a note from the desk of ethereal damsel

This is the final chapter of Catalyst. The new arc of the fic (about 2 years after this arc) will be published under the title Pathos. Thank you to all of those who reviewed, favorited, and put this fic on alert.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The only characters I own are Kanzaki Kaya and her relations, Kirei and assorted children and adults from the Village Hidden in the Clouds, and Aoyama Kiyoshi.

Kaya and her companions left Konoha, heading for the Village of Grass. Relations between Konoha and the Grass had been quite strained of late, so many precautions had to be taken. The three of them journeyed far off the beaten path, doubling back many times in order to assure that they were not being followed. But Kaya would not allow herself to tire, for she anxiously awaited the moment she would see her old friend.

They traveled through lands Kaya had never seen before; lands of verdant, rolling hills and patches of forests that were sparse, but lush. After about a week and a half of searching through village, dell, and glade, they finally came upon the silver mead enclosed by the lonely fringe of pine trees that had been Kirei and Kiyoshi's training ground.

"There!" Anko hissed to Ibiki, "Beneath that pine!"

And so Kaya again laid eyes upon her friend. Though the years since their last meeting were many, she had not changed much. She was still quite small in stature, with gingery hair and pale yellow eyes. And she still adorned herself with clothing of such bright, contrasting colors that one would more readily guess her occupation to be that of a circus performer rather than that of a ninja.

Upon moving closer, Kaya found that Kirei appeared to be in deep, pensive thought. This came as a surprise to her, for Kirei didn't seem to be the kind of person to think deeply or pensively about anything.

"What should we do?" asked Kaya of Anko. "I thought maybe if I just talked to her…"

"Are you kidding? She'll jump right out of her skin."

"Even if she does, there is a way I can make her defenseless for a long enough period of time during which I can speak to her of our intentions."

"Ah, you mean…"

"Yes. I've been honing it for the past few years. And from what information you told me the ANBU has gathered of her, she should be unable to defend herself against this handicap."

"Very well. Proceed." Ibiki did not protest against this plan, for he naturally knew what they were speaking of already.

Kaya leapt swiftly from the pine in which she had perched and performed a complex series of hand seals.

"Lightning Element: Blitzen Haze!" she cried before Kirei had the chance to make a move. A flash of radiant white light accompanied by a thunderous sound pierced the sky and Kirei cried out, suddenly deprived of vision.

"Kirei," said Kaya as calmly as she could, "don't be afraid. I'm your—"

"I CAN'T SEE!" Kirei shrieked, clawing in horror at her eyes.

"The blindness will pass within the next five minutes or so. I'm sorry I had to expose you to the Blitzen Haze—"

"Blitzen Haze?" said Kirei, a look of consternation on her face. "That means you are…"

"The last Kanzaki, Kanzaki Kaya."

"Kaya?" Kirei said in utter disbelief. "Is it really you?"

"Yes."

"I thought for sure you were dead when I heard about your parents…but you must be Kaya, because she's the only one who can use that technique." She paused. "I have to thank you for what you did that day so many years ago. Your kindness is the reason I've continued to live."

"You're…welcome."

At that moment, Ibiki appeared behind Kirei and knocked her out with a quick blow to the head.

"Ibiki-san! What are you doing?" cried Kaya in shock.

"We don't know what sort of trouble she would cause if we told her of our plans for her. She might not have wished to go to Konoha voluntarily. After all, she has spent the majority of her life in the care of an Akatsuki member."

"I suppose you're right…" Kaya said reluctantly.

And so, with Ibiki carrying Kirei's limp frame, they departed.

When they arrived at Konoha, Kaya discovered the reason Ibiki had accompanied them.

"As a member of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force, it is my duty to question her, Kaya. It is almost doubtless that she has developed some form of loyalty towards the Akatsuki and I must overcome that barrier in order to gather all the information I possibly can about them."

"But surely you won't—"

"Torture her? No. There are myriad other ways to overcome such barriers."

"Alright…But please, be as kind to her as your profession allows you to be, for she has been through so much."

Ibiki nodded and then departed. As he left the ANBU Headquarters, Kakashi entered.

"We found her, Sensei! I was surprised to find that she hadn't changed all that much. In fact she—"

"Kaya," Kakashi said solemnly. "Sasuke is gone."