Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto; it belongs to the great manga artist Masashi Kishimoto
Too Much KindnessLong ago in the Hidden Mist Village, a baby girl was born to a pair of shinobi. She was named "Tenten", which meant "heaven", because on the day she drew her first breath, the giant blizzard that had ravaged the village ended. Almost as if by magic, at her wail the winds died down and the snow stopped. To her parents, she was a gift sent down from the heavens.
But when she was at a very young age, a terrible sickness swept through the village. It killed hundreds of people, including her parents and every other relative she had. A shinobi of a mission found her half starved, lying of a field of dead, decayed corpses. The only thing she could remember about herself was her first name. As of that day, she became Tenten, the girl without a family name.
As Tenten grew up, she decided to become a shinobi. She was the favorite of all the academy teachers. That caused all the other students to pick on her.
"Hey Tenten! Why aren't you with the teachers? They think you're so good that you can be one of them. The way you walk around like that, all calm and cool makes me sick!" screamed Ino, a classmate that was also the class bully. She loved to pick on everyone, especially Tenten.
But Tenten didn't care; she knew that deep down inside, Ino was really a sweet girl under all those layers of make-up and skimpy clothing…many, many layers.
"Ino-san, I am no where as good as the teachers, but it is my goal to be as good as them so I try my best. I noticed earlier when sensei made us practice our jutsus that your taijutsu is somewhat weak. Do you want me to help you a bit?" Tenten offered with an innocent smile.
Not able to think of a good comeback, Ino huffed and stomped off, leaving Tenten alone in the training area where she had cornered her.
"Well, I'm already in the training area so I might as well practice," she said to herself and pulled out a kunai and threw it at one of the targets there.
That year when the final exams were held, Tenten passed with flying colors and was named the top kunoichi out of all of the graduates that year. As she watched all of the other graduates' parents congratulate them after the teacher presented them with their forehead protectors, a twinge of pain shot threw her heart, wishing that she too had someone who would congratulate her. Quickly, she shook that feeling away when they called for her to come up.
"Ah, here she is, not only the top kunoichi, but also the top overall and youngest shinobi graduating this year," spouted Master Iruka, the founder of this academy. "Tenten, my prodigy, I haven't seen a kunoichi like you since that great Lady Tsunade from the Three Legendary Sennins of Konoha came to visit. Your weapon skills are superb! And your ninjutsu has almost no equal. No other student of my school has ever developed their own attack before they graduated. Your Soushouryu is an attack that is 100 original; I have never seen another like it. You have great potential, and now use it to its fullest extent to assist this meager village in times of need. Stay loyal to the Mist and defend this place for eternity!"
Master Iruka got a little carried away with his speech but people applauded anyways because it was finally over. Poor Tenten knew that was the only reason they clapped, so even the comfort of false admiration was stripped away from her bare hands. But she didn't show it, no. She was strong and nothing could bring her down. Nothing.
Years passed and Tenten was now 16. Ever since she became a Genin and age 10, her rank as a shinobi went up quickly. At age 12, the normal age for most to graduate from the academy, she had already took the Chuunin exams and passed. Two years later, she became a Jounin.
Tenten slowly walked home after a long weeks work. She had just completed an A-rank mission – the assassination of an evil warlord who lived high in the mountains – and was daydreaming about a nice warm bath when she spotted a large crowd of people gathering around something.
"What are they all looking at?" she wondered and went over to look.
"Look at that dumb scrap of fur," one of the onlookers sneered, "you can't even make a decent fur pouch with that thing."
"Yeah, it's so skinny that you can almost see right through it!" another yelled. "How about we put it out of its misery right here and now."
One of the boys in the crowd raised up a kunai and was prepared to stab the trembling kitten when a shuriken zipped out and knocked it out of his hand.
"Leave that poor kitten alone!" Tenten yelled glaring icy cold daggers into everyone. Over the years of being teased, she had discovered that by glaring at them, she could scare the people away. She didn't enjoy doing this because it was mean, but it did come in handy in situations like these. After her glare, all the people picking on the kitten quickly dispersed leaving Tenten alone with the poor battered animal.
"Hey little fella, are you okay?" she said soothingly and bent over to examine the feline. It had a few scratches but was mainly just covered in dirt.
"Okay little guy, get out of here now, we don't want those mean boys picking on you again now do we?" Tenten crooned and was about to leave when she heard a faint, pitiful meow. Turning around she sighed. It was just so darn cute. So she picked it up and brought it home thinking, "How can something so small and adorable cause any trouble?"
"Welcome to my humble abode," Tenten announced to the kitten as she stepped in the frond door of her house.
The feline jumped out of her arms and started nosing around like any other curious cat. Tenten laughed and shut the door.
As soon as it clicked shut, a deep male voice said, "It's a shame that one so noble as you lives in such a small place as this."
With a gasp, Tenten spun around coming face to face with… nothing.
"Hey down here!" the voice said again and she looked down.
"You talked?!" she cried out at the kitten sitting at her feet.
"Who else? An ant?" the cat scoffed.
"But how?" she stuttered, "I mean you're a cat and cats don't talk… right?"
"I'm not just any cat," the feline said impatiently. "Have you ever heard the Chinese Zodiac Legend? The one about how the rat tricked the cat?"
"Oh yes, it was my favorite story when I was younger. But what does that have to do with… you don't mean that you're the cat from the legend?!"
"Yes, that is exactly what I mean. My name is Tora, and I bring gifts to repay you for my rescue.
With a wave of his pay, chests of gold and bolts of the finest silks magically appeared in the room.
"If this is not enough then all you need to do is ask. I am eternally in your debt. My desire is to fulfill your every wish and command, to make you as happy as possible." The cat bowed at his newly self-dubbed master.
"Oh please get up Tora." Tenten stammered for she had never had anyone bow to her before. "And your gifts, they are lovely but I have not much use for them. Don't get me wrong, I am really grateful but there are more people in the world who need them more that me. It should go to them."
"Already done," Tory yawned lazily and somewhere in an orphanage around the world, a chest of gold appeared out of thin air in the donations box. "But just remember, anything you desire, anything at all, will be yours."
"Thank you Tora, but I am perfectly happy," Tenten said with a smile.
But Tora knew what she wanted. With his powers, he could see the list of desires running through her head, but each getting pressed back down because she knew, or at least thought, that they would never come true.
The next morning, a wave of excitement crashed through the air. That day, the Hokage and his son would be coming to town. Not only were they the leader and heir of Konoha, but they were also members of the prestigious Hyuuga Clan, the most powerful shinobi clan known to mankind! Also, there have been rumor that Neji, the heir to Konoha's throne, was looking for a bride. All the eligible young women flocked to the mall in hope of being chosen, all but Tenten that is. To herself, she was nothing compared to the other young ladies. Sure, she was the top kunoichi and weapons master around, but who would want an ugly shinobi who had scars from many battles for a wife when they could have someone whose beauty could even give Aphrodite a run for her money? Poor Tenten decided to spend all of that joyous day training.
But it was fate that to escape the fan girls that were chasing him around, Neji stumbled upon Tenten's training area while seeking refuge.
Accidentally mistaking Tenten for a boy because of her attire, the unfortunate boy quickly grabbed her and hissed, "Quick! Hide me! They're after me!"
Upon first instinct, she cast a genjutsu over him making everyone who looks at him think he was a tree. She barely finished the jutsu when the girls came parading in.
"Have you seen Neji come past here? You know, tall, strong, and handsome? Did he pass?" the girl in the front panted.
"He went that way," Tenten pointed left.
"Thanks! Now girls, onward march!" The group of girls squealed and raced off opposite of the direction Tenten pointed chanting "Neji we love you!"
Soon the posse was out of sight. "Kai," Tenten said to release the illusion and Neji came back into view.
"Thanks, I'll make sure that you'll receive a reward for helping me out. What's your name?" Neji said with an air that only one of his status could have.
"Oh, no reward is necessary sir. I am always happy to help anyone in need, especially to escape from fan girls. I mean, do they have any self-respect ad dignity, dressing up in those slutty outfits chasing boys around. I wouldn't be caught dead in those things they call clothes, let alone start chasing stupid boys around! Oh, um sorry. I got a little carried away. My name is Tenten." Turning bright red for a second but pushing it right back down so no one would see.
Tenten wanted nothing more than to sink down into the ground and disappear after talking too much and apparently making a fool out of herself according to Neji's expression.
But actually, Neji was mentally kicking himself for mistaking Tenten for a boy.
"Stupid, stupid!" he thought. "Look at what you have done now. Another fan girl! She doesn't act like it, or look like it for that matter, but I know she is. Just look at the way she cleverly diverted the subject to herself by implying how much better she is that other girls by not doing the stuff they do. It was almost as if it wasn't on purpose! Humph, all girls are annoying, though maybe not that one mist kunoichi I once heard about. That messenger said that she cared more about training and being a shinobi than boys. We probably would have gotten along great. What was her name again? Oh year, Te… did she just say that her name was Tenten?!"
Neji froze, trying to digest the connection between the two names.
Tenten, seeing Neji freeze, waved her hand in front of his face and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
He immediately snapped out of his trance.
"By any change are you THE Tenten, the top kunoichi and weapons master of the Hidden mist village? And the same Tenten who was found after the great disease spread through here, remembering nothing but her first name? That Tenten?" Neji inquired.
"Oh, I'm not sure about the top kunoichi," Tenten blushed, extremely flattered, "but so far, no one has been able to beat me, and the disease part, I'm sure that is me."
"So it is her!" Neji thought happily, forgetting all about his previous thoughts. "Would you like to spar? I'd like to see if what I heard about you is true," he requested.
"Sure!" Tenten replied, though she was puzzled about why information about her, a lowly girl, reached the ears of one so great.
Out of the shadows, a pair of glowing yellow eyes watched the fruit of its labor. The cat had done many things to get the two of them as they are now: He turned into a girl and rallied up a bunch of fan girls and made sure that when they chased Neji; he led them to Tenten's training area; he changed into a messenger and brought word of Tenten to the Leaf Village; and he performed countless other small things to get them together. Satisfied with his work, he flicked his tail and left, leaving to two new friends alone to train.
That day was like a dream come true for Tenten. She got the thing she wanted most in the world, a friend. She didn't have any other friends because most of the time she was either away on missions or training so she didn't have much free time to make any. She couldn't believe her ears when Neji offered to spar with her. He offered! That was the friendliest thing she had heard in ages!
Oh it was a dream all right, but soon it became a nightmare.
A war soon broke out among the Leaf and Mist villagers. Some mysterious Mist ninja snuck into Konoha and killed man innocent villagers. Disputes broke out and soon a full-fledged war began. All the capable shinobi were forced to fight, they had pledged their lives the day they got their forehead protector.
In the plain of red that was the battlefield, Tenten spotted Neji fending off hoards of Mist ninjas. Though the ninjas falling by Neji's hand were from her own village, she could not help but admire the way his body moved so gracefully with every attack, even in the heat of battle. So absorbed was she in her thoughts that she completely missed the shinobi coming up behind her. Suddenly an arm grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of harms way. The ninja that attacked tried to flee once he saw who he was up against, but barely made it two steps when he too joined the rest of the corpses on the ground, stomach slashed open and blood and intestines pooling out on the dirt. "You should be more careful," Neji said as Tenten finally took in what just happened.
"You killed your own man to help me?!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Feh, year right. Didn't you see the forehead protector? He's from the Sand. This means that others have now joined the war." Neji said in a solemn tone.
The wind blew softly through the field over all the mutilated corpses. The pair realized that they were all alone in the field; all of their comrades were dead. And in the horizon, a fresh wave of ninjas came marching into view, neither from the Mist of Leaf villages. The two exchanged looks, knowing that they could not out run them. If the were going to die, that at least they would die fighting.
"Any final words?" Neji asked as he shifted into a fighting stance.
"Shut up and let's just get this over with," Tenten replied and pulled out her weapons.
They charged, giving the newcomers everything they had.
To them, the battle was like a repeated set of motions, duck, kick, dodged, slice and then repeat that over again. Every few hours, they would look up from plunging hands through chests and ripping hearts out to check on each other to make sure that they were okay. Time seemed to be crawling at a snails pace as the battle went on through out the night. But finally, as the blood red rays of the sun peeked above the hilltops, two blood drenched shinobi stood victorious.
They had won the battle, but not without paying a price. About halfway though the battle, Neji got struck with a poisoned shuriken, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins numbed the effect. Now that the battle was over, the full effects of the poison started kicking in. Crashing to the ground, he lay panting, the poison spreading two times faster that normal. That last thing he saw was Tenten's tearful face before everything went black.
"Neji! You're awake!" an ecstatic Tenten yelled giving him a bone-crushing hug.
"Hey, that hurts!"
"Oh sorry. I managed to get all of the poison out but you will be really weak for about a week, so take it easy."
"Jeez, I'm a Hyuuga. I'm stronger than most people. I don't need to take it easy," Neji scoffed and to prove his point, got up…and abruptly toppled over again. "Um, actually, maybe a couple days rest will do me some good, not because I'm weak though, which I'm not, just because I feel like it."
Tenten giggles. "Neji, you're such a goofb- " before she could finish her sentence, she fell over on top of Neji.
"Hey are you aright?" Neji asked worriedly. Then he noticed the kunai protruding from her back. Stepping from the shadows behind her as a cat, the same cat Tenten had rescued to be exact, and he was holding another kunai, this one directed towards Neji.
"Oh you stupid girl!" the cat said to Tenten. "You should be less trusting. If you were, then you might not have to end your life like this."
Tenten weakly opened her eyes. She gasped when she saw who her attacker was. "Tora!" she cried, "why?"
"Oh please, 'Tora' my foot. You actually believed that one of the Zodiac you actually be called a stupid name like 'Tora'? Ha ha ha ha ha! What a laugh! Since you have been such a good accomplice for my plot to capture Neji, you will have the honor of seeing my true form before passing into the next world."
The cat started shifting, eyes narrowing, ears getting longer, teeth and claws sharper. Its fur changed from a dull black to a flaming red-orange. Eight more tails sprouted from its rear and before them stood Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox demon.
"Now Neji, I get my revenge. Your village kicked me out for all those years. I only came to your village to look for a friend, and then everyone started attacking me! I was only defending myself," Kyuubi said sadly.
"Is that true?" Tenten asked softly.
"No! Of course not! You are so gullible. I went to the village to catch lunch, I don't heed and friends. This war I started really came in handy didn't it? It'll make a great cover-up for your deaths."
"You started this!" Neji growled and tried to grab a shuriken or kunai but was too weak to lift his arms.
"Oh I started this alright, and now I will end this with your deaths!"
Kyuubi charged at them, tearing and slashing with his teeth and claws. Neji and Tenten were too weak to defend themselves so soon they both drew their last breaths.
As soon as the Hokage found out about what happened to his son, he sent hundreds of people to look for his body, hoping to retrieve it and at least live it a proper burial. They found him lying next to a kunoichi from the mist Village, his arms around her, as if trying to protect her. They brought both bodies to the Hokage. The corners of his mouth twitched up slightly as soon as he saw the two bodies, the burden in his chest lessened a bit.
"Prepare the coffin big enough for two people, they are to be buried together," he commanded. "I am glad you won't be lonely in the afterlife Neji, may you rest in peace."
A gentle breeze blew over the place where Neji and Tenten fell. Two weapons stuck out of the ground, marking the place where they once lay. The weapons were rooted to the ground, no one you lift them up or disturb them. Each weapon was stained with blood, each drop told a story. One drop told of how Tenten found the cat; one spoke of the first meeting of Neji and Tenten; and one held the story of Kyuubi, and how he finally got his revenge.