Okay, Guys, I'm SOOOOOOO sorry for this very late update… but I've just completed my nationals…have been preparing for them…anyway, hope you will enjoy this…
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…
Tenten finished her packing and joined her teammates for dinner at a nearby restaurant. "Oh, Tenten! I will miss you! Hope you do the best in the exams! Scratch that, with all your skills, you will ace that exam! Tatsuta-sensei is your teacher after all, and, you also have two brilliant teammates with you!" Yono cheered. But Tenten wasn't feeling very good about it. She was sure she would have passed the exam with flying colours if it was being held at some other place, but the fact that she was going to meet all her ex-friends again was sure to affect her performance. Still, a mission was a mission. And her main objective was to kill that girl anyway. "Yes, Yono's right, Tenten. And Tatsuta-sensei did teach you that jutsu, didn't she? So you don't have to worry about elemental attacks working against you anymore, right?" Kenshio added. Tenten nodded curtly in reply.
The three of them quickly cleared up and retired to bed. As Tenten laid beneath her covers, she thought to herself: I'll be meeting them soon. She slowly drifted off to Dreamland…
The next morning, as her alarm rang, Tenten sat up in her bed. Her teammates called out to her, reminding the girl of her mission and telling her to get ready. She hurriedly got dressed and soon zipped downstairs, where her teammates had already prepared breakfast. "Ah, Tenten-chan, you're awake. I prepared your favourite today. It's about 2 days' time to Konoha, you'd better enjoy this while you can." This was so like Kenshio, who was the one who cared for them. Tenten murmured thanks and ate up the food quickly. Her teammates accompanied her to the village gates, where her sensei was waiting. She handed Tenten several items, of which included her chuunin pass and related documents, and briefed her about the mission.
"Now, Tenten, as you know, you are going to Konoha to attend the Jounin exam and also kill Yawa Togi. She was a former Rock ninja, and our village has been asked to assist in killing her. She has given away the Rock's secrets to the Leaf, and so she is to be killed. You know the rules, Tenten. No harming the innocent unless absolutely necessary. Now, given your current skills, you should be able to pass this exam. I have only one piece of advice to dish out to you: Always look beneath the obvious. You should be leaving, or else you would never make it in time. By the time you reach there, it will be night time, and the next day would be the start of the exams. Farewell, my student, I wish you good luck." Tatsuta gave her female subordinate a hug and Yono and Kenshio joined in too. Tenten stepped outside, giving a wave and screaming a "Ja ne" before jumping onto the trees.
After a weary and tiring journey, Tenten finally approached the gates of Konoha. "Halt! If you are here for the Jounin exam, please show your pass! If not, state your reason for enter!" the guard bellowed. Tenten groggily pulled her pass out of her pocket and gave it to the guard he checked it against his list and found it to be valid, giving her access to the village. Another man came out to direct her to her accommodation.
He led her through the village. Memories flooded Tenten's mind. This was where she had grown up in, how could she have moved away from here? But then the same old incident played once again in her head, and she knew that her choice was right. The young rookie chuunin led her to a small house with a tiny backyard. He showed her where the different shops were, and where the chuunins were to assemble the next morning. After that, he left Tenten on her own.
She walked around the house, and gazed outside the window. She immediately recognized the ramen stand she used to buy takeaways from so many years ago. She saw her favourite weapon store down the street, and the hentai bookshop she used to avoid going to. Tenten remembered her regular salon, where she used to get her hair cut every month. She pictured their team's training grounds, where Lee would be kicking a tree and Neji on the other end of the clearing, meditating. Gai would be cheering Lee on, while she would either be sharpening her weapons or simply looking at the three of them. At this moment, Tenten finally became aware of the warm, crystal-like tears that had been rolling down her cheeks for the past 5 minutes. She could bear it no longer. In Mist, she was too busy in her everyday duties that she had no time for these reminisces, but now that she was once again in Konoha, they all came back flooding into her mind. The strong girl finally broke down and the tears came running freely down her face. Once again, Lee's voice filled her mind. "Tenten, how could you do such a bad thing? How could you bear to kill Sakura-san?" She screamed her head off. She could not stand all these emotional flashbacks. Tenten forced herself to go to bed after taking at least four sleeping pills. She needed her sleep, the exam was going to start the next day.
Okay, I promise you people, I will definitely get at least one more chapter out by this Friday….