Chapter 1

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As I walked through the hospital, I smiled politely at the nurses, even though I didn't feel like showing any kind of social politeness. The look of pity that almost bore into my back made me angry. At them. At myself to dare to feel such a shameful feeling that sullied everything that my teammate believed in. Lee was a human being. He wasn't a... a doll, a puppet, like that psychopath tried to show by breaking every bone in his body. Lee wasn't broken! Lee didn't need any pity.

Teeth clenched, I tried with all my might to repress the memories of Lee's fight against this monster.

Because it was what he was. A monster. I knew ninjas were sometimes cruel, I was not an idiot, even if my fight against this Suna kunoichi could have shown otherwise. But to display this level of inhumanity, to keep crushing Lee's bones when he had already, clearly lo-

I swallowed a sob. Breathed in. Breathed out. Tearducts clear of any unwelcome drops.

I'm fine.

It wasn't human, it couldn't be human. Why did this monster act this way? Did he want a total victory? He had already won.

Fortunately, Lee's spirit was inexhaustible and Gai's sensei all the more so.

I walked into Lee's room, respectfully, trying to just remember his moments of resolve and joy.

The room was medium in size but spacious enough so that one did not feel trapped in it. A large green carpet had been placed in the chamber and the window, set right next to the bed where Lee was lying, was open and draped with a long, soft white curtain. A pleasant wind was blowing in the room.

I placed the bouquet of flowers I had bought from the Yamanaka flower shop in the flower vase.

Strength, determination and sincere friendship.

"Lee, I'm so sorry," I whispered.

It had been three days since the preliminaries were over and he was still in that poor state.

It was unlikely he could become a ninja again. The damage looked too severe. I gritted my teeth and imagined running my weapons through this guy. How could he do that? How dare he?! To a nice boy like Lee?! There was no one nicer than him!

Taking a deep breath, I tried to lock my memories of this.

I knew that Gai-sensei was trying to put on a brave face. Even Neji was shocked.

I put my hand on his forehead, lightly.

"Please, get well soon. Gaï-sensei is worried to death and even your rival is looking for your recovery."

I looked up to look at the tree outside.

"It's already been three days. I've lost too. Our situations are not comparable but know that I'm more determined than ever. I've lost in such a stupid way. I always tell you to temper yourself a little, but I should carve every word before I let it fall."

I sighed, before rubbing my face.

"I'll try to be less...hot-headed and keep my cool. I was so excited...I've never told you any of this, guys, but I was very excited to participate in the chûnin exams. It was like a milestone in my life, you know? I had...not a dream, per se, a goal maybe, within my reach and I haven't been able to grasp it because of my stupidity. But, it's okay, there are other opportunities."

I was lying. It was not okay. I wasn't saying how upset I was really about it.

"I would have like to lose in a more dignified way, though."

I gritted my teeth.

"I know you need positivity above all in this dreadful situation, but Lee, please, do not let this monster win. Recover soon and be as mentally strong and determined as ever. You're not beyond hope as a ninja."

I left him, endeavoring to trust my own words. Lee couldn't lose his chance to be a ninja.

It could destroy him.

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We were at Team Gai's favorite training ground. Gai-sensei had decided to start our training three days after the preliminaries so that I could get my strength back. I had recovered, even if I was still in a little pain, but it was more than bearable.

Gai-sensei was as flashy as usual. His green jumpsuit was hurting my eyes but I was used to it, though it was a bit hard sometimes. He stood so proud and glowing with an amazing cheerfulness that after the first shock, it was Gai-sensei's personality that stood out the most. His thick, glossy black hair sent dark brown reflections under the sun, while his smile was as bright as the latter.

Neji was silent, his face as neutral as usual. His long brown hair shone in the sun that was radiant today. He had better hair than me, it always made me laugh. But I admired him all the more. Neji was really powerful and he could afford to fight with long, loose hair because no one could hold it on him.

He sometimes pissed me off, his arrogance getting on my nerves, but his genius was unquestionable. Lee was the exact opposite, but his determination was the equal of Neji's genius.

I really felt like shit, though. And not only because of Lee's condition.

It all started when I lost against this Suna Kunoïchi.

I was frustrated because I trained and trained and trained. I couldn't lose…like that. But my temper had had the better of me, and like a brat, I throw at her my last parchment of weapons. As if it would work against her wind!

I was an idiot.

I should have been able to control my frustration and to just…think. A kunoichi was not an idiot who threw herself at her enemies without a moment's thought. I knew it was her wind that kept my precious weapons from touching her, and yet I persisted.

I sighed, weary.

Even Gai-sensei's eagerness could not dislodge me from my bad mood. First of all, my teammate was in a coma - and I'll not mention him, Gai-sensei is trying to put on a brave face and I don't want to overwhelm him with my negativity.

And, on top of that, I had lost so stupidly that I could only blame myself. With clenched teeth, I took a scroll out of my pocket, unrolling it at breakneck speed, without even thinking about it. I had trained so hard to get to this level. How many times had I come home at first light when I was supposed to be at the academy in less than two hours? How many times did I have to go and do a few menial jobs to be able to afford a set of kunai and shuriken?

I didn't have parents but I had been able to take care of myself. I was proud of how far I had come and I was this close to becoming a chûnin, someone with a name in the village, a status. Not just an uninteresting orphan.

I knew I was nothing special. I was so awed when I first learned about Kekkei Genkai. When I saw Neji fighting for the first time. I come a long way.

"Tenten! Why are you so angry?!"

Gai-sensei tilted his head, confused while Neji looked at me without saying anything.

"It's…"

I took the two Jyo that came out of my parchment.

"...nothing, Gai-sensei! Now, Neji, fight me!"

Gai's sensei laughter was powerful and proud. "That's it, Tenten! Fight with all the power of youth!"

That was what I intended to do!

Neji unfolded his arms and walked towards me.

"As you wish."

His eyes bore into mine. Undisturbed. Ruthless.

Neji was selected to fight against Uzumaki Naruto. From what I had seen during the preliminary match, my teammate would win easily. No matter what progress he would make during this month, it will be of no use against Neji. He was already far ahead of him in terms of skills, the gap between both of them was just too huge.

That left only Uchiha Sasuke and...Sabaku no Gaara. I wasn't really worried about the former. Although talented, he was no match for Neji, I was sure of that. Though, I thought while swirling both of my Jyo, the Uchiha could indeed progress. That was far from impossible.

But as far as Sabaku no Gaara was concerned... that was clearly a whole different story. He was a monster. If he dared to touch Neji...if he dared to just hurt him like he had hurt Lee, I would do something very stupid, but I wouldn't stand idly by.

Launching at Neji, I moved my baton at him, not holding any of my blows. Aiming at his solar plexus, I withdrew my baton as quickly as possible when he deflected it with a vigorous blow from the palm of his hand. He was using chakra, and I had long since learned how to keep my weapons untouched by his moves. I had lost half of them because of that.

With a quick sequence of steps, I tried to hit him with my second Jyo, swirling the other one, trying to find a dead angle. Without any warning, Neji bent down, sending his foot to throw me off balance, while brutally lowering his hand towards my ribs.

My body moved on its own, I hadn't even needed to think about dodging. Gaï-sensei was a great teacher. He had trained us so that our bodies respond alone to threats.

I found myself a few meters away from Neji, having thrown my Jyo in his face, knowing full well that he would have no trouble destroying it.

When he did, I substituted myself with the wood of my baton. I needed to think a little bit during my fights and not go headlong into battle. I wasn't a hothead, but she had really pissed me off, this kunoichi of Suna...

Learn to use your head more, Tenten!

Leaning on my dominant leg and planting my baton on the ground, I whirled around abruptly, sending my foot under his chin.

I thought that I saw him widen his eyes. I had barely touched him when he was already moving out of my reach.

"WHAT YOUTHFULNESS, TENTEN!"

Seemingly annoyed, Neji narrowed his eyes at me. With a synchronized mention, our shuriken clashed. We lunged at each other, I kept attacking him with my baton with increasing speed each time. He was matching my moves, dodging each of my blows. I blocked in-extremis a palm coup with my Jyo.

Shit!

He managed to break it in half.

I did a double backward somersault to get away from him.

We stared at each other, for a few seconds.

"Impressive both of you!" Gai-sensei screamed. "Keep it up!"

I jumped and spun round trying to hit him first with my right leg, which he dodged, then with my left leg. He had to bend and roll out of my reach; but I didn't let him escape and shunshin right above him, my leg up in one frontal kick.

He suddenly whirled on himself, creating a wind with his chakra that disturbed me before blocking my foot with his forearm.

Our eyes widened at the same time.

We barely had the time to split up, that Gai-sensei was right in the middle of where we used to be.

Got it.

We then both started to attack him, while trying to land a blow at the other one. Gai-sensei's training sessions were unpredictable. Sometimes he would just let us fight with each other and sometimes he would join in. In this case, we had to try to hit him, while protecting ourselves from his blows.

But that didn't mean we were two against one. We were also 'enemies'.

Sometimes, yes, we were three against him.

But right now, it was not the case.

We sent a kick towards Gai-sensei, before blocking each other's punches. I winced, backing away quickly. I could feel that he had managed to hit my arms with his clan techniques.

Ugh.

"Don't lose focus, Tenten!"

I barely sensed Gai-sensei. He managed to get behind me, sending me a blow to my side. Growling with pain, I could see at the corner of my eye, Neji being engaged in an arduous fight against our teacher.

He had never managed to lay a blow to Gai-sensei, not once, and even though I couldn't understand him, I knew it annoyed him.

Honing my speed, I used Gai-sensei's shoulder- because he let me- like a spring to leap on Neji. I placed my knees on his shoulders, causing him to fall violently to the ground. I quickly pulled myself away from him, knowing that he would try to block the tenketsu of my thighs and at the same time, I had to watch out for Gai-sensei.

People might be surprised, but although my specialty was weapons, I was far from being weaker than my teammates in taijutsu, far from it. At the beginning, Neji could easily whoop my ass. But I did make progress. And it wasn't because I was not selected that I was going to drag on, on this one month of preparation. I was going to take notes on the abilities of other ninjas in other villages.

Never again will I lose in such a humiliating manner.

And I will win.

That's when our teacher started attacking us both mercilessly.

By the end of the session, we were worn out. And Gai-sensei just seemed to have barely started warming up.

Ugh, he was just so strong. I couldn't see what Gai-sensei could envy his 'eternal rival'. He was an equally powerful ninja and having seen Hatake Kakashi, he was... dull? While Gai-sensei was always full of life. Well, everyone was as they were.

"Yosh! What a lively and youthful training session! Tenten! Neji! I'm proud of you! And Neji, keep practicing like this! It will lead you to victory!"

He spoke to me, "Tenten! You seem to be more cautious in the way you fight, a good improvement!"

I lightly smiled at him. "Thanks, sensei."

Now, I needed to get a bit of my shit together. Luckily, it was very unlike me to dwell on things for too long.

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I liked weapons. I always wanted to be like Lady Tsunade, the most powerful Kunoichi of the world. I wanted to be as strong as her, as renowned as her. I wanted to prove that women could be as strong as men. Unfortunately for me, I was born with numerous spoke in the wheels. I was an orphan, to begin with. I grew up alone, I had friends, yes, but I had no one to greet me at night when I came home. There was the matron of course, but it wasn't much of a family.

But more than that, I was painstakingly ordinary. Luckily, I understood it early. I had also quickly realized that I had to be very good at the ordinary abilities that all ordinary ninjas possessed. I made it a point of honour to have great stamina, to not fall behind boys on Taïjutsu - the best boys in my Academy's classes- and to continuously practice my shurikens and kunais throwing.

I knew that I couldn't afford to drag it out, I had to at least excel in the basics.

I was finally placed on Team Gai. It was a bit weird at the beginning. One of my teammates had trouble using his chakra and the other one was just an arrogant bastard.

And I was just in the fucking middle.

Actually, I didn't use to take Gai-sensei seriously. It was not until I saw his dedication towards us and the ninja art that I started to gain some real respect for him. He trained us diligently and even Neji, this genius-bastard, couldn't accomplish the quarter of what Gai-sensei did and was able to do.

To be honest, the one who would inherit Gai-sensei's potential was Lee, I knew it. He was the most likely to follow in Gai-sensei's footsteps. As for Neji, he was a genius in his own field and in his clan.

As for me, I wasn't going to stand idly by, that's for sure, but I didn't know exactly what to do.

Lee could open the gates and Neji was getting stronger and stronger. But, then, what about me?

I thought about it for a while and decided to turn to iryo-ninjutsu. I had asked Gai-sensei if it was possible that he could set me up with a medical ninja, which he had done.

In the end?

I was so not cut out for this. To my great disappointment, I didn't have the chakra control or even the kind of concentration required in this area.

A bitter taste had settled in my mouth because I had somehow targeted this area to get a little closer to Lady Tsunade.

The training session with Gai-sensei had become more intense and he had encouraged me more in particular. Only later did I realize that he was worried about me. He wasn't dumb. He could see that things were not going well.

I was more worried about my future. I had to be able to find something that belonged to me, a specialty of my own.

Then, Gai-sensei had pulled me aside to have a talk with me.

"Is something wrong?" I had asked confused and nervous at the same time. Had I done something wrong? He wanted to scold me, that's why he had pulled my aside to speak to me face-to-face?

He had scrutinized me for a brief moment with his very dark brown eyes, his face thoughtful. I had never seen him with such an expression before, and it had left me a little puzzled.

Gai-sensei had suddenly laughed, "Ah, my dear Tenten! You don't look well these last few days!"

I had heavily sighed, "I'm fine, Gai-sensei"

But the concern had warmed me up. I had gently smiled at him before rubbing my arms. I was not used to confiding to anyone. I grew up alone. I had always relied only on myself...but Gai-sensei...Team Gai had slowly become like a family to me. Through the D-rank missions we flew and the C-rank missions we took on.

He had kept smiling at me with his hands on his hips, his face open and friendly.

"I…"

I stopped before clearing my throat. "I'm not good at iryo-ninjutsu, Gaï-sensei."

"You shouldn't say that Tenten! You mustn't give up!" he had cried vigorously, a blazing fire that never cease to burn his eyes.

I had sighed, absolutely done.

"YOSH! Tenten! If you try to give up again, you run laps 500 times around the village! And if you couldn't, you do a thousand push-ups!"

"Gai-sensei, seriously," I had said, annoyed. "I'm not good. I tried. It requires a certain amount of chakra control that I don't possess and the kind of concentration that I don't have for this subject. It's not about being discouraged or not wanting to pursue because my motivation is weak. It's about knowing oneself."

I had shaken my head. "Sometimes even determination isn't enough. I have to find something else." My eyes in his. "Trust me, I tried."

( Because I was always the one with a bit less tenacity. It had changed way later.)

To my great surprise, he had remained silent before putting his hand against my shoulder, holding it lightly. "All right! I get it! But don't be discouraged! Get back to your old vigor and be more determined than ever in your training!"

A week later he offered me a scroll full of weapons and a book on fuinjutsu.

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Fuinjutsu was something I never thought I'd be interested in. Yet, it was such an interesting discipline and there were so many possibilities.

Within a week, my apartment had become a pile of scrolls and notes that I wrote down every time; as well as fuinjutsu essays and beginner's seals that I had found in books that Gai-sensei had given me constantly.

One of the basic knowledge of Fuinjutsu was that it was a language. Which meant that strictly speaking, everyone could create their own seals. But there were a lot of factors to take into account. For starters, the seal had to be balanced. Every piece that was put on had to give as much as it received. For example, to make explosive scrolls, you had to combine wind and fire elements and the term blast. In ninjutsu theory, the wind was as strong as the fire. Most importantly, it gave intensity to the latter. It could either extinguish it or intensify its fiery flames.

But to do this, the fire had to be as intense as the wind. The seal had to be well balanced. Neither too much nor too little, at least, for this case.

The scope of the explosion and the intensity must be decided before making the seal. That was the last straw to create the explosive tag. The word 'blast'.

How far away was the explosion supposed to spread? And how heavy it supposed to be?

A calculus had to be made, that took into account the ninjutsu equations of the elements wind and fire.

But it didn't stop there.

The seal shouldn't be ten kilometers long. The best seals are one-character seals. This was the major difference between a Sealing Master and a mediocre sealer.

It would be counterproductive and impractical otherwise.

Fortunately, explosive tags were the easiest to make. At least that's what Gai-sensei's books told me. I never really liked to read or do extensive research. It wasn't my thing. I wasn't an idiot and I had always gotten good grades at the Academy, but I prefer using my instinct than having long, hesitant thoughts.

Still, I had some instinctive understanding of Fuinjutsu, and I did like that art. I had learned how to make storage seals and a lot of explosive tags.

I also used the seals to isolate the noise in my apartment.

I had a lot of ideas about the type of seals I would like to create, but since it was a very little-used discipline, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to learn anything from the books.

As I said, Fuinjutsu was like a language. And each fuinjutsu master passed their art to their disciple, who developed their own on that basis. Of course, they were careful not to write anything. It belonged to them.

I had done research on Uzushio, the famous land of the Fuinjutsu masters, the Uzumakis. Unfortunately, it had been completely decimated, a real slaughter perpetuated by three other large villages.

They were feared for their strength coming from their discipline, linked to Fuinjutsu.

How strong were they? And how dangerous was fuinjutsu?

I had wondered if this was the reason why there were no Uchihas left on the street and their area was suddenly empty.

When I was younger, I thought they had all left in the night, not wanting to stay in the village anymore. Except that it was outright treason and I couldn't imagine the village police doing something like that.

I hadn't thought about it at all, until I learned that the heir of the Uchiha clan had actually slaughtered them all in one night. I shivered, disgusted.

Did the heir fear the power of his own clan? Or had he just gone mad?

Who knew.

I stretched out in front of my scrolls, I had methodically stored all the weapons I needed, having sharpened and cleaned them beforehand.

I had been thinking, since before the chûnin exams, about a seal which might perhaps enable me to become faster. Something instantaneous. Now that I had lost so spectacularly against this Suna's kunoichi, I was thinking about something else. A seal that allowed my weapons to cut through any ninjutsu.

Specifically, wind one.

I could be called petty, but hey, at least I learned from my mistakes.

I hadn't figured out how to do it yet, though. It was a hard task. I didn't really know how to do it.

I had some ideas... but I had to practice. And I didn't want to blow anything up by accident. If I applied my chakra in the seal to make it work, I had to be sure.

Maybe I will visit Kaoru the day after tomorrow to speak about strengthening my weapons.

I sighed, tired.

"I need a nice, hot shower. And then I go to bed. Good thing tomorrow's my day off," I said out aloud.

I needed to sleep.

If only I had known what was waiting for me the next day.

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I was sleeping so peacefully that it was impossible for me to just think that my gods-blessed sleep might be interrupted.

Yet, it was. Because someone was making noise in my apartment. Who did I have to stab? I was not nice when I was woken up so early in the morning when it was my day off.

I opened my eyes and slowly rose from my bed. I rubbed my eyes for a few seconds before silently walking towards the door. There was someone in my apartment. I thought I heard a noise and, as a ninja, I couldn't brush it aside as if it was nothing.

Luckily for me, I knew how to walk and where to walk to not make the floor squeak. It was normal. It was my home.

Taking a kunai, I opened the door of my room as quietly as possible before jumping on the ceiling, firmly sticking my feet on it. I had to be careful. I was a ninja, so I'd placed some traps in my place. The fact that they failed to activate was alarming. Someone strong enough had been able to sneak on my house, but clumsy enough to make noises. What a weird combination.

How was it even possible?

Narrowing my eyes, I began to walk on my ceiling, being careful to keep in shadow. I diligently hid my chakra, clenching gently my kunai before I stealthily went to check my front door. Nothing. My traps were still there.

I headed to my living room, where my little kitchen was also located.

And that was when I saw him. In the middle of my organized mess, piles of scrolls and inked pots methodically ordered on my kitchen table. He was standing in the center of my living room, staggering on his feet and on the verge of collapsing. His outfit was the strangest I had seen ever. A light grey armor with two harnesses on his shoulders, a tight black trouser and a mask, with bizarre painting on it. I didn't dwell too much on it. I could see short black hair and...that was it. I frowned, again. And this mask...I have never seen ninjas wearing it before. What the hell was he doing here?

What the hell was this creep doing in my house?

He had been able to avoid my traps in this state? Even my window was closed. It was only because he seemed to be injured that he'd made some kind of noises. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know that he was here. Even his chakra didn't give him away. No doubt, he was a top-level ninja. He was at least Jônin.

I shivered. Shit. Would I even be able to incapacitate him? Again, why the hell was he here? Was he trying to escape? Most likely...I didn't know.

He collapsed, falling on his buttocks and startling me down. His body was slightly shaking.

Was he a foreign ninja? An intruder? I haven't seen this kind of uniform before. Or maybe it was a woman? Was I using the wrong pronoun?

Impossible. From what I could see his muscles were far too pronounced to be those of a woman. Also, he was much too tall.

So, a man, was it.

I pinched my lips, hands shaking. Again, what the hell was he doing in my place? And why the hell he seemed in a bad shape? Konoha's ninjas were after him? He was probably fighting tenaciously and he preferred to run away in the end. And he came to hide in my house?

And my traps...again, I was flabbergasted. He had avoided them so well. In this wounded state! It was fucking impressive.

I paused for a few seconds. He didn't seem to have spotted me. Maybe he was a Konoha ninja? I silently sighed. I didn't like thinking this much. It was not my thing. I'd have to approach him caref-

He fell on his back this time and didn't seem to move.

I nervously checked around me, checking to make sure that no one other than him was there.

I noticed a mark on his shoulder, but I didn't pay any more attention to it than that. Instead of that, I did the most stupid thing ever.

I steeled myself and put a hesitant hand on his shoulder.

Honestly, it wasn't even shocking that his hand popped up to grab my throat, sending my kunai flying across the room. I clutched at his arm, trying to get it off my neck. He squeezed his hand, his chakra suddenly threatening. He didn't look sick anymore. He seemed fine.

With a whimper, I extended my leg quickly and kicked him violently. Asshole!

His grip gave way like a dam under the power of the water. I wasted no time, throwing myself at him.

"You, asshole!" I let out furiously, literally wrestling with him. "First, you broke into my house, waking me up and then you try to strangle me?! I'm so gonna stab you!"

He didn't say a word but I swear I heard him grunt. Fuck him! And now I was being coarse because of him.

Thank God for Gai-sensei and his strength training.

I struggled against him, as hard as I could, trying to armlock him or trap him between my thighs, to strangle him until he fainted.

Without understanding anything, I suddenly saw the ceiling. Breath-taken because of my fall on my back, I didn't have time to roll over on the side.

And that was when an icy calm took hold of me. I didn't feel like fighting him anymore or even talking at all. Something told me that this man was really not doing very well.

Moreover, I had just realized that he could have killed me long ago, despite his condition, but he hadn't.

Because the glove on his left hand had light blades. And he didn't use them.

I tried to speak gently, wooing him. "You need to go to the hospital. I don't know why you broke into my apartment, I don't even know if you are an enemy, I don't know you. But we've got to go to the hospital."

He violently shivered, his body steeling.

"D...don't.."

He stopped talking, breathing loudly, his all body shaking.

"..tel...anyone…"

"Shit." I let out aloud. "Look, I repeat, again, even if I'm not a damn parrot, I don't know you and you could as well be an intruder or have stolen something, I don't know. You have a foreign gear and this strange mask."

His coughs suddenly cut me off and I knew I could not afford to question him like that, not now anyway. It was not the time. I had to make up my mind: should I report him to someone? Or should I look after him myself? Biting my lower lip, I looked around as if my apartment could provide me with a solution to this massive dilemma, or that the solution itself would shunshin itself in front of me.

"For Shodai's sake," I muttered, my hands sweaty. "Shit," I cursed, again.

Okay, okay. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Get a hold of yourself Tenten, if you don't do anything, he's going to die."

But if I did something...it could be treason. I shivered at the thought, my whole body being revolted by the mere mention of this horrid act. The corner of my lip turned down.

"Fine." I decided. "You, wait here and please, don't die on me."

His chest was rising at a steady and fast pace. I could feel panic coming over me, but I was urging myself to calm down.

"I'm going to strip you, so don't attack me like earlier, okay?"

I could still feel his hand around my throat. I slightly massaged it, clearing my throat to get through the pain that was still here.

I didn't wait for him to answer- what would he have said? He was near death and I didn't even know if I was of any help.

I began to remove his armor, poking around in his chest to find the harnesses. When I did, I was able to quickly remove it, it was quite easy: there were only two of them.

I threw it to the side, I'll examine it later. I touched his arms looking for a wound, but nothing. He looked as if he had been hit, but nothing serious. I gently lifted his tight, sleeveless black shirt. I was presented with very well designed abs on tanned skin. Nothing.

Damn it. It meant only one thing.

Poison.

It must be poison. And I was not qualified at all to take care of a poisoned man. I needed to get him to the hospital, at this rate, he would die.

And I clearly couldn't have his death on my conscience. It would destroy me.

"Look, buddy, I need to take you to the hospital. I can't heal you, I'm not qualified at all. I don't know how to heal people, besides first aids and creams."

He convulsed all of sudden, bending in half so abruptly that I had to step back, shocked. A small cry of pain came from between his teeth and he whistled, like a snake.

I couldn't see his eyes, but I was pretty sure he was staring at me. Unless he was squeezing them tightly. I didn't know. I didn't know anything! I felt a tremor and forced myself to stand up straight and still.

In any case, he managed to cough me up, "Don't take me to the hospital! I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't!"

"But you're going to die!" I screamed, rubbing my face, completely overwhelmed. Damn, that was so pathetic coming from a kunoichi. "You've been poisoned, you know! And I keep talking and you're getting closer and closer to death and I don't know what to do!"

"Better dead," he muttered.

"No! You'll not die on me. It's flipping egoistical, but I don't care. I don't want to have your death on my conscience!"

I stood up briskly. "You're going to the hospital, man. I don't care if you don't want to! I'm gonna drag you there if I have to. If you have nothing to blame yourself for, it's all right, otherwise you're just an enemy of my village. And I'm a Konoha ninja. I don't help the enemy."

I was determined. It was the right thing to do. Even in this weakened state, he had been strong enough to flip me over on my back. Even if I was still injured from my fight against Suna's kunoichi, and my training with Neji and Gai-sensei, I was in full possession of my skills. But he still managed to incapacitate me.

I took him by the underarms, mentally thanking Gai-sensei for his monster training.

He grabbed my arm with a strength of mind I could only admire. For that was all he had left, he was in too much pain to do anything else.

This confirmed my suspicions that he must be an enemy. But who would infiltrate the village so clearly in disguise? Anybody would be able to spot him miles away.

I uttered a little cry of pain as he squeezed my arm more and more. I could barely drag him, it was a real mess and I couldn't get anywhere like that.

He was going to die in my arms!

"Shit!"

I couldn't leave him here, what if he kicked the bucket? What if they wanted to interrogate him and couldn't? Surely they could have followed him unless he ran away before the poison took effect? I didn't know a damn thing.

My involvement was useless either way, I couldn't help him except to take him to the hospital. But since he was an enemy…he didn't even try to deny this accusation. He just didn't want to go to the hospital.

My heart was pounding and I chewed my lips bloody.

"I'll get someone."

I should have done this since the beginning. This entire situation was just so ridiculous.

I tried to drop him smoothly, but he wouldn't let go and held on to me. I grunted in pain.

"Seriously, let go of me!"

"N-o..t, no hospital.."

"Why the hell wouldn't I take you to the hospital?! I've already told you, you're either an enemy or an ally and I'll find out there! Even if I wanted to keep you here, I don't know how to treat you!"

It was so darn frustrating. I knew I was getting nowhere, and I knew I needed to act, to think, to do something. The situation was dragging on and on and I kept repeating myself over and over again, but I didn't act. Actions before words. That was my motto.

That's enough of that.

While I was making the decision to shunshin and go get a chûnin, a jônin, Shodai's knew who, he finally croaked, "P-pocket."

"What?"

He groaned, "P..po..pocket!"

His pocket-

An antidote ?

I started poking him again, feeling him on all sides. It was a miracle he was still alive! Either he was very lucky or it was a poison meant to make him suffer for a long time. And that was when I felt something. Something metallic. I hurried to take it out and stood still.

A headband. It was a Konoha headband.

I looked at him hesitantly. He was a Konoha ninja? But if he was one, why didn't he want to go to the hospital so badly? And what was he wearing? I had never seen a ninja from our village wearing this.

Maybe he had come in a disaster from a mission and didn't want civilians to see him? But in that case, I could call a chûnin, couldn't I?

Or was it an S-ranked mission?

Clutching my hands, I started looking again, feeling his trousers and the other pockets near his legs. I discovered that they were just folds and I couldn't help but admire the ingenious work.

And in one of those folds, finally, I found a small syringe filled with a green liquid.

I grabbed his arm, not really sure what to do. Was he a real Konoha ninja? Why hadn't he at least tried to warn me that he was a Konoha ninja? What if he stole the headband? It wasn't impossible. But if that's the case, why hide it? And what was so special about the headband? Did he want to impersonate a Konoha ninja? Wouldn't a Henge be enough? But if that's the case, why hide it?

It could be found everywhere outside of Konoha on dead ninjas, I suppose.

I made a quick decision to... not to trust him but to see what would happen. I'll put security measures around me, but either way, I couldn't leave him like that. He would prevent me from searching for help by any means; he was able to hold on to me even in a deplorable state, and the amazement I felt towards him kept growing. If I was able to get someone, he might very well die here by the time I came back with a chûnin.

I didn't know it at the time, but I had made the right decision.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you had an antidote? And that you were a Konoha ninja?"

Without waiting for an answer - what answer, anyway - I stuck the needle in his arm, injecting the whole dose, every last drop, letting nothing.

Within seconds, he gradually stopped shaking, his breathing becoming less jerky and steadier. Relief washed through me, and I fell to the ground. I kept looking at him, patiently waiting for him to fully calm down. When he stopped moving, I placed a hand against his heart in panic and sighed as I felt it beating under my palm.

Still, I stayed at least five minutes like that, making sure his heart didn't stop.

I put one hand on my face, closing my eyes. It was unbelievable. I didn't stay much longer with my eyes closed and I hastened to open them. I couldn't let my guard down.

With a hesitant hand, I touched him. Seeing he didn't make any abrupt movement, I concluded that he was asleep.

I satiated my curiosity by removing his mask. Maybe I had already seen him before…

Of the same color as the rest of his body, although a little lighter, his face was hard and chiseled. He had a thin but firm mouth and prominent cheekbones. His nose seemed to have been broken several times, which did not surprise me, but it had a beautiful shape and added to the beauty of his face. He wasn't ugly, far from it. His hair, which was black, went all over the place and I noticed that it grazed the back of his neck.

He didn't remind me of anyone, and yet...

I frowned.

It was weird.

I stood up and tried to drag him to something more comfortable than the floor. Good thing I had futons.

I opened the closet and pulled out a clean one. It was with a twinge of heartache that I laid the man on it.

What could I do, what could I do?

Water!

I rushed into the kitchen and took a glass and filled it with water. I did what I could. If he died on me, it wasn't my fault.

I knelt down beside him, avoiding another scroll. I gently grabbed his jaw before pausing.

How was I going to get him to drink? Oddly enough, his steady breathing made me feel calmer. I was still feeling pretty stressed by the whole situation.

I put the glass on the floor before gently opening up his mouth by softly squeezing his jaw.

I was right. His lips were dry. He had to drink.

"You'd better cooperate, man, even if you're asleep," I muttered to myself. I felt stupid right away.

Focus on the task at hand, Tenten.

However, I couldn't stop talking.

"You know, I was sleeping so well. It was kind of my day off? I wanted to study my fuinjutsu-"

I suddenly stopped. Not because I was giving him information about my abilities - my house was covered with parchment and fuinjutsu. And he was kind of out right now.

No.

It was because I saw something on his tongue. I honestly didn't know why a shiver ran through my whole body. It was as if my entire being was telling me it was wrong. But what was wrong?

I had let go of his jaw in the meantime. Breathing in gently, as if to give myself some nerve, I opened his mouth again, my eyes fixed on his tongue.

Time seemed to stop. All I could hear was my breathing and the beating of my heart. What the hell was that? Was that... fuinjutsu? He had a seal on his tongue?

And that shape...that shape...I shivered again. I had studied fuinjutsu a lot, as much as I could with the books Gai-sensei gave me. I had never, in all my research and introspection, come across such a form of seal.

I knew instinctively that it was not a good fuinjutsu.

I rubbed my arms, backing away from him. This fear was irrational, but I had to trust my guts.

They told me not to take him to the hospital and leave him at home. Now they were telling me not to go near that fuinjutsu mark.

(Later, my guts kept me alive.)

I placed my hands flat on the floor and closed my eyes. I didn't care if it was dangerous, I couldn't think of anything else but that seal. It had literally towered over everything in my mind. I spread my chakra around me...I wasn't looking for anything specific. It was an exercise that helped me to calm down.

I knew it was just both of us in my apartment. However, I extended my senses into my bathroom, toilet and beyond. I left my house, exploring the hallway before going to the street in front of my building. I sensed people. Civilians. Adults and children. A family. Orphans. Maybe. I could almost hear people laughing or talking loudly. I used to perform this exercise at a younger age when the loneliness was too stifling. And now that I was in a team with a teammate like Neji, I had learned to extend my senses even more. Gai-sensei could attack from any side and I didn't want Neji to be the only "sensor" in the team.

I didn't know how long I stayed like this, but as soon as I opened my eyes I felt more at peace.

"Give him some water. Go cool off afterward. And place a safety around him."

Once that list was spoken aloud, I nodded to myself. I moistened his lips before I tried to gently squeeze some water down his throat. He stirred in his sleep, frowning.

My back slammed violently into the floor, the glass went crashing against the wall. He was on top of me and I had this unpleasant feeling of déjà vu.

His hand was around my throat, again, but this time, he didn't squeeze it.

"And so, you decided to wake up now, huh?" I said in an annoyed voice.

He didn't answer, staring at me. His eyes were pitch black and they somewhat unsettled me. I had only seen one person with that kind of eye color, and that was Uchiha Sasuke along with the member of the Uchiha Police Force when they still existed. Even Gai-sensei's eyes were dark brown.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long before. Well, it's true that I threatened to stab you...but you tried to strangle me, I need some understanding here. And I didn't even go looking for someone. I think you can trust me, I can't say the same about you, though." I grunted, narrowing my eyes at him. " It's amazing. How can you just move when you were out of it a few seconds ago?"

He didn't answer, staying above me. It was as if he saw right through me.

As if he didn't see me at all. Where was his mind?

Not wanting to kick somebody who was sick, I gently shook my hand in front of his face. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe he was going to slit my throat. Maybe he was crazy. All my guts were telling me shit, then he just had to slit my throat. That was all I would deserve as a ninja getting soft on the enemy.

But even so... I couldn't stop thinking about what was on his tongue and what it might involve.

I breathed in and looked square into his eyes. "I don't want to hurt you. You can trust me."

I stretched out my hands gently, being careful they were within his field of vision, trying not to make any sudden movements.

"I'm unarmed. I just wanted to give you some water, your lips were so dry."

I repeated it louder, urging myself to be as peaceful as possible. He was like a cornered wild animal; one abrupt gesture, one note louder than the other, and I could say goodbye to my neck. I could feel it as good as I could feel his breath brushing my face.

Careful, careful, Tenten. Otherwise, I might as well offer him my neck so that he could dip his fangs into it.

"I have no weapon. And even if I did, you could disarm me easily. Remember? Me? You? My kunai lost in my living room thanks to your amazing skills? I'm no match for you. Just like earlier. Do you remember?"

I'd always find a way to defend myself. I'd never die without fighting for my life tooth and nail. I was not some woman in distress waiting for the strong, male, ninja to come and save her. I was not into this shit. Just thinking about it gets on my nerves. But I had to admit that my level was far from matching his.

I murmured, again, "Trust me. I'll protect you."

What I said right now was unbelievable. I was making him a promise. I didn't know, someone stronger, faster, and better than me, that I would protect him. Protect him from what? From who? My village? I couldn't! Again, he had a Konoha headband. I didn't see anybody coming urgently at my home. And he didn't seem to have any scrolls on him that he had potentially stolen.

But, again, I have promised him. Gai-sensei often told us that promises must always be kept.

At the time, I didn't realize the kind of impression these words would have on him.

All I knew was that his eyes became more alive. He could finally see me. Me. Not a...threat, or anything else. Me.

He took a shivering breath, his body starting to shake, violently. I opened my eyes and pushed him away in a hurry.

"Hell!" I cursed out. "Go to bed. To bed. Now."

He was so tired that he staggered, not even trying to resist me.

I poured another glass of water before I came back to him. "Drink. It's water."

I didn't give him the time to talk or to move; I drank a bit of the water to show him that I didn't put anything in it.

"See? Nothing. Come on, let me help. You need to drink, now."

I used the firm voice I had when I was talking to Lee. My heart tightened at the mention of my teammate, in the hospital and in a coma.

I shook this thought away before tears could invade my eyes and I gave him a stern look.

I gently brought the glass to his lips. He didn't move. I saw his throat swallow the water and breathed a small sigh of relief.

I got up and picked up the broken glasses. It was a real pain in the neck to clean up. I had to be careful that none of them slipped out of my hands because I had clearly no desire to cut my foot needlessly. But since I was used to handling a lot of weapons, I had a certain ease with anything that was a tad sharp.

I threw the broken glasses in the garbage, being cautious enough to put them in a bag first.

I looked over my shoulder.

The man was sleeping peacefully, his features relaxed.

Now that I thought about it, for such an exceptional ninja, he was totally at my mercy. It couldn't have been an act. I rubbed my arms, not knowing what to think. I finally picked up his armor and mask, examining them more closely.

The armor was solid. It was a high quality one, light enough so as not to be a hindrance during a fight; and hard enough to protect both vital and pressure points. I fumbled around inside. Nothing. It was even soft. I snorted lightly. It was what I called 'an iron fist in a velvet glove' or more likely a 'velvet fist in an iron glove.'

Maybe.

I thoughtfully felt the harnesses. I liked weapons. All kinds of weapons. And I often went to see one of the blacksmiths,Kaoru, who lived in the same district as me. Which meant I knew enough about them. That I knew a lot.

But never in my life had I seen such quality. Ninjas did not wear armors. They had special Jackets for chûnins and jônins. But not this kind of armor. Arms and shins guards, maybe. But a full armor? Only Samurais covered themselves that much. I wondered what Kaoru would think about it.

Then, I took his mask. An owl. It looked worn out like he'd been using it for a long time. I felt it, measured its robustness. As perfect as the armor.

"What the hell is this…?" I muttered quietly. "Who the hell are you, Owl?"

I couldn't shake off the seal of my mind. The mere mention of it made me shudder. I could still see it before my eyes, I could almost feel it.

I squeezed my hands before looking at them, thoughtfully.

Without even thinking about it I stood up and took a piece of paper, an inkwell, and my brush.

.

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Author's note:

So….

What can I say? This particular plot bunny didn't get out of my head and so, I decided to work on it.

I have another fanfiction if you're interested in it! It's called 'A Will make of Iron' and it's about a seven-year-old Sakura who wanted to be classified as a flee-on-sight in the bingo book like Namizake Minato.

I tried to stay true to the canon world - while adding my own personal elements, of course, even if I tried to stay IC with Tenten. I tried to give her some depth!-

It had always angered me the way she had lost against Temari. Like, what the hell? It was so stupid?

Stay safe everyone and until next time!

Feedbacks are highly encouraged ;)

Thanks to Niina Lexy for beta-reading me ;_;

Go read her fanfiction!