Chapter 49: Bring Me To Life

"You went too hard on her."

Shuhan raised an eyebrow at Kinkou's words, casting her a sidelong glance. "What makes you say that?"

"She's not broken. She's shattered."

"Good."

"No. You don't understand. She hasn't moved from her bed in two days and all she does is cry. When she's not sleeping, she just blankly stares at the ceiling. And tears are running down her cheeks either way. And she always vomits when she wakes up in the mornings."

"Then she's in perfect condition. We can continue with our plan without any resistance now. Her subjugation was our main priority and we certainly got exactly what we wanted." Shuhan turned to the thin man who had manipulated Katana's memory previously. "You did well to redeem yourself."

A smile cracked the thin man's gaunt face. "It was the least I could do. With the amount of memories that she had with that boy, I knew he had some significance in her life. Never underestimate the power of genjutsu. But this was one of the more difficult ones to pull off."

Shuhan furrowed his brow. "Why? Elaborate."

"I had to make the boy as close to his true self as possible, but I had only limited knowledge of his behavior from the memories I had glanced through. I might have made a few mistakes, but luckily it was good enough for Katana to buy it."

"The only thing that matters is that you succeeded," Shuhan muttered, discarding the thought that there could have been flaws in the plan. "But now we can begin our true mission. I'll give her a day or two more to process the situation a little further. Then…" He looked around the room at the collected clansmen and a sinister grin spread slowly across his countenance. "Then we will commence our plan and finally finish it."

-:-:-:-:-

Time was nothing. She hardly paid attention to the changing light in the room; whether the sun or moon provided illumination, it did not matter. She was numb with her frozen blood running through her veins, feeling as if her soul had been torn out of her body by a viciously clawed hand.

Why did this happen? How could I let it happen? The eternal flow of tears continued to track down the sides of her face. She curled into a tighter ball, clutching her knees to her chest and emitting feeble sobs. Why, Neji? Why?

She cracked open her eyes and stared at the grey stone wall through her tear-blurred vision, tightening her grip on the bed sheets around her. She dragged her nails over the fabric as she choked suddenly as her sobs caught in her throat. His name fluttered out on her breath, her voice hoarse and pained. She murmured his name repeatedly, a futile attempt to call him back from the other side. The tension in Katana's body fell slack and she became dead weight on her mattress, the tears rolling down her face faster as her body was wracked with spasms from her silent sobs.

"Come back, Neji," she whispered in a shuddering voice. "Lead me back home. Call my name, Neji. I've been calling yours. Make me feel again before I come undone anymore than I already have." She fell silent and waited rigid, straining her ears to listen for the response. She waited for the door to open and for the Hyuuga to come rushing in, waited for him to shake her and say it had all be just a bad dream. She waited for him to lift her into his strong arms and embrace her, an embrace that would chase away all of her fears and shield her from all others. She waited for him to save her.

But the door remained closed. And she remained alone.


"You have to give me this mission!"

Tsunade stared at the Hyuuga with narrowed eyes. It was extremely uncharacteristic of him to be so outspoken and defiant. He usually accepted orders or rulings without a sigh or change of expression. Being raised by such a noble clan, it was expected of him to respect his superiors. But, for some reason, Neji was being irrational.

"You know I can't do that, Neji," Tsunade growled colds. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn, irked that he had come to her office in the middle of the night. "Not only is it impossible for me to send out a jounin like yourself on a worthless mission where you are needed elsewhere, but your request is also stupid. I'm sorry to tell you this, but Katana was sent on a suicide mission. She's dead, Neji."

"No she's not!" He slammed his hand down onto the top of Tsunade's desk, turmoil causing his brow to crease and breath to hiss through gritted teeth. "She's alive! She escaped from the building you had her destroy! And her clan captured her! You have to give me clearance to leave the Village! You don't know what they will do to her!"

"Listen, Neji," Tsunade slammed her own hand on her desk, causing it to splinter slightly. Her tone was harsh and filled with anger, and Neji suddenly regretted his actions. "I don't know where this information came from, or why you suddenly know about certain Anbu missions. And I don't know why you're acting like this. But I can't let you leave. You have a mission tomorrow morning and that is much more important. You can't go off chasing ghosts and wishful thoughts. I sent her out there to die, and she hasn't reported back in nearly two weeks. I think that's proof enough that she's gone."

"Wrong!" a coarse voice growled. A small dragon leaped up onto Tsunade's desk from where it had been sitting at Neji's feet, startling her and forcing the creature to avoid the few punches she aimed in its direction. Once the Hokage had calmed down, the dragon strode up to her, locking her with its reptilian stare. "You have no idea of the events that have occurred."

"And who are you?" Tsunade snapped at the dragon, jabbing it in the snout with a fingernail.

The dragon growled at the contact to its nose. "I'm one of Katana's summoned dragons. She summoned me several days ago. And she directly told me what had happened. She told me to get here and tell Neji Hyuuga that she was in the possession of her family. Her escape attempt failed and she's in more danger than death could propose."

"And why should I trust the words of a winged lizard?"

The dragon narrowed its eyes and let out a rippling snarl. "Because I've had direct contact with her! You have no idea what her clan will do to her. Shouldn't you be happy that one of your skilled jounin kunoichi has survived death and is still alive? Shouldn't you be running for the chance to bring her back? Or do you want to lose her talent?" The dragon's gaze was steely. "Do you want to let her face tortures worse that death for her? Even as we speak, we may already be too late."

"What do you mean by 'we'?" Tsunade murmured threateningly.

"Hokage-sama, please," Neji began, but Tsunade held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear any more of this. I sent Katana on a mission that she was not supposed to return from. Those were her orders. I don't want her to be denied the chance to accomplish her mission to its fullest extent."

"You can't do this!"

Tsunade looked into Neji's eyes over her steepled fingers and she had to admit that she was surprised. She had never seen such a large hint of despair in the Hyuuga's eyes, and he seemed highly pained by the thought of Katana's death. He hung his head and allowed his features to fall into shadow.

"Please, Tsunade-sama. You do not know what her clan will do to her." He took a shaky breath. "And they may have done it already. Please." He looked up again. "You have to let me save her!"

Tsunade looked at his expression and her heart skipped a beat. She would have held her title as the Legendary Loser if she had betted that she would never see such a look on the stoic Hyuuga's face.

"Please. All of this time, I can't believe I couldn't see." He hung his head again. "I waited for her to return. I knew she was alive. I didn't know what stopped her. I was kept in the dark, but the answer was right in front of me. The dragon told me what had happened, that her clan had captured her, and I… I can't let it happen to her. If you knew what her clan wanted of her, then you would—"

Neji fell silent as he heard the scratch of a pen on paper. He looked up and saw that Tsunade was filling out a mission scroll hastily. She stamped the bottom with the Hokage's seal and held it out to Neji. "Make it quick, Neji Hyuuga. And don't expect any favors from me for a while. Now go before I change my mind." She turned her head to the side and waited for him to take the mission.

Neji felt numbed. "Th-thank you, Hokage-same. Tha—"

"I said go, Neji."

He clasped the scroll and followed the dragon as it ran out the door and into the night. It would be his guide in reaching the Suterusu Clan headquarters.

Shizune, who had backed to the side of the room once the discussion became heated, stepped warily back up to Tsunade. "Why did you give him the mission? It's going to throw your plans off, you know."

"His face," Tsunade murmured.

"What?"

"I've seen that expression only once before, and although his was much more toned down, I could never deny it. It's an expression that means that half of your heart is in danger. You have to do anything to save that other half, no matter what the cost. But it's strange. Of all the people in the world, Neji Hyuuga is the last person I would expect to witness it from."

"Who was the other person who gave that expression?"

"Myself. With Dan, I was the same way." The Hokage cast her eyes down in brief remembrance, before quickly shaking it off. "I never would have known how much that girl meant to him. I wonder what he sees in her. But for his sake, I hope he succeeds in getting her back." Tsuande yawned and rose from her desk chair. "But this is Neji Hyuuga we're talking about. I'll bet he'll bring Katana back without any problems. Now, I'm going to get some sleep."


How long have I been asleep? A day? A thousand years? Why does it matter anyway? Katana stared up at the stone ceiling, feeling sick as was custom for nearly the past week. She was shivering under the many blankets she had curled herself under, frozen inside under her skin. Without any touch, without any sympathy or caring thought directed her way, Katana felt as if she had fallen into one of the deepest pits of Hell. It must feel something like this, right? Only I would be burning inside, not freezing.

The lock on the door suddenly clashed open and a tall figure slunk inside, pulling the door tightly shut behind him. Katana turned at vacant stare in his direction, but she had no interest in the man as he stepped forward. He stood over her, looking down with a stare as blank as hers, but he shook his head and sighed.

"I guess I should greet you, but you don't look so up to it."

"What do you want?"

The man scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's kinda awkward to say out loud, and I'm not even sure how I could word it, so…" He shook his head. "I'm just going to introduce myself. My name is Sonchi."

He suddenly had Katana's attention. She sat up and stared at him with wide eyes. It was the most movement she had made in several days. " 'Sonchi'... That means…'continue'."

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his neck again. "So… I think you—"

"Don't you dare come near me." She crawled back with difficulty as her limbs trembled, attempting to put as much distance between them. The attempt was meager. "Don't take another step."

"Jeez. I thought that they said that you wouldn't resist. This makes things a whole lot more difficult."

"How can you be so relaxed about this?" Katana felt tears begin to stream fervently down her cheeks.

"They changed my name just for his purpose. I have little choice." Sonchi stepped forward.

"I said to stay back! Don't do this!"

"You can't resist, Katana. And I can't stop what has to happen. It isn't my decision to make. I'd say I'm sorry if I meant it, but they washed my mind to feel nothing." His approach continued.

"No! Please don't! Stay away! NO!" Katana pressed herself against the farthest wall away from him, but Sonchi just shook his head.

"Just give in, Katana. Make this easier for both of us." He stared into her eyes, the eyes that were the same identical brown, both dulled to the color of mud by the actions of the clan. "You have no where else to turn. Your friend has been killed. Your whole Village thinks that you're dead. There's no one out there for you but us. So don't chase dreams. They'll only become nightmares when you wake up."

Katana hung her head and allowed her tears to fall freely, her sob-ridden breaths shaking her body. Deep within her, she knew he was right. I know what I'm without now..."Just… don't… please leave me alone. Please… I'd rather have nothing than have this…"

"Even when you're shattered, you fight with your words." Sonchi pulled a syringe from his pocket and removed the cap covering the needle. It was already filled with a highly concentrated anesthetic. "I'll let you sleep. At least then I know you defiantly won't fight." He flicked the tube twice before Katana raised her head to register his statement.

"What?" She saw the syringe. "Wait! No! NO!"

But he roughly took her arm and pressed the needle under her skin. Katana clawed at his arm in a last effort to resist, the flutter of her heart beginning to grow feeble and slow. Her breath calmed even as her terror rose, and she felt her body begin to slouch. She stared up at Sonchi as he looked down at her and she closed her eyes, tears still running down the sides of her face as she felt unconsciousness claim her.

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

A smudge of flickering light smeared across her vision. It was dim, barely distinguishable as a different color in the blackness, and it was becoming no brighter. It slipped into sight before quickly vanishing and then it would flash every so often. But it never stayed for long.

But the light shimmered brighter every now and then, becoming stronger for a moment before being swallowed by the ebony void. It would try to take root and grow, spreading out to illuminate and uncover the world. But it would always succumb to the darkness, its arid nature preventing anything but more sable night to stay.

Only then did Katana realize that she was trying to open her eyes.

What happened to me? Why can't I wake up? Am I hurt? Did something attack me? Or…am I dead? But she knew she could not be so lucky.

She fluttered her eyelids forcefully, but they only cracked apart slightly to allow minimal light to permeate the dark. She struggled, slowly gaining awareness of the world around her as feeling seeped back into her limbs. And once she fully opened her eyes and the light brought her room back into focus and cleared her head, she remembered about her body. She remembered its functions and uses. She remembered which actions she could perform and which ones she could not. And she realized what had been done to it.

Her despaired cry rang through the entire stronghold, one long, agonized note of utter horrified failure. She stared up with fogged over eyes, her tears flowing freely with nothing to hold them back. Why can't I die? Why didn't I let them kill me?! I should have killed myself before I let any of this happen! She could feel nothing but an incredible pressure suffocating her, making it difficult to draw in the slightest breath. Someone save me. Anyone. Neji. Please save me! Same me from this nothing! Bring me back to life! But her mind called out to no one and she was left with nothing. Nothing but her tears.


Author Note: Hi, guys. School took no time to tighten the handcuffs over my wrists the second I stepped through the door '-_- I didn't mean for the wait to be this long. But I had difficulty writing this chapter and thought it would be longer, but that didn't really work out as I planned. I think the obvious subtlety worked/is working, no? I hope Neji wasn't too OOC. In any Neji pairing fic he has to be a little, right? And I hope the dragon wasn't too confusing. Anyway, I want to get next chapter out by next week, but I auditioned for my school play and most likely got a part in the ensemble. So between that and homework, I'm going to have very little time. But I'll do my best. I own nothing, just what has been previously claimed. Peace out.

-cagedbird361