roseandthorns-chan: Really? Whoa, I hope I don't dream of an octopus anytime soon XD

Tentenrules4ever: Yeah, the title choice was a little strange, but I'm weird like that :P

KittyLo-chan: I think you'll remember two people from Under the Red Moon in this chapter ;)

CandyGirl-chan: Thanks :)

--

For weeks now I had been seeing Gaku, and nothing seemed to be helping me cure my phobia. Riko's boyfriend had been asking me about my childhood so far, and I was now up to that traumatic experience I had when I was eight, and I saw my old cat get run over by a milk truck, but that didn't seem to have any relation to my fear.

On top of that, I had gotten used to genin on the street looking at me funny and sometimes whispering behind their hands to each other. It still bothered me a little, but I had begun to learn to get used to it.

Or so I thought.

The other day, I was walking back home from a mission I accomplished with my team, when I heard two foot steps in perfect unison a little further behind me. Along with the foot steps, I heard people talking loud enough for me to hear.

"Ugh, it's that weird girl again," said one voice.

"The one that's afraid to have a boyfriend?" asked another. Furrowing my brow, I turned around to see who was behind me.

To my utter discontent I found two girls I graduated with following me. Their names were Tsubaki Ito and Ibara Maruyama. These girls were absolute cows, and no decent person liked them at all. I hadn't seen them since I graduated, but I had heard their other team mate moved to the Vegetable Country, and they were awaiting a new team mate. But their team issues were the least of my concerns. I knew they were following me to bother me.

"Go away," I told them, and I began to walk off again, but Ibara ran up ahead of me and blocked my path.

"So, you got a kiss from Mr. Hot-Shot of our graduating class, huh?" she said.

"What's it to you, Meat Head?" I asked the mean girl.

"You know how many girls would love to get a kiss from a guy from such an important clan?" Tsubaki hissed in my ear, coming up behind me. "And Neji wasted it on you, and you didn't even appreciate it?" Ibara flipped her long brown hair and scoffed.

"It's a good thing that Sasuke Uchiha hasn't wasted his first kiss yet," she noted disdainfully. Ibara was unaware that Sasuke had in fact already kissed someone, but he nor Naruto liked to talk about it.

"It wasn't my decision to become a philophobic, it just happened, okay?" I growled. "Now, if you excuse me, I'd like to get home to my siblings." I tried to push by the two girls, but they shoved me back, and gave me the once over.

"What's he got going for you?" Tsubaki demanded, and I could have sworn I heard traces of jealousy lace her voice. "You're not even that pretty."

"I don't care what you or anybody else thinks," I half lied, glaring at the two girls. "Besides, Neji's got nothing going for me; I had tainted chakra in my system, and he had to give me some of his chakra to clear away the bad stuff."

"And you need a kiss for that?" Ibara asked me, cocking one eyebrow.

"My aunt, who's a nurse, said the lips were the best place for chakra to enter the body because of its thin skin." I gave the two witches a look. "Why am I explaining this to you, anyway? You two are just a couple of disgusting toads, and I don't wanna get my hands slimy. I'm going home." With that, I roughly shoved passed Ibara and Tsubaki and continued on my way. I thought for a minute I had them defeated, but I heard Tsubaki's shrill voice scream loudly so that the whole street could here.

"Hey! Kayami Tsuji!" she shrieked with sickening delight, half to me, half to the bystanders on the street. "How many times do the Hyuuga family have to tell you to leave their prodigy alone!? Don't go trespassing on their compound for, like, the fiftieth time today, don't you think it's enough!?" I heard a couple of people laugh loudly behind me. I gasped, turned around, and looked at the two girls, who grinned evilly back at me.

I threw an awful insult at the girls, and took off running down the street, trying my best not to start blubbering like a baby on my way.

--

Team Eight stood off to the side of the street, watching poor Kayami run off while Tsubaki and Ibara shrieked with laughter.

"Man, those girls are really nasty," Kiba said, frowning. "Who are they?"

"Tsubaki Ito and Ibara Maruyama," Shino answered, calm as always. "They're a year ahead of us. If I'm not mistaken, they were known as the 'mean girls' back in the Academy."

"Well, that Kayami girl didn't really deserve what she got," Kiba grumbled, crossing his arms. "Even if her phobia is kinda... Well, you know..." Akamaru, who was on Kiba's head, barked in agreement.

Hinata gazed sorrowfully at the street, and the two girls laughing. She felt rather bad for both Kayami and her cousin. She had heard different versions of what happened in the hospital weeks ago, and couldn't decide which story was the most accurate. Hinata knew if she was in Kayami's place, and Naruto was in Neji's place... Well, the very thought made her whole face red.

Aside from sympathizing with Kayami, Hinata also felt really bad for Neji. For the past weeks, her cousin had been subjected to people asking questions about what happened, or whether he "liked it" or not. Neji didn't show much emotion on the outside, but Hinata knew very well he was awfully embarrassed by the whole situation. She could tell because even she tried to ask what happened politely, and her cousin refused to tell her anything.

With her thoughts a little unsettled, Hinata followed her team, and left the two cackling hyenas in the middle of the street.

--

"Neji, I need to talk to you," Hiashi told his nephew at the dinner table that evening. Neji looked up at his uncle, and asked him what was wrong, knowing what this lecture or discussion might be about.

"I hear rumours and stories are going around about you in the village," the older Hyuuga said, looking at the boy sternly from across the table. Hinata, who sat in between Neji and Hanabi, looked down at her plate, and started to push her two index fingers together repeatedly. A nervous habit she had.

"I hear things about you and some girl I've never met or heard of," Hiashi continued, unaware that he had actually met Kayami at the Chuunin Exams. He continued to eye Neji. "Can you elaborate please?"

Neji felt a familiar need to run out into the middle of the forest and stay in a dark cave until his name was cleared. He had done a pretty good job ignoring stupid questions and comments from the Hidden Leaf genin, and had succeeded in not telling his uncle anything about that day in the hospital, but he should have known he would be found out sooner or later. He frowned, and stared at his dinner plate, unsure of how to answer. Suddenly, Hinata timidly spoke.

"Uh... um... Father," she began, her voice barely audiable. "Uh... I-I met that girl you're talking about today..."

"Hinata, this isn't about that girl," Hiashi said, firmly. "This is about the rumours I'm hearing about your cousin." Hinata was about to insist that this did have something to do with Neji and the rumours, but she decided to wait and listen instead.

Neji started to fiddle with his chopsticks. He really didn't want to tell his uncle of such a humiliating event, so he made things brief. "I had to help a girl at the hospital, and nothing else." Hiashi didn't look convinced.

"Is that all?" he asked. "Today someone came up to me and asked me if I knew that you had kissed a girl, and she ran away." Hiashi added under his breath, "What kind of girl runs from a powerful clan like our's?" Hanabi took one look at Neji and pursed her lips.

"Neji's got a girlfriend!" she taunted playfully. Neji gave his younger cousin a death glare. Hiashi told Hanabi to hold her tongue, and continued to press his nephew for information.

"Haven't you heard of any of these stories, Neji?" he asked. "Hasn't anyone asked you why you-?"

"Um-uh-F-Father," Hinata tried again, surprised that she had dared to interrupt him, causing her to stutter a little more. "I-I actually s-saw the g-girl today, a-and I heard her t-t-tell the truth about e-everything." Hiashi looked at his eldest daughter.

"The truth?" he repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"W-well," Hinata began, still refusing to meet her family's gaze. "I-I was walking with Kiba and Shino today, and Kayami was getting t-teased by these two girls. A-And she said that Neji had only kissed her b-because she had tainted chakra in her system and Neji was the only one who could clear it away by giving her a bit of his own chakra." Hinata finally looked up at her family and saw Hiashi looking confused, Hanabi looking interested, and Neji looking down right uncomfortable. "Neji was only helping her," she continued. "Sh-she also said it wasn't her fault that she was a philophobic."

"A philophobic?" Hiashi repeated. "You mean the girl's scared of falling in love?" Hinata nodded her head shyly.

"I think that's what it means," she said. Hiashi looked back at Neji.

"They found out she was a philophobic after she woke up?" he asked. Neji barely nodded. Hiashi said nothing, but in the privacy of his mind, he thought, How peculiar. My nephew has an orphaned philophobic longing and avoiding him at the same time. Though Hiashi still wasn't happy that rumours were centered around someone of his own clan, the Hyuuga leader couldn't help but to smile a little at the thought of such a girl crushing on Neji.