Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

A/N 8/9/14: Well I'm smart. I had about 2,000 words of the chapter typed out and then my computer's screen decided to go all haywire on me. So now I have to re-write everything. Joy! Oh well there's always room for improvement I suppose. Okay well here's the chapter some of you may have been waiting the last two months for (sorry!) Here we go!

Warning: Mommy issues anyone?

Chapter 21: Mommy Dearest

Car rides could be fun. Long car rides could be nice as well. That is usually, if there was good music playing or there were interesting people in your car to talk with. In Tenten and Temari's case, that couldn't be any further from the truth. Neither of them were feeling particularly chatty. Temari had gotten the information necessary, after a long time of begging and pleading her father. He was a busy man, but that didn't mean that he was stupid about what his children were doing. In fact he was more aware than Temari had previously thought. Even so, Temari had made it perfectly clear that her intentions were not for mischief, but for urgent reasons. But along the way of getting the information, Temari found some more stomach turning information.

"She was doing what with your father?" Tenten asked, her face contorting with disgust.

"Don't make me repeat myself Ten, I'd rather not get another visit from my breakfast," Temari said, cringing as she spoke. She never wanted to believe her father was that kind of person, especially not with...Neji's mother.

"Okay well, I don't think Neji wants to know about this. He's already bitter about his mother as it is..." Tenten's stomach wasn't feeling any better either. The last few days had been like this. The stress must've been getting to her. That was strange, she'd always handled stress so well. Maybe it was because it was the matter of her life being in danger. She'd never felt so guilty about doing something. Part of her wished she'd just listened to Neji, but the dominant part of her knew that she would want to stick it out to the end.

"Yeah, let's not scar the poor guy. Lord knows how much trauma he's already been through," Temari mumbled.

"And does your mother know about this? And if she does, how the hell is she so okay with this?" Tenten asked, wondering how any wife could possibly be okay with her husband being with another woman under her very nose.

"My mother died a long time ago. I'd like to believe that my father wouldn't have done this if she was still alive," Temari's voice had gone completely silent. Tenten immediately knew that it was time to change the subject.

"So this thing with Hidan...how much longer is this going to go?" Tenten asked.

Temari pursed her lips and gripped the steering wheel, "I...I don't know..."

Tenten immediately caught onto her friend's stuttering. She eyed her for a second. That wasn't very much like Temari to be so flustered. And was she...blushing?

"Temari no...oh my god no...how could you even..."

Temari turned red, "I didn't let him touch me if that's what you're thinking..."

"Then?"

Temari bit her lip, "It's a bit complicated right now. Let's talk about anything else besides my father's escapades or Hidan."

"Okay that doesn't leave much else to talk about. Except the fact that we have yet to come up with a solid plan as to how to bring down these bastards. I can't think of a single to do. They're a group of highly trained killers, we're a bunch of teenagers. And we're going on virtually no help whatsoever. So please tell me you have some idea," Tenten sighed, her annoyance getting the best of her.

"Well, why don't we meet your mother-in-law first? I'm pretty sure that she knows a lot more about this whole thing than her son," Temari answered.

Tenten cringed at the words. The last thing that she wanted was to have anything to do with that woman. And the fact that she was now her mother-in-law...well that was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.

"Well have you thought about what you're going to say to that woman? I mean she sounds like a real piece of work from what you've told me and what my dad's told me. And selfish, let's not forget selfish," Temari blabbered on.

Tenten tuned out so the only thing she could say was, "Yeah, I know exactly what to say." The feeling in her stomach began to come back again. Like butterflies or tiny fishes, and it was getting uncomfortable once again. But she didn't say anything. She just waited for the feeling to pass...

The house was small and cozy looking. It had been a six hour drive from Konoha, and that was because Temari was speeding like a maniac. Temari was a bit of a speed demon. Otherwise it would've taken about a good 8 hours. Of course she'd move away as far as she possibly could. Iwa was a good distance from Konoha, the northwest most city on the continent. But why in a small house like this? It looked so clean and tidy. It was almost sickening to Tenten to see how perfect the state of the house looked. Because when she lived in the house in the woods, it was unkempt and decrepit. So that was it huh? She lives in a nice little house, while Neji was left to suffer every single day because of her. Hell no, she definitely had a few words to say about that now.

"I'll stay here. You go do what you need to. This is your matter after all. She deserves to know what she's put her son and by extension you through the last few years," Temari said, encouraging Tenten.

It only took her 5 seconds to get from the car to the door. And she barely registered the fact that she was pounding on the door. Temari wanted to stop her, but decided against it. It had been years and now this had become a family issue.

The doorknob turned and Tenten sucked in her breath. She hadn't seen this woman in years. Mainly because she'd always tried her best to avoid her. Maybe she should've gotten involved back then. This whole thing could've been avoided all together.

The door slowly opened to reveal a rather young looking, short woman. Had Tenten not been so angry, she would've been taken aback by her appearance. She looked at least 10 years younger than she should've been. But once again, appearances were no longer the problem right here.

And it seemed that the woman was just as shocked to see the young lady in front of her. She recognized her almost instantly from the look on her face, and it was confirmed when she almost just as quickly slammed the door shut. Thankfully, Tenten had very fast reflexes and used to her foot to keep the door from closing.

"Whatever you want, I can't give you anything. Leave Tenten if you know what's good for you!" she growled, continually trying in vain to close the door.

"No, you're the last person I'd ever go to for anything. But you will hear me out, because you owe that much to your son after everything that you've put him through!" she growled, the anger keeping the ever increasing pain in her ankle from hindering her from speaking.

"Just leave! I don't want to hear it!" the woman screeched, but Tenten was as always, annoyingly persistent. She wasn't leaving this place until she could thoroughly get it into this woman that she was the worst human being alive.

"Too bad. You lost that right when you abandoned your son," Tenten hissed.

"Leave now, or I'm calling the police!" his mother threatened. The threat sounded more hollow and desperate than anything else. But Tenten mentally smirked. If the lady called the police, it would be more of a hassle to her.

"Fine you do that. I can't wait to tell them about all the child abuse, neglect, oh and about the organization too. I'm sure they'd love to know about what really happened to those missing people over the years," her voice sounded slimy enough that even she was taken aback by it. Well desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

All of the sudden the struggling stopped and the woman looked at her, eyes wide as tea saucers and mouth open agape.

"Get in here now!" she growled. And Tenten felt the woman grab her arm, hard enough to leave a bruise.

Sitting in the woman's living room was no more comfortable than sitting in a thorny rose bush. The only shocking thing about the whole situation was that the woman was at least gracious enough to offer her tea and a few snacks. She didn't dare touch, in the case that the bitch could've potentially poisoned them. She'd probably said too much at the door.

Neji's mother sat across from her, legs crossed, arms folded, and an arched eyebrow. It was as if she was waiting for her to speak.

But it was her, ultimately, that opened her mouth. "I don't know how you know about the organization or what they've been doing. But I'll offer you any amount to keep your mouth shut about it."

Tenten found that statement only mildly offensive, so she said, "I don't want your money. But I do want something else. And it's not something that you can do for me. It's for your son."

It was as if the mention of Neji was poison to her as she flinched and sank down into her chair. "What about him?"

The coldness in the woman's voice didn't play very well with Tenten, "Thanks to your disappearing act, Neji's had to take your place. And ever since then, he's been suffering in silence, and he's been a little resilient thanks to alcohol. But he's going to break. But I'm not going to stand by and watch that happen."

The woman let out a laugh, it sounded more like a cackle than anything else. "Look, if you think I'm going back there to face that band of thugs, you're clearly not as smart as I thought you were. I'm sorry to hear about my son, but there's nothing I can do about that. They'll kill me if I go back there."

Tenten's left eye twitched as she struggled to control the murderous rage that was threatening to escape. "We're trying to bring them down."

The woman let out a humored laugh, "Oh honey, please try not to joke around. Several people before you have had that goal, and it always ended in a very bloody mess. That's why I left. I know what they're capable of. They have no weaknesses. You'd have to find the leader for that one. But good luck, no one dares even speak of him. No one's seen him for years. Sorry, but I'm not risking my neck for you."

Tenten's mouth remained in a hard line. "If only you saw what they're doing to Neji..."

She shrugged, "Neji just had the misfortune of being tangled up in it. I did know that it was a possibility of that happening when I left."

The rage slowly started to leak out of Tenten, "You mean, you KNEW that your son could get tangled in this mess, YOUR mess? And you STILL chose to leave him by himself knowing of the consequences?"

"I did." was all she said. Her face was the mask of apathy.

How someone, especially a mother, could be so cruel and callous towards their own son was a mystery that Tenten never wanted to find the answer to. "You're the worst kind of being that ever existed. Worse than the Uchiha family, worse than Hidan, worse than the people who make up the organization, and worse than the devil himself."

But it seemed like her...mother-in-law...wasn't listening to a word she was saying, she was looking at her left hand. "What's that?"

Tenten looked down at the what she was asking about. Tenten bit her lip. Well, this wasn't something she particularly wanted to tell the woman. She didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had more victim to torture. But it was plain as day on her finger. She should've just worn it on a chain.

"What does it look like?" she muttered.

The woman stared, and Tenten watched her eyes widen and than go back to normal as it had probably dawned on her. "Well that's just precious. I guess it's just like my son to drag someone else into his messes just like his mother."

"Don't you dare compare Neji to yourself. He tried to keep me and everyone else out as long as he could. But you know what? I've seen mother's gladly clean up their son's messes up, but I've never seen a woman leave her mess to her own son. How could you just do that to him?" the sudden burst of emotion surprised Tenten herself. She rarely got emotional, especially in front of people that she didn't like. Unless they did something that really pissed her off. And that only happened once, with Kankuro.

"Tenten," she said. "In my experience, being a wife of a Hyuuga man changes you, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. For me it was for the worse. The organization I thought would've been an escape, but it made things worse. But the change that defined me the most was giving birth to my son. So much of me wishes I hadn't gone through with the pregnancy, it trapped me in a marriage that I barely wanted."

The realization finally dawned on Tenten, "You mean, that's why...?"

"I tried to love my son believe me. But I just couldn't. He just reminded me of the freedom that I had lost. I made a great show of loving my husband to the world and to the family. So after he passed, I made it seem like I couldn't stand to be around all the memories. I guess that was true, except I had no good memories. I took Neji out of obligation. I guess I could've left him with his uncle, but even though I failed, I wanted to raise him in a way that I could eventually love him." she said, frankly. There was not a hint of remorse, just guilt. Guilt that she gave up her life for a son that she didn't want. Tenten clenched her fists as she realized that this woman would never care enough for her boy to help him out of this nightmare.

She stood up, "I see. You won't help us a bit. You truly are the definition of selfishness. But unlike you, marrying a Hyuuga under strange circumstances didn't give me any grief. And I don't regret it one bit. Neji may not have his mother. But he has an uncle that loves him, friends who will always be there for him, and most of all," she pointed to herself, "A wife who will be by his side for eternity. Cackle about how stupid I sound now. But unlike you, he's not alone in this. He isn't selfish enough to abandon those who love him. And with or without you, we're bringing those terrorists down. Keep snug here, this house is the only thing you have left now. Don't worry I won't breathe a word to Neji. I have no desire to watch you break his heart again. And I'm not going to let you either."

And without seeing or hearing the next words to leave the older woman's mouth, Tenten exited the house. Her anger was getting to the point where she couldn't control it...

The second she slammed the door, Tenten's head suddenly felt light.

"Tenten?" she heard Temari's footsteps coming up the porch. The sound they made was amplified tenfold, and Tenten's head began spinning so fast that she lost her balance.

"Tenten!" Temari grabbed her best friend before she could hit the ground. She was passed out. Temari felt her head. She didn't have a fever or anything. But Temari shook her head. Tenten tended to faint when she was overly stressed and overly worked. In this case it had been both. She could assume from the way Tenten had stormed out of the house, it hadn't gone over well.

She supported Tenten's unconscious body off of the porch. Before she went down to her car, she looked over at the house and frowned. Hopefully, she'd never have to come back here again. Like Neji and Tenten, she too had her reasons for hating this woman. She just wasn't going to share it like they had. It was for the best. And as she drove away, she tried to prevent herself from looking up at the house. In doing so, she didn't notice the small crack in the curtains.

Neji's mother had watched the whole thing, a deep, regretful frown on her face...

And that is it for now folks! Sorry my loves, I was in Europe for two weeks and got back just last night, so I'm severely jet lagged! So yeah, Neji's mom, a real piece of work isn't she? Yeah, so over the past few months, I made a friend (one of the main reasons I haven't really updated. One of you knows why) who has a very similar life to Neji in this story, even the shit with his mother (well not the same issue, but similar personality and things she's done to him and how she's treated him). It was weird, but I finally told him that he became inspiration for the story even though I met him after I'd been writing this for 4 months. And he was...well I don't know, he said "YAY!" But of course I'll change a few things so it doesn't look exactly like his life. Hehe, I'm planning a few more things for this story. I dropped a hint or two in the chapter for one of the things. Let's see if y'all can catch it! ;) Get ready, because this story only gets bumpier from here on out! Okay now time for the poll. It's more of an audience choice this one! What do you want to read next time?

A) A look into Neji's childhood, and the time he spent with his mother, as well as why she's the way she is...

B) See what everyone else is doing about the whole situation...

C) Do both! Do both!

And I do have something else planned. :) Okay well that's it for this week everyone! I'll try to go as fast as I can! Okay well anyway, if there's anything else to say, just PM me! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time!

CherryXButterfly(Angel)