'sigh' Apologies. I know I said this was the final chapter… but it was just getting so long. (uno mas, perhaps?) Aw well, I'm sure a majority of ya'll are happy. It just gives ya'll more to read. :)

Sorry it took so long. :) I've been trying to expand my reputwar of manga of which I am a fan. (Translated into 'normal' that means I've been distracted reading Fairy Tail. Oh and by the way, (for any of ya'll that do read Fairy Tail) I named this one character Natsu before I started reading this manga. It's just a coincidence.)

Sorry if a certain explanation in the story seems a bit 'Deus ex Machina' for ya'll. But I thought it was hilarious. (And totally believable too)

Chapter 7: Redemption

He blinked his eyes slowly. The blurry darkness gradually gave way to a sharper image of two men kneeling on either side of him. They were talking… no, they were arguing, rather loudly it seemed, but his hearing was dulled and all he could make out was a low, slurred mumbling.

"Oh! Oh, look! He's up!" One of the two kneeling by Kaoru's motionless form pushed the other with a wide grin. "Look at that!" He pointed to his watch. "Five minutes faster than Mina estimated. You owe me ten bucks!"

The grouchier looking of the two just glared back. "Seriously? How can you think about something as stupid as that, at a time like this?"

Kaoru tried to get their attention, but he had yet to regain full control of his movements.

"Please don't move, Kaoru-san." The grouch placed his hand on the man's chest to still him. "You still have the needles in your throat. But now that you're conscious we can remove them." He nodded to his partner. "On three. One. Two. Three." The men each pulled out one needle and a surge of stinging pain shot through Kaoru's entire body. He shot up from where he lay, holding his neck tenderly.

"Ack! What the hell!" He pulled himself out of his agony as quickly as he could manage and began to ask the two men questions. "Who are you? Where'd that bastard go?" The young man quickly looked around before asking the most pressing question on his mind. "Where's Mina?!"

"Ah, yes. Ms. Nara." One man fell back on his rear end and pulled out a cookie and began to eat it. "Interesting story. Wanna hear it?"

The other reached across Kaoru and knocked the treat out of the man's hand. "What the hell is wrong with you? Eating at a time like this! We're on a tight schedule. If we don't follow Mina's instructions to a tee, then more people are going to die!"

The man pulled out another cookie from his pocket. "We got five extra minutes. Kaoru-san woke up early, so we've got time to spare."

"Yea, actually, I could really go for understanding what the fuck is going on right now." Kaoru leaned back against the tree he had been thrown against, still holding his aching neck. It wasn't helping the man's mood any. "Did you say, 'Mina's instructions'?" The sarcasm came hard and fast. "Cause, as far as I knew, she was dead. In fact, I'm positive that she was dead. Despite the fact that my memory is telling me that she threw needles into my throat in an attempt to kill me, I'm still pretty sure that she's dead."

The man eating the cookie snickered at his comment. "You know, I've seen a lot of dead people in my time; killed in all kinds of crazy ways. But Mina… well… she was a first for me." He coughed. The cookie was sticking in his mouth. "I need something to drink. Hey." He reached out to his partner. "You bring any coffee or whatnot?" The other man shook his head back and forth. "Then you tell him." He gagged and tried to clear his dry mouth. "I can't talk."

Serves you right for eating at a time like this, but I doubt you are capable of not talking. The other man rolled his eyes and looked back at his watch. "Alright then. We got four minutes. I'll try and make this a quick and simple as possible."

"I'm all ears." Kaoru rubbed his eyes, thoroughly annoyed by the two men's banter in such pressing circumstances. Today was not turning out to be his day.

--The coffee-drinker's recountal/memory of what happened at the morgue--

"What the hell does that mean?!" The cookie-eater pleaded.

The woman chuckled lowly. "I'm alive." Mina's hand glided over a scalpel as she slowly approached the two men. "And ya'll aren't." They're eyes went wide at the prospect of their certain doom. This is not the end that either of them had imagined.

Natsu, the cookie-eater, was the former apprentice of Lady Sakura. However, nearly two years ago, he was quickly booted to the side when he made the near fatal mistake of hitting on her daughter, in a rather inappropriate way. He was incredibly grateful and lucky to have not been snapped in half on the spot. He didn't mind working in the morgue. It was an easy job and he liked it that way. Though, he had always imagined that someday he would regain favor with the terrifying woman and get his old position back.

Okura, the coffee-drinker, was a seasoned field medic of jonin rank. He had been temporarily shipped to the early morning shift at the morgue, while the Hokage took his dear sweet time picking out three genin for him to train. Today was actually supposed to be his last day there. Oh fate, what evil tricks you play. He had always thought that his death would come to him on the field of battle; not in a morgue to have 'death by zombie' written on his death certificate.

With a quick dash forward, Mina sliced at Natsu with the scalpel in her hand, cutting a long gash across his chest. Okura took the opportunity to try and get behind her, but she was too fast and had already anticipated his movements. He tripped as she pulled a fallen sheet out from under his feet. Then Mina paused.

Natsu was on his back, holding his bleeding chest and Okura was about to jump back and stage a counter offensive. He had a bloody nose from his fall. But still Mina couldn't bring herself to move. Instead, she leaned back against the counter-top that she had just arisen from. She let the scalpel fall from her hand and clang on the cold, hard floor.

Something's not right. Why doesn't this feel right? Mina looked down at Natsu. He wasn't just holding his chest anymore. He was using his advanced medical ninjutsu to heal his wound. Her gaze came back up to see Okura with a kunai in his hand, ready to attack. "I… I'm sorry." The words sounded so foreign to her as she raised her hand in front of herself and let her head fall down to her chest. Why? I just don't get it. Why do I feel so guilty all of a sudden?

"Huh?" Natsu stood in front of her, his hand a fist; also ready to fight back. "Are you kidding me? You're a zombie! A mindless killing machine! You can't be sorry!"

Mina's eyes traveled back up, stopping at the man's, now scarred, chest. "I just don't get it. I-I thought that, that's what I was supposed to do. I thought it would make me happy, but…" Her head shook back and forth. "I'm sorry. God, I just feel so… different all of a sudden." Mina wrapped her arms around herself and kept still. A nauseous array of emotions was washing over her. The two men looked back and forth at each other, utterly and honestly confused.

Natsu sat down on the ground so that he could look up at her. "Different, like other than you're a reanimated corpse?"

"No." She shook her head again. "Like I'm seeing the world so much more clearly now. I thought that I would see it from Hidan's point of view, but I… I just can't put my finger on it." Mina looked into Natsu's eyes. "I used to think that murder was something I wanted to do, but now… after attacking the two of you… I just don't know anymore." None of this seems right. Why would I be alive if I can't bring myself to commit murder?

He nodded, his eyebrows just about touching his hairline. "Well… all things considered, I'd have to say that it's a very wise decision on your part." He glanced over at Okura for a brief moment. "Now about the fact that you're dead--"

"I'm not dead." She corrected him, her hand over her heart. "I have a pulse. There's blood in my veins. I'm breathing." Mina noticed Okura walking behind her. The soldier was still on edge from her brief assault. "I'm not going to try to hurt either of you anymore." Her voice ground out over her shoulder at him. I've got much more pressing things to think about. Namely, why in the hell am I not filled with the desire to kill?

"I'd rather not take the chance." The jonin held his ground. "You're obviously not dead, but you're sure as hell not normal."

"That's just it." Mina sat herself down on the floor across from the other man. "Supposedly, Jashin only blesses those who have hearts that are willing to do his bidding. But here I am, not wanting to sacrifice either of you." Her eyes again searched Natsu's. "I don't think I have it in me to kill you."

"Just what the hell kinda zombie are you?!" The man threw his arms out to the side. "And what's a 'Jashin'?"

The blonde woman brushed some of the blood on her hands off on her lab coat before she reached up to start re-braiding her hair. "He's a god. His worshippers kill people and in return he makes them immortal. That's what I am now. I'm immortal, not a zombie." She tied the end of her braid with a piece of string that she found in the pocket of her coat. "So stop calling me that." The biting tone at the end of the sentence let the two know she was serious. At least my attitude has remained intact.

"Huh… I've heard some crazy shit in my time but that… wow." Okura's voice was dull and unimpressed. He was still somewhat certain that she was going to strike out at a moment's notice.

Mina finished with her hair and sat still, her arms wrapped around her knees that were up to her chest. "Alright…" Natsu scooted closer to her. "You're not a zombie. But you did die, right?" She nodded offhandedly. Mina wasn't really listening to him. She was a bit too preoccupied by her own thoughts, but what explanation he was about to offer her would soon catch her attention. "You know, my mom was a priestess and she would always say that there were two ways to gain perspective in the world. You can travel around and see the mountains and seas or you can travel to the land of the dead."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Okura sat himself down on the table above the two sitting on the floor. Mina remained silent, staring intently at a blood spot on the floor by Natsu's feet.

"I'm just trying to be helpful. Geez, man. Look," He reached out and held Mina's knee. "Maybe when you died, you saw the world and your life from a different perspective."

Her maple brown eyes shot up with a cruel glare. "I haven't changed."

"I didn't say you did." He raised his hands defensively. "I'm just saying what my mom always said, that death is an eye-opening experience. It gives you a better grasp on reality. It takes the blinders off." The medic smiled at her. "And because you came back to life, you get to keep all of that perspective that you've gained. It's a very unique gift."

Okura slipped down and joined the other two on the floor. "He's right. I've seen it out on the battlefield. A soldier dies for a few minutes, comes back, they're the same but it's like they know more. Like they've seen something that influences the actions they take from then on."

"Still one problem with you guys' theory…" The blonde semi-growled. "I was dead for hours. How do you explain that?" Both Mina and Okura inadvertently looked up at Natsu.

"Oh what? I come up with one theory and now I'm the go-to guy on them?" They nodded. "Fine. Gimme a second." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cookie, which he began to nibble at.

As the one ate his confectionary treat, Mina turned to the other. "Where are my clothes?"

Okura stared back at her with the same dull look in his eyes. He noticed the goose bumps along her skin. "Right now, I'd imagine they're being incinerated in the furnace. They were soaked in all ten pints of your blood." She sighed, irritated with his lack of concern, and returned to glaring at the blood spot on the ground. The man felt a pang from his inner conscience and stood up. "I'll find you something."

A minute after Okura left the room, Natsu's eyes shot up at Mina. She felt the intensity of his gaze and looked up. "I've got it!"

She sat patiently for a grand total of six seconds. "Well spit it out already!"

"Rapid cellular regeneration caused by a viral mutation." He sat, proudly shining with his ingenious diagnosis. "So? What do you think?"

Mina's tongue dug into her left bicuspid. "I think you're a moron." The words slapped him across the face.

"Come on! That's a good theory! What's wrong with it?"

This guy! My God… talk about spending too much time watching science fiction movies. "Alright." She rubbed her eyes and brushed back a stray lock of hair. "Let's just say that you're right about the viral part. When and where was I infected?" Mina readjusted herself where she sat on the floor. It was too cold for her liking.

"Well… depending on the medium that the virus needs, it could have been airborne and just floated into one of your open wounds…" Natsu tapped his chin thoughtfully. "But then it's likely that there are several others in the village with this disease. They just haven't died and had a chance to come back to life yet. It could be an epidemic waiting to happen. Like a sleeper cell army of the walking dead. I could even be infected!"

Mina reached out and actually slapped him across the face this time to bring him out of it. "You're not 'infected'. Calm the fuck down, retard." Mononucleosis is spread by saliva and HIV can be spread by blood. Mina had a brief memory of her overly-bloody death and her 'last' kiss. It was Hidan and his ritual. The ritual is, quite literally, what grants 'immortality'. There is no Jashin… just an overzealous, sadistic son of a bitch who doesn't know any better. "I think I was infected by a host."

"A host? You mean there's someone else out there like you?!" Natsu's eyes just about fell out of his skull.

"His name is Hidan. He said that he was immortal because of his faith, but, despite how ridiculous it might sound, your idea makes more sense." A pair of black shorts and a pair of boots fell on her head. "Ack. What the fuck!" She whipped around to see Okura, still armed, staring down at her. "Jackass." She snapped.

"Hn." He crossed his arms, unimpressed by her threatening tone. "That's all I could find. Looks like you're stuck with the lab coat for now." The girl huffed in reply and crawled over to a corner to complete her outfit. "Did she just say that you had a viable idea?" His attention turned to his more amiable partner.

Natsu smiled. "Yea! Hey, do you think that this whole situation will put me back in Sakura-hime's good graces?"

"Depends." He glanced over to catch Mina slipping on the boots. "Is this the kind of situation that will cause her more or less trouble?"

The cheerful fellow's smile faded. "… More." He stood up and brushed a few crumbs off of his shirt. "Darn it. I'm gonna get in more trouble because of you!" He pointed at and scolded Mina.

She walked up to him with a nice scowl on her face. "Are you bipolar or some shit like that?"

"Nah, he's just spoiled." Okura leaned back against that countertop. "Now what's the plan here? I vote we go tell the Hokage and get a good, by the book, investigation started." Natsu nodded in agreement. He knew he was somehow going to get blamed for the problem by Sakura, but any other action would result in a worse punishment. "Lord knows we're in deep as it is. The whole village is shaking; we got people freaking out and Shikamaru-sama went out to, god only knows where, with an ANBU squadron, running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off." He reached up and ran a hand through his hair to relive some of the stress. "The sooner this is out of our hands the better."

"Wha-What did you say?" Mina stuttered. There was an unfamiliar tingling in her nose. It was borderline painful. Oh god… what-what is this? Why am I crying? What the fuck's going on!? She covered her nose and mouth with one hand and her chest with the other. "… Daddy." She whispered into hand. Before Mina understood what was going on, she was flooded with memories of when she was little; back before the animosity between her family and herself developed. She saw flashes of all the times when she would fall and her dad would help her up, of all the times that her older brother would make fun of her and he would defend her, and of all the times that the two of them used to sit together watching the clouds slowly glide through the sky. She used to love the clouds. It struck her as tragic that she had forgotten all of this. ….No…no, this… this can't happen. I won't let this happen!

Ever the respectful gentlemen, Natsu and Okura stood quietly as Mina apparently had an aneurism before their very eyes. "Hey…" Natsu quietly nudged his comrade. "You think she's alright?"

"Honestly?" The man raised his eyebrow slightly. "I don't think she was born right. The bitch has issues, but hey, it's not like she's running around like a lunatic."

"Come on!" Mina suddenly snapped out of her revelation and bolted out the door.

"Whoa!" "Holy shit!" The two men took off after her. "Where in the hell do you think you're going?!" Okura caught up to her first; grabbing her wrist and stopping her just outside the village wall.

I don't have time for this! Hidan is going to kill everyone! Mina did her best to shake off her frantic state of mind. Okay, calm down. I need to think clearly about this. "You're going to help me." She spoke slowly and deliberately to the man restraining her. "There is a man that I know my father is after. He is going to kill my entire family." There was a gut-wrenching stab to her stomach as the idea, of saving the people she had held so much misdirected hate toward, conflicted with her own violent ideals. "No one can stop him."

"If that's true, then what the hell do you think you can do?" Okura shook her slightly in his urgency. Where the hell is Natsu?! That bastard better hurry up!

The wild panic finally faded from Mina's eyes. "I don't really know." A cold, hard stare that had, until recently, been exclusively reserved for her mother, arose on her face. "But I'm immortal and smarter than people give me credit for… and the two of you are ninja, right?" She nodded toward Natsu who had just arrived. "What took you so long?" Mina's question was demanding, not whining like that of a child.

"Long story. I'll tell ya' later." He panted. "So, are we going after that Hidan dude you mentioned?"

The blonde nodded decisively. "Ready?"

"Hell Yes!" Natsu threw his lab coat off and tensed himself, ready to launch into the trees. A good ninja is always read to throw down.

Okura did not share the sentiment. "What? No! What the fuck's wrong with you?" He pushed his companion back. The poor fellow responded by mimicking the dejected face of a puppy. "And you…" He turned back to Mina. "You've got some nerve. Coming back from the dead and then running us out here like a couple of morons--"

"You said it. Not me." The young woman rolled her eyes sharply. Okura stopped talking after her interruption. "Listen." Mina's voice lowered as her brown eyes darkened to a near menacing shade of obsidian. "As much as I like standing around with you… arguing overly-simplistic and inconsequential matters… my father is out there. Some of your fellow shinobi are out there. And they are all going to die very soon if we don't get our asses moving. Hidan is not a patient man. Nor am I for that matter." She growled. "So, you are going to do one of two things. You are either going to let go of my wrist and go running back to your precious Hokage and pray to God that the red tape isn't as thick as it looks…" There was a momentary pause as she let her words sink in. "Or you're doing to stop wasting my fucking time and help me do the right thing." For once in my miserable life… Her inner thoughts were significantly less bold in tone than her actual voice.

Okura's hard lined jaw matched the stone eyes of the eternally youthful woman before him. With the slightest grunt of defeat, he squeezed her wrist and let go. Mina took a deep breath. He hadn't noticed that she had actually stopped breathing after her exposition, waiting for his decision on the matter. Natsu took a step forward to pass the two and head off into the forest. Okura pushed him back and looked to Mina. "Lead the way."

--

It was that time of year again; the changing of the seasons. A strong breeze passed through the small group as they made their way. But the three failed to notice the storm that was brewing along the northwest horizon before them. It would be over Konoha in a matter of minutes, blocking out the sunshine and enveloping it in a shaded cocoon of darkness. What changes would take place? Would the world fall into a bloody chaos as immortal demons ravaged her children? Or perhaps something more miraculous… the redemption of a fallen angel?

(Sits, fidgeting around and digging at her nails) So… was the last paragraph there a bit much? Anyways, more to come. Just gimme some time. I gotta work on 'Last' too. :)

Oh and one more note: Just cause she's been 'redeemed' (ie. The title of this chapter… I can't help but be tempted to point out my clever wit.) that doesn't mean that she is really any different. Trust me. The story will not come to a close without an ending befitting of its characters.

Questions, Comments, Reviews?
Throw them at me like high-powered grenades! (filled with water… I'm sensitive.)