Uzumaki Naruto nearly brought down the door with his fist as he banged. "No fair, it's not fair, you never let me take the first turn!" he shouted angrily, a bright orange beacon in the dark hallway.

"If you wake up before me you can take the first turn," laughed his surrogate sister over the draining bath water. "I'm going on a mission today so I want to get as clean as possible before I go. I still have ink all over my hands."

"Will you be home in time for my graduation from the Academy?" Naruto asked anxiously, pressing his ear against the door, trying to disguise the worry in his high-pitched voice with carelessness.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for anything!" After a few clangs and the burbling of the bath emptying, Uzumaki Tenten stepped out of the bath, forehead protector tied tightly and the left side of her wet hair already tied up in one half of her usual hairstyle. "It's only a class D mission; we're just delivering a message scroll to a blacksmith in one of the nearby towns." Tightening the towel around her armpit, she tied up the other side of her hair with quick, practiced skill.

"I guess this means you won't have time to make breakfast…" Naruto sighed, looking crushed. "When will you be back?"

"Tomorrow morning at the absolute latest." Tenten promised the almost-shinobi. Team Gai was the quickest squad excluding ANBU. "I can't wait to find out who is on your team. Hey, maybe you'll be with the Hyuuga girl!" she teased. "We'd each have a Byakugan on our team."

"Tenten … Do really you think I'll pass this time?" Naruto asked, wanting to hear her support.

"Of course you will!" Tenten shouted in a remarkable impression of her sensei's boisterousness, giving him a cheerful thumbs-up, trying to emulate his 'Nice Guy!' pose.

At her confirmation, Naruto's eyes lit up. "That's right, believe it! Dattebayo!"

Packing up, after extracting a promise that Naruto would remember to go through the refrigerator and throw out anything old, Tenten packed up and got ready to meet her team at the main gates of Konohagakure. The sky was a bright azure, and she felt cheerful and filled with optimism as she passed the opening shops and waving citizens.

A raincloud hovered over the sunshine of her day, though. She was late, she realized gloomily, as Gai began shouting at her before she could even see him. Distantly, she heard the accusation 'squandering youth!' and sighed.

Lee had recently cut his hair like Gai's and along with his matching green jump suit, was a mini-Gai. It was humiliating to be seen with them, but it could be funny at times. Like when Neji had been offered a matching jumpsuit. Spying him, she felt her shoulders sag with quick relief. At least she had Neji – the only sane member on the team- to rely on when the other two went on a tangent.

She hoped Naruto wouldn't do anything foolish while she was gone – he had a habit to executing his worst pranks when she was away. Iruka-sensei had often dragged Naruto home by the ear, scolding both of them.

"Sensei! Can we go faster?" Lee questioned eagerly, eyes bright, to Tenten's dismay. "We can get there in only half the time!"

He really was taking after their sensei.

Shortening the time did appeal to her, but knowing these two, they'd probably end up in a group exercise or something.

"Sure thing, Lee!" Gai flashed a smile and a thumbs-up at Lee, who was quickly becoming his protégé and decided: "We can all train together!"

"Oh, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Unlike her cousin, more of an adopted brother than anything, Tenten's best skill was her teamwork. She could work well with Neji or with Lee, and that made her an invaluable team member. Genin teams were often comprised to support one another, for balance. Lee, who had barely passed, was balanced by the prodigy, and she, although lacking in strength and stamina, she was easily smarter and faster than the other two. Despite half of Team Gai being insane, they were well-balanced.

And ever since she'd discovered her penchant for fuinjutsu, she'd become an asset – backup, which riled her, but essential to the inner functioning of the team.

"Neji, my eternal rival, would you mind sparring with me after this mission?" Lee requested politely. Tenten grinned. The sight of lanky Lee in his green jumpsuit, newfound muscles undulating beneath the – quite unfortunately – skintight fabric, and his shouting was one of the best parts of having him on the team. He reminded her more than a little of Naruto.

She could sense the annoyance rolling off of Neji as he glanced back, pale, seemingly sightless eyes targeted at him with annoyance. "Certainly, Lee, if there is time." Neji was like an ANBU member – silent, only offering necessary information, and deadly. Well – deadly for a genin.

Stifling her amusement, she compared it to Gai-sensei and Kakashi. The jounin who Gai seemed so competitive towards hardly acknowledged him… exactly like Lee and Neji.

Frowning, she wondered about Naruto's team. Would he get someone like Nara Shikamaru? Perhaps… it was too hard to tell, and she only knew a handful of the Academy kids this year. There were a few that Naruto had spoken about, and some of the clans had students – but who would pass?

Team Gai sped up, delivered the scroll without a hitch, and left – but not before Tenten managed to pick up a kunai that had caught her eye. Maybe if Naruto passed his exam, she could give this to him as a congratulations present. If not, she'd simply give it to him as a surprise. The sleek design caught her eye, and she wanted it for herself, but she was beginning quite a collection.

Tenten carved her own poles, collected senbons, molded her own spears, and bargained for hours with shopkeepers until she got the best possible prices. Thinking about finishing more scrolls back home, she was occupied and hardly noticed the distance it was going to take to return back to the village. Mostly tuning out the chatter between Lee and Gai, she kept pace with Neji, falling into his silence.

It was nice, how silence almost seemed to emanate from him, absorbing all sound, keeping away any migraine she'd get from the two Green Beasts of Konoha. Living with Naruto didn't make it any easier either. Neji was a breath of fresh air – a tree that breathed in chaos and exhaled peace. Of course, she knew as well as the rest of the team that within his head, there was as little peace as could be found on the team, but his merciless self-control and calm set off a convincing illusion.

The forest slowly became more familiar, but as night fell, Tenten realized that unless Gai decided to triple their pace, they'd have to stop for camp. It was nearly midnight now.

After a few more minutes, Gai conceded, as if she'd spoken and he'd heard.

"We don't want to cripple the blossoms of your youth!" he announced. "We'll stop here for the night. I didn't realize it would take so long."

"If only we had tripled the pace instead of merely doubling it!" Lee sighed. "I did not bring a sleeping pack! To forgive myself for this folly, I shall do five—"

"You can use mine, Lee. If this were a real mission, one of us would have to stand guard. I'll do it." she smiled at Lee, and Gai wept with joy at her kindness and her practicality. The smile quickly became forced.

"Wake me next," Neji told her curtly. "Give me two hours or so to rest."

He unrolled his bag next to where she sat, and the warm weather meant they had no need for a fire. Lee immediately fell asleep in her blanket, as enthusiastically as he had been running hardly two minutes before. Gai was the same as Lee – but slept on the ground rather than in a bag. If Lee had noticed, he likely would've done the same.

Toying with the new kunai, she waited for her lookout to be over. Tenten often had trouble sleeping, so taking the first watch was no problem. After a while, though, she noticed Neji watching her.

"What?" she asked, self-conscious, his gaze seeming to pierce her. She may have a talent for weapons, but his eyes were much more fatal than her arm.

"You should've woken me an hour ago," he chided. "It's nearly three AM and you've gotten no rest yet."

"Nah…" She put away the kunai and curled up, hanging an arm off her knee. "You can go back to sleep. I don't think I'll get to bed tonight."

Sitting up, he eyed her, his wide, blank eyes focused on her. When they had first become a team, she'd hardly been able to tell where his gaze concentrated – his eyes had been almost frightening in their wide, blank intensity. Now, because of his power, they seemed almost comforting, it an austere, Neji-like manner.

"Tenten, go to sleep." He was stern. It wasn't concern – Neji didn't have time for things like emotions. He was utterly pragmatic, to the point where he could even be fussy.

"No, I mean, I can't. I won't fall asleep. So I might as well let you guys all sleep. Besides, Lee's under my blanket – and I'm not sharing." She smiled at him, hardly able to see in the darkness. The overhanging boughs made even the moonlight elusive. Insects cooed.

He did not return her smile. "Get beneath my blanket and at least try to rest. If you cannot sleep, you can take over at four. Likely Gai will have us running before the sun anyway."

She realized he was being kind, and appreciated his gesture. Hyuuga Neji was not a gentleman, so his actions were almost poignant. Gallant, even. Although the idea of ever telling him so would probably embarrass him. So she let her eyes twinkle. "How chivalrous."

"Hn." He grunted at her. She curled down the warmth he had left on the blanket and her mind continued to wander while he meditated in silence.

After what seemed like five minutes to Tenten, Neji grunted. "Are you sleeping yet?"

"What? It's been hardly a minute."

"It's been two hours."

He was right, she realized. The darkness seemed just the slightest bit less oppressive, and she could almost make out his features. Time passed differently in the quiet darkness. She was used to the steadiness of Naruto's snore, unhindered by thin walls and doors.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"Not particularly." He answered, not looking at her.

Sitting up, she watched the steady fall of Gai and Lee's chests – perfectly synchronized even in sleep. She giggled. "Today, my cousin is taking the Academy graduation exam," she confided.

"Naruto?" he asked, noncommittal.

She nodded. "He's already tried twice… I hope he gets it." She felt comfortable enough around the Hyuuga to confess this to him. She was worried about him. Naruto was determined, but so far, his skills as a shinobi weren't shining through yet. What he put his mind to, he got done, but if his interest wavered…

"If his skills are at all similar to yours, I am sure he will be fine." Neji's offhand compliment struck her with pleasure. She was no genius – and he knew it as well as she-, and she didn't devote hours of each day to nothing but training like Lee, but she knew was a decent genin by this point.

Hearing Neji of all people praise her was wonderful, and beyond flattering. She'd never have to worry if he was just being nice – because Neji was a lot of things, and nice wasn't even close to being one of them. She wasn't like Lee, either – stumbling upon her talent had been pure luck, rather than a gift of birth or dedication. Her desire to be like Tsunade had nearly been fruitless – until she'd learned she had not only a talent for summoning, but any weapon was putty in her hands, falling in place with little effort.

She wasn't a genius. His taijutsu was excellent with little practice, his ninjutsu pretty advanced partially due to his kekkei genkai, and even his genjutsu was pretty good for a genin. He was smart, strong, and fast. He was probably the best-rounded of the three, especially since Lee only had his taijutsu. She wasn't a slouch of a genin, but her skills weren't as diverse as Neji's, or as specific as Lee's.

"Thanks." She answered, suddenly feeling great. The two Green Beasts stirred. After hardly a beat, Gai shot up and stretched.

"Good morning! How did you two sleep! Who took watch? It wasn't too long of a watch. I remember once, Kakashi and I—"

"Tenten and I split it." Neji answered concisely.

Already distracted, Gai turned to the still-sleeping Lee. "Wake up!" he shook his favorite student rigorously. "Lee! It's only two hours until sunrise!"

Lee shot up, nearly smashing his forehead into Gai's. "Are we going to race the sun back to Konohagakure?" he demanded eagerly.

Tenten wanted to groan as Gai's eyes lit up. Despite not having slept, she still wasn't a morning person. Neji seemed to silently share this sentiment. At least he wasn't outright brooding yet.

"I'm not feeling youthful enough for that," she tried to dissuade them, but Gai shook his finger at her.

"Tenten, your youth must see the sun to blossom!"

"The sun isn't even up yet," she groaned. Neji easily stood and prepared to keep pace behind the tag-team, and Tenten shot him a glare that clearly told him he was giving in too easily.

The four of them leapt silently through the trees, Gai and Lee behaving as though they'd been wide away for hours instead of minutes. It tired her out just watching.

They did indeed make it back to the town just before sunrise, Lee exclaiming in victory. Trying and failing to look stern and disciplined, Tenten hurried hope, wondering what Naruto had done in her absence.

Silently, she unlocked the door, half expecting to see a dozen instant ramen packages all over the floor, staining her piles of fortune-telling cards, Naruto sprawled between them. When the floor looked to be clean, she sighed in relief. Less for her to clean up later. Idly, she wondered if he had cleaned the refrigerator. Somehow she doubted it. For her, the day before had passed quickly. Naruto was as easily bored as he was entertained, so a day in his life was constantly unpredictable.

Despite the early morning sunrise beginning to crawl through the windows, Tenten went to bed, cuddling under her blankets, hoping to get a couple minutes of sleep. Maybe she'd meet up with Lee for some training, unless Gai found them another mission.

It felt as though they'd been chasing cats and rescuing the elderly crossing the road for months – it was no wonder the way Gai had them wait for the chuunin exam. If the only kind of mission they could get didn't even require any real jutsu, how did they expect to be ready?

With that on her mind, she slowly fell into a light sleep – limbs twitching, blinking at sudden movements, flinching at Naruto's loud, unceremonious waking and exiting the house, shouting about his exam.

By the time Naruto returned to the small apartment, Tenten was gone, with nothing but a note.

Went to train with Lee. Tell me all about it when we're together. I have a present for you.

She wasn't there to see Naruto's poorly-disguised tears.

x

That night, the door open quietly, and Tenten whirled around, eyeing Naruto furiously.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded furiously, advancing on the smaller Uzumaki. "I got back hours ago and you weren't here. What the hell were you doing? You can't just not tell me where you're going or what—"

Her angry tirade was interrupted with a smug chuckle from the filthy blond. Naruto grinned up at her, the genuine joy and pride on his filthy face freezing her. "You're looking at an official shinobi of Konahagakure! That's right! Uzumaki Naruto, genin!"

Distracted, Tenten cupped her hand to her mouth as Naruto rubbed his neck, looking rather sheepish. "You?..." she breathed, pride blooming in her chest.

"So what about that present you promised me, huh? Is it a graduation present?" he grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet almost frantically, looking as if it were physically impossible to stop.

Laughing, Tenten licked her thumb and began to wipe his dirty cheeks. "No," she teased, holding him tight as he tried to squirm away. "It's a present because I love my otouto."

Somehow his grin got even bigger. "Alright then, can my graduation present be some ramen?"

"No. Stay here, I got this 'specially for you." She darted to grab her pack, her anger gone, in place of only pride for the kid that seemed so young and old at the same time. "Look!"

He grabbed for it, and she held it teasingly over his reach. Jumping in the air, he tried to snatch it, until finally, laughing too hard, she knelt, holding her stomach, and handed him the kunai.

It wasn't anything special – just a regular, if particularly sharp, weapon, with a special design, two prongs forking out from the center. But noticed the shine and knew it was his, the second she saw it. He knew her prowess – she knew weapons. If she considered it to be a present instead of a necessity, then Naruto knew the blade was fine, fine quality.

"Thanks." His tone was soft, trailing, his smile still in place.

Then louder, with bravado and cheer. "Thanks! This will help me on my journey to be the greatest ninja ever! Ha! Uzumaki Naruto! Believe it! The next Hokage, dattebayo!"

"Alright, alright, but tell me about it! How did the exam go?"

"Well… I failed." He giggled. "But it's okay! Iruka-sensei took me out for ramen after I cleaned up the monument so—"

"Cleaned the monument?" she asked, sighing, imagining the talk she'd have with Iruka-sensei next time he spotted her. "Why did Hokage Mountain need to be cleaned, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, as a joke, hey you should've seen it, Ten—"

"Naruto." She fixed him with a glare and he blushed, his face crimson in seconds.

"I, er, painted the Hokage Mountain, y'know, mustaches and stuff… heh."

She groaned. "Naruto… well, if you failed the exam, how on earth did you become genin?" she sighed at his hopelessness. It was hard enough trying to be respectable in the village as it was. For whatever reason, Naruto inspired fear and outright dislike in many of the denizens of Konohagakure. Tenten wasn't too sure why. Although annoying, Naruto was bright, funny, and could even be charming, so the grudges many adults held towards him, and even her, when their association was recognized, bothered her.

"Well, it's kinda complicated…"

"Naruto, please." She sighed into her hand. She wasn't totally ready to play grown-up, but Naruto needed an adult. When they were kids, they'd stayed with the Third pretty often, being babysat by neighbors. Once, a group of genin had watched them, and it had been a C rank mission. The implications rankled a little bit. Now that they were both old enough to fend for themselves, it was like they were invisible. Tenten at least had Team Gai, but Naruto really only had her, and a group of acquaintances at school. She knew he hung out with Chouji, the Nara boy, and Inuzuka Kiba, but they'd never been over.

She knew, better than anyone, how lonely her otouto was.

Beginning to act out the movements, he started dramatically, already yelling: "Well, so I failed the bunshin no jutsu, again, so Iruka-sensei said he had to fail me, but Mizuki-sensei said he had this trick, that if I took this scroll and learned the jutsu, they'd have to promote me! But everyone was looking for me!"

Tenten had heard shouting, but since the area they lived in was filled with both shinobi and young children, hadn't paid particular attention – too worried about Naruto to notice.

"So I only got to learn one jutsu, and when Iruka-sensei came, he started yelling at me. I guessed he was impressed with me, heh." Naruto flashed a smug grin. "But then it turns out Mizuki-sensei had me steal it! I wasn't allowed to read it. And then he tried to hurt Iruka-sensei, so I used my new jutsu! They talked a lot but I kind of ignored it. I was mostly sc—angry that he'd hurt my sensei. So I defeated him! I'm a real ninja!"

Tenten looked at Naruto and her heart broke, just a small bit, watching him. She knew him better than anyone, and felt deeply the cold and unfazed façade he wore. It wounded her, to see him like this. Whatever Mizuki had told him, it had obviously scared or hurt her brother. So she let him continue on.

"Anyhow, so after I used the jutsu, Iruka-sensei was so impressed that I could do it, he made me a genin! I get my team and my… Tenten?"

"Yes?" she asked softly, feeling a quick, debilitating barrage of emotions. Nobody knew how he felt better than she – and nobody could ever feel worse about it.

"Iruka-sensei said I couldn't wear a forehead protector until I became a shinobi… since I'm a genin now, can I wear your forehead protector? Please?"

Tenten often forgot to take off her hitai-ate until after she had been in bed. She touched it, and smiled. "Sure, Naruto, c'mere." Untying the tight knot, she placed the warm cloth around his forehead, spinning him around so she could tie it herself.

"No, let me." he took the ties and knotted it himself. "He he… look at me!"

Jumping around he ran to the mirror in the bathroom and shouted at his reflection. "I'm a real shinobi! I'm a ninja, I'm a ninja! Dattebayo! Genin first, Hokage later! Believe it, Tenten!"

"Oh, I do." she smiled at him, her heart feeling far too large for her chest. "I believe you."

x

The next few months passed easily, for Tenten at least. Slowly, her team began completing C rank missions, often with unparalleled success. Only once or twice did things go awry for them. Naruto had the opposite problem.

His team, to his outrage, was with Uchiha Sasuke, who, even Tenten could admit, rivaled Neji in inborn talent and ability. While Neji was their year's rookie to see, Uchiha was the one of Naruto's year. He had also seemingly developed a crush on a girl, Haruno Sakura, who, by her absence from the house, did not reciprocate.

Uneventfully, Team Gai prepared them for the chuunin exams. It seemed as though Naruto would wait another year – once, after coming home from a long mission, he'd been beaten bloody. Sighing, unsurprised, she wondered what trouble he'd gotten himself into as he complained about a D rank mission that should've been an A. Shinobi could handle themselves, but the thought of Naruto fighting for his life was painful. He had forced her long ago to swear she'd never interfere with his ninja business. Of course she complied, but with trepidation. He still seemed so young…

He did learn, he informed her, how to channel his chakra. Kakashi-sensei had taught him and his teammates to climb up trees.

"Did you learn to work together?" she asked wryly, comparing his relationship with the Uchiha to Neji and Lee.

"Eh, I guess." Naruto was quiet after that, and she watched him carefully for a few days – wondering what went through his head those rare times when he was silent for more than a few minutes.

So when Naruto announced he was preparing to take the chuunin exam, rather than feeling any pride for his achievements or celebrating his sensei's faith, she felt nothing but a jolt of cold terror that hit her like one of Lee's kicks.

She was outside and running before Naruto even registered her leaving.

x

Bolting, Tenten latched on to the first helper she could find. "Gai-sensei."

She panted out his name with difficulty. Before he began a tirade, she held a hand out, silencing him. "I need to find Kakashi. Where is he?"

Gai, noticing the seriousness, kept his shouting to a minimum. "My eternal rival, eh? Kakashi should be at the memorial site—"

She was there in minutes. The atmosphere surrounding the silent memorial kept her anger from burbling over. Naruto, take place in the exams? He barely knew any jutsu! Why hadn't he told her earlier?

Quietly, easily standing there was Hatake Kakashi. Even seeing him burned her up. What the hell was he thinking?

"Tenten," he answered slowly, not looking at her. The one revealed eye was focused, not on the memorial, but on someone from long ago. The solemnity of his tone nearly quieted her, but she refused to be cowed. Not in this case. This wasn't some stupid game.

"You probably know why I came to find you." The bitterness in Tenten's voice was completely unmasked.

"You think he isn't ready." Kakashi noticed, finally turning towards her.

He was handsome, in a way. His soft gray hair seemed cloudlike, and the narrow jawline beneath his mask added to his allure. Even the scar he rarely showed beneath his protector made him seem more attractive, rather than less. But that had nothing to do with anything, not now. Not ever, because she'd kill him if he went through with this.

"Think?" she demanded. "I know him better than anyone, sensei. It's not even a matter of being ready as –"

"Yes it is, Tenten. Since Gai had your team wait a year – and the Hyuuga boy was ready a long time ago – to prepare you fully, you believe I should do the same. Although, the only reason it takes your notice is because of Naruto. Listen – don't interrupt." He chided her, his voice gentle and serious. "Naruto is much more prepared than you believe him to be. I'm glad you haven't been able to train with him lately, because when you see his performance, it will surprise you. He may not be a particularly well-rounded ninja, such as yourself or Hyuuga, but compare him to your teammate, Lee."

She waited patiently for the part where he'd actually succeed in convincing her.

"Beyond anything, this experience, pass or fail, will be good for him. He's impetuous, as you well know, and pigheaded. This exam will teach him how to survive in a life or death situation. It will teach him to work with his team, to face things out, rather than pummel them, and to never underestimate his opponent. And if he passes… excellent. If not, he can always try again."

"Is this supposed to make me think he's prepared? What's the point of having the option to re-take if you die?" she asked scornfully. "Are you really so careless with the lives of your students? I've known for a while to prepare. You've just dropped this bomb!"

"Yes, and no." was all he answered. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Being cryptic wouldn't scare her off. She was on a team with Hyuuga Neji, for Kami's sake.

"Yes, you're killing off Naruto, and no, you think there's a slight chance he'll live?" she scoffed.

"Why not speak to Naruto about this?"

"You know as well as I do that the second you suggested it, he latched on to the idea. He would do it if a shinobi war broke out this second."

"Then why not trust his judgment of what he's capable of. Unless, of course, you don't believe in him." Kakashi's voice was smooth with insinuation.

She sighed, knowing she was defeated in every sense of the word. If she fought on, he'd twist her words. If she asked Naruto not to compete, he'd only be angry at her interference. "Stop that. You should understand why I'm worried about him. Half of what he gets done is pure dumb luck, and the other half is relentless training."

"So what if he isn't naturally gifted? Look at his strengths. Dumb luck is less common than you think. A work ethic like his is as well. He's got stores of chakra that seem near-impossible, and the ability to rapidly recover from anything – exhaustion, chakra depletion, injuries. He's always planning ahead. He may not be a Nara, but he's not as foolhardy as he seems."

When he put it that way, it did seem as though she was being overprotective. "Do you really think that it would be good for him to do it now, instead of waiting?"

The rapidly graying sky fit her mood, she decided. She felt like a rain cloud – gloomy at her loss. What, though, had she truly expected? Like she'd win an argument against Hatake Kakashi. Her anger had gotten the better of her – sometimes she was more like Naruto than she felt willing to admit. Although spending time with the likes of Neji had taught her more control than she'd learned in her first decade of life before she'd been paired with him, she still often took action when none was necessary. Her nosiness and thoughtlessness would get her into trouble sometime.

On a C rank mission, Tenten had attacked a civilian on accident. She thought Neji would never let her live it down, while Gai had forgotten it moments after it occurred. She couldn't even recall a time when Neji had made such an embarrassing mistake. Lee made them daily, but was ever-determined to learn and grow from each experience.

A genius of hard work never let anything keep him down for long, he'd once told her, cheerfully punishing himself. After the time Gai had carried her around the village as a punishment, Lee often tried to do the same to her. Occasionally, she'd let him. But the first time he'd asked Neji, even she had felt like withering away from those eyes.

"I understand your fears, Tenten, but…There is quite a bit you don't know. Perhaps after the exams…" Kakashi hesitated, scratching his chin, searching for words. "Never mind. As you grow older, I think you'll learn things you never expected. The world is much bigger than you'd think."

"I guess you're right." She sighed and walked away before she got bogged down in thought. Maybe she'd train today, perfect her newest fuinjutsu.

It really was a style that suited her, even if it wasn't as neat as Neji's style, or as quick as Lee's, but it was unique, which made her proud. Her genjutsu still wasn't a strong point in her repertoire, but she'd gotten better in the past few months, thanks to the special 'youthful' training regime Gai had put them on in preparation for the exam.

"You're protective, and that is admirable," Kakashi called out as her footsteps got farther away. "But remember, you can't hold him back. He's a shinobi now."

Sure, a real warrior ninja, Tenten thought to herself, gloomily, trying and failing to avoid moping. That stupid 'sexy no jutsu' will definitely defeat all his opponents.

All the same, the niggling doubt in her mind was multiplied tenfold by Kakashi's words… There is much you don't know… what didn't she know? It bothered her for the rest of the day, her worry making sleep even more elusive than usual.

Despite that, she gained faith in Kakashi's judgment when Naruto's team showed up at the exam room the next day.

"Please, let us through." Tenten pushed through the crowd, trying to be polite. She wasn't paying any particular attention to the crowd huddled around the door 301. While Lee sat on the floor, slightly bewildered from the blow he'd received while trying to enter, she stepped forward, trying to reach past the two genin standing in front of the door. Lee had been so quick, she'd hardly seen what just happened. Watching him wipe his mouth, she moved forwards, until a resounding slap echoed, knocking her to her knees.

Damn, she hissed to herself, more embarrassed than in pain. She hadn't been paying attention at all. Neji knelt next to her and smirked at the two shinobi standing before them. The plan was to lay low – which meant her pride would suffer, since she couldn't rip out a scroll and knock them to next week. But something rang funny about the situation. What was she missing? There seemed to be something in the air that made her forget.

But what she did know was that the two before her were not genin. Not only was their aggression obvious, their disguises weren't particularly clever. Izumo and Kotetsu were known troublemakers. The two chuunin were never seen separately.

While one of them gave a lecture on their youth, and because of it, subsequent, inevitably failure – quite the opposite of Gai's gushing – and how chuunin were supposed to be highly skilled, Tenten watched them warily. What was going on here? Why were they here? Was this a test?

"I agree, but I'll be passing through." An arrogant voice broke through the crowd. She squinted through the thinning crowd. Was that Naruto's team? His height made him hard to see, but she thought she saw the bright orange of the track suit he always wore.

Genjutsu, she realized, as the voice continued. "Also, you can remove the genjutsu. I'm going to the third floor."

The realization floored her the second before Naruto's teammate uttered it. How had she missed it? Lee's oblivion was understandable, but for she and Neji both to have been trapped in a simple genjutsu? Ridiculous. They hadn't been paying enough attention – they were too relaxed.

"Sakura, you noticed first, didn't you?" the voice continued, getting closer.

"This is the second floor." A feminine, high-pitched voice finished smugly. Tenten groaned. Was that Naruto's crush? She hoped not. A voice like that would begin to grate on her nerves in no time at all.

Uchiha leapt past her, and the genin shot towards him, but before a fight could begin, Lee was in between the two of them, stopping it. She breathed a sigh of relief. Now was not the time for shinobi dramatics. But Lee getting into the mix didn't help with their supposed anonymity.

Neji agreed. "What happened to the plan?" he asked drolly, his eyes pointedly fixing at Lee. "You're the one who believed we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

But when Lee's eyes alighted on Naruto's teammate, she knew that plan was out the window. Groaning internally, Lee asked her out and swore eternal devotion, to her, Neji's and Naruto's dismay. As expected, he was rejected, and not at all deterred.

"Hey," Neji was distracted from Lee's antics for a second when he noticed the Uchiha – "What's your name?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto seething at not being asked. But Neji knew his name, so it didn't matter. That morning, she had renewed her vow to stay out of Naruto's business during the entire exam, on penalty of buying him ramen for a month.

However, she was also distracted when she noticed Naruto's teammate was totally cute, too, and remarked it to Neji, who ignored her.

If Lee was Naruto, this kid was Neji – only even better. Any attraction she held to Neji flew out the window when she saw how cute the younger boy was. As team seven walked away, with Naruto studiously ignoring Tenten, Lee watched Sakura, looking dazed.

"Come on, what're you doing?" she complained as he followed her. Neji sighed, and the two of them let Lee do as he pleased.

"He's probably going to throw himself at Sakura." Tenten sighed, giggling at the idea. "Just like he does with everything else in life." She could throw herself at the Uchiha and not mind at all if he rejected her – there were other cute boys – but Lee's personality bordered on obsessive.

Stoically, he stared on, but she caught the lightest twitch of his mouth – which, for Neji, was the same as laughter. He was such a nice relief from Lee and Gai, and even Naruto, that she never really minded his silence or brooding. In fact, she hung around him as often as she could. She loved Lee like he was Naruto – but it definitely became overwhelming, fast.

They settled in the classroom, waiting for Lee to show up. What seemed like at least a hundred and fifty genin milled around the classroom, the headbands all naming their villages loudly and proudly. There were at least three different commotions that Tenten ignored studiedly, trying to imitate Neji's cool. She counted headbands instead – Cloud, Rain, Sand, Leaf, Grass, and more.

She wasn't nervous – yet. She wondered where Naruto was. Ignoring everything in the room meant any outbursts coming from the kid were shoved in the back of her mind. Freaking out about him would only cause her to lose focus. She blocked everything out as the proctor appeared and used what were obviously intimidation tactics to terrify them. Successfully, she thought bemusedly.

Morino-sensei explained the test, and she could only see him. Even his testing officers were in the back of her head. Forgetting everything but her team, she focused on a strategy the second the test was handed out.

As she scanned the first nine questions, it hit her. It was beyond obvious. Not even a graduated chuunin could answer these with perfect accuracy – well, a handful could. She could answer most of these. Perhaps Neji could answer some too, but Lee would be hopeless. Perhaps the Nara clan's kid could manage it. She doubted Naruto – but she could only focus on her team right now. Forget the rookies and the others, she told herself. Think about your team.

Completing the questions, she wondered if Neji needed help. Likely his Byakugan was all he needed. So that left Lee – the pattering of pencils and panicking students were nothing to her. Her desk-mates were sweating beside her, their eyes darting around, their fingers twitching and arms shaking.

One team was sent away.

Then another.

Those caught cheating five times were expelled from the exam. Tenten did feel some relief as the group got smaller and smaller.

Finishing the exam, double-checking her answers, with what was likely to be relatively high marks, considering her aptitude for ninja theory, she set up her jutsu.

A mirror appeared on the ceiling, small and subtle, but obviously easily for the ninja to catch – but she knew that this would work. It wasn't about being invisible – it was the exchange of information that was important. Some of the jutsus were even more obvious than her own – a mind-transfer jutsu was obvious when three ninja fell over within five minutes – one genin held a giant eye in his hand.

With her chakra tied against her pencil, she moved it, praying for Lee. Move your headband, make any gesture, she prayed to him. As if he read her mind, Lee tightened his forehead protector and began copying the answers she sent him.

The room was nearly vibrating with chakra. She could sense Neji's Byakugan – so he figured it out. She wondered if Lee was cheating to cheat, or if he understood the point of the test.

Another team was expelled.

Thirteen teams in total.

Lee finished, adjusting his hitai-ate once more. Her jutsu dissipated with a quick gesture.

"Now." Morino-sensei's deep voice rung through the otherwise silent testing room. "Time for the tenth question." All pattering pencils stilled – rather than chakra, tension filled the room now.

Tenten straightened eagerly, and the room stood to attention. Her neighbor's spine wouldn't have been stiffer if it had been steel – she'd seen him perform some sort of jutsu. On the other side of her was an empty chair.

"You must choose whether or not you want to take it."

An uproar burst through the already-stressed genin.

Holding up a gloved hand, he continued. "Because if you do indeed choose to take the final question, and you do not answer correctly, you fail. You may never again take the chuunin selection exam."

There was an even louder uproar. But it quietly quieted down, and a genin from another village raised a hand. At least ten more followed suit, and Tenten watched them leave. She noticed, proudly, that no Leaf Shinobi of her acquaintance left. Naruto was doing well, then, she thought with pleasure. Even he wasn't stupid enough to go on in these kinds of stakes. Which meant he knew what he was doing. She had utter faith in Neji and Lee and Naruto.

Silence fell, a heavy beat of quiet. A pin could've dropped. Another hand raised. Turning slightly, she saw –

Naruto.

Before she could even realize what was happening she began to stand, hoping – she didn't know what she was feeling. She knew he could do this. All of his boisterous talks, his indomitable spirit and –

"Don't underestimate me!" he shouted at their instructor. She stopped in her half-risen position and sank back down, hoping he hadn't noticed. "I don't quit and I don't run!"

Love flew through her, and pride. That was her family. "I'll take it, even if I'm a genin forever! I will become Hokage! I don't care, and I'm not afraid!"

Amused, the instructor smirked at him. "Your life is riding on this decision. It's your last chance."

Naruto huffed. "I don't go back on my word." He returned Morino-sensei's all-knowing grin. "That's my ninja way!"

The aura of the room immediately relaxed. The shinobi who knew Naruto figured that if the number one knuckle-head ninja of Konohagakure could do it, so could they.

The large, scarred man smiled to himself as he surveyed the ninja left in the room. At least half of them were gone. Then he smiled – a real one. "To all of those who remain… congratulations on passing the first exam!"

x

Tenten was dumbstruck. She had at least assumed that while, the point of the test of information spreading, that the correctness of the answers mattered. He explained carefully that it was those who cheated poorly were the ones who failed.

Naruto kept up a constant stream of chatter, and she fought a smile. She focused on the proctor, trying to ignore his antics, while his teammates scolded him.

"At times, information is more important than life." The proctor continued, ignoring Naruto as amusedly as she. "On missions and in the battlefield, there are those who risk their lives to get their hands on it." He untied the scarf around his head, and Tenten blanched. A slight whisper rose up at the sight of his mangled skull, the flesh burnt away in places, melted in lumps, screw-holes close to his skull.

He continued to explain, and Tenten relaxed in her seat, feeling a headache coming on. There was a lot she hadn't grasped – and although the basics had been obvious to her, the point of the lesson had not. Even on this paper test, the concept of life over death hadn't occurred to her – perhaps Lee had, in his enthusiasm, or Neji, in his analytical skill.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted from the back, knocking over his chair. Tenten smothered a laugh, peeking back at her cousin. Before she could even sense the presence, though, as distracted as she was, a figure crashed through the window with the force of a paper bomb.

"This is not a time for celebration!" the voice shouted through the smoke – female. "Mitarashi Anko… The proctor for your second test. Let's go!" a flag strung up behind her, and as the smoke cleared, she saw Morino-sensei reach around and say something with a dry expression.

She blushed slightly, until she noticed the number of genin staring at her impromptu arrival method. "Ibiki!" she gasped, looking disappointed. "You let twenty-six teams pass! How? You must be getting soft. I'm going to cut that at least in half during my exam."

A few murmurs rose up at that proclamation, but they followed her to her examination area. Tenten saw the massive trees rise up twistedly from the ground.

As they stopped, the proctor smirked. "You'll find out soon enough why this is called the Forest of Death." Despite herself, Tenten felt a quaver. Lee shot her thumbs up.

"Huh. You don't scare me!" she heard Naruto's distinctive shout to her left.

There was a scuffle, and the whistling of a kunai. Tenten fought the urge to leap over, but Neji's cool gaze kept her locked in place. Scowling, she read the paper Anko handed out, signing with no qualms.

"We could die during this test." Lee sounded amazed by the prospect.

"It's only a precaution." Tenten soothed him.

Quickly recovering himself, Lee grinned happily. "You are right, Tenten!"

Anko explained the rules: no rules. Fight for the scrolls. Fight for your life. To pass, you needed at least one heaven and one earth. Five days to win, or you were automatically disqualified. If anyone on your team died, you were disqualified. All the morbidity of the test creeped her out, and Lee quickly squeezed her shoulder.

Slowly and privately, each team was given a scroll, and led to their gates. Worry began to ebb away, leaving only room for excitement.

Naruto could do this, she promised herself. And there wasn't even a doubt her team could make it through.

The gates swung open, the rusty slamming of metal against metal, and the three leapt into the thick foliage. It had begun.