Chapter 50: How You Remind Me

"He's really dead, isn't he?"

Kinkou looked over at Katana as her wane voice mumbled softly. Her head was bowed and her gaze was cast down, glassy and weak. She did not move or alter her gaze and kept it steadily on her hands as they rested in her lap.

"The white-eyed boy?" Kinkou saw the slightest twitch in Katana's brow. "Yes. He's gone. It's good that you've finally come to grips with the situation."

She balled her hands into fists, but they relaxed quickly and she lay back down on her pillows. "What should I do? What can I do? Now that he's… I just don't know if I really do believe it… But…"

"Don't worry yourself. Let it leave your mind and just focus on your family."

"Easy for you to say." Katana closed her eyes as tears began to stream down her face. "You're just happy because your role has been passed on to me. You're not the clan's whore anymore, so of course you can talk like everything is alright."

Kinkou rose from where she sat and tossed a clean shift down next to Katana. "You do have a point. But I haven't played that role in many years. But you do make it positive that I, indeed, will never hold that title again."

"Great. Aren't you supposed to be my caretaker? Shouldn't you be trying to make the situation less impacting?"

"I should, but I don't think there is anything that I can say to you." Kinkou walked towards the door. "But I'm at least relieved that you're talking like you used to. The sarcasm is reassuring. It seems that you're shattered soul has picked itself up a little." She walked out of the door and shut it heavily behind her.

"You have no idea, Kinkou-obasan. Nothing can mend this." Katana stared up at the ceiling and touched the burn scar on her palm, the scar she had received from saving Neji's life once. "Façades are the only thing I have left now. And I just hope to Kami that I haven't lost myself entirely."


She heard it again. The soft clunk as the heavy lock on the door slid back and it was opened with the utmost care. Whoever was beyond it did not want to wake her or be discovered. But she was tense and aware. The door had been opened the same way by two other people: Neji and Sonchi. And if it was the latter again, she was determined to piece herself together just enough to take his life.

But Katana's planned movements faltered as the figure stepped into the moonlight slanting from the barred window. She never thought it would be the former approaching her in the night. He had heard her mental calls and pleas, and had finally answered. But she felt even more torn than she had ever been.

"No… It can't be…"

He paused and stared at her for a moment, his face slightly hidden in the darkness. "You're okay." His shoulders seemed to relax slightly as if a great wave of relief washed over him. "I… I'm so…" He took several steps forward.

"No… Neji… Oh, please, no… No!" She sat up quickly and slid back against the wall on far side of her bed, eyes wide and head shaking back and forth at a constant rhythm.

He paused again. "What's wrong? Did something—"

"Don't come near me," she hissed, her chest growing tight and her body beginning to tremble. "I won't fall for another of their tricks."

"What are you talking about?" He stepped closer again. "It's me, Katana."

A chill ran down her spine as he said her name, his tone echoing in her ears and causing her next exhalation to be shaky. "Th-They made you flawless." She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as the pain in her heart grew. She clutched the sheets beneath her. "Why are they doing this? What more do they want? What more can they take?"

"Katana, we have to go. You have no idea how difficult it is to get in here without being detected. You can tell me everything once we are a safe distance from this place. And you will never have to come back." Neji stepped up to her bed, leaned forward, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Katana slapped his hand from her shoulder and sprang forward, hands clasping his neck as he stumbled and fell to the floor. She sat on his stomach, glare boring into his white eyes with the intent to kill. "This time, I'll destroy this illusion that they cast over me. My clan won't play me this time. You're finished!"

She was not given the chance to tighten her grip. Neji took hold of her waist and easily lifted her and he rose to his feet. She writhed in his grasp and he heavily threw her down onto the bed. Katana began to protest loudly and he clapped his hand over her mouth, standing at her side.

"Stop this!" he hissed in the loudest whisper he dared. "You'll get us discovered!" Neji cast a wary glance to the door, his Byakugan scanning until Katana began to fight again. She kicked at him and clawed at his hand, muffled cries faltering against his fingers. He quickly moved to subdue her by resting on all fours above her, his knees on the inside of hers and one hand on her shoulder while the other kept her mouth covered. "Why are you causing trouble? Didn't you send your dragon to come tell me that you were captured by your family? Wasn't that an invitation to come and rescue you? So why are you resisting?"

Katana fell still, eyes wide as she stared up into Neji's eyes, her breath coming in quick short gasps. She tightened her hold on the hand that was still pressed over her mouth, tears once again sliding from her eyes. Neji allowed her to move his hand, her grip tightening further. She snapped her eyes shut and dug her nails into his skin as if doing everything she could to prove that he was actually there.

"Why…? How…? I don't understand… You're dead. I saw you die. I was the one who knelt over you without the ability to save you as you bled to death. But…how could you know about the dragon? My clan had no idea that I did that. And they didn't know my message… But I…" She cracked open her eyes and raised one of her hands to trace her fingertips along the side of his face. Her tears increased as Neji took her hand in his.

"Whatever that incident was, it was false. I'm here, Katana. I'm here to bring you back to the Village."

"NO!" She grabbed the front of his shirt and locked his eyes. "You're not real. I can't believe this or I'll fall into another trap. I won't let them destroy me any more. Their tricks won't work on me now. I won't let you, you false monster, take away the little sanity I have left!"

Neji clamped his hand over her mouth, scanning the surrounding area with fear that they had gained unwanted attention. She was screaming against his hand, the volume enough to breach his fingers.

"You need to stop this. Do you want your clan to kill me?" Neji's efforts were useless in quieting her. He suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of material and held for Katana to see. "Will this convince you that I'm real? Will you see reason?"

Katana instantly fell still and her eyes widened as her gaze fell on the object Neji held to her: her choker. Neji could feel her begin to tremble under him and she clasped the hand over her mouth even tighter than before. She ran her hands up his arm as her breaths came in the way of someone who was crying. Katana rested both hands on the sides of his face and Neji moved his hand from her mouth.

"That choker," she whispered as she sat up slightly, "was given to me by my mother." The tears in her eyes no longer held sadness. "She made it so that it cannot be duplicated by someone else. It will only appear again if I make shadow clones, but no one else can make a copy. You can't be a genjutsu. You couldn't have that if you were." She fell to her tears and she pulled herself up and embraced him tightly. "Neji, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I just…" She felt him wrap his arms around her tightly and rest them on their sides, holding her against him to coax the fragments of her shattered being back into place.

"No, Katana. I'm the one who should apologize. I should have known something was wrong and come to search for you sooner. I never should have let any of this happen."

She loosened her embrace just enough to let her gaze meet his. "It's not like you to say sorry." He could feel her hands tighten on the back of his shirt. "You're not fooling me, are you?"

"You've changed me in many ways, Katana. I can't deny that. What can I do to convince you beyond any doubt?"

"Answer this: How did I get the scar on my stomach?"

"This one?" Neji traced the scar through her shirt, knowing exactly where it was located and causing Katana to shiver. "You receive it from an axe blow on our first mission together. We had to destroy a rebel stronghold and you were attacked by the leader. And I saved you."

Katana pressed her lips to his, her fingers running through his hair as tears of relief ran down her cheeks. He responded by kissing her back and pulling her as close to him as he could. Katana let a smirk lift the corners of her lips. "You kiss the same too. Just like before…" Neji recaptured her lips and his hand rested on the small of her back over where her chakra seal was and he cocked his head to deepen the kiss while keeping it as chaste as possible. But his eyes suddenly flew open and he gently pulled apart from her, looking towards the door.

"I'm sorry, but we need to leave. There must be someone who knows I'm here by now, and—"

"Yeah," Katana murmured. "But they're used to me yelling out in the middle of the night. They'll probably think nothing of it." She suddenly fell still and the previous joy faded like snuffed out candle. She suddenly clutched his hand and took a shuddering breath. "Oh Kami, what have I done?"

"What's wrong?"

Neji sat up and Katana followed and buried her face into his shoulder. "I can't believe this. I let them do it. I let them break me and— Neji, I thought you were dead." She clutched at his shirt as the situation set in. "What have I done? I let them… I can't go back."

"What?" Neji was caught off guard and held her at arm's length to look into her eyes.

"I can't go back to the Village, Neji." She held his forearms. "After what's happened to me, I… I can't face everyone."

"That's ridiculous. Now, let's go before there is a risk of us being caught."

"You don't understand." She tightened her grip, desperately looking into his eyes. "Neji… They… carried out their… plan." He gave her a look of confusion. "I was broken. I could do nothing to fight. Neji, they… made someone… I'm sorry." She hung her head and let her arms drop. "I'm so sorry."

"Enough of this." Neji's gaze was the familiar glare that she had seen when they had first met. There was nothing wrong with it this time. "This isn't the Katana Suterusu I know. The girl I know has dealt with terrible experiences like this. She's endured incredible hardships that would make any other kunoichi crumble. She's defied death his right to her life and spits in the face of those who believe have superiority over her. She gets knocked down, but quickly rises to stand taller than before. That is the Katana Suterusu who I knew and who evoked emotions in me that I had never felt before."

Katana's eyes widened but she hung her head in sorrow. "That Katana Suterusu was not her clan's puppet the way I am now. This is different, Neji. This is something that cannot be changed or covered up. This wound won't heal. This is something I cannot stand up from."

"You don't have to stand up alone." Neji rose to his feet and took her hands, facing her as she still sat on the bed. "I've stood beside you through most of what you've been through. I've been the cause of most of it. So I'll be the one to guide you. I'll support you if you start to stumble and I'll pick you up if you happen to fall. The only one who can fix yourself is you, Katana, but I will do everything I can to help. Now stand up."

Katana's eyes suddenly gained a spark that had not been ignited for a long time. She rose to her feet and stood in front of him, locking his eyes with a smirk. "Thank you, Neji. Thank you for reminding me of who I really am."

"Let's get out of here. And once we're back in the Village, we will have all the time in the world to talk. But until then, stay by me and don't hesitate to do anything I tell you to do."

"Lead the way. I will follow you wherever you go, even if it's to the grave."

He held her hand and they slipped through the door, Neji activating his Byakugan and beginning to navigate his way through the labyrinth of hallways. They moved silently, creeping like two shadows, and Katana stumbled only slightly as Neji gently pulled her along. He doubled back several times, occasionally quickly turning down a sudden hallway or breaking into a sprint. He could see all of the patrols guarding the hallways and he could easily evade them. But Katana suddenly stopped and held him in place.

"There aren't just visible guards," she whispered with a slight hint of fear in her voice. "Some of the lesser clan members patrol with their kekkei genkai activated. You won't be able to see them." Katana removed her hand from Neji's and began weaving seals. "I should have thought of this before, but I thought my chakra was sealed. I guess that was an illusion, too. If you carry me on your back, it will decrease the amount of energy I need to expend. Can you do that?"

Neji nodded and the air around him became cloudy as Katana's chakra formed its barrier. "Is it possible for us to be detected if we walk by someone visible?"

"There is a chance that they may sense a difference in the air around them, so I wouldn't try it. Just do what you've been doing and find the exit as soon as you can." Katana wrapped her arms tightly around Neji's neck as he set off again, this time at a faster pace. He wove through the corridors swiftly in a seemingly uniform direction, only choosing a side path when he suddenly saw someone approaching. But he came to a halt as he turned a corner.

"Deactivate your kekkei genkai, Katana. It's interfering with my Byakugan."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I could not see those last few people until the moment I turned a corner and that was when they were located just around the next bend. I really do not like the element of surprise that your clan might have over us without my eyesight."

"This could be a mistake. We'll be in plain sight if—"

"Quickly, Katana. It will be easier for me."

Katana sighed, but was relieved that she could cancel her ability; casting it over two people in motion was far more tiring than simply casting it over herself. But once the thin fog dispersed, a wild shriek rose from the wall.

"ESCAPE! ESCAPE! THEY'RE TRYING TO GET AWAY! QUICK OR THEY'LL RUN! ESCAPE!"

A flurry of motion whirled into being halfway down the hall. Katana paled as one of the lesser clan members crouched low against the floor, dull brown eyes burning with a fire that they would only possess once in their lifetime. It snarled and leaped forward, hands outstretched in hopes of completing one meaningful action to earn a name and no longer be a simple shadow. But Neji acted by instinct and met the clan member with his palm, sending it flying into a wall to fall to the ground as a crumpled heap.

And the silence was broken instantaneously.

They swarmed from both sides of the hallway, alerted by their dead comrades call, and they were prepared to battle. Neji and Katana stood back to back, each in their own fighting stance and hearts pounding with the shock of how quickly events turned. But the torrent did not converge on them and stopped several meters away on both sides as if waiting, their weapons raised for whatever signal would allow them to strike. A figure stepped forward and away from the gathered crowds of clan members on either side, faces catching harsh shadows as the torchlight flickered over him.

"Well, well, Katana. It seems that your prince charming has come back from the dead to rescue you." Shuhan let a malicious grin spread across his features as he faced his daughter. "I never thought he could have made it this far, but it seems that I have misjudged his abilities. I'm surprised you swallowed the bait of his false death so easily."

Katana clutched her hands into fists and took an aggressive step forward. "YOU BASTARD! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD SINK SO LOW! WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOES THIS KIND OF THING TO THEIR OWN DAUGHTER?! YOU'RE MORE OF A DEMON THAN TENMA!"

"I highly doubt that, sister," Tenma said with the same grin as their father, his markings seeming to wave over his skin as the approaching battle drew closer. He stood in front of Neji and was sizing up the Hyuuga with harsh eyes. "Hardly anyone could be worse than the host of an evil spirit."

Katana whirled around to face her brother. "The spirit is your excuse!" She looked over her shoulder to her father. "This was your plan all along. All you wanted was to use me. And I won't let it happen again! I'm not going to be your whore anymore!" Neji tensed beside her, but Katana's rage was too great for her to notice.

"Such harsh words from someone who is terribly outnumbered," Shuhan raised his hand and turned his attention to the crowds of his kin. "Leave our dear Katana alive, but capture the boy in any way that you wish. We want to make sure that we give him the death he deserves for infiltrating our headquarters." He brought his hand down and the masses swarmed forward with vicious cries.

Katana's hands wove together in a blur as they neared her at a lightening fast rate. "Katon! Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Her immense fireball consumed the front lines of her side of the swarming masses and spread several rows back as the aflame people staggered into others. I need swords! Katana thought desperately as she dodged the attacks of those who were beginning to get close to her. She dropped to the ground and swept a man's legs out from under him and quickly leaped away as an axe was swung her way. She sent another Katon in a circle around her to clear the area slightly and give her a moment to breathe, but there was always another clan member to replace one of its comrades whom she had felled.

Neji's blood was on fire as he agilely wove around each weapon intended to cave his skull in, as he used Kaiten to clear the area if the ring became too constricting for injury to be evaded, as he knocked the people away with well-placed Kuushou jutsus, and as he caught every detail of every movement each person made. He searched through the crowd to find Katana's brother, his intended target, but the man was lost amidst his kin and Neji was forced to settle on clearing their ranks first. He swiftly buried his palms into anyone who came within his range and he made sure to stay out of the way of anyone who wielded a long-range weapon. His next Jyuuken blow felled a swordsman and Neji was quick to take the weapon as it fell from the man's twitching hand.

"Katana!" he called as he threw the sword behind him.

She turned and caught the weapon, a smirk crossing her features as she swung the blade at her next attacker. Her previous disadvantage decreasing, Katana was able to add offense to her evasion maneuvers. She took another sword from another clan member she felled and sliced at anyone who entered her range. Her bare feet sunk into piles of dust that were scattered over the floor, the remains of her kin accumulating swiftly. She watched them crumble once the blood spilling from wounds she had inflicted became too great. Katana plunged her swords into two people simultaneously and leaped into the air to dodge the axe that was swung at her ankles. She quickly split open the neck of the axe-wielder and turned to her next attacker, but stopped short as the chain of a kusarigama nearly struck her head. She faced her father and saw her kin form a circle around to two of them.

"Just you an me, Katana. This is our battle."

"Wrong. It's my revenge!"

Neji caught sight of the ring that had formed, but was given no chance to go to Katana's side. His attackers were persistent and he had to focus all of his attention to keep them at bay. Neji entered his sixty-four palms stance and rapidly struck at the opponents surrounding him, lunging to get within range before springing away to strike another. He reached his last blow and watched the disintegration of the people around him as cardiac arrest overtook those he had fatally struck. As the man in front of him sunk to his knees and fell to pieces, Neji locked eyes with Tenma's dark gaze as he came into view. They stood adjacent to one another and a ring formed around them as well, the clan members waiting for the moment when they could rejoin the fight.

"You messed with the wrong crowd, Hyuuga," Tenma said with a smirk that was uncannily similar to Katana's. "I'd surrender myself if I were you."

"Sorry, but you seem to be confusing me with the illusions that you conjure up. I do not falter when posed with a challenge." Neji lowered into a Jyuuken stance.

"Fine. It's your life."

Katana dodged as her father threw the chain of his kusarigama towards her and she leaped in to slash at him. Tenma extended one of his arms and it began to grow and warp, the black markings turning blue and writhing across the flesh. Vicious claws grew as the muscles became knotted and ropey, the demon leaking through to supply the necessary power. Shuhan caught Katana's blade on the sickle of his weapon and averted its course to send Katana off balance. She used her sword to catch herself and drive her foot into Shuhan's stomach, causing the man to stagger back. Neji slid to the side as Tenma's hand shot forward and nearly caught the Hyuuga in the chest, but he was quick to retaliate and drive his palm into Tenma's forearm. The markings on his skin shuddered before darkening and growing.

Tenma let out a ring of mocking laughter. "You're techniques can't block my chakra. My demon won't allow it."

"You should be more respectful to your father, Katana," Shuhan growled as he rose to his feet.

"You shouldn't use your daughter as a puppet for your own needs!" Katana threw one of her swords at her father and he blocked it with the sickle, leaving him open for Katana to slice his arm open with the other blade.

Neji evaded Tenma's gropes and swings, striking the enlarged arm whenever it got too close. Tenma's other arm began to lengthen and the markings were growing to darken his skin to a grey-blue. Neji drew a kunai and buried it into Tenma's arm as it swung at him again, but the blade did not faze him in the least. Neji quickly retreated to a safe distance before Tenma could attack again and entered his one hundred and twenty-eight palms stance. Tenma paused with uncertainty at the sight of the stance and Neji claimed the opportunity of his opponent's hesitation. Neji rained expeditious attacks against Tenma's tenketsu, blocking the chakra points faster than the demon could regenerate the energy. Neji ended with a firm, chakra-powered palm thrust to Tenma's heart and the Suterusu fell backwards and landed with a heavy thud. Upon seeing Tenma fall, the surrounding clan members quickly converged on Neji and he was instantly thrown back into the previous battle.

The blow Katana had intended to use to cleave her father's skull open was blocked by another clan member who had quickly stepped. She punched him in the temple and left him to stagger back into he ring that was growing smaller and smaller with every movement Katana made to overtake her father. Shuhan gazed up at her with narrowed eyes.

"If you kill me, it will end in your death. My previous orders will be nothing and everyone around us will want your head."

"Like I care." Katana rested the tip of her blade under Shuhan's chin. "As long as your life is ended by my hands, I don't care what befalls me."

"And what about the Hyuuga? What will happen to him?"

Katana faltered for a moment, but it was a moment too long.

Shuhan lashed out and rammed her knee with his heel, raising a cry of pain from Katana as she sunk to the ground. He was quickly on his feet and swung the weighted chain of the kusarigama and hurled it at Katana harshly. She raised her sword and prevented the weight from striking her body, but it wrapped around the blade of her sword and held fast. Shuhan pulled at the weapon, wrenching it from Katana's grasp and leaving her open. She scrambled backwards as he swung the sickle, her hands instinctually moving to catch his arm before the blade could hit her. Shuhan was stronger than her and easily pressed the sickle closer and closer to her neck.

"I thought you wanted me alive?" she hissed in a strained voice through gritted teeth, struggling and failing to push the sickle back.

"A little bloodshed won't hurt you."

"And what about the child I'm carrying?"

Shuhan's pressure let up as shock widened his eyes and Katana pulled her legs up and bashed his jaw with her knee. She continued the motion to roll backwards and faced her injured parent and she grabbed her sword from where it had fallen to the ground. Katana rose to the ground with her weight on her leg without the injured knee and fell forward into her father, her sword held in front of her. She could hear it plunge into his chest with a grotesque squelch, but gave a cry as he impaled the back of her left hip with his sickle. She stared into his brown eyes as they became glassy, the pain growing in her side as she felt her blood begin to soak into her shift.

"You're too defiant to carry a child of the clan successfully. I'd rather have you dead than risk you killing it." Shuhan gave a choked gasp as blood gushed from his mouth. He shifted the sickle's blade.

"B-bastard!" Katana gasped as the weapon dug into her, white hot lines of pain radiating from the impalement. She jerked the sword in her father's chest and heard him groan and draw a shaky breath.

"Destroy this place," he said in the most commanding voice he could manage, addressing anyone who would listen. "Let the earth crush us all."

Neji finally eliminated enough of the clan members to retreat safely and examine his surroundings. He looked back as the other circle began moving in on Katana, who he could see was in its midst with his Byakugan, and saw a single person move away towards one of the walls. Neji caught sight of a paper bomb embedded within the earth and quickly ran to Katana, realizing what was going to happen after hearing Shuhan's faint words.

"Hakke: Kuushou!" Neji's jutsu broke through the outer ranks and he attacked those still barring his way Jyuuken strikes, clearing them away and causing the occasional unlucky Suterusu to break into dust. He reached Katana and lifted her into his arms, ignoring the clan members who were still attacking and he sprinted away down the corridor as fast as he could. He could feel her clinging to him tightly, her hands clutching at his shirt.

"Don't let me disappear. Neji, don't let me disappear. I don't want to die and fade away."

He could feel her tremble against him, he could hear the shouts of the clan members pursuing him, he could feel the sudden shudder of the walls around him, and he could hear the first explosion in one of the distant hallways.

Neji came to a halt and gently set Katana on the ground, concentrating his chakra as swiftly as he could. He turned to the wall and stared up, channeling his energy to his palm and hitting the wall harshly. His Hasangeki destroyed the wall and earth, opening a path up to the surface. The explosions were drawing closer and the ground shook harshly, but Neji was able to reach Katana and bring her to the surface. He broke into a dead sprint into the forest, determined to put as much distance between them and the headquarters as possible. He heard the explosion reach the surface, the deafening roar echoing off of the trees and other foliage. And he continued running.

"Neji, stop," Katana whispered, gripping his shirt tighter. He slowed his pace but only kept to a jog. "Please stop. My side… Neji, I—" He finally came to a halt and looked down at her, his face growing as pale as hers. The bloodstain had grown to nearly soak the whole back of her shift. Neji rested her down against a tree and she clutched her side as her face twisted with pain. He knelt down next to her and examined the wound.

"Can you heal it?" he murmured, adding his own hand in an effort to apply enough pressure to staunch the blood flow.

She shook her head and met his gaze with tear-filled eyes. "I don't really trust my chakra right now. I just…" She fell into soft sobs. "I don't know what to do, Neji. I can't go back to the Village. I don't want to die. The only thing I want right now is you."

"I won't leave. You don't need to worry about that. Use my chakra to heal yourself, and then I will bring you back to the Village and everything will be amended. Everything will be alright."

Katana's hands tightened over her wound. "It's not that simple. And I don't think that you have enough chakra to heal me. And you're hurt too."

Neji disregarded the few lacerations he had sustained. "Don't worry about me. You're the one whose life is at risk."

Katana held his gaze for a moment longer before resting one of her hands on top of his. She closed her eyes and sighed, the pale violet aura faintly shimmering around their hands. Neji was caught off guard by the amount of chakra she pulled from his depleted reserves, and he gritted his teeth to resist pulling away. His energy continued to drain, but Katana seemed no closer to finishing healing her wound. She tightened her grip on his hand as if to prevent him from leaving her, and, with one last heavy draw on his energy, relaxed her grip and allowed the violet aura to fade.

Neji found himself struggling for breath slightly and he sat down next to her to overcome the dizziness that had washed over him.

"I'm sorry," Katana whispered. "I should have only healed it halfway and let you keep your chakra. I got carried away."

"No, it's fine." He tried to keep his voice even as to not alarm her. "As long as your wound is healed, it does not matter."

Katana leaned against his shoulder and he could feel her smirk. "All these times we've spent together… It nearly killed you on so many occasions. You're just as defiant of death as I am." She raised the hand that was less blood-covered and touched his left shoulder over where his scar was located. The light pressure of her hand stopped the dizziness Neji was overcome with and the night world around him cleared. He looked down at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, feeling that they were shaking slightly.

"We should go. The sooner we get back to the Village, the better."

"Can we just stay here for a few minutes? I'm really cold and my head is spinning. I think my blood loss…"

Neji sighed and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she curled up against him. He scanned the area quickly with his Byakugan and saw no threat. Only the collapsed remains of the Suterusu clan headquarters posed an ill mark. "Fine, just for a few minutes."

"Neji?" She met his gaze. "I've said it several times, but I just want you to know that I love you. And I swear I still do." She lowered her head and rested it against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart and closing her eyes. "Just in case anything happens, just keep that in your mind. And thank you for saving me from that nightmare."

Neji allowed a smirk to lift his features and he leaned his head back against the tree trunk. He ran his fingers through Katana's hair as he listened to her stabilizing breathing. As long as there was no danger and she was slowly recovering, he decided they could spare a few more minutes.


Author Note: Hi guys. So that's the end... NOT! But the end really is near. There's only going to be one or two more chapters left, just as a heads up. I had a lot of fun with this chapter, and I know some things were off or questionable, but please hold all inquiries until next chapter. I'll do what I can to explain everything. Anyone catch my itsy-bitsy "allusion" toThe Catcher in the Rye? Major kudos if you can =D So, I hope to write more, but I have midterms (blarg) but I'll see what I can do. So, not much else. I own nothing, just what has been previously claimed. Happy MLK Day eve. Peace out.

-cagedbird361