Ten Out of Ten- Tenten AU

1.

"Grandmother, I want to be a shinobi just like mother and father," a small girl with two hair buns said hopefully, as her grandmother shook her head.

"There is nothing glorious about being a shinobi, Tenten," her grandmother replied, "your mother and father died on a mission, do you want to end up like them? The only reward for a shinobi is death; I don't want you to lead that kind of life."

The girl pouted as she fiddled with her pencil as she did her homework. The problems were too easy for her and she finished in under ten minutes before stretching boredly. Takigakure, the Hidden Village. She wanted desperately to be a kunoichi, a kunoichi renowned around the world for her strength and intelligence.

She closed her eyes as she lay on the floor while her grandmother was washing the dishes. She didn't want to be a normal civilian; she craved the adrenaline rush of a mission and the feeling of power coursing through her veins. Her grandmother disapproved but she always felt like it was a dream that was part of her.

Her friend, Ren, was already a genin and going out on missions while she was left in normal school with the other normal kids. He laughed at her dream, saying that she, much less, a girl couldn't become a legendary shinobi. Kunoichi were just for pretty show, he said, which made her squeeze her hands into tiny fists. He just laughed at her and then left on his mission.

She wanted to prove him wrong. That a woman was just as strong as a man.

Tenten rolled over, looking at the moths that were attracted to the lanterns. She saw the stars glittering down at her. "Please," she squeezed her eyes shut, "please let me become a kunoichi...."

Tenten went to sleep, fueled by dreams and hopes for the future.

That night, in her room, she heard something. No, she felt something.

It was as if she could taste the presence on her tongue as she rolled over and saw the light in her grandmother's room. Tenten felt unease creep up her arms and legs as she dug into her closet and took out the kunai she stole from Ren.

She didn't allow her footsteps to make any sound as she crept along the wall and heard a rough voice in the air.

"This is not a wise decision, Mari—" a low voice sounded, sending chills underneath her skin.

Tenten didn't hear her grandmother's reply as she summoned her courage and kicked open the door before holding the kunai in the position she saw Ren hold it in. She saw a very tall stranger robed in a black cloak with blood red clouds. Her grandmother gave her a look of shock as the stranger turned, his green eyes narrowed and a mask covering the half of his face. Tenten couldn't stop the shaking of her arms, but she used her left hand to steady the right. "Get away from my grandmother—" she quivered as the stranger walked towards her. She couldn't help but stumble backwards before the stranger stooped to her height.

Tenten shivered as the stranger looked down at her hand holding the kunai. "I thought you said she wasn't trained," he rumbled in his low voice.

"She isn't," her grandmother replied, "she must have picked it up from one of the genin. She always sneaks away to the Academy to see how they train—"

Tenten forced herself not to flinch as she looked straight at the stranger's eyes. They were cold, almost empty. "Who...Who are you?" She asked bravely.

"She has her mother's eyes," her grandmother whispered, "don't you remember when she was born? Don't you see our child in her eyes?"

Our child?

Tenten stalled. Did that mean....

"I haven't visited Takigakure since my exile," the stranger said, regarding her, "I wouldn't know anything about it."