"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…"

The young ninja paced across the room, mumbling to himself. He held a note in his hand, but his fist had crumpled it into a small ball. His headband sat on the bed next to him, on top of a pile of folded clothes waiting to be put away. The metal plate with the Konoha symbol on it sparkled in the light of the ninja's bedside lamp.

He sat down on the bed and un-crumpled the note. He read it for the sixth time, then the seventh, then the eighth. Every time, he wished he could change the words to say something better. Just not this.

Downstairs, the Genin's uncle and cousins were talking over dinner. He didn't feel like joining them. The note was too important. He had to write a reply. But how?

The boy stood up, then sat back down. He looked around for a pencil or pen. A blue one sat on the bedside table, and in grabbing it he almost jammed his finger. For a moment he stopped moving and tried to calm himself. A panic attack like this was very unusual for him.

"Neji?" his younger cousin's voice yelled, "Are you gonna eat?"

Neji jumped at the voice, but called back reflexively.

"I'll be there," he said weakly, hoping they'd hear. If they didn't it was their loss.

He took a deep breath and folded the note up. Maybe if he took a few minutes to eat and organize his thoughts, he'd be able to get his mind around what it said.

Neji grabbed his forehead protector as he walked out the door of his room. He felt safer with it on, and more professional. It helped him to think clearer. He also left his hair down. It wasn't for any particular reason, but he was just too lazy to put it in its usual low ponytail. Some loose strands hung around his face as he walked down the few steps to the kitchen.

His cousin Hinata's younger sister, the one who had called him, was already done eating and had gone off somewhere. Hinata and her father were still sitting on the floor, lazily chatting as they ate. As Neji entered, they both stopped talking and looked up at him. It made him feel uncomfortable, but he didn't show it as he sat down by them and got some food. It was a mild curry, as none of the Hyugas could stand any spicy food. While he was putting the rice on his plate, Hinata started talking again.

"What were you doing in your room?" she asked quietly. She only seemed to have one volume setting, and that was strain-your-ears-to-hear.

"Nothing of importance to you," Neji said immediately. He didn't need his family knowing about his problems.

But something deep inside of him wanted to tell his cousin. They weren't especially close, but she wasn't a very biased or sarcastic person, so she would be good to talk to about the note.

"Sorry…" she said, looking down at her food. Neji caught a sharp look from his uncle, but he shrugged it off and got the rest of his food. Then again, Hinata didn't know the extent of his problem, so she might ask questions that he didn't want to answer. Maybe he shouldn't tell her.

The next few minutes of the meal were silent. Hinata didn't speak again, which meant no questions, and that was fine by Neji. At least, until Hinata's younger sister appeared again.

He should have guessed it by the evil smile she had, or the fact that she was holding her hands behind her back. Maybe when she slowly started to inch towards Hinata he should have been suspicious. Instead, he was staring off into space, thinking about the note.

"Look what I found in Neji's room," the young girl whispered into her older sister's ear. Neji's head whipped around, violently breaking him from his chain of thought.

His heart started pounding as Hinata's younger sister pulled out the folded note. Hinata looked at it for a moment before unfolding it.

"No!" Neji yelled, jumping to reach for the note. In doing so, his knees knocked the table and sent all the food onto his uncle's lap. His fingers grasped at the air just inches from the letter before Hinata's younger sister pulled it away.

"Neji!" his uncle yelled furiously, standing up and brushing himself off. Neji didn't pay any attention. He was focused on getting the note.

Hinata's little sister danced away from her cousin's reaching hands. She smiled and held the note above her head.

"NEJI!"

The Genin turned his head to his uncle, who was glaring at him intensely. He shrunk back from the gaze, but couldn't escape it.

"What is the meaning of all this?" his uncle asked coldly, gesturing to the overturned table. Neji sighed and looked down. He couldn't let his uncle know.

"Neji doesn't want us to see the note," Hinata's little sister said, holding it up for her father to see.

"Hanabi, give me that."

"No! It's personal!" Neji yelled, reaching for it. His uncle got it before he did.

Neji watched helplessly as his uncle's eyes flitted over the page. As he read, he got angrier and angrier.

"This is why you felt the need to jump up and start screaming? A simple teen drama?" Hiashi threw the note down in disgust. "You're going to apologize and clean this all up, you understand? Then maybe you can start acting like a normal human being."

Neji's uncle walked out of the room. Neji stood by the table, seething. A simple teen drama? His uncle would never understand.

But Neji also felt defeated. His uncle had read the note. His note. The secret note that Neji would have dealt with privately. Now it wasn't very private any more.

"Um…can I…" Hinata mumbled, gesturing to the note. Neji looked at her for a moment.

"Do whatever you want," he said, turning and walking out the opposite door from the one his uncle had gone out of.

Hinata picked up the note and started to read. It was from Tenten. At first it seemed sort of aimless, like she had just been writing whatever she was thinking, but as Hinata got to the end her eyes widened.

The note ended with the words "I love you."