Phew...Huff...phew...huff...

haaahhhh...(wipes brow)

OKAY, for those of you who are following this faithfully, this is indeed the last chapter of this abysmally long story (what am I saying, Eyes of Defiance is TWICE AS LONG! (gasps))...I do apologize for the long wait, since I do have school...TT but yeah. Last chappie.

MANY MANY MANY THANKS GO TO HESEOIC-CHAN (sorry if I spelled your name wrong (cowers under frying pan) TT) WHO FAITHFULLY REVIEWED EVERY STINKING CHAPTER OF THIS FIC! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU! (gives you cookies)

Chapter 19: Renegada of the Mist

He slept, dozing lightly against a pristine white pillar in the corner of the room, chest rising and falling with a gentle, peaceful rhythm. His long, lanky frame was curled almost beguilingly into the pillar as he slept, hair falling in soft sheets of black down his shoulders, legs crossed casually over one another, arms encircling each other over the blue-white folds of his shirt. Onyx lashes paid homage to the highly sculpted cheekbones beneath them as serenity reigned supreme on Neji's elegant, sculpted features.

The dim white light that lit the room with soft, cool glow seemed to pulse every once in a while, sending shadows dancing across the sleeping Hyuuga. It was utterly silent in the room, but it wasn't a silence of foreboding or tension. This silence was more of a tender, tranquil silence of companionship.

Ironic that it was, for peace couldn't have chosen a worse time to descend.

Naruto's transformation was two-thirds complete; only one hour remained. For the hour, Neji had paced with an air of terse, nerve-wracking apprehension back and forth in front of the door, which only served to wear out his legs. Minutes seemed like days as he flicked gaze after gaze at the square black clock that rested like a sentry on the wall, but after figuring out that time wouldn't go any faster no matter how much he cursed, Neji decided to settle against the wall for a nap that would hopefully calm his rather frazzled nerves.

Lashes stirred and Neji cracked open a bleary eye, then swept it upwards to glance at the pale white sphere that was incased in the giant glass tube. He noted no change in Naruto's state, closed the eye again, and was about to drift off to sleep when something pulled at the vestiges of his vision.

Instantly he was alert, every muscle taut for action. Byakugan flared to life as he stared through the wall, praying with every ounce of his being that Hiashi would not come into the room. A rather well-built figure was coming down the hall of the other room, and with a sickening pang that seemed to shake the foundations of his soul, Neji observed the form of Hyuuga Hizashi stalking down the hallway at a rather fast pace. Neji willed his body to move, to act, to find something to cover up the forbidden transformation that was taking place, but his body wouldn't react and he remained rooted to the spot, watching in terror as Hizashi came closer and closer. Closer…closer yet….oh god, he was level with the door.

He stopped.

Ever so slowly, he turned around.

And activated Byakugan.

Neji stood frozen like a deer in headlights as Hizashi's gaze penetrated his body. In no less than two seconds, the older Hyuuga had thrown open the door, casting eyes upon the circle of light that floated in the middle of the room. His opalescent eyes shone with horror as he gazed upon the spectacle, then ever so slowly came to rest on Neji's guilt-wracked form.

"What. Have. You. Done?" The words were uttered in a hush that whispered of death.

"Please….please don't tell Hiashi…" Neji pleaded, then with a bowed head, began to relate all that had happened since the morning.

He fully expected Hizashi to turn tail and go straight to Hiashi himself. He fully expected Hizashi to destroy the test tube, and then turn on him and send him to hell. But what he truly didn't expect was a pair of fingers which slid under his chin, raising his face level to guileless white eyes.

"Long have I had doubts about Hiashi's plans. Now I have reason to have faith in what is truly right." He smiled cryptically at Neji's stunned expression.

"Go. Do what you must. I will not stop you." Fingers released their grasp on Neji's chin, and Hizashi silently melted out of the room.

He stood quite still, slowly absorbing what had just happened with a rather twisted smile on his lips. He knew, deep down inside, that Hizashi had had his moments when he didn't agree with Hiashi's plans. The older Hyuuga…it took immense bravery to go against his own twin brother. Hizashi was truly a kindred spirit. Neji uttered a silent prayer on behalf of the elderly man.

The sphere in the tube suddenly exploded with energy. Neji reeled backwards as white light streamed from the tube, magnified thrice by the reflection of the glass. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light was sucked back into the sphere which returned to a gentle, rhythmic pulsing save for the crack that had appeared in the globe. Neji felt the adrenaline seep through his veins like hot wax. Any minute now, Naruto would appear.

With a thunderous crash, the door burst open revealing Hiashi in all of his livid, terrible glory, several scientists as his entourage. With a strangled cry that didn't sound human, the Hyuuga flung himself at the tube, hands outstretched as if to tear it down himself. Neji flung himself in the path of Hiashi's trajectory, plummeting to the ground as the older Hyuuga collided with him full force. Hiashi towered over him on hands and knees, eyes wild with fury.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE FOOL!" Neji staggered to his feet, blood oozing from a wound on his forehead.

"Enough, Hiashi. I am no longer yours to command. Now…" At that, lurid luminescence suddenly streamed from his body, engulfing the room in a pale lavender hue.

"Now, I exist only for him."

Hiashi exploded with rage, and lunged once more at the test tube. Ribbons of color streamlined towards him, flicking him away like dust off of a table. Neji, Byakugan blazing, stood tall in front of the test tube, and in his eyes glittered a blazing bonfire of sheer willpower. With a snarl, Hiashi propelled himself towards the younger Hyuuga, and together the two engaged in a terrible dance of lethal ferocity.

–silk—

They danced. How they danced. Elegance personified clashed against fury, engaged in intricate patterns of rune-forged energy.

—whirling smears of color, slicing through the air—

Fire-shot feet tripped and swirled through intricate patterns of elegant Jyuuken.

—maelstrom of power—

Neji reeled backwards, then recoiled and sprang.

There was a thunderous explosion, and Hiashi fell to the ground.

The glass had exploded, sending needle-sharp shrapnel spiraling in every direction. Neji threw up his arms as the test-tube disintegrated, falling away to unveil a pure white shape that radiated with light. Slowly, ever so slowly, the shape took a form, first blurred, then clearer and clearer with a dazzling eminence that nearly blinded the Hyuuga. Everyone watched in stunned and utter awe as the white fell away, to reveal a very real, a very powerful, and a very triumphant entity.

Lips twisted sideways in a very self-satisfied smirk.

"Glad to see me again?"

Hiashi lunged sideways and scrambled to his feet, racing madly for the door. His entourage parted like the ocean, making a runway towards the door as the desperate Hyuuga jerked forward in his escape. With a chiding click of his tongue, Naruto flicked eloquent fingers, and the door immediately swung closed just a second before Hiashi collided with its frame. The Hyuuga pressed himself against the door, frantic with panic, jaw working furiously but at a loss for words.

"Oh please don't stop the party just for me." Naruto said silkily, head tilted casually to the side. "I so would hate to interrupt." He wafted gently to the floor, then strode over to Neji's form, sliding a pale white arm around the Hyuuga's thin waist. Neji turned and fastened a gaze down at the smiling blonde, pale lips trembling with relief.

"Now, if I do recall, the last time we met, I do believe you owe me a rather large debt…yes?" Naruto continued, passing a finger over his lips. "After all, a life can be somewhat expensive, do you not agree? Not to mention the lives of all the other poor, unfortunate souls who died at your hands."

"How did you know about that?" Hiashi whispered in a deadened hush.

"I met a few in the happy place up above." Naruto countered with a delicious grin. "They told me to say hi."

Hiashi's smile was ghastly as he withdrew a small handheld device hidden in the folds of his jacket lapel.

"Neji will greet them as my proxy." Large fingers depressed a button.

A scream forced itself past Neji's stiff, pallid lips as the Hyuuga crumpled to the floor, writhing in agony, fingers clawing maniacally into his neck. Naruto instantly dropped to his side, gently prying Neji's spasming hand from the lesion. Cornflower eyes widened at the horrific sight; a small red light was blinking ominously at the juncture of the Hyuuga's neck and shoulder while venomous black ooze roiled almost lazily underneath his skin.

"Once the light stops blinking, he'll explode. And if you try to take it out, it will immediately kill him." Hiashi's voice dripped of sickening triumph as he spoke, a grin pasted on his face which stretched his lips over his teeth like an animal. Cerulean eyes narrowed ferally.

"You have done your last."

Two simultaneous bursts of energy exploded from the blonde's arms, shearing off the corrupted portion of Neji's shoulder while violently sending Hiashi backwards into the opposite wall. Neji gritted his teeth and tried not to scream as the blast neatly cauterized his skin, leaving the smell of burning flesh in its wake. Naruto knelt and infused his shoulder with another surge of energy, and Neji let out a strangled breath as he felt the pain diminish and his skin mend.

"You will sleep now, Hiashi. This tension between us has endured for too long." Naruto spoke imperatively.

The blonde tilted his head back and raised his arms to the heavens like some sort of ethereal ballerina. A swirling ball of blue-white power began to materialize in the middle of his hands, then grew larger and larger until the room warped from the power of the blaze. The mass of energy swelled and took the shape of a regal, majestic fox which grew in size until it completely engulfed the room in its awesome form. A glimmer of set determination seared the depths of Naruto's eyes, and Neji, from his station on the ground, knew somehow that this was the end. He feebly sat up, only to meet the struggling gaze of his mentor. Hizashi stood in front of him, a deeply troubled yet unduly relieved expression chiseled on his lined features. Neji struggled to speak.

"Hizashi…this place will be destroyed…you with it…you must get out before…." Hizashi stopped the younger Hyuuga with a rueful shake of his head. He strode forward and knelt beside Neji, gently caressing his jaw with a forlorn smile.

"You should escape. You have a new life now, one which you should cherish with Naruto." He said with a wistful smile that suggested eons of wisdom. Neji was persistent in spite of himself.

"No…even though you were Hiashi's twin brother, you alone were innocent. Don't let that innocence die, Hizashi-san. Come with us…start your life over…." Hizashi averted his eyes, a glitter of reminiscence passing over his face. Sighing deeply, he spoke.

"My brother was once an honorable man; I choose to remember him so. Now go. Save yourself and your precious one. It is my duty to stay here."

"There's a difference between duty and desire." Neji began, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth than Hizashi placed gentle fingers on his lips.

"Speak no more." He stepped back and returned to his post among the scientists with a last, enigmatic gaze at the stunned Hyuuga. Somehow Neji knew it was the right thing, and pressed the man no further.

Just then, deep inside, something stirred within Neji's soul and he slowly stood as if manipulated by a puppet master, deftly wrapping an arm around Naruto's waist. The blonde looked up and caught opalescent eyes with his own azure ones. For a moment, time stood still, and a deep sense of naked intimacy coupled with a timid, almost delicate feeling of trust.

Then, enveloped in a blazing blue sphere, the two skyrocketed out of the building just as it imploded in a spiraling tempest of raw azure power.

As he flew through the sky, airborne on a wave of energy, Neji looked back and sent a silent prayer towards Hizashi and Hiashi, wishing them prosperity in the next world to come. Lips crimped in a wry smile as he slanted a glance at Naruto's serene profile, turned upwards like as if to caress the heavens themselves, and then Neji closed his eyes altogether, a full-fledged smile stripping away the years from his features as he disappeared into the sun.

Peace reigns supreme when storms undermine.

Owari

Stay tuned, epilogue coming up!