Yo

Well, it went down like this. I'm sitting here at my computer at four o'clock in the morning, not sleeping even though I have work tomorrow, and a thought comes to me. I should update regularly. It hit me like a ton of bricks. People like that regular updating thing, and you really are a good bunch of readers, you know, really sensational people. I was thinking that you guys deserve the best, and that's what I try to offer.

At any rate, on wit de show.

I don't own Naruto.

"What's going on? Why is his bloodline activating without his mask?" Haku asked worriedly to Zabuza and Orochimaru.

"His bloodline is not controlled by his mask. The mask merely induced the conditions for his bloodline to appear artificially." Orochimaru explained, "Reiko's mind is very fragile. Its limits are much smaller than yours or mine. If he reaches a certain limit, set off by strong feelings like grief, pain, or anger, certain parts of his mind shut down, and other parts start to function at ten times their normal capacity."

"But his mind doesn't register the pain like normal people!" Haku said desperately, the anxiety evident in her tone "He shouldn't be at his limit right now!"

"It's true, he doesn't feel it like normal, but his arm is still sending the signals to his brain, which is trying to decipher whether it's real or not." Orochimaru said calmly "It's almost like a type of failsafe that was put in to make sure any wielder of the blood limit couldn't be tortured. Just be glad he's not using the full extent of the limit."

"What's the full extent of his limit? How do you know all of this?" Haku asked, practically begging him for the answers.

"His bloodline serves several purposes and has side effects as well." Orochimaru explained calmly "His hallucinations give him the ability to completely shirk any genjutsu, but have the side effect of removing fear and pain from his mind. He doesn't know what's real and what isn't, and therefore has no reason to fear anything at all. The second was to make a killing machine. While in his torn state of mind, he can do one of two things…Either make what he sees a reality, or become what he sees and fight with the strength of a demon."

"But…how did you get this information? Why should we believe you?" Haku asked slightly angrily. She wasn't really angry at him, but several emotions were flooding her senses all at once, making it hard for her mind to sort them out.

"Haku, calm yourself." Zabuza commanded. This wasn't a personal order. It was a command from a general to his solder, and Haku obeyed. Turning a calm eye to Orochimaru, he motioned for the traitorous sannin to continue.

"When I was a small boy, I knew the last wielder of the Himura blood limit for a short time." Orochimari said with a snakelike smile "The last wielder of Himura insanity was a little more knowledgeable about his power's history, though the resemblance between the two is amazing."

>>>>>

Reiko's body was now entirely on fire with blue flames and his eyes bled freely for what appeared to be no reason at all. Neji didn't appear to be the least bit daunted by the display however, and stood his ground confidently, whether out of ignorance or bravery no one could tell.

Neji flew in, thinking himself to be ready for anything, but expecting not nearly enough. Reiko countered each blow with his own blow, apparently matching speeds perfectly with Neji now. The Hyuuga took a step back and tried to aim for the crazed swordsman's vital tenketsu, but found himself denied at each blow.

Reiko suddenly summoned up a burst of speed and elbowed Neji in the side of the head, sending him sprawling on the ground. The illusionist moved in to land another blow, but quickly found himself showered in jyuken strikes.

Each blow pushed him back a bit but didn't seem to do much damage. Neji had the greater speed of the two, and Reiko wasn't sane enough to use any sort of strategy. Blow after blow, Reiko just shrugged it off like it was nothing, the blue aura around him only faltering momentarily with each hit.

"What in the hell are you?" Neji asked quietly to himself as Reiko only grinned at him evilly, spitting some of the blood trailing out of his mouth on the ground.

Now Reiko pulled out his sword again. As soon as his hand touched the hilt, the rest of the blade began to glow with the same eerie blue aura as the rest of his body. For some reason or another, call it a sixth sense, he knew that this time Reiko's sword would move much faster.

Before Neji had the chance to register something had happened, the blade was flying at him. It was a close call, but the Hyuuga managed to get away from that one strike with only a small nick on his cheek. But that's apparently when Reiko began the full force of his attack.

Neji could only dodge and jump out of the way as Reiko's blade came at him. This was the first time in the young Hyuuga's life that he really thought he would lose a fight. He didn't even see Reiko any more. It was only a phantom blade that flew in, jabbed several times and then moved to a new position.

The young Hyuuga knew his only chance was the kaiten, but didn't have enough time to execute it in between Reiko's sword thrusts. All he could hope to do was wait for an opening. He just needed a second. That was all.

Then, as if the gods had answered his prayers, he found the opening, the blessed second. Quickly as he could he spun around, executing his kaiten as well as he ever had. For a while, he didn't know if it was successful. Then he found Reiko lying on the ground not too far away.

The young swordsman opened his eyes, wondering for all the world why his body hurt all over. Slowly, he got up, fighting the shooting pain all throughout his legs and body. It felt like his bones were tearing themselves away from each other from the inside.

As he cleared his head, he saw Neji standing there with a smirk on his face. It took a second for him to remember why he was here, and why Neji was standing there. He was fighting in the semi-finals, and Neji was his opponent. He wondered who was winning.

"You're in my field of divination." Neji stated simply, apparently very pleased with himself. Reiko didn't know what the hell he was talking about, but he knew he wasn't good as soon as Neji began moving.

He couldn't really distinguish what Neji yelled, but he reckoned it didn't matter. Soon his entire mind just went blank, and his consciousness slipped into that in between place where there were no nightmares and pain wasn't real. The last thought he had before he faded away was that he would have to thank Neji when he came to again.