Bitten

iii

3.

The orphanage Tenten lived in wasn't a very nice place.

The food was bland, the place was cramped, and the kids weren't very well-adjusted.

It wasn't very safe either.

Life in Konoha's orphanage was difficult. It was quite dangerous, actually. One could say it's almost deadly with its wardens whispering of monsters and the kids disappearing with nary a protest from their supposed caretakers.

Not that the people were all bad, since there were some decent ones she could tolerate. Like Nono-san, the kind gentle medic who always did try to make them feel loved, or Urushi, who, despite graduating in the ninja academy, usually dropped by to help cheer up the kids from time to time. They're good people even if they had, or would have in Urushi's case, blood on their hands.

The others though.

The others made her blood boil.

It's frustrating how most of the other wardens turned a blind eye on the rampant bullying. Some even, much to her disgust and chagrin, participated from time to time, especially when it came to that poor blond-haired kid, Uzumaki Naruto.

Tenten understood why some orphans did it. To feel good about themselves. To prove to themselves that they're not powerless or worth nothing. To simply release pent-up stress and frustration because why weren't they adopted yet was there something wrong with them-

She knew that.

Tenten could even say that she experienced the same angst at some point and if not for her dreams, which brought a small amount of comfort, where she had Fon, Tsunayoshi, Kusakabe-

Well, she would've given in and done the same, to be honest. Hate as she was to admit it since she didn't like the thought of acting like the rest of the sheep.

Scratch that. Tenten didn't like associating herself with them, in any way or form, period.

Those...herbivores, as her counterpart so eloquently put it, never failed to make her sneer. Cowards, that they were. Practically begging to be beaten - no bitten, so they would know their place and the peace could be kept-

But she digressed.

Kyoya-san probably wasn't a very good influence but to her defense, Tenten was an impressionable child.

It just became a habit at that point.

To get back to the topic however, what Tenten couldn't comprehend was how the wardens could be so despicable.

It's their duty for kami's sake - their responsibility to take care for each and everyone of the children. Granted, Tenten could see why they couldn't guide everyone, since the caretaker to the children ratio was horribly screwed, but the least they could do - for the sake of common decency - was to set a good example for the children.

It's not as if they weren't paid to do their jobs. Why couldn't they try to make it better? Tenten would gladly do it for them if she could and she did try her best without resorting to the special kind of violence Kyoya-san dished out, but...

It's not working.

Who would listen to a five year old after all?

Tenten sometimes wished she could just slapped them all in the head to keep them all in line, but people here weren't so easily cowed by flashy displays of violence. She could do it without alerting the caretakers, since fighting came easily - almost instinctively - but she wouldn't risk it.

She knew what happened to those who stand out.

Tenten's young but she's not a fool.

She couldn't get away with acting like Kyoya-san because she didn't have the sufficient backing to do so.

Tenten's, for all intents and purposes, a poor, no-name orphan.

Easily replaceable.

Easily taken with her case, if there ever was one, neatly swept under the rug.

Look at what happened to Kabuto-nii, one of the few she allowed herself to get close with. Partly because of the aching resemblance he had to the people she dreamed of, but mostly due to the fact that he's very hard not to like. Tenten had noticed that Kabuto-nii, in his own subtle way, always tried to make the lives of the other orphans easier - even to those who undeserving of the gesture.

He's also talented medic. A fast learner with the capability of climbing through the shinobi ranks easily. After graduating from the academy a year ago, he promised her that he would come back.

He didn't.

...Or he couldn't.

Tenten knew it wasn't of his own accord because, even though he's sneaky and underhanded, she knew that he cared for her in his own way.

There's something wrong with Kabuto-nii's situation and the whole system of this orphanage, in general.

Something twisted, convoluted and very...bitable?

That probably didn't sound right but Tenten suspected that someone high-up probably orchestrated it all since no one's objecting. She had a sinking feeling that if it wasn't resolved immediately and nipped in the bud, Kabuto's going to end up in a drastic situation in the process.

Tenten knew she couldn't do much but she had to try.

She couldn't live with herself if she did otherwise, and looked the other way just like everybody else.

Tenten's a carnivore, after all.

Or at least, she hoped she was.

She just had to prove it.