Hidden Secrets Ch. 4

20 LAPS LATER

Lee finished first, followed by Neji, and lastly Tenten. The latter two collapsed immediately onto the ground and took a drink of water. "THAT WAS GREAT! LET US DO IT AGAIN!" Lee yelled. Neji and Tenten nearly choked on their water at Lee's words.

"I'm afraid we can't today, we still have much to cover!" Gai stated. Neji and Tenten sighed in relief. "Now follow me!" The team followed their sensei all the way to the top of an observation tower. On the way, Gai asked them all several questions such as their names, birthdays, hobbies, etc. "Alright! Here we are! Now take a seat!" The students sat down, relieved to be off their feet. "Now how old are you all?"

"Eleven" said Tenten

"Eleven" said Lee

"….Nine" said Neji, slightly embarrassed at the age jump. But of course, he doesn't show emotion.

"NINE! How young! You must work very hard!" Gai exclaimed

"Or, fate decided that I should graduate early" Neji said in his pissed-off smart ass attitude.

"…don't you mean the Academy's school board decided?" Tenten questioned.

"Hn"

"I thought we agreed on no 'hn' anymore!"

"…hn"

"Alright that's enough! I have one more question for you. Every ninja should have a main goal in their ninja career, what is yours?"

"I WISH TO PROVE THAT I CAN BE A SPLENDID NINJA EVEN IF I CANNOT USE GENJUTSU OR NINJUTSU!" Lee exclaimed, shooting his hand into the air.

Neji smirked, "Hn. And how do you expect to do that?"

"BY TRAINING VERY HARD!" Lee obviously didn't catch Neji's sarcasm.

"EXCELLENT LEE! TENTEN YOUR TURN!"

"Umm….I want to be a strong kunoichi like the Legendary Sanin, Lady Tsunade!"

"SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA! NEJI WHAT ABOUT YOU?"

Neji thought about it for a second before responding, "It doesn't concern you."

"Come on Neji you can tell us!" said Gai cheerfully

"I rather not" he responded turning his head to face the town.

"Hm..very well. I wish to have a one on one conversation with each of you individually, starting with you Neji, then Tenten, and lastly Lee. Our little chats won't last any longer than 15 minutes, so don't wonder off to far. Tenten and Lee stood up and walked down the stairs, while Neji sat exactly where he was.

Gai sat down next to him pulling out a folder from out of nowhere, "So Neji, this here is a file filled with information about you, given to me by Iruka sensei"

"That doesn't sound creepy at all"

"I was very impressed by several things, for starters your amazing chakra control!"

"It's a kekkei genkai"

"Well yes, I'm familiar with the Hyuga family, but to have such control at such a young age! It's incredible! That reminds me, I'm going to talk to you about something a bit serious for moment, and it may be a bit hard for someone your age to handle."

Neji got a knot in his stomach when he heard this, but managed his stoic attitude, "I may only be 9 years old, but I'm much more mature than my age."

Gai smiled and chuckled slightly, "Well that's good, because I Iruka told me this was a very sensitive topic for you."

Neji posture suddenly changed in the slightest of ways, he knew exactly where this was going, and was less than excited to talk about it, however he nodded obediently.

Gai took in a deep breath, and lowered his voice significantly, "It says here your mother passed away when you were very young."

"She had a weak heart. She was always having heart problems, and one day… it got so bad that she-she….passed away." Neji really didn't have much of a problem talking about his mother, yes he loved her and missed her, but he was hardly a year old when it happened, it wasn't like he had a lot of memories of her.

"I see, and it also says your father is deceased… do you want to talk about it? You don't have to if it upsets you… this is only for my concern, no one else will know unless you say anything" Gai said trying to reinsure the Hyuga.

Neji stared at Gai with big white eyes, not speaking. "Just tell him, he'll find out eventually, and it's not like it's a secret." Neji began to speak, "5 years ago, the Hyuga signed a treaty with the Village hidden in the clouds….however, it was only a trap to steal the secrets of the byakugan…one night their leader kidnapped lady Hinata, my cousin from the main branch family and expected heiress to the clan," That's when Neji started to lose his stoic form, "I-I should've been aware. I-I should've been protecting her, after all she was my responsibility. I was supposed to be there, but I wasn't and-and he's dead because of me!" Neji's eyes started to well up with tears.

Gai tried to calm him down and placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder, "Neji calm down, you were only 4, there wasn't much you could have done. Now what happened after she was kidnapped?"

Neji sniffled a bit, "Hi-Hiashi-sama, father's twin brother, killed him immediately, but the clouds wanted Hiashi-sama's body as replacement for their leader. But-but instead the Hyuga leader's made father give up his life to protect the main branch family, because that's all we ever do! We-we don't make any decisions for ourselves! Our lives are decided for us and it's not fair! I hate the main branch family, and I hate Hiashi sama, and I hate Hinata! It's just not fair! Why should I lose my father, when it was all hers and Hiashi sama fault! It's just not fair!" Neji was bursting out into tears, not being able to control himself. He was surprise himself, he never showed emotion, and suddenly he let go of all his emotions at once.

Gai hushed Neji and gained his attention, knowing Tenten would be coming back upstairs in about 8 minutes. "Shhhhh, Neji, I understand why your so upset, but you must calm down."

Neji hiccupped a bit before control himself. He rubbed his red eyes and stared at Gai. His sensei turned to a new page, "Alright, how about we drop the subject and discuss something else?" Neji simply nodded.

"Okay! Let's go over your medical record, not that I think you're unhealthy, but because I want to confirm everything in here just in case I need to know on a mission." Gai waited for response but Neji didn't give any. "Let's see, last physical was at the beginning of the year, that's good. Mhmm. Yes, that's sounds right. Have all your shots. Ah! Here it is! Allergies! It says you're allergic to oranges and Hydromorphone (A very strong pain reliever)," Gai stared at the paper confused, "Hydromorphone isn't very common, how were you tested for that?"

Neji hesitated before talking. Why does it matter how I was tested. Hn, I don't have to tell him the whole truth, besides it would be in my medical history which he has in his hands so he'll find out on his own. "When I was younger I was hospitalized for a surgery, and I guess I reacted poorly to the pain medication."

"Very well, and lastly, are you sure you don't want to tell me your dream?"

Neji paused and stared at Gai with his misleading innocent white eyes, "Yes. I'm positive."

"Umm I'm back…do you want me to leave…?" Tenten asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Nonsense! Neji and I were simply waiting for your return!" Gai replied, "Thank you Neji, I'll see you tomorrow where we met today, 6 o'clock sharp!"

And in that note, Neji went home.