Chapter 1: Here Without You

Katana is 18

She knew that she was dying.

It was the only thing that could explain why her body was feeling so heavy, why the indistinguishable voices warbled with horror and worry, why the lights were blurring and bleeding into the dark ceiling, and why her breathing seemed to echo in her ears in a shallow wheeze.

She let her head fall back, but it did not come to rest on the pillow that had been beneath her. It continued to fall, and her body followed quickly, as if sinking into a dark ocean. The surface grew blacker and blacker as she receded from the world of the living, plunging farther and farther into the realm of the dead.

There were hands all around her, the hands beneath her bearing stronger grasps and were pulling her deeper into their clutches, coiling around her to secure their hold on the recalcitrant spirit that had slipped from their grasp too many times. The hands above were losing hold and were letting her fall away, futilely groping for her form but to no avail.

She stared at the pinprick of light, the last traces of her hope of surviving. So this is it. I finally couldn't make it. The hands wrapped around her, blinding her and binding her to pull her down into the clutches of the underworld.

But something jogged her memory. Something skirted the back of her mind and she remembered an oath she had sworn. I can't die now. No matter what. I have something I need to live for.

In an instant, the hands burst from around her, repelled by an alien force that no science could explain. And the light was crashing down, the pinprick swelling to a sky in milliseconds. She broke the surface and found herself gasping for breath, flat on her back and shaking with cold sweat.

"Thank Kami," a person beside her said. She looked up to the speaker, her chest heaving as she tried to return the breath her body had been denied. "For a second, we thought that we lost you."

"Yeah…" She mumbled on a breath, immobile except for her racing heart and struggling lungs. She closed her eyes and felt the darkness begin to envelope her again, but this darkness was benign; it was the darkness of sleep. As exhaustion claimed her consciousness, she head the first cries: the first breath of a newborn infant.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"You really scare me sometimes."

She looked to the other woman and slightly raised one eyebrow, her entire body still weak and aching. Her voice had yet to recover its full tone and power. "What?"

"I have to make sure you're alive every five minutes. You're certainly a deep sleeper, Katana."

Katana shifted and sat up against the pillows, wincing at the pop and strain of her sore muscles and tight joints. "Only since recently. I used to wake up at the creak of a floorboard, but I've been tired for the passed several months."

"Understandably." The woman was a nurse by the name of Emi who possessed lightly tanned skin and sea green eyes. She was in her late thirties and the dirty blonde hair messily pulled up to the top of her head was already graying around her temples. She was knotting her fingers into the fabric of the apron she wore, her eyes never resting on the bedridden teenager for long. The subtle glances were unsettling, and Katana finally quickly took the initiative to speak.

"How is…? Can I…? Where…?" Katana looked around the room, but whom she sought was not there. But it was clear to Emi what was being asked. The nurse rose from the chair she had been sitting in and left the room momentarily. She returned with a bundle and approached Katana slowly, suddenly apprehensive for some reason.

But Katana ignored the expression. She took the bundle into her arms as carefully as possible and cradled it close to her, staring down at the small body swathed in blankest.

"He's a fighter," Emi said softly. "He pulled through the first few hours when we thought he would die. He's a lucky child."

Katana looked up with widened eyes. "'He'?" She received a nod of confirmation and her eyes glassed slightly with tears. She gave a slight laugh and looked back down. "I wanted a boy. I just… I can't believe he's mine… I never thought something like this could happen to me… It's so surreal…" She let a small smile lift the corners of her mouth. "He's so small… but he's perfect."

Emi gave a pained sigh, a sigh that caused Katana to look up in concern. "I needed to discuss something with you, Katana… About him." Emi ran a hand down her face and rubbed her eyes. Katana's stomach coiled in sudden nervousness. Something was wrong; so wrong that it would hinder her son forever. It was just her luck.

"What is it?" she questioned softly, knowing that she needed to know but was afraid to know at the same time.

"Well… You're son…" Emi sighed again and bowed her head. "He's blind."

Katana stared at the nurse. At first she was horrified at the fact that the child would never be able to see the world, that he would be denied the privilege of sight. But then her thoughts clicked and her eyes widened.

"You mean… His eyes are…"

"He woke up a few hours ago for the first time and I saw the color of his eyes. They're milky white like pearls. He has no pupil whatsoever. I'm so sorry, Katana."

Katana's eyes welled with tears and they were soon cascading down her cheeks. She held her son closer to her chest and bowed her head over him, her body shaking gently. Emi rested a comforting hand on the teenager's back, whispering any and all soothing words that would come to her mind.

But when Katana lifted her face, she did not appear distraught or agonized in any way. She was smiling larger than she ever had before. Her tears were of joy and they raced down her face faster and faster.

His eyes were white. Like pearls.

"Thank Kami," Katana whispered. "Thank Kami!"

Emi stared at Katana in utter confusion, her jaw hanging open slightly. "What are you saying?! He's blind, Katana! Why are you so happy about this?!"

Katana turned her grinning face to the nurse, a gentle laugh bubbling from her being. "Because he has his father's eyes." She returned her gaze to her son and lowered her head to gently press her forehead to his. He remained asleep, his passive features making her heart swell. "And if only your father could see you," she whispered. "Hizoku."

"You're leaving again?"

He glanced back to the young girl standing in the doorway of her bedroom, meeting her impassive gaze. Her mouth was set in a hard line, one hand resting on the doorframe as she stared him down.

"Why are you awake at this time of night?" He inquired quietly, his voice holding no inflection. It was infrequent that he would chide the girl for menial matters such as this, but it never ceased to bother him slightly.

"Because it's that time of year again," she said coldly, her expression darkening in a way that made his breath catch in his throat. If her eyes had been darker, she would look just like her mother. "You're going out to the Memorial Stone again, and I don't like it. If you would just tell me what happened, maybe I wouldn't ask so many questions."

"Go back to bed," he murmured softly. "I'm leaving because I have a mission this time."

"Yeah right." The girl folded her arms with a scowl, her glare morphing to match one of his own. "That's the excuse you used last time, and you were here the next morning. No jounin mission takes that little time. Will you just tell me who you're mourning when you go?"

"It's none of you're concern." He continued on his way towards the door. "Maybe I'll tell you someday, but it does not matter at this point in time."

"You've been like this for my whole life, Father!" The girl took a step forward. "For as long as I've been alive, you get like this three times during the year. I only understand it when it's my birthday because that's when my mother died, but you've never told me why you get so unhappy the other two occasions."

"Go back to bed, Naiome," he said in a more forceful tone. "Don't worry yourself about things that don't involve you. I'll be back when I've completed my mission." He quickly walked through the door and closed it on his daughter's protesting voice.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"DON"T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

The voice of the jounin was smothered by another enormous explosion and several trees came crashing to the ground.

A loud throb of malicious laughter rang out once the explosion had died down as the shinobi's target fell through the trees in complete control of the situation. His smile was wide and showed off fang-like teeth, his eyes glowing a fiery vermillion as he descended through the air.

"Platoon five!" Neji called, getting the attention of a small cluster of shinobi. "Try to advance ahead of him and double back! Our best chance it to surround him!"

The man let out another peal of mocking laughter as he twisted his body to land on a tree branch. "You'll never take me alive!" he called as he leaped through the trees. "No one will catch me!"

"Neji! He's moving too fast! Even the jounin can't keep up with him!"

Neji looked over at Lee and understood what he meant: only a select few would be able to take their opponent down. The others had to be left behind.

"Let's go, Lee! Get platoon three to follow us! Now!" Neji activated his Byakugan and sprinted after their fleeing target, determined to keep him in his field of vision. His range had increased with years of training, but their target was still incredibly swift.

He was known as Ryuutsume and he had been terrorizing parts of the Hi no Kuni for several months. He was as elusive as a shadow and just as easy to catch. Some could have considered him a coward, yet many strategists considered him pure genius. He would attack important settlements or areas with major connections to Konohagakure, but he always fled before his life or objective was in danger. He chipped away at defenses slowly, like a carpenter or sculptor with deft hands, but all of the chipping was slowly adding up.

Ryuutsume had finally been successfully tracked and cornered, but even with elaborate ambush plans and strong warriors, he was able to slip from his captor's grasp and run. And now some of the strongest Leaf Shinobi were desperately struggling not to fail their mission. They were desperate not to let him escape again.

He laughed again as he moved through the forest erratically, falling from tree branches, leaping off of the flimsiest of twigs, and planting high-grade paper bombs where ever he saw fit. Neji's senses were on fire as he shouted orders and warnings to prolong the lives of his smaller team and increase the chances of accomplishing his mission. He lead the small group with Lee several steps behind him, his former teammate ready for any order or event that would require his skills.

"Give up, ninja!" Ryuutsume called with a mocking tone. "You'll never catch me! I have powers that you've never seen, and I'll send you to your death if this continues! Are you sure you want to push your luck?"

"Neji-san, what do we do?" It was one of the other jounin; he had taken their target's words to heart. "If he has techniques in his arsenal that we haven't seen, we're no match."

"Even with advanced and unknown techniques, we have the advantage of numbers," Neji responded coldly. He was not enjoying the distractions while he needed to form a plan of action. "We need to get him surrounded. I'll go on ahead and—"

"Not leaving? Then you asked for it!" Ryuutsume turned and wove an extended pattern of seals, his crimson eyes flashing with arrogance. A torrential wave of fire burst from his mouth like a flaming gale of the strongest wind. The trees ignited and Neji came to a crashing halt on the next branch he landed on. He sprang off the other way as the branch was consumed by fire beneath him and the flames pursued.

The fire spread exponentially and Neji cursed as he was forced to retreat from the blaze and his fleeing target. The fired was spreading too quickly for him to be able to go around it, and he turned to the group that had been following him.

"Do any of you have suiton chakra?" he questioned hastily. No one responded at first, but one jounin quietly spoke up.

"It's not my main element, but I've dabbled in it a little."

"Good enough." Neji quickly beckoned him to follow. "Go in front of me and make a path though the fire. It only has to be large enough for the both of us. Go!"

The jounin looked nervous to have been called upon so suddenly with so much demanded of him, but he did as he was ordered. He pulled a canteen from his waist pouch and wove seals, quickly manipulating the liquid to quell a small area of the blaze. But it was too little and quickly evaporated.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry," the jounin sputtered. "The flames are too powerful."

Neji was at a momentary loss when the trees around him suddenly began to shift. They stretched and melded together, moving to form a cage around the fire and seal shut, instantly quelling the blaze as it was denied a source of oxygen. Neji turned to see a figure crouching several meters away from him with his palms flat on the ground. He lifted his head and sighed, a small smirk lifting his features.

"Sorry that I'm late. Getting older has its downsides."

"Yamato-san!" Lee cried, beaming at the Anbu. They had not seen their comrade in several years after he had been made leader of Root in Danzou's place.

"No time for reunions." He rose to his feet and brushed off his hands. "We have a terrorist to catch."
Neji, Lee, Yamato, and the remaining platoon members shot off in the direction that Ryuutsume had fled. Neji scanned the forest wildly, searching for any sign of their target. There were several snapped branches and the occasional paper bomb, but there was no obvious trail that could be detected.

"He moves like lightening," Lee said with wonder. "How can he have such speed?"

"There is something different with his chakra," Neji said as they quickened their pace. "It was almost something like when Naruto would control the Kyuubi." As he thought the situation through, his stomach twisted. It was terribly familiar to another type of chakra control he had once witnessed long ago. The red eyes and sharp fangs… It was almost like—

A flicker of movement caught the edge of his sight and Neji instantly took action. He ran forward in a burst of speed and the others followed him. Ryuutsume seemed to be moving slower and was under the impression that he had fought off his pursuers. Neji made sure to lead his group around the paper bomb-rigged trees so nothing would alert him of their approach. But he happened to take a random backwards glance and spotted the shinobi.

Ryuutsume instantly rocketed forward and laughed even louder than before. "You sure are persistent! Just for coming farther than any other of my enemies, I'll give you a treat! You get to see a jutsu no one else has!" He turned to face them and sunk his teeth into his thumb.

"A kuchiyose!" Lee cried. "Watch out!"

They braced themselves as Ryuutsume wove the necessary seals and slammed his hand down on a tree branch. The smoke that erupted was an enormous plume, and the group quickly leaped out of the way as the monstrous creature burst forth. All except Neji.

He was rooted to his tree branch, eyes wide as the creature barreled forward. It bellowed loudly and raked its claws over the junction of the tree branch and the truck, sending Neji falling to the ground. The Hyuuga barely came to his senses to break his fall with chakra, his mind still too stunned by the creature. It roared again and came to stand over him, brilliant carmine eyes shimmering in contrast against its black scales. And the monster stopped just before it attacked as it locked Neji's gaze; the creature recognized Neji just as much as he recognized it.

It was a dragon. A dragon by the name of Shura-Tatsu. A dragon Neji had not seen in fifteen years. A dragon whose last summoner had been killed.

"I-Im-Impossible," Neji whispered. The dragon stared down at him, it's ferocious snarl fading and its eyes widening with shock. "No one… No one should be able to summon you. The only person who could have taught—"

"What's the matter, Shura-Tatsu?" Ryuutsume called, his mocking tone still present. "Can't find it in your heart to kill a shinobi from your other summoner's village?"

Other summoner?! What is he saying?! It can't possibly be that…! Neji stared up at the dragon as a snarl rippled from its throat. He was still too stunned to rise to his feet or protect himself in any way. But the dragon remained idle and made no move to attack.

"I will not harm your team," the dragon said through gritted fangs in a deep tone that only the Hyuuga could hear. "Just capture this man. He does not deserve a title as our summoner."

The dragon gave a roar and slashed at a pile of tree branches that had fallen beside Neji and buried the Hyuuga under a thin layer. The dragon leaped after the others and let loose a jet of flames, but its aim was directed to not hit any of them.

"What is that overgrown lizard doing?" Neji heard Ryuutsume growl from a tree branch above him. "Why do they never act as I wish them to? The Enchantress lied, that infernal woman!"

Enchantress? Neji could not think any further before the dragon gave a bellow and the ground shook, followed by the cries of several of the other jounin. Neji saw them departing with his Byakyugan, and only Lee and Yamato were remaining. They ran at Ryuutsume with violent expressions, prepared to attack with the intent to kill.

"Wait!" Neji called, rising from under the tree branches and sprang up to meet them. "Capture him alive!"

"What?" Lee cried. "But that has never worked! We have the opportunity, so let us kill him!"

"You can't!" Neji hissed, leaping in front of Lee and Yamato. "He has information I need."

Ryuutsume sprang backwards with another laugh, avoiding the palm thrust that Neji had directed to his chest. Neji quickly pursued with Lee and Yamato at his side, and the three of them quickly had Ryuutsume surrounded. His speed had decreased greatly with the lack of energy; summoning one of the strongest dragons and performing such a powerful katon took an incredible amount of chakra. Yet he still fought incredibly well.

He dodged every kick or punch that Lee sent his way, ducked away from the Jyuuken strikes that Neji aimed at his keirakukei, and slipped away from the pillars and tendrils of wood Yamato created. With his mind set only on defense, Ryuutsume was obviously tiring fast with the strain of fighting three high-level jounin. His movements were awkward as he attempted to slip around attacks without leaving himself open, but he could not hold out for very long.

Neji predicted an opening and successfully caught him on the shoulder with a palm thrust and Ryuutsume staggered back towards Lee. The Green Beast, still not giving up the name, slammed his foot into the terrorist's back and sent him sprawling forward into the dirt. Yamato was quick to bring the roots of several trees forward and form a cage around him. And as quickly as they had gotten him isolated, Ryuutsume was captured.

"How is this possible? How could you capture me?" Ryuutsume was gasping for breath and weakly clutching the wooden bars of his cage. He stared at them in awe. "Mokuton? The combination of doton and suiton chakra in such high amounts was perfect to stop my katon. I though only the Shodai Hokage could…" He lowered his head and sunk to the ground, his shaggy black hair falling in his face. "I guess the Enchantress was right. The Leaf shinobi are a formidable force. I was foolish to fight against you guys."

"Who is this Enchantress you speak of?" Lee questioned before Neji could. "She seems to know a lot about us. Is she your leader?'

"Leader?!" Ryuutsume barked with exhausted laughter. "Don't be stupid. That witch only paid me back after I saved the life of her snot-nosed demon-child. She told me not to attempt my plan to destroy Konohagakure, that it would end in my death. But I got pretty far, didn't I?" He looked up with a crooked smirk. His eyes were dimming to a dull shade of grey and his ragged hair seemed to recede back into his skull and become short but no less unkempt. His teeth dulled and lost their fanged edges, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Shura-Tatsu gave a deep-throated growl and cast Neji a final glance before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Well, considering everything that other teams had reported, I thought that he would be a more difficult foe to battle." Yamato raised a few more roots to add support to the cage. "But he fell quiet easily actually. Oh look. The medics and interrogation squad are here to transport him."

Sakura and Ino were quick to appear before them, flanked by a large group comprised of members of both of their squads. They swiftly began shouting orders and taking over the entire situation, relieving the three jounin of their duty. Lee was grinning about the success and Yamato seemed highly satisfied. But Lee caught sight of Neji and the grin faded quickly. The Hyuuga was still staring at the place where the dragon had previously been standing, his eyes glazed as if he were about to pass out.

"Neji? Are you okay?" Lee took a cautious step forward and rested a hand on his teammate's shoulder. But Neji reacted and swiped his hand away, running off in the opposite direction. "Neji? Wait, Neji!" Lee went sprinting after the Hyuuga, ignoring the concerned and confused glances that followed them.

Neji did not run for very long and came to a halt only about thirty meters from where the others were securing Ryuutsume. He set his hand against a tree to steady himself, his breathing much more labored than it should have been. Lee caught up with him within seconds, but stopped several paces away from his friend.

"Neji, what is wrong?"

"How could this happen?" The Hyuuga murmured, snapping his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. "I don't understand." He slammed his fist into the tree, gouging a chunk out of the bark and spraying wood chips in a wide radius.

Lee took a cautious step back. He had only seen Neji get this angry several occasions before, and someone always nearly lost their life. "What are you talking about? What has happened?"

Neji turned to glare at him, his eyes filled with fury masking the slightest hint of despair that it could have been imagined. "Did you see what that man summoned, Lee? You are aware of what that creature is, correct?"

"Yes," Lee said slowly, unsure as to what was trying to be said. "It was a dragon—"

"Exactly, Lee!" Neji punched the tree again, causing Lee to recoil and lift his hands to fend off the shards of tree bark. "It was a dragon! There are supposed to be no dragon summoners left in this world!"

"What are you talking about, Neji? You're not making any sense!" Lee was scared. Neji had only been this emotional three times in his life. Something was defiantly wrong.

"Someone had to teach him that Kushiyose, Lee," Neji said in a deathly quiet tone, gripping the rim of one of the holes he had punched in the tree until the splintered wood drew blood from his palm. "There was only one person who could have done that: the 'other summoner' that he mentioned."

Lee blinked in confusion. "I still don't understand what—"

"Weren't you listening to him, Lee?!" Neji whirled around and took several harsh steps towards his teammate, causing the Green Beast to retreat. "He said that an 'enchantress' taught him. A woman who must have known a good deal about Konoha to warn him that it was foolhardy to attack us."

"I still do not get what you are trying to tell me. That 'enchantress' could be anyone."

"How many kunoichi do you know can summon dragons?" Neji's voice was tight, his knuckles white with the force of his clenched hands. Lee's eyes suddenly widened; his memory, luckily, was slightly better than Gai's when it came to previous encounters with people.

"Wait a minute. You're not suggesting that… But, Neji, you were there when—"

"I know what happened, Lee. I know what I've been through… " Neji cast his gaze downward and rubbed his hand over his face. His mind was racing, desperately trying to wrap around the situation and make sense of what he had learned.

"But that was fifteen years ago, Neji."

"I don't care." The Hyuuga's heart wrenched harder the more he thought about it. He had endured so much suffering, so much agony, so many years of despair. And now he had no idea of what to think. "I need to talk Ryuutsume. He'll tell me what I need to know."

"Neji, they will not let you! He is an A-rank criminal. They will not let you be present at the interrogations. And these matters are nothing compared to national affairs."

"You wouldn't understand, Lee," Neji murmured. "You didn't know her like I did. You haven't endured what I have." The Hyuuga met Lee's black eyes. "I just need to know who that summoner is. I need to know if… if it's her."

"But that is impossible. How could it be that way after fifteen years? If she was alive, she would have come back by now."

Neji quickly shoved Lee's point out of his mind. He began to walk back towards the direction of where they had captured Ryuutsume.

"And what will Naiome think of this? Have you even told her about any of that part of you life."

Neji froze. The thought had not crossed his mind in the least. But he set his jaw and looked back to Lee.

"What ever happens, I just need to know whether or not the 'enchantress' is her. Once I know, I'll decide from there."

"But this is crazy, Neji," Lee continued, catching up quickly. "It just does not make any sense."

"Sense or not, I need to know. Just so my conscience will rest easy. Remember, I was the reason that she… died." The word seemed odd now. Everything seemed odd and out of place. And Neji felt as if he had finally been given the change to fly free: that hope and solace from the agony he had suffered for fifteen years was finally being offered. But he also felt smothered and crushed, as if he had been living a lie the whole time and was missing a vital part of his existence. And no one had bothered to tell him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Neji reached for the door handle, but paused and turned around, meeting pearl eyes that matched his own.

"Awake again," he murmured softly, folding his arms over his chest. "Why do you always intercept me?"

"Because I don't want any more secrets. I want truth, Father. Don't you think I deserve to know what's going on?" Naiome's glare was cold and her stance was defiant, hints of both of her parents visible.

"I don't think it is necessary," Neji responded. "Not now at least."

"Then when? Why are you always doing this to me? You never give me a straight answer. Never! You only tell me things about my mother, but that's all! What about you father? I know the clients of the missions that I'm assigned to better than I know you!"

Neji cast his eyes down and turned towards the door. "This will all make sense one day. One day, you will understand."

"Yeah, if I stick around that long," Naiome hissed.

"You have six more years before you are legally allowed to live on your own," Neji reminded her, his voice becoming slightly stricter.

"Not if I join the Anbu."

Neji visibly tensed. Naiome knew that if there was one thing that bothered her father, it was the Anbu. He had been scouted his whole life and attempts to recruit him were frequent, but he had only been among their ranks once for a single mission. For reasons that Naiome was ignorant to, he had left he organization and refused to ever join again. But she knew that there was an underlying reason besides the strenuous conditions and harsh missions. And it was known by the both of them that his bird-shaped mask was patiently waiting for the day when he finally decided to rejoin.

"Go back to sleep," Neji said firmly, using a harsher tone than normal. "I will speak with you again in the morning."

"That's what you always say," she grumbled. "Maybe you'll keep your word this time instead of running off on a mission."

Neji closed the door behind him a little more forcefully than normal. He would never have dreamed of being so disrespectful to -his father. But he could not find it in his heart to blame Naiome. They had never had the closest relationship, and he knew that he was far from the ideal parent. She had endured similar events that he had in his childhood, but her bitterness not only extended to the entire Main Branch of the Hyuuga Clan, but to him as well. And he could only hope that when he found the necessary means to explain everything to her, she would be able to forgive him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Neji?" Ino looked a little less than appalled to see the Hyuuga walk through the door of the interrogation wing of the police department. "What are you doing here?" She was sitting at the front desk with a nail file in her hands and unfinished paperwork in front of her.

"I was ordered here by the Hokage," Neji responded calmly. It had not been as difficult to persuade Naruto to give him the mission as it would have been with the previous Fire Shadows; although finally attaining his dream of being the leader of the Village, the jinchuuriki still held an affinity for his friends. And he had a debt to pay to the Hyuuga. "I have some further questions for Ryuutsume."

"Really? But we questioned him about everything the Hokage asked us to. Did he tell you some things before you captured him?"

"Yes. It is my belief that he has a… 'leader' of a kind." It had been the only way that he had convinced Naruto to grant him the mission.

"But we asked him about that already."

"I believe I have an idea of who that… 'leader' is."

"Where's your mission scroll?"

Neji presented the document and Ino quickly read it over. "Alright. I'll go with you and be an encouraging factor if he refuses to talk." She stood up and removed a ring of keys from her belt. With the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques, Ino had followed in her father's footsteps and become a formidable interrogation shinobi. She had trained diligently to strengthen her genjutsu as much as she could, and she was the most common kunoichi to be sent on seduction missions. And Neji was still immune to her appearance as much as he had been in the first Chuunin Exams he took.

Ino led him down into a basement level, lined with heavily guarded shinobi and state of the art defense systems. She showed one of the guards Neji's mission scroll and he began barking orders to the other guards. They moved in highly organized ways, pulling Ryuutsume out of his cell and escorting him to one of the many interrogation rooms. Ryuutsume was forced into a chair at one side of the room and was flanked by two guards that were ready to strike if anything went the wrong way. Neji stood adjacent to the terrorist with Ino at his side, and she gave him a nod to begin.

Neji realized that he had no idea about how to begin his questioning. He could not blatantly ask the identity of the terrorist's leader; suspicion would rise if he blurted the name of a shinobi who had been dead for fifteen years. It far from encouraged to interrogate criminals for personal gain.

"Before in the forest, you said that an 'enchantress' taught you how to summon dragons," Neji began, trying to choose his words carefully.

"Still on that again?" Ryuutsume let out a mocking thrill of laughter, causing the guards at his sides to tense. He studied Neji carefully as if trying to place his face to someone else he knew. "I told you, I have no affiliation with her."

"Who is she?"

"What does it matter? Why is it important?"

"It's common for criminals to deny knowing their bosses," Ino spoke up. "If this woman is you're leader, it's obvious that you would claim that she is nothing."

"Really? Then I'll tell you what I know. It's not like I care what happens to her." Ryuutsume leaned back in his chair as if getting comfortable. He did not seem too perturbed about being in the interrogation room. "I met her about six years ago. She was being chased through the village I was staying in by a band of strange people; I didn't bother to get to know them or find out who they were. I had come from a minor Shinobi Village, so I was experienced in chakra control, but I was exiled. So she came tearing through the village like a bat out of Hell with her kid running behind her.

"The kid tripped, which is understandable because he was wearing a blindfold." Ryuutsume ignored the confused looks he received. "She turned back to start fighting off her pursers, but one got her kid. She started freaking out and I took action 'cause, you know, it seemed like the right thing to do." He continued to casually lean back as if he were relaxing and telling a story in a local pub. "Once I saved the kid, she summoned a dragon and wiped out the rest of the pursuers. After that, she wouldn't stop thanking me and said that she would give me anything for saving her kid. And, of course, I asked to learn that Kuchiyose."

"What did she look like?" Ino questioned. Neji was glad that she had taken the initiative for him.

"Well, she was wearing a mask most of the time. I only saw her face once, and it was when she was asleep and her hair was blocking my sight. She had brown hair that was about as long as this guy's, if not longer." He motioned to Neji. "She was short, just about over five foot, and wore all black all the time." He scratched the back of his neck as if trying to unearth more information. "That's about all I remember. It was a while ago… Oh, and she had scars. Lots of scars. And from an educated guess, she had them all over. And that's about as much as I can remember."

"And the child?" Neji took his turn to question.

"Eh, that kid was strange. I never saw him without his blindfold, but he could move as if it did nothing to block his sight. And I never saw him without her. He was really strange and barely spoke a word. The word on the wind was that he was a demon that the enchantress had summoned to pose as her son. He sure as hell was odd enough to have been a demon."

"Where is this enchantress located?" Ino had been writing on a notepad the entire time, her large handwriting nearly covering two pages.

"I dunno. She was nomadic for the most part, always fleeing from some people clad in black. But during the time that I was with her, she went back to this one mountain in a no-man's land between the Kusa no Kuni and the Taki no Kuni. It was like a safe zone for a little while. Everyone there knows of the Enchantress of the Ridge. Just go there and ask around and you'll find her in no time. But I assure you, she's got nothing to do with me. Now, is there anything else that I can answer for you?"

Ino looked to Neji, who had paled considerably. "What weapons did she have?"

"Jeez, is she like, a long lost friend that you might know?" Ryuutsume ignored the fact that Neji seemed to flinch and his glance fell to the ground.

"Yeah, Neji," Ino said with slight concern. She had noticed his reaction. "Do you know this 'enchantress'?"

"What weapons did she have?" he repeated firmly.

Ryuutsume rolled his eyes and rubbed his face with a sigh. "You're really making me dig through the archives here. She had this scroll that she carried around on her belt. She said that she had about eight swords sealed within the thing, but I only ever saw her wield four at a time. Other than that, just the normal shinobi weapons."

"Did she tell you a name?" Ino asked. "I should have just asked that to begin with."

Ryuutsume laughed. "I would have told you, wouldn't I have? She just went by the Enchantress 'cause she didn't want anybody to know that she was a shinobi. Said that it was better that some people didn't know she existed. Looks like I spilled the beans on that one, eh?" He laughed again. "But I never got a real name. Can't help you on that one. So is there anything else? Want me to tell you what she likes to eat, too?"

"Anything else, Neji?" Ino seemed slightly annoyed or confused.

"N-No," Neji said softly. "I have no further questions."

"Good. Can I go back to sleep now? I was dreaming of a way to break out of this place."

Neji did not stay long enough for Ryuutsume to be locked away again. He returned with Ino to the front desk and examined the notes she had taken. And he became convinced. He would realize later that he much have blanched and turned a sickly shade of green, because Ino had asked him if he wanted her to call a medic. But he had turned and left quickly, his head spinning with unanswered questions being taunted by the information he now knew.

By the time he returned to the Hyuuga Compound, he actually felt as if he would lose consciousness. Closing the door of his room behind him and turning the lock firmly, he suddenly realizing how difficult it was to breath. He moved to the table beside his bed and opened the drawer. He lifted the false bottom and retrieved the item he had kept stored there for fifteen years.

It was a choker necklace. There was a jewel shaped like a dragon's eye set between two equal lengths of black cloth. The red jewel had a sliver of onyx in the center, but it had several small gouges and scuffs spanning across the surface. The cloth was ripped and fraying. It might have looked like a piece of junk to most, but Neji clasped it tightly in his hand as he sat down on his bed. He brought it to his heart and closed his eyes.

For fifteen years I have been here without you. For fifteen year we have been separated by insurmountable miles. I've been lied to this whole time. It's been so many years… how can I look at this the same…? I've been so cold to everyone. But I've never stopped dreaming… and it seems that nothing that has happened has lessened my feelings for you. I thought that you were dead. But now I'm sure of it… Katana, you're alive.

Author note: HI EVERYONE!!!! I'm back! So here's the scoop: at the beginning of each chapter, there will be a flashback of Katana's life with Hizoku and I'm using "The Time Traveler's Wife" format where I tell you the ages. Just clearing that up. Everything after the flashback will be real time, or should be at least. So I'm glad to all of my readers who are following onto this story, and those of you who have just clicked on it because it looked like an interesting read, I suggest you read the first story The Sword and the Spiral. Things will make a lot more sense. These chapters are going to be looooong for the most part so I don't end up with an S&S length story (I promised that this wouldn't be that long). So, I'll get the second one out whenever I get the chance. I hope everyone likes it, and send me some feedback!! I love reviews =D Peace out.

-cagedbird361