It was easy to keep hope, for a day, maybe even three, but two weeks? That's when it got hard.

Tenten supposed that's why she was on the roof of her apartment building, on the fourteenth day of her imprisonment.

It'd been two weeks and she'd hardly made any headway. She wasn't worried about the outside world. From the massive amount of studying she'd done on genjutsu she knew that time within illusions passed much slower than on the outside. To her weeks had passed, but it could have been minutes on the outside.

She was worried about herself, her abilities more accurately. She'd performed the genjutsu release hundreds of times, read through dozens of tomes and consulted every expert she could. Nothing. All her leads led to options she wasn't prepared to take on. She'd done the work, and she knew what she needed to do next, she just couldn't.

It wasn't that she didn't have the will, or the nerve to do what needed to be done, she just wasn't capable.

It was a feeling she'd grown uncomfortably used to. Not being capable. For all her time as a ninja she'd never been the strongest, fastest or flashiest. She'd always just been a middle of the road ninja, average, not a hero.

She knew in her world Naruto had stolen the scroll of sealing before he was even a genin. Itachi had wiped out the Uchiha clan when he was just a kid.

But Tenten wasn't either of them. She was only herself, which had never been a problem before. It just seemed that having the world depending on you, put all of your flaws into a crystal clarity.

With angel like grace, Tenten hefted herself up onto the railing. With utter ease she balanced herself along the thin metal bar, despite the wind whipping her sleeves around. She wanted to be calm, but her heart was pounding in her chest. She looked down to the street below, it may not have been far, but it was deadly enough.

"It isn't real, it isn't real, it isn't real." Tenten held her eyes tight, and tried not to look below. As real as everything looked, it was hard to just throw herself off. She'd never been in a genjutsu so real, so aimless. They always had a point, to scare or to tortue. This place was nothing, it just existed, and as long as it did she was trapped here.

This was the only way.

She felt her own weight heavily on the bar. Just one step and it was over. She'd die in the illusion and awaken in the real world. She was sure, she was so close to being sure.

She'd spoken to Kurenai earlier that day, and suggested it. If you couldn't break yourself out of a Genjutsu with your own chakra, sometimes a great shock would wake you up. In this case, her own death. But Kurenai had warned her, that this method could end up with Tenten dying in the real world. The shock would shut down her brain in both realities… in both worlds.

It was a lie, probably. Tenten didn't remember hearing anything about that in the real world, but she never knew that much to begin with. The Kurenai in this world wasn't a ninja of the leaf village, she was a minion of Madara. She would do anything to keep Tenten in this world. Lying about an escape method was certainly within her capabilities.

It was a lie! It had to be.

Tenten stared down at the ground below, her heart still pounding. The height wasn't even real, and still her instincts told her that she was in dire danger. But it was a lie.

This whole world was.

It had to be, everything just felt so wrong.

And yet.

Below her the villagers and Ninjas of her home town went about their business as they always had. Just the way she remembered them. Picture perfect almost. So exact, not hazy, or serene, this place felt like a world, her world.

"It's not real. It's not real…" She began chanting it with confidence but as her words went on they devolved into sobs, desperate sobs.

Off into the village she could see Sakura and Ino walking together through a crowd. None of them had tried talking to her after the fight with Hinata. Every time she ran into someone they looked away, and quickly went in the other direction. She'd finally got what she wanted, but it didn't feel like a victory. She actually felt bad! She'd hurt their feelings, and somehow she ended up feeling like the bad guy! Illusions didn't have feelings, they didn't feel sad, and yet these people, her friends emoted so genuinely. They hurt, and they bled, and she'd been the one to cut them. The conflict she felt within herself was immense.

She could put an end to it though, she had the power.

One step.

Then she was free.

Free of these fakes, and their illusions.

Just free.

If it was an Illusion, if they were fake, if she was sane, if she didn't die, if the Illusion would even end with her death.

If, if, if.

So much doubt, her heart slowed.

Her heart, and he body grew calm and relaxed. She no longer felt in danger, her instincts were calmed.

Because she was no longer on the ledge.

Tenten didn't jump.

Because, she decided (even for just a moment) that she couldn't be entirely sure this was an Illusion after all.

Xxx

The dumpling house smelled divine, just like the one back home. Even now she couldn't help it marvel at how perfectly recreated everything was. The smell, the taste, the pots of bubbling oil. Even the patrons were the same. Same regulars, same chef, even the strangers who'd she'd never seen before were the same.

The similarities between her world and this one disgusted her, but today they did not. She felt alone, and the dumplings tasted like home. Comfort food, for a heart in sore need.

She must have looked like she was in need of this moment. Which was annoying, she didn't want to look as bad as she felt. Sad, tired, hopeless, nothing that she wanted to show to the outside word, and yet.

"Excuse me Miss." Standing across from her, was a man. Not young not old, neither handsome nor ugly. He was generic, but had sharp kind eyes, and a wide cat like smile. He wore a rice paddy hat, even indoors, and carried on his back a backpack that looked like it was weighed down heavily. "You're the girl that was arguing with those ninjas the other day aren't you?" He waggled his finger in a friendly, and recognizing way.

Tenten wanted to blush, and hide herself away. Even if these people weren't real, she didn't want anyone to see her flying off the handle like she had. Especially in public, it was trashy. She slide and sunk into her chair. "Yeah that was me."

He tutted, and gave a gentleish smile. "Are you always in a bad mood, or is this an unusual thing for you?"

For that, Tenten wanted to smack him, but she was in too bad of a mood to even bother. "It's a recent thing." She was usually a cheerful person.

With a nod from his wide hat, he sat down across from her, and for once Tenten relished the company. Talking to a complete stranger was a lot easier than talking to the clones of her friends. "What happened?"

Boy oh boy, what a loaded question. Tenten was having a heck of a time trying to figure out that same thing. "I'm trying to find a way to break a genjutsu placed by a stronger shinobi, if there even is a way."

The man's eyes brightened, with interest, and maybe even admiration. This sudden surge of information seemed to thrill him, and he leaned forward in his seat. Tenten could hear the sound of pots and pans clattering against the inside of his pack. "You know, I think I've heard something about that."

"Really?" If Tenten was suspicious, you shouldn't blame her.

"Hey don't look so surprised! When you travel around the world, you hear all sorts of things." He took a hand and started fumbling through his pack. "I'm pretty sure I heard something about a Genjutsu master living in the hidden rain village. He's the world's foremost expert on the subject, if the rumors are to be believed." He pulled out from his pack a scroll of rolled up parchment. "Here." He held out the scroll to Tenten. "A map of to The Hidden Rain Village."

"Wow!" Tenten chirped and held the scroll in her hand, what a break! It was so convenient! Too good to be true, even. "But why?"

Now the man's faced turned downcast. A frown folded over his lips, and he sighed. "I guess I just know what it's like to be far away from home."

Xxx Author's notes xxX

A big moment! Tenten starts to doubt if the world is even fake! OR she just decided that killing herself could be a dangerous solution, even then she chose to believe a denizen of the world over her own instincts.

I'm trying to just thrash through the last 15 minutes of the anime, so I can start building my own story!

Shout out to Krazywriter, and who waited TWO YEARS, for the last chapter, and both read it the first day it was out XD. Hopefully it won't be two years until the next chapter.