Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 7

Tenten lay on her bed, crying softly to herself. The sheets were soaking and she had yet to change in her pajamas...today was a bad day.

"Why...Why am I so stupid! There has been signs everywhere about...Kisa...

Poor, poor Neji...I wonder what happened. And now I just blew all my chances to find out!

Oh my God...I am the biggest idiot in the world...Why am I so oblivious to everything!?

So stupid?!"

WHY?!


A few hours before...

Meh. Thank God. I thought I could never tear myself away from Phuket, but here we are back in Japan. Japanese land feels so good! (A/N Sorry, I needed them to be back in Japan for the story to move on.)

You know...Neji isn't that bad I guess. He let me take this day off so I planned to meet Sakura and Ino at the mall.

"Tenten?"

Poke.

"Tenten!"

Jab.

"TENTEN!" A voice blasted into my ear.

"Heh?!" I snapped out of my daze quickly. " What? Who? Hanabi?"

Hanabi's gaze was critical as she stared down at me. " What's wrong with you Tenten? We drove you to the mall, you good to go?!"

My head looked out of one of the many the limo windows. Shit. We are at the freakin mall.

"Thanks." I said to Hanabi, clambering out.

Neji and Hinata just stared at me weirdly. " Be careful!" Hinata called out, her lavender eyes wide with worry. I felt fuzzy inside.

Neji just nodded slightly. I smiled back at them, trying to project a somewhat happy facade.

"Yeah, I will. See you guys later." I waved once before the limo started up again and drove out of sight.

Sighing, I walked into the mall.

"How is it going with your job and everything now then!?" Ino chirped, looking interested.

"Ya, tell us!" Sakura squealed, equally interested. I sighed again, plopping my head onto the cool glass tabletop. God.

I struggled to get the words out properly. " It's...it's going..well.." I managed to say.

Ino and Sakura looked at me distrustfully. Geez. They know me way too well...

"Seriously!" I shook two hands in the air for more emphasis. No use.

"She's lying."

"I know."

Hmpf. They could at least TRY to hide their voices...

"I. Am. Not. Lying." Came my gritted response.

"C'mon Tenten! We told you EVERYTHING about our jobs!" Ino whined, looking pitiful.

...yeah you guys blabbered on and on about the hot guys at your job...without letting me in to give my own opinins. Great.

"Yeah, but what if I didn't want to know!" I retorted, regretting my words straight after saying them.

Sakura's forehead creased. " We're annoying you aren't we?"

...thank you.

"No, no...I'm just you know..." I paused. " Tired." The word caught me by surprise.

"I understand why." Ino said darkly. Yeah, she noticed my new hair and all my new designer clothes. Boy was she jealous...uck. This mall is SO inferior to the Konoha Shopping Mall...it's so small and the shops suck in comparison. Not that I'm complaining or anything...

"We're sorry Tennie." Sakura smiled at me apologetically.

I immediately feel a pang of guilt. They're my friends. My life long friends.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're here." I said warmly, grinning back.

Even Ino smiled then, her eyes lighting up. " Cool! Lets go shopping then!"

I nodded. Neji gave me this HUGE envelope of money before I came...HUGE meaning 3000 yen.

"Great idea!" Sakura grabbed me by the hand then literally dragged me out of the coffee shop.

"Lets go!"

Ah...it's good to be back.


"Meh, do you think this makes me look like a slut?" Ino asked, coming out of the changing room clad in a tight black mini skirt and a very low V-neck shirt.

Me and Sakura looked at each other, trying not to giggle.

"Ino..." I said to her slowly. " Maybe you should go for something more...subtle?"

Her nose prickled upwards. " But that's no Ino!" She protested, stamping her feet...oh the shoes. Wow. How can she walk in those?!

Sakura's sharp voice breaks me out of my awed state.

"Ino, if you want this pineapple dude to like you, act shy and subtle. When he GETS to know you..."-shakes head-" Bring on the sluts."


I laughed at Sakura and I bought ice cream and Ino got non-fat go-gurt. She's too obsessive over her diet..and she doesn't even eat meals nowadays! Sigh.

Sakura tutted at Ino, saying if she didn't eat someday she would eventually die. Io responded with a simple, " Fuck off."

Shrugging, me and Sakura linked arms, ignoring the blonde stamping next to us.

"Know her?"

"No idea."

Suddenly, something caught my eye...something that I was only used to seeing at home. Brown, sleeky long hair...

Oh my God. Neji?!

I gasped, running behind a pillar in shock. What the FUCK? This was my day out, not his! And why here? Why not the Konoha Mall place?! Is he doing this to purposely torture me or what...not that I like him or anything...IT'S INFATUATION!!

"What's wrong Tennie?" Sakura's concerned voice was in my ear all of a sudden. I groaned and pointed over to where I last saw Neji.

Sakura glanced up." Oh...a Hyuuga. Wow. Hot...pretty girl next to him too."

WHAT?! My head snapped up, searching...Neji with a girl. A damn right hot girl who could be on the cover of 'Hello!'

Goddamnit. Damn Neji. Damn him and his annoying ability to annoy me so...

Oh no...white eyes suddenly flashed in my direction. I saw Neji's cheek rise up. Smiling? ...or smirking?

I was too surprised and scared to move.

"Neji." I said in a polite tone when he eventually ended up in front of me...with his little slut. Who wears a skirt that short anyways!?

"Tenten." He nodded, looking at Ino and Sakura. " Friends?" He asked me, curious.

"Girlfriend?" I shot back, eyeing the model next to him. Bitch.

"She sounds and looks so scary Neji kun! Can we get out of here?!" The slut tugged at his arm. He remained standing. Weakling.

"Maybe." He replied, watching me with an amused expression.

"Well, look, there's my, uh...boyfriend!" I said, grabbing a random guy out of the crowd and kissing him...uck. Why does it taste to much like miso soup...OH MY GOD! NARUTO?! SHIT!

I pushed him away, horrified and rubbing my lips frantically. Neji smirked.

"N-Naruto kun?" Oh no...Hinata.

I turned on the spot to meet Hinata's big eyes, her eyelashes wet with tears. WHY ARE THEY ALL HERE?! WHY!?

"Hinata, no, don't get the wrong understanding, it's just..." I stopped short, shooting a worried glance at Ino and Sakura. But they melted away into the crowd. That's good. This wasn't their problem. I didn't want it to be.

"It's okay...I j-just didn't know you and N-Naruto kun were in a-" She stopped, a sob finally coming out from her. Then she turned away and ran.

"HINATA CHAN?!" Naruto shouted, confused. Idiot. He didn't even tell me he knew her! The only hint was in the e-mail he sent me and that wasn't helpful AT ALL!!

Oh fuck. Neji. Whipping around, I saw Neji glaring at me. I racked my brains. What should I do, what should I do?! Deal with Neji or go after Hinata. Yes. The latter. Go after Hinata.

Whipping off my wedge sandals, I shoved them into Neji's surprised arms before taking off. Having no shoes feels so much better...

I went up a floor first, then down then up two floors. She was nowhere.

"Fuck." I swore. " Fuck fuck fuck...where would she be?!"

A thought suddenly came to me. If I were Hinata...where would I go if I was hurt and deceived by someone I thought was a friend...?

Oh crap. I'm an idiot. She went home! Of course!

Now knowing where she was, I grabbed my phone out of my handbag, and I immediately hit on the speed dial for Haru. I need to get back to the Hyuga Compound now.


"Hinata?" I entered the room cautiously, not really daring to make a noise.

The crying girl looked up from her bed. " Tenten? You don't h-have to apologize. I should have known!"

She's too selfless...

"No Hinata!"" I said, jumping onto her squishy bed. " I was just...just jealous I guess."

Hinata looked up, a thoughtful look on her face. "Jealous..? Why?"

"Neji." I admitted, a pout on my face. " He had this really beautiful girl next to him and I guess...I just sorta flipped."

Hinata managed a weak laugh. " You fell for him didn't you? You l-like my cousin."

I nodded mutely. I always knew Hinata was quick to catch on.

Hinata laughed again, the sound unusually hollow for someone like her. " Typical." She said, shaking her head. " Typical. It's happening again."

This perked my interests up. " What's happening again...?"

Hinata looked at me, as if she were weighing out the pros and cons on whether she could trust me or not. In the end...I could see in her eyes she decided she could.

"Well..." The Hyuuga girl started. "It's going to be a long story.."

I looked at her, smiling. " I have lots of time."

She managed a small smile in reponse...before opening her mouth to speak again. "...It all started with...K-Kisa."

I inhaled sharply. Kisa. Of course. The girl I've been wondering about for what? The past few weeks now...?

"Kisa...was our first babysitter, I guess." I scowled in memory of the word 'babysitter'...Sai...

"Go on." I said, curious and intrigued.

"Well, we really liked her...especially Neji...they became an item." Hinata whispered the end.

I nodded, unfazed. I guess I expected that on some weird level...

"She looked somewhat like you." Hinata sniffled, wiping a tear away. " E-Except her eyes were b-blue and her hair was a darker shade of b-brown."

I nodded again, too scared to interrupt.

"Well...after a few weeks of them dating, my father found out about their relationship...and..." Hinata's voice faded off, her face looking pained. Her mouth was twisted into an ugly frown. Her eyebrows were pulled downwards and looking in her pale eyes reminded me of a beggar I saw on the streets before...so scared and so lost...

"He made them break up right?" I said, finishing the sentence for her. I sighed a heavy sigh. This is just like a soap opera.

Hinata shook her head numbly and she whispered, sounding torn. " Hiashi..." Woah. What happened to 'father'? " Hiashi did far worse than just breaking them up..."

"What did he do Hinata...?" I said in a quiet undertone. Why? Why did it suddenly feel like I was trespassing into enemy territory?

"He.." A single tear fell down Hinata's cheek. " He erased her memory. All of her memories with us, with Neji were gone. She only remembered her name and her job occupation. Everything else was gone."

I felt a huge pang on my chest. " W-What?!" I whispered, feeling shocked and frightened at the same time. " Neji...N-Neji would never allow that to happen!" Am I stuttering?

Hinata shook her head again, her hair flowing from side to side. " Not if Hiashi threatened to hurt her. Neji nii san didn't want that to happen...he let her go. The first happiness in his life...and he just let her go."

I let the information sink in...and I suddenly found a tear crawling down my cheek. " Why...How? You can't suddenly erase a person's memories! Her childhood, her parents?!" My voice was a pitch higher than normal.

How can Hiashi live with himself...erasing someone's memory is far from stepping over the line.

"Hiashi didn't really like Kisa from the start." Hinata admitted to me suddenly. " She dropped tea on him during a conference. In front of everyone." I snorted. I like the sound of that girl already.

"And then...when he found out about Neji nii san's and her relationship, he just went beserk. He was screaming things like how she wasn't good enough and then he...he hurt Neji nii san. Neji nii san has a huge scar on his left arm, did you see it?" I shook my head here, shocked. A scar? And I didn't even see at the pool...?

Hinata looked up at me, a sudden bright light in her eyes. "Oh yes, did I mention that Neji actually proposed?"

I gasped. " No..."

She nodded, smiling slightly to herself. " I was going to be the wedding planner...anyways, after father found out, everything went to hell. Literally. Kisa blamed herself for Neji's injury and she was close to going crazy herself...and, as I told you already, Neji let her go." Trust Neji...he actually has feelings...true feelings...love is really overrated these days...

"How? How did they...e-erase her memory?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"They sent electrical impulses into her brain. Took 9 shocks to get Neji out of her mind...they were that close..." Hinata said, her voice soft. I realized I was still crying.

"I...I never knew...and you guys always act so polite to Hiashi! Why?!" I said, now trembling in anger. How could he? How could he do something like that to Neji...and act as though nothing happened!

Hinata stared at me pitifully. " He's the head of this house hold Tenten. We cannot defy him. Neji learned that the hard way."

I was at loss for words, so I just nodded slowly, my anger fading away eventually...

I cleared my throat. It felt dry.

"Well...I better go now, before Neji comes back." I said awkwardly, getting up and wiping my face with the sleeve of my shirt. It's so weird...somehow I think Hinata and I have gotten closer...I walked to the door, feeling light in my head.

My hand curled around the doorknob, about to push it open when Hinata called out my name. " Tenten."

I whipped around. " Yeah?"

Hinata looked at me with warm eyes. " You are the best thing now...after Kisa, Neji nii san never really smiled, but since you came...he's a bit back to his old self. Smiling, joking...arrogant." She laughed. I joined in.

"Thanks Hinata...you're great people. Know that." I said truthfully before pushing the door open...and seeing Neji himself. Fuck. The doors are relatively thin...he could have heard everything! And I think he did. His face...it's livid. Anger is radiating off him.

I took an involuntary step back.

"Neji nii san! Wait!" Hinata leaped off her bed and ran to the door. Neji's eyes glazed over, a sheet of hard ice covering them. He looked nothing like the 'normal' smirking Neji I was so used to.

"How could you!?" Neji hissed at Hinata, his voice dripping with acid.

"How could you?!" He turned to me for this part. I gulped inwardly, forcing my tears away.

"She would have had to find out eventually Neji." Hanabi suddenly appeared behind him, looking like a fragile doll. Neji growled.

"Shut up!" His voice cracked through the air like a whip. " Shut up."

I winced. Shooting one last hatred-filled glare at me, Neji stalked to his room and slammed the door on us.

"Smart...nee chan..." Hanabi muttered before retreating back to her own room.

"I'm so sorry." Hinata whispered before going back into her room. " I'll see you tomorrow..." She added before shutting the door. I didn't respond. The shock was still in me.

...Neji...I've lost him haven't I? Forcefully dragging myself, I found my way back to the apple green room. I flopped down onto my bed, feeling exhausted and tired.

That night...the first night in almost 10 years, I cried myself to sleep.


Thanks to all my previous reviewers...I'm gonna have a vote. Do you want me to contiue this story? Be honest.

Please read and review...this chapter actually made me feel a bit sad. :(

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