearing their ANBU masks, although I'm pretty sure that I recognize those builds and that one with dark purple hair is the easiest to identify. The rookie nine, minus one Uchiha Sasuke, are all here. They've done well for themselves over the six years since I was last in the Hidden Leaf.

"Then why am I here Neji-sama?" I'm mocking him and he knows it. His old teammate would never mock him.

"I cannot be certain."

"You're denying what is before your very eyes. How would I be the last that you find? Why would I be the last that you find? Why Neji-kun?"

"Shut-up." Oh how his eyes touch me. They're watering! The white-eyed emotionless Hyuuga Neji is about to cry!

"You know what this means, don't you Neji? I can see it in your eyes! You're ready to cry! You should have kept your mask on. At least then no one would see you break!"

He makes a signal to one of his subordinates, likely Shikamaru, and his man disappears without a word. Yes, definitely Shikamaru then. He should be a master of shadows by now. Probably our little Hyuuga's second with that inhuman intelligence.

"You took her for this reason?"

"No, actually. I needed to switch and her body happened to be available. She was exceptionally strong as a shinobi, being an ANBU captain herself when she was captured. I knew little of her techniques, but they seemed unimpressive at the time."

"And now?"

"She has proved far more useful than my other hosts. Perhaps not as much as Sasuke-kun would have been, but exceptional. Her brutish methods never appealed to me before, but I have been impressed."

"How?"

I know what he is doing: distracting me. He's trying to prevent me from sensing Shikamaru when he traps this body. The poor fool hopes to take me alive. I'm certain that Tsunade would not have ordered that. She is far too pragmatic. He should be trying to kill me at all costs.

"What better way than to use so little chakra to kill so many from so far away? Little Tenten opened my eyes to so many possibilities. She knew so much about weapons too! I had no idea of their versatility! We've created so many new techniques with her weapons and my ninjutsu! She's amazing!" I really do enjoy this body, although I might be saying some of this just to anger him further. Her weapons skills are incredible, and I've never had a body so well formed and adapted for weapons. Her muscle memory is amazing, although her chakra coils were not up to par. It was only thanks to my incredible chakra control and ninjutsu training that his body has met my goals.

During my little tirade he signals another. This time it is Ino, I'm certain.

He's so simple-so easy to predict. He wants her to control me for a time. He wants to see if she still exists within this body. I haven't decided whether or not to let him know that I can see his plan. I could surprise him instead.

"She always was incredible."

"And you never told her, did you? Poor little girl died without ever knowing what you actually felt. Was it hard, Neji-kun? Knowing that you held yourself back and that she never knew how you felt before she died?

He doesn't respond and I don't expect him to. He wouldn't cry in front of his peers. He never cried in front of me when we had been together for years.

"If it helps, she suspected how you felt. She just didn't reciprocate those feelings. She wanted to be strong, and you would only have held her back. You would have coddled her and tried to make her your perfect pet. Isn't that right?"

One of the ANBU steps forward and I am almost certain that it is Lee. Neji signals him to stay back. Poor Lee probably can't decide whether to confront me or comfort Neji.

"She worked with me when I first entered her. She was willing to help. She believed that we could be strong together. She seemed to think that we could work together to become something amazing."

"That's a lie!" The ANBU that is most definitely Lee shouts. I believe that it is Sakura holding him back, for no one else would have the strength.

"Perhaps. Perhaps she resisted me until the very end. Perhaps her soul was only destroyed moments before you came. Perhaps the only reason that I stayed hidden was because I was fighting her. Perhaps . . . " And then I see the movement of the shadows out of the corner of my eye. I do have incredible vision thanks to my weapons usage.

I effortlessly toss a kunai into the dark.

"Shikamaru the shadow user: one hundred fifty-seven centimeter, not including his pineapple shaped hair, extremely smart, but incredibly lazy. He usually crouches down for his techniques, but I'm fairly certain that with age he has developed greater control. If I'm right, then he has a kunai embedded in his head. If I'm wrong, then it's somewhere in his central chest. Likely hit a major artery or his aorta."

There is no sound from the shadows, but I can see the fear and hesitance on the other's faces. Neji is the only one besides perhaps Shino who appears unintimidated by my new body's easy skills.

"He couldn't have avoided that. I reacted too quickly and with the enhanced speed I've acquired it takes constant concentration, extreme speed, or another jutsu to avoid a hit—none of which he can do while performing the Kagemane. Our friend is dead."

There is another sound that I am certain is a whimper from Ino. She always did have feelings for the shadow user. I'm surprised that Choji hasn't charged me after killing his best friend.

"Unless you come at me with the intention to kill, all of you will die."

Neji is staring at me again. He is thinking about his former teammate. He is deciding whether to try to capture me or just follow his kill on sight order. He is most definitely torn, although his eyes have dried.

"Ino won't be strong enough to suppress me Neji. Don't even think of it. Sakura was strong enough to resist her. How can you expect that little girl to stop me?"

"You're a little girl too."

I smile at this. So Neji hasn't quite decided that Tenten is completely gone.

"Perhaps," and I let another kunai fly.

This one goes straight into the neck of one of the ANBU that I cannot identify. The fool wasn't paying close enough attention. I did mention that they were avoidable with concentration.

"Will you let me kill them all, Neji? Just to try to save a potentially empty shell?"

"Leave," he suddenly commands them all.

I see one step forward, definitely Hinata, to protest. He shakes her off.

"Leave," he says even more firmly.

They all back away watching me. Neji and I stare each other down until we are alone.

"I want the truth before . . . " he doesn't finish. Perhaps he already knows the outcome.

"Ku, ku, ku . . ." I find myself laughing at his not unexpected request.

"What truth, Neji-kun?"

"Is she completely gone?"

"Could I kill you if she were?"

"I don't know."

"You have the Byakugan, Neji. You have killed many of my best shinobi. What would I do with you?" I ask as I toss a single kunai that is easily sidestepped.

His eyes open wide as realizations sets in. It only lasts a second before his Byakugan deactivates, and he falls forward. The kunai embedded in his spine followed perfectly in his blindspot. Chakra strings did not even require my personal input.

"She, Neji-kun, not I, is the merciful one with perfect aim."

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