A/N: Merry Christmas / Boxing Day! I finally got my cast off and started typing again. Again, I'm sorry for the late update. I have problems with not injuring myself during the basketball season. Hope you enjoy!

The white hair of the young man could be seen from the granite rock that Moriko had first visited. He waited for her to walk until they were a meter apart and then dove into the water silently. Curious, she dove soundlessly in after him.

Moriko surfaced and pulled herself onto the edge of a rocky bank. The man was carrying a torch standing further onward, illuminating the dark tunnel with a soft glow of orange. She stood up and jogged over to him, splashing water over the cavern floor. As she reached his side, she realized with a start that it was not a torch that he was holding, but a ball of flame, similar to the one that she could conjure. She bit her lip, not wanting to break the silence, and not wanting to ask questions that she should not be meddling in with.

As they walked deeper into the cavern, the dark of the cave grew lighter, and the musty smell began to seep away. The orange lights that were bobbing in the air revealed a large open space with a tunnel reaching towards the sky. Moriko stayed at the tunnel's end, surveying the room.

Though it was situated miles underneath the surface of the earth, the room still seemed very homely. The pale orange flames added to the warmth of the cavern, yet, the smoke did not suffocate them because of the chimney-like opening to the surface above them. A neatly built fire pit sat at the bottom of the chimney. To the right of the room was a slab of flat surfaced rock. The white haired man was talking lowly with someone sitting behind it. She ignored their murmuring and continued her observation. To Moriko's astonishment, there was a widespread patch of grass growing on her left. Intrigued, she walked over. She bent down to feel the blades of grass. They were real. Not only that, but the smell of fresh grass and soil were present. Gently, she pressed her palm onto the grass, feeling the soil.

"I see you're accustomed to test soil." A tenor voice spoke behind her. Moriko spun around and stood up, sprinkling the soil back onto the grass. "You want to know how we managed to plant a grassland in a cave?"

Seeing that he meant no harm for now, Moriko shrugged. The man bent down beside her, picking up some of the dirt on his nimble fingertips. He opened his mouth to speak and then shrugged. "Actually, I have no idea. It was already here when we found the cave."

Moriko blinked in amusement and surprise. Who would've thought that she would find someone who could joke around here out of all places?

"Alright." The white haired man sprinkled the soil back onto the grass and stood up. "I guess we should explain ourselves and tell you what's going on."

Moriko stood up slowly and stood a little farther away, feeling a little awkward at the close distance he was at.

The tenor voice spoke again. "I'm Hayato. And that," he pointed to his companion, who was sitting on a rock, playing with his handful of fire again. "Is Tatsuo." The tone that finished the introduction was expectant.

Amused that they didn't know her and yet, wanted to bring her here, she raised an eyebrow. "I'm Moriko."

"Moriko ... that's a pretty name. Forest child, is it not?" Hayato flashed a smile.

She shrugged. "I guess. What's so interesting about that?" Hayato meant falconer, and Tatsuo meant a male dragon. The curiousity to know them more was overwhelming.

Hayato eyed her and grinned when he saw the curiousity flowing from her eyes. He ignored the question and said something else. "Moriko, you want to hear a story?"

The girl frowned, not knowing where this was going. It wouldn't hurt to hear a story, would it? Most likely, it would sate her curiousity. She sat down on a rock. "Sure."

Tatsuo had joined his friend and they both sat down on the grass. Hayato started after some thought. "Around a hundred years ago, a forest in the Fire Country was inhabited by a clan, known as the Intou. The Intou were not well known, in fact, they mostly kept to themselves. Those who found out who they were had to either swear vows that they would not tell others of the clan's existence, or they were killed." He paused to clear his throat, then continued. "The Intou discovered that apart from Bijuu, other animal spirits existed. Of course, they weren't as close to power or evil as the Bijuu, but they added to a nin's power greatly. They found out later, that it not only gives the user power, but the user inherits the traits of the animal, as well as the ability to transform into it at will."

Moriko stiffened.

"So it became a tradition for an animal to be sealed into every newborn in the clan. Animal spirits are plentiful in a thriving forest, so the Intou had no problem finding spirits for everyone. There were some children who inherited the spirit of their parents. However, the inheritance was comparitively weak to ones that were directly sealed into the child, so the elders of the clan decided that even those who inherited spirits were to have new ones sealed inside of them. They stated that, sooner or later, the dominate spirit would take over the weaker one. Of course, there were always exceptions to that statement. Some of the children who had double spirits excelled far greatly than that of a normal clan member. Those kids were given special training and were used more or less as weapons of war or were sent to do extremely dangerous tasks or missions. Because of the strain and the danger of the assignments, most of them were KIA, killed in action. Anyways, ten years ago, one of the clan members decided that it was time for their clan to come out of hiding and join a village to proclaim their greatness. So he skipped back to the village and announced that the Hidden Village of Sand was going to come and 'pick them up'. When the news reached the elders, they were furious. They were a proud clan, and they refused. When they threatened the young man, he claimed that the Sand were already on their way. They killed him and then proceeded to tell the heads of the family to kill their people and then kill themselves. The elders would make sure that none of the secrets would be found by burning the village, and killing themselves in the fire. And so, a foolish clansman and a proud clan wiped itself from the face of the earth. But, the story does not end here." Hayato's eyes flashed. "Three children were scattered before the incident. One was given away after the sealing so that the child would not become a weapon for the clan, another ran away to find another source of power, and the third ran away to follow the second."