It starts when Tenten is asked to clean out the attic.

Her mother has a whole host of scrolls tucked away up there, which she never seemed to touch, but when Tenten runs a finger along the paper, there's no dust at all. Nevertheless, she starts scrubbing the floor, cheerfully humming a tune that's been stuck in her head all morning. She heard a woman singing it in the street and now it's been playing on a loop in her mind.

The attic isn't just some overstuffed, cramped space that's been abandoned and forgotten about, like the attics in her friends' houses. Her mother has made it nice, like the rest of the house. She's had to push a thick, fancy rug back in order to clean the dark wooden floor, making it shine underfoot. The walls are decorated with paintings and wall-hangings, including her mother's favourite poem, which she wrote out by hand personally after hearing it read aloud.

In her mother's neat, flowing writing: I knew a girl with copper veins, who broke away and took great pains, but lifted up her silt-soaked heart, and bought herself a fresh start, hung from the wall on scroll-paper, curling up at the ends.

Tenten keeps humming, absently pushing the rug further up, eyes on the poem before her. Her mother always says she wrote it just before Tenten was born. She still calls her daughter her 'fresh start.' She never talks about what came before.

The melody cuts off when her hand touches a warm spot on the floor. She frowns, pushing the rug all the way back to examine the space. One of the wooden planks is pulsing gently with warmth. Tenten is familiar with the sensation. It's what happens when you imbue a surface with chakra. It lives off that energy, ebbing and flowing like a tide. If it's particularly strong chakra, it can last decades. This feels… old.

Tenten scrapes her nails gently against the wood, frowning to herself. If she didn't know any better, she'd say something was invisibly sealed under the floorboards, and then covered by a rug. She could pry up the floorboard and take a look, but whatever it is might be rigged to explode when uncovered, unless you keyed in the right chakra signal. She likes her face the way it is. Unexploded.

She doesn't like to think of herself as nosy. Curious is a nicer word for it. Plus, she's set to graduate from the Academy soon. They encourage intellectual exercises, and there's nothing better for that then a puzzle to solve. This certainly counts.

If she was like Tsunade, her hero, she could rip up the entire floor and take whatever damage it could throw at her, then spontaneously heal it all at once. If she was like Tsunade. She's long since given up the hope of being just like her. She doesn't have the precise chakra control needed. She's a battleaxe, not a senbon.

She knocks on the wood, thinking. A senbon might try to figure out the best ways to get through the seal and find out what it was hiding. A battleaxe? A battleaxe would find the quickest and easiest solution, cutting through all of the secrecy.

"Okaa-san!" She calls.

Her mother shouts back something indistinct, muffled by the distance between them, but Tenten hears tell-tale creaks that say she's on her way. She rocks back on her heels, making room for the two of them.

Her mother climbs up the ladder, her head poking into view.

Kanon is beautiful. She's got hair like burnished gold, always twisted up in some complicated bun or braid, sometimes piled atop her head as a crown. Her skin is paler than Tenten's by a few shades, her eyes a brown so dark it could almost be black. A scar bisects one eye, leaving the iris milky white. Rough gouges mar her white cheek. She's never been completely whole, missing chunks of flesh and her sense of trust, but to Tenten, she's everything a mother should be.

"Something wrong? You don't have to be so thorough," Her mother says, eyes falling on the exposed floorboards, "just a light dusting is enough."

"What's under here, Okaa-san?" Tenten asks bluntly. She dislikes prevaricating or dancing around a subject. Her mother saw what she was doing, she was smart enough to have guessed why Tenten summoned her to the attic.

Her mother bows her head, squeezing her eyes shut. She clenches her fists and takes a deep breath, slowly unfurling her fingers.

"I wish you hadn't found that," She says grimly, "it's a relic of the past. Useless. An old scrying scroll that never worked."

"Then… can I see it?" Tenten asks, unusually hesitant. It's not like her mother to show her emotions so clearly. If this 'relic' truly is useless, why would it upset her mother so much to be reminded of it?

Her mother says nothing for a long moment, then steps forward, hand-seals flashing. The floorboard lights up in answer, a complex seal glowing for a second, then fading all at once.

The board creaks up, revealing a hollowed-out space within.

A scroll is tucked inside, yellowed with age but curiously unspoiled by the dust and cobwebs it has been lying in for some time.

Tenten reaches for it, then stops, looking back at her mother for permission.

Her mother covers her mouth, but nods, brow furrowed.

Tenten takes the scroll out, smoothing it down automatically. She can't feel anything. There's no glow of chakra or seals suddenly forming. Just a blank scroll.

She hears the faintest of sighs and glances over at her mother. She's staring at the scroll, a touch of relief in her expression. What had she expected to happen?

Tenten goes to hand the scroll back, but her mother quickly steps away, hands raised.

"No, no. Just put it back where you found it. Like I said, it's a useless relic. I only keep it out of sentiment."

Tenten doesn't say what she's thinking, that she didn't know her mother was physically capable of sentiment, or that if it's so very useless, why would she keep it hidden under the floorboards and sealed away?

"Okay. I was just curious." Tenten says, a little sheepish.

Her mother gives her a slight smile, quirking her brows up in amusement, "I know, honey. After you've dusted, could you help me sharpen my sickles? You've got a knack for it."

"Of course, Okaa-san." Tenten says, slowly placing the scroll back into the hollow as her mother descends down the ladder. She waits a few beats, then pulls the scroll back up, examining it closely.

Curiosity is a healthy trait in a growing girl, she thinks, rotating the scroll to get a good look at every inch, and I'm as healthy as it gets.

Perhaps a senbon would have been more cautious, doing some research in the library, trying to get more information out of her mother, or performing some routine tests to make sure it was safe.

But Tenten's no senbon.

She channels her chakra, a white-edge of energy, and pushes it into the thin, curled-up paper.

She feels the reaction instantaneously, the ripple of chakra billowing through the scroll, something within lighting up at her touch.

The scroll jumps out of her hand, unfurling on the wooden floor.

She stares in shock, then reaches out, just barely touching the edge of the paper with her fingertips, and –

A beautiful man, milky-white eyes glazed in death, a bloody smile painted on his lips. His chin is resting on the shoulder of another man, whose blond, spiky hair quivers, his arms coming around to embrace the corpse leaning heavily against him. Tenten watches, faintly aware that her world is falling apart, that her life may as well have spilled out along with his blood. She reaches forward, brushing his hair away from the fading seal on his forehead, and lays a first and last kiss on his still-warm skin.

Tenten inhales sharply, drawing away from the scroll.

"What was that?" She mutters aloud, nudging the paper away with her foot. She blinks, and a tear falls from her cheek. She makes a face. She hasn't cried in forever. She doesn't believe in it. Or at least, her mother doesn't.

The future, words spill across the page as if written by an invisible hand.

Tenten grabs hold of the cloth she'd been using to scrub the floor, and wrings it, needing something solid in her hands. The feel of the rough fabric helps ground her in the moment. She's here in her attic. Her mother is downstairs, waiting for her to help with the latest batch of rusty, second-hand weapons she's bought for cheap down at the market. She saw something odd, beyond the realms of her imagination. No doubt about that. And now, the scroll seems to responding to her questions, as if capable of independent thought.

Curious, she thinks, just about managing to keep her composure.

"Can I save the man I saw?" She asks quietly, feeling a little ridiculous, hoping for a response from a blank scroll.

Achingly slow, the words yes, you can emerge onto the page.

"How?"

Get stronger.

Tenten huffs. That's a solution for any problem. She hopes this isn't some half-baked fortune-telling scroll, designed to parrot phrases at the user.

"And how do I get stronger?" She asks, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.

The words get stronger have barely wiped themselves away before a sketch takes their place. The scroll shows a drawing of another scroll, this one tied up with red string, stamped with the kanji for contract.

Tenten looks around the attic, eyes scanning the many shelves of scrolls, and deflates ever so slightly. Joy of joys, she thinks, then shrugs, rolling up her sleeves. It'll take a while to find whatever the scrying scroll is pointing her to. She better get to it.

It takes twenty minutes of solid busywork, but she finally finds a scroll identical to the one she saw in the drawing, clutching it triumphantly and holding it aloft like a sword. She giggles, feeling like an idiot, then returns to the scrying scroll.

"And?" She says, raising her eyebrows and waving the captured paper.

The scrying scroll remains blank.

Tenten turns her attention to the scroll in her hand. She was lucky enough that the first didn't blow her head off, but the chances of both being safe to open seemed slim.

She didn't waste time thinking about it. She knew what she was going to do from the moment she recognised the sketch. She wanted answers, and she wasn't going to get them by being cautious.

The string comes undone far too easily, almost falling apart in her hand as she tugs it loose. The scroll unfurls over her lap, tiny, cramped handwriting covering it from top to bottom. She brings it close to her eyes, then gasps in recognition.

A summoning scroll!

Her eyes fall to the bottom of the page, irresistibly drawn to the blank space. No signature, she muses, no summoner.

She reads the whole thing three times, heart pounding. It's a contract with the Kuma clan. Bears. She presses the scroll against her chest, deep in thought. Get stronger. Gaining a summoning contract would be a pretty quick way of doing that, but how was she supposed to explain where she got it from? Well, her family was fairly enigmatic. It was just her and her mother. They didn't have a family name, they were just Tenten and Kanon. She guessed no one would find it hard to believe that there was a summoning contract in the family, even if Tenten was the only shinobi out of the two.

Almost-shinobi, at any rate. She was going to graduate soon. It'd probably help if she had something unique in her skillset, beyond her self-taught fuuinjutsu and weaponry.

"Tenten! These sickles won't sharpen themselves! Unless… do you think there's a seal for that?" Her mother calls up, her voice fading into contemplation towards the end of the sentence.

Tenten makes her decision.

She slips both scrolls under her shirt, hiding the bulge behind her back, and smuggles them down to her bedroom.

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The next day, she thinks about the dead man.

He was clearly a Hyuuga, what with his pale eyes and long, dark hair. What was that seal on his forehead?

He was so handsome, even in death, and the smile on his lips made it seem as though he was content with his fate. Even so, he was far too young to accept his end. She can save him, if only she gets stronger.

It's Sunday, so there's no Academy to attend. She makes some vague noises about training when her mother asks what she'll be doing today, then gobbles up her breakfast and hurries out the door. They live in the nicer half of the civilian district, the side with fields and big houses, clean streets and enormous oak trees.

Tenten hops a fence, still absently chewing her last mouthful of toast, and ducks into the forest nearest her house. It's not as big as the Nara Forest, but she didn't feel like trespassing today. It's hot, the azure sky overhead clear of clouds, save for a few wisps here and there. The wind feels closer to a warm sigh than a breeze, unable to shift the bangs that lay limply against her forehead.

"Oi!" A deep female voice booms.

Tenten freezes, all lessons on stealth and subtlety from the Academy fleeing her mind at once.

She turns slowly, toast hanging out of her mouth.

A purple-haired woman is grinning at her. Her shirt is nothing but mesh, showing off her assets. Tenten blushes, politely averting her eyes. Another woman stands beside her, beautiful even with the resigned look on her face.

"Where d'ya think you're going, brat?" The first woman shouts, the grin on her face belying the iron in her voice.

Tenten lifts the scrying scroll pointedly. It's blank if they decide to check it, and there's no way they haven't noticed it already.

"I'm going to train in the woods," She calls back, managing to sound calm despite the nerves raging in her gut, "whenever I use the training fields, some nin tells me to clear out because they need it. Until I graduate, I can't book a space for the day to use, and I need to practice before the last test at the Academy."

The woman's grin fades, but it's replaced by a thoughtful look, "Good for you, kid. Getting ahead of the game, huh?"

Tenten feels her cheeks redden. That's pretty much what she's doing here today, just not in any way she'd admit. She'll throw out the secret of the summoning scroll to distract from the scrying, if needs be. There's no penalty for having a family advantage. If there was, all the clan kids would be doomed.

"I know you," The other woman says, realisation filling her voice, "You're the Academy Student with all the weapons, correct? You're set to become your generation's foremost expert on shinobi tools, if your teacher isn't just bragging."

Tenten's blush darkens violently, "O-oh, I'm okay, I guess…"

The purple-haired woman spits a toothpick into a nearby tree, the tiny stick sinking in like a knife. "Don't downplay what you've got. If you're good, you're good. Are you?"

Tenten blinks, grip loosening on the scroll. This feels like a test. The women's eyes are firm on her face.

"I'm good." She says finally, nodding to herself. She is good, and she's only going to get better. She's got herself a pretty-boy Hyuuga to save, after all.

The woman grins, a gleeful glint in her eyes, "Damn straight. You're looking at two of the best kunoichi in the village. What're the odds you're gonna be right there with us in a couple of years?"

"Anko…" The beautiful woman chides, rolling her red eyes, "don't lump me in with your boasting."

"It's not boasting if it's true!" Anko retorts, hands on her ample hips.

"One year." Tenten says, mouth dry.

Anko turns back to raise an eyebrow at her, "Huh?"

There's nothing feminine about her at all, Tenten thinks, and she's still beautiful. Even when she makes stupid faces. Something to aim for.

"I'll be as good as you in one year." Tenten says resolutely, clenching her free hand into a fist.

Anko laughs raucously, "Oho, I like this one! Maybe you'll survive that long… maybe not. Either way, you're not gonna come close to me."

Tenten glares up at her, hardening her voice as much as possible, "I'll make sure to pat you on the back when I surpass you, just to let you know."

For a moment Anko stares at her, pale whiskey eyes a little wide, then a grin splits her face and she cackles, her entire body wracked with mirth.

Her red-eyed friend gives Tenten an apologetic smile.

Anko pretends to wipe away a tear, then smirks down at Tenten, "What's your name, brat?"

Tenten's chin juts out, "I'm Tenten."

"Family name?"

Tenten grits her teeth, "Just Tenten."

Anko looks over her consideringly, eyes lingering on the scrolls in her hands. "Okay, just Tenten. I'll catch you at the finish line. Can you make it?"

Tenten points right at the older woman, her face set in determination, "Of course! I'll even help you along, if you like!"

Anko splutters, throwing her head back to laugh again. Her laughter was so violent, tearing through her as if it her body was unused to the motions.

"What'll you give me when you lose?" Anko asks with a shit-eating grin.

Tenten freezes, wondering what a scary, older shinobi might demand. But then – she didn't demand anything, did she? Maybe…

"All you're getting is a pat on the back." Tenten shoots, half-tempted to stick her tongue out at her.

Anko reaches forward, gripping Tenten by the shoulder and drawing their faces close together, "Nahhh…. That doesn't work for me, punk." She rasps. Tenten almost feels proud. In the space of a short conversation, she has graduated from brat to punk. "When I win, you're gonna do a little job for me. Nothing too tricky, just a little something."

"Sounds like you already need my help." Tenten risks a quick grin, her heart rabbiting away. She's running on pure adrenaline.

Anko pats her face, almost affectionate, "We'll see."

"What will you give her if she wins?" The other woman asks, mirth colouring her voice.

Anko scoffs, "She won't! But… fine. I'll give you my coat, since I guess the shirt off my back might be a little… ehehehe."

"Anko." The other woman says, her voice sharp.

"Kurenai," Anko mocks, rolling her eyes, "lighten up. She started it. So, handshake? Seal the deal?"

"So, when I win, all I'll get is a second-hand coat," Tenten says, unimpressed, "but if you won, I'd have to do a job for you? That seems a little uneven."

"Welcome to the life of a shinobi, punk," Anko seizes her hand and shakes it violently, "it's full of little injustices. Get used to it now and you can roll with the punches later, yeah?"

Tenten tries not to flinch, her hand trapped in Anko's, "Um… yeah. Deal."

Kurenai nudges Anko, "C'mon, time to go. Sorry about this, Tenten-san. She's not quite housebroken just yet."

Anko whirls on her friend, mouth open in outrage, and Tenten leaps on the chance to escape, darting into the trees.

"Catch you later, punk!" Anko calls. It sounds like a promise. Or a threat.

Tenten laughs to herself, high and incredulous. She touches her chest, feeling her heartbeat slow down to a normal rate.

"Not if I catch you first." She whispers, then rushes deeper into the woodlands, dappled sunlight giving her a broken path made of glowing green grass.

xxxxxxxx

Once she's reasonably sure she's far enough from the residential area and hasn't been followed, she ducks under a large tree, spreading her summoning scroll across the shaded ground.

She bites down on her thumb, just about managing to pierce the calloused skin, and draws enough blood to coat her fingers with.

With only a few seconds of hesitation, she takes the plunge and signs her name. Tenten. She wonders how many times someone outside of a clan gets the chance to have their very own summons.

She doesn't have long to ponder it, because smoke erupts from the scroll and she flings herself backwards instinctively, knocking her head against the tree trunk behind her.

She looks up, nerves rattling her. The scroll had said…

A small form appears, ears twitching.

A…

A red panda?

Tenten stares.

"Hiya," The red panda squeaks, "I'm Fang. Nice to meet you, summoner-sama!"

"B-but… the contract said bears…" Tenten says, dazed.

"Red pandas are part of the Kuma clan!" Fang says haughtily, "don't lump us in with the likes of raccoons. We're a noble species! Everyone agrees that we're just as good as bears! And you didn't think you'd get one of them first time, right? I always greet the summoner. I'm a messenger. And a healer! And I also write the occasional poem. You're so lucky to be contracted with us!"

"But… bears." Tenten says mournfully.

"Once you get bigger, you'll be able to summon some of our… flashier members. You're just a cub right now. You've hardly got any fur at all. I've got a tonic for that, you know. But you're too young to need the bigger summons. Save that for when you're nice and tall, okay?" Fang says, dashing up to Tenten's lap. He looks up at her face, his big brown eyes staring unblinkingly into hers.

He chitters happily, "Oh, we've got such a good one! Bright eyes, tanned skin, glossy fur – even if there's not nearly enough – and all your limbs look intact. We're so lucky! Tenten-sama, welcome to the clan!"

He sticks out a little paw, nose twitching expectantly.

Tenten, as if in a dream, feels her hand slowly drift forward, and for the second time today, seal a deal with a handshake.

What has she gotten herself into?

Hello, friends!

I hope you're all hungry for a Tenten-centric fic. I know I am! That poor girl doesn't get nearly enough spotlight.

So red pandas have been assigned to multiple animal families, including bears, so… here they are. Part of a bear clan :D They're one of my absolute favourite animals, and I thoroughly recommend looking up red pandas online and watching videos of them. They're just… precious.

This fic would not exist without elladora, who suggested I write a fic about Tenten, and Momma, who provided me with an extensive backstory on Tenten's mother and multiple amazing suggestions. And finally… Authorship, who's become my very first beta in over ten years of fic writing. Thanks, you guys! I hope you're not the only ones who read this! :P

Anko and Kurenai don't always accost Academy Students while they're on a secret, illicit training spree, but when they do, Anko makes sure to extort something from them.

Now who could the pretty-boy Hyuuga in Tenten's vision be? Hmm… let me think…

I really hope you guys like this fic, because the plotbunny bit hard and thanks to my discord chat, I have a ton of ideas to work through.

Quick poll for fun: What was the most awesome moment of Naruto?

For me, nothing tops Lee dropping his weights during his fight with Gaara. Though Sakura cutting her hair off and defending her team comes close… hmm… The Chuunin Exam arc was just full of awesome, huh?