Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been 7 months since I last updated this...and I have no excuse. *ducks down to avoid the flying pitchforks* But no, seriously, you guys are awesome, thank you for being patient with me. So here it is, the latest chapter. I'm gonna put up two more after this, and that's the end of it. Two more chapters and then I'm done with this story. Whew. Okay.
You guys know the drill.
Enjoy and review!
Destiny of the Cursed
Chapter 49: Broken Things
Flashback
"You're alive." It was barely louder than a whisper, barely a breath ghosting against Gaara's lips, but it was more than enough to ground Katana back to reality. He was alive. And surprisingly, she was too. "We both are." Inside her grip, she felt rather than saw the redhead nod his head in agreement.
"Yes. I know." Gaara leaned forward, slowly, as to not detach the hands that framed his face. He pressed a firm kiss on her forehead and Katana fought the urge to crumble apart in his arms. Every touch felt like a spark of electricity across her skin, intense and overwhelming. She was alive. She was alive. "We're going to be fine."
"Yeah." Her mouth opened to reply before her mind could catch up to what it was saying. "We're going to be just fine."
End flashback
"What do you mean, he's back?" Her scratchy voice rang inside the busy tent, disbelieving eyes wide at her blonde friend. Katana sat up straighter, craning her head to look beyond the tent flaps as if it would help her see past it. "Where is he then?"
"Probably ran off by now, the bastard." Naruto snorted knowingly, rolling his eyes. "You know how he gets when there are feelings involved." He stressed out the word 'feelings', ending it with a hiss of mock disdain and Katana chuckled, gently knocking him on the side of his head. "God, enough about Teme, Katana-chan. You're alive! Let's focus on you instead of that asshole." Naruto buried his face deeper from where it was already pressed against Katana's stomach and despite herself, Katana grinned, running her free hand through his hair.
The tent she was in was bustling with activity, with medics going in and out as they unplugged the unnecessary machines and hooked her up with an IV drip, and Konoha Eleven trying to fit themselves inside the room.
The first set of 'hello's she had were the most painfully relieving.
As soon as Gaara had helped her back to her bed and sat beside her, her father—her real father, along with Darui and Shee—had entered brashly, mouth set on a grimace of fierce determination and eyes rimmed red and wet with tears. The Raikage had all but broken down once he saw her, gathering her in his arms and biting out profanities and reprimands and telling her she was grounded. It was then that Katana realized that despite everything that had happened, he was still her father and she was still his daughter.
The next one had been Kakashi. The jounin entered the tent with nothing more than a rustle and Katana had looked up, stopping dead once she laid eyes on her adoptive father. He looked downright awful, pale as death and reeking of rotting flesh and blood, but the minute he moved forward, Katana found herself sobbing inside his embrace, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Safe; she had felt safe again, for the first time since what felt like an eternity stuck in that empty white space without no one else but a deranged version of herself. She had clutched at him, babbling a mess of apologies in response to his endlessly grateful whispers of 'You're alive Kat-chan, thank goodness you're alive, I don't know how I'll live with you gone, I can't take it, Katana, I can't, but you're alive, you're okay, you're okay, kiddo, I'm here, you'll be okay'. The two of them made quite the embarrassing scene but the medics had perhaps been a little too stunned to see The Hatake Kakashi collapse in an emotional display to really say anything about it. Kakashi sat at the upper edge of her bed after he'd calmed down, silently refusing to let her out of his sight just yet.
Naruto and Sakura had followed suit, Sakura a little more composed with her reaction, giving her a watery smile and settling on a chair near Kakashi, but Naruto had begun crying again the minute Katana smiled at him and had decided that the only place he'd be satisfied with would be on top of Katana. He made himself comfortable curled up over her legs, his head pillowed on her stomach and his tears seeping through her hospital gown. He hadn't moved since and nobody had attempted to make him move.
The others had filed inside soon enough, Ino and Hinata rushing to hug her with tearful laughs, Tenten clinging onto her for long minutes, and Temari giving her an surprisingly gentle smile and a silent 'Welcome back'. Kiba had been as teary-eyed as Naruto had been but he managed to reign in his emotions better, sniffling and giving her a nod of acknowledgement. Lee had given her no warning before he crushed her against his chest and bawled against her shoulder. Shikamaru, Shino and Neji had all given her relieved smiles and quiet welcomes, as was expected. It had been Kankuro's passionate hug that took Katana—and everyone, for that matter—aback, and his fierce whisper of 'glad to have you back, little sis' that made Katana blink back tears again.
Other people had swung by as well to see her—Karui and Omoi, who had filled the tent with their wails, Darui, for a second time, her Uncle Bee, much to Naruto's shock at learning that his mentor was related to Katana, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, Chojuro with the Mizukage herself, Mei, in tow, Sai, who had apologized for arriving late and joined Team 7 near Katana's bed, and Matsuri, Sari and Ruri, and surprisingly, Kyosuke, who stammered out his 'welcome back, Katana-san' greeting, overwhelmed at the sight of many infamous shinobi gathering in one place.
The tent became too stuffy with all of them inside, the air turning warm with their breaths and murmurs, and Katana barely had any elbowroom, colliding against someone whenever she tried to shift from her current position. Even then, Katana preferred it over the silent emptiness she could still remember and tried her best to push out the lingering fear in her system, focusing on Kankuro's explanation of how he got the scar on his face and Naruto's animated retelling of how they all defeated the Ten Tails and the two Madara's.
"…and then there was this fireball that came out of nowhere—it was freaking huge, Katana-chan—and we almost got hit if it weren't for Gaara swerving just in time—"
"Breathe, baka." Sakura admonished from the side.
"—still breathing, Sakura-chan—and anyway, I think Gaara got really pissed off by that 'cause he made it rain sand and then sent these gigantic waves of sand", Naruto flailed his hands wildly, trying to capture its greatness, and Katana suppressed a grin, "that completely wiped out every monster there was. It was awesome." The blonde savior ended with an awed chuckle, shaking his head.
"It was rather amazing." Neji remarked with a polite nod to the redhead and Katana turned her head to glance at Gaara, blinking as she suddenly remembered that he'd been sitting beside her all along. "If not the slightest bit alarming."
"What do you mean, alarming? It was fucking terrifying, is what it was!" Kiba said from the other side of the room. "No offense, Kazekage-sama."
"None taken."
The conversation droned on around them but as soon as Gaara's aquamarine eyes caught her gaze and softened, everything simply became background noise. "Hey." Katana whispered in greeting to him, the corners of her mouth already lifting into a tired smile. "Sounds like you went on an adventure without me."
"It was hardly an adventure." Gaara murmured back and gave her hand a brief squeeze—she'd almost forgotten that they were holding hands all this time—smiling faintly. "I remember just wanting it to be over with so I can go back to your side."
"You sap." Katana muttered teasingly, leaning into him.
"It's your fault." Gaara replied and brushed a subtle kiss on her lips before leaning his forehead against hers. "You turned me into this." He gave a thoughtful hum. "Maybe that was your plan all along."
"Yes." Katana huffed out a little laugh, kissing him again. "You've figured it out; my evil plan was to get close to you, turn you into a romantic dork, and then tell everyone to ruin your reputation."
"Oh no." Gaara deadpanned dryly. "Not my reputation."
Katana grinned wide, closing her eyes and reigning in her laughter. She felt rather than saw Gaara smile as well, his lips brushing against her temple in a ghost of a kiss. It was a little uncharacteristic of them to be as affectionate as they currently were, in public view nonetheless, but Katana found that she hardly cared. The war was over and though they lost many of their comrades, every single person important to Katana was alive and breathing and that was a miracle enough on its own.
"I missed you."
She blinked, glancing at the redhead again. He said it so quietly that Katana herself would've missed it if they hadn't been sitting so close. She gave the hand she clasped a gentle squeeze, attempting to take away the melancholy etched on the tired lines of Gaara's expression. "I missed you, too." Katana said. "It felt so long since I last saw you."
"Four months."
"What?"
"Four months, one week and four days." Gaara answered softly, eyes lowered to where their hands were intertwined. "That's how long you were…" He trailed off, letting out a pained breath. Something akin to agony flashed through his gaze. "But you're here now, and you're awake. That's all that matters." Gaara said and Katana had a feeling that he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to reassure her.
"Hey, I am here now, you know." Katana told him with a gentle nudge to earn his attention. Gaara turned to her questioningly. "I'm here now and I'm not planning on going anywhere else anytime soon. I'm not leaving you again, Gaara." She gave a determined smile, heart clenching at the strained one the redhead offered back. "So stop looking like I'm still about to die."
"I know." Gaara sighed. "I know you're not." He sounded like he was in the brink of slipping into unconsciousness, weary lines scribbled all over his face and the rings around his eyes darker and thicker than ever. Katana hid a grimace of worry when she noticed that he'd gotten thinner too, as if he'd missed too many meals—or maybe even skipped them on purpose. "I just…still can't believe you're here with us now. I thought you'd never wake."
Katana raised both eyebrows at him. "Wow, your faith in me is overwhelming—"
"Stop it, I didn't mean it like that—"
"What, you meant that as a compliment—"
"I didn't mean it as anything—"
"—because it sure sounded hell of a lot like an insult to me—"
"I am not having this argument with you right now."
"Well, we're not done." Katana sniped for one last time and then stole a kiss when Gaara opened his mouth to reply, leaving the redhead to stop and blink in surprise. "You got that?"
There was a pause. "No, I didn't, actually. Maybe you should do it again."
Katana rolled her eyes but before she could say anything further, she noticed the unusual silence inside the tent, the chatters suddenly gone. Katana turned to look with a confused frown and instantly flushed in mortification. Somewhere along their conversation, their voices must've risen louder than whispers because everyone in the room was staring at them with the same stunned expressions, and from the far end of the tent, Matsuri and Sari wore wide smiles that could only mean nothing good.
"Oh my god." Naruto was the first to break the awkward silence, and he sounded scandalized. "You guys bicker."
"Like an old married couple, jan." Kankuro added unhelpfully, looking amazed.
"Practicing already?" Ino piped in with a smug grin and the visitors burst into a round of lighthearted laughter. When Matsuri and Sari—those traitors, Katana thought in embarrassment—began singing 'Gaara-sama and Senpai, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G' the laughter only increased, Hinata's soft giggles joining in, as well as Shikamaru's soft huffs of amusement; even Neji cracked a smile.
Both of them were blushing at this point, faces red and hot as the gentle teasing continued, but Ino's statement stuck itself in Katana's head, refusing to be forgotten even when Ino herself said her goodbye and good night, the Yamanaka exiting the tent along with Chouji and Team Gai.
'They don't know we're engaged.' Katana realized, stupefied, the thought heavy in her mind. 'We forgot to tell them.'
There wasn't a good time to tell them, she continued to discover later on, once the noise died down once again and she ignored the fond staring of her comrades in favor of indignantly leaning against Gaara's side and leeching off his warmth. They still had so much to do, Katana thought somberly, eyes lifting halfway open and staring into the empty space between them. Alliances to fix, dead soldiers to bury, villages to run, injuries to heal, nightmares and traumas to overcome…
Despite their usual interactions, everyone had an all-too dull glint behind their eyes and seemed to carry an invisible weight on their shoulders, their movements stiff and cautious, as if one wrong move could send them all spiraling into panic. Katana didn't blame them; she felt it too, the coldness that seeped deep into her bones and stayed, the tension in the base of her spine that never seemed to go away. It would be difficult, getting over this and picking up the broken pieces, but it was something that had to be done. With all that they were supposed to do…Katana mentally shook her head, a troubled frown taking over her expression. There was no good time to tell them.
"…getting late. We should get going, Katana-chan."
She blinked, startled to find the room empty of visitors save for Naruto, Sai and Sakura, who were standing up, and her father who was still sitting by her other side. How long had she been out of it? Three minutes? Five? Longer? Katana turned to the side and blinked dazedly at Kakashi, clearing her dry throat. "What time's it? Where'd all the others go?"
"It's a little past midnight." Kakashi informed her, standing up as well and leaving the edge of her bed to join the others. Immediately, cool air rushed to her empty side and already she missed the warmth he radiated. "You just missed them going out. I think the two of you fell asleep." Her father nodded at her right and she glanced to the other side, blinking rapidly at the sight of Gaara's head, heavy against her shoulder.
"Oh."
"We'll see you in the morning, Katana-chan." Sai told her with a smile, nodding at her goodbye wave, and ducked out of the tent first.
"Katana-chan." Naruto seemed to hesitate, fidgeting on his position. With a deep breath, he crossed the small distance between them and hugged her once more, careful not to jostle Gaara awake. "I'm really glad you're awake, 'ttebayo." He whispered gratefully and pulled back. "I'll bring you chocolate muffins for breakfast, Katana-chan." Naruto blurted out in an attempt to disguise his sniffling and watery blue eyes. Despite her condition, Katana couldn't keep away the tiny smile that tugged at her lips. Even Kakashi chuckled at that, no matter how tired he sounded. "I'll bring you five."
"I want ten." Katana grinned at the sound of Naruto's snicker.
"You get two." Sakura said sternly, sending both of them a warning glare. "And I'll make sure that Naruto brings you an apple that you better eat as well." With a smile and a 'Sleep well, Katana', she ushered both of them out and left Kakashi standing in front of Katana.
"You need anything else before I leave?"
"No." Katana shook her head, managing an exhausted smile. "Thank you."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Alright." Kakashi let out a sigh. "This day's been pretty overwhelming for all of us." The jounin said lowly. "Try to get some rest. I'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Okay." Sending the sleeping redhead a quick glance, Katana said, "What about Gaara?"
Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. "What about him?"
"He's still—I mean, are you…?" Katana fought down the heat rising to her face and forced out, "You're alright with him spending the night?"
"He's spent every night here when you were out cold. Why would I stop him now?" Kakashi stated as a matter-of-factly, suppressing a teasing grin. "Besides, with your stitches still healing, I doubt you'd be able to do anything more than a little heavy making out—"
"Tou-san!" Katana hissed in mortification, blushing harder and intensifying her glare when her adoptive father fell in a bout of silent laughter, his shoulders quaking with mirth. "This isn't funny."
"I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Kakashi gave a last chuckle before composing himself again. "I'm serious, Katana. Gaara-kun's been devastated these last months. And you're not exactly subtle with how you glue yourself to his side." Katana looked away, embarrassed beyond comprehension. "I think the two of you at least deserve this. Just don't do anything I wouldn't." Kakashi added cheekily.
"But you're okay, right?"
"Hm?"
"I mean, these last months", Katana shrugged, looking up at him, and suddenly, it was like she was seven again and clinging to his pant leg for comfort, "they've been hard for everyone. Are you doing okay?"
The jounin paused, taking in the sight of his adopted daughter breathing and alive. He swallowed heavily and before he could think, a hand was pushing down his mask and he was striding to her side again, dropping a kiss to the forehead she tilted up. "Yeah, kiddo." He rasped, smiling small and smoothing out her hair. "I'm okay. Just—" he sucked in a breath as his voice broke unexpectedly, "just try not to pull another stunt like this so soon, yeah?" He said—begged, really, with the way his eyes were watering again as he traced a fading bruise over her cheekbone. He'd always been more vulnerable without the dark mask hiding his face. "I don't think my heart can take it."
Katana gave him a smile. "I'll try." She said with exaggerated effort and he rumbled out a wet laugh, shaking his head. This girl was going to be the death of him. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head for a second time around and couldn't resist tucking her in, folding the sheets around her and the sleeping redheaded lad beside her.
"Good night, Kat-chan." He said afterwards, fixing his mask in place, one foot already out of the tent.
"That's Katana for you."
Her adoptive father vanished with a masked smile and soon there was only dim light and the sounds of a sleeping redhead next to her.
They started out as harmless whispers, just like things always did.
A harmless little murmur in the depths of her brain, tugging at her for a bit of attention as she tried to rest. Whenever it happened, the brunette would reach up a hand and clasp the hourglass necklace under her hospital gown, the shifting tendrils of sand lulling her into calmness. The soft breathing of the sleeping lad next to her helped as well.
Katana had ignored the whispering flawlessly while clutching to consciousness, but as soon as she fell into slumber, the whispers turned darker, colder and before she knew it, there were choruses of dying wails ringing in her ears every night and she was drowning in her pool of blood, every breath she took shallower than the last one.
"P-Please…" She begged through the crimson liquid spilling out of her lips, staring at the thing that had her face through the eye that wasn't swollen shut. "S-Stop." It was shameful how quickly she resorted to pleading, when she'd fought tooth and nail before. The thing that wasn't her grinned, baring all its teeth as it raised a hand and snapped its fingers. All at once, Katana felt her bones creaking ominously underneath her skin and her mind was screaming 'no, no, no!' but it did nothing to stop the agony that wracked through her as her ribs squeezed and cracked, her limbs snapping clean like toothpicks. Her pathetic gasps of pain joined the cries of the dying.
"Stop?" The creature echoed, looming over her broken mess of a body, and try as she might, Katana knew there was no escape from her. "But I'm giving you what you want." A curious foot stepped down on her side and Katana opened her mouth in a silent scream, her tongue thick with the taste of rust and the cold air burned inside her lungs. "You asked to be brought back to life, didn't you? Well, this is where you were, right before Death took you. Or have you forgotten that?" The foot lifted and the pressure was suddenly gone but before Katana could even begin to feel relief, the foot was back, this time pressing against her throat.
Steely grey eyes stared down at her as Katana struggled, turning her head away in a pitiful attempt to escape. "You should have been careful with what you wished for." The monster pressed down and something gave way to even more agony, white exploding in the back of her eyes. The screaming in her ears didn't stop.
Instead, they became louder, hoarser, more familiar and it took Katana a split second to realize why that was. The screams were coming out of her throat continuously, regardless of the dirt and blood that made her tongue heavy and languid. The clearing she was lying on was something she'd seen before and the rocks digging into her open wounds felt horrifyingly familiar. What completed the memory was the sight of Uchiha Madara with a sword—her sword—raised to level with his head, an unmoving redhead bleeding out on his feet.
"N-No." Katana could hear herself groan out as her broken hands twitched to do something, like pull her body up and crawl to where Gaara was. She had to save him; it was how it was supposed to go. "S-Stop, don't—"
Madara's eyes snapped to her face and he offered her a chilling sneer, sounding triumphant as he taunted, "You're not strong enough!" and then he brought the blade down and forcefully buried it into Gaara's chest. The nauseating squelch and the spray of blood were the last things seared into Katana's mind.
She woke up with a whimper stuck in her throat and a tight ball of air lodged inside her lungs. It was pitch black inside the tent and Katana was drowning in heat, feeling like her insides were boiling and the sweat on her skin felt a little too much like blood. She was going to throw up.
Katana struggled with the covers, hands shaking as she shoved them away, and she regretted doing so almost instantly. The cold that seeped into her bones was much, much worse than the scalding heat earlier, and she could feel it sucking the air out of the room, sucking the life out of her, and she couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe, there was no air—
"Katana." There was warmth in an instant, something big and certain taking ahold of her icy, trembling hands. "Katana, it's alright." It was not, not really, not when fear was rolling off her in almost visible waves but there was a figure that dropped in front of her, knocking its forehead against her sweat-drenched one and breathing against her cheek, slow and deep. "It's alright, you're alright, you're alive."
She answered with another bitten off gasp, trying to get her hyperventilating under control. Katana yanked away one of her hands, hastily groping for the hourglass necklace that was heavy around her neck. She felt the sand inside bang against the glass angrily, its movement almost as agitated as she felt. "Gaara." She forced out, pained, and shut her eyes tightly, letting her head drop against the person's shoulder.
"I'm here." The person replied, his voice deep and smooth and velvety, just like how Katana remembered it to be. A pair of strong arms wound themselves around her curled form, enveloping her in warmth. "I'm here, Katana."
"You were dead."
"I'm fine."
"Yes, but you were dead." Katana bit out, taking fistfuls of his shirt like she did earlier that day. "Madara killed you; I saw it with my own eyes."
"Yes." Gaara conceded softly, sadly. "He did. But I'm here now, because you saved me. You saved me, Katana."
What remained of the fear flushed itself out of her system and Katana's shoulder sagged with exhaustion, a sigh escaping her. "Okay." She said, and allowed herself to be held a little longer. The night was proving to be more difficult than she anticipated.
Everything smelled like death.
Like corpses, like rotting flesh, like dried blood clinging onto her skin.
There were endless pained wails and infinite pale hands that kept on clawing at her, until she was bleeding and struggling and screaming and begging for them to stop, to stop, stopstopstopstop—
Blood.
There was blood everywhere.
Blood soaking through her clothes, blood trailing down her face, blood in her mouth, blood pooling under her feet.
There was blood everywhere and no air at all, and she was drowning—
"You're not strong enough!"
She was dead.
She'd been dead—nothing but a bloody mess of broken bones, broken flesh, broken screams, broken gasps, broken voice, you're broken, you've always been broken, how pathetic—so why was she still suffering now, hoarse shouts ripping themselves out of her throat one after the other, until she could taste blood at the back of her tongue?
"No, d-don't—Spare him, s-spare him, spare him, please—"
So quick to beg. So quick to lose courage. Such a disgrace. You call yourself shinobi?
"You're not strong enough!"
The metallic brush of a blade as it cut through air, striking down.
A dying gasp, followed by the sound of blood leaking out and vaporizing into the air.
She couldn't even save him. Couldn't save the one person that mattered the most—useless. She was useless, pathetic. Maybe she'd always been pathetic.
"You should've been careful with what you wished for."
Maybe she'd been better off dead.
"Katana."
Gaara's worried rasp of her name was still the first thing she heard as she jerked awake for the nth time of the night, the shrieking from her nightmares turning into dark, hushed whispers at the back of her mind.
"Yeah." She answered tiredly after a sharp breath, flexing her clammy hands into the disgusting sweat-soaked sheets of her bed. She stopped hyperventilating after the third time, stopped shaking after the fifth; however, the nightmares never failed to shove her into consciousness and now Katana could feel the lingering fear and adrenaline wearing her out, exhaustion running deep into her bones. "I'm okay." She told him uselessly and tried not to blink too much. She still kept seeing crimson whenever she closed her eyes. "Did I wake you?" Katana glanced to where he was sitting on a chair by the bedside table, an open folder in his hands. "Wait, are you doing paperwork?"
"I…" Gaara cleared his throat, looking embarrassed at getting caught. "I couldn't sleep." He said simply, closing the file inside his grip. "So I stopped trying."
Katana gave a tightlipped nod. She looked over to where there were piles of untouched folders waiting at his feet, some scattered on the table. "Well, I'm up. There anything I can help you with?"
"It's fine." Gaara shook his head. "Go back to sleep."
"I'd rather not."
"Katana. You need rest."
"I'm not tired."
The redhead leveled her with a look, unimpressed.
"Alright, so I am tired. But you are, too." Katana reasoned stubbornly, unflinching under Gaara's scolding glower, the dark shadows under his eyes making him looking sickly pale. She heaved a sigh instead, forcing herself to drop her defensiveness, and allowed just a bit of desperation to creep into her tone. "Gaara." She whispered, hollow, and blinked her bloodshot eyes. "Please don't ask me to go back to sleep. I don't want to." I don't want to feel how it is to die again. I don't want to see you bleed out once more. I don't want to keep letting you down. The words went unspoken but Katana had a feeling that Gaara understood her perfectly as he let loose a matching sigh, his glare falling apart.
Gaara looked down at the folder he held and set it down with the others before standing up and sitting on the edge of the bed. Katana reached for his hand, a fraction of the anxiety she felt vanishing at the warmth of his palm. In turn, Gaara shuffled closer, keeping his gaze fixed on their hands. "I'm exhausted." He said, voice gravelly with weariness. There was something akin to hopelessness in his voice that Katana hated hearing. "I'm sorry you keep waking up."
"I know." A beat, and then, "I'm sorry, too."
"What were you dreaming of?"
Katana shrugged carelessly, shifting in her place until she could lay her forehead on his shoulder. "Uchiha Madara." She said after a while, keeping her voice soft. Admitting it only made things realer, more pitiful. "The war. Death. Me, dead. You, dying. I couldn't save you, in my dreams." She raised her head and grey eyes flickered up to meet melancholic aquamarine. "I'm always too late." She told him, whispering it like a shameful secret.
"You weren't." Gaara said.
Katana smiled bitterly, remembering the icy coldness of his skin as she pressed her blood-slicked fingers against his neck, her heart stopping at the lack of pulse. "I could've been." Shaking her head and laying it back down to his shoulder, Katana closed her eyes and basked in the moment of silence that followed. "What about you?" She asked. "What's keeping you up?"
"You, dying." Gaara parroted back, voice breaking on the last syllable. "I dreamt of you, just before you flatlined. I brushed it off as just that. Just a dream." A hand found its way to her hair, combing through it almost absentmindedly. Gaara's cheek rested against the side of her head. "I didn't know what to do when it happened. I felt…detached, as if I was reliving the nightmare rather than facing reality, and I couldn't do anything other than to sit outside and wait as they tried to revive you. I hated every second of it."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm sorry."
Despite the heaviness of her eyes and the tightness in her chest, Katana snorted out a laugh at their exchange, muffling her chuckles against his shirt. "Look at us", she remarked with a grin, "a couple of insomniacs apologizing to each other in the dead of the night. How sweet."
Gaara smiled faintly, tension bleeding out of him. "Never let it be said that we're not romantic."
"Mm." Katana chuckled again, tiredly, letting her eyes rest close for a minute. "Kami-sama, I'm exhausted." She sighed explosively, going limp inside Gaara's embrace and burying her face deeper into the crook of his neck.
"I know." The sympathetic answer was punctuated with a kiss on the top of her head.
Silence followed their conversation, somber and heavy, the dark wrapped all around them. The only thing that could be heard inside the tent was their combined breathing, puffs of air escaping into the space between them and warming up their faces. Slowly, unwillingly, Katana felt her grip on consciousness slip away and she struggled with staying awake, trying to blink away the spots that danced behind her eyes.
"Sleep." Came Gaara's soft whisper and before Katana could protest otherwise, the redhead maneuvered the both of them down onto the bed, foreheads pressed together, legs a tangled mess, and just the barest of distance left between their bodies. An arm snaked itself around her waist, pulling her closer still against a sturdy torso, and the two of them fell asleep like that, breaths mingled and hearts beating in sync.
Of all the things—or people—Katana expected to see when her bleary gaze came into focus, the dark-haired young man sitting on the bench and watching her with a curious look was the last of them. Her chest was still heavy with sleep, her limbs languid and uncoordinated, but it all stopped as soon as she laid eyes on him. "Sasuke." She breathed out raggedly, everything seemingly slowing down around them.
"Katana." The ex-avenger blinked back, inclining his head in curt acknowledgement, as if he didn't just spend the last previous years as a rogue shinobi and trying to kill them whenever they attempt to bring him home.
I'm hallucinating. Katana thought dazedly, staring at him like he was going to vanish anytime.
"You're not hallucinating." Sasuke said next, much to Katana's surprise. "And before you say something stupid, I didn't read your mind. You were thinking aloud." In front of her, Sasuke's mouth turned down into a grimace as he glanced over her form. "So. You and Sabaku."
"Uh—" Katana cleared her throat and risked a quick look over her shoulder, eyes softening on their own accord as soon as she saw Gaara's peaceful face resting on their shared pillow, his whole body pressed up against the line of her back, his arm thrown over her stomach underneath the blanket. That explained the confusing feeling of sleepy warmth that she felt right now. "Yeah. For a long time now." Shaking her head, Katana averted her gaze and turned back to her old teammate, looking incredulously at him. "What are you doing here?"
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "I'm visiting you. I just didn't expect to see a Kazekage glued to your back."
"I didn't expect to see you at all." The situation finally clicked into her mind as the pieces fell into place and her breath clogged inside her throat at the sudden realization. "You came back." She marveled, voice torn between sounding awed and sounding uncertain as she stared at his pale face and narrow jaw, his onyx eyes familiar, yet strange at the same time. He looked bone-tired, jaded, but calm—for the first time in years—and the bloodlust in his gaze was nowhere to be found; he looked exactly like the boy Katana knew once upon a time, the sarcastic, arrogant prick with a soft heart.
It was almost ironic, how they tried so hard time and time again to bring him back and he resisted each attempt stubbornly, punctuating his disagreement by leaving them bloodied and bruised, but in the one instance that they were too exhausted to even spare him a thought, he had suddenly gathered his wits and returned home. She waited for the inevitable feeling of outrage, for the buried hurt and grief to surface, but none came. Instead, there was an odd feeling of lightness that filled her insides, replacing the tight ball of fear brought about by her nightmares.
"Obviously." Sasuke said, so lackadaisically that something inside Katana burst wide open, and instead of the anger she was expecting, Katana found herself smiling, breathless with relief and shaking her head in amazement.
"Unbelievable." She muttered, rubbing at her exhausted eyes, and then glanced up at him. "Took you long enough, you pale bastard." Sasuke's air of nonchalance vanished at her reaction, his holier-than-thou exterior replaced by a faint grimace of bewilderment.
"You're…happy." He sounded genuinely confused.
"Of course. You're—you're back." Katana chuckled roughly, making a flimsy gesture at him, feeling incredibly overwhelmed. "You—Did you not think I'd be happy?" She glanced at him and slowly, her smile slipped off her expression at the lost look in his eyes. "Sasuke?"
"I thought you'd gut me on sight. I expected you to."
"Yes. Well", Katana pressed her lips into a thin line, hesitant and surprised, "I guess we're breaking expectations today. And I guess I forgive you."
"But I didn't apologize."
"I wouldn't mind it." She said, shrugging. "If you apologized. But whether or not you do, or if you even plan to…I forgive you anyway."
Stunned silence met her statement, Sasuke studying her with confusion and disbelief. After a minute or two, and despite the agonized grimace permanently etched on his face, Sasuke's eyes softened at the edges against his will and he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Since you'd forgive me either way, I think I'd rather save myself the trouble of apologizing then." His mouth twitched into a faint smirk at the sound of Katana's unimpressed scoff, the action nostalgic and easy. Her former teammate—still her teammate, Katana corrected herself wordlessly—snorted in return, an unattractive noise that made her shoulders shake with quiet laughter, and she remembered this, remembered sharing smirks and exchanging sarcastic remarks that had no real heat behind them. It suddenly hit Katana just how much she missed this, missed having Team Seven's Sasuke and not The Uchiha Sasuke that everyone else knew or heard of.
"So." Sasuke cut in smoothly, raising a judging eyebrow at her. "You and Sabaku."
"You already said that." Katana pointed out.
"It's something worth repeating." Sasuke remarked, smirking wider when Katana scowled in response. "But I have to admit, I never saw this coming."
Katana rolled her eyes. "In my defense, you were gone for a very, very long time—"
"You're happy with him."
It wasn't a question. The words died down inside Katana's throat at what Sasuke said, and she took in a surprised breath, her grey eyes wide. "I—" Gaara's sudden movement from behind her cut off whatever she had to say and her heart skipped a beat when the redhead gave a nonsensical grumble, sleepily burrowing closer to her and his arm clutching her tighter. With a stuttering sigh, a suppressed smile, and an embarrassed flush beginning in her cheeks, Katana rearranged herself to her back, letting the redhead settle on her shoulder, his face tucked into the hollow of her neck. Gaara inhaled deeply in his sleep, his features relaxing into lax contentment once more.
"You two are sickening."
Katana glanced back at Sasuke, grinning at the pained expression on his face. "You're just jealous." She shot back, snorting at his exaggerated shudder of disgust. Unconsciously, she raised a hand and buried it into Gaara's crimson hair, combing through the thick locks. "As for what you said earlier…" she trailed off, looking down at the sleeping Kage and unable to fight fondness from creeping into her tone, "Yeah, I think I am happy." Her voice dropped down to a murmur as her grey eyes flickered up to the awaiting onyx gaze. "Happier than I've ever been in my life."
Something in Sasuke's eyes vanished and his whole form seemed to deflate a fraction, his shoulders losing their tense quality. He gave a nod of what seemed like satisfaction. "Congratulations." He said.
"Thank you." Katana said, gaze turning speculative as she stared at him. "Sakura still loves you." Sasuke stiffened without warning, mouth parted a little in shock, and he looked as if he'd been stunned. Katana gave him a stubborn smile. "She does."
"She—" Swallowing with difficulty, Sasuke shook his head. "She's annoying that way."
"You'll find it."
"Find what?"
"Acceptance." Katana said, staring at him with a knowing gaze. She'd always been the one to understand him better; Naruto might've been like a brother to her, but Uchiha Sasuke was always going to be her parallel. "Forgiveness. The sense of belongingness." She offered a lopsided smile. "Love. You'll find them, too. I'm still searching for some of them myself."
"Hn." Sasuke grunted, standing up abruptly. "I have to go. I promised dobe I'd spar with him." He strode for the exit, steps brisk.
"Sasuke."
The Uchiha stopped, a hand already pushing the tent flap open. "What?" He craned his head back just enough to look at Katana once again.
"Welcome back." She told him, and grinned when he huffed, clearly fighting off a smile, and went out without another word.
"Thirty seconds left!"
Tsunade's loud voice speared through Katana's concentration and it almost cost her a head, if it weren't for her ducking in time just as Sakura's leg came swinging up with the intent to break her neck. In turn, she swiped out a foot, hoping to catch Sakura off guard, and bit back a surprised laugh went Sakura yelped, tumbling down onto the ground.
"Alright, stop!"
A chorus of claps and cheers broke out as Katana offered a helping hand, pulling her pink-haired teammate up with a grin. "For a minute there, I thought I'd end up headless." She remarked, chuckling when Sakura blushed.
"It wouldn't have been that bad—"
"Sakura, you literally punch craters into the ground—"
"Okay, okay." Sakura gave in, grinning, and dusted her leggings. "But I have to say, you fight really well for someone who's only had a month of recovery. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have gone easy on you."
"That was going easy?" Katana demanded after Sakura, shaking her head at the medic's laughter as she joined the rest of Konoha Twelve standing by the edge of the field. In the middle of the crowd, Tsunade gave a thoughtful hum and wrote on the chart she held. Katana shifted on her feet, half-dreading of who her next sparring opponent would be. It was almost as if Tsunade was having too much fun with this.
"Up next, Hyuuga Neji."
Katana balked, paling in an instant. "Neji?" She clarified, sending the Hokage an incredulous look. "You're siccing a Hyuuga on me?"
"I don't think it would be a good idea either, Hokage-sama." The Hyuuga genius himself piped in, glancing at Katana in concern. "It's only been a month since she woke up."
"She'll be fine." Tsunade said, waving dismissively, and Katana's friends all gave her sympathetic looks from where they stood at the side. "Well", Tsunade paused and raised her blonde head, grinning cheekily at Katana, "it's either him or Rock Lee."
"Ooh, pick me, Katana-chan!"
Katana ignored Lee's eager jumping in favor of staring at Tenten and Ino, both of whom were behind Neji and were frantically pointing at him. Katana resisted a sigh and rubbed at the back of her neck, resigning to her unfortunate situation with a grudging, "Maybe next time, Lee. I think I'll take my chances against Neji today." From where he was briskly approaching, Neji sent a grave nod before stopping a respectable distance in front of her, palms moving to the traditional Hyuuga fighting position.
"You know the drill, Katana." Tsunade said. "Either knock down your opponent or hold your ground for two minutes and you pass. Begin!"
"Please don't send me into another coma, Neji." Katana whispered under her breath as she raised her arms to her defense, feet firmly planted on the ground. No sooner than when she gave a subtle nod to him, Neji struck out, hands moving in a lightning fast pace that Katana had only seen from afar before. She dodged and blocked every blow as best as she could but she could feel the skin already bruising from where Neji's hand caught her and knew that if she didn't change her strategy, she'd hardly last two minutes with him.
'Attack.' The voice rang inside her mind with a familiar painful throb and she missed a step, falling down on her backside the way Sakura did earlier. However, before Tsunade could intervene, Katana kicked up, narrowly missing Neji's chin. She sprang up like nothing happened and dove into the Hyuuga's personal space, using elbows and forearms to hit him instead of her fists. The sounds of Kiba and Lee cheering for her sounded in the background. 'He doesn't do much with his legs, girl. Take advantage of that.'
You didn't talk to me for a damn month and now you show up? Where were you? Katana grumbled mentally, furrowing her eyebrows and blinking back sweat as she ducked low and aimed for Neji's gut, only to be blocked by both his palms.
'I was resting. You're not the only one who got injured when you fought Madara, you idiot.'
Letting out an irritated huff, Katana grabbed Neji's wrist in a moment of desperation and recklessness, inhaling sharply when the Hyuuga jerked in surprise, pulling her along with the motion. Using the movement as momentum, she raised a knee and slid her hands to his forearms for balance, driving her kneecap into something softer, and heard a tightlipped groan of agony.
'Hah. Atta girl.'
Katana froze as soon as Neji staggered away from her, the Hyuuga falling into his knees and curling into himself in pain. A mixture of empathetic groans, surprised gasps and snickers erupted from the group of onlookers and when Tsunade's bark of laughter rang out, Katana dropped to her knees as well, wincing guiltily. "Neji, oh god—I'm sorry I—are you okay?"
"I'm—fine." Neji managed, raising his head just enough for Katana to see his pained smile. "That was just…surprising."
"If by surprising, you mean painful and hilarious."
Katana looked up and scowled at the sight of Tenten's grin but allowed the older girl to heave Neji up and wrap a supporting arm around his waist. She gave Neji an apologetic glance again. "I'm really sorry. That wasn't my best moment."
"It's fine, Katana—"
"Not your best moment? Hah! Katana-chan, you kneed a Hyuuga in the nuts—"
"Stop talking, Tenten—"
"What, do you want me to drop you? Is that what you want, Neji?"
Katana watched them bicker as they went back to the edge of the field, the guys of Konoha Twelve now looking at her with something akin to dread. She rolled her eyes at Sakura's smug yell of 'Told you we shouldn't have gone easy on you!' and instead turned to Tsunade and said, "Please tell me I passed now."
"Yeah, yeah, you pass the taijutsu evaluation." Tsunade informed her, smirking in amusement. "Kakashi taught you that, didn't he?"
"Yes, but Tou-san taught me almost everything, Tsunade-sama."
"Fair point." The master medic said, jotting down notes on the chart in her hands again. "Let's proceed to ninjutsu. You need your weapon for this?"
Katana paused, just then realizing how long she'd gone without her trusty sword inside her grip. Out of habit, she flexed her fingers and came into contact with empty air, the lack of the blade's presence feeling like a missing limb. "Yeah." She said tentatively, a curious frown twitching at the corners of her mouth. "I'd like that."
They handed it to her in a new case, claiming that the old one got lost in the war. It didn't matter; none of it mattered as Katana pulled it out, the silver blade gleaming in the sunlight, and its weight comforting and purposeful inside Katana's grip. She swung it sideward slowly, and then swung it in the opposite direction, the movement as smooth as she remembered it to be. Eyes falling close, she tossed it up like a kunai, ignoring the horrified noises that came from Konoha Twelve, and listened to the blade slicing the air, twisting and turning, and then falling, falling, falling—and with her eyes still shut, Katana reached out and the handle fell perfectly into her palm, her fingers curling around it. She took a deep breath, releasing it shakily, and opened her eyes.
This was her blade, and for the first time since she woke up, Katana felt like a shinobi again.
The fights that followed after that didn't seem so daunting anymore. She held her own against Shino without much trouble, survived Chouji's assaults, and was standing her ground against Kiba and Akamaru determinedly. It was easier this way when all she had to do was rely on muscle memory and survival instincts—kick, dodge, slash, block, retaliate, be quick about it, don't miss—shoving aside the obtrusive thoughts that didn't fit in, the emotions, the doubts, the fear, everything pushed away in favor of focusing on the next movement of her opponent and estimating how much chakra should be used for a jutsu. The voice inside her head was back, accompanied by the same throb of pain that she managed to get used to, drowning out her musings.
It was easier when she didn't have to think, or feel, or remember—
"Enough. You pass the ninjutsu evaluation."
Katana straightened up and allowed her sword to fall by her side, her chest heaving with the effort of her breaths. She looked up just in time to see Kiba grin his congratulations at her before retreating back to the group. There was burning sweat by the line of her eyebrows and the loss of chakra straining her, but Katana gave a curt, mindless nod, like a good soldier. "What's next?" She asked, breathless.
Tsunade took one good look at her and frowned. "Take five." The master medic said. "And then we'll proceed with genjutsu." Katana opened her mouth to protest, but before she could even utter a word, Tsunade fixed her with a glare and waved to the side. Katana followed her hand and swallowed back a noise of surprise when she saw two new additions to the crowd, a certain blonde that kept waving enthusiastically from afar and a dark-haired boy scowling at the former. Even when out of breath, Katana couldn't help the grin that grew on her face.
Without wasting any more time, she jogged towards them, grinning wider when Sakura walked to where the boys were and handed her a water bottle without glancing at her direction. "You're late." Katana heard Sakura say, the pink-haired medic glaring at the boys. Wordlessly, Sasuke pointed at Naruto.
"Blame the dobe." Sasuke said, and the whole delivery was so hilarious that Katana choked on a mouthful of water.
"Oi!"
"He got us late." Sasuke shouldered on, ignoring both Naruto's protest and Katana's unattractive choking noises. "The idiot made me wait for him until his date with Hyuuga finished."
Katana turned to Naruto in pleasant surprise. "You had a date with Hinata?" That's why she wasn't here.
Sakura groaned. "Naruto, please tell me you did not ditch Hinata. And Sasuke, I don't care what you're excuse is, you're still late."
"No." Naruto's lower lip jutted out in a pout. "I didn't ditch Hina-chan—"
"I couldn't interrupt their date. That would be rude to Hyuuga—"
The Uchiha's teammates stopped talking, all three gaping at him with eyebrows raised and varying degrees of surprise written on their faces. Along with Sasuke's grimace digging deeper, hints of red tainted his pale face. "What?" He snapped defensively, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at them.
Katana was the first one to break out of her trance. "Nothing." She said immediately, shrugging the topic away, and cleared her throat. "Not that I don't enjoy seeing you two bicker and be reminded of old times, but what exactly are you guys doing here?" Katana asked, confused. "I don't recall telling you about my evaluation."
"You didn't." Sasuke said. "Sakura asked me to be your opponent for the genjutsu evaluation."
Katana furrowed her eyebrows. "Ah." She turned to the blonde questioningly, and Naruto offered a smile.
"Gaara asked me to proxy for him." Naruto explained and Katana remembered the redhead informing her earlier that he was going to be stuck in a council meeting for the better part of the day. Gaara hadn't sounded particularly happy about it. "The poor guy's trapped in an office with stuck-up geezers all day. I don't envy him." Naruto faked a horrified shudder, glanced at the Uchiha, and then grinned wide at Katana. "But mostly I just wanna see you kick Teme's ass, Katana-chan."
Sakura snickered.
Sasuke rolled his eyes skyward, scoffing.
Katana, to her credit, only smiled in return, silent laughter making her eyes twinkle. It was good to have Team Seven back again.
"Rule's a little different here, Katana." Tsunade said, looking down at her chart and humming thoughtfully. "You break out of Uchiha's little genjutsu tricks for five times, and you pass. That clear?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Katana flexed her fingers unconsciously, shifting her weight from foot to foot. There was a low buzz of excitement underneath her skin, fueled at the prospect of finally attaining medical clearance and being put back up on the shinobi roster. It had been far too long since she felt useful. Five months too long.
"Uchiha", the master medic called out, waiting until the boy looked at her, "try anything funny and consider yourself dead before you even get a chance to run." The words were said casually but there was enough ice and promise in Tsunade's golden eyes to determine that it wasn't an empty threat.
Sakura shook her head from where she stood to the side. "He's not going to, Shishou." She said, conviction clear in her voice. Beside her, Naruto gave a feral grin and looked around, daring anyone to protest. No one did. "He knows better."
Feeling a smile tug at the corners of her lips, Katana didn't take her eyes off the Uchiha's form as she piped in, "It's okay. I trust him, Tsunade-sama."
"Alright, alright." Tsunade groused. "Enough with the team drama. Get on with it!"
The first illusion was easy enough. Katana felt the telltale shift in the air when the white Zetsu's sprouted from the ground, popping out one after the other and caging her inside a very small circle. They were flinching violently from where they stood, snarling at her with foaming mouths as if itching for something to tear apart. Katana blinked at them calmly, taking in deep breaths as she shut down most of her chakra points, and raised a hand just as the white monsters leapt to attack her.
"Kai."
They disappeared in an instant and she turned at the sound of applause, frowning as she saw Konoha Twelve clapping. "Wait, can everyone see it?"
"It's a general genjutsu." Sasuke confirmed her suspicions and then raised an eyebrow. "Probably so that they'd know if I screwed you over."
Katana cracked a smile. "You wouldn't."
"I might." Sasuke suggested lightly and then shrugged. "Here comes the second one."
No sooner than when he gave the warning, the ground between them cracked open and crumbled, creating a gaping chasm in the middle of the training field. Reflexively stumbling away, Katana cursed under her breath as the soil kept on breaking apart everywhere she stepped on, destruction hot on her heels. Inhaling sharply, she gathered chakra in her center, feeling energy pool in the pit of her stomach before forcing it out all at once. "Kai!" And just like that, she was back to standing on a flat field, the ground underneath her feet solid and intact. Her friends' cheers rang loud in the open area.
Sasuke gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Third."
"Katana."
Someone embraced her from behind, strong arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her against a sturdy torso before she could even answer to the call of her name. She staggered back into the stranger, confused and disgruntled at the same time. "What the hell—" She turned inside the hold and froze once she stared at the pair of aquamarine eyes and the pale face framed by crimson locks. "Gaara." She breathed out, furrowing her eyebrows. Scowling, she raised a hand in front of her. "Ka—"
A pair of lips, warm and solid, interrupted her as they descended against her mouth, kissing her thoroughly until she felt lightheaded and weak on the knees. Catcalls came from the small crowd and Katana's brain jumped back into consciousness when Naruto yelled 'Get a room!'. Shoving the fake Gaara away, Katana sucked in a gasp of air, blinking rapidly. "Kai." She rasped out just as the fake was reaching for her again and he wavered, disappearing into the thin air. Katana directed her glower at Sasuke, who was smirking smugly five feet away from her.
"You're an ass." She told him, nodding in satisfaction when both Kiba and Naruto fell into hysterical laughter.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Fourth illusion." He informed her, and then she doubled over as agony racked her body, a searing heat stirring in her guts. Katana grabbed fistfuls of grass as she fell on her knees and curled into herself, eyes closing tightly at the pain. "Shit." She hissed lowly, tasting blood on the back of her throat and feeling her lungs slowly get crushed by an invisible force. It's not real, she told herself stubbornly and focused on shutting down every single one of her chakra points until numbness was spreading throughout her system, pain long forgotten. "Kai." Katana bit out, relief washing over her once the incredible pressure inside her body eased off, the taste of blood gone, and she could breathe normally once more.
"Alright?" Sasuke asked in the barrage of claps and encouragements from Konoha Twelve and Katana nodded.
"Let's get this over with." She said, eager to finally finish the evaluation.
"Last one." Sasuke said when the cheering died down and gave Katana a look. She nodded again.
The air beside Sasuke wavered and shifted, so obviously a trick, but Katana's blood still ran cold once purple-ringed eyes stared back at her, Uchiha Madara appearing in the middle of the open area. Katana swallowed heavily, glaring back at the cold gaze that studied her every move. 'It's not real.' The voice of her twin snarled inside her head, accompanied by a pang of pain, but there was enough tension and anger in her voice that Katana failed to calm down. Beside Sasuke, Madara cocked his head to the side. "You again." He rumbled out and Katana couldn't help but flinch at the horrifyingly familiar drone.
Whipping out her hand, she took a sharp breath and gritted out, "Kai." Nothing happened. Katana could feel the combined weight of her friends' stares, everyone hopeful and expectant, and bristled at Madara's unimpressed raised eyebrow. "Kai." She said again, pushing out a ridiculous amount of chakra. The air around Uchiha Madara didn't even move.
"Kai." Katana said, releasing the gathered chakra again and again and again, frustration gathering when the illusion failed to break each time. "Kai. Kai. Kai!"
"Katana—" Sasuke began cautiously, but she glared at him before he could finish.
"Don't." She snapped, grimacing deeply. "I can handle this—" Uchiha Madara's laughter cut her off and she turned to him, stormy grey eyes outraged. "What?"
"You can't", Madara drawled out slowly, a grin beginning on his expression, "'handle' this." He shook his head in mock disappointment, blinking, and smiled at her. "You're not strong enough."
Katana's breath hitched at the words and she felt her control slipping away, tearing at the seams, her chakra spiking up at every breath. There was panic in her head, chaos and fear and outrage, and her control was breaking. "Kai." She barked out, training her eyes at his form. "Kai!" Her voice broke at the syllable as she watched him take a step forward, her feet fighting the urge to take a step back. "Kai!" Every inhale was faster than the last, the air turning colder and colder until she could feel it stinging the inside of her chest.
"Kai!" Katana snapped and recoiled when Madara took another step, a shiver running through Katana at the sound of his foot colliding against the solid ground. It's not real. "Kai!"
"Oh, I'm real, alright." Madara chuckled darkly and then his steps turned into walking, and Katana found herself stumbling back, desperate to keep the distance between them. "And you know what else is real? The fact that you're broken."
The taunt pierced through what remained of her concentration and will, festering like a virus. "Kai!" Katana shouted as she drew her sword from where it was tied around her waist, and failed to notice the chorus of worried murmurs stirring within Konoha Twelve. She leapt back and away, at least a good ten feet from where Uchiha Madara was. It's not real. It's not real. Snap out of it. "Kai!"
"You're broken, little girl." Madara met her eyes, his grin turning manic, and his walking hastened, pace increasing until he was running towards her. Katana fumbled with her footing, tripping back down onto the ground, and her heart stopped at the sight of Uchiha Madara up in the air, coming down towards her.
'Run.'
"KAI!" Katana screamed in a last desperate attempt before her world burst into flames.
"You're not strong enough—"
Not real. Not real, it's not real, Katana. Just an illusion. Snap out of it.
"Oh, I'm real, alright—"
He's not. He's not here, Katana, dammit, snap out of it—
"Useless. You are pathetic, broken. You're broken—"
Snap out of it—
There was a hand clamping down forcefully on the flesh of her shoulder, blunt nails digging through her shirt and forcing her to inhale. "Breathe." Came the simple command, clipped, and as firm as the hand that gripped her shoulder. "Stop panicking and breathe." The hand wasn't Gaara's, that much she was certain of; the grip was too tight, too business-like. It wasn't wide enough to feel like Kakashi's or her father's and the voice was too deep to be Naruto's. Katana looked up, blinking dazedly at Sasuke's grim onyx eyes. And then there was a paper bag being shoved under her nose and over her mouth, startling her into jerking away.
"You idiot." Sasuke slapped the bag away, glaring up. "You're choking her."
"Sorry, sorry!" Naruto dropped to his knees next to Sasuke, sapphire blue eyes wide with worry. "Katana-chan, you okay? Do you remember what happened?"
'No, you are not okay!'
"I—" Katana gave a low hiss at the agony that went with the voice in her head. "I'm fine. I just—Uchiha Madara." Even simply saying the name sent chills down her spine. She swallowed with difficulty. "The illusion didn't want to break." She glanced at Sasuke, confused, and watched as his grimace tightened and he looked away. "I don't understand."
"It was you." Tsunade's voice rang out in explanation before Sasuke could form one. The master medic approached the three of them, Sakura walking beside her. The pink-haired kunoichi joined them on the ground once she was near enough, placing a sympathetic hand on Katana's other shoulder. "Your chakra kept on fluctuating erratically and it fed the illusion. It's why you couldn't break it." Tsunade cast a glance to the side and Katana followed her gaze, feeling her stomach drop down at the sight of the anxious looks directed her way. "It took the rest of us to successfully dissipate the genjutsu."
Katana's eyes flickered back to the Hokage and she sucked in a breath, shaky fingers digging into the dirt below her. "What about the evaluation?" She asked.
"You failed."
The words hit her like a physical blow and Katana's eyes watered in reflex as bile crept up her throat, Madara's voice rising up to the surface of her mind. "You're not strong enough." She swallowed again and forced herself to stand up, despite Sakura's protests. "Give me another chance." Katana said, meeting Tsunade's eyes determinedly. "I can pass this time."
"You're useless."
"You'll get another chance next month."
"Pathetic."
"No, that's not—" Katana forced herself to stop, to calm down enough for her voice to lose its hysterical edge. "It doesn't have to be next month. I can do it today. Please, Tsunade-sama—"
"Katana", Tsunade interrupted smoothly, fixing her a critical stare, "do you know what happened? Your fear took control of the genjutsu, your mind turned against you, and then you burst into black flames and collapsed." Tsunade said, and each statement sank in like a knife stab.
"It was a mistake." Katana balled her hands in fists, inhaling brokenly. "It was just one mistake—"
"And you know that one mistake is all that's needed to jeopardize the whole mission." Tsunade continued, staring the younger girl down. Katana struggled for things to say, opening and closing her mouth helplessly. She couldn't be off the roster for another whole month. Katana didn't know how she'd survive it. "I can't risk any of my active shinobi having breakdowns during inconvenient times. So I'm sorry, but I can't put you on the roster."
Grey eyes watched desolately as the Hokage turned her back and walked away, the rest of Konoha Twelve sending her glances of pity before walking out of the training field as well, leaving Katana to stare into empty space, her vision blurring with each passing second.
"Katana?" She heard Sakura's soft murmur, the other girl brushing away something wet from her cheeks. Katana took in a trembling breath and felt Sasuke's firm grip steady her, keeping her from collapsing again. In front, Naruto invaded her personal space, enveloping her into his arms.
"Katana-chan, I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear and she shook her head, blinking away tears. There was a hollowness that kept on spreading throughout her chest cavity, making it hard to speak.
"I'm fine." She croaked out mindlessly, numbed. "I'm fine."
Madara's deep laughter echoed in the depths of her brain, mocking her. "You're broken." He rumbled out.
Maybe, Katana thought, and it was then that everything began to seem like a big, flimsy lie.
End Chapter