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

Chapter 1

"Kazumi!" Akira, the jerk, yelled my name. I ignored him. Why should I stop? I'd just get teased. He caught up with me. "Why don't you show us your face, ugly hag?" he said in a mocking tone. Ugly hag. The nickname they all gave me. They all assumed I was ugly, and that was the reason for me to hide my face. I had many reasons to hide my face, and being ugly wasn't one of them. "Ignore him, Kazumi." my best friend, Yakuno, whispered into my ear.

She was one of the few who knew my secret, that I was really the daughter of the business tycoons that ran the biggest company in this region of the world. She also knew what I looked like, which was a plus. I was jolted out of my thoughts by Akira yelling another insult at me.

"Kazumi? Yeah right!" he teased. Kazumi meant beauty, and he obviously thought I was anything but. "Your parents must be blind. Oh wait, they're dead!" he cackled madly with laughter at his stupid joke. My parents being dead was another lie to prevent people from knowing who I really was. But then, I didn't know who I was. I hadn't found my identity yet.

I sighed, picked up my books, and walked out of the school. I guess I was lucky to be able to walk home, no one teasing me, but truthfully, it was kind of lonely. "Kazumi, wait up!" I heard someone calling me. I ignored it, sure it was Akira.

"Kazumi." I stopped. Akira would never say my name in that tone of voice. I turned around, keeping my head bowed. I looked up from beneath my hair and immediately winced. It was Toshi, the hottest guy in school. (Dang it!) Yasuko would never stop going on about him, and now I was humiliating myself in front of him.

"Yes?" I whispered. "I'm sorry for what Akira did." he said in his gentle voice. No wonder he had his own fan club. "I saw it all." "It wasn't your fault." I murmured in a voice so quiet even I could barely hear it. "Why do you hide that face of yours?" he asked. I winced and my pulse started racing. I turned away without answering, but he caught up to me easily. He grabbed my arm and looked at me. "Please, I'm begging, can I see your face?" His desperation sounded in his voice.

"Why?" I asked, my tone a bit harsh. His voice dropped suddenly. "Because I know you're hurting inside... like me." I blinked. For some reason, I was know angry with him. I spun around to face him. "You want to see? Fine." I growled. "But you can't tell anyone." "I promise." he whispered, and I hated how it made me feel warm. I was blushing, bad. "Come with me." I led him into an abandoned shack near the mansion. My secret place that I didn't allow anyone to go into. Until now.

"You have to absolutely promise not to tell anyone." I said in the dusty light of the shack. The light was floating in through a window, and I could see all my possessions being displayed, as if in a museum. I took a deep breath and lifted my face. I could hear Toshi inhale sharply.

"It's not what I expected." he said. I looked at him clearly for the first time. His shaggy hair fell in his face and his eyes were warm. Then I raised an eyebrow. "What did you think I'd look like? An old hag?" I asked. He blushed. "Yeah, more or less." I pouted slightly. "Do people really think that badly of me?" "No... yes." he answered truthfully. "So what do you think of me now?" I questioned.

"... you're beautiful." he answered. I blinked. With my chocolate eyes and my dark brown almost black hair, I'd always considered myself below average in the looks department, but then, I was in denial. I realized then that I was in an abandoned shack alone with a guy I hardly even knew. He took my face and kissed me on the cheek. I blushed so hard I was pretty sure I busted all my blood vessels. "You promised not to tell." I reminded him. "I know." he smiled at me.

As I walked into the street, I thought about what had just happened. "I will never be able to show my face again." I thought. "Quite literally too." I reached the end of the street and circled back to the mansion. "Shoes off!" yelled the housekeeper, Azumi, once I entered the house. I sighed and took off my shoes. Then I surveyed where I lived. Right now, I was standing in the entrance hall. A big crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and in front of me was the grand staircase leading to where the living quarters were.

I walked up the staircase to my room and turned on the television. "Let's see what's on." I thought, jumping onto my gigantic four poster bed with a canopy. "Naruto. Nice." I thought as I started watching. Then I noticed a small box on the side of my bed. "To Kazumi Tsukino." read a small note next to it. I opened the note, not paying any attention to the TV, and read it.

I know you. I know how you feel. I wish you to be happy. I wish you to be calm. I wish you to be accepted. Take this gift and think. Think about where you want to be, and you will appear.

"That was all it said?" I said out loud. "Are you serious?" I eyed the box. It didn't look special, just a plain white box with gold paint on the sides. I wasn't a believer in magic, but right now, I was feeling so lost and hopeless that I decided, why not? I opened the box, and my eyes fell on the television screen. "I wish to be in Naruto!" I said out loud. Then I collapsed.