A/N: First of all, I am SO sorry for the latelatelate update :( No, seriously. It took, like, AGES. I'm a bad author :( I should really stop with the multi-chapter fics.
Second of all…DID I JUST GET SUSPENDED? O.o I was unable to post new stories O.o
Third of all, I dedicate this to all you wonderful people :D
And fourth, DID I JUST GET SUSPENDED? O.o
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The shop echoed with Tenten's songs of praise.
"I'm telling you, Neji, you look great!" Tenten said, grinning at her teammate.
The Hyuuga prodigy stood in front of the full-length mirror, his reflection returning the same sour expression he had on his face. "You're lying."
"Well, you have to open your eyes to see yourself." Tenten rolled her eyes. Suddenly a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Wait a minute…you aren't being insecure, are you?"
Neji scowled. "Don't be silly."
Clapping her hands in glee, Tenten squealed, delighting in this unknown trait of Neji. Once again, she ordered Neji to take a look at himself. Neji didn't look impressed, but allowed her to compliment him. It's not like he could do anything to stop her.
"Must I wear this to the dinner, then?" Neji asked, cutting her short when she started to compare him to a god.
"Totally. Hiashi-sama's gonna weep when he sees you," Tenten said, earning an odd look from Neji.
"Oh." Neji stopped in his tracks and contemplated. "Is the suit offensive?"
Tenten laughed and told him it was a figure of speech. Shrugging, Neji bought the garment and informed Tenten it was almost time. They rushed out of the shop and to the Hyuuga compound. When they arrived, Hyuuga Hiashi was already seated at his end of the dining table. Neji and Tenten bowed low before him.
"Good evening, Hiashi-sama," they said in unison.
"Good evening. Take a seat. We're just waiting for Hinata and Hanabi."
Tenten sat down and jumped back up in surprise when Neji shot her a look. She motioned to the seat beside it, only to get another strict glare from Neji. Sighing, she pointed at the seat that was directly opposite Hiashi and Neji nodded his approval.
Uncomfortably, she pulled the chair, which, of course, screeched loudly against the floor. Nice one, Tenten. Make a bad impression on Hiashi for the rest of the night, why don'tcha?
"Sorry we're late, Otou-san." Hinata and Hanabi appeared, dressed in very fine clothing Tenten could only afford to gaze longingly at.
Ino hadn't been lying when she said Hanabi wasn't shy in showing off her jewelry at her own home. Surprisingly, Hinata wasn't either. The sisters wore necklaces of pearl and earrings of silver. Tenten was glad she let Ino talk her into wearing the pink diamond necklace.
Forgetting for a moment where she was exactly, she happily cried, "Chow, everyone!"
All four Hyuugas stared at her. Tenten gulped.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she humbly said, her head hung so low no one could see her face.
"Um, that's a beautiful necklace you have on, Tenten-san," Hinata said, hoping to draw attention away from Tenten's unfortunate slip.
"Is that a pink diamond necklace?" Hanabi's eyes widened.
"Yes," Tenten replied, smiling thankfully at Hinata.
Hanabi's amazement was fleeting, and she started questioning Tenten. "Such a rare treasure. Where did you buy it? Didn't Godaime-sama and the elders release an announcement they might be banning the sale of the pink diamond? There are some bandits who have their eyes set on it and surely it's risky to let outsiders find out the diamonds are being sold here. I hear they're pretty pricey. How much did you have to pay?"
Tenten bit her lip with every question Hanabi asked her. Isn't this supposed to be a nice, getting-to-know-you dinner? Tenten felt as though every aspect of her is being scrutinized. Her face broke out in cold sweat.
"DINNER TIME!"
Stunned, they looked in the direction of the loud voice and saw a blonde girl dressed in a maid's uniform and carrying trays of food.
"Otou-san, who is she?" Hinata asked her father.
Hiashi warily glanced at the girl. "She's a new maid. She came with another girl an hour ago, looking for jobs."
"You shouldn't have hired her on the spot, Otou-san," Hanabi said, turning up her nose as the new maid danced around, placing the plates of food on the dining table. "She seems unprofessional."
The new maid paused at Tenten, and leaned down to whisper. "It's me, Naruto. Don't worry, Tenten, Ino and I'll help you not ruin things, alright?"
"You might be too late." Tenten cringed, recalling her earlier blunders.
"Just sit tight. The dinner ain't over yet."
Naruto returned to the kitchen, and another girl who Tenten guessed is Ino appeared, and declared, "DINNER TIME!"
Tenten groaned and buried her face in her hands, sure that if she didn't ruin the dinner, Naruto and Ino will.
Ino was disguised as a black-haired, violet-eyed girl, and Tenten could have sworn she looked exactly like—
"Tenten-san, it's me. Miyuki."
"WHAT ARE YOU—"
"DINNER TIME!"
Tenten moaned in anguish as the real Ino disguised as a maid with red hair and green eyes laid out glasses and a bottle of red wine. Somehow, Tenten wouldn't be surprised if Gai and Lee decided to transform into maids and 'help', as well. The Hyuugas were awfully confused and they deduced only Tenten had any idea of what the hell was going on.
"Tenten, these maids seem to be familiar with you," Hiashi said. "Are you acquainted with them?"
"Um, I—"
Naruto walked in with more food, and announced, "Oh, yes, Hiashi-sama. Tenten-san likes having friends in different places."
"Oh. I see."
Tenten blinked. What did he mean by "Oh. I see"? Did it make her look like someone who established friendships only so she would benefit from them? Or did it make her look weird for befriending maids who serve prestigious clans? What if Hiashi found it really improper?
"Thank you for the food, but what do you say we get some utensils this time?" Hanabi remarked when it seemed as though the table will collapse from the weight of too many platters of food.
"Of course!" Miyuki rushed back into the kitchen.
The weapons' mistress slumped in her seat, wondering why Miyuki was even there. Perhaps Ino and Naruto recruited her for their total fail of a mission. That would be so evil. She took a sip of wine. This is gonna be one hell of a night.
"A toast," Hiashi said. "To my nephew and Tenten."
"To health," Hinata meekly added.
Hanabi raised her glass. "To family."
"To friends." Neji glanced in Tenten's way.
"To all that makes sense in the world," Tenten glumly said, and took several more sips.
Miyuki and Ino were able to set the table without any more screw-ups. The Hyuugas and Tenten began eating, and only small talk was exchanged over the table. It made Tenten think about the dinner she hosted at her own home. Even though Sasuke and Sakura were found out to be in disguise, she couldn't help but think that if her parents were actually the ones who ate dinner with them, it would still end up as a failure. Tenten reached for the bottle of red wine to refill her glass.
It took her a while to feel that Neji was watching her closely. Watch your alcohol intake.
Yeah, right.
The entire dinner was silent, apart from the classical music that played throughout the evening. Tenten stared at her utensils. Why did she have more than three? She sneaked a glance at Hinata, who kept her eyes on her food and chewed quietly.
She reached for the butter, and started to slice a chunk for her bread. She looked up to see Hanabi gawking at her.
"What?" she asked, feeling stupid.
"Why are you using a steak knife for butter?"
"Why don't we use chopsticks, like the rest of the people in Konoha?" Tenten shot back, forgetting for a moment she was in the presence of a clan head.
Hanabi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, as if it was just so not worth it explaining to Tenten. "As a prestigious clan, we have already adopted the Western culture. Surely even you have at least an inkling on the basic usage of a spoon."
Then, Tenten, who was totally insulted and enraged, stood up, dug her hand into the bowl of mashed potatoes and hurled a handful at Hanabi's face.
Jaws dropped. Eyes widened. Tenten dropped her hand and stared at Hanabi in horror, finally realizing what kind of idiotic, Naruto-ish sin she had done. The youngest Hyuuga present at the dinner sat very still as her personal maid rushed to her side with a towel.
"Hanabi-ojousama!" the maid cried, wiping the Hanabi's face. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Hanabi snapped and snatched the towel. "It's a freaking appetizer, for God's sake."
Neji refrained from attacking the woman he may or may not have fallen for with his fork. If he sided with Hanabi and shouted at Tenten, Tenten will call him a traitor and never talk to him again. If he sided with Tenten and reprimanded Hanabi, Hanabi will call him a traitor and scream at him for the rest of his life. So, instead, he shut his mouth and kept his head down. You'd think this is the way to play it safe but no; Tenten and Hanabi will call him a wuss.
"Excuse me, I'll have to go drown myself in sulfuric acid," Tenten said, beginning to back away from the dining room.
"Hold it."
Tenten stopped in her tracks. She offered Hanabi a smile. Then, Hanabi flung a lump of chocolate cake at her.
"Hanabi!" Hinata cried, her hands over her mouth.
"Oh, come on! You didn't yell at her when she threw the mashed potato in my face!" Hanabi replied in anger.
"You brat!" Tenten stormed back to the dining table and picked up a cup of gravy.
You could actually guess what happened next. Tenten threw its contents in Hanabi's direction. Hanabi ducked and Hinata was hit in her stead.
"Oh, my God," Tenten said, stunned and mortified. "I am so sorry, Hinata. I really didn't mean that. Shit."
You could actually never guess what happened next. One may think that for a moment, just for one moment that may never, ever happen again, Hinata got possessed by some sort of misplaced evil spirit, decided to walk where Tenten stood and pour a bowl of cream of mushroom soup directly onto her head.
It was enough to make Tsunade, who was in her office sixty meters away, spit out a mouthful of the wine she had been drinking and roundhouse kick the bottle. Neji stared at the scene in shock. Was this what Hinata meant by 'enjoyable visit'?
"What do you think you're doing?" Ino furiously yelled.
"Hey, don't you talk to her that way!" Naruto replied angrily before realizing his slip. "Who do you think you are, you servant who yells at her masters!"
"Oh, n-n-no, I am s-so sorry, Tenten-san, I-I-I didn't mean to—"
Tenten held up a hand. "Forget about it."
It was amazing how Hiashi, Neji and Miyuki were able to remain calm during all this. What was even more amazing was the fact that Hiashi took several sips of his wine as he watched the whole thing, as if he was simply watching a film.
"You know, it's been a long and exhausting day. I think I better go home now," Tenten said, once again backing away from the table. "Thank you for a memorable evening. Please take care, Hiashi-sama."
Hiashi nodded. "Thank you."
He stood up and left the room. Neji followed Tenten, intending to bring her home. The Hyuuga sisters finished what was left of their dinner and proceeded to go to their respective rooms. Ino, Naruto and Miyuki were all open-mouthed in astonishment.
"Seriously," Ino said. "They acted as if dinner was like this every night."
Naruto, who was already in his original form, shrugged. "Well, only one thing left to do."
He and Ino sat down at the table and poured themselves some wine.
"We're gonna get it from Tenten tomorrow," Naruto said.
"Tell me about it. Hey, did Neji know about us giving a little help?"
"Yeah, I even told him it was a piece of cake. He just looked at me like I was crazy or something. In the end, he told me to do whatever I want." The Jinchuuriki sighed heavily. "Guess we're gonna get it from Neji, too."
Miyuki blinked. "Um, what about the table?"
"What, are we supposed to clean all this up? I don't think so, sister," Ino said.
Naruto peered at her. "Uh, who are you again?"
Neji had finally caught up with Tenten. He cleared his throat as he struggled to think of something that could start a conversation, which they needed, considering the unfortunate events that transpired.
"Well, that was certainly not what we expected to happen," Neji began.
Tenten laughed bitterly. "Who would have thought my bad luck decided to drop in for dinner?"
"It wasn't your fault."
"I threw mashed potatoes in Hanabi's face, Neji. I simply cannot see how that could not have been intentional," Tenten said with a tone of regret. "Now, look at me. I'm all covered in soup and cake. The dress is ruined and my hair's all whatever. Ino will kill me."
Neji chuckled. "She'll never know what happened. Trust me. I'll make sure word will never get out. Besides, it will shame the Hyuuga family as well."
Tenten cringed. Ino, along with Naruto and Miyuki, had front-row tickets to the worst night of her life. Right now, trusting Neji wouldn't even count.
"I am really, really sorry, Neji," Tenten whispered. "God, all I wanted was to prove I'm as girly and womanly as Sakura and Ino and Hinata. Why did it lead to this?"
She covered her face in her hands. Her breath hitched when she felt Neji's warm touch on her wrists. He pulled her hands away from her face.
"What are you apologizing for?"
"Everything. Listen, it isn't worth it. I'm gonna deal with it some other way, but this has to stop," Tenten said firmly. "Thank you for everything, Neji. I will always be indebted to you. Good night."
She pried her hands loose from his and walked away. Left in the cool starless night, Neji turned his face up to the sky and hoped Tenten would stop the tears that started to fall from her eyes since she turned her back to his family back in the Hyuuga compound.
A/N: Aw, Tenten's crying :( Less than five chapters to go until the final chapter :D:( Let me know your thoughts :D Anyone noticed that the last manga chapter was purely NejiSaku?