Yes, I know that this is going to be an... unusual story if nothing else. And *gasp*, yes, I know that I gave Tenten a last name but she deserves it. Nobody loves her like she should be loved and I just have an affinity for unorthodox situations and pairings. Even if it's not your thing, it's sure to be entertaining on the way. I'm looking forward to all the hullabaloo. Especially when you find out who I'm pairing her with. Heh, you might even be able to guess, I really hope so, I think it's kind of obvious. Well despite that it's going to be a bumpy ride folks! So buckle up now or forever hold your peace.

And a few more relevant notes before I really begin: 1)Tegatai is Japanese for steady or firm. 2) I am basing the price of Tenten's shampoo on the assumption that one Ryo equals roughly 150 American dollars. The denominations of Ryo are Bu and Shu, but I don't really understand how it all worked, I just know that Japan switched to Yen in the late 1860's. So don't even bother thinking about it, it's not that important, just know that the shampoo is expensive. 3) Yes, that is a real shampoo, costs like thirty-six dollars a bottle too. 4) Arata means fresh or new. She is an OC. 5) I don't know beans about fortune telling.

She stared morosely as the tarnished pot simmered on the stove. She watched, piqued, as the steam curled from beneath the edges of the lid and writhed up to the ceiling. She sulked as she rose and gave the pot's contents a quick stir and then sat back down. With an angry twist she pulled her hair from their ever present buns, she didn't want to be constrained by anything right now. Absentmindedly she pulled unforgiving fingers through her waist length hair, painfully untangling the unruly mess.

She was not happy, and she didn't completely understand why. She wasn't normally a jealous person, she didn't usually get angry or impatient, but lately she had felt ill at ease. Restless was a better word. Why? She didn't know. She was tired when she hadn't trained, she was angry when nobody had done anything, she was sad when she had no reason to be. She remembered earlier that day when Lee had innocently commented that she seemed to be in a bad mood lately and she had torn his head off; she shouldn't have and she knew she had hurt his feelings and that she had been silly, but right now she just didn't care. And she always cared, she was always considerate. What had gotten into her?

Her life was good, she knew that. She had her own comfortable apartment on the edge of the village. She had enough money saved in the bank to ensure that she would never want for necessities. She had friends, she had a job, she had hobbies; she had all these things but she just wasn't content anymore. She was missing something.

With a sigh she rose from her place at the table and ladled a bowl of stew for herself. She was frugal, she had to be, but she wasn't impoverished. So money wasn't what was wrong. She went on enough missions to ensure that her stomach was always full and that she always had nice clothes on her back. Vanity wasn't what was wrong. The village was currently in a state of peace, Kakashi and Naruto and Shikamaru and all of them returned safely and with success as well. So worry wasn't what was wrong. Really, she had no reason to be depressed.

She twirled her spoon in her bowl, separating all the ingredients and then stirring them back together again. With another sigh she set her spoon down, it was going to get cold but she just wasn't hungry anymore. Instead she watched as the dappled light from the window played on the table top. A few minutes passed silently by when she felt something slick slide down her cheek. Reaching up a finger she caught the droplet and stared at it with mild shock. She was crying? She never cried! Why would she cry when she didn't even know what was wrong in the first place? When there wasn't anything wrong in the first place, she chided herself. She flicked the tear off her finger and buried her head in her arms.

Who was she kidding? Something was seriously wrong with her, but how could she fix it when she didn't understand what was causing it?

Perhaps it was because she was being left behind. For one she was female, and the ratio of men to women was two to one. That was a stone cold fact. For another she was a weapons specialist and she hadn't reached the point where she was truly strong or completely competent. It was hard to master every weapon. If she survived long enough she would be a monster on the battlefield. But now? Now she was struggling to even keep up with Ino. She felt another tear slip from between her clamped eyelids, she slammed her fist on the table. Why was this bothering her now? She had never let adversity bring her down before. But it just seemed like nobody cared, Neji was a prodigy and Lee was Gai-sensei's favorite and where did that leave her? On the outskirts, training by herself unless they weren't 'busy'. That was probably it, she was lonely and lacking. She needed a challenge, she needed somebody to care about her.

Well she wasn't going to get that around here, at least not now, all the promising gennin had been snatched up by mentors already. She did appreciate being able to choose her own path for her life; weapons masters were banned in some countries merely for the fact that they were weak for far longer than other specialists before they became strong, and that they died rather easily. Frankly, in her case she thought it was because nobody told her that she should specialize and not risk her life. Gai-sensei had told her it was risky but had dropped it after she had told him that that was what she wanted to be. The first time! Tsunade had ragged on Sakura for a while before she trained her, and many gennin had their clans to watch over them. Herself? Her mother had died in childbirth and her father was a drunk. She had learned to take care of herself at a very young age. So did that make her bitter? Maybe a little.

Life wasn'tfair, she knew that, and she had learned that it rarely was for anyone. She wasn't by far a special case, just look at Neji. Maybe that was why she wanted to be a weapons master, if she could reach that point where she was stronger than a single weapon specialist, if she could reach that point where only nine others had made it. If she could climb this mountain than she wouldn't need life to be fair, she wouldn't have to hang on the outskirts and look on the more fortunate with longing. She could make life fair for her by force, that was what power was, the ability to make life whatever you wanted it to be. She was close, she had been training to become a weapons master for nearly five years, and statistically she should have been dead after two. She was so close to that victory that she could taste it, then she would be admired, then somebody would be proud of her. Nobody would notice until she was there, and she was determined to make it. She would make it and nobody would stop her.

Sitting up straight she wiped the tears from her eyes with disdain. Tenten Tegatai did not back down! Standing up she dumped her neglected dinner back into the pot and made her way to the bathroom and a shower. She needed to clear her head and think of something to do. It was obvious that if she wanted to succeed she would have to do it on her own, nobody would help her or do it for her. She was alone in this. A forest was made of trees but each tree stood on it's own. She may be a part of Konoha, her fate may be bound to it's fate, but she was her own tree and she would stand tall and proud on her own. She recalled a quote from a book she had read recently, "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." It made a lot more sense to her now. She had to harness her failure and discouragement, not let them bring her down, or overwhelm her. This was only a phase, a pause between two chapters in her life. If she could overcome the apathy others felt towards her than no defeat would ever be so big again.

Her fate was her own, she would define herself. She would create her own opportunities. She would garner her own strength. Others who had gone before her had done the same, she didn't need to be coddled to succeed. She could win by her will alone.

She felt much better now and collected her bath things feeling almost lighthearted. She decided to pamper herself a little, so reaching into the cupboard under the sink she grabbed a bottle of her special shampoo. Typically she used a generic, non-perfumed and cheap shampoo but she always kept a bottle of Kerastase shampoo around. She knew it was scandalous to spend her modest funds on twenty-four Bu bottles of shampoo but it was one of the very few things she indulged herself with. She only used it on special occasions so she rationalized that it was ok to buy it every once in a while.

She let the bathroom fill with steam before she slipped off her clothing and climbed in. Hot water was another luxury she enjoyed from time to time, she liked her showers to burn. Soaping up her body she felt all her stress and tenseness melt away. She just stood there for a few moments letting the hot water pound on her tight back. She really worried too much, it would all work out in the end, for better or worse. She had already come to terms with her probable early demise, so what was feeling neglected and alone to that? She really had been silly. She lathered her hair with relish, it smelled like perfume, lovely and elegant perfume. Sometimes she liked to pretend that she was the beloved daughter of nobles, yeah, she knew it was stupid but dreams were like hope. If you couldn't dream than you really had nothing left.

Letting the water rinse away the rest of the lather she spun under the hot spray and then stepped out of the shower. She thought she knew what she was going to do. She would go on a pilgrimage. To where, she didn't know, but to go somewhere, see something new might knock her out of this slump. If not on a mission she was always confined to the village, she had never even gone on a solo mission. Yet Neji and Lee both had, it really wasn't fair. She could deliver a simple message just as well as any boy, or anyone else for that matter. She didn't like being underestimated, even if she wasn't at the top yet it sure didn't mean she was at the bottom either.

She was feeling tense again, she took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of her shampoo and exhaling again. Getting out of here would be good for a change. She would ask the Hokage, as was proper, but would take her vacation time whether the answer was yea or nay. She had accumulated about two years of down time during the five years she had been a gennin. It was nice for her now because she had never gotten sick or took needless breaks all the time, and now she could reap the reward. She knew for a fact that Shikamaru spent his free days as soon as he got them, it was stupid really, but it made her smile because it was just like him to do something like that.

She pulled on her pajamas and crawled into her little bed, but sleep eluded her. Finally getting back up again she pulled out her travel bag and storage scrolls and decided to pack. Her scrolls were very special, they could hold three times more than the standard issue summoning scrolls one could find in Konoha. Since she was frugal she could afford to buy special things from time to time and on a mission to Marsh Country she had stumbled upon an obscure little shop and had found her treasures. The paper of the scrolls were imbued with a special herb that made the paper absorb chakra like a sponge. Since the paper could be soaked with chakra, when a shinobi transformed objects into energy to be transferred to a scroll, the special scroll could absorb much more of the object energy and therefore hold many more items. That was how her weapon summon scroll worked, if she hadn't spent all those thousands of Ryo on all of the scrolls she wouldn't have her strongest technique. Of course she had been hungry for quite a while afterwards but the scrolls had definitely been worth it. She also never had to worry about what she could and couldn't pack because she could pack away her whole house with those scrolls and still have room to spare in her pack.

She decided to pack a fair amount of her things into the scrolls, enough stuff to warrant her labeling her precious scrolls for once. She wanted to go away for a very long time and she would be comfortable doing it too, it wasn't like they were going to need her for anything anyway. Oh no, they had Naruto and Shikamaru and blah, blah, blah. It wasn't that she didn't like them, she just supposed she was still a little bitter. Sometimes they didn't even remember her name! As if there were so many kunoichi that they could all just forget! Troublesome indeed.

Ok Tenten, just calm down, this is why we are taking a vacation. A very long vacation. I know, we'll go and look at all the daimyo's palaces and maybe some monasteries and then we'll train on some remote beach somewhere... Who was she kidding? She would trek through the wilderness, completely avoid humanity and camp out under the stars every night. Now that was a plan, pure solitude for a time. How long? As long as she could get.

Once again feeling relaxed and calm she went to bed and this time she fell asleep without a problem. She always felt better when she had a definite plan, a goal, it just put things into perspective.

~O~

She woke up the next morning as the sun was just starting to shine into her window, just like she normally did. She buttoned on her shirt and pulled on her pants, the same clothes she normally wore, they had been on sale and so she had bought them in bulk. Separating her hair into two strands she braided them and rolled them into tight buns on the sides of her head, like she normally put up her hair. Then she made a small bowl of rice and steamed two dumplings along with a hot mug of coffee, a breakfast she normally ate.

Today was looking like it would be a good day, she had done all the things that were typical of her, she hadn't thrown a fit or eaten something weird just because she could. She grinned into the rim of her cup, her upcoming vacation must be why she felt so... normal today.

She washed her dishes and cleaned all the counters in her kitchen, if she was leaving she wanted it to be nice for when she came back. She was always a tidy person, even when she was upset she made sure that her home was in order. "Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject." She needed to have a routine and habits so that her mind was clear for more important things, it was just the way she worked. She wasn't very artistic, she knew that, but she thought that the simple and orderly way in which she lived her life was beauty enough for her. She enjoyed beautiful things, but she would never paint a masterpiece or anything like that. Her art came in another form.

Going to her pack she removed all her scrolls and went through them one more time. She had enough clothing for three weeks, she had all her toiletries including all important deodorant and toothpaste, she had her books including the one she had borrowed from Sakura on basic medical jutsus, she had enough imperishable food to feed a small army, and of course she had all her weapons scrolls, it looked like she was ready to go wherever she wanted. Or like she was planning to become a hermit she laughed. And all it weighed was about ten pounds, those scrolls were her most prized possessions for good reason.

Setting her pack back by the door she sat down at her kitchen table and wrote down an official request for a leave of absence. She planned to talk to Tsunade-sama in person, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Sealing the small scroll she tucked it carefully in her hip pouch and went out into the morning.

~O~

She loved the early mornings, they were always so cool and quiet. It was always easier for her to think in the mornings, she reasoned that it was because nothing had happened yet, so there wasn't any need for her to do anything and instead she could let her mind wander.

She liked the way the sunrise made everything seem so much clearer, the way the light turned the clouds pink and orange. Her favorite color was blue but in the mornings she really couldn't care less because it was all just so beautiful thrown together like it was.

She wasn't in a hurry, she knew she would get what she wanted, so instead of flying along rooftops like she normally would she walked at a sedate pace along the streets. She liked watching as people woke up in the morning, stretching in their doorways and greeting the day. She especially liked watching the shop keepers unlock their doors and pull the security screens from their windows. She would wave to every person she met, it was always important to be polite.

Soon she found herself at the entrance to the Hokage Tower, and taking one last breath of the crisp morning air, she stepped inside.

~O~

Instead of being told to wait, like she had expected when she made her way to the front desk, she found Tsunade-sama herself. She was arguing with the receptionist over something. She stepped quietly forward, but then grinned when she could discern what they were talking about.

"You're not getting it, Arata! Palm reading is a much better way to have your fortune read than tea leaves!"

The receptionist glared at Tsunade-sama and leaned forward aggressively over her desk. "No it isn't! You have lines on your palm from birth, tea leaves are more accurate since they are current!"

"No, palm lines are better because they tell the whole story not just one day from your spit."

The woman, Arata-san was it, threw up her arms in disgust and turned to her instead. Tsunade-sama was grinning in triumph, should she shed a little light on this debate?

"Can I help you this morning dear?"

"What?" She looked up, startled out of her reverie.

The lady grinned at her, "You probably aren't here to listen to us argue all morning, am I right?"

"Well yes, but I'd just like to say that I prefer Tarot cards or bone throwing."

Both Tsunade-sama and Arata-san gaped at her, at then started laughing hysterically.

"Alright, Tenten-chan, and why would that be?"

"Well, different types of readings are good for different types of fortunes and I like Tarot cards because you can ask specific questions, and bone throwing because it's more general. Though tea leaves and palm lines are good too."

"Well, aren't you full of surprises?"

Tenten blushed a little at the seeming compliment, Tsunade-sama was acknowledging her!

She bowed low, "Thank you Tsunade-sama."

"Now none of that, what can I do for you?"

Reaching into her kunai pouch she pulled out her request scroll and handed it to Tsunade-sama. "I would like to request some vacation time if you please Tsunade-sama."

"Oh? Well come with me to my office and we'll discuss it. I'll be back later Arata."

As they walked down the hallway she heard Arata-san say "Damn straight you are!" To be honest she was shocked at the disrespect being shown to Tsunade-sama but when she looked up to see how she had reacted she was grinning not angry.

"We argue all the time, quite a spitfire that Arata is, you should have heard her going on yesterday. Sounded like my mother."

She laughed, she was surprised at herself but it had just slipped out. She looked up again at Tsunade-sama to find her grinning, she really liked this woman. She was strong and smart and she wasn't too aloof to not be able to share a joke; definitely worthy to be her role model and she was very picky about such things.

Tsunade-sama's office was very simple, she would have thought that having such a high office she would have more luxurious furniture at least. But no, there were two bookcases, one on either side of the door, a globe on a stand to one side of the simple desk that sat under the window. She actually liked it more this way than if it had been ornate. She was happy right now, she had never had the honor of being in the Hokage's office. Her respect was growing for Tsunade-sama every minute.

Tsunade-sama sat down into her chair and then leaned her chin on her interlaced fingers. She seemed to regard her for a moment before speaking, unconsciously she stood a little taller and folded her arms behind her back.

"Why do you want to go? This request says that you would like at least two months leave of absence." She indicated the open scroll before her with an inclination of her head. When had she read it much less opened it? She hadn't even noticed, really, Tsunade-sama was the best shinobi around, and a woman too. "This is quite a lot of time for a vacation, is everything alright Tenten-chan?"

She bowed again, stalling a moment for time. What should she say? Would Tsunade-sama understand her need? She thought so. So taking a deep breath she stood upright again.

"I just feel like nobody needs me right now, and I just want some time to myself to think. I want to be stronger and I'm just not finding any help here so I want to travel for a while. I want to see the world, see new things and train in new places. Just for a little while. You understand, don't you?"

She saw Tsunade-sama's eyes soften just a little bit, that was a good sign, wasn't it?

"I remember when I was a gennin and it felt like I was always being left behind because I was a girl, or I wasn't as talented as the others so I understand what you are feeling. I will grant this request but you must promise me not to do anything stupid and to come back only when you are ready. This environment can be a little stifling can't it?"

She felt like she was going to burst, not only was Tsunade-sama going to let her go, but she understood what she was going through too.

She bowed especially low, "Yes Tsunade-sama! You will not regret this!"

"I wish you wouldn't bow, I'm not a queen."

She bowed once more, "Yes, I understand Tsunade-sama!"

She rushed out of the door and down the stairs, she was going to go right now! She didn't know what was going to happen or what she was going to see but she was excited all the same.

~O~

Tenten didn't notice Tsunade in her haste to leave, but Tsunade nodded her head with a half smile on her lips. "What an exuberant child, she really should be taken more seriously. There is so much undervalued talent here... Shizune!"

"Yes Tsunade-sama?"

" Bring in that paperwork, I might as well get it done now."

"Really Tsunade-sama? This is so good because then there is an ambassador from Snow Country coming and then you said that..."

She pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, she should have known better than to ask Shizune. God, she needed some sake!

~O~

She sat at her kitchen table with a bowl of the stew from last night and a very large map beside her. As she manually spooned food into her mouth she observed the different countries. Where should she go? Where shouldn't she go?

Well, Mist and Earth were out, even though she heard Earth Country was lovely this time of year, they were just too hostile for her to want to go there alone. She wasn't sure if the rumors were true, but apparently if you were foreign and they so much as found a kunai on you they would kill you. She wasn't sure about that but she wouldn't risk it. She wasn't planning to wear her hitai-ate outside of fire anyway, but yet again it was better to be safe than sorry.

She decided that she would make her way east to Border Town, how original a name was that? Even she could have come up with better. Once she made it there, she would head due north, avoiding Ame, and go through Kuso. Then she would make a loop through all the northern countries until she made it back to Konoha from the west. That sounded like a plan. And of course she would send regular reports to Tsunade-sama so that she wouldn't worry about her, she knew that she would of anybody else here. With a smile she rolled up her map and put her dishes away.

It was still early enough that if she left now she would be halfway to Border Town before nightfall. Of course nobody had stopped by to see how she was, she frowned. No stop that Tenten, you never even told anybody in the first place. Besides who would expect you to make a snap decision to take a vacation in the first place? It's not their fault, the dice just landed where they did is all.

She still didn't feel like saying goodbye though so after talking to the owner of her building about shutting off the utilities during her absence, she took one last look at her little home and the village, hefted her pack onto her shoulders and set out. She didn't look back.

~O~

Camping out under the stars was one of the things that was nice about traveling. Many complained about the discomfort or the cold, but not her, not when she could pack anything she could possibly need. She sat up late into the night under the stars and with her crackling fire, she didn't need company, she was enough for herself at the moment. The solitude was good for her soul, because even though she had been feeling lonely before, being able to sort out her feelings without somebody to tell her what they were was infinitely better.

It would all work out in the end, she had a feeling that she would find what she was looking for. She prodded the fire one more time, added a few logs and crawled into her tent and waiting sleeping bag. She felt so much better than she had at home, right now she was free.

~O~

Proceeding the next day was sheer bliss, there was nobody pounding on her door asking her to train with them. It wasn't that she minded helping Lee or Neji, it's just that they never asked if they could help her in return. She didn't know if it was because they didn't think about it, or they didn't care or what, but she could use help from time to time too. Creating all your own moves from scratch was hard, at least Neji should be able to understand that.

Well whatever, that was why she was here now. This would be her pilgrimage, not theirs. She shook those thoughts out of her head, she didn't have to concentrate on why for weeks. She should just enjoy herself while she could.

Maybe when she made it to Kuso tomorrow or the next day she would train a little. She had a great idea for a combination weapon attack, with a grin she patted the weapons scroll on her back. She was excited already.

She was about to stop for lunch when she came across a very odd clearing and for some reason she thought that she should recognize it. But that was silly she didn't ever remember even coming to this part of the forest, at least not walking on the ground as she was. All the trees here looked like they had been torn by an earthquake or struck by lightning. She felt a strange sort of peace here, maybe because these trees could reflect her pain. She felt torn and burned too. Dropping her pack to the ground she reverently touched the bark of one burned tree. This couldn't have been caused by nature, it was too concentrated. Maybe somebody had trained here, that would make a lot more sense, it wasn't uncommon for shinobi to go out and train in the woods and this area wasn't too far from Konoha anyway.

Hey! This could be the perfect opportunity to practice some medical jutsu! She wasn't as proficient as Sakura or Ino by far, but she could work on it now. She wasn't busy at all, and hadn't they practiced healing on broken melons anyway? Trees couldn't be that different, they were both plants after all. Plus there were burned trees and torn trees, two kinds of wounds to work on, it would be perfect.

Kneeling by her pack she pulled out the scroll that held all her books, and scanning through the titles she finally found the book that Sakura had lend to her. Summoning it, she flipped through the pages, there it was. How to heal burns. She sat down and read the whole chapter before she shut the book with a satisfied snap. Standing she went to the closest burnt tree and summoned chakra to her hand.

Doing this sort of thing with her chakra was hard, but very satisfying, from the little she had done before she had already realized it's potential for honing her control and precision. It took a lot of concentration though, so very carefully she pooled it into her hand. Healing was different from making clones or fireballs because yes, you were expelling chakra but you were also directing it after it had left your body. Making it even harder than normal jutsus. She watched with satisfaction as the chakra in her hand turned the green that it was supposed to be and seemed to swirl around her hand. If she had to describe it, healing chakra felt like water, it was just thicker somehow.

Raising her hand to the trunk of her chosen tree, she delicately pushed her chakra into it. Closing her eyes, she directed the chakra to the bark. She sloughed off the old, damaged bark and encouraged new bark to grow and cover the wound. Then she melded the wood under the bark back together. Soon it was as if the scar had never been there in the first place. She smiled wearily and wiped the sweat off her brow, healing took a lot of chakra but she thought she had enough left to practice on one more tree.

She would seal off that one, that tree over there that had a branch torn off. That would be good practice, it had been a good sized branch too. This might be a little more difficult than the burnt tree. She referred to her book one more time before she stood in front of the second tree and pooled the chakra into her hand once more.

Before she could touch the tree she felt something wrap around her ankle. It wasn't a snake, and it wasn't a rabbit, she wanted to scream but she didn't. The chakra fell from her hand as she tried to move her leg, but it wouldn't budge. Full of fear she looked toward the ground.

Oh my god. OH MY GOD!!! She thrashed, but she was held fast. Whatever held her ankle bound the rest of her body and began to mercilessly squeeze the air from her lungs and as she began to lose consciousness, a last thought flickered across her mind. All she had wanted was a nice, quiet vacation. She hadn't even had two days to herself. God, what was going to happen to her?