บท 6: Tenten's Complex

"Um... I heard someone crying and... I wanted to know if I could help in any way"

"As if the prodigy of the Inuzuka could understand... *sob*"

That one actually hurt. Not what she said, but the fact that just my presence made her feel inferior. I didn't like it, not one single bit. That was the moment I decided to help her as much as we could.

"If you don't tell me I can't understand"

"I-I'm... *sob* weak"

I never knew the weak, fragile Tenten. I had always seen her as the cheery, happy girl that berated Guy and Lee and always kept a smile to cheer everyone up. I really didn't like seeing her like this.

"Come with me"

"Huh? W-Where?"

"To my house. duh!"

Without waiting for her to answer, I began walking. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to chase after me.

"Hey, wait for me!"

"Who is this young lady, Ryo?"

"Her name is Tenten mom! I invited her to train with me!"

My mom looked at Tenten with a scrutinizing gaze. I could only guess what she was thinking when a moment later her expression became gentle and warm. There are things that a son will never understand.

"Ok! But you'll walk her home when it's late"

"Yes mom! Come Guremaru!"

When I began walking to my usual training spot, I realized Tenten wasn't following us. Thus, I turned around and looked at her with a confused look.

"Hey, what are you standing there for? Come on!"

"Oh! You meanie, wait for me!"

"Ok, how deep have you delved in chakra control, Tenten?"

"I can stick the leave on my forehead nonstop while doing my regular training!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but sigh. She was more likely than not comparing herself with Neji and Lee, who were currently her classmates in the Academy and more likely than not, top of the class. The problem with that was that Neji came from the Hyuga clan and, even if only a branch family member, Neji was trained by them. And Lee was a monster in Taijutsu trained since childhood by THE Might Guy, AKA Konoha's Green Beast. Tenten came from a civilian family and had no prior training to the Academy, besides the few things she could've learned on her own.

Under such a disadvantageous starting point, she wasn't able to catch up no matter how talented and hardoworking she was. Not because she was less talented or hardworking than them, but because they had different upbringings.

"Ok, first I'll teach you the next step of Chakra control. Tree walking"

"Tree walking?"

After that came a lengthy explanation on how to do it and a demonstration, which had Tenten looking at me with stars in her eyes. It didn't take long for her to graspt the technique and master it, since she was already miles ahead in terms of chakra control than her peers, bar Neji.

Once she was done with three walking, I had her show me her jutsus and how she used them. I recommended her to use her jutsus after throwing smokescreens and to try and surprise her enemies, since someone with a Jutsu that affected a large area could neutralize her weapons. Still, Tenten's Jutsus were strong. In spite of using no elemental affinity, her mastery over weapons, talismans and scrolls was on a league of its own. I doubted there was any Shinoby out there who could use weapons the way Tenten did.

The sun was beginning to set when I was done with Tenten's training, so I told her I'd walk her home, as per my mother's request. Not like I minded doing so. But before that, I had a few words to share with her.

"Tenten, before we leave, I wanted to tell you something"

"What is it, Ryo-kun?"

I almost blushed when I hear how she called me so easily. I was sure she was already aware of relationships and such, so the fact that she called me by a nickname so suddenly meant that she thought of me as a good friend at least.

"Well... you are weak. Before you get mad at me, I don't mean it in a bad way. In fact, you are weak if you compare yourself to people like me, who have been training since extremely young to be a Ninja"

Almost fucked up when I said that, but I was quick enough to save it. Still, her eyes said she was mad and she was waiting for me to continue.

"If you compare your chakra control with me, it's still weak, because I can walk on water. And... in Taijutsu, I think I am stronger that you. But... you must understand that, while there are things where your weak and other's strong, it also works the other way around."

Her eyes opened wide when she heard what I said. The shock probably came from realizing that I knew she was sad because she felt weak when compared to others and thought of herself as less because of that. The way to solve this kind of things was, usually, by highlighting the weak points before listing the good ones. That way, the impact would be stronger and leave a lasting mark on the person.

"I can't use weapons like you. I'm good with a Kunai and Shuriken, yeah. But so many weapons? Hell no. I'm also not as creative when using Explosive talismans and sealing scrolls. You get what I mean right?"

For the first time since we began training, her smile didn't seem strained, but honest and pure. It was a smile so contagious that I couldn't hold myself from also smiling.

"I get it. While there are things some are good at and you're not, there are also things that you're good at and other's aren't"

"Exactly! I'm glad you get it... I wouldn't know what to do if you kept getting sad..."

"I promise, Ryo-kun!"

I looked at her, this time confused. What did she promise? I didn't ask her to promise anything at all. That was when she suddenly gave me a strong hug, when she released me, the brightest smile I had ever seen appeared on her face.

"I promise to become a strong Kunoichi who wouldn't lose to anyone in what she's good at!"