It's Do or Die!
Neji paced about back and forth outside the medical tent along with the others waiting worriedly.
Suddenly the doctor (Kabuto) emerged from the tent and grimly gestured to Neji. Kabuto bent slightly and whispered something making Neji lift his head in shock. Naruto and Konohamaru looked at each other in despair as they knew they had been found out.
Neji burst into the tent to see 'Tenmaru' , just waking up. 'He' gave him a small smile and sat up, 'his' blanket slipping down to reveal cleavage under 'his' bandages. Neji widened his eyes in disbelief at seeing 'Tenmaru's' true gender.
Upon seeing his expression, Tenten looked down and realized that her chest (and her secret) has been exposed. She gasped as she pulled up the blanket to cover herself. "I-I can explain!" she stammered, this time in her real voice when Mizuki burst in and gasped when he saw Tenten covering her chest.
"So it's true!" he exclaimed as Neji left the tent feeling betrayed.
"I knew there was something wrong with you! A GIRL!" announced Neji dragging out Tenten by the arm as she desperately tried to cover herself. Mizuki pulled off her hair tie, letting her brown hair fall over her shoulders, making everyone gasp.
Kiba, Lee and Choji looked at each other as they realized that their former suspicions were right.
"Treacherous Snake!" spat Mizuki, throwing her down into the snow.
Tenten lifted her head and glared poisonously at the counsel. "I am no snake, nor is my name Tenmaru. My real name is Tenten!" she said fiercely at him before turning to Neji who didn't look at her. "I did this to save my father. You of all people should understand, Neji."
"HIGH TREASON!" declared Mizuki loudly.
"I didn't mean it to go this far!" explained Tenten ignoring Mizuki.
"ULTIMATE DISHONOR!"
"IT WAS THE ONLY WAY!" yelled Tenten. "PLEASE, believe me!"
Mizuki scoffed at her as he walked to Neji. "Captain!"
Neji turned and looked at Tenten who stared into his pale eyes. Suddenly, he walked to where Kankuro was and removed the katana that was strapped to his saddle. Naruto and Konohamaru gasped in despair once more while Kankuro reared up on his hind legs.
"NO! TENTEN!"he neighed as Kankuro tried to save his master but was restrained by the men.
"Restrain that creature!" ordered Mizuki, when Kankuro reared up once more and kicked him in the butt. "YEOW!" screamed Mizuki in pain, glaring at the horse.
Lee, Kiba and Choji quickly tried to save Tenten as well but were dog-piled to the ground by the rest of the army.
"LET US GO!" snarled Kiba, struggling fiercely.
"She maybe a girl, but Tenten's still our Youthful comrade and best friend!" declared Lee angrily as his arms got pinned down.
"She risked her life to save ALL OUR LIVES! Especially yours, NEJI! If you KILL her! We'll NEVER Forgive you!" cried Choji.
"SILENCE! One more word and you'll ALL be executed!" roared Mizuki rubbing his sore spot where Kankuro had kicked him.
Tenten looked at her friends and smiled at them reassuringly. 'Guys...thank you so much...'
The trio's words also seemed to have affected Neji as well as he hesitated raising the sword above his head. Tenten bowed her head waiting for the blow when she heard a loud clang in front of her. The girl lifted her head to see the sword in front of her before looking up at Neji confused.
"A life for a life, my debt is repaid..." said Neji coldly as he walked off. "Everybody move out!"
Mizuki stared at Neji in disbelief. "B-but, but-! You can't just-!"
"I said, Move Out,"repeated the captain giving Mizuki a stare so deadly and intense the the man simply backed off in fear.
Tenten couldn't say anything and looked down silently when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Lee giving her a reassuring grin and thumbs up as he gave Tenten her clothes he retrieved from the tent. Kiba patted Tenten on the back, dropping her an extra blanket on her lap, winking and smiling a little at her. Choji then tapped Tenten's shoulder and held out a bag of meat buns.
"Here, you'll need these more than I do..." he whispered smiling as the trio grabbed their stuff and ran off to catch up with the others.
Tenten watched their disappearing figures, feeling a little happy that she made some really good friends.
Later that night, after slipping on her Anbu uniform once more, Tenten curled up into ball, shivering while Kankuro helped draped the blankets over her and sat beside her to keep her warm. Konohamaru tossed a few more sticks into a small fire he made before joining Tenten under her blanket shivering.
Naruto kicked up a little snow feeling incredibly dejected. "I was so close...just this close to be getting my old job back-ttebayo..." he muttered as he picked up a broken arrow, stabbed a meat bun from the bad Choji left and tried to heat it over the tiny fire, plopping next to Tenten. "Hi..." he said bluntly to her.
"I should have never left home..." muttered Tenten dejectedly.
"Hey...your heart was in the right place. You wanted to save your father, right?" asked Naruto trying to make her feel better.
"But now look at me...abandoned and having dishonored my family...I can't do anything right..." said Tenten bitterly as she bowed her head, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
Naruto placed his bun down and placed a paw on Tenten's hand. "Come on, you knew the risks of doing this and you still took the chance! You can't get more righteous than that-dattebayo!"
Tenten looked at the fox through her tear filled eyes as another thought struck her. "Maybe...just saving my Father isn't the only reason I ran away...maybe the real reason I wanted to do this...was to prove to him and myself that I can be somebody..." she said as she picked up her headband and looked at her reflection in the shiny metal plate. "Maybe it's so that, when I look in the mirror, I can see a girl who's worthwhile...but right now...I see nothing..." she said dropping the headband.
Naruto looked at Tenten and picked up the headband. "In that case, all it needs is a little spit and polish-ttebayo!" Naruto tried to exclaim cheerfully before spitting on the metal plate and polishing it with his tails, when he caught his own reflection. The fox's smile disappeared as his ears and tails drooped sadly. "Who am I kidding?..The truth is Tenten, we're both frauds...your ancestors never sent me. They practically hate my guts..."
Tenten widened her eyes at Naruto at the news. "But you know, in comparison, your intentions were noble. You risked your life to save loved ones while I risked your life for my own selfish reasons...If anything, I should be the dishonorable one-ttebayo!" said Naruto, putting down the head band in front of Konohamaru.
The cricket looked at his own reflection and began to cry as well. "I'M NOT LUCKY AT ALL!" he wailed.
"WHAT? What do you mean you're not lucky?" demanded Naruto grabbing Konohamaru. "You lied to me?"
Konohamaru nodded sadly in response. Naruto then turned to Kankuro. "And what are you, a sheep?"
"Don't push your luck, Kit..." threatened Kankuro, snorting at the fox in annoyance.
Naruto rolled his eyes and dropped Konohamaru onto the snow. He looked at Tenten and whimpered.
"I guess I'm going to have to face my father sooner or later...let's go home guys..." sighed Tenten standing up.
Naruto looked at Tenten in disbelief as he hopped onto her shoulder. "WHAT? AFTER ALL WE'VE DONE? NO!" he cried in protest much to Tenten's surprise. "Look Tenten, you've worked your butt off to fight for your father and you're giving up right now? We're not gonna let it end like this! We started this mission together, and we're gonna finish it-dattebayo!"
Tenten looked at Naruto with tears brimming her eyes. "You really mean it?
The fox smiled as he lifted Tenten's hand and wrapped it up with his nine tails. "I promise, and I never go back on my word. That's my Kitsune Way-dattebayo!"
Suddenly Tenten grabbed Naruto and hugged the little fox tightly with a smile on her face.
At that moment, Sasuke was soaring over the remnants of the battlefield. His Sharingan eyes scoured over the hundreds of the dead Akatsuki army that got killed in the avalanche. Suddenly, a large lump of snow shifted to reveal Pein. Sasuke screeched loudly as he doubled back to the man. Pein looked around him at was left of his once great army.
"NOOOOOOOOOO...!" he cried out loudly in anger, his voice echoing throughout the mountains, making Tenten and others look up with a start when they heard the familiar cry.
They looked over the mountainside to see, Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame and Zetsu emerging bursting out of the snow and walked up to where Pein was. Sasuke screeched as he landed on Pein's shoulder. The man said nothing as he glanced at his hawk before making his way towards the capital city of Konoha, with the others following wordlessly.
Tenten gasped loudly as she quickly ran back and grabbed her katana and mask from the snow. Sheathing the sword, Tenten took out a pair of hair ties from her bag and used it to tie her hair back up into a pair of hair buns, although now they were smaller since her hair was shorter. Quickly tying her headband around her forehead, Tenten jumped on Kankuro's back and began heading down the path.
"Hey, I thought you were going home?" asked Naruto grabbing the bag of meat buns with Konohamaru on his head.
"Someone has to warn the Hokage."
"Hel-LOOOOOO? Did you not see those Akatsuki guys-ttebayo?" exclaimed Naruto in disbelief. "They just popped out of the snow! LIKE DAISIES!" (R.F.: x3 My FAVORITE LINE EVER!)
"We started this mission together, and we're going to finish it, right?" said Tenten, smiling as she repeated what Naruto had said a few minutes ago.
Konohamaru and Naruto looked at each other before grinning at Tenten. "I promise, and I never go back on my word. That's my Kitsune Way-dattebayo!" repeated the fox as he jumped on Kankuro's back with the cricket and held on to Tenten. "LET'S GO KICK SOME AKATSUKI BUTTS-DATTEBAYO! AAARRRROOOOOOOOOOOO...!" he howled excitedly as the horse galloped off towards the city.
Meanwhile, a huge festival was going on as a parade of musicians and acrobats came marching down the street along with a Chinese Dragon.
"MAKE WAY FOR THE HEROES OF KONOHA!" announced Ibiki who flourished his hand at the soldiers behind him.
Mizuki marched forward on his horse smiling and waving as if all the glory was his. However, despite the happy cheers and festivities, all the soldiers, including Neji had their heads hung low sadly as they all knew that the real war hero was Tenten, who had taken down the Akatsuki with her quick wit.
Suddenly, there was a loud neighing as Tenten burst through the crowd on Kankuro. "Neji!" she called riding up to the captain.
"Tenten?" said Neji in surprise.
"Neji, some of the Akatsuki have survived the avalanche! I saw them, they're in the city!"
"You don't belong here, go home you fraud," said Neji coldly as he brushed past her.
Tenten narrowed her eyes and caught up with him again. "Neji you have to warn the Lady Hokage, she's in danger. You have to believe me!"
"And why should I?..." demanded the Captain in a low cold voice.
Tenten and Kankuro frowned heavily. "Oh no you don't, Pretty Boy!" snorted the horse as he galloped ahead and planted himself firmly in front of Neji.
The girl glared at Neji like he was a hypocrite. "You said you trusted Tenmaru, why is Tenten any different?" she simply asked, taking Neji aback before she made Kankuro step aside and allowed the troops to pass.
Kiba, Choji and Lee looked at Tenten readily as they walked past her. "Stay on your guard guys, I know their hiding somewhere close," said Tenten, to which the guys smiled and nodded their heads before Tenten galloped off. Just as they neared the Hokage Tower, Tenten jumped off.
"And where are you going?" asked Naruto.
"To find someone who will believe me!" replied the girl over her shoulder as she ran into the crowd that had gathered as Taiko Drums began playing loudly and fireworks began to fire into the sky.
Tenten quickly ran over to a guard and tried to tell him of the oncoming danger but was rudely brushed off. She then tried another who immediately gave her the same reaction. Tenten sighed in frustration as Naruto caught up and jumped on her shoulder. "Why won't anyone listen?"
"Huh? I'm sorry did you say something?" replied Naruto digging his ear.
"NARUTO!"
"Well SOR-RY! If you haven't realized it yet, YOU are a GIRL, crying 'Danger!' when everyone believes the enemy is dead!"
"Well, Genius! What's you're big idea?" retorted Tenten.
At that moment, Neji and the troops had ascended up the stairs to the Hokage tower where Tsunade stood waiting in a formal golden kimono. The music stopped and all was silent as Neji bowed down before the Hokage and presented in his hands, the spiked rod that Pein had used.
"My Lady, I present to you the Spike of Pein," announced Neji holding it out to her.
"I know what this means to you, Captain Neji. Lord Hiashi would be proud," said Tsunade smiling at Neji.
Just before she had a chance to take the spike, Sasuke came dive-bombing from the sky and snatched up the weapon, carrying towards the highest roof to where the silhouettes of stone lions could be seen and dropped it. Suddenly, one of the lions shifted and caught the spike, revealing the person to be Pein, much to the horror of the crowd as Sasuke landed on his shoulder.
'Tenten was right...!' exclaimed Neji in disbelief and regret for his ignorance of Tenten's warning.
Before he could react, the rest of the Akatsuki burst out of the dragon and knocked Neji down before grabbing Tsunade and dragging her back into the Tower where the others followed closely behind and closed the giant doors, locking it from inside.
"NO!" cried Neji as he ran up the stairs followed by his troops with Pein laughing mockingly at them before disappearing.
Not willing to give up, Neji and the others quickly grabbed a large stone Lion statue and began to use it as a battering ram. Tenten quickly ran up the stairs and hesitated. "There's no way they will reach the Hokage in time..." she muttered when an idea struck her.
Running up the stairs to the troops, Tenten whistled loudly to them, making them stop.
"KIBA! CHOJI! LEE! I have an idea, come on!" she called running off.
The three guys looked at each other and grinned before running after her, leaving Neji and the troops.
"Where are we going?" asked Choji, as the group ran through the back entrance which the staff use.
Tenten grabbed a few kimono's from a nearby box and a make-up kit. "We're going to free the Hokage, and this time, we're going to do it with a woman's touch!" she said pouncing on the guys, with her eyes a gleaming.
(R.F: CUE THE MUSIC! *presses a remote causing the song 'BE A MAN!' to play once more.)
BE A MAN!
Choji held his breath as Kiba helped him pull on and tighten a corset around his middle.
BE A MAN!
Tenten began to apply make-up to the boy's faces.
BE A MAN!
Once Tenten was finished, the boys flourished their fans and stood like super models in their new kimonos.
BE A MAN!
Choji had on a turquoise kimono with a wave pattern and a gold obi. The corset he wore gave him a more slender appearance while his brown hair was tied in a ponytail. Kiba had his messy brown hair combed out straight with hair gel with his fringe over one eye to give a more feminine look to him. He wore a black and red kimono with an autumn design. Lee's hair was pulled back into a bun and held in place with hair sticks. His kimono was forest green and gold and had a high slit to reveal his surprisingly long, sexy and clean shaven legs. Tenten had applied make up on them in such away that the boys actually looked like girls even despite the fact Lee had refused to shave his eyebrows. They all carried matching colored fans and wore clip on gold earrings.
BE A MAN!
(You must be swift as the coursing river!)
Finally the guys marched to some pillars with Tenten leading them in her own light pink kimono with a green obi and plum blossom design. She wore the least make-up since she was already a girl. She kept her hair tied up in a single bun once more but this time she added gold hair pins. The four quickly whipped out their headbands and wrapped it around the pillars before each of them and pulled tightly and looked at each other readily. Just then, Tenten felt a tap on her shoulder and turned her head to see Neji smiling at the group as he took off his head band and copied the others and nodded.
BE A MAN!
(With all the force of a great Typhoon!)
The others smiled back in pleasant surprise and nodded in reply as they all began to use their headbands to help them climb up the pillars to an open balcony.
BE A MAN!
(Will all the strength of a Raging Fire! Mysterious as the Dark Side of the MOOOOOOOOOONN!...)
Just then, Kisame and Deidara dragged the Hokage up to a balcony for all of Konoha to see.
"Boo.." said Pein as he came swinging down from the roof as he signaled for the other to go away before he began to circle Tsunade, whose expression remained calm and neutral. "Your walls and armies have fallen Lady Tsunade, and soon, so will you..." he said menacingly as Kisame and Deidara closed the door behind them and stood guard with Sasori, Itachi and Zetsu.
Tenten used the reflection of headband to peek out from a corner before hiding herself and turning to the trio. "Okay guys, let's do this! Any questions?"
"Does this dress make my butt look big to you?" asked Kiba measuring his hips when he got socked in the head by Tenten in annoyance making him yelp.
"What was that?" exclaimed Black Zetsu.
The four quickly took their cue as they began trotting out and giggling girlishly, fanning themselves and batting their eyes flirtatiously with Kiba almost tripping.
"Relax, they're just concubines..." replied White Zetsu.
"Yeah...Ugly concubines, un..."muttered Deidara in disdain until Lee flashed his sexy legs, making the man unconsciously wolf whistle.
Kiba giggled and winked seductively at Kisame who stupidly grinned and waved back, making Sasori nudge him. Suddenly, everyone heard a small thud and looked down to see an apple roll out from underneath Lee's kimono with a bite mark. Lee quickly batted his eyes and giggled as he held his fan over the flat part of his chest where he had hidden the apple.
At that moment, Sasuke spotted Neji hiding in the corner and was about to screech to alert the others when suddenly-
"Rasengan!" exclaimed Naruto as softly as possible, hitting the hawk with a ball of red chakra, burning all of Sasuke's feathers off as he hit the wall unconscious.
Naruto grinned while Konohamaru jumped and high fived the fox. "Who's the bad-ass one now, bitch?" said Naruto casually blowing smoke from his paw.
Kisame continued to grin stupidly as he bent down to pick up the apple when the trio reached into their kimonos and pulled out the fruit they were using for boobs. Choji pulled out a pair of melons, Kiba a pair of lemons and Lee, the remaining apple. Before the Akatsuki could react, Choji quickly smashed the melons on to Sasori's and Zetsu's head before slamming them together, knocking them out effectively.
Deidara began to throw a punch at Lee who swiftly dodged and shoved the apple in his mouth. "KONOHA SENPUU!" he yelled jumping up and delivering a flying spinning kick at Deidara's head, sending the guy spinning and colliding head first into a pillar with a loud thud.
Kisame lifted his sword and began to swing it at Kiba who easily evaded it multiple times with each swing. Suddenly, Kiba ducked and tossed the lemons into the air which got sliced by the sword. Quickly catching them, Kiba rolled and aimed them at Kisame. "Eat this, blue dude!" he said squirting lemon juice into the man's eyes.
"MY EYES!" cried Kisame when Kiba quickly grabbed his arm and judo flipped him on his head so hard it went through the floor.
Itachi had his bow and arrow ready and fired at Tenten who removed her hair sticks and with her keen eye, she threw them, one easily knocking down the arrow from the air with great precision while the other hit a nerve on Itachi's hand causing him to drop his weapon. Tenten quickly ran up delivered an uppercut to Itachi, who blocked but it turned out to be a feint when Tenten rammed her knees upward to Captain. Winky. Itachi's eyes popped wide open clutching his 'man-servant' when Tenten performed a leg sweep, taking him down. The girl quickly sat on his back and used his bow to put him in a head-lock.
"NEJI, GO!" she yelled, prompting Neji to make his move as he unsheathed his sword and ran past the group to where the Hokage was being held.
"I am getting tired of your stubbornness, woman! I ORDER you to BOW to me!" said Pein threateningly brandishing his spiked rod at Tsunade who made no indication of fear.
"Well you can jolly well tire yourself out Pein, because this woman is remaining stubborn," replied Tsunade, smirking at Pein mockingly.
"Then you will kneel in pieces!" roared Pein thrusting his spike at the Hokage, when Neji jumped forward and knocked it away with his katana.
Tsunade quickly moved out of the way as Neji tried to swing his sword Pein who caught the young man's arm and wrenched the sword away. He then tried to throw Neji off the balcony but he quickly grabbed a nearby pillar and swung himself back inwards, kicking Pein in the face.
"JYUUKEN!" Neji cried, about to do a falling palm thrust when Pein rolled out of the way and kicked Neji in the stomach.
Fortunately, Neji recovered fast as he continued to strike at Pein with palm thrusts who easily blocked and dodged. Tenten and the others soon appeared at the scene.
"Choji, get the Hokage!" ordered Tenten, running towards a nearby rope from they hung lanterns leading all the way to the ground.
Choji nodded and ran up to Tsunade. "Please excuse me, Lady Hokage!" he apologized before grabbing the woman and running to where Tenten was. Using his headband, Choji held onto it tightly as he used it to let himself and Tsunade zip line to the ground safely followed close behind by Kiba and Lee.
"NO!" cried Pein, grabbing Neji and throwing him into a wall, making Tenten flinch.
"TENTEN, COME ON!" yelled Kiba from below.
Tenten looked at them before looking at Neji's unconscious form. Suddenly, she saw Pein running towards her. Quickly, she grabbed Neji's katana which was laying at her feet and used it to cut the rope, making it fall to the ground just before Pein could make a grab at it.
The crowd cheered loudly for the heroes and began to boo and jeer at Pein. "No..." Pein began to say in disbelief before he turned and glared fiercely at Neji who was just beginning to wake up as Tenten ran to his side.
Pein went to pick up his spike and stormed up to Neji who quickly pushed Tenten out of the way. The man grabbed Neji by the neck and held him high, brandishing his spike. "YOU! YOU TOOK AWAY MY VICTORY!" he roared and was about to impale Neji when a shoe came flying in like a boomerang and hit his head. Pein turned around in annoyance, rubbing the back of his head.
"No he didn't," said Tenten as the shoe came flying back to her, which she caught easily. "I did..." she said, using her sleeve to wipe off her make-up and removed her Monkey mask from her obi and held it in front of her face.
Pein widened his eyes as he recognized Tenten. "You're the soldier from the mountains..." he said in disbelief as he dropped Neji hard on the floor before beginning to walk towards Tenten.
"Uh-oh!" exclaimed the girl as she quickly slipped on her shoe and ran down the stairs, closing the door and locking it behind her. Tenten was about to sigh in relief when Pein suddenly punched through the door.
Tenten quickly rolled away and began to run, when Naruto came running up on all fours with Konohamaru riding his head. "Ok, so what's the plan?" asked Naruto as they turned a corner.
"Um..."
"YOU DON'T HAVE A PLAN-DATTEBAYO?"
Tenten frowned at the fox. "Look, I'm making this up as I-..."Tenten was about to say when she screeched to a stop by window which had a view of the fireworks tower. "go...Naruto!" she called to the fox who hopped on her shoulder and saw what she was looking at.
"I'm way ahead of you-dattebayo!" replied Naruto winking and giving the girl a thumbs up before jumping onto a passing bat shaped kite with Konohamaru and used it to glide towards the tower.
At that moment, Pein had burst through the door and searched angrily for Tenten, spotting her by the window. The man charged and stabbed his sword at Tenten, who was just barely to dodge as she scrambled up a nearby pillar. With a single punch, Pein broke the pillar causing it to crash through a wall with Tenten, who thankfully was able to keep her grip.
"LOOK!" yelled someone from below as they began to shout words of encouragement to Tenten while booing at Pein at the same time.
Meanwhile, Naruto had reached the tower. "Men, I need fire power!" he boomed in a deep voice.
"GAH! Who're you!" exclaimed one of the two men frightened.
"Your worst nightmare..."snarled the fox menacingly as his eyes glowed in the darkness, rearing up on his hind legs. He stretched out the bat kite on his back and fanned out his tails while snapping his jaws brandishing his claws, giving him an extremely frightening appearance.
The two men screamed and dived out the tower while the fox and cricket smiled and high fived each other triumphantly.
Tenten quickly climbed on to the roof and began to gauge the distance of the tower and the roof when Pein came bursting up from behind her. Tenten gasped loudly in fear as she began to back up slowly quickly feeling her kimono for something to use as a weapon but all she got was her fan.
"It looks like you're out of ideas," sneered Pein as he made a stab towards Tenten who quickly ducked and let the spike stab through the fan instead. In one swift move, Tenten snapped the fan shut and used it to wrench the spike from Pein's hand before catching it and brandishing it on her own.
"I don't think so!" she retorted pointing it at Pein's face. "Ready Naruto?" she called as Pein turned to see a small nine-tailed fox holding up a pair of bat wings.
"I AM READY BABY!" replied Naruto excitedly as he ripped off the wings to reveal his tails holding up a large fireworks rocket, aiming it directly at Pein. "Light me, Cricket Boy!"
"Roger!" replied Konohamaru saluting as he pulled a match from one of the tails and struck it against the roof creating a small flame which he used to light the fuse.
Pein, still not willing to go down just yet, aimed a punch at Tenten who dodged and elbowed Pein in the stomach before leg-swiping him. Before he had a chance to recover, Tenten grabbed his spike and pinned down the base of his robe hard to the roof while the girl quickly hit the floor.
"AAAAAARRRRRRRROOOOO...YEAH!" howled Naruto loudly as the rocket fired, carrying the fox and cricket along with it.
Pein saw the rocket coming and tried to jump away but his pinned down robe prevented him from doing so as the rocket hit him dead on and blew him off the roof while Naruto grabbed onto the spike and released the rocket from his tails with Konohamaru clutching the fox's ears for support. Not wasting anytime, Tenten grabbed Naruto and Konohamaru and began to run in the opposite direction as she tucked them into her kimono.
"Get of the roof! Get of the roof! Get of the roof!" she said anxiously just as the rocket blasted Pein hard into the fireworks tower where the other fire works were and combusted, creating a huge colorful light display as Pein and the tower got blown to smithereens.
At that moment, Tenten swan-dived of the other side off the other side of the roof, grabbing onto a nearby lantern and zip lined down to the ground when she let go and accidentally landed on Neji who was running out. The two looked at each other and smiled in surprise as Pein's spike landed in between them and stabbed the ground, just missing the two by inches.
"THAT WAS AWESOOOOOME-DATTEBAYOOO!" exclaimed Naruto happily as he hit the ground rolling, using his tails as a cushion. Suddenly, he stuck out one tail to catch Konohamaru who looked very dazed with one of his feelers on fire. "You are one Lucky Cricket, you know that?" said Naruto licking his paw and used it to extinguish the burning feeler much to the cricket's relief.
The citizens cheered loudly in victory as the fireworks continued to light-up the area as smoke traveled down to where they were.
"That was a deliberate attempt on my life! WHERE IS SHE?" demanded Mizuki bursting from the smoke with a bald patch where his hair was burnt off. Kiba, Choji, Lee and Neji quickly stood protectively in front of the girl. "Now she's done, WHAT A MESS! Stand aside, BOY! That creature is not worth protecting!"
"She's a Hero!" defended Neji, standing up up Mizuki.
"Tis' a woman! She'll never amount to anything!" exclaimed Mizuki ignorantly when Neji angrily grabbed his shirt and was prepared to punch him.
"Why you ignorant bastard! I outta-!"
"That'll do Neji!" commanded Tsunade emerging from the smoke.
Mizuki gulped, hoping that the Hokage didn't hear what he had said as Neji released him.
"My Lady, I can explain-!" Neji was about to say when Tsunade lifted her hand to silence him. She then crooked a finger at Tenten who meekly stepped forward and bowed her head.
"I've heard a lot about you, Sarutobi Tenten," the Hokage began to say sternly as Mizuki wore a sneering smile on his face. "You stole your father's uniform, ran away from home. Impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Konoha Army, Destroyed my Tower! AND-" Tsunade roared loudly making everyone flinch.
"You have saved all of us..." Tsunade finished calmly making Tenten lift her head to see the Lady Hokage smiling at her.
Tenten was left speechless when Tsunade bowed her head down low in respect. Mizuki gasped and quickly got down on his knees and bowed down as well. The girl turned to her friends who smiled at her and bowed to her, getting on their knees. Still in shock of what was happening, Tenten whipped around to see the whole of Konoha bowing down to her in respect. Kankuro, who had made his way to the stairs bowed his head along with Naruto and Konohamaru who sat on his back.
"This is beautiful~!" spluttered Naruto with tears running down his face while Konohamaru helped wipe his tears with the fox's tail.
"Yeah...it is..." replied the cricket smiling.
Tenten turned back to the Hokage who stood up and glanced over to Mizuki. "Mizuki!" she called sharply.
"Yes Ma'am!"
"See to it that this young lady is made a part of my council," she said making the man stare at her in shock before recovering himself.
"Wha-? I-uh! Um, I mean, I regret to say that there are no Council positions open, Lady Hokage!" exclaimed Mizuki as he turned to hide a smirk.
Tsunade shrugged indifferently and smirked at the man. "No matter. You're fired!" exclaimed Tsunade glaring at him, much to Mizuki's disbelief. "So, a woman will never amount to anything, huh?"
Mizuki slapped his forehead before fainting to the ground with a thud. Tsunade rolled her eyes before looking at Tenten, smiling casually. "So how about it, Tenten? Care to take the job?"
Tenten softly shook her head and bowed. "With all due respect, My Lady. I think I've been away from home long enough," she politely declined.
"Very well then. Take this with you, so your family will know what you have done for me," said Tsunade, removing a crystal necklace from her neck and placing around Tenten's. "And this," she continued, removing Pein's spike and handing it to the girl. "So that the whole world will know what you have done for Konoha!"
Tenten silently gaped at the necklace and the spike before throwing her arms around Tsunade and hugged the Hokage tightly. Tsunade appeared a bit bemused as she hugged the girl back.
"Is she allowed to do that?" asked Kiba to the others curiously only to be responded with shrugs.
The girl finally broke off and cast Tsunade a final thank you smile .
"Come on guys! Group Hug!" called Tenten as she rushed up to Lee and Kiba who hugged her as well while Choji lifted them all up and gave them a big bear hug, almost squeezing the air out of them before putting them down.
Lee began to tear happily while Kiba pulled out a handkerchief from his obi and handed to Lee who blew his nose with it as they watched Tenten walk up to Neji, who averted his eyes and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, a small blush appearing on his face. "Um...Ano...You-" he began to stutter when Neji took a deep breath and calmed himself. "You fight good," he simply said patting Tenten on her back.
"Thanks," replied Tenten smiling, giving Neji a peck on the cheek much to his surprise before walking away and mounting Kankuro who had climbed up the stairs. "Come on Kankuro, let's go home," she said.
"You betcha' Girl!" neighed the horse in agreement as he turned and leaped down the stairs as the Konoha citizens cheered loudly after them.
Neji watched the girl leave and sighed, absentmindedly touching his cheek where Tenten had kissed him. Tsunade cleared her throat as she stood next to him. "You know, the cherry blossom that blooms the latest is the most beautiful of all," she said glancing down at Neji.
"Ma'am?" said Neji in confusion.
Tsunade sighed heavily and shook her head. "What I mean is, you don't find a catch like her everyday!" explained the woman before flipping her hair and walking off, leaving Neji to ponder over her words.
