The next morning I met up with Yumi at the Ramen bar where she and Naruto sat with another girl. The other girl had blue hair and when she looked up I found myself staring into eyes that were startlingly familiar. She had the same silver eyes as Neji.

"Hi," I said blankly and the girl smiled shyly.

"Hoshi, this is my cousin, Hinata. Hinata, this is Hoshi, my new friend," Yumi said, smiling radiantly.

"Nice to meet you, Hoshi," Hinata said to me bashfully.

"And you, Hinata," I replied, no longer spellbound by her familiar eyes. My own eyes wandered over to Naruto who was shoveling ramen into his mouth at an alarming rate.

"…Anyway, Hoshi, I can't really think of anything else to do, unless you'd like to try tree-walking again?" Yumi asked.

"Not a good idea," I replied, wincing slightly. I was covered with bruises from where I had fallen many times yesterday.

"Well then maybe I could introduce you to some of the Konoha," she suggested. The Konoha was another name for the ninja of Konohagakure.

"I dunno, Yumi, I'm not really a social person," I replied awkwardly.

"Oh come on, Hoshi, it'll be-"

At that moment Yumi desisted talking and her expression hardened and she clenched her jaw as she stared at a spot just past me. I turned, curious to see what had caused such a drastic change in her usually hyper personality. It was only pink-haired Sakura, one of the few who knew my secret. Sakura walked over to me, smugly ignoring Yumi, which angered me.

"Hoshi, Neji is looking for you," she said in a sugary-sweet voice.

"He could've come told us that himself," Yumi said hotly, fists balled. I put a steady hand on her forearm and forced her to stay down.

"No need to pick a fight, Yumi, just relax," I said calmly. She let out a grunt and relaxed slightly.

"I'll find him in a moment, thank you Sakura," I said to her. Sakura nodded and flounced out of the ramen bar without so much as a second glance at Yumi.

"What was that all about?" I asked, rounding on Yumi.

"Nothing," she muttered darkly.

"Seems like a whole lot of trouble for nothing," I retorted.

"Go find Destiny Boy, he's waiting for you," Yumi grumbled. Sakura had had a very negative effect on Yumi and I didn't feel like arguing with one of the only friends I had in Konohagakure, so I gave in.

"Fine. See you later, Yumi. It was nice meeting you, Hinata," I said to her.

"Good-bye Hoshi," Hinata said with a faint smile. I turned to Naruto who had two empty bowls in front of him and was working on a third.

"Later Naruto. Don't eat too fast," I warned him.

"See ya, Hoshi," He replied through a mouth full of food.

Outside, the first thing I noticed was that Kakashi Hatake stood against the wall of the ramen bar, reading a book. I forced myself not to look up as I walked past and I could've sworn I heard him chuckle under his breath. After I was safely past Kakashi I went to find Neji, who was waiting for me outside of my house.

"There you are. I've been waiting for you," He said to me.

"For me? Why?" I asked curiously.

"To help you with your training, of course. I'm not going to let my sister turn you into a Hoshi-splatter," He said with a faint smile.

"What you want to help turn me into a Hoshi-splatter, too?" I asked jokingly. Neji's smile broadened and I found myself smiling as well.

"Yes, I'm going to help turn you into a Hoshi-splatter. It wouldn't be the first time it happened to a ninja during training. Come with me," He said, beckoning.

I followed him through Konohagakure and as we passed a large bulletin board I froze. A wanted poster of me was hung alongside a dozen or so other missing-nin from various villages. I was speechless for a moment, unable to move, until I felt Neji's hand on my arm.

"Come, Hoshi. It's alright," He said quietly. I nodded numbly and began to follow him again. We left the village and walked into the woods together.

"Neji…where are we going?" I asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"You'll see," He replied with a small smile. We continued walking and Neji continued to refuse me the knowledge of our destination.

"Alright, Destiny Boy, keep your secret then," I said when he'd refused for about the fifteenth time to tell me where we were going.

"Don't call me that," He said with a pained expression.

"What? …Destiny boy?" I asked tauntingly.

"Hoshi…" He pleaded.

"Destiny boy, Destiny boy, Destiny boy, Destiny boy, Destiny boy," I chanted as I walked along, "Destiny boy, DESTINY BOY!"

"Quiet! Do you want the whole world to hear you," He hissed annoyed, but only slightly. I smiled brightly, but stopped chanting.

"It is good to see you smiling, though. Most of the time you look like you expect the trees to come alive and grab you," He said as we continued walking. I blushed and stared intently at the ground again.

We finally reached our destination, which appeared to be nothing more than a lake.

"A lake?" I asked Neji, slightly bewildered.

"Yes, a lake," He replied calmly, "You're going to try water-walking instead of tree walking."

"But it's basically the same concept?" I inquired.

"Yes…"

"But now if I fall I'll drown!" I exclaimed exaggeratingly.

"All the more reason for you not to fall. Besides Hoshi, do you really think you're going to drown?" Neji asked, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"…No…" I replied meekly.

"Exactly. If Naruto can master water-walking, I am sure you can as well," He said certainly.

"Your confidence in my abilities is frighteningly misplaced, Neji…but I'll give it a try," I said with a sigh. I gathered the Chakra at the bottoms of my feet and began to walk across the water. I was frighteningly unstable at first, but I was not sinking, and as I got farther out on the water, the steadier I became. I looked back towards Neji and saw he was watching me intently through his Byakugan.

"What're you doing, Neji?" I called to him.

"Watching your Chakra levels. They're steady so far," He responded without breaking his own concentration. The water rippled suddenly as the wind blew across the lake and I had to adjust my Chakra levels…which is when it failed me. It seemed to splutter for a moment and then died altogether like a candle flame, as I fell down into the water.

I was surrounded in darkness for more than a few moments. Then, with a little effort, I pushed myself to the surface.

"You okay?" Neji called from the shore.

"Fine!" I called back. I ducked underwater, found the right current, and swam back to the shore with amazing speed. I climbed out of the water, my wet clothes clinging to me.

"You swim quite well," Neji said as I brushed my wet hair out of my eyes.

"Well there a lot of lakes in Kirigakure. My sensei taught me how to find the currents and flow with them rather than against them," I replied.

"That lesson can often occur in life as well. I think 'go with the flow' is what it means. Your sensei must have been a very brilliant man. What was his name?" Neji asked me.

"His name was Shishi. He really was smart, but he repeatedly pushed me to my limit and beyond. That's why I left Kirigakure," I said quietly.

"I'm certain they would not have pushed you so hard if they knew about your Chakra problem. You should try and see it from their point of view," He replied.

"Their point of view doesn't interest me. They shouldn't have pushed me beyond my limit. They all saw I couldn't do it, but they continued to push me," I said through clenched teeth. I hung my head and closed my eyes as tears of fury welled to the surface. Neji lifted my face gently upwards.

"They were wrong to do that, Hoshi," He whispered quietly. I didn't respond, but I kept my eyes squinched shut as two pathetic tears leaked out.

"Hoshi? Look at me. Why are you crying?" Neji asked gently.

"Stupid," I muttered, swiping at the tears. I tore myself from his grasp and sat down on the ground with my head in my hands. Neji, who seemed at a loss for words, sat down beside me. He hesitantly put one arm around my shoulder.

"You're not stupid, Hoshi," He said awkwardly. I allowed myself to be pulled closer to him, which shocked me so much that I stopped crying and looked up at him. He smiled at me tenderly, but said nothing more.

We sat there for a few more minutes, and then I stood up awkwardly.

"I'm okay now. Let's go back to the village," I said quietly. Neji said nothing as he got to his feet and we walked back to Konohagakure in silence.

When we got back to the village we found Yumi and Hinata waiting outside of my house.

"Hey, Yumi, what's up?" I asked, my cheerfulness a little bit forced.

"There you are, Hoshi! I'm going to take you around the village and make you meet people," Yumi replied enthusiastically.

"Gee, Yumi, you know I'm not really a social person…" I said, backing away slowly.

"Come on! It'll be loads of fun!" She said grabbing my arm. I gave in to her enthusiasm.

"Okay, fine," I said meekly.

"Yay!" Yumi shouted victoriously.

"Hey, Space Cadet, could I borrow Hoshi for another moment? I just want to ask her something," Neji said to her.

"Ask away," Yumi said.

"Privately," He replied, rolling his eyes as his sister. Yumi released me and I followed Neji a little ways away. I looked up to meet his eyes curiously.

"Would you like to come to dinner with me this evening? I have something I'd like to show you," Neji said with embarrassment. I blushed as well.

"Sure…yeah," I stammered. He smiled at me.

"Great. Back to Yumi, then," He said, nodding to where Yumi and Hinata still stood. I walked back over to Yumi and when I looked back Neji was gone.

"So, what did he ask you?" Yumi asked, grabbing my arm again.

"Nothing…" I mumbled quickly.

"Oh come on, Hoshi! Tell me!" she pleaded. I looked away from her.

"We're going to dinner," I said quietly.

"I knew it!" She squealed triumphantly, "Hoshi likes Neji! Hoshi likes Neji!"

"Quiet, Yumi! It's not even like that! He just has something to show me," I retorted, clamping a hand over her mouth as she bounced up and down excitedly.

"I bet I know what that is," She said in a singsong yet still perverted voice.

"Eww shut up you perverted, hyper, puppy dog! It's not like that," I repeated with emphasis. Yumi shrugged her shoulders, but continued to smile until I punched her in the shoulder, but not hard enough to really hurt her.

Yumi and Hinata led me all throughout Konohagakure and introduced me to just about everyone in the village. I learned names and memorized faces, though I was only allowed to see each of them briefly. We avoided Sakura so as not to cause a repeat episode of what almost happened in the ramen bar.

We were walking down the street on the way back towards my house when Yumi spotted a familiar face.

"Kiba!" She shouted happily and walked over to the brown-haired boy and his white puppy whom we had seen before.

"What's up, Yumi? …Who's your friend?" Kiba asked as I walked up behind them.

"Huh? Oh! This is Hoshi. She's one of our new ninjas," Yumi said without looking at me.

"Hello, Hoshi, my name is Kiba, and this my friend Akamaru," Kiba said to me. Akamaru was the dog that was sitting at his feet.

"Pleased to meet you, Kiba. …And you Akamaru," I said, squatting down to talk to the dog. Akamaru stood on his hind legs and put his paws on my face as he licked me.

"Eww!" I exclaimed, though I was laughing, "I guess he likes me."

I looked up to see Yumi and Kiba's reaction, but they had eyes only for each other.

"Hey, Space Cadet, stop making goo-goo eyes at Kiba!" Called a familiar voice. I perked up and looked around to see Neji making his way towards us.

"Kinda early, aren't you, Destiny Boy?" Yumi asked, tearing her gaze away from Kiba.

"Well I figured Hoshi needed saving. I would not force her to endure you and dog boy making goo-goo eyes at each other," Neji replied, smiling. Kiba, instead of taking it as an insult, grinned wolfishly at Neji.

"Don't call him Dog Boy, Neji!" Yumi said angrily.

"Fine. I'll just take my Hoshi and leave," He retorted with a smile as he grabbed my arm. My heart was pounding. Did he just call me his Hoshi?

"I didn't need saving, you know," I said as he led me down the street. It was getting dark out and the sky was beautiful shades of blue and purple.

"I know, but I was getting bored," He replied with a slight smile.

Neji led me to the ramen bar, which was probably the only place to eat in Konohagakure. Unfortunately we were not the only people there. When we went in and sat down Naruto made his way over to us.

"Hey Hoshi, how's it going? Been working on your training?" Naruto asked me.

"Yep. After Yumi almost killed me with tree-walking, Neji and I went to the lake to try water-walking, which I am infinitely better at," I replied.

"Neji was actually being nice to someone? That's a first," Said another familiar voice. I turned to see pink-haired Sakura standing behind us. A surge of hatred towards Sakura welled inside of me, probably due to the fact that Yumi was my friend and she did not like Sakura at all.

"He probably just wanted to see Hoshi in a wet T-shirt," Naruto said to her with a grin. I blushed a deep shade of red and stared intently at the ground as Sakura laughed.

"Get out of here, you idiot," Neji said, slapping Naruto hard across the face. Naruto fell to the ground, but came back up laughing.

"Alright, alright, I won't ruin your date," He said, dodging as Neji aimed another punch out of him. Then both Naruto and Sakura ducked out of the ramen bar, grinning like idiots.

"He was wrong, you know. I would not take advantage of you like that," Neji said quietly. I looked up at him.

"I know. You didn't expect me to fall in the water anyway," I replied, and then I looked back down at the table.

When our ramen came we ate in silence. I twisted the noodles thoughtfully around my chopsticks before eating them. I noticed Neji was watching me intently and it made me nervous.

"Why are you staring at me?" I asked finally. He looked startled.

"My apologies. I did not realize I was staring. I was just watching how you eat- you're left handed?" He asked. I looked at the chopsticks I held in my left hand.

"Yes," I replied blankly.

"But your water jutsu… you used it with your right hand if I recall correctly," He said. I smiled slightly.

"That is how it was taught to me and how I have always used it. I tried it once with my left hand and I nearly broke my wrist," I replied, still smiling.

"I see. Shishi was right-handed?"

"Yes."

We were silent after that until we were done eating, then Neji led me outside.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked him as we walked.

"Back to the lake," Was his reply.

"Not more training?" I groaned.

"Not at all. I have something to show you," Neji replied. He smiled mischievously and my heart leapt, especially as I recalled Yumi's earlier remarks.

"Don't worry," He said as we walked into the woods.

"Do I need to be worried?" I asked with a grin.

"I should hope not," Was his reply.

When we reached the lake I gasped in awe. The moon and stars were reflecting off the water as it rippled. It was silent except for the chattering of a few nightingales. I stood in wonderment for what seemed like an eternity.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Neji whispered softly, his warm breath tickling my ear.

"It is," I agreed, smiling. Neji smiled as well and walked closer to the water.

"What're you doing?" I asked, following him.

"I am going for a swim," He said, taking off his shirt, "you are more than welcome to join me."

He kicked off his shoes and was about to jump in when I noticed something.

"Your headband. You don't want to get it wet," I said to him. He hesitated for a moment and then untied his headband and lay it on the ground beside his shirt. By the light of the moon and stars I glimpsed the mark that was branded on his forehead.

"Where did you get that mark?" I asked him quietly. He sighed and sat down on the ground.

"Because I am a member of the Hyuuga branch family I was branded with a curse seal. From a young age, all the members of the branch family are possessed with a terrible curse in the form of a mark on the forehead, which allows anyone in the main family to be able to control and manipulate them. All that a member of the main family would need to do is form a simple hand seal which inflicts severe pain on the member of the branch family, and is used if the member were to ever step out of line," Neji said to me. I sat down beside him on the ground.

"That's horrible. Do Hinata and Yumi have one as well?" I inquired curiously.

"Yumi does. Hinata…does not."

"Why doesn't Hinata have one?" I asked curiously.

"She's not a member of the branch family. She's a member of the main family," He murmured.

"But…then…. She could-…?"

"She could, but somehow I don't see my cousin torturing anyone, especially me, do you?"

"No. No of course not," I replied, my initial shock fading. I inched closer to Neji to further examine the mark on his forehead. It was basically an X with a line on both sides of it. I touched the mark on his forehead very gently and Neji closed his eyes and turned his face away from me.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" I asked softly. He shook his head no and looked back at me, smiling a small, sad smile. Neji got to his feet slowly and I followed him up.

"Did we come here to swim or talk about curse seals?" He asked with an intense smile. I recognized the change in subject and accepted it.

"Swim, of course," I said with a grin.

"Good. Maybe you can teach me how to flow with the currents," He replied, just before he leapt into the water. I watched him swimming for a moment, subconsciously admiring his muscles, before jumping in as well. The currents found me naturally and I swam beneath the water for a long time before surfacing.

"There you are," Neji said, swimming over to me, "I was beginning to think you'd drown."

"No such luck, Destiny Boy. We're going to have a swimming contest," I said with a mischievous grin.

"No fair, Hoshi, we weren't all raised in Kirigakure! …And don't call me Destiny Boy!" Neji protested, but he was smiling.

"Come on, Neji, don't be a wimp! Afraid you'll get beat by a girl?" I asked teasingly.

"Yes, since the girl was raised about water," He answered honestly.

"Please, Neji, race with me! You know this is the only thing I'm any good at. You could be me at anything else, at least give me a chance to try," I begged lightly.

"Fine."

After our race, which I won of course, I worked on teaching Neji how to find the currents and flow with them. It didn't work out to well at first because he couldn't hold his breath for very long.

"Come on, Neji, I can hold my breath for over five minutes and you can't stay under for even two," I said when we surfaced for the third time in a row.

"How long did it take you to learn that, Hoshi? It was part of your training with Shishi, wasn't it? Well I never learned this. That's why you're here to teach me," He replied evenly.

"A genin teaching a jonin? There's a laughable thought. Better not let anyone else hear you talking about that," I teased him. He smiled and ducked back underwater.

When we were both exhausted we climbed out of the water, looking pretty haggard. I noticed that Neji's hair had come undone at some point. He usually kept it tied behind his back with a hair tie, but it seemed to be missing.

"Your hair looks really great when it's not tied back," I said and, without thinking, I ran my fingers absently through his long hair. He smiled and closed his eyes. I pulled my hand away and blushed when I realized what I was doing.

"Sorry," I murmured, hiding my face in my hands.

"It's okay, Hoshi," He said in a soothing voice, and he lay back on the ground. Neji reached up and took my hand and pulled me down next to him gently. I lay completely still. This was the closest I had ever been to him without touching him and he seemed to radiate body heat. I halfway sat up and examined his curse seal again.

"Another reason the Hyuuga Branch members are given the curse seal is to protect our Bloodline trait. If I was killed the mark would fade so that no one could force the secret of Byakugan from me," Neji said to me, lifting his head up.

"Then, why don't the Main family have them as well?" I asked, confused. Neji shrugged his shoulders.

"My Byakugan is stronger than most of my clan…but I could never be the leader because I am Branch family. Hinata is destined to be the clan leader when her father dies," He told me.

"That's ridiculous. I think that whoever is strongest is the most fit to be the leader," I said hotly.

"I used to think that fate was inescapable and we should just submit to our destiny. Now, thanks to my battle with Naruto, I believe that we can shape our own destinies," He replied. I thought for a moment and then had a revelation.

"So that is why Yumi calls you Destiny Boy," I said with a smile. He smiled as well and lay his head back down, closing his eyes. I traced the mark on his forehead once more before kissing it gently. He opened his eyes, startled at first, but then he smiled warmly and I lay my head on his bare chest. He held me close to him with one arm and absently stroked my hair. Then, lulled by his heartbeat and his fingers running through my hair, I fell asleep peacefully.

When I awoke the next morning the sun was shining down through the trees. My head still rested on Neji's stomach and his fingers were still curled in my hair. He still slept, his breathing even and his eyes closed peacefully. Nothing had happened, but I knew that rumors would be floating around Konohagakure when we returned. I could only imagine what perverted comments my friend Yumi would have to say about her brother and me.

Neji's silver eyes opened slowly as he awoke and he looked up at me and smiled.

"Good morning, Hoshi," He said, disentangling his fingers from my hair. I smiled as well and I blushed slightly.

"We should get back to the village," I whispered, a hint of remorse in my voice.

"Yes," He agreed, nodding his head. He retrieved his shirt from where he had laid it before we swam yesterday and slipped it over his head. He tied his headband back in place, hiding his cursed seal. We shared another smile before walking into the woods together.

On the path back home we talked a little bit.

"So where is Yumi's cursed seal? It's definitely not on her forehead," I asked as we walked.

"Well, she-"

At that moment his response was cut off by a ninja cry as three masked figures leapt from the branches of overhanging trees. They were hunter-ninja, no doubt. One of the masked figures through a shuriken at me and I dodged it as it embedded itself in a tree trunk.

"Fire Element; Grand Fireball," I said loudly. I inhaled deeply and willed a large amount of Chakra to gather there as well. Then I exhaled and a large fireball launched itself at the ninja who had attacked me. One of them was blown off course and burned very badly. The other two were only scalded.

"Water Style: Water Wall," I said, performing another attack that I had learned in Kirigakure. Water spouted from my mouth and formed a wall in front of me. Neji was using his Gentle fist technique on one of the hunter-ninja. My strength was almost gone and I was barely able to maintain enough Chakra to keep the water wall strong enough. The ninja leapt through the water and punched me hard in the stomach, causing me to drop the water and fall to the ground. The ninja approached me and stood over me, looking ominous in his black clothes and mask.

At that moment my eyes turned red and my hair got odd red streaks in it. I could now see the amount of blue Chakra energy gathering in the palm of my opponent's hand and was able to dodge out of the way before he connected with me.

As my opponent slammed his hand into the ground I realized that I could now see Chakra. I had developed my Sharingan! I tried to remember what I had learned. I could copy moves, supposedly, so I gathered Chakra in my fist, just as my opponent had, and sent his own attack into the back of his neck. He collapsed onto the ground and I went to help Neji with the other ninja.

When we finished off the last one I spotted a fast moving object darting through the woods.

"Now might be a good time for you to leave, Neji- …there are at least three more," I said to him through gritted teeth. I was almost out of energy.

"I never run from a battle, Hoshi, I'm with you," He said confidently, "Let's get some hunter ninja!"

With little difficulty we all but obliterated the three hunter ninja that were darting around in the woods. With my new Sharingan I was able to track them and their movements seemed slower to me than it would seem to an average ninja. By the time we had defeated them I was exhausted and didn't have enough Chakra to maintain my Sharingan. I staggered over to where Neji stood panting over the body of the last ninja. He delivered another kick before turning to me.

"Hoshi…are you okay?" He asked, reaching out a hand to steady me.

"I'm fine. See, I didn't need you to protect me," I said, gesturing to the ninja, most of whom I had defeated.

"I can see that. …Be careful," He said as I lost my balance. He put a steady arm on my shoulder to keep me from falling.

"I got my Sharingan," I said delightedly.

"I saw that. Your eyes were red and your hair had red streaks in it," He said to me.

"Really? Did you happen to see how many tomoe I had?" I asked quickly. Tomoe were the little lines in my eyes that appeared whenever I used my Sharingan. The more tomoe, the stronger the Sharingan, and the maximum number had always been three. My cousin Itachi had three tomoe.

"No, sorry if I was too busy battling to count the number of lines in your eyes," He remarked with a smile.

"Right. I can always look later when my Chakra is restored," I said.

Neji and I walked the rest of the way to Konohagakure in silence. Both of us were nearly exhausted beyond our limit and as we walked through the town a lot of people stared at us in wonder. I was leaning on Neji's shoulder and his right arm had been scraped by a shuriken.

"Oh my gosh! Hoshi! Neji!" Said a familiar voice. I looked up as Yumi ran over to us, looking worried. Kiba and Akamaru followed on her heels.

"We're fine, Yumi. There were ninja in the woods, but we defeated them," I said tiredly.

"You're not fine, you can't even stand up!" She exclaimed.

"I can, too," I argued and I stood up. Black spots danced in front of my eyes and I collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

When I awoke I was in a bed that wasn't mine and my energy felt restored. I opened my eyes to see that Neji lay beside me, so I could only assume that this was his room in his house. The door opened and in walked Yumi and Sasuke.

"Hey, cousin, how's it going?" Sasuke asked with a grin.

"Fine, you know, if it wasn't for being attacked in the woods," I replied with a grin of my own.

"We brought you here instead of taking you to the Hokage. It would have been difficult to explain why hunter-nin had attacked you," Sasuke said to me. I looked at Yumi, alarmed, but she smiled.

"It's okay, they told me who you are. …And I figured out why you look so familiar!" She exclaimed triumphantly.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Because I knew you. I spent a small amount of time in Kirigakure and when I was there I met a girl named Naoshi Uchiha. It had slipped my mind until now, but you did a good job of disguising yourself," Yumi said to me.

"Apparently not a good enough job…the hunter-ninja still found me," I muttered darkly.

"I do not think you should worry. I doubt they can find Konohagakure, it is very well hidden," Neji said from beside me. I hadn't noticed he was awake and now that he was I looked at him and blushed.

"We need to have a talk," Yumi said to me suddenly. She grabbed my arm and halfway drug me out of the bed.

"I really don't think she should get up so soon-" Sasuke started, but Yumi and I were already gone.

Yumi led me to her room and we sat down on her bed with its satin red bed sheets.

"So, what were you two doing before the hunter-ninja attacked?" she asked with a smirk.

"N-nothing. Just talking," I said quickly, but my blush gave me away.

"Talking about what?"

"…His curse seal," I said quietly.

"Oh, is that all? Neji hides his like it's something to be ashamed of," She snorted. She moved her hair aside and let me see the same mark that was on her neck.

"So the two of you didn't do anything bad?" Yumi asked, smirking again.

"Not at all!" I exclaimed, still blushing.

"No clothes came off?" She asked prodding for information.

"No- wait… not exactly," I answered slowly. She sent me a look of disgust and triumph. Disgust because it was her brother, and triumph because she thought she was right.

"It wasn't anything like that, Yumi! We went swimming," I said calmly.

"Nude swimming?"

"NO!" I exclaimed, mortified.

"Then-"

"No more, you perverted, hyper, puppy!" I shouted, and I covered my ears with my hands and fled to the safe haven of Neji's room. I leapt into the bed and covered my face with Neji's pillow.

"Your sister is torturing me, Neji!" I complained playfully. It was then that I discovered his pillow smelled wonderful and I inhaled deeply.

"Leave her alone, Space Cadet," Neji said to Yumi, who had followed me and was standing in the doorway, grinning. Sasuke had left already.

"Alright, alright, Destiny Boy. …I'm going to find Kiba," She said, skipping out of the door. Neji sighed and pulled the pillow away form me.

"She's gone now," He said with a smile. I smiled as well and lay back down on the bed.