The first Kage of each hidden village was given a songbird that wouldn't sing. "Kill it," said the Mizukage. "Keep it in its cage," said the Raikage. "Let it go," said the Kazekage. "Encourage it to sing," said the Tsuchikage. "Wait," said the Hokage.

-The Founding of the Hidden Villages

Musashi found himself grateful to the climate of Rain Country. It had only drizzled a few times since he started his pursuit of the fleeing Leaf ninjas, but that had actually aided in his tracking of them. Not only was there large patches of moss that were easily disrupted when tread upon, but muddy footprints had also been common. However, even with the terrain working for him, it did take both experience and attention to detail to notice the small signs.

Passing by a tree, he paused noticing a scrape in the moss. It looked as if it had happened when someone had been in the process of sitting down or standing up. "They stopped here. Search the area."

The four other ninjas behind him fanned out and looked for anything that might tell them how recently their prey had been here. He didn't really expect them to find anything, but rest stops were prime locations for leaving false trails and he didn't want to lead them in the wrong direction.

"I found something," one of the Rain ninjas called out.

Of course, they have to make him a liar he thought to himself. Making his way over to the man, he kept his eyes on the ground looking for anything. The man was pointing down at a patch of moss that had a small piece of white paper on top of it. Leaning down, he examined it.

The paper was like the type that Band-Aids were wrapped in. It was a small piece and a sly smile crossed his lips as he picked it up. The paper was dry. Even on top of the moss, the paper, in this environment, wouldn't remain that way for long. It should have at least absorbed some water. "They were here. Probably less than twenty minutes ago."

"Probably less," the older of the two Rain ninjas said looking down at the paper in his hand.

"What's up ahead?" Musashi asked trying to remember the man's name. The two native ninjas exchanged a look for only a second and he cursed this reactionary suspicion they all seemed to carry. "We're all allies here."

"There's a swamp maybe half a mile in that direction," the younger of the two ninjas said nodding a head. "Beyond that there's an abandoned settlement, although you won't find it on most maps."

An abandoned settlement he thought, could they be heading there for some reason? Still, he pushed that idea to the side for now as he didn't expect to get much information out of these two. "What about the swamp? How big is it?"

Again, the two hesitated before the older of the two spoke. "It's pretty much between two hills. As a result, it's more long then wide from our current location. It's not particularly deep. Anywhere between two and ten feet depending where you are and it kind of sneaks up on you. Last time I was there, only the trees in the middle of the swamp were dead."

Closing his eyes, the Jonin thought back on the three Genin he had seen back in the village. They were young, but would they have the ability to tree walk or water walk? Considering this was a Jonin from Konoha, they were tracking, that would be a decision he would weigh heavily. If he had been from Kiri, the hidden village he was originally from, the Jonin might very well end up using his students as distractions to make good his own escape. At least that's how it would've been done back in his day. Of course, it would help if he knew that they knew they were being pursued.

"If they go around the swamp, we should have a good chance of catching up to them. If they go through, there is still a chance we could intercept."He muttered to himself before turning to the two newest members of his little team. "If we catch up to them, they're either going through the swamp or around, get in the water and wait until we attack them."

"What's the attack plan then?" Zinan, the large Iwa ninja ask.

"You'll attack them first. Hopefully they'll think it's just you. Then our two Rain ninjas can attack from below. We should have the element of surprise, and if you can grab one of the Genin as a hostage, do so. There's no reason we should fight more than we have to."

He stood, straightening his back hearing a few cracking sounds that hadn't been there a few years ago. "Does everyone understand?" He waited, but no questions came so he said, "Move out."

A swamp, Neji thought staring across the murky water, he could've done without it. As this was the Rain country, he shouldn't have been all that surprised, but it had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"What are we waiting for?" Jiro asked.

"Wait here," Neji said activating his Byakugan and walking onto the water, "I'm going to go check something out."

The swamp was fairly shallow. The trees in the center of it were dead though. Their branches had long since fallen off and the trunks that still stood had been bleached white as bone. As the swamp was in a small valley between two large hills, it was longer than wide. Having only recently introduced his students to water walking, he didn't think they could make it across the entire length without falling in.

The calculation he did in his head was simple. It would take longer to go around the swamp than it would if he just carried his students across one at a time. Neji took one last look around, in a vain hope of finding someplace that might be narrow enough to cross, but not finding it, he started to walk back to his students.

His Genin were busily preoccupied with swatting at mosquitoes to take much notice of his return. "I'm going to carry you across the swamp one at a time. Yuudai you're going first."

Predictably, his students complained, finding the whole idea embarrassing, but the branches were too thin to support their weight and even if they could, the dead trees in the center were iffy at best. Neji wasn't sure why he had indulged them in their complaining, but less than a minute later he was making his way across the swamp with Yuudai on his back. On his next trip, he brought Akako, whose face became redder than he ever remembered Hinata's being. It wasn't until he was halfway across the swamp that he remembered the anatomical differences between boys and girls. Even on his way back through the swamp he was still doing a fair impression of his deceased cousin himself.

He had left Jiro for last, simply because he thought he would get the biggest fight out of him, but the boy climbed on without a word. After a minute the Genin muttered, "I used to carry my sister like this."

"That's right, I forgot, you have a sister. How old is she again?" Neji inquired trying to fill the awkward silence.

"She is nine, but she'll be ten next month." Jiro added darkly, "She's only two inches shorter than me."

"You'll grow."

"Everyone tells me that," the boy muttered.

The Jonin briefly wondered if he was just complaining about being short or if this was more directly related to his crush on Akako. Even though it really wasn't his place to interfere, there was an echo of his cousin in his student's voice and having never truly made amends to her, he substituted. "Why don't you just try being nicer to her? Perhaps even try not hitting her."

The Genin was silent for a moment before saying dejectedly, "But, we used to do it all the time."

Neji was silent for a moment and slowed his pace. "Jiro, she's grown up. People change, but that doesn't mean you still can't be friends or even something more as long as you're aware of that fact."

His student was silent for a moment and then he suddenly stiffened. "Sensei, I saw a bubble."

Activating his Byakugan, Neji quickly scanned the area. Not finding the distinctive pattern of a human chakra system, he relaxed and said, "It was probably just methane."

"Methane?" his student echoed confused. "Why would there be methane here?"

The Jonin hesitated before answering, "When biological material decays underwater, it produces methane. It then can be released when something shifts underwater or there is a sufficient amount."

"Why do you know all this stuff sensei?"

A small smile of amusement crossed Neji's lips. "A ninja should learn as much as they can. Since we are sometimes required to go on infiltration missions, information is part of your disguise. For example, if you had to steal some documents from a building that was undergoing renovations and security was too tight, what would you do?"

"Fight my way in?" Jiro answered uncertainly.

"Well you could, but that's a very good way to get yourself killed. It would be better to try to find a way to walk in, like disguising yourself as a member of the construction team. Of course, if you're stopped by the guards and they start asking you about what you're doing there you have to know something about construction to bluff your way through or else your cover will be blown." His student didn't respond, but it was a thoughtful silence, and perhaps optimistically, Neji hoped that this conversation might have an impact on the young Genin.

The shuriken that hit Neji right behind his knee caught him completely off guard. It caused his leg to buckle and he lost his concentration on the chakra flow to his feet. This sent both himself and his student into the murky water.

For a second, he panicked. Then he felt something grab his foot and begin to pull him down. Instinctively, Neji kicked at the grasping hands, but then his other foot was grabbed. His body and mind wanted him to fight towards the surface, but training overrode instinct.

Activating his Byakugan, he tried to get a visual on his assailants. However, for the first time in his life, he couldn't see others chakra system. If his brain was not already feeling the effects of lack of oxygen that fact would've been greatly more concerning. Fighting his instincts, he bent down, feeling pain from his leg shoot through his body. He struck at one pair of hands holding him.

His strike was not deadly, but the pain caused his attacker to release him. Still only partially freed, and needing breath more than ever, he pulled on his other leg. Having no leverage, Neji was drawn directly towards his attacker. Even though the visibility was almost nonexistent, he was able to grab his attackers arm. The Gentle Fist usually didn't require a lot of chakra as it relied on pinpoint accuracy, but that was impossible here and now. The blow he sent into the person's chest was ten times his usual amount.

His opponent's body went limp even as he grabbed it and tried to find the head. His fingertips brushed against the re-breather, and since his opponent no longer had any use for it, he pulled it free. The last time Neji had used one of these things was back at the Academy, but they were simple enough. Slipping it in his mouth, along with some water, he breathed the life-giving oxygen.

After several breaths, he was able to think more clearly. His first concern was Jiro. If his student had been pulled down like he had been there was probably little he could do.

Again he tried activating his Byakugan, but saw nothing. Neji knew of nothing that could block the Byakugan like this. Humans, and particularly ninjas, all had well-defined chakra systems and those had been unquestioningly ninjas that had grabbed him a moment ago. It was impossible that he could not see his attackers. Still, the situation was what it was and not as bad as he thought it first. Strangely, he could still see the outline of trees and debris on the bottom which must be covered in algae.

Briefly, he wondered if the ninja he had injured was withdrawing from the battle or was he still out there waiting to strike. Neji couldn't tell and he suddenly realized that this was how most other ninjas must feel. It was disconcerting to say the least. Still, no matter what, though, he still had his students to take care of and at least one more ninja.

The enemy would be expecting him to emerge somewhere near where he went under, so he would disappoint them. Kicking off from the bottom, he swam underwater for about ten feet until he swam next to a tree and started towards the surface.

His head emerged from the murky water slowly in an attempt not to make any noise, but what he saw froze him. Jiro was staring directly at him, and that was not a good thing, as he was being held as a hostage by the same ninja Neji had battled in the woods earlier.

"Sensei he has a-"

Whatever his student was going to say was cut off as a kunai was pressed against his throat as the ninja threatened, "Get out of the water or I'll kill him."

Unable to do anything else, he placed his hands on the surface and climbed out of the water. He met Jiro's eyes and tried to convey that everything was going to be okay, but he only saw terror reflected back at him.

"Drop the mask and your pouch into the water."

Neji did as he was told slowly, trying to buy time. The man was standing about eight feet away which was well out of his reach. It would take at least three steps for the enemy to be in range and that was enough time for Jiro's throat to be slashed. He would have to close the distance, and even then, when he made his move he would have to go for the head as it was the only vital spot not being protected by the human shield.

"Now tell your students to do the same," the man spoke again.

His eyes flickered to the far bank where his other two students were barely visible. So they didn't have enough ninjas to secure his other two Genin. That was good to know. Raising his voice he shouted, "Akako, Yuudai, get out of here."

"I will kill him," the Ishi clan member said.

Neji inched forward and said as calmly as possible, "If you kill him, I'm going to kill you."

"Don't try it. I know you Konoha Jonin. You wouldn't risk one of your students, at least not when you know you could all survive."

That was true. During peacetime, if a ninja was captured by another village while on a mission, it was not uncommon for a small ransom to be asked for their release. Of course, that wasn't a guarantee and this was definitely not peacetime. Still, he needed to buy more time. He had not even closed the distance by a single foot yet. "You forget I have a Kekkai Genkai. If I'm taken prisoner, I very much doubt I'll ever see my village again."

"Possible, but your three Genin will."

Neji wondered if a Heavenly Spin could create a vortex. No, that wouldn't work. There was no guarantee that Jiro would be able to get away. He was starting to grasp at straws. Then he noticed Jiro's fingers.

One of his arms was firmly pinned against his body, but his other arm had some movement at least below the elbow. His fingers were clenching and unclenching, as if he was trying to attract his sensei's attention. Neji wasn't sure what his student was planning, but if his student was going to make a move, so would he. As subtle as he could, he mimicked his students sign.

Jiro made his move. Reaching up, he grabbed the kunai and tried to pull it away from his throat. He didn't stand a chance against the older ninja, but he was able to keep it from cutting his throat. At that same instant, Neji darted forward. He aimed a Juken strike at the enemy's forehead. If it had connected, the sudden surge of chakra would've fried his brain.

Faced with the option of either standing there and getting killed or dropping his hostage, the Iwa ninja chose the better part of valor and retreated. Jiro fell into the water with a splash that Neji had to jump over. He attacked the Ishi clan member with a savagery that was alien to him. Several times he hit vital spots on the man's body, but as it had turned to stone they were completely ineffective.

"Behind you Sensei," Jiro shouted from where he clung to a tree.

Neji was used to having a near perfect view of the battlefield and didn't react as he should have. Pain shot through his shoulder as he felt a kunai tear through muscle. The Hyuga spun into an Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin and caught his newest attacker. Unfortunately, it wasn't at full strength, but it was strong enough to send his attacker flying into the water.

Neji stumbled to his side, barely able to keep enough chakra flowing to keep him on the surface of the water. The large Iwa ninja started towards him, slowly, almost warily. With a detached disinterest, the Jonin watched his opponent approach. Digging deep, he prepared for one more attack when something unexpected happened.

From nowhere a kunai appeared where the Ishi clan ninja's eye had just been. The man's expression registered shock and then he fell into the water lifelessly. Neji knew that none of his students possessed that level of accuracy and he turned his head to see where it had come from. In the trees around him, there were a half-dozen rain ninjas. His last thought before losing consciousness was that he had been saved from one group of hostiles, only to be captured by another.

Authors note: some of you may notice that my quote in the beginning is something similar to the Songbird question. I will admit it was done consciously. Supposedly, this question was asked of three great warlords and it was simply what would you do with a Songbird that wouldn't sing? They supposedly answered thusly. Nobunaga answer: "Kill it." Hideyoshi answered: "Make it want to sing" and Tokugawa replied: "Wait."