Third Person's POV

A bead of sweat drips down the side of Ashley's face, her brows furrowed and her teeth gritted together as she darts to the side, Kyoku's fist flying past, mere centimetres from the girl's nose. She watches as Kyoku immediately twists around, her half-lidded eyes focused on Ashley.

The ANBU certainly wasn't going to fight to her full potential, but she was planning on making Ashley work hard today. While they had been training together for a good seven months now, Kyoku had only recently started sparring with the Genin.

She had wanted Ashley to improve in other areas before engaging her in actual fighting, and two weeks prior, Kyoku had finally decided that Ashley was ready learn new fighting techniques, and improve on her current ones.

Seeing that Kyoku is coming in for yet another close attack, Ashley swipes both arms up into the air, causing a thick tendril of rock to shoot up out of the ground. Having already guessed Ashley would do this, Kyoku bends her knees and leaps high into the air, flipping upside down and holding out her left arm.

A projectile launches from the huge gauntlet around Kyoku's wrist, colliding the they rocky tendril and bursting into a thick cloud of dark smoke. Ashley lets out a low growl as she squints up at the smog, unable to see where Kyoku is. Releasing the earth with her Katsuryoku, Ashley then swipes her arms up towards the smoke, taking a step forward as she does so.

A powerful blast of wind causes the smoke cloud to billow away, only to reveal Kyoku diving towards Ashley. Trying not to panic as the woman rockets towards her, Ashley focuses her chakra into her feet, leaping backwards just as Kyoku careens into the ground.

Ashley stumbles as she lands back on the dirt, the earth trembling beneath her as cloud of dust rise into the sky. The blonde can't help but sweat drop at the sight of Kyoku ahead of her, crouched in the middle of a large crater.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Ashley squawks, holding her arms out to her sides, palms up and shoulders shrugging.

"If you don't want to die" Kyoku says coolly, "Then keep running away."

"Running....." Ashley trails off, before scoffing, annoyed.

Fighting against Kyoku was difficult, sure, but Ashely wasn't running away. Anyone with even the tiniest amount of common sense would try to dodge a hit from Kyoku, or they'd have their head knocked off of their shoulders. Her punches could easily shatter bones after all. Who wouldn't dodge around her?

Ordinarily, Ashley would try to fight an opponent like her from a distance, and she had certainly tried doing that during their sparring sessions over the last two weeks. But Kyoku was so fast and so aggressive, she would never let Ashley get too far away from her.

Ashley jumps with fright, as Kyoku suddenly launches herself towards the girl again.

"Earth Style: Stone Column Spear!" Ashley cries out, performing a hand sign and then dropping down, her palms pressed to the ground.

Ashley watches for only a second, as Kyoku changes direction, darting around the rocky spears as they begin to tear viciously up through the ground. Having only wanting to distract Kyoku for a brief moment, still crouching down, Ashley waves one arm after the ANBU.

One of the spears from her Jutsu suddenly begins to twist and writhe, swiftly wrapping around Kyoku's ankle as the woman tries to leap out of the way. Kyoku glances down as she is ensnared, wondering why Ashley is even bothering with this tactic when she knows that the ANBU can easily escape.

"Lightning Style" Kyoku hears Ashley call out, making the woman's head lift, "Black Wolf Jutsu!"

Kyoku blinks, not having expected Ashley to know any Lightning Style Jutsu, let alone with black electricity, as a large, electrified beast races towards her.

Kyoku can't help but smirk to herself, raising both hands up to perform a hand sign. It was a good tactic, but it didn't really matter if Ashley tried to use Lightning Style. The difference in their power was too great for it to be much of a problem.

"Water Style: Liquid Bullet" Kyoku says, before opening her mouth shooting a large, chakra infused ball of water at the incoming creature.

Despite the creature's Nature advantage, Kyoku's bullet cuts straight through the middle of it, ripping through the electrified body with ease. The creature lets out a roar, before abruptly exploding, sending out a blast of stinging wind.

Ashley swiftly dives to the side as the bullet rockets past her and slams into a tree, ripping the strong trunk to shreds. Ashley watches the tree creak and sway, before slowly leaning to the side and collapsing to the ground, the girl sweat dropping once again.

If this was Kyoku when she was holding back, then what was she like at full power?

"Water Style: Water Beast" Kyoku says, to which Ashley's neck wrenches around to look at the woman. She sees Kyoku crouching down, now free from the earth that had ensnared her legs, having created a large pool of water in front of herself. A tall, Wolf-like creature forms out of the liquid, it's eyes glowing yellow.

Taking advantage of the water from the bullet Kyoku had created, Ashley performs the same hand sign as her teacher.

"Water Style: Water Beast!"

As another Wolf-like creature forms near Ashley, the two beasts launch themselves forwards, Kyoku's much larger than Ashley's. They leap at each other and roar, before bursting upon impact, water spraying in all directions.

Able to sense that Kyoku is running towards her, Ashley spins around, dragging the water that has been sprayed across the ground, through the air with her. After completing a number of spins, water having gathered all around her, Ashley releases her Katsuryoku, sending a large wave of water directly at Kyoku.

Seeing the woman easily burst through the water however, unaffected by the attack, Ashley lets out a growl of frustration and slaps her palms together.

It never seemed to matter what she threw at Kyoku. The woman was like a freight train that just kept coming at her!

"Wind Style" Ashley calls out, rapidly building up chakra in the back of her throat, "Divine Wind!"

Exhaling, Ashley breathes out a powerful gale force wind, which immediately separates and begins to whip up into two small tornadoes. Kyoku, having been so close to Ashley, is immediately pulled up into one of the tornadoes.

The ANBU blinks in surprise, having assumed that her heavy gauntlets would have kept her safe on the ground. After all, this Jutsu was only that of a Genin. She hadn't expected it to be a powerful force at all.

Spinning around and around in the roaring wind, Kyoku manages to flip herself over to be right side up. She aims her right arm down at the base of the tornado, a bomb popping out of the gauntlet around her wrist. Kyoku shoots the bomb down towards the ground, with it letting out a thunderous boom as it erupts.

The air flow interrupted, the wind around Kyoku begins to die down, causing the woman to fall. As she drops towards the ground, unfazed, Kyoku turns her head to look for Ashley, only to see the girl drilling up through the air towards her at speed.

Her eyes widening slightly, Kyoku pulls back her right arm, before swinging it forwards, her fist meeting Ashley's attack head on. Though the movement is so minute that one could be forgiven for missing it, Kyoku winces slightly at the force of the hit, before her strength prevails, and Ashley is sent rocketing back down to the ground.

The Minami lets out a sharp cry of pan as she crashes into the ground on her back, the dirt crumbling around her and dust flying up into the air. Ashley pants heavily, blood dripping down her forehead, the dizzy blonde lying splayed on the ground like a star fish.

Kyoku lands in a crouched position not too far away, before rising to her feet and strolling over. She places her hands on her hips and leans over Ashley, head slightly tilted to the side.

After a few moments of trying to catch her breath, her body aching terribly from her collision with the ground, Ashley cracks one eye open and looks up at Kyoku.

"......I thought I might have gotten you with that Tunnelling Fang" she mutters, disappointed.

Kyoku can't help but smile faintly at this, her teal eyes filled with amusement a her young student. While the rest of the fight hadn't really been unexpected, the Tunnelling Fang had actually surprised Kyoku. Not that she was going to admit that to Ashley though.

She had figured the girl would keep trying to fight her from a distance, as she usually attempted to. Distracting Kyoku with the tornado and then rushing her with a head on attack was not something that Kyoku had expected of Ashley yet.

".....The Lightning Style was new" Kyoku comments, watching as Ashley slowly sits up, one hand cautiously rubbing at the back of her head. "So were the tornadoes."

"Ah....." Ashley groans, using the back of her arm to wipe the blood trying to drip into her eyes. "That's the only Lightning Style Jutsu, I know and I don't like it because it takes up more chakra than my other Jutsu. Same with the tornadoes."

Kyoku continues to stare at Ashley as the girl heaves a sigh and inspects herself, making sure none of her wounds are too severe.

".......I have some comments about that fight" Kyoku informs her student, to which Ashley's shoulders droop.

"I can hardly wait" the blonde says sarcastically. Kyoku didn't often have anything positive to say after they fought. It was usually just critique. "Alright, let's hear it."

"Your Kekkei Genkai is becoming predictable" Kyoku points out, words that jab straight through Ashley's chest, the girl's face dismayed. "You only use it for limited reasons. But, for example, why not use the earth to change the terrain to your advantage and disrupt your opponent? Instead of just throwing the water at someone, why not use it hold them prisoner? You could easily drown someone with your ability."

Ashley looks up at Kyoku with her brows knit together, her mouth slightly open, as she listens intently to the ANBU's words. While she usually just felt like she was getting told off after these sparring sessions, this actually sounded like something that Ashley could use.

"Of course" Kyoku continues, shrugging her shoulders slightly, "I'm not an expert on what your Kekkei Genkai can and cannot do. I'd suggest going back to your homeland to learn those sorts of things."

'Go back to the Land of Ambience for training?' Ashley thinks to herself, feeling a little dubious. 'It's true that I could learn a lot from Grandfather and the others, but.....'

"Another thing" Kyoku interrupts Ashley's thoughts. "You don't seem to be able to create water with your Kekkei Genkai, only control it. Is that right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well in that case, I want to teach you the Hand of Waves Jutsu" Kyoku decides. "You never know when you'll need to use water in a fight. As you seem to be able to use Jutsu of multiple natures, I assume this won't be an issue."

"I guess my Katsuryoku gives my body the ability to handle the base natures" Ashley mutters in thought. "So technically, yeah I can learn Water Style, but it's been a long time since I learned a new Jutsu."

"You have the incredibly rare ability to learn Jutsu of the five basic natures" Kyoku states, raising one brow. "You should take advantage of that and learn as many as you can. Better yet, you should try and create your own Jutsu."

Ashley's eyes grow round at this suggestion, the blonde turning to Kyoku and looking at her in shock. Kyoku has to hold in a smile, thinking that Ashley looks somewhat like a baby owl.

"Create my own Jutsu?" the Minami repeats, the thought having never crossed her mind before. "What kind of Jutsu would I even be able to create?!"

"Many people create their own Jutsu" Kyoku explains patiently, watching the wonder on her student's face. It was an expression she had never seen Ashley make before. "All Jutsu started out as original Jutsu at one point. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, but I think that creating your own Jutsu would be a good exercise for you."

"....But" Ashley asks, sounding doubtful, "How do I even start? I've never created a Jutsu before."

"It depends on what kind of Jutsu you want to make" Kyoku answers, not overly helpful. "If you can't think of anything, then take inspiration from those around you."

Ashley falls silent for a few moments, mulling this over. While she had no idea what kind of attack she wanted to create, she at least new that she wanted something with destructive power. After all, Naruto had his Rasengan and Sasuke had his Chidori, so Ashley wanted something like that too...

Scowling a little, Ashley raises her head and looks to Kyoku, seemingly embarrassed about something. Noticing her student's expression, Kyoku tilts her head.

"What?"

"............Will......" Ashley says quietly, averting her gaze. "......Will you......help me, Kyoku Sensei?"

Kyoku blinks at this, not having expected Ashley to ask for her help and certainly not having expected to be addressed as Sensei without some sort of prompt or threat. Kyoku looks down at Ashley, only to see the stubborn blonde watching her through her lashes, still frowning slightly.

"....Of course" Kyoku agrees, a faint smile spreading on her face. "That's my job isn't it?"

"Ah!" Ashley cries out, the chakra in her hands fizzling out as she clutches at her wrist and collapses to the ground. "Gah, it hurts!"

Cracking one eye open to look at her right hand, Ashley sees that the skin of her palm is red raw and tender, her whole arm trembling with pain.

In her spare time, when she wasn't training with Kyoku, going on missions, or sparring with Team Eight, Ashley was practising with her new Jutsu. She still didn't have a name for it, nor did she fully understand what she even wanted the attack to be.

All Ashley knew is that she wanted something to rival the Rasengan and the Chidori, though she didn't exactly want it to be a clone of either attack.

"You need to rest your hand Ashley" Kakashi advises, sitting with his back against a nearby tree. He lowers the book he had been reading, catching the glare that is shot his way. "I'm serious. It's burned from having raw chakra touching it for so long. You need to get it healed, and then stop for a few days."

"I can't stop Kakashi Sensei" Ashley objects, climbing to her feet. "It's been a month and I can barely even get the chakra to stay stable in my hand yet! It keeps flattening out......"

"......To even be able to concentrate the chakra to be visible in your hand after only a month is impressive Ashley" Kakashi reminds the blonde, only for her to scoff and begin mumbling that it isn't good enough.

Kakashi can't help but chuckle at the stubbornness of his student, reminded of both Naruto and Sasuke. While Kakashi wasn't exactly training Ashley, she had at least requested his assistance one or two times for some pointers. Seeing as he had taught Sasuke the Chidori, Ashley had figured he'd be useful for learning how to focus chakra into her hand, to the point that it became tangible.

She was able to do that by this point, and Kakashi had advised that the next step was to manipulate the chakra to do what Ashley wanted. While not really wanting to copy Naruto's Rasengan, Ashley had been planning on getting the chakra to spin in her hands, assuming that speedy rotation would increase the destructive power of her attack.

The chakra was hard to control however. Getting it to spin correctly would be a victory in itself, if Ashley could manage. Plus, every time she managed to get it to spin, even very slowly, the chakra would always lose its form and flatten out into somewhat of a spinning, chakra pancake.

It was driving Ashley mad.

"You're in here again?" Sakura asks dryly, her face dropping as soon as she sees a bloodied Ashley lying in the bed. "What is it this time?"

"Are you always this rude to your patients?" Ashley retorts, poking her tongue out at Sakura, before sucking in a sharp breath, the lacerations on the side of her head stinging. "......My Jutsu exploded in my face again."

Upon hearing this, Sakura heaves a deep sigh, disturbed by the fact that this was the fourth time in two weeks that Ashley had landed herself in hospital for the same reason. Never mind all of the times she was in with injuries from training with Kyoku, this crazy Jutsu that Ashley seemed to be obsessed with completing was landing her in hospital far more often.

As Ashley's friend and teammate, it concerned Sakura greatly.

"Look" Sakura says in a low voice, placing her hands over Ashley's face, green chakra forming around them, "Constantly healing your injuries may be good practice for me, but this can't be healthy. Your body is always under so much stress and you never give it time to recuperate. Don't you think you should maybe, I don't know.....Give up on this Jutsu and try something else?"

"Wouldn't giving up after all of this be stupid?" Ashley asks smartly, to which Sakura scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"No" she states pointedly. "Continuing when it does this much damage to you, would be stupid."

".....Well" Ashley chuckles, before groaning in pain. "....You always were the smart one on the team, not me."

"You're the stubborn one" Sakura scolds, though she can't help smiling faintly. "Although, I guess we were all pretty stubborn...."

"So, you understand why I'm not going to stop then?"

Sakura briefly closes her eyes and holds in her sigh this time. It didn't matter what she, or probably anyone else, said to Ashley regarding her training. The Minami was going to do whatever she wanted to anyway.

"Just, please" Sakura asks imploringly, using a damp cloth to wipe some of the blood from Ashley's bruised face, "Be more careful...."

Wind whips around Ashley wildly, her hair being tugged in all directions, as the chakra in her hand rotates viciously, short, sharp blades protruding from the edges of the disc. A loud buzzing sound emanates from the disc of chakra, screeching directly into Ashley's ear and causing her to wince.

Ace watches from a short distance away, his body tense, as he watches an unsteady Ashley hold the disc out in front of her.

The blonde had been practising relentlessly with her original Jutsu, to the point of almost full chakra loss. As she had nearly passed out numerous times, Ace had demanded that he be present at all future Jutsu practice sessions. The last thing anyone needed, was Ashley passing out and then Hakuba running amok.

Ashley hadn't been happy about Ace's demand, though, seeing as he didn't often try to order the girl around, Ashley had decided to humour him. On the condition that he didn't fret every five seconds, Ace had been allowed to watch Ashley practice.

Feeling dread settle on his chest like a heavy weight, Ace remains silent, watching as Ashley charges towards a large boulder, her arm pulled back.

Ace didn't like this Jutsu. Too many times he had had to drag Ashley to the hospital with severe burns, not only on her hands, but other parts of her body too. The Jutsu had exploded far too many times for Ace to feel as if it were safe to use and now, Ashley was trying to add blades to the attack.

The girl didn't even wear her gloves anymore. Too many pairs had been torn to shreds by this Jutsu, not to mention her flesh.

This was the first time Ashley moved to actually attack with her new Jutsu though, and that made Ace nervous. She hadn't mentioned that she was going to do that, and the Guardian just knew today's practice was also going to end in a hospital visit, as always.

Ace's visible eye widens in horror however, as Ashley throws her arms forwards, jamming her new Jutsu into the boulder with a determined grimace on her face. Ashley lets out an agonized scream as the Jutsu explodes upon impact, completely obliterating the rock and sending the girl shooting backwards across the ground.

"Milady!" Ace shouts, immediately on his feet and racing over to the girl. It was rare for her to vocalise her pain in such a way, so the Wolf already knew that something was very wrong.

Coming to a halt, Ace steps one foot on either side of Ashley, the girl writhing in pain below him. As she rolls onto her back, whimpering and gripping at her right hand, Ace sees blood pouring from a gaping wound. Ripped open from her palm and down past her wrist, shreds of skin dangling from the edges, Ashley breaks into a sweat, her eyes squeezed tightly closed.

Feeling his breath quicken as he catches a glimpse of the bones in Ashley's hand, Ace swiftly scoops the girl onto his back and begins racing towards the hospital.

"A-Ace......" Ashley utters breathlessly, to which the Wolf lets out a growl, not liking how pained her voice sounds.

"Yes Milady?"

"......I-I think I need to....." Ashley trails off, gritting her teeth at the burning sensation in her hand, "....Th-Throw that Jutsu......."

Ace almost breaks to a complete halt at these words, though, knowing Ashley will be unable to keep herself on his back, the Wolf instead stumbles for a few steps, before righting himself.

The ludicrousness of Ashley's words had momentarily stunned Ace, before his anger sets in.

"Milady, whether you throw that damned Jutsu or not is hardly the issue here!" Ace is unable to stop himself from exploding. "Please. Stop harming yourself like this!"

Ashley's POV

I let out a ragged sigh, my whole body slumping forwards, as I watch my attack fizzle out in mid-air. I feel myself sway a little, having to take a step forwards to steady myself, my chest rising up and down as I breathe heavily.

I had reached the conclusion that keeping my Jutsu in my hand was eventually going to end up with me losing fingers or worse, and so I've been trying to throw my attack instead. The problem is, as soon as the chakra isn't in contact with my hand anymore, it immediately dissipates. I don't know how to get it to remain solid, and it's driving me crazy. I've been pushing myself to the absolute limit of my chakra reserve, much to Ace's disapproval, and I don't seem to be getting anywhere.

I wipe some sweat from my forehead, pausing to look at the now healed scar on my right hand for a few seconds.

My wound had been a serious one. The doctors had informed me that, without Lady Tsunade's assistance, I had been very close to losing majority of function in that hand. When I had recovered enough, Lady Tsunade had yelled at me, then Sakura had yelled at me and then Ace had yelled at me.

Even Kakashi Sensei had seemed pretty negative about the whole thing, though he hadn't raised his voice. Kiba had, of course, been devastated to know I'd injured myself so badly, and he had begged me not to continue with my Jutsu creation.

I had assured him that I would be changing tactics to avoid further injury, though he hadn't seemed overly convinced by my choice of words.

Strangely enough, the only person who hadn't discouraged me, was Kyoku Sensei. She had visited me in the hospital and had seen the wound, though she hadn't said much about it. She had only asked me if I was giving up, to which I had vehemently denied. She had also asked me if I'd learned from my mistake, and I had said yes, which seemed to satisfy her.

She hadn't said a word about it since.

"Are you alright Milady?" Ace calls out to me warily, sitting beneath a nearby tree, alert and ready, just in case. "You are swaying a lot. Perhaps it is time for a break...."

"I'm fine" I huff, before abruptly collapsing to the ground in a heap.

"Milady!" Ace exclaims, charging over to me in a panic. He skids to a halt and looks down, sniffing at me, his eye wide with worry.

I grin up at my Wolf tiredly, still struggling to catch my breath. I'd been practicing since early this morning, after having gotten back from a mission last night. Ace had wanted me to take the day off, seeing as I'd been training with Kyoku Sensei every day for the last week, and then practicing my new Jutsu in whatever free time I'd managed to scrounge up.

To say I'm exhausted would be an understatement, but I just can't bring myself to rest. I need to train. I need to improve, get stronger, become better.

I can guarantee that's what Naruto is doing, and there's no way I'm gonna fall behind him!

"Milady, your eyes are closing."

"Yeah....." I answer tiredly, my eyelids feeling heavy, as I partially raising one shaking hand and wave it dismissively. "...I just need.....a second........"

"Milady" Ace addresses me pointedly, though his voice seems to be fading away. "Milady. Milady!........This is not good......"

As my eyes close, I hear what sounds like footsteps, running away from me, before everything seems to fall into silence.

After what can only be a few seconds, I feel my body beginning to grow cold, as a darkness creeps in around me. Uneasiness settles in my chest, the soft sound of breathing coming from somewhere behind me. I whirl around, only to freeze at the sight of two glowing red eyes looming over me, hovering in the darkness. The eyes are huge and focus intently on me, wide open as they stare.

Fear takes over my body, rendering me unable to move, when the eyes suddenly blink. I immediately lean back, my muscles feeling coiled like a spring, the red eyes now those of the Sharingan.

Letting out a cry of pain, I double over, hands clutching at the sides of my head, as loud voices begin to speak. While I can't hear the words, I can feel the anger and the resentment, the voices increasing in volume as they all try to be heard over each other.

I see flashes of images, as the voices now scream at me, vicious and hateful with their words. I see a large tree, far taller than any other tree in the surrounding area. It looms over a beautiful field of lush greenery, only for all of the colour to suddenly disappear. The tree, as healthy as before, now stands over a dry, barren wasteland, as if all of the life and energy has been sucked out of the earth.

I see two faces, unfamiliar to me and yet, they instil such a burning hatred inside of me. So much so that I wish I could rip out my stomach, the sight of their faces making me feel ill. One with short brown hair and the other with long silver, I feel myself wanting to reach out and grab them by their throats.

"Traitors" I spit out, in a voice that I don't recognise, falling to my knees, my whole boy shivering violently.

Pain aches inside of my chest as I suddenly break out into sobs, my mouth wide open and my tears falling rapidly. I remove one hand from my hair and grip onto my shirt, right over my heart, my fingers curling tightly into the fabric.

The agonizing feeling of betrayal ebbs in my heart, as if a knife were being plunged into it, over and over again, without mercy. I cry loudly, leaning down so far that my forehead touches the ground, my lungs and throat burning from the pain of my mournful cries.

Around me, the earth is ravaged by fire and huge explosions that tear up the ground, blasting the terrain into an unfamiliar form. Smoke billows high into the sky and turns it a murky black, terrified screams echoing in every direction. A powerful energy emanates through the air, seeping into my skin and making me want to vomit.

Suddenly, I lurch backwards, my eyes wide open as I gasp for breath. A feeling of white hot anger is kindled inside of me, as those faces reappear, their pale eyes staring innocently, as if they hadn't done great wrong by me. As if they don't owe me everything.

I let out an enraged scream at the sight of a huge samurai, coloured blue and standing before me like a mountain. I find myself on eye level with the behemoth, breathing heavy, furious breaths as we stare each other down.

I am unable to control the rage that fills every fibre of my body, something within me urging me, desperately, to gain my power back. Take back what is rightfully mine. What is owed to me.

Before I am able to dispose of the one opposing me, I suddenly find that I am surrounded by darkness again, the cold gripping me with its icy fingers and causing me to tremble again. I sit down and curl into a ball, hugging my knees tightly and resting my chin on top of them. I stare into the darkness with scared eyes, feeling as if I can't breathe, pressure building all around me.

Despite there being no walls, I feel trapped, a suffocating sense of desperation and panic beginning to set in. My whole body breaks out into a sweat, my breath caught in my throat, as something invisible seems to compress me.

A jolt then rips through my body, the shocking agony leaving me unable to make any sound for only a second, before a scream rips out of my throat. I fall down onto my back and continue to scream, my limbs feeling as if they are being torn from my body. I feel my bones creak and my flesh tear apart, my warm blood spilling to the ground and pooling around me, the only sense of warmth I am allowed to have.

I feel as though everything is being sucked out of me, not only my blood and bones, but my energy and my strength, my very essence, leaving me nothing but a broken shell of what I once was.

Letting out a terrified scream, I suddenly sit boltright up, breathing in frantic breaths, as my eyes adjust to the light that I have found myself in.

"Milady!" Ace exclaims, appearing in front of me, much to my confusion.

"Angel!" a voice cries from right beside me, before a hand grips my arm and another touches my back, steadying me. "Are you okay?!"

Turning my head, I find myself looking into the distressed face of Kiba, his eyes wide and wavering as he regards me with immense worry. I can't help but stare at him for a few moments, as I try to understand what had just happened, my body still trembling.

Whatever had just happened to me, had felt so real, as if I was alive there in that moment. I really had felt like my body was being ripped apart by some invisible force, and it's the worst thing I've ever experienced. I can safely say that, despite the things I've been through.

I've never felt anything more horrifying.

Unable to respond to Kiba yet, my mouth still unable to form words, I allow him to tug me into his chest and tightly wrap his arms around me. I feel him rest his chin on top of my head, the gentle comfort of his embrace slowly soothing me, making me feel safe enough to shut my eyes.

"It's alright...." I hear Kiba murmuring softly, despite not knowing what had happened to me. "It's alright Angel, you're fine......"

I curl my fingers into the fabric of his jacket, still feeling scared of whatever I had just experienced, though I can at least understand now that it mustn't have been real. It may have felt real, but there's just no way it actually was.....

"Wh-what happened?" I ask shakily, leaning back just enough to be able to look up at both Kiba and Ace, though the Inuzuka doesn't let me go.

"You fell unconscious Milady" Ace informs me, his brow furrowed with concern as he leans down towards me. "......I........knew what would happen, so I went to find this boy. By the time we got back....."

"It was like that time on the ship" Kiba says seriously, his arms tightening around me slightly. "There was this......weird chakra around your body and you were convulsing. It was really scary to see...."

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Hey!" Kiba barks, only to lower his voice when I flinch. "You don't have to apologise for something like that. I'm just glad we got back in time to help."

I blink, Kiba and Ace's words suddenly registering in my brain. I sit up straight leaning my hands on Kiba's chest as I do so, looking to my Guardian in horror. He regards me solemnly, seeming to understand that I have just grasped the situation.

I reach up and run one hand through my hair, lowering my gaze to the ground. So, I had actually passed out, and Hakuba had tried to take over my body.

How could I be so stupid?! This was obviously why Ace had demanded that he be present at every practice session, and yet I still hadn't let the reality of things sink into my thick head. This is exactly what Ace had wanted to avoid.

If Kiba hadn't come here, who knows what sort of problems Hakuba would have caused? For one thing, he'd have killed me. And then, he'd have taken out his anger on the Leaf Village and everyone in it.

"Do you understand now Milady?" Ace scolds me. "This was highly irresponsible of you. We are just lucky that-"

"Don't yell at her!" Kiba interjects, pulling me back to him protectively, the boy scowling at Ace. "She didn't do anything."

"You do not know what you are talking about" Ace counters harshly, baring his teeth. "Milady bears a heavy burden and must treat her body kindly. You have seen, twice now, what happens when she does not. If you were not here, boy, things would have been much, much worse."

I shoot Ace a pointed look, possibly a somewhat desperate look, urging him to shut up. I may love Kiba, but he doesn't need to know about Hakuba. No one does. Telling everyone about him is such a frightening thought, I wish Ace hadn't even said as much as he just had.

Kiba continues to glare at Ace for a few moments, before he looks down at me in deep thought, his eyes now hooded.

"Wh-what?" I ask hesitantly.

"........So it's not insomnia" he says slowly, making me freeze. "And it's not nightmares or night terrors. You can't fall asleep for some other reason, right?"

I look up at Kiba through wounded eyes, hoping that he won't try to ask any prying questions and also hoping that he won't be mad at me for not wanting to explain.

"I-"

"If it was something you could easily say" Kiba continues, brows furrowing a little as he turns his head away, "You'd have already told me. Right?"

"......Of course" I confirm in a quiet voice, giving the Inuzuka an imploring look. "I-I'm sorry for keeping a secret from you Kiba, b-but I just can't...........Thank you for coming to help me......"

Here Kiba turns back to look at me, the corner of his mouth pulling up and his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Any time Angel, any time" he grins at me, something that immediately floods my body with relief. I smile back at Kiba, before closing my eyes and leaning my head down, resting my forehead in the crook of his neck.

"That was scary......" I admit in a whispered voice, to which a warm hand is placed against my back, comforting me.

Kiba, Ace and Akamaru, who I had not initially realised had come to help me also, decide to stay with me for the rest of the afternoon, all worried for me. Much to Ace's relief however, I don't continue with my training. Not that I think I'd be up for it, considering how exhausted I still feel. Between my constant training and the awful nightmare I'd just had, I really don't feel up to doing anything right now....

Kiba and I sit with our backs against a tree and just talk, with my head resting on his shoulder and my eyes closed. I feel so relaxed and safe with Kiba, that I could just about fall asleep.

"Seeing as you only seem to be able to sleep when I'm around" Kiba offers, sounding somewhat smug, "Feel free to take a nap. I'm pretty free this afternoon, and I'm guessing you're tired."

"Ha" I scoff playfully. "Who'd feel safe enough to sleep with you around?"

I feel myself smiling secretly as Kiba gasps in mock offence, with Akamaru snuggling into my lap for a sleep of his own. Ace, lying down on my leaf, lays his head down, though he continues to watch me intently.

I don't even need to open my eyes to know that. I can feel his gaze.

Though I understand his worry. I'll have to apologise to him properly later on. I had put him in a difficult situation and hadn't listened to his warnings, thinking I'm too strong to bother worrying about using up all of my chakra.

I should be more aware of the evil sealed within my body by now though. I've allowed it to partially escape too many times now to treat it as anything other than a real threat.

"What was that?" I ask Hakuba coldly, now standing before the demon's prison and glaring into it.

I can barely see the large, hulking creature, as he sits in a far corner of his prison cell, his back facing me and his head hanging low. He doesn't respond to my question, instead, continuing to seemingly stare into the nothingness of his prison.

I let out a growl and stomp closer to the cell, pressing my palms against the towering bars and leaning my head inside.

"I asked you a question!" I snarl, angry that he had done that to me earlier. It was unlike his usual methods, though it had been more unpleasant than all of them. "What the hell was that earlier?!"

I see Hakuba's form move slightly, the demon slowly raising his head. He continues to ignore my question, though his head turns a little, allowing me to see the profile of his face. His glowing red eyes, usually so full of burning hatred, stare down at the floor, now only reflecting confusion.

".......I don't know" Hakuba eventually states lowly, sounding frustrated. I am taken aback by his tone, having never heard it filled with anything other than anger, usually directed towards me. "Perhaps........a memory?"

"A memory?" I repeat, shaking my head and scowling at the demon's back. "That felt too real to just be a memory!"

I pause as Hakuba now turns around to face me, though he makes no move to come any closer to me. I can still hardly see him, his red eyes looking like two hovering orbs in the darkness.

The demon tilts his head slightly, seemingly studying me as he narrows his eyes. Whether he is suspicious or trying to think, I can't tell. I've never seen him behave like this before, and he's been sealed inside me for most of my life. I've only ever seen him livid. I thought it was the only emotion he was able to express.

".....Perhaps....." Hakuba says slowly, sounding perplexed, as if trying to figure something out, ".....A very distant memory........."

I jump back from the prison cell as Hakuba closes his eyes and rises to his feet, letting out a low growl as he does so.

"Leave this place, you insignificant brat" the demon orders sharply, as he turns and walks deeper into his cell, disappearing completely. "I don't want to see your damned face......"

I am curious if anyone would like to take a stab at what Ashley's nightmare meant.