AN: Massive spoilers for... a few chapters ago. I'm not sure which ones, exactly. Sorry!

NUMBER 83: and

Tenten holds the Bashosen, and everything feels wonderful for a moment.

Like for a moment she might be like Sasuke or Neji or, God, even Sakura. Because for a second it's like she doesn't have to rely on the sheer power of her will and the force of her determination and the razor edges on her steel to become great. There's something else there, a way for her to achieve her dreams, and she can feel her heart soar on the winds the fan creates when she waves it for the very first time.

She's always teetered on the edge of just being good enough, staring across the chasm to where the promised land of greatness lies. There's no denying she's strong and useful and a good kunoichi. Yet it feels like she tries and pushes and strives and she can never grow quite as fast as geniuses like Neji, and the deficit between them just grows larger. Excellence becomes people like him, and she feels like she's wallowing in just-good-enough.

So when she swings it and suddenly she has the power to destroy one of Kazuku's hearts, it's no wonder she suddenly feels as if she's become something great.

And in another ten minutes she's on the ground with the Bashosen somewhere separate from her, feeling like she's about to die and eating the dust and debris of the battlefield, and she can't help but feel a little resentful. Because when Neji figured out the Kaiten, the caged bird seal wasn't activated on him until he could no longer use the technique. Because when Sasuke first learned to activate the Sharingan, no one tore his eyes from their sockets. Because no one tried to keep Tsunade from teaching Sakura.

And sometimes that's just the way things are.