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

Chapter 12

I grasped on to the knowledge. That piece of information that I needed most. Something buried in my brain. "Acute Finding Technique." I whispered. The hand signs were next. I had to nail them.

"Horse, tiger, rat, ox, horse, tiger, sheep." I did them perfectly. Suddenly my vision changed. I could sense three places where heat was concentrated. Where were they coming from?

I looked around and spotted Kei and Hisao, jumping from trees, running, trying to find sensei. Then I looked over to the third spot, near a hot spring. "There." I whispered. It was the faintest presence, but there. Big enough to be human.

I snuck through the bushes, hoping I was silent enough. As I approached, I realized what a good hiding spot it was. The steam would give cover and the water would prove dangerous for people.

I know it would've been impossible to find her in this heat if I didn't have that jutsu. I walked slowly and silently to the spring. As I got closer and closer, I realized that she wasn't moving.

I couldn't hear the sound of her breath. Something was off. I snuck up behind her and jumped as quietly as I could. As I had suspected, she had used a substitution jutsu.

"Where could she be?" I wondered. The jutsu hadn't worn off yet. I scanned the surrounding area and saw a spot of heat, moving around. I had to be more subtle this time.

I pretended not to notice her. Then, she sped up. I waited for the right moment, and.... jumped out of her path. Fortunately I had predicted where she was going correctly. I pounced on her before she could escape.

"Hah." I smirked at her before yelling, "Hey! I found her!" "No Academy for us." I secretly whispered triumphantly. Koe sensei huffed. "How in the world?" she asked unhappily. I grinned wider. "Secrets."

The next day I smiled happily as I walked down the streets. I was an official genin now. "What are you smiling about?" I looked up and saw the handsome face of Neji. Thankfully, this time I was able to keep my cool.

"I'm a genin now." I said, boasting a little. He looked at me. "Really? Is that all?" I glared at him. "Well, it's a big deal to me." I said with more than a little sass. He looked amused. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing." he responded with a smirk. It was so weird how I smirked all the time but hated when other people did it. I rolled my eyes. "Well, if that's all you have to say, why don't you leave?" I asked.

He grinned. "I'd like to, but I know you don't want me to." he said. I blushed slightly. "What?" I asked, trying to hide my embarrassment. "Yeah, right. There's nothing I'd like more." I paused. Maybe I had gone too far with that one.

Neji didn't seem to think so. "Well, you're really hyper today, aren't you?"

I glared again. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. "Well, you just seem a bit more worked up than usual." he said as he shrugged.

"Since when am I ever worked up?" I exclaimed indignantly. "Since always." Why was it that whenever I talked to him it was always so... frustrating? "Well, I have some business to attend to. See you around, Neji." I walked away, angry that my good mood had been spoiled, but somehow also exhilarated.

"YOU'RE LATE!" I sighed. It was my first day as a genin, and I hadn't even been able to make it to training on time. Even Hisao and Kei got there faster than me. "That darn Neji." I muttered under my breath.

"I'm sorry. I was... held up by something." Hisao snickered and I shot him a glare. "Today we are going to be going on a mission." I groaned. We'd already worked our backs off for old ladies once, and now we'd have to do it again?