So I was typing out the next chapter and I realized it was really long, so I'm gonna split it up. So anyway... yeah here's the quick update I promised :)
(4 months ago)
Tenten knocked on the Hokage's door and waited for permission to enter.
"Come in," she heard Kakashi shout from inside the office.
Tenten opened the door and stepped forward.
"Ah yes, Tenten. I'm glad you came. I think that it's about time for you to teach your own Genin team."
Tenten's eyes went wide with excitement in response to what she just heard.
"Really?" she asked. "That's so exciting. Of course, I'll do it. I'd love the opportunity to nurture the next generation."
"Wonderful," Kakashi said with a smile. "I was hoping that was going to be your answer, so I took the liberty of already getting your team put together."
Kakashi looked at a few stacks of paper on his desk and pulled out three pieces of paper from one of the stacks. He placed the papers on his desk so Tenten could see the contents.
"First is Jin Kusami. Both his parents died during the war, leaving him orphaned and under Kabuto's care. He has an immense amount of chakra. He's nearly up to par with some Jinchuriki. Sadly, he doesn't know how to control his chakra, so that's something you need to work on with him."
Tenten examined the photo on the shinobi file. The boy had a small build but looked as if he was well-nourished, contrary to most orphans. He had straight, blonde hair that hugged the side of his head, just barely touching his shoulders and bright green eyes. The boy also had a scar that ran vertically on his cheek, near his ear. Once Tenten had a good look at the boy's features, she nodded to Kakashi before he placed another paper next to Jin's.
"Next is Mie Fukukima. Her family has some of the most renowned and skillful medics in all of the Land of Fire. I personally trust every member of this family that works at the hospital. She's not very strong when it comes to combat, but she's very detail-oriented and has strong problem-solving skills."
The girl in the picture was extremely petite. Her skin was more tan than most people in the Hidden Leaf Village. She has brown eyes and her long black hair was tied back into two braids. Tenten nodded once more as Kakashi placed down one more paper on her desk. Tenten squinted at the picture of the child on the paper, recognizing the face, but not quite remembering how she recognized it.
"Finally," Kakashi began. "We have Kugi Hyuga."
When Kakashi spoke the name of Tenten's son, her eyes snapped up and her mouth was left agape. She slowly looked back down at the picture. Of course, the pupil-less lavender eyes are what gave away that he was a Hyuga. He was the spitting image of Neji. He had straight brunette hair that was tied back into a loose ponytail. He was extremely lean but did have a strong build for a boy his age. Kakashi simply smiled at Tenten's awed face as he continued.
"Despite being only 7 years old, Kugi has really made a name for himself. He was at the top of his class and got perfect scores in both combat and intellect. You're very familiar with the characteristics of the Hyuga clan, so I won't bother with telling you his specialties."
When Kakashi stopped speaking, he looked up at Tenten, awaiting a reply. When he did not receive one, Kakashi spoke again.
"Is there a problem here, Tenten?"
Tenten stuttered a few times before speaking.
"I- I don't understand?"
"What's there not to understand?" Kakashi said, playing devil's advocate.
"I thought that the Hyuga Clan said that-"
Kakashi quickly cut off what Tenten was saying.
"As the Hokage, I am aware of your relationship with this young boy and I must admit that this was not my idea. Hiashi Hyuga himself requested you to be his grandson's Sensei. If there is an issue, I have to ask you to please take it up with him. In the meantime, please read over these shinobi files. Your kids were told to meet at the seventh training grounds at 5 o'clock in the morning tomorrow. I wish you and your new team good luck."
"Thank you, Lord Kakashi," Tenten said with a bow.
XXX
The door in front of Tenten swung open quickly after she knocked on it. Standing on the other side was a Hyuga Branch Family member.
"What is your business here?" he snapped at Tenten.
"I wish to speak with Hiashi if I can."
The man frowned. "Who do you think you are, a commoner, demanding Lord Hiashi's presence? He is a very busy man and does not-"
"Jiro, please, cease this nonsense."
The boy turned around quickly and bowed at Hiashi.
"Yes, but sir-"
"Please, Tenten, if you could follow me," Hiashi said cutting off the guard. He continued to frown at Tenten as she passed by him, following Hiashi. Hiashi and Tenten stayed silent as they walked through the Hyuga compound. Eventually, the two stopped at a door. Hiashi slowly slid the door open and motioned for Tenten to step inside. Tenten walked in and stood next to Hiashi against the wall near the door. When she got a chance to glance around the room, she gasped at the sight before her.
In the middle of the room, sparing with Hanabi was a young boy with a shinobi headband. At first glance, the boy was the spitting image of Neji Hyuga, but after a close look, Tenten could see some slight differences, such as a sharper eye shape and a lighter shade of brunette hair. Tenten let out a small gasp as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Is that..." Tenten quietly asked Hiashi.
"That is Kugi Hyuga, son of Neji Hyuga."
Tenten smiled brightly and looked at the boy. Even though Hanabi is eleven years his senior, Kugi still managed to hold his own while sparing with her. He was able to counter nearly every attack she had and even came close to landing a few attacks himself. After many minutes of watching the two Hyuga spar, Hiashi loudly cleared his throat, causing Hanabi and Kugi to pause and look over to Hiashi.
"That is enough for today. Excellent work, Kugi. Hanabi, you are dismissed. Kugi, please come over here for a moment."
Hanabi bowed to her father before leaving the room. Kugi silently walked over to where his grandfather was and gave him a small bow, looking up at him and waiting for him to speak.
"This is Tenten," Hiashi began. "She will be your Genin instructor beginning tomorrow."
Kugi turned towards Tenten and gave her a bow.
"Hello, Miss Tenten."
Tenten opened her mouth to speak, but she struggled to form any words. She quickly cleared her throat and tried to talk again.
"Hi, Kugi. It's very nice to meet you."
Kugi nodded to Tenten, keeping a stoic look on his face. He turned back to his grandfather.
"Grandfather, may I freshen up before dinner?"
"Yes, you may," Hiashi replied.
Kugi gave one final bow to both Hiashi and Tenten before he left the room. Tenten simply stared at the spot her son was once standing. She had no clue how much time had passed before she heard Hiashi's voice.
"I know he is young, but Kugi has so much strength and an even greater amount of potential to learn more. He truly works hard and-"
"I don't understand why this is happening," Tenten said, cutting off Hiashi.
"I beg your pardon?" Hiashi asked with a confused look.
"Why did you choose for me to be Kugi's squad leader? I'm not supposed to see him, let alone speak with him. Aren't Kugi and I both in danger just for me being here?"
Hiashi looked at Tenten with a determined glance.
"The final decision of the Council was for Kugi to never learn the true identity of his mother and for you to be unable to visit him within the Hyuga compounds. Today, I would make the argument that you are not violating the second rule, for you are simply meeting your student for the first time."
Tenten shook her head. "But I don't think I'll be able to keep the fact that I'm his mother a secret. He's going to ask questions about Neji eventually and I wouldn't know what to say to him."
"The identity of Kugi's father is not being withheld from him. He is aware of many things, such as his father being Neji Hyuga and that his father died during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. You may truthfully answer most questions. The only thing Kugi must not know is the identity of his mother."
Tenten slowly shook her head and looked down at the floor.
"I'm just not quite sure about this..." Tenten began.
Hiashi smirked before he spoke.
"You know, Kugi has excellent skills with projectile weapons. It is a skill that is unheard of in the Hyuga Clan. Believe it or not, despite having the Byakugan, when it is not activated, Hyugas have very poor vision. It's quite astonishing that Kugi has been able to achieve 90% accuracy despite this handicap. When I told him that his sensei was a weapon master he became extremely excited. He wants to hone this skill he has and no one in the Hyuga family is able to aide him."
Tenten looked up at Hiashi and smiled brightly at him.
"Okay, I'll do it. I'll be his sensei."
Hiashi returned Tenten's smile.
"Excellent. Best luck to you in the future."
XXX
"Where is our sensei? It's been nearly 10 minutes and he's still not here."
Jin paced around the training field, anxiously waiting for his sensei to appear and for his team to begin training. Mie sat a few feet away from him and watched Jin as he paced. Kugi was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, leaning against a tree a short distance away, but not so far away that his teammates could not hear him.
"Our sensei is a woman," Kugi muttered.
Jin scuffed. "Well, I guess that explains why she's late."
Mie scowled at her pacing teammate. "Jin!"
"Look," Jin began his rebuttal. "All I'm saying is that-"
Jin was cut off when a shuriken went whizzing right past his ear and landed on the grass in front of him. Jin stumbles backward at the sight and Mie stood up from the ground and also made some distance from the weapon. The two Genin looked over to the forest where the shuriken came from and saw a tall woman in a Chinese style garment, sporting her hair in two buns on top of her head. Jin and Mie stared wide-eyed at the woman as she stared back with a calm glare. After many awkward moments of silence, Tenten spoke.
"You guys are ninjas now. You need to always be alert. I could have easily killed you and none of you would have suspected a thing. You must keep your guard up from this point on or you will die. Understand?"
Mie and Jin slowly nodded with a scared look on their faces. Kugi had opened his eyes at this point and had a small smirk on his face. He's going to have lots of fun training under this woman.
Tenten cleared her throat and began walking towards the middle of the training field. When she first moved, Jin and Mie jumped and started to tremble slightly. Realizing that their training was beginning, Kugi stood up from his spot at the forest's edge and made his way over to his teammates, and stood by Mie. Tenten took a moment to scan her team before speaking.
"Alright, well let's start with introductions. Say your name, something you like, something you don't like, and what your goal is. I'll go first. My name is Tenten. I like panda bears. I don't like pickled plums. My goal is to become the first woman on the Anbu Special Weapons Force."
Once Tenten was done talking, Mie raised her hand. Tenten gave her a silent nod, inviting her to interject.
"Is both your first and last name Ten, or do you only go by your given name?"
"I was orphaned when I was young and I do not have a family name because of that."
Mie gave Jin a glance after hearing Tenten's answer. The boy perked up when he heard Tenten and looked at her with awe-inspiring eyes. Tenten noticed this and addressed him.
"How about you go next."
Jin nodded. "My name is Jin Kusami. I was also orphaned, but at the age of five. I like sweet buns and I don't like doing chores around the orphanage. My goal is to create my own special Jutsu."
There was a scuff heard and Tenten, Mie, and Jin looked over to Kugi. He has a smug smile on his face as he looked over at Jin. Kugi then simply shook his head closed his eyes in relaxation. Mie gave Kugi a quick look of disgust before she introduced herself.
"I am Mie Fukukima. I like helping my mom at the hospital. I don't like seeing people die and my goal is to start an organ transplant foundation for shinobi across all the villages."
Tenten nodded her head and gave a small smile. She then looked over to Kugi, waiting for his introduction. The boy sighed and opened his eyes.
"I am Kugi Hyuga. I like meditating at my house. I don't like most of my family. My goal is to learn more about myself and my parents."
Tenten's eyes got wider as she tried her best to keep her composure. She wanted nothing more than to hug the boy and tell him that his mommy was here. Instead, Tenten turned her gaze away from her son and she addressed her team.
"Now that everyone knows each other, it's time for you three to do your first shinobi test."
"Test?" Jin said. "I thought we took all our tests at the academy."
Tenten shook her head. "Every mission you go on is a test. Being a shinobi is a giant test in itself. The academy was only the beginning."
Tenten walked around her Genin squad and sat on the ground in the middle of the field. She set up a clock in front of her and looked up at the three Genin.
"You three have 4 hours to take both of my hair buns out. You may use whatever means you choose to use to complete your task. If you do not complete your task in the allowed time, all three of you will be sent back to the academy."
The Genins' faces got pale as they watched their sensei.
"You may begin whenever you are ready," Tenten said, looking up at her students.
The next chapter will pick up where we left off here.