Tenten woke in the middle of the night, having her what sounded like struggling in the bed next to her's. Ayame and her where still in the hospital, they were to be discharged tomorrow before the second exam started. The two girls where sharing a room and since the noises were pretty loud, Tenten had finally decided to look at see what was happening.

Tenten's eyes were met with Ayame thrashing around in her bed, her pillow soaked with her sweat. Tentens started to get up, but the pain that shot through her leg made her stop. She swore silently under her breath, looking around the room for an object that she could just throw at the girl and hope it woke her up.

Tenten settled for throwing her pillow, and grinned when it hit Ayame hit in the face, the girl shooting up in bed. "Finally! I was worried you where gonna die in your sleep."

Ayame looked at the pillow that had landed in her lap, then furrowed her eyebrows at Tenten. "Did I wake you?"

Tenten just waved her hand, dismissing Ayame rather quickly. "I'm used to it. I've got a large family, so they always keep me up like this."

Ayame just nodded before she threw the pillow right back at Tenten. The pillow hit the girl hit in the middle of her face and she fell right off of the bed. "O-oi!"

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Tenten was once again seated on her bed, looking at her lap quietly as Ayame was just looking at the room, taking in her surroundings. "Ne, what was your dream about?"

Ayame tensed up, glancing at Tenten from the corner of her eyes before she just stared out the window. She was debating with herself if she should tell the girl or just say it was a nightmare. However, no matter what she said, her whole life had been one big nightmare, so she automatically confused herself.

Tenten blanched as she watched Ayame confuse herself. The young girl seemed to have gotten swirls in her eyes and she laid back on her bed, the confusion radiating off of her. "You don't have to tell if ya don't wanna!" Tenten quickly said, trying to cover up her words with more.

"I was. . ."

Tenten listened closely, wondering what could have been so bad in the dream, her eyes narrowing at the thought.

"I was "tortured" as a child," Ayame began, the thoughts sending chills down Tenten's spine. "I was having nightmares, no, more like memories of that."

The room was quiet after that, Tenten breaking the silence at least ten minutes later. "I don't have memories like that, but I did have a pretty rough childhood. I have five siblings, three older brothers and two younger. We were traveling to Konoha because of my parents weapon shop, hoping that we would get more business here." Tenten froze in her words, gulping so loudly Ayame could hear it where she sat. "My mother was pregnant when we where mugged by bandits and she was killed with my father. I was going to have a little sister. . ."

Ayame sat quietly throughout this, her fists clenching tighter with every word Tenten said. She may have not understood the emotions she was feeling but she was certain, the only emotion that she could describe this as was rage.

"Two days later my brothers, grandmother and I were saved by Konoha ninja themselves. It was too late for my mother and father but. . . it gave me the courage I needed to become a ninja." Tenten finished her story, wiping her eyes quickly. Ayame glanced over and noticed that the girl had a small smile on her face. She was feeling pain, yet she could still smile, Ayame didn't understand how this girl could be so strong.

"You're so strong, Ayame-chan. I could barely function after two days of torture, yet here you are, after your whole childhood."

Tenten didn't say anything more after that, instead she laid down on her hospital bed, the soft breaths coming a few minutes later indicating that she was asleep.

Ayame reached up to her face, touching the liquid that was running down from her eyes, identifying them as tears. "Thank you. . ."

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Ayame pulled her shirt over her head, avoiding looking in the mirror the whole process. She couldn't stop herself though when she walked over to the mirror, looking at her neck. Ayame stared at the purple bruising forming a ring around her neck, bringing her hand up slowly and touching in. She flinched from the contact, a wave a pain shouting throughout her body and a small hiss of pain coming from her mouth.

She watched herself in the mirror, how her face contorted into one that was even uglier then it already was. Ayame turned away from the mirror, quickly leaving the bathroom before she could judge herself anymore. She was told that she couldn't look in the mirror any longer then five minutes a day, seeing as it would most likely make Ayame stop eating again.

"You've gotten quite fat again, you little fat pig."

Ayame pushed the harsh words Orochimaru had said to her during the time he had tried to kill her to the back of her mind, instead her thoughts going to how Tenten was struggling to put her shirt over the top of her head.

Ayame couldn't help but smile at the site, walking over to the struggling girl and pulled the shirt down. Tenten looked up at Ayame, obviously surprised, blushing a deep red.

"You didn't see anything!"

Ayame just nodded, noticing how pretty Tenten looked with her down instead of in the buns. "Why don't you wear your hair down?"

"It'll just get in the way. Ne, can you help me put it up?"

Ayame just nodded unsurely, taking the ties from Tenten's hand and started to put the girls hair up in two buns. She was trying very hard, seeing as she's never done another person's hair before. When Ayame finished she looked at the two buns with satisfaction, nodding at her work. "All done!"

Tenten laughed, standing up and holding her hand out to Ayame. Ayame grabbed her hand but eyed Tenten's leg where it was bandaged heavily. She had noticed the older girl flinch when she stood and sighed, knowing it was her fault that Tenten was hurt.

"Guess I'm not that good at hiding my pain, huh?" Tenten laughed cheerfully, stating to walk out of the room with a slight limp. "But if I hadn't gotten hurt, I wouldn't have become friends with you Ayame."

Ayame smiled slightly, thinking that Tenten was right and nodded at the girl, following behind her silently. They walked together to the forest of death, Tenten making Ayame smile so much, her face actually hurt. The girl hadn't smiled like that before, or at least that she could remember. She knew she hadn't smiled like that when she was with Orochimaru, that much was sure.

The two girls parted ways when they got to the forest of death, going to their own teammates. Ayame could feel her teammates staring at the bruise on her neck and sighed, turning away from the three of them. She knew they were curious, but she wasn't planning on telling them what had happened unless Kiba had already said.

She would beat the boy up later if he had.

Ayame nodded to herself, Kiba looking at the girl strangely. He didn't know what she was thinking and he surely didn't think it was anything good.

Ayame didn't pay attention when Anko was talking, instead she played with a piece of her hair nervously. She was going to deny that she felt insanely dizzy. Ayame knew it was because she had denied all of the hospital food the people had given her, plus she hadn't eaten that much at Kurenai's home either.

The team of four walked forward to grab the forms that Ayame had no idea what they were for. She skimmed the paragraph, her eyebrows raising when she saw that they didn't want to be held responsible for the deaths that would happen in this round. Ayame shrugged to herself, signing the form where it told her too and then her team and her went to go get their scroll.

All four of them gave the man their forms, and he handed them an Earth scroll. "Good luck getting a heaven scroll kids."

Kiba took the school, handing it to Hinata. "You hold on to it, you don't look like someone who would be holding it."

Hinata nodded, taking the scroll and putting it in her weapon pouch. As the team was walking out of the tent and to their assigned gate, Ayame slapped Kiba upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Kiba demanded, glaring at Ayame. Akamaru just whimpered, covering his face with his tiny paws on top of Kiba's head, just wishing his master would just stop.

"For being mean to Hinata-chan."

". . . Bitch."

"Dickless."

"EH?!?"

Ayame and Kiba kept bickering with each other, even while standing at the gate. The chunin assigned to open their gate sighed, rubbing his face.

"I have a dick!"

"Sure don't act like you do."

Kiba just grinned, his canine teeth flashing. "Unless you're just saying this so I'll have to show you, hm?"

Ayame turned bright pink and turned to Kiba. "No!" She started hitting the male over and over.

"Ah! Stop! Stop! No, not there!"

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Ayame sat happily on top of a dazed Kiba, putting a piece of candy inside of her mouth. It was the only type of food she had with her, and she knew it would have to do.

"Ne, Ayame-chan, can you get off of me now?"

Ayame just sighed, jumping off of Kiba. The chunin glanced at the time, looking at the four genin. "It's time. Get up kid."

Kiba nodded, getting up quickly. All four genin got into a running stance and waited for the signal. A whistle cut through the air, the chunin opened the gate and they were off.