I woke with a jolt. I shot up in the bed then groaned, holding my shoulder. I was still in some pain. My body was covered in sweat but the cold air coming from the window made me feel cool.

With a shaky hand and maximum effort, I raised my hand to my head. What the hell was that? A Spheonix? Spirit animal?

Lea, who were you?

I had to get out of here. This room, no matter how spacious it was, was making me feel claustrophobic. I needed to get out of here and go get some fresh air. I had to wrap my head around everything that was happening to me.

It took me minutes to pull the sheet back and push my legs over the side of the bed. When I was done, I was already panting. Wow, this was going to take me ages.

But I definitely had to get out. I'll come back later or, at the very least, someone will find out that I'm gone and come get me. I can worry about all that later. For now, I need to concentrate on getting myself out of this bed and out of this room. Once I was out, I'll think about how I can get out of the hospital itself.

With a grunt I pushed myself off the bed and unto the floor. I made sure to keep one foot ahead of the other so that when my feet gave way, which I knew they would, I would be able to stay grounded. It worked. I held out my hands beside me for good measure.

"Okay, Lea, you've got this." That felt weird. Calling myself that. They said that was what my name was but still, I wasn't used to it.

I kept my hands out beside me as I slowly pushed on foot along the floor. Tsunade was right. I did need physical therapy. Each slow movement was painful and uncomfortable. It would probably take me hours to get to the door. Right now, it felt like an impossible task.

"Keep going, Lea. Keep going." I continued to push myself, calling my name over and over in the hopes of getting used to it. It still wasn't sitting well with me.

When I was halfway to the door, it began to get easier. My steps were surer, my breathing wasn't as laboured and the pain had subsided somewhat. It was still very uncomfortable but I could bear it now.

"Ahh, push it! Ahh, push it!" The air escaped my lungs with each step I took. I was almost there. Almost to the door.

"This place is so easy to get into."

"Probably because they think that no one knows about it. Ignorance is bliss, they say."

I froze. Who was that? I didn't recognize the voices but would I? They might be someone I had known before I had my memory wiped. Still, I couldn't let them see me out of bed!

"Which door do you think it is?"

"Try that one, I'll try this one."

Oh no! They were right in front of the door. I tried turning around and managed to get my back to face the door when it opened on me.

"Well, well, well. Would you look at that?"

I froze. I didn't dare turn around. Well, granted I couldn't.

"Sato, come look at this. The little demon was trying to get away." There was a laugh. More footsteps. Then they were standing right before me. "Where do you think you're going, little kitty?"

Don't call me that!

I blinked at them. I've never seen these two before. Why were they smirking at me like that?

The one who had been speaking looked me up and down. She had bright blond hair and large brown eyes. She was in a kimono robe that complemented her shape perfectly. The other person was a guy with blue hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed in black from head to toe.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," the girl said. She was still smirking at me, while she circled me like a predator. "Look at you. So fragile."

She poked me and I almost toppled over. She laughed as I struggled to ground myself. What was her deal?

"There's no need to make fun of her," the boy said.

"What's the point if I don't get to have a little fun?" She poked me again and I pushed my hands out in front to keep myself from falling.

"What's your deal?" I demanded.

"Me? No deal. Well, yeah maybe one. You almost got our heads cut off with your stupid recklessness! But that's all in the past now. Time for a clean slate. And in your case, that's probably literal."

I just blinked at her. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

The girl continued to circle me. "You lost your precious memories, oh no. Everything about this village gone. Makes me so happy. I almost wish I don't have to do what I have to do."

"Come on," the boy urged.

The girl shushed him. "Let me have my fun, will you Sato? Jeez. It's not like anyone will be coming down here for now. Danzo made sure of that."

"Danzo can only hold them for a small while longer and you know that. Sooner or later those guys out front will wake up. Let's just do what he told us to do and get on with it already!"

"You were always a party pooper, you know that right?" She released a loud sigh. "Fine! That old man won't hold them for long."

She reached into her pouch and withdrew something. I looked at it then back at her. "What is that?"

"This? Oh, a handy little tool. I'm not so sure you want the details."

That was putting me on edge. I looked at it warily. "What are you going to do to me?"

She smiled, sadistically. "You want back your memories, right? We're here to give them to you."

"Why would you do that?"

"Let's say we have the same interests. Now hold still."

No way in hell was I going to let her put that thing on me. I knew running away wasn't an option but I could at least distract her.

"Who's Danzo?" I asked.

"This old guy. Don't really know the details. Just know that he's on our side."

"And what is your side?"

"You'll know soon enough when I stab you with this."

I dodged the weird looking thing in her hand. "How do you know it'll work?"

Her face screwed up, as if I was asking a stupid question. "Of course it's going to work. My master made it. Everything he makes works. I mean, just look at you."

"Me?"

"As I said before, everything will become clear when I give you back your memories."

She lunged after me again but I guess she wasn't expecting me to dodge it. Which I did. I bent my body backwards in the spur of the moment and her hand went right over my face.

She sighed as if she wasn't trying to calm herself. "I know you can't move properly so I don't want to get physical with you so will you just hold still?"

"Why would I do that?"

The boy, Sato, threw his hands up in frustration. "Give me that!" he said snatching the weird looking thing from the girl. He grabbed my head and before I could retaliate, he stabbed me in the neck with it. "There!"

I fell to the ground, clutching my neck. Blood started coming from the wound he had left behind.

"How long do you think it will take to work?" the girl asked.

"I don't know. That's why we should have done it as soon as we came in instead of wasting all that time."

"Hey, you know how I get whenever I'm around her, I just can't help myself and you know that."

"Well, if we get caught then it's all your fault."

"Yeah, yeah, as if everything else isn't already my fault. I got her here in the first place."

Through the haze that had clouded my mind, I heard that. "You killed me?"

"Oh shut up, no one is talking to you." She kicked me in the head and I fell over. All strength had left my body and I just lay there on the ground, clutching my neck and fighting the haze. What was happening to me?

"There's no need to get upset."

"I'm not upset."

"Yes, you are. Look at me. Hey, look at me. We're going to make everything alright okay? You and I. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

They grew silent after that. I didn't. My head was starting to feel weird and I made tiny whimpering sounds.

"I think it's working."

Suddenly, I was drawn into my mind. It was dark. It was subconscious self, and how I knew that I had no idea. I just knew that whatever it was it was working.

The scene changed from the darkness to a room filled with blood and a little white haired girl staring at the corpse of her mother. Then it changed to that same little girl being pushed into a room and chained to a chair. The scene went from that to the white haired girl, much older now, screaming at a man in front of her, before her eyes changed to one of superiority.

The scene changed to her running past the gates of the village, to her laughing with Naruto as they ate Ichiraku's ramen. It switched to her smiling with Sasuke, arguing with Sakura, training with Mami.

It showed her playing with Kiba, cringing when Akamaru appeared. It showed her rolling her eyes as Kakashi lectured her, making up her face as Neji continuously demanded an apology. It showed her dropping asleep while Horo showed off his wonderful skills.

It changed to her being attacked by an unknown ninja, and put on display as she almost died. It showed her arriving in Kumogakure, showed her sitting on a blanket covered with fruit, the kiss that had rocked her world.

The same blond haired girl appeared in one scene, and it showed her being kidnapped. Taken to his lair. Going to Mami's home world, releasing her from the poison using the bound between Masuta and her. It showed her dying at the hands of a demented old man. It showed the tears that had rained on her face.

It showed her. It showed me.

Lea and Reina.

The darkness was the last thing that appeared before I came back to myself. I opened my eyes with a start.

I remember.

My eyes slowly made their way to Saiko and Sato. They were looking, filled with curiousity.

Anger, familiar anger, rose up in me and I lurched after them. Saiko and Sato both dodged backwards and my body fell short, still not completely able to move. Damn it!

"Looks like she's back," Saiko commented. She stooped. "Remember me?"

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to rip you to shred. You and this damn bluebell!"

"Hey now, watch your tongue. You don't wake everyone up do you?" Her self-satisfied smirk was making me even angrier.

"What the hell did he do to me?!" I demanded. "Why am I alive?!"

"Oh, you thought you could get away that easily, huh? He brought you back to life, duh! He was not about to let his most precious just die like that, are you crazy?"

"I'm sure glad he did," I muttered, giving her a smirk. "That way I can come and kill him myself."

"Oh, and risk having your chip set off? Now that you have your memories back he still has a leverage over you. Don't be stupid."

Damn it! Damn it all to hell!

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I declared, shooting daggers at the both of them. "No matter what you say, I'm not leaving. I'm never going back there."

"Okay, first of all, you don't really have much of a choice since I can always just pick you up and carry you there myself. And second, we don't want you to come back yet. There's something he wants you to do first."

"And what is that?"

"Not telling you."

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"You heard me. I'm not telling you. If I do you won't do it, no matter how much you want to."

"Does that even -"

"Yes, it makes a lot of sense actually. But I don't expect your simple mind to understand."

I glared at her. I couldn't move and I couldn't shout curses at her so I just glared, hoping to kill her with it. She looked amused.

"Saiko, we need to go," Sato said. "The guards should be waking up now. Let's go."

"Okay, fine" Saiko sent me one last grin. "Can't wait to see you again," she said.

"Damn it! Saiko!" I screamed at them, but they were already out the door.

I laid on the floor, clenching my fist to hold my anger in before I did something stupid. I was never going to be rid of him, was I? He was always going to be a constant presence in my life. I looked down on the tattoo on my inner wrist.

Damn it, I won't ever be free.

Wow, I'm just filled with chapters today. Hope you enjoyed. :) If you did please vote and comment. If you don't I'm just going assume you didn't and probably give up writing the book :(

Dedicated to another fan :)