Um… well, I was thinking of this idea when I was reading She Will be Loved by Rikkugirl14 and when I was sifting through post massacre fics about Sasuke. I just thought about how a lot of people in Naruto at least one parent or have no proven existence of family or parents (like Tenten). So, I decided to make a multi-chap fic (my first ever) surrounding the characters who have lost family members or never knew them or something like that. WHY I'm posting Tenten first is really odd though. I'll tell you later.
Summary: AU. Ever wonder where your family is after they seemingly vanish? Ever wonder if it is all your fault they are gone? These are the common musings several Leaf shinobi think about. Includes Naruto, Tenten, Sasuke, Neji, and many others. After all, everyone wants a family, some more than others.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Masashi Kishimoto doesn't feel like giving up his beloved characters to me anytime soon. ( Oh well…
R&R please!
This is also dedicated to anyone who has ever lost family, came close to losing family, feels unloved, or was and orphan at one point of their lives.
Where are my parents?
That was the question that little Tenten asked herself everyday. The brown eyed, brown bun headed girl always asked herself when she stared at the people everyone called her family. She knew in her heart that they weren't her real family. After all, they were all blue eyed, pale blonds. How on earth could they give birth to her---a girl with brown hair and brown eyes? I will ask this woman who calls herself my mother, decided Tenten, confident she'd get all the answers today as she walked into the decorated parlor. How right she was.
"Where are my parents, mom?" asked Tenten, going up to the woman that called herself her 'mother', who was currently lounging in a cushy red recliner. Her mother glanced at Tenten, and stared into her wide brown eyes. Chocolate brown eyes met crystalline blue eyes.
"I'm your mom, Tenten dear. And your daddy is at work." She explained to her adopted daughter for what seemed to be the hundredth time in a week. Tenten had a skeptical look in her eyes, as if she was really thinking that her 'mother' was lying to her.
"No you aren't!" protested Tenten boldly, glaring at her 'mother'. "You aren't my mom! You can't be! My mom looks exactly like me and would never lie to me." Tenten stated matter of factly. "You look nothing like me!" Tenten was now standing up, hands on hips, scowl set in place, and glaring at the woman in the recliner.
"Honey---" began the poor woman, but Tenten cut her off, looking angry.
"Look, you aren't my family! Why the heck are you pretending to be my mom? Where is my mom anyways?" demanded Tenten, anger exploding from her small frame. The woman in the recliner didn't answer, Tenten took it as if she was hiding something from her. "Okay, I'll ask Suki since you're no help at all." Tenten said loudly before stalking off to the said girl's room. Tenten quietly opened the door to reveal a young girl with long pale blond hair spilling over her shoulder, about her age, sitting on the floor making doll clothes out of felt and yarn. The girl glanced up from her task.
"Tenten," she said, in a way of greeting, shooting Tenten a glare. Tenten glared back, wondering why she even wanted to ask this brat her question she tried answering for as long as she could remember. Because she's the only one who would answer it. Replied Tenten's inner self. Tenten stared at Suki a moment longer before continuing.
"Suki, look: I need to ask you a question. It's really important, too!"
Suki stared at Tenten before putting down her doll clothes making material. "Go," she ordered.
Tenten took a deep breath before setting her gaze directly into Suki's eyes. "I… I…. I want to know where my parents are." She answered, praying to the gods that Suki would give her a straight answer. She failed to notice Suki's eyes glint evilly.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" asked Suki, a mischievous smile gracing her face. "Anyways," she continued, "The truth is that your dear parents abandoned you because they must have not liked you enough." After Suki uttered these words, silence fell upon the two girls. Suki waited, anticipating the moment when her words sunk into Tenten's mind. Tenten's mind was racing now.
"… abandoned you because they must have not liked you enough."
Is that why I'm living with these weirdoes, because my parents didn't love me?
Is that what everyone was hiding from me all these years?
Why didn't they love me? Was I too stupid? Was I too bad? Was I too ugly? Did I not work hard? What did I do to make them throw me away, like a piece of trash?
Suki continued, enjoying torturing little Tenten. "You were probably a worthless, stupid, ugly, snot. That's why they didn't want you----you were useless! Of course, how could anyone truly love you? You don't even belong here! You look nothing like the people around here! You stick out like a sore thumb and you don't even belong here." Snapped Suki venomously, glaring hard at Tenten.
Tenten tried to blink back oncoming tears. If she cried, it would only satisfy Suki anyways. As soon as the first rows of tears began to spill, she angrily wiped the away before facing Suki. "NO!!! You're lying! I probably got lost in a mall or something! They loved me, okay!!!" Tenten yelled, trying to defend herself. But Suki saw a loop hole and again taunted her.
"Then they must have still not liked you, leaving the mall without you." She pointed out in a mock innocent voice. Suki smirked at Tenten's saddened behavior. Tenten sniffled and got up, glaring at Suki. Without a word, Tenten wrenched open the door and ran out of the room as fast as she could. Now, the woman who she asked first knew Tenten was upset, and she honestly cared about the girl. She walked over to Tenten carefully, and began to speak.
"Tenten dear, I heard your discussion with Suki." She informed the crying girl. Tenten didn't answer, but the woman wasn't bothered. "Tenten dear, Suki was wrong. I'm sure your parents loved you very much, but they probably couldn't afford to keep you." She continued. Tenten looked up this time, a questioning look in her eyes. The woman decided to continue. "In China (1 and 2), you have to pay a fine if you want more than a certain number of children. Also, some parts aren't the richest in the world, making getting money very tough. I'm sure your parents loved you very much, and wanted to keep you." She explained soothingly. This time, Tenten answered with a question.
"I…I…If they wanted t…to k….k…k…keep me, why did they send me away?" asked Tenten between sniffles and sobs. The woman who called herself Tenten's mother thought for a moment before answering.
"They wanted you to be happy, I guess. You probably wouldn't have luxuries like chocolate, books, or your own room back in China. They knew this, and they only wanted the best for you. That's why they couldn't keep you." Answered the woman, trying to calm down the sobbing girl. Tenten finished her crying, and stared at the woman some more, before saying.
"So, who will be my mother now?" she asked, honestly wanting to know.
"I will be your mother now, okay? I don't like you being unhappy. Besides, I adopted, didn't I? I will love you as much as your parents back in China do, okay sweetie?" assured her new mother. Then, her mother heard the words she so longed to hear from her adopted daughter:
"I love you mother,"
At least the way my mom explained it to me, there was some stupid law in China that forbade families to have more than one or two kids. They had to pay some sort of fine if they had more… per kid. So that's why a lot of kids are single children and a lot of kids end up in orphanages in China (not to mention pretty crappy orphanages). Then again, maybe they dropped that law. I have honestly no idea, because my mom explained it to me when I was six. XD
I have no idea either if Tenten is Chinese or Japanese. Her hairstyle is something usually Chinese girls do with their hair (traditionally). Her clothes in both the anime and manga looked really Chinese-ish. Oh well, for the sake of this fic, I made her a Chinese girl… from Southern China I guess (Southern Chinese people typically have brownish hair, not black hair)
A/N: I know, very sappy. That Suki kid I made up was a real bitch, wasn't she? Ah, I just needed a bitch to beat down poor Tenten-chan. But see, everything turned out alright in the end! Next chapter up will be post massacre Sasuke, who is staying with our favorite hentai-sensei.
Also, I know everyone was looking forward to Itachilicious, but my enthusiasm to finish has died. It shall be reborn soon! Also, I need to find some hentai muses… Yes, I think I'm turning into a hentai. XD