Chapter 1

Tenten sighed as she threw yet another kunai at a target resting on a nearby tree. It had been over a year since the Fourth Shinobi War ended and while the newfound peace of the world was a huge relief to everyone, she was starting to get bored. People were settling down now, retiring to start families of their own. There was a huge lack of missions, and while it hadn't bothered her that much while she was busy with ANBU exams, she was stir crazy. It wasn't like she wanted another war, but a decent battle would be nice.

She leaned head back against the log she was resting on, a slight frown on her face. Thinking about the war always brought out emotions that she would rather not feel. Team Gai had almost lost Neji during the battle and her sensei was crippled for life. The logical part of her brain told her that the constant guilt was part of her PTSD, but she still couldn't shake the feeling. She'd almost lost everyone in one fell swoop. Tenten honestly didn't know what she would do if Sakura hadn't been able to bring the two back from the brink of death.

Rubbing absentmindedly at the tattoo engraved on her upper right arm, she turned her head to the sky and let the sunlight wash over her. It hadn't been even half an hour before she could feel something blocking her light in small burst. Cracking her eyes open, Tenten let a feral grin escape. The hawk circling above her could only mean one thing.

Tenten had a mission.

Standing outside of the Godaime's office, Tenten couldn't help but feel nervousness pool heavily in her stomach. Gathering up her courage, she knocked the four pat sequence identifying herself as ANBU and swung the door open at the muffled command to enter.

"Godaime-sama." She bowed deeply in front of the deceptively youthful looking blonde woman. The woman waved up her up, a serious look on her face as she steepled her fingers.

"As I'm sure you know through your recent induction into the Black Ops, there are foreign countries that lie far past the barrier to the Hidden Countries. Most of these are full of civilians, and are irrelevant to Konoha and the rest of our world. But upon Sakura's recent reviewal of the outsiders, we have rediscovered a small branch of chakra users throughout their world that call themselves wizards, with the largest amount in England. From what we know, their knowledge of chakra and what it takes to harness it is very weak and they need to use what they call wands in order to channel their chakra."

She walked around to the front of the desk and leaned against it. "Konoha once had a treaty with these so called wizards, formed after the Second Great Shinobi War and subsequent discovery of the barrier between the worlds. In this treaty we agreed keep from invading and waging war in their lands if they allowed us to send a ninja to their best academy every five years for at least one year in order to gather information on new magic that may have been discovered and to get a better grasp on their techniques. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"You're sending me to this England?"

"Exactly."

"B-but," Tenten stuttered, "and I mean no disrespect, but why me, Godaime-sama? There must be someone in the Ops better suited for such a serious mission."

Tsunade sighed again and rubbed the bridge of her nose in sheer irritation. "You are one of the best operatives for covert missions such as this one. You speak their language, you look similar to them, you don't have strong defining features. Sending someone like you would cause the wizards to let their guard down and begin to trust us once more. Understand?"

"Hai."

"I'm glad that we're on the same page." The Godaime smirked and settled herself in the cushy chair behind her. "You will rendezvous here at 0800 hours to meet with the client, then proceed to your temporary living quarters with one Granger Hermione. Her file will be included in the mission file as a way of familiarizing yourself with her persona. She will be the one to introduce you to the basics of their chakra techniques and give some insight into the history we have missed. You are allowed to reveal basic information about Konoha if the situation deems it necessary, but anything beyond the barest knowledge is strictly forbidden. The condition of the treaty depends solely on how this mission goes. Konoha has been unable to send people for the past twenty years due to the political instability that we have had to deal with, causing our treaty with them to become somewhat shaky. You will be kind, polite, and friendly. And most of all, you will succeed."

"Hai, I understand Hokage-sama. I won't let you down."

"That's what I want to hear. You are dismissed."

Tenten saluted her and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Blinking, Tenten reoriented herself as she landed in the bedroom of her apartment. She tried to stifle her sigh as she began to dig through her belongings, trying to decide what was the most important. She knew she had to bring her supplies and uniform, but what else did she need? Was England cold in the winter like Snow Country, or was it hot year round like her beloved Konoha?
She layed everything out on her bed, inspecting everything with a critical eye.

All fifteen of her weapon scrolls. Check.
Fully stocked kunai holster plus extras. Check.
Katana and bo staff. Check.
Soldier pills. Check.
Various vials of poisons and antidotes. Check.
Civilian clothing. Check.
Winter coat and boots. Check.
Pajamas and underwear. Check.
Bandages and ointment. Check.
ANBU uniform, just in case. Check.
Sharpening set. Check.

Gazing at everything, she sealed them as well as she could into scrolls and packed them in rows in her bag. Hopefully what she had would be enough to survive the year without serious injury or the loss of any fingers or toes. Flopping down on her bed, Tenten turned to her left and saw the slightly dusty picture of her genin team. She giggled at the sight of Neji's sour face and Lee's braid slapping him in the face. Her boys had been a such a handful from the beginning, yet she still wouldn't change a single thing.

She was abruptly jolted from her memories by a loud series of knocks on her door. Tenten rolled her eyes and made her way to the door, peeping through the eyehole. Neji and Lee stared back at her, one with tears streaming down his face and the other with a slightly furrowed brow. Sighing, she swung the door open.

"I'm assuming you somehow heard of my mission?" She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again at the nods she received and let the two into her living room.

"The Hokage has just informed us that our most youthful blossom is leaving us for a whole year! It cannot be true!" Lee sobbed dramatically against her shoulder.

Tenten groaned loudly and collapsed onto the couch where Neji had already made himself comfortable. "Yeah, I was gonna go tell you, but I guess Tsunade-sama beat me to the punch there. Still no excuse for you to show up in hysterics," she glanced over at Neji, "well, most of you anyway. I do have neighbors."

"Where is it this time?" Neji's voice was low and clipped, the only indication that he was upset.

"One of the outside countries, that one called England. Apparently I have to renew the treaty with them since I'm the only one of us that actually looks human," She joked before she reached out and grabbed the boys' hands, "Look, I promise that I'm going to write to you as much as I can, okay? It's only a year and I'll be back before you know it. I love both of you too much to just vanish on you."
She reached out and pulled the two into a tight hug, not letting go for almost an embarrassing amount of time. The three of them sat and reminisced for at least an hour, laughing about all the things that Tenten was going to miss and how they were going to be lost without her there to be the voice of reason. It wasn't until it was getting dark that Lee finally excused himself to prepare for training his genin, leaving Tenten and Neji alone in the suddenly quiet apartment.

"So," he said quietly, "you're really going. For a whole year."

"Yeah, I am." She swallowed hard, her eyes suddenly stinging with tears. "What are we going to do Neji? Who's gonna be here for you to run off all of those absolutely insane civilians and make that tea you like when you have nightmares and train with you in the clearing and take you to the doctor when you overdo it again and-" He cut her off with a firm hug, pulling her close as both of them ignored the tears wetting his shirt.

"Hush," Neji rubbed her back as she pulled herself together, "I get it, I'm going to miss you too. But it's all going to be alright. We're going to write to each other and I can force myself to train with Lee even though it won't be the same. What you are about to do is going to make a change in our world. You're strong, you can do this."

Tenten gazed up up into his eyes, her tearstained face slowly drying. Why had she wished for a mission so much? She wanted excitement, but not this. She never wanted to go so far away from the ones that she loved.

Almost like he could hear her thoughts, Neji reached up his behind neck and undid the clasp on the necklace he had worn since the day that his father died. He stroked her face before clasping the chain around her neck, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Tenten, this is my father's necklace. You know how much this means to me, but you mean more and I want you to remember that," She began to protest immediately, but he cut her off. "I trust you with this, so trust me too." He kissed her softly on the forehead. She smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around him again, holding tightly and refusing to let go for a long time.

She could do this mission.

It was the light of dawn that woke her up, the still dim rays of sun shining onto her face. Sitting up and stretching with a loud yawn, Tenten sleepily looked around her bedroom, her eyes finally settling on Neji's still sleeping form. He had always looked so innocent to her when he slept, the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders, if only but for a short while. She slid out of bed as quickly as she could, doing her best not to disturb the sleeping man then heading into her bathroom.

Tenten spent a little more time in the shower than she usually would, taking her time to savor the feel of the hot water slowly cascading down her still form. She stayed there for what must have been half an hour before the water started to cool and she forced herself out into the steam filled bathroom. Splashing some cold water on her face after brushing her teeth for the first time, she slowly made her way through the rest of her morning ritual.

She walked into the kitchen dressed in only a small robe, to the smell of fresh coffee. Neji was sitting at the table with a cup of his own, taking his time to enjoy each sip. Grabbing her own cup, Tenten settled down next to him and they sat in comfortable silence. This was part of their pre-mission ritual, they never felt the need to ruin their morning with heavy words and worries. She leaned against him as they shared a quick breakfast, trying to stay as close as possible before she glanced at the clock with a sudden sigh.

07:24 a.m.

Tenten quickly drank what remained of her coffee before rising to gather her belongings and get dressed for the day of travel that she had ahead of her. Neji quietly stood and began to wash and put all the dishes away, done just in time to meet her at the front door. Tenten took one last look at the place that she and Neji called home and stepped out to fulfill her duty.

The two of them walked hand in hand to the tower, their words quiet and intimate. The walk was over much too soon for the both of them, and before they could truly register it, they were standing in front of the Godaime's office door.

Tenten stood there in shock, not moving or speaking for several moments until Neji shook her shoulder and caught her attention.

"This isn't goodbye, it's only temporary. I love you." He ran his hand down her cheek, resting it there as she tried to smile for him.

"I love you too."

Neji leaned down and captured her lips in a loving kiss, filling her with warmth and courage. Finally, they had to pull away and Tenten smiled shakily at him once more. "Only temporary." she reminded him before disappearing behind the heavy wooden door.

Once she was inside the room, Tenten was greeted by the sight of the Godaime and a strict looking older woman with emerald robes that even Lee and Gai would envy. Resisting the urge to shake her head, Tenten put on her most professional face and dropped one knee in front of her Hokage. Gazing up, she let a small smirk play on her lips.

"Tenten, reporting for duty."

Editing old stories. May finish Chapter 8 eventually.

Edited: 5-3-16