A Special Case: Hi! This is my first kankuroxtenten story. Neither of them get a lot of action, so I'm adding to their small collection. If you see a little difference in writing, it's because most of it was written about six months ago, so Please Enjoy!

Fix you

Tenten stood in front of her mirror with a frown between her brows. She sucked in her cheeks slightly and observed her face from different angles. She tried opening her eyes more to make them seem bigger. No such luck.

She hated herself. Her eyes were too small, thanks to her Chinese nature. Her shoulders were manly, as she called them, and although it was from training hard she wished she was just a bit more feminine.

With a deep swallow, she shook herself out of her reverie. She needed to get ready for the day. Looking at herself wouldn't make her eyes bigger or her cheeks thinner. Looking at herself wouldn't stop her from envying Ino's confidence or Sakura's strength.

This part of the day was her depressing 'judge yourself as bad as you can' time. For five minutes she wouldn't think of training, or her team, or what she would eat. A lot of the time, she wouldn't eat anything at all, for fear it would add more to her body.

This part of the day was a battle between what was good for her, and what was good for her self-confidence.

And it was also when she told herself that Neji would never recognize her as a girl and a person, not just a team mate. It helped her get through the day without feeling too sorry for herself.

So when she met her team on their training ground that morning, the smile she put on was forced, but no one ever noticed. When she complimented Neji on his hard work perfecting his gentle fist, they were just a show.

When she ate her lunch with Lee and Gai-sensei and Neji, she flinched with every bite on the inside. No one ever noticed. No one ever noticed that whenever she spoke to someone, she would open her eyes more and smile more brightly.

Tenten knew others saw her as a tomboy; the tough girl that was strong enough to deal with a team like hers. What others didn't know, however, was that she was fed up of just being her. Of never being noticed by friends who thought she was fine. Of doing the same thing over and over again each day. Of just being a stepping stone for Neji who never noticed that he was the only one improving.

Tenten was so fed up that she had gone completely insane. Not the mental illness insane, but the clear-minded, calm crazy. In fact, she was planning to go to see Tsunade today to hand in a request for her to leave Konoha.

Yes, and she was completely calm about it.

*

Shizune knocked hastily on Tsunade's office door, hoping she wasn't drunk or doing anything embarrassing.

Inside, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the knock. Hopefully this would give her a good break from the hundreds of reports she had to read and sign.

Shizune peaked around the door before standing straight and declaring "Tenten-san is here to see you, Tsunade sama."

Tsunade frowned. Tenten? Ah yes, Tenten. The skilled weapons girl on Gai's team. She smiled graciously as she got ready to hear what the kunoichi had to say.

*

Tenten felt refreshed as she left the Hokage's office. She wanted a new start, and although she would be leaving her friends, she was sure new people would like her. She would become a totally different person, keeping only her name and face. But before that-

"Tenten!"

-she would have to deal with them. Tenten had already decided that if she told no one and disappeared, less questions would be asked and less people would care.

With a gentle smile, she turned to greet the girls. Ino, Sakura and Hinata were coming towards her.

"Hey, where were you at lunch? We couldn't find you anywhere!" Ino called.

"Oh, sorry," Tenten replied, "I was just busy."

"With what?" Ino said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"No! Not anything like that, just doing some extra training by myself." Tenten lied.

She felt bad lying to Hinata like that. Ino and Sakura wouldn't care, but Hinata and Tenten were close friends, and she was supposed to be honest. Guess not.

After a quick catch-up, the girls decided to have a small sleepover at Sakura's house next week. Tenten readily agreed, but felt sad that she would unfortunately not be there. The occasional 'girl talk' was like a refreshing burst of gossip, and she always loved it.

With a friendly goodbye, they all departed to their separate homes and separate futures. For Tenten, she supposed her future would not last more than tomorrow.

From tomorrow, she was no longer Tenten the submissive kunoichi with adequate skills. She would become a new person, but who that was would be left for tomorrow to decide.

*

The next day, Tenten left early, slipping through the gate in the still darkness. No-one saw her go, only the guards on duty and the Hokage who knew that it would be the last time she would see the young kunoichi for some time.

The weapons mistress left her home at the age of sixteen, leaving behind possessions, memories, friendships and regrets.

*

"Neji nii-san!"

"Neji nii-san! It's u-urgent! Please o-open u-up!" A relentless banging on Neji's bedroom door followed, forcing the teenager stumbling out of bed after only a few minutes in it. He wrenched the door open, revealing his cousin panting and supporting herself on the wall.

"What is it, it's already twelve!" He asked, annoyed that his comfort was ruined.

"Neji nii-san, it's v-very b-bad!" Hinata stuttered, her face crumpled in panic.

"What is it!" He repeated, starting to become impatient.

"T-tenten, Tenten has gone missing!" yelled Hinata, then proceeded to wring her hands together, whimpering as tears welled up.

"Tenten?" Neji asked, "that's what's all this fuss is about?" He rolled his eyes and was about to close the door when Hinata shoved it open frantically.

"D-don't you care a-about h-her?" She asked, her face looking so pitiful that Neji felt sorry for her.

"I do; she is an important team mate. But Tenten is the type of person who would be training in the middle of the night, or eating out, or something. She'll turn up some time." He explained, and then made to close the door again.

"But w-we've searched every-everywhere!" Hinata cried, "She's n-n-not anywhere! We've searched a-all of K-Konoha for three h-hours!" At this point, she sank to her knees and let her tears seep out.

"Maybe she's out of Konoha," Neji provided, shifting his feet at the uncomfortable scene in front of him, "she could be on a mission that she was called for in the last minute."

"I-It's not r-right! Sh-she always t-tells m-me if sh-she's going o-on a m-mission!" Hinata blabbered.

Neji sighed. His peaceful evening was slowly disintegrating in his mind; he hoped he'd at least have six hours of sleep. "Fine, I'll help you find her. Even when your byakugan is capable enough," he added under his breath.

"N-none o-of us c-can find h-her."

Neji turned, shocked at her words. "Who's out there?" he asked softly. When she didn't answer, he changed quickly and headed out of the house, leaving his cousin upstairs; she would be able to fend for herself.

Out on the streets, he could immediately see the panic. Yells of "Tenten!" echoed throughout the air. Activating his byakugan, he could see clearly that the voices belonged to the Konoha twelve. Even Shino had come to help, his bugs scuttling all over the streets.

Neji looked more closely, and saw that the senseis, including others, like Iruka and Yamato were knocking on civilian doors, asking if they had seen a bun-haired girl. Each answer was a shake of the head, then they would quickly move onto the next house.

Kurenai and Anko were given the job of explaining the situation to distressed villagers, woken by the yells.

'If it weren't for Tenten' Neji thought, 'Anko wouldn't be so motivated to miss out on sleep.' The two had met at the weapons store, and bonded closely in terms of training.

All this chaos, Neji observed. He understood why Hinata had been distressed. With his byakugan, he could see that she was obviously not in the village. Still, there were ways people could be hidden, and the searchers of Konoha were not risking the chance.

Neji turned to find Kakashi get a door slammed into his face, and headed over for the details.

*

Tsunade could see everything from her darkened office. She saw the worry on Lee's face, calling for his "youthful flower" to stop hiding. She could see Hinata's overflowing tears dry on her face as she desperately searched the area with her eyes. She could see the effort and perspiration on everyone's faces as they searched the whole night.

Shizune stood behind her with Tonton in her arms. "Are you sure this is what she wanted?" She asked quietly.

"This is what she wanted." Tsunade replied in a hoarse voice. The two women stood there for the rest of the night, silently watching the village and its people.

*

Everyone had panda eyes. Puffy rings of black outlined each half lidded eye, and the search party was practically dead on their feet. Most of them had gone home to rest, but a select few chose to wait for Tsunade to wake up.

As soon as her heels were heard, Lee jumped up from where he had almost dozed off.

"Hokage-sama! Are you aware that-"

"-Tenten has gone missing?" She finished, with an eyebrow raised. "I am very aware of the fact seeing you and…everyone else here."

Lee was about to open his mouth to no doubt pour out a litter of words, but Tsunade stopped him.

"Lee, please wait for me to wake up before talking. I will call you in soon," she answered to the group's unasked question.

It was another ten minutes before they were allowed to go in. The group filed through the double doors, determined and hopeful their Hokage had an answer: Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Lee, Naruto, Neji, Kakashi, Kurenai and Gai.

They stood in silence, a little squished as the group was big. Tsunade set down her cup of tea and sighed. She hated these kinds of scenes. Especially with young people.

"I have already talked to Kakashi about this and-"

"-Kakashi? Why? When?" Naruto interrupted, leaving Tsunade more exasperated.

"Naruto, if you cannot contain yourself, I will have to ask you to leave. Please be quiet." Her voice was especially steady, and did the job.

"Now, when Kakashi inquired about it yesterday, I gave him the same answer as I will give you now." She paused for a breath, knowing that Kakashi had already told the other adults and they would restrain the teenagers if things got out of hand.

With an encouraging nod from Shizune and Tonton, Tsunade spoke. "Tenten has, of yesterday, asked for a long-term mission away from Konoha." Immediately, uproars started.

"Never! Our youthful flower would never leave Team Gai!"

"Why would she ask to get one away from Konoha!?"

"Why would she be on long-term!?"

Even Hinata's little voice protested. "Sh-she would h-have t-told me! I kn-know she w-would have t-told me!"

"Are you sure you're telling us the truth, obaa-san?" Naruto yelled, turning to her.

The fifty year old had hardly enough energy to smile, let alone get angry at Naruto's informal language.

"Please listen." Her serious tone commanded the room. "Tenten has asked that it would remain silent until she left. She did not want to worry you. She has her own reasons for leaving, and people sometimes cannot take being confined somewhere they feel has no more belonging than one hundred miles away. Please respect her wishes."

The solemn ninja bowed their heads, knowing they had been dismissed.

When Shizune closed the doors with a thud, Tsunade resisted the temptation to pull out her sake bottle. The ninjas had left their depressing aura in the room, which would no doubt spread to the people close to Tenten.

The Hokage thumped her head on the desk, and left it there. She had no idea what compelled her to sign the form. Perhaps it was her face. It had a sort of despair and helplessness that was almost suicidal.

The sun's rays shone into the office, but avoided the place where the nine people had previously stood, as if it were taunting her.

She stifled a laugh. Life was taunting her.

*

Tenten's bag slipped off her shoulder, thudding as it hit the dirt. She followed suit, her calves aching from the long trip. From past experiences, it had taken her one and a half days to reach the Sand, but she was carrying possessions as well as survival essentials.

She leaned against a tree and took a long drag of water before cursing; that was already half her water supply gone. Only having traveled half a day with the sun beating on the back of her neck, she wondered if she would pass out and die of thirst in the forest.

She laughed freely at the hypocrisy of it. Her voice echoed loudly, and this made her laugh even more.

She could not describe the feeling. She was half starved; food and water rations low. Her muscles ached and she longed to lie down. However, bubbly warmth filled her from the inside, a sense of euphoria, pure happiness at the chance to start again.

She had no idea how long she laughed for, but her voice was hoarse and the sun was low by the time she picked up her packs and set off again.

*

Kankuro rolled his eyes as he droned out Temari's yelling from behind. Just because he strayed out of the set course, didn't mean he was immediately a target for the mafia.

"Hey, Temari! We've got a job for you!"

Temari ceased her lecture to look up at one of guards at the gates of the city. "Give me a break! I'll do it tomorrow!" she yelled back, watching the face crease into worry.

"Umm, I'm afraid that's not-"

"Oh, forget it," Kankuro interjected, "she's pissed right now, I'll do it." His ears were aching, and needed to fix Karasu up before tomorrow, but a short mission would be better than hearing his sister chew him out.

Temari looked at him surprised, then grinned and remarked, "finally scared some sense in ya, huh?"

"No," he replied, "just feel sorry for the person you find." She smacked him on the head and flounced off towards an awaiting bath.

"You need to find a missing person," explained the guard, "A person from Konoha was supposed to arrive this afternoon, but they haven't turned up."

"Somewhere in the forest?" Kankuro inquired.

"We think so. It'll take about an hour, I suppose."

He automatically looked at the sun; it was nearly five o'clock. "Fine, I'll be back in an hour."

"Thanks." The guard nodded to him as he jogged back to the forest connecting Suna and Konoha.

"This better be worth it."

*

Kankuro cursed as an hour passed. The sun was almost gone, and he couldn't find a single trace of the damn person. He had bet on them being civilians and would have left tracks everywhere.

Stupid Kankuro. Why didn't he leave this to Temari? He continued walking, praying he'd find the idiot soon.

*

Tenten shuddered in the cool night air, and her mouth became dryer as air blew in. She jerked up suddenly, senses alert to the familiar rustle of a trained foot.

She gathered up her things in a hurry and swung herself high up a tree, ignoring the fatigue. If it was an unfamiliar ninja, they would most likely be engaged in battle, and in her state, she had to have the advantage.

Just a few seconds before the incomer stepped into sight, she shot a senbon through a bush opposite her, making it rustle with force. Just as she predicted, the stranger dropped down in front of the moving bush, cautiously investigating it.

He was obviously male, wearing a costume and hat that looked strangely familiar. His back was towards her, so she couldn't use his headband to identify him. Either way, she should trap him down, just in case he was a foe.

Swiftly grabbing a kunai, she directed it at his feet, and then one at his face as he avoided her first attack. She saw a flash of his face, covered in face paint, before dropping down and shooting a barrage of weapons.

He retaliated at once, both ninja not bothering to check if they were allies.

Unraveling the lump of bandages, he revealed an ugly shape which Tenten couldn't help but grimace at. Its huge screws whirred menacingly, spraying blood that had not been cleaned off.

Tenten's hands froze. Her throat closed up, and the weapons dropped from mid-air.
She could not move.
The clacking of wood, the ghost like movement, and the scratch of metal so unlike her smooth swipes was becoming much too familiar to her.

Kankuro cocked his head at the stationary girl. Her face was pale, looking as if she was about to scream. He had had people looking scared, but no one was ever this bad. He pulled Karasu back, observing the bun-haired kunoichi. Something about her was weird…

Anyhow, he couldn't take any chances. He appeared behind her, placing a knife carefully at her throat.

She did not move.

From behind her, Kankuro moved his head inquisitively to the left, training his eyes on her face. Konoha headband. Crap; he would've killed her if he hadn't seen it. He nudged her gently in the back with his knee, and watched as her eyes fell, turning from horror to death.

Kankuro frowned. He didn't like what he was seeing; it reminded him too much of Gaara. He reached for her wrist, still looking at her. Her muscles were weak, and he had to grasp her limp arm tightly.

Stepping closer behind her, he reached around her and made a small cut below her wrist. Just like that, she gasped audibly and fell forward on her hands.

He stayed where he was; watching the girl clutch her heart, then hold her head in her hands as the shoulders started to shake. He bit his lip, finally deciding to take off his headband and place it in her lap.

He watched as she picked it up without looking at him, salty tears dropping down at the metal.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she realised her mistake, "I'm sorry I tried…I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

He stood there uncomfortably, never before been in a situation where he felt like he deserved less. He had caused her to be like this, and yet she was apologizing.

Kankuro knelt beside her, and patted her back awkwardly, hoping that her tears would cease soon.

"It's okay," he replied in a calming voice, "What's your name?"

"Tenten." She replied in a small voice.

"Okay, Tenten…" he paused, not sure of what to say. Her sobs answered for him. "Just umm, just let it out, it's okay." It sounded odd coming from him, but he had heard Temari saying it to her friends when they got dumped. Not that they didn't deserve it.

He mentally slapped himself for his mean humour. Now was not the time to be funny.

Settling in a more comfortable decision, he held Tenten's shoulders firmly and resigned himself to a night of unrest.

The forest was silent as the two ninjas waited out the darkness. Perhaps tomorrow would decide a better fate.

A Special Case: So there it is! To clear some things up:
- Tenten left Konoha because she was tired of keeping up a fake facade. If you didn't get that, I'm a horrible writer.
- Tenten had no idea that she was causing so much sadness because she was mostly ignorant of her importance.
- The only reason Kankuro stayed with her was because she was a fellow ninja with...issues, sadly. Buuut, they will live to love! ^^

- If you have any questions, please ask! If you have absolutely any feedback or suggestions at all, then please feedback and
suggest!

Thank you!