Author's Note:

Sniffle... so happy! 13 reviews! I hope you guys like this chapter! I shall update earlier! And continue updating until I want to update the other stories!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto at all. Possibly some OCs though.

Main Pairings:

NejiTen

Mentioned Pairings:

NaruHina

SasuSaku

ShikaIno

Keys:

Tooken over Narration; thoughts

Subtitles

Written Notes

Chapter 3: Decieved

When I went back home to China, it was exactly what I was expecting. Our house was redecorated fancily, and Mama was happier than ever. Papa was a bit depressed though. But when I was back, everything was worse than ever. Mama actually abused me and Papa was solemn.

"Aniki, why are we going back? Mama and Papa hate us!" I said in Japanese. I was now 11 years old and had quite a growth spurt. Wong smiled at me. We were taking a taxi, ready to face our parents. At least.. Wong was anyway.

"Tian-Tian, it's time that we stood up to Mother and Father. They think we've caused them much pain, yet it's them that are causing us pain," he said.

I hugged my knees, "D-do you not want to take care of me anymore? W-was I being a burden?"

He put a hand on my head, "Of course not, Tian-Tian. You have been quite the rebellious sister that I've needed to get on with college. That's why I graduated. You're my inspiration."

I smiled, "Thank you, Aniki. For everything."

The taxi soon stopped. Wong payed the driver and we stood in front of our old house. We once again were greeted to a lit scenario, just as we were the night I was kicked out. I bit my lip nervously, "Wh-what were we thinking, Aniki? W-we won't stand a chance against Mama and Papa.."

Tears started forming in my eyes. All I could think of were just memories of my parents. They were the reason we moved out. They were the reason that caused me so much pain once I attended Kaji Elementary. And.. they were the reason for my birth in the first place.

Wong gave me a pat on the back and looked into my eyes. "Remember what you promised, Panda."

"Wh-what was that?" I stammered. I-I wasn't ready for this. Ready to face my parents. It was just.. too soon. 3 years wasn't enough for me.

"The promise.. to never cry again. I never want to see the tears of sadness on that face. Ever, again."

I remembered that night.. That was the night that we left. I never cried since then.. So I smiled, "I'll.. I'll keep that promise."

He gave a smile at me. Wong knocked on the door. The same door we were at as I sobbed my last tears away. Away from this place. Papa opened the door, and quite curious.

"Who are you?" he asked in Chinese.

I guess he didn't recognize us. Both Wong and I were dressed in Japanese clothing. Our black hair was sun-dyed into a dark-brown brunette. I gave a small smile to him and ran into his arms, crying in Chinese, "Papa! It is us! Tian-Tian and Wong!"

He gave a gasp in surprise. "T-Tian-Tian..." I looked up to meet a smile of his, "My have you grown, Panda."

Wong gave a small smile to Papa, "It's been awhile, Father."

"Yes... It has..," he said in solemn.

I looked at him in curiosity. Papa had never used a solemn tone unless it was something bad. "What's wrong, Papa?"

"N-nothing is wrong, Panda. Wong, Tian-Tian. Do come in," he said. Afterwards, he gave a deep cough.

I was concerned. The cough lasted its fit after about 4 minutes. It was my mother that I hated the most, not Papa. He had always been there for me. Mama was

right though. They'd be much more richer if they did not have me. I learned many taijutsu. From Chinese Kung Fu to Karate , all thanks to my father. I would not want him to die. No, not at all.

Papa showed us in. Wong and I sat on the couch and were offered tea. That was when Mama stomped into the room. "What is that troublesome girl doing in our house?"

My father stood up, right across from Mama. This was the first time I saw them fight with each other. And.. it was over me.. "That troublesome girl is our daughter, Lien."

"No, Tao. She is your daughter.11 months old. At our wedding. Wong was holding her.." Mama stated.

I gasped. Mama.. she was not my real mother. She never was. She never even acted like my mother.

"Do not talk about Mingmei that way," my father whispered. "She died giving birth to Tian-Tian, and you know that."

Mama scowled, "Of course she died. Tian-Tian is nothing but an ugly little girl. Anyone would die at the likes of her."

I turned to Wong. His grip on his hands were white. Just as.. just as Neji's were. I shook that thought out of my head. Neji and I weren't friends for the past 2 years now. I just wanted him out of my system. I stood up from where I was sitting. All eyes were on me.

"E-excuse my rude behavior. Papa.. is.. is my room still the same?" I asked in sorrow. My bangs covered my eyes. But it didn't matter anyway. Frustration was in them, and nothing would change how I felt right now.

Papa smiled at me, "Yes, Tian-Tian. It is still the same.."

"Th-then.. that is where I'll be going..," I murmured. I silently walked pass all of them. Even my angry mother. All I could think about now.. was how much my brother was angry. How my father was sad. And.. how much I was a disgrace to my mother. No... she wasn't my real mother. And I never met my real one. Mama was dead.. I was just a disgrace to Lien, my stepmother.. I wanted to know my real mother now. I wanted to meet her. But I couldn't..

Because she was dead.

All of it was dead to me. My life was a total wreck. I entered my room and slammed the door. My father was right. My room was just the same. it was just camouflaged decorated with pandas here and there. I collapsed on my bed, missing it so much.

But no. I was depressed. Nothing could cheer me up. Maybe someone could though. On my nightstand was a panda phone of mine. It was childish, yes, but I wouldn't be able to change it now.. I didn't belong here in the first place. I didn't belong anywhere. Here, I was the daughter of disgrace. In Japan, I was just the grunt that represented the rivalry between Japan and China for many years.

I called the telephone number I knew best.

(A/N:

Key:
"Tenten Speaking in phone"
"Other Person Speaking on phone")

"Moshi Moshi?" It was Hinata's father.

I started stuttering in Japanese, "H-hai.. This is Tenten, Hyuga-sama. By the timezones, I'm hoping I'm not disturbing anything important..."

"Why no, Tenten. The clan has just finished dinner. Hinata has told me you've been visiting your homeland. How has your visit been to China?" His tone seemed delighted. I guess he was happy to see me. I stopped visiting after what Neji told me. He never wanted me there. Ever.. again.

I lied to him though. "It's been great so far, Hyuga-sama. I've missed it so. Is Hinata-chan there?"

"Hai. Just a minute."

Right then, I heard Hyuga-sama call out Hinata-chan's name. Footsteps were then the next thing heard. Hinata's meek voice took over on the phone, "H-hello?"

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" I greeted in delight. Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan and I had a special bond, but that bond was also split into two. Sakura-chan and

Ino-chan; and Hinata-chan and me. Surely, she could help me with this.

I discussed with her the matter. How Mama wasn't even Mama, and I never got the chance to know my real mother. I even admitted that going here was a disaster. This suffering wasn't something I needed. But that very night, both Papa and Wong came into my room. I had to hang up on Hinata-chan, much to my dismay. The world around me—it wasn't the world I belonged in. It wasn't the world I wanted to even be in. I really wanted to get back to Japan as soon as possible.

Apparently though, while I was in the room discussing with Hinata, all 3 other family members made a decision: Since Wong had already graduated from College, and I had finished elementary, both of us would be staying in China. Papa wanted us to prove our honor to Mama. But we both knew that our honor wasn't gonna be with Mama at all. For the past year afterwards, I had become Mama's personal slave. I was put in all these qipao and all of these kimono and yukata that I thought my head would burst.

Wong was able to sneak out and able to raise enough money to go back to Japan. Leaving me here. Before he left, he left me a note. It was weird though. After the note, I could feel wax at the bottom. I never knew what it meant, and I'm guessing that I never would. Papa never tried to get him back. He just said that he knew how much my brother was suffering. Just as I was. Before I entered 7th grade, the year after, Papa had died. The doctor said that it was of lung cancer.

That would have explained the bad cough once Wong and I were reunited with our parents. Or.. just parent. They were able to give him a special medicine to keep him living for awhile, but it wasn't strong enough. I didn't cry, because I knew I wouldn't. Wong and Papa were my last living relatives. If Wong did not want to see my face of sadness, I'm sure Papa would not either. Since Papa had never left a will, everything he had owned went over to Lien. That included me.

For the past 4 years, I was the living slave for Lien. She was strict and would hit me if I didn't actually listen to her. I found a job though. There was never a moment of peace for me, but the job was the only thing I had. I would have to raise money for college and to get one out of the country. When I went to Japan, I was a grunt. But now, I am 16 and nothing but an abused slave. Though.. it seemed that luck was on my side this day.

Right now, I was at work, having to put on that dreaded busgirl uniform and serve customers. It was pretty humiliating though. It was a tight-fitting dress that would show my curves and barely covered under my waste. Wolf whistles were heard everywhere. I knew though that I would have to take the rough road if I wanted to get a college education.

There was this one customer though. Everyone was out, all but another busgirl that actually acted like a motherly figure to me and the chef. My shift was over at the time, but I stayed after to help if another busboy/girl was out. A customer snuck up behind me.

"Excuse me," he said.

I turned around. The customer looked no more than my age. Even a few years older or so. The boy was wearing casual clothing. He had a cap over his head and dark sunglasses on his face. That really covered how he looked. I knew I shouldn't pester the customer though. He looked pretty cute to me, other than the fact that he was dressed so weirdly. I kindly smiled at him, "Yes?"

"C-could you take my order? The other waitress is busy..," he nervously stuttered.

I guess I gave him the chills. I shouldn't have asked him why though. This was my daily routine. Wake up, get dressed, go to school early so Mama would not nag at me, go to work after school was over, work my shift, go home, and endure the nagging and the abuse. He was just one of the customers that was part of it. "Why yes. What would it be?" I took out my check book.

"U-um.. One coke and a burger please..," he stammered, looking at the menu.

I walked over towards the chef with my order. My head was still turned at him, the smile still on my face. "Coming right up! Another order, Enlai!" I put the boy's check on a clip. Enlai, the chef, would have it soon.

I went back towards the customer, and sat in front of him. "Mind some company?"

I saw a blush on his pale skin. "Sure.. why not? My name is Dewei."

"My name is Tian-Tian. It's nice to meet you, Dewei," I kindly replied.

There was a small silence in the air between us. Dewei looked up to me, "So.. what's a girl your age doing working in a café? You can't be more than what—14?"

I gave a small chuckle, "Well, Dewei, I'm 16 and in the 10th grade. It's really my not my shift."

"Well.. you seem shorter. I'm 18 and you seem about half my size," he teased. I guess that meant he was comfortable around me now.

I smiled and cocked an eyebrow, "For your information, Dewei, I'm average size for a girl my age."

I stood up to show him, but ended up dropping some newspapers instead.

"A bit clumsy, I see...," he chuckled.

I blushed a bit, "I-I'll get that..."

I immediately dropped down to the ground and gathered the papers. I saw something weird though. There was a tabloid of the Emperor's son. It says that he ran away and has been gone for the past week. It was funny though. The Emperor's son had the same facial structure as Dewei, and that was even his name.

The boy was nervous. Maybe Dewei was the prince...

"Tian-Tian! The order is ready!" Enlai shouted.

I turned around and got the drink and burger. Thanking Enlai, I walked back towards Dewei, "Here's your order.."

"Thank you," he gratefully said.

"No problem...," I smirked, "Prince Dewei.."

He simply started choking on his food and looked up at me in nervousness. His sunglasses fell off of his face. I put the newspaper picture of him right next to his face. "Do you realize you're Getsugakure's top tabloid? What are you doing here? Isn't the Moon Kingdom 800 miles from here? Not even that much.."

Dewei immediately put the glasses back on his face and stuffed the burger in my mouth before I could say anything else. He shushed me. "Of course I know that. Keep it quiet, Tian-Tian. You have no idea what it's like to be a teenager living in a palace as the Emperor-in-training!"

I took the burger out of my mouth. "Prince, do you realize that the reward money for finding you is over 10,000 dollars?" I asked.

Dewei faced me with absolute seriousness, "Tian-Tian, I don't want to be found. And I don't wanna be an emperor. Which unfortunately, since I'm 18, I'm entitled to be finding a fiancée soon to be my empress. I don't even like the girls my mother insists on."

"Why? You gay?" I asked. It was pretty fun teasing him. It was the first time in years that I actually felt happy. It was amusing to say the least.

He shook his head furiously, "Of course not. They're just too.. feminine. Look Tian-Tian, turn me in if you want, but it's not the first time I've ran away."

"Who said I would turn you in?" I mused. I had never felt this happy before. It's been a long time before I did. Not since.. since... Neji. I mentally hit myself. I haven't seen him for 6 years now. I wouldn't start missing him. "I may be 2 years younger than you, but that doesn't entitle me to be a goody goody two-shoes."

"What'll it cost?" he asked desperately. Inwardly I chuckled.

"Well, I can't make you go. But how about a date? If I show you a romantic time, you have to go back. But if I can't.. you can just stay here, Prince," I smirked.

He blinked at me though, "Tian-Tian, I am two years older than you. How do I know that you won't hustle me into this? You seem.. quite capable to get a date yourself. Especially in that uniform."

I gave him a dry glare, "I know that already, Prince."

I walked towards the other side of the counter and pulled him by his arm, "Trust me, my side of romantic is having skilled combat with my date. It's a 70 percent chance that you'll win."

So all night I dragged him around. Being romantic was not exactly my thing, but there were a lot of giddy school girls who would talk about a candlelit dinner at a restaurant, a walk in the moonlight, all that stuff. Plus, Ino-chan and Sakura-chan would always get giddy under the subject of "Uchiha Sasuke." By the end of the night, he hated to admit it, but it was really romantic, and he wasn't one of those prissy types, just those totally boyish clueless types. He gave me his email though, and caught a taxi towards the train station before I could even respond.

I blushed though. He was my first love.. Wait.. he wasn't. Neji was.. The whole night, all I could think about was Neji, and the year we spent together. A week later, I got an email from Dewei. He said that he wanted to thank me some how. I told him that it was okay, and that I did not need anything at all. From then on, we emailed each other on and on, every single day. He made me feel happy. But.. he also.. made me feel sad. The happier I felt.. the sadder I felt. As soon as Dewei would ever flow into my mind, Neji would come in soon after.

About a 2 years later, the summer before I started my senior year in high school, there was a surprise visit.

I woke up from my bed. It was still decorated in pandas. I never changed the style of it. It was around 6 in the morning and the summer heat was quite warm. What I didn't expect, was that Lien was up.

She shrieked at me from the living room. "Tian-Tian! Get in here! We have a guest!"

I curiously walked out of my room, met by the presence of my be-awed stepmother and who I didn't expect; Dewei. And.. the emperor of the Moon Kingdom.

My stepmother went towards me and grabbed me by the arm. She hissed in my ear, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, you fool! Go into the kitchen and serve some tea!"

I did as I was told, getting some boiling water from the sink. Dewei surprised me from behind with a "boo." I almost drop the tea cups, which thankfully, I didn't. I gave a smile to him, "What are you doing here, Prince? Or is it Emperor? Or, did you run away again and your father was the one to get you this time?"

He chuckled at me, "No, no. Still Prince. Like I told you when we meant, the brides my mother choose are too feminine. I take it that's your stepmother?"

"Yeah.. I don't get it though. Why are you here?" I cocked an eyebrow. I was quite happy that he was here. Easily, I ignored my guilt over Neji. Both of us walked back into the living room, where Lien was sucking up to the Emperor.

"It's quite an honor to have you here, Your Honor," she said.

I put the tray of tea on the coffee table and was about to set down next to Dewei, but my mother yanked me by the arm. She gritted her teeth, "What do you think you're doing, sitting next to the Prince? You'll bring dishonor upon this family if you even offend the royal family once!" She looked away from me and towards Dewei and the Emperor, "My daughter was just leaving.."

"Actually, this concerns your daughter, Lien. It also concerns my son," the Emperor stated.

Lien got giddy, "Oh! I heard that you have been searching for a bride for the Prince! Have you chosen my daughter?"

I blushed a bit, but grimaced in disgust. I was not her daughter. We lived in a classy home, yet she was still greedy. I bet that she just wanted to get the Emperor's fortune through me. It was truly sickening.

"W-well no.. but it has something to do with a few years ago..," Dewei stammered. I could see a blush also plastered on his face.

His father smiled, "It seems for the past two years that Dewei and your daughter, Tian-Tian, have been emailing each other quite frequently."

"Is that so?" my stepmother asked, a hint of venom in her words. She shot me a look.

"Yes. But my son has once ran away then too. There was a reward of 10,000 dollars to the person who turned him in. Tian-Tian did not exactly turn him in, but was able to convince him to go. What were the terms again, Dewei?" chuckled the Emperor.

Dewei blushed and turned away, "I-I'd rather not talk about it."

"W-well, Emperor, it was the matter if I could seduce him and show him a romantic date," I stammered. Afterwards, I gave a small giggle, but stopped once I saw the look in my stepmother's eye.

The Emperor gave another chuckle, "Why yes, those were the terms. Well, because of your convincing, you, in a way, turned him in. I would like to thank you by giving you the reward money."

I gasped, "B-but.. that was at least 2 years ago... Why would you pay me for something that was over with?"

"Well young lady, if the search for Dewei was "over with", there would be no successor to continue the work of the emperor," the Emperor stated.

I was happy.. I would be receiving 10,000 dollars. But no.. Mama would just steal it away from me.

Dewei handed me the envelope, "Here, Tian-Tian. I sorta messed with the money, but hopefully you'll thank me out of it."

The Emperor stood up from his chair, Dewei as well. "It seems that my son and I ought to be going." They bowed in front of us, "It was nice to meet you, Lien; Tian-Tian.."

Lien and I bowed in reply. I swore I saw the Emperor wink at me. It was probably just my imagination, but his eyesight seemed to shift between me and Dewei.

With that, they left.

For the rest of the day, my stepmother had tried to get the money from me. She never got it though. Whenever I left home, everything was clean, but as I came back from work, all of it was a mess. Especially my room. That just told me that she was doing her best to try to get the money. But she would never find it. She searched the house, but would never search me. Much to her dismay though, even if she didn't know, the envelope felt nothing like a chunk of money. It was as if the envelope was empty. I assumed at first that it was probably a check, but it was a bit too thick to be a one.

Then, weeks later, Lien was at work and it was my day off. I was at home, cooking something to eat. I had the letter from Wong out. I always kept it clean and safe. Even for the pass years. But pepper spilled onto it. When it brushed off, there was some I couldn't scratch off. The pepper landed onto the wax, and it seemed that letters appeared, thanks to the seasoning. There was extra on it.

"Tian-Tian, considering how clueless you are, this may take awhile for you to find out. But now that you can read this, Mama and Papa have been living a lie to us. Mother at least. Lien, as you know, had always nagged us about the expensive stuff bought. I snuck into our parents' room one day, and found that in Lien's safe was money. Tian-Tian, there were piles, and piles of money. I'm sorry that I had to leave you, but disgracing father was something I didn't want you to do. Following into my footsteps. It's your option, I know that you aren't a bad person, Panda, but once you are older, you can take some of her money, and come back to Japan. It's your choice, Tian-Tian. You're one of the last living relatives that I can trust, so the question if you can stay with your own brother to look out for you as a legal guardian will stand.

-Wong"

That was the message. I couldn't believe it though. My own mother—no—Lien was trying to steal my money, but had also been living as a cheapskate. She acted as my mother as I grew, but once Papa passed away, I was her enemy.

Right there, I was standing in front of my mother's room. I put in the lock number Wong stated at the bottom. I was shocked at the sight. Right in front of me were wads of money. She was lying to me. She was lying to all of us. She was lying.. lying to my papa. Lien made Papa work aggressively at a factory, a stressing job so she could get pampered once we left. It was no wonder those fumes didn't give him lung cancer.

I took the envelope Dewei gave me. It's been weeks, and it was time that I should finally open it. I gasped at the sight. Inside was not a check, nor was it a wad of money. It was an airplane ticket.. to Japan. I emailed him many times saying how much I had missed my friends there when I was little. And it was apparent that the ticket was to the very place. Konoha, Japan..

I panicked though. I had weeks to prepare, but the ticket stated my airplane would be leaving in two hours. I knew it was wrong, but as I packed, I took some of Lien's money to get through the flight and get food, taxi, etcetera. Once I got to Japan, school would be starting a week later. I tracked down Wong. It seemed that he still lived in the same apartment, but it seems as though he had a 7-month-old daughter. Wong's wife passed away during the birth though. I could guess it was quite sad for him. But he seemed to be managing an average life so far.

"Who knew it would take you 6 years before you could figure out the message," Wong chuckled.

I gave a small blush and pouted, "I-it wasn't my fault, Aniki." but my pout faded into anger, "Why didn't you attend Papa's funeral? He died of lung cancer, you know!"

His amused expression turned into depression, "Dad.. h-he died?"

"Yes.. he did. And you didn't even show any sign of compassion..," I murmured. "He died the year after you left.."

"I'm sorry, Panda.. I was never informed..," he muttered.

Wong gave me a hug, and I returned it.

"Would you like to see the baby?" he asked. I smiled, "Of course I would. She's my niece after all.."

He lead me into a room, filled with pandas just as my room was. Actually.. I think it was my room.. the one that I left once I had to immigrate back to China. I looked at the baby. She was so sweet and innocent looking. Such a cute baby... I unconsciously smiled at her. She gave a tight hug towards a panda teddy bear, just her size.

Wong apparently saw my expression. He smiled, "You know, Panda, when our real mom died, Mingmei, you were named because you were a gift from the heavens. And my inspiration. My wife, Michiko died as well, giving birth to her. Her last words were "She is my heaven", just as Mom's were. So.. I named her.. after you."

I looked at him in awe, "Y-you named her after me?"

"Yes. Her name is Tian-Tian," my brother said. "Just like you.. both gifts from heaven."

I smiled. But it faded. If I was a gift from the heavens, why did it seem that I was the present sent to Hell? I wanted to forget it. All of it. I shook my head, "Please, Aniki. Please. Don't call me Tian-Tian anymore.. it brings back.. so many bad memories."

I was right. I never wanted to be known as Tian-Tian anymore. There were so many bad memories. And Tian-Tian was someone who had to deal with them all the time.

"J-just call me.. please.. no more calling me Tian-Tian.. The only heaven is your daughter.. and.. my niece. I want to start a new life here.. in Japan. Just call me.. Tenten," I smiled. As Tian-Tian, I was someone who had endured so much. But.. as Tenten, I was the girl who had many friends that cared for me.

Wong chuckled though, "Of course. But you shall always be my Panda, Tia—Tenten. Quite a coincidence considering that means heaven repeatedly in Japanese as well."

I gave a smile at him. It may meant the same thing, but I felt like a new person.

After getting my stuff settled in, I went back to school. My first hour was with Kakashi-sensei, and it was quite fine. I sat in between Sakura-chan and Ino-chan, who freaked once I got back. But.. right beside me was Neji. The person I hadn't seen for what seemed to be an eternity. Memories of what he had done together flew into my head. At the thought of Dewei, I was guilty for Neji. But.. it wasn't the other way around.. I've known both for approximately 2 years, or at least spent that much time with them. Both were.. exact opposites. And.. I felt I was in love. But with who?

Who was I falling for?

Prince Dewei

or

Hyuga Neji?

Author's Note:

Hm.. the chapter basically explains how Tenten went back to Japan, and revealed Mama was a sourpuss greedy bitch. If Dewei seems Mary Sueish, sorry! I mean, Tenten got along with him well, he's the heir to the Moon Kingdom thrown, blah blah blah. Mary Sue? Guess so. Sorry 'bout that! Reviews please! I'm on a hot run to keep updatin this fic, LOL.