In the musty, paper-laced atmosphere of the library, Tenten found her refuge. A sharp contrast to the frenzied battles she often participated in, this was a place where she was expected to relax, and enjoy what little peace she could find. Flipping through her latest book, Winding Rivers: Dragons, she began her study on one of her favorite animals, despite its status as supposedly "mythical".
"I thought you'd be here." Seeming as though she'd just begun reading, Tenten reluctantly lifted her head to the sound of her teammate's voice. Neji Hyuuga was standing before her, staring at her with his pale eyes.
Sticking her bookmark, a paper imitation of a kunai with a purple tassel through the handle, in the leaves of the book, she stood up. "Am I needed for something?" she asked; disturbances at the library were generally related to missions, but she felt it safer to ask.
"We've got an A-ranked mission," Neji told her, breaking the news quickly and calmly. "We have to quell a disturbance at the edge of Konoha; I can't say anymore in this public of a place. Do you need to retrieve anything to prepare?"
"No," Tenten replied, slightly concerned by her teammate's haste. "I bring my weapons everywhere with me."
"That's good," Neji said, risking the tiniest deviation of his mouth into a smile. "Lee might explode if we keep him from departing another hour."
Clutching her book in her hand, Tenten followed Neji out of the library, to where the rest of her team was waiting.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Entering the small room, the unmistakable din that was Gai and Lee psyching themselves for a mission assailed Tenten's ears. Various proclamations of youth, valiance, and other traits held in high esteem by the pair were being pumped out at the maximum volume. As tears flowed, teeth sparkled, and "nice guy" poses were posed, Tenten noticed an anomaly in the routine pre-mission ritual. Leaning against the wall, dressed in the typical jounin uniform, was a man that she did not recognize. His headband was neatly arranged around long, flawlessly straight red hair, underneath which his eyes, the color of newborn grass in the early spring, flashed curiously at the newcomers to the room. He gave Tenten no room to ask who he was; walking over to her, he answered the questions she had been about to whisper to Neji.
"Greetings; you must be Tenten," he said pleasantly, in a voice clear and cool as a twilight pool, and deep like a jet black bowl.
"I am," Tenten affirmed. "And you are?"
"My name is Ban Asano. I am accompanying you on this mission."
"I see; it's a pleasure to meet and work with you."
"The pleasure is all mine."
A long silence slid by, despite the abundance of noise coming from the part of the room taken by green spandex. Ban's eyes left their gaze on Tenten, and slid into the depths of Neji's pale orbs.
"Did you inform her about the mission?" he asked.
"Only the most basic information," Neji reported.
"All right; Tenten," Ban said, turning back to the lone kunoichi of the group, "I will inform you of our mission. Not far from the borders of Konoha, there is a small farming village called Shinumura. We have recently received an urgent message from an inhabitant of this village. Apparently, a group of shinobi have invaded the village, assassinated the leader, and turned the village into their headquarters: they have forced this village to be renamed Nijigakure, and the new leader is called Irokage. Our mission is to overthrow this regime, and return Shinumura to a relatively normal state. Do you understand?"
"I understand fully," Tenten said. As sorry as she was for the people of Shinumura, this mission was undoubtedly going to be exciting; she'd have plenty of opportunities to experiment with her weapons.
"Gai, we're ready to go," Ban called, interrupting the still-ongoing psych-up routine.
Nestling her book in the corner of the room, Tenten followed her teacher and normal teammates out of the room, marking the beginning of their mission. Ban stayed behind for a moment, having noticed the book. He picked it up, gazing at it with interest.
"This should be a good way to pass the time," he declared to himself, tucking the book safely in his pouch. When he caught up to Team Gai, they had barely noticed his absence.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Although Shinumura was, under normal circumstances, a two day's worth distance from Konohagakure, Team Gai did not travel under normal circumstances: tree travel proved a much faster method than even the best-paced walk on the road. The midday sun, which had hailed them on their departure, was well on its way below the horizon when tangles of trees gave way to smooth, meticulous fields. Now, running among the trees was impossible; the road, flat and tame, was further compacted by the five shinobi's padded feet. In an amazingly impossible combination of timing and luck, the hastily-erected makeshift sharpened-stick walls rose before them in the small amount of time between the light of the sun disappearing, and the light of the pale moon making its debut. Not hesitating to reiterate their plan of storming the village, they seized this opportunity to infiltrate the village, easily slipping past the dozing guards, who wore the emblem of emanating arches on their headbands.
"We're in," Neji whispered; he had taken the rear, using Byakugan to keep watch for any unexpected security.
"Have fun!" Ban said lightly.
"Ban won't be joining us in the raid unless absolutely necessary," Gai whispered quickly. "His primary mission is to observe us."
This news was taken well by Team Gai's genin. They had evidently been prepared to handle this on their own; having one less ninja to help only meant to them that the job would take a short time longer.
Perching himself on top of a nearby roof, Ban focused his eyes on Tenten. "I'll observe her first," he muttered, reaching into his pouch. Withdrawing the book that he had secretly borrowed from her, he flipped through to "Chapter Four: A Dragon's Battle". Being careful as to not upset the original reader's bookmark, he began the amazing feat of reading the book while keeping a clear eye on Tenten, who was in no manner a still object.
"A dragon is a master of speed, able to confuse the enemy merely with its movement."
Below him, Tenten led two enemy ninja after her, then quickly jumped, doing a backflip to land behind them; confused, the ninja continued on their course, only to crash into each other.
"With its gleaming teeth, a dragon can pierce its foe with a single bite."
Tenten, now surrounded by a large ring of enemy ninja, unleashed a small barrage of shuriken. Hitting straight on, from an angle, or behind, one by one, the ninja fell, helpless against the metallic starred blurs. Upon their corpses, another, larger group of ninja gathered; many held kunai in their hands, all looked more prepared for battle than the previous ninja.
"Used alone, the claws of a dragon are its greatest weapon; the frenzied slashing and tearing of an enraged dragon leave a wave of carnage and destruction in their wake."
Her comfort zone penetrated, her weapons outnumbered by foes, Tenten bravely plunged her hand into her pouch, snapping the restraint of her foe and calling on a mass attack. Clouds of black blotted out the sky, sending forth a shining metal rain. Seemingly unperturbed by her position in this deadly storm, Tenten performed a series of handsigns on her scroll, and then tossed it in the air. The force of the wind seemed to break its seal, beginning its unraveling. Tenten jumped up to the scroll, which unrolled itself, forming into a ball around her, off of which her enemy's weapons harmlessly bounced. Now, the enemy landed in a crowded sea below the ball, of which gravity had not yet taken control of. The fatal mistake of hesitation had been made; without warning, the scroll ripped apart, bursting open with a hail of death. An impenetrable rain of weapons, of which spiked bats and balls, shuriken, kunai, daggers, and sickles comprised a small portion of, screamed through the flesh of the enemy ninja, mercilessly bringing them to their doom.
"Fearless and cunning, dragons, except among their own kind, seldom meet an opponent that can do much more than dream of matching them. All fall before the might of the dragon."
Standing alone in the piles of fresh corpses, Tenten, holding a lone unstained kunai, glanced about for any signs of remaining ninja. Finding none in the immediate area, she rushed off like the stream over a waterfall, quickly and suddenly.
Smiling slightly, Ban silently closed the book. "I'd love to continue watching this superb fighter," he muttered to himself, "but there are others that need to be observed." His figure upon the rooftop was but a shade, fading into the night as he moved on.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The sun rose, oblivious to the battle of the previous night. All corpses had been taken, all blood cleaned, and the five Konohagakure ninja were loudly proclaimed heroes of Shinumura. During the skirmishes, the Irokage had been slain, as had a shocking majority of his followers. Their mission had been a success.
"You did well, my youthful friends!" Gai cried proudly to his students, tears prominent in his eyes.
"You did indeed," Ban agreed. "For this, you shall be rewarded."
"Rewarded? How so?" Neji asked.
"As I told you, I am Ban Asano. I was sent to observe you on this mission, to see if you had what it takes to become chuunin. This mission had a second goal as a test; apparently Hokage-sama felt that you deserved this second chance, which I now agree on. Upon returning to Konohagakure, all three of you should report to the Hokage for your official promotion to chuunin!"