"You're not Kakashi," Kozue spat. The figure above her smiled behind the mask.
"Oh? Then who am I?"
"I know exactly who you are. But you won't get away with it, you know. I know everything."
"Tut, tut. And that's exactly why I have to kill you. A pity really, you were so talented."
"I still am," Kozue said. "Watch me."
She shut her eyes and concentrated.
The cool, tingling sensation spread throughout her body. She felt herself sliding into the ground, right through the ropes holding her arms to her sides. She made a Sign.
"Earth style Jutsu," she whispered, pleading that this once Earth style would work. After all, that was not her strong point. Nevertheless, she felt a pocket open in the earth beneath her, and next thing she knew she was traveling underground. The last thing she heard was the indignant shout of her would-be captor above her.
She made her way to the clearing from underneath the surface. It was dark and getting increasingly constricting, she had never liked small spaces either.
Finally she made it, and as the earth spit her onto the surface she lay panting for a moment.
"You made it this far, birdie. But how far can you make it on a broken wing?" An evil voice cackled from the trees above her. A kunai knife was thrown at her and she pulled away quickly, the knife slamming into the ground where her arm had been only a split second before.
"What do you want?" Kozue gasped, getting to her feet and looking around quickly, trying to spot her assailant.
"It's not what I want, but I'm going along with it anyway. I have higher orders. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned? William Congreve. I must admit, he got it on the nose."
"So what, your mother wants you to kills me?" Kozue drawled sarcastically.
"Close, actually. A female friend of mine. Honestly, I agree wholeheartedly. You have been getting quite annoying." Another kunai knife was thrown, and Kozue leapt sideways.
"Show yourself, you coward!" Kozue exclaimed angrily. There was a rustle, and then Kakashi jumped from the trees, swinging a Shuriken around his finger.
"You don't like these, do you?" He asked softly. Kozue backed away. He lifted the Shuriken and threw it hard, just as Kozue made a Sign.
"Uma, Tatsu, Ushi, Ne, Saru, Tatsu, Hitsuji!" She chanted, forming the hand motions. The silky feeling spread from her head to toes, and the Shuriken flew through her. She smiled.
"You can't hurt something you can't touch," she said softly. She made another Sign.
Shadow Clone Jutsu! She thought frantically. There was a poof and, when the smoke cleared, three copies of her were waiting for her orders. She concentrated.
"Hidden Jutsu: Untouchable Shadow Clones!" She said. Fear flashed in Kakashi's eyes as the shadow clones charged. He threw kunai knifes, but none hit their mark. He leapt into the branches, hoping to throw them off. All three shadow clones were intangible, but that didn't mean they couldn't hurt him.
Three punches were thrown simultaneously, resulting in three thumping sounds and one 'oof' sound. Kakashi fell from the tree and landed on the ground hard, unconscious. Kozue smiled.
"Luckily for you, I'll make it quick," she whispered, picking up one of his kunai knives. She held it to his throat.
Out of nowhere, another kunai knife came flying. It speared her shoulder with such force that she was thrown against the tree behind her, and the tip of the knife went through her flesh and stuck to the tree so that she couldn't move. Shuriken trailing wire followed, wrapping around her and the tree, completely immobilizing her.
"Wait, no, you don't understand!" Kozue said frantically to the new Ninja. These were Leaf Village, but as far as they knew she had just tried to kill one of their Jonin. The two guards from the Hokage's office and the Hokage herself were at the head of the group, and some other Shonobi followed.
Two medical Ninja hurried forward to check Kakashi's pulse.
"Stop! That's not Kakashi! It's the Transformation Jutsu! That's the murderer!" Kozue strained against the wires as cold blood slipped down her arm from her shoulder wound.
The medical Ninja loaded Kakashi onto the stretcher, but before they could head back to the village, the Hokage held out a hand.
"You have five minutes to give me your side of the story," Tsunade said softly. Kozue nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I know exactly what happened. I only put it together a little while ago, up until then it was just a pile of pieces. But then the last one clicked into place.
"I couldn't sleep, and I was remembering one morning with Chiaki. We were walking through the village buying supplies, and someone mentioned to Chiaki what a pretty daughter she had. Chiaki corrected her, but remembering that made me think - Chiaki does look a lot like me. After all, we're about the same build, and she has the same hair. Plus, since we do our performances together, we wear similar clothing. In the dark, it's easy to mistake Chiaki for me, and that's exactly what happened. The murderer" Kozue nodded to Kakashi on the stretcher "was heading for me and spotted Chiaki leaving the tent. Thinking it was me going to Chiaki's tent, the murderer killed her.
"But in the morning he realized his mistake. He tried again, but there were two Chunin who saw him sneaking around my tent. He couldn't have anyone seeing him, so he killed the two Chunin as well. But there was one more thief that night."
Kozue took a deep breath.
"There were two 'ghosts'. One was the murderer, one was me. The one the woman claimed to have seen was me. I also stole the medallion. But not for the reason you think!" She cried hastily. "The medallion was a fake. I know because when the two Chunin saw the murderer sneaking around, it was because he had just left the building with the medallion. He had exchanged the real one for the fake and then was planning on killing me! I had seen the whole thing, because I was awake at the time.
"But it wasn't over. The medallion he had replaced the real one with was not just a fake, it was a timed bomb designed to go off a day after the circus planned to leave. That's why I needed to steal it back, otherwise the whole village would've been blown up. Sadly, I was seen by the two Jonin guarding the medallion. The murderer would have killed them as well, but even though I didn't want to be seen I still could never hurt anyone. So I used the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu and caught them, then left with the medallion.
"Everyone suspected me, of course. But then I spent some time with Neji, who I was pretty sure was assigned to spy on me when he referred to asking me questions about the murder as a 'side thing.'"
"But wait," Tsunade interjected. "How can you use the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu?"
"Shadow Possession," Shikamaru corrected from behind her. Tsunade waved it away impatiently.
"The Shadow... Possession Jutsu, among others, is one of the Jutsu that people from the Village Hidden in Shadow have perfected. Nearly the whole circus is from the Village Hidden in Shadow, where Jutsu using shadows are developed. I can also use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and another Hidden Jutsu that it my own," Kozue explained. "The problem is, there's one more person who can use that Hidden Jutsu."
Kozue nodded down at Kakashi.
"That's not Kakashi. I know, because I suspected that the murderer would take the form of someone in the village. When Kakashi appeared at Chiaki's murder, I told him my suspicions, and he agreed to stay low and keep an eye out. That's how I knew this was not the same person."
"So who is this, then?" Tsunade asked skeptically.
"That would be my master. The ringmaster from the circus. Look around his neck, I'll bet he couldn't bear to take his precious rabbit's foot off," Kozue said smugly. Tsunade nodded to the medical Ninja, who lifted him and felt around his neck. He pulled out a chain, the rabbit's foot dangling it. Tsunade looked back at Kozue.
"I guess we were wrong," she admitted. Kozue sighed, leaning back against the tree.
"There's one last thing. There was one more person in on it all. I think I know who that it as well. The person-" Kozue suddenly stopped, her eyes wide. There was a dart sticking out of her neck. Kozue shuddered, and Tsunade leapt forward.
"Quickly, undo the wire!" She called, pulling out the dart. The two guards from her office quickly slit the wire with kunai knives. Medical Ninja hastily dropped the person who looked like Kakashi, and loaded Kozue onto the stretcher. They headed down the road quickly, passing by a startled Neji, who was just coming the other way. He looked down at Kozue as the Ninja hurried past him.
"What happened?" He demanded.
"I think she knows too much," Tsunade said, holding up the dart. "Someone just tried to kill her after she told us everything except the name of the second person."
Neji looked back at the medical Ninja, who had disappeared. He turned suddenly and raced after them.
~ Later On ~
Kozue opened her eyes. The left side of her face and neck burned and stung. She raised a hand to her head.
Or at least tried to. She could barely move.
"Don't try to move," a voice said from beside her. Kozue looked up.
"Tsunade-sama," she said fearfully. "I swear, I didn't do it, it was-"
"We know who it was, Kozue. You told us yourself, remember?" Tsunade asked concernedly.
"No... wait, who was it, then?" Kozue asked curiously. Tsunade frowned.
"The ringmaster, remember?"
"Oh, right. Him," Kozue said dreamily. "I remember now."
"Who else was it?" Tsunade asked urgently.
"Hmm?" Kozue asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"You said there was someone else?"
"Oh, no. He did it, all right. That scum," Kozue said cheerfully.
"Are you all right?" Tsunade asked, getting up.
"Peachy. No, dandy. Yes, I like that word better. I'm just dandy, thank you for asking. And how are you? I forget your name..."
Tsunade was out of the room before you could say, 'Where are you going?' She headed down the hall at a fast walk and headed up to the lead medical ninja. She tapped him on the shoulder.
"Yes?" He asked, looking up.
"Whatever did you do to Kozue?" Tsunade asked angrily.
"We didn't do anything. I mean, the poison from the dart may make her weak, but it shouldn't be fatal."
"I know that, but she's gone round the bend. She can't remember anything she told us, or that there was a second person, and she seems to have developed short-term memory loss."
"Oh, dear." The doctor paled. Tsunade drummed her fingers against the wall impatiently.
"What?" She snapped.
"I'm afraid the poison in the dart may have made her momentarily at a loss to remember... I'm sure it will wear off soon," the doctor said hurriedly. Tsunade scowled.
"So you're saying we'll never learn the name of the second person?"
"Of course we will. Like I said, it should wear off soon."
"Hey, lady!" Someone called. Tsunade looked up. Kozue was running down the hall toward her, beaming. "I think I remember now. Was your name Neji? I remember someone called Neji..."
"Oh, dear," the doctor repeated, looking Kozue up and down. "You shouldn't be walking already, let alone running the halls. Come now, let's head back-"
"You stop that," Kozue ordered. "Watch this."
She snatched four pens from the counter and began to juggle them.
"See? Haha! So much fun!" She crowed. "Up and down, up and down, up and down-"
Tsunade pulled the doctor aside.
"Cure her!" She hissed.
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do..."
"Up and down, up and down, up and down-"
"Fix it! Give her something! I don't care, just do... something!"
"I will see what I can do to repair her memory. In the meantime, perhaps you should fetch that Neji fellow, seeing him may help her get her memory back."
"Up and down, up and down, up and down... oops..."
One of the pens clattered to the floor and burst open, leaking ink all over the floor. Kozue bit her lip, impish delight sparkling in her eyes.
"De pen, it break-ed," she said in a childish voice, clapping her hands. "Can I break the pen again?"
Tsunade threw up her hands and raced down the hall to find Neji.
~ Later On ~
"She's okay?" Neji asked concernedly, seeing the look on the Hokage's face.
"Yes and no," Tsunade said slowly. Neji frowned.
"She's alive, but the dart, though not fatal, made her a bit 'cuckoo for cocoa puffs,' if you know what I mean."
Neji stood up.
"Where is she?" He asked.
"Right now? I think she's juggling pens in the hospital lobby," Tsunade said. "She mentioned you, that she remembered your name, but I don't think she remembered much else-"
Tsunade sighed.
Why do I bother? She wondered, watching the receding dust cloud that was Neji.
~ Later On ~
"Neji! You're back!" Kozue exclaimed upon seeing him enter the lobby. Neji began to smile.
"Now you can join the sing-along. Look, this is Mr. Teddy, this is Mr. Ladybug, and this is Mrs. Rabbit," Kozue showed him the stuffed animals from the gift shop in a circle around her. Neji stared back with horror.
"Come on now, all together! I'm a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my spout!" Kozue began conducting the song with one hand and propping up 'Mr. Teddy' with her other.
"In real life, she's around 16. Mentally, she's reverted back to seven," The doctor said sadly. "I don't know if there's anything we can do for her at this stage."
"Nothing?" Neji looked back at Kozue.
"Well, there may be something that can get her memory back, but as far as I know I can't think of anything in particular."
"And you said this was some sort of drug?"
"It seems so, yes."
"Doctor," Tsunade roared, appearing at the entrance. "What is going on? Your patient just tried to sell me girl-scout cookies. This has gotten progressively worse from when I left her with you."
"Er... yes, about that..."
"I'm listening," Tsunade fumed.
"Well, there is something that I think would bring her memory back, but... it's very risky, untested..." The doctor trailed off.
"I'm listening," Tsunade repeated, placing her hands on her hips. Neji's gaze wandered to where Kozue was now sitting on the couch looking dejected, surrounding by her fluffy friends. Neji sighed and walked towards her.
"Oh, hello again!" Kozue brightened up. "You want to buy some girl-scout cookies? We have peanut butter and pickle."
"No, thank you," Neji said politely. "I was wondering, do you remember anyone with long black hair?"
"Long black hair..." Kozue looked thoughtful. "Maaaybe..."
"That will be all. Thank you." Neji walked back to Tsunade and the doctor.
"- might as well try it, don't you think?" Tsunade said in a stage whisper.
"Well, since it's never been tested, there could be adverse side effects... chakra could be affected, balance, and we're not sure if it will actually help her memory..."
"It's our only option. We have a murderer running loose and the only person who knows who it is is... well, a cookie-selling animal tea-partying I'm-a-little-teapot-singing sixteen year-old."
"Yes, Lady Hokage," the doctor said reluctantly. He hurried off.
"What is he fetching?" Neji asked, walking over.
"A new drug. He thinks it may bring Kozue's memory back. In the meantime, I appoint you babysitter." Tsunade turned and began to walk away.
"But wait, why me?" Neji asked, hurrying after her.
"Because you know her and because you're good with kids," Tsunade said with a wink as she turned down another hallway and disappeared after the doctor. Neji threw up his hands in defeat and headed back towards Kozue.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Kozue clapped her hands excitedly. "Will you play with me?"
"That's the plan," Neji sighed as he sat down by Kozue. Kozue handed him Mr. Ladybug.
"All right, listen up. First of all, Mr. Ladybug is NOT female just because he's a 'ladybug'. Got it? Secondly, he has a crush on Mrs. Rabbit. But don't tell anyone, because it's a secret. Okay?"
Neji took a deep breath.
He didn't think he was as good with kids as Tsunade thought he was.
"Got it!" The doctor exclaimed triumphantly, holding up a syringe with some amber liquid inside. He raced down the hall.
"Ach!" Tsunade exclaimed as the needle almost rammed into her arm when the doctor ran around the corner.
"Watch it!" Tsunade growled. The doctor continued down the hall, Tsunade following. When they entered the lobby, the view gave them pause.
Kozue was sitting on the floor surrounding by her fluffy friends, and Neji sat on the couch next to her holding the ladybug stuffed animal, playing with her. Tsunade let out a snort.
"Aw," Tsunade said. The doctor nodded, watching them.
"Good. Now go stick her," Tsunade ordered, pushing the doctor forward. The doctor stumbled slightly but regained his footing and approached the two. Kozue looked up.
"Oh. You again," she said in an annoyed manner. The doctor gave a weak little smile.
"Listen to me, Kozue," Neji said softly. "He's going to give you a little prick in your arm, and the you're going to remember everything. Okay?"
"Will it hurt?" Kozue asked, turning to him with a worried look.
"No, it won't hurt. You'll be fine. I promise," Neji said. The doctor rolled up Kozue's sleeve.
Kozue shut her eyes and buried her face in Neji's chest. Neji pat her on the back reassuringly as the doctor slid the needle into her flesh and administered the drug.
He took the needle out. Kozue opened her eyes.
"Is it over?" She asked in a little voice. Suddenly she went rigid. Her eyes widened.
"Stop it," she whispered. "Stop it! It burns!" She doubled over, clutching her midsection. Neji leaned over her.
"It'll be over in a moment, Kozue," he said, watching her worriedly. Kozue moaned, leaning back against the sofa. Her eyes rolled back, and veins were prominent in her neck, spreading up the side of her face. Kozue put her head in her hands and was silent.
"Kozue? How do you feel?" Neji asked worriedly. There was no answer. Neji forced her head up to study her face. He gasped, dropping her head and jumping back.
"What did you do to her?" He demanded just as Kozue lifted her head from her hands.
Veins spread up her neck and the side of her face, and her eyes were completely pitch black. She wore a serene smile on her face, as though in her own little world. Then she toppled to one side, unconscious.
~ Later On ~
"What happened?" Tsunade demanded. From her spot beside Kozue's hospital bed, she glanced at Kozue's still form.
"It worked. She should wake up soon, probably tired and with low energy, but she should make a full recovery," The doctor reported.
"What happened to her eyes?" Tsunade asked.
"Oh, that. That'll wear off. The brain was kicking back into full function, so the eyes turned of for a moment. At least... I think that's what happened..."
"What do you mean, you think?"
"Could you please lower your voices?" Neji asked from his seat next to Kozue. "She's sleeping."
"Like a baby," the doctor added in a whisper. Tsunade sighed.
"Come on. She should wake up soon." Tsunade turned and left the room. The doctor followed. Neji got up and hesitated, looking back at Kozue. Then he sighed, shook his head, and headed after Tsunade and the doctor.