A/N: It's been a month, but that's OKAY...BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY LONG. Oh, and as a reminder to all you guys who may not have noticed, Neji is really OOC. Like...REALLY. This is because I'm tired of seeing the one-dimensional, destiny-obsessed serious guy snagging my favorite female from the series with no strings attached. ;; SO I MADE NEJI A BASTARD! YAY!

Disclaimer: Technically, Neji and Tenten aren't canon yet, so I guess I still don't own Naruto.

I raced through the hallways, checking my watch. I was already late for class as it was; it didn't seem to matter if I was late just a little longer. And besides, I was never one to really appreciate 'the gift of education.'

Pushing open the creaking metal door, I leapt up all the concrete steps three at a time for several floors, wiping the sweat from my brow until I came upon the large door to the roof.

Sighing deeply, I pushed open the door.

I stepped out, surveying the large, white massive platform of her school's roof. It was spotless, with curvy steel railings lining all the edges. There were even plush seats for students, and meticulously sculpted greenery planted in round black pots, stationed all around.

I cocked an eyebrow at the empty expanse. Neji was nowhere in sight.

For the next ten minutes, I found myself scouring the entire premises, looking everywhere for sign of his presence. Around walls, behind doors, under chairs, even over the edge to see if the bastard had decided to go spontaneously skydiving (he was always one to surprise).

It irked me to no end. His nerve. The fact he somehow managed to convince me to agree to these stupid meetings. How he got by my carefully constructed wall so easily, made me freeze up. It wasn't my fault! I was socially retarded! Not meant to speak to people, make friends, live a life. The only people that really mattered to me were…

Me. And my dad. But no one else.

And how he took advantage of it. Pushing him out was not an option; for now, it was becoming more apparent that not only did he take advantage of being close to me, but he enjoyed it. Immensely.

And all that lead down to the fact that I was still late for class, and he hadn't come through on his side of the deal.

…Not even a deal. Why was I even here? And why the hell was I disappointed?

Not disappointed, that is. I was not disappointed. I was not.

I, Tenten, was in no way, shape or form, even for a millisecond, even mildly disappointed. Nope.

Suddenly, the bell for my next class rang. I had missed a whole class. Dejectedly breathing through my teeth, I gave up, and headed toward the door again. When I abruptly froze in my tracks.

A piece of paper. Taped to the back of the door.

I searched for ten minutes, but I didn't bother to look at the door. It was so conspicuous, so obvious, it was almost genius. Almost.

I am an idiot. I thought.

I marched over and ripped the paper off, brown eyes flying across the word, repeatedly.

Sorry

I didn't see him for the rest of the day. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I kind of missed his irritating, arrogant presence. The school felt a little emptier, I suppose.

Not that I care.

He didn't show up the next day either. But it doesn't matter to me. It was weird, but whenever he was in school, and I felt his prying eyes on my back, I found myself working harder. Concentrating more. But that's just a coincidence.

And now that he was gone, I felt the need to stare at the board and listen, completely distracted and utterly absorbed in my inner complaints of putrid, late-summer humidity.

"Tenten!"

I banged my head on the table, before shooting up and sitting up stick straight.

"Here!"

The whole class snickered, while my friends turned around in their seats to stare at me, concerned.

Anko, our teacher, frowned grimly at me.

"That's wonderful to know, Tenten, but I did roll call half an hour ago. Perhaps you would like to do what I actually asked you, which is to answer question #12 from last night's homework."

I looked down at my desk, where my closed textbook lay innocently. Glancing up, I saw my friends all had their books opened to a specified page.

I paused, and didn't move.

Anko sighed. "Ino, would you help her find the page?"

Ino spun in her chair and opened the textbook for me, pointing to a question, murmuring something incomprehensible which I didn't bother to try listening to. Her icy depths turned to gape at me in concern, asking a million questions, all of which my sluggish lips seemed adamantly unable to answer.

My eyes went wide at the question on the page. A huge graphing chart. Straight and curved lines splayed across the crisscrossed grid, numbers and letters scattered everywhere, mixed among black and white dots. Something about the Pythagorean…wait what?

They say Asians are good at math, but I suppose I'm the exception to that.

Sakura turned around from her seat next to Ino, hissing softly at me.

"Tenten, you should already have the answer; this is from last night's homework!"

…We had math homework? Moreover, we had homework?

I stared at her blankly, turning an equally devoid glance to each of my friends, Anko and the page again.

Anko crossed her arms, throwing her long ruler onto the floor with a huff, glaring at me.

"Tenten, you haven't been paying attention at all. Are you tired?"

I sighed, and let my chin fall to my chest. "Yes."

The class gasped, bursting into hushed and urgent whispers.

Hinata turned around to face me from her position in front of Ino, pearly eyes wide in shock. "Tenten, what are you saying?"

I shook my head, waking myself up. "What?"

Ino shook my arm as she stared at me intently. "Did you hear what Anko just asked you?"

I blinked. "Yeah."

Next thing I knew, Anko was in front of me, staring at me with fiery eyes. "Then you'll know I just asked you if you thought you were too good for this class, to which you answered yes."

I glanced from her, to each of my friends, to the rest of the class. Then down to my textbook.

That's not what she asked me. At least, not what I heard. Maybe I did need hearing aids. Sakura had told me just the other day I listened to music too loudly, but that wasn't entirely my fault, as…

My train of thought derailed on its own, and it was as if my brain short-circuited and sizzled in all of its embarrassing glory, all for the prying eyes of my classmates to laugh at.

Ino handed me a bottle of water. "Are you out of it or something?" she whispered angrily, looking around at the rest of the class warily, shooting them warning glares to leave me alone.

I rested my elbow on the table surface, rubbing my temple and sighing, confused.

Using her long ruler for slapping palms, Anko slammed it on the desk surface, causing a smacking sound to echo around the classroom. Some of the girls squealed in shock, and nearly everyone jumped.

I hardly reacted, feeling ready to sleep.

Slowly, inch by inch, the ruler slid off my desk. In its place was a pink slip of paper.

"I'll see you in detention, Tenten."

Detention was torture. Torture. Or so I anticipated.

Of course, Anko wasn't exactly the sweet kind of teacher who let you off easy, and that alone was a grievous understatement. Stalling before I entered detention, I half expected to see spiked spears and cold stone walls, along with various other…interesting instruments.

I pushed open the door creakily, to see Anko seated at her desk, feet propped up and eyes closed in thought, with massive headphones blasting music into her ears.

She opened one eye to acknowledge my entering, then jerked her head towards the sole empty desk in the room, where a stack of papers lay.

I shuffled over and seated myself, staring at the red marker that lay beside it.

Anko threw off the headphones and started to recite dully.

"Grading papers, I will check your work, better not try any funny business, your marks ergo your life are at stake here if you mess up the grading, I will kill you, call parents, etcetera." she droned. "Understand?"

I blinked. What.

"Good." She fell back into her desk and slipped on the headphones again.

I sighed and slid the first sheet off the pile, uncapping the marker as I did so. My eyes widened at the sight of it.

Variables, constants, axes, plotting. That was just one section, too. Then there was algebra, fractions, geometry.

…the hell?

I had no idea, literally, what to do. I eyed the textbooks near me, but I was practically illiterate when it came to textbooks, so that idea was dismissed almost immediately. I couldn't concentrate for the life of me, not without help.

Not without Neji secretly pushing me to work harder, to prove myself.

…Naahh. All the same, it was a crap excuse. Neji did not affect me. He simply didn't. No one did.

Anko only served to make things worse. "Stall all you want, you're going to be staying after school every day until all those are marked, you hear?"

I gulped. I heard.

Two days I had spent after school in detention. Not just for math class anymore, too. The other teachers started punishing me as well, and I was staying after school later and later and doing the worst tasks imaginable.

…Alright, so they weren't that bad, but I was in a bad mood, nonetheless.

Neji showed up a few days after, cheery and ready to berate me again. He acted as if nothing had transpired; as if it was normal to disappear from school for several days without explanation.

I ended up catching him in early morning, before school in a secluded corner of the courtyard. I shoved him into a wall, checking both ways for anyone watching, while he just raised an eyebrow in surprise but allowed me to push him anyway.

"Where were you for the past few days?" I whispered when I was sure no one was near. No need to start fueling the raging gossip club I might've been with this bastard or anything.

He raised his eyebrow higher. "…What are you going on about, Tenten?"

I scoffed at him. "You disappeared from school a couple days ago, remember?"

He stared, and smiled the most slap-worthy, sly grin I'd ever seen in my life. "Did you miss me?"

"No!" I punched him in the shoulder, but not before the recurring scarlet flushed up to my cheeks. "I'm just curious."

He smirked. "Stalker."

"Bastard." I spat at him, folding my arms.

"But you like it."

"And you're the worst mind reader I've ever met."

He held up his hands in defeat. "Say whatever you want Tenten, but it's obvious to me you can't resist me."

My eyebrow twitched. My mouth opened to release something of a snort, laugh and scoff at the same time, so grotesquely unladylike the Queen would've fainted.

He laughed, loudly, a real one this time. He ruffled my hair, and I twitched again, unconsciously.

"Alright, alright, I won't disappear from school anymore, but only because of how much you clearly need me to keep yourself out of trouble. So many detentions, Tenten, tsk tsk." He shook his head at me in mock scolding.

I decided not to bring it up again. He could turn anything into a joke. And I didn't even want to know how he found out about my detentions.

We stopped the random pieces of paper after that. Or so I thought.

I had finished the last of my detentions with Anko. A whole week of grading papers, and I was finally done. The numbers were still swirling in my head.

I dragged my feet down the empty halls. I suddenly heard Sakura's ringtone in my bookbag, but I ignored it, stuffing my scarf in to muffle the sound.

My head glued to my chest, I banged down the lockers till I reached mine, fumbled several times with the combination, and flung the door open tiredly. I heaved several great sighs, reaching onto the shelves to get my textbooks.

But…I reached nothing.

My head swung up in alarm. The textbooks were gone. Every single one of them, even including the ones that I didn't need for tonight.

I didn't even need to see the piece of paper that flew out. I knew where he was. I was going to find Neji.

And I was going to kill him.

He snorted with laughter from his position, doubled over, clutching his stomach and wiping away a tear as I stood with my arms crossed and foot impatiently tapping, with my face flushed red in anger, no doubt.

My left hand clenched into a fist as I ground out. "Are you done?"

Neji straightened for a moment, before his eyes shut in shaking laughter again. I breathed through my teeth. He laughed so hard no sound emerged, aside from a breathy squeak. He clapped his hands repeatedly, like some sort of retarded seal.

"It's not…funny." I seethed out.

He glanced up at me, voice losing some of its infuriating mocking. "Aw, c'mon Tenten, have a sense of humor." He choked out, wiping away another tear.

"H-humor?" I spluttered. "Alright, tell me where the humor is when I come out onto the roof to discover you threw my books into that…abyss, of mud below the school!"

"Hey, hey." Neji corrected with a small smile. "You were the one who came out and pushed me towards the edge. It's not my fault they toppled over the edge and fell into the mud."

"Maybe if you hadn't PLACED them on the edge it wouldn't have happened!"

"But alas, you still pushed me, dear Tenten." He recited sadly with a smile, patting my head.

I slapped his hand away. "Better yet, maybe if you hadn't taken them in the first place." I muttered poisonously.

Neji crossed his arms and his smile widened innocently at me. "I had something to ask you."

"So why didn't you ask me earlier!" I asked, on the verge of sheer desperation at his games.

"But past is past, Tenten, am I right? Better yet to ask you now." His eyes closed in satisfaction as he nodded to himself.

I sat there spitting at the idiocy of it all.

His face suddenly turned serious. "I really am sorry about your books."

I rolled my eyes. "Tch, sure you are. Now what am I supposed to do? I just finished serving all my time and-"

I froze, and my heartbeat seemed to slow. The phrasing…was way wrong. Way wrong.

He stared at me in confusion. "Tenten? What's wrong? You're really pale all of a sudden."

I swallowed, hard. Dad was serving time.

It had been weeks since I thought of him. Was I becoming so conceited to forget about him? He was my blood, my only blood, for kami's sakes. How could I…

"I need to go home." I whispered to the air in front of me, not blinking and not making eye contact with him.

Everything's wrong.

Neji frowned at me. "Why?" he asked suspiciously, a hint of concern in his voice.

Because I can't tell you.

"I just do." I breathed again. I pivoted on my heel and started off quickly towards the roof door. What was wrong with me…

"What is it?" he said louder, after me. "Why can't you tell me?"

Because you won't tell me. Because he's my dad. Because you'll never look at me the same.

I didn't answer him, my hand on the doorknob, before his voice responded again, much closer this time, with his hand on my shoulder.

"You don't have to tell me, fine, but at least let me give you books for tonight." He mumbled from behind me.

I said nothing, which he took as a yes. Grabbing my wrist, he dragged me out of the school with me still in something of a depressed haze.

As he reached the front gates of the school, he whipped out his cell phone, and within a matter of minutes a sleek limo appeared, while he gestured for me to get in.

I made no movement to do so, so he gracefully entered himself and jerked me in after him. I fell face first onto the new leather, before rolling over to stare at the tinted sun window, concentrating on my breathing.

What was wrong with me?

I had been so occupied in my stupid, pointless, reckless...thoughts of Neji. And in the process I forgot about Dad.

How could I do such a thing? He was my last family. The only person who'd ever bothered to stay beside me. And I was the only person who ever bothered to forgive him, see past the supposed crimes.

I want you to be happy, Tenten. He used to say. Live a better life; for me, if not for you. I'm sorry.

And I'd kiss his cheek, hug him, and tell him I was happy.

But I wasn't. And I wasn't happy here either. Why…did it seem like so much to ask for, to keep my dad, and my life? Wasn't there any way I could keep both?

Then that stupid Neji came along, ruined everything. He made me forget; made me forget who I was, who'd I would be for the rest of my life.

I was a criminal's daughter. That could never change. In many ways, a criminal myself. He would not change me.

It was a silent promise to myself; as the limo rolled up to the Hyuuga complex.

"C'mon." he said quietly, slipping my hand into his as he dragged me into the massive mansion.

Despite what I had been just thinking about, I gawked mutely at the sheer size. The mansion was carved entirely out of magnificent white marble, streaked with a multitude of colors, with wide, elegant steps leading up to regal cedar doors. Polished stones adorned the sides of the supporting columns, and massive window walls peered into the luxurious residence of the Hyuugas, where light seemed to emanate from every crack of the home.

Quite a difference from a gritty apartment. I thought to myself dryly.

Without waiting for the young servants by the doors to open the doors for him, he pushed them open himself, a serious and dominating expression seemingly smothered across his chiseled features, one I was not accustomed to. The seemingly endless queue of servants all bowed and nodded at him in acknowledgment, and he addressed them back by name in a stern tone.

I stared at the back of his head, right at the spot where he gathered his long silky locks into a neat ponytail. Where was cheeky, fresh, smartass Neji now?

He led me up a grand staircase, garbed in a resplendent red carpet. I ignored my self-consciousness; walking around in my wrinkled clothes, tangled hair and muddy sneakers (I blatantly refused, outright refused, to ever wear high heels to school) made no bother to me any longer.

He plodded along silently, opal eyes focused intensely along the way. A dark haze clouded my mind, but the grand opacity and luminous glow of the artwork that adorned his home was simply amazing.

My steeled jaw fell open a bit at seeing a portrait of a beautiful couple. A woman, with midnight dark hair and fair skin, beautiful enough to have been a princess. And a man, like Neji, with a strong jaw and sharp nose, with eyes as foreboding as his, but with a touch of gentleness. A sense of familiarity struck me at where I saw that.

…Dad. He had the same look too.

"My parents." Neji said, in a much gentler tone than he had graced his servants with.

I nodded along. "Where are they?"

He visibly stiffened, and his eyes became distant, almost angry. "They are dead."

I froze, realizing my mistake. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." I breathed very quietly.

He shrugged it off, but his eyes no longer casually drifted to mine every few moments, and they remained in their coldness until we reached a brightly lit corridor.

My mouth hit the floor.

I assumed all of Neji's home would look like the entrance. Noble, kingly, august. I hardly expected to see the white-washed walls covered in photographs of smiling children, all ranging in ages from what appeared to be infanthood to even older then Neji, as well as hear joyful screaming and loud chatter through the whole place.

"The children of the house all live here." He said simply, a small smile pricking his lips. "My two cousins and I also live here as well."

Suddenly, a door swung open, and three squealing children ran out, their sock-clad feet slipping across the mahogany floors. Neji easily evaded them, passing by them coolly, while I flung myself behind a wall to avoid being trampled.

Neji pulled me along, when a thin girl stepped out from behind the door, shutting it softly behind her. She kicked a few plush toys out of her way, making it down the hallway and nodding to Neji as she passed.

"Hanabi." He regarded her with a hint of a smirk in his voice.

I found myself staring after her. Her hair was a sleek curtain of black, shielding her pale face from the world. However, it did nothing to conceal her startling white eyes, peering out accusingly at all who dared to make eye contact. Even considering her small stature and thin arms, she was…intimidating.

The next minute, a second girl ran out, the same age as Neji. She looked almost identical to Hanabi, aside from the fact she was far taller, her hair didn't cover her face, and that her facial features were soft.

"Hinata." Neji also regarded her. Hinata smiled at him as she passed, before running off after Hanabi.

I blinked. So that was the girl with tiny feet.

"My room." He said, bored, and pushed open a door at the very end of the hallway.

It opened to reveal…probably the most boring bedroom I'd ever seen in my life.

He was rich, he could invest in a personal decorator. But everything in his room was…white. Functional, subtly stylish, but…boring. Simplistic and all, but no personal touch. There was no essence of Neji, the bastard in the room.

A massive, white closet stood positioned to the eastern wall. A large, glass wall stood opposite from the door, revealing a serene view of what appeared to be a slow, bubbling creek, leading out into the distance, shrouded in foliage. A white, king-size bed was positioned opposite the closet, with a desk right in front of the window. A white couch across from a gargantuan TV. Bookcases, tables.

My room had nothing of the sort, but I preferred it anyway to the starkness of this room. At least my room had color. Life.

"Alright, here ya go." He said lazily, his cocky self seemingly returned. He swept over to the bookcase, fingers tapping along the spines of his numerous books, before pulling out several and dropping them heavily into my waiting arms.

"Thanks." I offered him a rare smile, to which he responded with a huge grin.

"Think nothing of it. I'll replace your other books, by the way." He offered apologetically.

I was a little stunned at his kindness. "That's really nice of you, but I can pay for new books. It was my fault anyway."

…What the hell am I saying? How is this MY fault?

Neji's arrogant smile crept up onto his face. "…Yeah, it is."

I smirked at him, punching him in the arm. "Don't push your luck."

Suddenly, there was a gasp from the doorway. Both of us whipped our heads to lookn at it.

A group of children, all Hyuugas of different ages, were staring at us in wide-eyed shock. A few tense moments passed where I smiled nervously at them. Then, one of the older girls screamed out.

"Neji has a girl in his room!"

Everyone squealed or laughed, and I flushed a terrible shade of crimson. Neji laughed along, but it was forced, awkward, with a hint of irritation. Suddenly, a demanding voice broke through the laughter.

"Excuse me! Ugh, c'mon, MOVE! Get out of the-okay, you know what, just…MOVE!"

The crowd parted to let in a glaring Hyuuga Hanabi. She took a deep breath, calming herself, before smoothing out her clothes and turning to stare at Neji evenly.

"Hiashi wants to see you."

Neji's smile evaporated. He turned to look at me with an indiscernible emotion in his eyes. "I'll be right back."

"No, you won't." Hanabi continued, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. Her piercing glare turned to me. "He wants to see you too, Tenten." She said, almost mockingly.

It shouldn't have bothered me. It was just another family member of Neji's. But somehow, the sternness of Hanabi's face and the deadness of Neji's eyes…

Safe to say, it scared me shitless.

A/N: Hiashi the freak wants to see our Tenten! :O Le gasp! Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the long chapter because I worked hard on it! ^^ Reviews please, no flames.

-silver