"So your telling me the daimyo's dead? Tsk, that's such a pain." Tsunade rubbed her eyes, stretched and yawned. Currently team ten stood before her each one straight-backed and ready for her anger. Shrugging her shoulders she reached out her hand, "Present your mission summary so that I may know what went wrong."
The three males exchanged glances before once more looking to their leader. Gai was the one to speak for the three. "Lady Tsunade, two members of Akatsuki showed up." The room went into a complete silence before realization awoke in her sleep fogged mind.
"What! How...why! Shizune you knew about this?!" The black haired assistant clutched Tonton tighter as she cringed. "Tsunade-sama I told you this right when we came in!" The hokage blinked honey eyes before looking out the window.
"You did?" Shizune nodded her head worriedly as the Hokage scratched her scalp. "Why I don't even remember that!" Everyone in the room sighed exasperated as the hokage laughed. "But seriously." Her expression turned grave as did everyone else's.
"How did the akatsuki get the best of you?" Neji took a step forward. "It was an ambush Hokage. Tenten disappeared, then Gai-sensei who went to investigate. All that was detected was a suspicious chakra before an explosion occured."
Interestingly enough not only was the hokage listening, but so was Tenten. What did happen when she was..er..preoccupied? "I was standing closest to the bomb and with it's detonation I was sent flying back. I lost consciousness at the point of impact, anything else that happened you'll have to ask the others."
Tsunade nodded and absorbed all of his words before turning to Lee. "Did you see who it was that attacked you?" Lee hung his head, his next words bringing a sense of melancholy. "No Tsunade-sama I didn't. There was one explosion and then a series, I dodged them fine before an explosion in one of the buildings had a piece of landing hit me. It was hard enough to knock me out and I never saw my attacker."
Tsunade sighed and looked towards Gai. Tenten felt her stomach tighten. Was he really strong enough to take out Neji and Lee so easily? As Gai told his account, Tenten felt herself becoming more nervous. Was she the only one who saw his face? Would she be capable of retelling all that transpired between her and the blonde? Her and the enemy?
No, she decided. She couldn't, but as it were the choice was not hers to make. "Tenten was in the closest proximity to the criminal, perhaps you should ask her for a description." That comment, from Neji no less, shouldn't have twisted her stomach nor given her that twinge of betrayal.
It seemed all eyes had turned to her and when she opened her mouth, no words had formed. Promptly she shut her mouth and sighed to calm her nerves. Once she collected herself she looked her hokage in the eyes and spoke.
"He was roughly 6'3" (She's 5'6") with a muscular frame, his hair was blonde and a patch of it was layered over his right eye. He also had a scope on his right eye." At this point she squashes the blush away in order to speak properly. "And on his hands he had mouths."
Both the hokage and her assistant exchanged looks before turning to team Gai. "By his description I must say that he is Deidara, an explosives expert. Well thanks for your help now and don't forget I'll need it in paper!" Gai nodded as he stuck up his thumb and smiled. "Hai! You will have the mission report by eight o'clock tomorrow Tsunade-sama!"
The older woman smiled before dismissing them, Tenten was last at the door. "Tenten, could you stay? Close the door please." Why did she have a awful feeling about this?
"Of course Tsunade-sama." Obediently Tenten turned and faced her hokage with the respect the older woman rightfully deserved.
"I want to ask you how your doing, since coming in contact with a man like that." Right to the point aren't we now?
"I'm fine, it's nothing you should concern yourself with." Tsunade looked skeptical but Tenten didn't need this right at the moment.
"Are you sure? Being raped by a member of an elite criminal organization can.."
"I wasn't raped." What did the others tell her anyway?
"Tenten you don't have to lie to me, I was your age once you know. I remember the first time I was on an S-class mission, that's when I lost my virginity."
Tenten shook her head, "No your not listening, he didn't...it didn't go that far. Tsunade-sama, I'm fine. I did what I had to do to keep my teammates alive." Tsunade narrowed her eyes and Tenten felt the need to brace herself against the verbal assault that was sure to come.
After a few agonizing minutes of silent scrutiny, Tsunade relaxed and leaned back. "All right then, but if you need to talk about it." Tenten glared at Shizune, remembering that it was her who thought Tenten had let herself be raped.
"With all due respect, I did what I had too and I won't regret it. I saved the lives of my teammates and I won't be treated delicately because I used my body like every other kunoichi must do." Tenten feeling her anger rise turned tail and closed the distance between her and the door.
Swinging it open with a little more force than necessary, Tenten vanished behind it's wood oak. Shizune coughed, "Well that was pleasant." Tsunade shook her head and piled a stack of papers handing them towards her assistant.
"It could have gone better." Shizune nodded before setting Tonton on the floor.
"She's young and independent, she doesn't need help to stand on her own feet. It's better if we don't push her." Shizune took the stack away from her mentor, who deftly ran a hand through her shiny locks.
"I know but...that couldn't have been easy for her." Shizune made her way to the front of the desk and smiled.
"Yes but this is something for her too handle by herself. We must lay back and allow her that chance."
"Right you are Shizune. Now go and send those off where they need to be." Shizune nodded before leaving Tsunade to her own thoughts.
Was it right to not pressure her more? Tsunade didn't know the answer and she knew she probably wouldn't find out, because Tenten wasn't the one to divulge her feelings often. What Tsunade couldn't have known was that everything was about to change and loyalties would soon be tested.
Tenten found herself in the middle of unknown territory. She couldn't have gone too far out of Konoha's protective embrace but none of her surroundings seemed familiar. She concentrated and reaching out with her chakra, found that she had at least a direction to head in.
She began to take off when her whole body started to throb as if in pain. Bending over and panting Tenten regained her bearings and took off, all though slowly this time. She directed her chakra once more before relaxing. She wasn't far from--huge, massive chakra pulsed all around her. Menacing and hungry for blood, Tenten couldn't keep the panic down.
She began running as if through water and her movements were slow and clumsy. Her body was hurting and she couldn't pinpoint where her injuries were. Behind her trees were falling and a huge gust of wind kept blowing her hair into her face. Whatever was after her wanted to get to her quickly and she was motivated to run faster.
She pumped chakra to her legs but they felt like lead and puddy all at the same time. She jumped over logs and rocks, higher and higher until a sheer rock face came before her and a river was left below. With one mighty leap, instilling all her chakra into it, Tenten miraculously cleared the jump.
She turned to face the sunset and found herself staring out over Konoha's vast expanse. She was standing on the hokage monument which meant...she was safe. She was smiling before she knew it, one step and she would be free from her pursuer.
Alas the joy crumbled as she was harshly yanked back into an eerily familiar body. Hot breath encompassed one side of her face and a tongue lapped at her ear. "I told you kunoichi, there is no going back."
Tenten wrenched herself free and looked back into the face of a man she knew too well. "Deidara." His lips turned up, his eyes brightened and her heart raced further into her ribcage.
"Tenten." God did his voice sound so sexy before? He leaned in, his eyes brighter in the dying light. His fingers graced her lips before she leaned away from his invasive touch. He let out a chuckle, his smirk bringing her attention to a place it shouldn't have been.
"You know what I want to do most, Tenten my dear?" This couldn't be happening. This isn't real. Both his hands clasped down painfully on both her shoulders as he held her in his grasp.
He bent down bringing his face closer to hers, she could smell his breath. He still smiled sweetly, his breath matching his tone, but the words he spoke were anything but sweet. "I want to push you over the edge."
At that moment many things were made clear. His hard shove, her feet slipping, and the way the air dragged her down. Her scream lodged in her throat as the ground came up fast, her eyes never strayed from his as he watched her fall to her death.
Tenten immediately yanked herself into a sitting position as she shook beneath her covers. Her hands grasped her shoulders and face finding them chilled instead of burning up. Her eyes wandered her room and she reasserted that she was alive.
She wasn't falling from the mountain, Deidara was not here and she was safe inside her apartment. After many attempts, Tenten finally calmed her rapidly beating heart. She laid back down and rubbed her eyes with her shaking fingers.
Looking towards the clock the red laters glared out at her through the darkness. It was four thirteen in the morning and she groaned loudly into the night. Why did she dream of him? Did it mean anything? Did he remember her? Did he know her name? Many thoughts surfaced in her sleep ridden mind but there weren't any she could answer.
She was sure he didn't know her name and the dream probably meant nothing, but in the darkness Tenten felt vulnerable and unsure. She pulled the blankets up to her chin and turned to face the wall. She closed her eyes but knew that sleep would not gift her twice tonight.
Tenten wrapped the blankets around her tighter, her thoughts swarming inside her mind. The wind constantly beat against the window and it was starting to clutter in it's confinement. Tenten was right, for the rest of the night, sleep did not reach her.
