Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's Note: I think you guys are going to like this chapter. You'll see why…

Chapter 11: When You Go

The room silenced after a few minutes of medics running around. By now, Neko had frozen at the news Sasuke had told her. Would she be the same as Itachi now?

The red light above Neji's room stopped flashing.

Sasuke could see the toll this was taking on her and made her sit with him, then caught a medic as they ran by and had them find Kakashi for him. To think, his main concern used to be defeating Itachi someday. It was so different for him, having to take care of someone else too. Yet it was a good feeling to have family again.

Family that would be a good match against Itachi now.

Sasuke shook the thought from his head. He couldn't think that now. If she faced Itachi-- as an Uchiha or anyone else-- she'd be dead. That would be all; Itachi would just kill her like he had all the others. Then Sasuke would be alone again. Those bonds he'd made would be torn from him all over again. His only relative would once again be the one he meant to kill.

Neko shook a little, distracting him and causing him to look down at her. His shirt was wet with her tears and he frowned. How could even think of what would happen if she faced Itachi? She was family, and that was selfish of him, to expect her to finish his job. She had never had the bonds that he lost; she had never had to walk through the compound, going past where Aunt Inu and Uncle Miroku waved at him when he came home from school. Neko had been alone from the start.

That made her different from both of them.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked as he approached. Sasuke looked up, as did Neko from the slight movement Sasuke made. "So she has returned."

Neko swallowed hard at his tone. She felt like someone else now, someone dark. Kakashi bent down to face her and politely asked to see her sharingan. She did as asked and he had her do other small tests, right there in the waiting room. Sasuke watched quietly, brooding, as the scene continued.

"It looks like it is a mangekyou sharingan," Kakashi looked curious from behind his mask. "I'm afraid we are going to have to continue this in pri-"

"Hyuuga-san," A medic came out of Neji's room and Kakashi stopped mid-sentence as she went over to Hiashi. "He's going to be just fine; we have treated the wound and stopped the bleeding. It will take a day or so before it will close up completely. A small group may come in and see him now."

Neko looked up at Kakashi hopefully, her eyes suddenly drying up. Kakashi gave a hint of a smile and nodded for her to go in. Hinata, Hiashi, Hanabi, Gai and another Hyuuga she didn't recognize went in as well. The room was very large, and the white seemed clean yet almost blinding. Symbols were painted on the floor, suggesting that a large ritual had been done to save him.

Neji was now lying in a hospital bed with various wires hooked to him and Tsunade next to him monitoring vital signs. His dark hair was all over the pillow he was resting on, and he looked incredibly pale. The group made a small half circle around his bed and he looked at each of them with half-lidded eyes.

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata's eyes were shiny with unshed tears as she took his hand and he gave her a weak smile. Neko noted almost happily that he seemed to no longer blame his situation on her, and that gave her slight reason to smile.

"He gave us a real scare for awhile there," Tsunade commented. "His heart stopped for two whole minutes."

Neko stared at the Hokage with a mixture of guilt and disbelief. Hinata glanced over at Neko, a small tremble passing through her. Neji felt it and followed her gaze over to Neko's face. She looked down at the ground in shame. It was her fault. It had been her kunai. Had Gai been two minutes later Neji might not have made it.

The last thing he'd said to her, strangled and hard to hear, he had called her Tenten. A name no one—even Naruto—had used in nearly a year. The name Neji had such a hard time remembering when they first met, the name she had lived with for so many years and was now just a memory. Her real name was Neko, of the Neko and Uchiha clans. It still seemed like a nickname, like they called her a cat because of her stealth.

"Neko-chan," She heard him say weakly in a tone devoid of anger, and Neko looked up at him expectantly. "It wasn't your fault. They tricked you and you reacted the way that any of us would have."

"Neji… I'm sorry," Neko felt a tear escape and started to turn away again. A finger on her made her look back. Neji's free hand was gently brushing away the tear and he gave her a gentle smile.

If anyone had doubted the bond between the two teammates before, they did not now.

"I'm afraid that's all the time I can give you for now," Tsunade ushered them out of Neji's room. "Neko-chan, Kakashi will be waiting outside for you. Gai, I need to talk to you."

The group was silent as they left and Neko went to another part of the hospital where they could talk in private. Tsunade pulled Gai aside right in the waiting room where the Hyuuga were hearing Hiashi tell them the condition of their favorite branch member.

"You understand that Uchiha Neko comes from both the Neko and Uchiha clans, correct?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes," he replied, not liking where this was going.

"So you are aware that she has incredibly accurate premonitions, correct?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"I'm not through yet. So she came to you saying that it would be disastrous to have her and Neji break out with the captive," Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "And you did not change the plan?"

"The mission was too important, anyone else and an attack might have been a surprise," Gai defended himself.

"I'm sorry, but the lives of a team are more important. We came one step away from having lost Neji, a skilled Hyuuga with a promising future, and Neko to grief," Tsunade sighed and shook her head at Gai. "I understand what you were trying to do, and how odd it was to send your team on a mission this vital at their ages. But even with as worried as I know you were, it would be a good idea to listen to the team's psychic. This is a warning; start listening in the future."

Tsunade left the waiting room, unaware that everyone had been listening to her and Gai. Gai's head sank and he studied the floor in silence as the visitors slowly went back to what they had been doing.

XXX

Neko went through various examinations by both Kakashi and Tsunade to make sure that there was little chance that she would snap as Itachi had, but they decided that her honest remorse at what she'd done justified her. And they did both confirm what Sasuke had; she did now have mangekyou sharingan. She would be forced into lessons with both Kakashi and Sasuke now, but she decided that it was probably for her own good.

It was a long night, and many of the lesser Hyuuga clan members headed home before long. Neji was recovering, and would be fine. It was a relief after the scare they'd had, and many found they were no longer needed. Neko watched them go disinterestedly, thought she received various annoyed looks from them, after all she'd nearly cost them their prodigy. Neko couldn't help but think that they were being hypocrites; the rules their clan lived on constantly held Neji back from his potential.

"Hinata, Hanabi," Hiashi finally broke the silence and almost everyone looked to him for lack of anything else to do. "Go home, you need the rest."

"But Dad-" Hanabi complained and her father held up a hand to stop her.

"It's late, and he's going to be just fine," Hiashi assured. Hinata rose slowly and put a hand on her sister shoulder to get her to come along.

"Sir, would you mind if I walked them home?" Naruto offered and Hinata immediately blushed.

"Thank you, that would be fine," Hiashi nodded and they left quickly. Neko couldn't help but grin lightly as the group left the waiting room. At least one part of this night could be smiled upon.

"Should we go?" Neko asked Sasuke quietly.

"Only if you want to," Sasuke sighed and leaned back. "Although I could think of things I'd rather do."

"I see," She rubbed her head and closed her eyes. Having to switch back and forth over and over again for Kakashi and Tsunade had taken a toll on her head. Nurses strolled by leisurely, as it was very early in the morning- or late, depending on how you looked at it.

"Maybe we should get you back," Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and her back stiffened. He frowned at this, ready to explain his meaning but instead she looked around as though she had just seen a ghost.

"What is it?-" Sasuke started but was cut off when she bolted from the waiting room, startling several nurses and visitors as she went. He groaned and ran after her, wondering if anything else could be worse tonight.

XXX

It was dark out and Hinata kept a protective arm around her sister, despite the difference in skill. Naruto walked a step or two away, careful to keep his distance. They said nothing as they crossed a bridge that led from the hospital to the main part of town near the Hyuuga compound. It was a very clear night, the stars glittering clearly over the Hokage monument and reflecting in the water. The town seemed dead, and no lights were on.

That was when Naruto noticed the footfalls behind them.

XXX

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi spoke silently after Neko left the room, as Tsunade seemed to have fallen into deep thought. "She feels so alone now, like there is no one who can understand her."

"I know, I know," the Hokage sighed and looked away. "You lost your father early on, and you know how it feels to be alone. Now you want me to reach out to her…"

"I'm just saying… Shouldn't you have said something to her? As far as she knows, the only family she has is Sasuke," Kakashi said plainly. "While he has warmed up to her, she likely needs more than that now."

"So you think I should have told her?" Tsunade turned back to Kakashi, a dim smile over her features. "I should have told her that my mother was a Neko, too?"