Migota sped toward Aoi, seeing him collapse in the middle of the street. She had expected to see blood soaking the ground or something of the like, but no such wounds were present. The only wound that was visible was a small puncture wound, and that had already stopped bleeding. Looking around, she found the senbon that had pierced Aoi's arm.

The others had joined her by then, and she brought the projectile up to her nose, sniffing it delicately. There was a faintly sweet smell, and Migota crinkled her nose in disgust, stowing the senbon in her own pouch for later. Shin had taken Aoi, holding him close as he felt for a pulse and other signs of life. When he felt the faint fluttering under his fingers as he held Aoi's wrist, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Shino and Shikamaru were a pace off, the latter looking around the scene trying to imagine the fight. Both of Aoi's si were still embedded in the rooftops, and Shikamaru jumped up to grab them. When he returned, Shin had gathered Aoi into his arms, and he looked ready to go.

"We should head to the hospital, the senbon was coated with poison, and I don't have the skills yet to find an antidote or even identify them as quickly as the doctors there." Migota looked over at Aoi, whose face seemed paler than it usually was, and there was a faint, pained expression on his face. "We should hurry."

All four took off, Shin leading the way. He turned his head slightly, gazing at the leaf shinobi. "Are you sure that none of you want to follow after Sasuke? He could become a problem later."

As neither of the other two seemed inclined to answer, Shikamaru sighed ever so slightly as he did. "While it is true that we want to bring Sasuke back to the village, it seems that as of right now none of us has the skills to do so. Aoi was by far the strongest of us, and to be put in this state Sasuke would either have to lucky or skilled." Shin nodded, but it seemed that Shikamaru wasn't done talking yet. "As it is, we only have one tracker with us, that being Shino, but Sasuke already has a rather large lead. I'm sure that in the village, he won't be masking his trail, but once he exits it will become significantly harder to track him. Lastly, there is no guarantee that he was alone. It would be foolish to attempt to pursue him in these circumstances."

Shin looked at the youth wide-eyed as he went on with the explanation. He had only seen them as children, perhaps skilled, but likely to give into a fit of rage. What he hadn't expected was this detailed reasoning, on par with the level of a jonin. "Seems like I underestimated your intelligence."

Shikamaru simply nodded, and they continued in silence.

_+_

Aoi was aware of a floating sensation. There was a blackness that seemed to surround him that somehow seemed familiar. Remembering the time when he had been knocked unconscious during the chunin exams, he immediately opened his eyes. As he had suspected, he was once more in that open field of pillars. He began falling again, but being prepared this time, he turned to land feet first on the ground.

Looking around, Aoi saw that nothing had changed since he was last here. Writing still covered the pillars, and the walls were still that same curtain of a sky. Searching the curtain, Aoi tried to find the hole he had created last time, to no avail. It had either closed up or was out of sight for the moment. He made a move to walk towards the sky again, when something stopped him.

Searching over his shoulder, Aoi caught a flash of movement darting behind a pillar. Walking slowly, Aoi peered behind the pillar to find nothing. He looked around again to be rewarded once more with a flash of color once again darting behind another pillar. Going a little faster in an attempt to catch the figure, he was still too slow to catch them. There was another flash of color off to the left.

With nothing else to do, Aoi kept up the chase. He had a vague feeling that he was being led somewhere, but had no idea where. Suddenly, as if he had a bucket of ice dumped on him, the pillars cut off and there was a small clearing. A gazebo stood in the center, and unlike the surrounding pillars, there were vines crawling up the columns that held the roof. Curious, Aoi walked closer to the structure, wondering why it was there.

When Aoi was at the entrance to the gazebo, he heard a voice. "It's been a while. I believe you are called Aoi now?" Spinning, Aoi's hand immediately fell to his side to grab a weapon, only to realize that all of his weapons were missing. After getting past that fact, Aoi took in the person who was facing. He relaxed almost immediately.

A smile played on the face of the woman who stood facing Aoi. Her eyes were lively, the stark blue color shining like the surface of a lake. She had on a kimono, a grey color with the design of brown feathers slowly drifting to the bottom hem. Some of her hair was tied up in a bun, as the rest cascaded loosely around her shoulders like a waterfall. Her hair was like her eyes in color, blue.

She took a step closer to Aoi as he stood there staring at the woman. Without knowing why, he had a feeling stronger than any other that she wasn't going to harm him. By now she was standing directly in front of Aoi, and one couldn't help but notice that she was a good head shorter than him. The woman reached up and cupped a hand on Aoi's cheek as he stood there entranced, and she gave him a full on smile, her face transforming to one of complete happiness.

"You probably don't remember me well, as is only natural." Removing her hand she stepped back a pace. "I only held you for an hour before we parted, but I am Chie. Your mother." Her smile turned sad, but it didn't leave her face.

"My mother? But you are dead." The confusion Aoi had on his face was clear to anyone. 

"Yes, I am dead. That's what is so lovely about this place though," she waved a hand around, indicating the curtain and columns, "You see, this is the hall of memories, at least I call it that. From what I understand, it's a place where you can see the story, or memories, of everyone that has affected your life. Ancestors, parents, friends, and even enemies.

"Each of these is a story, kept in your subconscious mind. Hardly anyone can get here though, and most that do suffer a mental trauma." She had been looking around, but now she looked back at Aoi. "Yet you have been here twice. Just what are you doing to yourself to end up here twice?"

When her eyes narrowed, Aoi unconsciously took a small step back. "I bet you're a shinobi, aren't you? Gallivanting around and getting injured! You know, if you're that bad at being one, you should just quit. It isn't worth risking your life over. I mean, of course I'm happy to be able to see you, but not if you're getting hurt!" She looked him in the eye for a few seconds. "You aren't that weak though, I know. You're actually pretty strong, and that makes me happy, and a little sad."

Seeing that he could finally get a word in, Aoi spoke. "How do you know that I'm a shinobi?"

"I could tell by the way you chased me, and were immediately on guard when I spoke." When Aoi didn't react, she huffed a little. "That would be the cool thing to say, but actually it's because of that gazebo behind you." She waved her hand slightly, and Aoi turned.

Chie walked up the steps of the gazebo, and Aoi followed behind her, curious. In the center of the gazebo was a table, with several small circles indented into it. "This is the story of your life, currently being written. When you die, the gazebo will transform into another pillar, and when someone next visits here, if they were affected by you in any way your pillar will be legible to them. If I touch this circle," She ran a hand over the largest one in the center, "I can see what is currently happening."

A small bubble came up, and Aoi could see himself lying nearly comatose in a hospital bed, a doctor hovering over him and injecting something into his arm. Seeing this, Chie clicked her tongue lightly. Aoi glanced at her in interest.

"That was probably the antidote for whatever poison Sasuke shot at you, which means you won't be able to stay here much longer." Glancing around as if someone would show up, Chie leaned in toward Aoi secretively. "I probably shouldn't show you specific scenes from other people's lives, but I want you to be safe, and this is something important."

Without waiting for a response from Aoi, Chie turned and plucked a leaf off the vines growing on the gazebo. She blew on it softly, and a fuzzy image appeared. It was brief, but it showed two men fighting on the edge of a cliff. One was knocked back off the edge, but instead of plummeting to his death, he levitated, and stood in mid-air.

The scene faded soon after. Aoi looked at Chie. "What happened? How did he remain in the air?"

"I want to tell you, but the dead shouldn't interfere too much with problems of the living. I'm sure you'll figure it out though, Aoi. You are my son after all." A ringing broke out in Aoi's mind, and he put a hand to his head in pain. "I guess you can't stay any longer without damaging yourself." Chie put a hand on the side of Aoi's head and came up to his other to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you my son, and remember that I'll be watching over you."

She then took Aoi's hand and lifted it to the bubble that showed Aoi's life. Thrusting his hand through it, Aoi was met with a bright flash of light as the surrounding area was enveloped and disappeared.

_+_

Migota paced back and forth in the room, looking at Aoi with a worried expression. Shikamaru sat in a chair, seemingly dozing off, though every once in awhile an eyelid would flutter open. Shino sat in the windowsill, staring at Aoi as he let his beetles crawl in the palm of his hand. In all, they were worried about him as the beeping of the monitor gave no indication of when he would wake up. It had only been an hour since they brought him to the hospital, but that hour seemed rather long.

Shin entered the room with a few cans of soda, handing them out to everyone. Nobody seemed to notice, though Shikamaru did open it and take a sip before sitting back again.

Resuming his seat, Shin took Aoi's hand and squeezed it slightly. Almost as if that had awakened him, Aoi's eyes snapped open. Startled, Shin released the hand and jumped back. Seeing this, Migota rushed over as Shikamaru opened his eyes and Shino took a greater interest in the proceedings. Aoi looked around the room for a moment or so, before his fingers twitched and his arm slowly and jerkily moved.

Noticing the movement, Migota put a hand over Aoi's. "You probably can't move freely yet. The senbon had Ketamine and traces of scopolamine and hyoscyamine suggesting the juice of a berry from the plant Atropa belladonna was also used. Though many things in the berry have proven extremely lethal, it seems that someone had applied an antidote for most of those side-effects. Whoever made the poison that coated the senbon was, in other words, extremely skilled and knowledgeable."

Though Aoi had his eyes on Migota as she explained this, they almost immediately darted to the left. She felt his hand twitch as he tried futilely to raise it. The beeping on the heart monitor increased, and Migota looked to it in worry. Shikamaru's brow furrowed slightly at this. Aoi's eyes flicked quickly to the right, then almost instantly back to the left again. Migota lifted her hand to feel Aoi's forehead, and wasn't completely surprised to find that it was a good deal warmer than it should be.

"I'll be right back!" She yelled over her shoulder, going off to search for a nurse.

Shin immediately stepped forward, lifting a hand before placing it over his son's. He didn't know how to help, and was frustrated as Aoi's eyes continued to flicker from place to place above him. The hand that wasn't held down my Shin's slowly twitched closer to the leg closest, where Aoi usually kept his kunai.

Aoi opened his mouth, but all that came out were faint gasps. In an attempt to calm him, Shin placed a hand over Aoi's eyes as if to block out whatever images were bothering him. It didn't work, and it seemed that Shin was close to tears at seeing the worry and suffering Aoi was going through.

Nearly two minutes had passed when Migota re-entered the room, a doctor following right on her heels. Seeing the state Aoi was in, his hands immediately started to glow green, one hand soon taking place on the forehead and the other over the heart. After a look of fierce concentration, the man centered his hands over Aoi's heart.

Perhaps thinking aloud to himself, the doctor began to mutter. "The poison isn't completely suppressed yet, this isn't good." He took his hands off, rushing to a cabinet and looking it over. Inside there were vials, and he took a few out and placed them on the table. While lifting his hand to the cabinet again, he paused in the movement. "Not good..."

Hearing this, Shikamaru spoke up and looked at him. "Is there something that you're missing?" His eyes were sharp as he studied the man.

He flinched slightly but nodded his head. "Yes, it seems that one of the best treatments for belladonna isn't here. We used it all for the last antidote and have yet to replenish the stock."

"Isn't there some in another room?" Shin stepped forward slightly, his hands outstretched.

Thinking slightly, the man shook his head. "In the first place, we don't keep a large amount on hand. It's a very specific antidote, and beyond that it is also slightly toxic in its own right. We don't use it because most times there is another cure, in this case though..." He raised his hands and shook his head slightly.

"Is there a way to get more?"

"Well I'm sure there should be a plant in the garden, but as we're currently understaffed, there aren't enough people here to make any at the moment."

Shikamaru stepped forward, completely calm. "What plant is it?"

"I don't know how it will help, but it's eserine, or in layman's terms the Calabar bean." He gestured in a dismissive manner. "If I had the plant, and even a novice medic, I could make it myself... I am ashamed to say that I lack the ability to identify the plant though."

"I'll do it. Where is your greenhouse located?"

The confidence Shikamaru held in his eyes stopped the man from second guessing his ability. "If you go left out the door, it will be the second door that leads outside. From there the greenhouse should be right in front of you."

Nodding, Shikamaru walked to the door. "Migota, come along with me." The two began to run in the direction they were told.

There was a silence broken only by ragged gasps as Aoi tried to draw breath into his lungs. As if reminding the people in the room of his presence further, a pained and strangled scream, that came out as more of a grunt, escaped his lips. He arched his back, and it lifted and inch or two off the bed as he convulsed. It seemed that more would have come of it, but the lack of control over his muscles made it near impossible.

The doctor rushed over, hands glowing green once again. His hand ran down the sternum, and though Aoi's back once more made contact with the bed, he didn't seem to snap out of the hallucinatory state.

The doctor looked up at the two left in the room. "Will they really be able to identify the plant?"

While Shin looked unsure, Shino nodded his head slightly. "Shikamaru will be able. Why? Because he is from the Nara clan."

Hearing this, the doctor's eyes widened. "Yes, I should think someone from that family would be able." Glancing down he muttered slightly, "I just hope he finds it soon."

As if on cue, the door opened once more to show Shikamaru, plant in hand. He handed the plant over to the doctor, who blinked slightly. "I-uh... I guess I'll just have to trust you with this... There is still the matter of an assi-"

Before he could continue, Shikamaru interrupted. "Migota has trained as a medical ninja, she will help you."

Not questioning it further, the man nodded. Migota rolled up her sleeves and tied her hair back, immediately getting to work alongside him. The clatter of tools rang through the air and strong scents came about as they worked. During this, Aoi once again began to arch his back off of the bed. Though the doctor spared a glance at him, it was obvious he decided to focus more on the antidote than anything else.

Shin took up his hand once more, staring at Aoi's face. His mouth was opened, as if to cry out, though no sound came. His eyes had a wild, feral look to them as they continued to shift around and look at whatever images were plaguing him. When a tear streamed out of his eye, Shin gripped his hand as tightly as one would a sword in the midst of battle. The pressure seemed to capture Aoi's attention briefly, as his eyes flickered to Shin's face. They stayed there a moment, before something that no one else could see caught his eye.

Looking up to ask if the doctor if he had finished the antidote yet, the question never got past Shin's lips as said man was walking over with a syringe. Grabbing Aoi's arm, he accurately pierced the bicep and injected the liquid into the arm. Setting the metal needle in a bin, the doctor's hands glowed green once more, hovering over Aoi's torso.

There was a tense atmosphere in the room for a good 15 minutes, before the doctor sighed slightly. "It seems that the antidote is working for now. Due to what happened last time, I feel the safe thing to do would be to take a blood sample." So saying, he did just that before walking toward the exit.

Pausing slightly, he looked back at the group. "He should regain a sense of what is around him soon. While he will most likely still have hallucinations, they shouldn't be as bad as to detract from reality. You shouldn't expect much conversation though, the Ketamine is still in effect, and as well as skeletal muscles it has affected his vocal cords. It will wear off eventually."

With that, the doctor left, and there was a general sigh in relief as four sets of eyes turned to look at Aoi. It was clear he was calming slightly, as he no longer looked about to cry out. His eyes still shifted from side to side, but not with the frequency and urgency that there once was. Eventually Aoi's eyes met Shikamaru's, and there was an intensity to the gaze. He opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but was unable to form a sound.

Shikamaru looked as Aoi struggled with this fact, trying to read Aoi's lips. Eyes widening only slightly in realization, the dark haired boy nodded. "Princess Kou is fine. It appears that Sasuke had no intention of killing her." Aoi's eyes flicked over to Shino, stayed for a second, before looking back at Shikamaru.

They both nodded, and Shino left the room immediately. Migota sighed slightly while scratching the back of her head. "It's almost creepy how you guys are doing this. Want to explain where Shino is going?"

Shikamaru looked at her, "He is going to guard Princess Kou like Aoi asked."

"Ah, I can't believe I forgot! Of course Aoi asked that, I mean, he practically shouted it from the rooftops now didn't he?" Migota gave Shikamaru a withering glare, which he simply shrugged off.

Shin leaned forward slightly, and Aoi's gaze drifted to him. His gaze quickly shifted to Shikamaru, Migota, and briefly in a third direction, before he looked back at Shin. Seeming to not notice Aoi looking at a third figure, Shikamaru started to walk toward the door. "Come on Migota, Aoi wants a bit of time with his father."

"Eh?" She looked at Aoi, then back to Shikamaru. "You know what, I'm going to say that you three have some weird bond over being stoic people and can read minds. That is the only way you could possibly know what Aoi glancing at us meant!" She continued to complain loudly, eliciting a sigh from Shikamaru as the door to the room shut with a soft thud.

When the two had left the room, Shin plopped onto the chair sitting beside the bed. He still had one of Aoi's hands encased in his, but the blue haired boy didn't seem to mind completely. Eventually, Shin began to speak.

"Perhaps I have little to no right to say any of this, or feel any worry toward you, but I do. I can't explain why. This is the first time I've ever met you, and I can understand why you would want to reject a father like that." Shin looked into Aoi's eyes, which betrayed no emotion. "The thing is though, I can tell. I can tell that you are my son, and though the relationship we might have had is a bridge well and truly burnt, it doesn't mean we can't have another.

"For now, I think we should start with getting to know one another better. We have a month until the chunin exams are over, and though it won't make up for the years we lost, it is a good place to start." Smiling slightly, Shin sighed, "Perhaps not right now though. It would prove difficult to talk with you, when you are unable to speak. For now, I want you to know that, even though I don't know you well, I love you Aoi."

It seemed to take a great deal of effort, but Aoi managed to nod his head. A tear fell unbidden out of Aoi's eye, and he opened his mouth as if to say something. After a moment, he sighed in defeat as the drugs Sasuke had injected into his body made the action of talking impossible. Shin noticed Aoi's eyes drift over to the bedside table, and while at first he thought it was another hallucination, Aoi's eyes seemed to fixate on something.

Looking over, Shin noticed the soda he had set aside. Smiling slightly Shin stood. "Thirsty?" It took a moment, but again Aoi nodded. "I'll get some water for you then." He stood and left, doing just that.

Once Shin left the room, Aoi's eyes once again flickered left to right for a bit. Another, faint sigh escaped his lips. His hand twitched as he tried to bring an arm up to rub his eyes, to no avail. The fact that he couldn't even control his body did little to make him feel better. That, combined with the fuzzy images just at the edge of his vision that disappeared the moment he tried to catch sight of them, began to stir something in him. Thinking back to a time at least two years ago, Aoi remembered when he had gone to the land of waves with Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi.

He confirmed it with himself. This could probably be described as something like anger.

Shin re-entered the room with a glass full of water. Adjusting the pillows, he helped Aoi sit back up. He held the glass, helping Aoi drink the water. It was difficult for Aoi to swallow at first, as he still needed to become used to the motion again and control the muscles. In all, Aoi felt utterly useless. This all caused him to change his mind about his earlier thought.

This was definitely anger.

_+_

Okay, so I actually have no excuse as to the late nature of this chapter. I could blame writers block, but that isn't true, and I like to think I have some integrity. My excuse is pure laziness. However, as I write this, it is currently 1:40 A.M. where I'm at, so you better be a smidgen grateful for this.  It is also one of my longer chapters, so there's that too.

Hmm... On a different note, I have started up a story thing for fun! Basically, and you may have noticed it if you fanned me, it's a one-shot type thing. See, lately I've been getting a lot of different ideas for stories, and am sure that while some (all) sound fun to write, not all will be worth writing. So this is where I'm going to try them out. Original ideas, fanfics, or suggestions from you lot, whatever catches my interest. Check it out, if you want, the first "chapter" is a Legend of Zelda fanfic, but I'll post some Naruto soon enough. Just thought I'd let you lot know about the thing.

I'm not sure if I've already posted the song to the side before or not, but can't be bothered to check, so enjoy.

RQ: What was the first costume you wore, or would like to wear, to comicon?

Okay then, I suppose that's all for now. I'll let you lot get on with your lives and stop reading my blabbering. Hope this chapter is satisfactory to you! If so, vote/comment/fan or whatever!

-Nicky~