Naruto Uzumaki- unsuspecting container of the Kyuubi no Youko, orphaned at birth, and hated by the village for his father's sealing of the demon fox inside him, living in Konohagakure no Sato in the Land of Fire. Naruto sat sideways on a swing at the orphanage, staring sadly at the other kids running and playing. The adults' shunning of Naruto had rubbed off on the children, and they beat him whenever he tried to come play with them. He particularly feared one big dark-haired boy, called Sanshun, who to Naruto's four year old eyes was a giant trying to kill him every day. As a backhanded slap broke him out of his thoughts and sent him spinning off of the swing, his legs became tangled in the rope and he fell heavily to the ground. The kids formed a circle around the fallen boy in his orange jumpsuit, grinning evilly as Sanshun and his cronies started to threateningly smack their fists into their open palms in anticipation of the beating to come. Then a call went up from the entrance, "The Hokage! The Hokage is here!" The boys' faces, having all turned at the noise, turned back as one to Naruto.

"His 'grandpa' is here," one remarked, a sneer evident in his voice.

"Looks like we'll have to cut this one short." another nameless bully added.

Naruto tried to run, but he was thrown down again and a boy sat on his back to hold him down as they closed in. Several painful minutes which seemed like hours later, they laughed and walked off, leaving a barely conscious Naruto behind. He crawled slowly up and stumbled towards the gate, fearing that Ojii-san would have already left. His fears were proved true as the only person over three feet tall in sight was that matron who had it in for him. "Demon brat! Get in here and clean your mess up!"

"What? Why?"

"Another orphanage burned down and they're staying here! Now clean up your room for your roommate!" Following this, she swung her cane at him as he dove forward, landing heavily on the ground for the third time in fifteen minutes. He sprinted off, his cuts and bruises fading as he ran, panting as he reached the long stairway that led up to the old attic, the only place he could find some solace, peace and quiet, and respite from the merciless five year olds outside. He laboriously climbed, several freshly healed wounds reopening before he reached the top. He lay on the floor for a minute, utterly spent. Then he slowly stood back up, moving painfully despite his increased healing power, to his scant possessions in one corner of his room; a broken old chest of drawers from the dump, a locked box containing his gifts from Ojii-san and a lock of red hair said to belong to his mother. A sleeping bag, and a pranking kit underneath the rickety bed frame he slept on completed the poor ensemble.

Immediately after he shoved it all to one corner of the room, the door burst open and the raspy voice of the matron ripped through the silence as she led forward a scared-looking little girl with her hair done up in two buns on her head wearing a Chinese blouse. She managed a weak smile at Naruto, who grinned his trademark foxy grin right back. The crone hurled a stick at the Kyuubi container and confided, a little too loudly, to the bun-haired girl, "A nice young girl like you shouldn't talk to him. And if he troubles you, come straight to me." She paused, nodded, and apparently satisfied with this new act of hatred towards the Uzumaki boy, turned and left, slamming the flimsy door behind her.

After a small, awkward silence, the girl smiled slightly and asked, "Hi. I'm Tenten. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, dattebayo!"

Tenten blinked several times before pressing on, "Why didn't the old lady like you? You seem like a nice person."

Uzumaki Naruto sighed as sadly as a four year old can. "I don't know. None of the villagers like me and they call me a demon. They chase me around and beat me up, especially on my birthday. But I'll become Hokage and then they'll respect me, dattebayo!"

Tenten immediately interjected, twirling a plastic kunai around her finger, "Do you always say that, Chibi?"

A confused Naruto stared at her. "Say what?"

Tenten insisted, "Dattebayo! You end every sentence with it!"

An angry Naruto denied, " I do not! d... d... d..." He was trying very hard to hold it in,

Tenten was laughing at the blond boy's predicament, and finally abandoning the effort his shoulders slumped as he let slip "dattebayo..."

Several seconds later, he suddenly shouted "AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'CHIBI'!" Tenten at this point was rolling on the floor laughing her head off, holding her sides to try to keep in the laughter escaping her. Naruto was pouting - cutely, Tenten might add – and furiously trying to come up with a nickname for Tenten. "Oh yeah? O-oh yeah? Well, y-you look like a panda!" Tenten only paused laughing for a second before collapsing again.

Naruto couldn't help but join in this time. And by the time Tenten had sat up, she felt recovered enough to, after wiping the back of her hand across her eyes, retort, "If you say so, Naru-chibi."

That was the final straw. He jumped on her, yelling "TAKE THAT BACK!" and they rolled over and over around the floor in a merciless tickle fight, in which Tenten came out on top, literally.

Naruto, on his back on the floor, crossed his arms and "You win again, Panda-chan."

Tenten was about to make a witty retort when the door opened and the crone said, "Miss Tenten, I brought your bags- OHMYGAWD! WHAT IS THE DEMON BRAT DOING TO YOU!" As Naruto twisted under her to look at the matron, Tenten shivered at the strange sensation and said, "Naruto, stop-" before realizing the position they were in at the same time the old lady picked her up by the back of her blouse as a mother cat would pick up a kitten. Tenten had been very much on top of Naruto and straddling him! Tenten yelled as the crone, of course, jumped to prejudiced conclusions.

"You demon brat! Stop molesting this poor girl and come here, RIGHT NOW!" cried the old hag.

Naruto submitted meekly, but before being led away, he looked over his shoulder and called, "I'll train with you later Tenten-chan!" Tenten waved and Naruto was frogmarched away.

Tenten waited several hours in the attic, busying herself with unpacking her stuff, throwing around kunai and shuriken; usual Tenten stuff. But she still waited for Naruto. Almost at dusk, a weak knock came on the door. Tenten quickly rose from the crouch she was in and hurried to the door and opened it to find a certain blond blue-eyed boy she knew. Naruto was cut and bruised all over, his orange jumpsuit torn and it looked charred in some places, and as he crawled he left a trail of blood down the steps.

He gasped out, "ready... to train... now... Tenten-chan?"