Four hours later, Neji managed to regain consciousness, though he quickly came to wish he hadn't.
For one, his entire body ached like he'd been hit by his own sixty-four point strike (an experience he'd been given on more than one occasion with his training under Hiashi). His forehead was killing him, and he was freezing cold. Gently, regretting it almost the instant he started moving but unable to stop, Neji sat upright, opening his eyes. His vision was blurry, but after a moment things came into sharp focus.
He could barely feel the heat from the fire though. His whole body was numb.
Naruto and Tenten sat across from him, watching him with various degrees of worry on their faces. Naruto had stripped down to his black undershirt, the First Hokage's necklace dangling from around his neck. With a start, Neji realized Naruto's orange jacket had been covering him like a rough blanket. Angrily he pulled it off, then folded it up and handed it back to Naruto.
"What happened?" he asked, his most recent memories fuzzy before he passed out from the pain.
His teammates glanced at one another uneasily.
"He got away, didn't he...?" muttered Neji.
"The important thing is that you're alr-" stated Tenten.
"It is not the important thing. He's got the Scroll of Sealing. That must be it... that's how he... how he disabled me," he muttered darkly under his breath, his ire rising.
"Scroll of Sealing?" asked Naruto.
Neji stared into the flame, feeling the warmth at long last. The effects were wearing off. "You both know about the history of the Hyuuga... the division of Main family and Branch family... the curse seal," he said, spitting out the last one like it was one of Gai's infamous 'Springtime of Youth' dumplings.
The both of them nodded. Naruto had heard it during the Chuunin exams, and Tenten had heard the sort of thing on and off for ages training with Neji, who confided in her a great deal (usually when the two of them slipped off, unable to stand their teammates).
"That was the Scroll of Sealing the thief... Touketsu... had on his person. It must've been. Over the years, the secret of how to imprint and activate the cursed seal is usually passed down from the leader of the Hyuuga Clan to his or her heir. Hiashi-sama, however, once confided in me that a scroll was kept with all the secrets of the Hyuuga clan written down on it. The Elders had strict instructions to pass it on to an heir if the head of the clan should meet with an unfortunate end."
"Not too uncommon, given the hazards of shinobi lifestyle," remarked Tenten, who was taking the time to sharpen her kunai.
Neji nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Anyone who has that scroll can learn all of our secrets," stated Neji. "So our thief hasn't just stolen our past... he's stolen our future as well," he added bitterly. "And I let him escape."
"Hey, it's alright," said Naruto, unaccustomed to seeing the proud Hyuuga genius so morose. "We'll get it back."
"How? The instant I get close Touketsu can just activate the curse seal again. I'm useless," he spat out bitterly, his white eyes dark with anger. Anger at himself, at the curse seal, at the family that had done this to him.
"Yeah, well luckily you've got two teammates who won't let you down," quipped Tenten, forming a quick seal with her left hand and placing her kunai back into one of her scrolls, rolling it up and snapping it closed, placing it in the belt at her side. "Ain't that right, Naruto?"
"Hell yeah!" said the blonde Genin with a grin, shrugging back on his jacket and zipping it up. "We'll get that Scroll and those swords back. Believe it!" he added, throwing a punch into the air.
Ever the pessimist, Neji was skeptical. "It won't be easy..."
"All the more reason we need to make a plan," stated Naruto.
Two pairs of eyes, one ivory white, the other chocolate brown, turned to regard him. Naruto blinked under the scrutiny. "What?"
"Did I just hear Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Number One Ninja at Surprising People..." stated Tenten slowly, in disbelief. "... state he wanted to make a plan?"
"Certainly surprised me," Neji interjected dryly.
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The team slept throughout the night and were off again in the early morning. None of them had managed to sleep well, they were all freezing cold and stiff by morning. The fire had helped a little but not nearly enough against the biting winds that seemed to pick up early in the day. No matter how they looked at it, things were going to be rough from here on out. Thankfully, Tenten had a supply of soldier pills in one of her holsters, though they were putting those off. They'd need them for the return trip.
Naruto had spend much of the morning in contemplation, his expression scrunched up as he gave great thought to the situation. So far, he hadn't come up with much useful, only a few fantastical ideas that involved equipment they didn't have or fellow shinobi who weren't present and couldn't help. In fact, most of his plans were ignoring Neji, and he'd noticed that after about the third one. After all, he wasn't just called a genius because of his freakish eyes.
"Naruto, I intend to fight," he stated.
"But I don't want you to get..."
Neji's eyes narrowed, his glare enough to send chills down Naruto's spine.
"Uhm... get hurt..."
"I will fight," stated Neji. "A real ninja doesn't fear pain. Or death." Not wishing to argue further, Neji pushed off hard and rocketed ahead, past Naruto and Tenten at a much faster pace. Neither of them had any desire to catch up with him. Not when he was in a mood like this. But they kept pace because, like it or not, he was going to need their help with t his one.
"You may not fear getting yourself killed, but we sure do," muttered Naruto under his breath. Tenten, keeping pace alongside him, nodded in agreement.
Unfortunately, neither of them knew that Neji could hear them.
Well, not hear them per se, not even a Hyuuga genius had three-hundred-and-sixty degree hearing as well as vision. But Neji had long ago learned the value of lip-reading. Able to peer clear through walls and observe others, it would behoove him not to learn what they were saying for future ninja missions.
He supposed, in a way, he was slipping back into old habits. Trapped in his destiny, he'd been angry and hateful and he'd especially hated anyone who spoke down on him -or- tried to help him. He couldn't stand other's pity (or so he perceived it). Now, once more forcibly reminded of the power of the cursed seal, he was fully convinced he would be killed in the upcoming encounter, and Tenten and Naruto were rightfully concerned for him.
He'd apologize later, he promised. After the mission.
He still wasn't wholly convinced they'd all make it out alive, but his own little promise was his way of regaining just a smidgen of hope they would be victorious.
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However, they didn't catch up with Touketsu that day, and when night started to set on the landscape Neji called a halt. They'd been keeping up with Touketsu's trail in the fresh snow for most of the day but it had vanished an hour ago, and the Hyuuga genius was on edge. He kept his Byakugan fully activated at all times, but could see no sign of their enemy anywhere. Still, they had more pressing concerns.
So they'd set up camp for another freezing night, lamenting their lack of warm clothes. Naruto had unleashed a small army of Kage Bunshin into the woods to gather up firewood, and Tenten had remembered one of the scrolls in her pack had been prepped for this sort of emergency situation, containing a small, two-man tent and some cooking gear and rations. Nothing fancy, but together with a roaring fire quickly produced, they were grateful for a chance to feed their starving bellies.
They'd set up camp on a cliffside overlooking a valley... far... far below them. Neji had chosen it specifically because it was a perfectly defensible position. Cliffside on three sides, meaning only one their enemy could approach from, and they'd see them coming a mile off, allowing Neji a chance to relax his bloodline limit and conserve chakra. And a simple glance down indicated that no shinobi could climb the cliff-face, it was slick with ice. A feature he pointed out to Naruto.
Peering over the side, the blonde-haired Genin wasn't quite so convinced. "How do you know he won't be able to climb up ice? Guy seems to know his way around the stuff pretty well."
"Naruto, anyone who can climb up a sheer cliff-face, slick with ice, like -that- is a phenomenal super-ninja."
"How do you know he's not a pheno... er... a super-ninja?" asked Naruto, unable to wrap his mouth around the long word Neji had used.
"Because if he is, we're screwed," replied Neji dryly.
"You two going to admire the sights all day or give me a hand?" Tenten called out from she sat by the fire. "I never did so well in my Kunoichi Home Ec classes, you know. I barely know how to boil water."
Kunoichi having to pose as ordinary women as they often did, they often were taught a number of classes their male counterparts didn't take part in, including some rudimentary cooking. Tenten, however, often skipped class to practice her shuriken throwing.
"Which is a considerable advantage over either of us," replied Neji, though he made his way over to help Tenten prepare their meager rations into something suitable to eat. Naruto did his best to help, but he was so helplessly out of his element (his knowledge being limited to -just- how to boil water and heat ramen) that Neji had him stand guard and watch the treeline. That's where enemies, or allies, would come from.
Though they'd long given up hope that Leaf had sent reinforcements to back them up.
They were on their own.
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The addition of a tent didn't do much to help with the biting cold of the coming evening but it did wonders to fight against the wind, and at this point any relief was welcome. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite big enough for more than two people comfortably. Neji had therefore insisted that Tenten make use of it, though he'd quickly stated his reasons as being because of her lack of comfortable jacket as opposed to her being a girl (for which she likely would've kicked him clear over the side of the cliff). He and Naruto would alternate keeping watch or sharing the tent to keep warm.
Neji took the second watch, relieving a very tired Uzumaki, who looked on the verge of falling into the fire from exhaustion. Bidding him a good-night, he sat down on a snow-covered rock and sighed heavily, wondering what to do.
He'd been wracking his brain for ideas, but he couldn't think of anything that would conceivably work against their enemy. Touketsu wasn't a fool either, no doubt he was coming up with countermeasures of his own. The more he had that cursed Scroll, the more he learned about the Hyuuga's. The more he knew about Neji's fighting style and abilities.
Which meant, whether or not he liked it, he had to rely on his teammates, one of whom was currently snoring loud enough to be heard all the way back in Hidden Leaf. Neji rolled his eyes. He could only hope Naruto's penchant for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat would come in handy here.
Sighing, he glanced out at the frozen landscape past the fire.
Snow was more common this farther north, and by the time of year it had choked the landscape and rendered it white and silent as a funeral linen. Everything was pure and white, virtually untouched, and so silent he could hear his own heart beating.
Then he heard something else.
A footfall in the snow. First one, then two... then another. Someone coming closer. Byakugan activated, Neji scanned the treeline, but in truth there was no need, as the figure had already emerged into his normal line of sight, stepping out from behind one of the trees and onto the top of the cliff.
Silver, spiky hair. A blue swath of war-paint across his face. Pale green eyes. Black shirt, blue leggings, and two swords slung over his back.
Touketsu was here.
"Yo," he said, with a friendly wave of his hand.
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Author's Notes:
I don't know if you can store such things as a tent and camping gear in a scroll but it seems likely if you can jam 500,000 kunai into one, like Tenten seems to do.