I so have a death wish. A you'regoingtokillyourselfwithallofthesegoshdarnedFicsyoustart,KNO death wish.

Gah. But I couldn't help it. . . . Which is always my excuse. How very pitiful. I need to go to a workshop and get some new ones.

Anyway, I was going to start this as an Original, that I would post on Fictionpress, but the plot bunnies got the best of me this time. Stupid plot bunnies.

So this is TenTen's POV. Alternate Universe. Considering it, this better suits Sakura, but I think TenTen is just as suitable. So deal.

There will be language and . . . tame gore? Is that even a classification? Meh. There'll be blood. Disgusting games. Junk like that. Stick around and see. :D But of course, I don't blame you squeamish people.

Disclaimer: I wish Kishimoto were my "homeboy". 'Cause then I could "borrow" Naruto from him. ;D

Fighter.

I was a fighter from birth. I kicked and screamed and punched. I wailed and lit up and grabbed. Fought.

They told me at the orphanage that my father used to be a prized boxer. I didn't know anything about that, of course. My parents had died when I was three, and I was shipped off to this place, no relatives to speak of. They didn't know my last name either, just my first. TenTen.

When I was seven, some bully had tried to cheat against me in a game of kickball. So, I punched him in the nose. He bled all over the place, crying that I was a 'monster', 'freak', and 'meanie'. That kid needed a new vocabulary. Still, I broke his nose, and that landed me in the orphanage matron's office to 'explain myself'.

"He's a loser and needs to learn how to stop acting like a big baby," I had remarked.

The matron sighed.

"TenTen, you can't punch people. Violence is not tolerable in this orphanage."

I rolled my eyes. What a stupid rule.

Over the next several years, I had picked fights with different people, and had succeeded in getting myself into more trouble.

Ultimately, when I turned sixteen, the matron kicked me out and shipped me off to a boarding school in the city Konohagakure.

Nothing special, I can tell you that.

The headmistress was some drunk, has-been who had a short way of dealing with things and an even shorter temper. I immediately liked her.

The girls at my school were pretty stupid and boy-crazed which I took no dealing in at all. Not my thing.

My first fight at that school was against this arrogant loser who'd skipped me in line. I had pulled him back by the collar and socked him good in the gut before he'd realized what had happened. How very pitiful to have an opponent who doesn't even know what's going on. I was wasting my time with this one. I dropped that sucker, and left before someone told on me.

I was not pleased when I figured someone was following me.

"What do you want?" I asked as I walked briskly.

The person behind me deliberated for a second before speeding up to walk beside me. I glanced at him in my peripheral vision. He had long hair and, stunningly, pale white eyes.

Who was this freak?

"I saw your fight," he told me.

"Obviously," I snarled.

"Well, there's this club. . ."

"Spit it out, kid," I told him quickly.

"It's a boxing club. A secret boxing club. And that's some right hook you've got. . ."

I thought for a second.

"What's the address?"

"Heron Way, between buildings 46 and 47. In the alley," he said firmly.

I made a mental note.

"I'll check it out then. You know, if I have time," I told him.

He stopped, and I continued on in my fast walk.

"My name's Neji, by the way," he called out.

I nodded.

"TenTen," I replied.

And then I turned into another hall.

A review would be nice. :)