Well, if Neji wasn't going to attack, you might as well make the first move. No sense in standing around and waiting forever for him, was there? You whipped out a handful of shuriken and flung them experimentally at his motionless figure. Neji sidestepped the incoming weapons easily and sent a speeding shuriken of his own in your direction. His reflexes were remarkable – you barely saw his hand reaching for his pouch let alone throwing the projectile at you with deadly accuracy. Even as you ducked, the blade of the shuriken grazed your shoulder, ripping the fabric of your sleeve. You gritted your teeth in frustration. He only used one, yet he was able to hit his target easily.

"Go, [Name]-san! You can do it!"

You looked up and saw Lee balancing on a branch high above. He waved and gave you the thumbs up.

"Don't waste our time, Lee," Neji said, staring intently straight ahead. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, but you had the eerie feeling that he was able to see Lee, and even you at the same time. "Her destiny…is to lose."

You stiffened. What was that supposed to mean? You voiced your opinion aloud and Neji gave you a small, humourless smile.

"You won't be able to beat me. I can see it in your eyes – you lack confidence."

You shot him a glare, unnerved. "Who says I lack confidence?"

"You're nervous," he stated calmly, spreading his heads. "You know you can't win."

"So this is how you fight," you marvelled, a snippet of memory flashing before your eyes. Neji standing over Naruto…telling him he was a failure…telling him that he could not win. "You talk your opponents out of it."

Neji flushed in anger and shifted his stance, his eyes narrowing dangerously. But when he spoke, his voice was steady, controlled. "You doubt my abilities, [Name]? Then let's finish this, and you will know full well what I am capable of."

"No, wait! I didn't mean –" you protested, raising your hands in defence.

"Neji, you're not going to –" Tenten called down in alarm from her perch beside Lee.

"Eight trigrams, sixty-four palms!" Neji changed his stance again, the veins around his eyes bulging with the telltale signs of his Byakugan. You grimaced in concentration, clasping your hands together to form the first seal to manipulate the body replacement jutsu.

"You know…" Neji called, breaking your concentration. "That's not going to work."

You faltered, and the split-second hesitation was all he needed. He launched himself at you.

"Two palms!"

You could barely track his movements, he was moving too fast. You felt a tingling pressure being applied to your shoulder and you wondered if Neji was aiming for your pressure points.

"Two palms!"

You could make out his blurred form, his fingers jabbing carefully but quickly at your arms and chest, seemingly aiming for specific points. That got your brain working.

"Four palms!"

You didn't know exactly what Neji was going to achieve by poking you, but you knew the outcome wouldn't be good. From the way Tenten and Lee tried to stop him, they knew something that you didn't. Close-range combat…your eyes widened.

"Eight palms!"

You concentrated on the taijutsu training you had with Lee earlier, realizing that the only way to fight this close-range combat was to do some close-range combat of your own. Fighting fire with fire…only yours was barely a flickering candle flame, but it would do. You leapt nimbly out of the way just as Neji's attack barely missed your neck. Unfazed, he merely skidded to a halt, kicking up a spray of dust. You alighted a few metres away and prepared to defend yourself, but a wracking pain spread through your body and you fell to your knees, coughing.

"I told you already," Neji said coldly, his voice resounding unnaturally in your head. "You know you can't win."

"That's probably true," you admitted weakly. "But it doesn't mean I can't try."

A flash of anger flickered within Neji's pale, lavender eyes. He gave a harsh, bitter laugh. "You don't honestly think you'll accomplish anything by trying."

You tried to shrug, but found that moving your shoulders hurt too much so you settled for a small shake of the head. "It doesn't hurt to try. If I fail, it's not like it'll affect the rest of my life."

"Once a failure, always a failure."

He said the same thing to Naruto once, you thought idly to yourself. But as quickly as the thought had occurred to you, the memory had vanished. What was that you were thinking about again? Hmm, the battle…Neji…

"You can't change your destiny," he said, interrupting your reveries. He sounded almost apologetic as his voice drew nearer. You lifted your head as another spasm of pain filled your limbs.

"I blocked off fifteen of your tenketsu," he explained, activating his Byakugan again with a single hand seal. "I've closed off much of your chakra pathway system, so naturally, you must be feeling the effects. And now…"

"Do not, Neji!" Lee called down, a note of panic in his voice.

Neji's hand paused over your unprotected forearm and he glanced up at his teammate, his expression mildly amused. "She's almost as persistent as you are. She needs to understand that some things cannot be changed, like the outcome of this battle."

"Gai-sensei…!" Lee pleaded, but there seemed to be no reply.

While he was momentarily distracted, you had forced your arm away from Neji's outstretched fingers. His pale eyes flickered to your (e/c) ones, seemingly amused by your efforts. He held your gaze for a moment, then he leaned forward until his lips were inches from your ear.

"Once a failure, always a failure," he whispered, before you felt a sharp pain in your wrist and you passed out.

-:-

"[Name]-san!"

"[Name], can you hear me?"

Your eyes fluttered open and focussed on the painfully bright fluorescent lights of…the hospital ceiling?

You jumped to your feet, simultaneously kicking off the whitewashed blankets covering your body. You took in the room in one sweeping glance, surprised to see Gai-sensei, Tenten, Lee, and even Neji standing beside your bed.

"Whoa, easy!" Gai boomed, his thick eyebrows furrowed in concern. The blood suddenly rushed to your head and you teetered unsteadily on your feet.

Read Chapter 23, then return to this page.

"Careful, [Name]," Tenten caught you before you hit the floor.

"She's still very weak," Neji said quietly.

"Well of course! And who did this to her, huh?" Tenten snapped, gently laying you down on the hospital bed.

Neji was silent, his eyes fixed on the window.

"[Name]-san, I am glad you are all right!" Lee declared jubilantly. "Gai-sensei says there is no time to waste. We will begin training…now!"

"Um…okay," you mumbled, struggling to sit up.

"No," Tenten said firmly, pushing your head back down on the pillow. "You need your rest."

"For once, she's right," Gai agreed, earning him a crestfallen look from Lee. "The nurses said she'll need at least a week to recover."

"A week?!" you echoed in disbelief.

"We will make up the lost time by training five times as hard!" Lee cried passionately. "So rest up, [Name]-san, we have a long day ahead of us!"

Gai tapped his foot thoughtfully. "Actually, Lee. I don't think [Name]'s taijutsu needs work. Her weakness is a lack of specialty, and from the looks of it, Team Gai lacks a genjutsu caster. What do you say, [Name]?"

"You are right, Gai-sensei! But surely [Name]-san can learn both –"

"You don't want to overwork her," Tenten butted in, giving you a concerned glance.

"Actually, I think it's a great idea," you said. "I'd love to train with you, Lee, to work on my taijutsu. And genjutsu training sounds like a good plan as well."

Gai looked disconcerted by your enthusiasm. "Well, then it's settled! I'll arrange genjutsu lessons with Kurenai, if you don't mind. I'm not particularly fond of illusion techniques."

"Of course," you said agreeably, nodding.

"Then I'll leave you to rest. Take it easy, okay?"

You nodded again, and Gai left the room. Neji glanced at you, a trace of guilt sparking in his milky eyes before he excused himself and departed too. Lee remained for a long time, chattering aimlessly about the techniques that he couldn't wait to show you. It wasn't until Gai poked his head in to inform him that he was late for training before he reluctantly left your side.

That left Tenten. She occupied the only stool in the room, sitting beside your bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her eyebrows creased in worry.

You gave her a grin to reassure her that you were fine. "Don't worry about me, I'll be back to normal in no time!"

Tenten sighed and rolled her eyes. "You sound like Gai-sensei and Lee. Don't tell me they're rubbing off on you."

You shrugged and laughed.

Outside of the wooden door, keeping deliberately away from the translucent windowpane, Neji leaned heavily against the wall. His eyes were half-closed, as if he was meditating, but the prominent veins around his eyes indicated that he had his Byakugan activated.

-:-

"Hello, [Name]." The woman was tall, with wavy black hair and wide, crimson eyes. You recognized her as Kurenai-sensei, and you quickly addressed her with the proper honorific, dipping your head respectfully.

"Gai mentioned to me that you would like to develop your genjutsu skills," she questioned, sitting down on the stool that Tenten usually occupied.

"Hai, sensei," you affirmed.

Kurenai smiled. "This supplementary training would be good for you, I daresay. Gai's rigorous training system tends to wear one out after prolonged exposure."

You laughed nervously. "Not for Lee, it hasn't."

"Oh, of course. Nevertheless, I've taken a quick peek at your files, and your current ability will be easy to work with. Genjutsu is a good choice for a chakra-control oriented kunoichi such as you. Medical ninjutsu is certainly another path you could follow…"

You shifted uncomfortably and her eyes followed your movements curiously.

"But perhaps you would find illusionary techniques to be your forte. Well then, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" she asked good-humouredly, her eyes twinkling.

"Uh…yes, sensei!" you said, blinking.

"Meet me at the second training ground at precisely two o'clock today, and I'll see what I can do."

"Of course, sensei!" you affirmed, giving her a stiff bow.

Go to Chapter 59.