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“Bomb!” T-Chan yelled. She quickly rolled, net and all, as fast as she could. She was just out of range when she heard the ominous ticking sound that preceded detonation.

The kunai suddenly disappeared in a mild explosion that would have been hazardous if T-Chan had stayed put.

Smoke quickly filled the small area and T-Chan took that moment to free herself from the net.

Once free, she unsheathed her weapons and listened. These bandits were sloppy, so it would be no problem dispatching them.

Unless they went for Hana.

“Hana! Can you hear me?”

“T-Chan! What’s going on?”

“Hana! Don’t move a muscle!”

A shuffling sound alerted T-Chan that the bandits were on the move. And just as she suspected, they were heading in the direction of Hana’s voice.

But so was she.

Hana stood perfectly still. How long did T-Chan expect her to stand like this? She could hear at least five people coming at her.

Please let one of them be T-Chan, she prayed silently.

She could make out several shadows in the smoke, all of them getting bigger and moving fast. Seven shadows. No, eight. Four?

“Stand still so I can count you!” Hana yelled into the smoke.

T-Chan lunged and took down two of the bandits. Five more to go, plus the three in the tree with bows and arrows.

Thankfully, Hana had listened to her and was standing perfectly still. Which meant that all the moving shadows were bandits.

T-Chan somersaulted in midair and slammed herself into a bandit. She used his back as a spring board and kicked the fourth bandit square in the face.

One by one, Hana watched as the shadows disappeared. But one particular shadow was moving fast with lethal accuracy, taking down the other shadows like it was some kind of shadow eater. But then that meant it was a cannibal.

And it was coming toward her.

“Stay away from me!” she screamed and threw out her hand. With a sickening crack she made contact with what she believed was the shadow’s face.

“Aahh!” the shadow cried out.

“That’s right!” Hana yelled triumphantly. “Take that you shadow eating cannibal monster!”

“You idiot!” the shadow screamed, in an oddly familiar voice.

“Do I know you?” Hana asked. “I think I know you.”

“You just broke my nose, you dumbass!”

“T-Chan! T-Chan, it’s you! You’ve come to save me!” Hana threw her arms around the shadow, but something felt wrong.

The shadow began to laugh in a deep throaty voice.

Hana looked up into a face that was definitely not T-Chan’s.

She felt herself being yanked away from the bandit, just as he was about to grab her.

T-Chan threw herself from the smoke fog, with Hana in tow. They ran just as the bandits in the trees fired their arrows.

T-Chan took hold of a kunai and deflected several of the arrows, sending them straight into the ground. Not once did her speed falter even with a broken nose hindering her senses and Hana tripping over herself.

They ran far from the range of the bandits until they couldn’t run any longer.

T-Chan fell to the ground and leaned against a tree. Her breath was ragged as she tried to slow her heart that pounded in her chest.

Hana had completely collapsed, unable to move a single part of her body. Her one clinched fist unrolled revealing the coin that had started this whole mess.

“You kept it?!” T-Chan shrieked, leaping up to her feet and snatching the coin from her hand.

“I don’t know! It was shiny!”

“What are you?! A magpie?!”

T-Chan hurled the coin as far as she could back down the road they had just come. “What’s wrong with you?! They could have had tracking jutsu or it could have been another bomb!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t think about these things!”

“You don’t think?! No, Hana, you don’t think! You don’t think at all!”

Hana folded in on herself and curled into a tight little ball.

T-Chan pinched the bridge of her nose to fight down the rising migraine. “I don’t believe this. I knew this was a bad idea. What if you had been alone? Those bandits would have swarmed on you like bees to a wasp! You would have been robbed blind! Or worse! They could have killed you!”

Hana begun to shake and tremble.

T-Chan turned her back to the pathetic form and started walking down the road Hana sat up and took off her goggles to wipe her eyes.

“Wait!”

T-Chan didn’t stop or even turn around. “Go home, Hana.”

“What?”

“Go home, Hana. You’re more trouble than you’re worth. You’re useless. To me and to yourself.”

“But –”

“No, Hana. I put up with you long enough. But there’s nothing more I can do for you. I can’t afford to stick my neck out every time you do something stupid. Go home.”

“But – But, I don’t have a home!”

T-Chan froze. She and everyone else in the village knew who Hana was. The dimwitted shark-toothed girl who magically appeared one day fifteen years ago. Back then, the Village Hidden by Awesome was nothing but a dry, dusty place in the middle of a vast desert. But now it was beautiful tropical oasis because of fifteen years of thrice daily tsunamis.

Hanasuki Soo-Min seemed to be a limitless well of chakra, with the ability to summon mass amounts of water to any area, despite the lack of water in that region.

But no one, including Hana herself knew where she came from. Not even the oldest of Nations had ever heard of a region of shark-toothed people with the power to manipulate water.

Hana was alone in this world. No survival skills, no real abilities and one dangerous jutsu that she had no control over.

“Where am I supposed to go?”

T-Chan didn’t answer her. Even as heartless as she could be, she didn’t have the heart to send Hana back to her lonely, pathetic life. She’d probably get lost anyway, even though it was a straight path.

“Please… T-Chan… You can’t send me back…”

“But I can’t take you with me,” T-Cahn said, more to herself than to Hana. She had to think of the consequences. If she continued this mission with Hana, there was no guarantee that they would both make it back to the village alive.

“Why not? I can be good! I can listen! I – I know I’m not very good at a lot of things buts I can learn. I just need someone to teach me. Maybe, you – Maybe you can teach me?”

T-Chan said nothing.

“You’re the best ninja in the whole village!”

“I’m not the best.”

“But you’ve never lost a single battle in your whole life! You’re strong, smart, everybody likes you… The Awesomekage would love to have you replace him when he retires.”

“Me? The Awesomekage? I’m no leader.”

“Are you kidding? You’re be the perfect person to be the Awesomekage!”

“They wouldn’t want me. I have no leadership skills. I act alone. That’s why I always go on mission alone. I can’t work in a group.”

“Why not?”

T-Chan shrugged. “Back when I was a genin, I was part of a three man cell under the mentorship of the Awesomekage, back when her was still a sensei.”

“Awesomekage-kun was your sensei?!”

“Yes. And from the very beginning, he knew that I wasn’t going to be a team player. For one, my teammates were imbeciles. They did everything that was ordered of them and never had an original thought for themselves. They always relied on me and Awesome Sensei to come up with the plans and carry them out. But one day, we had this mission that a total no-brainer. A ‘D’ rank at best. It was so asinine that a snail could have done it. But Awesome Sensei took me aside and told me that in no way was I supposed to interfere. This mission was for Rin and Tin alone. He and I were nothing but spectators. But they were failing miserably! A ‘D’ rank mission and they couldn’t even do it because there was no one telling them what to do. I couldn’t take it. I completed the mission for them, against Awesome Sensei’s orders. I just couldn’t – wouldn’t stand there and watch them fail because of how badly it would reflect on me and Awesome Sensei. It was that day that I discovered something about myself that I’m not proud of, and it’s the reason that I can never be Awesomekage.”

Hana studied her intently. So much in fact that she realized who she was talking to and who she was about to tell her deepest, darkest secret to. The same secret that only two people in the entire world knew.

“You know what, never mind. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“But why would you disobey Awesomekage-kun?”

T-Chan looked at the ground and tried to ignore the heavy stone that formed in her chest. “Hana? Tell me, honestly. Do you think I’m fearless?”

“Yeah, totally! Without a doubt! Wait, maybe. No, not really. Should I? Because you are, right?”

“No.”

“Le gasp! What could you – T-Chan, Champion of the Village Hidden by Awesome could you possibly be afraid of?”

“Losing.”

Description
“Bomb!” T-Chan yelled. She quickly rolled, net and all, as fast as she could. She was just out of range when she heard the ominous ticking sound that preceded detonation.

The kunai suddenly disappeared in a mild explosion that would have been hazardous if T-Chan had stayed put.

Smoke quickly filled the small area and T-Chan took that moment to free herself from the net.

Once free, she unsheathed her weapons and listened. These bandits were sloppy, so it would be no problem dispatching them.

Unless they went for Hana.

“Hana! Can you hear me?”

“T-Chan! What’s going on?”

“Hana! Don’t move a muscle!”

A shuffling sound alerted T-Chan that the bandits were on the move. And just as she suspected, they were heading in the direction of Hana’s voice.

But so was she.

Hana stood perfectly still. How long did T-Chan expect her to stand like this? She could hear at least five people coming at her.

Please let one of them be T-Chan, she prayed silently.

She could make out several shadows in the smoke, all of them getting bigger and moving fast. Seven shadows. No, eight. Four?

“Stand still so I can count you!” Hana yelled into the smoke.

T-Chan lunged and took down two of the bandits. Five more to go, plus the three in the tree with bows and arrows.

Thankfully, Hana had listened to her and was standing perfectly still. Which meant that all the moving shadows were bandits.

T-Chan somersaulted in midair and slammed herself into a bandit. She used his back as a spring board and kicked the fourth bandit square in the face.

One by one, Hana watched as the shadows disappeared. But one particular shadow was moving fast with lethal accuracy, taking down the other shadows like it was some kind of shadow eater. But then that meant it was a cannibal.

And it was coming toward her.

“Stay away from me!” she screamed and threw out her hand. With a sickening crack she made contact with what she believed was the shadow’s face.

“Aahh!” the shadow cried out.

“That’s right!” Hana yelled triumphantly. “Take that you shadow eating cannibal monster!”

“You idiot!” the shadow screamed, in an oddly familiar voice.

“Do I know you?” Hana asked. “I think I know you.”

“You just broke my nose, you dumbass!”

“T-Chan! T-Chan, it’s you! You’ve come to save me!” Hana threw her arms around the shadow, but something felt wrong.

The shadow began to laugh in a deep throaty voice.

Hana looked up into a face that was definitely not T-Chan’s.

She felt herself being yanked away from the bandit, just as he was about to grab her.

T-Chan threw herself from the smoke fog, with Hana in tow. They ran just as the bandits in the trees fired their arrows.

T-Chan took hold of a kunai and deflected several of the arrows, sending them straight into the ground. Not once did her speed falter even with a broken nose hindering her senses and Hana tripping over herself.

They ran far from the range of the bandits until they couldn’t run any longer.

T-Chan fell to the ground and leaned against a tree. Her breath was ragged as she tried to slow her heart that pounded in her chest.

Hana had completely collapsed, unable to move a single part of her body. Her one clinched fist unrolled revealing the coin that had started this whole mess.

“You kept it?!” T-Chan shrieked, leaping up to her feet and snatching the coin from her hand.

“I don’t know! It was shiny!”

“What are you?! A magpie?!”

T-Chan hurled the coin as far as she could back down the road they had just come. “What’s wrong with you?! They could have had tracking jutsu or it could have been another bomb!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t think about these things!”

“You don’t think?! No, Hana, you don’t think! You don’t think at all!”

Hana folded in on herself and curled into a tight little ball.

T-Chan pinched the bridge of her nose to fight down the rising migraine. “I don’t believe this. I knew this was a bad idea. What if you had been alone? Those bandits would have swarmed on you like bees to a wasp! You would have been robbed blind! Or worse! They could have killed you!”

Hana begun to shake and tremble.

T-Chan turned her back to the pathetic form and started walking down the road Hana sat up and took off her goggles to wipe her eyes.

“Wait!”

T-Chan didn’t stop or even turn around. “Go home, Hana.”

“What?”

“Go home, Hana. You’re more trouble than you’re worth. You’re useless. To me and to yourself.”

“But –”

“No, Hana. I put up with you long enough. But there’s nothing more I can do for you. I can’t afford to stick my neck out every time you do something stupid. Go home.”

“But – But, I don’t have a home!”

T-Chan froze. She and everyone else in the village knew who Hana was. The dimwitted shark-toothed girl who magically appeared one day fifteen years ago. Back then, the Village Hidden by Awesome was nothing but a dry, dusty place in the middle of a vast desert. But now it was beautiful tropical oasis because of fifteen years of thrice daily tsunamis.

Hanasuki Soo-Min seemed to be a limitless well of chakra, with the ability to summon mass amounts of water to any area, despite the lack of water in that region.

But no one, including Hana herself knew where she came from. Not even the oldest of Nations had ever heard of a region of shark-toothed people with the power to manipulate water.

Hana was alone in this world. No survival skills, no real abilities and one dangerous jutsu that she had no control over.

“Where am I supposed to go?”

T-Chan didn’t answer her. Even as heartless as she could be, she didn’t have the heart to send Hana back to her lonely, pathetic life. She’d probably get lost anyway, even though it was a straight path.

“Please… T-Chan… You can’t send me back…”

“But I can’t take you with me,” T-Cahn said, more to herself than to Hana. She had to think of the consequences. If she continued this mission with Hana, there was no guarantee that they would both make it back to the village alive.

“Why not? I can be good! I can listen! I – I know I’m not very good at a lot of things buts I can learn. I just need someone to teach me. Maybe, you – Maybe you can teach me?”

T-Chan said nothing.

“You’re the best ninja in the whole village!”

“I’m not the best.”

“But you’ve never lost a single battle in your whole life! You’re strong, smart, everybody likes you… The Awesomekage would love to have you replace him when he retires.”

“Me? The Awesomekage? I’m no leader.”

“Are you kidding? You’re be the perfect person to be the Awesomekage!”

“They wouldn’t want me. I have no leadership skills. I act alone. That’s why I always go on mission alone. I can’t work in a group.”

“Why not?”

T-Chan shrugged. “Back when I was a genin, I was part of a three man cell under the mentorship of the Awesomekage, back when her was still a sensei.”

“Awesomekage-kun was your sensei?!”

“Yes. And from the very beginning, he knew that I wasn’t going to be a team player. For one, my teammates were imbeciles. They did everything that was ordered of them and never had an original thought for themselves. They always relied on me and Awesome Sensei to come up with the plans and carry them out. But one day, we had this mission that a total no-brainer. A ‘D’ rank at best. It was so asinine that a snail could have done it. But Awesome Sensei took me aside and told me that in no way was I supposed to interfere. This mission was for Rin and Tin alone. He and I were nothing but spectators. But they were failing miserably! A ‘D’ rank mission and they couldn’t even do it because there was no one telling them what to do. I couldn’t take it. I completed the mission for them, against Awesome Sensei’s orders. I just couldn’t – wouldn’t stand there and watch them fail because of how badly it would reflect on me and Awesome Sensei. It was that day that I discovered something about myself that I’m not proud of, and it’s the reason that I can never be Awesomekage.”

Hana studied her intently. So much in fact that she realized who she was talking to and who she was about to tell her deepest, darkest secret to. The same secret that only two people in the entire world knew.

“You know what, never mind. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“But why would you disobey Awesomekage-kun?”

T-Chan looked at the ground and tried to ignore the heavy stone that formed in her chest. “Hana? Tell me, honestly. Do you think I’m fearless?”

“Yeah, totally! Without a doubt! Wait, maybe. No, not really. Should I? Because you are, right?”

“No.”

“Le gasp! What could you – T-Chan, Champion of the Village Hidden by Awesome could you possibly be afraid of?”

“Losing.”