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You see, in the young Nara's life, there consisted of three specific women always bugging him. Two blonde and one brunette. One his mother. One his teammate. And one being an obnoxious Jounin of Suna. However, today, this blonde that had called for him was neither of the two mentioned earlier and the brunette woman on his mind was not of blood relation.
"You can't stop thinking about it, can you?" the busty blonde asked him, breaking him of his reverie.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't shake me up a little," he shrugged with a sigh.
"You're wondering if it had been either Ino or Temari in her place, right?"
Again the Chuunin shrugged. "It's not something I would wish upon anyone. Not even those who annoy me the most," he replied, then gave another sigh. "Why have you summoned me?"
"How long ago, would you say, did you and Takashi find Tenten?" Tsunade asked him, weaving around his own question.
"Approximately three weeks, give or take a day," the young Nara replied, knowing full well the exact amount of time that had passed.
"Three weeks exact, and I know you knew it as well," she responded, her facial expression remaining indifferent as she continued. "You're one of, if not the, most skilled strategists we have in Konoha, as well as excellent in gathering intelligence. Which is why," she paused, motioning Shizune to hand her a file. "What I'm about to assign to you is a very important mission that must remain completely classified. Only three people shall know the details of this mission, you, Shizune and myself. Understand?"
"Hai, what is my mission?" The Nara was starting to get impatient.
"I need you to dig into the history of a certain clan. More specifically, their criminal history," she said, turning her head toward her assistant.
"More details are in here. Do not let it out of your hands. If need be destroy it. For privacy issues we need this to be kept as top secret as possible," Shizune explained, handing him a very small scroll. Normally when he was given a mission, the scroll with his detailed instructions was larger and thicker. His hand would barely fit over them. This scroll was the length of his palm and when he curled his fingers around it, his thumb could touch the first knuckle of his index finger.
Curiosity killed the cat, they say.
Shikamaru opened the scroll. His eyes widened visibly and he looked up and understood.
Satisfaction brought him back.
"Tsunade-sama, do you mean-"
"Yes, you are one of the few people who know who did this to her. Even Sakura and Ino do not know," Tsunade confirmed, the Chuunin nodded. "This is most likely not the first case of an Uchiha being the culprit, however being a clan who specialize in Genjutsu, we need to know everything we can find out. There is a likelihood that there might be more victims in the future, due to what he said to Tenten. It's in section three."
Shikamaru could already feel a migraine coming. Granted he was probably the best person for the job, he may have been involved with the situation, but he had a certain talent of detaching himself from instances like this and look things over from an objective perspective. Take his battle with Hidan after Asuma's death; it took him a little while to be able to see things objectively, but he was able to do it. "I understand. Will this be all?" he finally asked.
"Yes, I don't expect you to find anything major immediately, however I expect a progress report at the end of the week. And every week afterwards," Tsunade nodded. "You're dismissed."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama." He gave a bow and headed for the door. He paused for a moment. "You will have to tell Sakura and Ino eventually. It won't take long for Naruto to find out after that."
"I know, Shikamaru," she replied evenly. "Hopefully, we can resolve this as quickly and painlessly as possible."
It has been three weeks since that fateful day and where do we find Tenten? Actually, we find her in the training grounds with Sakura and Ino. It had been a while since she had some girl time with her friends and what better way to spend it than by killing two birds with one stone? She needed to build up her endurance again and training with medics was probably one of her better ideas.
"Heads up, Tenten!" Sakura shouted as Ino attacked the recuperating girl in her blind spot.
She quickly turned and blocked the punch that would have landed on her cheek. Her reflexes were finally returning.
"Nice block, but can you block this!" Ino exclaimed, sweeping a kick toward the kunoichi's head, only to have her bob and weave out of the way.
Finally, Tenten added some kicks and punches to the spar, all being blocked or dodged. Then again it was the same thing with Ino's punches and kicks. Just a game of cat and mouse.
Or was it?
With a grunt the pink haired medic charged into the heat of their spar, only to land a punch to the ground that created more cracks in the earth than the Fourth Great Ninja War. To which, both Kunoichi leaped backwards in flips and spins, landing on the branches above as the terrain settled below them.
"Not bad for being out of commission for a couple weeks!" Sakura shouted, clapping the dirt off her hands. "But I think that's enough for today."
"But, Sakura, I can keep going," Tenten argued as Ino leaped to the ground.
"Tenten, Gai's training technique isn't what you need right now," Ino reasoned. "It will be a while before you can take on missions again, so it's okay to take your training slow."
Tenten sighed and jumped down to her friends. "Fine, you guys win," she agreed. "But what are going to do now?"
"Well, we do have a while before Sakura and I have to get back to the hospital, either of you want to check out what's on sale at the outlets? Maybe get our nails done too?" Ino offered with a smirk. "I know it's not exactly your scene, Tenten, but we can hit the weapons store too if you want."
Tenten gave a small chuckle and smiled. "Actually, a little pampering might do me some good," she replied.
Sakura smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Time for three beautiful Kunoichi to tear up the town!"
Since good news and more good news had finally entered the Hoshino home, Hoshino Takashi began completing his work with a smile that hadn't been seen at the police station in ages. His younger sister was finally returning to her old self and his wife had found out she was pregnant with his next child; the whole household had a change of demeanor!
"Oi, Takashi," came a voice and a knock from his office door. The officer picked his head up to see Minoru.
"Minoru? Come on in. What do you need?" he replied, gesturing to the seat.
"Well, I-" Knock knock.
"Takashi-sorry, I didn't realize you were busy." It was Shikamaru. It appears that the married man was popular today.
"It's fine, is it serious?" he asked.
"Actually, I was only here to ask how Tenten was doing," the seated Shinobi replied. "If Shikamaru needs you, I can come back later-"
"That's part of the reason why I'm here as well," Shikamaru replied. "How is she?" He took a seat next to Minoru.
"She's doing very well actually," Takashi explained. "In fact, she started back up her training this week. It will be a while before she returns to missions, but with Sakura and Ino training with her she'll be ready in no time."
"That's great to hear," Minoru sighed with a smile. "I know we've all seen some unmentionable things, but to be honest I think that day will haunt all of us."
"I know, but that's in the past, if she won't let it affect her why should we?" Takashi defended.
"Absolutely not," Shikamaru commented. "On a lighter note, congratulations to you and Natsuki. How far along is she?"
"According to Tsunade she's about ten weeks or so, the kids are all excited, especially Mika, she hopes it's a girl this time," Takashi laughed.
"How's Shun doing?" Minoru asked. "A little while ago he asked for some help on his last jutsu test, how did he do?"
"Fantastic, in fact Iruka was telling me he might be graduating early." A huge grin was plastered on his face. Everything was finally turning out right.
"That's great news," Minoru smiled, standing up. "Sorry, I know Shikamaru may wish to speak with you alone, but after the incident with your sister, I felt it was best to at least check in about her. I'll take my leave, give your family my regards." He gave a bow and headed out.
"Anytime, Minoru, and I will. Thank you for being considerate," Takashi replied as the door to his office closed. "So what do you need, Shikamaru-kun?"
"I won't beat around the bush, Takashi," Shikamaru sighed and leaned forward in his chair. "Tsunade gave me a task to research some criminal history, I was hoping you might be able to give me clearance on top of what Tsunade has given me." He handed him a slip of paper with the Hokage's seal.
The officer opened it, read it over, and jotted something down on a piece of paper next to him. "Now, what exactly might this be about?" Takashi asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Unfortunately, that must remain classified," the genius answered, putting the paper in his pocket. "Just the history of a few clans may have something to do with an investigation the higher ups are conducting."
With a suspicious glance at the Chuunin, Takashi stamped the paper and handed it to him. "Well, the Hokage's seal is definitely more valuable than mine but if you feel safer with both here you go."
"Thank you, Takashi," the Chuunin replied, standing up and giving a bow. "Give Natsuki and the family my regards."
"I will."
"This is the life, girls!" Ino sighed, leaning back as one woman did her nails and another massaged her back.
Sakura laughed as her nails were drying. "You said it, Ino!"
Tenten smiled as the woman finished painting her nails. "Massage, Miss?"
She shook her head. "No thank you, I'm fine," she declined politely.
"Very well, Miss." The woman led her to the dryer and turned it on for her.
"This has been a pretty good day," Sakura determined. "So long as missions permit, we should try to do something like this once a week!"
"I agree, I really needed this," Tenten said, earning wide grins from her friends.
"Yay! We finally broke through to her!" Ino cheered.
"Hey! I wasn't that bad! Plus I had very good reason to be."
"It's true," Sakura defended. "You have made a fairly good comeback, and very quickly."
Now if only the nightmares would end, Tenten thought as she looked at her nails, which looked almost neon because of the UV light.
Sakura, her nails having finally dried. "They will, Tenten," she answered her unspoken question.
"Shun, you can't leave your back wide open like this," Neji said, popping up behind the academy student.
"I wouldn't say I did," came a voice behind the Jounin. Neji's eyes widened a fraction as the Shun in front of him popped into a cloud of smoke and his Byakugan finally sensed the chakra coming from behind him.
Neji smirked as he felt the kunai by his neck. "You're almost like another Naruto," he commented.
"Really?"
"Hai," Neji replied with a smile. "Only you are far more intelligent than he was at your age."
That made the almost-Shinobi smile. "Thanks, Neji-Ni," he said.
"Shu-Ni! Shu-Ni!" came the excited shout of none other than Rikuto. The three year old charged through the training ground to his adoptive brother.
"Rikuto-kun?" the student questioned, as the little guy dodged the weapons on the ground like a pro and dove for his brother's leg. "What are you doing here?"
"He wanted to see his hero in action," Natsuki called.
"I wanna fight like Ni-san!" the little boy cheered. "Teach me! Teach me!"
"Hmm…I don't know," the academy boy said, wavering on his decision. "Are you sure you're ready?"
"Hai! Hai! Hai!" the little boy jumped.
"And what does Kaa-san say about it?" Shun looked at the woman who has helped raise him for the last few years.
"Why don't you show Rikuto some basic stances?" Natsuki suggested. "It won't be long before it might come in handy."
"Yes! Yes!" Rikuto jumped with glee.
"Okay, Rikuto, keep this foot in front of you and your hands by your face," he demonstrated and the little boy copied. "Very god, this is a stance in the Muay Thai fighting style. Stay on your toes! You never know when you might need to fight or dodge or block!"
"Muy Dai…" the little boy repeated as Neji left the little lesson and joined Natsuki on the sidelines.
"How is she doing?" he asked her.
"Which she? There are three of them including myself living in my house," Natsuki teased.
"Natsuki…" He gave the same warning tone as Tenten would have.
"Huh, you two may not have really seen each other in weeks but she is still rubbing off on you," she teased again then sighed. "She's doing much better, I believe she's hanging out with Sakura and Ino right now." She wasn't sure if she saw relief on his face but she could see that the tension lessened. "Things are getting better, Neji, slowly, but surely."
"And how about you?" he asked, out of the blue.
"Huh?"
"How far along are you?" News sure travels fast in Konoha.
"I'm about ten weeks in," she smiled. "This weekend Takashi and I are going to plan out our redecorating, seeing as our family keeps getting bigger and we need figure out the bedrooms."
"Hn."
"I thought Tenten broke that habit of yours?" Natuski smirked.
"Hn," this time he smirked. Natsuki smiled.
"There, keep that smirk, soon a certain someone will appreciate it, since she hasn't seen it in so long," she said.
The fairly pleasant day was almost at a close, as Tenten helped her sister-in-law make dinner. "So, how was training with Sakura and Ino?" Natsuki asked, frying vegetables. "I see you got your nails done."
"It was fun, actually," she replied, handing her sister more veggies to be fried. "I still have a long way until I'm back to one hundred percent, but I'll get there." She looked at her lavender colored nails, with black and silver swirls on the ring fingers. "And Ino wanted a manicure."
"I'm glad," Natsuki replied, adding the cooked shrimp and broth into the veggie mix. "Now here's probably a more difficult question to answer," she took a breath before continuing, "have you thought about talking to your team at all? It's been weeks since you spoke with them."
Tenten gave a sigh and put the cutting board and knife in the sink. "I've thought about it, yeah," she replied. "I've thought about it a million times, but I can only see it ending like the last time I saw Neji."
"That was almost two weeks ago," Natsuki argued, setting the stove to low and covering the pan. "I understand that you might not be ready, but maybe if it were just a small hangout, you, Sakura, maybe even Ino, with Neji and Lee? Go to the barbecue or to Ichiraku's, ease your way back into it."
"Maybe, I don't know, though," she replied, pulling out plates. "What if I have another flashback? What if they both just look at me like they don't even know me? What if things don't go back to the way they were? What if-"
"Hold it on the, 'what ifs,'" the older girl stopped her. She made a face and placed the silverware and chopsticks onto the pile of plates Tenten was carrying. "Set the table I need to make a trip."
She sprinted to the rest room. "Be sure to wash up!" Tenten called back teasingly.
Minutes later Natsuki returned and helped with the remaining place settings. "Feeling better?"
"To be perfectly honest, I feel like crap, I'd much rather curl up in a ball and never eat again, but then I remember I have a little one inside me that I can't wait to be born so I can stop this torture and have another baby in the family because I miss Rikuto being that little and-"
"Now, you need to stop," Tenten chuckled, placing her hand on her sister-in-law's shoulders. "Last time you didn't start to ramble like this until your second trimester."
"Every pregnancy is different," Natsuki shrugged. "Anyway, about the what ifs," she went back into the kitchen and handed Tenten a pot holder and a spoon, "put some rice on each plate, please?" Tenten nodded and she began dumping a spoonful of rice on the plate, while Natsuki followed with the shrimp and veggie curry behind her. "Unfortunately, nothing will ever be the same. But that's just a fact of life. Everything changes."
"Yeah, but not usually for reasons like this."
"Yes, believe it or not, even if what happened, didn't happen you wouldn't quite be the same Tenten as before. You change everyday, for better or for worse or just because it's time. But there are some things that never change." They put their pots back in the kitchen. Natsuki had Tenten lean against the sink. "You are Tenten, Master of Weapons, Kunoichi of Konoha, member of Team Gai. You have a family who love and care deeply about you. Three prospective ninja who look up to you and wish to be like you. You have a team that would give their lives for you, just as you would for them. Friends who will and have done anything for you. You may have changed because of this incident, and things probably won't go back to they way they were exactly, and your team may not fully recognize you and maybe you will have a flashback. But you are still Tenten. You are still a Kunoichi. You are still a force to be reckoned with. And so is your family for that matter. You are still loved, and very much so."
At some point during the woman's speech, the younger Kunoichi let silent tears fall, only to realize she was not the only one crying. "Natsuki…" she didn't know what to say, her sister-in-law just hugged her.
"I love you, Tenten. So does Takashi and Mika and Shun and Rikuto and this bun in the oven and so does Neji and the rest of your team. You are loved and don't let anyone tell you otherwise," the woman sniffed, hugging the girl tighter.
That was when the front door could be heard opening. "Something smells amazing!" Mika exclaimed, taking a big whiff.
"I'm starving!" Shun added.
"Rimp! Rimp!" Rikuto added as well. The two women quickly separated and wiped away their tears.
"That's right, Rikuto, shrimp!" Takashi encouraged his son as he put him down once he saw his wife and sister in the kitchen. "Guys, go wash up," he ordered the kids.
"C'mon, Rikuto-kun!" Mika took the little boy's hand.
"Are you two okay?" Takashi asked, noticing the red eyes and tearstains. The girl looked at each other and just laughed. "What have I missed?"
"A much needed revelation," Natsuki replied.
"C'mon, let's eat, I'm starving," Tenten laughed.
Now I will not make any promises that I will be updating frequently. i won't make a promise that this will be update before 2015 or any of my other Nejiten fics. But I can promise you this, I will update. I will finish these stories. You deserve to know how this ends and I plan to put it on paperer word document if you will lol, it may take a while but I will get there. Just be patient, please? I hope you review if you have any questions or would just like to talk send me a message and I'll get to you. :)
Jaa Nee