Chapter Three
A week had passed since he and Gai started the Special Surprise Chuunin Exam Two Training Regimen and Neji's legs protested every ounce of weight they were forced to carry. Gai's prediction had come true though, and TenTen woke up from her coma four days prior and was sent home the very next morning. He had meant to visit her before today, but Gai kept dragging him off at odd hours to train. Today was different though. Today Gai had promised that he'd have the day off and that he'd work on whipping Rock Lee into shape.
He'd decided to swing by just after sunrise, as he knew TenTen was an early riser and that would avoid unwanted conversations with her elder brother Kotetsu.
Unfortunately, that plan went to hell when Kotetsu greeted him at the door. "You're in luck. She just woke up." He opened the door wider to allow the younger boy inside and closed it behind him. "Go ahead. It's the third room on the left."
Neji nodded in appreciation and began the trek to her room. Gai-sensei had commented yesterday that she was in good spirits for someone who'd gone through what she had, whatever that meant. He rapped on her bedroom door.
"Go away Kotetsu! I don't want to talk to you, I wanna see Mom!"
"It's Neji."
There was a long pause and he had already turned to leave when he heard the faint reply. "Come in."
He pushed the door open slowly and stumbled into what was easily the darkest room in the house. Thick, heavy drapes hung over the windows, blocking all light from entering. "So?" Neji strained to make out the figure on her bed. "How are you?"
"Fine."
Something had been nagging him ever since he got the news. "TenTen, are you…?"
"No." She said quickly. "I'm not pregnant."
"Oh." Time to change the subject. "Gai-sensei signed us up for the Chuunin exam. I told him it was a stupid idea since you're probably not up for it."
"I'll enter the exam. There's nothing for you to worry about. You'll make Chuunin and then leave us behind for good."
"TenTen…"
"We're holding you back, especially me. I'm not good enough to compete with Lee and not strong enough to protect myself. So I'll do this last thing for you and then retire as a ninja."
"What about your dreams?"
"Childish fantasies that don't exist in my world anymore. I'll find my calling some place else."
"So did you see the guys who did this to you?"
"I remember seeing them, but for some reason I can't make out their faces." She rested her chin on her knees. "Despite that, I have this weird feeling, like a hidden part of me knows their faces and I think I'd recognize them if I see them."
"And then?"
"I'll kill them of course."
That wasn't very logical, and he told her. "How will you kill them if you couldn't stop them from hurting you in the first place?" It was a hard question, and he at least expected her to be baffled for a few minutes, but instead she lifted her face and stared directly at him.
"You'll be with me this time."
Kotetsu walked in the room on that note. "I hate to interrupt you two, but it's time for breakfast." He opened the drapes to let the sunlight in and succeeded in blinding the teens. "Neji, you can hang out here until she finishes eating and then come back in." He placed a breakfast platter over the girl's knees and then ushered her teammates out of the room.
Neji stood in the hallway alone. What did Kotetsu expect him to do while he waited? The Hagane home was small and well-decorated, but it lacked any evidence of the parents he'd briefly met when they graduated from the academy.
Her room door opened and Kotetsu slipped out. "How long have you and TenTen been living alone together and are you even her brother?" He slipped his arm around the man's neck and pressed his kunai against it.
Kotetsu sighed. The boy was more perceptive than he'd first thought. "Put the kunai away Neji. I'm not holding her here against her will."
Neji kept the blade against the older man's neck and continued to speak calmly. "What did you do with her parents?"
"Our parents are ANBU squad members and they were sent away over a year ago." He watched the boy withdraw appreciatively. "Are you satisfied?"
"No. Why didn't TenTen ever mention you?"
"My relationship with my sister is a bit strained. There's a lot of years between us and I haven't lived at home for seven years. The truth is, we're not really related. My parents adopted her thirteen years ago from a village that had been burnt nearly to the ground. They felt sorry for her and took her in. It wasn't until she was almost two that we learned she was the one responsible for the fire."
"How did she destroy a village as a baby?"
"Like you TenTen possess a rare bloodline limit. Unlike you, hers is capable of mass destruction if released."
"Why haven't I seen her do it before?"
"She has no idea how to do it, and my parents don't want her to ever learn. In fact, it'll be best for everyone if her accursed clan dies out with her." Kotetsu looked in on his adopted sister. "Don't get me wrong, I love her, but it's hard to love someone you fear."
"Even if she doesn't know about it, some form of the Bloodline Limit would come out in battle."
Kotetsu shook his head. "There's a special seal to repress the powers of Konoha's fire clan. To protect the clan from assassins it's only known to the Elders."
"There is no Fire Clan in Konoha."
"Not anymore. It can't be considered much of a clan when there's only one survivor. One hundred years ago after a series of unexplainable deaths whittled their numbers down to twenty, the clan left Konoha and settled in other villages. Before she was born her father became the head of their village, up until they learned he possessed what was the rarest of Bloodline limits. By then only his family and the Elder who lived with them were left of the once mighty clan. As you may have expected, there was an angry mob outside his house that night, demanding his life and that of his wife and two children. He refused and became locked in a vicious battle against the village's men. Of course, he was a powerful shinobi as was the Elder and was doing an excellent job of holding the men back. He was buying time for his wife to pack up their children and make a run for it, but unfortunately his wife went into labor from all the stress."
A little brown-haired boy streaked out of the house towards a gang of fighting men. He easily located his father inside the mob and ran to his side. "Papa!"
The man scooped the young boy up into his arms to shield him from danger. "What are you doing outside the house Kojiro?"
"Mama fell down and she won't get up."
"Where's your sister?"
"She's with Mama."
"Hideo-sama, will you be able to hold them off on your own?"
The older man brandished his katana. "Hai"
"Arigato." Kojiro's father ran uphill towards his home. He had hoped by now that his children and wife would've fled this God-forsaken village, but it appeared luck nor good fortune was on his side. He shoved the shoji door aside to meet his six-year-old daughter kneeling at his wife's side.
"Shinsuke." The delirious woman grasped his hand.
"What's wrong?" He questioned. "Is it the baby?" The couple was expecting their third child, another daughter in two months.
His wife nodded. "She's coming now."
He had to make a decision quickly. His wife was in no condition to run, so his previous plan had to be thrown by the wayside. "I'm going back out."
"You'll be killed."
"Maybe, but Hideo-sama and I will make sure you and the children survive." The Bloodline Limit he and his family possessed was the reason they were in this mess, so it had to be what got them out of it. He joined the Elder at the foot of the hill. "My wife's in labor. We have no other choice." Hideo nodded and did his seals in sync with Hiei's. "Phoenix Fire no Jutsu!" A ball of fire exploded from each man's chest, unfurling themselves to form small birds of flame. The fiery creatures flew into each other, forming a much larger bird. The Phoenix squawked majestically and flew into the mob, setting each man on fire and then headed towards the village.
"By the time my parents arrived in the village everything was gone. All that was left of Shinsuke's family was the newborn baby sleeping in the charred remains of her home."
"How can you blame that on her?"
"The only way the phoenix can pass on to a newborn is to draw chakra from living clan members. In her case it drew too much and killed all of them, making her the only heir."
"Just how strong is she?" Neji's eyes didn't betray whatever emotion he was feeling.
"You know how strong she is. She's no stronger than she ever was, the phoenix's powers have been repressed every morning for eleven years."
"Because of that she's barely strong enough to protect herself."
"At least this way she can't hurt anyone."
"You're sacrificing one for the sake of many. That's the same mistake they made with Naruto and Gaara. You know that result."
"Be friends with my sister all you want, but don't get involved. I won't allow her clan to continue." With that warning Kotetsu retreated into the deeper regions of the house.
Neji reentered the room, partly intrigued by Kotetsu's revelation and partly angered by his aloofness concerning TenTen's safety. He stood there in silence as starting conversations was still difficult for him as he preferred to be left alone and she picked up on that.
She initiated the conversation. "What did my brother say to you?"
"Nothing important."
"The two of you were talking for a long time for it to be nothing."
"He was talking. I was ignoring him." Neji hoped she didn't pick up on his outright lie. He had definitely been paying attention. Although she didn't know it yet, TenTen had the strength he needed to once again be recognized. "You want to go outside?"
The girl shook her head negatively. "I'm not ready for that yet."
Neji shoved his hands into his pockets and his fingers struck a hard square object. It was the deck of cards his mother had given him for when he ran out of words. He pulled it out to show her. "You know any good card games?"
