Breaking Limits

Would you believe me if I told you that I don't know how to touch-type? Sure, I know where the keys are but I hope to master it soon, been hitting the tutorials recently to relearn how to type properly… and I've been binging on One Piece to catch up — sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, here's the chapter. Longest chapter to date, and you're welcome. Courtesy of us, being me and my Beta, Solace Hollow. Reckon he did a nice job. I write in the Queen's English, but he made sure it's nice and suitable for most of you 'mericans. Now brace yourself for my Jamaican —

Disclaimer: Mi rate yuh, Kishimoto. Nuff respec', so big up yuh bloodclaat self.

53.

(Warning: Filler Training)

Tenten Meets The Killer with Too Many Nicknames

The journey to the orphanage wasn't in anyway eventful. Naruto noticed the usual glares from a few civilians from time to time but save for that, his walk was relatively normal. Then again, perhaps it was normal because of the usual level of hatred and bias dispensed out to him.

From where she traipsed behind the Uzumaki, Hyena noticed the ill-favored looks that her master got from the crowds and it displeased her. "Master, perhaps me and my kin should've nested close to Konoha instead of Riyūsu Town. We would've much more trash people to eat."

"I guess so," Naruto replied, "but I think that town is a lot more problematic than Konoha. Lots of messed up bullshit was going on over there when our teams went on a mission there. You killed civvies but we've got ninjas here. We might have ended up killing your family."

"We're more than capable enough to kill ninjas," Hyena stated as if it were a fact, "and each of our six factions outshines them in at least one area. My father and his friends could've killed you and Tenten easily, but my father captured you. Slightly harder to do, but still easy."

That was true, Naruto conceded, as he'd blacked out and anything could've happened to him and his friend while they were unconscious. "Mm-hmm. Your kind staying close to here might've ended up in a human-summon creature war. Now I'm getting excited — you guys are powerful, and I'll probably need your help in the future." He realized that she was also getting dirty looks from the villagers, but he hoped that it wouldn't bother the creature as much. He was in a good mood and was resolved to stay in high spirits.

"Is that where Tenten lives?" Hyena asked as they approached a lone apartment-type looking building at the edge of the residential area. I thought she lived far from your house."

"Nope, not that far. But it was far before," Naruto said thoughtfully, recalling how he had to piggyback-carry Tenten all the way from his former district to this one on his ill-fated birthday years ago. "Not that far now. We really should visit one another, but we don't. We had a fight about the guy that I placed in the orphanage; when she found out that he was a clone of me, and she took offense to it. Back then, I decided that she'd be safer on her own but she confessed that she would've preferred to stay with me. But now, I can't even believe that Masato's dead. I didn't even get any memories… or maybe that's for the best. Is it? But does that mean that Utatane got them? Does he have the memories of everyone he eats? Or does it mean that organic clones don't pass on memories? What if I don't get memories from my brother when they leave me?" the boy rambled.

"You talk too much." The summon creature bounded by a jump to catch up with Naruto who had started walking more briskly. "But back to Tenten. It seems to me that she likes you, and you like her too. You humans sure like to make things complicated; if you two were like my kin, you would have mated with her already and be done with all the problems." Naruto rolled his eyes in response to this, but the creature was not put off. "It'd be the same with the others too. Even Haku."

"Speaking of her, you got something against her?"

"I hate how she's always cleaning after me!" Naruto raised his eyebrow in confusion. "I'm a scavenger. My entire extended family are all scavengers! It's who we are, and what we're all about. Things can get dirty, and you can never stop cleaning. Eventually, I'd clean my own mess… even if I had to eat it. My omelet stain had better be there by the time I get back! The taste in the rug is going to last long, like a cow's hoof."

Naruto blinked. He didn't even remind her that he intended to send her home after he sorted out the summoning problem. "So… you're angry at her because every time she cleans up after you, she's throwing away all of your leftovers?"

"YES!" At the barked response, Naruto wondered if he could explain the ever-present dangers of germs and the need to keep a living space tidy. Then again, she was a summon; he wasn't sure if they got sick. Being scavengers, creatures that had white feces because they ate everything including bones, he wondered if they could get sick. What could he say?

"In the future, you can have your own space. You can keep all of your little treats and leftovers in there. But don't try to make Haku-chan miserable. Ripping up her bedsheets out of spite isn't gonna fly. If you don't treat her right, we're gonna put you outside. We're trying to treat you good, and I don't want you to try to take advantage of that. Got that?"

"Hmph. Fine." They made it to the orphanage in good time, though it wasn't all well. Just as Naruto and his tagalong arrived, someone had just exited the building's front door, almost slamming the door behind her. The woman fumed as she left, and Naruto recognized her as the woman who had been the caretaker of the orphanage that he used to stay in when he was far younger. He had a few vague bitter memories of the woman and she was easily identifiable; her facial features had only gotten aged, but hardly any different. She saw and instantly recognized him. She tried not to make it obvious that she did, whether it was out of shame from before or trying to preserve her current dignity (about whatever was bothering her now), Naruto didn't know.

Their encounter was still in each other's favor.

As they were about to pass one another, Naruto moved to one side to give her a wide berth. "Good morning, ma'am."

"Hey yourself."

Just like that, they pretended not to know one another. They were both prepared to let it go. And yet, the woman didn't allow it. She turned and looked him dead in the face, catching him in the act of glancing at her. "Been hearing some talk from the Inquiry that you can't forget anything."

"Yeah, what of it?" Naruto asked, already knowing where this was going, yet not knowing why.

"Do you remember me?" she asked rashly, as if unafraid of the answer.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked as evenly as he could, trying his best not to sound cross.

"I love children. But I lost mine. On October tenth," she said blankly.

"Sorry." Damn, at least he now knew why she treated him like fucking garbage.

"My mother always used to say that people who were once extremely sick become the best doctors because they know exactly how the sick are feeling, what they need and what they want." She looked down. "I'm not apologizing for what I did to you. In fact, I'm wondering if I should be proud of myself."

Naruto splintered. "How come?" he asked in surprise, his eyebrows nearly lifting off of his face.

"Those kids in there didn't want me. So far as I know, I'm the third caretaker that Hokage-sama has sent to take care of this orphanage, but the children don't want any of us. Hunger strikes, pranks, swearing to do bodily harm, et cetera. You name it, they did it, trying to get rid of us. I don't know why they refuse to allow us to help them. My orphanage suffered and fell apart years ago during the economic recession and only because of that, and some of these same kids used to be in my care up until when it was shut down, so they should know me. I treated them all well, but it's as if they don't remember or care." The woman strangely gazed at Naruto, suddenly unsure if she should make her point or not. She soon defaulted, however, and spoke bluntly. I suppose I treated you 'well' too. A sick person knows how to take care of the sick in the same way that an orphan knows how to take care of orphans. I mistreated the worst orphan and turned him into the 'best' caretaker for orphans. They claim to want to run themselves and if they should get any more caretakers, it has to be you and the girl named Tenten, and they don't want anyone else."

That was true, in a way, Naruto admitted to himself, but this woman must've gone off the deep end. "THAT's why you're wondering if you should be proud of yourself? You've got a messed up way of thinking, lady," Naruto didn't mince his words, "and for the record, I think you oughta get your head checked. But I'll admit you have a point. Now get outta here, and don't come back."

"Take care, you bastard." Turning on her heel, she swiftly made her retreat and was soon gone. Hyena had barely understood what had just transpired, but didn't to mull or pester Naruto about it. She merely hurried him up, telling him that his bigger problem was more urgent.

"I wonder what my father would say after you've put this off for so long." Naruto went blue in the face as he recalled the huge hyena summon whose presence commanded groveling respect and fear and walked a little faster. "That's it. A little more pep in your step. Keep doing that and I'll tell him that you got caught up in some important matters so he won't kill you."

Naruto nodded stiffly. "Please and thanks." He scratched his head in sudden worry, thinking about what the woman had said. "She didn't seem too fussy about me being Kurama's jinchūriki. Maybe she got over it, or it just got really old. Either way, I think I got some cause to worry. The children here would've eventually found out that Masato is my clone, either from rumors that started up from the Inquiry or because Tenten told them." His eyes widened as he got to the large verandah. "I wonder if they know all who and what I am?

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters! They shouldn't want to associate with me or my clones or my brothers, or the villagers will just lump them with me. They'd get ostracized, maybe even lynched when I'm not around to defend them."

"You've made your decisions, and they'll make theirs," Hyena said quietly. It was so uncharacteristic for the young predator to speak so wisely, and it was enough to give the blond some pause. He thought about it just long enough to comprehend what she meant, before nodding tightly to her.

"Alright. Besides, Tenten knows me the best. And she knew what would happen; she can't tell them what I am, anyway, or she'll get executed. I gotta believe that she's got the situation handled, even though these kids have been doing things that we're all going to regret later." Approaching the door, he was about to knock but it was yanked open before he could. Tenten emerged in the doorway and looked at him with nervous interest.

"Oh, hey… hey," she said greeted hesitantly, "what brings you here?"

The boy realized that she must've spotted him earlier, or sensed him, the second being likelier. "See who I've got with me? It's Hyena. Today, we're gonna sort out the summoning situation. You're probably training for the exams, but I'd appreciate your help with this."

"My chakra's not so great for jutsus, so what makes you think that I can summon anything? No way am I just going to waste a day doing something I might not be able to do. I gotta train."

"Sounds like an excuse. Come to think of it… why are you still here? I thought that you were going to move out and find somewhere else to live."

Tenten shrugged. "I changed my mind. See you later." With that, she closed the door abruptly before he could even stop her. On the other side, he could hear the shenanigans transpiring in the interior and was astonished.

'It's just like what that woman said, she's taking care of the kids so that could be why she doesn't want to leave. I guess I could make do without her, but I thought we would be able to hang out-' His thoughts were interrupted by childish screams and squeals on the inside, those of the children asking Tenten if it was 'Naruto' who was outside on the porch. Yes, Tenten was saying, but he's leaving. He was just passing by. It was then that everyone was yelling that they wanted to meet him. "I don't do well with crowds," Naruto mumbled. As he was about to take his leave, the door reopened, and Tenten came out, this time armed with her weapon scrolls and pouches.

"Alright, we're going. It's only been thirty seconds and they're giving me too much attitude so early in the morning."

"That's not the reason why you didn't want to come with me in the first place," Naruto observed, "it's something else. And there's gotta be another reason why you're coming now."

Tenten shrugged her shoulders. "You're perceptive, I guess. There are two reasons, I guess. For starters, your brothers detest me. They think I hate them because they're like Masato."

"And the other reason?"

"I should probably learn how to summon. For the exams, I mean. It's not like I'm using my chakra for much else other than triggering bomb tags."

Naruto replied, "That doesn't sound like the truth."

"Well, since I'm the lie detector here, I get to decide what the truth is," Tenten said slyly as they started walking off with Hyena in tow. "Let's go. You're going to where your Team 13 is?"

"Tenacious Thirteen," Naruto corrected, "and yeah, that's where we're going. I could be in trouble with the summons already so I don't want to go to Training Ground Four, 'cause they probably wouldn't appreciate spawning into a wasteland."

"YOU turned it into that, Bunshin-Daibakuha boy." Tenten's hairs seemed to stand on end for a moment as if she had a mini-panic. "Oh no. Let's hurry up and get outta here." Just as she spoke, the door was yanked open and children started pouring out, yelling as they did. Naruto stopped to look at them, though he wasn't sure if he liked how they looked at him.

"Is that him, Tenten-chan?"

"Is he your boyfriend?" A girl asked eagerly.

"He DOES look like Masato! Hey, could we talk to you for a minute? It's really important."

At this, Tenten grabbed Naruto's hands and tugged on him to hint that he should make haste. "C'mon, Naruto-kun, it'll be bad if they surround you, believe me. They'll ask you an impossible question, one that you shouldn't answer." Tenten's face became downcast. "Please. Let's just go." Naruto hesitated just a little bit longer, wondering what this 'impossible question' business deal was about. Was it hard to answer, like an equation, or some sort of riddle? He didn't dare dawdle anymore, and they started running, before ninja-leaping away.

"HEY!" Hyena bawled as she was left in the throng of children, "Wait for me, you stupid Ningen!"

…

"You've been quiet," Naruto remarked as they tree-hopped through the forest at the edges of the training grounds towards where his team was hiding out.

"We've been fighting, so yeah, this is super awkward. I feel awkward, you feel awkward, my senses make me feel what you feel so then I'll feel twice as bad, and then you'll feel worse from proximity. It's endless feedback. Because of our fight."

Naruto nearly laughed out loud. "No, we weren't fighting. We only had a little disagreement. Friends can have those. I guess it's about Masato, huh? I probably should've stayed at the orphanage with you-"

"Nah, you were right. I've heard what you've gone through on your way back to your apartment. The village reminded you every day that it hates you, and it's now that I understand you stayed away all this time. You didn't want us to get hurt."

"I didn't want YOU to get hurt," Naruto said quietly, "and believe me, I wanted to come over there all the time. Sooner or later, orphans would get adopted or grow up, and I'd have time to join before Masato picked up another kid off the streets. But I didn't come. I couldn't."

"And they all understand that," Tenten said as they continued to tree-hop. Sensing his emotions, she rushed to amend what she said, "I didn't tell them that you've got the Kyūbi in you, but I might've pushed it a little. I told them that you're a jinchūriki. Dumbed it down, but they don't know it's Kurama."

"Well, shit," Naruto sighed heavily. "Hope they can keep their mouth shut, or we're gonna hear about this from the Hokage later."

Tenten nodded. "I did. They won't talk. I guess it's like an unspoken orphan code: what happens at the orphanage stays at the orphanage. They all look up to you now, just because of what Masato was like. They believe that you're just like him, and I didn't tell them that you weren't. 'Cause it's the truth." Finally, they came out into a clearing and spotted what looked like a small camp where the T13 were camping out. Tenten's face soured a bit when she saw the boys and Naruto recalled what she had said earlier regarding them.

"They are clones but they have my blood, so it makes them my brothers. They developed their own personalities, and that's why they're people. I sense that from this Masato affair that you don't think of them as clones anymore. Just act like it, or just come right out and tell them that, and they'll change. If they don't, I'll change their minds."

"It won't be so simple, Naruto-kun. Ever since my ability started developing, it's only gotten stronger. I can sense everything in a town from everyone's paranoia of each other, like a huge network. I can see myself from other people's perspectives. But most importantly, I'm an empath — I can sense other people's emotions." Tenten turned and looked Naruto dead in the eyes. "Even if they say that they don't mind me anymore, their emotions would tell me differently. Since they're clones of the original... if they hate me, it'd just be a reflection of what YOU think. That's what hurts me. To have a bunch of Naruto-kuns tell me that they hate my guts."

Naruto grumbled heatedly to himself. "You're only making a circular logic problem for yourself. We already agreed that they're people. They can make their own choices and decide who they like. You can't please everybody."

"They're based on you!"

"At this point, some of them only LOOK like me but I don't know where some of the outrageous attitudes come from. You said that some of them don't like you; since you believe that they're copies of me, then being the vindictive bastard that I am, you probably said or did something that gave them a reason to." When this was said, Tenten thought of how she'd react to hearing that Masato was a clone and how much she was against the idea and reflected those feelings to others in the t13. However, it was averse to how she now felt and wanted to let them know. Naruto gazed at the girl, wondering what was wrong and scratched his head. He coveted her empathetic sensory ability because then he could properly console her by knowing what her problem was specifically. "Just bear with it, okay? Tenten-chan, you're acting weird. Forget about the kids and the T13 for a second — are YOU doing okay?"

"I'm okay," Tenten muttered. "Let's just get this over with." She looked out into the expansive clearing where the boys were, marveling at how their camp was set up. There were a few large tents, but there were impressions in the low grass to indicate that most if not all preferred to sleep outside. There were assorted installments as well for cooking and washing, and she had to wonder if they were living there since this was all a sort of semi-permanent living space. "Well, this is all pretty useless. Anyone could find them if they made a decent effort. I heard that they're outlawed and wanted for extradition to other countries for outrageous weapons and jutsu thefts and the like, but it's like no one's really pursuing any of them. If that's the case, then why are they hiding out?"

"It's obvious when you're here in the location itself, but it's a great hiding spot," a voice whispered in her ear, making her jump. "Because we still watch out for Ito too, don't you agree?"

Tenten looked around wildly to find the person who had frightened her out of her wits, only to find that it was one of the Naruto's brethren. He was attired much the same in the original outfit, though his sleeves had been ripped off, and he was wearing a large wolf as a headdress; coupled with his feral mask, he posed as a very intimidating character. Furthermore, he seemed to be armed to the teeth with more traditional weapons that shinobis used… most notably of which was a taut-looking compound bow that was strapped to his back and a jōhyō (rope-dart) made with ninja-wire and wrapped around his padded wrist. Finally, one of the strangest things to his features was that his eyes were closed tightly, and only opened them after he realized his faux-pas of scaring her, and pulled down his mask to reveal a falsified smile.

"Oh, my apologies; did I startle you?" he said in his low volume "Well… I suppose my theory was right. You can sense people who are within a field of vision of one another, and stalkers who are looking directly at you. You're blind to those who aren't spotted by anyone or by looking at you and are suppressing their intents and emotions. Not that tall an order, I believe. Said plainly, you can't see people who are hiding with their eyes closed. If I can't see you, you can't see me. A bit like that old damnable proverb, don't you think?"

Tenten thought that he was crazy.

"Just a warning. Your sensory ability can be easily thwarted as I've just demonstrated. It has its weaknesses too, and the more powerful the ability, all the easier for you to rely on it too much. Simple countermeasures can lead to your easy defeat." The girl was seriously wondering if she should turn back and go home, but the boy's strange smile widened, as though trying to assure her that he meant well. While he had Naruto's face, his effort still failed, as if this particular boy was unused to smiling or showing any genuine emotion whatsoever... Tenten was starting to believe that he reminded her of the Naruto who faked his happiness to hide his sadness, but she aggressively pushed away the thought. "Good morning, Tenten-sama. My name's Narkira. The guys call me Fate, Cleaner, Ripper, Heartless, Archer, The Empty — call me whichever you like. I'm the assassin of the group." He held out his hand to shake, which she hesitantly reciprocated, "I heard what you said. We're people, and that comes with having particular likes and dislikes and fair effects; some of us might not particularly care for you, sure, but some of us are in your corner. Remember that, won't you?"

"And which one are you, seeing as you nearly gave me a heart attack?"

He neglected to answer at first because Naruto was staring at him as if trying to read his mind. He settled for a shrug to show nonchalance and made his reply, "Get to know us, and you'll find out. That's what you usually do in the village, isn't it? Get to know people that you'd like to be friends with?" Slowly but surely, Tenten felt herself losing the funk that she had gotten trapped in ever since her empathic abilities had evolved and her falling out with the Tenacious Thirteen members.

"You got a point, err, assassin-san. But why did Naruto make you? Aren't ninjas basically assassins?"

"Traditionally, yes, and we still are. In my opinion, however, we've gone astray by getting louder with our techniques and have all become lax, even doing odd jobs and common chores. Me? I trespass. I steal. I hunt, I murder. I dispose. I'm the reason you sometimes look over your shoulder when you're walking in the street but see no one. I can track and find anyone. Most importantly, most of the people I've killed… no one knows they're dead. Everyone just thinks they're missing. That's who I am."

Tenten took a step away from him, uncomfortable. "Damn, you're edgier than Sasuke. That's entirely unlike Naruto-kun, so where does it come from?" He merely gave her another fake smile before running ahead of her to the rest of the clones in the camp who were starting to fall into line, as if on cue. Spying something strange about the boy, she gestured at him to Naruto and told him her observation. "He just stepped on a dry twig but he made less noise than when I'm walking in the grass. Is he wearing cloth moccasins? He walks even quieter than a grave."

"Yeah, he's spooked me a couple of times before," Naruto admitted. "His codename was Fate in Nami no Kuni. He used a lot of arrows back then, so I guess they ended up calling him 'Archer' too. But this 'The Empty' nickname is new. But I like Ripper. Or is that really too edgy?"

Tenten looked at him, gobsmacked. "Why the hell did he turn out like this? Isn't he based on you?!"

"I dunno, hard bounty hunting, I guess? It's weird and awesome how it roughly took a half year for everyone to grow up into people I barely recognize, even when they're clones." He squinted his eyes as he and Tenten approached the boys, and he loudly announced why he was there with Tenten. "So since Tenten-chan and I already signed their contract, we're just going to start summoning."

"Yeah, a question," one said, "she's got abysmal reserves compared to you, so why don't you do this by yourself? Besides, don't you have us?"

"She's got a right to summon them too; she signed the contract. Even if I end up summoning the most, she'll get to know the ones she meets."

"Sounds to me like you just admitted you're summoning the big ones, and she's summoning the small fry," Narmizu remarked bluntly.

"Mizu, if you don't shut up, I swear to god-"

"We were ALL thinking it!"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SAY IT!" Narken roared as he thumbed open one of his katanas. "You want me to cut your legs off at the knees?! Leave her alone!"

Naruto sighed deeply and looked at Tenten who seemed unfazed by what they were saying. I'd get involved, he thought, but Tenten-chan hasn't said anything. She was the most frank of all the girls, and he knew that anything she felt like saying, she'd tell him instantly. "You guys are killing me. Tenten-chan, meet the masters of the shinobi aspects, T13, aka, my headaches. Headaches, meet Tenten-chan."

Most said 'Hello' back, being the ones who liked her and the ones who didn't care much for animosity anyway, such as Narshokku. "Hi, Tenten! Name's Narburei. Folks call me Psychosis. It fits. We've met before. In case you forget our names, just watch take a hint from our symbolic crests; we all wear them somewhere. Or you can memorize hairstyles. As you can see, a few of us went a little crazy with hair dyes. Err… Except for Narsensa," he said hesitantly, knowing that he was getting glared at by the sensor. "Poor bastard drew short straw with some bad chemicals, so he had to shave off everything. He's a bald pussy." Tenten had neglected to comment that it looked weird seeing so many Naruto's with different hairstyles and other self-inflicted distinguishing marks but didn't dare say it, knowing that the team's sensor was the worst-tempered. That was even more proven when he became incensed and pulled out his baton and nearly knocked Psychosis's head sideways with it. The small meet and greet that Tenten tried to follow up with didn't go so well, and Tenten regretted stepping foot out of the orphanage for the umpteenth time.

"I'm gonna… um… Can we just start the summoning?" Tenten had already walked off to the narrower area of the clearing and Naruto jogged to catch up to her. "Kinda messing me up back there. It's like a melting pot of different emotions back there."

"Oh. But fair enough effort. You're hanging around with them better than expected."

"Haven't said anything to them worthwhile."

"You said SOMETHING. And that's a good start, right?" At that point, Tenten grabbed her head, her face twisting in a pained expression. "What's wrong?"

"You think I'm awkward. I know what you're feeling."

Naruto nervously looked away. Before he could answer, he suddenly shifted — as if disappearing — and in his place was Narkira himself, and his face was plain.

"Excuse me." He turned and waved to Naruto, whom he had ostensibly kawarimi'd with and left behind with the others in the group. "Don't worry, boss!" he called, his low voice barely carrying back to the others as if he was afraid of shouting too loudly, "I'll take care of her."

"What do you mean, 'take care of me'?" the girl balked, her eye twitching uncontrollably.

"It includes more than you realize, Tenten-sama," the boy deadpanned as he watched Naruto wave them on. "He's giving me the 'okay'. Do you know what this means? Your question must've put him off. But not to worry, we'll only take a few hours, and then you'll be back with him by lunchtime."

"And what if I want to go back and join him instead right now? Why would I stay with you?"

"Simple. You were making things awkward. But you won't with me, for one simple reason."

"And what's that?"

"Please do not be offended when I say this, but I mean that I'm like a wall. You won't feel awkward as you've so said. simply because your abilities will not espy my emotions and reveal them to you — I have very little of them, if any. I'm just about the closest thing to normalcy you've had before you've cultivated this ability, and around me, you can speak freely and without discomfort. Perhaps even treat me as a surrogate Naruto until you're ready to face him later. For now, we'll sort through your emotional baggage, and then we'll damage you again."

"DAMAGE ME?!"

"Of course. You're better off accepting that you're broken. You're in a sorry state, trying to make yourself into something you're not, and it's making you miserable. Trying to make yourself think you're strong now? Trying to become 'perfect' to compete with Hinata the Princess? Who knows?"

"And what would you know about that?" Honestly, Tenten was already feeling drained and it wasn't even ten am. "Narkira or Fate or Assassin or Cleaner or Heartrip or whatever the hell you're called, just…"

"Shall we go?" he asked with a soft philosophical air.

She gave up. What else could she do? He did bring up some interesting points, and some time away from being exposed to everyone's emotions would be great right now. "Sure."

…

She slammed her hand down. "Summoning Jutsu!" There was a mini-explosion of smoke and Tenten looked forward to meeting whatever creature she had summoned but she didn't see any. She groaned loudly in disappointment for the umpteenth time before Fate told her to try again. They were in another training ground altogether, with the Higurashi trying to summon a creature from the scavengers. She had already known the hand seals for the summoning, but for the past hour, she'd been unsuccessful. It was perfectly understandable that she'd be pissed off. "You could help, you know! I thought everyone was going to summon!"

"Perhaps we all will, and I shall certainly try. Since the boss's blood is used on the contract, I should be able to summon too. However, I'll only attempt it after you've successfully summoned a creature."

"But why?" Tenten demanded; as she had to know.

"It'll be too distracting. If I fail, you'd have more riding on you to succeed, but if I do it correctly when in some senses where I should've failed, it'll only serve to intimidate you. You won't win anyway."

"You talking to me IS a distraction."

"There are certain kinds of distractions. There is a helpful kind, during which one sometimes figure out solutions to problems that they didn't know they had. Regardless of whether this even happens, I will help you otherwise. Feel free to talk to me. If you don't have any topics, I'll offer them."

"Why'd you swap yourself in with Naruto?" Tenten mumbled as she forced her fingers to bleed a little more before attempting to summon again, only to fail. Obviously, blood wasn't going to be an issue. Or maybe she didn't sign the contract properly? Was penmanship a problem?! There'd be no way to fix it now if that was the problem.

"You were hurting your chances." Fate said simply, breaking her out of her disastrous musings, "by accusing him of something that he was not to be blamed for. From what I understand, you're upset about Masato; you and the children at the orphanage are all questioning why it is that Masato is dead, why Naruto seems unaffected, and the so-called impossible question."

"Nani?! How did you know about that?" Tenten hissed angrily. "Have you been sneaking around the orphanage?"

"I have," he said nonchalantly. "On the roof, and listened at windows. Regardless of how I came to know, the fact is that I KNOW."

"I already hate you," Tenten grumbled as she felt a now too-familiar pang of loss, "I wish it was the team's blacksmith that liked me — could've at least gotten some great weapons. But what do you mean that I was hurting my chances?"

"It's a part of the same reason why he doesn't like you. I'm not allowed to say this, but I'll leak this to you: there are twelve of us brothers, and each of the four girls has three of us backing them."

"And three boys are rooting for each girl to get together with Naruto?" Tenten guessed, "and the rest of the boys basically don't really care for the other girls or outright dislike them?" Fate told her that she caught on quickly, but she merely said that she could sense their emotions. "I already know who else seems to like me, or at least, likes me more than the rest. There was that one guy with three swords, and his hair was black. There was another guy, but he was standoffish as if he didn't like being around anyone. It was the one with this mask-helmet thing and the metal faceplate over his mouth." That particular boy had a lot of pale scars as if from large burns that didn't heal properly where his skin was exposed, and Tenten found it strange. She was aware that the boys had extreme healing factors, which implied that the boy she was describing probably burnt himself through many accidents, or scarred himself through fire on purpose.

"It is fortuitous that you have such powerful allies," Fate said, markedly louder than his usual volume, "and not just the one who's already on the verge of mastering Kenjutsu along with combining it with chakra enhancing techniques. There's also Narkasai."

Tenten felt elated all of a sudden. Fate didn't sound excitable but his speech behavior suggested respect and excitement. "Narkasai sounds like a big deal. What is his power?" she asked as she tried to summon again, only to fail, though was caring less and less about her repeated failures. This topic was getting interesting.

Fate favored her with a grin. "There are five powerhouses among us; they are the ones that practice elemental Ninjutsu," Fate explained, "they are head and shoulders above the rest of us in that regard, and in raw power. Their chakra levels are much larger than ours as well, and this is in considerable part due to their efforts at mastering high-level ninjutsus that require it. Furthermore, they were the five that were specially made for that purpose."

"Specially made?"

"We are all special, understand that, but only in the average sense. Seven of us are more or less the same, and we grew in one study. Mastery of the sword, mastery of taijutsu, mastery of torture and mental attacks, mastery of assassination—" he pointed at himself, "—mastery of medicine, mastery of weapons and traps and mastery of scouting and sensory techniques. We are all proficient in our respective areas. But for those who were meant to specialize in elemental ninjutsu, Kurama took more time and effort to make them. Their cores and network were custom-built and primed for a single affinity, so potent that their jutsus are second-nature… or even MORE than that! Normally, chakra needs to be converted through steps and the usage of hand seals but they can bypass most of those measures. They already have their control almost perfectly down-pat."

"That powerful, huh? Also… you're saying there's a pecking order?" Tenten was already impressed and did a poor job of hiding it, as well as her interest. It was good to know that she was being backed by such a powerful member but told herself to not get too excited as there were five of these members. Chances were that one of the girls probably had more than one. Besides, one of the so-called 'lesser members' whose talents she coveted wasn't in her corner either, that being the weapon's user. What was with that, anyhow?

"There is no pecking order, we can all kill one another if needs be. It's just a matter of how thoroughly one can destroy their target, be it a single enemy or an army. I don't fancy taking on an army. Those five definitely can."

Tenten's hands stopped going through hand seals, having forgotten about summoning. "These five guys sound stronger than Naruto-kun."

"They might be, though if the boss got serious, he could fight them using their weaknesses and his advanced kekkei genkai, I presume. However, the main reason why you should respect Narkasai is because of two reasons: the first being that he is one of two powerhouses whose capabilities aren't limited by his mindset and behavior. The second reason is that he has mastery over fire."

Fire? That was definitely a badass element in her books, as everyone knew how destructive it could be; in fact, she used to dream of incorporating it into her techniques but had to abandon it. "Sounds good, but I can't learn anything from him? What good is having him backing me? I can bet that the other girls would be learning from the rest of the guys, and then I'll probably get my ass kicked all over the stadium soon."

"I'm sure you'll work something out. Now then, please continue to summon. Try, in your case."

"Before that… what do you mean that I was 'hurting my chances'?"

"You were making everything awkward. Do not misunderstand, we three like you for it; a flaw or two helps you to bond with the boss, as he feels that he cannot relate to those who've had 'better' lives, or seem to live without flaws."

"Hinata," Tenten murmured.

"She especially," Fate agreed, "but you were making him feel uncomfortable, even though he was making a conscious effort to negate this. You brought your feelings from the orphanage with you. Even worse, you've already mentioned that something's been going on at the orphanage, and it's making him needlessly concerned. You should tell him what the children have been saying."

"Screw that. That's even worse than whatever bad vibes I've got, but I don't need to put that question on his conscience too. He doesn't deserve that. I don't even have the right to tell him, not after how I reacted about Masato."

"You should tell him and get it over with. He'd appreciate the honesty… hasn't he already done so?" Almost immediately, Tenten thought of the incident in Riyūsu Town and how she nearly botched the date between her crush and Hinata, and his relations with nearly every other female for the rest of his foreseeable life. "You are friends, very good friends. More so, he's trusted you with all of his secrets and you with him. You have nothing to hide. Very good foundations, wouldn't you agree?"

She supposed so.

"Continue trying to summon." He peered closely at her attempts after that, as if seeing something that wasn't quite there, but Tenten chalked that up to her imagination.

…

It was lunchtime. Narsensa had cooked and had already let them all know that they were all an insufferable lot and ought to be poisoned for laughing at his bald head, but the stew was good so they didn't pay him much mind.

"So how's it going so far?"

"Fate's been good to me," Tenten admitted, "even though he creeped me out at first, and smells like he's been making love to a tree. But my summoning has been a huge failure, though. I can't summon anything. I already had a feeling it wouldn't work out, and your brothers have been talking shit about my chakra levels but it sucks that even more knowing that they're right. How about you?"

"Summoned a fair amount of them, I guess," Naruto replied carelessly as if he didn't mind telling her of his success right after she told him of her miserable ineptitude. "I knew it would've been a bit of a longshot for you to summon, so I've been pressuring Doc to take a look at your coils, so you can pass by his tent. Maybe he could do something about it, or even make a chakra pill for you. Who knows, it could be that all you need is a boost. I need all the help I can get, 'cause these summons creatures could number well into the hundreds. Probably thousands since they could have their kids in litters and eggs."

Tenten looked at him sharply. "That's a lie."

"Sure, so I can do this all by myself," Naruto said feebly, disappointed at being caught so easily, "But I don't want to. I wanted to do this with you. Besides, as I've said this before; I'm not summoning them by myself. You've got as much right to summon them as I do; we both got kidnapped and nearly got eaten just to sign that contract. So don't listen to any of their crap about you can or can't do."

"They can talk all they want. Everyone is their own person," Tenten mumbled. "That's what they insist, anyway."

Naruto looked as if he wanted to tell her off, but he tried to be as understanding as always. "What's up with this attitude, Tenten-chan? You've been like this even before you came with me today. Are you in trouble? Any problems you wanna tell me? I'm good for helping you out at any time. You know that." Tenten smiled amicably when she heard this, knowing that he fully meant what he said. "Is this about the orphanage? Are the kids getting antsy and want to leave? Money problems? The villagers giving you a hard time?" He thought a bit, seeing that his rambling questions didn't receive any answers. "I'm betting that it's about Masato and this so-called 'impossible question'. You gonna tell what that's all about?"

She didn't respond, at least, not right away. She thought back to what Narkira had said, that being of their relationship built on nothing but trust and understanding. It was part of the reason why he even forgave her so easily after her bullshit on their multi-team mission. "Should I tell you because we're friends, or should I tell you because it's YOUR orphanage?" the kunoichi queried.

Naruto didn't give it any thought. "Because we're friends, and it's bothering you. And because it's bothering you, it's bothering me. And because it's bothering me, it's bothering the rest of the others. I've been hearing some of them complaining all morning about your moping attitude this and period that." The boy scrunched up his face at the last. "That's not actually the problem is it?"

She knew she was despondent but was it that obvious to others? No wonder that even Team Gai had been treating her so differently of late. She finally gave in. "Not that. It's about Masato." She looked at Naruto's face and saw his frown. "Yeah, I'm sad about it. Already grieved for him, but I'm still sad about it. It was when he died that I fully realized that I was crying over somebody that you and Kurama made. But he bled, and he didn't disappear. No smoke. His body was left behind and whether or not you got any memories, the fact that he died meant that he was somebody, and he's never coming back."

Naruto queried, "How does this relate to the 'Question'?"

Tenten held up her hand to make him pause. "I'm getting to that. Anyway, after he died and I replaced him, I managed to keep things going. I still had my kunoichi stuff to take care of, so I delegated lots of everyday tasks to the other kids to help keep the place in tip-top shape. Like a pyramid of duties; simplest stuff like raking and sweeping go to the youngest, indoor cleaning goes to the older ones, and the difficult stuff went to the teens and me. Decision making went to me too."

"Smart."

"Thanks. No one's complaining about that, 'cause chores is a normal thing. It's just replacing Masato for certain things I can't do that's the actual problem. I can't be an orphanage-parent for them. I don't know how to tuck them in at night 'just the way they like it', I don't know how to keep track of their favorite things, the stuff they're allergic to… you know! I can take care of them and their essentials, but I don't know how to care for them in the way that they need—"

"I get it. I was in the same position, you know," Naruto said, reminding her of when she was catatonic. "It's... it's the same reason why the orphanage exists, after all, just because I couldn't do the same thing. It's kinda unfair to ask a kid to take care of another kid, much less a large group of them but I'm getting more and more convinced that it's not such a bad thing when it concerns the two of us. This morning, the woman that you and the kids chased out told me that an orphan knows how to take care of orphans because they know what their lives are like. Masato was based on me, but he started at square one… I'm sure that he didn't get everything right the first time, but he's had years to grow through trial and error. Even more than that, though, I'm pretty sure that you're gonna do even better than him."

"How'd you figure that?"

"Simple. You're an empath. You can sense what others are thinking, and feeling. It can be invasive, sure, and it's probably making you feel funny when you're around a large group of people or new people you're unfamiliar with, but it's suited for taking care of those children. Know when they're hiding their problems from you. Know when they're sad but smiling to hide it. Hell, you can even figure out what kind of people they're uncomfortable around and know who to red-flag, like bullies and possible abusers who are blackmailing them."

Tenten was genuinely surprised to hear this; persuasive argument aside, she could see her newfound powers working out in the orphans favor, even though it was something she'd soon be targeted for. "You really think so?"

"Yeah." They were quiet for a while as Tenten especially pondered where she now stood. She'd finally overcome her melancholy, but there was only one thing left. The point of their conversation.

"So about that question-"

"I think I'm gonna par with Narkira for a while longer. Is that okay? I'm trying to get used to my powers and I'm getting better around him because he's so emotionless."

"Huh? You wanna keep hanging out with him?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "If I had to be honest, I'm actually jealous."

In response to his candor, the girl leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "Don't worry, you know you're the one for me. It's just for a little while longer, and then I'm all yours. I'm the one who should be jealous. You've got people to go home to. I bet Haku has you eating out of the palm of her hand. Tell her to watch out."

Of course, they all knew about one another. They were all vying for him, and if he was honest with himself, he wanted all of them… moral degeneracy aside, Anko had brought up a good point about polygamy… why not? However, if he was keen on courting them all, he couldn't keep favorites, and they all had to get equal attention. "Well, we can hang out when you're not busy. But I'm not sure for any time past this week, 'cause we've gotta train for the fights later."

"Mm-hmm, and I want to at least MEET you in the finals. Just gotta beat Hinata and Fū first."

Naruto wasn't sure to respond to that, so he wisely kept his mouth shut as he watched her leave. He hadn't forgotten what the question was, but he didn't bother her about it. It either didn't matter anymore because he helped her get over the issue, or it was something that his brother could better help with. Truthfully, it did ruffle his feathers to know that Narkira (his assassination specialist, of all people) was somehow better at being sympathetic to a problem when he was nicknamed 'The Empty' by everyone else.

"I guess we'll find out. Back to the grind, then."

…

"This... SUCKS!" Tenten yelled in exasperation.

"Hmm?" Narkira continued to play with a tomahawk, tossing it up and down and catching it by the handle. "How so?"

"I still can't summon anything!" For just the tiniest second, she felt a questioning vibe exuded from him and she went on. "I've seen them. Hyenas, huge lizards — with venomous fangs and RAZOR-SHARP TEETH! Crows, vultures and some dogs… at least I think they were dogs. There were so many creatures there, big and small, fat and thin, brutish and intelligent, deadly and useful. I can't summon any of them! This is so unfair!"

"Perchance, did you ask to be conceived?"

"What?"

"Did you ask to be born?"

Tenten's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Of course not, what kind of idiotic question is that—"

"You seem to be saying the same old thing that everyone says sooner or later. 'Life is unfair'. Tenten-sama, life is fair to everyone, simply because it is 'unfair' to everyone. Everyone is meted out some benefits, and some curse. Koharu Utatane lost a leg in one explosion, but she's got excellent chakra control. You've gotten away from many explosions and triggered so many more and yet you still have both legs, but your chakra capacity is faulty. It's simply a matter of problems. Everyone has them."

"Well, some people have all the luck! Even look at Hinata and Fū and Haku. Haku gets to live in a swell house, Naruto-kun's probably digs exotic-looking chicks like Fū and Hinata's basically a princess. And I'm right here," she complained, holding up one of her broken kunais, "like this thing. I'm second-rate at best."

Fate contemplated his counterargument for a bit. "I've been spying in the Hyūga compound," he said quietly, "easy because they're forbidden from using the Byakugan for the most part. From what I've learned, Hinata will have to leave the clan to fully pursue a relationship with Naruto. Until then, most of her family hates her for it. They consider her a traitor to the Hyūga clan and are quite abusive when her parents aren't around. In order to be with the boss, she has to lose the support of her family. Rather unfortunate for anyone to make such a choice."

Tenten was silent. This was news.

"Then there's Haku. The only reason she's even in that house with the boss is that she sold herself to the boss to get him to save Zabuza from hunter nins. Father witnessed her kekkei genkai. Tou-san murdered kaa-san, and daughter murdered to-san. Given up by her former master, Zabuza. Now, she lives in the Leaf in glorified exile from Kirigakure. Has to feel useful to Naruto or she'll kill herself. Not doing as well as you in the mental department, is she?"

"Alright, so I spoke too soon—"

"And Fū's a jinchūriki. Basically a circumstance like Naruto's… except… she was abused all her life by her uncle in addition to being ostracized by the village. The usual jinchūriki flavor. Still no less tragic." Fate looked down his nose at her. "It's easy to feel second-rate when you're overshadowed by those that seem superior to you, but everyone bleeds and feels pain the same. Even if you consider yourself as a broken kunai, you can still be repaired… if not, then you can be made useful for other things. You understand this best, as you repair and refurbish your weapons frequently, and are proficient with faulty ones than those who wield new ones."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "You're flattering."

"It's the truth. You're a failure, and yet you've managed to leave the academy with abysmal chakra. You've survived your time as a Genin-… not as simple as many already know. Just as I know that you've maintained and fixed your scavenged broken weapons or even combined them for other uses, the same can be done for you, and it already has." He reached down and picked up one of her kunais that was on the ground. One side was originally badly chipped and discarded by its former owner, but Tenten had used a file to increase the jaggedness even more while sharpening it, making the kunai's bad edge now serrated like shark teeth. "Do not confuse broken with useless. Broken things and people can be repurposed."

"Not much difference."

"I've compared myself to the powerhouses of our group. You've seen what I can do, and you thought that I respected their power. I do, and their power is worthy of it. Despite that strength, we twelve are all proof that nothing is equal, except the fact that we are each lacking something. One is too nice and loose-lipped for secrets. One behaves as if he's mental, and I suspect he's inherited Naruto's depression. One is a loner and hates being around others. One is impatient and intolerant of mistakes. There is one who leaps into action without thinking while another is slow to act because of overthinking. You need to stop comparing yourself to other people."

She still looked unconvinced.

Narkira sighed. "None of them can hunt, track and kill as I can. I've broken down the Kawarimi and the Shunshin to its basics. The substitution technique is the art of utilizing the right time to evade your opponent's attention and senses, and replace yourself with an object — the closer to your mass, the better — to avoid getting hurt. The Shunshin is high-speed movement in one direction and usually grabs the enemy's attention if the user isn't fully adept; if they're capable enough, the enemy can easily determine your direction, where you'll end up, even what you'll do as soon as you return to normal speed."

"What's your point?"

"In short? I can move at shunshin speeds while escaping anyone and anything's attention. You can't sense me by sight or feeling, paranoia, and I lack killing intent because I'm thoroughly desensitized to killing. It's why everyone else calls me The Empty. I'm just about one of the only people who can sneak up on you, who's an empathetic sensor..." He smiled one of his try-hard smiles that didn't make Tenten feel any better. "I'm going to use the BROKEN side of this kunai and rip your skin to shreds."

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't—!"

"I WOULD. You don't get a nickname like mine unless you've hurt and killed people in ways that even hardened ninjas think is inhumane." His face was cold and serious. "You're at a severe disadvantage. We're too far for any of the others to hear because their emotions disorient you. Chances of being aided by anyone else are extremely remote. Besides… we have a very good doctor. I've even seen him fade scars completely; he could patch you up and until then, I could cut you all I like. Not being traumatized is also something worth being mentioned, correct? Think of that as an incentive to take this seriously."

"But why would you do this? Are you PSYCHO?! Why? Is this training or something?" By now, the weapon's user was freaking out, already on guard.

"I can hurt you," he deadpanned, "and I will. Think of me like Ito. I'll emulate him. Try to stop me, or at least escape me. And when you do, you'll finally understand."

"Understand what? No, no, NO!—"

He was already gone. He simply vanished.

At first, Tenten decided that nothing about this sounded right. There was no way that he'd hurt her. In the name of training, sure, she could tolerate getting hurt if it meant that she would get stronger, but he clearly meant to wound her, and that was a wholly different thing. Wounds meant blood loss. Wounds meant fatal injuries, and both meant death. Before she could even curse, the kunai zipped past her waist from behind her, ripping through her blouse and the flesh of her belly widely gashed open as the blade flew into the dirt before her. There was so much blood already oozing from the wound, but she instinctively turned to look in the direction it came from, all while hissing in pain. "Oh, fuck… I was even prepared for it…!"

She didn't see him anywhere in the trees behind her. Glancing back at the kunai that had dug into the dirt, she saw with horror that it was gone. She had been careful to keep it in her peripherals but she still didn't even SEE when and how he retrieved it. It simply disappeared much like he did, like a phantom.

"I'm not in the mood for this fuckery! Not for any shitty training like this!" That was she yelled but doubted he would stop. In the time it had taken her to shout, the kunai was thrown from somewhere and nicked her cheek. Her eyes had already started to follow the kunai to keep her eyes on it but that didn't stop the assassination clone. He suddenly appeared before her, nailing her nose with a hard-knuckled fist, instantly breaking it and stifling her shriek to a squealing grunt. Now willing to be outdone, she grabbed his collar to ensure he couldn't avoid her reprisal. His strength was still so much superior to hers, though, and he wrung her arm off before catching her left hook in his palm. He pulled her in to knee her in the stomach, letting her collapse.

"Good thing Nartai wasn't around watching, or he'd laugh at you. You had better learn to do better than that, 'cause he's gonna back Fū and teach her some of his taijutsu. I might break your face, but he'll teach her how to rip you apart like wet paper." Leaving her slumped and dry-heaving, he approached the kunai from where it had hitched into a tree and yanked it out. He was consciously aware that she was already making a mad dash to make it back to the camp where Naruto and the others were gathered. He sighed as he watched her get entangled into some ninja wire he'd strung up around the trees at just the right angle to be invisible to her, and she nearly cut herself to ribbons trying to get free. "Trying to escape, hmm? I didn't even need the wire, to be honest. I could've just chased you. But assassination doesn't follow any rules, does it? If Ito wanted to kill you, that is, me, you would've been dead long before you even tried to run. You have to do better than that."

Already badly wounded and it hadn't even been a full minute since he first threatened her, Tenten stopped to consider her options as she unfurled her scrolls, pulling out bomb tags. Her ideal choice was to either kill the crazy fuck or signal for help with an explosion, though she could feel her phobia start to act up over it. 'Not now,' she growled in her mind. She stared ahead at the boy, and asked herself: "how fast is he?"

"Not fast. Just quick," he replied from his distance as he walked towards her. She was stupefied at his keen sense of hearing and faltered. "There's a difference. Lee is fast. Neji is quick. I just know where to go where you don't want me to be. What would come next is throat-slitting. Or beheading, depending on if I'm hunting for bounties."

"But why are you doing this? This isn't some stupid training. Are you out to get me?!"

"It is training, and it's how I will train you. You've already unconsciously realized that the only thing required to stop me from using this kunai against you is to simply recapture your weapon. So… I'm Ito. You can continue to use a paper bomb to presumably try to harm me and likely fail, or signal for help, only to be killed before help arrives. What would you do to fight off Ito, who's always where you never expect him to be? You're the only one who can see and sense him, and it's the key to stop him. But he'll employ tactics like mine to avoid being detected until he strikes. What can a broken person like you do?"

She didn't know.

"Don't you see them, Tenten-sama?"

"See what? Who?"

Narkira sighed regretfully. "Forgive me, Tenten-sama. I was hoping that you would realize sooner than this. But I'll open your eyes."

For the fleeting moment, she felt an emotion from him. It was a sad mixture of regret and a faltering feeling as if he actually didn't want to continue what he was doing. Yet, she could feel him trying to convince himself to persist, and Tenten, years later, still didn't understand why she nodded to him while putting the bomb tag away, and pulled a kusarigama out of a storage scroll, swinging the chain in preparation to counterattack whatever he did. She'd employ counteraction tactics, however useless they would be.

"Go right ahead. Open 'em."

There would be many more cuts and stabs and desperation before she realized just how useful she was, despite being a broken person, just how valuable her tools were, despite some of them being damaged. Everything had a purpose — it didn't matter how cast-off someone was or how derelict a tool ended up. Not everyone or everything was special… it was a hard truth that she had to swallow.

Special people were meant to achieve a special purpose. Broken and non-special people, however, could be adapted to suit any role, like a spare square cut to fit an empty hole in a jigsaw puzzle, or patches in a quilt. Everything still had a purpose. Moving mountains was one thing.

But what about a speck? What about them?

=X=X=

"It's been kinda productive. I haven't summoned any of the bosses, though. I'm not sure if it's because I'm short of chakra or if I lack control. Maybe it's not even my fault but they're just not coming." Naruto looked back at his companion who was walking with her eyes closed and shook his head in disapproval. "Hey, keep that up and you're gonna trip and hurt yourself."

"You mean hurt worse than getting cut up by a guy that most of your brothers call the 'The Empty' because he's got no qualms killing anyone?" Before Naruto could say anything to defend himself, Tenten mollified him. "Relax. It's all good. He was really rough, but your people must get tons of good training when you've got a doctor like… Doc, I guess. You can maim one another with REAL training, and get healed so quickly." She slightly lifted her blouse and smiled. "Haven't got a single mark on me. He's like a miracle worker."

She still hadn't opened her eyes. In fact, she hadn't opened them ONCE since coming back with Fate from their summoning and training session and honestly, it was starting to freak him out. "Uh… So you know that from the lack of pain, right? How do you know that you don't have any marks on your skin?"

"I can see everything around me. I can see nearly everything that's going on in Konoha right now. Hmm… It looks like Hinata's training with Kurenai to learn how to do Ninjutsu. I wonder which ones are gonna back her?"

"Excuse me?"

A bead of cold sweat sprouted on her brow. Oh crap, he didn't know, she thought. Naruto had no idea that four sets of the boys were throwing their support behind each of the girls vying for him. It made sense, but how was she going to get out of this? "I was thinking that people might bet on her," she half-lied, "to beat me in the finals."

Naruto was flabbergasted. "People are betting on winners? Already?"

"Forget the betting. Which one of us are you gonna cheer for?"

"Haku-chan."

The weapon's user squinted at the boy as if he had lost his mind. "She's not in the Chunin-exams!"

"Exactly. I'm gonna keep my trap shut. Might stay healthier that way… or at least keep more body parts," the Uzumaki mumbled.

"We're not gonna kill you," she said as her eyes rolled underneath her eyelids, "or castrate you just for showing a little favoritism. But between you and me, which of us do you like the most?"

"I'll give you a couple of hints. She's got two legs, two arms and her name starts with an alphabet letter." Tenten heaved an exaggerated sigh when she heard this, knowing that her crush's sense of humor was something else.

"I feel bad for any of the twelve guys who winds up being the joker."

"The what?"

"…It's… it's just… forget it." After a few more minutes of walking, they finally made it to the front gate of the orphanage. Out in the front, a few children were weeding a growing garden, and another was raking the dead leaves from underneath a nearby peach tree. When one of them noticed Tenten and her companion, they hailed out to her, bringing her arrival to the attention of the others. Eventually, most of the orphanage's occupants caught on to what was transpiring outside and started to stream out.

"Not again," Naruto grumbled before he looked over at Tenten, who'd only just opened her eyes. "You need me to cut and run again, or can I say 'hello' this time?"

"You can stay." It took her a bit for her eyes to focus, but she was still able to see enough to determine who was before her, and she called them all by name, just as Masato had done before her. "Looks like you guys have been keeping busy, huh?"

"Of course!" one yelled as another cheered when they saw Naruto, "Gotta keep the place in ship-shape in case you bring anyone by. See? You brought someone by."

They had clearly been expecting Naruto to come back with her.

"Is he staying over for dinner?" one of the older ones asked. "We've got enough for it."

"What about the peaches? Do you want some? They're 'bout ready to fall off by themselves."

"I could lead you to a spot where we can get the best figs." Another declared, trying to get Naruto's attention by tugging on his sleeve.

"Need any extra hands where you live, Naruto-sama? I'm great at fixing things-"

Tenten stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly to get everyone's attention. "Alright, enough! He's here. He's not gonna run, and I'm not going to tell him to plug his ears. But don't try to butter him up. If you want him to ask him, then fine. Just… ASK."

Though urged to, no one spoke.

"I know it's been rough," the weapon's user said, her voice falling but not failing. "Masato's dead. He's been like a father to us for so long. A lot of us got a chance to leave over the years, to get adopted by families who've passed through over the years… but we stayed, 'cause we already had one. Him the father, us his kids. We were the biggest family in Konohagakure, and we still are. We all lost our father. He was a good person, and he didn't deserve what he got. He didn't deserve to be hated because of who he was, to be mistreated, and killed. He didn't deserve to die without an official funeral. Nothing in the village paused, not even a single person in the village took five minutes to pay any respects. It was as if he never even existed. It hurts, believe me."

Naruto was starting to get a sense of what this question was. With that realized, he was now thoroughly uncomfortable and was more than ready to leave. In fact, the only reason he stayed was not only because that would leave a bad impression, but because he wasn't one to leave a friend when she was emotionally worn down and needed him.

She was crying.

"He knew how to take care of us, and he was the best at it. He made the time to get to know each of us a little better every day, and I can personally tell you that it's not easy. He called us by our names, comforted us when we were upset, told us stories and… and… and…" her tears were running faster than she could wipe them away with her arms. "Look. Everything's wrong. First, he can't come back. He can't be remade. You can't just decide that when you break a toy, you have to get it replaced in the same way. The same scratches, the same dirty marks, the same personality and voice you gave it in your head. He's a person, just like us. Second, He's not a clone. He's more human than a lot of people, and it's not fair to ask Naruto-kun to remake Masato. He can't, and he shouldn't have to. It'd be an insult to the guy who's resting in peace in his garden out back. Third, he's not ours anymore. He had to leave us. Did you all forget that?!" Tenten screamed at the children.

"It's just not fair," someone mumbled in disappointment.

"Yeah, it's not fair. Someone told me today that life is fair by being unfair to everyone, and I still can't wrap my head around why that bullshit happened to him, and I don't want to. I know you've been murmuring, wishing for him to come back, and I do too. But it's not fair for you or for me to project these feelings on me. I'm not Masato, and I never will be. I can't replace him. I'm just a girl… hell, I know for a fact that three of you are older than me. He left me with this responsibility, and what I want is for you all to let me try my best. You let Masato do his, and please let me do mine. That's all I ask."

There wasn't much of a response in her favor, but there were none opposed, none that she could feel. That was promising, in of itself, knowing that they all accepted her. She was one of their own, after all. A bit after they had mostly trickled away, a small boy ran up to them, one of the recent arrivals to the orphanage in recent months. For a moment, Naruto was fearful that he would be asked to try remake Masato anyway, but that wasn't to be, as the boy clapped a ripe peach into his hand and gave him a piano-like grin.

"I never knew him that well. It'd be great if you could've fixed him, mister, but that's okay. Still, have a peach on us. Plenty more where that came from. Sweet, too."

Naruto grinned sheepishly when he heard that, and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "Hey, careful who you tell that to. A friend of mine loves sweet things and if the word gets out, she might end up chowing down on your tree."

"People can do that?" he asked in disbelief.

"The world's pretty big. By this point, I wouldn't be surprised to find that people like that exist." The boy could only shake his head and walk off, muttering about the semantics of eating trees, and Naruto and Tenten laughed.

"He took what you said literally. You're talking about Fū, aren't you? Better hope she doesn't find out about what you said about her, or she'll punch you."

Naruto flinched. "Yikes. Anyway, I gotta go. Have plans with Haku-chan."

"Date plans," Tenten said matter-of-factly.

"Um…" Naruto said hesitantly, "…yes?"

"Oh. Behind Hinata's back? Wait… You're dating everyone now at once, aren't you? So when are you asking me out?"

Well, this was already going well, he thought. At least she wasn't overreacting.

"We can do it tomorrow. Is tomorrow good?"

"Naruto-kun," Tenten said, feeling like facepalming herself, "we're still gonna be summoning a bunch of creatures, our chakra will be shot, we'll be exhausted, and we'll probably end up doing some training too so we'll be dirty and sweaty. C'mon, do better than that."

"How about the day after?"

"That's better. It's good to know you can compromise. That's good for relationships." With that, he waved goodbye before leaving in a shunshin, and it was for another minute before a trio of ninjas alighted beside her from seemingly nowhere in different directions, making her roll her eyes for what had to be the twentieth time since Naruto came for her earlier that morning. "Man, I swear that you guys have to be the edgiest in the Tenacious Thirteen. Could you be a little more easygoing and relaxed? Or normal?" she added the last through clenched teeth. One was Fate himself who was dressed like some hunter/survivalist. Narken, who was the team's swordsman, was dressed like a ronin in black with two katanas one either side of his waist and a nodachi on his back that was almost as long as himself. Narkasai, who was Tenten's personal powerhouse backer, wore a red balaclava cap and the area covering his mouth was a metal filter mask and had a seal on it that read 'SAFETY' on it. Apparently, it was dangerous for him to exhale freely unless he wanted to burn down his surroundings, Fate had explained earlier. Other than that peculiarity, he was dressed much the same as Naruto, though his voice was a bit hollow-sounding because of the mask. 'He's too powerful to even control his breathing or something? Is that even possible?' Tenten questioned herself in disbelief.

"Who're you calling edgy?" Narken asked. "I think you mean 'badass'. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Got Naruto's bravado over here," Tenten mumbled. "No… is it pride? No… it's not that. You have his EGO! Oh, cripes. And what about you… um… Narkasai, was it? What's your character quirk?" She stared at him intently, trying to get a sense of what he was feeling, only to realize that she didn't even need to try very hard. He was standing apart from the group with his feet pointing away from where they converged as if he were only halfway in and could leave at any time. It wasn't cautious of him — only distant. "Oh. You're the 'loner'. The one who doesn't like socializing because he's afraid of what others think of him. Or that people might be better off without him around." The boy shrugged in response and Tenten took it as an affirmative. "See, this is what I'm talking about. Is anyone even really 'normal'? I know Naruto-kun can be a little...um... odd, but really?"

"You get what you get," Narkasai rumbled before his filter let out a bit of smoke. "We've been watching. Seems like you've done well for yourself. Keep practicing with those sensory powers. It's a real shame that our blacksmith and sensor aren't too keen on you, but we'll do our best to ensure that everything works out. I'll help you learn how to convert your chakra into fire release and channel it into your weapons—"

"Not that you'll ever be as awesome as me," Narken interrupted, "but I'll teach you how to better use your weapons. Knives, short blades, swords, whatever you throw or swing."

"And I'll pass on my quick draw to you," the assassination clone added, "and how to master ninja wire. The best offenses are the ones that no one can see coming."

Tenten smiled at them. Though they were weirdos, they were HER weirdos and based on one that she loved."Not that I don't appreciate it, guys, but this sounds like a lot of work for just the Chunin exams."

"It's not just for the exams. The brain-sucking bastard is still a threat so long as he's alive, and he's a threat to you, especially since you're wearing his handiwork on your forehead. He could attack anyone, anytime. You oughta know how to defend yourself at least, or be capable enough by the time we have to go."

"Go? Go where?" No one answered. "Okay, it's a secret for now," Tenten murmured, "and your emotions are telling me that you don't feel like sharing. Fine. But I can't fight him. I can only watch out for him, and that doesn't mean much for the orphanage."

"One of us will always be guarding here," Narken assured, "and if I see him, I'll cut him down to bite-sizes for the dogs. You should be happy that I'm taking the first watch. Ol' walking chimney here might accidentally commit arson, so you should take the time to start storing water in drums around the place. Folks in the Land of Tea put up his picture up on every bounty board up there because he coughed with his mask off and burnt four acres worth of tea farms."

"Are you kidding or is that really necessary?" Tenten asked worriedly. Narkasai chose not to answer, and that didn't make her feel any better. Already, he was leaving, having already said what he wanted and Narken was taking the first watch at the orphanage, just out of sight of the children but still within shouting distance from the verandah if trouble arose.

"It's not likely to happen, but Narkasai's getting better. Still ever stronger, but his control is catching up to his power. He'll soon be able to breathe normally like the rest of us," Fate remarked. "So how goes it? Feel better?"

"A whole lot better," Tenten answered with a grin. "I can see everything. It feels great."

"Wasn't like that at first," he commented as he watched her hold out her index finger expectantly. "You barely saw anything, even with your gifts. Now you're like all the best things that the clans of the village have to offer. A shame that it took you so long to realize it, yes?"

"I know. But you saw them first, didn't you?"

"Of course." He watched a lone fly land on her finger and peer upwards at her. "You've been summoning them all day. You were upset at your seeming failures that you failed to notice them. Every attempt summoned a single fly, but no one notices them, do they? You were looking forward to summoning hyenas, jackals, crows, lizards perhaps. But in all of your 'failed attempts', you've summoned flies. Though they are small, that does not make their lives any less important. For all of our brutish strength and immense chakras, none of us, not one without a chakra system like yours could save them, and they would've gone unnoticed, unsummoned. You've done justice to the creatures; you've enabled them to return from whence they came. People may dislike them, see them as pests to be killed and forgotten easily, just like how people erringly see you… but you've recognized their talents."

"They're everywhere. They see everything. They even see things slower with higher perception."

"Exactly. Perfect for an empath sensor such as yourself. With a network of these, a chained vision that links them to one another throughout any street, any house, any encampment, even entire villages; you can see and hear everything. Even if you were to get killed by Ito, he would never have this much benefit from taking back his ability, as he doesn't have the benefits of these summons." Fate felt a sense of relief, knowing that the day was productive. "I'm glad to see you excel. Day after tomorrow, you will seduce Naruto, yes?"

"You were listening?!"

"Of course I was. I'll think of some sort of activity to promote relationships, and I'll get back to you, yes?"

Tenten nodded. "Sure. Take care, Empty."

The boy grinned back as he turned to leave. "Stay safe, Tenten-sama. And might I add? That's my least favorite nickname… though the most appropriate. I know the truth hurts most of all, and now you know the truth too. Yes?"

"Uh-huh." Tenten went through the gate with her eyes tightly closed as a few flies here and there saw everything she wanted to see around her, even down to the very ants in her path that she stepped over. "The truth is… I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?" she said to herself with a growing grin as she went onto the verandah, entered and shut the door.

=X=X=

Interlude:

The Meeting of the White-Haired Ones

A man traveled along the road, half-mindedly slapping at a mosquito that landed on his face, one of the very few places on his person that was exposed to the parasites that lingered in the cool evening air. It was almost dusk, and at a time that the wretched creatures were most active. He grumbled to himself about their high population as he ascertained why they were numerous in the area. While the warmest in the elemental nations, the weather around the Leaf was now unusually humid as no rain had fallen recently. What was even more suspect were the puddles that littered about at the sides of the road that he was walking on, and in the very same that the mosquitoes were breeding.

A road in a strict sense, as it was one of the main ones that lead to Konohagakure's East entrance and was well beaten by frequent travelers as it directly led to the residential areas of the village. Rich people tended to call it a broad dust path.

To Jiraiya, it was three miles of hell. If this kept up, he was going to start losing weight.

"Probably should just tree-run," he said to himself. He didn't immediately commit to the action, as he didn't feel like making any unnecessary haste than he was obligated to make. Then again, times were serious. Ito Utatane was getting out of control. He had been tamed over the years of his exile, retractable, even. Not anymore.

To be honest, though, Jiraiya thought he preferred Ito over Hiruko; it was a matter of picking the lesser of two evils. Both men started the same, lived the same, wanted the same things, but how did they turn out so differently? One had died, and his killer was now running around. He was cannibalizing the portions of the brain that imbued him with his victims Kekkei Genkai, in addition to being able to transform himself into anyone whose DNA he'd assimilated through the procedure. He was a huge problem and one that his mentor had allowed to run unchecked for too long.

"Goddamn, Sarutobi sensei," the man cursed as he clapped his hand against his cheek to kill a mosquito. "Took you long enough. Your heart's too big, sometimes."

This was not to say that he didn't understand the man. Blood mattered little to him; as Minato's father, he couldn't bring himself to kill him if he had gone so far astray as Ito himself had done. And what of Minato's son? He'd heard a lot through his spy network, even stationed within the Hidden Leaf itself. "Blood," Jiraiya muttered. 'Sometimes, it's all that matters. He's got his father's own, doesn't he? It's a spoilt secret that he's got kekkei genkai that even the kid himself doesn't know everything about… it's probably what saved him from not spilling too much info. Lucky enough that his dad and I are the only ones who know about it.'

The Eight. Not even Minato had fully managed to master all of its facets in time, as he had developed it in adulthood, not too long before he died. With Naruto, however, with so much potential in his shadow with the Kyūbi's chakra, groundwork already done and his machinations by creating specialist clones… the boy would probably end being legendary within the next two years. Only Ito and his clone's probably deadly backlashes were left to worry about for now, besides the disturbing and puzzling movements of the Red Dawn.

'I shouldn't talk shit about the old man when I haven't been here for Naruto. Wonder how he's been, nowadays? Is he eating properly? Does he have a lot of friends? Too little? Any at all? Is he under surveillance and protection? Does he have a girlfriend? Hear he's got a pretty girl maid.' "Heh heh heh," he guffawed, laughing loudly in the evening time. All of a sudden, he was of the inclination that he was already getting Icha Icha ideas just by thinking about what his godson could've been doing — what more could be gleaned if he were to merely peep through a bedroom window? His books would be flying off the shelves.

"Fuck it, I'm running there. Might even catch them bathing together, who knows what they could be up to!" Just before he could start sprinting and tree hop the rest of the way, he caught sight of a lone traveler coming down towards him from the opposite direction at high speed. Jiraiya squinted in the low light and saw the figure was sprinting as best as he could and the way that he puffed showed that he was getting tired. His long-sleeved shirt was off and tied around his waist, leaving him in only his sleeveless undershirt and allowing his sweat to drip off of him as if he'd just stepped out of a shower. "Is that Naruto?" It wasn't his godson, but he recognized him by face regardless; the fox-like visage gave him away easily, though he had a few scars about the face as if he was constantly getting himself injured in by blades in brawls. Another disturbing difference was his hair, which had been bleached white and convinced the man that he must be one of Naruto's now-notorious Tenacious 13 members. As soon as he came within earshot, Jiraiya called out to him. "You're his clone, aren't you? Naruto's clone, I mean. What's he been up to?"

Normally, Nartai wouldn't have stopped his training regimen for anyone, for any stupid comment. In fact, this comment was so incredibly stupid that it sparked his animosity, causing him to slant his legs to brake and slide to a stop, kicking up the dust. "Alright old man, you look like you're just arriving at the village, so let me give you a heads-up. We're our own 'people', and if I catch you calling any of us 'clones' again, you're getting a kick in the teeth. Believe me, that's getting off easy compared to most of the others would do to you. Some of them are pissy about it."

Jiraiya nearly outright laughed in the brat's face; he'd taken special notice of the lad's hair as it was undoubtedly done in the pursuit of individuality. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, trying to keep a serious face. "But is he doing okay?"

"What do you care? You his relative or something?"

"Kinda," Jiraiya admitted. "You got his address so I can swing by his place? Makes it easier for me to find him."

"Find him yourself. It ain't my business telling grown-ass men like you about where he lives."

"And huffing and puffing a bare three miles from the village on a run is your business, then? You're outta shape, brat." Jiraiya's mocking faltered, as he thought that he could see seal-work on the boy's chest that was barely visible through the white soaking undershirt he wore. He could read a bit of it and realized that it was, in fact, a gravity seal that had faded into the obscurity of ninja techniques. Even more disturbing was that the boy was wearing weights around his legs. "Um, kid—"

"My business?" he said quietly as he thought about the laps he'd been running around the village all day. "My business is surpassing my limits. And I ain't got any time to waste going about it." Looking up again, he noticed a mosquito that had settled on the left side of the man's face. "Don't move," he said carefully.

"…Huh?"

"Goddamn bloodsucker. It's on your face. Don't scare it off."

"Don't worry, I can get it." Jiraiya was about to swat the mosquito himself or simply shake his head to scare it off, but the Taijutsu Specialist wasn't having any of it. Seeing the mosquito about to fly off and not willing to get it away, Jiraiya would swear later that the boy's hand disappeared before he felt a sweaty iron wall slap his face with the loudness of a thunderclap. The man was sent flying, smashing through several thick tree trunks before skidding to a stop on his back into the last one.

Seeing that the man wasn't getting up, Nartai approached the man and looked down at him before staring at his hand, frowning with worry. "Oh no…" He yanked down his shirt and observed the gravity seal he wore. "FUUUUCK! I thought the hundred laps around the village was too easy! The damn thing was on level seven all day. Shit. I gotta run it again!"

Jiraiya sputtered wetly, spitting out blood from the inside of his cut cheek, almost afraid that he didn't still have all of his teeth. "Level seven…? Your seal is on level… seven…right now?!" The seal was at such a hampering level but Jiraiya felt like he'd lost a quarter of his life from the kid's attempt at killing a single mosquito while having it on, moving with insane speed and strength on a hair-trigger. "For a mosquito?" Jiraya wheezed. In response to the question, the boy looked back at his hand before lowering it down to the Sannin so that he could see it too.

"Hey, I got it. Had to move fast to kill it before it got away, but I got it," Nartai declared as he gestured at the tiny bloodstain on his palm. "Now we've got one less of the bastards flying around." Attracted to the blood and warmth of his body, another of the insects landed exactly on the bridge of Jiraiya's nose. It sunk its proboscis into his flesh deliberately as if in no rush; the man stared at it with crossed eyes with horror as Nartai watched it carefully, rearing his hand back to kill it, tensing up even more than before 'till his muscles bulged. For Jiraiya, it might as well have just been Tsunade's fist, and he felt a rush of P.T.S.D. course through his spine, making him rigid. "Don't make any sudden moves or anything, Oji-san, so just relax. What's your name?"

"Jiraiya," the man whispered, as tense and afraid as a rabbit cornered by a fox.

"Alright, Jiraiya. We don't wanna scare it off, so don't move."

Alright, my bad, guys. Been dawdling over this one for way too long; it's been overdue for more than a solid month, but hey, it's EXTRA long… and I was also binging on 300+ One Piece episodes but don't worry, I'm all caught up now (FINALLY!) so no more distractions. Been gone for too long.

As per the chapter, it's FILLERific in the terms of padding, (Oda's been rubbing off on me) but it's still relevant here and there, such as what powers Tenten will have in the future, how Ito got his powers through Jiraiya, etc.

I'm also trying to leave the ending plot open to whether or not Naruto leaves the village, and I wanted to use the orphans as a means to influence his decision in the future; they're actually super important, as he's responsible for them as their benefactor and whatever they say can make up his mind either way. When the time comes, I guess I'll set up a poll for the first time ever.

If all goes well, Solace and I will have the next chapter out in the Christmas week. Or whatever you celebrate.

That's it.

Valete omnes,

MRAY 4TW.