Tenten was good at watching. She watched proudly as Lee trained, surpassing his limits again and again. She watched Neji grow stronger as he first learned new and more powerful techniques, then learned new, more mature ways of thinking.

She was just as good at listening. Tenten had learned long ago that listening quietly to Lee encouraged him to calm his rants to a bearable level. If she were quiet for long enough around Neji, sometimes he would be the one to break the silence.

So Tenten watched as her idol Tsunade-sama took another girl, Sakura Haruno, as her apprentice. She watched as her genin team broke apart as Neji attained Jounin rank.

She listened to the gossip that abounded when Team Seven broke apart, listened to the rumors of Naruto's return. Tenten waited quietly for news of her teammates every time they went on a mission without her.

Every so often Tenten took the time to wonder why her peers felt the need to make their sorrows and successes so public. What did it accomplish to brag about your training, complain about your misfortune, loudly declare your goals?

Tenten was never as strong as her teammates or as popular as Sakura. She might never be. Even so she took pride in the fact that she was more self-dependent than any of her peers. She never needed to seek approval, never bothered others with her complaints, never burdened others with her sorrow.

And Tenten tried not to let herself wonder whether or not, if her peers were as good at watching and listening as she was, any of them would know her full name.