Sorry this chapter took so long… I got sidetracked writing a 20 Truths for LJ. Anyone who wants to read it, feel free. It's posted here, so just go to the bottom of my profile. It's Tenten centric, so… oh, and no pairings in it either. It's strictly neutral.

Hmmm…. That only explains one month's no-postiness of my several-month delay…. Yeah, I've got no excuse.

This was supposed to be the last chapter, but it's getting too long… this will be the last chapter PART 1. Does that make everyone happy? Hope so, cuz this last part is a pain in the ass…

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Naruto… well I just don't, ok?

Chapter 8: Race to the Horizon-Make it or Break it! PART 1

"SHUT UP, JUST SHUT UP YOU IDIOT! GO GETS SOME HOT WATER NOW!"

Neji found himself floating. Not just anywhere either, but in the Hyuuga compound. Except there was something odd about it. There were servants running around frantically-servants who had retired years ago. The hallway renovations seemed to have been reversed, and the squalling of an infant could be heard. But there were currently no children under the age of 4 in the compound. As Neji looked around, he noticed that everything seemed vaguely dull, as if the contrast and brightness of the world had been reduced, so everything was in varying shades of grey that seemed to have been blended with the right color. Neji suspected that the pill his cousin had given him was working. This was the Hyuuga compound of his memories. The question was, how old was he in this memory? Neji focused on trying to move, and found that by doing so, he could drift in any direction he wished, without being seen, heard, or stopped by any obstacles, such as wall. Smiling grimly to himself, he drifted towards the screaming. He tuned back into the fervent chatter of the servants.

"Hurry, get some more ice!"

"Has anyone found Tsunade-sama yet?"

"No, she can't be found anywhere, and the rest of the medic-nin are treating other cases!"

"This is terrible! What if they all die?"

"Don't even talk like that! Just keep working!"

Neji frowned. He was starting to think that maybe he knew what was going on. With increased vigor, he headed towards the old quarantine room, already guessing what he might see.

Sure enough, he found Hanabi lying inside her crib, screeching like a demon. Her face was red with fever, and her eyes were flashing between their usual pale periwinkle and a sickly salmon color. Even worse, Hinata was curled up in the corner on a futon, along with many other members of the branch and main houses. Like Hanabi, they were berated with fever, eyes flashing, coughing and convulsing. Neji had to look away when he realized that his mother and aunt were there as well, among the worst of the cases. And he almost broke down when he saw himself, Hiashi, and Hizashi standing against the far wall.

Little Neji was standing with his back to the sick family members that surrounded him, crying into his father's pant leg as Hizashi and Hiashi looked upon the scene with a sort of helplessness.

Neji gritted his teeth. Even if he didn't remember this day, he'd learned about it in the academy. On the day Orochimaru defected from Konaha, he unleashed a little parting gift behind him. It was a terrible virus, one that turned the victim's chakra against them in a variety of ways depending on who was affected. Most of the normal citizens of Konaha had been spared, because their chakras developed differently than those who had begun ninja training at a young age, resulting in a different setup of their keirakukei. It was just the Hyuugas' luck that their byakugan advanced the virus in a way Orochimaru would never have imagined in his wildest dreams. In fact, Neji now remembered, he, his father, and his uncle had been the only Hyuugas spared from it. It seemed that they had inherited a strange gene from Hiashi and Hizashis' father, one that only affected the males. It gave them stronger protection around their keirakukei passages (chakra veins), and so, the virus had nothing to feed on within their bodies. But it didn't mean they were unaffected. This was the virus that had killed Neji's mother, Hinata and Hanabi's mother, and both of Aiko's parents. In fact, many medic-nin suspected that it was around this time that Aiko's second personality had developed, to cover the emotional scars of the more balanced personality. Neji could actually see her now, a young blonde genin crying silently in the corner, an irrational sort of bloodlust burning in her flashing eyes as she watched her mother and father scream in agony.

Neji watched as his younger self whiled around in response to a rather urgent scream from his mother. Hizashi rushed forward, only to be pulled back by his brother.

"Let go Hiashi! She needs me!"

Hiashi looked at his brother with pure misery in his eyes. "There's nothing you can do. It's beyond all of us now. Only she can save herself. You have a responsibility to Neji, and that can not be ignored."

Holding back sobs, Hizashi stood up and put a hand on his son's head. But it was at that moment, hearing his mother cry out terribly, that little Neji could take it no more. He broke away from his father, and dashed out of the room, through the halls, past every startled servant, and out the front door, pushing the unlocked gate open and dashing out into the darkened street, leaving his father and uncles' shouts, and the agonized screams of his family behind.

Neji followed himself silently, heart wrenching as his dusty old memories came to life. Little Neji ran down several blocks, having no idea where he was gong since his byakugan had not yet awakened. But Neji knew. They were cutting through the day entertainment district (although little Neji came pretty close to cutting into the Red Light District) and was heading towards the other end of the clan lands, which formed a horseshoe shape around Konoha's north, west, and east sides, leaving the area around the main south entrance clear.

So it was that little Neji came to a stop outside the Nara woods, taking shelter in a clump of bushes on the opposite side of the street. Panting, he curled up against the brick wall that lined the street, and cowered, clearly terrified of the woods. For a long time he sat, crying, until the bushes to his left rustled. He shot up, trembling against the wall as he took on a defensive stance which posed little threat coming from someone as small as him. Both Nejis waited, breathless, for what was to come.

"Whatcha doin?"

"AAAH!"

Little Neji tumbled backward from shock. Somehow, his attacker had circled around when he wasn't looking, coming from his right and not his left.

Neji blinked. It wasn't an attacker anyway.

It was Tenny. Decked out in a full princess kimono, pink in color, accompanied by so much jewelry that she seemed to be having trouble moving. Her hair was done up in a traditional style, and her blue eyes shimmered like the ocean.

Wait, blue? Neji checked again and corrected himself. No, her right eye is blue, but her left eye is green. But Tenten's eyes are brown…unless… Tenten's eyes always seem fuzzy with my byakugan on… but so do other byakugans and sharingans…but these eyes aren't kekkei genkai, they're just odd… I'll have to check Tenten's tonight I guess…

Meanwhile, little Neji and Tenny were examining each other with cautious eyes. As Neji would have guessed, it was Tenny who spoke first.

"What are you doing out here? You're not much taller than me, so you must be 4 too. My mommy says 4th year olds shouldn't go out afta dark."

Little Neji blinked. "Then why're you out?"

Tenny huffed with annoyance. "Well, Mommy isn't here now, cuz she's a medic-nin so they need her help now cuz lots o people are sick. Momma says she gotsta help, even though she likes swords more than stethoscopes." Tenny seemed rather pleased with her use of the word 'stethoscope', even though the rest of her grammar was sloppy. But hey, what do you expect from a 4 year old?

Little Neji settled back down on the ground, feeling a bit more comfortable now that he wasn't alone.

"So, where do you live?"

Tenny grinned, and pointed to the woods. "In there."

Little Neji was shocked. "Way in there? How did you get out here then?"

Tenny grinned. "Momma takes me and Shi-chan and Cho-chan out on walks when our daddies are on missions." Tenny suddenly seemed sullen, and pouted as she flumped down in the dirt. Little Neji seemed worried, although Neji was still chuckling about what Shikamaru and Choji would think of being called 'Shi-chan and Cho-chan'.

"What's wrong…um…"

"Tenny. My name is Tenny. That's what momma calls me anyway. Daddy always called me Sorako, which is my real name. But Shi-chan and Cho-chan call me Nami for some reason, probably cuz our moms introduced us at the beach. What's your name?"

"Neji."

"That's a funny name. I like Neinei better. You're Neinei-chan!"

Little Neji wasn't as bothered by this as Neji had been. "Why're you pouting Tenny? Did you trip and skin your knee?"

Tenny shook her head. "I was just thinking about Daddy. He left a few months ago. Momma says he's on a mission, but…"

Little Neji tried to think of something to cheer her up. "You look really pretty you know. Who gave you that pretty outfit, Princess?"

Tenny giggled. "My mommy gave it to me. She says someday I'll find a prince to go with it." Tenny suddenly seemed inspired. "I know! YOU can be my prince, Neinei!" She leapt foreward and pointed her finger towards him in an almost threatening manner. "Please, Neinei-chan?"

Little Neji thought about it. He thought about how his father was trying to help his mom, and how his mom always helped his dad on ANBU missions. So, of course, he could help Tenny, and Tenny could help him. It seemed perfect.

"Okay!"

Tenny squealed with joy. "Here! This can be my engagement ring! You have to give it back to me when we meet up again! Ooh, how does that story go…. The academy! We'll both go to the Ninja Academy, and you can give it to me when we graduate and get put on the same squad! And we'll get married when we're… how old do you have to be to get married?"

Little Neji was taken aback at her sudden ranting, and looked down at what she'd handed him. It was a necklace, a plain silver cord, with a stone dangling from it. It was a beautiful purple color, and was about an inch in diameter. It held a loose, pyramid type shape, but the angles were so unobtrusive, and the sides so tilted, that it seemed like someone had thrown it in a fire to soften the edges, and left it in too long. But it was still pretty and little Neji seemed pleased with it. "So, I give this to you when we graduate?"

Tenny nodded. "Yup, when we get put on the same squad. That's the way the princess story goes that my mom told me…sort of… so, when do we want to get married?"

Little Neji frowned. "When we become Jounin I guess. That's when my parents got married."

Tenny nodded, apparently delighted with the arrangement. "Until then, I have to get a fiancée! It has to be someone who looks just like you, but who's big and strong so they can protect me from bandits!"

Little Neji seemed confused. "What's a fiancée?"

Tenny smiled in a know-it-all sort of way. "It's like a knight who protects the princess until she gets married! I have to make sure that they're just like you, even the same name!" Tenny seemed rather psyched by the whole setup.

Neji sweat dropped. Tenny wasn't quite as smart as she thought she was, although this explained why she'd been claiming he was her fiancé.

Tenny suddenly stood up. "I have to get home before momma does. Bai bai Neinei-chan! Wait for me at the academy okay? Wait for me!"

Both Nejis watched as she ran across the street and into the darkened woods. As little Neji stood up, he slipped the necklace into his pocket, and ran towards home, having regained his sense of direction.

Neji was about to follow him, but found himself unable to move as the world around him warped together like melting ice…

Meanwhile…

"Blazing Wolf to Noodle Head, Blazing Wolf to Noodle Head, come in,"

"Loud and clear Blazing Wolf. Noodle Head to Leaf Man, come in,"

"Loud and clear Noodle Head. Leaf Man to Metal Doll, come in,"

"Loud and clear Leaf Man."

"Ahem."

"Hm? Oh, right. Metal Doll to Blazing Wolf, come in,"

"Loud and clear, Metal Doll. Operation Rooftop Raid, BEGIN!"

Meanwhile…again…

Kurenai was having a good day.

7 Am: Woke up to 12 red roses. (From Hunny Bun)

8 Am: Taken out to breakfast (By Hunny Bun)

9 Am: Went shopping (Tab covered by Hunny Bun)

10 Am: Tried to convince (Hunny Bun) to stop smoking

11 Am: Went to cinema (with Hunny Bun)

Currently: Taking quick detour to Hokage tower to pick up some papers for Asuma (Hunny Bun)

Yes, Kurenai was quite happy. Today was her anniversary with Hunny Bun, celebrating the day they first started dating. And after she picked up these papers for him, she would meet up with Asuma again to go walk through the park.

So it was of course, to Kurenai's severe anger and disappointment, when something went wrong.

She was literally 2 inches from Shizune's office when an enormous BOOM came from the other side. The air was suddenly filled with flashing red lights and automated panic, and the door in front of Kurenai flew open, to allow a coughing Tsunade and Shizune to stumble out.

Tsunade began yelling orders to the frantic Shinobi who were scuttling about the hall.

"You, lock down the front entrance! You, assemble any available ANBU! You!" She shouted, pointing at a shocked Kurenai. "You, you're in charge of stopping them! Whatever it is they want, YOU keep them from getting it, you hear?"

Kurenai was baffled. "Who?"

Tsunade groaned. "I DON'T KNOW! NOW STOP THOSE INTRUDERS!"

Not willing to jeopardize her paycheck, Kurenai did as she was told, and dashed into Tsunade's office.

There was a 4-foot hole in the ceiling, and rubble was scattered everywhere. But no intruders could be seen. Only the remains of what appeared to be a stuffed rabbit, and scraps of explosive tags. (NOOOOOOO! ICHIJO, HOW COULD U KILL MESOUSA AGAIN! NOOOOOOO! Heehee, go watch Pani Poni Dash! ignorant ones. Blessed, now I've got the theme song stuck in my head…O nami ban ban ban ban…)

Kurenai swore, and ran back into the hall. "It's nothing but a decoy! Spread out and protect anything of value! Alert the Chuunin that they have to evacuate the civilians!"

Meanwhile…

Tenny and Moegi restrained giggles as they crouched in the air duct. So far, their plan was working well. Moegi checked her watch. "5…4…3…2…1.." Another set of BOOMS indicated that the next set of exploding tags had gone off, along with some automated Genjutsu of the few Akatsuki members the kids had seen on WANTED posters. Tenny could barely keep from bursting out laughing at the panic that could be heard.

Moegi grinned. "C'mon Metal Doll, we have to get to the cafeteria wing before Udon sets fire to the Kite house!"

Meanwhile… YET AGAIN…

Konahamaru scattered another set of Makibishi using the chakra wire net Moegi had rigged up. Distracting all those idiotic chuunin and unobservant ANBU would be easy for a little while, but they'd certainly be out of luck if any Hyuugas showed up. However, these distractions had a limited time usage, as Udon had explained, so at some point it would be up to their stealth to keep them from getting caught.

Still… Konahamaru was starting to like watching all the chaos. He grinned, and released another volley of toy kunai from their hiding place on the ceiling.

Meanwhile… () ()

Shikamaru was lounging in his backyard, as he could be seen doing on many a sunny day off. Shikamaru was a very catlike person-if he was going to lie around, it had to be in a sunny spot. So as he slept in his hammock, he found himself building up a tan, as usual. He brushed this fact aside however, in favor of a more interesting train of thought.

Ever since he told Neji the story of his childhood friend ( a story which neither Choji nor himself had ever told anyone who didn't already know) he had been thinking about Sorako more and more, which disturbed him. After the incident, Shikamaru had been over thinking the whole thing, and had almost convinced himself to run away to Kumogakure to bring her back himself, until his father had told him that it would be a lot less painful in the long run if he just didn't think about it. "You're just too smart for this Shikamaru… it'll kill you if you keep going over every detail in you head. Try to let it go… just try, alright?"

And he had tried. And it had worked.

Until he dredged the damn thing up again.

Now he was revisiting the whole scenario again, and while a little voice in the back of his head begged him not to do this to himself, he just couldn't stop.

He felt like there was a part of it he just wasn't getting, that part of the answer was just under his nose and he had completely overlooked it.

It was like looking at a Shogi board, and coming up with the perfect move-and then hesitating, because you get the feeling that there's a piece on that board that got away from you at some point, and now you can't seem to place where it's been and where it could be headed, or even which piece it is.

Shikamaru hated it. Sighing, his brain worked its way through what he remembered about Sorako's appearance.

Left eye bright green, right eye deep cerulean, hair down past her shoulders, usually in braids unless it was a special occasion-

Shikamaru paused.

On holidays, or when taking Sorako to a party or ceremony, Gina had always put her daughter's hair in twin buns similar to her own, but without intricate little braids woven in.

Shikamaru bit his lip. Yes, he could think of one other person who wore her hair in buns…

A wild idea or two fell in to Shikamaru's mind, followed by a few more that all went through different scenarios, all of which ended in the same way… but he had no way to prove any of them,- unless of course…

He shot up off the hammock, almost flipping it over.

He ran into the kitchen and posted a note on the bulletin board in case anyone wanted to know where he was.

Oto/Oka/Oba-san,

Going to ANBU and Jounin record rooms to look some things up. Then going to Sasuke's house. I'll be home in time for dinner at the Akimichi's-better yet I'll meet you there. Tell Chouji that it's about Namirin if I'm late.

-Shikamaru

PS: Oto-san, I hope you don't mind, but I stole your key to the record rooms. I'll bring it back at dinner.

Back on Memory Lane…

Neji was receiving various image snippets of things that he'd forgotten, that had happened after the fateful encounter. He quickly relived his first days at the academy, where Tenten had been in his class. He'd never really talked to her, played with her, or practiced with her during school, because she did those things with Shikamaru and Choji (when they weren't getting into trouble, or when she wasn't arguing with Ino and Sakura over how much a Kunoichi ought to worry about things like appearances or romance, as if she was one to talk). But many times, she would sneak into the Hyuuga compound during the night, and that's when they would play, often sparring at random intervals. Neji also got to quickly experience getting caught by his father and several of his elders, but they all seemed not only amused, but pleased, probably because sparring with Tenny in the dark was honing his byakugan skills. Hinata had even caught them at it once, and had joined in on the little melee. After that, she met them often, and sometimes they could have sworn that little baby Hanabi was watching from her crib.

But then the snippets of memory dropped him abruptly into another full flashback.

It was nighttime in the Hyuuga compound, and for once little Neji had gone to bed at a reasonable hour. Neji frowned when he saw the seal on his younger self's exposed forehead, but at least it gave him a sense of time. This event took place a few years after the first one.

Everything seemed still though, and Neji began to wonder if anything was going to happen in this particular flashback, until Little Neji's door sprang open, and a younger Aiko sprang through.

"Wake up imouto! WAKE UP! HINATA-SAMA's GONE!"

Neji's ear's pricked up. Why was he reliving this night? As far as he's known, he'd slept right through Hinata's kidnapping, although he'd never been chastised for it, which made little sense.

Little Neji was up and out into the hallway with his cousin as fast as a frightened cheetah, and Neji floated along as Aiko quickly explained the manner.

"Kaeade-chan was wandering the halls near Hinata-sama's room, and she saw the whole thing with her Byakugan! Some guy picked her right up out of her room and ran off, but we've activated the chakra traps, so it'll take him longer to get out than it did for him to get in. Everyone's being woken up, so stay sharp!" Little Neji was one step ahead of her, his Byakugan blazing even fiercer than his cousin's.

Within minutes, half of the clan had joined them in leaping though the forest around the house, dodging every single trap and following the enemy's tracks, until they reached the East end of the main path, where Hiashi was standing.

The group froze.

Hinata was leaning against the wall, seemingly unharmed, but before Hiashi was a corpse with a very familiar face.

Hiashi spoke calmly but briskly. "The Kumo-nin have betrayed us, as is clear. You-" he began pointing at the Branch Clan members who stood closest to the front of the pack of sharp-nerved ninja. "Take the Raikage to the morgue. You, go to Hokage tower and tell Sarutobi to sound the alarms. And YOU," here he pointed at the largest group of Hyuugas, "Go and alert the other clans. They may already have been attacked, so help them out. And make sure that all their clan heirs are safe! That seems to be the main target!" Hiashi held a team headset mic in his hand, so there was no doubt in anyone's mind how he'd discovered this.

"Which clans should we assist? Konoha has many old lineages, sir."

"Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Mizuhoshi, Kanayama-"

With each name listed, several ninja lept off in the correct direction, and Little Neji did not hesistate to leave one of his confused relatives in the dust when the Kanayama's were called.

(sigh) geez, this is taking too long. After this, last chapter PART 2 and then an epilogue. Sound good? Hope so, cuz I can't take much more of these damn plot bunnies that're trying to make me write other stuff…

Next Time: More Shika, Neji flashbacks, mischief in Hokage tower, startling realizations and… a lot of running. For a more generic description, read the NEXT TIME that tells about both parts of RACE TO THE HORIZON.

TTYLN!