Chapter 9: Forgiven
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
It got louder and louder, like a sound rising from a thick fog. The darkness was still thick and suffocating, obstinate in releasing its hold. But that single note stabbed at the ebony void, incessant and relentless. It had gone unnoticed before, but slowly, very slowly, it was growing in volume and power. With each pulsing burst of sound, the darkness became a little less thick, a little less smothering, and a little more faded. The noise finally reached a point and stopped growing, delivering its final blow to the blackness. It was still dark, but it seemed lighter now, not as asphyxiating as it had been. And the power to return to the light came in reach, and Katana's eyelids fluttered in her first attempt.
"You're a jack-ass-hole, you know that?"
The jounin kunoichi's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice, assaulted by the harsh light glaring through the half opened curtains. Blinking repeatedly to adjust her pupils to the light after enduring the darkness, Katana saw a figure slowly become clear.
"Anko? What are you doing here? Where am I?" Katana's voice croaked from her throat and she coughed as the words caught against her dry tongue. Her eyes flashed around and the clean white walls and smell of antiseptic gave the signs that she was in the hospital.
"Don't hurt yourself, now," Anko snapped, smacking at Katana's knee with a newspaper she was holding. "After what happened to you, I don't think you could survive catching the common cold."
Katana gave her a questioning look, but the memories of the mission came rushing back. Her hand went to her stomach and she felt a thick bandage wrapped over her skin. She sat up quickly, wincing as her injured muscles tensed. "I remember now. What happened at the end? What happened to my team?"
"Relax, the doctor said not to raise your heart rate to a certain level," Anko growled, pushing Katana back down. "Why you think of your mission and not of yourself after the injury you sustained is beyond me. Your mission was completed and your team is fine. From what I heard, they are all healed and ready to take on their next assignment."
Katana sighed with relief, rubbing her eyes and shaking her head. "How long was I out for?"
"Don't worry. It's only been two years."
"WHAT!" Katana sat bolt upright in alarm, ignoring the explosion of pain from her wound.
Anko burst out laughing, nearly falling from the chair she was sitting on. She doubled over, her entire body racked by her howls of amusement. "I'm joking. I'm joking!" Anko sputtered, wiping tears out of her eyes. "Sorry, I just had to mess with you. You should have seen your face! You deserve it after how much you made me worry about you." Anko's laughter subsided and she cleared her throat with a cough. "You were only unconscious for five days. After the three surgeries you had, I'm actually surprised that you're still not under from the drugs." Katana grabbed the newspaper off the bedside table that Anko had set down and threw it at the older kunoichi. Anko chuckled words of apology, trying to fend off the assault of projectiles Katana was flinging at her. Anko stopped her before Katana could get to her IV stand.
"Don't do that to me, Anko!" Katana snapped, trying to calm herself down unsuccessfully. "You know how literal I am, and the current situation isn't helping the matter!"
"Sorry, sorry," Anko said dismissively, waving her hand and leaning back in her chair with a smirk on her face. Katana grumbled and lay back down on her pillows, staring at the ceiling and pondering about what had happened while she was unconscious.
"Were you my only visitor?" Katana asked before the silence became too uncomfortable.
Anko scoffed. "What do you think you are? A celebrity? Of course I was the only visitor."
"Not even my team?"
"Why would they visit you? Did you establish a special bond or something? They have other duties, you know."
Katana sighed and heard a knock on the door. She looked over as a familiar young girl entered. She was wearing a short navy blue skirt and a pale yellow t-shirt under a red vest instead of the customary medic ninja white robe. Her light pink hair was pulled into a short ponytail, showing off her bright green eyes.
"Katana Suterusu?" she questioned, looking at the clipboard she held. "Hello, my name is Sakura Haruno," she continued after Katana's confirming nod. "I'm the nurse assigned to you."
Spectacular, Katana thought with annoyance. Just what I need: A primpy young girly-girl as my nurse. She looks younger than me! "I've seen you before haven't I?"
"Yeah," Sakura said, twirling the end of her ponytail. "I saw you in the hallway outside the Hokage's Office. I was going to file some papers and you were reporting to your mission. But anyway, I've come to heal your injury. It says here," she pointed to her clipboard, " that you have a severe laceration on your stomach. The final treatment couldn't be given since you were unconscious."
"Okay, so get on with it," Katana snapped. "I want to get out of here as fast as possible."
Anko laughed at Sakura's surprised look. "Try to be patient with her," the special jounin whispered into the young medic's ear as she rose to leave. "She can be bitter and cynical, but once you break through her hide, she could be your best friend. But don't try to get through in one day. You may lose your life or a limb." Anko sauntered out the door, whistling with amusement.
Sakura left after treating Katana's wound, not looking forward to her next visit. Katana had been none too happy with the news that she had to stay for a few more days under observation. Sakura had to endure the snarled comments made by the jounin, and she left a little too quickly for a good impression to be made.
Katana was left to stare at the ceiling in solitude after Sakura left, but she preferred that to the pink-haired medic's company. She closed her eyes, but her thoughts were active where her body wasn't. She thought of the mission and the team she had led, recalling the most minute details that she hadn't thought were so important, reliving each moment.
She could feel the dragon's muscles moving beneath her as she rode it to the stronghold to rescue her team atop its back. She saw the terrified faces of the rebels as she brandished her sword and the ruby blood collecting in puddles around their slaughtered bodies. She could feel the flames lick her body through the force field she had set up to protect herself as Shura-Tatsu engulfed the stronghold in fire. She felt the dragon's claws close around her to pull her from the burning fortress and carry her to the safety of the camp. She could feel the Hyuuga's cold hands on her back as he stitched the wound she had saved him from. She could see the rebel leader attacking her, and she could feel the axe blade cleave her stomach open. Then she saw the flash of white redirect the axe before it hit her skull, and she saw the Hyuuga leaning over her weakening body. Had he actually tried-
A loud knock on the door roused Katana from her thoughts and her eyes flashed open. The door opened slowly and a male about her age stepped into the room. He had light brown spiky hair, his bangs falling over his leaf hitai-ate around his deep evergreen eyes. They shimmered brightly in the light reflecting off the white walls. He wore fishnets on his forearms under a three-quarter sleeve dark navy shirt. His pants were the same color and came to his mid-shin, the rest of his legs bound with white cloth. He wore a green chuunin vest and a long handled axe was strapped to his back. He approached steadily and Katana sat up, making him come to a sudden halt.
"Oh, you're awake," he said quietly. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Katana? How are you?"
Katana stared at the young man, looking at his vest and light brown hair. But she locked his eyes, the deep emerald color destroying the dam and flooding her mind with memories. Memories she had tried so hard to forget. Those green eyes belonged to the only surviving member of her three-man genin team, Riki Shinkan.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
He blinked in surprise, taking an unsure step back. "Er, that wasn't the greeting I expected."
"Well, what were you expecting?" Katana snapped. She cast uneasy glances at the axe strapped to his back. "After all you've done to me, did you honestly expect me to be welcoming?"
He bit his lip uneasily. "But we were teammates."
"Teammates? You consider us teammates? Riki, if we were anything at all, we were enemies. Don't you remember, or are you still as blind as you were when we were children?"
Riki lowered his head. "I wanted to change that. Maybe we could start over?"
"Start over? What are you talking about? You can't have a second chance at a first impression, and choices and actions of the past can't be changed. Our 'bond' was severed when the other two of our team died. I joined the Anbu for a reason after than; I wanted to get away from you."
Riki glared at her, his viridescent eyes growing hard. "And what do you think happened to me after that? I couldn't join the Anbu and I was left with no one to train with. I never wanted to hurt you. Ever. I just-"
"Just what?" Katana spat with contempt. "Are you telling me that you didn't mean to say all those mocking, degrading words? They say that actions speak louder than word, but words can linger in the mind long after any physical blow has healed. Every time you slandered me, every time you made rude comments, and every time you shot me an expression of hatred I felt your distain for me grow. I only gave you what I received: I reflected the anger you showed me, so my actions are not my fault. You brought it upon yourself."
"But I-"
"Why are you really here, Riki? Do you just want to stick my nose in what I did? I wanted to have a bond with my team, the kind of bond you hear so many others speaking of. But you and the others were never very welcoming, and I had to act the same or risk losing myself to your remarks."
"Just hear me out, would you?" Riki snapped angrily. Katana narrowed her eyes and set her jaw, folding her arms over her chest. "I've changed in the four and a half years since we've been on a team. I saw you several times before when you were in the Anbu, and the look in your eyes, that cold, dark, injured look made me realize it was mostly my fault. I've wanted to make amends ever since I had that revelation, but then you left on your mission. I found out you were here so I came to do what I've waited almost five years for. I wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Why should I believe you?" Katana said skeptically. "After all this time, after all you've done, your words are hollow."
"Then what about this?" Riki rummaged in his waist pouch and retrieved a strip of material. He let it dangle between his fingertips, and Katana saw it wasn't just a piece of cloth. Between the two equal lengths of the black silk was a red jewel with a small slit of an onyx stone in the center, giving the appearance of a dragon's eye. Katana's eyes widened and Riki stepped forward, lowering the necklace into her open palm.
"This choker, I thought you had-"
"Yeah, remember when we went on the mission that ended in the others' deaths? Remember the dispute we got into after they got captured? I ripped that off of you neck and threw it into the river we were standing by." Riki gave a small chuckle. "You tried to kill me after that. But when you ran off into the forest, I saw it had gotten caught on a rock and I pulled it out of the water. I had intended to keep it for myself just to piss you off, but now I'm returning it. I'm sorry for what I've done."
"But why? After all this time, why do you want to make amends?" Katana looked up with an expression of misunderstanding on her face. "You hated me; you said it yourself. What makes you want to be so friendly now?"
Riki set his mouth in a sad line. "I've learned that, in this life and occupation, you need all the friendships and allies you can get. Think about what I've said." Riki turned and walked to the door. "I'm ready to talk when you are." He slipped out of the room and closed the door and Katana was left in the silence of the thoughts her former teammate had evoked.
She sat just staring at the choker she held in her hand, unaware of how much time had passed until there was another knock on the door. She stashed her necklace under her pillow as the door opened and three people entered. Katana looked in surprise as Team Gai stepped in, shocked by their presence.
"You came," she said in a low voice.
"Well, yeah, duh," Tenten said with a bright smile. Lee walked further in and she grabbed Neji's sleeve and pulled him away from the door. "This was the first chance we've gotten. There've been a ton of assignments since the stronghold was destroyed. The clean up has been rough."
"But it is nothing we cannot handle," Lee chimed in, beaming foolishly. "It is good to have the Village unthreatened again. It would have been impossible without your help."
"I highly doubt that, Lee," Katana mumbled, absently tracing the scar on the left side of her face. "But it's good news to hear everything is in order."
They talked for a while, Lee and Tenten filling Katana in on what had happened while she was unconscious. Neji didn't speak the entire time, just leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was the farthest away and kept his gaze fixed on the window. When Lee noticed how much "precious, youthful time" had passed, he suggested that they go and continue helping with the remains of the stronghold. Neji was the first to the door.
"Hold on, Hyuuga," Katana called after she said her goodbyes to Tenten and Lee. "I want to talk with you for a moment." The annoyance was plain on the Neji's face and Tenten gave a giggle that made him all the more irritated. Katana waited until Lee and Tenten had left.
"What do you want?" Neji growled before Katana could speak.
"Did you stop the rebel leader from putting his axe into my head?"
Neji raised one of his fine eyebrows. "Yes, it was I. I discovered that the spheres he had us trapped in were made of chakra. I was able to destroy them with Jyuuken so I could get to you. We brought you back after you fell unconscious."
"Then you saved my life," Katana murmured, lowering her head. "I owe you one, Hyuuga." He gave his signature "hn" and walked to the door. "Hey, Hyuuga." Neji glanced back at her. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for anything I may have said or done to you. I have a reason, believe me. Maybe I'll tell you sometime."
"Your business doesn't concern me," he muttered and rested his hand on the doorknob. "But, as you said, when it comes to fighting for a comrade, one must do everything they can. I simply returned the favor you did us when we were stuck in the stronghold."
"So it seems I'm the one with the debt now," Katana said with a smirk. "It will be paid back, I promise that."
"Do what you will," Neji said and opened the door. "And you're welcome."
Katana watched him walk out the door and she lay back down with a smirk. Making amends wasn't as hard as she thought it would be.
Author Note: Ummm, yeah. Another chapter. I've been doing my best, but I'm thinking I'm going to update every weekend if not sooner. School is still a bitch, pardon my French. Buuuut, some things can't be changed. This chapter was a little more mellow than others I have had, but this is the introduction to my other OC, Riki Shinkan. I may elaborate on what happened to the others of his and Katana's team, but I may not. I shall see how things turn out. Anyway, I don't own anything except my OCs. Reviews always make me happy, and I thank all of those who have read my fic ^_^ So until next time, peace out.
-cagedbird361