Chapter Four: Just doesn't fit

Anko signed the self-release papers with relief, but without her usual impatience. She had thought much over the past few days, and was still thinking. Though she couldn't get much thinking done with all the nurses and staff coming to check in on her at all hours of the day, she mused, signing her name at the bottom, dropping the pen onto the desk. Though it was still warm out, she clutched her short jacket about her as she went outside, and saw that it was a cloudy, misty kind of a day. It had rained earlier, it seemed to her, as it wasn't as humid as a day like this should have been. And indeed, there were still puddles on the ground. Reaching into the plastic bag Sakura had given her, she pulled out the sports bottle of water and took a swig, settling it back with a comforting answer of crinkling plastic.

It was funny to her, that she would find a hospital bed a better rest than her own mattress at her flat, but that was probably because she had gotten the rotten thing for dirt cheap, like much of what she owned, because she was refused most missions requiring…diplomacy. She had been saving up for a featherbed, and now more than ever it seemed like a good investment. She headed up the main street of Konoha, noting that few people were walking about besides her, but the stores were as crammed full of people as usual. She turned down the avenue that led westward towards her apartment and shuffled along, not really looking at anything in particular, or really even thinking, just taking things in, as if she could get a new perspective on things just by wishing it. But as her eyes wandered, they landed upon a sight she never thought she'd see.

Shizune and Iruka were sitting on the street bench, a bag of taiyaki between them. Iruka was talking quietly to the dark-haired woman, and she was laughing lightly, holding her hand daintily in front of her mouth. It was a weekend, and both of them had time off, but Iruka, stodgy as ever, was still wearing his chuunin gear, while astonishingly, Shizune had abandoned her usual black attire for a light blue summer dress. Like a cat that had gotten into the cream, Anko's lips curled into a sly smile, and she crept stealthily closer, hoping to snag a choice bit of conversation. As she drew near, she could hear Iruka finishing a story he had been apparently telling to Shizune. "…and after Naruto did that, I could scarcely get through a lesson without some damn kid trying out that 'Sexy-no-jutsu' thing he did. Of course, they'd mess it up most of the time, some kids made girls that looked like sticks, others like some fat mother-in-law, but even so, I'm willing to bet the local convenience store made a mint on tissues that week!" he was telling the assistant, making gestures with his hands to imitate the frames of the borked illusions the cadets had tried.

Anko could barely avoid snorting, but remained silent, and was rewarded by hearing Shizune reply, "And…do you think, with those who were successful, did you see any that were close to the way I look?" Anko gave a silent whistle, though somewhat awkward, what a loaded question! Fortunately for Iruka, after some thought, was able to reply, "No, I'd say that none could match you in looks." That was exactly what Shizune wanted to hear, but as she leaned in closer, it was clear that he had meant it to defuse a potential blow-up rather than a sincere compliment. Poor dolphin-sensei…looks like it was up to ol' An-chan to save the day. Stepping right up to the bench, she chirped, "Well, looks like you don't even dress down on the weekends, Iruka-kun!" Startled, Iruka jumped, and Shizune pulled back swiftly, her face as red as a beet.

The poison-dart user glared behind her hand at the interloper, and muttered, "So…just get out of the hospital, did you, Mitarashi-san? So nice to see you're…healthy again," but Anko gave it no notice. Anko thought of saying something arch, but decided against it, choosing instead to remark, "That reminds me, didn't you say that those latest tests had you back up in marking, Iru-kun?" With a pathetically grateful look, Iruka blushed and stood up with a start, and backing away slowly, he nodded to Shizune and remarked, "I really should get on that…Maybe we can meet again later, Shizune…chan?" Shizune had been almost growling, but was disarmed by that last word, and nodded wordlessly. She turned to yell at Anko, but was surprised to see her walking off without saying another word. That confused her to no end. Anko always rubbed it in. Her hand went to her lips again, this time in concern. Just what had happened to Anko?

Anko stepped up to the door to her apartment building, looked at the peeling paint on the door and sighed. This was what her choices had brought her. Why couldn't she be more civil? She felt that she deserved respect, but what did she really do to earn it? While she had been at the top of her class ages ago…that all changed when…it was better not to think about it, she amended, and turned the key in the lock. She was about to enter into the hallway with the flickering light that never seemed to burn out when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her stop. A tall man had just passed quickly by the intersection not far from here, and following him was…! Anko leaned out the door and watched closely, observing Tenten, Chouji, and Ino disappear as well, and then a few seconds later, Kakashi jogged by. The kids had all been wearing what appeared to be whitish camouflage, and Kakashi had been wearing his ANBU uniform. She had seen that kind of camouflage before, but never outside of… "Oh my," she found herself saying. Where was a team of ten shinobi, including at least one ANBU heading off, wearing Snow or Cloud gear? She made a move to head down the stairs, but she tripped and fell to the ground, her palms slapping onto the rough pavement. Now her hands as well as her knees and wrists hurt…she decided that if she was going to pursue that Cloud, she wasn't about to do it unless she was really at full strength…and she wasn't about to beat a man senseless in front of kids. If she could really do so, she wondered to herself.

Ten miles outside Konoha…

Yukio had pulled his mask on a short while back, making his identity unmistakable to anyone who looked, but even though he was in enemy country still, he needed to be recognized as a Cloud by anyone watching. A quick glance behind him revealed that the Leaf kids were following him closely, doing admirably, even though some of them were only chuunins. On his advice, the Akimichi and Inuzuka boys had covered up their facial markings with the scarves, the others had left the white strip behind, but that was fine. Judging from what he had seen thus far, they would aid him every bit as well as a team from Kumogakure could do. Still, the toughest part was ahead. If Soshiro had extracted the jutsu, then there would be no other choice than to fight. Even if he had removed the girl's eyes to begin the process, so long as no Yamakata got the secret of the jutsu, Yukio could still walk out of this a hero.

Though the boy named Shikamaru looked grim, it seemed that the other Konoha youths were having fun, Naruto was grinning outright, and Kiba's eyes twinkled above his scarf, and even Ino was smirking. He wished he could still feel that excited about missions, but as he knew too well, they were often just business at the upper levels…deadly business. Kakashi was doing well to stay hidden; Yukio couldn't notice him at all, at least not while running. Thankfully, there had been no animosity, at least overtly between them so far this morning, and he hoped that by leading them right to the Yamakata camp, his story would be proven.

He didn't have long to wait, for half an hour later, two white-clad Cloud Nins stepped out from behind trees and moved their hands palm out and called out, "Halt! Name and rank, if you be Cloud!" As he had instructed, the kids lined up behind him in a straight line, and with hands behind their backs. Looking intently at the taller guard, who seemed to be the more junior, Yukio glared at him through the eyeholes of his mask and grumbled, "You mean you can't tell? What do they teach you at the academy these days?" The blond man took a step back, and gulped, stammering, "We…we have to be sure, uh, sir." The shorter man, though also perturbed, stepped forwards and said, "Forgive him sir, he's new. But still, we do need proof you're you, beyond the mask, Katsumasa-san." Lifting up his vest and what was under it, Yukio revealed his abdomen, which at first glance was blank, but it seemed to shimmer, and a black tattoo was revealed, that of an outline of a mountain with a dragon curled around it.

"The Dragon Summit mark…you mean people actually get up there!" the taller guard whispered to his partner, only to receive a faint nod. The shorter, dark-haired guard stood up straight and stated, "Welcome to outpost Fox, Katsumasa-sama. Are these reinforcements?" looking to the younger ninjas standing behind the Cloud. Yukio nodded, his heart pounding. This all depended on the guards not asking questions…he was betting a lot hoping that his rank and reputation would get him past the checkpoint. But the shorter guard waved him on, and Yukio relaxed, ever so slightly, and motioned for the Leafs to follow him. The taller guard made a move to look closer at the kids, but his partner held him back, giving him a significant look.

The 'outpost' was really just a collection of military tents around a few fire pits, and a half-dozen sentry posts, all of whom waved or saluted as he passed. Though he saw few smiles, Yukio was at least comforted by the fact that he at least had respect; he had worked damn hard to earn it. He looked for the science tent, but before he could go anywhere, he heard a silky smooth view drawl, "Why, Katsumasa-SAMA, how lovely for you to join us! I hope that you're not just here for tea-time…" Cursing under his breath, Yukio turned to see Soshiro sitting on a log near a fire, wearing silvery sunglasses, and his usual white and gold ensemble, twirling that ridiculous cane of his around.

"Yamakata-dono," Yukio replied curtly, motioning for the Leafs to take positions on the different logs, to stay loose but ready. Soshiro of course noticed the younger shinobi, and smiled secretly, instantly suspicious. "Awfully interesting to find you here, Yukio! As I recall, you were trying to tell Raikage-sama not to let us come…why the change of heart?" Soshiro almost purred, leaning forwards to rest his chin on his cane. Yukio rolled his eyes under the protection of the dark of his mask. Already he was starting in on this faux-riche sensibility crap. Soshiro did belong to a famous clan, but he and his brother had gambled most of their holdings away, yet the bastard still put on airs as if he was still in his family's glory-days.

Hoping to lend credence to his story, Yukio leaned forwards, and grumbled in a low voice, "Can it, 'buddy'. If I had my way, I'd still be taking some R&R at the Silbernlachen hot springs, but I'm here on intelligence duty…to help check your patrol lines, and see what results, if any you've gotten." But Soshiro wasn't buying it. It was too soon after his departure for the Summit to get worried about his progress, and though there might well be political pressure forcing the Katsumasa here, he wasn't about to bite just yet. If he was on Intel duty, why did he need a team of eight chuunins? Soshiro leaned back and gave Yukio a cold smile that he recognized all too well. "That's awfully nice of you, and since you're being so nice, why don't I show you how well things have been going?" With that, he lowered the silver sunglasses, and for a moment, Yukio couldn't tell what had changed, but then he realized it. Soshiro's irises and pupil were silver…he had acquired the Byakugan. Yukio realized that Soshiro knew that he was giving b.s. answers as to why he was here, and was showing Yukio this not as a boast of good fortune, but to show him that his position against the war was already in it deep.

But before he could formulate any kind of plan, he heard commotion from behind him. Chouji, unable to resist the beef stew that had been cooking over one of the fires, had lowered his scarf and was helping himself to a bowl. But it wasn't the unorthodox protocol that had caused the uproar. One of the older Clouds had recognized the swirls on the boy's cheeks as a mark of the Akimichi clan, and was shouting for reinforcements. A quick glance back to Soshiro revealed a smug look on the silver-haired man's face. "No choice," Yukio repeated in his head, gathered chakra into his hands, and called out, "Kumo no Houmurisate!" In seconds the clouds flowed out from the center created at the center, the Leafs sprung into action.

Following what Yukio had told him, Naruto lashed out any time he came close to someone speaking in the odd, almost growling and spitting native language of Cloud, or saw someone in the mist that didn't resemble any of his friends, as the Yamakatas all wore gilt daggers belted on their back, an unfortunately easy to identify symbol. He didn't know why, but when he embraced the red chakra of the Kyuubi, he could hear a lot more than he could normally, and he was especially glad for that as he was nearly deafened the last time he had been caught up in this jutsu. Yukio had them practice fighting in it once or twice yesterday, and Naruto had done especially well since he had been stuck in it when Yukio has fought Neji. He could hear Akamaru growling and barking faintly off in the distance, which could mean that he was either twenty feet away, or two inches away, it could be either in this dumb fog…He didn't know how Kiba had managed to secret the full-grown dog in his jacket, but he had pulled it off.

But as swiftly as the fog has risen, it disappeared suddenly, even as Naruto planted a Rasengan straight into the back of one of the swiftly decreasing Yamakatas. Naruto feared for a moment that Yukio had been knocked out, but saw that it was actually worse. Soshiro held Hanabi in one arm, a sword in his other hand that bore his cane head on the top…no, it was his cane, which he had hid the blade in! Across from him was Yukio, breathing hard. Across the ground were littered the unconscious bodies of fallen Cloud soldiers, and the other Leafs were looking around, confused as to why the battle had ended so suddenly. Yukio had lifted his hands out, and was making calming motions, saying, "All right, Soshiro, it was a set-up, but you've already gotten what you wanted from the girl, let her go."

Unexpectedly, Soshiro raised his head, as if struck by the idea. "You know what? You're absolutely right!" he exclaimed, and without warning, hurled the girl full strength against a nearby tree. He made a move to kick her, but Ino, using a possessed Cloud, intercepted the blow and carried the girl to safety. Yukio couldn't believe his eyes. Did he really just throw away so casually his only bargaining chip? Was this really the permanent chuunin that he thought he knew? Soshiro grinned at the older man and smirked, running his hands lightly along his embroidered vest, and remarked, "Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I know because I intended it that way." He had puffed up his eyes with the Byakugan, and began pacing around the camp, forcing Yukio to circle to keep him in view. Soshiro kept staring at Yukio with that half-crazed state he occasionally had, made even more eerie by the blank transplanted Hyuuga eyes.

"Do you know why you're gonna lose, Yukio-SAMA!" he called in a sing-song voice, twirling lightly on his feet. "No, why? Please elucidate for me," Yukio responded, hoping to goad him. Yet in a flash, Soshiro dissolved into a puddle of bubbles, and Yukio dodged out the way instinctively, narrowly missing being touched by Soshiro's bubble-filled hand. Mildly surprised that his ruse hadn't worked, Soshiro still wasn't that put off, and was still smiling. "Because you, like all the other poor bastards before you, underestimated me. Because I wear this 'foppery', because I blow my money on champagne and truffles, because I affect poetry and gatherings, you all think I'm soft!" As Yukio circled, he unexpectedly slipped in a pool of slippery mud that he swore couldn't have been there a second ago. Soshiro dashed forwards, and planted a fist to Yukio's stomach, leaving a cluster of thunder-bubbles there.

Angered by Soshiro's attack, Naruto dashed forwards and tried to punch this freak into the stratosphere, but he was rewarded by plunging wrist-deep into another bubble-doppelganger, and received a blob of his own lightning-bubbles on his back, which Soshiro promptly set off, sending a bolt of pain through the blond teen's body, causing him to convulse on the ground. "Nice kid, where'd you dig him up, the ninja kindergarten?" Soshiro trilled, sauntering around again. Not bothering to give Naruto a second thought, he turned back to Yukio, and continued on in his tirade. "The name of the game here, is mis-inter-pre-tation! I deliberately fool people into thinking they can jerk me around, but in the end, they're the ones who are played! Over-es-ti-mation! You high and mighty 'established clans' like to toy with the 'lesser clans', you get everything while we languish, yet I'm here to prove everything wrong!" Yukio weaved forms with his hands and split into four, weaving in different directions, hoping that Soshiro would try another sneak attack, but he merely snapped his fingers and the bubbles on his stomach burst, sending him and his kage-bunshins to the ground, leaving the only true Yukio there. Soshiro wasted no time in casting a whole cloud of bubbles on top of the Cloud.

"You see? Now you're trapped in my 'bubble-bath'! Everyone always thought that my bubbles were too 'girlish' for a ninja to use, but you see how effective they are? Just try moving around, or releasing chakra! Either you pop 'em, or I pop 'em, either way yer dead!" Soshiro clucked as Yukio rose shakily, clutching his stomach, but the Yamakata was unsettled when he saw Yukio smiling. Behind Soshiro, coming at full speed, was Kakashi, lightning crackling from his fist as he prepared to release the Chidori. Following Yukio's gaze, Soshiro realized his mistake, and began to dodge, but realized he wouldn't make it. Unexpectedly, the bubbles on the ground from one of his doppelgangers rose up and reassembled briefly into thunder-bubbles, which Kakashi collided with. With a dual explosion, a white flash lit the area. When it cleared, Kakashi was standing against a tree, nursing a burnt hand, he had stopped himself in time, and had released the chakra shot, but it hadn't penetrated through far enough to reach Soshiro.

"How the hell could he reassemble a doppelganger so fast? Nobody, not even Mist ninjas' water bunshins can be reformed that quickly?" Yukio wondered to himself. "You see? I've been practicing. They almost have to admit me to the Dragon Summit now," Soshiro chuckled, twirling his cane-sword in the air, pleased with himself. Yukio gave him such a grimace that he was momentarily taken aback, as the black-haired man hissed, "You only get to be in the Dragon Summit when you make it up the mountain. Until you do, don't even pretend to be on the same level! You can just stay down at the bottom in the…in the…" As he was completing his sentence, Yukio grasped a strategy that he hadn't even thought of before.

With no warning, Yukio threw himself forwards at great speed. Soshiro sighed, and dodged, patting Yukio's back half-heartedly, leaving more thunder-bubbles. But before he could explode them, Yukio splashed into the mud-pool that Soshiro had left, and rolled out, splattering Soshiro with mud. Outraged, Soshiro squawked, and snapped his fingers, only to see his bubbles explode harmlessly on the surface of the pool. "What?" he wondered aloud. From his left, he saw a spray of dirt and mud coming right at him. He tried throwing more bubbles at them, but they detonated harmlessly against the earth, and he was nearly half-drowned in mud. Coughing and spluttering, Soshiro found himself using his newly borrowed Byakugan more and more. It was how he had spotted Kakashi coming, otherwise he'd be in two pieces. But he couldn't keep up with Yukio's speed. As he spun, trying to catch his former superior, another load of dirt, rock, and earth pounded down on top of his formerly pristine outfit, bludgeoning him with the weight of that much soil tossed at him. "Stop throwing mud like a kid!" he screeched, outraged now. He was covered head and foot with dirt.
"Sure, given that you can't use your bubbles now," Yukio said, grinding to a halt. With a shock, Soshiro realized he was right. The bubbles wouldn't form, being trapped under the dirt, but he had another ace up his sleeve. The bubbles from his last clone coalesced and latched onto Yukio. Sighing with relief, Soshiro glared at Yukio and hissed, "Well, I may not be able to burst them myself anymore, but use any chakra, and you'll set them all off at once! And these you can't remove unless I'm dead!" But his already pale face turned bone white when Yukio cracked his knuckles and muttered, "I fail to see how that's a problem."

With blinding speed, Yukio dashed forwards and plowed his left fist into Soshiro's chest. Ribs cracked and he coughed blood as Soshiro realized his biggest mistake. Yukio didn't need chakra at all to use Taijutsu. And he had neglected that in perfecting his new ninjutsu…The sodden Cloud attempted to dodge, but he was caught with an elbow from Kakashi, who had recovered, and it nearly broke his jaw. He found himself fighting two ninjas at once. Still, he was fast himself, and managed, despite taking several more hits, to leap away, and he landed upon a tree limb high above them, screaming down at them, "This isn't over! I can still go back to Kumogakure with these eyes, and they'll hail me as a hero, and you'll be thrown in jail for treason!" Yukio said softly to himself as he subtly coiled a length of wire he had hidden earlier about his wrist, "I can't allow you to do that." With a yank, he pulled hard on the wire, and his katana, which he had thrown up into the trees during his clouding jutsu was pulled towards him at great speed, and since Soshiro just happened to be in the way, it caught him in the back, impaling him through his right lung, and sending him to the ground with a hard thud. Yukio walked slowly up to Soshiro as he lay there gasping. He raised his right foot above Soshiro's head as he got close enough, and readied it for the final blow. Soshiro's only good eye bugged out from his mud-stained head, as he gasped, "You…can't!" Yukio gave a sad smile as he replied, "Who's underestimating who now?" and brought his foot down.

Back in Konohagakure….

Yukio rubbed his eyes, he was dog-tired. He had sent out the flares that indicated his mission was a success, and within a few hours, the diplomat from Cloud had moved in to confirm the kill of Yamakata Soshiro. The hunter-nins of Cloud accompanying the diplomat disposed of the body swiftly, charring it to ash with concentrated thunder jutsus. The diplomat, Toshiaki, was very 'annoyed' as he put it, that Yukio had eliminated any possibility of reclaiming the Byakugan from Soshiro's remains, but agreed that it was best to avoid any further tension between the two nations. As if there could be any more without war, as Hyuuga Hiashi was beyond furious that his youngest daughter had lost both her eyes. Though there had been blind shinobi in the past, it required a vast deal of extra training, and Hanabi had permanently lost the ability to use the Byakugan. Still, Toshiaki had done his job, and was even now signing the non-aggression treaty with Tsunade in the ready-room of the Konoha shinobi headquarters.

That wasn't what either Yukio or Toshiaki had wanted, they had come with a friendship treaty and a food trade proposal, but on the grounds of the non-aggression pact signed with Rock after the last war, they'd be violating it to accept a more positive treaty with Cloud. No matter…if Leaf had signed a non-aggression pact, Grass would be open to negotiations. It was now late afternoon, but Yukio realized that he'd be expected to follow soon after the diplomat had left. But…he realized with the growl in his stomach, he still had time left for dinner.

There was a crowd at Ichiraku Ramen, but space was made for him at the counter, and despite the distrustful looks that some patrons gave him, others demanded a blow-by-blow account of how he had 'single-handedly' stopped a war between Cloud and Fire country. He told them as much as he could, but they hardly left him alone. While he was eating, he saw Naruto come and stop there, and while he couldn't fit into the crowd, he did get some pork ramen, and was staring at him throughout his meal, clearly wanting to talk to him. Finishing off his own ramen, Yukio excused himself, and picked up his pack to go, and walked off slowly, and Naruto fell in step with him after a few moments.

As he walked towards the gate, relieved that he no longer had to remain hidden, the two ninjas walked in silence, Naruto had his head downcast. Finally, the blond-haired boy spoke up and said, "I'm sorry." That surprised Yukio. His eyebrows raised up high above his blue eyes as he replied, "For what? You really helped me out in stopping the Yamakata clan." "That's not it, for doubting you. You really wanted to help us, and all I could see was that you were from Cloud after I saw Neji fight you, when we had been friends before. I just want to…" Naruto began, but Yukio waved him off. "Forget about it, I'm used to it, besides, now that the treaty has been signed, you really can come and visit me!" he told the younger boy, and Naruto's deep blue eyes lit up.

As they reached the gate, Naruto flashed the thumbs-up sign and yelled, "I'll hold you to that promise of a real Cloud steak when I see you again!" Yukio smiled genuinely for the first time in a while, his eyes crinkling as he waved back and replied, "I won't forget it!" Hoisting his satchel onto his back, Yukio walked down the path, receiving not more than a nod from the gate guards as he headed off on his way. As he walked through the sunset-reddened forest, Yukio took in the sounds of crickets as he walked slowly, allowing himself a chance to relax for once in a while. It was not something he was used to, being treated like any other normal traveler, even a celebrity. Either his respect was based on fear or rank, or he was just flat out disliked, because of his family…and because of his history. But that didn't matter here. All Konoha knew was that he had preserved their peace in a year when they had known only conflict.

It was an hour later when he realized he had a follower, and stopped and waited patiently for her to catch up. "You're not wearing your mask," Anko pointed out hesitantly as she approached. Wanting respect this time, she had dressed in full ANBU gear, mask included, her tattoo clearly showing on her arm, swords belted to her back, but the Cloud didn't seem all that disturbed to see her here. But all her planning, all her pep talks, all her strategy melted away upon seeing his face. Unexplainable emotions churned within her as she took in his unbound, wild hair, friendly expression, tired blue eyes that reflected the rose of the sunset, that dark beard framing his cut jaw…Wait, what was she thinking? She didn't know him from anywhere, he just had one of those faces….

Now more anxious than confident, she unsheathed one of her swords, and leveled it at him, demanding, "So, are you going to fight me for real now?" But her arm wobbled when she saw his eyes grow terribly sad at her words. Where had she seen that expression before! "Perhaps we can do this without masks? I've already taken off mine," Yukio told her, realizing that he would have to work to get her to remember. Shakily, Anko removed her cat-shaped ANBU mask, and clipped it to her shoulder. "Can you see me clearly now, Anko? Still don't recognize me?" he asked, stepping closer to her, his arms outstretched in a peaceable gesture, but his unexpected movement caused her to back up and raise her sword against him once again. She was racking her brain now furiously…where did she know him from? A hint of a name came to her in her struggles, and with great effort, she tried to force it from her trembling lips, "You're Yu…ya…yu-something…" she stuttered out, disgusted with herself. Why was he acting like they were long-lost buddies or something?

"Yukio. Katsumasa Yukio. It's been a while, Anko," he greeted her again, more formally this time. A spike of pain shot through her head as the full name brought back some kind of flash of remembrance. "Yukio…?" she whimpered, holding the side of her head. Yukio grimaced as he saw her anguish. Tsunade had been right, but he had to do this. She was right here, right now, he might never get another chance at this. He had to risk it. "Perhaps this will make you remember, Anko. We were only enemies at first…you may have forgotten our slavery together, but sometimes it's all I can think about…we both still bear its marks…though mine has been somewhat…altered," he told her, as he moved his vest aside, sliding it down his back and letting it drop to the ground. Anko didn't notice the soft sound it made as it struck earth. Her breath came in short gasps as she recognized the mark on his shoulder. There, right in the same spot as her own was a curse seal. And not just any curse seal, but it was the same as her own, Orochimaru's Heaven Seal. But one of the three '9' shapes was pure, shining white with a slim black outline. It was then that she felt what would make a migraine seem like an ice-cream headache, and spots and sparks swam in front of her eyes as she began to slip to the ground, clutching her skull in agony. She didn't notice that Yukio caught her in his arms as she blacked out, his worried face fading into nothingness.

To be continued…