Love Potion

Notes: As a way to thank those who really like this story I took some time to write this next chapter even though I've been busy. I always have such a hard time writing chapters for this story. I enjoy writing it, but for some reason I have a hard time compiling events. I wasn't sure if this chapter would be interesting or not and then I surprised myself with the ending again. A few more secrets were revealed and more will come in the next chapter. Sadly, there isn't that much romance in this chapter although everything comes with time.

Thank you spoiled princez for staying with the story and I'm glad you are enjoying it. :)

Thank you LilGreenearth97 and simplegirl42 and all recent newcomers to this story. Also, thank you to everyone who has been here from the beginning. I haven't heard from you in a while but if you are reading this, thanks for staying through all of the strange changes.

Chapter 8: Calm Before the Storm

"Mimouri," her mother softly knocked on the door before opening it only to see a lump of blankets on the bed.

"Hyuga Neji had stopped by," she entered the room, but Mimouri was still facing the wall in silence, "He said that you had forgotten this and that if you don't want to see him today he understands, but he's still going to continue the experiment."

Mimouri bit her lip trying not to cry again. Everything hurt: her eyes, her head, and her heart.

She didn't want to turn around because she was sure that she couldn't keep it together if she looked at her mom, "What did I forget?"

Mrs. Karatsuki turned the plush over in her hands, "It looks like a bird."

"Oh," she responded, having all but forgotten about the stuffed animal from the carnival.

She felt a weight on the bed.

Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, "He also wanted you to know that there is a prep-meeting tomorrow for the mission."

Mimouri sighed only to gasp at the realization that she never told her mother about the mission. She turned over in flash to see her mother's worried and hurt expression.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I didn't want you to worry."

Mrs. Karatsuki shook her head as if to dismiss her apology, "You can't stop me from worrying. I just can't believe you weren't going to tell me."

Mimouri guilty stared down at her hands.

Her mother sighed, defeated, "In that respect you are just like your father. He was very private about his missions and experiments, but no matter what, I still worried about him."

Perking up at the mention of her dad, Mimouri stared at her mom; her tired eyes were lost in the past.

"He pushed himself so much. I hardly saw him near the end," her mother choked back tears as she looked at her daughter again, "You're so much like him, both thinking you can keep me in the dark."

Mimouri had never heard this from her mom before. It was true that dad was gone a lot, but she never knew how her mother felt about it.

"Mimouri, I know that your experiment is a love drug and that you've been using it on this Hyuga I keep seeing," Mrs. Karatsuki pointed out, "I know teenagers think their parents are stupid but you can't hide something from me in my own home."

She was surprised but sheepish at her mom's reaction, "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize for curiosity; I know you're a smart kid, but why would you make something like a love drug?" her mother asked, concerned.

Mimouri looked down at her hands, tangling and untangling her fingers while trying to think of something to say. She didn't even want to admit why she did it, even to her mom.

"It was because of Yuki, wasn't it?" Mrs. Karatsuki questioned further.

She looked up at her mother with surprise once again. Was she that obvious?

Seeing her daughter's expression, Mrs. Karatsuki sighed, "I thought as much. I've seen the way you act around him. And now you are using this love drug on another boy. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No," she shook her head and felt the tears coming again at the memory of the stupid events of yesterday, "I just- I don't know. I saw Yuki kiss Yoko and I was upset, but at the same time I don't know if I like him anymore."

She began to gasp out her next words, trying hard not to start sobbing, "Neji only likes me because of the drug. I didn't want to grow attached to him but I already did and I hate it. I hate myself. I don't know what to think. It's not real but I can't help feeling this way. I just want it to stop."

She finally broke down sobbing in from of her mother who hugged her tightly as she cried. She was frustrated. She hated herself. She hated her drug. Why did things have to turn out this way?

They had stayed like this for what seemed like forever until her mother spoke again, "It's alright. You don't have to hate yourself over this."

Mrs. Karatsuki parted from her daughter to look her in the eyes, "I know you think it's fake, but you can't fabricate love out of nothing. Your drug might have given him a push in that direction but I'm sure his feelings are as real as yours."

"But, but," Mimouri was going to protest only to be silence by her mother.

"No buts. You and your father think everything can be explained through science but there some things that are a little more than just chemical reactions," she explained, then narrowed her eyes, "but if he does ever end up hurting you in some way then you just tell your mother and I'll show him what for, even if he is from a high class family."

The thought of her mom scolding Neji made her laugh a little.

"Just remember that you don't need a drug to be loved Mimouri," her mother smiled and petted her hair.

"Thanks mom," she smiled as well even if she was still just a little doubtful.

"Now," her mom became serious again, "What about this mission that you've been keeping from me. I thought you said you weren't going on any more missions."

Mimouri lowered her head. She couldn't tell her about the mission just yet, at least not until she found out if her father was still alive or not.

"I know, but this one is special and it's kind of confidential. Even the Hokage is keeping it a secret for the most part," she said feeling bad that she had to keep this from her.

Mrs. Karatsuki took a deep breath, "Alright, you don't have to tell me but promise you will come back alive . . . I don't want to lose you too."

Her mother's eyes welled up with tears. Mimouri was surprised that she held out this long. Hugging her mom, she promised her that she would come back. Although, she didn't know if she could keep the promise. There were supposed to be people after her. If her father was alive then maybe it would be best to stay with him for a while and leave all of this behind. No, she had to at least finish the experiment before her vision was gone. It would be way more difficult to continue when she couldn't see. Her vision was getting worse each day and it wouldn't be long now before she couldn't see at all. She wanted to leave something useful behind. She just wanted to be useful and important in some way.

Once her mom left her room, she tried to pull herself together. The experiment would only take a few more days. It seemed successful but what her mother told her ran through her mind: Was her drug just a catalyst? Would it not have the same results on someone else? Was it just a coincidence that he happened to fall for her?

She glanced over at the bedside table where her mom had placed the white bird plush next to her now wilted lily of the valley. It was kind of funny and sweet thinking of him finding it in the dark and taking it with him. He must have thought he looked silly when carrying it to her house.

It hurt her, but she had to be certain. She needed to complete the experiment to make sure the results were accurate. There had to be a small chance that her drug didn't work as well as she thought it did. Then of course there was the mission. She sighed and tried to build up the strength to visit the Hyuga compound that day. She would at least wait until her eyes weren't so puffy anymore before she left.

Neji sat on the floor of his room, staring at a picture on the desk of both his father and himself when he was three. A smaller picture of a young lady was also placed in the corner of the frame. His father told him that she was his mother, although he never met her.

He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to give up on Mimouri but he didn't know what love was really like. He spent so much time hating his clan and relying on destiny that he never took the time to think of relationships. He felt like he had no example to go off of. What were his parents like?

The Hyuga clan usually stayed within the family when it came to marriage and often those of main house had arranged marriages. Although, it wasn't uncommon to have arranged marriages even in the branch family. He never thought to ask about his parents and their relationship. Did they love each other? Where they arranged together? How did they act when they were together?

He sighed, wishing that he had someone to confide in, someone he could talk to about this. Preferably he would like to talk to someone older, but he didn't know many adults that he trusted with this kind of information. He couldn't talk to Guy sensei about this; he would just say something completely ridiculous. He couldn't talk to his uncle Hiashi; he had been in an arranged marriage and he just didn't feel comfortable talking about something like this with his uncle.

He might have to settle for talking to a girl about it. Maybe Hinata or Tenten could help him. No, Hinata was too shy; she wouldn't be able to help him. Tenten was the only option. She did seem aware that he felt something for Mimouri before he did. She was very perceptive. He would have to talk to her soon. For the time being, all he could do was remember his etiquette: be kind, be attentive, and be respectful.

If only he could be kind and respectful. She always did something to agitate him, yet he had done a few things to upset her as well. He nearly bit his lip thinking of how he kissed her so suddenly before. Maybe that was wrong of him. Maybe she thought he was taking advantage of her situation. Maybe he said the wrong things . . . again. She hadn't shown up at all this morning so maybe she hated him. He would understand if she really didn't want to see him. It was out of line to do something like that.

A large bell rang outside, interrupting his troubled thoughts. Hiashi must have returned from his trip. It was customary that the clan would greet the head when he or she returned. He stood up and took one last look at his father's picture before leaving his room.

She had checked to see if her eyes were back to normal and it seemed like the swelling had gone down considerably. Just to be sure that she didn't look like a total mess, she put on a little makeup.

Walking up to the Hyuga compound she noticed that the gates were wide open and there were more Hyuga's around than normal.

"Miss Mimouri," a man greeted next to the gate, "have you come to see Neji again today?"

This was the guard she usually saw when she came here. It was strange to think that she came here so often now that he could recognize her, call her by name and know exactly why she was there. It made her feel sort of embarrassed that she didn't know his name at all.

"Y-y-yes, but what is going on around here? Did I come at a bad time?" she questioned shyly.

"Not at all. Lord Hiashi had returned but you just missed him. Everyone should be dispersing by now. In fact, Neji was just here. You might catch him on his way back his room or training," the Hyuga guard gestured to the inside of the compound.

She stood there for a second wondering what she should do. The guards usually escorted her or checked her things but he didn't make any move to do so.

"You're not going to escort me?" she asked, feeling out of place.

"Don't tell me you don't know your way around by now," he smiled teasingly.

"N-no it's just," she looked down sheepishly, "Are you sure that I can go by myself?"

"You're not going to cause trouble are you?"

"N-no of course not," she answered looking back up at him.

He smirked, "Good, then move along."

"R-right, thank you," she said before quickly walking into the compound.

She wanted to get out of that situation as fast as she could. It's true that she did know her way around the compound or at least she knew where to find Neji. Walking through a doorway to the yard, she noticed a tall man with a small girl next to him talking to Hinata and Neji. They all wore very serious expressions. Not wanting to disturb them, she hid and waited for them to finish. Although, she was curious as to what would make then wear such stony faces. When the man finally left they all parted ways.

"Neji!" Mimouri ran to catch him before he went too far.

He turned at the sound of his name and was surprised to see her, "Mimouri?"

"Hi," she greeted trying not to think of the other day.

She had to be strong for the experiment and the mission. Just pretend like nothing happened.

"Sorry I'm late. Do you have time for some tests and to tell me a little more about the meeting tomorrow? Maybe we could even train a bit," she forced herself to keep eye contact with him.

His face settled into its normal unreadable expression, "I can't train you today but if you need to run tests then follow me."

She swore she saw his cheeks tinge with pink before he set off for his room. Like always, she trailed after him into his ordinary, clean room. She was glad that he didn't say anything about yesterday either. All the tests were normal: the redness, the sneezing, goosebumps and all. Yet, things weren't really normal between them.

Taking his pulse, his words crossed her mind: If you can't look at him then look at me.

She scolded herself internally for remembering that at a time like this, but the more she thought of it, the more she realized that she really hadn't looked at him. He was so close yet she never really looked at him. To her, he was a vital part of her experiment and she examined him like this every day and maybe she grew to like him, but what did she really know about Neji?

She felt his hand while counting his pulse. It was rough, probably from all the training. His wrists were bandaged and he even had a few nicks and scars. Letting her eyes trail upward she noticed how long his hair was. He seemed to take good care of it because it looked soft. It was a dark brown, almost black, color. Her eyes then drifted to his face. He was quite handsome to look at and those eyes were clear and bright. They might have seemed empty at first, but if she looked closely enough she could see the slight outline of his clear pupils. They reminded her of the moon.

"Are you finished?" he asked calmly, almost causing her to jump.

What the heck was she doing? She stared down at his arm again out of embarrassment.

"Almost," she answered, totally forgetting the count on his pulse.

She blushed while noticing his heartrate was a little high.

Neji on the other hand, felt the numbness in his head again. She was staring at him for so long he was afraid he was going to make her run away again. He could hardly concentrate when she was around. He had to swallow this feeling and keep it down for now. Did she hate him? She was here, pretending as if nothing happened. Was she still caught up on Yuki? He was suddenly very irritated with that idiotic boy.

Mimouri was putting away her things when she noticed the picture on his desk. She had seen it before but there was something familiar about it this time.

"Hey Neji, who's this man in the picture?" she questioned curiously, but when she didn't hear an answer, she wondered if she shouldn't have said anything.

She glanced over at Neji whose expression gave away a slight pained sadness over his normal mask.

"That's my father," he finally answered while still not looking in her direction.

"Oh," she whispered.

What was with the weird tension? Wasn't he with him earlier? Did something happen between them?

"Do you have a bad relationship with him or something?" she inquired; she couldn't help her curiosity.

Neji's eyes flicked their gaze at her in a hard stare, "No, he's gone."

"Gone?" she repeated, confused as to what he meant. Wasn't he just here?

"Dead."

The bluntness in the way he said it nearly caused her to lose her balance. Dead?

"Wait, didn't you just talk to him today?" that person was him, wasn't it?

Neji was slightly confused and irritated, "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you talking with a man just before I saw you today. You were with Hinata and there was another small girl with him too," she explained.

He furrowed his brow thoughtfully for a moment before he realized what she meant, "That was my uncle, Lord Hiashi. He and my father were twins so they would look alike."

Twins? That would definitely explain the resemblance. Trying to piece things together in her mind, she wanted to make an effort to know more about him. Hiashi was his uncle and he called him 'Lord' Hiashi. Didn't he say that 'Lady' Hinata was the heiress to the house?

"Is Hinata his daughter?" she asked shyly, hoping she wasn't making him uncomfortable.

He sighed and moved closer to her, reaching for the picture, "Yes."

"So you're cousins?"

"Yes."

"And you live with them?"

"Yes," he answered her bluntly as he took the picture and placed it face down on another table in his room.

Mimouri tried to figure him out as she pieced the puzzled together in her mind. He lived with them, his father was gone but where was his mother? Was the picture of the lady his mother? She had looked quite young. Did she die a long time ago as well? Neji had only looked about two in the picture with his dad, but his mother wasn't with them. Mimouri hated to think that he never knew her. How long had he been alone?

"I'm sorry," she didn't even know why she was apologizing.

"For what?" he questioned with his back to her, absentmindedly examining the bandage where she had taken blood.

"I didn't know," she felt shameful for even bringing it up.

"I don't need your pity," he replied coldly.

She shrunk back feeling extremely bad about the whole thing. She never realized that he didn't have any parents. It must have been strange when she talked about her dad and the mission. Suddenly, all this stupid stuff about the drug fled from her thoughts.

Neji sighed and turned back to her with an apologetic expression, "I didn't mean that. You didn't know and it's in the past."

"I'm just sorry I brought it up," she fidgeted self-consciously, "I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's alright," he said quickly, wanting to end the subject.

They stood there in a strange silence as she tried to remember why she was there: the drug and the mission.

"So where is the prep-meeting tomorrow? Who are we meeting with?" she inquired.

"It should have been on the note," he answered, glad that there was a change in topic.

"What note?" she blinked.

He crossed his arms while his eyes shifted to the side, clearly embarrassed, "The one on the bird."

"The bird?" she repeated, wondering if he sent a carrier pigeon.

His cheeks were a little red as he sounded irritated, "That stupid toy. Don't tell me your mother didn't give it to you."

Suddenly realizing that he meant the plush, she felt stupid. Her mind must have still been derailed after talking about his father.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't really look at it that closely," she awkwardly explained, "Could you tell me about it right now?"

He couldn't believe that she didn't see it. She did forget it last night so maybe it wasn't really that important. Did he carry it to her house for nothing?

"Tenten and Lee will be at the meeting and also Guy, our squad leader," he answered, clearly agitated, "We'll be in training yard number six at nine o'clock sharp."

Neji didn't want to mention the other ANBU but they wouldn't be part of the meeting. They were going to work on their own in case her father was alive and it happened to be a trap. His heart twisted at the thought of the mission. Here she was asking about his parents and yet she was never going to see her father whether he was alive or dead. The whole thing sickened him in a way that would have made him cringe.

"Okay, thank you," she forced a smile before packing up the last of her things.

She turned to him one last time, "So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes, tomorrow," he responded seriously, "Don't be late."

She giggled, knowing he always said things like that, "Six at nine, got it. Bye."

She waved and left. Neji sighed knowing by the way she said it that she would probably be late. He should start telling her an earlier time than everyone else. Still, he was just amazed that she even showed up today. He took the pale blue pills from his pocket and stared at them for a moment. The drug and the mission must have been important to her. Just a few more days. Would she even talk to him after that? No, he wouldn't let her disappear. He wouldn't let her run. She would have to face him eventually. We all faced our difficulties eventually.

There was so much she didn't know about Neji. Could she really say that she liked him? She thought she did at least. Maybe she was just spending too much time with him. Thinking about Yuki still hurt. She didn't want to hastily jump to another crush. No, she would learn more about Neji and get to know him better. She would take things slow this time and of course she wanted to prepare for the possibility that he wouldn't feel the same after he finished the drug. She didn't want to get hurt again so she would keep some distance for now.

"Mimouri," Yoko said as she jumped down from out of nowhere in front of her.

Mimouri just spun around and walked in the other direction, she didn't want to see her friend right now. She may have had to deal with Neji for the drug and mission, but there was no reason she had to see her friend.

"Mimouri, wait!" Yoko ran to catch up with her but she was just avoided her, pivoting away at every turn.

"I know you saw what happened," the blonde tried to explain, "I didn't know he was going to do something like that. I swear."

"Yeah right, you're just lying. You probably had it all planned like everything else you do," Mimouri spat coldly, "Well I hate to break it to you, but I've figured you out. You were just trying to pawn me off on Neji so I'd be out of the way."

"No, it's not like that," Yoko's eyes were pleading, her normal bubbly disposition was washed away, "I was just trying to protect you."

"And what a great job you did! You know how much I liked him and then you went and kissed him!" she practically screamed.

Yoko raised her voice a little as well, "Just let me explain. I wasn't trying to pawn you off. I just wanted you to forget about Yuki, he-"

"Of course you would want me to forget about him, so you could steal him!" Mimouri pointed out bitterly.

"That's not it!"

"Really? Then what is it?"

"I didn't kiss him, he-"

"Don't lie! I saw you kiss him!"

"Yuki is a playboy!" Yoko shouted louder than she meant to.

There was a strange silence between them before Mimouri asked, "What are you talking about?"

Yoko sighed, "Yuki doesn't care about anyone. He plays girls all the time. I don't know why you couldn't see it but I didn't want you to get hurt. Then the whole experiment happened with Neji and I thought he could distract you for a while. I just wanted to get Yuki out of the picture before he did something stupid like he did the other day."

What? Mimouri was stunned. How could that be?

"Wait, why did you invite him out with us so much then?" she asked skeptically.

"Because it was the only way to get you to go out at all," Yoko sighed, "You always hide away when something happens. Plus, I thought he might slip up and show the real him because I knew he was after you, but I guess at some point he switched to me for some reason."

Mimouri was trying to connect the dots in her head, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"You wouldn't have believed me," Yoko frowned, "I know you and once you have something in mind it's hard to change it."

Mimouri glared at her friend, "That still doesn't explain why you thought Neji would distract me. If I'm so stubborn then why would I choose him? I mean, there's nothing real between Neji and me."

Yoko giggled walking a little closer to her friend, "You know for being smart, you and Neji are a little dense. That's why you both go so well together."

"Hey! What do you mean?" Mimouri said defensively with a small blush, wondering if she should be mad or embarrassed.

Yoko grinned widely, "You know, I've been observing you guys for a while now; call it an experiment of my own. That guy Neji is really mature, almost too much. He spends all his time training and well, he's just kind of boring. All of that time he spent under the influence of a love potion and all he did was hug you?"

Mimouri almost bit her tongue. That's right, Yoko didn't know about the kiss between Neji and her yesterday.

Yoko shook her head in amusement, "Honestly he does a lot more for you than you know. I saw him bring that bird back to you this morning and he's been looking up ways to help your eyes. Heck, I've even seen him follow you home when your eyes were bad just to make sure you arrived there alright."

"What? He did?" Mimouri said, stunned, "Wait, you've been watching us?"

"Well, you know I've always been good at information gathering in school," Yoko crossed her arms and winked, "and yes, he looks out for you. I mean, isn't your drug only supposed to work when your scent is involved? How do you explain everything else? He obviously cares about you."

Mimouri lowered her head and blushed. She never knew he followed her when she couldn't see or was trying to find a way to cure her eyes. The drug was supposed to only work when exposed to the scent of the person the drug was meant for, but she didn't test it fully so it could have lasting effects too.

"Look I know you're probably doubting yourself; you do that at lot, but I'm just letting you know that I don't think it's just the potion that's causing all of his behavior. Plus, I believe you do like him a bit. I see the way you blush around him," her friend concluded.

Did her mother see it too? Did everyone see it except Neji and her? Maybe Neji did care about her, but the only way to really know if he was genuine was when the experiment was over. Still, she was planning to leave with her dad if he was alive. She was in danger wasn't she? It didn't seem like it. Nothing had happened so far. Who would lie about him being alive? Did they only want her knowledge and why now? Was it all because of that mission with Neji and his teammates?

Her vision started wavering. She cursed internally. These episodes really were becoming frequent.

Yoko noticed her demeanor change, "Is it your eyes again?"

"Yeah," Mimouri answered, her mind distracted by too many things.

"Here, I'll take you home," Yoko stated in her bubbly tone.

Mimouri was too tired from her troubled thoughts to refuse as Yoko led her along toward her house. She took the pills on the way but her vision was having a difficult time coming back. Her condition was definitely getting worse. In a way, she was happy for the hand guiding her home. Yoko was a little weird and sometimes unbearable, but she was still a good friend. If Yoko wasn't around, she wasn't sure who she would be able to talk to or rely on.

"We're here!" Yoko chimed, leading her to the doorway.

Just as Mimouri was about to enter her home she stopped and turned to where she thought her friend was. There were only vague colors showing up now.

"Thank you," she said shyly to her friend; it felt weird to say this.

"No problem. You know I don't mind bringing you home. I used to do the same thing when we were kids," Yoko giggled.

"No I mean," Mimouri rubbed her arm, "thank you for being my friend. I don't know where I would be if you weren't around."

She could almost feel Yoko's grin, "I am a pretty awesome friend aren't I?"

Mimouri sighed with a half-smile.

Her friend placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke in a soft voice, "I'm glad to have a friend like you too."

Mimouri smiled sincerely, happy to hear it.

Skipping away, Yoko sang, "Stay strong and remember, you can do anything when you have a friend like me."

Shaking her head, Mimouri entered her house feeling a lot better than she did before. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

Yelling to her mom that she was back, she felt her way up the stairs; her vision was finally coming back. Resting on her bed she waited until she could see better before she did anything. Blinking a few times, she noticed the bird on her bedside table. Strangely enough there was something sticking out on the back of it. Reaching out to it, she removed the small piece of folded paper and opened it up.

So this was the note Neji was talking about. It really did explain everything about the prep meeting tomorrow in his formal, neat and professional handwriting. He always wrote like he was giving a report. When her eyes reached the bottom of the small paper she saw two small words just under his name: I'm sorry.

Resting back on the bed she let out a long sigh, "Neji."

He was training with his teammates today. It felt like it had been a while since he last saw them and he was glad to have people who could really challenge his skills. Training with Hinata was nice, but there was something refreshing and comfortable about spending time with his team. In fact, they were the first people that he really interacted with outside of family.

It was his turn to be at the center. They had established a certain training method a long time ago were one of them would take on the other two. Truthfully, they didn't train this way all the time but Neji suggested it, wanting to test himself and clear his mind.

He had started off fighting hand to hand with Lee. If anyone was able to test his taijutsu it would be Lee. Quick movements and fast strikes flew between them. Neji looked like he was hardly touching him while Lee was throwing powerful kicks and punches. Still, even with all the exchanges between them, neither had gained the upper hand.

Tenten joined from the trees on Neji's right, throwing a few sharp objects his way. Already having his byakugan active during the fight he deflected the incoming weapons only to end up fighting Tenten and Lee in close combat at the same time.

After countless moves and some near hits, they stopped. All of them were huffing and overheated from exertion.

"Alright, let's go again," Neji said, getting into a fighting stance.

"We should stop," Tenten suggested, clearly exhausted, "We have a mission the day after tomorrow. Shouldn't we rest a little bit?"

"I could go again, come on Neji," Lee challenged, and as much as Neji wanted to train, he was looking to talk to Tenten and didn't want her to leave early.

"No, Tenten has the right idea. We should at least rest a little before continuing," Neji stated, relaxing his body.

"Right," Lee agreed readily.

Each going their separate ways. Tenten went to sit on a rock, stretching out and taking a drink of the water she brought with her. Neji had grabbed some water for himself while Lee drank quickly before starting to hit a training post.

"Lee, you're supposed to be resting," Tenten sighed, the sight of him exerting himself like that was making her even more tired.

"Just 82 more," he compromised, making her drop the subject. It's not like she could stop him; he was always like that.

Neji stood near her wondering if now was a good time to talk to her. He wanted to be vague but what if she caught on? She was the one that suggested he liked Mimouri in the first place. Tenten had always been an observant and astute konoichi. If she saw it before him then maybe she would be able to help him figure out what he could do.

She leaned back, taking a deep breath with her eyes close. She stayed there, enjoying what little breeze there was to cool her down.

Neji shifted, clearing his throat, "Tenten, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

She opened her eyes, but kept relaxed when answering, "Hmm, what is it Neji?"

He was uncomfortable, resisting the urge to fidget.

He couldn't believe he was going to ask this but he didn't know where else to turn. He needed to be very vague.

"What do girls look for in boys?" he didn't even make eye contact with her when saying this.

For a moment, the only sound was Lee counting in the background accompanied by the thud of wood. Tenten was now sitting up, more attentive. She stared at him wondering if she heard him right. Knowing him, she expected it to be something about the mission tomorrow.

"I think that depends on the girl," Tenten answered, still staring in disbelief.

He kept his sight in another direction, "Well, what would you look for in someone?"

She couldn't help but blush a little at the question so she quickly lowered her head. Was he really asking this? It felt so forward for him.

"I suppose I would look for someone that was hardworking, gentleman-like, and responsible. Someone kind, respectful, and willing to help, but also someone who knows that women can be very capable as well," she didn't want to admit that she was trying to describe him.

Neji thought about it for a moment. Didn't he have these qualities? Although, Mimouri did get upset when he tried to help her too much. He was only trying to be of assistance. Maybe she thought that he saw her as incapable. There were also times that he made her cry. He sighed deeply.

"So it seems our Neji is having youthful thoughts of love," Guy said, seemly appearing from nowhere beside them, startling both Tenten and Neji.

Where the heck did he come from?

Guy smiled in what he thought was a suave way, holding his chin, "If you want to know what women are looking for the answer is youth, chivalry and vitality. Then of course there is no woman alive that can resist good hair and a great smile."

Guy made his signature smile after he was done. Neji and Tenten's expression fell knowing how Guy could be. Tenten thought that kind of smile might scare some women off.

"Amazing, Guy sensei. What else would women look for?" Lee suddenly appeared next to them, taking notes.

"Listen Lee, love and youth go hand and hand. You need to love the same way you train, full of passion and enthusiasm. Never give up and keep true to yourself," Guy explained energetically, putting an arm around his young protégé.

"I will Guy sensei," Lee said with wide eyes of admiration.

Neji crossed his arms, annoyed; this is exactly the situation he was trying to avoid.

"Now Neji seems to be embarking on journey of youth with a young lady he has his eye on," Guy said, almost starting a monologue.

Neji turned away, agitated and embarrassed, "It's nothing of the sort, just a question. Forget I said anything."

"Ah, but that gleam in your eye says it all," Guy now took Neji under his wing catching the Hyuga off guard.

What gleam was he talking about? The only things gleaming here were Guy's teeth.

"To think my students are brimming with the power of youth!" Guy declared proudly.

"Guy sensei," Lee said, almost of mirror of his teacher.

Neji sighed, unfortunately used to this kind of predicament, "Shouldn't we get back to training?"

"I agree," Tenten said, standing up. She wanted the strange situation to end as well.

"That's it my pupils, charge forward with full force," Guy finally let go of him and the subject.

Training continued and Neji only received a little advice from Tenten. He was sure that he couldn't bring it up ever again. He would just have to go off of what he had. Mimouri still had reserves about him even though he seemed to have qualities girls were looking for. Why then, would she prefer Yuki?

He mentally scolded himself. Why was he even thinking about all of this? The mission was the day after tomorrow and he needed to concentrate for Mimouri's sake. He wanted to protect her but then again, was he being overprotective? She did seem to get upset if he tried to do certain things for her. He needed to be helpful but not too helpful. Girls were so confusing.

Mimouri woke up to go to the prep meeting wondering if it was six at nine or nine at six. Luckily she had the note Neji wrote. Thank goodness at least he was on top of things. Setting out for training yard six, she ran along the streets. She didn't want to be late.

When she arrived she noticed everyone was already there, and training too. Confused, she wondered if she really was late and read the note wrong. Was she going to be training too? She thought this was a meeting.

None of them seemed to notice her yet, so she watched the fast movements. She had been on one mission with them before, but she didn't get to see them in his kind of action. Tenten was practicing with her weapons with the utmost precision while Neji and Lee were fighting hand to hand. Lee was throwing heavy and surprisingly fast punches and kicks. Meanwhile, Neji was deflecting and retaliating with his own accurately fast palms. Most of their attacks were a blur to her untrained eyes. Gentle Fist fighting made sense when Neji and Hinata fought because they were both only making small hits, but she had no idea it could be used against power opponents as well.

The whole scene had entranced her. She was nothing compared to these people. Neji was definitely going easy on her during training.

"You must be Miss Karatsuki," a man suddenly said, seemly appearing in front of her.

She let out a small "Eep," in response.

She found herself face to face with someone that looked like an older version of Lee. Or maybe Lee was a younger version of him?

"Welcome to the team. I heard you already went on a mission with my pupils and it ended with great success," he said with what he must have thought was a cool smile.

"I, um," she wasn't sure what to say but thankfully, or maybe unthankfully, he spoke again.

"Don't be shy," he moved to her side and patted her back, making her stumble forward.

Everyone had stopped training and was now looking in their direction as he introduced himself, "I'm Might Guy and you already know Lee, Neji and Tenten. Together, I'm sure this mission will be a great success as well."

Guy stood beside his team looking proud while Lee stood beside him with a smile. Neji and Tenten on the other hand, looked at Mimouri with apologetic eyes.

"With the power of youth, we can accomplish anything. Why, I remember the first time our team came together to-" Guy continued into a slew of memories about their team.

She listened while discovering things she never knew about them. For example, she never knew that Lee couldn't use genjutsu or ninjutsu. It amazed her how he had done so well up to this point. He really did excel at taijutsu and that was enough for him. Neji sounded like he was a little sour when they first met. Guy had explained how Neji and Lee had a rivalry with one another. Even Tenten had improved quite a bit, but in all honesty, she seemed to become the mediator when things got out of hand. From the few times Mimouri talked to her, she did seem very down to earth.

In fact, Tenten was roping her teacher in now, "Guy sensei, shouldn't we be discussing the next mission instead of our old ones?"

Neji and Tenten were slightly embarrassed from the praise of their old mission while Lee looked fired up.

"Right you are Tenten. Youth always moves forward," he said like he was proclaiming it to the world, "Tomorrow at six in the morning, we'll all gather by the main gate. The destination will be the Moon Shadow village. Our mission is to find Karatsuki Okugi but prepare ourselves for what might be a trap. As you all might already know, Karatsuki Okugi had disappeared and was pronounced dead on a mission, so if we find him then we must find out why he hasn't returned. If this happens to be a trap then we must apprehend someone and find out why they would want his daughter. In any case, we will keep Miss Karatsuki safe."

"Right," Lee agreed readily.

Everyone was listening intently while Mimouri felt a little strange hearing this. She really wanted her father to be alive but she knew there were some suspicions about him. Why would he be gone for so long? She wanted to know too, although he must have had a good reason.

"Miss Karatsuki," Guy addressed her, grinning, "How about we test your skills?"

She flinched, "What?"

"To get a better picture of how our squad will operate, we need a demonstration of youth," he said, practically ignoring how scared she looked.

Demonstration of youth?

Guy looked over to his pupils, "Tenten, why don't you-"

"I will test her," Neji stepped forward in all seriousness while his teammates glanced at him with surprise.

For a split second, there was a sharpness in Guy's eyes before they went back to normal, "That's what I like to see! Neji will be your opponent."

She would fight Neji! Looking at him, she noticed his eyes were stony and concentrated. No, she couldn't fight him, it just felt weird.

Neji felt it was only fair that he would be the one to fight her. He was the one that was teaching her for the past few weeks and he wanted to see firsthand if she improved. He walked out to the open area of the training field but she was frozen on the spot.

"Go forward with the full power of youth!" Guy had hit her back a little harder than he realized, making her fall forward again.

Luckily this had slightly snapped her out of her fear as she shyly made her way to the field to face Neji.

"I'm not really prepared," she admitted meekly.

"Hold on," Tenten ran up to her, pulling out a few weapons, "here."

As Tenten slipped her a few kunai she whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm sure Neji won't be that harsh. You've been training with him after all. Good luck."

Tenten then backed off, leaving Mimouri to face Neji again.

"Make the first move," he nearly ordered, getting into a battle stance.

He was giving her a free shot. She prepared herself, trying to remember what she learned in school. He was a close range fighter so she just needed to keep her distance.

"Alright," Guy said like an announcement, "Let's get started!"

If her adrenaline wasn't pumping already, it was now. Throwing a few kunai at him he deflected them easily. He swiftly sprinted in to close the distance between them, but she backed off. Making a sign with haste, she disappeared in a poof of smoke. Activating his eyes, it only took a moment for Neji to find her. From behind a training pillar she revealed herself and threw a few shuriken. Neji knew this was only a substitute. Blocking the spinning sharp objects, he closed in and took out the fake in a poof of smoke, leaving only a piece of wood behind.

Neji had to admit, she was better than he thought but she forgot that with his eyes, he could see exactly where she was. Although, he didn't want to end this too quickly. He wanted to see more of what she could do. That was the whole point of this match: to see what she could handle on the mission.

He stood there, awaiting her next move. The wind in the trees couldn't even distract him.

From the left.

He stepped aside as the weapons whizzed past him. One of them wouldn't even have hit him if he didn't move. She didn't have that great of aim and he was sure that she was getting worse the longer this went on. He had helped her to improve on that subject, although he found out that she didn't do well under pressure.

He sprinted toward the place she was hiding, driving her out. She hardly had time to react as a palm stopped just before her face. He then relaxed, trying not to smile.

She sighed, "I couldn't even hit you once."

He couldn't hide the smirk that spread on his face, "I didn't think you could, but it was a good effort."

Mimouri felt taken aback by his comment. That arrogant jerk! Saying 'I didn't think you could' and then smiling like that. Did he really think she was so weak? He was always looking down on her and helping her like she couldn't do anything herself.

Cheering was heard from across the yard where Guy, Lee and Tenten stood. Neji was about to walk back over to them when a kunai flew past him. Slightly stunned, he turned back to her to see her glaring at him.

"I'm not done yet. Fight me again," she said before throwing a few more weapons his way.

He deflected them and backed off wondering why she seemed mad. Did defeat upset her that much?

She disappeared again as he reactivated his byakugan. She couldn't hide from him so he didn't know why she kept trying.

Mimouri prepared some substitutes but she was running out of chakra quickly. If only he didn't have those eyes then she could probably land a hit. Then the idea came to her, she could use 'that' technique on him, but she didn't know if she should. Then again, it might have been the only way to get near him.

A few kunai flew in his direction from the substitutes which he took out quickly. She was getting even sloppier, many of the kunai were way off. Noticing a difference in her chakra he concentrated on what she was doing. Was she making hand signs?

She nearly finished the long hand sign sequence. He didn't even notice that the kunai drew a circle around him. She finished the last sign as the circle formed in chakra, weaving into an intricate diagram. He had only noticed it at the last minute when it lit up. He had underestimated her.

His byakugan deactivated on its own when the glow faded. He tested his movements and thought about how he felt but it didn't seem like it did anything. He attempted to activate his eyes again only to discover he couldn't. What was happening? Why couldn't he use his eyes? She couldn't have . . .

She sped at him out of nowhere. Still stunned, his movements were slow. How could someone seal his eyes? How could she seal his eyes? How is it the more he knew about her, the more questions he had?

She was close, trying to get a hit. Without his eyes he wouldn't be able to strike any tenketsu, although that didn't mean he couldn't fight. Moving away and avoiding her, even his teammates saw that something was wrong.

Guy had noticed when she sealed his eyes. Analyzing the fight in his head, he took note of her abilities. His face would never give away what he actually knew about her. The Karatsuki family was known for very few things, and even then, they weren't known by many. Tsunade had informed him on what her family could do and in reality, they were not only cautious of her father, but her as well.

Neji finally pushed her away with a swift hit, knocking her on her butt. He didn't want to do it but she was really being serious about this fight. He felt bad for actually hitting her until he saw her smiling while sitting up on the ground. He was about to ask what she was so happy about when something hit the back of his head. Putting a hand to the newly forming bruise and turning around, he saw a clone disappear as well as a sizable rock on the ground.

"Hit you," she smirked, huffing from the loss of chakra. She had never used so much of it in her life.

Neji was stunned. All of that just to get a hit on him? She really was tenacious.

"That was amazing. Fight me next," Lee ran over, excited.

"Give her a rest Lee, she looks exhausted," Tenten reasoned with him as she came in closer too.

Neji had tunnel vision, almost literally for someone like him. He couldn't understand how she could seal his eyes. It seemed impossible. Of course, he hadn't thought of it much before but maybe she couldn't only unseal things like the flute but also seal them as well. To seal a kekkei genkai like that, would be an invaluable skill to an enemy.

"Just what I would expect from youth," Guy smiled widely.

Tenten offered a hand to Mimouri to help her up.

Once she was on her feet, Neji spoke up, "What was that?"

Mimouri only just looked at him again before Guy explained, "That was the Karatsuki family's real specialty: fuinjutsu. It's a hard skill to come by and there are few who know so many seals. That is why it is our job to protect this knowledge on mission."

For once, Guy actually seemed somewhat serious. Mimouri nervously pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. In the middle of the fight she had only concentrated on winning and forgot that she shouldn't use those techniques recklessly.

"Wait, are you saying she sealed Neji's eyes?" Tenten questioned, "And that's why he couldn't block the attack from behind?"

Tenten had noticed that his eyes had went back to normal after the glow. She thought Mimouri had interfered with his sight, but she didn't think that his eyes were sealed. It was one thing for her to seal her weapons into scrolls but to seal someone's abilities during battle was beyond simple fuinjutsu.

"That's right, Tenten," Guy said, proud of her observation.

"So Neji can't use his eyes right now?" Lee said while waving his hand in front of Neji.

Neji growled, "I can still see Lee. It's just the byakugan's abilities that I can't access."

His eyes shot sharply at Mimouri, "You can undo it, can't you?"

"Of course I can," she squeaked before quickly going over to him, "The symbol should have localized on your forehead so if I can just see that then I can release it."

He visibly stiffened and momentarily clenched his fists and teeth before reluctantly removing his headband. What Mimouri saw struck her and caused her to freeze up. The black seal she placed on him overlapped a green juinjutsu. She didn't want to admit that she knew what the mark was, but knowing that he had that symbol on him stabbed right into her. Why would he have such a mark? His uncle was of the main branch wasn't he, so why was Neji resigned to that fate? She knew it wasn't her fault but she felt guilty for that mark and even guiltier for putting a new seal over it.

"Hold still for a moment, this might hurt a little bit," she admitted.

Putting a seal over another mark like that would likely cause some pain but she had to remove it. Making many hand signs, she then place her hand on his forehead as he winced. Instinctively raising his hands to remove what was paining him, he restrained himself, clenching his teeth. In a few painful moments, the black seal was removed leaving Neji worn out from the pain.

The two stared at each other. Neji wondered what all of this meant. How did this sealing ability connect with the flute, her father, and the mission? At this point he was certain that the mission was a trap. The enemy must have been like that one man, wanting her to seal or unseal something that other's couldn't, but what could it be? Her closeness had caused his head to become fuzzy again, accompanied by the urge to sneeze. He wanted to protect her and learn her secrets. It's all he could think about.

Mimouri on the other hand, felt bad about the mark on his forehead. She knew she shouldn't, but it still bothered her. She felt that, in some way, she was responsible for it. No, she didn't place it on him after all. If only she could remove it like she did with the black seal. She knew all too well what this juinjutsu did to those who bore it. After all, juinjutsu and fuinjutsu were very closely related.

They both wondered what more they didn't know about the person standing right in front of them.

A boy dressed in black with rather spikey black hair, watched them while walking around the yard.

"What a boring lot," he complained, "Why do I have to watch them?"

The group was talking seriously about the mission. Neji sneezed causing a pained expression on Mimouri's face. The boy smirked and walked in between them, staring Neji in the face.

"What a pity you can't see me even with those special eyes," he cockily commented.

He knew that none of them could see, hear or touch him. He was like a ghost to the world. He then looked over to the meek Mimouri.

"Such a useless girl. I don't know what father sees in a failure like you," he said with disgust before staring her in the face too, "I suppose even trash can have a second use, but in the end you'll be thrown away again."

He smirked glancing over at Neji who looked deep in thought while his teammates discussed the mission, "As long as you can bring the Hyuga to us then at least you'll have comfort in the fact that you were useful in some way to father."

He looked over to the trees, watching the ANBU as they scouted the area. They would never find or detect him and it always made him feel safe to know he was invisible to the world. He was just here to make sure everything went according to plan.

"So boring," he sighed, "I can't wait until tomorrow's fun."

Notes: Is it real? We'll find out in time. Also, the mission will be in the next chapter! I'm excited because the last part of this chapter was just a small taste of things to come.

I was also wondering if Guy was too weird or not weird enough? I find his character hard to portray.

I kind of went off of the assumption that Neji's mother died during child birth really. There's no information on her so I feel like I can only come to this conclusion.

Yoko can also be very sweet even if she is a little crazy. She may be smarter than you think. She actually specialized in information gathering so she learned how to be kind of sneaky.

And yes, Yuki is a playboy. He has a sweet exterior but the problem is that he knows he's cute an uses it to his advantage.

Also, did anyone notice the contrast between when Mimouri was talking to her mother and then Neji was consulting his father's picture? I didn't really try to make that contrast, but it made me sad when I noticed it.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and even if you didn't, I'm glad you made it this far. Review if you'd like to tell me what you thought; I'd love to hear it. Reviews are ther reason that this story is better than it used to be and hearing from people is what keeps me going.