The Angel's Ambivalence [Naruto]

Bringing Her Back

"I can only be manipulated so many times before even 'I love you' starts to sound like a lie."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Minxie woke up, her body felt sore. Her muscles ached, but the worst pain was in her head. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know that there was a large bump on her forehead. She felt a terrible migraine coming on, and it angered her that she was feeling any of this pain at all. If Scarlett and the rest of her friends had left her alone, she wouldn't feel like she had just been hit by a bus.

It didn't help that Minxie had no idea where she was, either. She finally opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She gathered that she was in a tent, but there was nothing else around her.

She looked down, realizing that she was sitting in a chair. Her wrists were strapped tightly to the piece of furniture, just like her ankles were. She struggled to break free of the ropes that were binding her, but they didn't even budge.

The tent opened, making sunlight flood in. The sun's rays hurt her eyes, and she had to blink a few times before she could look at the person who had just entered. She looked up and glared at the figure.

"Look who finally decided to join the party," Ryuu smirked, casually shoving his hands in his pockets.

Minxie glared at him, angry at the fact that he had thrown her previous words back at her. "What the hell is this?"

"This, dear sister, is an intervention," He replied easily. "More specifically, this is your salvation."

"Why can't I have my salvation when I'm not tied to a chair?" She questioned.

"Oh, come on, now. We both know you'd bolt out of here before any real saving got done," He stated. "Which is why we made sure to tie you down."

She stared at him, "We?"

He nodded at the doorway, the cloth parted, and Mitchell stepped into the tent.

Minxie rolled her eyes. "I should've known you would get your lap dog to do your bidding."

"Name calling, huh? That's what we're doing, now?" Mitchell inquired. He shook his head. "Now I'm kind of glad I strapped you to that chair."

"You did this?" She hissed, glaring at him.

"It was a group effort. I got the ropes, Josh brought the chair, Ryuu tied you down... Isn't it great how we're all getting along?" He inquired, smirking slightly at her. "Even without you, we've managed to stay friends."

"Friends don't tie each other to chairs," She snapped.

"Friends don't break each other's wrists, either, but you've already broken that rule once," Ryuu reminded. "We're past the friendship route."

"What route are we taking, then?" She inquired. "Are you going to just keep me here and talk me to death?"

"We're going to get your feelings back on," Mitchell said simply.

"You've changed, Minxie. You've got a new attitude now, and it stinks," Ryuu continued. "We want the old you back, and that's what we're here to get."

Minxie shook her head, laughing without humor. "I should've known that's what this was about. How long is it going to take you people to realize that the old me isn't coming back?"

"I don't know, sis... The old you was just as annoying as you are now," He mused.

She scowled at him. "You're both pathetic."

"You're the one tied to a chair," Mitchell pointed out. "I think that's a little higher up on the pathetic scale than we are right now."

"I'm not too sure about that," a new voice called. They looked up to see Scarlett entering the tent, her signature smirk on her face. "You're all pretty pathetic to me. Although, I must say... The girl tied to a chair wins."

Instantly, the look in Minxie's eyes changed. Her emerald green orbs turned murderous. "Scarlett."

"Minxie," Scarlett greeted. "We meet again." She looked her Doppelganger up and down. "Wow, your forehead looks absolutely terrible. I'd offer you an icepack, but since I worked so hard on that lovely bump you're currently modeling... I think I'll leave it be."

"I'm going to kill all of you," Minxie threatened, growling at them.

"You're tied to a chair," Mitchell reminded her once again. "You're in no position to make threats."

She scoffed. "You honestly think this will hold me down? I've broken through worse."

"You have, which is why we had Kylie prepare a very special something, just for you," Ryuu winked. "She and Sakura whipped up a formula that supresses your chakra. You won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"I bet you're regretting being friends with two medic ninja, now," Scarlett mused, a smirk on her face. "Revenge is such a bitch."

"So that's what this is?" Minxie asked. "Revenge? Someone finally gets the best of you, so you deliver them to their brother? Not your smartest plan."

"But that's why there are back-up plans, my dear little Doppelganger," Scarlett sang. "If this plan fails, I have a plan B, a plan C... And it keeps on going, just like that. I always have a plan. Don't you remember that?" She paused. "Or I could just put you down... That's as good of a last resort as any." She smirked. "The fundamental difference between your friends and I is that I will snap you in half without blinking."

Scarlett twirled a strand of her chocolate brown hair around her finger. "Although... Your friends aren't going to be total pushovers. At least, not anymore." She tilted her head at Minxie. "They're going for the rough route. I'm going to love watching that play out."

"So that's your brilliant plan?" Minxie inquired. "You're going to torture me until I start caring again?"

"Oh, sweetie," Scarlett sighed, leaning in front of her Doppelganger. "When all of this is over, you're going to wish we tortured you."

~*~

Kylie anxiously bit her thumb as she paced around the tent she was currently sharing with Sakura. She felt the pinkette's green eyes watching her, but she didn't attempt to stop pacing. There was just too much going on in her head right now.

"This is wrong," Kylie muttered. "We should've heard back from them by now."

"It's only been a few hours," Sakura reminded. "Maybe she hasn't woken up yet."

"They would've told us if she had," Rin continued, nodding her head.

"What are they even doing to her right now?" Kylie thought out loud. "Why haven't they sent someone to talk to us?"

"These things take time," Rin stated. "We have to let the guys handle it. I trust Ryuu, and I trust Hayato. They can do this. Worrying about what's going on isn't going to help anyone."

"How can the two of you not worry?" Kylie asked incredulously. "If they get her back -and that's a huge if- she's going to remember everything. She's going to remember all of the bad things we've done to her."

"She's done quite a few bad things, too," Sakura reminded, gesturing to Kylie's bandaged wrist. "But if she remembers, so what? At least we'll have her back."

"It's just... Unsettling," Kylie murmured. "All of it is. Minxie's my best friend. I have no clue about what's going on in that tent, yet I'm just sitting here. Doesn't this feel off to you guys?"

"It's weird," Rin agreed. "But I don't think our interference will be wanted right now."

"I can't just do nothing," Kylie sighed. "She deserves more than that."

"She deserves everything," a familiar voice said. The three girls looked up to see Josh enter the tent. "Which is why we're doing this for her now. Deep down inside, she doesn't want to be this way. We have to bring her back, and that's what we're doing to do."

Kylie immediately fell silent. She was surely going to argue with Josh, but all she could think about was how angry she was with him. She remembered how he tried to prevent her from going to Minxie vividly. She would never forgive him for that.

"But we've all got roles to fulfill," Josh continued, paying no mind to Kylie's searing glare. "Your roles happen to be here. If you really want to help Minxie, you'll leave it up to Ryuu." He finally met Kylie's eyes. "Besides... We've got someone else to worry about."

The girls looked at each other, wondering what he meant. Their questions were answered when Naruto entered the tent, his eyes downcast.

"Hey, guys," the blonde greeted quietly. He smiled at them, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Hey..." Sakura echoed quietly. She tried to smile at him, but even she knew it looked fake. She had been trying to find a way to properly talk to Naruto for a while now, but she hadn't figured it out yet. Without Minxie, it almost felt like they were drifting apart.

"You know what sounds good right now? Food," Rin announced, standing up. "I'm thinking ramen. Ice cream is definitely for dessert, though. How about it?"

Josh nodded subtly at her. She seemed to catch his drift the fastest. They all knew Naruto was down, and it was their job to cheer him up.

"Food does sound good right about now," Sakura put in. "What do you think, Naruto?"

Naruto was almost surprised that Sakura had asked him a question. He felt like it'd been forever since they'd last spoken. "Yeah... I think that sounds good."

"Great," Rin said, stepping forward. She paused at the tent's opening. "Are you guys really going to let the blind girl lead the way?"

Naruto chuckled, "We both know you know the way to Ichiraku's."

"Shh! I'm trying to be needy," She exclaimed, nudging him. "Jeez, Naruto, can't you just play along?"

"Sorry..." He grinned sheepishly at her. "I've just never really seen you as a needy person."

"Good," She decided. "Because I'd kick your ass if you did." She bumped his hip with hers playfully, holding out her arm. "But since you practically live at Ichiraku's, you're leading the way."

He nodded. "As you wish." He took her arm in his and walked out of the tent.

Sakura followed behind them, but she stopped and turned to look at Josh and Kylie. "Are you two coming?"

"We'll catch up," Josh replied before Kylie could say anything else.

The pinkette didn't quite believe him. She vividly remember his breakup with Kylie, and she refused to abandon her friend. She looked at the blue-haired girl, "Are you sure?"

Kylie blinked a few times. "Yeah... I'm sure. We'll catch up." She nodded. "You go on ahead."

Sakura nodded slowly, but she did shoot Josh a sharp glance before she left the tent.

"Wow," Josh began jokingly, "I haven't been given an evil eye like that since Ms. Myers busted us for gluing all of the desks shut in seventh grade."

Kylie couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "I told you guys to dispose of the glue bottles, but no! You just had to brag."

"That was all Mitchell's fault," He corrected. "He's the one who wanted to show everyone how much of a badass he was, even though it was Minxie's prank. We didn't talk to him for a whole week."

"Well, there isn't much talking in detention," She added playfully. Suddenly, she remembered that Josh was her ex-boyfriend. "What are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" He questioned.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're bringing up the old days, as if you've forgotten everything that happened between us. You haven't had a real conversation with me in weeks. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you've just suddenly gone back to talking to me?"

"Did you ever think that I missed talking to you? Because I did."

"You've been avoiding me. You obviously didn't miss me that much."

"Ky, I was angry at you. I didn't want to talk to you. But I was wrong for that. I missed talking to you a lot more than I thought I would. I missed you."

"I missed you, too..." Suddenly, she shook her head, her previous anger returning. "But you didn't care, did you? You wouldn't give me the time of day!"

"I made a mistake, Ky, and so did you."

"I didn't do anything wrong! You left before I got a chance to explain myself!"

"I left because you betrayed me!"

"No, you left because you're a coward who can't face his feelings!"

"And you're a cheater who didn't care about my feelings in the first place!"

Suddenly, the tent became silent. Kylie knew her words had hurt Josh, and Josh knew his words had hurt Kylie. She felt tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to let herself cry. She would not cry, not in front of him.

Josh sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I didn't come here to fight, Kylie."

"Then why did you come here, Josh?" She inquired. "And don't tell me it was to help Naruto, because I know you. You might care about him, but you have an ulterior motive, and we both know it."

"I meant what I said. I missed you," He confessed. "I still miss you. I miss talking to you. I miss laughing with you. I miss having to keep up with you. I know I hurt you... And I know I stood in your way when you tried to go after Minxie. Believe it or not, I wanted to protect you. But now... All I want is for us to be friends."

"Friends..." She repeated the word. For some reason, it sounded weird coming out of her mouth. She and Josh had way too much history to just be friends. 

"Friends?" Again, the word seemed foreign to her. "I don't... I mean... Friends..." For once, she had no idea what to say.

"I know it'll be weird-"

"It'll be extremely weird. And awkward. I don't even..." She shook her head. "Josh, we've spent more time together than apart. I'm not even sure if I remember how to be your friend. And when I say friend, I mean just your friend."

"It'll take some getting used to, but I know we can do this, Ky. We owe it to ourselves to at least test it out."

She eyed him suspiciously. "And there's no ulterior motive?"

He shook his head. "None. I really want this to happen."

She was silent for a long while. Despite everything that had happened between them, she really had missed Josh. Even though she felt heartbroken over what happened, she would never stop seeing him as her Josh.

"... Okay," She said finally, giving in. "We'll try to be friends. But we're doing this at a turtle's pace, got it?"

He nodded. "I understand." Silence fell between them, and he looked around. "So... Do we have to go at a turtle's pace to Ichiraku's? Because despite all that's happening, I really am starving."

And for the first time in a while, Kylie laughed.

~*~

Minxie sighed deeply as she sat back in her chair. No matter how many times she tried to escape from her restraints, she could never do it. It was almost like the ropes binding her to the chair had become her second skin.

Her chakra was useless, just as Ryuu had promised. Whatever medical voodoo Kylie and Sakura had placed on her while she was unconscious was still very active. Who knew how long it'd take for it to wear off?

She wasn't only irritated, but Minxie was bored. She'd been sitting in the tent, by herself, for what seemed like forever. Honestly, she just wanted them to start torturing her already. Frankly, she was over the whole 'we want the old you back' thing her friends were going for. She just wanted to get out of there so she could make them suffer.

Minxie heard steps outside of the tent, and she immediately looked up. She was greeted by the sight of her twin brother.

"Is that excitement in your eyes? Are you actually feeling something?" Ryuu inquired, tilting his head at her. "You've been waiting for a while, haven't you? You're glad that the wait is over. You feel that relief, don't you?"

"The only thing I feel, Ryuu," Minxie replied, "is a burning desire to rip your throat out."

"I figured you'd say that..." He sighed. "We could have done this the easy way, you know. But since you're so set on being difficult... I guess we'll have to go through with this method." He turned to the tent's entrance. "You can come in now."

Minxie saw who entered the tent, and she couldn't help it. She laughed out loud.

"Oh, man, this is priceless," She said. "This is your plan? You brought him here, of all people? I knew your attempt would be pathetic, but this is just ridiculous."

Shikamaru walked over to her, kneeling in front of her. He studied her expression, trying to find some sort of emotion on her face.

But all he could see in her eyes was blankness.

"So what they're saying is true?" He questioned. "You don't care?"

Minxie sighed. "We've been over this already. Of course I don't care."

"Minxie, we're friends," He insisted. "Don't you remember that?"

"The only thing I remember is you trying to manipulate me," She spat.

He was silent for a moment. "You're angry at me."

"That's where you're wrong, Shikamaru. I'm not angry at you. I don't feel anything towards you at all. I look at you, and I don't feel anythng."

"You're honestly saying that? Minxie, you know that's not true. Somewhere, in your heart, you care."

"My heart is an organ. The only thing I feel from it is it pumping blood throughout my body," She deadpanned. "You're a fool if you think anything else is happening."

He frowned. "You can't be like this."

"I can't? Are you sure about that, Shikamaru? Because this might surprise you, but I can. How many times do I have to prove it? I can do whatever I want because I don't care. There are no consequences."

"You saved Rin's life. That's got to mean something."

She shrugged. "I didn't want blood on my hands. If you keep patronizing me, however, I won't mind getting my hands dirty."

He looked down. "I never wanted you to be like this."

"Of course you didn't. Now that I'm like this, you can't manipulate me anymore. Because that's what it's always been about, right? Taking advantage of your friends? I hate to break it to you, Shikamaru, but I play this game a lot better than you do."

"This isn't a game!" He exclaimed, standing up. "I know what I did was wrong. I'm trying to help you."

"Then stop trying," She suggested. "I don't need your help. I don't need anything from you." She paused, tilting her head at him. "But you need something from me, don't you? That's why you're here. More than anything... You need my forgiveness."

Shikamaru took in a sharp intake of breath.

"You remember everything that happened between us a few days ago. You remember how you manipulated me, how you made me your play thing. That guilt inside of you is eating you alive, isn't it? You can't take it. You have dreams about how you hurt me, don't you? What you did is haunting you and tearing you apart slowly," Minxie continued.

He tried to look away, but her blank emerald green eyes bore into his, practically forcing him to look at her.

"That's why you accepted Ryuu's invitation. When you first heard about my change, you couldn't believe it. You had to see for yourself. More importantly, you had to find a way to fix me. You had to be the one to do it. That's the only way you'd be able to get rid of all of that guilt. It's the only way you'd be able to live with yourself after realizing that everything that's happened to me is your fault!"

He took a step back, his eyes widening.

"... That look you're giving me is because you know I'm right. You know that you did this to me. You're the one who set everything in motion. You forgot about my feelings, and now, I've given my feelings up. No pain. No manipulation. Nothing to care about at all..." Her voice trailed off. 

"You'd never admit it... But you're glad that I don't care. You're happy that you haven't had to see me cry. You're happy that you haven't had to face the consequences of your actions, because you know that if I cared, I'd look at you like the most despicable thing I had ever seen. I'd see you as a weak traitor and a total disappointment. And you wouldn't be surprised, either. That's the best part. Because when you look in the mirror..." She leaned towards him, whispering, "... That's exactly what you see."

Shikamaru tried to think of something to say back to her. He tried to remember why he had been brought here. He tried to remember that he loved Minxie and wanted to help her because she was his friend, but he couldn't. All he could hear was her words ringing in his head.

And he couldn't take it any longer. He turned around, beginning to walk out of the tent.

"You'll walk away now. You can try to run from the truth all you want, Shikamaru," Minxie called after him. "But you can't escape who you are. And what you are is an even bigger monster than I am. That's-"

"Enough," Ryuu spoke up, cutting her off. He watched Shikamaru leave the tent. "I think you've made your point."

"Oh, I sure hope I did," Minxie said, smirking at him. She crossed her legs. "That was strike one. Who's next?"

He glared at her, shaking his head and following after Shikamaru. "Shikamaru! Hey, wait." He caught up to the Chunin. "Look, I know she was horrible, but you know she didn't mean that."

"Maybe she didn't," Shikamaru sighed. "But all that matters is that it sounded like she did. And the worst part is that I know she's right, even if she didn't mean it."

"You didn't make her like this," Ryuu reminded.

"Yes, I did," Shikamaru argued. "We all did, and now we're facing the consequences. I was an idiot for thinking I could help her. I'm the last one she needs to see right now. I'm the one who started all of this. I looked her in the eyes and manipulated her."

"You did what you had to do to protect your village," Ryuu stated.

"At the expense of one of my friends," Shikamaru finished quietly. He sighed. "I don't think I can do this, Ryuu."

"It's fine. You tried, and that's all I wanted." Ryuu nodded at him. "You just worry about the War Council meeting that's coming up."

Shikamaru looked back at the tent, "But Minxie..."

"Won't be going anywhere," Ryuu finished for him. "You just spend the next three days preparing for the meeting. Take it easy, okay?"

Shikamaru didn't want to, but he nodded. "Yeah. Sure." He nodded at Ryuu. "Good luck." He glanced at the tent one last time before turning around and walking away.

"Three days?" a familiar voice chimed. Ryuu sighed, knowing it was Scarlett. "The War Council is in three days?" He didn't answer her. "You can't fix Minxie in three days."

"I really don't need to hear this right now, Scarlett," Ryuu said.

"Yes, you do. You need to know that you don't have a long time to fix your emotionally damaged sister," Scarlett stated. "I tapped into her anger for you. Why aren't you using it? Do I have to do everything for you?"

"Using her anger is an enormous risk," He said. "If the Creator breaks loose, it'll be hell for the village. I'm not taking that chance."

"The Creator will break loose, anyway," She announced. "You know it's true. Do you honestly think it hasn't noticed Minxie's anger? It's waiting for the right time to strike. It's planning, and all you're doing is wasting time. You should be using that anger against it."

"I said no," He said darkly. "End of discussion." He began to walk away from her.

"Fine," Scarlett snapped. "But I hope you remember what I said. I gave you an ultimatum. If you can't get Minxie's feelings back up, I will put her down."

Ryuu stopped walking. "Did you just threaten my sister?"

"No, I bought her flowers." She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Of course I threatened her. And I'll make well on that threat, too, if you don't fix her."

He turned around, stepping towards her and glaring harshly down at her. "You will not hurt my sister."

She took a step forward, matching his glare. "Watch me."

"Woah, what's going on here?" The sound of Mitchell's voice wasn't enough to get Scarlett and Ryuu to stop glaring at each other. The violet-eyed shinobi had to step in between them and gently push them away from each other. "This isn't the time for this. Minxie is the priority here."

"Of course she is." Scarlett resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She looked up at Ryuu. "Shouldn't you be getting back to your precious sister, Ryuu?"

Ryuu glared at her. "My answer's still no." He turned around. "Don't ask me again." He entered the tent once again.

Mitchell sighed deeply. "You're not supposed to be provoking him."

"But it's so much fun," Scarlett whined, smirking at him.

He shook his head at the Doppelganger. "What was he talking about just now? About his answer being no?"

"I suggested that he expand on Minxie's anger, but he refuses to do so." She rolled her eyes. "He says it's too much of a risk. As if having his little sister transform into an emotionless, manipulative bitch isn't enough of a risk."

"Wait, what?" He questioned. "Minxie did what?"

"She manipulated Shikamaru. That's why he left so quickly. He couldn't handle it," She replied. "She knew exactly what to say to make him crack. She played on his fears and insecurities, and just like that, she foiled Ryuu's poorly thought out plan." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Minxie's learning how to be bad much faster than I thought she would."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't get it. Why is she still refusing to care? I get that she's hurt, but how can she stand this nothingness?"

"I don't think she minds the nothingness. In fact, I think she craves it," She shrugged. "I mean, come on, Mitchell. Sasuke hates her. He killed Itachi, so her sensei is dead, and her entire clan is gone because of her power. What does she really have to come back to?"

"She has us," He answered. "She has so much to come back to. She has the love of her friends, her brother, the support of her village..."

"... And the realization that Sasuke broke her heart once again?" She finished for him, and he looked away. "She doesn't want that pain. She doesn't want to have to feel so weak. Who on Earth would? She doesn't want to be crushed by her own despair. All that's waiting for her, all she has to come back to is the overwhelming sadness that she knows she can't handle."

"The thing is... I know Minxie. I just... I can't understand her, now."

"Think about it this way." Scarlett considered her words. "You can't get hurt if you don't care."

"... Is that what you think?" He questioned quietly. "Have you ever given up your feelings? Have you ever chosen not to care so that you won't get hurt?"

"Of course I have. Everyone has tried that, at least once. But it doesn't work. You can't change the fact that you're human, and neither can I," She stated. 

"The thing is... I don't see my feelings as a weakness. I let them in sometimes because I'm strong enough to handle them. The past hurts. You can let it define you, or you can let it strengthen you. I move on and and get stronger."

"Not everyone can do that, Scar," He reminded. "Not everyone can let the past go."

"And that's their fatal flaw," She concluded. She paused, thinking over what she just said. "Fatal flaw... That's Minxie's fatal flaw." She smirked widely. "I think I know how to get Minxie back. In other words, I have a plan."

Mitchell groaned. "Oh, not again."

She pursed her lips. "You can groan and sigh all you want, but you and I both know that my plans create results."

"Yeah, they also create emotional trauma for whoever's involved in them," He pointed out bluntly. "I'm talking much needed hours of therapy here."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to help me or not?"

He sighed, "Is someone going to get hurt?"

"Isn't that a given by now?"

He sighed again. "Why'd I even ask... What's the plan?"

"Ryuu said he wasn't going to tap into Minxie's anger," She stated. "Fortunately, there are other ways to get into her head. I know a few people who are very good at getting into the minds of others."

He raised an eyebrow, "You do?"

"It's cute that you're surprised. And that's the best part." Her lips curled up into a smirk. "Because you already know those people."

~*~

"Rin, eating that much chocolate cannot be good for your health," Sakura chided, staring at the blind girl evenly, "You should have stopped three ice cream cones ago."

"Lighten up, Mom," Rin teased, bumping the pinkette's shoulder. "Chocolate is good for the soul!" Her stomach made a gurgling noise. "But maybe not too good for the stomach... If I throw up all over you, I am so sorry."

Naruto immediately took a step back.

Rin pouted, "I was just kidding! Jeez, Naruto, I can handle my chocolate."

"Yeah, I noticed. Your ability to unhinge your jaw in order to consume a triple-fudge sundae is undefeated, believe it!" He observed.

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully, and he returned the gesture, making Sakura smile at them.

The pinkette picked at her sundae absentmindedly, "How do you guys think Kimi is holding up?"

"I have no idea," Rin answered, "There can only be so much good that comes from an awkward conversation with your ex." She paused. "Not that I know the feeling, or anything."

Naruto chuckled, "Kimi's strong. I'm sure she's fine." His blue eyes clouded over. "I'm more worried about Mi-"

"Hey! No talking about the M word!" Rin interjected. "Not until the M word is back to normal, at least."

"She's not just the M word, Rin," He replied. "She's Minxie. And I..."

"We know," She finished for him. She looked at Sakura for support, but the pinkette's green eyes were somewhere else. Rin coughed, making Sakura abruptly tune back in.

"Everything's going to be okay," Sakura assured quickly, but Rin knew her heart wasn't in it.

Rin knew there was something wrong with Sakura without checking her chakra. She could hear it in the pinkette's voice.

"Naruto, would you mind getting me another sundae?" Rin asked innocently, "Some napkins, too."

Naruto nodded distractedly. "Yeah, sure." He stood up, going to fetch the items Rin asked for.

Rin faced Sakura as soon as the blonde was out of earshot, "Okay, spill." Sakura opened her mouth to object, but Rin cut her off, "Don't even try to say you're okay. You've been somewhere else all day. What's wrong?"

"Rin, if I tell you the countless things that are wrong, we'll be here all night," Sakura replied, "Seriously. I have a list."

"I think we all do," Rin sighed sadly. "But you know that's not what I meant. I meant something other than the impending doom that always seems to find us."

Sakura picked at her sundae. "It's just... We haven't heard from Daisuke in weeks, since he went on that mission with the rest of his team. And now he's just back with us?"

"What's your point?" Rin inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"When he came to see us in our tent, he made it obvious that he was trying to distract Naruto," Sakura continued, "So why do I feel like he was trying to distract us, too?"

Rin thought over Sakura's words. What the pinkette was saying did make sense. In the past weeks, they hadn't heard a single word from Daisuke. It was almost like he had dropped off the face of the Earth. Yet completely out of the blue, he was back, and he was being friendly. It was definitely suspicious.

"It's the perfect plan," Rin marveled, "He's distracting us by getting us to distract Naruto. But Kimi-"

"That's another thing that's been bothering me," Sakura interrupted, "Kimi and Daisuke broke up. Tragically. But when we went for ramen... He was acting like nothing happened. He was making her laugh, and they were smiling like everything between them was just suddenly okay. Either he has a marvelous therapist who has helped him work out all of his problems, or he's playing her, and he's playing us, too."

"And we're falling for all of it," Rin muttered. "But... Why would he need to distract us? What doesn't he want us to know?"

"I haven't been able to figure that out," Sakura sighed, "Daisuke's not a bad person. We both know that. If he's distracting us, it's to protect us. But what wouldn't he want us to know?"

A look of realization spread across Rin's face as she pieced things together in her mind. "I know what. Oh, my God, that's it! No wonder! Ryuu hasn't spoken to me all day, Hayato's M.I.A... It makes sense now!"

"What makes sense, Rin?" Sakura asked.

"Think about it, Sakura. When we were talking about Minxie this morning, Daisuke showed up and detered us from our train of thought," Rin reminded.

Sakura's green eyes widened in realization. "He doesn't want us to see Minxie. Oh, no... Everything Kimi said this morning is coming back now! Are they doing something to Minxie that they don't want us to know about?"

"I have no idea," Rin replied. She hopped off the stool, landing on the ground swiftly. "But we're going to find out. Come on."

Sakura followed Rin's lead, joining her on the ground. They began walking away when they ran into Naruto, who was carrying a sundae and napkins in his arms.

Naruto stared at them with a confused expression. "I thought we were finishing our ice cream here?"

"Change of plans," Rin said calmly, "We're taking this one to go. Come on."

~*~

Ino sighed as she entered her tent. It was hardly even noon yet, and she felt exhausted. Her day had been a long one, consisting of her comforting a very broken, very down Shikamaru. She had only been with him for a few hours, and it felt like she had been there forever. She was both physically and mentally exhausted. All she wanted to do was take a long, much needed nap.

Ino had no idea what was going on with Minxie lately, but the brunette was driving her insanity a bit too close to home. Shikamaru hadn't gone into detail, but Ino knew that whatever Minxie had told him had really gotten under her skin. Ino sympathized, just like a good friend would.

But Ino was tired of being a good friend. She wanted to be a good friend who had a proper sleeping schedule. Was that too much to ask? Apparently so.

The blonde sighed, stretching out her arms and pulling off her boots. She was just about to throw herself onto the floor and take a nap when she felt a chakra behind her. She spun around quickly and was met with a pair of crimson eyes.

"Scarlett?" Ino called, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. The usual," Scarlett mused. She looked the blonde up and down. "Nice feet."

"Nice face," the blonde snapped back, trying not to feel self-conscious about her bare feet.

"Oh, I know," Scarlett smirked, "My face is definitely a great one. Unfortunately, I share it with someone. That someone is one of your friends, isn't it?"

"What about Minxie?" Ino asked. "Why are you even here?" She shook her head. "You know what? I don't even care. Get out."

"Ouch. That's pretty harsh," Scarlett commented. "Although I can't say I'm surprised. You're the blonde with a backbone, aren't you? And you've got a big mouth to match. You don't expect much from a pretty face like yours, but I've learned that everyone in Konoha seems to be very surprising." She took a step forward.

Ino, in turn, took a step back. She didn't know what game Scarlett was playing, but she knew better than to get caught up in it. Scarlett was a time bomb, and Ino didn't like playing with fire.

"I bet you're used to getting what you want, with a pretty face like yours," Scarlett continued. "Although... When Minxie came to town, I'm sure that changed drastically. It must really suck to get knocked off your throne by a girl who didn't even realize she was doing it." She picked up Ino's Cell 10 picture, where a young Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru were smiling at the camera, Asuma-sensei standing behind them. "Nostalgia gets old... But you know what never gets old?" She put the picture down. "Revenge."

Ino watched Scarlett curiously, "What are you saying?"

"I'm offering you a chance to get back at Minxie," Scarlett answered, "Not only for stealing Sasuke, but for hurting Shikamaru today."

"I'm not hurting Minxie," Ino refused, glaring at the Doppelganger.

"Now, who said anything about hurting Minxie?" Scarlett inquired. "I was only asking that you lend me a hand. More precisely, I'm asking you to lend me your jutsu."

Ino's blue eyes filled with confusion. "I don't understand..."

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Could you be any more of a blonde right now?"

"If I'm such a blonde, why don't you get lost?" Ino snapped, glaring at her.

"You might be desperately blonde, but you're a blonde with a jutsu that I need," Scarlett stated. "A jutsu that'll help bring you your friend back."

Ino dropped her glare. Her sour expression was replaced by one of hope. "I can get Minxie back?" Scarlett nodded, and Ino swallowed. "... What do you need me to do?"

Scarlett smirked widely.

~*~

"Ha! I win!" Kylie announced happily, doing a little dance.

"Oh, please," Josh scoffed, "I totally hit more targets than you!"

"No, you hit the areas around the targets," She stated, grinning at him. "I hit the center of the targets, so I win!"

They'd been at the training field for a few hours. Josh had set up targets all around the field, and he and Kylie had taken turns aiming at the targets with their kunai. They had turned it into a game, and she made sure he knew that she was winning.

Josh crossed his arms over his chest, looking off onto the side, pouting.

Kylie laughed at his expression, "Oh, come on! Don't pout! You're better than that."

"I'm not pouting," He grumbled. "You're just having too much fun gloating because you hit a few targets."

"Aha! So you admit I won," She exclaimed.

"I haven't admitted anything," He said. "But... I will admit this. Your aim is much better than the last time we trained together."

"Yeah, well, we haven't trained with each other in weeks," She shrugged. "So you have no idea what I can do."

He quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Is that a challenge?"

"I don't know... Do you feel challenged?" She questioned, a playful smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes, shoving her playfully and making her laugh. "Oh, whatever. Why don't you go over there and grab those kunai while I grab the ones over here?"

"I don't know why you're in such a hurry to lose again, but hey, if that's what you want!" She shrugged, and he stuck his tongue out at her, making her giggle. She walked to the right of the training field, while he walked to the left.

Kylie wandered around, grabbing as many kunai as she could. She pulled them from targets, tucking them back into her weapons pouch. She had just grabbed a kunai from the center of a tree when she felt a chakra behind her. Quickly, she spun around, flinging the kunai at the unknown chakra.

"Wow," a familiar, bell-chime voice mused, "For a girl with a sprained wrist, you've got a good aim."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "Apparently not good enough," She grumbled. "I missed."

Scarlett twirled the kunai she had caught around in her hand. "Come on, Kylie. You know you wanted to miss, because if you didn't, Minxie would be bleeding right now. Or does your friend mean that little to you, now that she's injured your wrist?"

"I don't have time to do this with you," Kylie said, "Josh is waiting for me." She began to walk around Scarlett.

"Ah, Josh. The ex-boyfriend, isn't he?" Scarlett inquired. "I wouldn't be so quick to rush back to his side."

"Oh, yeah?" Kylie questioned, turning around to face the Doppelganger. "And why is that?"

"He's playing you," Scarlett answered. "The ramen, the icecream, the training session... It's all a distraction, and you're falling right for it."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Kylie said, scowling at her.

"Don't I? Honestly, Kylie, think about it." Scarlett tossed the kunai she held into the air, catching it in a swift motion. "A few weeks ago, Josh hated you. He couldn't stand the sight of you. And now, he just suddenly forgives you? You can't seriously tell me that doesn't seem weird to you."

"Of course it's weird," Kylie defended, "But he couldn't stay mad forever. He wants to be friends."

"No, he wants to distract you," Scarlett corrected, "And from the looks of it, it's working. Come on, Kylie, be smart! The two of you broke up. Since when is it okay to get all cozy with your ex again?"

"He's my ex because of you," Kylie snapped.

"You're wrong again, sweetheart. He's your ex because of you. I was only the messenger. I'm not the one who flirted it up with the Kazekage's brother." 

Scarlett smirked. "Josh would have found out, anyway. All I did was speed up the process. What happened in the Sand was your fault. You can deny it, but you know it's true."

"I've made mistakes," Kylie said, holding her head up high, "The way Josh found out was not my fault. I was going to tell him in my own way, and you ruined that!"

"I did you a favor," Scarlett said, her smirk disappearing. She stared at the blue-haired girl with serious crimson eyes. "Josh might still love you, but he won't think twice about lying to you if he has to. And that's what he's been doing all day: lying to you."

"No," Kylie denied, "Josh wouldn't lie to me. I know that he meant what he said. You're the one who's lying! And I don't have to hear this from you." She turned around.

"Then answer this question." The brunette walked over to Kylie, stopping at her side. The two girls watched Josh from behind the cover of a few trees. "If he isn't distracting you... Why did he take you to the other side of the village?" Kylie froze, but Scarlett continued speaking, "Why keep you from your friends? Is he hiding something? Or, better yet... Is he hiding someone?"

Realization flashed in Kylie's bright blue eyes. "Minxie. He's hiding Minxie."

"Bingo," Scarlett smirked.

"But why?" Kylie asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "He... I know he had to mean at least some of what he said..."

Scarlett shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time he manipulated someone."

Kylie looked down, clenching her fists at her side. "... Why are you telling me this? Why not let me find out later and be miserable about it?"

"As much as your misery amuses me, I have more important matters to attend to," Scarlett stated. "Ryuu is failing at bringing Minxie back, and there's only three days until the War Council. I'm not too sure having an emotionless Minxie running around while the Kage are here is a good idea. So, I'm taking matters into my own hands."

"Every single time you take matters into your own hands, someone gets hurt," Kylie deadpanned.

"And if I don't do anything, a lot more people are going to get hurt, even the innocent people from your village," Scarlett rebuttled calmly. "They aren't my problem, but they are yours. Fixing Minxie will keep them safe, and I'll need your help for that."

"As if you really care about Minxie." Kylie rolled her eyes. "The only person you're looking out for is yourself. Why would I ever help you?"

"You're right. Everything I do is for myself, and it's kept me alive. Caring for others might be fun at first, but you'll get hurt eventually. There's no way around it." Scarlett's eyes trailed over to Josh. "Although some people are more accustomed to that pain than others." She smirked slightly, facing Kylie with a serious expression. "Look, you might hate me, but we both know that I'm the only one who stands a chance at getting Minxie back, and the only way to get her back is to get inside her head."

"What does that have to do with me?" Kylie questioned.

Scarlett sighed. "You're a Genjutsu user. I'm trying to get into Minxie's head. Do the math."

"... I'll do it," Kylie agreed finally. "If it'll help Minxie, I'll do it." Her blue eyes trained on Josh. "But first, I've got a loose end that I need to tie up." After receiving Scarlett's nod of approval, the blue-haired kunoichi stormed out of the trees until she was face to face with Josh.

"There you are," Josh said, smiling at her, "Where were you?"

"I was learning. And you know what I learned? I learned that you're a manipulative liar. I learned that I can't trust you and that you are a complete jerk! Oh, and you want to know what's the last thing I learned?" She lifted her hand up and smacked him cleanly across the face. "I learned that you totally deserve that!"

Josh's gray eyes widened as he lifted a hand to his reddening cheek. He heard bell-chime laughter from behind the trees, and when he looked up, he saw Scarlett approaching them, a large smile on her face.

He glared harshly at her, "What the hell did you tell her!?"

"The truth," Scarlett answered simply, "It seems you have a problem telling the truth these days."

He turned to Kylie, trying to protest, "Ky, I can explain-"

"Save it," Kylie snapped, cutting him off. "Do you want to know what's the sad part? I believed you! If you hadn't lied to me, I would have actually wanted to be friends, because believe it or not, you still mean something to me! But then you went along and distracted me, and now, all of that is gone. So do me a favor, Josh, and stay the hell away from me!" She turned, storming away from him.

"Well," Scarlett began, crossing her arms over her chest, "That went surprisingly well. I expected a lot more shouting, maybe a few tears... But turns out she's stronger than she looks."

"This is your fault!" Josh shouted, glaring at her.

The brunette laughed. "You're so quick to put the blame on someone else. Why is it that no one can admit to their mistakes? You can try to blame me all you want, but this one is on you, Josh. You could've told her the truth. You just chose not to, and you lost her because of it. That's no one's fault but your own. I suggest you realize that now, because you've got a lot of groveling to do if you ever want her to forgive you." She turned away from him.

"Where are you going?" He called after her.

"To put the Earth on its axis once again," She replied. "I think it's about time my Doppelganger and I play a new game together."

~*~

Minxie sighed deeply, leaning her head back in her chair. It was definitely not a comfortable arrangement, but at the moment, she didn't really care. She had grown tired of her brother's pathetic attempts to make her care again, and quite frankly, she was bored. All she wanted was to break free of her restraints and move on with her life.

She sighed once again when she felt her brother's chakra invade the tent. Her greeting was curt, "If you aren't here to let me go, get out. I have better things to do than listen to your useless attempts at getting me to feel again. It's annoying, and it's not going to work, so leave."

Ryuu chuckled quietly. "I don't know, sis. Annoyance is a kind of feeling. Granted, it's not a particularly good one, but I'll take what I can get from you."

She rolled her eyes, looking around the tent. "You're here alone... Huh. I thought you would've invited Rin, or is antagonizing your sister a 'no-girlfriends-allowed' type of activity?" She paused. "Unless... She broke up with you again." She shrugged. "Can't say I blame her. You come with way too much emotional baggage."

He smirked, shaking his head. "Minxie, you can't manipulate me. I know you better than you know yourself."

"If you're so sure about that, you wouldn't have to tell me," She pointed out, smirking. "But that's the thing about manipulation. You never realize it's happening to you until it's too late."

He stared at her with an even expression, "Is that what happened to you?"

She smirked slightly, "I think you know the answer to that question."

"I know a lot of things, but that doesn't mean I don't like learning." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Enlighten me."

"Well, since you insist..." She tried to break the bonds around her wrists, but she failed. "And since I still can't get out of this death trap you call a chair... I guess that is what happened to me. I was weak and trusting. I'm sure you realize that won't be a problem anymore."

"Being trusting doesn't make you weak, and you know that," He stated. "It's who you are, and being who you are is still important. Retaining your own morals... Itachi taught us that."

She was silent for a few moments. "Well, he's dead now, isn't he? And for nothing, too, because Sasuke hasn't changed. Sasuke never changes. I was a fool for ever thinking otherwise."

"Agreed," He said. "I definitely don't applaud your boyfriend choices."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You're one to talk. Do you want me to point out the countless things wrong with Rin?"

"At least she's not a traitor," he snapped, "And neither are you, so quit acting like one."

"You seriously still think I'm acting?" She laughed. "Then you're an idiot."

"Maybe I am." He stared at her, deciding to test her temper, "But you're still nothing."

Minxie froze in her seat. Her body had gone still, and Ryuu took great note of that.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" He questioned, circling around her. "Being called nothing, being seen as a curse... Having someone tell you that you mean absolutely nothing to them. That's what Sasuke told you, isn't it?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "What game are you playing?"

"No games," He assured. "Just the cold, hard truth that you can't handle because you're weak. Sasuke hurt you, Minxie. That's why you're acting like this. You loved him, and he hurt you. He hates you, now, when all you ever did was love him."

"Love is an emotion I no longer feel," She stated, her tone stoic.

He chuckled. "Even like this, you're still stubborn. Well, with or without love, it doesn't change the fact that everything Sasuke said is true." He waited for her reaction.

Her only response was to clench her hands into fists, but that was enough for Ryuu. It wasn't a true emotion, but slowly, he was getting to her, and that was all he wanted.

"He made you feel like you were on top of the world. He loved you, and you loved him, but in the end, he still tried to kill you." He walked towards her, leaning down in front of her to meet her eyes. "He called you nothing, he held his Chidori in his palm, and he was going to drive it straight through your heart! And you wouldn't mind it... No, you wanted it, because if you were dead, you wouldn't have to face the truth. You wouldn't have to live with the fact that you really are nothing!"

"What the hell are you trying to do!?" Minxie growled at him.

"I don't know, sis," Ryuu said, staring down at her, "You're the one keeping track of the strikes, you tell me! What does it look like I'm doing!?"

"Well, it looks like you're trying to make me angry!" She snapped, her voice raising slightly.

"Good! Because if you feel anger, that means you feel something." His eyes softened slightly as he stared at her, "And if you're capable of feeling something... That means I haven't lost my sister forever."

There was a long moment of silence that the twins spent glaring at each other. Ryuu had his hands resting on the arms of her chair, while Minxie was glaring up at him. Their eyes mirrored each other's, just as their expressions did.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, there was a spark of emotion in Minxie's eyes. But then, just like that, it faded away. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her right leg over her left.

"... That was strike two." She tilted her head at him, a challenge in her voice, "Do you really want to go for a third?"

Ryuu glared down at her. He had been so close. He had almost gotten his sister to start caring again, but he failed. After everything he did to provoke her, she still didn't care about anything. He was just about to open his mouth to say something to her when he felt three familiar chakras approaching the tent.

Minxie noticed the chakras as well, because she looked up at him, tilting her head, "And there goes your little girlfriend now. What's that saying again? Two's company, three's a crowd... Huh, I wonder what five is." Her eyes flickered over to the tent's entrance. "I guess we'll find out."

He scowled at her and left the tent. Outside, he met the serious expressions of Rin, Sakura, and Naruto. He greeted them with, "What the hell are you guys doing here? You were supposed to stay away from here."

"What are you doing to Minxie?" Sakura demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm doing what I need to do to get her back," Ryuu answered, meeting her light green eyes with his emerald ones, "Now that you know that, you need to leave. All three of you."

"And what happens if we don't, hm?" Rin inquired, crossing her arms over her chest, "You'll send someone else to distract us? You'll get Daisuke to take us to the other side of the village and make us think that everything is okay?"

His mouth formed into a thin line. "It wasn't to distract you."

"Oh, please," She scoffed. "Please tell me you're not about to say that it was to protect us." Ryuu remained silent, confirming her thoughts. "Oh, my God, you did do it to protect us." She put her hands against his chest and pushed him backward. "You're an idiot!"

"I was trying to keep you safe," He snapped, regaining his balance.

"No, Ryuu, you were making a choice for us that was ours to decide," She rebuttled, crossing her arms over her chest. "We don't need to be protected!"

"She's right," Naruto put in, "The only thing we need is to be there for Minxie. You may think we can't handle it, but we can. So get out of our way!" He stepped forward.

"I know she's your sister, and you love her," Sakura began softly, raising a hand to stop Naruto's advances, "But she's also our friend, and we love her, too. You can't keep us away from her."

"I can't let you get hurt!" Ryuu shouted, making the pinkette's eyes widen. He stared at her shocked expression and sighed, running a hand over his face. "Look, I've been with her all day. I've seen what she does to people. Shikamaru went in there to talk to her and try to bring her back, and she manipulated him and made him feel terrible. If you go in there, she will tear you apart. She'll play on every single one of your insecurities, and she will destroy you. I can't let that happen to you, Sakura." His eyes flickered over to Naruto and Rin. "I can't let that happen to any of you."

"It won't," Rin assured softly, placing a hand on his arm, "I mean, Minxie saved my life, even when she wasn't supposed to care. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Maybe it did at the time," He said. "But now? All she cares about is getting free. I can't risk you, Rin."

"Then let me talk to her," Naruto offered, "She's my best friend, and I..."

"... Naruto and I are her teammates," Sakura continued, "We've been stuck together since we got out of the Academy. We've been through hell together. It might not mean anything to her right now, but it means everything to us. If we can show her that, we might get her back. Just let us talk to her."

Ryuu shook his head. "Sakura, you don't understand-"

"I understand perfectly, Ryuu," She interrupted, cutting him off. "I can take care of myself. You have to trust me."

His emerald eyes met her jade green ones. He expected to find a hint of doubt in her eyes, but the pinkette stood strong. No matter what he said to deter her, she wouldn't be swayed. She was going into the tent, whether he liked it or not.

Moments later, he sighed. "Fine. But you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. And if it gets to be too much, even for a second, you get the hell out of there, okay?"

She nodded, and after shooting him one final reassuring look, she made her way into the tent. Naruto followed closely behind her.

Rin attempted to follow them, but Ryuu quickly caught her arm.

"You're not going in there," He stated firmly.

"You've got to be kidding me," She huffed.

"No, I'm not. Sakura may have convinced me, but I'm not risking you, and you know that," He said strongly.

She quirked an eyebrow in his direction. "So you don't think I can handle myself?"

"You know that's not it. It's just..." He sighed. "You didn't hear what she said to Shikamaru. You didn't hear how she manipulated him. I'll never forgive myself if I let that happen to you. She doesn't care about anyone or anything, Rin."

"Then why'd she save my life?" She challenged.

"I don't know," He replied. "Maybe, in the heat of the moment... Knowing that your life was actually in danger... It brought her back, even if it was for a split second." He shook his head. "But it doesn't matter, because she still hasn't changed."

"Maybe that's the common denominator," she thought aloud, "Even when she's like this... Minxie can't let one of her friends die."

Meanwhile, Sakura cautiously entered the tent. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a seated form in the center of the tent. The person seated on the chair was bound to it. Her wrists and ankles were strapped tightly to the chair, preventing her escape.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Minxie's voice startled the pinkette. "Aren't you missing a blonde?"

Sakura immediately turned around, realizing that Naruto was nowhere to be found. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Hadn't Naruto just been right behind her? Maybe seeing Minxie like this had frightened him, or maybe he had backed out at the last second. Considering how Minxie was currently acting, Sakura didn't blame him.

"Oh, well. I'm sure you and I can have plenty of fun with just the two of us," Minxie continued, her voice blank. "Now... Why are you here? Oh, wait, let me guess... You're here in another useless attempt to get me to care again. You think that you'll actually make a difference." She chuckled. "I'm sure Ryuu told you about what happened with Shikamaru. Do you honestly think you'll be any different? If anything, it's easier for me to tear you apart. I know you better. We're on the same team, for crying out loud."

Sakura didn't reply. She just stared at the brunette, memories flashing before her eyes.

"... Huh. You're not talking," Minxie noted. "Usually, you don't shut up. How do you plan on getting to me without speaking? Unless it's some sort of twisted strategy... Either way, you'll fail. You might as well give up now."

"You know, I hated you when we first met," Sakura began, making Minxie quirk an eyebrow, "I hated you so much. You were so perfectly annoying. We were so different from each other. We fought so much... Man, you have no idea how much I wanted to strangle you. I knew we'd never be friends, but that changed in the Forest of Death. You remember that, don't you? The boys were unconscious, and it was just you and I."

"... That was a long time ago," Minxie stated quietly.

"Yeah, it was," Sakura agreed. "But that's when I realized that maybe I could learn to not hate you. It may not have seemed like it... But on that day, Minxie, we became friends. We are friends."

Minxie sighed boredly. "What's your point?"

"My point is that we're friends and that we always will be," Sakura stated strongly, "No matter what you do, no matter what you say, I will never stop seeing you as my friend. None of us will. Don't you get that? I'm telling you that you can keep going with this 'I don't care' thing for as long as you want, but it won't change the fact that you're my friend. So don't you see, Minxie? There's no point to it! You can try to make us hate you, you can try to push us away, but we're always going to be your friends!"

"Then you're all idiots," Minxie stated. "Don't you get it, Sakura? I don't want friends. I don't want anyone. Why should I? All you people ever do is manipulate me. You're all selfish, every single one of you. Not caring means that I don't need any of you. Why would I ever want to care again?"

"Because it's what's right," Sakura argued.

"As if any of you know what's right," Minxie laughed. "You're all just a bunch of self-righteous hypocrites. And you, Sakura? You're the worst of them all."

"Minxie, stop," the pinkette warned.

"Why? Because you can't handle it? I always knew you were weak, Sakura, but this is a new low," Minxie said, her tone harsh. "The sickening part about you is that you know you're weak, but you still pretend that you're not. You act like you're not useless, and you're actually surprised when someone gets the best of you. You're a fragile little girl, Sakura, and you pretend to be innocent when you know that you're not. You're a jealous, weak, nagging, over-bearing- Ah!"

When Sakura looked up, she saw Minxie's eyes shut, as if the brunette was in pain. Two hands were on either side of her head, and that's when Sakura realized that the hands belonged to Scarlett.

"Thanks for distracting her, Sakura," Scarlett commented, smirking at the pinkette, "Heaven knows I wouldn't have been able to do this unless she was occupied."

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sakura shouted.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm fixing Minxie," Scarlett replied, "Granted, it's not the most comfortable method, but I'll take what I can get. Plus, I just love watching my dull little Doppelganger squirm."

"Let go of her!" Sakura commanded. "Now!"

"No can do, sweetheart," Scarlett said. "I thought you guys could handle this, but clearly, if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." She looked at the tent's entrance, "Get in here."

Sakura was shocked to see Ino and Mitchell enter the tent. The brunette male and blonde female quickly joined Scarlett on either side of Minxie.

"Ino? Hayato?" Sakura called. "Why the hell are you two helping her!?"

"Because she's the only one of us who actually knows what she's doing," Mitchell deadpanned.

"I know it looks bad, Sakura, but I really think this can work," Ino continued. "We have to at least try, right?"

"You aren't trying anything," a familiar voice said. Ryuu entered the tent, Rin and Naruto following closely behind him. "Scarlett, get the hell away from my sister. Now."

"Sorry, Ryuu, but we're through playing it your way," Scarlett said, "I gave you an ultimatum. You couldn't meet it. Now, I'm taking matters into my own hands. Unless you want me to snap your sister's pretty little neck, you'll get over yourself and stay where you are."

"Get your hands off of Minxie!" Naruto growled.

"Hey, no growling, little fox," Scarlett taunted, "You're better than that."

"Scarlett, get away from her!" Ryuu commanded.

The Doppelganger laughed. "It's cute how you think I'll listen to you. Rin, why don't you make yourself useful and join us over here? You'd be perfect for the next step of my plan."

"What plan?" Rin questioned.

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Do I have to spell everything out for you people? I'm holding Minxie's head, and I've got Ino by my side, the girl who can use the Mind Transfer Jutsu." Everyone in the tent was silent, making her sigh. "Oh, you're all so hopeless. I'm trying to get into Minxie's head, you idiots! That way, I can manipulate her from the inside out."

"Manipulation?" Ryuu asked incredulously. "In case you've forgotten, manipulating her is what got us into this mess in the first place!"

"This entire thing began with manipulation," She stated, blowing her bangs out of her face. "You're an idiot if you thought it wouldn't end in manipulation."

"You know she has a point," Mitchell put in, staring at Ryuu with serious violet eyes.

"It doesn't matter what she has!" Ryuu snapped. "I'm not letting her get into my sister's head!"

"Oh, Ryuu, I love how you think that I actually need your permission," Scarlett smirked. "Honestly, what's stopping me? You're over there, and I'm over here, right behind Minxie. I think you already know who has the upper hand." She looked down at her Doppelganger. "Minxie can't let go of her past. I'm going to use that against her. It's better than manipulating her anger, and it's certainly better than sending in her friends to try and bring her back. Your methods are cute, Ryuu, they really are, but they're useless. My methods get results. Now, you can pout about it, or you can grow a pair and let your girlfriend help."

Ryuu was practically seething, but Rin stepped forward until she was standing in front of Minxie's seated form.

"I'm not saying I'll help," the snow-haired girl began, "But if I do... What would you need me for?"

"Your kekkei genkai allows you to enter people's minds and project others into their minds, as well," Scarlett stated, "Once Ino brings down Minxie's mind's defenses, I need you to project me into Minxie's head. After that, the rest is up to me. I'll use her past to get her to care again."

"How do you know this is going to work?" Sakura asked.

"Because it's my plan," Scarlett replied obviously. "Need I remind you that while all of you were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, I was the one who brought Minxie down from her wrist-breaking streak. Of course I can get her to care again."

"No manipulating her anger," Ryuu warned. "It's too unstable, especially if you taunt her directly from inside her head."

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Unlike the rest of you, I actually know what I'm doing." She turned to Ino. "Ino, grab her head and start your jutsu. Let us know when you're done."

The blonde stepped forward, taking Scarlett's place and settling her hands on either side of Minxie's head. She shut her eyes, focusing on manipulating her chakra and casting her jutsu. Moments later, she spoke, "It's ready."

"Good." Scarlett stood in front of Minxie, facing her Doppelganger. "Rin, you're next. Put your hands on my head and project me into Minxie's mind."

Rin followed Scarlett's instructions, placing her pale hands on either side of the Doppelganger's head. The blind kunoichi began her jutsu, shutting her eyes and transporting Scarlett into Minxie's mind.

::In Minxie's Mind::

Scarlett was always careful and calculating, especially in foreign territory. She was known for her talent of deception, and as soon as she was in Minxie's mind, she made sure to put her talents to good use.

When Minxie opened her eyes, she found herself in a wasteland. Moments later, she realized that she was in her mind. It was a much different place from how she remembered it. There was nothing happy about this place. It was blank, just as she was. She preferred it this way.

Suddenly, she was taken out of her blank wasteland and found herself in a new place. This place was a much brighter one. There were hills upon hills of greenery, and there was a lake with pure blue water. The sun was setting, and there was someone sitting at the dock. All Minxie could see was the back of this person. She continued stepping toward the unknown person, wondering who on Earth could have possibly invaded her mind.

Minxie froze when she saw the person's sleek, jet black ponytail. She felt her muscles go numb. Her legs were unable to carry her forward.

"You know you're more than welcome to sit." The male's voice was soft and kind, but it still startled her. However, it gave her legs the push they needed, allowing her to walk forward and sit down next to him.

"Itachi," Minxie breathed, staring at him with wide emerald eyes.

"Hello, Minxie," Itachi greeted, smiling at his former student.

"You're dead," She deadpanned.

He chuckled. "And you're more blunt than usual."

She shook her head. "I meant... How are you here?"

"I'm always with you, Minxie," He said. "You just don't see me. I've been watching over you, and I must say... I'm not exactly pleased."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're here to lecture me."

"No lecturing," He assured. "Only understanding. Honestly, Minxie, I'm at a loss. We both know this isn't you."

"It is now," She said.

He shook his head. "No, it isn't. You're telling yourself that, but you know that's not true. You don't want to be this way. You just don't know what else to do." He paused. "I'm sure your friends miss you. The real you."

"My friends manipulated the old me and got the new one." She shrugged. "That's their own fault."

"... I'm sorry," He apologized sincerely. "I wish I could have been there... I wish I could have prevented this. My little brother has broken you once again."

"Your little brother didn't break me," She denied. "All he did was bring the real me to the surface."

"No," He objected. "He made you hate the real you and bury it deep within yourself."

"The old me was weak," She snapped.

"No. The old you was brave. The old you was kind, selfless, giving... The old you was one of the strongest people I've ever met," He said. "But the old you doesn't exist. Don't you see that, Minxie? There is no old you, no new you. All there is... Is you. You can't just erase parts of yourself. Those traits that you call the old you are the traits that make you who you really are. You can't run from them."

"Why not?" She muttered. "Running is so much easier."

"Indeed, it is. But once you start running, Minxie... You never stop."

"... It hurts, Itachi," She whispered. "It hurts so much. It hurts too much. I don't want any of that pain. I'm not strong enough to handle it."

"Minxie, you are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. This won't break you. You can fight it."

"I don't know how! I'm not strong enough, Itachi, not for this." She shook her head violently.

"You've always been the light, Minxie," He reminded softly. "You can fight this darkness."

"Why should I? This darkness is better then my reality..." Slowly, her head snapped up. "Reality. My reality." She looked around. "You're dead. None of this is real. I'm being manipulated."

As if in response to her realization, the landscape around her shattered. The water rose up, washing away the hills of greenery and consuming the sunset above them. When she looked to her right, Itachi was gone. She stood up, facing the pitch black darkness around her.

"I knew it. I knew it wasn't real." She activated her Heart's Eye, scanning the area around her. Immediately, she located the manipulator. With the precision of a leopard, she grabbed the culprit by the throat, slamming them into the ground.

"Congrats," Scarlett mused, "You figured it out."

Minxie's eyes narrowed. "You honestly thought you could manipulate me by using Itachi?"

"Oh, I didn't think it, dear little Doppelganger. I knew it." Scarlett stood up, brushing herself off. "You can't let go of your past. It still holds power over you. That's how I knew I could use Itachi to manipulate you. He's dead, and that's in the past, but you're still hopelessly pining after your sensei, searching for his guidance, even though we all know he's nothing but a corpse."

Minxie's fist connected with Scarlett's jaw, knocking the crimson-eyed brunette to the ground.

Scarlett coughed, wiping the blood from her mouth. "Cute." Slowly, she stood up. "... But not good enough!" Her hand lashed out to attack Minxie's face, 

but the Takeda saw it coming. She grabbed Scarlett's fist, crushing it with her hand.

Minxie pulled Scarlett toward her by the fist. She wrapped her free hand around Scarlett's neck, lifting the Doppelganger up off the ground. Scarlett clawed at Minxie's hand, struggling for air, but the Takeda remained unaffected by her attempts.

"I control this place," Minxie said darkly. "Did you honestly think you could win here?" She tossed Scarlett into the air, making the Doppelganger skid across the ground. In seconds, she appeared behind the crimson-eyed brunette, "This is my mind." Minxie placed one hand on Scarlett's jaw and the other on the back of her head. "And you are not welcome here!"

And just like that, she snapped the Doppelganger's neck.

::In Real World::

At first, Scarlett's plan had been going brilliantly. Rin and Ino were focused and precise in their jutsus, while Minxie was completely still, granting Scarlett the perfect opportunity at manipulation. Sakura, Mitchell, Ryuu, and Naruto watched the four girls with interest. They had been joined by the rest of the Konoha gang. The group crowded into the small tent, making sure to give Scarlett, Rin, and Ino enough room.

A noise of protest made them all look up. Instead of standing, like she had been moments ago, Scarlett was kneeling in front of Minxie.Mitchell was first to express his concern, looking at Ryuu, "I don't like where this is going..."

"Neither do I," Ryuu muttered back. "It looks like she's bowing. Scarlett doesn't bow to anyone, much less Minxie."

"Do you think something's wrong?" Sakura asked in a whisper.

"If something's wrong, why are Ino and Rin so still?" Naruto questioned.

"It could be the calm before a storm," Shikamaru answered, sharing a long look with Ryuu and Mitchell.

"Ah!" Scarlett made another noise of protest, her knees bending and making her sit on the floor. Rin's eyebrows furrowed, but she kept a firm grip on Scarlett's head.

At hearing Scarlett's discomfort, Mitchell quickly stepped forward, but Ryuu stopped him.

"Don't," the Takeda male warned, "It could all be part of the process."

"Process?" Mitchell repeated, his eyebrows furrowing. He turned to Scarlett, his eyes widening at he saw a red liquid trickle out of her jacket's sleeve and onto her hand, turning her ivory skin red. "Screw the process! That's blood, Ryuu! She's bleeding!"

"No!" Rin cried, her hands moving as Scarlett lurched forward.

Ino joined in with a shrill cry of her own, "No!" Both she and Rin struggled to keep their hands on each of their respective brunette's.

"Stop the jutsu!" Naruto shouted, his blue eyes wide.

"Naruto, quiet!" Sakura commanded in a whisper. "You'll disrupt the jutsu!"

"Something's wrong," Mitchell said, ignoring the pinkette, "Get them to stop!"

Ryuu quickly ran over to Rin, trying to speak to her in a calm voice, "Rin, it's okay. What's going on?"

"I can't... Control it!" Rin exclaimed, shutting her eyes as tightly as she possibly could.

Luna's eyes widened as a vision flashed before her eyes. She clutched the shoulder of the person next to her, who just so happened to be Kiba. "She's killing Scarlett! Minxie's killing Scarlett!" She screamed. "Stop the jutsu, now!"

"Rin!" Ryuu exclaimed, trying to get the attention of his blind girlfriend.

"Ino!" Shikamaru and Choji called the name of their blonde teammate, hoping to get her to stop the jutsu.

"AAH!" Scarlett, Rin, and Ino screamed together. They all whimpered in unison, the jutsu breaking. Ino fell back, Shikamaru and Choji running to her aid. 

Rin fell to the side, Ryuu catching her in his arms and moving her away from Minxie. Scarlett, as expected, got the worse end of the deal. She ended up flying backward. Mitchell jumped into the air, catching her before her body could retain any damage.

Rin's eyes slowly opened as she regained consciousness. Behind Minxie, Ino's own blue eyes opened. Scarlett woke with a gasp, her crimson eyes wide. 

Minxie was the only calm one who opened her emerald green eyes, a smirk on her face.

"What the hell just happened!?" Kiba exclaimed, staring at the four girls.

"She snapped my neck!" Scarlett exclaimed, "She killed me inside of her head!"

"Such a shame it wasn't real," Minxie sighed in mock sadness. "How about you untie me?" She smirked at Scarlett. "I'd love to make it a reality."

Scarlett growled, "You little bitch!" She lurched forward, but Mitchell grabbed her before she could attack Minxie, locking his arms around her waist.

"Stop it!" Mitchell commanded. "You know she's not in her right mind!"

"You think?" Tenten asked incredulously. "She tried to kill someone!"

"She didn't mean it!" Naruto put in, quickly coming to Minxie's defense.

"Didn't mean it!?" Shikamaru exclaimed. "She snapped someone's neck!"

"You know she's not thinking straight, Shikamaru," Kylie reminded with serious blue eyes.

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed. "She can't control it!"

"I don't give a damn!" Josh shouted. "She can't be so far gone that she'd kill someone without blinking!"

"How are we supposed to fix her now?" Lee questioned.

"Something needs to be done now," Neji stated, "She's a danger to everyone in this village when she's like this."

"It's not her fault," Ryuu growled.

"She's still a threat," Shino reminded.

"She's also still our friend," Rin snapped strongly.

"G-Guys... Please stop..." Hinata begged. "Arguing won't help."

"Hinata's right," Kylie agreed, "What will arguing do?"

"Maybe it'll give us results, since all of our other methods have failed," Josh snapped.

She glared at him. "Oh, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you? With your distractions and manipulations flying all over the place!"

"The point is that we need to fix her," Mitchell said.

"Don't you get it? There is no fixing her!" Scarlett growled. "The only way to fix her is by putting her down!"

"NO!" Naruto yelled, standing protectively in front of Minxie. "There's another way! There has to be!"

"She's gone! Don't you see that!? She doesn't love you anymore!" the Doppelganger shouted. "And she certainly doesn't give a damn about the rest of you, either!"

"You aren't touching my sister," Ryuu growled.

"She's a threat!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"She's our friend!" Sakura yelled back.

The sound of laughter made the group stop their rather loud argument. At their surprised silence, the laughter only increased. They turned to the source, who just so happened to be Minxie.

"You're all just so pathetic, it's hilarious," Minxie laughed. "You're standing here, arguing, as if anything you do is actually going to make a difference. Don't you see what's really happened? There is no fixing me because I'm not broken. You all think Sasuke is the cause, but he isn't. Sure, he led me to the edge, but I'm the one who let myself fall off. I did this. This was all me."

The group exchanged wary and confused glances. Was she being serious?

"... And that's not even the best part," Minxie continued, a large smirk on her face. "Haven't you noticed it by now? I like being this way. I like not caring, I like not feeling pain. I made myself not care, and I love it. None of your attempts at getting me to care again have worked because I don't want to change."

The entire group's eyes widened. They shared shocked expression at this new realization.

"So there you have it," Minxie finished, "The full truth. Your last strike. And you know what? You're all out."

And that was it. That was her final conviction. The Konoha gang was at a loss. There was no fixing Minxie. How could they save someone who didn't want to be saved? There was no swaying her decision, they realized. Was their friend really gone forever?

"... It's getting late," Ryuu spoke up finally, tearing down the long silence, "We'll deal with this tomorrow."

The group was more than ready for his dismissal. They all filed out of the tent, their eyes trained on the ground beneath them. Naruto paused in the tent's doorway, casting a final glance at Minxie, who stared at him with a blank expression. Sakura put a hand on his shoulder, and the two walked out, leaving Scarlett alone with Minxie.

Scarlett said nothing as she stared at her Doppelganger, her crimson eyes surveying the youngest Takeda.

"What?" Minxie inquired.

"... This isn't over," Scarlett promised, glaring at the emerald-eyed brunette.

"Oh, I think it is," Minxie mused. "And trust me, if it isn't... It will be. I'll make sure of it."

Scarlett crossed her arms over her chest. "That's a lot of talk coming from the girl who's strapped to a chair."

"I can still snap a few necks," Minxie assured. She smirked up at Scarlett. "But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" She chuckled as she saw her Doppelganger's expression turn murderous. She nodded to Scarlett's hand, "You might want to get the cleaned up. Red dries fast on pasty, ivory skin like yours."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, turning away from Minxie and walking toward the exit. Suddenly, she paused, a smirk forming onto her face.

"What?" Minxie questioned, a thin eyebrow raised.

"Nothing," Scarlett mused. "It's just... It's almost nightfall. And you know what they say... All the wicked things come out at night."

Minxie scoffed. "I'm not afraid of wicked things."

"Of course you aren't. But you should be." Scarlett turned to face Minxie, a large smirk on her face, "And rest assured, my sweet, little Doppelganger... You're in for a long night."

And with that, Scarlett strolled out of the tent, her heels clicking off into the distance.

~*~

Minxie wasn't sure how long it had been since her "friends" had left her alone. She assumed it had been a couple of hours, because she saw the faint glow of moonlight shining into her tent. After what seemed like the longest day of her life, it was nightfall.

She was just about to lean back and let herself sleep when she heard the faint pressure of footsteps coming toward her tent. She kept her eyes shut, even when she heard someone join her n her tent.

"Don't play dumb, Minxie," the bell-chime voice said, "We both know you're not sleeping."

"No, I'm not, but sleeping is a lot more fun than hearing you talk, Scarlett," Minxie said bluntly, not opening her eyes.

"Ouch," Scarlett feigned hurt, "Your insults are improving. I almost felt bad."

Minxie sighed, leaning her head up and opening her eyes. "What's it gonna take for you to go away?"

"Let's call this a final exam," Scarlett began, "It's more of a last resort, but whatever. Let's review the facts, shall we? You don't care about anything or anyone. You chose to be this way, and you can't be fixed because you don't want to be fixed."

"Yes, yes, and yes," Minxie said. "Are we done now?"

"Not quite," Scarlett replied. "You see, this is where the exam part comes in." She walked over to the tent's entrance, pulling on something. Minxie raised an eyebrow when Scarlett roughly threw Naruto onto the ground into the tent. "I'm going to beat Naruto again and again. Your exam is whether you sit back and watch without caring, or if you scream for me to stop because you love him. Now, here's where the final part comes in. If you scream for me to stop, I'll stop, and you and Naruto can ride off into the sunset together. If you just sit back and watch, I'll keep beating him until he's dead, and he'll reach his final hour all because of you."

"You've got to be kidding me." Minxie laughed. "Come on, Scarlett, you're better than this. I didn't care about him before, and I sure as hell don't care about him now."

"It's your final exam, Minxie." Scarlett smirked at her. "Anything can happen. Let the test begin." Without warning, she sent a hard punch to Naruto's jaw, knocking him over. She lifted him up by the throat, clutching his neck. She roughly slammed him into the ground, stradling him. Once she had her legs locked on either side of his waist, she sent punch after punch to his face.

Scarlett stood up, examining her work. Naruto had a black eye, and he was coughing up blood. His throat still had the imprint of her thin finger's on it.

"Wow." She smirked down at him. "I almost forgot how good it feels to be ruthless." She turned to Minxie. "What do you think?"

"I think that you're pathetic, and that this whole thing is useless," Minxie answered bluntly. "I still don't care."

"Not yet," Scarlett agreed. "But you will." She grabbed Naruto roughly by the collar, yanking him up. The blonde could barely stand, and to make matters worse, she punched him right in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, falling to the floor. She hooked her foot under his stomach, pushing him onto the floor and making him roll towards Minxie's feet.

The green-eyed brunette had been watching in pure indifference, but when she saw how horrible Naruto look, something in her stomach began churning. 

He struggled to get himself up, and he succeeded by getting on his knees. Instead of feeling compassion, all Minxie felt was anger.

"Why the hell aren't you fighting back?" Minxie growled, glaring at him. "Why aren't you hurting her?"

"She said this would help you," Naruto answered weakly.

"Well, you're an idiot for believing her!" She snapped at him. "Get the hell up and fight her! You took down Pain, damnit! Why are you just taking this from her?"

"Because... I love you," He admitted, his breathing hitched. "And if getting beat up is what it takes to bring you back... I'll do it as many times as I have to..."

"Aw, how sweet," Scarlett gushed fakely. "It makes me want to puke!" She kicked Naruto in the stomach, making him roll over and groan in pain.

"If you kill him, the rest of his friends will find out," Minxie threatened, her eyes narrowing at Scarlett, "And they will hunt you down and kill you."

"I'm not too sure about that, sweetheart. You see, I'm very good at covering up my tracks." Scarlett smirked, winking at her. "And even if they did find out... They wouldn't touch me. Why? Because my life is linked to yours. And even when you're a complete bitch, they still love you. Don't you see, Minxie? You're my free pass. You make me absolutely untouchable!" She looked down at Naruto. "But Naruto... Poor, defenseless Naruto... He's definitely not untouchable. In fact..." She kicked him in the stomach again. "He's completely expendable!"

Minxie glared at Scarlett, pure fury coursing through her veins. She tried to break free of her restraints, but it was no use. She settled for gripping the arms of the chair viciously.

Scarlett sauntered over to Minxie, standing behind the Takeda. She placed her hands on the back of Minxie's chair, leaning down so she was hovering near the Takeda's ear.

"It's sad, really," Scarlett sighed. "It's all your fault that he's on the floor, beaten and bruised senseless... And yet he still looks at you with pure adoration and love in those blue eyes. Boys like that are one in a million." She chuckled darkly. "I guess once I'm through with him, you'll be stuck with the rest of that million."

"This isn't about him," Minxie said, "It's about me."

"Of course it is," Scarlett agreed. "But since you don't care... I guess I'll just have to make it about him." She punched Naruto in the jaw. "Punch..." She kicked him in the stomach. "After kick..." She snapped his wrist, breaking it. "After snap." She smirked widely at Minxie.

"Naruto, fight her!" Minxie commanded, anger in her voice.

"Don't you get it, Minxie? He won't fight me! He thinks he's helping you, and even when he realizes it's too late... He won't fight me. Why? Because he risks hurting you," Scarlett said. "You can stop this, you know. All you have to do is care again, and you can save his life."

"No," Minxie growled. "I won't care, no matter what you do!"

Scarlett sighed, shaking her head. "What a shame. This could have had an entirely different outcome. But hey, you call the shots. It is your final exam, after all." She grabbed Naruto's arm, making him kneel in front of her, facing Minxie. "Ah, well. You know what they say. The good die young." She placed one hand on his jaw and the other on his head. "To think it could all be over... With one single snap!" She moved her hands, snapping Naruto's neck.

Minxie screamed as Naruto's lifeless body fell forward. The life was gone from his pure blue eyes, and it was all her fault. Her eyes watered without warning, and tears began streaming down her face.

"Well, would you look at that," Scarlett smirked, "You do care. But, of course, it's too little, too late. Naruto's dead, and it's all your fault. You could have stopped this. Maybe, if you weren't so busy trying not to care, he'd still be alive right now. But you failed your final exam, Minxie, and he's gone. Now, you have to live with it." She stepped over Naruto's dead body. "You have to live with every single waking moment of that guilt. All of that pain, all of that despair and hurt that you've been hiding is all flooding back now, isn't it? You feel it now more than ever, and it's crushing you. You'd do anything to change this, wouldn't you?"

Minxie didn't reply. All she could do was sob as she stared at Naruto's body, the overwhelming guilt and sorrow washing over her and drowning her in despair.

"Well, today's your lucky day. You can change it," Scarlett stated, making Minxie look up, "Because none of this is real."

Minxie almost stopped breathing, "W-What?"

"It's genjutsu," a new voice said. Minxie turned her head and saw Kylie in the side of the tent, smiling a tiny smile. The blue-haired kunoichi made a hand sign, "Kai release!"

The atmosphere around them shattered. When Minxie blinked her eyes, Naruto's body was no longer in front of her. Instead, the blonde was standing next to Scarlett, a smile on his face. He was alive. He was okay.

The relief Minxie felt at seeing him alive and well was more than she could handle. Her voice cracked, "N-Naruto..."

Quickly, Naruto ran over to her, undoing the restraints around her wrists and ankles. As soon as she was free, Minxie threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around her neck and soaking his shirt with his tears.

"Shh, shh," Naruto soothed, holding her close to him and gently stroking her hair. "It's okay. You're okay."

"No, I'm not!" She cried. "I-I thought you were dead, I-I saw it, and it was all my fault!" Her eyes widened at the realization. "My fault... It's all my fault." 

She pulled away from him, staring him directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry!" She looked at Kylie, remembering all the damage she'd done to her blue-haired best friend, "I'm so, so sorry..."

Kylie quickly joined the blonde and brunette, hugging Minxie tightly. "It's okay, it's okay... You're forgiven, okay?"

"How can you forgive me? I broke your wrist, for crying out loud!" Minxie exclaimed.

"It was actually a sprain," Kylie corrected meekly.

"I still hurt you! And Ryuu... Oh, God, Ryuu!" Minxie words sputtered out of her mouth at an impossible rate. And then there's Rin, and Shikamaru... Oh, my God, Shikamaru! I said all of those terrible things to him, and I did the same to Sakura, and everyone else and-"

"Oh, quit your blubbering," Scarlett interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Your friends still love you. They've just been waiting for you to come back to them. It's pathetic, really, but hey, they're your friends."

Minxie's eyes widened at her Doppelganger. "You... You helped me. You're the reason I'm back."

Scarlett shrugged. "I suppose I owed you. You know, for ruining your life and all that..." She smirked. "Not everyone gets a second chance. You'd be wise to remember that, dear little Doppelganger."

Minxie nodded. "Scarlett... Thank you-"

"Don't," Scarlett cut her off. "We all know I'm far from being the good guy." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Now, I'm going to get out of here before the rest of your friends flood in here and start crying. Emotional reunions aren't my thing. They make me want to puke."

"Wait," Minxie called. "How did you have time to plan this? When did you even decide you were going to do this?"

"Don't you know by now, Minxie? I always have a back-up plan," Scarlett smirked. "Of course... Someone else created the last stage of my plan."

::Flashback::

Naruto was just about to enter the tent after Sakura when he felt a chakra behind him. He spun around, coming face to face with Scarlett, who smirked at him.

"Fancy meeting you here, blondie," Scarlett greeted.

"You're not getting to Minxie," Naruto warned, glaring at her, "You're not supposed to be here."

"Ooh, protective, are we?" Scarlett laughed. "It must suck to care so much about someone who couldn't care less about you." Naruto growled at her, making her laugh once again. "Look, as cute as it is to hear you growl it up, I've got things to do. I've got a Doppelganger who needs fixing, so step aside."

"Wait," He said, catching her arm. "Maybe I can help."

She snorted. "This isn't some stupid prank, Naruto. It's real, and you don't do real situation, so I think you better leave this one up to the big kids."

He glared at her. "Look, I know I'm not the smartest guy around, but I know Minxie. If you can provoke her in the right way, you can bring her back. I know she's denying it, but she does love the rest of us."

Her mind traveled back to what she had overheard Rin say to Ryuu, "Even when she's like this... Minxie can't let one of her friends die."

"It's her friends," Scarlett realized. "When I tried to kill Rin, she flipped. If I actually hurt someone this time... It might just be enough to bring her back."

"Me," Naruto volunteered, surprising her. "Use me."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You do know that I'll have to beat you to a bloody pulp, don't you?"

"I know what the risks are. I'll do anything to get her back," He stated strongly. "Besides, I heal really fast. No one else can do that. I'm the best choice."

"Scarlett," Kylie's voice made the brunette turn around. "Ino and Hayato are here. We're ready."

"Change of plans," Scarlett decided, "I'm going to use your genjutsu, just in a different way." Her eyes flickered from Naruto to Kylie. "The two of you... You're my plan B."

::Present Time::

"Naruto volunteered to be my personal punching bag," Scarlett explained, "Your blue-haired medic used genjutsu to cover it up."

"Not all of it," Minxie muttered, examining Naruto's wounds, "He's still hurt."

"It was a risk we were all willing to take," Scarlett shrugged. "We couldn't use genjutsu right off the bat, especially since you were just manipulated. I knew you wouldn't trust anything we did. That's why I had to take drastic measures. The genjutsu was cast once I leaned Naruto in front of you, right before I snapped his neck."

"Killing him wasn't real," Minxie stated, "But everything else was."

"Precisely," Scarlett nodded. "Now, if you're done with the twenty questions, I actually want to sleep tonight." She walked toward the tent's exit, smirking, "Hm... I guess the night wasn't that long after all." She smirked once more before exiting the tent, leaving Kylie, Naruto, and Minxie alone.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, putting a lock of Minxie's chocolate brown hair behind her ear.

"... No, I'm not," the brunette replied honestly. "I'm not okay at all, but I will be. I don't know when... But I'll be okay. Eventually." She looked up at her two best friends with hopeful green eyes, "Can I go home now?"

Kylie grinned, tears forming in her blue eyes, "You have no idea how long we've waited for you to say that."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay, so, I'm the worst person ever, I know. I haven't updated in like six years. But I can explain! The month of June was filled with finals and last classes and all that other bad school stuff. Plus, in my state, you have to take the Regents (AKA the worst exams ever) and in my school, if you fail them, you have to go to summer school. Needless to say, I had to study my butt off. I barely had time to do anything besides breathe school.

Still, that's no excuse. I got so many comments on the last chapter, and I'm so sorry for making all of you wait, which is why I pushed myself to get this update out. Hopefully, you guys like it.

Minxie's back :D ! Well, mostly. Hopefully, she's left the whole 'break your wrist' thing behind her. Be prepared for so much comedy in the next chapter, because honestly, I've missed writing funny things.

Of course, this experience has changed Minxie. She has a lot of apologizing to do, but not caring made her grow as a person. So no, she's not a sap again. She's changed, which you'll see in the next chapter. So, don't worry, her badass side still has a lot to do.

For those of you in America, happy Fourth of July! I, as expected, did absolutely nothing for Independence Day. I did silently hate my neighbors, though, since they played music at 11:00 a.m.

Seriously. 11:00 a.m. Who does that??? Interrupting my sleep and all... Ugh.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, and again, I'm so sorry it took so long. I'll try to make my updating process a bit faster next time, but no promises, since, you know, I'm the worst person ever.

Love you guys! And I'll talk to you soon!

-smilescutie3311 xoxoxo