AN: Quick note: gonna stop using honorifics for the most part. I'm worried that readers won't understand them and sometimes they just plain confuse me. I'll keep "Onee-sama," meaning something like "honorable/respected elder sister," "-sama," used to address someone of high regard/status, "-niisan," meaning older brother or someone like a brother, and "sensei," meaning teacher.

Shikamaru wiped the sweat on his forehead away as he took in his surroundings. It was dark. That was good.

The ability to travel by shadow was one that he shouldn't know or ever attempt to do, amongst several others in his reservoir of techniques. He'd theorized it on his own, and only ever attempted it twice before, but the lack of practice, along with the not-so-ideal environment, were the likely explanations of why he was having a heart attack.

Though, it was not quite a heart attack. More accurately, his heart was thumping triple its regular speed. It was pumping so mercilessly, skipping over a beat and then resuming a raging staccato pace with neither warning nor consent. His chest felt full, as if his rib cage was too small to withstand the irate palpitations of his heart. Breathing was an olympic feat to him now as he fought to inhale-exhale at the impossible rate his bloodstream demanded. Shikamaru supported himself on his arm, hyperventilating, legs just barely able to keep him up.

Half-opened black eyes swam hazily to the paper sliding door that separated him from the Hyuuga girls, whose miserable sobs told him that they were still alive—at least one of them was. Painstakingly, he dragged himself along the wall to the door. The boy forced his body to work, gritting his teeth against the gravity that seemed to push him down.

With a quick forceful push of the slider he shoved himself inside, unprepared for the degree of momentum he used as he dropped on his knees, palms on the floor to brace himself. "Shit," he spared himself a breath to curse, clutching at his heart again. And when he willed himself to look up, his heart stopped altogether.

The mother Hyuuga was dead.

Hinata was dead.

Hanabi stood at the furthermost edge of the balcony, about as far as she could possibly go without falling, holding her lifeless sister on her back as securely as her small body would allow. Her eyes darted up to him the way an alerted dog does, dilated pupils and listless, huffing breaths. She looked expectant, anticipant, anxious, her hands and arms and legs posed in the position he'd seen several other girls perform at the tournament. Instantly, Shikamaru knew.

The killer was still in the room.

Nothing but his will drove him to his feet again...

A million ideas, a thousand possibilities. Now was the time for coherency; his life depended on it.

Shikamaru concentrated. There were more shadows here. He could do this. Weakly, he began to make the signs that had brought him here, the signs that would take him away. As he focused his chakra to prepare for the output of his technique, he sat on his knees. The darkness slowly receded from the walls and corners to where he was much more easily than before, which was perfect, because he barely had enough energy to keep himself conscious after that stunt. They coalesced to a circle at his feet that made it appear as though he was kneeling mid-air over a great black trench. Without looking at her, he commanded in a heavy, tense tone, "Get over here." He wondered if she would be able to let go of her sister's body.

She didn't move. Hanabi turned her head left and right, where the railings ended and dropped 20 feet, as if considering jumping over the edge for an escape route. But, weakened as he was, Shikamaru couldn't hold the shadows in place forever—and there was no telling when the killer would strike. "Listen," he groaned, furrowing his brows, "I know you're scared," the small girl flinched, "but I can't stay here much longer—" the shadows rippled and wavered, his control was rapidly losing its stability, "so just trust me and I'll get us out of here!"

His face turned hot and pink as he worked himself through the strain, waiting for Hanabi to make her decision. It was like lifting a weight over his shoulders that only grew heavier the longer he held it. Shikamaru faced her eye-to-eye. The moon sat idly in the night sky behind her, and he could see the way long lines of tears over her cheeks revealed the anguish she'd suffered in only, what, twenty minutes since he and his friends were up there with them, enjoying the tournament? She couldn't be any older than twelve… but he had no choice.

"Sorry." Shikamaru couldn't wait anymore, else it'd be his end, too. At least he could say he tried. "Art of the Deer—"

But she had catered her resolve seconds too late. "N—no, wait, please!"

"Shadow Control!"

The last thing he saw was her running towards him. A collision, a drop, and he was consumed by blackness.

—

Rubbing her temples was the one thing she could do to keep herself from screaming. How could everything go so wrong… Tenten gifted herself a mental recap of everything she'd been told in hopes of steadying herself.

The Linkage. It was an ancient ritual used to exchange the chakra of two people and permanently seal it inside each other.

Chakra. It is the life energy, spirit energy, whatever energy that all living organisms possess.

She now had the chakra of a complete stranger swirling inside her body, and there was nothing she could do to get it out.

She shared a portion of her life with a faux prince, and if they were ever, ever too far away from each other, they would freeze. For the rest of their lives, they risked paralyzation by being apart.

And if one of them died, so would the other.

What worse possible fate could she suffer? The independent, ambitious Tenten, with dreams aimed farther than the eye could see, was trapped. Another person—not even Lee or Gai-sensei, people she could trust—held her life in his hands. She couldn't do it; she just couldn't accept that.

"Is there anything…" her voice trembled, "anything that can be done to get rid the Linkage?"

Her heart dropped when he shook his head. "There are no records that I know of where anyone has broken it. I'm… sorry." He spoke his apology in a tone she felt was genuine, and perhaps even angered. "This shouldn't have involved anyone but the Hyuuga. For it to have targeted the entire village… I had no idea it would go so far."

Tenten did a double take. "Wait. Are you saying that you knew that thing was going to attack?"

He said nothing, not meeting her hard stare. She remembered his warning from when they'd just met—that in thirty seconds, something would try to kill them. That's right… he must have known!

Tenten seethed. The tournament was fake, she was well aware of that, and he knew it just as well. But the fact that he expected the demon to be there made her stomach turn. Nearing a vitriol explosion she shot up from her kneeling position and stomped to the Hyuuga, who was standing by a lantern, still holding the notebook.

"You—you're despicable! Aren't you the 'prince' of this village? Every person—every—everybody was just eradicated, and you knew this would happen! You let it happen!" Acerbic words fired from her mouth like verbal serrated bullets. She didn't even understand what she was saying, she probably didn't mean it either, but the pent up frustration, the uncomfortable hatred and despair stabbing knives in her chest had finally reached its peak and no amount of reasoning or rationality could quell her wrath. She was twice as irritated when he remained unresponsive, calm, turning the pages while she accused him of the world's greatest crime.

"You don't even care, do you? Hundreds of people just died because of you, and you don't even care!"

She caught his eyebrow twitch.

"Are you some kind of psychopath? Don't you feel even a tiny bit guilty?!"

Neji closed the journal.

"That's it, isn't it? You're no different than the monster that killed them." The green lanterns flickered. She turned her back on him bitterly, rearing to the exit. "I'm leaving! I can't be in the same room as a disgusting human being like—"

He grabbed her arm like steel. Tenten yelped.

"Listen closely to what I say, you petty, insolent woman…" His eyes narrowed hatefully, as if he were face-to-face with his worst enemy.

"What you are doing is spewing whatever you want to satisfy your selfish conscience. You want to place blame in the easiest possible way, the convenient way, in the way that you can understand," low, quick, tense, a subtle growling aggressiveness and forcefulness that could intimidate a god mingled critically with every single word, "but what your feeble little mind cannot process is that you are compensating for the fact that you haven't the slightest idea what is going on. Think again before you speak of me like that, because I guarantee—I promise that you do not know what you are talking about."

Wh… what…

The lanterns flickered on and off and the temperature in the chamber dropped twenty degrees. The girl gaped at him with wide, wide eyes. She did not take kindly to being insulted, but she was also a sensible person, a voice of reason, and it blew her away to realize that he wasn't completely wrong; he may as well be a hundred percent right. He'd seen right through her logic as if it were a glass wall. "I…" she trailed off. I must have really made him angry by saying that. Did I go too far?

Tenten pulled her arm away from him and rubbed the place where he had grabbed her; her wrist had slight indentations, red finger-shaped lines glaring from the bruised skin. It hurt.

Neji noticed the marks as well, and she could see some inscrutable blend of surprise and guilt, and perhaps even compunction. Frowning, he averted his eyes and passively withdrew his arm to his side. Silence ensued.

Tenten took this reprieve as a chance to cool down. She wordlessly walked over to the earthen wall and plopped to the ground, knees close to her chest, and observed the ceiling. Her lungs heaved and expelled a wealth of air through her mouth, an exhausted sigh, and she ran her fingers along the umber dirt at her feet, feeling the soft soil leave tiny brown grains on her white sleeve. Her right shoe was missing. It must have been lost at some point of the day's calamity (a shame, it belonged to one of the two pairs of shoes she owned), but she was not even remotely concerned.

Energy was fleeing from her body, evident as she leaned back, dawning her head and the mussled buns of her hair to the wall. Languid limbs shifted until her hand cradled her stiff neck and her other arm hooked around an angled knee. She had no idea what to do, where to go from here. It was all just… too much.

Lazy deep hickory eyes of hers gleaned away from the hypnotizing ceiling and arrived at Neji, who alike rested exactly parallel to her against the opposite wall. His eyes were closed and his legs folded up within each other. Tenten guessed that he was meditating.

Maybe I should apologize.

She wagered with the idea.

No way in hell!

An apology was not a thing that Tenten handed over easily. Growing up with people like Gai-sensei and Lee, one typically was recipient and not giver of a daily "sorry" in repentance for some stupid, silly thing that they did. It just wasn't in her nature to apologize. Especially when she wasn't even sure if she was in the wrong.

But… chances were, he wasn't to blame for anything. She gazed curiously at his motionless figure, moving only to take deep, long breaths. The gentle rise and fall of his shoulders, the light expanding and decompression of his chest, it had a sobering effect on her, made her eyelids feel heavy.

I don't know. I feel like he's trustworthy. I don't think he had a part in any of this. She wondered if the Linkage had anything to do with those feelings. For all I know, he's just as much of a victim here as I am. Victims… all those poor people. I couldn't do anything to help them, and now an entire village is…

Tenten shivered, interlocking her shaky fingers together. There were so many bodies. Too many. It haunted her, thinking of the screams and the anguish and the horror that had been dealt that night, and that, for some reason, she was its target. The demon's target. If she had just given herself up, then maybe no one else would have had to die.

Well, except the "prince" over there. She remembered sourly, frowning in his direction. If I die, he dies. If I'm too far away from him, we're paralyzed. This means that… I'm stuck with him. Forever.

The reality of her situation sunk in skin-deep. There would be no return to normalcy when morning comes. It all had just seemed so unreal before; she had genuinely believed in the back of her head that it was a cruel nightmare from which she would awaken in the morning. Now that that tiny, farfetched tidbit of a dream was gone, the hope she didn't know she clung on to, all she had left was acceptance.

This Linkage thing is ridiculous. Why would newlyweds willingly do this to themselves? Because of love?

Gai-sensei had once told her that love could drive people to do crazy things. That people in love are crazy.

But that's just... not practical! I don't see how the positive things about the Linkage come close to outweighing the negatives. What is there that's good about it? Tenten honestly could not register a single good reason worth undergoing such a ritual. Sensei must be right. Lovers are crazy.

Gai-sensei and Lee were still out there. She didn't know where. But she had good faith in them; her family was one with a will to live stronger than anyone on the planet. They were out there, and when the time was right, she would find them.

Speaking of family… She continued, I wonder what happened to the Hyuuga Clan. His entire family might be dead, too. Tenten analyzed his expression. It was as collected and calm as ever. His eyes were still closed, entranced in an effortless meditation. Sure seems like he's handling it well. Maybe the Hyuuga have a secret bunker or escape route like the one we're in right now.

Then Neji's eyes opened—she sheepishly attempted to hide the fact that she was ogling him, quickly tilting her head back to the ceiling. If he noticed this, he didn't say anything about it.

The atmosphere of the room had significantly eased up, and she could breathe easier. A silent acknowledgement graced the two, an understanding that their outbursts were just that—outbursts. Tenten wouldn't let herself lose it again.

He did not yet stand up, but announced something from across the chamber. "There is one person we can see that may have information of use to us."

Her ears pricked up with a beat. "Really? Who?"

"His name is Jiraiya, the sage of toads. It is said that he defeated Orochimaru long ago."

"Orochimaru…?" Tenten echoed. "You mean the demon?"

Neji affirmed, relaxing himself from his meditation pose and getting on his feet. His fingertips brushed over that same little notebook again, and Tenten pondered its significance. There must be important things inside it that he wasn't telling her about, and she suspected that it wasn't his, that he hadn't written it. The way his eyelids hung slightly over his eyes as he gazed down at the book, delicately turning the pages, the distinctive tenderness with which he touched the cover. She could tell that it belonged to a special person of his, because she'd seen that look before. In the eyes of lone widows at the tea shops back home, fondly admiring their scratched up wedding rings, or the senior citizens' nostalgia as they somberly regaled a story from their childhood, reliving in memories like they were young again.

The only difference was, they had been smiling. He wasn't.

A melancholic, wistful, uncomfortable sensation stirred inside her stomach like inky sludge, which wasn't right, because she did not presently have any reason to feel that way. It felt foreign and awkward, the way one might feel wearing someone else's clothing or walking around in a stranger's bedroom. This feeling was not her own.

...

"'Though your chakra resides in me, it is still your own. Therefore, I will be partly affected by changes in your own state of mind and body. Strong sensations or strong emotions that you feel, I will feel as well, and the same applies to you.'"

...

"Hm." She placed a palm on her stomach. This is the feeling of his chakra inside me…?

Neji finally left the notebook to be; he probably didn't realize how long he had been looking at it, about two or three minutes. His pensive expression was gone, back to the same indifference she'd seen before. "The procedure for the Linkage was invented by sage toads centuries before humans adopted it. He may know how to break it, or tell us how he defeated Orochimaru."

"Well, that's perfect," she expressed, not sounding as excited as she should be. "Where can we find him?"

"I don't know. He might not still be alive."

"Oh."

"But," he added, "anything we can learn about him would be helpful. His life, his writings, techniques, people who knew him, those could give us a better idea of what to do next."

"Alright…" She was honestly affronted by the way he stated his plans as concrete without even asking for her opinion. Of course, Tenten didn't have much going on back home, living the unknown life of a laborer, but that didn't mean she would immediately abandon everything to embark on some quest to find an old man, which, by the way, sounded quite aimless. He seemed like he wanted to get this done as quickly as possible, and that wasn't fair to her. She still needed time to accept everything that had happened, and going anywhere without finding Lee and Gai-sensei was out of the question. A trip back to River Spirit was very much necessary, too, and that would take days to complete. "But I need to take care of some important things first. How long do you think this would take?"

He did not hesitate, stating the facts objectively. "It could span any amount of time from weeks to years. The Linkage may never be broken. If the toad sage leads us nowhere, then I would not know where else to look."

Tenten swallowed, only to realize that her entire mouth and throat were dry. Back to square one, the Linkage being permanent. What would she do if that were the case? Would she just let him move in with her in her home village? Gai-sensei wouldn't like that. But she definitely wouldn't be the one to move in with him instead, not in a place like Pearl Moon…

Ah, well. I guess he doesn't really have a home anymore. Pearl Moon was gone. Nobody would go back to living there. She wondered what he would do with himself after everything was sorted out.

"He originates from the Village of the White Leaves. It would be wise to start searching there."

Tenten tried to recall where the village was. She definitely had heard of it before. "... Oh! That's where Empress Tsunade is from, too!" Her eyes brightened. Anything and everything related to her idol she could recite in a heartbeat, unprovoked. She might have launched into an impromptu oral report on why Tsunade was simply the best ruler to be chosen in decades if there were not more critical things to be dealt with.

Regardless, he did not appear impressed by her input. Stoically, he continued, "Your home village is only a day's distance from White Leaves. You should be able to stop there before we depart."

"Right." It'll be longer than just a "stop," though. How does he know that I want to go home first, anyway? "Sounds like as good a plan as any. But I really, really need to get back up there and find my brother and sensei. I'm not going anywhere without them."

"You can't."

"I still can't?" She repeated, putting her hands on her hips. "Come on, already. I've listened to every single thing you had to say and I haven't heard a single good reason why I can't leave."

Neji replied promptly with a hint of irritation. "I've said it before; this is the safest place to be from the demon. If you go up there now, you won't last the night."

The girl flinched. He hadn't said anything half as explicit as that, not that she would inevitably be killed if she went outside. "Just… just how powerful is it?"

He kept quiet, not facing her. The air in her lungs squirmed out of her chest. Powerful… well, Lee is plenty powerful. His speed is second to none except for his sensei. His punches could break boulders to smithereens. But… the last she'd seen him…

...

Lee turned around to flash her a million dollar smile and a thumbs up, facing away from the impending snake monster's head rising above him.

"LEE!"

...

Tenten shuddered remembering her brother's fate. Faith could only assure her so much…

"Why is it after me?"

"Don't overthink things," he said, which only made her more confused, "it wanted the winner of the tournament."

"But… why?"

"I didn't realize its true plan until the last minute. It was a foolish oversight." His words were meshed with annoyance at himself, regretful, vexed. Tenten watched the prince pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, and she quirked a brow up. She hadn't ever witnessed anyone perform that little gesture besides herself. How odd.

"I am the demon's real target," he admitted (though it wasn't really shocking), "but it is… incapable of killing me."

She made a face. "Incapable…? How?"

He didn't get the chance to respond.

They both sharply twisted their heads up at the ceiling. The lanterns violently shook.

Half a minute of stillness Tenten persisted to decide that it was safe to move. She heightened, standing up. "What was—"

CRASH.

The world lost its definition.

Out went the lanterns and the oxygen she inhaled. Avalanches upon avalanches growled above, high resonant sounds like roaring explosions shrieking into the earth. Gravity renounced its claim on her body and Tenten couldn't even scream as she was hurled across the dim chamber and crashed into the meek virgin table, instantly crushing it with her back and aimless flailing legs. Pain throbbed all over. Blinded by dark spots floating in and out of her vision, she tried to sit up, but then everything was shaking again.

Her ears fell deaf and things were moving too fast to be processed. The ground quaked as if it were a jar being juggled carelessly by a giant. Tenten had no control of her body being tossed like a doll back and forth across the room. Soon the shaking dwindled to shuddering vibrations, but it would only be so long until they started up again. The girl groaned as she stirred, consciousness barely within her grasp. No broken bones or dripping blood to count, that much was a blessing, yet the chances of a dormant concussion were very much real and dangerous. Another tremor like that and she could be in trouble.

She noticed that Neji had suspiciously remained stable throughout the entire episode, unlike her. Still quite dizzy and recovering, Tenten crawled sluggishly to where he was and feebly tugged on his pants, and he looked at her, bending to her level.

"Neji… Wha… I mean… what did—"

"Don't say anything," Neji whispered with urgency, veins protruding around his eyes again, "it's trying to find us."

She gawked at his visage in disbelief. An earthquake was the work of the demon? And that thing thirsted for her life? Just how powerful could it possibly be—and what chance did she have against something like that? What chance did Lee have? If its attentions were on her now, then Lee must already be…

But Neji pushed her down roughly as the ground's convulsions got brutal again. He leaned over her supine body closely, their stomachs nearly touching and legs messily entwined together. The Hyuuga's hands were on either side of her head, and his eyes were fiercely fixated on her face.

"Hold on!" He commanded, his loose dark hair falling freely like a river around her. Chunks of dirt and rock thudded down from the collapsing earthen ceiling. Her heart thumped raucously in her chest, she seized the front of his kimono-shirt with both hands and clung to it for dear life, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and grimacing in preparation for the next seismic episode.

This time it was not as severe, but still the farthest thing from gentle. Everything rumbled and rocked and shook aggressively, stray lanterns rolling and crashing about the chamber like spheres in a pinball machine. Tenten felt the tremors directly thump against her back, and her body bounced upwards with each short quake. She was expecting to be joggled this way and that like before, yet, something was holding her in place.

And then she opened her eyes again to reveal the lilac ones intensely staring down at hers, concentrating on something. Startled, she quickly turns her head (why does he have to stare like that?) to its side.

Whoa!

She now had a clear view of his left hand. There was a blue light emanating from his palm which was flatly pressed on the ground, and when she swiveled her head around to the other side she saw the same effect. Tenten goggled the cerulean light until the earthquake faltered a minute later and he removed himself off of her.

That was his chakra, the girl analyzed in her thoughts, and he was using it to hold himself in place.

Tenten stood up as well. The aching pain from the table came rushing back all over. She hissed.

That's… unbelievable...

Eventually, the aftershocks vanished altogether. The chamber looked disastrous, and the white of her shirt had been dyed dirty grays and browns. One fleeting glance at her and anyone would be able to tell that Tenten was stressed and exhausted. Sweaty, stringy bangs stuck to her forehead like winding limp weeds, the buns loosely drooping below her ears, and her eyes were so, so tired. Still, she took no leisure seconds to relax this time after the earthquake. The next trauma would rear its ugly face at any glimpse of given reprieve and allowing herself to take a breather was dangerous.

"We can leave in a few hours. You should rest." Said a distant voice she barely heard.

Tenten watched the wall and did not think. She did not think. She stared lifelessly into brown and her mind did not wander. Her eyes, a cold, departed void glazed over stock-still, and she did not think.

—

He sat seiza-style on his calves with his hands pressed hard on his thighs, clutching his tattered clothing. Lee was staring strictly at the two bodies laid out on the floor, a girl and boy his age. One was breathing. The other was not.

Troubles littered muddy tracks on the path of his heart. Though he was grateful that he could save three people (and still had a duty to help them, because they were in very poor shape), Lee could not erase other pressing worries. Gai-sensei had his complete and undying confidence, there was no need to fear for his teacher, but… Tenten…

No! You must not think like that! He insisted, furrowing his thick eyebrows, So long as I have faith in Tenten, she will be okay!

If only the other girl could mimic such spirits, though! She was also around his age, younger for certain, and she was so quiet, hadn't spoken a word since he found her coming from the arena. She had been carrying a person on her back and all but dragging the boy inch by inch forward. How fortunate it was that Lee could chance upon them indeed!

It was obvious that the girl on the floor was an important person to her. Lee sobered.

"Ah, miss?"

He smiled when she looked at him.

"It would be an honor if you would tell me your name!"

She returned her attention back to the wall.

"Oh, but how rude of me! It should be I that introduces myself first."

With a jump, Lee pulled his best nice guy pose and presented a fat "thumbs up" to her, toothy grin and all. "My name is Rock Lee, the Handsome Green Beast of River Spirit! It is a pleasure to meet you, miss!"

She had the same funny look on her face that most people had when he introduced himself that way. He did not break his pose until she relented begrudgingly, "I am Hanabi of the Hyuuga Clan."

There was no emotion in her voice, legs pulled up to her chest with her face buried in her knees. Her eyes peeked out and hypnotically stared at the unconscious girl. The cottage they escaped to was small and eerily silent, and though it was obvious that someone had lived there, its utter vacancy left no souls behind.

Lee beamed that it was nice to meet her, and if he were any more oblivious he might have offered to shake her hand, but even he knew that this was not a good time.

"Would this be a relative of yours?" He asked innocuously with a slight tilt of his head. As she responded with silence, he followed up, "You do not need to worry, she will most certainly be okay!"

"You can't promise that."

He insisted, "But I will! You must have more faith, Hanabi-san. Surely she will awaken and prove your doubts—"

"She's barely breathing, you lummox!" Hanabi lashed and fired her steely white eyes at him, glowering as if he was the one at fault. "She is dying, and your meaningless promises do nothing but sully the name of my Onee-sama!"

Quietness resumed. Lee was stunned and hurt, and not only because she insulted him, but horrified at how little hope existed inside this child. She could not be older than twelve—how sad was it that she wasted her youth despairing in such a way? There could not be anything worse!

"Forgive me if I am being intrusive, Hanabi-san, but it seems as though you are the one who is truly dishonoring your sister's name!"

"... What did you just say?"

"You are not giving her a chance!" He challenged, exploding with wide arm gestures. "You know, I am also concerned for the well-being of my sister. She escaped with the prince at the tournament, but now I have no idea where she is or if she is safe…"

"..."

"Still, I will not accept that she is gone unless I see it for myself, and you should not either, Hanabi-san! We owe it to our sisters to believe in them while they fight for their lives! Do you not agree?"

Hanabi lifted her head an inch and reached for her sister's lifeless delicate fingers. She intertwined them with hers and squeezed a gentle pressure, somberly admiring them. The girl's features softened. Lee smiled.

"... h… er…"

The feeble voice croaked out of the other boy, whom hitherto hadn't said or done anything, or even opened his eyes. Immediately Lee rushed to his side and listened closely, lowering himself to his level. The boy weakly moved his shaking arm at the pace of a snail to his side, and then pointed at a bulge in his side pocket. "Give it… to…"

"Do not strain yourself anymore, I understand you." Lee gently assured, an unusual tone of voice for him. The younger lad groaned a sound that was vaguely reminiscent of the word "Ino" and returned to sleep.

Estranged but compliant, Lee carefully picked the object from his pocket and held it close to his eyes to see better in the dim lighting. It was a capsule with white pills inside. He read it aloud as best he could, "Anti… venom?"

Hanabi flinched.

"He has anti-venom?!"

"It seems so!" He cheered, following the sudden energy in her voice. "What an odd item to carry in one's pockets, though! Perhaps he is a—"

"No, no! Onee-sama was bitten, this might save her life! Give it to me, quickly!"

"Oh!" Went Lee as he tossed the tablets over to her. "That is excellent, Hanabi-san! Do you see now? You believed in your sister, and now she really will pull through!"

The heavy tension that had labored the atmosphere up until then evaporated, replaced by gratitude and hopefulness. Hanabi nodded, head turned away from him purposefully to conceal the overflow of tears running miles down her cheeks. "Y… yes…" She peeped, a sob in her throat, "p—please find some water for her to take these…"

May 3rd

What is a morning without sunlight?

She considered this quietly when the dry slits of her parted eyelids revealed themselves to empty black.

Mays in River Spirit often harbored early summer seasonings and soon to be sweltering heat to help foster the crops roasting in the field. Manageable t-shirt or tank top weather was welcomed in the aftermath of a rainy March and April, as this time of the year, again, just before true summer, was one of the lightest in workload. Post-winter chores consisted of clearing excess snow, re-towing the crop lines, planting and marking seeds, etcetera, and it always resulted in a stiff back and aching feet. This season played out differently. Everyday she would awaken in her "bedroom", the barren attic she shared with Lee, and rays highlighting the million floating dust particles in the air would filter through the blinds of the window nearest her bed with no impending eight hour strings of immortal labor. On these days, it would signal the introduction of a day of ease.

For this reason, Tenten struggled to fathom how a May morning could really be a May morning without sunlight. It did resonate well with her understanding of the world.

Then again, nothing did anymore. Not after last night.

She did not remember falling asleep and definitely did not feel well-rested. The lanterns were down for the count, and as they were underground, no natural light could relieve the darkness. Tenten groaned, stretching her arms and legs and batting away the dirt that clung to her clothing. Squinting, she stood up, and used the wall as guidance to move around.

"Are you still here?" She asked of the air in the most inconsequential of voices. Her throat was dry and it hampered her ability to speak.

"I am," Neji replied, and she found him by looking in the direction she heard him from. The brightness of his clothes was easy to spot in the dark. She did not yet move towards him. "We should leave now."

Tenten didn't say anything.

A few minutes later and they were treading the narrow stone stairs to the exit, him in front and her lagging slightly behind. Each thud of their footfalls brought them closer to the surface world. Fear and tentative hope combatted each other inside her head. The moment of truth awaited.

Neji pressed his hand against the wall of dirt, and the blue light of chakra brightened his face. The door was materialized into existence.

"Byakugan!"

He moved his head in every direction, up and down and left and right and everywhere in between. Tenten thought nothing of this.

The door opened. They walked out.

Had she the powers to accurately assess how she felt upon seeing the new world, she might have reacted differently.

Instead of stepping back into the sea of the tall Pearl Moon flower field, where the bulbs had been white and stalks verdant, they faced an endless earth of black spit by the horizon. Charred raven stringy weeds humbly surrendered to the superior crunching hail of their feet, because meager burnt stems were all that remained. The sky was a gray barren wasteland where gathered clouds clogged together and sweated groggy warm rain.

Her eyes were big and mouth wordlessly agape. Horror coursed through her veins like staggering adrenaline. All of this happened just last night? The image of what once was and what was now made her question reality. It's all gone…

But when Neji and Tenten approached the great mass of black debris and ash looming at the edge of the field, she saw something on the ground. And she lost it.

"Haha,"

Giggles fought their way out of her throat.

"N—no way," she sputtered with laughter, "this—haha—this can't be happening, I…"

The Village of Pearl moon had succumbed to fire last night. Houses were black cinders scattered about the ground, pooling to dusty channels in streams birthed by rain. Scattered limbs of broken wood littered the streets, rooftops cluttered above, and a mile of devastation going farther back. The rain thinned to sharp icy needles assaulting their bodies, the coming of a storm surely in the skies.

But rain could not disguise the fat ugly tears that began to form at the threads of her eyelashes to the thirsty dry gravel below. Wet stains formed on her pants, on her hands, as the salty plump droplets plummeted to a woeful splash. Tenten brutishly shoved her fists' heels in her eyes and vigorously rubbed away the tears, trying to force them away, but they poured and plundered and the laughter died in her stomach to hysterical hiccupping sobs. She had no more hope left.

The bloody shredded green fabric of a jumpsuit at her feet had taken it away.