Hunted or Busted: A Side Story

Dusted 19: Tenten Character Short

Hello again friends!

When we last left our dear Huntress, she was pouting and feeling sorry for herself.

Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all! Or in this case - tis better to have realized you had a growing, romantic crush for a dear friend you cherished very deeply and then have that friend brutally killed in a terrible conflict that scarred and destroyed everything around you while you walked away without a scratch, leaving you with overwhelming guilt and shame that you could not handle.

I hated what happened to Tenten in the main series. I'm sure if you ask anyone they'll say that one of the most frustrating parts of the Naruto series was how all these awesome, interesting characters were tossed to the side and never given a chance. I mean yeah it was Naruto and Sasuke's story from the start but...fuck!

And Tenten got the gyp worst of all! No story! No development! The only time she got was in Rock Lee's SD and filler! I had to be thankful for filler for Christ sake! And Boruto I guess. At least there we learned she was a teasing, cute, supernaturally interested lady! Was that too much to ask for main series?!

((((((((Hunted))))))))

Hospitals unsettled her.

Despite their purpose of saving people and healing the sick, coming to a hospital was always a way to set her on her nerves.

It had been since her mother was diagnosed and she spent so many hours walking the spotless halls. Every trip to visit her mother was a march through recovering patients, fading patients, and focused doctors until she reached her mother's room. Only to find her smiling despite her body getting weaker and weaker.

After her mother passed, Tenten despised coming back to hospitals for any reason. She hated when Naruto and Sasuke ended up here for their injuries. She hated coming back through the halls in order to see her recovering teammates. She hated it all.

So of course a trip to the hospital would be the perfect way to top off one of the worst, most exhausting weeks of her life.

Tenten's hand gently squeezed Kiba's as he laid unconscious in his bed. They'd be waking him up soon but she wouldn't be here to greet him when he did.

She wanted to be there for him when he opened his eyes. She had gone over the conversation almost a dozen times now in her head of what she had to say. How she was going to tell him what happened. Making plans for how he reacted or how he would start acting up. And what she would say when she told him Naruto was gone.

Thinking about what she had to say made the situation too real for her to take.

She was still in the mindset that if she turned the corner or looked behind her she'd find her friend still alive and well. That everything that happened was just a bad dream and he was still there to help them through this time.

Having to remind herself that she saw him get eaten by the Wyvern caused her eyes to get misty.

It was this horrible, gut-wrenching feeling down in her core that she wanted to help Kiba prepare for when he woke up. But now she could only hope for the best when he opened his eyes again...

Because she wouldn't be here for them.

Skyggen and the other guides from Mistral we're bringing the Haven students back home. And her father had reached out to them in hopes of finding her and bringing her home.

She wasn't sure what would happen if she refused. Since she was in a different Kingdom and of an age to attend school there did that mean she was out of Mistral's jurisdiction? Now that Beacon was gone did that negate her right to be here? If she outright refused would they try to drag her away instead?

As all of these aspects and excuses flooded her mind Tenten was suddenly hit with a terrible realization that made everything happening so much worse.

Did her father think he was alone again?

After the loss of her mother both Tenten and her father were left devastated. An integral, irreplaceable part of their lives was lost and the hole she left had nearly broken them. The house had felt too small and too quiet to be called a home anymore. Holidays, weekends, and especially her birthday were hollow events with the realization that she wouldn't be there with them anymore. Her coming home and asking if her mother was here were quick reminders that she had forgotten. And her father had to switch out the bed in their room because it was too big for him.

It was all so terrible, but it was at least manageable because they were with each other. Losing her mother was at least somewhat bearable because she could weather the pain with her father.

So every moment he didn't know she was alive, was he going through it all again but without her by his side this time?

Was it alright to leave him wallowing in uncertainty and fear like that while she stayed in the middle of the cataclysm?

Would sending a video with the Haven returnees be enough to ease his worries?

When there was still so much to do to keep Vale from collapsing and protect her fiends, it was an issue that weighed heavily on her mind.

"You should go home."

So to hear Sasuke tell her the answer so easily was just startling. She looked back from Kiba's bed and over at her hospitalized partner. Without any hesitation or anger at the subject she was bringing up, he encouraged her to do it. Even though he should have felt angrier than anyone about this, he didn't say a word. Whether that was still the shock in his system or not was a question she couldn't answer.

She let go of Kiba's hand and shook her head, "Just like that? Don't you have anything to say about me staying here? Don't you want me here?"

"Of course we want you here."

"Then just say that." Tenten kept her volume low but she couldn't stop the raw emotion slipping into her voice, "Just say that you want me to stay here and I-I'll convince the people going back-"

"We want you here with us, but that's going to be a long time. And that would mean having you stay here, doing the same thing you've been doing for the last few days, and then having to wait until we're damn well ready to move and start healing." Sasuke shook his head, " That's too much to ask of you."

"I'd do it." She whispered, "I would stay here to help you both."

"I know you would. He does too. Because somehow we were lucky enough to be put on the same team as the nicest, most enduring person we've ever met." He gave her a small smile that was enough to get tears to fill her eyes. She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently and pressing it to her forehead as he finished, "So we won't take advantage of that kindness and make you suffer here until we're ready."

"But how can I just leave?" She asked with a sob, her vision going blurry as she looked between him and Kiba, "If I leave I might never come back. I would be abandoning you both-"

"You're not abandoning us. All you're doing is going ahead of us for now." Tenten blinked and forced the tears out so she could clearly see her partner's face, "We'll make our way to Mistral someday. I can't promise it'll be anytime soon, but we will get there eventually. And when we do we'll find you and we'll be better. We can be together again...as a team."

Tenten's eyes clenched shut as she hunched over and hiccuped, "Not a full team."

...

"No, not a full team. Never again." Sasuke's voice was small and sad remembering that terrible fact, "But that doesn't mean we can't still be a team together. When Kiba and I are ready, we'll come find you. And NKTS can raise hell for our missing leader. How's that sound?"

That sounded...really, really great. Tenten looked up at her partner and then lurched forward to grab him in a hug. After a moment Sasuke's arm settled around her and hugged back. She kissed his cheek and forehead a few times before hugging him tightly, "I love you."

"I love you too."

The two partners kept their embrace for a few seconds before separating. Tenten went over all the details and plans for what they were going to do next. She stressed that he and Kiba should take their time to recover no matter how long it took. And once it was time to go she hugged him again and kissed Kiba on the cheek, promising to see him again when they were all ready.

Tenten got on one of the many ships that had come for extraction and sat in complete silence as they made their way back to Mistral. Some students were hopeful about what would happen when they got back. Some were still worried about Vale. Some teams were left incomplete after the Fall of Beacon.

Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage were moving around the ship asking if anyone had seen Sun. She didn't know where her monkey Faunus friend had disappeared to, but she knew he wasn't one to get in a situation he couldn't handle.

Sometimes when she walked by the medical bay on the Airship, she could get a look inside and see Minato being checked on by his team. Still recovering. Still ignorant of what he had lost. If it was anything like it had been for her, these next few months were going to feel like hell.

They arrived on a morning. There were families and officers and media crews swarming the landing zone looking for an update about what had happened.

Her father was there. A desperate, unbelievable smile on his face as he ran through the crowd and hugged her. Despite the mix of emotions in her belly she hugged him back.

She answered questions. She watched the news reverberate through the crowd in shock. It was tough telling the rest of the world that had been waiting in anticipation that things were starting to crumble.

Tenten didn't even remember getting home. She didn't remember telling her father she wasn't hungry. For all she knew she had locked herself in her room for the entire night.

But she did know she cried. Endlessly. And it hurt more and more as she did it. All the pain welling up inside her...all the hurt she had been pushing down and distracting herself from for all this time...it just came rushing through her like a tsunami.

And she had no idea what to do now.

((((((((Hunted))))))))

"Stay down!"

"Hands! Let me see your hands!"

"Any weapons and Scrolls I want in this bag right now!"

"Just cooperate and this will all go smoothly!"

Bank robbery. Done quickly and with serious haste. They had probably been planning this heist for awhile if they had already taken out the guards and cameras. They had plants inside that were already taking strategic corners and had gotten everyone under control in less than a minute. That was actually pretty good.

Unfortunately for them they made two mistakes. 1: They did this on the day she was pulling out some money from her paycheck. And 2: They hadn't kept track of her when they were rounding up everyone.

She watched the robbers survey the bank area from the bathroom door as they slowly drew closer. They were searching every inch of this place in order to find any stragglers left behind. There were at least 7 of them here across the whole floor so she had to be careful how to handle this.

"One of you go check the bathrooms!"

Oh, or they'll come right for her and she'll have to do this in a panic. One of the robbers came walking her way and reached for the handle as she reached back for a hold of her weapon-

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?" The robber approaching the bathroom stopped and looked back, "I'm checking the bathrooms."

"Don't go for the women's bathroom first you sicko!"

"What?" He paused a looked back as a masked female marched over to his side, "I'm supposed to be checking out every spot for anyone hiding away."

"And you're just starting with the ladies' restroom? You pervert."

"What the fuck? Should I just go to the men's first before going to the women's?"

"How about I take care of the women's while you handle the men's? Cause I have a pretty good idea what you'd do alone in there if you had the chance."

"God what do you think of me?"

"Nothing great. Even outside of being a bank robbery I know you're a pretty awful dude."

The big guy growled and walked aside as the female reached for the bathroom door. She tensed-

"Someone's coming in!"

"Contact!"

All the robbers shifted around and pointed their weapons at the door as the bell rang to signify someone walking in. The hostages all freaked out and screamed in worry as they waited for another poor, innocent soul to get dragged into this mess.

She suppressed a groan of exhaustion when she saw who it was so brazenly walking in.

"Hi there." The grey-haired, partially masked wolf Faunus pleasantly greeted everyone present as if he hadn't just walked into a tense hostage situation. As every weapon was aimed his way, he raised his hands and chuckled, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. I was just, you know, walking down the path of life before the black cat of destiny pulled me aside."

Oh my god, he even used that lame excuse with bank robbers. It's official, she was saddled with the weirdest guy on Remnant.

"And who are you supposed to be?"

"Just a guy making his way through. I'm also a Huntsman-"

"HUNTSMAN!"

They cocked their weapons and aimed them all at the man in a panic. He raised his hands, "But I'm not here to fight. And the people outside already called the police so they'll be here any moment. I'm here for a different reason entirely."

"And what's that?"

"Checking in on my friend over in the bathroom."

Oh...now he was just doing this on purpose.

"HA!" She kicked the door out and slammed it into the unsuspecting female robber before she could react. And with a quick turn she twisted towards the other robber and smacked his gun with her sticks. A layer of ice formed over the barrel to disable it before she used her other stick to knock his leg out. He toppled over and she slammed their ends down on his face.

Her long brown ponytail landed on her shoulder and draped over it as she looked up from her spot on the floor.

One of the robbers on the far side of the room turned to get her in his sights, but Kakashi blinked forward and disarmed them. Good, he would take care of the hostages hopefully.

Tenten jumped up and rushed the closest group of robbers. She focused Steel over her face and upper body as their bullets ricocheted off her, not even denting her Aura as she charged like a bull. Activating the electric Dust in one of her sticks, she spiked it and tased the closest robber to her.

As the bullets bounced off her body, she reached out and bent one gun barrel in her hand. She knocked the robber aside and smacked another one away with the swing of her stick. The sound of frightened hostages running outside in a panicked frenzy echoed through the bank as Tenten systematically moved through and demolished her foes.

She knocked weapons aside with her sticks. She tanked the shots with her Aura and Semblance. With a little focus she formed her Steel into knives before spiking them aside and into the barrels of their guns. Once their weapons were disabled, they tossed them aside and drew close-quarter weapons instead.

She started exchanging blows with their knives and batons. They were surprisingly quick and capable fighters for what she thought were just normal bank robbers. There were some small inklings of actual training in their movement.

Good, but it didn't look like they had the same training as her.

Tenten surprised her adversaries with quick movement around their swings and strikes. She blocked some with her fighting stick and knocked another swing away with a kick up by the attackers head. With a press of a button she activated the fire in her weapon and caused a small explosion that knocked the person in front of her down. Before he could pick himself up she charged in and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying into the wall with a crack.

Tenten turned around, her eyes narrowing on the last robber that was still standing. The young lady hesitated once she was caught under her gaze and looked like she wanted to retreat. Tenten shook her head, "Please just drop your weapon and surrender. This doesn't need to be dragged out any longer."

"No damn way!" She refused, "We just need to make the score! One clean win and we're set!"

"Oh, initiation into a gang, huh?" Tenten shrugged, "Wind Path or Kuchinashi?"

"N-None of your business!"

"I'm guessing Wind Path. They deal more with stealing and robbing. If you were in from Kuchinashi I'd expect they'd want you to spill a little blood to prove yourself."

"I said shut up!" She charged at Tenten and prepared to attack-

It bounced off the metal around her head as Tenten lunged forward. She grabbed the masked woman around the stomach and lifted her up before slamming her into the ground. With a pained groan she stayed floored and dropped her weapon.

Tenten retracted her Steel and walked over the downed forms of the beaten robbers along the way. She approached the center of the bank and saw Kakashi waiting for her, all the hostages safe and outside with the authorities. She frowned at the older Huntsman, "Did you really have to drop the ball like that?"

"I was worried you'd start taking them out one by one and sneaking around through the ventilation."

"I-I wasn't going to do that." She flushed and avoided his gaze as he stared at her skeptically.

"Uh-huh. Say, are you done here?"

She realized why he was asking when she heard shuffling behind her and spotted a robber picking himself up to attack her blindside. Looks like these aspiring gangsters were a little tougher than she gave them credit.

Oh, she still had to pick up her other stick.

She opened up her empty hand and felt a tug on her wristband. Something whizzed through the air-

"GAH!"

With a harsh smack of her weapon against the back of his head, he dropped to the ground as Calad magnetically returned to her palm. She swiped it down to her side and then sheathed both her sticks before looking at Kakashi with a cocky smirk, "Yes, I am done here."

"Well I knew our intern was a capable fighter but you're doing a lot better than I expected."

"Thanks. I've gotten in a lot of practice."

"And barely any rest between them."

She frowned at his comment before she walked past him and towards the door. Hearing him say that reminded her of the conversations she had just before she left Beacon. But he didn't know what he was talking about and they had just been worried.

She...she was handling herself fine.

Tenten spotted the authorities outside waiting for her statement before she looked back at her superior, "Are you coming? I want to get back to the office before lunch ends."

"Well if nothing else I gotta respect how studious you are."

((((((((Hunted))))))))

Done

Changing out her iconic bun-style for a ponytail and recalling her weapons with magnets. Hard to imagine what might have caused that decision. Tenten, honey, you got to get over your ex! You should burn their stuff and turn it into ashes! Let it join her in the wind!

Hahahahahah - ahahahaaaaa - oh god, I'm tearing up.

You know, looking back I'm not sure why I picked Tenten to be the member that rounded up the team. I love Hinata. Ino doesn't have many combat-oriented abilities but she's still pretty interesting. Sakura...

No, can't do it. I've been played too many times by Sakura. You can only get so disappointed in someone before you have to give it up. I'll always respect her for her part in the Sasori fight but that's the only win I'll give her.

Anyway, I'm not sure why I picked Tenten but I'm glad I did. An older girl that looks out for her friends. Lover of weapons. And as should have been obvious from the chapter we just read she holds her friends close to her heart - even when they aren't around anymore. I'm happy with where I've taken her so far...

And I look forward to where she goes next. Wink.

See you tomorrow!

ReadxReview

Thank You and Bye