Date: December 17, 2009

Pairing: Shikamaru/Tenten

She knew from the beginning she had to get out. From far too young an age, she was out on missions, murdering so many who didn't deserve it and even then, far too many who did. She'd slept with a knife under her pillow from the day she graduated, ; she had been no older than twelve and she was a fighter. Gai held them back (thank god for that) but the chunin exams only pushed them farther off the cliff.

He'd always said that it wasn't worth it. Too much pressure, too much blood; Kakashi was just another shinobi screwed forever by a broken system. He always swore he'd keep it low rank, but damn it, he'd broken that promise. Two weeks into his ANBU stint, he was paired with another female operative, one with buns in her hair and a variety of knives on her belt. She didn't talk much, and he never even got her full name, but something about her seemed so familiar to him…

The mission went exactly as planned, down to a T. It was brilliant, how simple it was. She didn't even flinch as she drove that dagger into him. She was almost a machine, built to kill and designed to make it quick. He didn't shutter like he used to when the blood started to flow, didn't shutter when they carried the corpse off, not even a little.

He finally takes off his mask, even though he knows that he shouldn't, mostly because she's taken hers off too. Her hair is down, and she's made a costume change, but he recognizes her. The last time he saw her she was unconscious and barely breathing, perched atop Temari's fan. He remembers now. She's from Team Gai. She's Tenten.