Lea's POV

It felt as if I was coming up for air for the first time in a long while. My eyes fluttered open, slowly. I was moving, but I didn't know how since, my feet weren't moving. Or were they?

Slowly, I shifted my eyes downwards to check but I didn't get too far. There was a lot of hair in my face. Blue hair, sticking out at me. It looked familiar, kind of like a duck's butt.

"W...what?"

"Lea?" The head turned and walking ceased. "Lea, are you okay?"

I recognized the voice. It broke through my haze and brought me a little closer to the surface. "Sasuke? W-what's happening?"

I saw Sasuke quickly motion with hands. Soon enough, everyone else came rushing forward, surrounding us. I didn't move. I just rested my cheek on his back and stared deadly at the worried faces in front of me.

"Lea-chan, you're awake!" Naruto shouted with glee and I swear, it was like having an excited hyena screeching down my ear. I cringed.

"Not so loud, Naruto," I whispered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lea-chan! I'm just excited that you're awake."

I tried lifting my head but it plopped back down, heavy. "What happened to me?"

"Someone attacked you," Sakura said. "They left you suspended in the air and when we found you, you were half dead."

"Half what?" I was shocked.

"To be more specific," Horo interjected. He came forward and rested his fingers on the pulse at my neck. "You were in a death like state. From a poison called Death Fingers."

"What the ... what the hell is Death Fingers?"

"It's a poison that seeps into any liquid secreting gland it can find and shuts your body down."

I sighed. I've never felt this tired, this drained. I continued to rest my head on Sasuke's back, content and not willing to move any time soon.

"Can you walk?" Horo asked.

"No," I answered. And I wasn't about to check. I was too comfortable with Sasuke carrying me so I just closed my eyes and kept myself relaxed. I was sure I looked helpless then and there but, once again, I didn't care. I couldn't remember a time I felt this tired, just as how I could remember what had happened to me. All I could remember was a voice. A high girly voice. A very unusual voice.

My body ached. Everyone started walking again, at Horo's command. Kiba stayed behind with me and Sasuke.

"Don't ever do that again," he said. My eyes went up and locked unto his face. He was avoiding my stare, looking just a little upset. Ugh, I was not in the mood for any riddles right now.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered tiredly, closing my eyes.

"Don't get yourself hurt like that again," he said. "Don't wander off by yourself, don't talk to anyone you don't know. As a matter of fact, don't even leave my sight. That way you can be protected."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say," Sasuke butt in. His voice sounded mocking.

"I don't recall saying anything to you, Uchiha," Kiba growled.

"Look at my face," Sasuke said, turning around. It wasn't straight as I was sure he intended it to be, but he had a bit of irritation lingering under the surface. "Does it look like I care who you were talking to?"

"Ahh, right." Kiba looked as if something suddenly dawned on him. "You've gone soft. I totally forgot about that. Lea, want to know what happened when we found-"

"If you know what's good for you, baka, you better shut up!"

"Yeah? Or what? You're going to freak out again?"

"Freak out?" This got my attention. I looked at Sasuke to see his face but it remained cool, much unlike how his voice sounded. He was glaring at Kiba, however, who was glaring right back. "What is he talking about?" I asked Sasuke.

"Tell her, Uchiha. Or do you want me to?"

"I swear, dog boy, if you don't shut up right this-"

"Okay! Okay!" I was fed up with fighting. All that bickering was beginning to wear on my nerves. "Sasuke, stop." I unhooked my arms from his neck and climbed off his back.

"What are you doing, Lea?" he asked me.

"All your fighting is making me annoyed." I refused to stumble, even though my legs threatened to give way beneath me. I felt weak. This Death Fingers was no joke. I stood my ground and look him in the eye. "You go on ahead, I'll stay back with Kiba."

"Lea, stop acting all tough and let's go-"

"Hey, don't make me repeat myself. I don't need your help anymore. Kiba can help me. You go on ahead."

His face shut down. I don't know how I noticed it because his face had been impassive this whole time but I saw it. His eyes became even more guarded, colder. He stared at me as if I was a stranger. I stared back at him, wondering what the hell his problem was.

Without another word, he spun on his heels and walked away, hands in his pockets. I watched him go.

"What's his problem?" I asked Kiba.

Kiba shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "Who the hell knows?"

"Anyway, ignoring Sasuke. What were you telling me?"

"I was saying that you shouldn't leave my sight again. Not after what happened to you, and I don't want it to happen again."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't even remember what happened but judging from how freaked out all you guys looked, what makes you think you can protect me?"

"Of course Aka and I can take anyone who tries to hurt you." Akamaru popped up on Kiba's head out of nowhere and I flinched back. He barked animatedly at me and I felt my lip curl.

"Okay, okay Akamaru. I hear you, no go away."

"You can stay, Aka. She can't tell you what to do."

"Go away Akamaru.'" I stepped back from the two because I knew the pup was not about to heed my command at all. "Anyway, as I was saying, you can't protect me."

"I can and I will." His voice was filled with conviction.

I peered up at him. I hadn't noticed how much taller he was getting. My head barely passed his shoulder now. "What happened anyway?" I asked.

Kiba stuck his hands in his pockets. We continued walking although he didn't look at me; he just shrugged. "I don't know. We went to bed after calming Naruto down because you had beat him up-"

"I didn't beat him up," I muttered.

"-And the next day you weren't at the breakfast table and Horo said you went out to train-"

"More like he dragged me out."

"-But then Sasuke-"

"Sasuke?" I looked up at him again with a frown.

"Let me finish, will you? Then Sasuke said that knowing you, you would have trained all night and we needed you back to replenish some strength before heading out again. So we all went to look for you. Then we found you and-" He broke off and his face shadowed.

My frown deepened. "And?"

"You were covered in blood. We found you suspended in the air with your arms and legs out beside you like some mangled starfish. Your hair was on the ground and-"

"My hair?" Instinctively my hand went to my hair and I froze.

How did I not notice this before? The familiar weight from those thick wavy curls were gone. My hair was so short now that I could feel a breeze pass my upper back. I touched the ends, shell shocked. Why? Why did they cut my hair?

"You didn't realize?" Kiba asked.

I looked down on myself and saw that I wasn't wearing my own clothes. I was in a white robe, from the hot springs I would guess, that had the sleeves rolled up and it was so long it reached my ankles. My feet were bare and it just hit me that I had been walking without shoes since I came off Sasuke's back. My feet were now dirty and dry. How had I not noticed?

"Lea?"

"No, I hadn't noticed. I hadn't noticed that my hair was savagely cut and that I'm not wearing my clothes and that I have no shoes on. I hadn't noticed any of that."

And there it was: rage. It came so quick and so fierce that it felt as if it was beginning to materialize around me. Then I reined it in but the anger was still there. Anger at whoever did this to me, whoever reduced me to this. There was hell to pay.

"Lea, are you okay? You look a little ... unstable."

Unstable? I sent Kiba the worst death glare I could conjure and he staggered back in shock. Unstable?? That's right. I felt unstable. I was going to continue being unstable until whoever did this to me paid back. Unstable??? I almost laughed.

"Hey, why you looking at me like that for?"

"Kiba, if you want what's best for you I suggest you go away right now or else all this anger I'm feeling will be unleashed on you and neither of us wants that, so LEAVE!" I said it slow, and softly but my anger still managed to come out at the end.

"Okay, okay! Jeez!" Kiba held his hands up in surrender. I continued to stare at him until he walked away with Akamaru.

Then the anger came back full force and once again, I pushed it down. Horo had told me to control it. I should just save it all until whoever had did this came back for me, which I was sure he or she would. Something, maybe it was the faint prick at the back of my neck, told me that it had something to do with him.

Who it was, and how it happened was a mystery to me but something spoke to me. Something told me that he was to blame and whoever he had sent to do his bidding was going to be back for me.

I continued to fume and nurse my anger around the back for the remainder of the trip. Everyone steered clear of me. Kiba must have told them that I was in one of my 'moods' because no one even attempted to say anything to me. Which was all fine and dandy with me. I didn't want them saying anything to me either.

Then at last, Horo said, "We're here."

We had left the forest behind us and before us stood tall, towering mountains. The village gate was as tall as Konoha's and as we neared it swung open. The ground was hard and rocky as I progressed forward and I became even more painfully aware of my bare feet. The stones were sticking up into my soles like knives.

Two ninjas appeared before our little group. They were wearing a long grey top that cinched at the waist and a matching coloured bottom. Covering this was a white, one armed, flak jacket and they also wore shin guards. Both ninjas bowed at us.

"Welcome to Kumogakure," the first one said.

I could feel fear slowly spiking its way back into my heart, mingling with the anger. This was it. All I had to do was stick it out until we were done with the mission then get the hell out of the Land of Lightning. I remember this village like I had only been here yesterday. I remembered what I had done too, since it graced my nightmares almost every night. I couldn't forget and just being here was making it worse.

Horo and the ninjas were talking but I didn't hear a word. Combined with the fact that I stood at the very back and that I hadn't been listening, they exchanged pleasantries, necessities and all that wonderful stuff and I heard nothing. I was just too out of it.

Then everyone started walking again. My feet remained rooted to the spot. I couldn't go. I couldn't go in there. I can't. But I had to, and my feet unglued themselves and I staggered forward as if I was coming out of a trance.

Where was Mami when I needed her?