Lithium...

Don't wanna lock me up inside

Lithium...

Don't wanna forget how it feels without...

Lithium...

I want to stay in love with my sorrow... Oh...

But, God, I want to let it go!

Song: Lithium by Evanescence

I deserve to be beaten over the head with something sharp and pointy. Like a medieval mace or something. I cannot believe I let this story go for this long! Apparantly, my "best friend" ran away from home, so I was stuck with the blame game and "Oh my gosh, you MUST know where she is! You were at her house the night before!" So? She didn't tell me (bitch!). So I was like, on restrictions from evertything. Oh. My. Bologna. It was horror. Plain and utter horror.

Blackbird16: ... I just realized that. Damnit. Oh well...

Raixan: YES! Perfect plot twist. I love writing those ;D

rmc01: thanks :D I tried, but I'm not too good with writing those kinds of scenes... a bit to... i don't know... soap-opera-ish? Eh, whatever

Yuti-Chan: I can't tell youuu, that would ruin the suspense ;)

Rakiku Inoue: Thanks :) It's nice to hear what people like about my writing style. It helps me improve when I write again.

Thank you all for your patience with me, I'm sure I don't deserve it. I'll try to be better about not getting in trouble about things that aren't necessarily my fault and to choose better (more fucking reliable) friends.

Enjoy.

Teal eyes glazed over with worry as the minutes ticked by. I checked the sun's position once again, tapping my foot anxiouisly against the side of the building I was leaning against. Tashirama wasn't back yet, and he was starting to make me anxious. Currently, he was in a meeting with Raikage, arranging for me to see the records of my family's stay on the outskirts.

Or so I hoped.

"Come the hell on, Tashi! I don't have time to wait around for you all day!" There was a prickly feeling on the back of my neck, like I was being watched. I wasn't too jazzed about that fact, first of all, and second of all, the voice had been oddly silent the past couple of days.

I know what your thinking. I do, and honestly, I see the sense behind it. No voice, no problem, no insane in the brain Kitsune. But it doesn't seem to be that easy, you know? When you fight a baddie, he always comes back for one more go at you. I figure it's the same general idea.

Byakko's body rippled beside mine, a hiss forming in his throat. My eyes cut across the courtyard, landing with a deathly finality on the boy across the way. His midnight black hair shone brightly in the sunlight, making it shine a bronze gold. His eyes were a shadowy blue, deep and intelligent. He held a sort of cocky smirk, letting the world know he thought he owned the place. Tashirama soon walked out behind him.

But his appearance wasn't the only thing that sent my pulse racing and made the fox beside me tense.

The way he held himself, the pristine way his eyes sparkled like drops of liquid, midnight rain- it was all so surreal. It was like looking into an old photograph and seeing someone you know, but not having the memory to back it up. He cheeks dimpled when he smiled at me, his eyes shining even more. The bronze flakes in his hair dulled slightly as he walked under the shade of a tree with Tashirama, but not enough to completely blot out the shine.

They were heading over to us.

"Byakko..." I hissed, slamming a hand down to the back of his neck. He snapped sharp teeth at me, but didn't come near my fingers in the slightest. I knew he'd never hurt me.

"Kitsune, I was unsuccessful in my attempt to sway the Raikage into letting you see the documents..."

A low hiss left my throat, deep and dreadful. But I wasn't angry. I was in pain.

Tashirama put his hand on the boy's back, leading him closer to me. "Kitsune, I'm sorry... but-"

A choked sound made its way through my throat as my knees hit the ground. My eyes closed tightly, trying to block out the words Tashirama was trying to speak. My fingers slithered their way into my hair, yanking and pulling at the roots. The blood was roaring in my ears, and his words became warbled and unclear, like a lovesick lullabye. I don't know why it was, but something in me just insisted on knowing who my family was. Those I couldn't remember because Madara wouldn't let me.

I was overreacting, I see that. But it didn't change anything. I was spoiled and rotten and hurtful and inconsiderate...

But at least I knew I had a heart when Madara was away, too.

I had something without him.

I had something.

I leaped up, Byakko leaping with me. Tashi yanked the child back, obviously fearing my temper tantrum.

Temper tantrum, TeMpEr TaNtRuM, TEMPER TANTRUM...

"Make the voices stop," I whispered, eyes wide. Tashi blanched, then reached for me.

His hands turned into long, spindly claws.

The little boy faded to ash.

I sprinted away as fast as I could.

And I screamed.

"Damnit!" Tashirama hissed when he saw the her black head disappear into the undergrowth. The boy beside him furrowed his little eyebrows, not understanding the striking lady's sudden disappearance.

"Tashirama-sempai, why did Kitsune-sama run away?" He questioned, small voice awkwardly inefficient next to his startlingly intelligent eyes. Tashirama sighed, rubbing a hand down the boys face in sympathy.

"She's just a little sad right now, kiddo. Go get some rest," he advised, eyes twinkling as he pushed the kid away from him softly.

She was getting worse. She was getting closer to the edge, and she didn't have anyone to help break her fall.

I ran and ran and ran. Soon, the splotchy undergrowth gave way to high plateaus covered in foggy little wisps. There was a lone tree, now long dead, clingy desperately to one of the cliff sides. I walked up to it, seeing through blood-shot eyes the roots embedded deep into the rock. I sent a clone to investigate, just to be safe.

The clone jumped up and down on it, and it didn't even budge. It quietly poofed away.

I stepped out onto the rickety old thing, the visions and voices still flashing over my clouded eyes and through my aching head. My butt hit the tree limb farthest away with a dull plop. The shrieking, haunting voices plagued my thoughts, drowning out all rational reasoning.

I just want the screaming to stop.

My gaze lifted from my hands, which were curled tightly around each other. The knuckles were a whitish color, draining all the blood from it by the way I was clutching them. I couldn't help it.

The screams got louder.

HeLp Me! Help me! Help me! Help me!

Byakko whined.

"I don't know how..." I cried, clutching at my hair in anguish. My fingers pulsed angrily with the blood I had denied them before. My lips curled into a snarl, but I couldn't get anything to come out of my mouth. A low whine left my lips in place of the scream I wanted.

"Kitsune-sama?" The childish, innocent voice ripped through all of the screaming. My eyes opened wide in shock. It was gone, like, poof.

I whirled from my spot on the tree, the limbs shaking unsturdily because of it. I frowned, looking into the boy's eyes. "You came with Tashimara. Why did you follow me?" Even to my own ears, my voice sounded cold and distant. Yet the child didn't flinch back.

"You... are from the Mitarashi clan, correct?" He murmured, stepping onto the tree.

"Careful!" I yelped, at the same time Byakko jumped up, fur bristling. He stopped, his eyes widening.

"Look, just... ease back, okay? I'll come to you!" I promised, moving foreward as he moved back. Byakko lept down to the steady earth as the boy finally stepped off. My heart lifted from my stomach. I can't believe that kid was just so stupid as to go out on a tree limb that was obviously not sturdy enough to hold up any promising amount of weight, especially when you just go on and jump on the damned thing-

I guess that makes us not very smart, Byakko pointed out. I hissed at him, hopping down beside the kid. He smiled in an eerie, familiar kind of way that made my guts turn. "It's nice... to finally be able to talk to you," he whispered, stepping foreward. His blue eyes shone again, and my heart throbbed painfully.

"Who are you?" I shoved him away. Immediatly, I regretted it, thinking he would cry or scream or sniffle, or something other than smile that little unnerving smile at me. He laughed, and it struck a chord deep within my heart, that, like a finely tuned instrument, hummed mournfully.

"My name is Akatori." Red bird...

"I'm son and protege of Mitarashi no Gingitsune, the Silver Fox"

...What?

The song for this chapter is based on the medication Lithium, which is used to treat depression and bipolar disorders alike. It tends to balance out the moods of the person taking the drug, but is harmful to anyone without a serious problem. Obviously, Kitsune has become quite bipolar, and she feels like she's burning up from the inside, but doesn't know how to set herself free.

Just a little insight in case you wanted to know:)