Authors Note

Okay, I dunno if any of my info about the orphanage is accurate, I made it up. To the best of my knowledge this stuff was never discussed in the series. If any of it is blatantly wrong, please tell me.

Disclaimer

I do not own Naruto or any related titles or Canon characters. Official Naruto character are not guaranteed to be in character at all times, though I do my best.

Chapter Word Count: Approx. 4531 without notes

Chapter 3: First Day

Tenten hardly slept for excitement that night. The memories of her surprised entrance exam and subsequent trip to the market with Gai and Anko played on repeat in her mind; teasing her awake. It was fortunate for her that determination fueled her when morning arrived, then, so that the lack of sleep wouldn't negatively impact her first day at the academy as it may have.

When the other orphans who were enrolled in ninja training were awakened, Tenten was summoned along with them for a change. The children dining on their early breakfast looked up with surprise as the bun haired girl skipped happily into the room to join them, a satchel of supplies slung over her shoulder. Her grin faltered only slightly at their apparent confusion before she went back to beaming brightly and waved.

The children in the room ranged in age from academy beginners to those around twelve. Orphans close to graduation from the academy were granted a small apartment that they were expected to start paying for once active missions began upon achieving Genin ranking. If non-ninja children weren't adopted, they were apprenticed to a tradesman at twelve, or sent to find work around age fifteen. In this way all the kids were, theoretically, able to thrive one day.

The academy students were always been earliest to rise in the mornings, and the first to breakfast. It was just the way it had always been, and for an unfamiliar face to sudden appear among the youngest in the ranks was strange. Not that academy students weren't occasionally orphaned part way through the year, of course; only in this case Tenten was not a student, and it was a midway through the term. That was very odd.

When the others failed to acknowledged her further, Tenten sat among them and quickly ate her meal. She would let them ponder their unspoken question for now. They could figure it out once she kicked their butts at the academy!

As the group of students departed, the young brunette stayed back upon the porch for a few moments. She half expected Gai to appear and bid her good luck. He didn't come though, and she reminded herself that he had never told her he would be there. After all, it was early, and he had his own training to maintain. Or he may have gotten an early mission. The encouragement would have been nice,, even though he had already gone out of his way just to get her into the academy to begin with.

Taking a deep breath to fortify herself, Tenten hopped off the porch and ran toward her destination; excitement at the new chance she had been longing for pushing aside her apprehension. It was a short jog to the academy and the Sandaime met her at the entrance. She skidded to a halt and blinked up at him with large brown eyes before dipping into a small bow.

"Hokage-sama, I wasn't expecting you..." She murmured softly, hoping his presence didn't mean minds had been changed about her attendance.

"I thought I might let your classmates know they have a new student," The old man sent a crinkled smile her way, "It doesn't happen every day."

"Oh," Tenten's cheeks grew slightly rosy in response to the apparent special treatment, "Thank you, sir."

At that, the Sandaime led the child through the halls to where she would be learning the skills she needed. He knocked on a particular door which was answered by a man with a scar across the bridge of his nose. Tenten shifted nervously, but smiled up at him nonetheless.

"Iruka, I've brought your new student. You did receive word she would be arriving, correct?" When the scarred man confirmed this, the Hokage turned to Tenten once more, "Wait here one moment."

The twin-bunned girl nodded with a soft murmur, "Alright."

Iruka and the Hokage stepped into room, leaving her in the hall with her growing nervousness. She could hear the shuffle of children standing and greeting their village's leader with respect. She heard the Sandaime's voice informing them that a new student was joining their class, and briefly explaining how she had come to prove herself half way through the year. Then she heard him calling her in.

Peeking her head in, the first thing she saw was Neji, his pale eyes already narrowed into a contempt filled glare. She gulped nervously, unable to tear her eyes away from his scathing look. Lee's surprised recognition of his defender was unnoticed, as we're the hushed murmurs from the bullies that had targeted him.

Now that she was presented to them, the Hokage left the rest in Iruka's hands and took his leave. The teacher smiled softly at Tenten, not missing the tension between she and the Hyuuga prodigy. That was something to keep an eye on.

"Welcome, Tenten," The young instructor spoke, "I'm glad you could join us. You've missed quite a bit, so I'm going to have to find a classmate or two to help you catch up...

"Anyone who wants to help Tenten out, see me before the end of today, or I can just assign someone," having raised his voice to address the class clearly, Iruka fell silent a moment, turning his focus to locating a seat for the new student, "Okay, Tenten, sit there, in front of Lee. "

Blinking, the boy with the black braid looked up at the sound of his name, and smiled. His protector would be sitting near him. They would be good friends, he hoped. With little skill for anything but taijutsu, he found making friends difficult. This girl was a source of hope, however He waved his hand at her to make sure she knew where to go.

Recognizing the boy from yesterday waving at her, Tenten smiled and moved to the empty seat in front of him, "Hello, Lee-kun!"

"Hello, Tenten-chan!" Lee spoke brightly, excited that she seemed so willing to befriend him.

In the next row up from Tenten's seat, about six spots to the left. Neji sat with a stoic frown.

He had received a terrible scolding the previous day from his uncle. Apparently Hiashi had gotten to see Tenten in action, and though the girls natural skill was something he found admittedly admirable, he was still highly upset that Neji had been so easily caught by surprise. That night the branch family's prodigy had been worked hard, training to exhaustion. His young muscles still ached from the repeated routines of exercise. The wretched seal had remained inactive at least.

On one hand, Neji wanted as little to do with the horrid girl as possible. It was cruel enough that fate had woven her into his life thus far. Yet, he paused to think, this could be used to his advantage. She had easily found his blind spot without so much as trying. He hated to admit it, but perhaps her keen aim could provide a challenge. If he volunteered to help her catch up, then he could convince her to spar and narrow his blind spot. Perhaps that was why fate brought her into his life to begin with.

It was already lunch time, and Tenten had discovered that she really did have a lot to learn. Besides the contiuation of basic history facts on the village that she had always neglected to study properly; there was the new addition of ninja history as well. Some of the information in other classes was sounding familiar from things what Gai had told her; chakra, for instance, came up just the other day when discussing how Neji had seen her through the walls. They were talking about things like chanelling the chakra, and using hand seals to focus it...it seemed like theory at this point, though Iruka-sensei had mentioned putting some of it into practice with basic teqniques later.

"Lee-kun," the brunette sighed, chewing on a mouthful of food as she looked at the boy that sat nearby, "There's too much! I missed so much! Maybe I'm stupid for wanting to come here...I can't catch up..."

Lee offered a smile of encouragement and was about to comfort her; only to be interupted by a more bland and stoic voice, "You are stupid."

Tenten and Lee both looked up to see Neji standing over them, his arms folded and his pale eyes narrowed. Now that he had their attention, he continued to speak, "You're stupid if you think you can catch up with half a year of lessons in a single day. Destiny saw to it you got this chance, you're meant to be a kunoichi...otherwise you never could have done what you did."

Chocolate brown eyes gazed widely up at Neji, practically mesmerized by his inspirational words. Her gaze glistened with new found hope. He was right, all she needed was a tutor to help her learn what she had missed! Gai-niisan would be able to help between missions at the very least...and Anko or Kakashi when they were around...

"I will be your tutor," The Hyuuga prodigy concluded, his eyes drifting shut with satisfaction that he'd made his point, "I have already spoken to Iruka-sensei about it."

'Really?" Tenten jumped up, nearly spilling the remains of her bento. She moved to graps Neji's hands in thanks, but he dodged her grip with a scowl. Just the same she beamed at him, "Thank you! Thank you, thank you!"

"I will help to, Tenten-chan!' Lee shouted, suddenly leaping up. He was caught up in the excitement; and he also didn't want to lose his one real friend to the Hyuuga Prodigy.

With a twitching brow, Neji interupted before the girl could answer. Lee could really annoy him, "Help how? You have no skills..."

Spotting her friend's face fall into an embarrassed sulk, the brunette girl spoke up, "Well, Lee-kun can help me with the physical stuff! Like tiajutsu! I heard he's good at that! And the information...anyone can learn or teach that, right? Putting into practice...that's just harder for Lee..."

With a small smile, the boy with the braid nodded his appreciation and agreement. He knew what should work for jutsu, at least with what they had beeen taught so far. It was just that it didn't actually work for him! He didn't know why!

Again Neji twitched in agitation. Anyone could learn or teach the basics of becoming a shinobi, as long as it was the information part? Oh, this girl...he really wankted to ring her neck! He scowled as he spoke, "It's not as simple as you seem to think. However, if youwant Lee to help as well, then see him when we aren't studying together. I'm not going to hold back for his sake."

As far as the Hyuuga was concerned, Lee was not destined to be a shinobi. If he coud do no jutsu, then his fate was sealed; and Neji had no desire to intertwine their paths. With his focus solely on Tenten he continued, "I will need to let Hiashi-sama know about the arrangement. We will most likely either be studying here, or at the Hyuuga estate. I'm certain your orphanage is too busy,"

The new student frowned. It was clear he was looking down on her home, also his concerns weren't necessarily unfounded. There was always a lot going on at the orphanage, which meant it was noisy. The kind of intense, catchup studying they would need to be doing was bound to be hard to focus on in that environment, "Okay. Let me know when we an start!"

With a nod the boy silently turned to leave. In his mind, this was the first step in bettering his own skills. He would use this girl to narrow his blind spot, and hopefully overcome it. That was where their destinies met, and where their paths parted once more. If he helped her find a fated role as a kunoichi at the same time, so be it, but that was none of his conern. Ultimately, he knew what lay ahead for him.

To Tenten, this was a sparkof hope. The grouchy Neji needed a friend, and if he was willing to tutor her, and even suggest that becoming a Kunoichi was her destiny, then maybe he had forgiven her for the rock thing. Maybe he was opening up to her. She could be the friend he needed.

Turning to Lee,she offered him a small smile, "Hey, Lee-kun, I still want you to help too, okay?"

"Of course!" Lee grinned at her enthusiastically. Somehow, she couldnt help thinking he and Gai would get along well.

When classes had ended for the day Tenten made her way toward the exit. Lee had headed out a little bit before her, since she had stayed behind to discuss her need to catch up with Iruka. As she walked she thought about the conversation. Her sensei had confirmed that Neji had offered to tutor her, pending his uncle's approval. It seemed in the powerful clans such family heirarchies weren't uncommon, and in the Hyuuga it was taken very seriously. Iruka had also okayed her working with Lee when able, suggesting that they use the school. He said it might be good for Lee too. She hoped so, if she could help her friend that would be great.

Over all the day had gone well, aside from her frustrations from being behind. She'd met a couple girls she could befriend, though mostly she had spent her time with Lee. She was running through the events of the day in her mind; from her difficlulties in sparring and failures in attempting basic jutsu, to her managing to impress classmateswith pre-existing knowledge of weapons and a fair score during target practice.

Eventually she arrived at the gate to the schoolyard, spotting Neji still standing there with his uncle and cousin. Slowing to a halt, she blinked at the multiple sets of unervilngly pale eyes focused on her.

"You kept us waiting," Hiashi spoke blandly, "It is rude to be late whensomeone is offering you their services, particularly if they invite you into their home."

"Wha?" Tenten blinked, glancing at Neji who tore his gaze away and to the side.

He really hadn't intended for the tutoring sessions to begin today. However, when he told his uncle about his offer to the new student, the clan head hadn't exactly been thrilled at first. After some back and forth, they came to see eye to eye, and Hiashi insisted that the sooner this tutoring began, the better, and so they had stuck around to wait for her. Soon all the other students had left, except Tenten. It began to feel slightly embarrassing just standing there, espcially when the last few girls streaming out began to giggle and gossip about just why the Hyuuga might be waiting.

"Neji explained to me what he volunteered to do," Hiashi spoke briskly, " It doesn't seem unreasonable. You will come to the Hyuuga compound with us after classes and catch up on your studies. I will have adult clan members in the room, or courtyard depending on where you are studying, to see that things go smoothly, and to escort you back to the orphanage when the tutoring sessions are complete. I should think two hours each day should be sufficient to begin with."

Neji continued to avoid Tenten's gaze as she tried to look between her classmate and the adult. The prodigy was feeling awkward. The way his uncle spoke made it sound like they needed adult chaperones. He may have been a child, but he was smart enough to know why boys and girls needed chaperones, and there would be none of that going on! He had zero interest in the bratty girl, that was certain. Her only use was helping him to close his blind spot. Their fates would split ways after that.

Tenten had no such thoughts running through her head. Her mind reasoned that the adults were needed to keep them from breaking into arguments. After all, the Hyuuga boy was wounded and lashed out and might try to start something. Her main concern was that she had no idea this was all supposed to start today, and now she was being lectured on being late, and told in no uncertain terms what would be happening as though she had no imput.

"Hyuuga-san, sir?" She piped up, trying to sound respectful yet voice her point as straightforwardly as possible, "When Neji-kun said he was planning to tutor me, I didn't know we would start today. I thought talking to you meant starting tomorrow...and I need to let the orphanage know I'll be gone longer..."

"I cansend them a message," Hiashi waved off her concern about notifying the orphanage, "And if my nephewfailed to roperly communicate, that is his fault, not mine."

"But he didn't!" Tenten defended, "Who said I was coming today? Him, or you?"

Her little hands were on her hips, and Neji's breath caught in his throat. Talking to his uncle like that was dangerous, as far as he was concerned. This may have just, at the very least, just cost herself an opportunity to be tutored. From behind Hiashi, a young girl stared at the ground with wide, pale eyes, her hands gripping her kimono tightly as she seemed to tremble.

"Your point is made," Hiashi replied, his eyes narrowed, but holding little true anger. In fact, they seemed almost amused that this child stood up to him, "Neji, Hinata, let's return home. Tenten, you are welcome to join us if your schedule allows for tutoring to begin today. If it does not, expect it to begin tomorrow after the Academy lets out."

"I guess I have time..." Tenten sniffed in confidence after her small victory.

Neji stared at the girl, honestly amazed that his uncle had given so quickly at her argument, then trailed after Hiashi, grabbing his classmate's wrist and dragging her along, "Come on, you better keep up."

Hinata was clinging to the back of her father's robes, walking along in silence. Her pale eyes consistantly glanced back toward her older cousin though. It was rare for him to act in such a way, wasn't it? She found it odd, anyhow.

Now inside the gates of the compound, Tenten couldn't help but marvel at how emmense the property was. Full of houses and fair skinned, pale eyed individuals that seemed to stretch on endlessly! She could get lost in a maze like this! And so many of the people had the same bandages Neji did wrapped around their forheads. It seamed odd to her that these shinobi family members should all be so clumsy as to have injured the exact same place.

In the room where she and Neji currently sat studying were two adult Hyuuga, monitoring them with eerily pale gazes, both their foreheads wrapped, though somewhat hidden behind shinobi forehead protectors. It made Tenten suddenly uneasy, as though she was being kept under watch. Neji knew that the reality was just that. In order to invite a practical stranger into their home, even a young child, they had to take such precaution. The pretious Head Branch could not be put at risk. Especially with young Hinata-sama and infant Hanabi who were so unable to defend themselves.

"Are you understanding yet?" The prodigy sighed, as he pointed a particular passage of notes he had scrawled out to Tenten for what seemed like the eleventh time.

"Wha?!" The bbun haired girl blinked and turned her face toward him, eyes wide as she appeared to snap out of some daydream.

Annoyance was readily readable on Neji's features, a small vein in his temple seeming to pulse with a throbbing migraine he was developing, "You aren't even paying attention..."

"Sorry," She answered with a pout and a slight whine to her voice, "It's just..."

Her eyes darted to the men standing watch once more and she shifted uncomfortably, her voice dropping to a murmur, "Maybe because they're family you don't notice...but those guys are giving me the creeps...'

"Hmm?" With a bored expression Neji looked to his distant relatives that lingered by the door, raising a brow. Playing along with Tenten's whispering game her muttered back, "I don't see why...they are only standing there."

"Standing and staring!" Tenten hissed with a shudder, "Why are we under guard?I can't pay attention with them watching me all the time!"

With that she folded her arms on the table, pouted, and flopped her head down over their lesson material. This left Neji blinking in confusion over her dramatics. His pallid gaze locked onto Tenten, trying to make sense of her complaints. After all, they were studying. It wasn't as though the guards were interfering.

"Sit up and get back towork." He protested firmly, "You have another hour and a half to go!"

"But I can't think straight!" Tenten whined, not budging.

Neji scowled, "Neither of us can study if you're drooling on the materials!"

"I don't drool!" Tenten sat up long enough to scowl back, then promptly flopped back down. The two Hyuuga branch members watching the students, exchanged a glance as the brunette lifted a finger their way, "Make them go away so I can concentrate!"

"I can't do that, Tenten," Neji ground out through gritted teeth, "Now sit up so that at lest I can study!"

Neji tried to physically force her to sit up, pushing on her shoulder, but she made herself dead weight which resulted in her frame just being jostled, "Noooo! Make them leave so we can study together!"

Though Hyuuga aren't known for their sense of humor, one of the men at the door choked on a chuckle, earning a harsh look from the young Neji. The academy student appeared almost panicked, not used to dealing with this kind of stuff, "Dont just stand there, do something!"

"I'm sorry?" The other guard spoke with a tone Neji didn't like, "You don't give the orders."

Neji let out a growl under his breath. This was not the time for family politics! This girl was being impossible and interfering with his studies!

""Hey," The other guard came to Neji's rescue, "We should probably do something, though. Otherwise this girl is here for another hour and fifteen minutes wasting our time."

"Hmph," The more stuck up guard glared at the girl still sulking at the table, "I guess your right. I'll get Hiashi-sama's instructions, you watch these two."

Neji watched as one of the guards walked out, then turned his eyes back to Tenten. His brow twitched in aggitation. This girl was the most infuriating - no one else could possibly bring out this much emotion in him, and it definitely wasn't a good thing!

The remaining guard walked over to their table, crouching down. Neji eyed him scheptically, what did this guy think he was doing? The Hyuuga monitor put a small smile on his face and spoke, "Hey there, Tenten-chan, was it?"

Tenten lifted her head just enough to peek up at him, but said nothing. Neji had no idea what his relative was thinking, but watched the situation unfold.

"So, I guess we made you feel kind of uncomfortable, huh?" he had figured out just what was going on partway through the interactions, and wanted to try to make things a bit easier on the girl. Revealing her face a bit more Tenten nodded but remained cautious, "Yeah, I can understand that. Having to grown ups just silently watch you must be kind of creepy. But hey, I have a job to do. You want to be a Kunoichi, so you must understand, right?"

Her head lifted fully and Tenten quirked a half smile at the man, even murmuring, "I guess. But why do you have to watch us study?"

"Like I said, it's a job. Family stuff that you probably wouldn't understand at your age." The Branch family man smiled at her. and she offered a skeptical smile back, "How about this, I'll ask Hiashi-sama if Ican always be on Tutor duty, then it's not just random guys watching over you two...I'll be here, and we can be friends."

This seemed to brighten up Tenten's mood. It was different to have friends in the room than guards, "Fine, but friends should know each other's names! You know mine!"

"Hyuuga Hiraku. It's nice to meet you, Tenten," He reached out to pat her head between the buns and she gave a smalllaugh.

"Nice to meet you too, Hiraku-niisan!" As she beamed a smile at her new friend; Neji found himself scowling for some reason.

He assumed he was upset because he had not been able to find a solution to a problem that Hiraku had resolved so simply. Besides, if it was that easy, why hadn't they done something sooner! Precious moments of study had been lost!

"Now that Hiraku-san and Tenten are friends, can we continue to study?" Neji groused, pulling his notes towards himself and jabbing a finger at the section they had been going over, "A Kekki Genkai is a jutsu that..."

The study session continued on, and Hiraku found himself watching with renewed interest. Neji's reaction to his interactions with little Tenten had been very interesting. Wouldn't it be cute if the prodigy had a school yard crush? The older Hyuuga nearly laughed. Given Neji's attitude, the boy wouldn't recognize such a feelingif it bit him in the face! No it was much more likely that Neji just felt upset that he couldn't solve his problem himself.

'Bye, Neji-kun! And thanks for the tutoring!" Tenten gave her classmate a smile and a wave as she walked out the gate of the Hyuuga compound. At her side was none other that Hiraku who had agreed to escort her back to the orphanage.

From the gate, Neji glared at the two a moment before whipping round and stomping off toward his home. He needed sleep to ward off the headache that was forming.

"You seem to be getting off to a good start," Hiraku spoke with a smile, making conversation with the child at his side, "Of course, Neji-kun is an excelent choice for a tutor. He's a prodigy, one of the brightest his age."

"Well, you helped too, Hiraku-niisan! When Neji got confusing, you explained things better..." It was true. Though it only happened a couple times during the two hours they were studying, Hiraku had stepped in to help simplify things, "And you introduced yourself...that made things easier..."

Tenten smiled softly. Not only had Hiraku introduced himself; but a short while later, when the other guard had returned with Hiashi, he had explained to them how doing so had helped the situation and allowed for the monitor to stay in the room. As a result, the bun haired girl now new the names of both the Hyuuga monitors. Hiraku and Daisou. While the second may not be as friendly, it still made things a lot less intimidating to know who was watching over her.

"I'm glad to help, Tenten-chan," Hiraku smiled at her, "And I do think you will be a good Kunoichi someday. You might need to work on letting the stares of others distract you though."

Author's Note Two

Adding this as a quick post note edit.

On OC Names: I put two OCs in this chapter at the Hyuuga estate. When picking there names I tried to keep in mind the meaning of other Hyuuga characters' names, and their clan techniques. The canon Naruto to does this a lot, like many anime, it pays attention to names as they relate to character behavior or traits, and can even give hints toward the stories.

For instance in canon the Hyuuga names are:

Hinata = Sunflower, a bloom that grows towards the brightness of the sun. Similarly, this character blossomed while reaching for the brightness of Naruto's character.

Neji = Screw, a reference to the clans rotating techniques perhaps. Or to the fixed nature of fate he believed in, since a screw is a fastening device.

Hanabi = Firecracker, if Hinata is a flower that blossoms reaching for the light, then I think of this name more as a firework, a flower made of light and fire that blooms across the sky.

I didn't look up Hiashi's name, maybe I should have too be thorough.

When I picked names for my OCs the first character to get a name was Hiraku. I thought I wanted an H name that was relevant to the clan or a flower (in reference to Hinata). The second name I wanted a different starting letter, and again floral or technique based. I get my name's from many sources, on of my favorites is behind the name, Google it. It give meanings based on what kanji, katakana, or hiragana you would combine.

Hiraku = Expand, open, support. Those are the three words given in the one definition of the name. I chose it because it did begin with an H so it went with Hinata, Hiashi and Hanabi. The meaning ended up becoming a personal quality instead of clan or flower related. After reading this chapter, you can see why.

Daisou = this takes more explaining, I minced other name parts from Behind the Name. (Dai = Great) and (Sou = Sound of Wind) you can find the characters for each on the site in other names like Daisuke and Souma. The reasoning behind Daisou's name is technique. The Hyuuga techniques can visually remind me of a whirlwind of a storm in general. Those are great (powerful) winds.

For future OCs I'm going to try keeping with themes like this wherever they occur in names. If this not was in anyway enlightening, I'm glad. Even if it was only to tell you more about the OCs.