Chapter 1: Kunoichi's First 10 Rules
Tenten walked into Tsunade's office. "I heard you wanted to be a kunoichi, the best in fact."
"Yes Lady Tsunade," Tenten answered.
"You know it's more than just being a female ninja." She told her.
"I know that, I just don't know much more than that." Tenten looked at her desk. "What is this about?"
"I figured I'd give you a mission to try it out. See how you like it. Most importantly, if you can take it."
"Take it?"
"It's a lot more, it's a lot harder. Males, they have it easy. There is a lot to learn. You must first forget who and what you are. Sometimes you will hate yourself but you must move on and live. You must live and complete your mission. There is no limit to what you can do then." Tsunade told her.
Tenten smiled although she didn't understand. "For the next 2 weeks you're going to act as a kunoichi. I've informed your team, your friends and your family. Your name is Aimi. You have to pretend what you're about to learn is all you know beyond your basic ninja skills. You have to forget all else." Tenten frowned.
"Okay," Tenten answered.
Tsunade pulled out a pink key and handed it to her. "This is the key to the Kunoichi base. They will teach you everything you know. You have 2 weeks maximum to learn. If they think you're ready then you may go." Tenten nodded, she was determined.
Neji showed up to the training grounds. He did not find Tenten there. She prided herself on always arriving before he did. She would be warming up. She used her flexibility and speed to counter him; it was unusual that she would be late.
Neji went to Guy and Lee who were about to start their ridiculous workouts. They began doing jumping jacks. "Where is Tenten?" Neji asked.
"She's on a mission."
"Where?" Pushups.
"I do not know Neji."
"Why not?" He crossed his arms, angry at their lack of knowledge.
"Tsunade told me she couldn't tell me anything. I said alright."
"I will find out myself." Guy put his hand on Neji's shoulder to stop him.
"Listen up Neji, you can't just intimidate people into what you want them to do." Guy said. "Tenten's mission is all her own, it's not your business. Do not go. That's an order." He then smiled. "The youth for you to want to see your teammate! Would you like to train with us instead?"
"I'm going to return home after a while of training. Is that acceptable?"
"I suppose, just don't make it a habit. You'll become weak." Guy said. Neji nodded. There was no challenge without Tenten, who would help him. He couldn't train without her. He could just practice. It wasn't the same.
Tenten went up to an old broke down building. She put the key in the door and opened it. She would have been dead had she not been who she was. When the attack was over she noticed that she had just been attacked by 50 kunai. The number of women who were sitting in that room.
"I am Tenten…" she shook her head. They looked confused. "Aimi," they nodded. She was a new person. Tenten did not exist.
"That's better." A woman said. She looked about 25 with red short curly hair. She was short. Tenten noticed that all the women looked about 25. "I am Nanami, I will be your teacher. First we destroy any trace of the old you." Tenten didn't like the sound of that.
"Give me your bag." Tenten had been told to stop by her home and bring everything important she had as well as makeup, and all her clothes. "Since you're not officially joining we're just going to take, not destroy, what you were." She told Tenten.
Another woman held up a bag. Tenten knew the kind of bag it was. It was a sealing bag, she wouldn't be getting it back soon. "Ninja ID, no. Weapon scroll, no. You may have 30 kunai, shuriken and a weapon of your choice: needles or fans."
"Needles," Tenten answered. Nanami nodded handing her a box of needles. Tenten hardly used needles and she had not used them for a long time. As a genin, she used them for precise things and in target practice for scoring accuracy but that was it.
"I myself prefer fans, but actually I will let you have both." Tenten noticed that the woman threw everything else in her bag into the bag that the other woman was carrying.
"But… my clothes!" Tenten said. The others around her laughed.
"Kunoichi's are not ninja my any means. We don't look like ninjas, talk like ninjas, or behave like them. They are despicable. Your clothing speaks ninja, not kunoichi." Tenten looked at herself, her typical shirt and capris.
"What's wrong with them?"
"Men were capris and shirts. Women, we wear dresses and kimonos." Tenten hated those things. "You'll learn that you will prefer kimonos. Dresses provide increased hiding places for your weapons." Tenten understood that.
"Why can't I just wear pants and a tshirt?" Everyone laughed again.
"You don't get it yet. You have to appear like any woman in a village. You… you don't know what a kunoichi's job is."
"No, I do not." Everyone was silent.
"Put this on," the woman gave her a white kimono. "White means you're pure, a starter." Tenten noticed the other women wore red, pink, blue, yellow, green, purple. Not black, any dark shade, or orange. Tenten changed and came out. Tenten walked to the women. She laughed and ripped the forehead protector right off her head.
"What gives?" Tenten asked.
"Rule number 1: You are NOT a ninja. Take that one to heart, got it Aimi." She threw the hitai-ate in the bag. "To you that is a symbol of your village, loyalty correct?" Tenten nodded. "Rule number 2: You are NOone. All the time. You have no name. Every mission your name is different, goal is different and this is for your own protection. Mentally you must be a different person, it isn't physical. That comes to Rule 3: You are who you are told to be." Tenten nodded and accepted this thought.
"She is unhappy."
"This is the easy part, Aimi. It will never be easy. That's a rule down the list but remember that one." Tenten nodded. "Forget who you are, that's rule 4. The faster you can do that, the better. This means no friends, no family, and absolutely no ninja friends. That's rule 5."
"Why not?"
"You're a regular villager, how many normal villager friends do ninjas have?" Tenten smirked.
"I wouldn't know. I'm not a ninja."
Nanami smiled. "You're a fast learner." She kept herself calm. "They have few friends and since you are no one you must have no one. Ties kill and that is why we have rule 4. Forget all Ties."
"I understand."
"Rule 6 is the most important. You are out for you and only you in this world, Aimi. Rule 7, the mission is secondary to your life. That's going to be hard for you but if you can't do it our way then don't do it because it will cost you your life."
"Is that a rule?"
"No, we are not our way or highway but to be with us, not be a kunoichi, you must follow the rules."
"I can be a kunoichi without being with your group?"
"It's impossible." Tenten turned to a woman who stood up. "If you want to be alone… then you can. I thought I could do that… they somehow tracked down my husband, my son, everyone I knew. I was left alone anyway, they are all I have."
"This place is secure, if you keep your identity and play by the rules, you and we are safe. If you stray from the rules, then you're on your own. They will track you down and kill everyone. They'll never find you if you stay by the rules but they'll find those close to you because they won't follow the rules."
"I'm welcome to leave or stop at anytime."
"Of course, we're not a cult or anything Aimi. We are just kunoichi who are trying to stay alive and protect our village."
"Your village?"
"Aimi sweatheart, we don't do this for ourselves. If we were we would have stopped a long time ago. We do this for the village. I'll talk to you later about what it is we do and you'll see why this is the best way. We don't need a headband to tell us where we belong or that we're strong. It's in our hearts and mind. It's what keeps us going. It is a job that must be done and someone must do it. If you are weak, you will fail. Are you weak?"
"No, I am not." Tenten answered.
"Then good, because failure to complete a mission is not bad, failure to protect yourself is death. Rule 8: if it gets too hard, leave. Walk away, run, hide. Do whatever you have to, to survive."
"Alright," Tenten responded.
"Rule 9: you're on your own. Kunoichi will never have a team and never work with another kunoichi. You are on your own, out for only yourself. You don't have someone to get your back or watch things when you sleep. You'll loose a lot of sleep at first but then you'll realize. If you're not a ninja, a regular person then no one is going to hurt you. No one hurts a kunoichi unless they break the rules."
"I don't understand."
"You either do the mission completely or you get out. There are only two options. If you do your job, then no one knows and no one will suspect you because you're just a villager. More importantly, you are a poor defenseless woman… to them. You are not going to be a suspect, and when the missions over the name they suspected, it disapears as you move on to new names and jobs."
"Are you sure?"
She laughed. "Yes I am, if you follow the rules then you're safe. Rule 10: It is never easy. Every day of your life is going to be hard, but it gets easier. The closer you stick to the rules the better off you are, the easier it becomes."
"I understand," Tenten saw how all the rules tied together, and she saw how important they were.
"There is one thing you must remember. Do not ever hate yourself, blame yourself, or feel like you are dirt or scum. It isn't a rule because you will break this. If you can do this then I commend you deeply. I tell you this because it is best. It is not easy, it is very difficult."
"I understand," Tenten wanted to be a kunoichi. She had a chance now but she was no regretting this. She reminded herself that she could leave at anytime. She had gone in without any understanding and that was a ninja's worst nightmare. She had a feeling that that was common for kunoichi.
"Now, we change you into a woman. You're very beautiful. Your ninja-esque looks don't do you honor."
"Thank you?" Tenten responded in a questioning tone.
Tenten was taken into a back room where they took her hair down, curled it and braided it. "We don't ever recommend having long hair like yours. It's a risk. I recommend finding a style of bun that is very villager."
"I will take that into consideration."
"The more that you blend in to a village and area, the better." Nanami told her.
"I understand." Tenten answered.
"Now come with me and I will explain what being a kunoichi truly means." Tenten and Nanami went into a back room and sat on cushins. "A kunoichi's job consists mainly of going in and retrieving information or assassination. It is hardly ever anything else. Unlike ninjas we do it was finese, we do not leave a sign that we have been there. The exception being a dead body. The information must be committed to memory, never touched or copied. We have jutsus to copy if it must be done, but that is a risk." Tenten thought it was straightforward enough.
"You will do whatever it takes to get the job done. A lot of time it comes to things that we'd all rather not do. It's the ugly side of our jobs. I just came back where I traded a… favor for information. It was the only way to get it. If I was unwilling I would have walked away. Failing a mission is not what we want when we walk away but we will not risk ourselves. We have things to protect ourselves, I'm not talking weapons here Tenten. We have medicines and jutsus to make sure we come out alright."
"Your cover also may place you in a situation you may not want to be in. Your first mission does this but we will teach you quickly and hopefully you'll be ready." Tenten was unnerved by this information. "We aren't prostitutes, selling ourselves out for money. We are servants to our village, giving ourselves up for their use. However, I will remind you rule 6: you are on your own, out for yourself. Saying no is perfectly alright, but if you break cover, walk away."
"I understand," Tenten answered looking at the ground.
"Tsunade told me that you wanted to be the greatest Kunoichi ever. You were assuming it meant female ninja, am I correct?"
"For the most part," Tenten responded honestly.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tenten had no family, she did have friends but listening to the woman talk earlier about how someone had to do this. She was sure.
"Yes, this is what I want to do."
"Well we'll see what you're capable of first. We won't send you out to die, I promise you that. You're young and you have a whole life ahead of you. Our lives are over."
"Huh, you're like 25."
"Oh sweetheart, I'm 50. After you start aging other missions become difficult. You use jutsus, and a lot of makeup and things. I can for sure keep you looking young for a long time."
"Oh…"
"Most of us join at 25 for different reasons. The woman who warned you about the loss of her family. She was a ninja who foolishly decided to ignore the family, friends rule. She did it because as a ninja she wanted to kill a man and the next mission set out was for a kunoichi. She decided to do it."
"So I can't go back?"
"You can, and if that time comes I will help you through it. That is the harder of the two things. To go back to who you were, what you were? You wear white because you are pure and innocent. When you come back we hope that you are better than us, you can do it right. We don't plan to go into this to give favors to strange men. I hate it, that is why I hate myself. I was married, I had children. I gave it up because I wanted this life because my friend was a kunoichi and she died. I made the rules to protect her, to protect all of us. We haven't lost one since. Many have left because of these rules but that is not death."
"Do you ever wonder how your life would have been?"
"I do, I see the children around the village. I volunteer at the kids' day care. They don't know me anymore because I cover my identity and act. You'll become able to lie easily, and become anyone you want. Saturday will be your first test."
"A test?"
"You will go out into the village and pass by some of your friends. They cannot know who you are and if they are somehow able to realize who you are, you must convince them otherwise. We'll do some lessons in the morning. For tonight Aimi, I say you sleep." Tenten nodded and went to the room she was shown.
She didn't sleep well. She was thinking about everything that Aimi said. The rules especially. It is never easy, you are no one, you are out for yourself, you are not a ninja… she thought hard. She looked on the walls and laughed. There they were.
1) You are NOT a ninja.
2) You are NOone.
3) You are who you are told to be.
4) Forget all ties, they kill.
5) Absolutely no ninja friends.
6) You are out for you and only you in this world.
7) The mission is secondary to your life.
8) If it gets too hard, leave.
9) You're on your own.
10) It is never easy
There were many rules but Tenten did not want to read those, she would learn them in time. She thought about each rule. She was not a ninja… she was a kunoichi. Not a female shinobi. She had always equated the two but they were different. It seemed the missions and goals were usually the same. The methods were different. She would do the same sorts of tasks except she had no team.
As she fell asleep she thought about the rule she hated most, but was most important. Rule 5. Absolutely no ninja friends. She thought about Neji. He would probably be angry at her. They trained daily together and he hardly ever went on mission without her. She trusted him with her life. He was her only true friend. She knew Neji as well as she knew herself. Neji would understand, she hoped. It would not be easy. Rule 10, she reminded herself. It is never easy.