Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
Tenten looked down the training field, admiring the handy work of her student. Nine shurikens were currently wedged together in the center, smallest circle of a target, and one was outside the bull's eye, but still on the target. She turned her head to look at her student before she praised him.
"Great job, Kugi. You got nine out of ten. You're showing some real improvement."
The young boy huffed. "I still can't get the last one."
Tenten smiled. "You're psyching yourself out. You need to stay calm the entire time." She turned to look at her next student. "Okay, Mie, you're next."
The young girl grabbed some shuriken from her pouch and threw them at the next target in the line.
Thud… thud, thud… thud, thud, thud… thud.
"Great!" Tenten said. "Seven hit and three in a row were all bulls' eyes."
Mie simply smiled shyly, embarrassed by how bad she did, compared to Kugi. Tenten looked over to her third, and final student.
"Alright Jin, you're up."
Jin grabbed some shuriken from his pouch, similar to his teammates, and threw them. No sound came from the metal piercing the wooden stump. The only sound was of the metal crashing to the ground ten times. Jin growled in response. Tenten approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, Jin. You're just beginning, it's okay to miss a few times."
The young boy turned around swiftly and glared at Tenten.
"You say that, but what about him?" Jin asked, pointing at Kugi. "He's five years younger than us and he got a 90% accuracy. I don't know why Kabuto is making me do this. I'm never going to be a good ninja."
Tenten crouched down and held onto Jin's shoulders, looking hard into his eyes.
Jin, you have so much talent that you don't even realize. How well Kugi does at accuracy training shouldn't matter to you. Everyone has his or her strengths and weaknesses. We're all different from one another. Kabuto sent you to the academy because he knew you belonged there, and I agree."
Jin glanced up at Tenten, not convinced by her words, but he did not reply after that. When she heard the silent response, she smiled and stood up.
"I do believe that we should call it a day of training. Pack up your things and you all can start heading home."
The three students walked over to the targets to pick up their scattered shuriken. Jin, who had the least trouble, considering they were all on the ground and not wedged in the wood, approached Tenten.
"Do I really have to go back there? Why can't we train the rest of the night?"
Tenten looked at Jin. "For every minute you spend training, you should spend at least that much time resting. Over-training is a real thing."
"I hate it there," Jin said with a frown.
Tenten smiled and ignored her student's pessimism. "Well, aren't you lucky that you have a place to go home to and you're not stuck on the street?"
Jin did not reply, only continued to pout.
Tenten laughed and pushed Jin along the field.
"Go home, Jin. Everything will be fine. We'll meet back here tomorrow to train."
"Fine," Jin groaned as he began to walk away.
"Oh, Jin, by the way," Tenten shouted.
Jin turned around and gave Tenten his attention.
"If I hear that you didn't go back to the orphanage tonight, there will be extreme consequences," Tenten said with an eerie shadow casting over her face.
Jin let out a small shriek.
"Yes, Sensei, of course."
Jin turned back around and took off running away from the training field. Tenten chuckled to herself as Mie stood next to her and gave Tenten a bright smile.
"Don't worry Tenten Sensei, I'll make sure he gets home."
Tente smiled and patted Mie's head.
"Thank you, Mie."
Mie smiled one more time at her teacher before she took off. Once Mie was out of sight, Tenten turned to look at her last student, still lingering on the training grounds. As Tenten was talking to Jin and Mie, Kugi removed his shuriken from the tree trunk and started to do extra practice on his aim. Tenten smiled and approached him, as he was about to throw his last shuriken.
"Boo!" Tenten shouted once she got close to Kugi.
She shouted mere seconds before Kugi's shuriken left his hand, and the shock Tenten gave him caused him to miss the bull's eye. He growled and turned around sharply, Byakugan activated, ready to fight whoever snuck up on him.
"Very good reaction," Tenten began, praising him. "Next time try to keep your guard up the whole time, though. Anyone could have snuck up on you and attacked you."
Kugi did not respond to Tenten as he turned around and began to gather his shuriken again. This time, he placed his weapons back into his pouch, choosing not to partake in yet another round of target practice. Once he was finished packing up, he looked at Tenten.
"Are you going to Uncle Naruto's party today?"
"Yes I am," Tenten said with a smile. "But you know, you really should be calling him Hokage now. I mean, that is what the part is for."
"He will never be anything more than my fool of an uncle," Kugi replied with a straight face.
Tenten laughed and patted his head. "You are just as stoic as your father was. Why don't you smile a little bit more?"
Kugi kept a straight face until Tenten started to poke at his midsection. His expression quickly turned to a tense one as he was trying his hardest to show no emotion. Eventually, his senses got the best of him and he began to laugh with a large smile spread on his face.
"Okay, okay. I give. Please stop, Sensei."
Tenten backed up and smirked at Kugi.
"You're just as ticklish as your father too."
Kugi gave a quick smile to Tenten before it faded into an expression of sadness.
"Tenten Sensei, do you think my dad would be proud of me?"
Tenten felt her heart drop. She walked closer to Kugi and crouched down so she was eye-level with him.
"Of course he would be proud of you. You are an excellent shinobi, and even greater than that, you have a kind and caring heart."
Kugi's sad expression disappeared and his black expression returned to his face.
"Grandpa Hiashi said I get that from my mom."
Tenten was left speechless at her student's comment. She opened her mouth, thinking about what to say next, but no words came to mind. Luckily, Kugi spoke again, breaking the silence.
"Can I stay at your place until Uncle Naruto's party? We could go together."
A pained look passed Tenten's eyes while she sighed. She wanted nothing more than to spend every moment she could with Kugi, but she knew what the consequences were if she tried to overstep her boundaries.
"You really need to go home and check in with your grandfather. I don't want him or the elders worrying about your whereabouts."
"The elders won't worry about me. They let me know on a regular basis that I'm the bastard child that ruined the Hyuga clan's name."
"Come on, kiddo," Tenten said, standing back up and patting Kugi's head again. "Regardless of what the elders think, your grandfather will worry about you so you need to get home. We'll meet up again very soon, okay?"
"Okay," Kugi mumbled.
"Good. Great job with training today, by the way. Just remember for tomorrow to be stronger than today."
Kugi gave a sharp nod as he took off away from the training ground.
xxx
"Tenten! I'm so glad you could make it."
Hinata approached Tenten and gave her a tight hug. Tenten pulled back after a moment and smiled back at her friend.
"I'd never miss it. It seems like just yesterday that we all thought Naruto was sputtering nonsense about being Hokage and now look at him. He fought harder than anyone I know to achieve his dreams."
"I couldn't be more proud of him," Hinata responded.
Before Tenten could respond again, the front door to the Uzumaki house opened up once more. Hiashi Hyuga entered the house with a young Kugi Hyuga by his side. Hinata quickly noticed the new quests.
"Father! I am so happy you were able to come!"
Hinata walked over to her father and gave him a loving hug as he replied.
"This is a very special occasion for my daughter and her husband. There is nothing that would keep me away."
"Thank you, Father, I appreciate it very much," Hinata said with a smile. Once she was done speaking, a five-year-old Boruto ran around from behind his mother, holding a toy laser gun. He held it up to his grandfather and pretended to shoot.
"Bam! I got you, evildoer. The world is now safe thanks to the strength of The Bolt!"
Hiashi took a moment to stare at his grandson before he made a dramatic scene, pretending to die.
"How could this be?! I'm not ready to go! Tell my family I love them! Blah…"
Tenten and Hinata giggled at Hiashi's reaction. Hiashi smiled and stood back up straight. Boruto quickly noticed the small child standing by his grandfather's side.
"Kugi!"
Boruto ran up to his cousin and began to talk loudly to him, very close to his face.
"Kugi, you should come play with me! Let's go to my room and play!"
Kugi simply rolled his eyes and ignored his cousin. Hiashi gave a sharp glare to his grandson in return.
"Kugi, do not be impolite."
"But Grandfather…" Kugi began to complain. Before he had a chance to say anymore, Tenten spoke.
"You should really play with Boruto, Kugi. He looks up to you and you should be a good role model for him. If you continue to ignore him, you're eventually going to regret it."
Kugi looked up at his sensei and pondered for a moment. Next, he sighed heavily with his eyes closed and he followed Boruto up into his room. Once he was gone, Hiashi looked at his daughter.
"Hinata, if Naruto is not busy at the moment, I would like to speak to you two, along with Tenten, privately."
"Of course," Hinata said before she went on a search for her husband. She quickly found him standing in the kitchen, partaking in lively chatter with Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru. Hinata approached Naruto and whispered in his ear. He nodded at her then looked over at his friends.
"Sorry, I gotta go guys. I'll be right back."
Shikamaru and Choji nodded while Kiba smirked.
"You take all the time you kids need. Try not to make too much noise, okay?" Kiba said, following his words with wailing laughter. His comment earned him a smack on the head from both Shikamaru and Choji.
Choosing to ignore Kiba's perverted mind, Naruto and Hinata turned to meet up with Hiashi and Tenten. The four adults made their way up the stairs into Naruto's office so they could speak without another's presence. Once everyone was inside the room and the door what shut, Hiashi began.
"First of all, am I correct in hearing that Himawari has awoken her Byakugan?"
Naruto nodded. "Yup, I saw it all myself yesterday, the pale eyes and the veins. She was mad at Boruto and tried to attack him. I stepped in front of her and she ended up nailing my chakra point. She knocked me out and I didn't wake up until a few hours ago."
"Wait," Tenten asked. "You were inaugurated yesterday. How could you have just woken up a few hours ago?"
"Konohamaru used a Transformation Jutsu and stood in for Naruto," Hinata answered Tenten.
"Some things never change," Tenten said with a sigh.
Hiashi quickly cleared his throat, getting everyone attention once again.
"While I am ecstatic that my granddaughter has inherited this wonderful gift, I have some unfortunate news that I must deliver."
Everyone was silent before Hinata spoke.
"What is it, Father?"
Hiashi made eye contact with everyone in the room, ending his gaze with Tenten. He looked into her eyes as he spoke his next words.
"The council has decided that Kugi must receive the curse mark."
So just in case anyone missed it, Tenten is now a genin squad leader. On her team is two twelve-year-olds, Mie, and Jin, in being an orphan. Kugi, her son is also on her team, 5 years earlier than most children. Kugi is not aware that Tenten is his mother. All the drama and angst, I love it.