Hey! This is another short story. Sorry I haven't been uploading any stories other than my Christmas fanfic, '12 Days of Christmas', and 'Love Conquers All. I just haven't been getting any ideas. So I hope you guys like this one! PLEASE R&R!

DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto or the characters used in this story

The Life of a Shinobi: Training, Tea, and Puberty

Tenten searched throughout the entire Hyuuga estate for Neji. They were supposed to be training but the genius just decided to not show up. Tenten knew his little genius butt could sometimes get very busy yet she thought it was a little rude of him to just leave her at the training grounds wondering where he was.

So that's how the weapons kunoichi ended up in the Hyuuga Estate. At first she looked around the whole entire village for the Hyuuga but couldn't find him anywhere. She dreaded going over to his house because his uncle scared the crap out of her. He was always so strict and stared at her as though he was going to rape her. She always pictured him as a creepy old pedophile.

But in the end Tenten had to go to Neji's house because she hadn't found him anywhere in the village. Hiashi, Neji's uncle, had opened the door with his arms crossed and eyebrows forever in a downcast scowl. After asking what she was doing there and why she thought he'd be home he finally let her in.

She looked everywhere occasionally bumping into some of her Hyuuga friends. Over the past few months Tenten and Neji had been hanging out more so Tenten came over to the Hyuuga Estate more often. That way she got to know more of Neji's family.

Soon Tenten bumped into Hinata, Neji's cousin and heir to the Hyuuga clan. "Oh. Hello Tenten. Weren't you going to train with Neji today?"

When Hinata was in her own house with her family she seemed to never stammer. At first Hinata stuttered around Tenten when in her own home yet she soon saw Tenten as a sister and felt comfortable around her.

"Oh, Hinata! We were supposed to train but Neji ditched me. I looked around the village for him but couldn't find him anywhere. Do you know where he might be?" Tenten asked Hinata.

Hinata tapped her chin in thought. "He might be in his room. I thought I saw him leave this morning but I may be mistaken. Before you go looking for him would you like to have some tea? I just made some with a new herb I found in the Hyuuga's garden."

Tenten couldn't refuse such a nice offer from Hinata. So she smiled and answered, "Sure! I'm not in any rush anyway. Neji made me wait for him so he can wait for me now."

Hinata giggled before showing Tenten the way to the living room where she had set up her little tea set. "Hanabi and I arranged to have a little tea party to try out the new herb and see how it tasted but our father said she needed to train."

The weapons kunoichi could hear the sorrow in Hinata's voice. Hanabi, Hinata's sister, had seemingly replaced her as the heir to the Hyuuga clan. Her father trained her more because he saw more "potential" in her. Tenten just thought it was unfair and it gave her all the more reason to despise Hiashi.

"Hey Hinata. Since Neji and I aren't going to be able to train much once I find him I'm going to need to do some training later. Want to come with me?" Tenten asked trying to make the young Hyuuga feel better.

Mission was a success. "Of course!" Hinata chirped, happy once again.

They had finally reached the living room where a single table sat in the middle of the barren room except for a little T.V pushed up against a wall. On the table was a little teapot with colorful designs on it and two sets of teacups. The two girls sat around the table.

Hinata, being the good host she was, poured Tenten's cup of tea first. "How many sugar cubes would you like?"

"Um… Five," she answered.

Hinata smiled as she dropped the cubes of sugar into her cup. "That's quite a lot, isn't it?"

Tenten shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. But I'm not watching my figure and sugar tastes good so… What the heck!" She raised her cup before taking a sip of tea. "Mmm! This is really good!"

"Really? Let me see." Hinata brought her cup up to her lips and took a sip of the warm liquid. "Mmm! You're right. It's sweet as though the herb had it's own natural sugars. I wonder if they're good for you. Maybe I can go down to the hospital and have a professional look at it."

By now Tenten had her face in the small cup trying to lick up all of the sugar remains at the bottom of the cup. Hinata chuckled at her childish actions. That was one of the reasons Hinata looked up to Tenten. She seemed to never care what people thought of her as long as she felt good about herself.

"Ahhhh… That was really refreshing, Hinata. Thanks," Tenten said putting down her cup. "But now I have to find Neji. So you think he might be in his room?"

The Hyuuga nodded her head while putting down her still full cup. "Mmm-hmm. Either there or out in by the ponds. But I doubt he's there. Actually, now that I think about it, Neji has been acting weird lately. For the past couple of weeks he's been rather antisocial."

"That doesn't surprise me," Tenten said. "Isn't he usually antisocial?"

"What I mean is that I don't see him at any family things like breakfast. He usually comes to those in an attempt to get closer to my father."

Tenten nodded her head. "I see. Do you know what might be happening to him? Could he be rebelling? Maybe planning to run away? Elope with someone?"

Hinata giggled in her cup as she put it down again. "I don't believe it's that serious, Tenten."

She shrugged her arms. "You don't know. Maybe he just got diagnosed with this incurable disease that's going to kill him and right now his trying to think of what he's done with his life! Yeah! That's got to be it!"

"Who's been diagnosed with an incurable disease?" asked a voice at the slide door of the living room. Hanabi stood gazing at Tenten, a gleam of anger in her eyes. She was covered in sweat and filth because she was just training.

She never straightforwardly toward anyone that she hated Tenten. But Hanabi extremely hated Tenten. Sometimes she would wonder why Tenten had such great connections with her family though she didn't. Not everyone in the clan adored Hanabi like they adored Tenten, especially people in the branch family.

Tenten looked at Hanabi before nonchalantly answering, "Neji."

Hanabi's eyes changed quickly to confusion. Who cousin had an incurable disease? "Of course it's just an assumption," Hinata quickly added.

"Oh," Hanabi said.

Hinata wiped her lips clean with a paper napkin she had placed next to her teacup. "What're you doing here, Hanabi? I thought you were training with father."

Hanabi walked into the room and sat down in between the two older girls. "Yes, I was. But we finished early and because we were supposed to have a tea party I thought I'd come. But it looks as though you already started."

Hanabi sent a glare at Tenten who simply ignored her and got up. "I was actually leaving to find Neji. See ya later, Hinata and maybe even later Hanabi."

She walked out of the room and slid the door shut behind her. Her first destination was Neji's room. She was determined to find out why Neji was being so distant from everyone and when Tenten was determined to do something you can be damn sure that she was going to do it!

Tenten made her way down the long hallways of the Hyuuga Estate, getting to talk to a few friends here and there when she bumped into them. When she asked them whether or not they had seen Neji they usually answered that he had been in his room the whole morning. Some answered that he was masturbating but she assumed those were just rumors.

Soon Tenten found herself in front of Neji's room. Just to make sure he wasn't masturbating she gently pressed her ear up to the door. That way she wouldn't interrupt a rather private moment for the Hyuuga. She didn't hear any groans or moans so she deemed it safe to enter.

"Neji!" Tenten shouted when she entered. "You better have a damn good reason for not meeting me at the training ground today!"

The Hyuuga simply sat on his bed staring at her with wide eyes. He blinked at her a few times wondering how exactly she got in his room because he was pretty sure he had locked it.

"Well?" Tenten said, losing her patience. "I know you're not mute!" But still the Hyuuga did nothing. "Neji! Are you going to make me strangle you?"

Neji backed away from the angered kunoichi as she approached him with her hands in a strangling position. He held out his hands signaling for her to wait. She sighed but listened. He got up from his bed and walked over to his desk where he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

Tenten groaned. "What're we doing now? We're suppose to be training, Neji. Not playing games."

Neji didn't listen and instead wrote something down. He gave the piece of paper to Tenten. She read it to herself.

I can't talk.

"Why?"

Neji desperately didn't want to answer her question yet knew he had to for he didn't want to anger her any more. He wrote down a few sentences before handing it to Tenten and walking away full of shame.

I'm… going through puberty. For three weeks now! every time I try to talk my voice cracks and gets high like a girl's.

As Tenten read what he had written she couldn't help but laugh. "This is why you've been hiding in your room? Because you're going through puberty!" Neji lifted his finger to his lips shushing for her to be quiet. But the laughs she just couldn't stifle.

"Wait, wait, wait. Say something. I need to hear this," Tenten commanded.

Neji pleaded with his eyes but she urged him on. So finally he spoke. "I hate you with all of my heart." His voice cracked several times and rose in pitch every few seconds. He sounded so funny that Tenten just had to laugh at him. He crossed his arms and glared at her as she bent over knees in hysterics. "Are you done yet?" Neji asked.

But that only made it worse. Tenten rolled onto the floor laughing so much that tears fell from her brown eyes. "Okay, okay, okay," she finally said taking deep breaths to calm herself down. "Okay… Whew. You could pass as a girl, Neji, with such a high voice."

The glare Neji sent at her only intensified with her rude comment.

She punched him playfully in the arm. "Oh come on! It's funny! Everyone goes through puberty. Heck! I even went through it. Though my voice was way higher than yours," she said trying to cheer him up.

It definitely worked. "Really?"

Tenten held in a laugh as his voice cracked. She swallowed it back down before answering, "Yep."

"Oh Tenten!" Neji shouted, his voice still changing pitches and cracking. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "You're such a great friend! You always know exactly what to say and you're so nice to me!"

Tenten awkwardly patted his back as he held onto her. "Um… I don't remember getting so emotional when I went through puberty."

Neji pulled away from her and rested his hands on her shoulders with the brightest grin on his face. "You know what! We should go get Gai-sensei and Lee and then we can all go for ice cream together! As a team! Yeah! That sounds like a brilliant idea!"

Neji ran out of his room as happy as Tenten would ever see again. She looked at the door just as he exited the room with a sweat drop on her forward and an unsure look on her face. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you really are a girl."

Well... What more can I say? I was thinking of Neji and thought of puberty... and voila! I'm not sure if it was really all that funny but I hope you guys like it. And PLEASE review! All types are welcomed even flames because in the end all they're trying to say is that there is room for improvement. Flamers just have a mean way to say it. So do whatever you please but just remember to REVIEW! Thanks!

eMiKo-ChAn ^/-\^ (/.0)