Chapter Three: Acceptance

They walked.

Miraculously no wolves tried to eat them, there were no forest fires, and the skies remained clear. Tenten had to wonder if this was a bad omen, actually. As she kept her hands in her pockets, drying off in the sun, she looked to Neji. "Hey, Neji, why send out ANBU squads?"

Neji paused. "Hmm?"

"For an attack on some wolves and a forest fire?" asked Tenten.

"Forest fires often happen because of battles between ninja," said Neji. "The Uchiha Clan, in particular, is fond of fire style, and some of their teams are out on patrol.

"But, in truth, I do not know. The Hokage often takes action without consulting anyone else. It is his privilege as a leader. It is possible that he thought it might be a foreign invasion.

"If so, we would need ninja on point immediately.

"Overkill is only a bad thing if it is overkill, after all. We have been in a time of peace, so many squads have no tasks to undertake."

Tenten shrugged and decided it wasn't important. She and Neji walked through the trees and finally came to a huge set of gates. On either side of them was a huge forest, and the gates themselves were gigantic. In fact, they were larger than the tallest building in the town Tenten had visited. The doors themselves were of wood but had symbols on them. They were seals to increase the strength of the defense, weren't they?

"Wow, this place is huge! I've never seen buildings this big before!" said Tenten, staring at it in awe.

"Follow me," said Neji. "I will have to okay your presence here with the gate guards."

"You have gate guards?" asked Tenten, feeling her enthusiasm bubble up inside. "Are they ninja as well!" She imagined herself once again, fighting at Lady Tsunade's side with kunai and blade. Oh, maybe the Hokage would get seriously injured, but she'd save his life by healing and, and...

"Obviously," said Neji. "Though the normal guards have been switched out later."

As he arrived, several imposing figures in armor and a mask barred his path. Tenten felt nervous, but Neji moved forward without letting it get to him.

"Neji Hyuga, what are you doing back early?" asked the guard.

"I have someone who wants to be granted access to the academy," said Neji. "She also claims to be the agent the Inuzuka and Abarame have been looking for all this time." Did he have to say it so obviously?

The guard paused. "...Well, where is she?"

"Right there," said Tenten, raising a hand and trying to look bold.

The masked man paused. "Your friend?"

"She is not my friend," said Neji. "And yes."

The guard nodded. "Well, I'll send the message and see what the Hokage says."

One of the masked men raced off at a gesture, and Neji and Tenten waited. Tenten had to wonder if this wasn't a bit too much, too soon. Whether it was good or bad, this seemed too much. "So um... does the Hokage usually meet with children?"

"He usually meets with all ninja squads before dispatching them on missions," said Neji. "Sarutobi tries to be a grandfather to the children of the village."

"Does that include you?" asked Tenten.

"No," said Neji, face expressionless. He didn't talk much, did he?

"Oh," said Tenten. "Um, why not?"

"My family has a history with the Hokage's office," said Neji. "I have chosen to distance myself from him. It would not be appropriate."

At that moment, a woman arrived. She was clad in a tan, long coat, and beneath it seemed to be clad only in nets. She landed with a flash of light, and Tenten hardly looked away. Then she moved forward, bags in her eyes. "Okay, I haven't had enough coffee for this. Bad enough, we've got all these Uchiha on double-shifts, now this.

"You two kids are claiming to be the ones that started that ruckus which got the ANBU called in?"

"No," said Tenten, not wanting to get Neji in trouble. "Just me, I ran into Neji after getting out of the river and escaping the wolves."

"And you're coming to confess to us why?" asked the woman.

Tenten thought about everything that led up to this point. "Well, um... I kind of want to be a ninja."

The woman sighed. "Fine, whatever, follow me, and we'll see what he says. My name is Anko Mitarasihi, and you'll stay behind me."

"I will leave you to it, then," said Neji, turning to walk away.

Abruptly, Anko's hand became five snakes that surged forward. They wrapped around Neji and pulling him back, so they were face to face. "You're coming too."

"But I had nothing to do with this!" said Neji.

"Doesn't matter; we want to debrief you," said Anko, pulling him along. "Now shut up and follow. You too huh... Tenten, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Tenten, wondering how she knew her name. Tenten had never properly introduced herself, after all. Had they been observed since before they arrived?

That was so cool.

As they walked, Tenten saw all kinds of huge buildings with all kinds of people. Most of them had better clothes than those in the villages. Some even wore jewelry, and their hair seemed shinier and better cared for. There were lots of shops she'd never seen before, one of them called a salon. There were places that sold weapons and restaurants. In fact, there were more restaurants than Tenten had ever seen.

"Okay, I'm not supposed to be interrogating you, but why did you pick a fight with the Inuzuka packs?" asked Anko suddenly.

"It was an accident," said Tenten. "I didn't mean to."

Anko laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll hold up in court.

"Then again, you're talking to Sarutobi; it might fly. It did for me."

Tenten wondered what Anko meant by that. But she thought she shouldn't go asking about things that were none of her business. So instead, she stayed silent as they walked until they came to a huge red tower. The only entrance to the tower was on a set of steps leaping around the whole building and ending at the top floor.

Masked men were on patrol around it.

"Do you usually have this kind of security?" asked Tenten.

"It's something that happened this month," said Anko. "Sarutobi is choosing to follow up every lead, no matter how unlikely. Now and then, we act as if we're in a crisis, even when we aren't. It keeps people from getting rusty and gives them employment.

"Now and then, though, we get a real crisis, and then we're glad we jumped at the shadow. Hopefully, that won't happen this time."

"So what's the pretend crisis?" asked Tenten. "It's not me, is it?"

"If I told you that, I'd have to wipe your memory," said Anko. "It's all classified until the details come out."

Up the stairs, they went, and Tenten thought they were very long. Eventually, they went into the building itself and found a wood-paneled interior. It was all very clean, very well kept up. Actually, the entire Leaf Village had been way cleaner than the village.

Tenten wondered why. But this didn't seem the time to ask.

Eventually, Anko led them into a new room, one with a wide floor leading up to a long desk. At the desk, the Hokage was sitting. He was an old man, with skin that was mottled with age, clad in white robes. On either side of him were several older people, an old woman and an old man, looking a little plump. Last of all, on the far side of the table, was a man who had half his face covered in bandages. His skin was darker, and his one visible eye was hard. His clothes were black, a sharp contrast.

All of them had a great deal of paperwork in front of them. Tenten could not help but notice that the man in black was kept on the table's far right. It seemed inconvenient, especially since there was a lot of space between him and the Hokage.

"Hokage, I've got them," said Anko.

The Hokage looked up, and Tenten stood up ramrod straight. This was critical; if she screwed this up, she was dead. Or worse. "Very well, this should be a welcome break from paperwork.

"Anko, send them in."

Tenten and Neji went in together, and Tenten noticed Neji was also ramrodded straight. He'd hidden it. He looked like he was taking it seriously but wasn't trying to take it seriously. Sort of a contradiction, but she wished she could do it.

"So, I'm told you are claiming that you sing sent the Abarame and Inuzuka holdings into chaos. Then you outwitted my ANBU black ops," said the Hokage. "I find this claim somewhat difficult to believe, but I'm willing to hear your case."

"Sarutobi, why are we wasting time on this?" asked the old woman. "Surely, our focus should be on more pressing matters."

"Indeed," said the old man. "Just discipline the brat, and if she is lying, let it be for wasting our time."

Sarutobi looked up at her, and she hesitated. "Permit an old man his entertainments, Koharu. I'm certain we can afford to delay things somewhat. And Homura, surely you have considered that she may not be deserving of punishment.

"Often, an outside perspective is a very valuable thing. Please, girl, go on."

Tenten felt all their eyes on her and began to speak. "Alright, well um, it all started when I ran into Tsunade outside my house and um..."

Tenten told everything, speaking as clearly as she could. Now and then, Homura or Koharu would cut her off to ask some pointed question. But the man in black said absolutely nothing. He kept one hand on a walking stick, watching her carefully.

"Really, Hokage, why should we believe any of this?" asked Koharu. "We have much work to be done and-"

"She is speaking some truth," said the man in black suddenly. "Or have the two of you not paid attention to the one who is speaking. Neji Hyuga attests that she arrived wet from the river, and her clothes show their signs. She has cuts and bruises and stains of dirt as well.

"All of these things demonstrate that some of what she described happened. If you were not in such haste to dismiss her, you might have noticed these things."

"That only gives indications that not all of her story is lies," said Koharu. "The kind of chaos she described should not have been possible for a mere child. Not one without training anyway."

"On the contrary," said Sarutobi. "Her description is entirely credible. It would have been done by an ordinary person. And that ordinary person could have been overlooked because we anticipated a ninja. And of particular note is Guy.

"An ordinary person would be unlikely to know the trains in that location. Nor that he would be doing so today. Nor would they be able to describe his somewhat eccentric mannerisms so well.

"Of course, they would have to be a very good shot."

"Give me a target, and I'll show you," said Tenten before she could stop herself.

Sarutobi nodded. "Very well then... what is your name again?"

"Tenten, Hokage," said the girl.

"Very well, I'll give you the chance to prove your claims," said Sarutobi. "Koharu, Danzo, Homura, you can arrange the details of the reinforcements without me."

"It shall be done, Sarutobi," said Danzo.

Sarutobi stood up and walked out, and Tenten saw there was a grace to his movements. He showed no signs of injury or slowness from age. And Tenten realized that he must have been the oldest person she'd ever met. In fact, everyone in this room was ancient.

They had to have seen the Second Shinobi War, to say nothing of the Third.

"Follow me," said Sarutobi. "You as well, Neji."

"But I-" began Neji. "Yes, Hokage."

The Hokage walked at a leisurely pace, and Tenten walked beside him, feeling a little odd. He seemed a little different than he had been. As they walked, he asked Tenten many questions. Some of them were odd, like how she'd gotten the idea to do odd jobs and pay for her equipment. Others had more to do with the woods she had come from. "I'd apologize for my friends. My comrades mean well. However, I fear that they've lost track of the importance of people as a resource in old age.

"Tell me, where did you learn to throw kunai?"

"Well, I can throw anything," said Tenten. "I was taught to do it by Master Panda. He's a blacksmith who lives in the woods. And he trained me to test his weapons. I was always good at throwing kunai."

"Master Panda?" mused Sarutobi. "Is he a literal panda, or does the name merely symbolize something?"

"No, he's a literal panda and eats a lot of bamboos," said Tenten. "I uh... he always says he sells weapons to ninja to make a profit."

"Well, I have not heard of him," said Sarutobi. "But, then even I cannot know every individual person in the Leaf. Let alone the surrounding lands. Come, let's walk in silence."

They soon came to a large building and went to a nearby academy. There, Sarutobi left them into a practice range. Numerous target dummies were standing by, and a class looked to be using them. Their teacher was a man with a topknot and a green flack jacket.

"Welcome to the academy," said Sarutobi.

The man in the flack jacket saw Sarutobi and quickly moved over to him. "Hokage, what brings you here?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your target practice lessons, Iruka," said Sarutobi. "However, I'm going to have to burrow a lane."

"Of course, I'll have one set aside," said Iruka. "If you wish, I could clear away the students. We could pick up class later."

"Hmm, no, no need for that," said Sarutobi. "I'd hate to inconvenience them."

As Sarutobi led Tenten to one of the lanes at the far end, a blonde-haired boy in orange looked at them. "Who's that girl? Is she joining the academy?"

"That remains to be seen, Naruto," said Sarutobi. "Now, Tenten, please demonstrate these vaunted skills on the targets." And he offered her a set of kunai.

"Alright then," said Tenten.

Then, grabbing two kunai, she spun them around in her hands before hurling both. She caught the target where the eyes would have been. Another got it in the heart, another in the ground. Once done, she tossed one forward slow and tossed another to hit it behind. Both shot off in opposite directions and caught the target in the hands. With a number of kunai, Tenten proceeded to shoot a smiley face into the stomach of the target.

Tenten waited for a response and looked up to see everyone staring. Sarutobi looked mildly impressed, and everyone else was gawking.

"Huh, she's pretty good," said a blonde girl.

"My Dad always had me test the targets with his kunai so he'd know how well they threw," said Tenten. "See, I'd practice between delivering shipments from the forest to the outside world."

"What kind of blacksmith lives out in the woods?" asked Neji.

"I..." Tenten paused and realized she hadn't considered that. "Well, I guess Master Panda doesn't like people and does like bamboo, so..."

"It is not presently relevant," said Sarutobi, removing a pipe from his mouth. "Well, I'm convinced.

"Congratulations are in order, Tenten. You've proven you are capable of performing the crime you are admitting to."

"Crime?" asked Naruto. "What crime? Is she a criminal? Did she do some sort of prank-"

"Naruto, don't interrupt the Hokage, kindly," said Iruka quickly.

"Yeah, you're gonna get us in trouble, Naruto," said a pink-haired girl, before whacking him across the face. "Stop being such a moron."

"Sorry, Sakura," said Naruto.

Tenten felt like she ought to speak out about this but then thought it wasn't really her place. Wasn't anyone going to do anything about that? Well, apparently not, since Sakura then hurled a kunai and caught a bullseye.

"Sasuke, did you see that?" asked Sakura. "I made it into the ring next to the bullseye!"

Whoever Sasuke was, he didn't respond, so Tenten couldn't pick him out.

"Now you're making as much noise as Naruto, Sakura," said the blonde girl.

"Oh, um... sorry, Ino," said Sakura quickly.

"Don't worry about it," said Ino. "Watch this."

She hurled a kunai, only for it to miss.

"You appear to have missed completely," said a boy in a jacket with sunglasses.

"I uh... alright fine, so I didn't make that shot very well," said Ino.

At that moment, a pale-skinned, dark-haired boy came forward with his kunai. "Let me do it."

Tenten watched as the dark-haired boy hurled a whole set of kunai. Every single one of them landed in the heart and head region. Eh, six out of ten.

But then cheers went through the girls, and Tenten felt a bit offended.

"Yes! Go Sasuke, you're the best!" said Ino.

"What?" said Tenten. "But I just completely upstaged him."

Then she looked up to the Hokage, who was smiling. Tenten realized that Sarutobi had used her as an excuse to come here and observe. But at the same time, he had been observing her observe. That was some serious multitasking.

"...Perhaps we should move to somewhere we won't be eavesdropping?" asked Sarutobi.

"Yeah, let's do that," said Neji.

They moved out of the academy and into what appeared to be a park. Sarutobi walked, admiring the view. "Now then, I suppose the next question is why you are admitting to what you did."

Tenten paused. "Um, well, it was an accident. I didn't mean to run into those wolves, and they were trying to eat me."

"Well, what were you doing picking a fight with wolves, to begin with?" asked Neji.

"I was... lost," said Tenten. "See, I was trying to get to the Leaf Village so I could ask to join the academy, and I got off my right road. It started raining, so I went into a cave to get shelter, but there werewolves inside. So I made a run for it and climbed a tree and..."

"So you did all that?" mused Sarutobi. "I don't think you are trying to deceive me, so I must admit it seems likely you are telling the truth. Why are you here, then?"

"I want to become a ninja, like the Great Ninja Tsunade!" said Tenten quickly.

Sarutobi nodded. "A worthy desire, I suppose.

"Still, you have caused injury to Inuzuka and Abarame property. But, I do not take you for a troublemaker. Rather I think you are a bright young girl who got into trouble. Danzo will likely believe you are a spy, of course, but that is in his nature.

"If all enemy spies were like you, perhaps you could just offer them a job and achieve world peace.

"So I have made my decision on the subject. I think it is only fair that you be obligated to pay for the injuries that the wolves sustained during your... adventures. However, in light of her financial situation, I am willing to loan you the money for repayment."

"Really?" asked Tenten. Granted, she was going to have to pay off major debt, but it was a start.

"Yes, and I won't be expecting you to begin repaying it. Not until after you either graduate or wash out of the academy," said Sarutobi.

"You're letting me into the academy?" asked Tenten.

"Of course," said Sarutobi. "I'd hate for you to have come all this way for nothing. But be warned, the way of the ninja is hard and will take a great deal of discipline. You will be starting late, and so you will have to work even harder to keep up."

"Thank you, Hokage, I promise you you won't regret this," said Tenten.

"I'm sure I won't," said Sarutobi. "Now, I suppose you'll be in need of lodging. I believe I can set you up with an apartment for now. However, you will have to pay for your lodging once you have disposable income."

"I understand," said Tenten. "Can I get the bill? I'd like to pay it off early."

"I'll make those arrangements as well," said Sarutobi. "Now, if you'll come with me, I'll arrange for your lodging and entry into the academy. That should get me the rest of the day off.

"I recommend you find a part-time job if you want to pay off your debt."

"But Hokage," said Tenten. "I don't want to take you away from your business."

"Oh, don't concern yourself with it," said Sarutobi. "The Leaf has been in negotiation with a particular party for years. Neither side wants a conflict, but neither side is willing to give anything up. And it's been going on for so long that if either side relents, they'll look weak. But at the same time, both parties need the other. So we can't just break off relations and go our separate ways.

"I've been trying to break the deadlock for years in a way that benefits all involved. And I think I just found a solution."

"What?" said Tenten. "What do you mean?"

"Taking a walk and a bit of rest can often provide a solution when one is stressed," said Sarutobi, smoking his pipe. "Right this way."

Tenten had no idea what was going on.

Then again, it probably wasn't any of her business, to begin with. So she focused on thinking about how she'd pay off the debt.