I pushed what I had said to Mami out of my head. I couldn't focus on that right now. Yeah, I felt bad, but that feeling only lasted a moment before slipping away. I had no time to feel bad. Sasuke was still on the loose.

But who knew Choji could fight like that? His chakra was off the scales! It almost completely overpowered that creepy red dude back there. And he had become skinny! Did that happen because of all that extra chakra he had suddenly released?

Well, he did defeat that guy with the creepy chakra so everything was good. Except for the fact that Choji was probably half dead beside a tree. I hope Mami got there with the medical ninjas on time.

I pumped my legs faster, my anxiousness building as I went along. I couldn't help but feel something was horribly wrong.

Am I even going the right direction?

I came to a sudden halt on the branch of a tree, holding on to the bark to keep from toppling over the next side. I stood and sighed, looking around me. I had no idea where the hell I was supposed to go next.

"To the left..." I muttered. "Or to the right...? Straight ahead? Oh my gosh, where the hell am I supposed to go?"

I turned to the left and there was my answer. There was an arrow carved into the bark of the tree of the branch I was standing on.

"What the ..."

My fingers traced the arrow carved into the tree. Shikamaru must have carved this arrow to tell Choji where to go. He didn't even know that Choji was...

Oh sigh.

I turned in the direction of the arrow and sprang off, pushing all thoughts out of my head to focus on only one thing. On only one person.

"Hehe, he doesn't stand a chance."

I paused. Who was that?

"Serves him right for thinking he could stand up against me. Me! One of the Four sounds! He's just a little brat."

No, really who was that? One of the Four Sounds? Was that one of the persons who took Sasuke?

Damn it, there was four of them? So, I had to get pass three more of those red skinned demon looking guys before I got to Sasuke? Damn.

Who was he talking about though?

I turned and headed in the direction of the voice. He wasn't very far. Hidden among the branches, I spotted someone, legs spread wide, holding a bow in his hand.

"Hehe, this will give him the final blow," he said. "He can barely stand as it is."

Who was he talking about?

The guy chuckled again, turning his head to the side and I finally got a good look at him. I wish I hadn't though. He was ugly.

As I expected, he had that horrible red skin but that was just the beginning. When he had turned, I saw that he had three eyes. Three nasty looking eyes, two where they should be and one extra one in his forehead. I guess it was fitting given the fact that he was sporting six arms. With an extra horn growing above his third eye, he was much uglier than that last guy. He looked like a damn spider.

My skin crawled.

The man chuckled again, this time readying his bow. I didn't see any arrows though so...?

"These Konoha brats are nothing to me!" he boasted, laughing. My eyes widened. Konoha brats? Who exactly was he fighting?

"Hehe, and here I was thinking that I would get a good fight from a member of the famous Hyuuga clan. Ha! That boy will disgrace his family."

Hyuuga clan? Damn it, he must be talking about Neji! I peeked over the edge of the cluster of leaves I was hiding behind but I couldn't spot the long haired boy anywhere. Where the hell was he? And was he losing?

This isn't good.

The man lifted his head and something edge out of his mouth. I came out from behind the tree, pulling out a kunai, aiming for his back.

The man must have sensed I was coming. Whatever it was that had been coming out of his mouth went back in immediately and he whirled with a roundhouse kick. I held up my hands to block the attack but it was so strong that it pushed me back. I landed a small distance behind him.

The red man turned and faced me. He cocked his head to the side. "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I answered. "Where's Neji?"

"Neji? You mean the Hyuuga disgrace dying somewhere around here?" He grinned. "Why? Here to save him little girl?"

"That must be the reason I asked where he was, huh?"

"Save yourself, little girl. You have no clue what you're getting yourself into. And by the looks of you, you look like you can't even save a rabbit from a snake."

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "You sound pretty confident."

"I can crush you in two seconds."

A smirk tugged at my lips, one I made sure he saw. I wasn't going to let him see me cower. "We'll see about that."

Releasing my purple chakra in my feet, I sprang after him, reaching him in a second. I was lucky enough to see the surprise register in his eyes before I slammed my chakra covered foot on his shoulder, pushing him through the branch.

He sprang backwards out of my way as I jumped down to deal more damage, crawling up on a tree like the spider he was. Ugh, he was really making my skin crawl.

I shot after him but this time he was ready. He grabbed my hand, using his other hands to punch me in the face and stomach. I recovered quickly enough and dodged another punch by jumping into the air and flipping over, twisting his hand around while I was at it. This made him unbalanced and I chopped at his arms breaking the bone.

He cried out and attempted to grab at me. I got out of his range as quickly as I could.

I grinned. "Hey look, the little girl who can't even save a rabbit from a snake just broke one of your arms. I think she's much better than you give her credit for."

"You little brat!"

"Hey, come now. There's no need to shout. Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

I sprang forward again. The man's cheek suddenly became very full. What was he doing?

I got my answer when he shot something out of his mouth. Whatever it was hit me in the torso and I was thrown backwards until I collided in a tree. What the...

Was this spider web?

"Now, that you and your little pesky attacks are out of the way, now I can continue."

The man turned away from me.

I struggled against the blasted spider web but it was to no avail. I was stuck to the tree. No matter how much I tried to move, I couldn't.

The man lifted his head again, and out of his mouth came a long white thick arrow. He grinned, pulling it all the way out.

"Time for the final blow," he said. "Look good, little girl! Your friend is about to die!"

Oh crap!

No, no, no, no! I struggled against the web even more frantic than I was before but, still it didn't budge. If I don't get out of this right now, Neji will...!

The man positioned his arrow.

Focus, Lea. If you don't get out of this right now, Neji will die. Focus! I needed to buy some time.

I closed my eyes, focused, and when I opened them, my Ketsuekigan was out. I lifted my hands as far as I could and allowed my chakra to come forward, then flattened it. Then I spread it around me. Luckily enough, the web had pinned my hands close enough to do the hand signs I needed.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Hey, Spidey!"

"Shut up," the man said without turning around. "I'm concentrating."

"Just look at me will you! There's something ... there's something I need to say before you ... kill my friend. Please."

He didn't move. After a moment, his body shifted and he looked at me with annoyance.

I smiled. "Got ya."

The man's eyes widened and, even from a distance, I saw the three orbs glaze over with a hint of red.

It was Myriad Mirage. I had no idea what was going on in his head, nor how long it will last, but I knew it would be able to buy me some time before I got out. I held his gaze, sparking my hand with chakra and using it to cut through the web. It worked.

Soon enough, I was out. Still holding his gaze, I started towards him. He stared blankly through me and I saw a line of blood run from one nostril, then both.

I had to find Neji. I blocked everything out, still keeping my eyes open. He was close. Not far from here ... Blood...

My eyes widened and I blinked. As soon as I did, the man snapped out of his trance. The genjustu broke as soon as my eyes closed. I'm going to have to fix that.

I raised my hand at the disoriented spider man. "See ya."

And I sprang off. I pushed chakra to my feet, running at full speed. He won't waste any time letting that arrow fly.

I came out into a clearing and landed near a beaten up Neji.

"Neji!"

I've never seen him look so bad. His hair was a mess, his body was filled with cuts and bruises, he was bleeding all over and he had holes in his body. He turned when I called his name and when he spotted me his eyes widened.

"Lea...?H-how..."

But I wasn't listening. I was too busy noticing the fact that a giant arrow was paving its way towards my friend.

"Neji!!!!"

The pain rocketed through my body. I wanted to fall but there was something holding me up. Or rather, someone. The pain was just too much.

I opened my eyes to see that I was in Neji's arms. He was leaning against a tree, his arm banded around me, his chin resting on my shoulder. I wanted to move but the pain I was in was just too much to bear.

Still, I managed to turn my head.

Damn, I must have jumped in front of the arrow without realizing it. The end was protruding out of my back. Neji was holding onto something in front him.

"N-Neji... are you okay?"

"Lea ...?" he whispered into my hair. "It can't be ... You're..."

"Dead?" I tried laughing but it only pushed up blood. "Guess not."

His arm tightened around me. "Neji? This guy is strong, but you gotta beat him, okay?"

I gritted my teeth and stepped back, pulling myself out of the arrow from the back. Neji's eyes widened as he looked at me. That's when I noticed the weird tattoo in his forehead.

I coughed up blood. There was huge hole in my torso but it looked as if my sacrifice was in vain. The arrow was in him too.

I staggered to his side. "Nice tat," I murmured touching it. "Maybe it's you're 'I'm a genius' symbol. Hey, a genius like you can't let a guy like that beat him. What would Naruto think?"

I smiled and fell to my butt beside the tree. Neji remained rooted to the spot, looking down at me.

"What?" I asked, closing my eyes. "Can't believe I'm alive? Well, get over it already."

After a moment, I heard Neji shift. "Now that I know you aren't a figment of my imagination and I'm not dead..." There was a snap and I heard him spring off.

I opened my eyes to watch. Granted, it only lasted a second.

From the distance, I watched the spider man fall. Why? I wasn't sure. But Neji was there with his chakra fingers and soon enough the man was flipping over and over at 100m/h, blood spraying. Then he fell to the floor, and weirdly, just like that fat man, the red skin disappeared and he looked almost normal.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Soon enough, my wounds will be healed but Neji ... he was dying. I just hope that Mami gets here in time.

I turned my face away from it. I didn't want to watch my friend suffer.

When my wound was only half healed, I decided that I couldn't stay still any longer. I needed to continue going after Sasuke. Neji ... please don't die.

Mami, please hurry!

Hi guys :) 

Merry Christmas to you all!