AN: I suggest that you listen to "Under Pressure" by My Chemical Romance and The Used while reading this chapter. Oh~~ and "Across the Universe" by The Beatles (I love those cats!) It will add some awesomeness or something. Yeah… ^.^

While staring at the sky, Temari comes over to put a hand on my mark-free shoulder. I'm still in my middle state, and I think it freaks the blond out a bit. Turning my gaze to my friend, I see the pity in her eyes. I offer her a tight smile, and then remove her hand after giving it a small squeeze. I take a deep breath, avoiding the fighting pairs around me, and then square my shoulders.

"I'm going to free the rest of them," I inform Temari.

She looks at me; an eyebrow arched in curiosity, then asks, "All of them?"

"As many as I can," I answer while phasing back to normal, then turning to bolt back to my uncle, cousin, and father, leaving a bewildered Temari behind me.

Dark blue hair flows behind me as I run back to the three males. I'm confident that I can defeat my father now; I just have to hope that neither Sate nor Gontei have been hurt. I know that if I show my father something from memory, he'll fade away, out of Kabuto's clutches. My pale blue orbs flick to a small area that looks familiar. I study the space, a circle that no other people enter, like the fights in a schoolyard. Once I hear a male voice yell a warning, I push myself to move faster, dashing around the ninja in my way.

I burst into the tight circle, studying it intensely. Gontei is kneeling on the ground, holding his stomach. My uncle and father are still locked in combat. I frown then run at them. Once I'm close enough to my uncle, I grab his shoulders then flip over him, knocking the kunai away from my father's hand. As I land on the ground, I use my right palm to push my father away from my uncle.

Sate grunts, clutching his shoulder where he's bleeding profusely. I frown once again, then speak to him.

"Sit uncle. Call for a medic for you and Gontei. The both of you can't keep bleeding like this. You'll die from blood loss." As I finish, my father regains himself then readies his kekke genkai, his palms starting to light up with purple lightning.

My uncle looks at me, concerned, "Are you sure?" I can tell it's painful for him to even talk by the way he winces.

"Positive," I say, while gaining a defensive stance.

My uncle nods and goes to his son while I perform a few hand signs. As my father rushes me, I crouch, ready for his attack. I'm on the defense right now, and if my plan doesn't work, I'll go on the offense. My father leaps at me, his eyes closed as he attempts to obliterate me with the Lightning Fist. I dodge and deliver a punch to his abdomen, making his double over to catch his breath.

"Daddy…" I say, giving him the same look I did when he told my uncle to take me away.

My father looks up at me, his eyes going wide. It's the first word I've uttered to him today. It must take a toll on him, right?

"Daddy, I'm scared. But I love you, okay? Don't be like this…" I have my arms spread wide, as if trying to call to a frightened puppy. Salt water threatens to spill over my eyelids, but that's part of this. I want to trigger his memory.

The dark haired man looks me over with a horror stricken expression. Maybe…this wasn't the best approach. Nodo clutches his head and lets out a yell of torment. Oh God, I didn't do this right. He starts rolling around on the ground, looking like he's having inner turmoil at the moment. Oh no…

I fall to my knees and crawl over my father, repeating words of apology and worry. I'm so sorry right now, I'm crying as I get close enough the man who gave his life for my safety. I look over him as he convulses, then just stops dead. I stare, mouth agape, as his body fades to nothing, and his soul escapes.

He floats up to the heavens, looking down at my tear stained face, smiling and blowing me a kiss. He forgives me then. Thank goodness. I smile back; wiping away my tears, then turn to Gontei and Sate. Sate is being healed and bandaged up by Shoji. Ino just finished with Gontei and is now coming over to inspect me.

Seeing that all of us are distracted, someone attempts to attack us. But, fortunately for us, that person is blocked by an unseen barrier, knocking him at least one hundred yards away. Wow. I look over Ino's shoulder at Shoji as she starts making sure I don't have any injuries. The younger auburn haired male looks more serious than I've ever seen him before as he tends to my uncle's wounds.

I look to Ino, her hands glowing as she heals up some minor cuts and replenishes my chakra. "How long has he been this strong?" I ask, still staring at my teammate.

She doesn't even need to ask who I'm talking about to answer my question. "For a while now, actually. Tsunade said he was the strongest medic she'd seen in her entire life. She said he was born to be a medic, that he could easily pass her level, and he may have already." The blond smiles secretly to herself, like she's bragging about her own abilities. If there was ever any question that she didn't love Shoji, it's gone now. I just hope that he loves her back and doesn't break her heart.

I look at Ino again and smirk. "Whip him into shape."

She arches both her eyebrows in surprise then smiles brightly. "Of course, I've already started."

I nod seriously while studying the boy I thought I would loathe working with. "Good. He needs a strong woman like you to keep him grounded."

Ino is starting to tear up. What is this? Before I can ponder why, she's explaining herself. "Sorry Popori. It's just I always assumed that you thought poorly of me. Whenever I saw you, you just seemed like you thought I was some weak, slutty girl. To hear that you'd want your friend to be with me is such a relief."

I blink in surprise. I didn't know my body language came off so judgmental. What do other people think that I think of them? I never thought Ino was anything other than annoying, honestly. What with her obsessing over Sasuke and nagging Shikamaru all the time. I didn't think she was weak or a slut. Well, I'd only seen her fight against Sakura, and that was fairly pathetic, but she'd never done anything to make me think her a slut. Her clothes are kind of revealing, though… Hm, it'd be best not to voice these thoughts, so I'll stay quiet.

My chakra's been restored, so I push Ino's hands away gently then get to my feet. I stretch and pop my muscles, then look over at Sate. He's going to take longer to heal.

I walk over to Shoji then kneel beside him to whisper in his ear, "Can you let me out of here? I need to get back in the fight."

Shoji doesn't take his eyes off my uncle as he whispers back, "It's already done. Hurry, I'm closing it in five seconds."

I don't have time to thank him, but I know he's aware of my gratefulness by the way he yells 'you're welcome' when I'm out of the barrier. I turn to shoot them all a smile, then dash out into more chaos. I wave to Ino and Gontei then start looking for my eldest sister.

I find Keime chasing after a screaming Karin. I could let my sister kill the wench, but it'd come back to bite my in the ass later. Sighing, I push my dark bangs out of my face before yelling the redhead's name. Karin looks at me then books it over to my side. She lets one last squeal out before hiding behind me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Popori!" Karin says while catching her breath.

"Yeah, don't thank me yet." I say as I get into a defensive stance, ready for my sister's attack.

Keime's sapphire eyes meet mine as she sprints towards me, her hands lit with purple lightning. I advise Karin to move, then as my sister takes a leaping kick to my face, I duck and grab her leg, slamming her into the earth. She lets out whimper, then looks up to me.

"Pori neechan?" She asks softly, while getting back to her feet.

I offer her a smile. "Yeah, it's me Kei neechan. You did well. I'm alive. You saved me."

She hesitates in her attack, tilting her head at me in thought. Her eyes widen as she puts a weary hand to her forehead. For a moment, I think she's going to go through the same thing as my father, but she shakes her head of the thoughts then goes back to attacking me.

I catch her small fist and knee her in the gut. I wonder how she's lasted this long as we go into Tai jutsu. She'll manage to block a couple punches, then I'll land one, making her disoriented. She's almost done. How did she manage killing that samurai by herself? She just has the experience of a Genin; she didn't get to complete the Chunin exams before she died.

As she goes to punch me with Lightning Fist, I catch her fist and throw her to the ground. "Kei neechan. Stop this. You can fight it. If you let go, you can be with mommy!" Oh, that was interesting. Where did that come from?

"Popori!" Karin screams my name, making me glance over to her.

I kick my sister away from me as she lunges at me again then ask Karin what's wrong.

"I can sense someone…I just don't know where they are. They were right behind you, then disappeared when I yelled for you!" She's panicking, holding onto her glasses as she searches frantically for an unseen threat.

I don't have time to search; I have to finish off Keime. I turn back to see a dark figure behind the blond. My eyes widen as my sister hugs the figure around the waist and smiles at me.

"I am with mommy..." My sister says, looking up at the hooded figure. "See?"

As if on cue, the figure removes her hood and the sun shines on the face of my mother. Oh…my…

I don't remember my mother; she died of sickness before I could walk. She's beautiful, with the same hair as Keime. She shares the same shade of green that Miho and Shinzi have in their eyes. Her hair reaches just below her chin, and is parted on the left, letting her bangs sweep across her flawless oval shaped face. She isn't that tall; about five foot four, only an inch taller than me. Her eyes go to her daughter then to me, a threat to that daughter, then pats Keime on her head and dashes at me with blinding speed.

I see where the twins get it from, my mother, Shiori, delivers a kick to my chest and then my lower back in less than two seconds. I fly into the air, shocked out of my mind as I hear Karin yell my name. My mother…she's here. I don't want her to leave. I don't want to tell her that I am her daughter, that I'm the child she never got to see talk or even support its own head for that matter. I want to look at her longer, carve her face into my mind so I'll never forget. I don't want to loose her this quickly.

Shiori stops in front of me, tilting her head in the same manor Keime just did – that must be where my sister got it from – looking me over then pulling out a kunai and dashing at me again. With blinding speed that I couldn't even begin to try to keep up with, she stabs me in the chest, stomach and then my left shoulder. I can hear Karin screaming again, my sister must be chasing her again.

I gasp, fall to my knees and look up at the gorgeous woman before me, the woman that birthed me. I don't think I have a problem with dying by her hands. She must be an angel, by the way her hair shines like a halo around her face. She radiates with a sense of pure energy. Even though I don't remember her, I love her with all my heart. She is my mother. All I had to go on as a child was a picture of her and my father. To witness that she's this strong, it's more than I would have ever hoped for.

I close my eyes, a smile on my face as I try to imagine being with the twins and my father once again. With the three of them… leaving everything else… everyone else…

But, what would that do to those I leave? How would that affect them? They would be devastated. I can't just give up, I have to fight! My eyes snap open wide as metal clashes in front of my face. A large sword and a kunai are struggling for dominance, each trying to push off the other. I get to my feet, every part of my body aching as I bleed from my three wounds, and jump away. I now notice that I know that sword, and its wielder.

Suigetsu has come to our aide. He has Karin draped over his shoulder as he holds the sword and finally manages to push my mother away. The white haired male looks over at me and smirks as he sets Karin – who's blushing heavily – on her feet.

"Suigetsu," Karin says, trying to hide her blush, "Thanks."

"Shh, this isn't over," The shark boy replies, looking to me. "Hey Popori, are you alright? Why don't you heal her, Karin? Those wounds look bad."

The red head nods, looking around to make sure the coast is clear, then walks over to me and offers an arm for me to bite. I stick my tongue out in disgust, then reluctantly bite her forearm. I can feel my wounds closing up as I sink my teeth deeper into her skin. This is seriously gross. I feel weird. So, as soon as I feel that I'm at full strength, I let go of her arm and push it away, wiping my mouth on my own arm. I will never let myself live that down, and if Karin knows what's good for her, she won't ever mention it.

Karin rolls her eyes at my expresiion, then looks back to Suigetsu, who's fighting off my sister and mother at the same time. Well, trying to at least. Shiori is extremely fast, and Suigetsu has to swing his sword in a circle every time she disappears to make sure he blocks her attack. I sigh, knowing what I have to do to release them.

Walking over to Suigetsu's side, I look into my mother's eyes, who has paused at the sight of my approaching.

"Mother…my name is Popori. I am your youngest daughter; the only one that has survived." I say, my voice firm as I ignore the stares from Karin and Suigetsu.

Shiori gasps, falling to her knees and talking for the first time. Her voice sounds like the soft wind that blows snow around at winter time. "My…daughter? Popori? Oh my." She starts to tear up, holding her head as she realizes the truth. "I'm so sorry I injured you…I was only trying to protect Keime. You understand that."

I smile sadly and nod, "Yes, I understand."

Then, she dissolves into nothing. Her soul is the only thing that remains. Beautiful and loving, she floats upwards, smiling to both Keime and I. This, in turn, makes my eldest sister crumble to her own knees. She lets out a very loud shriek and puts her hand out to reach up to her mother. Shiori's death was most painful for Keime, she knew what was going on. She was able to have a connection with our mother, so when she passed away, it hit her the hardest. Our mother's soul smiles down at her first daughter, then blows a kiss to her. As if on cue, Keime settles down, her eyes going dull as she lets her expression fade into one of serenity. Then, her particles follow suite, fading away into nothing. Her soul the only thing left in her wake, and, hand in hand, my dear mother and sister smile down at me, then float into the great unknown, leaving the rest of us to rot in this chaos.

At least they managed to escape.

AN: Wow. OMG, I'm really sorry this took forever to get out there! I have no idea what happened! Actually, school is a bitch, that's what happened. I have homework in every subject like every night. Tis horrible! But, enough of that. Sorry for the excuses and the REALLY late update. I will try to be better! I love you all!