"Um…Tenten?" Hinata asked timidly as they made their way to the Hokage tower.

"Yeah?" the other girl answered having been pulled from her day dream.

"Well, um…I was just wondering who you were with all this time that I was looking for you," Hinata told her honestly.

"Were you really looking for me that long?" Tenten frowned hating to think that she had been keeping Lady Tsunade waiting for a while.

"Oh, no, it wasn't…that long," the shy girl quickly assured her, " but I was having such a hard time finding you…so I was just wondering…but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" she added suddenly.

"No, it's fine," Tenten said opening the door to the tower, "I was with Kankuro. He's a friend of mine from the Sand Village."

"Oh," Hinata smiled, "sounds nice." They were now approaching the Hokage's office and all conversation between them stopped. They entered the room to find Kiba and Shino already standing in front of Tsunade's desk waiting to begin the briefing.

"Good, you're all here now," Tsunade began looking up from the scroll she was reading when she heard the door open. "You have been chosen to carry out a top secret mission," Tsunade continued. "No one is to know that you have a mission or to see you leave, is that understood?" she asked sternly.

"Yes!" they answered in unison.

"Good, you are to tell your families that you'll be away training, but the mission I am assigning you is an escort mission. Due to negotiations with Suna a weapon needs to be transported from our weapon experimentation facility and make it safely to the Sand Village. I am appointing Tenten team captain on this mission both because she is a weapons specialist and because she has been to the facility before," turning to Tenten she continued, "I would like you to seal the weapon into a scroll and keep it with you at all times. That scroll is never to leave your person until you are in the Kazekage's office in the Sand Village, is that clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am," she replied quickly. She had never been trusted to be team captain on such an important mission before and though she was a little nervous about it she was happy that Tsunade trusted her enough to give her this assignment.

"Oh yes," the blonde ninja added as though she had just remembered something, "The ambassadors from the Sand will be accompanying you on this mission and I am making it part of your mission to make sure that they get back to Suna safely. You have one day to prepare, then you are leaving at dawn the next day. In short your mission is to escort the agreed upon weapon along with the Sand ambassadors and their Kazekage safely back to Suna. Is everything understood?"

"Yes!" they chorused.

"Alright, everyone except for Tenten is dismissed," Tsunade told them. The former team 8 bowed and left, starting up a playful conversation as they closed the door behind them. The Lady Hokage waited for the sounds of their conversation to die out before beckoning Tenten to come closer to her desk. The brown haired girl came closer until she could reach out and touch the edge of Tsunade's desk.

"There is another reason that I chose you for this mission," Tsunade confided speaking in a serious tone, "You know that the Kazekage was admitted to our hospital recently, yes?"

"Yes," replied Tenten unsure of where Tsunade was going with this. "I don't know much about it though," she added honestly.

"Of course, the matter was kept private," Tsunade told her impatiently as though this should have been obvious, "but as team captain there is something else I would like you to help me with. Understand that I want this kept secret from everyone else on the mission, especially the shinobis from Suna."

"Ok," Tenten answered uncertainly.

"Well as you probably know the Kazekage has been in a coma until recently and as a result his chakra flow has been weakened. I don't think this should be a lasting effect, but it'll be at least another week until his body is able to generate the amount of chakra that he is used to having. I have told him all of this of course, but he keeps insisting that he feels fine, which probably means he wouldn't hold back in a fight, "the blonde woman explained while biting her nails, "If he does end up fighting during this mission there is about a 50/50 chance that he'll use up chakra faster than his body can resupply it and this strain could cause him to relapse into a coma again. With all that said I am making it your personal mission to ensure that the Kazekage gets back to Suna without having to engage an enemy. I'm not expecting any trouble on this mission, but I thought it would be wise to tell you this as a precaution. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Tenten replied slightly confused, "but if the Kazekage is having a medical problem that is making him weak wouldn't it make sense to send a medical ninja with us?" Tsunade sighed and rested her chin on her hands which were folded in front of her before answering.

"It would be ideal," she admitted, "but both Shizune and I are needed here, Sakura is gone on a mission, and Ino just barely got back, so there's really no one I can send. Because I can't send someone with your team who will be able to restore the Kazekage's chakra, I am making it your personal mission to ensure that his chakra does not become depleted in the first place. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I understand," the younger shinobi replied.

"Good," Tsunade responded handing her a small folded slip of paper, "This is my order for the weapons facility to release the weapon to you. Just show this to them and everything should go smoothly." Tsunade looked at Tenten trying to remember if there was anything else she needed to tell her and when she was certain she had said everything she needed to the Hokage concluded the meeting.

After Tenten left Tsunade's office she allowed a smile to spread across her face. She was happy to know that Tsunade, who she had looked up to, trusted her enough to make her the captain for a mission as important as this one. She took the slip of paper out of her pocket as she walked and unfolded it to see Shizune's neat handwriting followed by Tsunade's messy signature at the bottom. Suddenly a strong gust of wind ripped the paper from her fingers and sent it soaring high over the busy street. Tenten desperately chased after it knowing that the paper was instructions associated with a top secret mission and if anyone saw it before she grabbed it the entire mission would be compromised. The lithe girl wove between pedestrians racing after the paper as fast as she could. Just when she was about to make a jump for it a large hand reached into the air and claimed the paper. Tenten began to panic. I just have to get it back before anyone reads it, she told herself trying to calm down. When she reached the end of the street she found a large man with dark blonde hair and stubble holding her paper. She noticed that it was still folded and prayed that he hadn't read it.

"Is this yours?" he asked noticing Tenten racing up to him.

"Yeah," she panted studying him to see if he appeared suspicious.

"Here you go," he replied offering her the paper.

Tenten quickly reclaimed the slip of paper before asking "Sorry, but, um, are you from around here? You don't have a ninja headband, but you don't seem to be a villager either."

"Ah, you're very sharp!" the stranger complemented her, "but no need to worry about it I'm just a traveling merchant, so I guess I don't really fit in anywhere. Do I seem like a threat to you?"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry," Tenten quickly apologized feeling guilty for suspecting him.

"That's quite alright," the man replied with a jolly laugh, "just glad I could help." The embarrassed girl turned to make her way home, but for some reason her feet carried her to the Yamanaka's flower shop. The bell attached to the door rang as she opened it to see Ino coming out of the back room.

"Hey there!" Ino greeted her friend.

"Hey Ino, I heard you just got back," Tenten replied.

"Yeah," the blonde sighed, "just got back and right away I get stuck watching the shop while my parents are out."

"That's rough," the other girl sympathized.

"Well, any specific reason you came by?" Ino asked her surprise visitor.

"Actually I wanted to ask a favor," Tenten began hesitantly.

"Yeah?" the blonde asked, intrigued, "What is it?"

"Could you…teach me how to put on makeup?" the brunette girl asked staring at the floor and trying to keep herself from blushing. This request was much more embarrassing than she expected it to be.

"Oh?" Ino replied raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Trying to catch someone's eye? Is it Neji!?" she gushed excitedly, suddenly energetic.

"No, no!" Tenten quickly denied, "I guess you could say that I lost a bet…"

"Well that's boring," her friend replied obviously disappointed, "but I guess I'll help you anyway. I mean I can't turn away someone coming to me for fashion advice, right?"

"Thank you!" Tenten exclaimed gratefully looking up at Ino as a feeling of relief swept through her.

"So I'll come over to your house tomorrow morning at 9, is that ok?" Ino asked taking charge.

"Yeah, that's fine," Tenten replied finally looking up at the other girl.

"No need to be embarrassed about it," Ino assured her noticing her friend's flushed complexion, "Not everyone can be as stylish as me."

"Well thanks again. You've really saved me," Tenten told her before turning to leave.

"Don't mention it! I'll see you tomorrow!" the peppy blonde said before Tenten exited the flower shop. After that little detour Tenten made her way home. She kicked off her shoes after stepping inside and then headed straight for her room where she laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. She wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling right now. The kunoichi felt a little nervous about meeting Kankuro tomorrow when she was all dressed up, but there was also another feeling she couldn't quite identify. Maybe she was excited? Somewhere in the midst of thinking about this she drifted to sleep and was woken the next morning by her mom banging on her door and informing her that her friend was here.

Tenten rolled over in bed and rubbed a hand drowsily across her face. She then forced herself to get out of bed, stepped into her slippers, and headed to the kitchen to greet Ino.

"Hey, Ino," she greeted while stifling a yawn.

"Geez, did you just wake up? That'll only make my job harder," complained the blonde standing in the doorway. "Anyway, help me with this," she commanded handing Tenten a large bag she had been carrying. As Tenten accepted the bag Ino held out to her she noticed that the girl had another large bag slung over her shoulder.

"How much make-up did you bring?!" Tenten asked beginning to feel like she had made a mistake by asking Ino to help her with this. The blonde fashionista was obviously going to enjoy this way too much.

"Oh, it's just the basics really. I hope I brought enough to get the job done though," Ino replied appraising her friend's appearance, "Now, which way to your room?" Tenten took a deep breath to calm herself and lead the way back down the hall to her room and set down the bag beside her bed.

"So what's first?" she asked eager to get this over with.

"First you can go wash your face," Ino instructed. Tenten was a little taken aback, but still obediently did as she was told. After that Ino showed her how to apply foundation and various other forms of make-up like eyeliner and mascara. The thing that Tenten had not bet on was that instead of just applying it for her as she had expected, Ino had insisted that Tenten put her make-up on all by herself which made the process take considerably longer. After about two hours of instruction Tenten had been dressed and her makeup was finished.

"Now all that's left is the hair," Ino told her looking pleased with herself.

"I'll just put it up like I normally do," Tenten suggested hopefully.

"Hmmmmm, I think something a little different would be better," the blonde said brushing her friend's hair into a half pony tail. "There, you're done," Ino informed her beaming, "and you look really pretty! I was a little scared there at the beginning, but it turned out great!" Ignoring Ino's comments, Tenten rose nervously to check her appearance in the bathroom mirror, but stopped thinking that if she didn't look like herself she might chicken out. Instead the brunette thanked Ino for her help and started cleaning up the dozens of little jars and clothes that were strewn everywhere around her room.

"You really do look cute," Ino assured her, breaking the silence, "You might actually think about dolling yourself up more often."

"I don't really have a reason to," Tenten told her shortly.

"Does a girl need a reason to look good?" Ino smiled cleaning up the last of the mess in the room. "Alright, I've done all I can," Ino said grabbing her bags, "the rest is up to you. Go blow that Hyuga boy's mind!"

"I told you I lost a bet," Tenten reminded her trying hard not to raise her voice.

"Oh come on," Ino scoffed," any girl knows saying something like that means you found a guy you like, but you're too embarrassed to talk about it." Tenten could feel her suppressed annoyance swelling up inside her, urging her to let Ino have it, to shout that she wasn't interested in Neji in a romantic way and that Kankuro was just a friend, but she knew she would regret it if she yelled at Ino for prying. After all she didn't even own any makeup and if she tried to put it on all by herself it would probably look worse than Kankuro's kabuki paint. With this in mind the brunette took a deep breath, willed her rage to remain contained, and ushered Ino to the front door.

"Mom, we're going now, I'll see you later," Tenten yelled before exiting and making her way down the street in the direction of the bridge. "Thanks again Ino," she waved as she walked away.

"Let me know how it goes!" Ino shouted back eagerly. Tenten could feel a vein in her temple pulsing with annoyance and frustration which made her unconsciously quicken her pace to distance herself from the source of her annoyance.

"Hey, what took ya so long? I'm the one who's unfamiliar with this village, not you," Kankuro sarcastically reminded her when she had arrived at the bridge.

"Well soooorry," Tenten scowled, "You made me wear makeup, remember? And since I had no idea what I was doing it took me a while." Kankuro scrutinized her appearance taking in her knee length, electric blue Chinese dress, long wavy brown hair and the makeup which perfectly highlighted her features.

"Is it weird?" the girl asked self-consciously, staring at the ground.

"No," he assured her, "You look, um…like a girl."

"Of course I do, I AM a girl!" she spat back, her irritation finally becoming too much for her to contain.

"I just meant that you look more girlish than usual," Kankuro explained scowling.

"Oh," Tenten blushed, "thanks." "Now let's see if you look more human than usual," she gibed looking up at his face. Kankuro looked elsewhere as he allowed her to examine his appearance. Tenten let her eyes wander over his face taking every detail that had previously been hidden by the paint he always wore. She already knew that he was tall, but without the paint his features were much more masculine than she would have guessed. He's totally my type, she thought in awe as she began to feel butterflies tickle her stomach. This was beginning to feel more like a date than she had anticipated.

"So?" Kankuro asked after a few minutes still pretending to be indifferent.

"Yes, I think you look more human…ish," Tenten teased.

Kankuro rolled his eyes before asking, "Did you decide what you want to do today?"

At that moment Tenten's stomach growled loudly reminding her that she had skipped breakfast to play beauty shop with Ino. "Let's go eat first," she replied smiling sheepishly. They walked side by side back into the busier part of town and found the restaurant they had eaten at the previous day.

"You were right," he told her as they sat down, "they don't sell pork buns like this in Suna."

"Then what would you say is the best food Suna has to offer?" she inquired playfully.

"Well we eat a lot of dried meats and noodles because living in the desert those are some of the only things that won't start to expire right away," Kankuro replied matter-of-factly.

"Really? Nothing super yummy that's unique to Suna? That's odd considering how well fed you look," the kunoichi smirked.

"Hey! I'll have you know this is all muscle!" the spiky-haired boy exclaimed defensively while patting his stomach. "Using puppets is incredibly strenuous," he finished almost as if talking to himself.

"Ooh! Will you teach me?!" Tenten petitioned excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

"Um…sure I guess," Kankuro answered taken aback by her enthusiasm. He recalled the festival when they had talked at length about his puppets. Where most people found them creepy and tried to avoid the topic when conversing with him she simply viewed the puppets as another ninja tool she had yet to master. In that way he felt that she understood him better than most people he knew.

"So where are we headed for your ninja puppet training?" Kankuro asked as he finished his last pork bun.

"I know just the place. It's not strictly a training field, but I think it would be just right for this," Tenten answered mysteriously.

"Alright then, lead the way," the puppet master said adjusting the bundle strapped to his back.

At first Kankuro thought she was just leading him back to the training field they had used for their duel the previous day, but just before they would have reached it Tenten turned right and headed into the woods. He followed slightly behind her as she continued deeper into the forest.

"Hey, how far are we going?" he asked as the tree canopy above them continued to become more and more dense.

"We're almost there," Tenten smiled back at him. They walked in silence for a few more minutes before the leader announced that they had arrived. The Suna shinobi looked at the thick trees surrounding them in every direction and noticed targets drawn all over various tree trunks and some wooden panels with targets hanging overhead between the trees. It was set up like an obstacle course and by the looks of it, it had been well used.

"What do you think?" she asked nervously, "I thought the targets could be useful."

"You come here a lot, don't you?" Kankuro questioned her.

"What's wrong with that?!" Tenten countered defensively. Kankuro smiled before removing Crow from his back and unravelling the cloth enshrouding the puppet.

"Ok, first a demonstration," he insisted as the chakra strings snaked from his finger tips and seemed to attach themselves to the wooden figure. The ninja was tempted to leap into the trees and make use of some of the targets, but he thought it would be better to keep it simple for now. Instead he sent Crow in a serpentine pattern around the trees straight ahead of him and finished by making his head fly off and shoot several senbon into the target on the tree trunk. He brought the puppet back and turned to his spectator.

"You wanna try now?" he asked uncertainly.

"My chakra control sucks," Tenten admitted holding onto her elbow absentmindedly.

"It's easy," Kankuro assured her, "come here." She hesitantly approached him until they were standing side by side.

"Ok, you know how you concentrate chakra in your feet to run up trees and walk on water? Just do the same thing, but concentrate the chakra in your fingertips," the puppet master explained. Tenten closed her eyes and did has he instructed. She visualized the chakra building up in her fingertips.

"That's good," Kankuro complimented her when he noticed the blue glow starting to emanate from her fingers, "Now imagine sending that chakra along a string that's tied to your fingers." The kunoichi tried to do as she was told, but even with her eyes closed she could tell that her strings were tiny and the amount of chakra in each string was very uneven and unstable.

"Alright, now I'm gonna try to pass Crow to you," Kankuro announced stepping toward her. Tenten kept her eyes closed so that she could concentrate on maintaining whatever sloppy chakra strings she had managed to create, but then she felt something warm at her back and both of Kankuro's hands on top of hers. The brunette's eyes snapped open and she looked back to find Kankuro directly behind her. It looked almost like he was hugging her from behind.

"Um, why-" she started nervously staring up into his face.

"Don't get excited," he cut her off, "I just thought it would be easier to pass him off this way since you don't know what you're doing." "Now pay attention. You've lost your strings," he scolded bumping her forehead with his chin. Tenten puffed up her cheek indignantly and looked at his hands holding the puppet in front of her.

"Try to send your chakra strings along mine and attach them to Crow," his voice instructed from above her head. The girl took a deep breath, spread her hands wide under his so that their fingers would match up, and tried to focus her chakra once again. If her chakra control had been poor before it was just pathetic now as she tried desperately to concentrate on what he was teaching her and not on how nice it felt for him to be practically holding her. Time after time her thin string of chakra would slither along his until it became too thin and disappeared entirely.

"Let's stop for now," she finally said, exhausted.

"I told you it was tiring," Kankuro smirked at her collecting the puppet and beginning to wrap it up again.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied dismissively sinking to the ground and resting her back against his shins. When her companion moved to sit next to her with his puppet once again strapped to his back she rolled onto her back and laid there breathing deeply.

"I'm not cut out for this," the brown-haired girl stated after a few moments of silence.

"No, you're not," he agreed teasingly, "but you seemed distracted. Day dreaming about your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I was totally day dreaming about my non-existent boyfriend," Tenten replied sarcastically, "Do you really think I'd let something like that distract me?"

"So you're saying that you weren't distracted and you just suck at this," Kankuro concluded.

"Shut up!" Tenten snapped in embarrassment resting a hand over her face.

"Anyway, let's head back," her companion suggested, "You look exhausted and I've got a mission tomorrow."

"Oh, I have a mission too," the kunoichi replied as if just remembering, "but it's still early. I don't wanna just go home right away."

"Well are you up for doing something else?" the boy seated next to her asked raising an eyebrow, "I thought you were tired."

"I know, you can carry me on your back like a puppet," Tenten smiled at him sitting up. Kankuro rolled his eyes in response before standing.

"I know, I know. I was just kidding," the girl sighed. The puppet ninja offered her his hand to help her up, but after she had grabbed it he grinned at her mischievously. He then proceeded to pull her closer before grabbing her and tucking her under his arm like a package. For a moment Tenten was dumbfounded, but when she realized what had just happened she began to flail her limbs.

"Lemme go!" she demanded attempting to smack him with no success.

"I thought you wanted me to carry you," he taunted.

"I was joking! This is embarrassing!" she declared trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"It's not like there's anyone here to see you," he pointed out," now stop struggling like that, you'll just tire yourself out more." Tenten sighed in defeat and relaxed her limbs as Kankuro began to carry her out of the forest. She probably would have argued more if she weren't truly exhausted and secretly a little glad that he was carrying her. Kankuro made her feel unlike any friend she had ever had before. He understood her love for weapons better than most of her friends and had already seen the worst sides of her, yet he was still interested in hanging out with her. The brunette was amazed that they had become friends as quickly as they had, but it also made her happy.

"You're pretty quiet," Kankuro commented in surprise as he made his way back through the trees," Don't go falling asleep on me now."

"I can't help it. You're as soft as a marshmallow," she teased poking his side.

"Don't do that, I'll drop you," Kankuro warned her.

"Ooh, you promise?" Tenten asked as she began to tickle his side. The puppet master's muscles tensed trying not to drop her. He clenched his teeth knowing that if he laughed he would lose his composure completely. Kankuro noticed the trees thinning ahead and sped up realizing they were almost out of the forest. The minute he cleared the last tree and landed safely in the opening he dropped the girl who had been relentlessly tickling him and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought…I was gonna drop you…for a minute there," the boy panted.

"Well that was kinda the idea," Tenten reminded him.

"I know, I know," he replied impatiently, "I just didn't want to drop you at the wrong moment and hurt you again."

Tenten stared at him in surprise for a moment before smiling, "So that's why you got all tense? I thought you were trying to prove that you weren't a marshmallow."

"Heh," Kankuro scoffed, "well I was actually trying not to drop you on your head, not that you made it very easy. I think you deserve a punishment for that."

"What?!" the kunoichi exclaimed in alarm leaping away from him. Her companion was faster than she had anticipated, however, and soon had his arm locked around her neck as he ruffled her hair.

"Hey! Stop, stop!" she commanded kicking the back of his knee as hard as she could from her current position. Both of them were surprised when the puppet ninja actually lost his balance and since his arm was wrapped around her neck Tenten went crashing to the ground along with him. She landed hard on her back forcing the air from her lungs. Her head landed on Kankuro's chest with his arm still draped loosely around her neck. The small girl didn't bother moving from the position she landed in as she took slow deep breaths trying to fill her aching lungs.

"Hey, you ok?" Kankuro asked. Tenten nodded in response as she continued to drink in the moist air until she began to choke on it. She quickly sat up and began to cough violently. The small girl could feel Kankuro's large hand rubbing her back trying to help as much as he could. When she could finally breathe again the Konoha ninja took a deep breath and allowed herself to fall backwards resting the back of her head on Kankuro's chest again.

"Done dying now?" the puppet master asked trying to sound flippant, but Tenten could tell that he was concerned.

Tenten exhaled before answering, "As fun as that was, yes, I think I'm done now."

"Wanna get going then?" he inquired.

"Just a few more minutes," she replied, "I feel really relaxed right now."

"…Just don't fall asleep, ok?" he requested after a short pause.

"Sure," she agreed before closing her eyes and instantly dozing off.

The next thing she knew Tenten could feel someone rapping their fist lightly against her head.

"Hey, Tenten, you in there?" Kankuro called trying to wake the snoozing girl. Tenten blinked slowly and sleepily sat up.

"Sorry," she apologized as she yawned and rubbed her watery eyes, "I think I'm gonna call it a day and head home after all. I've still got a lot of weapons to seal for my mission."

"Good idea," the boy with spiky brown hair agreed, "You can't seem to stay awake anyway, and it's not exactly a pretty sight watching you sleep."

Tenten blushed and stood up, suddenly alert. "Let's get going then," she said walking ahead of him towards the main road trying to hide her face while she could still feel her cheeks burning. She hated to think that he had seen her in such and unattractive position. Wait, we're just friends, she thought, why do I care if he thinks I'm unattractive? Still I should try not to fall asleep on him in the future, she told herself adamantly.

"Something bothering you?" Kankuro asked innocently from where he was walking beside her. Tenten jumped in surprise when she saw him suddenly next to her. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed him catch up to her.

"I'm fine," she sighed before continuing to walk in silence. They walked the rest of the way back to Tenten's house in companionable silence.

"Well I guess this is good bye," Kankuro concluded when they reached her house.

"What?" Tenten asked having been deep in her own thoughts.

"I said good bye because I'm leaving tomorrow. Geez, at least listen when someone is talking to you," he repeated feigning annoyance.

Tenten furrowed her brow and puffed up her cheek indignantly. "Well sooorry," she replied sarcastically.

"Listen," Kankuro began speaking seriously now, "I'm not sure when I'll get to see you again, but I am glad that I met you."

"Yeah, I'm sure hanging out with me was a great way to kill time," she replied a little more coolly than intended.

"It was a great way to spend my time here," he mumbled staring at the ground. "Anyway," he continued looking back at the girl before him, "we've both got missions to prepare for, so see ya." He turned and began to walk away. Tenten watched him go for a few moments and was about to enter her house when out of the corner of her eye she noticed him turn around again.

"Good luck on your mission!" he yelled back to her from a short ways down the street.

"You too!" she smiled and waved back at him. "And you'll be seeing me again a lot sooner than you think," she said to herself smugly.