Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Gakuen Alice © Higuchi Tachibana
Prologue: A Glimpse
Today was her eighth birthday. Like all eight year olds, she found herself very excited at the prospect of celebrating her big day. That morning, Tenten was hopping all over the walls, a huge smile adoring her face and excitement radiating off of her in waves and waves.
Hurriedly, she took her morning bath. Her grandpa always insisted that she take one before leaving the house. She didn't understand why, she didn't smell! She takes a bath every night before going to sleep so she didn't get why she had to do it again the morning after. Actually, she thinks she does; know that is. It was hy-ge-nic, grandpa always said. But still, some of her classmates at school always boasted to her how their parents never really urged them to take a bath before going to school. Tenten found that unfair. They don't smell bad at all, she always grumbled to herself.
Cold water sprayed her body as she turned on the shower. That was another thing her young mind always complained about - cold showers. Grandpa said that it was very healthy for your skin. Tenten didn't see the need for it at all. It makes her hair look weird afterwards. Despite her not liking it, she had always been obedient. Her grandpa was old and it wouldn't do well if she made him mad.
Raising an arm, she turned off the shower. From the corner of the bathroom, she procured a rectangular plastic stool and placed it inside the shower area. Near the shower head was a shelf of toiletries that was barely in her reach, hence the stool. When she was little it was always Oba-chan who would bathe her until the time came when she was old enough to do so herself.
Remembering what awaited her for her birthday, she quickly grabbed the shampoo and liquid soap bottles her grandpa always gave her and placed them on the floor for easy reach as she hopped down from the stool, careful not to slip on the tiles. Snapping open the shampoo bottle, she placed a significant amount on the palm of her hand and applied it on her brown locks thoroughly; or as thorough as an excited eight-year-old could be. Not even a minute later, she was already grabbing the soap bottle. She didn't bother with the loofah in her bathing frenzy, merely applied the liquid directly on her body and spreading it all over with her hands. Oba-chan would be mad if she found out but it's not like she would, she convinced herself.
After applying the soap from her neck down to the tips of her toes, she was greeted once again with a cold spray. She kept rubbing her head in an effort to rinse out the suds faster, she knew she shouldn't have placed so much. It was taking too long!
Finally! After what seemed like years for the little girl but truly only a mere forty-five seconds in reality, she deemed herself clear of all soap and promptly turned of the water. With a flick of her chubby wrist, the shower curtain opened in one slide. Quickly taking the towel, she first proceeded to towel dry her hair, effectively messing it up. Then she continued to pat herself dry. Not bothering to cover herself up, she left the towel on the floor like a common eight year old and ran to her bedroom that was connected to the bathroom.
On her bed lay freshly ironed clothes. She was sure it was Oba-chan who had laid it all up for her, she doubted grandpa would do so, he didn't know how to iron! Tenten felt a smile form on her lips as she thought of her grandpa, face all wrinkly in a frown, trying to iron her outside clothes. Speaking of clothes, she grabbed her undies from her closet drawer and put them on. Going to the bed she looked at the outfit her Oba-chan had especially prepared for her.
It was a sleeveless, Chinese style top. It was pink and there were cute golden frog fasteners on the middle. Paired with the top were simple dark green leggings. The girl couldn't help but squeal at the sight of them. It was just like what she saw on TV! Only, the pants she saw on the TV series she was watching had lots of pockets and there were these bandage-like wrappings going on in one leg. Still, after Tenten put it on, she couldn't help but give a mock high-kick into the air. Somehow, she felt like a ninja, "but not as much as a ninja grandpa is," Tenten giggled at the thought.
Glancing at the mirror and looking at her outfit, a huge grin erupted but soon turned into a frown when she caught sight of her hair. It was a mess, still sopping and all over her face. She scrunched up her nose at her reflection. Paying no heed to the comb that was conveniently placed near the mirror, she simply divided her hair in the middle and patted her brown locks down to make it seem as neat as possible. Finally satisfied with her appearance, young Tenten was out of the door in a flash.
Grandpa's house was a two-storey one. Her home wasn't that big. It was enough for the four of them, Tenten deemed. Other than Grandpa and Oba-chan, she had her baby cousin, Konohamaru with her at the home. Sometimes, Asuma-jisan would stay with them during the summer. But Tenten's birthday was on the ninth of March, spring, hence, no Asuma-jisan. The thought didn't seem to plague her mind much longer though, as she reached the kitchen, Grandpa was there drinking tea.
"Grandpa!" She hoped to surprise him, but alas, it feels like her grandpa could sense everything. Nothing could faze him, Tenten believed.
"Good morning Tenten," Hiruzen's raspy voice said.
"Morning." Skipping towards the front of her grandpa, she twirled around. "Look what oba-chan gave me! It looks like the ones in TV we always watched!"
"Really now, may I see." His hand letting go of the tea cup, he motioned his right index finger in a counter-clockwise motion. Hyped up with the attention, Tenten twirled again enthusiastically when Hiruzen stopped her and said, "Ah, ah. Slower this time dear."
She did as she was told. Her grin getting bigger and bigger when she saw her grandpa's approving look. Alas, when she was once again face-to-face with the old man, she saw him smiling down at her but instantly frown when he saw the brown tuft atop her head that was her hair.
"Tenten," he warned at first but he did not finish. With a sigh, "Go to Kurenai and get your hair fixed," he said.
Sighing in relief, she nodded and rushed out of the kitchens to find her Oba-chan. Before she was out of hearing range, she heard her Grandpa call out a, "Happy Birthday, dear."
oOo
She found her Oba-chan in the study, going through her mail. In the corner, she could see her five-year-old cousin, Konohamaru, immersed in slamming two toy trucks with one another and making crashing sounds.
"Aunt Kurenai!" Tenten exclaimed, bounding over to her beloved mother figure. Kurenai was the lovely fiance of her Uncle Asuma. She had been the mother she never had and Tenten wouldn't ask for anyone else. The brunette loved her even more when the woman before her had opted to stay with them, to assist her grandpa with taking care of both Tenten and Konohamaru when her Uncle Asuma was tasked to work somewhere in the city for ten months a year; only coming back home during summer vacations.
The woman smiled at her, but like her grandpa, her smile turned into a frown when she caught sight of her hairdo. Also like her grandpa, Kurenai just sighed, deciding to give the girl a break. Combing the brunette's messy locks with a pale hand, Tenten found herself captivated by the woman's piercing red gaze. She found it funny, it's not only her; she noticed that a lot of people found her aunt's eyes entrancing and captivating. Others may have thought of it as haunting, but the girl didn't know that.
Breaking eye contact, Kurenai gestured with her head a drawer on the opposite side of the room and said with an exasperated smile, "Go get the brush and we'll fix your hair."
Flashing her a grin, she turned around looked for the brush. Behind her, Kurenai stood up from her seat and went to a nearby book shelf where a container of hair ties lay amongst the hard bound books.
After procuring the brush, she hurriedly sat down on the chair previously occupied by her aunt, and thus, the hair tying routine commenced as Kurenai took hold of the brush and proceeded with untangling her brown locks. Tenten felt herself relaxing with her touch. That's another thing she noticed about Aunt Kurenai, she can make you feel things. There was a time when she accidentally broke an expensive flower vase and had kept all evidences thereof but with one look, Kurenai had made guilt bubble up inside of her in mere seconds and had made her tell the truth.
"So, what's the agenda for today?" The black-haired beauty asked, conversationally.
"Well," Tenten started, her disposition calmed down with the feel of Kurenai's hands doing their magic on her hair. "Me and grandpa are going to the city today."
For a second, Kurenai had stopped her movements. To say that she was surprised would be an understatement. She knew for a fact that old man Sarutobi did not like going anywhere in Tokyo, not with Tenten.
Resuming her routinely maneuvers, she tried not to let her astonishment show lest she worried the kid too much. "Really. What did your grandpa say you were gonna do?" She said as neutral as possible, finishing a hair bun and continuing with the other side.
"I think grandpa is taking me to that new amusement park we saw on the news and the old petting zoo I went to with Uncle Asuma a looooong time ago," she replied. Elongating just how long ago it was still with her eyes closed and narrow shoulders slumped in relaxation.
"Ne, why am I being left behind?" The both of them seemed to have forgotten about the boy previously at the corner, now in front of the chair Tenten was sitted at. "I wanna go to the zoo too!" Konohamaru exclaimed, the absence of one of his front teeth clearly seen as he grinned, both hands in fists with the prospect of being able to join their trip.
"Nu uh! You can't," Tenten said, like any other bossy older sister did. "It's my birthday and I'm going to spend it with grandpa alone!"
"No fair! I wanna go to the petting zoo!"
"You went to that fancy-shmansy toy museum on your birthday!" Tenten retorted, remembering how she wasn't allowed to go with them too.
"But that was a loooong time ago! And it's no where near the city!" The boy wailed.
"Boo ho-Yeow!" She felt a sting on her scalp where Kurenai had snapped the hair ties.
"That's enough," Kurenai said, finished with her hairbuns and turning around calmly to place the brush and the jar of elastics back on the shelf. The younger of the two took this as an opportunity to stick out his tounge at bunhaired girl and Tenten retaliated by pulling on his ear. When Kurenai turned around to glare at them, they were the picture of innocence.
"Konohamaru, you know your grandpa can't handle the both of you on his own-," "You can come with me too, Aunt Kurenai!" The boy butted in.
"Ah, but it's Tenten and your Grandpa's alone time. Be patient, sooner or later your birthday would be just around the corner."
One look and Konohamaru was subdued. "Okay," he moped and went back to his toys. There was certainly something about Aunt Kurenai.
The older woman turned back to Tenten, "And you," she fixed the girl with a stern gaze. "If I ever catch you not using the loofah," she did not need to finish the sentence for the threat to come about. Tenten frantically nodded her head and bolted out the door with a, "See you Aunt Kurenai!"
"No fair," Konohamaru mumbled, playing with his toy trucks with much less vigor. Kurenai could only sigh.
oOo
So far, Tokyo was amazing, Tenten thought. They were in the bullet train and she thought she was lucky enough to sit on the side with a great view on it. Humongous billboards with funny cartoons drawn on it, tall buildings and skyscrapers, Tenten was trying to take in all the sights. This wasn't her first time in Tokyo but boy, did she love going here.
She felt a tap on her shoulder, craning her neck, she was faced with her grandpa. "Come on, girly. This is our stop."
The only downside Tenten could see was the crampness of the train. Thankfully, she was with grandpa. People always give their seats to the old people and in extension, her. That doesn't mean they escaped the throng of people, however.
Hiruzen kept a white-knuckled grip on her granddaughter's wrist as he weaved through the people, trying to get to the train's doors. Tenten was having a hard time keeping up. Try as she might, she could not follow the path her grandpa was forcibly dragging her to.
In her effort to not lose the grip of her grandpa, Tenten had failed to notice someone's foot in her way. Inadvertently, she tripped; Hiruzen's grip had all but lost her. With the speed of lightning, she got up and squeezed her way into the mob, frantically outstretching the arm that her grandpa had gripped. The girl tried her best not to panic when she heard the buzzing that signified the closing of the train doors. She felt relief shot through her system when a hand had once again enclosed her wrist and pulled on her; and then next thing she knew she was out of the train and on the less crowded space of the station platform.
"Thought I lost you there, kiddo. But alas! The power of youth had divinated myself to you." A loud voice boomed.
Looking left and right, Tenten searched for the man who had the obnoxiously loud voice.
"Now, Lee. Are you ready to see the academy?" The same man boomed again and almost simultaneously, her grandpa's hand had dropped hers. Until then did she looked up, only to see a thumbs-up right in front of her face and a blinding white smile at the background belonging to a man that was decidedly not her grandpa.
The wind rustled around them, Tenten blinked.
So did the strange man.
Another second passed. The man had dropped his thumbs-up and looked at her, head leaning on one side, a thick eyebrow raised in confusion.
"You're not Lee," he stated, albeit, dumbly. Tenten nodded her head once, twice, entranced by the man's eyebrows.
Meanwhile...
"Yosh!" A boy aged only eight swung a small but incredibly fast fist towards Hiruzen. "Why have you taken me from my sensei old man!"
"There, there boy. Calm down," Hiruzen's efforts were in vain when the boy aimed a kick to his shins. He could only jump out of harm's way, suspiciously very fluid for an old man. The boy did not seem to notice this as he continued his barrage of kicks and punches with unbelievable speed.
"Have you abducted me like sensei had warned? Are you going to use me for my special abilities?" Hiruzen sweatdropped at the theatrical way the boy was talking but on the back of his mind ran a thought, "So he's one of 'em." Suddenly, he felt thankful that he opted to take a shortcut through a quiet alley before noticing that the child he was holding on to was not his granddaughter.
Quickly, he grabbed the wrist that almost made contact with his stomach but failed to see the foot that managed to hit his knee. The only sign that he was affected by it at all was a barely heard grunt of pain. In one fast reflex, he dropped the wrist and swung his two arms upward, bending both of his knees and jumping high and above the boy. The boy turned around to see the man in a graceful crouch and he stood there awestruck. Thoughts of this old man being his so-called kidnapper were all thrown out of the window at the acrobatic display.
The boy felt a chill down his spine when they old man suddenly snapped his eyes towards his own. They held a glint that promised something quite unpleasant and he could not help but shudder. He was reminded of a clown he had pissed off in a children's party months ago with the way Hiruzen smiled at him. The boy could only gulp.
With Tenten...
"Will you quit following me?" The strange man stopped in his tracks, making her bump against his lower back.
"But Uncle, you took me from my grandpa." Tenten said matter of factly whilst rubbing her nose.
"No, I did not, little girl." How many times had he told the child that, he did not know. "And don't call me Uncle."
"Ne, should I call you grandpa too, then?" Tenten asked, a teasing smile on her innocent face. The smile only widened when she saw the man sigh in defeat.
"Call me Gai-sensei then," and with that Gai-sensei started to walk again. Not more than ten steps, he whirled around to Tenten's annoyingly cute smile.
He gave her a sickeningly sweet smile of his own, "Little girl, why are you still following me? I thought I specifically told you to wait for your grandpa in the station with the security guard."
"Ne, I thought it was okay since you gave me your name Gai-sensei!" Tenten gave the man a grin that only a child would have. "By the way, I'm Tenten!" She added as an after thought. Grandpa always told her not to speak to strangers but somehow, she felt like she could trust Gai, not to mention she found him rather funny for an adult.
She tried not to laugh when the man gave in with a groan, "Alright, alright. I'll help you look for your grandpa." Gai stopped her attempt at a jump of joy and a cheer of hooray with a finger. "But first, let us find my student for I fear for his safety." Traces of worry began to form lines on his forehead. In the short span that he had known the boy, Gai had grown attached to him and he could not bear the child being harmed under his watch.
Gai was surprised by the small hand that took his own. Glancing down, he saw the Tenten girl look up at him with one of her (Gai realised) many smiles. "Don't worry, I'll help you!" Well, who could be let down with a face like that? Gai gave her a smile of his own, his brilliant white teeth showing it's rays once again.
"Yosh! I can feel the springtime of youth swimming through my veins! If we cannot find Lee in an hour, I would have to look for him in the next while only standing in my hands!"
Three hours later...
"Hey Gai-sensei, are you alright?" They were at a secluded park of some sort yet it was not. There was a single path almost as big as a four-lane highway and lining the sides were a mass of trees. In the city! Wherever did you see such a thing?
Gai muttered something incorrigible from his position on the ground. Almost mocking him, Tenten crouched down towards his level on the street floors, steadily poking his head.
"My grandpa is stronger than you, are you sure you don't want me to call you Ji-san instead?"
Gai was seriously getting impatient with this girl and her sassy little mouth. He was having second thoughts on bringing this kid along with him in his search of his newest student. Actually, he's had more than just second thoughts. More than a thousand thoughts for that matter. Oh how it would be so easy to leave her in a nearby police station, Gai thought, a sinister smile blooming on his face. He halted the thought to a stop.
He can't just leave the girl behind. There was something pulling him towards her. It's something that he hadn't felt in a long while, not even in his precious new protege. It was something almost magnetic. Something almost fatherly.
Gai shuddered at the thought. No. He was to young (too youthful!) to be a father, at least in his opinion. But he can't shake off the protective instinct he was having in the presence of the girl. It has been quite a while. Being a teacher for a handful of years now, it was hard to be affectionate with every child you see. Not when half of the kids you teach hate your guts.
How terribly unyouthful. Gai placed the depressing thought aside.
With his mind swimming deep into his thoughts, he had failed to notice that the poking had stopped and the source of his annoyance gone along with it.
'Odd,' Gai had thought. He raised his head from it's face-down position on the ground. "Tenten?" He twisted his head left and right.
"Tenten?" He called out, panic clear in his voice. This was no park, it was something else and Gai knew it by heart. Other people lurked behind these trees, some of them your common burglars and kidnappers. Some even more dangerous than the city's most wanted criminals.
'Two kids in one day!' Gai thought, angry at himself. He closed his eyes, concentrating. Slowly, he raised his two arms, crossing and aligning them with his forehead. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. He glowed a light shade of green. "Yosh!" When he opened his eyes, metaphorical fire was burning within them. And then he was gone.
oOo
"Come closer," a voice kept whispering in her head. "Closer." Tenten was deep in the green foliage of the peculiar forest. When Gai-sensei was preoccupied with bemoaning his pain on the floor, a persistent voice came whispering. She decided to follow it. Unknowingly, she began to delve deeper into the trees. Something kept pulling her, despite not knowing where she was going, she was sure with every step she took. Then the voices became louder. "Almost there," someone whispered again. She was drawn towards the edge of the forest, signified by the long wall of colossal boulders covered with vines that blocked any trails that lead to it.
Mesmerized, Tenten traced a hand along the vine-covered wall. She began to walk forward aligning herself with the wall, the tips of her fingers barely brushing the rough texture of the boulders.
She did not know for how long she walked. She just kept going, not even noticing that the voice that supposedly lead her there was now absent.
She kept her fingertips grazing the leaves also feeling the hard stone behind it as her feet aimlessly trudged forth. Suddenly, the most peculiar thing happened. Her fingers went through the leaves and Tenten felt that she could not have removed her hand fast enough as she stared at that single space, her breathing suddenly stilled.
There was nothing different about this particular area when looked upon with the rest. Curious, the girl raised a shaking hand towards the rock and proceeded to touch it. It swallowed her hand whole and she felt like she could not have pulled it away fast enough.
"Go inside," the voice came back, but this time it was not alone. Different voices kept telling her to "Goinsidegoinside go inside," as it kept echoing inside her head, sending chills down her spine. Yet, she lingered.
"Inside," a different voice now, was rising above the rest and Tenten felt her pupils dillate as if entranced. She took a step forward, and another, and another. The tips of her shoes now invisible, eaten by the wall before her but she did not stop. She raised another foot, half of her leg now within the wall, finding the ground inside it and then the rest of her body followed, almost fully inside...but she felt a hand roughly tug on her shoulder and pulled her abruptly from the wall. She fell to the ground with a gasp.
"Grandpa!" Flabbergasted, Tenten stared wide eyed as she looked up to the face of her grandfather.
"Come now, Tenten." Her grandfather said, hooking his upperlimbs underneath her arms as he hoisted her up to a standing position. Brushing imaginary dirt off of her clothes, Hiruzen informed, "We might be a little behind but I think we might still be able to go to that amusement park after we stop shortly on the petting zoo. We must hurry though."
Tenten, however was still dazed and unsteady on her feet not unlike a drunk person trying to make sense of his surroundings. "B-but, Grandpa. H-how did you find me?"
Hiruzen merely gave a small chuckle, as if his granddaughter wasn't just lost inside a dangerous forest and walking through walls. "Why, i found your friend dear," he said with a smile. "He's quite eye-catching, no?" he added and proceeded to take her hand and dragged her out of the green foliage.
"Gai-sensei? You saw Gai-sensei? Where is he?" the girl asked, suddenly alert at the mention of his new 'friend'.
"Save the questions for later girl, else the petting zoo might close before we get there," Hiruzen said easily.
Subdued but not satisfied, Tenten replied with an, "Okay," unsuspicios of the way her Grandpa maneuvered his way out of the forest, deftly avoiding every branch, root or rock that got in his way, as if he trekked the path a million times before.
oOo
A/N: At last, I finally posted this. First off, I think I drifted from the GA plot but I'll keep the concepts and the major events. It was hard for me write Tenten in Mikan's shoes since Mikan was the crying type and from what I see, Tenten is not. Second...thete's no second
My favorite thing about the story is Gai and Tenten's relationship. It was inspired by this filler episode I watched wherein Hizashi kidnapped all the jonins and when they retrieved Gai, Tenten all but smacked his cheek with a bandaid and Gai told her off like "Can't you be anymore gentle?" then Tenten was being her cute sassy genin self with a peace sign saying "But it's just a scratch." Cuute.
