While Kazue simply stared at her, Etsuko laughed.

"You should see your face! Jeez, so grim!"

"You just... you said that jutsu could kill the user!" Kazue snapped. "Of course I'd be grim!"

The woman shrugged.

"I suppose I should finish explaining," she mused. "Right. Death-- when used by one person. Hm... I suppose it's story time, isn't it? Let's go back into the house. Akito'll put on some tea," here, the person in question snorted, but remained focused on bandaging Etsuko's arm, "And I'll explain. Oh, but just wondering... this jutsu you're looking for... are you looking for what I did, or more?"

Etsuko's eyes searched their faces, a knowing edge to the gaze. They stood their ground, Kazue meeting the look with as much determination as she could muster.

"I want what you know I want," she replied. "The solution to the curse."

Silence filled the air for a heartbeat before Etsuko nodded, tugging her bandaged arm free of Akito's grip. The man pursed his lips, but simply sighed as he stood in unison with his wife.

"Well, then I suppose a warning is in order," Etsuko said. "That sort of thing isn't in my skill set."

Kazue's heart sunk.

"But, if you'll listen... I think it might be to your benefit," she continued. "The story behind the jutsu, the jutsu itself, it's all worth hearing."

Kazue hesitated, glancing to Neji. After all, she would hate to walk away without anything, but it went without saying that what they needed was a jutsu they'd just been told Etsuko didn't have. He nodded in response to the unspoken question, which turned her gaze to Jin who seemed to be focused on sheathing her sai. When the girl did look up, she simply shrugged. Kazue should have expected disinterest from her. Jin followed orders, she didn't usually give them.

"We'll stay."

"Good!" Etsuko announced. "Follow me, then."

The trio followed the grass shinobi back into the house. Despite his initial reaction to Etsuko's words, Akito left them alone, disappearing into the kitchen to make the offered tea. The moment they'd reached the sitting room in the front of the house, Etsuko dropped herself onto the couch Akito'd occupied earlier and gestured towards the few chairs decorating the room.

"Take a seat and we'll begin," she said, pausing long enough for them to follow the instruction. "Good. Now... how much do you know about the origin of this jutsu?"

Kazue hesitated, dragging up what she'd managed to uncover from her research back in Konoha.

"Nothing of the jutsu itself," she said. "I only know that every time the clan came in contact with the Taira, a Kurama escaped insanity."

"From the beginning, then," Etsuko mused.

As Kazue watched, Etsuko leaned backwards, turning her eyes to the ceiling as she seemed to muse over where to begin her story. Kazue's hands curled into fists on her lap, but she forced herself to be patient. Rushing now would do nothing to help. There had to be something in this that they'd be able to use.

"It's a love story," Etsuko announced, putting an end to the frustrating silence. "At least, that's how I see it. I grew up here in the grass, but my mother was of the Taira. She settled down with my father, somewhat. Occasionally she would get restless and take a break from the village. Up until my later academy years, we'd spend our summers traveling with the Taira. There was an elder in the clan, an extremely older woman, who liked to tell stories of the different things she'd lived to see. Whether it's true or not... well, I'll let you believe that. So... it went like this:

"One of the few winters the Taira ever spent near the leaf, the weather grew extremely harsh. A blizzard encompassed the lands, making it difficult for them see a dozen feet, let alone continue their travels out of the country. The hokage, a kind man, offered them a chance. If you weren't aware, the Taira often take mercenary jobs. It's one of the many ways they make money. The leaf was warring against another village at the time. If they offered their swords, he'd allowed the clan to stay in the village until the weather subsided.

"Seeing no problem with the deal, the head of the clan agreed. It was a long winter. Taira Izanagi, one of the brightest shinobi in the clan at the time, was one of the many to help the leaf. During his missions, he frequently came across a strange male shinobi of the Kurama clan. Kurama Renshan was quiet, reserved, and obviously more skilled than he got credit for. It didn't take long for Izanagi to hear the rumors. Curious, given the Taira's inherent resistance to genjutsu, he made an effort to know the Kurama. They became extremely close and Izanagi was forced to watch as the Kurama male slowly broke.

"As the Kurama clan and the hokage discussed how to handle to handle the deteriorating Renshan, Izanagi searched for his own solution. He'd learned that his immunity to genjutsu meant nothing when it came to the Kurama clan. So, he sparred with Renshan, again and again. He practiced, learned, and perfected his jutsu. He came up with secret methods to fight it, but he couldn't find what he needed-- a way to save Renshan.

"That was, until unknown to the rest of the village, Renshan's mind finally shattered."

Etsuko paused dramatically, her satisfaction as she looked over her spellbound audience obvious.

"Unexpectedly, Renshan's monster was fond of Renshan, as well as Izanagi. After all, Renshan was the only person the monster had ever known, and Izanagi was the sole person in the world to accept the monster, despite the fact that it'd taken Renshan from him. He helped it conceal itself from the village, although they both knew it was only a matter of time before the others realized what had happened. Unlike most, it felt no want to destroy the world around it, so Izanagi saw no danger in prolonging the inevitable. Renshan's life had been pleasant, despite the prejudice he faced. It was much more human than any recorded genjutsu personality. They would talk, the monster more aware of the inner workings of Kurama genjutsu than anyone Izanagi had ever spoken to. After all, it'd been birthed from the jutsu.

"During this time, Izanagi came into the acquaintance of yet another leaf shinobi. A woman by the name Inoko. It took time, but he managed to wrangle information about mind-invasion jutsu from the woman.

"Slowly, Izanagi's jutsu came to life. Then came the day for him to test it.

"He hated the idea of killing the monster, but he also hated the idea of losing Renshan himself. Hoping to be able to save both of them, he stole Renshan away into the forest the evening before the Taira were to depart from the leaf. He cast his jutsu, putting his very self into the deepest depths of Renshan's mind. He pieced the shattered Kurama together. Only, the monster misunderstood Izanagi's intentions.

"They fought, Izanagi killing the monster while still inside Renshan's mind. The amount of chakra it took to dispatch such a being in its own territory was phenomenal.

"Renshan woke to the lifeless corpse of his friend."

Kazue swallowed thickly.

So, it was possible, then.

They could save Jun... but at what cost? Assuming they managed to overcome the fact that right now, she still had no clue where to look... who would be willing to sacrifice themselves to rescue Jun?

Jun, a boy whom never of them had really, truly known. Jun, who'd had their backs even when they brushed him off as a lazy ass. Jun, who'd never really asked anything of them. Who'd suffered beyond his years, but smiled his way through every day. Who'd watched as his world crumbled around him and had desperately attempted to hide the pieces from anyone that might have helped him. Jun... who was so terrified of the idea of being close to someone that he never allowed his family near his heart, yet still had a little cousin who'd looked broken upon being told he wouldn't be coming home.

Jun, who'd somehow managed to twist every single one of them around his fingers without ever trying. Who'd unintentionally left Kazue's best friend an emotional mess.

The answer was obvious:

Almost everyone who knew the boy would be willing to take such a chance.

Even as determination took place of the despair that had begun to fill Kazue, Etsuko's voice began to fill the silent room once again.

"I've heard other stories of the Kurama and Taira clan. The next to meet them was a young man, barely old enough to be considered an adult. He begged them for help-- said he was in love, but the girl's family would never accept someone who couldn't be a shinobi. They talked, dug up Izanagi's scrolls about the jutsu. Five shinobi performed it.

"The boy's monster didn't resist. They succeeded in making it disappear. The third individual the clan helped was a woman. They failed, every member of the team dying. The fourth was another woman. They succeeded again, only this time the result was different. They put up a barrier between the genjutsu and the woman's true self. Her monster lived on in her mind, but only seen to others when she either brought them to life through her genjutsu."

"So... it depends on how Kurai reacts," Kazue realized.

Etsuko nodded, Akito choosing that moment to return with the tea.

"If that's the name given to the genjutsu you're attempting to tame, then yes. From what I've heard, the jutsu fails or succeeds based on the personality of the Kurama's other self.

"Basically, it all depends on how willing they are to give their life to save the life they stole."

Kazue's heart sunk.

Unconsciously, her hand rose to touch her neck, her thoughts swinging back to the fight she'd had with Kurai before they'd dragged him back to the village.

She had a feeling that he wasn't the type to go down without a fight.

_______________________________________________

Given that it was mid-evening when they finally finished talking, Etsuko offered the group a place in their guest room for the night. Seeing no reason to argue, they agreed. The only surprising part of the matter, really, was Neji's insistence on taking the couch. Apparently, while there was no problem with them all sleeping around the same campfire when traveling, he had a problem when it came to sharing a room with the girls. Well, Kazue supposed that could mainly be blamed on the fact that Etsuko had informed them that the guest room only held two beds. Not one to sacrifice her sleep for the comfort of others, Kazue had shrugged her agreement to his decision.

Which was how she ended up laying on her back, staring at the ceiling, while Jin shifted restlessly in her sleep. The pre-teen must have been more exhausted than Kazue had initially realized given that she'd never seen her fall asleep so quickly before.

At the thought, Kazue's mind shifted through through the past few days. The trio had crossed the Land of Fire and into the grass shinobi's territory more quickly than they'd initially expected. Which meant there was still plenty of time before they reached the time limit Tsunade had set. At the same time, Kazue was rather hoping to get back before the months had passed given the delicate situation they'd left the village in. She shook her head, forcing herself to relax as she slid her eyes shut. If she kept going like this-- not getting a wink of sleep-- she was going to collapse sooner or later. Most likely sooner, given that she usually slept like the dead. While, the old her had.

Kazue's eyes slid open once again.

Was Jin telling the truth about Orochimaru? She'd seemed to be. Jin had never been a particularly good liar. She didn't have the personality for it. If so... where did that leave him? As much as she avoided any thoughts of that particularly traitorous shinobi, it was hard for her thoughts to not focus on him in the current situation.

Was he continuing his experiments?

From what Kazue knew of the real him that she had begun to uncover before her escape, she figured he was. It was just the type of person he was. He'd stay devoted to the madness even after the one that led him had passed. She rolled onto her side, hands curling into her borrowed pillow. His face flashed through her mind, pulling a scowl to her lips.

It wasn't like it mattered. The old, school girl crush that had brought her into his clutches had long since died away. The way her chest clenched up when his silver hair, smug smirk, and bottomless eyes flashed through her thoughts was no more than a sign of fear and hatred. She hated him.

Cursing under her breath, Kazue sat up and slid her feet over the side of the bed. Just one more reason to hate him-- sleep had been a favorite pastime of hers before she'd been stolen away from the village. Hell, she was well aware she'd been the sole member of their team that actually managed to sleep through the full night with no troubles. But now... her mind refused to settle.

Kazue's eyes studied Jin's unconscious form, taking in the slow rise and fall of her chest, before she shifted for her feet. Within moments she'd stepped out of the room, her attention now spent the dark hallway outside the guest room. Pulling up the layout of the house in her mind, she started towards the sitting room. Neji could have the bed, no doubt it'd be a few hours before she could get her mind to quit circling and finally relax.

This decision was dismissed the moment she stepped into the room.

Rather than laying out on the couch, Neji had tugged one of the large, cushioned chairs over in front of the front window. His feet were thrown up on the ledge, callused heels settled comfortably beneath the open glass. As she drew closer to him, taking note of the steady rise and fall of his chest indicating that he, too, had fallen asleep like Jin, Kazue caught sight of the view that must have originally drawn him to the window.

Despite how deep into the mushroom forest they were, the window had a clear view of the cloudless, midnight sky. The moon, larger than normal, cast an eerie, yet gentle glow over the village, giving an almost ethereal beauty to the houses and the barely trimmed mushroom trees. When combined with how strikingly clear the rest of the starlit sky was, the night had a mesmerising aspect to it.

When she gazed at all this, it was no wonder to her that even the ever alert Neji had fallen into a deep, blissful slumber. Kazue found herself resting an elbow to the right of his feet, and laying her head against the wooden window frame. She cocked her neck back just so, her entire body relaxing as she took in the view.

That is, until a hand caught her shirt and tugged the girl backwards.

She lost her balance, falling backwards with a small squeal. A small grunt was let out by her "attacker" as she partially atop of him, the rest of her awkwardly settled on the arm of the chair. She cursed under her breath, attempting to shift to her feet when two strong arms locked around her, Neji's head curling into the crook of her arm.

Needless to say, Kazue's face flushed a deep, tomato red.

For a few seconds, she attempted to wiggle out of the steel trap his arms seemed to be. This endeavor was quickly abandoned, however, as she realized there was no way of getting out of this without either a) harming him, or b) waking him.

"What the actual hell?" she demanded, no longer attempting to keep a quiet voice.

Neji's closed lids flickered open slightly, his sleep laden gaze studying her. It was a full minute and several curses (hers, of course) later that realization donned in his eyes and he abruptly shoved her of the chair. Kazue yelped as she collapsed in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

"Neji!"

He straightened in his seat, sleep-strewn locks casting shadows over his expression as they swung into his face. Kazue sorely wished he could have sat only a few inches closer to the window, as the moonlight just barely missed his now alert frame.

"What the hell was that?" she repeated.

He was silent for a moment, before shrugging.

"Why aren't you with Jin?"

"I couldn't sleep," she snapped. "So, I came out here. I'd almost relaxed when you suddenly decided to cuddle me."

Neji stiffened.

"We weren't cuddling," he said, tone cool.

"Then what do you call grabbing ahold of me and trapping me against your body?" Kazue challenged.

She chose that moment to scramble to her feet. Her new position gave her a clear view of his shadowed face, which was no more readable than ever. Something that had her cursing him out even more thoroughly in her mind. Couldn't he have looked in the least bit shaken by all of this?

Neji shrugged.

"You're big enough I suppose I thought you were a pillow," he replied.

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?"

"I have a body pillow at home," Neji replied, stifling a yawn. His words were slow, as if he were explaining to someone mind numbingly dense. "I vaguely recall being uncomfortable and reaching out for it. I must have thought you were it."

He studied her, cocking his head in just the slightest degree. It cast his loose, messy hair even further into his face as he gave just the slightest hint of that ever mocking smirk of his.

"I'm surprise I didn't notice the difference in weight."

Heat flooded her still warm cheeks, Kazue's fingers itching to grab ahold of him. It took all she had to keep a reign on her temper.

"Bastard," Kazue retorted. "I'm not that heavy!"

"I was under the imp--"

He cut off as the sound of a door banging into the hallway wall swept through the silent house. Instantly, both of us exchanged wordless, apprehensive looks before darting for the direction of the noise. Before we'd even gotten halfway across the room, a shinobi had appeared in the doorway. Kazue faintly recognized him as the irritable one Jin had thrown to the ground earlier that evening. When his eyes landed on them-- before she could even demand to know what was going on-- he instantly stiffened in recognition.

"You, you're an Asari, right?" the ANBU demanded.

Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded anyways.

"I am, wh--"

She was cut off as yet another shinobi appeared in the entrance of the room, the first backing up so that there was room for the second to walk through the doorway, yet a third figure clutched in their arms. The second shinobi helped the third over to the couch, dropping them into it as Kazue stared in shock. The identity of the man was obvious to her from the second her eyes met his in the faint moonlit room.

"Great second meeting, eh?" the man mused. "I don't suppose you could do a guy a favor and fix him up, would you?"

It was at that second that the first shinobi located the light switch to the room. Kazue could hear people moving about deeper in the house, but her eyes had been drawn to the rapidly deepening patch of red staining the man's side.

"How...?"

The head of the grass village smiled weakly at her, then gave a small shrug.

"Ran into an old friend by the name of Yo."

Then, the most important man in the village at that moment, passed out cold.

'Shit. It's never good luck with us, is it?'

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the fluff!