A/N: Oh, I realized with the order that I put the opening chapters in, I should probably technically start with Kazue... but I dun wanna. xP So ha! Oh, and I'm making the executive decision that starting in this book, I'm using the spelling I like for Guy, so he'll be Gai for now on. I'll edit the last chapter in a moment.

"Jun!" 

Darting away from the house, Jun caught the front gate with his hand and vaulted over it, landing softly on the other side. Before he'd taken a step, however, a small hand grabbed his sleeve, halting him in place. He almost cursed his luck, when did she get so fast?

"Hey, Jun, wait!" 

With a small, strained smile he paused, turning around and facing the little girl. Her moss green eyes were narrowed suspiciously, her hands settling on her hips as she released his sleeve. Her once choppy black hair had grown out and been slung back in a simple ponytail, a crimson colored ribbon tying it in place. He almost laughed, the expression on the seven-year old's face a mirror of the disapproving one her mother used to give her when she'd stay up late waiting for him. 

"You promised me you'd take me to practice with my kunais today!" she reminded him. "You didn't forget, did you, Jun?" 

Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of the head with one hand.

"Kiyoko... I..."

"You did! Jun-"

"Don't worry about it, kid," he cut in, dropping the hand from his head and messing her hair up. "I'll be back soon and we'll practice then. Alright?" 

"Liar," she declared, swatting his hand away. "You always say that." 

"No, promise," Jun assured her, moving his hand where she could see it and offering his pinky in her direction. "I just need to see Tenten about something before her team leaves, I heard someone saying that Kakashi-sensei made Miki-sensei give up a B-Rank mission to them. I'll be back as soon as we've finished."

She studied his pinky for a moment, eyes still narrowed, before reluctantly giving in and hooking her own around his. 

"You promised," Kiyoko pressed. "If you don't come back, you'll be sorry." 

"Gotcha, now, I really have to go." 

With Kiyoko staring after him, Jun spun around and darted down the street. A few angry shouts reached his ears as he cut corners close and just barely made his leap onto one of the lower buildings. When he'd finally neared the gates, he could see Gai, Tenten, Neji, and Lee only a few feet from the gates. Jun rose one hand, about to call out to them, but faltered as a figure suddenly launched herself through the gates and tackled Gai to the ground. 

"Gai-kun!" 

Judging from the expressions on his team's face, they hadn't been expecting the enthusiastic greeting either. Curious, Jun dropped down to the street and darted forward, just in time to catch Gai's startled expression as he stared up at the girl who'd tackled him. 

"It's been so long, I bet you don't even recognize me," she declared. "I recognize you, though, you haven't changed a bit! Damn, I can't believe I'm back here." 

Jun took that moment as a chance to study her. The girl, or more appropriately woman, appeared to be around Gai's age with pure white hair that traveled down her back in a rather free, wild mess. Her eyes, which hadn't left Gai since she tackled him, were a dark-mud brown, her skin lightly tanned. Her rather... developed frame was covered by a light violet dress that stretched over her shoulders, showing a large amount of skin across her collarbone and a pair of form-fitting black pants. The most striking feature about the girl, though, was the purple diamond settled in the center of her forehead. 

After a moment, Gai's face lit up in recognition. 

"Momoe-chan?" he guessed. 

The instant grin that appeared on her lips was enough to let everyone know his guess had been right. No, the startling fact came a second later when her face suddenly screwed up in a scowl and she hit him upside the head. 

"What took you so long, huh?" 

Gai winced, rubbing his head as she finally pulled herself off of him, her irritated expression fading only slightly. At the same time, her gaze flickered away from him as she gave him a moment to pull himself to his feet. Instead, she focused on the other shinobi standing around them, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. 

"There's too many of you here," Momoe announced a moment later. "How many of you are his?" 

Neji broke away from the other three, not needing to look at them to know that he would most likely be the best decision of who was to explain for them. After-all, Lee had already begun to switch into his nice guy pose and if the display of temper the girl had just given was any indication, he had a feeling that she would prefer an easy to understand answer. Then there were the obvious connections to their hokage... 

"We are," Neji explained, gesturing to Lee, Tenten, and himself. "I'm Hyuuga Neji, she's-

"Tenten," she broke in.

"And I'm Rock Lee," Lee added, thrusting his thumbs up into sight. "I-"

"Oh, you're so adorable!" 

Her irritable expression disappearing instantly, Momoe flung herself forward to pull Lee into a rather suffocating hug, the exact positioning of his face turning the boy's face a deep crimson red. Jun, unable to help himself, burst out laughing. Momoe- seeming to have dismissed the others presence, cheerfully kept Lee in place as she focused her gaze on Gai. 

"Okaasan sent for me," she explained happily. "You two will be coming with me to meet her, won't you?" 

"Gai-sensei, we-" Neji began, cutting off at the suddenly narrowed eyed gaze that Momoe settled on him, before turning her attention back to Gai. 

"You won't?" 

Blanching, Gai held up his hands innocently, quickly shaking his head. 

"No, no, I'm coming!" he assured her. "Don't worry!" 

"Gai-sensei's whipped," Jun declared, cracking up laughing even harder. "Oh, this is classic. Who knew he had a-"

Her narrowed gaze settled on Jun, cutting him off. He shivered slightly, having the bad feeling that if he continued speaking the results wouldn't be in his favor. 

"And you are?" she demanded. 

"Kurama Jun," he offered sheepishly. "Pleasure to-"

"Kurama, huh?" she cut in thoughtfully. "I see. Gai-kun?" 

Finally releasing Lee, which sent him sprawling on the ground with an extremely crimson face, she spun to face Gai once again. Not feeling the want to see if her temper was just as volatile as when they were younger, Gai quickly offered to show her the way to the hokage's office. They'd only taken a few steps when Momoe paused and glanced over her shoulder to where Lee was. 

"Lee-kun, are you coming?" she questioned. 

Lee, to his credit, managed to scramble to his feet instantly and take off after them as they started off again. 

"Coming, Momoe-san!" 

"It's '-chan' to you, adorable kids can call me Momoe-chan!" 

"Yes, Momoe-chan!" 

Jun stared after the questioningly, turning his gaze to Tenten and Neji a moment later. 

"Any clue what just happened?" he wondered. "And... when did Lee become the most adorable out of us? I thought that was me." 

Receiving two sets of rolling eyes in response to his question, Jun simply shrugged. 

"Admit it, I'm cute." 

Tenten sighed, focusing on Neji for a moment. 

"I'd take this to mean we're not leaving?" she questioned. 

He nodded, hiking the bag he'd packed for the mission higher on his shoulder. 

"It would. I'll check with Gai-sensei later to see what comes of this."

Then, without saying anything else, he turned and started down the street. Jun took that moment to step forward and hook an arm around Tenten's neck, earning himself a small frown. 

"So, so, what do you say?" he questioned. "Me, I'm cute, right?" 

Rolling her eyes once again, but well aware that if she didn't answer he wouldn't drop the comment, she took a moment to give him a once-over. Jun's once shaggy, black-hair had been grown out so that it dropped just past his chin, his bangs just long enough that he would occasionally raise a hand to thrust him out of his icy-blue eyes. His clothing was his usual, the Konoha flak-vest with the typical black undershirt and pants. Over the years, his slender frame had filled out somewhat, giving the boy a slight hint of muscle instead of the scrawny frame he'd boasted for the majority of his life. 

"You're still a babyface," she admitted. 

He frowned, attempting to decipher the news. 

"Is that good?" he demanded. "I'm cute, right? Cuter than Lee?" 

Simply rolling her eyes again, Tenten shrugged off his arm and crossed her own over her chest. 

"So, what is it, what do you need?" she questioned. 

For a moment, Jun considered pursuing the line of questioning. A second later, however, at the familiar feeling that filled him and the sight of the black-haired child he could see suddenly appear in the gateway of the village, he gave in and moved onto the more important problem. 

"You're good with shinobi weapons, right? Like you can mend them?" 

Slightly confused, Tenten nodded her agreement. 

"I am and can, why?" 

"What about chakra weapons, can you mend those?" he added. "You know, the sort that can suppress or channel chakra?" 

Even more confused than before, Tenten simply offered another nod. 

"What about these?" 

Shoving his hands to his pockets, Jun pulled out the golden bands. Her brow knitting together, Tenten took them from him, glancing over the symbols decorating the inside and the charred, broken latches. Even in the state they were in, however, she could feel the strange feeling the bands gave off, something she might not have noticed had they not been in her own hands.

"... what are these?" 

Jun hesitated, considering his options before settling on a half-truth. 

"I got them from the third, they were a present. You can fix them, can't you?" 

Tenten hesitated, glancing at the bands once again and turning them over in her hands. A second later, she slowly offered a hesitant nod. 

"I might be able to. They're really fine work, nothing like what I've made. Repairing them... whatever I manage isn't going to make them work as they did before they broke."

Jun's face lit up and he suddenly leaned forward, wrapping her in a warm hug. 

"Either way, thanks a lot, Tenten-chan, I appreciate it! Oh," he paused, releasing her and offering a stunningly bright smile. "Keep this a secret, will you? Just... I've got personal reasons." 

Rather stunned by the expression she was seeing on him, she slowly nodded, unable to bring herself to offer any other response. 

"Yeah..." 

"Great, I've got to go hang with Kiyoko-chan now, lemme know when you've got them fixed! Thanks again!" 

Then, without lingering any longer, he took off down the street, waving at her over his shoulder. Tenten glanced down at the bands again, turning them over in her hands, her eyes skimming over the symbols decorating the inside At the same time, a faint shade of pink brushed her cheeks as the image of his grinning face flickered through her mind. 

"... maybe just a bit," she admitted to herself, thinking of his earlier demand. "Maybe just a bit cute when he smiles like that..." 

A/N: So, in the actual Naruto series, the manga because that's what I've read, Tenten really isn't all that expounded upon. So, I've taken a few liberties with her. I mean, we see her working at a weapons shop in the glimpse of the future, so why shouldn't she know how to work with fixing weapons, right?