It's hard . . . to try to forget about all the future plans made for a child that longer lives.
All those dreams . . . washed away by cruel reality.
Although it had been weeks ago, Tenten could still vividly remember every detail of the tragedy, like it happened mere seconds ago. Every night, she laid awake until darkness overcame her, giving her nightmares about that horrible night. On several occasions, Tenten would either wake up crying or screaming.
Lady Tsunade had been so helpful throughout the entire debacle. The Hokage visited Tenten every day to check on her health, ask how she's doing, or if there's anything she needed. Anytime Tenten would come to her office for emotional support, Lady Tsunade would drop everything, send everyone out of the room, and allow Tenten to stay for however long she needed. Lady Tsunade advised not to bottle up her emotions, as it would make her feel worse. No matter how stubborn she could be, Tenten listened, because she didn't want to be alone. Her teammates certainly made sure of that.
Although the trio of men tirelessly went on mission after mission, they made sure to check on Tenten as often as they possibly could. Guy-sensei was the most supportive, having been the one Tenten held on to and the shoulder she cried on when she announced the devastation. He played the role of a protective father and a grandfather who lost his grandchild way too soon. Lee was energetic as ever, trying to think of ways to cheer her up or make her feel better.
As for Neji . . . he had been very silent and distant toward her when the pregnancy was announced. He only spoke to her again after the . . . miscarriage. Tenten knew it was odd and planned on confronting him once she felt better. Her focus on that matter would always shift once she received a letter from the puppet messenger bird.
Tenten couldn't have been any more grateful for her beloved Kankuro. Despite being three days away from each other, Tenten would always receive a letter from him in the mornings and evenings. They were always the same: asking how she was doing, praising her for being so strong, reminding that he would drop everything to come to her, and describing so vividly about how much he loved her and that could never change. Tenten found herself swooning with every letter she read and kept just like the first time.
Why did they have to live so far away from one another?
Due to her condition, Lady Tsunade allowed the mourning mother a few weeks of medical leave to help with her recovery, both physically and mentally. After the prescribed time off, taking the required medicine, and major encouragement from her beloved, Tenten decided it was time to return to missions. It was a simple escort mission with Team Guy, with their sensei cautioning her not to push herself. After it being an easy mission, Tenten felt more confident about being on duty again—
Until she received a letter from her beloved, saying he had been hurt trying to save his brother from the Akatsuki.
The recovering mother was more than determined to go to him once she returned to the village. She could only hope that the Lady Hokage would forgive her for leaving as soon as she wants to.
Luckily, Tenten didn't have to worry about the repercussions of her decisions.
Lady Tsunade stopped the team at the village gates before they could make it any further. "I'm assigning you the same mission as Team Kakashi," she declared. "You are to go to Suna and provide back up for saving the Kazekage. I have already told them that I will with the Council if needed. Do whatever you think is necessary to save Lord Gaara."
The Lady Hokage ruffled through her pocket before handing Tenten a plastic container filled with pills. "This should help you if you are still having any pregnancy symptoms," she informed. "I'm sorry to have to send you on another mission so soon after—"
"I'll be fine," Tenten reassured with a calming smile. "It will give me a chance to check on Kankuro. Have you heard anything more about his condition?"
"Not yet," Lady Tsunade admitted. "But you don't have to worry. Sakura is my best medical student. She won't let anything happen to him."
"I'll let him know we're on our way then," Tenten insisted as her smile grew. "Maybe he'll get it by the time he's better."
Kankuro knew it was useless to go after opponents that were so much stronger than him, but he had to try to save his brother; no matter if it would cost him his life.
When the poison slowly, yet quickly took over his body, Kankuro knew there was nothing more he could do to stop the enemy. He barely had enough strength to write a message to both Lady Hokage and his beloved. By the time the two puppet messenger birds were sent, Kankuro fainted from the pain.
Honestly, Kankuro thought he was dead when he woke up. It took a few moments of observing his surroundings before Kankuro realized he was back in his village in the hospital. A pink-haired girl stood on one side of his bed while on the other side was a long, blue-haired girl with lavender eyes, and a familiar blonde with four ponytails—
Temari! She's back in the village already.
The other two teens seemed familiar to him as well. They had to be shinobi. Maybe from another village?
From Konoha?
"He's going to be just fine, Temari," Sakura reassured. "I flushed out most of the harmful toxins and will make the antidote to get rid of the rest. I'm hoping to have enough supplies to make more than one dosage, just in case we have to fight that Akatsuki member."
"Everything just had to go to shit when I left," Temari scowled with a heavy sigh. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Council forces me to stay in the village for now. I should have stayed instead of going to Konoha."
"You can't change the past," Hinata insisted in her usual calling tone. "What we need to focus on is what to do next. Do we tell you-know-who about Kankuro's injuries? Or do we not say anything? Either way—"
"D-don't—"
Due to his injuries and the dryness in his throat, Kankuro coughed so much that he wondered if he would ever stop. His big sister rushed to help him sit up while Sakura brought a glass of water to his lips. After a few tiny sips and taking moments to catch his breath, Kankuro made sure to speak slowly with his next few words.
"Don't tell Ten about what happened to me," Kankuro practically begged from deep breaths. "I already told her I was injured and would update her when I was better. She doesn't need any more stress when she's on her first mission since her medical leave started."
Temari hugged in slight annoyance. "If I was her, I'd want to know, but if that's what you want."
After some time, Sakura finished the antidote. Naruto and Kakashi were allowed into the room after the antidote was administered and given time to work. Kankuro told everything he could remember of the fight with the Akatsuki member. During his scuffle, Kankuro managed to get a scrap of the enemy's clothing, knowing it would be used to track them down.
Within a few minutes, one of the Suna jounin rolled in a cart, containing every piece of Kankuro's puppets they managed to recover. Instead of going for the Crow, his hand instinctively reached for the tiny wind-up bird that looked out of place among the scare puppets. It was just within reach when pain shot through Kankuro's chest, forcing him lay back.
Being the amazing big sister that she strives to be, Temari grabbed the little bird and released the jutsu placed on it. With a poof of smoke, the puppet transformed into a scroll, with the tag 'Kuro' attached to it.
Reading through the scroll, Kankuro physically relaxed, part of the weight on his shoulder disappearing. Tenten's mission was a success and the letter received on the way back to the village. Her team was sent as back up for the rescue mission to save Gaara. That helped to put Kankuro's mind at ease. They saved Gaara during the Exams when it was just them three and the Byakugan Princess. Now there will be two amazingly skilled jounin, an expert medical nin, and a powerful jinchuriki that knew exactly how Gaara felt growing up.
Flinching at remembering where he was Kankuro mumbled an apology as he rolled up the scroll and placed it next to him. With a flick of his wrist, the Crow's hand opened up. Inside was a small piece of black fabric from the Akatsuki's cloak.
After Kakashi summoned his ninja hounds, the Copy Ninja insisted that they rest as much as they can before the hounds returned. Before the Konoha shinobi could be led to a private room to form a plan, they were stopped.
"Naruto, please save Gaara," Kankuro begged tiredly. "I already lost my baby. I don't want to lose my little brother too."
As one could have expected, there were mixed reactions by those who witnessed the request. He mainly noticed his sister and Baki's gasps of surprise, probably not believing he let the secret out so soon when he wanted to keep it from the Council, and that he was willing to let someone else save his brother.
Despite all the looks around him, Naruto smiled in reassurance. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to one of my closest friends," Naruto vowed as his smile became a bit cocky and confident. "Besides, I'm going to become Hokage one day, so the Kazekage can just owe me one."