Chapter 25

 "Are you a member of the Fire Clan?"

She shook her head at the question.  "I'm not."

Simultaneously Neji replied for her.  "She is." He looked towards the man's voice.  "What do you know of the fire Clan?"

"Many things that would better be off said in confidence." He turned towards the crowd.  "Perhaps you would like to follow me to my home?  I apologize for the unkind manner in which you have been treated."

"Stand up." TenTen remarked softly.  "You don't have to bow in front of me."

"Still." He stood to his feet, keeping his head bowed.  "One such as you deserves respect.  I am this village's Historian, Hiroki.  This way."

The crowd parted to let them pass, but still whispered behind their hands, no doubt spreading rumors.

Hiroki lead them to a respectable one-storey home towards the center of town.  When they entered he motioned to a young girl about their age.  "Eri, prepare tea for our guests." With that he sank onto a cushion and his audience did the same.  He waited until the girl brought out the tea and poured some for everyone before beginning.  "I never thought I'd see a Fire Clan member again, let alone witness a fight between two of them."

"Hiroki-san, what happened to my clan?  Why is it that Kojiro and I are the only ones that remain?"

"The same fate that befalls all who lust after power." He sighed.  "The Fire Clan grew to be large and prosperous, stretching the Phoenix's power between all of the members.  It is said that the Phoenix withdrew its healing powers from the weaker ones, allowing many of the family members to wither away and die until only the strongest remained.  This caused the anger of the other clans to rise up against them.  It is a universal truth that it is a treacherous thing to kill off one's family for strength, no matter how indirectly.  However, when the village council confronted them, they were already too powerful.  They decided to make a group effort and all of Konoha joined against them.  A meager twenty Fire Clan members survived the battle, most of them children.  They disappeared from Konoha and were said to have all been killed by their former countrymen eventually.  Of course, I know now that they aren't all dead." He smiled at them.  "Is the Clan to make a comeback?"

Neji ignored the question.  "Her father's name was Shinsuke.  He had four children, of them she was the youngest, and Kojiro was just older than she was."

Hiroki seemed to recall that name, and his face darkened as he began to recount the story.  "She's thirteen, isn't she?" At her nod, he continued.  "Shinsuke passed through this area over seventeen years ago with his family, but back then he and his wife only had two daughters, and they traveled with an older man, an Elder in their clan." He seemed troubled.  "In those times our village was terrorized by a gang of foreigners, but thanks to Shinsuke they were driven away and we were able to reestablish ourselves.  The people here all remember what things were like before they saved us, and I make sure the young ones are made to be grateful for the life they have today." He sighed.  "Back then we rarely went a day without a murder and no one would come to our aid.  No matter what anyone said about the Fire Clan, we respect them because they helped us when no one else would."

"That's why you wouldn't betray them to us." Lee murmured.

"The further away from Konoha you travel, the less willing anyone will be able to answer your questions."

"Hiroki-san, we only have one question."

He smiled at TenTen.  "How can I help you?"

"All we want to know is the origin of the seal used to bind the Phoenix to my ancestor."

"Why would you want to know something like that?"

"We want to be free." She replied.  "We want the Phoenix to be free."

His smile faltered as he stood to his feet.  "That's a noble wish.  However, I cannot help you."

Neji stood as well.  "Don't lie to us.  Why must we be cursed to our deaths."

"It was his wish." Hiroki replied.  "Your ancestor wanted his line to be protected forever.  Death is your only freedom."

"At least tell us the village he came from."

The old man held his head in his hands.  "It is a difficult thing to distinguish truth from legend."

Lee reached into his pocket and pulled out the list of villages they had copied from the diary.  "Is it on here?" He handed it to Hiroki.

The man scanned the paper several times.  "Do you have a map?"

Lee produced that as well.

He compared the list and the map.  "It's this one." He pointed at a village on the border to Sound Country.  "One more thing that could help your investigation…"

TenTen stood.  "What is it?"

"Your ancestor was not a he.  Her name was Haruka."

TenTen had no visible reaction to the news.  She just stood there as if she'd known it all along, and maybe she had.

"Please, spend the night here." He begged.  "We'd be thrilled to house you, and there's much I could learn about how your clan continued to survive from your stories."

Gai shook his head.  "My students are very eager to finish this mission.  In their glorious youth, this means everything to them.  And as it's a two day journey to find the answers we steadfastly seek after, we should get started right away."

"Does everything he says have to be a speech?" Neji muttered to himself.

"Thank you very much for talking to us." TenTen said, effectively hiding her amusement at Neji's statement.  "And thank you for the gesture, but perhaps there is something else you can do for me."

"Anything." The man replied.

"Could you keep watch on my brother until the ANBU members arrive for him?"

Hiroki appeared conflicted, but he nodded nonetheless.

"And when they arrive, tell them that he means to betray their confidence."

He nodded.  "I understand."

"Thank you." Without looking back, TenTen walked out of the house.  Neji, Gai and Lee followed her out.

"We'll gather our supplies from the hotel room and then head towards our goal." With Gai's statement, the young ninjas found themselves sprinting back towards the hotel and eagerly removing their backpacks from the badly burned room.

Although Gai's face was covered from ear to ear with one of his trademark wide grins, on the inside he wasn't nearly as happy as his smile implied.  Kojiro had proven to be a tough and wily opponent, catching him completely off-guard.  He had thought that the earlier encounter with TenTen and Neji had effectively damaged his pride, but it had done almost nothing to dissuade the boy.  After they had moved ten miles away from the camp Gai had suddenly found himself hoisted fifty feet in the air, hanging by his boot.  It had only taken him a few seconds to get down, but by that time, Kojiro had managed to have the surrounding area littered with traps.  He'd had to tread quite cautiously across the terrain, and that had slowed him down a lot.  He'd managed to make it to the village in time to see the end of TenTen's battle with her brother.  He was proud of her for not letting the older boy get the best of her, and for not giving him exactly what he wanted, death.

Leaving him behind at this village however, was a wild leap of faith.  His psychotic nature made him completely unpredictable, and the people here were greatly indebted to Shinsuke of the Fire Clan and his children.  Their loyalty would most likely be to Kojiro who remained true to his roots as the Phoenix's vessel, than to TenTen, who allied herself with Konoha and chose to rid herself of her own power.  He sighed.  He would definitely have to return here to ensure that the village didn't suffer any damage, and he had to be sure to advise the Hokage to strengthen their relationship with the surrounding villages.  If there were no jobs to be handed out, ninjas were often seen as threats to the everyday lives of the ordinary people who lived near them.

They journeyed in silence for the most part, except for when Gai would shout out some enthusiastic phrase meant to encourage them, and Lee would echo his sentiments.  Despite their attempts to lighten the mood, Neji and TenTen still seemed to walk with a dark cloud hanging over their heads.

Lee sighed inwardly.  His friends weren't the same anymore.  Even though as a team they'd had their fights, and he and Neji had their rivalry, he considered them to be very close and important to him, and that's why it hurt that they shut him out and only seemed able to share their pain with each other.  Just like Gai-sensei, he seemed to be unable to tap into the more positive side of himself near them.  Neji had always sought to suck the cheer out of them and had failed to succeed, but now, without even trying, Lee could feel that cloud extending to cover him as well.  But their happiness would return, he was sure of it.  As soon as they were rid of her family curse, TenTen would begin to smile again, and once Neji's eyes were healed and he was able to use Byakugan, they would be back to bickering and fighting like they always did, and Gai-sensei would threaten them with some severe punishment.  Then one day, they would pass the Chuunin exam and have to separate, but they would remain close friends, even as they became stronger ninjas.  And he would ask Sakura-san out one day, even if she denied him forever, he would keep trying until she gave in.  And when they grew up, Neji would make good on his promise, and marry TenTen, make all of her dreams come true, and their whole team would live happily ever after.

Lee groaned.  That was too positive.  Even he knew there was no such thing as happily ever after.  TenTen would always be haunted by the Phoenix and the Shiratori brothers, and as hard as Neji tried, he would never be able to forget his own curses, and he would always walk with a limp, as a constant reminder of how far he could push himself.  They would try to reconstruct their lives, to adjust their dreams to fit their new situations, and do the best they could, and maybe, just maybe they would all pull through together.

They'd only known each other for about a year and a half, but he felt an inseparable bond to Neji, TenTen, and Gai-sensei.  If they had never met, his life probably would've gone in a completely different direction.  He wouldn't be here for one, but he just couldn't imagine himself without them.

Lee hadn't noticed it, but the sun had already set.  It had made its descent over two hours ago, yet they continued to hike through the darkness.  "Gai-sensei?"

Gai understood his student's unvoiced question.  "We'll camp here for the night."

"No." Neji's voice broke the long streak of silence on his and TenTen's part.  "We want to keep going.  We'll rest later."

"Believe it or not, your bodies are not indestructible, and neither are yours.  We all need to rest, especially after what happened today.  You may still be running off of adrenaline, but we cannot afford to be lethargic when that wears off." He nodded at Lee.  "Lay out your sleeping bags."

"I told you, we're not tired."

"Then lie down until you are." Gai commanded.

Silently seething, Neji stalked off from the others.

Almost immediately, TenTen turned to follow him.

Gai stood in front of her, blocking her path.  "Where do you think you're going?"

"After him, he needs me."

"Neji needs some time alone."

"But he can't see, he'll only get lost."

"If he hasn't returned in an hour, then we'll go after him, but until then, I want you to rest, and try to sleep." Gai then stepped out of her way and started to gather some sticks for a fire.

TenTen forced herself to look down the path for Neji, but she could see no trace of him.  Resigned to doing what Gai had requested, she sighed and unrolled her sleeping bag.

The minutes crawled by, finally fading into an hour, and Neji still hadn't returned.  She was beginning to get worried.

Gai wasn't showing it on his face, but he was worried as well.  He nodded at the girl, and she scampered up from where she was lying, dashing into the forest.

It was eerily silent on the path where Neji had gone, a few branches lay broken on the ground from when he had stormed through the area.  He could not have gotten very far in just an hour, but no matter how hard she forced the Phoenix to probe the area for him, she could not sense him.  Depression quickly fell over her, and she looked up at the sky and screamed.  "NEJI, WHERE ARE YOU?"