Chapter 28: Breathe Today

"We have to get out of here!"

There were only five left from the original three platoons and survival chances were as good as none. The commander watched his men die, knowing that all hope was lost even if they did escape; seven of his men had been killed and his punishment for planning foolishly would be severe. He called his men to retreat again, but they couldn't respond, being too engaged in their deadlocks. One shinobi got distracted and turned his head to the commander, only to be slashed to the ground under his opponent's kunai.

The commander set his teeth and drew a kunai, preparing to meet his fate alongside his men in the heat of battle. He charged at one of the opposing shinobi with the sole purpose to kill as many of them as his could before he himself fell. The commander reared his arm back, ready to die, when an explosion of flame threw him back in the opposite direction. He skidded across the ground, stopping only once his back slammed into a tree, and nearly lost consciousness. The commander watched the world around him grow fuzzy until there was a gentle pressure on his chest, followed by a warm sensation. He focused his vision with difficultly until he felt himself heal completely.

"Do you have any more injuries?" the brown-eyed girl asked quietly, her scarred face pale in the moonlight.

"Am I dead? Are you an angel?"

The girl gave a humorless laugh. "I'm no messenger of God. I can assure you that. I highly doubt angels have scars. But you're not dead. The status of your men is a different story, to say the least. The remaining four besides yourself are in no life threatening danger, and it seems you have stabilized as well."

The commander sat up, examining his surroundings. The opponents were dead on the ground among his men, the remaining four staring at the girl kneeling at his side. He turned his eyes to her. "You saved us. Who are you?"

"My name is Katana Suterusu. I was sent as your backup after the distress call you sent out. If seems I arrived too late, but just in time to save some of you."

The commander rose to his feet and glanced at Katana. She stood solidly, her face expressionless, yet had an underlying tone that could hardly be detected. The commander had seen a similar expression on several girls her age, the face of someone who had endured unbearable pain and suffering, yet did their best to forget it and move on. But the pain could never be forgotten and lingered beneath the surface of her features like a grey shadow cast over freshly fallen snow.

"I thank you, Katana Suterusu," the commander said with a bowed head.

"I don't need your gratitude. Just report to the Hokage; I'm sure she will want to hear of this incident. Now, I must go. I have another mission to accomplish."

Katana turned without another word and leaped away into the trees, leaving the commander and his remaining platoon to deal with their morbid predicament.


Katana silently crept through the dark hallways, relying on the flickering light of the dim candles to guide her way. The mission report had said that they would lead the way, yet the branching corridors were difficult to follow in the half-darkness. The occasional chakra flare ignited her attention, but she strode past every unsuspecting guard, invisible to their eyes. The only thing they possibly saw was a wavering shadow before a sword was buried between their eyes.

Katana slunk on, scanning the blueprint she had been given in search of where the document she was sent to acquire was located. Every path looked the same, every landmark a similar bust or suit of armor. Daimyo mansions were some of the most difficult buildings to navigate in the dark. Katana knew there was one thing that would make the mission tenfolds easier, but she shoved the thought out of her mind, needing all her attention to be focused on the situation at hand.

Moving as inaudibly as a shadow, Katana strode on, examining the map and her surroundings as best she could to gain some idea as to where she was. The candles stretched down the main corridor until branching off in another direction, but the fork in the road proved a greater challenge than Katana would have first thought. She felt her skin tingle gently as she neared the split and she paused, knowing there was a chakra barrier in one of the branches.

Katana was unsure whether or not she would be detected. Normal chakra sensing techniques couldn't detect her, but she had never attempted to penetrate any barriers before. The seal on her back could possibly trip the barrier if her own chakra didn't, and the barrier could be a simple motion-sensing trap triggered by any movement through it. Katana deactivated her kekkei genkai and dimmed her chakra flare as much as she could before stepping through the barrier. Nothing initial happened until she took a step forward.

An ear-piercing keening split the air and Katana felt her muscles lock and she sunk to the ground. Footsteps were heard running to her location from the above floors, different corridors, and from below. Katana struggled to move her hands, slowly clasping them together as the chakra flares from the guards approached faster and faster. She heard doors squeal open on rusty hinges as guards flocked to the tripped chakra barrier, and Katana grit her teeth as she fought her locked muscles and finally formed the Sign of the Tiger.

"Kai: Release!" Katana hissed, falling forward as the tension on her body disappeared. She wove several more seals and reactivated her kekkei genkai, becoming invisible just as the guards rounded a corner and appeared in front of the chakra barrier. One waved his hand in the air and the keening stopped, everything becoming silent after the previous cacophony of the alarm.

"Where's the intruder?" one guard asked, looking wildly around. "If you're barrier failed again or set off another false alarm, I'm going to personally skin you alive, Kanmon."

"Hey, don't accuse me," the guard who had deactivated the barrier, Kanmon, snapped. "I've been spending a lot of time on this jutsu. I know I perfected it. It should have immobilized the person who walked through it. I don't know what's going on."

"I can't believe we've been called to attention by another one of your mistakes," the first guard said with a sigh of annoyance. "Is there any possible way that the person who tripped it could have escaped?"

"Only someone with a strong will and the ability to release a genjutsu under harsh physical strain could accomplish it. I've never met a normal shinobi that could to that."

Katana slowly rose to her feet and drew one of her swords, carefully approaching the group of guards that had collected. She circled behind them, choosing one on the outside of the group to be her first victim. She slashed his back open across his shoulders, raising a loud cry of pain from his throat. The other guards looked at him in shock, one kneeling over his fallen comrade. Katana ran him through and he fell on top of the first.

"What's going on?" Kanmon cried, watching as Katana cut down four more of the group. "What's doing this?"

"How are we supposed to know?" another guard growled. "Something's attacking us, but I can't see—" He was silenced as his throat split open and a fountain of ruby blood poured down the front of his body. Katana made short work of the rest of the group, leaving only Kanmon as the last one standing. He looked around at his fallen comrades, spinning in circles as he tried not to turn his back on his invisible attacker.

"You said you had never seen a shinobi that could withstand the affects of your barrier genjutsu," Katana whispered. She stepped up to Kanmon, slowly releasing her kekkei genkai so she gradually became visible. "I believe it's high time you met someone who could."

"Who are you?" Kanmon gasped as Katana allowed her chakra cloak to completely dissipate and she thrust her sword up to his neck.

"I'm not your normal shinobi, and that's all you need to know," Katana retorted fiercely, driving her sword through Kanmon's neck. She whipped several blood splatters from her face and turned to the corridor she had been attempting to traverse. She had changed, it was evident, and Katana only hoped that it was for the better.


"Well done. That was completed faster than I thought."

Katana nodded to Tsunade, resting the document she was sent to retrieve and her mission report on the large desk.

"Yes, it is very simple to complete a mission when I am the only one assigned to the task. Although there is one person that could have benefited me, it was easy enough to complete by myself. I actually prefer taking on missions alone; I can think clearly and don't have anyone to hold me back."

"Good rationalization, but teamwork is essential to a shinobi," Tsunade said in a firm voice. "You would do well to remember that."

"I do work on teams, but only if the mission calls for it," Katana retorted. "Now, if there is no other assignment for me, I would like to be dismissed. I have something to do."

"You have no assignment as of now, but expect one in the near future so don't get to comfortable."

"Very well. Thank you."

Katana turned and departed swiftly, heading toward one of the farthest training fields from the center of the Village, hoping to be able to clear her mind.


"You have a mission for me?" Neji inquired, standing before the Hokage in her office.

"Yes, I will give you the details when your teammate gets here," she responded from behind a piece of paper she was thoroughly examining.

"I was told it was urgent."

"It is urgent. But I would prefer to only have to explain myself once."

Neji chose not to argue with Tsunade's laziness and stood silently in front of her until the door behind him opened. He glanced at his teammate and his eyes narrowed. He hadn't seen her in over a week, yet the memory of what she almost did to him burned fresh in his mind.

"Reporting for the mission, Hokage-sama," Katana said slightly out of breath.

"Alright, now that you're both here—"

"My apologies for interrupting," Neji said, his voice cold, "but I refuse to accept a mission if my teammate is Katana Suterusu."

Katana stiffened and stared at him in surprised shock. He had used her name as if she wasn't standing there, and his face was completely composed. He was serious.

"What are you talking about? I feel like it's the first time I put you two together on a mission. What could possibly make you refuse?"

"The safety of one of us would be in danger, I speculate, and the only choice would be to attack for defense. If both of us depart on a mission, I strongly believe that only one of us will return."

"You're joking," Katana said, her expression of shock not wavering.

"I assure you I'm not," Neji responded in an icy tone, not bothering to look at her. "I request to either be taken off the mission or assigned a different teammate."

"How can you say that, Hyuuga?" Katana hissed. "How can you be so selfish?"

"Selfish? You're one to talk," he growled coldly, giving her the slightest of glances. "At least I don't try to kill the people I have been receiving help from."

"What's going on?" Tsunade snapped, standing up from her desk and slamming her hands onto the top, nearly cracking it in two. "You two worked so well together, and suddenly you choose not to like each other? Is there something I should know about?"

Katana threw Neji a look, silently pleading him not to say anything about her family. He remained quiet for a moment before speaking carefully. "It is my belief that Katana is questioning where her loyalties lie. She should be kept under watch, in my opinion. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt." He spat out the last words as if they tasted bitter.

"If you would just have listened to me," Katana whispered so that only Neji could hear her, "you wouldn't think the way you do now."

"You two are the most suitable people for this mission, and if you don't tell me what the problem is, I'm going to force you to go on this mission. And by force, I mean one-way trip to your destination via one of my drop kicks. And Neji, you're claims of Katana are entirely irrational compared to what I have seen from her lately. I'm very surprised that you are acting this way. It's very unlike you."

Neji gave his signature "hn" and looked away defiantly, unfamiliar with the feeling of being wrong or having his claims being called irrational. "Fine, I'll go on this mission if you believe I am wrong," he said bitterly. "What are the details?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at Neji's pride and scanned the paper she had previously been looking at. "Scouts say that there has been an attack on a small village about fifty kilometers away. The attackers were suspicious and I want you two to check things out. Report anything and examine the condition of the villagers. I chose you, Katana, because there was a lengthy description of this village in your report from the mission you were on for four years."

Katana took the map held out to her and a chill crawled up her spine. The village was familiar, but she hoped that it wasn't the one she initially thought it was. Neji took the mission scroll and turned toward the door, hardly beckoning her to follow before he departed the office, leaving Tsunade to shake her head and roll her eyes.

There's defiantly something going on between those two. And I really need to find out what.


They ran at an equal pace, neither in front of the other. Neji caught her looking at him several times, but she didn't bother to look quickly away. She held his gaze each time for a moment before turning to look back forward. The silence stretched worlds between them; the connection that they might have previously had was fraying and nearly severed. The only thing that kept them together was the one unsaid explanation that Katana didn't know how to begin and that Neji didn't want to hear.

They covered a tremendous distance by the time night came, and the silence remained unbroken. They slept on opposites of the clearing, keeping as far away as possible from each other and Katana felt suffocated by his actions even as she denied that she still felt anything for him. Turning away, Katana rested her fingertips on her choker, mind racing about whether she should try to mend the situation or continue to deny that she could possibly still like him.

The next morning brought no clarity, the answer to the predicament as difficult as ever. They continued their silence and quickly set off toward the village again, half of the distance already behind them. They day wore on and Katana was trying her hardest to perfect her explanation, but the words wouldn't come to begin what she wanted to say. The day was more than half over when they stopped to examine the map, and Katana finally cracked the silence.

"We can arrive at the village by nightfall if we continue at the pace we have been moving at."

"Good," Neji replied curtly. "I want to finish this mission as quickly as possible."

Katana looked up at him and he turned away, preparing to leap off into the trees again. "Wait, Hyuuga," Katana said, making him pause and glance over his shoulder at her. "I need to talk to you."

"We don't have time."

"Yes we do, Hyuuga. Your ignorance of the situation is making everything so difficult. I need to clear this up; I need to stop these lies swirling around us."

"What ignorance? What lies? I know exactly what is going on."

"No you don't. Please, just listen to me."

"I don't want to listen to you or your explanations. I don't need you to endanger me any more than you already have."

Katana's expression slowly melted into one of anger and she ran toward Neji. He lowered into a Jyuuken stance, but Katana swiftly shot behind him, stopped her momentum with one foot, and pushed off the ground. She took Neji out at the knees, sending them both crashing into the forest floor, and Katana recovered quickly. She pounced on top of him, straddling his stomach and grabbing the neckline of his shirt in both hands. She pulled his collar, lifting his face closer to hers and she locked his gaze, glaring harshly into his white eyes.

"You give me no choice, Hyuuga," Katana snarled, tightening her grip on his shirt. "I…" Katana froze as she felt his hand rest on her stomach just below her ribcage. "What are you doing?"

"If you don't get off of me, I won't hesitate to force my chakra into you. You will be crippled if I attack, so get off while you still can."

"You think I'm afraid? The way you're acting hurts me more than any of your physical attacks ever will. Do you know how much it hurts to see you turn away from me? I want to tell you what happened, but you won't let me. Why, Hyuuga? Why?"

"My reasons are none of your business," Neji retorted. "Now stand up so we can continue and complete this mission."

"You don't get it do you?" Katana said with a shake of her head. "Do you know what it's like to have the people who care about you turn away? Do you know what it's like to be cast aside by the person who was the only person you consider to be a true friend? Do you know what its like to be hated because of a misunderstanding? Do you know, Hyuuga? Because I certainly do."

Neji stared up at her and she angrily shook him by his collar. He couldn't respond, only then realizing that the person she was talking about was him.

"Do you want to know what my family did to me that night? They made me endure my worst memory again. For the second time, I had to see that other Hyuuga attack me. I almost got raped a second time!" Katana turned her head away for a moment, breathing heavily as if fighting back tears. "You stopped them only just in time, but every time I looked at you, I only saw the other Hyuuga. I wanted to believe it was you, but I could only see the other. It was as if he was actually there in front of me, and everything you said was in his voice, every touch was his. I couldn't fight it off; I wanted to kill him. Something took control of me and I couldn't stop it. I was in a genjutsu, but I didn't know at the time."

"Katana, I—"

"You have to believe me, Hyuuga. I would never hurt you. Never." Katana closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to fight back her rising tears. "It wasn't me attacking you and it wasn't you who I was attacking. I just want everything to be okay again." Katana's grip on his shirt slackened and she finally let him go. Neji removed his hand from below her ribcage and she stood up, walking away. She covered her face with her hands and shuddered. "Oh god, it's happening again. I thought I had gotten over this." She shook her head and strode away toward the edge of the clearing. "The choice to believe me is yours, Hyuuga. Do what you will. I'll be back by morning."

Neji sat up as she ran into the forest, leaving him with his own unspoken explanation and apology. He understood now, but she hadn't given him the chance, the same way he hadn't given her the chance. Neji bowed his head, only wishing that Katana had let him tell her his reason for trying to avoid her, but he knew that she would probably never believe him. He had to believe her first.


Author Note: And what was Neji's reason? You will find out... LATER!! MUWAHAHAHA *cough* *choke* *sputter* Sorry people, I just love suspense. Kanmon=barrier (no creativity, I know). I had a lot more to this chapter, but I decided to spread it out a little 'cause I have a bunch of jumbled ideas that need to be sorted (sorry ShadowBlossom15, maybe next week). I don't really have much else to say, only that I got a Flyleaf album and I love it (*hint* title *hint*). I own nuttin, just the OCs 'n' such. Peace out.

-cagedbird361