Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.
Too Little Too Late-Prologue
I really wanted to love you but—
…there is always a 'but'.
The moment I saw him…I knew he was special…
He always wanted to create a place of his own out of this world. I helped him. I had done everything within my power to help him with his ambition…because I know that he will succeed…He is too intelligent; he is far too determined…It was just a matter of time…He is a prodigy after all.
When that day did come…He changed. It was replaced with a ruthless man who would do anything as long as it was beneficial to him.
(Did I know him at all?)
In some twist masochistic loyalty, I still wanted to stay by his side. It was twisted because I knew I would never be able to change him (No, I wasn't naïve enough to believe love can defeat all problems). It was masochistic because I knew he was a conqueror. He could only take, with nothing to give but pain…
Then that day came…
"--And you're nothing but a tool."
"Tenten!"
Tenten snapped out of her stupor as she turned toward the direction of the voice. Currently she was standing in front of the place she was residing in. It was pretty run-down wooden structure. It was rectangular in shape, with a slanted wooden roof to drain the rain. There were 10 units in total, all on the ground floor. One of which was where the owner of the place slept.
They had to share a common washroom and the segregated hot spring at the back with the rest of the tenants. The room was tiny, with only enough space to put two futons in it. There were stains on the wall that looked like it couldn't be removed even with the strongest corrosive chemicals. When it rains, the water would pound the roof loudly as it leaked in from the ceiling. During those times, it was almost impossible for Tenten to sleep.
But at least it was cheap.
"Temari…."
"There you are!" The woman, with four pigtails exclaimed as she walked out the front entrance of the building. She put her arm over Tenten's shoulder as she dragged her friend off the porch and away from the house. "What's with the dark look?" She didn't bother waiting for an answer. "Well, I have a way to remedy that."
Tenten couldn't help but smile as she let her friend pulled her along, being careful not to trip over any large rock down the muddy trail leading to the small village in the Wave Country. Although Temari didn't tell her where they were heading, Tenten had a pretty good idea that it would somehow involved 'bar', 'man', and 'hunting'. Sometimes, she was envious of her friend…that she could forget everything; that she could live on with her life with no emotional burdens because of it.
However, Tenten didn't have the luxury to forget, nor could she afford to. Not after--
Bang.
Temari had broadly proclaimed their arrival at the bar by kicking opened the door, disrupting Tenten's thought completely. Smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke filled her senses as many people waved and greeted them. Temari quickly detached from her friend and headed toward a table of young construction workers.
Because of it, she wasn't able to see a frown that was appearing on her friend's face.
Finding out that Tenten was not with her, Temari and the workers all turned toward her, motioning her to come over.
Tenten stood there for a moment, observing them as they looked expectedly back at her, seeing how at ease everyone was with Temari and herself.
Her frown deepened as she made her way to them.
Maybe they'd stayed in the village for too long…
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