Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. They belong to their rightful owners.

Chapter 14: Trouble with Mother

Tenten was washing the dishes at the moment. It was Saturday and Sasuke went to the City's library with Sakura; Neji was busy with something with his uncle about the company; Hinata, Ino and Temari were all on a date with their boyfriends. So that left Tenten alone in the house doing chores. She could have sworn that her brother planned to leave early in the morning to avoid doing his own chores and now because she has no choice, she did his too.

She cursed under her breath when she almost drops the plate she was holding out of surprise because the house phone rang loudly in the other room. The brunette quickly put down the plate, dried her hands with a cloth and rushed to the living room.

"Hello, Tenten is speaking at the moment" She answered as she flopped down on the sofa.

'Tenten, sweetheart!' said the person on the other side. The brunette nearly jumped out of surprise at the voice.

"Mom, hi!" She said in a surprised tone. A big grin suddenly appeared on her face at the sound of her mother's voice. It's been a month since she last heard her mother's voice and she missed it so dearly.

'Hello, dear. I just called to ask how you and Sasuke are doing.' Her mother said in her sweet, sugary voice that she like.

"We're doing great, mom, thanks for asking. I would not ask how you guys are since I can already see that you are doing well, based on the phone, mother dear."

'Oh.' Her mother said before she laugh making Tenten laugh with her too. "Well, you're right, dear, I'm doing great and so is your father! We went fishing the other day, by the way. And you should have seen your father's face when he finally caught a fish! It was priceless!" Tenten laughed again picturing in her mind her father's face after so many tries of catching a fish and then finally caught one.

"Wow! How I wished I've been there! Did you take picture of his face?"

'Of course I did! It's one of the rare moments!'

"Aw, I missed you guys already! I missed those times when we get to spend together, just you, me, dad, Sasuke-nii and Itachi-nii."

'Aw, I missed it too, dear. You guys grow up so fast. Your dad and I missed the three of you. Anyway, are you planning to spend Christmas break here?'

"Oh yes! I was planning to call you about it last night but the line was busy."

'I was chatting with my friends, dear. I was asking about this new recipe that I found for Christmas. You two will be there right?'

"Wouldn't plant to missed your delicious dish, mom." Tenten said.

'You flatter me, my dear! I can't wait to see you guys! Anyway, how are you and that Neji boy doing? I hope we can meet him when you guys visit.' Her mother asked with a giggle. Tenten giggled too; after a month of dating Neji, she finally told her parents about him and they can't wait to meet him. Her mom was thrilled though her father ordered Sasuke and, if possible, Itachi to keep an eye on the Hyuga boy. He doesn't want anything to happen to his daughter again.

"That's a great idea, mom. But I'll have to ask him first if he doesn't have any plans for this Christmas break." She said with a grin. She heard her mother sigh impatiently which made Tenten's grin widen.

'Oh you better get his fine ass here, sweetheart!'

"Mom!" She said scandalously which earned a laugh from her mother. Her sweet mother rarely cusses or uses foul language. It doesn't suit her sweet personality.

Though, their father once told them that their mother was once a badass; kicking boys who tried to get into her way in their youth days but that all changed when she met their father.

'Just kidding, dear!' Her mother laughed and she laughed with her. After a little bit joking around, her mother grew serious. 'Tenten, I need to ask you a favor.'

"Shoot it, Mother." She said as she listened to what her mother's going to say next.

'Please convince you brother…' She said in all her serious tone and at the same time, there was sadness in it. Tenten raised an eyebrow on what her mother had said.

"Convince him with what?" She asked though she already has a hint on what.

'Your father and Itachi already signed Sasuke to Harvard University and he got in but when they told your brother about it, he got angry and said that he doesn't want to go. He even yelled to Itachi about how he's already taking control of Sasuke's life. I don't understand it. He wanted to go to Harvard, you know that right?' Her question was met by Tenten's silence. Not once did Sasuke mentioned about going to Harvard and it totally shocks her big time when her father said that he declined their offer.

Itachi already asked this favor to her. She tried convincing her brother but the latter didn't want to talk about it. Though, she already has a hunch unto why he doesn't want to go Harvard.

"I tried convincing him, mom but he just don't want to go. He even slammed his door in front of my face, mom! I gave everything I can to stop Neji from beating him because of my broken nose!" It was the third time that she was convincing him to go to Harvard. He was going to his room and she was following behind him and when she tried to speak again, he slammed it right in front of her face before she could utter a word; only a whimper was heard that night. Her poor nose was the victim of it all. When Neji found out, he almost had a fight with him.

'Your NOSE?! I am going to have a talk with that boy! He should not be doing that to you!' Tenten put the phone away from her ears.

"Nah, mom. It's okay. He apologized afterwards." Her mom grew silent again.

'Tenten, what if you try to tell that girl to leave your brother alone? She's probably the reason why your brother doesn't want to go.' Her mother said in her coldest voice after a deafening silence. Tenten was speechless. When Sasuke informed her mother of having a girlfriend, she was thrilled to the bones and so was their father and their older brother but things went down the hill when Sasuke told them her name and sent her picture. It was a big mystery to both of them and even to Itachi. Not once did her mother told Sasuke to leave the girl alone but the latter only got mad at her.

"Mom, no!" She cried after she overcame her shock. She pursed her lips in a tight line before sighing. "I couldn't do that, mom."

'I was only suggesting, dear. Well, I have to go now. I hope you can convince him. I love you both.' She said in her cheery voice again though it was obvious that she was upset. Before she could answer back, her mother hung up.

Tenten sat there in silence after her mom hang up. Her mother was right. Even if Sasuke never admitted to her, Sakura was the reason he doesn't want to go. And if she's not the reason behind it, she still won't tell her. She'll just leave it to Sasuke to tell it to her.

She shook her head and continued washing the dishes.

Hn. This is Hyuga Neji. I can't talk to you right now. Just leave a message.

"Uh, hey, Nej. It's nothing. I just called to check up on you. Call me if you have some spare time. Love you."

Tenten stared at her phone and sighed. She called Neji's phone four times this day but it seems that he really is busy with something. These past few days, Neji was always busy though thankfully, he gave her a spare of his time. But with these past few days, she can see that Neji's becoming stressful and always grumpy.

She snapped out of her thoughts when the door opened and revealed her older brother's smiling face. He flopped down on the sofa next to her and put an arm behind her. Something must've great happened to his study date with Sakura for he can't stop grinning like an idiot… again.

"What's with you? You look like an idiot." She joked and chuckled. She grunted when Sasuke ruffled her hair. He stared at her with a big grin. She never saw his brother this happy before. He was really in love with the pink haired girl.

"Did you know that Sakura has a thing with romance novel?" He said with a grin. The brunette stared at him with wide eyes. She rarely see Sakura holding a book especially a romance novel that's why it's a bit of a shock to know that she likes romance novel.

"She does?" She asked bewildered. Sasuke laughed and nodded. She stared at him before staring back at the phone on her hand. 'Damn, he's a in a good mood!' She thought to herself, 'I hate to ruin it! Oh hell!'

They fell in silence just watching the phone in her hand.

"So, mom just called." She started with careful voice.

Sasuke straightened up and stared at her urging her to go on. "She wanted me to convince you to-

"You know I won't go." He said in a cold voice. She silently cringes at his voice. The raven haired rarely used that tone on his sister and it made her wanted to slip away but she have to continue and try!

"But why? Because of Sakura? She would want you to go if she knew about this!" She convinced ignoring the nervousness that was seeping to her skin. It was now or never.

She jumped when Sasuke slammed his palm on the coffee table and gave her a menacing look.

"That's why you won't be mentioning this to her!" He shouted at her with rage. Her eyes were wide with bewilderment and fear.

The brunette fell silent and tried to analyze what have just happened. Sasuke never shouted at her before and he must've realized what he's done because she saw guilt sinks in his eyes and looked away. She gulped the lump in her throat as anger sinks in. She calmed herself and breathed in and out.

"You know that I will never mention it to her." She said in a cold voice too. She saw him cringes from her tone but didn't look at her. "Sakura is my friend and I would never do that to her!" She continued as she tried to blink the tears away. "Stop being selfish and think it through before deciding!" She sniffed and stood up but Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and sighed

"Look, Ten, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. I didn't mean to frighten you." He said sincerely and hugged couldn't help the sob that escaped her mouth. She was frightened and surprised on how he reacted. But it was her fault. She shouldn't have pushed further.

She gently pushed him away and wiped her tears.

"I know you didn't mean it and I'm sorry too, Niisan." She said softly and saw Sasuke shook his head as if saying that it's okay. The brunette sighed, "Look, you know that mom doesn't like Sakura that much and once she knew that the reason you're not going is Sakura; she'll hate her. Sakura is my best friend! I don't want her to get hurt and you too. You once wanted to go to Harvard."

"That was before…" He didn't continue thus stared at the wall. Tenten stared at her brother sadly but she smiled brightly and patted his shoulder.

"I cooked stew and I knew that this time I perfected it!" She said brightly. Her brother stared at her appreciatively before nodding.

It was a normal Monday morning and everyone was so excited about their Christmas Break. It was lunch time at the moment and the girls were eating at the roof top of the school building with Choji and Shino while the other boys were busy with stuff.

Shikamaru, Neji and Sasuke were having meeting with the other student council while Kiba, Naruto and Lee were cleaning the Gym for punishment in fighting at class. Well, it was supposed to be just Kiba and Naruto but since Lee was trying to break them apart when the teacher spotted them, he got punished too.

"I already sent my application letter to Iwagakure University but my father wanted me to apply to a school outside Japan." Temari stated. Everyone gaped at her except for Shino who doesn't care of anything except his bugs.

"Woah! Iwa U is one of the prestigious schools in Japan! Last year, only three out of one hundred students have passed the exams!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Sakura is right! And I heard that the teachers there tend to punish their students severely!" Ino exclaimed too earning a sweat drop from Tenten, Sakura and Temari.

"And by 'punish' you mean…?" Tenten asked.

"Giving you failed remarks even if you did your best!" Ino again exclaimed. Temari shrugged while Sakura face palmed.

"Well, it is one of the best colleges of Japan so I'm already expecting that. And I haven't taken the exams yet." Temari explained calmly.

"We bid you a lot of good luck." Choji said while munching on his lunch and Temari grinned at the chubby dude.

"What about Shikamaru? Where is he applying?" Tenten asked to which Temari answered with a shrug.

"No idea though he said once that his father wanted him to go abroad." Temari said nonchalantly.

"What?!" Ino and Sakura exclaimed. "You guys will have a long-distance relationship?!" Temari grunted and rolled her eyes at the two girls.

"It's not official yet, dumbasses!"

"How about Sasuke-kun, Tenten-chan?"Hinata asked with a smile. Tenten tensed for a minute but shrugged as an answer. Everyone turned to Sakura for an answer.

"I don't know too, though he once mentioned that he's going to apply to Kumogakure University." Sakura said with a shrug. Tenten looked away from her. Guilt was written on her face. Last night, Sasuke went to her room and talk to her.

Tenten was preparing to go to bed when Sasuke knocked on her door before entering. They stared at each other first before Sasuke lowered his head.

"Hey, what's up?" Tenten asked patting the space on her bed. Sasuke walked to her and sat on her bed before putting his head on both of his hands.

"You're right. I should stop being selfish. I don't want mom to hate Sakura but I don't want to leave Sakura too." The raven haired stated. Tenten could only stare with sympathy at her brother. "Mom called again, you know."

Tenten stared at her brother before asking, "What did she say?"

"She was convincing me as always. Dad said he'll do something if I won't go to Harvard. You know what that is?" She shook her head. "Dad will marry me off to someone…"

The brunette almost fell off the bed if not for her brother who caught her arm just in time.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed after she recovered. "Where are we? In 19th century?! And that's blackmailing!"

Sasuke smirked at her. "That's the exact thing that I've told her." Sasuke said. Tenten rolled her eyes and stood up.

"That's nothing to be smug about it. We've got major problem here! They can't marry you off just like that!" She said and started pacing the room back and forth. "Is it even legal to marry your children to a stranger?"

"Actually, it is." He said smartly to which Tenten snorted at.

"Stop being a smartass and start thinking!" She stared back at her when she heard him laugh. "How can you laugh at times like this?"

"How can I not laugh if you're the one who looks like you're in big dilemma?" She rolled her eyes at him.

She started fumbling her phone. "What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke asked with a confused look.

"Calling Dad's secretary to book me a ticket home." She said fuming. Sasuke stood immediately and grabbed her phone.

"No way! I'm the one who's going to talk to dad about it and now is not the best time!" Sasuke scolded. She huffed and crossed her arms on her chest.

"What did you told mom then?" Tenten asked. Sasuke sighed and lay down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling before closing his eyes.

"What else? I told her I'll be going to America." Sasuke muttered. "I'd rather go there than marry someone that is not Sakura."

'Sakura,' Tenten thought softly. 'You're still the reason why my brother is having the hardest times of his life.'

"Don't mention anything about these to her, okay?" Sasuke said before standing up. He kissed the top of her head and tucked her to bed.

"I'm not a six years old, you know." Tenten grumbled to which earned a chuckle from her brother.

"Good night, Tenten. Thanks for listening." And with that Sasuke went out of her room.

"Hello? Earth to Tenten!"Ino snapped a finger in front of Tenten's face and that's how she realized that she spaced out for a moment.

"Oh, sorry." She said and chuckled. Temari raised an eyebrow.

"You alright?"Temari asked to which Tenten answered with a nod.

They were about to ask Tenten a lot of question when the bell rang. 'Save by the bell!' Tenten thought as they cleaned up.

Tenten entered their class and went to sit next to Neji who was staring outside the window. He turned around when he felt a presence near him. She smiled at him which he returned with a smirk.

"How was the meeting?" Tenten asked. Neji sighed and put his chin on his hand which is resting at the top of his table and stared at her.

"Awful. Sasuke almost walked out of the room in the middle of the meeting." Neji said. She raised an eyebrow. Sasuke was the President of the student council while Shikamaru was the Secretary and Neji was the Vice President.

"Why?" She asked though she already guessed the answer. Her brother has a lot on his mind right now and it must've been tough being the president of the student council.

"The cheerleading squad wanted more funds but it would be unfair to the other clubs who had fair shares. But the cheerleading squads were very persistent and then one of the girls mentioned something awful about Sakura and that irked Sasuke more than ever. It was all Shikamaru and I can do to stop Sasuke from walking out of the meeting." Neji explained

"Oh…" She said softly and looked worriedly at Neji. "You think he'll be fine?"

Neji shrugged, "We left him with Sakura and it seems that he calmed down a bit when he saw her."

She sighed and stared on her desk sadly. She didn't look up when Neji spoke. "You know, Sasuke was not being himself, lately. I know that something was bothering him. Do you know something?"

The brunette didn't answer thus sighed and stared back at him. "I guess he's just busy with application letters."Tenten knew that Neji knew that she was lying but to her relief, he didn't push further. Tenten felt guilt ripple through her. Lying to Neji was not her forte but she doesn't want anyone to know about it.

Neji fell silent and stared outside the window. There was an awkward silence between them and both of them don't know how to break it. Alas, Tenten could not contain it anymore that she uttered Neji's name. The latter, hearing his name, turned to her with raised eyebrow expectantly.

"I… uh…" She coughed slightly. "Mom called the other day. She was asking if I could bring you over this Christmas break to the mansion. My parents wanted to meet you officially." She said not daring to look into her boyfriend's eyes. "Well that is, if you're not busy with stuff and…"

"I would love to, Tenten." He said softly. She suddenly looked up and brown orbs meet white orbs of his.

"Really?" She asked in disbelief though a grin slowly appeared on her face which shows her deep dimples. The Hyuga couldn't help but get infected with that infectious, cute smile of his girlfriend that he started smiling too. He rarely smiles at her in public and thus making everyone at the room, especially the fangirls of his, stare at the both of them in disbelief. But neither of them could care less.

"Really." He said and flicks a finger on her nose which earned a grunt from the Uchiha girl.

"Then it's settled! I'm going to call mom tonight!"

Tenten sighed for the nth time this afternoon. She was sitting outside the Student Council Room waiting for her boyfriend who was in the middle of an important meeting. They were about to go home when Neji received a call from Sasuke, the president of the Student Council, saying that he was needed in the meeting.

Not wanting to make Tenten wait for him, he told her to go home. A few arguments later, Tenten pouted and said okay. But because Tenten was such a rebel, she waited for him to go inside the room before squatting next to the door.

She thought it would only take a few minutes or so but boy was she wrong. She's been sitting there for two hours straight.

She stood up and was about to burst inside the room when the door swung open and out, came her brother whose face looks grimmer than ever.

Sasuke's eyebrow shot up when he spotted her sister.

"What are you doing here? I thought Neji said you went home?" Sasuke said and glared sideways at the Hyuga who was busy glaring at his girlfriend.

'Oh shit.' Tenten thought. 'Think… Think, Ten!'

"Well, you see, I was about to go home…" Tenten said sheepishly and laugh while the other club presidents stared at them. "I was about to go home but then I saw a gang near the stair case so…" She shrugged and prayed silently that the two ice cubes would buy it.

It seems that her brother did buy it but unfortunately the Hyuga didn't.

"Okay, that's good, Tenten. At least, you know now how to avoid danger." Sasuke said and rubbed her head before walking down the stairs with Tenten and Neji following behind.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Tenten asked which earned a growl from Sasuke.

"That ass slept throughout the meeting so we left him there." Sasuke said with a devious smirk. She turned her gaze to her boyfriend and saw that he, too, was smirking evilly while twirling a key between on his finger. Tenten pouted and smack their head lightly. "You guys are evil." She said earning a dark chuckle from her brother.

They stopped at the entrance of the school and Sasuke turned to Neji. "Make sure my sister gets home before dinner." He said and pats his shoulder lightly before walking towards his car.

When Sasuke's car was out of sight, Neji turned to glare at his girlfriend. "Dare tell me why you disobeyed my order?"

Tenten rolled her eyes and place her hands on her hips. "Look here, buddy, you're not the boss of me."

Neji growled at his girlfriend before grabbing her wrist and dragged her to his car. "The meeting would have last longer than this if it weren't for the other club members having plans."

"I don't mind waiting another hour or so." She lied and Neji raised an eyebrow at her which made Tenten's heart thumped.

"Tenten…" Neji said and leaned her on his car. His hot breath tickling her cheeks making her blush.

"Yes, Neji?" She said ignoring the fact that they are in public.

"When will you stop lying and start telling me the truth?" The comment nearly made Tenten's heart stopped. She knew that he knew when she was lying but she was not expecting a confrontation right now.

Before she could answer, Neji let her go and opened the passenger seat for her. Tenten hesitantly entered and tried to calm herself as Neji entered the driver's seat.

An awkward, deafening silence cycled inside the car and worst Neji's frowning more than usual. She can tell that he was upset. Who wouldn't be? When you know that your girlfriend is lying.

She tried to strike a conversation but so far he only answered with a grunt, shrug and a nod. Tenten decided to zip her mouth up and stare outside the window. She couldn't help but feel relief when they reached their house. Without waiting for Neji, Tenten opened the door and stepped out of the car. She knew he followed suit without looking back.

They stayed silent for a minute before Tenten broke it. She went up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for the ride." She murmured. Neji sighed and wrapped his arms around her before she could straighten up and buried his face on the crook of her neck.

She instantly wrapped her arms around her neck and breathed his addicting scent. "I'm sorry, Neji if I've been lying to you these past few days."

"Just stop doing it."

"I will… but I need to keep a secret from you though I plan to tell you one day." She said softly and Neji nodded.

"As long as I can trust you," He said and Tenten looked up at him.

"Of course you can." She answered feigning a hurt. Neji chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said before releasing her.

Tenten watched her boyfriend drove away. She sighed and entered their house. It was dark and no sign of Sasuke anywhere so she started preparing dinner while humming to a tune. After arranging the table, Sasuke appeared at the door with a grim face.

"What?" She asked when he just stood there.

"Mom wanted Sakura to come to us on Christmas."

Author's Note: So, I did promise you that I'll be updating this new chapter a week after Chapter 13. I was working on the story when my boyfriend and I broke up and then started the examination week. I couldn't write a romantic setting without being bitter. But now, I have overcome that stage and I'm finally back to my original state! Yay! I do apologize for the long wait. And to my ex-boyfriend? FU I still have Neji!