Character/Pairing/Group: Tenten
Disclaimer/Notes/Whatever: A little crossover action going on. Shaman King and Naruto aren't mine, of course.

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1. Contrary to popular belief Tenten doesn't have a last name, not anymore. She had gotten rid of it long ago when she decided to cut all ties with her former family. All records concerning her connection to said family have since disappeared.

2. She is perfectly content with being known as simply "Tenten", glad to have no more dealings with family politics and clan rules of conduct. She was a free spirit after all and could not be held down by their strict guidelines.

3. She cringes every time Neji and Sasuke would get into heated verbal battles over which of their families were the best (back when the Uchiha clan was still living, that is). It was the prideful nature of her own forgotten family that ultimately forced her to run away.

4. There was only one person in the village who knew of the kunoichi's shady past. She swore him to secrecy the first day that they met, upon pain of death if ever the truth came out. He has since taken her secret to the grave.

5. During those lonely nights of training under the moonlight, her spiritual companions were her only friends. They were the only part of her past that she simply could not let go of.

6. Tenten had been caught several times talking to these friends which no one else could see. Never one to concern herself with reputations, she nonchalantly stated that she was simply talking to the voices in her head with a smile of course.

7. Never did she believe she was safe. Tenten knew her family constantly searched for her, even after ten years of absence. Their prideful nature would never allow them to give up until she was found.

8. She was on a mission in Hidden Cloud when the family mercenaries finally found and captured her. She didn't seem at all surprised when her cousin Ren stepped out from behind his Kyonshi guards to face her. After all, he was to be the leader of the Shamanic family one day.

9. Her team simply thought they were Cloud spies working to stop their mission from succeeding. So while the kunoichi was being dragged back to the mountains of China, Neji and Lee were storming Hidden Cloud in search of their teammate.

10. Tenten and Ren had spent a majority of the trip staring at each other in silence, finding no reason for words. Tenten had been a little shocked at seeing the hint of sadness she saw in his golden eyes, but chose not to say a word about it.

11. He had answered her unspoken question, simply stating, "Someone should have been allowed to escape."

12. The night she arrived to the clan mansion, the kunoichi was confined to her room. Only hours later while the estate became the main target of a monstrous storm, Tetnen received a visit from her Aunt Ran who stayed the night for the matriarch's own benefit and guilt.

13. En surprised them all when Tenten was merely ordered never to come back to the mansion. "Punishing one who is no longer considered part of the family is pointless," were the words the domineering man had used.

14. To the Taos, exile from the clan was considered worse than death. Even Tenten felt a faint twinge of shame as she left the hidden valley that had been home to the Taos for generations.

15. When she got back to Hidden Cloud, the kunoichi found her team on the steps of the ancient temple deep in thought. The peaceful atmosphere was ruined seconds later when Lee screamed with joy at seeing "the flower of our team" back safe and sound.

16. When asked where she had been, Tenten simply said, "I was dealing with a problem" hoping that they would assume she was talking about the Cloud-nins and their mission. They did.

17. Tenten's spirit friends noticed a change in the young kunoichi when she returned to Konoha. She was more solemn and quiet than before, reminding them of the Uchiha boy who constantly cursed the heavens at their doorstep. Tenten merely smiled and told them, "Why not? He and I are more alike now after all."

18. She only had one encounter with her former family after her initial capture. Tenten had been training under the light of the full moon again when the golden eyes of her cousin appeared from the shadows. The two had stood there on the darkened field for what seemed like hours just staring into each other's glowing eyes.

19. "You will always be a Tao to me, no matter what you do," was all that he had said to her before disappearing into the shadows once more.

20. "So will you," was her only reply, whispered to the creatures of the night.

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She would make a great Tao clan member don't you think? I tell you, that is one kick azz family.