AN: This is gonna be a series of one-shots written for Fanfic 100. The character is Tenten, who is one of my favorite characters. This first one seems like a good way to start it out.
NUMBER 30: death
The first time she kills a fellow human being, it is an accident. She's just a Genin, and things aren't supposed to go badly. Team Gai is sent to escort a prestigious lady back to her home in Suna. Normally it's a job for Chunin ninja, but Hokage-sama has found herself short of ninja. Besides, the lady demands the quickest escort possible, and Team Gai is easily the fastest team of all the Genin and most of the Chunin.
Taking the lady, an educated woman who knows much and whines more, is a daunting task, and they find their patience with her and each other running out quickly. To make things worse, Tenten is chastising both of her teammates, Neji is mocking Lee, Lee is challenging Neji, and Gai's sporadic speeches are giving everyone headaches. To top it all off, the lady is complaining excessively about her bunions, and she demands to be carried. The crisis is averted when Lee declares himself more than up to the challenge. He becomes a human vehicle.
Lee and Gai are immersed in their happiness, youthfulness, and loud yelling, and Neji, Tenten, and the lady are all nursing headaches, wondering if those damn fools will just shut up already. No one notices the sneaking figures behind them. Before they know what has happened, Lee has been rendered immobile by a jutsu, and the lady has been kidnaped by a man.
They only stop for a moment in order for Gai to pick Lee up and carry him as they chase down the kidnappers. Gai turns serious and faces his two conscious students. He warns them that there are probably more. He tells them that they are not to kill under any circumstances. Actually, they aren't to even get involved. They are to conceal themselves, for he will be fine by himself, do you understand!
Tenten and Neji, keeping a few paces back, follow Gai cautiously. They don't show it, but they're concerned for their obnoxious teammate and their loud sensei, both of whom they barely know. They're a new team, and they don't mesh together well yet, but they still find the first fingers of a bond beginning to grip them.
Tenten watches through wide eyes as Gai takes on six other ninja. They are quick, and they are strong, but he is quicker, and he is stronger, and he possesses three times their combined endurance. Gai is doing well, and she breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe he will be fine, after all. Then she sees a man sneak up behind him, and he's too preoccupied with the other five to notice.
A kunai flashes in the sunlight, nearly blinding Tenten, but Gai has his back turned. Neji is stock still next to her, seeming for all the world like he doesn't know what to do. Before she knows what's happening, she's thrown a kunai at the sneaking ninja. It transfixes him right in the middle of the chest, and he goes down without a word.
She doesn't know what to do. Time speeds up as Gai-sensei immobilizes the rest of the ninja, killing three and knocking two unconscious. Time keeps going and Gai-sensei is walking toward her, and Lee is waking up, and the lady is safe, but she just can't take her eyes off of the man. He is dead. Dead. Dead. And that is her kunai in his chest.
Why is her kunai in his chest?