I didn't know how long I'd been wavering on the brink of consciousness, but a sudden bo-dum snapped me back to reality, a rush of icy air scratching my exposed skin.

He made his way over to me, and I flinched involuntarily. "Have you made your decision?" His voice echoed eerily along the stone.

I willed myself to sit up, taking extra care not to brush my back against the wall. The simple movement had me boiling, the cuts stretching painfully. I thought I'd adequately prepared myself for another round of turmoil, but I was wrong— my control was already dwindling rapidly.

"I see," Kabuto whispered. His hands were at my ankle at once, pulling at the bandages he'd placed there. Only his heartbeat kept me company as he slowly unwound the bindings, his fingers quivering as he got closer to my thigh. I held my breath while he did the same to my other leg and pushed my skirt higher and higher with each unwrapping motion, but he made no move to attack me again. Just as he tugged the material at my shoulders, possibly aiming to remove the bandages from my stomach next, a sharp hiss escaped me.

"Don't touch it," I gasped without thinking, furious at my weakness.

He sighed. "Your tolerance of pain is extraordinary," he said gently, cupping my face in his hands. "But I'm afraid I'm already growing bored of this."

My heart nearly stopped beating. Is he saying. . .?

"Don't you worry that pretty head of yours. I'll take good care of your husband when I return to the village. . ."

I focused automatically on two new sounds that had entered this part of the hideout— and my blood froze.

Buh-dummm, buh-dummm, buh-dummm. . . fro-lum, fro-lum, fro-lum. . .

What're you two doing?! You can't be here! You can't be! I wanted to yell at them, to warn them. "N-no—"

Kabuto's hand was at my throat, cutting off what little air I had. "Shh. . . but, you know, I really am going to miss your skin. . . so soft. . ."

My eyes widened, and before I could reach for my only weapon, his fingernails pierced my shoulder, tearing into the fabric of my dress, and scraped a stinging trail all the way down to my wrist. I didn't have any remaining oxygen to scream.

There was a roar in my ears, and I was getting too dizzy. C'mon, Keiden. . . fight! Fight!

"Any last words?" Kabuto said quietly, his voice dragging in an evil slither.

I was dying. . . I couldn't move my right arm anymore, and my left soon stopped clawing at the hand that was strangling me. . . I had to kill Kabuto, before it was too late. . . but my strength was gone.

"Get your filthy hands off her!" came a shout, the fro-lum charging right at Kabuto.

Suddenly, my lungs heaved again, but my throat had constricted so tightly that I had trouble getting enough air. My left hand grasped stupidly at my chest, as if I could easily pull off whatever was suffocating me. Frightened, I kept my gaze directed at Kabuto, who sounded like he'd been lifted a few inches off the ground by Kakashi.

"Neji! Get her out of here!"

Neji. He shouldn't have come here, he shouldn't have come after us! And Kakashi. . . getting him involved as well only made matters more complicated. Kabuto was too powerful— they needed to retreat while they still could.

There was a tender arm at my shoulders, and I gave an unconscious shiver as another dose of fire rushed through me. Leave me. . . go, Neji! Get away from here!

Kabuto laughed, a dark noise in the midst of familiarity. "Come here to save her, have you? I think you're a bit late for that. Look at her."

Zing!

NO!

"She won't last another five—"

I dashed toward Kabuto, ripping the vial from my skin with my right hand and shoving Kakashi away from us with my left. With a final push, I jabbed the needle into Kabuto's neck, just as something pricked my right shoulder. With that tiny air bubble, the bo-dum ceased immediately.

Coughing, I tried to control my shaking limbs in an effort to remain upright, but to no avail; I stumbled, ready to hit the icy stone, but gentle hands caught me, cradling me. The throbbing in my right shoulder was getting worse, and I instinctively reached for it, pulling out the vial meant for Kakashi.

"Byakugan," Neji whispered.

There was a moment of complete silence, and I used that time to attempt to get a handle on my breathing.

"She poisoned him. . ." he murmured, seemingly astonished. He then lifted me, hugging me to his chest.

". . . no. . ." I wheezed, agonized by my husband's touch. ". . . vial. . . had a-air. . ." My features tightened as Kabuto's poison began to pump a heavy ache through my arm.

"We've got to get out of here."

"Right," Kakashi replied solemnly. I heard a small scuffle and a grunt as he seemingly lifted something. "Lady Tsunade told me to bring him back."

I was fading, and quickly; my shivering had reached a new level, which only increased the amount of pain in my back, and my windpipe was still crushed under my skin, making the simple task of breathing nearly impossible. Everything was hot and cold at the same time, which scared me.

Bdm bdm bdm bdm. . . "Give her to me."

Slipping in and out of the world made it difficult to comprehend what Sakura was doing to me, but I let her work nonetheless. It was when I felt her fingers stroke the buttons at my back that I twitched away from her, now completely aware of what she was about to do.

". . . don't. . . t-touch. . ." I whimpered, trying to escape from her light hold, but this only hurt more.

She put something thick and warm on top of me, and her heartbeat left me— I was too tired to even focus on where she was going— only to return moments later with Neji's.

I was being lifted again, my head now resting on the buh-dummm. I knew what was going to happen next, but there was nothing I could do. Trying once more to regulate my breathing, I caught snippets of what Sakura was saying to Neji about a large needle.

". . . no. . . d-don't. . ." I wouldn't be able to hold back—

White-hot lava bit and tore at my skin, pouring salt into every raw niche. My mouth opened of its own accord, producing a blood-curdling noise that echoed painfully around me. Almost as soon as the string of anguish had started, however, it stopped.

I shuddered, wincing. ". . . stop. . . please. . ."

Nobody would listen. The magma was back again, licking eagerly at the gouges. This was too much— why couldn't it just end already? I'd be better off dead.

". . . kill. . . me. . ." I begged when the heat ceased again. ". . .k-kill. . ."

Something soft touched my ear. "Third time's a charm. . . third time's a charm. . ." His lips were shaking while he chanted, as if he, too, were in pain.

A jolt of fear ran through me. Be strong. . . for Neji. . .

Another burst of lightening shocked my back, but, this time, I was determined not to scream. I buried my face into his shirt, going limp when it was all over. Soon, there was a new weight on me, and I was hot again, this time in a more pleasant way. Neji's quivering hand was on my face.

I was aware of Sakura talking, but none of what she said made sense anymore, so I shifted my attention to my husband's frightened heartbeat. All of a sudden, something hard touched my bottom lip. A cup? Taking the hint, I tilted my head toward the drink, clenching my teeth every time I had to swallow. It was like trying to squeeze a grain of rice through a strand of hair.

Neji's cheek rested on top of my head, and I closed my eyes. I was exhausted, but the dull throbbing was preventing any kind of sleep. Neji must have sensed something was off, because he pressed his lips to each of my heavy eyelids, as if letting me know that it was all right to succumb to the realm of dreams.

". . . can't. . ." I mouthed, wincing again.

"Sakura?" he called, a note of anxiety in his tone.

Her bdm was at my ear. "What's wrong?"

"Isn't there anything you can give her?" Oh, Neji.

Sakura gasped. "I didn't think to pack any rosemary. Keiden and I discovered a while ago that it's an effective natural painkiller."

I managed, ". . . s'all right. . . Sakura. . . still. . . like you. . ." At least my sense of humor was still intact— I'd felt the need to make up for revealing my weakness to her earlier.

"Thank you, Keiden." She left again.

It was quiet for a while, so I thanked my lucky stars over and over again that everyone was safe. Kabuto was dead— he'd never return to Konoha. My heart stuttered at the thought that there was more to it than that; after all, I'd been prepared to go down as well. I kept that in mind as I spoke up.

". . . Neji. . ." I opened my eyes.

"Yes?" He sounded so relieved, which made me sad.

Sighing, I breathed, ". . . love you. . ."

"I love you, too." He kissed my forehead and combed his fingers through my hair.

Something jolted within me at that moment, and I knew Kabuto's end of the bargain was about to come to pass. I could go in peace, now, since the threat no longer existed. I decided to voice my thoughts, one last time, simply to let Neji know that everything was going to be okay.

". . . not afraid—" But that was all I could get out. I began coughing uncontrollably, my lungs shriveling around my heart. At each rattling breath, something hot travelled from my chest to my throat, flooding my mouth and running down my chin.

And everything disappeared.