I Am Not a Secret to be Kept (A Neji Hyuga Love Story) - Book one [Discontinued]

Chapter 7

"What is this?" I asked, observing the mess. "And when I had just cleaned too." "Welcome home." a voice I didn't recognize said, and I jumped. "What is with things sneaking in here?" I wondered to myself, cautiously approaching the spot where the voice had come from.

"Heh." I could feel the smirk radiating off the person in my apartment. "I'm here for my cat." I looked at Nyanya, who was still in my arms. "Come here, Yume." My cat seemed to shrink back from him. "Get out." I said calmly. "Nyanya obviously doesn't want to see you."

"Nyanya?" he responded, not moving. "What a stupid name." I glared into the shadows. It was hard fighting with someone you couldn't see. "Why don't you come out here and tell me who you are?" I challenged. "Wow, confronting someone you can't see? You're stupid."

I'd had enough of his snark and rude comments. I turned around and jumped out the window with Nyanya in my arms. Maybe that was a stupid move, but I knew one thing for sure, he wanted Nyanya, or Yume, as he'd called my cat.

I noticed a familiar sight as I jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Of course, I'd never seen it up close, but I recognized the Hyuga property. "I wonder if Neji is inside." I thought to myself, then shook my head. "So what it he is? I need to get away from whoever that was."

I looked behind me to see a figure catching up to me. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw the glint of a Konoha headband behind me. I stopped suddenly enough so he rushed right past me. I came up with a plan. Maybe it was a stupid one, but I didn't have enough time to come up with a better one.

 I jumped over the wall surrounding the Hyuga property and nearly fell on a wire. "Thank goodness." I thought to myself, hopping up into a tree. I saw my chaser follow me over the wall, and fall on the wire. Suddenly, a loud wail went off. I watched in surprise as all the people of the Hyuga clan ran out of their sleeping places and surrounded my chaser.

The best part was that he couldn't move because he was caught in a net. As the Hyuga clan surrounded him, I got a look at his face. It was one I didn't know, but looked very familiar. He had sand blonde hair and grey eyes. "Koichi Yamauchi." I heard someone say, and I immediately knew who this was.

Kei had never mentioned a brother, but I had heard rumors of someone of the Yamauchi clan, Kei's older brother, finding a mystical cat. Then... I looked down at Nyanya and nearly slapped my head. How had I never made the connection before?

Now that I knew how precious Nyanya was, I had to keep her safe. I jumped out the tree without anyone noticing and landed on the outside of the wall. "Now to get you home." I whispered to Nyanya, making my way back to my apartment.

I had created a bed for Nyanya to sleep in, just a simple box with a towel in it. As I placed Nyanya down and she curled up to sleep, I had the strangest sensation I couldn't explain. It was like some presence was here, watching me.

"Kazumi." What? Where was I? I opened my eyes and saw a sky of colors, swirling around me and changing. Someone was calling my name. "Kazumi. To your left." I looked over and saw a young girl of about ten standing next to me. She had black hair except for a spot behind her right ear, which was white. She wore a black skirt and a black sleeveless top.

"Nyanya?" I asked, and she winced. "I would prefer it if you called me Yume." she said, and I nodded, still awestruck by what was happening. "Where are we?" I asked her. "In the dream world." she responded, smiling gently.

"Is this what they meant by mystical?" I asked, watching as the sky above me changed colors and swirled around, sucking me in like a whirlpool. She nodded. "You see, I have the power to go into people's dreams. I was once a human, like you, but someone turned me into a cat. With this change came my powers." she said, motioning to the dimension around us.

I nodded. "Do you know who did it?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, I remember waking up like this, but that's it." she responded. "I have come here to talk to you about that incident. I need you to find the person who did this, get them to change me back, and KILL THEM."

I looked at her suspiciously. "And what do I get out of this?" I asked cautiously. She smiled what I once thought was a calm smile, and now recognized as the smile of a crazy person. "You get what, or should I say who, you desire most." I tapped my chin. "Let me think about it." I said. She glared. "You have until tomorrow to chose." she said, and disappeared.

I woke up in a cold sweat. "It was just a dream." I thought to myself, but I couldn't keep the image of her out of my head. It was still dark out. I looked over at Yume, who was awake, and she hissed at me. That was enough proof that what had happened wasn't just my imagination.

I got up and set up the things I had gotten for Yume, then went out to clear my thoughts. I exited the building and started jogging. As I jogged around the village, I saw signs of people starting to wake up. I slowed down and started thinking about the things I had seen.

I knew it wasn't just a dream, but what could I do? I was so confused. I wasn't sure what would happened if I did what Yume asked of me. Could I face the consequences? And what was the reward she offered me?

Then I gasped. She couldn't be talking about... Neji?! "That complicates things." I thought to myself. I needed to admit to myself that I probably wouldn't be able to resist that bargain. Then I bumped into something. Or someone.