Welcome back! So far so good. We have reached chapter two…
Thank you for reviewing chapter one (which I know was quite short): Guest and SnowShowers!
Chapter Two
Once upon a time, in a land struggling to recover from one war after another, a couple found themselves facing the rather mundane struggle of trying to get pregnant. This was not an uncommon struggle, but it was a struggle that didn't exactly reach the top of the doctors' list of priorities in those days. The couple had almost given up hope… When a chance encounter answered their prayers.
The woman was young—not yet old enough to be considered a woman, really. They'd been having so much trouble, and here she was, pregnant by accident. They were each other's blessing.
In March, the young woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl… who she gratefully handed over before disappearing back to her own story.
The happy parents returned home with their long-sought-after treasure… But the fairy tale wasn't to be. Within the first two years, the woman fell gravely ill. She did not live to see the child's third birthday.
And so the gruff older man was left alone to raise their daughter. It was not a job he felt particularly adept at, but he thought he did all right. Later, he would attribute much of the smooth sailing to luck. That and the girl's own tenacity.
From a very young age, Tenten had been a force to be reckoned with. She was resilient and driven. And she got along just fine without a mother.
Her father was unsurprised when she announced her intention to enter the ninja academy. He was also unconcerned. He was a civilian, from a family of civilians, but his daughter was a survivor. He had every confidence that she would succeed.
He told her the details of her birth and adoption on the day of her entrance ceremony. His own mother was horrified, convinced Tenten was too young to know—that this knowledge would forever blemish an otherwise celebratory day. But Tenten was fine, as he'd known she would be. Apathetic, even.
Why did it matter which woman had given birth to her, she wanted to know. She couldn't remember either one. She was happy, and she was loved She didn't need a mother.
…
This wasn't how she'd wanted it to go.
All her life, Tenten had heard stories about people who'd been adopted who just felt an emptiness somewhere inside them. A hole that could only be filled by their biological parents.
Tenten had never experienced this emptiness. She knew who she was, and she loved the people who had taken the time to raise her. So why was she so affected now, by the mere sight of the woman who was surely her birth mother?
It wasn't that Tenten had never been curious. She'd thought about maybe tracking down this woman someday, but it had never been at the top of her to-do list. She hadn't been sure there was ever even going to be a reunion. But if there was…
This wasn't how she'd wanted it to go. The fact that her birth mother had been living in the village this whole time… That she could have run into her in any random store, at any given time in the past twelve years… She felt suddenly off-balance. Shaken by the realization that she wasn't nearly as in control of her life as she thought she'd been. As she wanted to be.
"Please go on without me, Gai sensei! I will catch up later. There is something I must do today."
Tenten was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of Lee's voice… refusing an invitation to train with his beloved mentor? What was happening to the world? But they'd left the music store, and Lee had remained uncharacteristically quiet. Even now, he looked strangely serious. She heard Gai carrying on about how youthful it was to honor one's responsibilities, and then he was gone, leaving the three of them to walk home in only each other's company.
"What's going on today?" she asked, a little suspicious.
He smiled at her then. Not one of his usual pose-inducing, over-the-top smiles, but a smaller, softer one. The kind of smile that reminded her that even Lee hadn't lost all of his sanity. "I just feel that I am needed elsewhere today. I will train twice as hard later to make up for it!"
Her stomach dropped, suspicions confirmed. This was about her. Granted, she'd kind of expected it. Her total space-out back in the music store hadn't exactly been subtle. And it was sort of touching to know Lee cared. All the same, she wasn't sure she wanted their input before she figured out what this little encounter even meant to her.
"Won't your parents find it strange that you're home so early?" she tried.
His kindness didn't falter. "My parents died when I was very young. I live with my grandmother. I'm sure she will understand."
Well, there went that plan. Of course even Lee had family troubles of some sort. It seemed the universe wanted them to discuss their parents. Who was she to get in the way of such things? Tenten glanced sideways at Neji, who was always going on about fate and inevitabilities. He met her eyes, and she got the feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking as she sighed and said, "What about you, Neji?"
She half expected him to brush her off. Neji so rarely shared anything about himself, and his family in particular was a touchy subject. Lee's eyes were uncomfortably curious. But, then, they'd already established that Neji didn't think there was any point in resisting the wants of the universe.
"Dead," he obliged simply, ignoring the not-so-subtle surprise on both their faces. "I was very young also."
There was something else in his words—something he wasn't saying, but Tenten didn't ask after it.
"Me too," she said before amending quickly, "My mother anyway. She got sick when I was really young. I don't really remember her. My father's a blacksmith. We live in the center of town."
"Excellent!" said Lee. "We will walk with you."
Tenten figured there was no point in telling him he didn't need to bother. She had learned not to argue with Lee when he was determined. Even Neji didn't object. He would have to pass through town to reach the Hyuga compound anyway.
All was quiet again for a long time until at last Lee asked the burning question. "Tenten, who was that woman?"
At least it sounded like he was trying to be gentle about it. She didn't have to ask which woman, though she considered playing dumb at first. Neither of her team mates had mentioned their obvious resemblance, for which she was grateful. For a solid minute, Tenten couldn't answer. And all he got when she could was a lackluster, "I don't know."
"Ryuko," Neji supplied quietly. When their heads snapped his way in surprise, he added, "She was wearing a name tag. An employee badge, I assume. I didn't look to see where."
He sounded slightly miffed at this oversight on his part. The Hyuga genius didn't like not knowing things. But Tenten didn't care that he didn't have all the answers. A tingling sensation had erupted in the midst of the numbness she'd been trying to puzzle through ever since setting eyes on her mother. She had a name. She had a way to start tracking her down… if that was what she wanted, of course.
They had reached the blacksmith's forge. Tenten and her father lived in the tiny apartment above it, kept forever warm by the fires ablaze below. She walked back to the door leading into her father's workspace, a force of habit. She realized a bit too late that Neji and Lee were still following her.
They stopped a little awkwardly at the door, not having been invited in.
"Well, this is it," said Tenten, equally awkward. And then, a little soberly, "And thank you guys, for everything."
The dismissal was clear. The boys were polite, at least, about any lingering curiosity they may have had. There was an unspoken understanding between them. They would reconvene on this subject at another time.
"Tenten?" a man's voice called as she shut the door. "That you?"
"Yeah, Dad!" she called back. "I'm home!"
An older man came around the counter from the showroom a second later. He was short and stocky, muscular. His curly black hair was graying, and it was clear he'd been working all day, covered in sweat, ash, and grime. But his face broke into a fond smile when he saw her.
"How was work?" he asked, his lips quirking up a little. In truth, it was a rather odd question for a civilian to ask of his twelve-year-old daughter.
"Uh, it was… interesting," she answered, stooping to examine a sword that was still cooling. Most of her father's clients were ninja, so he wasn't totally out of the loop when it came to her 'job'. It was here, after all, that she'd first found her love for weaponry and all the different sorts of tools out there.
"No more mindless grunt work?"
"Well… I'll tell you later," she decided, heading for the stairs that led up to their apartment. But she stopped on the first step and turned back to him. "Hey, Dad… How well did you know the woman who gave birth to me?"
Confusion clouded his features. Clearly, her question had surprised him. "Not too well. I've told you before, it was one of those crazy chance encounters… Fate, if you will. We didn't even exchange surnames."
"So… no forwarding address, I take it."
"No…" He had that strange look on his face again. "She was young, honey. And a bit impulsive, is the impression I got. Likely how we ended up with you. Why so curious, all of a sudden?"
Tenten shrugged, trying to make her nonchalance as convincing as possible. "No reason. Uh, Lee was talking about his parents, so I guess it just got me thinking."
Well, it wasn't a total lie. And it distracted her father. "Lee… That the kid with the creepy eyes or the one with the jumpsuit?"
Now a smile quirked at her lips. "Jumpsuit."
"Hmm." He nodded. "They're both a little weird, aren't they?"
Tenten laughed. "Maybe. But they're my friends. I like them that way."
He nodded again. "Good. I suppose that's all that matters."
She let him get back to his work, turning and jogging up the stairs. Tenten changed into something a little less dusty so that she could go down and man the front counter, allowing her father to work without interruption. But before heading back down, she took a moment to sit back on her bed, really think through all that had happened today.
Ryuko… The name now felt like so little when she thought about everything that went into the make-up of a person. And Tenten was nothing if not curious. She supposed she didn't have to know exactly what the woman meant to her just yet. She knew she wouldn't be able to let this go until she got her answers. So that settled it. Tenten was going to find her mother.
Review please!
I don't own Naruto.
If everything goes as planned, there should only be one chapter left.
