OK, Time Out! I take back what I said….. this isn't the last chapter! I just thought up a great new ending (that makes much more sense than the one I had planned…) So c'mon everybody! Let's all whistle "Twisted Nerve" to celebrate, ne? (Kidding….) However, for posterity of my records, I am not going to edit any ANs or NTs from earlier chapters. I hope this does not ruin anyone's day.

I need time management. That's my excuse. Yes, I am here for the flaming, but I trust you won't.

Chapter 9: Race to the Horizon, Part 2!

Aiko sighed again as she checked her wall clock. "Geez Neji, it's already 2:30! How many more flashbacks is this going to take? Hanabi already went home…" She sighed again and tried once again to reabsorb herself in yet another pathetic adult romance meant for lonely, sour housewives who think they deserve better than what they have but don't make any effort to receive it. But her eyes kept wandering back to sleeping Neji, who couldn't seem to hold still for very long, twitching and mumbling every few minutes. Aiko's eyes seemed pained to watch him, and it seemed that she was questioning her decision to help him.

………………………;……………;…………………………………..;……………….

"Are you sure that's it? This is what we're looking for?"

Moegi nodded. "I'm positive. This is it. The scroll." She and Tenny were crouched in the corner of a dusty room which was filled with crumbling wooden racks containing scrolls of all shapes and sizes. Behind them, the door lay on the floor, blown off its hinges by a well planted sonic bomb. Outside, the kite house was in a blaze and the birds themselves, although uncharred, were none too happy, and were dive-bombing unsuspecting pedestrians in rage. "Udon and Konahamaru should be breaking off in a second, and we'll meet them in the graveyard. For now though, we have to lie low here."

Tenny wrinkled her nose. "In this smelly old basement? I don't see why."

Moegi hummed a bit as she appraised the room. "I see your point. It's actually probably not too smart to just sit here; after all, if we're going to steal the thing, we may as well just do it and hide somewhere less incriminating."

Tenny grinned. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go find someplace fun!"

-----Meanwhile-----

Neji watched intently as his younger self ran alongside and older chuunin, through the woods to the house of Kanayama, heirs to the weapon sealing and control techniques of the Rain Village. Little Neji had trouble keeping up, but put his very best foot foreward, and so he managed to arrive at the house just a step after the chuunin. The sight was like a horrible piece of art; the building was burning, smoke rising up to the dense canopy of the forest, smoldering leaves, letting embers fall to the ground that was smattered with all sorts of weapons and scraps of paper, all wrapped around the image of Gina Kanayama, impaled on the sword of the blindfolded angel who stood in stone in front of the house.

The chuunin scanned for any traps or enemies quickly before removing Gina, and covering her with his jacket before charging into the flames. Little Neji's anger was still at bay while he kept the path out of the house clear with water jutsu, but when the older boy walked out and began dousing the flames with more powerful waves than Little Neji achieved, the silence deafened his reason.

"…..Where's Ten….. where's Sorako?"

Neji's face was a grim mask as he watched the boy shake his head, and Little Neji's eyes seemed to cloud over, before he bolted off.

"Tenny! Tenny, where are you?" The forest seemed to encroach him as he ran, the house fading into the branches behind him.

The older boy knew it would do no good to follow; he turned and went back to report to the Hokage.

Little Neji meanwhile, was dashing through the woods, searching desperately for some sort of trail to follow. Sorako had to have gotten out… she was too smart to stay in a burning house, especially if she knew they were under attack. She would've left….

He scanned the ground, uselessly. There was nothing there. No trail but the one he was leaving. Tears welled up and spilled down his face, as he turned his face to the sky, scanning the stars for some encouragement.

Neji watched his younger self's face light up as he stared up. Following his line of sight, he saw the dense tree branches that canopied the forest floor. "That's it…" The stroke of genius was not awed upon for long, as the young ninja leapt into the higher levels of the forest to follow the trail of an unknown man across the branches of the forest before it faded.

Tenny and Moegi walked calmly through town, mostly empty as people crept out of hiding, reassured by the shinobi that the danger they had perceived was actually just a school-level prank. No one had any reason to suspect the two girls; they carried not a scroll between them. Rather, they sauntered smartly down the street, swinging a large stuffed panda between their hands. Moegi's talent for genjutsu made her a huge asset in group work at the Acadamy, and her inventiveness meant that half the time no one could tell whether she had transformed something incriminating into a more abstract disguise, or if she just relished in carrying weird things around with her. The panda was no exception.

"We've got about 15 minutes to waste," Moegi pondered, "What should we do?"

Tenny sighed. "Well, I think that coffee is wearing off…. All that running sure burns energy. How about a smoothie? A little sugar would hit the spot." This prompted a pause, and a jingling of change as Moegi counted her coins.

"Well, we could split a small, if you want… but we should get it at Minaman's, theirs has added vitamins."

Tenny frowned, and paused as Tenten's muttering insider her head became more pronounced. " Destroyed…. He burned it all… and he…. HIT…. Neji! You can't do that… it's…. no… my eyes…. Tsunade-sama… it's me…"

Moegi raised her eyebrows curiously. "You ok, Tenny? You look distracted."

Tenny forced back the sound of Tenten's haunted voice, and smiled as she turned back to Moegi. "It's nothing….. nothing at all…"

At Konohagakure Records Department…

Shikmaru poked his head in through a floorboard, peeking to see that no one was there. Climbing up and brushing off the dust, he scanned for the Jonin mission archives, spotting them along the far wall.

He wasn't sure exactly why he was doing this… the trail he was following went cold very fast after he fancied that he'd discovered it. Just because the powers that be thought it funny to make Tenten the new kid at the Acadamy only a few weeks after Nami's disappearance didn't mean that she was the same person. It was probably just one of his ancestors having a laugh up in the afterlife. A dumb coincidence that they kind of looked the same.

When he saw her in the hall, he'd run up and almost tackled her trying to get a better look, to see if his friend was really home. But no, it was just a look alike. Just Tenten, a new addition to a different class. He'd felt like a fool.

Tenten had two plain, brown eyes; Sorako had one green, one blue. Tenten always wore two plain buns in her hair, while Sorako's hair was usually down or in a pigtail formation. She considered plain buns to be a bit dowdy, since her mother always put her daughter's hair in hundreds of little braids, and then pinned them in two swirling buns, rife with little twists and curls like a celtic knot. And, something he'd discovered while listening to jonin discuss the incident, Sorako (if she were even alive) should have a long scar on her face. The scene of a scuffle was discovered the day after Sorako's disappearance, suggesting that she'd fought with her kidnapper (or killer). When the blood splatter patterns were analyzed by investigative jonin, it was determined that the blood was hers, and from a pronounced facial laceration.

Tenten's face was flawless.

So Shikamaru had considered her a coincidence, and had thought no more of Nami. But now he had nagging suspicions. Ones that could only be satiated by some off-limits records.

File: Konoha no Tsunade

Shikamaru felt no guilt for sneaking through records like this. He had done similar things before, and never got caught.

So what if he was reading Tsunade's personal file from back in the day?

After Dan's death, she and Shizune had left Konoha, but returned several years later. They had left again about four years later, and didn't come back until Naruto and Jiraiya found them. During their four year stint, they had taken on Jonin level missions, refusing to take any ANBU ones, although Tsunade was certainly capable. He scanned the various missions, both boring and extraordinary, until he found what he sought.

"Mission #31456783

Codename: Cloud Clan Theft

Individual Status: Kunoichi sent as part of a 14 man squad to pursue 7 members of the Cloud Nin raiding party into the forest of training ground #16, through which a path to the border opens.

Outcome: Leader of the squadron taken down by Kunoichi; Kanayama hostage recovered with injury to mind and appearance by chakra alteration.

Post Status: Spent 2 ½ weeks rehabilitating Kanayama hostage; Chakra alteration not undone for fear of damage to mind, and for rehabilitation purposes. Kanayama given new paperwork, including full ID and records (See original records as APPENDIX B [Moved to Storage Facility Beta) and made a ward of the Ninja Training Dept.

Personal Notes by Subject:

Traitor's body burned in woods

Kanayama Sorako given new ID as "Tenten"

(Last words before completion of the 'Mausoleum Dial': "Ten…… I'm Ten….." [in response to querie of identification, taken as meaning of a name rather than a number, retained as new ID)

For information on 'Mausoleum Dial', see APPENDIX C"

Shikamaru could have lept for joy, as he read through the third appendix, which put all the pieces of the puzzle into place. He'd been right; he hadn't overthought a thing. He made a mental note to encourage his children to do a lot of snooping when he was older; the advantages outweighed the danger.

Inside Neji's head…

Neji was enraptured as he watched his younger self continue on his odyssey to save Tenny, using his byakugan to follow the trail out of the woods and across the village square, abandoned by civilians as they hid in shelters to avoid the dangers lurking in the dead of night. As he jumped along hedges and crates the lined the road, a sound began to become clear on the air.

"No, stop it! I'm staying here, I don't want to go to your stupid village!"

Young Neji picked up speed at the sound of Tenny's voice, and broke out of a pile of boxes at the end of a valley into an open square, where Tenny was attempting to evade a man dressed in full night mission ninja attire, and a Cloud Village headband. Neji scowled at him as Little Neji leapt from the shadows, headbutting the man in the gut.

"Neinei-chan! You came to rescue me!" A smile lit up Tenny's face, replacing the frown that had once accompanied the tears.

Little Neji would have returned her enthusiasm if he's had the energy, but he was watching the man stand up again with feral eyes. Tenny caught his drift and stood behind him in a defensive stance.

Watching, Neji knew that the two young cadets were no match for this full-grown Jonin. But their romantic stand made more sense than running, in this situation.

The man eyed them laughingly. He didn't say a word, he zipped foreward, swinging up with a kunai at little Neji's face and pushing foreward at Tenny with a senbon.

Little Neji dodged the blow and countered with a chakra covered punch to Ryuuji's gut, which prompted the man to redirect himself before he could reach Tenny. He knocked the punch away with a shuto hand, and brought little Neji flying into the air with a kick to the chest. He whirled on Tenny then, who already had a kunai in hand, with which she caught him in the arm before dodging around him to help little Neji up.

Neji was impresses at their teamwork, which was helped by their speed. At their height, their metabolism gave them quick feet. But their combat abilities were limited, and they were clearly tiring quickly.

Little Neji grimaced as he stood, but then charged disarmingly. Ryuuji was faster however, and grabbed Neji by the throat, lifting him into the air. He grinned at him haughtily.

"So are you the little prince? How sweet." He whipped a dagger out from his belt, and would have gutted little Neji with it if Tenny hadn't bit into his leg from behind with the senbon that he'd dropped from his belt as he turned about.

With a groan, he dropped Little Neji and whirled on Tenny, tearing a kunai across the left side of her face, and kicking her against a storefront. Turning to drop-kick little Neji to ensure he wouldn't get up, he sped towards Tenny, forming handsigns as he went.

"Hidden Genjutsu Seal Art: Mausoleum Dial!" he followed up this cry by striking Tenny in the middle of the forehead with his palm, from which a black seal ripped across her forehead. She screamed in agony and covered her eyes, collapsing as she whimpered in pain.

Ryuuji scooped her up, grinning victoriously. "Don't be sad sweetie," he whispered in venomous tones, "You don't need these ties to this silly village. You'll like Kumogakure much better."

His face fell as he turned to see little Neji on his feet again, standing in an attacking stance, his face carved into rage. "Put her down NOW!" His voice rang strong and clear across the plaza.

The Kumo-nin scowled, "I guess you need a little persuasion too, eh?" He redid the handsigns, with more difficulty as he held the sobbing Tenny under one arm, and then blasted foreword with great force, powered by chakra to his feet. Little Neji cart wheeled out of the path of the man's outstretched palm, but it still grazed him, causing his legs to catch as he fell to the pavement.

The seal spread across half of little Neji's head, breaking his vision up as a splitting headache tore through his senses. He couldn't stand; the pain was too debilitating. So he watched in horror as Tenny disappeared from sight, shrieking as she went.

"Noooooo! I wanna stay with Neinei-chan! Noooo! Neinei! Please don't go! Wait for me Neinei!"

The scene was beginning to blend and blur as Tenny's voice faded out. The last thing he saw was a group of Leaf Nin pursue Ryuuji down the street, with one of them stopping to form quick handsigns to counteract the botched jutsu as it ripped through young Neji's mind.

"Neji! Wake up already! Shizune doesn't have all day!"

Neji's slow shift back to reality was hastened by the sound of Shizune fretting behind Aiko. He sat up slowly, letting the blood filter back to his head before he opened his eyes fully.

"Aiko, your jutsu was successful. I remember everything I need to know, although I'm a little confused on a few details."

Shizune scuttled foreword nervously, shuffling her hands together in a clear indication that she was in a hurry. "Neji! Listen, I have to get back before Tsunade notices me, but you have to know this!"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Has Tenny caused some trouble?"

Shizune twitched a bit. "Well, maybe, we don't really know who did all those pranks, but… that's not important right now! What is important is that Tsunade didn't give you all the details of the jutsu! It's very important that you listen to me!"

Neji sat up straighter and listening intently, prompting her to continue with a nod.

She took a deep breath and began. "Ok, well, you know that the jutsu is supposed to wear off tomorrow when the sun rises. But that's not so easy. See, Tenten's mind has been divided into two separate entities now; Tenten and Tenny, who is like a copy of Tenten's five-year-old self. But one body can't house two minds, it's too stressful. So they push each other back and forth. At night, Tenten has control, because Tenny is sleeping. But during the day, Tenny forces Tenten to the back of the mind, hypothetically miring her in old memories or thoughts to keep her from taking control away from Tenny. But Tenny is getting stronger. At the end of the 3 days and nights, only one mind can remain. Tenny is getting more and more powerful, and unless she's stopped, she'll erase Tenten's persona from the body."

Neji nodded calmly, hiding his worry beneath layers of practiced indifference. Aiko just stood in the corner, dumbfounded. "So what do I have to do?"

Shizune took another deep breath. "You have to convince Tenny to give Tenten control of the body. Only someone close to both girls can do this, so you're going to have to compromise with her. Maybe even trick her. But by sunup, whoever has control keeps it, and the other is pushed permanently into the memories. So you need to find Tenny and convince her to let Tenten have the body. The body automatically will change shape to match the one who has control, so whoever has the body when the sun comes up will get the form they're used to no problem." Breathing very deeply to keep from panicking, Shizune scooted towards the door. "I have to go now before Tsunade catches me. She didn't want you to know, because she thought that if you tried to talk to Tenny about it, she'd have a tantrum and hurt Tenten. But-well, I gotta go!" She sped out the door before she finished her sentence.

Neji stood up quickly and followed her, leaving Aiko to sigh. "Why is everyone so confusing?"

-

Konahamaru and Udon landed at the girl's feet in the Old Honors Graveyard on Konoha's Northeast side. They were slurping down the last of a strawberry kiwi smoothie, and leaning leisurely on the scroll "What took you so long, boys?" Moegi grinned deviously.

The boys smirked. "Looks like you girls did pretty good. Shall we begin training then?"

Tenny broke out in giggles. "Yeah, yeah! I wanna know what the scroll's for! What's in it!"

Moegi smiled, "It's Boss Naruto's Signature move, the Kage no Bunshin Jutsu! We're going to learn it to! I'm the only one of us who can do a shadow clone, but Naruto skipped right over it for this Jutsu! So we've got to learn it to, to be great shinobi too!" With that, she twirled the scroll open with a flourish.

A crow cackled overhead as the kids stared, speechless, at the complexity of the scroll.

Konahamaru's rage ruined the quiet depression. "WHAT'S THIS! WE MUST'VE STOLEN THE WRONG ONE! NARUTO COULD NEVER'VE LEARNED THIS! IT'S TOO COMPLICATED!"

Udon sighed. "Maybe we should try practicing transformation instead…" He was interrupted by a rustle in the trees, and a light tapping as the shadow of Hyuuga no Neji carried itself to the ground, acting as a cushion for Neji himself.

Tenny was quite happy with the sudden turn of events. "Neinei-chan! You're back!" She dashed foreword and hugged him around the waist.

"Tenny. I need a favor from you." His serious tone attracted suspicion from the young lady.

"Hmm? Whatcha need, Neinei-chan?"

He tried to smile reassuringly, but failed. "I know that you've been pushing back the voice in your head, to keep her away so you can keep having fun. But you have to stop now. You need to let Tenten have her body back."

Tenny backed up and pouted. "Why should I? This is my body, not some dumb stranger's! You can't make me do it! Why should I do that; it's as bad as going to sleep forever! I'm not going to just sit around in my head while she has all the fun! It's not fair!" She burst into crocodile tears then, and Moegi ran forward to comfort her.

Neji didn't fall for it. "What could I do to convince you to let Tenten have her body back? It can wait until later tonight. What could I do?"

Tenny yelled from between her fingers, "Nothing! You're just a big meanie! You're not my fiancée anymore, I don't need you! I want MY Neinei-chan!"

Neji caught a flying bit of genius then, and flashed a quick handsign. "Art of Transformation…"

Tenny looked up at the cue of the burst of smoke that erupted from Neji's position. The gentle spring breeze rustled, pulling the smokey curtain aside. Her eyes widened, forgetting their tears in elation.

"NEINEI-CHAN! YOU CAME BACK!" She was forward in an instant, dancing about in her young love's arms.

Neji (brought to a smaller scale, thanks to a well-practiced transformation) smiled at her, hugging her back. "Don't worry about Neji; he's just a little frustrated. He really likes Tenten you know."

Tenny looked at him innocently. "You mean the way I like you?"

Neji threw all reservation to the wind. "Yeah, like that. So do you think maybe, just maybe you could let him see her tomorrow, when the sun comes up?"

Tenny smiled. "Sure Neinei, anything for you. But you have to keep your promise."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She grinned devilishly. "I want to get married! Tonight!"

Neji choked, knowing he had to consent. He nodded stiffly, feeling very, VERY embarrassed.

Konahamaru and Udon were shocked. "You can't do that! She'll walk all over you! Marriage is worse than torture by enemy ninja!"

Their cries were stifled by Moegi, as she chattered about the decorations they would need.

Ok, that's over. I won't change any more plot ideas. One more chapter will REALLY put this at an end. Fear not!

Next Time: Wedding bells are a ringing…. And the Kanayama legacy is reborn and freed of its frumpy costume. XD