A/N:...Uhh...It's a doozy? XP This is one of the reasons I've been neglecting in my updates; it's a Neji/Saku story GALORE! You get to see them...Well, read it! (smirks) Anyhow, this thing I started...Uhh...Before winter break. And then I put it aside; picked it up again in February, and have been adding pieces and sections to it sense. Now it's a full fledged story in one-shot form, and you'll all probably want to murder me for the length. But I enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
It unnerved her.
It unnerved her how easily he could read her; like she was some kind of book he could open at any time and already know what the texts on the pages were. All he did was look at her, and he immediately knew what she was thinking; knew why she did this movement and why she shifted there; knew what was going on in her mind.
And to tell the truth it really pissed her off.
Angrily pushing back pink locks from her face, she quickly stood up, glaring at the…The…THING in front of her. She then rolled her eyes; pitiful. She couldn't even think of a good taunt in her MIND. Imagine what it would've been like if she tried to insult him outwardly.
She shuddered at the thought.
"Is that all you've got, Haruno? I thought you were better than this." He said, as if he were taunting her—HA, what a laugh that would be. The guy in front of her, actually taunting his opponent. That'd be the day; where was a video camera when she needed one? "I came here for training; not to beat a girl senseless."
"Ow, my ego. You bruised it." Sakura called out sarcastically, rolling her eyes as Hyuuga Neji stopped in front of her, smirking at her as she brushed off her clothes, avoiding his silver gaze. "Alright, so you beat me, Hyuuga. Are you happy now that you've gotten me to confess? Sheesh; you didn't have to beat me so hard."
"I wasn't going hard on you; I was going fairly easy on you. If I had been doing this seriously, then you would've been down in the first three minutes. You lasted thirty minutes, which is improvement from when we first started to practice together; but it's still weak."
"…You're a prodigy." She pointed out.
"You're the apprentice to the Godaime Hokage; you should be my equal." He said, shaking his head. "But you're not."
"I'm a physical fighter based on brute strength and healing, okay?" Sakura snapped, looking at him. "You're all…Technological and crap, with your distance and close fighting and your flowing style of taijutsu. Juken, right?" He nodded, surprised she had remembered. She nodded. "Yeah; I don't stand a chance against you. My attacks are based on my perfect chakra control; you can close my chakra pathways, making me unable to fight you at all without resorting to some sort of low and simple trick."
He looked at her, impressed that she had come up with all that just by so little information, but then remembered this was Haruno Sakura; she was the smartest girl in the Academy before she graduated, and she was still able to suck in information like a sponge sucking in water.
"Want to come have dinner at my home?" He asked lazily, looking at the girl as he pushed back his chestnut brown hair.
Hyuuga Neji and Haruno Sakura had become good acquaintances and then finally close friends over the years that Sakura trained under Tsunade and Neji trained harder to perfect the Byakugen. Often, the ANBU Captain would end up at the hospital, leaving the medic to heal him in the middle of the night or in the wee hours of morning. They started to train together about four months ago, wanting to test each other. It was often ritual for Neji to ask Sakura to eat over. And she'd usually say yes.
Both had climbed up the ranks of ninja, Neji a jounin and an ANBU, Sakura a fresh jounin about a month ago. Sakura had just turned 19 while Neji was turning 20 in a few more months.
The green eyed medic smiled, looking into Neji's silver eyes before she nodded. "Yeah, sure."
He smiled and they both set off towards the Hyuuga Complex.
The Hyuuga Complex intimidated Sakura more than an angry, drunken Tsunade ever did. And it wasn't because of the size of it or the significance it held. It was because she could feel eyes on her at all times; she knew she was being watched through walls; silver eyes much like Neji's following her every move, determining if she was worthy of being in their household or not.
Hyuuga Hiashi, the Clan Head, had accepted her, though, and often let her come, greeting her warmly and not stiffly like he did any other visitors; be it Hinata's boyfriend Naruto or Hanabi's frequent boyfriends. It made her feel important and worthy whenever he treated her to a smile and a kind, 'Hello, Sakura-san,' before he went along on his merry way to go yell at one of Hanabi's boyfriends for touching his walls. For that was the fatherly thing to do. And Hyuuga Hiashi had to be the perfect father for his two daughters; he wouldn't have any rough, useless boys in his family. Naruto, he could stand because the boy was strong; he would just have a bottle of Advil© inside his robes for when he needed it.
The pink haired medic sighed as she followed the prodigy, looking at the floor as she ignored the feeling of focused eyes sizing her up, judging her and locking away the information in their minds to remember. Neji looked back at her, smirking a little when she made an uncomfortable face, before she glanced up at him. Her green eyes looked at him curiously, and he shook his head, turning around yet again and going into the kitchen where the cooks all hung around, preparing the dinner for that night.
Maya, an old cook who had been with the family since Hyuuga Hizashi had been alive, looked up with wide pale eyes as she saw Neji and Sakura step in, before a warm smile covered her face. "If it isn't my favourite couple," she greeted kindly. Sakura blushed a healthy pink, Neji coughing into his fist awkwardly.
"Maya-san, we are not a couple; just friends." He told her; she always mistook them for dating, and Neji would always have to correct her. But it happened when one was old. "What will be for dinner tonight?"
"Fred rice and dumplings, Neji-kun," Maya replied, smiling at him sweetly. She ignored that he had once again corrected her in how they stood; she could see that there was some sort of affection to how Neji treated Sakura, and how Sakura responded. It was almost impossible not to see it in her wizened old eyes; they held wisdom like any other Byakugen eye did. And they could see things that others could not; and she could see sparks fly between those two whenever they brushed shoulders or Neji grazed Sakura's bare arm with his slim fingers.
If no one could see it, they were just blind.
Sakura smiled at that, looking excited about the thought of eating Maya's wonderful cooking. "That sounds delicious, Maya-san." She said happily, smiling widely to the old woman. Maya smiled at her, looking at her with kind eyes.
"I'll make some extra so that you may take them home, Sakura-chan." She said kindly to the medic.
It was a well known fact that Sakura lived in an apartment alone. She had moved out of her parents' home when she was 16, saying that she was an adult and she could live on her own with the wages she made as a chunin. Her parents had argued that she was still their baby girl, but she had countered that she had faced more life-and-death encounters than her father could count on one hand. With that said she had moved out and bought a quaint apartment close to the Hokage Tower so that when Tsunade called her over to sign important documents or do some filing for her, she didn't have to walk a block and a half to get there like she used to.
"Thank you, Maya-san; that's awfully kind of you."
"No trouble at all dear; now, why don't you two leave an old cook and her helpers alone so that you can do what you want to?" Maya said, making a small shooing motion. The ninjas took the hint, leaving the kitchens quietly. Sakura sighed, looking at Neji with a little smile.
"I think Maya-san wants us to start dating."
"What made you think that?" Neji remarked sarcastically, shaking his head a little at the thought of the old woman. "She's just a sweet old woman that likes to see things that aren't there." Sakura nodded, looking back at the kitchen to hear the younger cooks talking and giggling with each other, Maya amongst the voices.
"I wonder what it would be like…" She mumbled out loud without realizing. Neji looked at her with a raised eyebrow; curious to know what she was talking about.
"What do you wonder would be like?" Sakura blinked, her eyes widening as she realized what she had said, and she shook her head, smiling and blushing.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" She said, waving her hands around uselessly, before she scratched the back of her head in a very Nartuo-esque manner. Neji smirked at her flushed behaviour, shaking his head at the pinkette. "What are you shaking your head at Hyuuga?" Sakura demanded hotly.
Neji shook his head again. "Nothing at all, Haruno."
"Hmph! It better be nothing!" Sakura stated, crossing her arms crossly. Neji just smirked, leading her down the hall to the library where they could talk in silence.
The two were engrossed in a deep, political discussion when a maid came up to them to announce that dinner was ready. Sakura smiled and thanked the young woman while Neji stood up; the medic following his lead after the maid had left. The two walked down the halls in companionable silence, Neji a little ahead as he lead the medic to the dinning hall where they always ate with Hinata, Hiashi and Hanabi. Sakura stopped behind him as he called their arrival through the door, and then opened it, revealing that the three main members already sat in their designated seats.
Hiashi sat at the end, where the head of the family would always sit; an empty space beside him for his deceased wife. Hinata sat on his left, Hanabi on her right, and there were two empty places beside Hiashi on his right. Neji walked over to the spot beside Hiashi, and Sakura sat on the spot next to Neji. Everyone bowed their heads in prayer, muttering, 'Itadakimasu' before they picked up their chopsticks and started to eat their food quietly.
After a few minutes of silence, it was finally broken by Hiashi.
"When are you going to try for ANBU, Sakura?" He asked the girl, looking at her in interest. He saw the young Haruno as a daughter, and so was interested in her progress in the shinobi ranks.
The medic blinked, looking at him curiously for a moment, before she put down her chopsticks, thinking quietly. "I just became a jounin a month ago, so I think I have to wait a bit before I attempt ANBU." She said, smiling at Hiashi, happy with her answer. He nodded, taking a bit of his rice, before he chewed and swallowed.
"Perhaps you should have Neji help you train for ANBU." He commented lightly. "You two already train on regular sessions; it would do you well to have an ANBU train you for ANBU." Sakura blinked, looking at Neji to see what he thought. He was chewing in thought, before he swallowed.
"I'd train her," he said, looking at her. "Would you want to train with me? It'd be harder than previous lessons."
Sakura grinned, picking up her chopsticks and pointing them at him in a very rude, Naruto-esque manner. "I'm up to the challenge if you are, Hyuuga."
Neji smirked, nodding as he missed the knowing glance Hiashi, Hinata and Hanabi shared with each other. "I am."
Sakura was roused from sleep the next morning by a rock hitting her window; followed by another rock. And another rock…And another rock…
Shooting up in her bed she flung the blankets off and threw her window opened, leaning out in her tank top and shorts, hair a mess as she glared blearily at the grinning Neji on the branch in front of her window. He wore full ANBU gear, his mask hanging around his neck on the string. He had tied his hair up into a high ponytail so that it was out of his way; a scroll in his left hand, a rock in his right.
"And I find the culprit." Sakura stated sarcastically, leaning her arms on the sill and looking at him with tired eyes. "What are you doing outside of my house at four in the morning, Hyuuga?"
"Thought I'd greet you bright and early before I left for my mission. This is your training schedule when I get back." He tossed the scroll, and the medic caught it, looking at it with blank eyes. She looked back up at Neji to see he had disappeared, and sighed.
"See ya then."
"Later, Haruno." He whispered behind her in her ear. She whipped around, yet he was gone again. She placed a hand on her chest, eyes wide.
"Trying to freakin' scare the CRAP outta me!? YOU SUCCEEDED!" She screamed to nothing. A neighbor in her apartment banged against the wall, and she called out an apology, before she sighed, placing the scroll on her bedside. She made her bed up so it was neat; the light blue blankets straightened smooth and soft. She then walked to the bathroom, kicking the door closed.
She might as well take a shower; a certain pale eyed ninja had disturbed her slumber.
She grumbled as the water heated up.
Sighing, she flopped on the couch in her quaint living room, doing necessary seals before she placed her index and middle finger on the seal of the scroll, watching as it popped open. She sighed at the Hyuuga's overcautious protection, reading over the schedule with lazy eyes.
'I'm waking up at three in the morning. Great. I just got that new night shift in the hospital too…I sense no sleep on my part.' She sighed, reading the rest as she grouched about the number of push ups, sit ups, laps and crunches she'd have to do, as well as the hours of taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu she was going to be doing. Sakura was practically a master of genjutsu, and her chakra control and ninjutsu weren't too bad; her taijutsu, though, could use some work.
She sighed tiredly. "The man is going to kill me." She mumbled, closing the scroll and throwing it onto her couch as she got up. She stretched her arms over her head, reaching over and grabbing her red headband, tying it behind her bangs as she made her way to the door. She slipped on her boots, clasping them to the right tightness, before she slid the door opened, sliding it closed and locking it behind her as she walked down the stairs to go out; nodding to other boarders with a cheerful smile as they greeted her back.
She then got out into the streets, sighing as she placed her hands behind her head, looking up at the clouds. A few birds flew overhead, their wings flapping quickly and they chirping their song. She smiled sweetly at them, before she looked over at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand to see her favourite blonde eating ramen with the young Hyuuga heiress, a light blush on her cheeks as usual. She smiled as she waved when they saw her, Naruto waving frantically and Hinata waving shyly. She then walked into the hospital, walking down the familiar halls until she came to a room with an ANBU guard in front.
"I'm his doctor for today." She said to the guard, and the man nodded, sidestepping to let the medic through. Sakura sighed, opening the door and walking in, closing the door. She looked up to see the sight she had been dreading all day.
Uchiha Sasuke sat there emotionlessly, staring out the window with blank eyes. He turned to look at her, blinking slowly, and Sakura smiled at him kindly. "Hello Sasuke-kun; how are you feeling today?"
"The same as everyday," he mumbled, looking away as she walked over, picking up his wrist to feel his pulse. She put the hand down, patting his knee as she went about the normal checkup.
"Can you move your legs?" Sasuke looked at her, before he looked at his legs. He seemed to concentrate for a moment, before his toes on his left foot curled. They then uncurled and he breathed out a deep breath he had been holding. "That's progress." She said, smiling. "Soon you'll be able to move your entire foot."
"That'll be a nice change." He mumbled, closing his eyes as he was picked up bridal style, walked over to the scale and placed down. Sakura held his legs and hips up so he could stand, looking up at him.
"Read the scale."
"129lbs." He replied quietly. She nodded, grunting as she picked him up again, and placed him on the bed instead of the window seat. "Alright, you're gaining some weight back which is good, and the paralysis on your legs is starting to fade…" She mumbled as she grabbed his clipboard, writing down the states.
When Sasuke had returned to Konoha a year before, he had dragged himself by his hands, barely breathing with blood pouring out gashes in his chest and legs. When Sakura and Naruto had found him, Sakura had immediately healed what she could and Naruto ran to the hospital with him. After Tsunade had checked him, she had told them all the status of the boy.
His legs had been destroyed and he was near starvation.
At first, while he was in hospital treatment, he had refused to eat anything other than what Sakura made, and the only people he'd let in the room were Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura. Even Kakashi was vetoed out of his personal life, which hurt the teacher; but the jounin had gotten over it, sending cards instead. After about seven months, other people could visit and Sasuke started to eat other peoples' food. He had slowly started to gain back the weight he had lost, and his legs were recovering.
"Alright, that's all I need for today; I'm gonna call Miki up to send in that food I requested for." She smiled at the Uchiha, patting his leg, and he looked at her quietly. "I'll see you later Sasuke-kun."
"Mm." Sakura sighed as he looked out the window from where he sat, before she placed the clipboard back at the edge of his bed, walking out. She pressed a call button at his door, asking Miki to send up the food before she nodded to the ANBU yet again, and walked down the hall. Her morning shift was over and now she had training with Naruto, Sai and Kakashi.
She stepped out of the hospital, holding her hand up as she teleported to team seven's training ground, seeing Sai there, stretching and placing his drawing things on the ground. She walked up behind him, looking at the picture he had drawn recently, smiling as he looked over at her curiously. "That's a nice one."
"Thanks hag." He said, smiling at her in his fake way, before looking at the entrance to see Naruto waving to Hinata, before jogging over to them. "Hello Naruto,"
"Hey Sai! Sakura-chan!" Sakura smiled at him, nodding, and she pulled her gloves out, pulling them on as Naruto stretched.
"I'm gonna stretch as well." She announced, and the boys stepped back as she bent backwards, bridging, before she stood on her hands, and flipped into the air, landing in a crouched position. She then fisted her right hand, concentrating her chakra, and pounded the earth in, watching as it shattered before her.
"Frightening as always, hag!" Sai said pleasantly, his smile making her eyebrow twitch. The pinkette ignored him though as Kakashi poofed, looking at them with a smile.
"Late as always Kakashi-sensei?"
"Well you see, I got lost on the path of life…"
"Save it," Naruto said, waving his excuse away. "Let's get training already!"
Kakashi looked at him, putting his book away and pulling his headband up. "Of course."
Sakura grinned.
She sighed tiredly as she trudged into the hospital after a well deserved dinner with her teammates, grabbing her doctor's coat and slipping it on as she slipped her headband off, into her pocket. She pulled off her gloves, nodding to the nurses as she walked to the schedule to see who she had to check on that night. She smiled lazily as she saw it was the children's ward, before she walked to the elevator.
Suddenly, though, the door crashed opened, and she looked back to see a few ANBU members walk in, one of them with a familiar bird mask as they followed three nurses pushing a gurney. The bird masked ANBU turned to look at her, before marching over.
"Haruno, one of our members was mortally wounded on the way back." He said, looking at her with his blank gaze; the mask showing nothing of the slight panic in his muffled voice. "Can you take care of it?"
"I have to check on the kids…"
"I'll do it!" A young newbie doctor, Yoruichi, popped up, smiling kindly. "It'll be no problem, Sakura-san! You should take care of that man, though."
Sakura smiled thankfully, before she walked ahead of the ANBU, brushing past the nurses who had stopped to watch the interaction. She looked at the heavily breathing man, removing his mask to show a familiar face in pain, and she bit her bottom lip.
"Shino-kun you're a fool." She mumbled, looking at the Aburame boy with scolding eyes. She then concentrated her chakra into her hands; the green glow about her hands before she placed them on his stomach after the nurses had removed his clutching hands. Shino's laboured breathing filled the deathly silent halls as the ANBU watched the woman do her job. Shino finally uttered a sigh of relief, eyes closing and Sakura smiled, removing his sunglasses and smoothing out his forehead, placing the shades beside his head by his mask, before looking at the nurses.
"Wrap the wound and get him to a recovery room; let him rest. Contact me as soon as he wakes up." She ordered. They nodded, going to do as she said, and she turned to look at the other ANBU. "Any of you injured?" They all shook their heads, and she nodded. "Good."
She then sighed, rubbing her broad forehead as the ANBU all disappeared except one. She looked at the bird masked ANBU, before watching as he removed his mask to show pale eyes. "Hello Hyuuga,"
"Haruno," he said, nodding to her in greeting, before he let his mask hang loose around his neck. "You read the schedule."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, smiling. "I got it." He nodded again, looking around. "Shouldn't you report to Tsunade-shishou?"
"Mm, yes I should." He said, and then looked at her. "How is the Uchiha doing?"
"He can curl his toes on the left foot; it's progress." He nodded, looking away again, before she sighed. "What do you need, Hyuuga?"
He shook his head. "Nothing." He mumbled, before he too teleported out of the hospital. She sighed, closing her eyes when a nurse walked to her.
"He's awake."
"Thank you,"
She entered her apartment sluggishly at midnight, closing the door behind her and locking it, removing her boots before she dragged her feet to her bedroom, flopping on the bed and curling up on her side. She groaned as she looked at the cloak beside her, remembering the time she had to wake up at tomorrow, before she buried her face into the pillow.
She would need to change her schedule again.
The crack of dawn started rising when Sakura aroused again, stumbling into her bathroom and turning on the water, stepping in before it heated up. The cold water made her snap awake as she gasped, turning the water to scalding hot. She then hissed through
her teeth, stepping out, deciding she was clean enough. She really couldn't concentrate with three hours of sleep.
She walked back into her room a little more awake than before, grabbing her usual clothes and slipping them on, sighing as she pulled her shirt over her head. After a few minutes she was dressed, her teeth were brushed and her hair had been brushed smooth; headband tied behind her bangs. She walked out of her apartment, locking it behind her, before she checked her kunai pouch and her shuriken holster, happy where they were placed securely.
She walked down the stairs quietly, seeing as most of the apartment was asleep, as well as half of Konoha. The only ones up at this ridiculous hour were watch guards and the pink haired medic.
She made her way to the training ground that Neji had assigned her to go to every morning, sighing as she looked up at the sky as the sun slowly started to rise; the rays lighting her hair in a multitude of colours. She smiled at the sun happily, before she walked onto the training grounds, already seeing Neji meditating there. She sighed, walking up behind him, knowing he'd notice her soon.
And indeed, the Hyuuga glanced up at her; wearing his traditional Hyuuga attire of a white haori with white hakama and a black piece of cloth wrapped around his waist. He stood up, his long hair that fell to the middle of his back falling to curtain his face as he stood, before he turned to her. "Are you ready, Haruno?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, Hyuuga." She said, yawning widely behind her hand. "I haven't eaten yet, so I'm gonna be a bit grouchy."
"Then you'll be taking this half heartedly?"
"When I'm a grouch I'm the most serious fighter you'll meet." She mumbled, pulling out her gloves and putting them on. "I suppose I should start on all those benign work-out practices."
"100 crunches first." Neji mumbled, turning away as he went to practice his juken on a padded tree. Sakura nodded, dropping down to the ground, hands by her head as she started her workout, eyes staring up at the lightening sky.
This would be a long morning.
"One more lap Haruno, and then you can take a break!" Hyuuga called out to the jogging girl. Sakura panted, nodding to him half heartedly, before she began to pick up her pace; beads of sweat dripping off of her forehead down her nose to drip off the end. She finished the lap, falling down on the ground and panting; sore in places she never even knew existed. "Hour break."
"SERIOUSLY?" Sakura bolted up, eyes wide. "That's a miracle."
"You're been at this since three; it's 4:30 now. Hour break and then we get to practice with our ninjutsu."
"…Uh huh." She collapsed back on the ground, panting; her chest heaving upwards and then falling back down with each harsh breath. Neji glanced at her, looking at her as she tried to cool down, before he sighed, walking over to her and sitting beside her. He placed the wet cloth he had been holding for himself on her forehead; the cool cloth soothing on her overheated forehead. "Mm…Thanks."
"Hn." He looked away as she placed a hand on the cloth, looking up at him with a lazy smile.
"So, why'd you decide to train me?" She asked out-of-the-blue. Neji blinked, looking down at her, before he shrugged.
"You'd be helpful to ANBU; and Uncle would kill me if I didn't." He shuddered at the thought and Sakura laughed. "He really does favour you."
"The entire clan seems to favour me." She said, closing her eyes again as she started to breathe normally. "Why is that?"
"You helped Hinata become more confident, and have saved half of the clan's lives before." Sakura blinked her eyes open, looking thoughtful, before she smiled.
"That could do it." She then sat up, placing the cloth on the grass beside her. "Alright, let's try this ninjutsu crap."
"Indeed." He stood up as she did, brushing his pants off of invisible dust before he stepped back, looking at her expectantly. She held a hand up for him to wait for a moment, closing her eyes, before her hands started to fly through seals; not as fast as those like Jiraiya or Kakashi, but fast enough that the Hyuuga almost lost track of the movements.
'Fire jutsu,' he thought, stepping back just as Sakura stopped on the sign of the boar, before she placed her hands to her mouth as if she were going to whistle, and blew out a ball of fire; Sasuke's trademark ninjutsu.
Neji spun out of the way, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Tell me you can do better than that."
Sakura smirked, crouching down as she started to go through seals again. "I can do better than that."
Sakura fell to the ground, panting quietly while Neji walked over to her; a small cut on his cheek, bleeding lightly. He stopped by her head, looking around at the landscape before he nodded. "Good," he said, looking at the training area again.
There were scorch marks and raised dirt everywhere, as well as slices through tree trunks from different wind jutsus.
He held a hand out to her to help her stand up, brushing off dirt from her shoulder when she stood. "How much energy do you have left?"
"Zilch." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "God I need food."
"Thought so," he mumbled, before he looked at his watch. "It's 5:15; Ichiraku Ramen should be opened by now…"
"Mm…Even ramen sounds good right now." Sakura sighed at the thought of food, a lazy smile on her face and Neji grinned, shaking his head. He placed a hand between her shoulder blades, gently leading the Haruno girl towards the village away from the decimated training grounds; they'd return later for their genjutsu. Though how Sakura was going to make him fall for anything was going to be hard, seeing as Neji had the Hyuuga bloodline that made it almost impossible to make him fall for any type of genjutsu.
The pinkette looked up at the sky as some birds flew by, smiling a little dazedly as she was lead carefully; she didn't even seem to care that Neji was touching her, even though it was only on the back and it was lightly. She looked forward again as she saw the streets of Konoha nearing, watching as shops started to open and ninja of all ranks started to wake up or traded shifts to let the night watch shinobi have their well earned rest. She nodded to a few that she recognized, waving slightly to Ino as she walked in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, pulling out the open sign on the door.
The blonde watched the two for a moment, raising an eyebrow before she grinned, and walked back into the store. Neji looked at her curiously as she disappeared into the safety of her family shop, before he inwardly sighed; he felt the oncoming wave of rumours brewing in the depths of there now. He guessed that was the literary 'Rumour Mill' of Konoha.
The two ninja made it to Ichiraku Ramen just as the owner and his daughter Ayame came out, ready to receive orders and make meals for their customers. "Hello Sakura-san! Hyuuga-san!" Ayame greeted pleasantly, smiling at the two. "What can we do for you today?"
"I'll have a miso ramen and Haruno here will have some chicken ramen if you wouldn't mind, Ayame-san," Neji ordered, sitting the medic down before he sat down beside her. Sakura folded her arms onto the countertop, leaning her head on it and closed her eyes. "Haruno don't fall asleep."
"…But it's so tempting." Sakura yawned, sitting her head up so that her chin rested on her arms. "I need my beauty rest!"
"You're fine without it." Neji muttered, rolling his eyes and Sakura stared at him with wide eyes. "What?"
"Uhh…Nothing." She muttered, looking away from him to the side, a slight blush across her nose and cheeks. Neji looked at her oddly, before he shrugged and nodded, taking the answer. A few minutes later, his miso ramen was set in front of him, shortly followed by Sakura's chicken ramen, and both broke their chopsticks, muttering 'Itadakimasu' before Sakura started to scarf the food down like a female Naruto, and Neji ate his at a slower rate. A few more people they knew walked into the ramen stand, ordering their breakfast of the day. Naruto was included, but he was half dead, not even noticing them sitting right to his left; Sakura snickered and Neji shook his head at the exhausted ANBU member; Uzumaki Naruto could not handle a single one-day mission, could he?
Sakura finally finished her bowl, along with Neji, and the Hyuuga paid for the meal, helping Sakura back up and leading her back to the training grounds as she spoke lightly of whatever she spoke of—probably the meal she just had.
They walked back into the training area, looking at the destruction, before looking at her. "Genjutsu master," he said, smirking. "Wanna try me?"
"I'll get you on your knees crying, Hyuuga." She smirked cockily, cracking her knuckles before she started to zip through the seals. "And no Byakugen, cheater."
Neji smirked as he stood at the ready, preparing himself for whatever she threw at him. "Got it."
Sakura smirked, closing her eyes, before she frowned. "Prepare yourself; I show no mercy." Neji frowned as she said this, before suddenly his world went black.
'I got caught,' Neji thought, sighing as he looked around him. Utter blackness; what was this? Some strange way to make him feel like he was utterly alone? …No…Background was starting to appear now…His sense of smell was suddenly attacked by the scent of burning flesh, and dead corpses; the scent of disease hanging in the air as well. As the rest of the picture came to, he looked down at himself to see he was covered in blood, in his ANBU gear, mask hanging loose around his neck.
He looked up then, his eyes widening as he saw the corpses of his friends in front of him; Tenten, Lee, Naruto…
Sakura…
He stepped towards the pinkette then, getting closer and closer to her dead eyes staring up at him with a glassy look; her face neutral. He bent down then, picking up her body and cradling it against himself, pushing back her hair. She wore ANBU gear as well…She was ANBU? They all were…
"What happened?" He whispered; slowly forgetting this was all an illusion. The body in his arms twitched, and he looked down to see Sakura's dead eyes looking up at him.
"Lost…Control.."
"What?"
"…We lost control…Of the bomb…" Neji looked at her in confusion, and she smiled weakly. "Forget? Forced amnesia from the gore, most likely…"
"Still playing doctor…" Neji muttered, smoothing her stressed forehead with his hand. "Sakura, I'll go send for help; everything will be okay…"
"No, Neji..." Sakura sighed softly, closing her eyes tiredly. "It's over…"
It was then that Neji remembered that this was a genjutsu; Sakura was too stubborn to give up like that. He grounded his teeth together, placing down the fake Sakura and taking a kunai, plunging it into his leg as he stumbled back into the real world. He looked at Sakura to see her standing there, looking at him carefully.
"…You're horribly twisted."
"I'm well trained." She said, smirking, before she yawned. "Wanna try and get me?"
"…I only know the one." Neji muttered, looking to the side, before he closed his eyes, starting the seals. Sakura watched him, her eyes widening as she saw the seals.
"And you call me twisted…"
She stood on a street in the dark, the moon hidden by ominous clouds above her. She touched her hair briefly, looking down at her clothes, and closed her eyes; she knew what she was seeing. It was that night…The night Sasuke left her…
She heard footsteps ahead of her, and looked up to see Sasuke walking by her casually. She bit her bottom lip as she felt tears well up in her eyes, closing them tightly; she tried to hold back the words she knew she would say, but she couldn't stop herself.
"You're really leaving, aren't you?"
H paused, not looking at her, before he made a small noise of agreement. Sakura nodded a little to herself, taking in a deep breath through her nose. "Won't you be lonely? Going alone?" She whispered hoarsely.
He looked back at her, frowning a little, and his lips moved, though she couldn't hear what he was saying.
She spoke back, but it was the same problem; she couldn't hear anything. Finally, as he started to walk away, she felt her heart tearing, and her voice ripped out harshly.
"I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING!" She clapped a hand over her mouth, her tears dripping onto the sweaty skin. She watched as he disappeared, and winced when he appeared behind her. They stood there in uncomfortable silence for a minute, before…
"Thank you,"
And she felt him hit the back of her neck. She gulped, her eyes rolling, before she fisted her hand, and summoned her chakra, burning her right thigh.
She appeared back in the real world on her knees, Neji kneeling beside her while she had tears dripping down her cheeks. "Sakura…?"
She shook her head, clinging to him as she sobbed into his chest, and Neji got the first look of what Sakura looked broken; she was always so strong. Always so fearless and confident. This was what the Haruno Sakura he had heard about was like…
She pushed back from him, then, stumbling back to her feet. "I have to go," she whispered hoarsely, and Neji watched helplessly as she disappeared using a basic teleportation jutsu, before he sighed, running a hand down his face.
"What did she see?"
Sakura teleported in front of Sasuke's hospital room and said a quick excuse to the ANBU before she stumbled into the room, seeing Sasuke staring at the roof. He looked over to see Sakura standing at his door, tears staining her cheeks and his eyes widened. "Sakura?"
"Sasuke…" She whispered brokenly, walking slowly to him before she collapsed on the bed hugging him. "God it was just the illusion…You're still here…"
"Illusion?" Sasuke mumbled, hesitatingly wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his chest. "What illusion?"
"…I'm training to be an ANBU…" She mumbled into his shirt quietly. "…And…The genjutsu I was caught by…Retold my worst memory…"
"…And it was me leaving." Sasuke mumbled, closing his eyes; he himself was uncomfortable with that memory. "I'm sorry, Sakura…"
"No…" She mumbled, pulling back and smiling at him. "It's fine; I just need to get stronger." She then leaned up, kissing his forehead. "Thanks for letting me cry on you."
"Hn," he smiled at her a little, looking away from her quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Sakura smiled quietly. "Mm."
Neji sighed as he sat on the tree branch, looking through the leaves at the birds nest above him, watching the mother give her children their food. He heard a soft thump on the branch below him, and glanced to see Sakura sitting there, smiling a little. "You alright?"
"Yeah; just needed a little reassurance." She said, shrugging one shoulder. "Sorry."
"…It's fine." Neji mumbled, closing his eyes. "…What did you see?"
"The night Sasuke-kun left." Sakura mumbled, looking at the ground below with a tiny smile on her lips; something forlorn and lonely. "It's…So far, my worst memory."
"Mm," Neji sighed, jumping down his branch onto Sakura's, and looked at her quietly. "I'm sorry I made you see that, Haruno,"
"Hyuuga, could you call me Sakura already?" Sakura said, smirking. Neji smirked a little.
"Only if you call me Neji."
"You got yourself a deal."
For the next few months, the two trained together, Sakura strengthening each and every time. Sasuke's progress had grown so that he could move his entire left leg and his right leg from the knee down; and Naruto had finally proposed to Hinata, who had said yes, blushing all the while.
The two had grown closer, Neji tutoring her in different techniques. He had been trying to teach her juken, which was hard to do since she didn't have Byakugen; but Haruno Sakura was a fast learner. Usually, to learn a movement, Neji would have to stand behind her, and guide her arms to the proper movements; feeling the heat of her body warmth on his front making him flushed and flustered, Sakura blushing a little on her neck. But they went through these days progressively, going out for dinner or going to the Hyuuga Complex for dinner after training. It was like nothing had changed, when in reality everything had.
Maya sighed as she watched the two help a young apprentice make cookies, Sakura dabbing a bit of flour on Neji's cheek with a playful grin. She smiled knowingly, turning back to her own sweet treat; a chocolate cake for Hinata's upcoming birthday. It was deep into the month of December, almost over, really, and the young heiress was having a party with all of her friends coming. Sakura, being one of the Hyuuga girl's closest friends, had been asked to help with preparations, and she had accepted of course.
Now Maya saw the growth of a relationship between the two ninja, and thought that it would be extremely sweet if they got together; they fit each other well; were equals in intelligence and in strength as far as the old cook could tell.
Neji frowned a little as he wiped the smudge of flour off of his cheek, mock-glaring at Sakura. Sakura only smirked at him, continuing to make her batch of cookies while Neji grumbled about something, retrieving items she asked for sweetly. After a while Sakura smiled a little, wrapping an arm around the frowning Hyuuga. "Sorry Neji-kun," she mumbled, letting go, before she took her cookie sheet and placed it into the oven, setting the timer. She then stepped back, rocking back and forth on her heels as she waited.
Neji placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her rocking, smirking at her as he pointed down to a little Hyuuga girl staring at her from the doorway with wide, pale eyes, looking at the medic with awe. Sakura smiled, walking to the door and kneeling in front of her, eyes gentle.
"Hi Hinami-chan," she said happily. "How are you today?"
"I'm okay…" She whispered shyly, hiding a little more when she saw the pink haired shinobi in front of her.
Hyuuga Hinami was a little girl that looked up to Sakura like an older sister or an idol. She thought that Sakura was a strong woman, someone to look up to, and wanted to be exactly like her when she got older. But she never thought she could; until she learned that Sakura had been shy when she was little. It gave her a little more confidence, and sometimes she spoke to Sakura, if she felt strong enough to.
Sakura held a hand out to her invitingly, smiling at her still. "You wanna bake with Neji-kun and me?" She asked lightly. Hinami, though, shook her head, almost completely hidden by the doorway. Sakura sighed, nodding as she stood up again. "The offer still stands if you want to, Hinami-chan," she said softly, before walking back to Neji, shrugging a little as he looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"She didn't want to bake?"
"No," Sakura said, shrugging again and looking over at the young apprentice who was preparing another cookie sheet. She went over to offer her help, and the young woman smiled and nodded; the two girls going to work on the batter, leaving Neji to his own devices.
The Hyuuga prodigy walked over to Hinami, kneeling in front of her out in the hall so she couldn't hide behind any doors.
The girl was small, only up to Neji's hip if he were standing up right, and she had the traditional long black hair of any Hyuuga, her eyes wide and silver like Neji's and Hinata's. She wore a simply outfit; dark pants that fell to her ankles and a pale purple T-shirt; her hair up in two low pigtails at the nape of her neck. She was a sweet little girl, very shy and self-conscious, but Sakura had taken a liking to her, and Neji had always been fond of her as she was one of his distant cousins.
"How come you don't want to bake with Sakura-san?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Hinami looked down at the ground, scuffing one of her feet against the ground. "That's not an answer,"
"I'm nervous around Sakura-san." Hinami whispered. "She's so confident and strong and smart; nothing like me." She sighed, small shoulders slumping, and Neji raised an eyebrow at her, before tapping her nose. She looked up at him with shocked eyes; did the family's prodigy just tap her nose?
"Don't say those types of things; you're strong and confident and smart in your own way, and that's why Sakura-san likes you." He smiled a little, standing up and pushing some of his long hair back, looking at Sakura who was giggling with the apprentice. "She asked you to bake because she wanted to spend some time with you." He looked at her briefly, nodding once. "Think about that."
He turned and started to walk away, when little hands grabbed the back of his haori. He glanced back at Hinami who stood there with nervous eyes. "…Can I come with you?" She asked quietly. Neji nodded, removing her hands from his haori, instead taking one of her small hands into his larger one, before walking over to Sakura, who looked up at that moment.
Sakura's eyes widened when she saw Neji walking towards her with a relaxed expression on his face, holding the hand of Hinami; all Hyuugas looked alike, most likely from marrying into the family for so long, so Hinami almost looked like she could be Neji's daughter if he were only a little older.
The image of Neji suddenly holding a tiny girl in his arms filled her mind, and she blushed a little, looking back down at Hinami who was peeking around from behind Neji's leg once the two had gotten closer to her. Sakura smiled at her brightly, bending down and holding out her hand invitingly, and Hinami smiled, rushing over to her. Sakura grinned, lifting her up onto her hip and walking over to the young woman again, helping Hinami help with the next batch of cookies by letting her toss in the chocolate chips. "It was all I was doing." The pinkette joked and Hinami giggled.
Neji watched from the sidelines, looking at the picture of Sakura smiling with a child in her arms, and thought of what a good mother she would be if she ever got married and had children. For ninja to get married was an honour only few got to witness, and to see a shinobi wedding was like watching the wedding of a Suna couple; things, traditions and concepts were different, but all meaningful in their own way.
Neji then scratched the back of his head awkwardly; why was he thinking of weddings and children around Sakura? He trained the girl; she was his friend. A good friend. He wasn't going to loose that sort of friendship, since he had so little friendships like that. One where you could just sit and talk about anything, and not worry about what the other person would think. Knowing that they would never judge you because they liked you for who you were in the first place.
He shook his head, smirking as he walked up behind the two and scooped some chocolate chips, dropping it over their heads. The girls squealed, and the young cooks all laughed while Maya smiled.
There was definitely something there.
Sakura kneeled in front of Hinata, who stood on a pedestal awkwardly as she looked at herself in a large full length mirror, eyes wide and a blush apparent on her face as Sakura hemmed her wedding gown. Pins were skillfully placed in her mouth between her teeth, and her hair—which had grown down to her shoulders; she'd have to cut it again soon—was pulled back into a ponytail so that it wasn't in her way. Green eyes glanced up into awkward silver, and Sakura smiled around the pins, removing one and pinning it to the cloth she had been holding.
"Just stand still," she said through the pins, being careful not to prick her tongue. Hinata nodded her head once, looking back into the mirror as Sakura moved a little, giving the young heiress a full view of her gown.
It was beautiful, like all wedding dresses were; and it was in a newer style than the traditional kimono. The cut of the bodice was a sweetheart cut, the material a nice shiny taffeta, and like all wedding gowns it fell to the floor; the train was about two feet, and there was a silver beaded design decorating it. It was a strapless, because Ino had suggested that, and it was a diamond white; not quite white so that it washed out Hinata and her pale skin, but light enough to be white at first glance. It had folds over the stomach to make it look like she had an hourglass figure, with beading on the front of the skirt in a pattern.
Sakura sighed, standing up and spitting out the rest of the pins as she finished, smiling. "You're good to go for your wedding; sadly it's in a week after Naruto's declared the next Hokage." She smiled, going behind Hinata and started to untie the corset back of the dress, slipping the ribbon from the holders quietly.
Once the Hyuuga heiress had slipped out of the dress and it was placed back in its protective bag, Hinata turned to Sakura who handed her clothing over, and smiled thankfully. "Thank you so much, Sakura-chan; for helping me." She looked down meekly, and Sakura smiled, hugging her tightly.
"Anything for a friend, hun," the pinkette then stepped back, grinning. "Now I gotta go train with Neji-kun, or else he'll kill me!"
Hinata giggled and nodded, waving to her as Sakura disappeared. She then cocked her head to the side curiously. "…Neji-niisan and Sakura-chan…" She mumbled, before smiling lightly. "It really would be sweet."
Sakura panted as she ran up to the training grounds, having decided not to teleport there, but give herself some exercise and run. She swiped back her hair, cooling off her neck briefly as she saw Neji in deep meditation. She smiled a little, sighing as she walked over to him quietly with the silence only a trained shinobi could handle. And like only a top shinobi could, Neji opened his eyes and looked up at her with a soft smile on his lips. "Hello Sakura-san,"
"Neji-kun," she smiled, sitting in front of him Indian style, hands resting on her knees. "What's the agenda for today?"
"Meditation," Neji replied, closing his eyes again; his face turning peaceful. "A shinobi must be able to calm their mind in the middle of a fight, and so meditating would be the best option; it also helps patience." He smiled a little. "Something you are clearly lacking on."
"What was that?" Sakura asked grinning, though an annoyed look was in her eyes, and her hand had clenched in a fist. Neji shrugged a shoulder, and Sakura sighed tiredly, closing her eyes as she started to cool her irked temper down, letting her entire self be calm and relaxed; at peace. Something only few ninja ever got to do in their careers.
Soon the silence around them was overpowering, almost weighted, and Sakura's breathing had gone deep and calm; almost as if she were asleep sitting. Neji's eyes opened and he moved to stand up, which was probably a mistake at that moment.
A hand snapped out, grasping his wrist as green eyes snapped open and she looked over at him with shocked, wary eyes. She blinked, blushing a little and letting go of his wrist as she rubbed her hand, looking away. "Uhh…Sorry about that; you moved suddenly."
"How could you tell?" Neji asked, sitting on his knees as he looked at the pinkette curiously, pale silver eyes looking at her curiously. Sakura smiled a little uneasily, shrugging one shoulder. "Sakura-san, I'm curious to know; when one is meditating, usually they wouldn't be able to hear anyone."
"I'm wary when meditating," Sakura said shrugging one shoulder helplessly. "Tsunade-shishou taught me to always be on my guard; medics have to be able to calm themselves in the battlefield from the amount of blood they're destined to see, but they also have to be wary of their surroundings. Plus, we can see faint outlines of chakra signatures, just like we're good at reading emotions in chakra signatures; I saw yours move." She shrugged a little again.
"How did you know it was mine?"
"Your chakra is a light blue, almost silver colour…Sure, we're all supposed to have blue chakra, but some of us have red, and a lot of different shades of blue with different hints. And I have green chakra since my healing chakra is green, and I'm a healer." She shrugged a little, smiling a bit. "Does that make sense?"
Neji stared at her for a long time, before he smirked. "Yes, it does." He said, standing up. "Meditating is now over, though, since both our concentrations were broken."
"How was yours broken?"
"…"
"Neji-kun?"
"…I needed to use the washroom." Sakura giggled as Neji flushed in embarrassment.
Sakura and Ino fussed over Hinata as she sat on the chair, playing around with her bouquet of white roses in her hands, pale eyes looking at her reflection in nervousness. Her dark hair, which fell to her shoulders, had been pulled up and curled into ringlets, and she had three silver flowers clipped to the left side of her head near the back, in front of the veil. The veil was only semi-long, because Hinata hadn't wanted a cathedral length veil, and it lacked the front piece that would fall in front of her face, because Naruto had said he'd be nervous pulling a veil over her head, worried he'd smack her and Hinata worried she'd loose sight down the aisle and slip, falling to the ground. It was the same diamond white with little fake pearls in the veil sporadically; her shoes were heels, though the white heels were only one inch high, since Hinata wasn't very good at balancing on high heels.
Stepping back, the two best friends grinned at Hinata with identical grins, crossing their arms proudly. Both the bride's maids wore identical pale blue spaghetti strap knee length dresses with a white sash around their waists. Ino had loosened her hair, putting a clip onto the right side holding back the bangs that always fell in front of her face; the clip was pale blue and she had added baby's breath onto it. Sakura's hair had been cut to her chin again with the assistance of Shizune, and she had a simple silver choker around her neck; nothing in her hair.
"Hinata-chan, you're good to go." Ino said proudly, grinning widely. "It's time for you to get hitched to the new Rokudaime! Isn't that exciting?" Ino looked over at Sakura, who nodded in agreement. "The wedding's going to start in five minutes, so you should start curing those butterflies now; I'm going to see how everything's going." The blonde nodded to them, leaving the two alone. Sakura smiled, kneeling beside Hinata soothingly and placed a hand on her forearm.
"You're going to be fine, hun," Sakura said with a smile. "You've always liked Naruto, right?"
"Y-yes," Hinata whispered softly, looking down at her flowers with a gentle smile. "I've always cared for Naruto-kun…" Sakura nodded, rubbing her forearm quietly before standing up. "Sakura-chan…"
"Yeah?" Sakura looked at her, raising an eyebrow curiously. Hinata stared at her for a moment, before looking away with a light blush.
"…Do you like anyone?"
"Eh?" Sakura blinked, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Do I…?" She paused, placing a finger to her bottom lip before she smiled a little. "I think I do…But I'm not telling who!"
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata squealed, looking at her with wide eyes. "That isn't fair!"
"Hun, just 'cause it's your wedding, doesn't mean I'm going to tell you everything!" She giggled, before looking over to see Hanabi open the door in a pale lavender dress, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. The young Hyuuga was Hinata's maid of honour, and fairly nervous about the role. "What's up, Hanabi-chan?"
"The wedding's going to start soon! Neesan and Sakura-san have to come to the line-up, now! The music's going to start!" She looked at Hinata, smiling at her brightly, before she disappeared. Sakura sighed, looking over at Hinata before helping her up to her feet.
"Let's go get you married."
The two walked out of the room, down the halls as quietly as possible. When they arrived at the wedding party, everyone lined up where they were supposed to be, they all turned to see the two. Hiashi, standing at the back waiting to lead his daughter down the aisle, smiled kindly at the two, and Sakura beamed, tugging Hinata gently who smiled shyly. "Come on, you look beautiful; smile bright!" Sakura whispered before she looked over to the line. Which groom's man did she stand beside…?
She saw Neji standing by himself, looking at them with wide eyes, and smiled. So Neji was her partner eh? That was cool. Leaving Hinata with her father, the pinkette took her small bouquet from Ino, holding the pale blue blooms as she walked up beside Neji. Neji nodded to her, and she smiled brightly. "You're looking handsome," she whispered quietly, looking up at him from the corner of her eye. He glanced down at her from the corner of his eye, and smirked.
"And you look beautiful," he whispered back just as the doors opened. The two then straightened, and watched as Tenten and Lee walked down the aisle together first, followed by Ino and Chouji and Temari and Shikamaru. Finally, Neji and Sakura started down, which would then have Konohamaru, Naruto's best man since Sasuke still couldn't walk, and Hanabi walk right before the bride and her father.
As they walked down the aisle, Neji placed a hand on her arm and she glanced at him curiously. He looked back down at her, smiling a little, and the medic blushed a little. They separated as they came to the altar, going to their spots as they watched Hinata walk down the aisle, smiling brightly. Naruto, standing in a black tux, looked like a deer in headlights when he saw his wife-to-be, and everyone smiled at the sight endearingly.
Hiashi bent down and kissed Hinata's cheek quietly, smiling at her as she walked up to the altar with Naruto, standing in front of Tsunade who looked happy for the both of them.
The music ended softly, and the blonde woman slapped her hands together, grinning. "We are gathered here today, to see the joining of Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata in holy matrimony…"
The wedding reception was filled with laughter and talking, the speeches having already been made and the food served. Hinata was dancing with Naruto on the dance floor, Hanabi dancing with Konohamaru and Tenten twirling with Lee, laughing lightly.
Sakura smiled at the scene, eating her salad quietly before she sighed, watching Hinata as she laughed, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining happily. She smiled, happy for her friend before she closed her eyes. She jumped, though, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Neji standing there, smirking at her. "Hey Neji-kun,"
"Sakura-san," he greeted, holding his hand out. "Would you care to dance?"
"Sure." Sakura smiled, standing up and taking his hand, letting the Hyuuga Prodigy lead her to the dance floor. She was pulled up against his chest, taking his offered hand and wrapping her other hand around his shoulders as a quick paced song filled the room. Neji wrapped his free arm around her waist and started to lead her around the dance floor, staring at her as she looked up at him.
The crowd of dancers flitted to the sides, watching as they danced eyes wide at how close they were standing; they were dancing a tango it seemed, which was one of the most erotic dances in the world. How Neji and Sakura knew this dance, they would never know; when did busy ninja like themselves find the time? But they danced it beautifully anyhow, and as people watched they saw the sparks that Maya had been seeing since the beginning flare between the two.
As the dance came to a close, Neji lifted Sakura, before placing her down and dipping her low; her head going back as she was dipped, eyes closed. They stood still for a moment, chests rising and falling erratically before they stood, smiling at each other. Everyone around them clapped and Sakura blushed deeply, smiling and waving to everyone as Neji smirked and nodded to them. The Hyuuga boy then led the Haruno to the refreshment table, getting her a glass of punch as she leaned against the table, breathing heavily.
"Where'd you learn to dance like THAT?" Sakura asked, looking over at him.
"It was on a mission a few years ago where we had to go under aliases and get information." Neji replied, handing her the glass. She took it gratefully, drinking it. "And yourself?"
"Mission as well; I was playing as a lord's daughter and our informant was a dance teacher; I had to get information from him the only way a female can."
"Did you sleep with him?" Neji asked quietly. Sakura only snorted.
"I have my limitations." She said, rolling her eyes. "But the lessons were fun." Neji smirked a little, shaking his head and Sakura grinned. "That was fun, too; thanks for dancing with me Hyuuga."
"Any time, Haruno,"
Sakura panted as she pushed her back against the trunk of a large oak, looking out from the corner of her eye as four ANBU rushed past her, before sighing, looking around quickly, trying to assess the situation she currently found herself in.
She was doing her ANBU test, and was currently in the Forest of Death, deep into the foliage running from the top ANBU of the small unit. She had to make it out of the forest alive, first off, and with the two items she held on her person.
As she thought of those items, she placed a hand by her hip, feeling the small bulk of the item. It was a small scroll, compact to fit into small areas. Instead of keeping it in a kunai pouch or her shuriken holster, she had put it as close to her as she could; in her actual PANTS. If anyone tried to go near it, she'd have every right as a woman to beat the person senseless. That was her theory, anyhow.
She closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Seeing a nearing chakra signature though, she grabbed a kunai and spun, blocking the sword with her small dagger. Her eyes narrowed at the cat face staring at her, before she pushed them back, kicking them in the stomach, which she enhanced with chakra. They flew back, crashing through two trees before they were down for the count and she stood still for a moment, before she looked over to her right, hearing a twig snap.
She threw two shuriken and an explosive tag in that direction before she rushed away from the scene, looking back to see the explosion and a cry of pain from the person who had been hit. She smirked; two down, two to go.
Turning to a clearing, she looked over her right shoulder, left shoulder, behind and in front of her, glancing up before she grinned. Pulling out her gloves, she slipped them on, spreading her feet apart to widen her center. She then concentrated her chakra, which shone green, on her fist, and slammed it into the ground, watching as it cracked and opened, revealing the hiding ANBU. They jumped out of the crumbling earth, landing beside her and Sakura threw a punch at them quickly, dropping down and swiping at the legs before she patted the back of their thigh as they fell; her medical chakra damaging the nerves. They cried out, collapsing and gripping their leg before she stood, nodding to them.
After getting out of the destroyed clearing, Sakura panted; things were becoming much too simple. Those three had been too easy for her; but perhaps she only thought that way because she had been training with the top ANBU Captain of the entire unit? That could explain a few things.
She stood as she heard something, narrowing her eyes. Her fingers twitched by her side, before she spun with a roundhouse kick, which was caught by a hand.
Her eyes widened as she stared into a familiar bird's mask, before she smirked. "I know you well," She said, yanking her leg from their grasp. The ANBU chuckled, dark brown hair in a high ponytail shaking as he shook his head. "This should be interesting, then…"
"Hai,"
She swiped blood off of her cheek, grinning at the panting ANBU in front of her, looking at her direction; she could feel those eyes staring at her through that mask, which kind of unnerved her, but she had gotten used to it training with the Hyuuga. He suddenly disappeared, and Sakura ducked and rolled out of the way just as he was about to land a blow. Standing up feet away she grinned at him, wiggling her fingers at her sides before she started to quickly do a series of seals. Neji watched with wide eyes behind his mask; this was a new sequence, and she was too fast for him to see. She had gotten better.
Suddenly, though, he realized what was going on, and before he could do anything he was plunged out of reality. Genjutsu; Sakura's element. Of course she'd throw him in one. Now how strong a level was this one?
Looking around, he noticed he was in a field. It was a rather normal field; calm, peaceful. Almost as if he were about to train with Sakura again; like before the ANBU exam had come up and Sakura had faced him with confidence. He wasn't sure if he felt safe in this genjutsu, but he couldn't control his body; he didn't understand why, either.
As he neared the edge of the forest, he heard strange sounds; why would he be hearing those sounds? It was…Almost as if someone was…He blushed…Making love to someone else. Or maybe they were writhing in pain?
Either way, it was highly disturbing.
He came to a clearing, and saw Sakura pressed against a tree, her face contorted with pain. Of course. It wouldn't be something sensual like intercourse; what kind of genjutsu was THAT? But he narrowed his eyes at the person pinning her.
His jaw dropped as he recognized the long black hair and the deathly pale skin as that of the deceased Sanin Orochimaru. How was this possible, though!? He was DEAD! DEAD! This wasn't possible.
"So, little girl," he whispered into her ear; Sakura hissed in disgust and pain as she felt the kunai dig deeper into the skin of her throat and Neji's stomach jolted. "Will you help me? If you do, you can be with Sasuke-kun again…"
'…This isn't a genjutsu like normal genjutsu…' Neji thought, eyes widening. 'This is…Her memories…Why would she be showing me her memories?'
"I'd never help a bastard like you." Sakura hissed, and then cried out as the kunai was pressed deeper.
"Stop it!" Neji shouted, but the two didn't even flinch. "You're hurting her!"
But he had the feeling that was Orochimaru's intent.
"No? Well, then; I suppose I'll just have to kill you off. I'm sure no one would notice; no one loves you anyhow…"
"Bastard." Sakura hissed again, eyes narrowed. Neji tried to move to help her, but found himself stuck in place. He scowled, swearing dangerously, glaring at the scene.
He watched, then, realizing this wasn't a memory as Orochimaru morphed into Sasuke, smirking at her, and Sakura's eyes widening, before he morphed into Neji. "Me…?" Neji looked at himself, and found he was suddenly the Neji in front of Sakura with the kunai to her throat.
"No one…Eh?" Sakura whispered, blood dripping down her chin. "Guess he was right…"
"No…No he's not!" Neji shouted, wrenching his arm away and throwing the kunai to the side, wrapping his arms around Sakura tightly. He found it shocking that he could move, but didn't think about it. Sakura felt so…So cold in his arms. Her life was seeping out; her eyes fading, smile slowly becoming dull as she slumped against him.
"He's not right…People love you…" He whispered, closing his eyes tightly as he dropped to his knees, clutching to her corpse.
"I love you…"
Neji's eyes snapped open and he found himself on a hospital bed, staring up into the brown eyes of the former Godaime. "I never would've thought Hyuuga Neji would fall under a genjutsu. But Sakura is the master of them, so I suppose you can get away with it. Be on your guard next time." The blonde woman smirked, stepping back as Neji sat up, looking around. He touched his face and found tears there; his eyes widened. He had been crying?
"Sakura made up a new genjutsu recently while at home; home study, I suppose. It affects the mind in a totally new setting, setting you up in a surreal, horrible setting with someone you really care about dying." Tsunade frowned, crossing her arms. "People can be stuck in it for hours, and there's practically no way out. I learned how to get you out from Sakura when she brought you here; she couldn't do it since she was weakened from the exam. Which, by the way, she passed; she's in your fleet." Tsunade sighed, running her hands through her hair. "…You mumbled her name a few times…"
Neji looked down at his lap, frowning a little, and Tsunade smiled at him kindly, poking his forehead; the juin revealed for all to see. He placed a hand on the green mark, frowning a little as he glared up at her. "Don't worry, Hyuuga; I won't tell. But you tell me; do you love her?"
Neji blinked at the question, before looking to the side. He thought about it, long and hard, before closing his eyes.
"…Yes I do."
Tsunade smirked, nodding as she picked up his clipboard, glancing at it. "You'll stay the night here," she said absentmindedly. He glanced at her confusedly, and she winked.
"Make her happy, Hyuuga."
Neji shifted in his hospital bed, muttering something when he heard someone walk in. His eyes snapped open, and he looked over to see a shadowed figure walking towards him, holding a cup and what he supposed were pills. Sitting up, he saw Sakura standing there, smiling at him tiredly. "Hey Neji-kun." She greeted, placing the cup and pills on his small table, helping him sit up. "These are some pills to help you sleep, alright? I'll be coming in every two hours to check your sleeping patterns. The genjutsu I used is really damaging to the brain and can affect dreams; ask Naruto, he's been having nightmares for a week. I apologized to Hinata a bazillion times already." She laughed nervously.
Neji smiled at her a little, nodding. "Ah; I was having a little difficulty." He admitted, and Sakura nodded, taking the pills again and holding them out for him. He took them, his larger hand brushing against hers slightly, before he popped the pills in his mouth, taking the cup from Sakura. He drank them down, grimacing at the dry, powdery taste, before swallowing the rest of the water; Sakura took the cup, placing it on the table again and made him lay down again. He looked up at her as she smiled at him sweetly, before bending down, kissing his forehead quietly; the place where the juin rested.
His eyes closed gently at the feeling of her lips on his skin, and he breathed out slowly. He felt her run her fingers through his hair for a moment, before covering his chest with the blanket, smoothing out his forehead. "Goodnight, Neji-kun," she whispered; he wished she wouldn't use an honorific with his name.
His world then slowly drifted away, and he didn't hear Sakura leave the room.
Sasuke glanced over at Sakura as she came in with a sweet smile, walking over to his clipboard and checking what the earlier nurse had written. She cocked her head to the side, looking over at him. "You can move both legs now?"
"Mm," He nodded, pulling both legs to his chest to prove he could, before he stretched them out again. "I can rotate my hips as well."
"Well then, your physiotherapy can start soon! Then you'll be able to walk again and become one with the village; everyone's forgiven you by now, even the stinges." Sasuke smirked at her as she flashed a peace sign, shaking his head as he looked out the window. "What?"
"'Stinges' is not a word." He said simply. Sakura shrugged one shoulder, looking up. "…How is he?"
The pinkette medic blinked in surprise at his question, before looking out the window too; thinking about the brunette now fast asleep in a dreamless world. "He's fine now; I gave him some sleeping pills so that he can rest peacefully." The Uchiha nodded, frowning a little at the worry he heard in her tone. He thought for a moment, before his eyes widened.
She was finally…
"…Getting over me…" Sakura looked over at him with wide eyes, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"P-pardon?"
Sasuke smirked, crossing his arms as he looked at her.
"I said you're getting over me. You love Hyuuga don't you?" When she stayed silent, looking at the ground and twisting her shirt with her hands, his smirk softened to a smile. "I'm…Happy for you, Sakura; I'm not right for you."
Sakura looked up at him, before she smiled a little. "You'll be a lone avenger forever?"
"…Pretty much." Sasuke shrugged his shoulder and Sakura laughed, walking over to him and kissing his cheek in a sibling like way. "Oi,"
"Oi nothing; you're being sweet." She smiled at him, before she sighed. "…And yes."
"…If he hurts you…"
"You get first dibs to pummel him, don't worry; Naruto and Ino are close second."
Sasuke smirked.
"Good."
The next morning Neji woke up to the sounds of gentle humming, and opened his eyes slowly to see a young woman walking into the room with a smile, waving to him.
"I'm Yumiko, you're day nurse." She explained at his confused look. "Haruno-san has gone home to rest." She then sighed, clapping her hands together. "Are you hungry, Hyuuga-san?"
"…No." Neji replied, sitting up and reaching over, grabbing his hitai-ate. "I think I'm going to check myself out now, actually." Yumiko blinked, picking up his clipboard and checking it while he tied his headband, before she shook her head. "Why not?"
"Tsunade-sama needs to check on you before you leave; she'll be here within the hour." She smiled again. "I'll bring you some toast." She nodded as he sighed in defeat, and turned, leaving promptly.
"Fine as a fiddle, get out of here."
Neji smirked at Tsunade's blunt and quick answer, nodding as he stretched his arms over his head before hopping off of the check up table. He looked over at the blonde as she walked over to a cupboard, grabbing something before holding it out to him. "What's this?"
"It's sleeping pills, if you need them. The genjutsu might still have some effect on you, since it's still hurting Naruto's sleep. Take two each night if you find you need them, though; when the dreams get better, take one a night, and when they stop all together, stop taking the pills." She nodded, smirking at him. "Other than that, take care of yourself, Hyuuga; you did well training Sakura. I'm proud she made it to ANBU."
"I am, too." Neji said, smiling a little, before sighing. "Now if you'll excuse me." He bowed his head, before disappearing in a puff of smoke; the debris of the left over teleportation jutsu hitting the blonde's face. Tsunade smirked, crossing her arms before sighing tiredly, leaning on the bed.
"I need a nap."
He stood awkwardly in front of her apartment door; he had only ever been in her apartment three times since he had known her. Once to tease her when the training began, then when he had been injured by her medical attacks and had to spend the night so that she could heal him; she had damaged him pretty badly. The third time had been a little awkward, but Sakura had invited him to dinner, and he had accepted.
He hadn't come back since, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go into her apartment. It was small, and it was quaint; but most of all, it was so her.
Sighing, he knocked thrice on the door, hoping she wasn't sleeping. He heard a muffled call from within the apartment, and then shuffled footsteps as someone made their way to the door. It opened to reveal the pinkette staring at him with wide, curious eyes, standing in a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt that she had pulled on for sleeping, he supposed, if her mussed hair was any indication. "Neji-kun!" She said in cheerful surprise, smiling at him. "You're feeling well?"
"Fine," Neji replied, smiling at her easily. She stepped aside, silently inviting him in and he awkwardly walked in, looking around the apartment to take it into memory, though he didn't bother going into detail. He slipped his sandals off, walking into the apartment after Sakura said to sit on the couch while she went to get dressed; he didn't see what was wrong with what she was wearing, seeing as she was covered anyhow; what difference did it make? But apparently, in the mind of women, they must wear 'proper' clothes when guests arrive.
Such strange thinking. He interrupted her when she was most likely sleeping; shouldn't she have the right to stand in whatever she wanted? She was in her own home…
Sitting idle on the chair, hands folded in front of him, the Hyuuga prodigy looked at oblivion with his silver eyes, thinking over many different things. After about ten minutes of silence, Sakura came back out in what he supposed she deemed appropriate for talking to him; a pair of jeans and a pink tank top. He blinked; he didn't really see why she had to change into something like that, when it wasn't all that different from her clothes from earlier. Maybe she felt less…Revealed?
He mentally shrugged; that didn't matter right now. Those odd thoughts could be used for later.
"So you passed the ANBU exam?" He asked, looking up at her. Sakura smiled and nodded, looking proud of her. "I'm proud of you, Sakura-san."
"Neji-kun, you don't need to be so formal with me!" Sakura said, sitting down next to him and grinning. "You can just call me 'Sakura' like everyone else."
"Hinata-san calls you 'Sakura-chan'; Naruto calls you 'Sakura-chan'." He said, smirking. "Not everyone calls you Sakura."
"Do you want to start calling me 'Sakura-chan'?" She asked, grinning.
Neji raised an eyebrow, before rolling his eyes. "No, not particularly." He said, smirking. "I'll only call you 'Sakura' if you call me 'Neji' in return, though; only fair, right?" He smirked as she looked at him with wide eyes, before she grinned in return.
"Tricky bastard."
"Ah; what's that?" He raised an eyebrow again, and the pinkette rolled her eyes.
"Fine then; tricky bastard named Neji." She looked at him with sarcasm but amusement. "Better?"
"Quite, Sakura; quite."
It was the crack of dawn, and yet there were five people wide awake at the gates of the village. All wore the same clothing as each other; uniformed in their own strict way. They all had masks on, as well, and identical tattoos on the left upper arms; a swirl. A pink haired ANBU stood beside a dark brown haired ANBU, both talking to each other quietly; one with a bird's mask, the other wearing a cat's mask.
"Captain," the pinkette started, her mask looking over to the man in front of her. "The Rokudaime sent us on this because Uchiha Itachi has been seen as of recent." She frowned, looking at the ground at this. "Neji, I don't like this," she whispered softly after this, looking up at him. "I don't trust this at all."
"Neither do I," Neji muttered, looking away from her. "But Sakura, we need to do this." He then sighed, looking towards the others. "Haruno and I have need to speak for a little longer; so mingle for a few more minutes as we come up with a battle plan." He then turned back to Sakura, and she could sense the frown on his handsome features. "This could be a potential trap, but that's something we'll have to risk. Uchiha Itachi is after Uchiha Sasuke and the Rokudaime." He stared at her long and hard, and she nodded to show she understood.
"Nara Shikamaru is going to stay behind so that in case of attack here, they have a quick thinker. Which is why I was sent in his place; I'm the second smartest shinobi in the village and I happen to be in ANBU, so it all ties in neatly." She sighed, cracking her neck. "We're heading towards the north, right? So that means we're heading towards Otogakure; where Orochimaru and his Sound Village used to be. It's just a wasteland now." She sighed, tapping her arm as she crossed them, looking down to her right side in thought. "What could he be doing up there…"
"It could be the new center of their operations; Akatsuki's, I mean." Neji replied, looking at her with a frown. "Since we've found all their previous ones, after all…"
"Are all the Jinchuuriki from the different villages still disappearing?"
"Mm," Sakura sighed, biting her bottom lip as she tried to concentrate in thought. What could they be doing?
"We're going to have to be really careful and on our guard. We'll have to destroy this new base of operations if that's what it is; if this is just a trap decoy, the Rokudaime will be vulnerable." Sakura said calmly. Neji nodded, pulling out his walkie-talkie.
"Shikamaru," he spoke quietly into the device, Sakura standing there silently. "I want you to up the security around Naruto; also put more watch on in the gates. If anything happens, an attack or something, calls us immediately. We'll get there as fast as we can." He sighed as he listened to the reply, before putting his walkie-talkie back where he had kept it earlier. "Now we should head out, Haruno,"
"Of course, Captain. What's our plan of action?"
"…We'll come up with that when we fully assess the situation." She nodded, and they both turned to their fleet. Neji muttered the current battle plan, before they all nodded, and disappeared into the night, leaving behind impressed chunin on guard duty.
She winced as an explosion went off behind her, covering her ears with her hands. Her mask had cracked and fallen off of her face, leaving her face revealed but she didn't care. Blood trailed down from her hairline, a deep gash in her scalp, and it bled over her eye freely, blinding one eye. She didn't have the time to heal herself since she was still trying to outrun Deidara, a member of Akatsuki, as the female-looking blonde attacked her with his explosive clay figurines. She had to admit that they were rather pretty figurines; but she didn't like the part when they exploded beside her.
Panting, she pushed herself from the tree branch she had sat herself on, jumping from branch to branch as she tried to distance herself; she could see a faint blue chakra signature behind her screaming bloodlust and enjoyment, and knew that Deidara was behind her. She also sensed a slightly scared, but mostly enjoyed dark blue chakra; it felt oddly familiar, sort of like Sasuke's. But maybe she was imagining things. All she knew was that that was apparently Deidara's partner, Tobi.
Panting, she turned quickly, hiding in the underbrush as Deidara and Tobi bounded over her and away from her. She held her breath as they jumped over her, before she let it out tiredly. A hand was then placed on her shoulder, and she was about to scream when a hand was placed over her mouth, and a hot mouth by her ear.
"Sakura, it's just me." Neji hissed. He felt the medic relax against him and removed his hand, moving in front of her. He had loosened his mask, letting it hang around his neck when he had spotted the pinkette in the bushes, hiding and bleeding. "Why haven't you healed this yet?"
"Haven't had the time." She muttered, placing a hand on her sore scalp. Green chakra then covered her hand, and she healed the wound as Neji kept a look out. "My mask was broken by the debris of Deidara's explosives. I couldn't grab the pieces because there were too many and Deidara had thrown another bomb. Sorry."
"I don't care about the mask." Neji muttered, watching her as she held her scalp. She then wiped the blood from her eye and looked around with her gained vision, looking at his stern face; brows drawn in a frown, lips turned down at the corners. She sighed, looking around.
"Where are the others?"
"Dead," Neji muttered, closing his eyes. "They had been caught by Itachi and Kisame quickly." Sakura nodded, quietly and quickly mourning the loss of their fleet, before she watched him stand up. She stood up after him, looking at him oddly.
"We need to retreat—"
'Neji! Konoha is being bombed by the Akatsuki member Deidara! We need you and your fleet down here immediately!'
"You're shitting me…" Neji muttered eyes wide as he pulled out the walkie-talkie. "My fleet except for Sakura and myself are dead Shikamaru; we're being attacked by Akatsuki."
'Those are clones! Get down here now!' Both ANBU swore, Neji shoving his walkie-talkie back to its proper place before they both teleported out of there to a nice distance from the battlefield, running towards Konoha at a fast pace.
"Our comrades died for clones," Sakura hissed, eyes narrowing. "Those freaks are gonna pay with their lives. Dearly."
Neji silently agreed.
They came upon a fiery scene; one that Sakura had wished she never had to see. Dead corpses riddled the ground, blood puddles pooled around warm bodies; cold bodies with blank eyes staring up at the dark sky as the madness continued. She swore under her breath, and before Neji could say anything, ran into the village, rushing towards the hospital.
The Hyuuga swore, looking towards the enflamed Hokage Tower to see Naruto on the roof, clutching his shoulder as Uchiha Itachi stood before him, silent and still. He muttered something, before he rushed towards the tower.
Meanwhile, Sakura jumped through the shattered windows of the hospital, looking around to see a blonde, curvaceous woman shouting orders to the scared looking nurses and the scrambling ninja in the halls. Her brown eyes turned to her, and relief covered her face. "Sakura!" She called out, and the pinkette ran to her, enveloping her large bosom shishou tightly, eyes closed. She felt the older woman's warm arms wrap around her, rubbing her back, before she sighed. "Go check on Uchiha." She whispered. "We've been protecting all the floors, but they might've gotten him."
"Okay," she whispered, pulling back and teleporting away. She appeared in his room, and looked around. She spotted the black haired shinobi on the ground, holding himself up by his hands as he glared at the window. She turned her gaze to the window and saw Kisame standing there, smirking.
Swearing, she collected her chakra to her fist, and ran at him quickly, punching him in the jaw. The fish-man had been caught off guard, and cried out as his jaw snapped and he stumbled, falling off the sill. She rushed to Sasuke, picking him up and immediately saw the bleeding of his right shoulder. "I'm getting you out of here to safety," she whispered, kicking the door opened and running down the halls, holding the Uchiha prodigy close.
She rushed down the stairs, ignoring the shouts of nurses and shinobi as a crash was heard outside. She turned away from the explosions outside, running down a hidden hallway into the emergency bomb shelter; they had made it when Naruto and Sakura had explained about Deidara and his clay, and the hospital thought it best to have it. Kicking the door opened, she saw a cluster of old, young and injured Konoha villagers sitting there. She looked around, smiling as she saw a few familiar faces before she walked to an abandoned corner, sitting Sasuke down.
She kneeled in front of him, smoothing out his hair before she placed green glowing hands on his shoulder, healing it quietly. "I should've known it was a trap." She whispered quietly. "Instead we fell for it and we were away from the village. You were almost killed."
"You came up right before he was going to kill me." Sasuke said softly, looking at her concentrated face; frown on her lips and her eyebrows, concentration strong in her eyes. "That's all that matters."
"I have to go check on Naruto, too." She said, pulling her bloodied hands back and wiping them on her pants, kissing Sasuke's forehead. "You'll be safe here, alright? Tsunade guards this place with her life; if anyone can make sure you're all safe, it's my shishou." Sasuke nodded and Sakura stood, looking around. "I need to go help the others now."
"No need to explain." Sasuke said, smirking. "…Come back alive."
"Will do." She then ran out of the emergency room, since no one could teleport in or out of it, and into the hallways again where chaos reigned. She calmed a few scared nurses, telling them to find all the other patients that hadn't been evacuated or taken to the emergency room, before leaving outside right into the chaos. She turned and saw Deidara standing to her left, Tobi beside her; her eyes narrowed.
"Hello bastard."
Neji bounded up Hokage Tower, landing behind Naruto in a crouch as he saw him panting in front of a slightly bleeding Itachi. At least he had wounded him, Neji mused, before he stood and straightened his shoulders, a frown on his features. "Rokudaime-sama," he called out, and Naruto glanced back at him briefly, before looking back at the enemy at hand. "Do you acquire assistance?"
"It'd be nice," the blonde replied, spreading his feet apart to widen his center as he fisted one of his hands, glaring at the older Uchiha brother; his eyes a deep red, meaning he was gaining assistance from Kyuubi. "We can't do this alone."
"Of course,"
The Hyuuga appeared beside Naruto then, positioned in the flowing Juken style, Byakugen summoned. Naruto grinned beside him, five clones appearing behind him, and Uchiha Itachi cocked his head to the side in wonderment, staring at the two with a mild curiousity.
"Well then, this shall be interesting, eh Naruto-kun?"
"Don't call the Rokudaime that, Uchiha."
She spat out blood, glaring angrily at the blonde in front of her; blood trailing down his eye from his scalp; her doing of course. She grinned a little then, watching as Uzumaki Hinata suddenly slammed her palm to the back of his head, and Sakura stood straight, nodding to the Hyuuga Heiress. "Hinata-chan,"
"Sakura-chan," Hinata greeted, smiling, before pointing behind her calmly. "Behind you."
"I know." Sakura shrugged, before spinning, and implanting her fist into the orange mask of Tobi, watching as he flew back with a cry of pain. She then looked down at the knocked out Deidara, walking up to him and toeing his side. She knelt down, bringing her hands out and they glowed green; but this was a dangerous kind of green. Calmly, she placed her hand on his throat, and squeezed, crushing the windpipe. The face of Deidara disappeared, though, and revealed just a dead man as a clone. She hissed, eyes narrowed. "Clones…"
She stood then, eyes widening. "These are just clones again!"
Hinata's mouth dropped, and both females turned to Hokage Tower to see Naruto and Neji fighting off Itachi. At least, the clone of Itachi. "We've gotta help 'em!" Sakura cried out. Hinata, though, shook her head.
"That would damage their pride; we may be strong, but Naruto-kun is protecting his village, and Neji is protecting those he holds close."
"His family?" Hinata smiled, though, shaking her head. "Then who…?"
There was a sudden explosion of power, and Sakura turned back to see Naruto panting, Neji picking up a limp corpse. She supposed he swore, then, throwing the clone to the side and turning to Naruto, explaining quietly. She could feel the angered aura of their Hokage and her best friend from where she stood by the hospital.
"Come on." Hinata took her hand, leading her down the path towards the Tower. "The battle is over; the clones are all dead."
"How can you be sure?"
"I counted." Sakura nodded, knowing how should could count; the Byakugen was useful in that way. Sighing heavily, the ANBU medic followed the wife of the Rokudaime, looking up at the sky as the clouds cleared and the sun shone down.
She just hoped none of her close friends had died for clones, like those in her fleet had.
The funeral was large, filled with shinobi and the families of those shinobi who had died protecting their village. Sakura bowed her head as she stood next to Sasuke, who sat on a wheelchair; Hinata stood next to Naruto, Neji behind Hinata since he was her bodyguard; he would always be her bodyguard, even before he was a shinobi for Konoha. The pinkette sighed sadly, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder for comfort. The Uchiha took her hand quietly in his own pale hand, squeezing it, and she smiled a little at the affection he showed.
Naruto then stepped down from the large memorial, asking those families to place a rose on the memorial; large groups started towards the memorial, and Sakura wheeled Sasuke over towards Naruto. The blonde kneeled in front of Sasuke, the two best friends talking quietly, Hinata standing behind her husband quietly. Sakura walked away from the scene to Neji, who had placed himself far enough from them so he wouldn't be intruding. She smiled at him a little, reaching out quietly. He looked at her, before taking her offered hand, and squeezed it as Sakura squeezed his.
"It's sad…" She said softly, looking at the crying wives or husbands or children, closing her eyes from the scene. "So many funerals in our village…So many loved ones dying."
"At least, this time, it wasn't anyone we knew. Like Sarutobi-san or Asuma-sensei." Sakura nodded in agreement, but she still held a sad look to her face. Neji sighed, smiling at her a little. "Come take a walk with me."
She blinked, before she nodded, and followed him out of the funeral area after telling Sasuke she was going on a walk with Neji. The Uchiha had smirked at her a little, and Hinata had smiled fondly at the two of them.
They walked down the empty streets of Konoha quietly, hand in hand, not talking but not feeling the need to talk. Sakura was staring up at the sky, Neji the ground as they thought about different things; Sakura thinking how she would feel if someone close to her died, like her mother or father, Neji thinking how he would feel if Sakura was ripped from his grasp harshly like those people had. When the Hyuuga thought of this, his grip on Sakura's hand tightened, and Sakura smiled at him reassuringly, mistaking his upset for thinking how he'd react if Hinata was killed.
Neji then led her into a small graveyard, and Sakura's eyes widened as she saw the names of the Uchiha Clan, before they went up a level, and she saw the names of the Hyuugas engraved into marble stone. She looked over at Neji in confusion, and he smiled at her secretively. She smiled a little in confusion, but let the older male lead her up a hill to a weeping willow, its drooping branches covering two pale gravestones, shading it; slithers of light filling the shaded area. She swept back the drooping leaves as she walked in with the Hyuuga prodigy.
"Sakura, I want you to meet my mother and father." Neji said softly. Sakura's eyes widened and she turned to see the names on the tombs. She recognized Hizashi immediately, but Neji's mother's name was new to her. She bent down, committing the name to memory, placing her hand softly on the grave, before she stood up, looking at Neji who watched her carefully.
"How come?" She asked softly, looking at him in confusion. Neji smiled, placing a finger to his lips, and he kneeled in front of his parents' tombs, taking a washcloth from beside the graves, dipping it into lukewarm water before wiping the grime off of the faces of the graves. "Haha-ue, Chichi-ue," he said softly; Sakura knelt beside him in respect, looking at the tombs with a curious look. "I want you to meet Haruno Sakura; I've told you about her before." He smiled a little as he saw a faint blush appear on Sakura's cheeks. "I want you to know…That I love her."
Sakura's eyes widened and she looked at Neji with wide eyes, surprised at what he had said. "I know she's a girl that you would like," he continued, ignoring her for now. "She's very intelligent and smart; and she's very kind. She's healed me more times than I can count on both hands." Sakura laughed softly at this, and Neji smiled a little. "…She's really important to me…"
He then turned to her, and looked at her quietly. "And I just hope I'm not making a fool of myself in front of her."
Sakura looked at him for a long time, before she turned to the tombs, and smiled. "Hyuuga-sans, your son is a wonderful person; kind of quiet, sometimes a little cold, but he's a wonderful person." She closed her eyes smiling softly. "And I'm proud to say that I love him. I just hope…That you two accept me."
She felt Neji take her hand, and opened her eyes, looking at him with a kind smile; his soft smile the best thing she had seen all day. Neji pulled her to him then, softly pressing his lips against hers, and Sakura closed her eyes quietly.
They pulled back, and Neji looked down at the graves. They knelt in silence, before he smiled.
"They're happy for us."
They walked down the streets hand in hand, her talking about something and he listening to her silently in quiet contemplation. Sakura then sighed as she looked over to see their Rokudaime Uzumaki Naruto sitting at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand with his month pregnant wife, eating what seemed to be his fifth bowl of pork ramen. "Hinata-chan better be eating something healthier for the baby!"
"Ayame-san made me some stew," Hinata said, smiling at her cousin and close friend. Sakura nodded, smiling at her, before she pulled on Neji's hand, and the two continued passed them.
Hyuuga Neji and Haruno Sakura had been going out for almost two months now; the first people to notice of course being Yamanaka Ino and Tenten, the two girls who were closest to the couple because Ino was Sakura's best friend and Tenten trained with Neji on weekends. The next to find out were Hinata and Naruto because when Hinata had come in with an upset stomach and nausea whenever she smelt food, Sakura had let it slip while checking her stomach before she announced the girl was pregnant and Hinata had fainted.
Everyone slowly learned it, and they had all smiled none really all the surprised because it had been sort of obvious after the marriage of the Hyuuga Heiress and the Rokudaime. Hiashi had welcomed Sakura warmly into the family and had asked Neji when he was planning on marrying her, causing Sakura to burst out laughing with Hanabi while causing Neji to blush a deep, uncharacteristic red.
Things had been smooth since; Sakura and Neji going on S-Class missions professionally, and then going home and spending some relaxing time together; sleeping peacefully either on Sakura's couch or Neji in his room, Sakura in a guest room at the Hyuuga Complex. Things had grown calmer since the attack from Akatsuki; they had grown silent, which caused worry but peace amongst the citizens of Konoha. Gaara had come up to visit Naruto and Hinata to congratulate them on the coming baby, Temari visiting her long-distance boyfriend Shikamaru and Kankuro eating the best of all ramen in the Fire Country.
Sighing, the two walked into a small café that was open, seeing Shikamaru and Temari sitting in a booth in the corner. Sakura waved to the blonde Suna ninja and the top intelligence of Konoha. They then went to their usual booth, sitting down quietly.
"So anyhow, as I was saying; some kid runs into the hospital screaming about a gang beating the other night and of course I go out to check out what's going on, being that I'm the second top doctor in the hospital; it seems that these four drunken jounin were beating a new genin. And I wasn't going to stand there idle by, right? So I just punched the ground. They go flying away, leaving the kid behind." Sakura grinned, waving to their waitress. "Lemon tea, please."
"Same," Neji ordered and the woman nodded, walking off. Neji then looked back at Sakura, smiling at her. "Is the genin alright?"
"Yeah, he's fine; I fixed him up there and I went to find the kid to tell him thanks; he was a friend of the genin, so I guess he must've been a genin as well. But he disappeared." She sighed, shrugging, before laying her head in her arms. "God I'm so tired; that last mission was grueling."
"What was it?"
"Tsunade-shishou's leftover paperwork Naruto couldn't understand." Sakura mock cried, before smiling a little. "Took me all night, I barely got any sleep in."
"You could've come to the estate."
"Yeah, and tell the guards what? 'Hi, I'm Hyuuga Neji's girlfriend, and I want to go in so that I can sleep with him?' Yes, Neji; that would've gone over smoothly." Neji shrugged, smirking a little as he took Sakura's hand quietly, squeezing it. Sakura smiled at him softly, before their tea was placed before them. "Thank you,"
"Of course, Sakura-san."
Neji sighed softly, sipping his drink, eyes closed before he opened them to see Sakura staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, blinking. "What is it?"
"Nothing; I just like looking at ya." Sakura said, sticking her tongue out before sipping her tea quietly, her eyes closed. Neji shook his head, looking out the window when he heard a sigh.
"What is it?" He asked, repeating the question from before except this one laced with worry and not curiousity. Sakura looked up at him, smiling a little and shrugging a shoulder, looking out the window.
"I'm worried about my mom; since my dad's passed away, she's been so distant…" She sighed, looking over at Neji with a small smile. "You remember how my dad died, right?"
Of course he remembered; how could he forget? It had only been about three weeks ago. He had found Sakura on the stone bench—the place Sasuke had left her—crying into her hands as the sakura blossoms gently floated down, creating a melancholy picture the Hyuuga was sure a painter would've loved to see. But he was not a painter; just a worried boyfriend, and he had gone to see what was wrong.
Her father had been sick; it seemed, with an incurable disease known as cancer. They had caught it too late in the stages of the cancer, and so he had been lost from the start. He had passed away quietly in his sleep after a dose of chemotherapy. Sakura had been on her shift that night, and had walked in to see him lying so still; it was then she learned he was dead. She had gotten the nurse that was in charge of him, and they had gone to get Tsunade while the pinkette had stayed with him, holding his head and holding back tears. When her mother had come in with Tsunade, the medic had gone to her mother, and hugged her tightly, gasping out dry sobs as her mother stared at her dead husband with wide eyes.
The funeral had been small, with only Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sakura's mother and Neji, along with a few others in Sakura's family that the girl didn't know personally. Sakura had then gone to spend the night at the Hyuuga Complex because Neji had said Hiashi had requested her to. Her mother had said she could go, and had gone home. The pinkette worried about her mother, though; she had been so silent for the past few weeks, just staring at the family's photo album. The ANBU medic hadn't heard from her mother in a few days, though.
"Why don't you go check on her if you're worried?"
"She hasn't been answering the door." She looked up at him, and sighed tiredly, closing her eyes. "It's like she's locked herself away."
Neji looked at his distressed girlfriend, before standing up and summoning the waitress. He paid her quietly as Sakura looked at him with an odd expression, before he smirked at her a little. "Come on; we're going to check on your mother."
Sakura knocked on the door thrice, listening to the quiet for a while as her hollow knocks echoed back to her. Neji stood behind her, looking at the door with confusion. "Neji, can you look through the door?"
"That's like trespassing."
"I give you permission; this is like my home, too!" She sighed, looking at him pleadingly. "Please Neji; I'm really worried about her."
Sighing, the Hyuuga nodded and activated his bloodline, looking through the door into the house. His face paled, though, and Sakura took that as a bad sign and knocked the door down, rushing into the house. She twisted through the hall into the kitchen, stopping dead in her tracks, her hands over her mouth at the sight in front of him.
"Momma…"
She closed the door behind her carefully, looking up at Neji with a weak smile. "She's on full life support, but Tsunade says they might be able to help her." She said quietly to his unasked question. He nodded, and reached out for her hand; instead she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. He blinked, wrapping his arms around her shoulders after a moment of hesitation, resting his chin on top of her head as she buried her face into his chest. "Neji I'm scared for her…She's never been like this before. When my grandma died she cried, but she moved on. She smiled after a while…"
"She lost her husband, though," Neji whispered quietly to her, his pale eyes closed. "That's always going to hurt more than loosing a mother or a father…Your spouse is as close as it gets; you share your entire life with them…" He pulled back a little, kissing the medic's broad forehead, looking at her quietly. "I hope she starts to get well, though."
Sakura nodded, taking in what the Hyuuga had said and thinking it over, before she slowly let go, taking his hand and squeezing it softly. The memory of seeing her mother lying against the kitchen counter, looking through the photo album with half glazed eyes, her mouth slightly opened, her hand resting still on the page; she could barely see the rise and fall of the older woman's chest. Tsunade had said she had overdosed on her medication that she had been taking, but it hadn't effected her too badly since most likely she grew frightened at the thought of death before she could get a deathly dosage. She did, though, get a good amount of the drug in the medication, and had been put into a slight comatose state; where she was half in and half out. The two had brought her to the hospital since they didn't know what else to do.
After a few silent moments standing quietly in the hall, Neji pulled on her hand, and the Haruno followed her boyfriend quietly down the hall and out of the Critical Conditions wing. They went down a flight of stairs into the recreation room to see Sasuke standing wobbly on his legs, hands gripping onto two metal bars on either side of him; a physiotherapist at the end of the track that he was on, goading him. Neji smiled, letting go of her hand as she looked at him curiously, before she walked over to the track, placing a hand on the physiotherapist's shoulder in greeting. She then turned to Sasuke, smiling at him as he smirked at her.
"Come walk to me and I'll buy you whatever you want to eat tonight; maybe I'll even get you a movie to watch in your room."
"Tempting; I'll take it." Sasuke said, smirking, before lifting one leg slowly, the leg shaking as he moved it in front of him, placing it down. He then shifted his grip on the bars, lifting his other leg and moving it so that it was slightly ahead of the first foot. This lasted for about ten minutes before Sasuke finally collapsed in front of Sakura, and the medic helped him to his feet.
"Don't overstress yourself for a movie, Sasuke." She said scolding, looking over at her fellow medic as the physiotherapist wheeled Sasuke's wheelchair over. Sakura helped the Uchiha into his seat, situating his feet and everything before standing up. "What food and what movie?"
"Any movie since you have a good sense of what I like; I would like something with tomatoes in it." Sakura laughed; she should've known he'd ask that. The dark haired boy just rolled his eyes, glancing back to see the Hyuuga standing there. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Pshaw, you wish." Sakura said, smiling at him. "Neji and I just came here to drop my mom off here…" Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at the girl with confusion and worry, and she smiled weakly. "My mom attempted suicide."
"Sakura…" The pinkette only shook her head, leaning forward and kissing his forehead softly.
"I'll bring that movie and dinner later when I come for my shift, alright?" She said, smiling at him a little. Sasuke nodded quietly, watching as she walked over to Neji, taking his hand quietly; the two of them walking out.
He then sighed, looking at his physiotherapist. "I want to go back to my room now."
"Of course, Uchiha-san."
Sakura was making a dinner for Sasuke when there was a knock at her door. "Come in!" She called out brightly, looking over towards the door as it opened to show Tsunade standing there with a frown. "Shishou!" She called happily, putting down her knife and walking over to her, wiping her hands on the front of her shirt. "What's up?"
"It's your mother," Tsunade said softly, lowering her head quietly. "She…Wasn't strong enough, Sakura…She didn't make it."
It rained the day Sakura's mother was buried, and Sakura didn't cry. Neji stood beside her with a hand on her shoulder, the Hyuuga family that was close to the Haruno behind her to the left; the Rokudaime and his family on her right behind her and Tsunade standing beside her with Neji, staring at the black casket as Naruto stepped up quietly to make his little seminar; something he'd been doing quite a bit as of late.
Sakura didn't even hear the blonde as he spoke; could barely see him as she stared at the casket, feeling Neji's hand on her shoulder. Sasuke hadn't been able to come because he had fallen into a fit of illness and the doctors were checking to see if he had come down with something from one of his visitors. He had wished to go, though, Naruto had told her before the funeral had started.
When Naruto stopped speaking, Sakura walked up quietly and kneeled in front of the casket, placing her hand on the black solidness of it, before resting her forehead on it, eyes closed. "And I'm the only one left…" She whispered; all the Harunos were dead, only Sakura's mother's side of the family lived, and they hadn't even come because her mother had killed herself; dishonourable in their eyes. She sighed quietly, standing back up and placing a white rose on the casket, turning from it and walking back over to Neji and Tsunade, allowing herself to be swallowed by Tsunade's comforting arms; the blonde her only mother now. Neji watched as other people walked up to place a rose, before he went up himself and placed a rose and a small letter attached to it. Sakura looked at it oddly, looking up at him and he smiled.
"A secret that we shared." He said simply, and Sakura nodded; she'd respect that. She took the Hyuuga's hand and watched as the funeral progressed, before slowly people left the grounds until it was only Sakura and Neji standing out in the rain.
Sakura then sighed, closing her eyes. "I sort of know how Sasuke feels now…Being the only one left in your family."
"Except Sasuke isn't alone; his remaining relative just happens to be the one that killed them all." He said softly, looking at her quietly. Sakura sighed, and nodded. "You want to come over to the Complex?"
"…Yeah."
They sat together quietly in Neji's room, Sakura staring out the window as the rain poured down, Neji staring at her worriedly. Finally, the Haruno turned to look at him, and smiled a little, and he seemed to be relieved by the motion, because he reached over and took her hand, and she squeezed it in return. Finally, Sakura leaned heavily against Neji, closing her eyes, and as soon as he wrapped his arms around her she started to cry; letting out all the tears and all the frustration and all the sadness that she had felt during that entire day and the past few days from when her mother died in the hospital, leaving her alone.
But the Haruno knew she wasn't alone; she had her surrogate family, too. There was Naruto and Sasuke, Ino and Tenten and Lee and the Rookie Nine and Gai's team. And then there was the Hyuugas; Hanabi, Hinami, Hinata, Hiashi, Maya…
And Neji…
She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist, hugging him tightly as she curled against him, eyes shut tight while tears leaked from the corners of them. Neji held her quietly, rubbing her back soothingly and trying his hardest to calm her.
"Why would she leave me?" She whispered quietly. "She said she loved me! Why would she leave me? Did she love Daddy more?" She looked up at him again, needing an answer; yearning for an answer.
"She loved you so much, Sakura…She told me so when I visited her one day." He said softly, pushing back some of her hair that had fallen astray. "She wanted to give you everything…" He then sighed, closing his eyes. "I think…She might've killed herself, because she thought that in her current condition…In her incurable depression, she thought she could give you nothing…That she wasn't capable of raising you anymore." He rocked Sakura back and forth quietly. "I'm making up excuses for her…But I truly believe that's what she was thinking…"
"So she left me alone…"
"She believes you can find your way. And you're not alone," he pulled back a little, cupping her cheek a little. "You have me, don't you?"
She looked up at him with wide eyes, tears staining her cheeks, before she smiled and nodded. She leaned into his hand, closing her eyes as his thumb brushed her tears away from her cheek. He then leaned down, pressing his lips softly against hers, and she leaned up, wrapping her arms around his neck.
She then pulled back, burying her face into the crook of his neck and sighing in content. "…Can I sleep in here tonight?" She whispered softly. "I don't want to be alone tonight…"
Neji held her for a moment, eyes closed in thought, before he nodded. "Alright."
"Thank you."
"Happy birthday, Sakura!"
March 28th found Haruno Sakura in a huge reception hall, looking around to see all of her friends, close and distant, standing around with smiles on their faces, holding packages or streamers; Hinata and Ino holding a large cake—most likely made by Maya—in the middle. Sakura looked at Neji who stood behind her grinning slightly, and she smiled brightly, clapping her hands together.
The Hyuuga had tricked her into coming to this big shebang by saying that he had a surprise for her. Everyone had been acting like they hadn't known it was Sakura's birthday that day, so the medic was a little down; a surprise had sounded nice.
When Neji had placed his hands over her eyes and told her to follow along with his walking, she had merely laughed, playing along with it. They had walked for a long time, and Sakura thought she heard Neji whisper things to people as they passed; but she wasn't too sure about it, so she didn't comment on it. When they had stopped, she thought they were in an eerie silence, and then he had removed his hands to the sight before her.
"I thought you guys had forgotten!" She said walking in after Neji pushed her forward a little. Ino rolled her eyes, Hinata and her putting the cake on a long table, before the blonde went over and hugged her best friend, leaning back and whapping her on the head.
"How could we have forgotten your birthday, stupid?" The Yamanaka said, smirking at her as she let go of her. "You're finally twenty! How's it feel? Do you feel old like I do?"
"Oh yes, Ino," Sakura said, rolling her eyes before she was attacked in a hug from the Rokudaime. She cried out, falling to the ground as Naruto hugged her tightly, and her eyes, if she were in some sort of anime, would have turned into X's by then.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" The exuberant blonde cried out happily, squeezing her. Sakura choked out something, and Naruto finally seemed to notice her lack of breathing. "Ack! Sorry!"
Sakura gasped, sitting up as Naruto let go of her and got off of her, her hand on her heaving chest, before she smiled. "Thanks Naruto; that's stronger than words." The blonde grinned cheekily, and Sakura rolled her eyes, before standing up with the help of Shikamaru, who gave her a brief one armed hug, before pulling back and nodding to her. "As verbal as ever."
"At least I do speak every once in a while; Shino's the mute one."
"Shino is not mute," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, before walking over to the Aburame, hugging him tightly before pulling back. "He's just a man of few words."
"Tanjobi-omedetou, Sakura-san." Shino said softly. Sakura smiled at him and nodded in thanks, before turning to look at the pile of presents from her friends.
"Holy, guys, you didn't have to get me anything."
"But if we didn't, Sakura-chan, we'd feel bad." Hinata said from beside a smiling Naruto. "You've given us so much over the years…"
"Sasuke's the biggest example, the teme." Naruto said, grinning and rolling his eyes. Sakura looked around then, looking for the Uchiha; her heart sank when she didn't see him. Did he not want to come to her birthday party?
Neji noticed her sudden slumped position, and walked up to her, leading her to the table. "Uchiha said he'd come later; he had something to do first." He said to her softly. Sakura looked at him, before she smiled weakly and nodded, letting the Hyuuga sit her down at the head of the table, before sitting himself.
A few servers came out from what Sakura supposed was the kitchen area with trays of food, setting it on the table around the cake, and she smiled brightly again. Everyone watched her for a moment, before she picked up her chopsticks and broke them.
"Itadakimasu!"
A full hour into the party, and they were into cake and presents. Sakura had Naruto's present in her lap at the moment and was carefully undoing the ribbon when the door opened. She blinked, turning slowly and saw something she had never thought she'd see in her life; at least, not for a while.
Sasuke stood in the doorway, holding a small parcel under his arm, his other hand shoved into the pocket of his pants. He wore a dark t-shirt like he had when he was younger, and he wore a pair of pale pants with sandals on his feet. He had a lazy look in his dark eyes, but he had a small smirk on his lips, and Sakura turned around fully, standing up and taking a step towards him. He held up a hand, though, and indicated to her seat.
Confused, she sat back down, still looking at him with her mouth slightly agape, her eyes wide with surprise as he started to walk towards her. Each step was steady with confidence; unlike a month ago when he was still struggling slightly with his steps. But Uchiha Sasuke had always been a quick learner and equally as quick to recover.
He stopped in front of her, and kneeled in front of her, placing his present in her lap before he smiled. "Happy birthday, Sakura," he said softly, placing his hands on her knees. Sakura looked at him with wide eyes, before they suddenly filled with tears and she leaned forward, hugging his head. The Uchiha leaned up to hug her properly, and she cried into his shoulder; a broad smile on her lips.
"This had got to be the best present I've ever received…" She whispered quietly; everyone smiled fondly, before Naruto stood up.
"Mine will be better!"
And everyone laughed, Sasuke smirking as he was once again accepted into society with his friends.
Neji was walking beside Sasuke, who's hands were in his pockets as they walked back to the hospital; the Uchiha still had some things to do before he was allowed to get out of the hospital, so he'd be living there for a little longer. "So you're fully recovered?"
"Pretty much," Sasuke replied to Neji's quiet question, dark eyes flicking over to the pale eyed Hyuuga. "Sakura helped me a lot when I was in my physiotherapy, and she's the one who helped me regain feeling in my legs in the first place."
"Mm," Neji nodded in understanding, pausing in front of the hospital. Sasuke stopped quietly, standing beside the Hyuuga awkwardly; Neji was about an inch taller than him, and his shoulders were broader than his own; the Uchiha felt almost swallowed by the Hyuuga's presence. "Sakura seemed happy today,"
"She did," Sasuke said, looking at him. "I've never seen her smile so much, but that's because I rejected her."
"Hai," Neji looked at him with a slight frown then. "You were so concentrated on power then."
"Hn," Sasuke looked away, before he sighed and looked at him. "Hyuuga, you want to say something."
"I do," Neji said, looking towards him. "Sakura holds you like an older brother, Sasuke; even if she is a little older than you, you're her older brother all in all." Sasuke nodded in understanding watching him. "She cares about what you think."
"I know,"
"I want to know if I can marry her." Sasuke's eyes widened at the sudden question, looking at Neji's completely serious face, before he turned his head away in thought.
"Would you ever hurt her?"
"Not intentionally; I'll never leave her, if that's what you mean." Sasuke winced at the purposeful jab at the 'leaving her', before he nodded. "So?"
"…If she ever cries, and you're the cause of it, Hyuuga…"
"You have my permission to kill me." Sasuke looked at him, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu with this scene from a scene with Sakura not-so-long-ago, before he sighed and looked at him with an uncaring look; Neji took that to be his neutral look.
"Alright; but treat her right. She's strong, but she's still fragile."
"I know that," Neji said, nodding to him. Sasuke then smirked at him.
"Have fun asking Naruto,"
"The Rokudaime already said yes." Neji said with a smirk. Sasuke's eyes widened as Neji disappeared in a plum of smoke, before he laughed softly, turning and walking into the hospital.
Late into the month of May, Sakura was found in the hospital healing a man who was bleeding heavily in the chest. Sweat beaded down her forehead as her green eyes, determined to heal this man, reflected the face of pain below her; painted triangles on familiar cheeks, brown hair crusted with blood.
"Kiba-kun," she muttered quietly. "Next time you go into a battlefield THINK; it's Naruto's job to thoughtlessly jump into battle!" She was scolding him, and the Inuzuka of course heard her as she did so; but that didn't stop him from groaning in pain. She sighed swiping some sweat from her brow, before she went back to healing him.
Another two hours, and Sakura was found walking out of a hospital room with a quietly sleeping Kiba inside, a whimpering Akamaru by his bedside. She sighed, looking at her bloodied hands and winced; no wonder her shishou was terrified of blood.
She walked down the hall quietly to the nurses' station where a sink would be located, before she looked up to see an ANBU leaning against the wall, a bird's mask looking at her. She smiled at him, holding up her hands, and the ANBU removed his mask to show pale eyes looking at her in concern. "Whose blood is that?"
"Kiba-kun's." She said, walking down the hall with the Hyuuga walking next to her. "He came back from a mission just now all bloodied up; Hinata was really worried." Neji nodded, frowning a little as she walked into the nurses' station to wash her hands. He stood outside, seeing as he wasn't allowed in there. One of the nurses smiled at him brightly, and he nodded, before looking up to see Sakura walk out again, smiling. "My shift's over; but you knew that."
"Mm," he nodded, looking at her. "Naruto wants to see us."
"Of course; I suppose this has to do with a mission?"
"…Sort of." Sakura nodded, not noticing that Neji seemed to be acting slightly strangely, before they both teleported out of the hospital to the Hokage Tower.
Naruto stood behind his desk, looking at the two ANBU before him, before he sighed heavily, and closed his eyes. "Uchiha Itachi and the rest of Akatsuki have been spotted again. We're sending out three squads…" He paused. "And there's only room for one more person."
Both widened their eyes, looking at each other, before looking back at Naruto. "Sakura, I need you to stay behind."
"What?"
"Hinata is pregnant, Sakura, and you said she has a high chance of a premature birth." He said, frowning. "I want you around since you're her doctor. I want Neji to go because of his skills; we're looking for their new hideout, and so we'll need the Byakugen."
Sakura frowned, looking down at the ground, closing her eyes tightly, before she nodded, and looked up at him. "Can I talk to my Captain for a moment?" Naruto nodded, disappearing from the room in a puff of smoke, before Sakura sighed, looking up at Neji with a frown. "You knew already,"
"Mm," Neji looked down, a slight frown on his lips. "Naruto thinks it's going to be for around a year, at least."
"A year?!"
"We want to collect all the information we can." He said, looking up at her, before lifting a hand, fingertips on her cheek. "Which is why I need to give you something."
"What?" She asked, closing her eyes as she leaned into his warmth. He suddenly kneeled, and her eyes widened as he took something form his pocket, before taking her left hand. He opened the box, taking whatever inside out, before slipping a ring on her third finger. "Neji…?"
"It's a promise ring," Neji said, standing up and holding her hand between them; the band was white gold, the gem inside a pale pink. Sakura looked at it with wide eyes, before looking up at him. He smiled softly, kissing her knuckles. "It's a promise that we'll get married when I get back…If you'll have me."
Her eyes widened, before she smiled a little, nodding and wrapping her arms around him.
"Of course I will."
Sakura sat in the café with Temari (who was visiting), Tenten and Ino, all of whom were talking excitedly about something or another while the Haruno was in deep thought. Finally, Temari seemed to notice she wasn't participating in the conversation (whose boyfriend was more weird?) and decided to try and cheer the pinkette up.
"What's up, hun?" The Suna ninja asked, smirking at her lazily, cheek resting on her fisted hand. "You're so quiet."
"Neji's on a mission for a year." She said, frowning a little. Temari nodded in understanding, since her own boyfriend was in that same mission, before she poked her cheek, and green eyes looked up into Temari's own darker green eyes.
"Why's that bugging you so badly?"
"We're going to get engaged when he gets back." She said, holding up her hand to show her promise ring. "I feel…Like something really important was ripped away from me."
Temari's eyes widened and she yanked the medic's hand closer to her eyes, before shoving it in the middle. "HYUUGA AND HARUNO ARE GETTING MARRIED." She said very pointedly as the other two girls looked at the promise ring. It was then that Ino cried out 'FINALLY!' Tenten squealed and finally Temari wrapped her arms around Sakura in a hug. Sakura laughed, pushing them off, before smiling a little.
"It's only a promise ring; he says it's to promise me we will get married when he gets back; we need to get engaged first."
"Of course," Tenten said, smiling. "But that's still exciting. Does Hyuuga-san know yet?"
Sakura smiled and nodded; the day Neji had given her the ring the two had gone to the Hyuuga Complex and had asked for Hiashi's blessing. The man had just muttered a 'finally' before he agreed and welcomed Sakura properly into the family. She sighed then, looking back into her cup of coffee as she thought about Neji, and Ino frowned a little at her sad persona.
"Wanna know what'd cheer you right up, babe?" Ino asked. Sakura looked up at her, blinking and cocking her head to the side. "If we go see a movie, of course!"
"YEAH!" The other girls agreed, and Sakura smiled.
"Alright."
The four girls walked out of the movie laughing, some of them wiping tears from their eyes since they had just seen a sappy 'chick-flick' as men so lovingly called them. Temari was the only one with a dry face, but that's because she wiped away any trace of tears before they had left. Ino was saying something cheeky when an ANBU appeared in front of them, crouched in the normal way they would address the Hokage. Sakura blinked as the ANBU stood up, and walked in front of her, staring down at her with his black slit eyes. "What is it?" She asked simply.
"Hinata-san is feeling unwell."
"It's only been five months…" She mumbled, but nodded to the ANBU. She waved to her friends as the ANBU placed a hand on her shoulder before the two of them teleported away from the other three girls.
They teleported to a bedroom, with Hinata on the bed, eyes squeezed tightly shut as she panted; a nervous looking Naruto beside her. Sakura removed herself from beside the ANBU and marched calmly over to the panting Hyuuga Heiress, looking at her before summoning chakra to her left hand. She placed it over her slightly bulging stomach, closing her eyes, before they snapped opened again.
"This is odd…" She mumbled softly; Naruto looked at her in alarm as she removed her hand from Hinata's stomach, crossing her arms.
"What is?" Naruto asked quietly. Sakura looked up at him, before she sighed, pushing back her short pink locks before closing her eyes, summoning up an impromptu explanation.
"It seems that the baby has two different chakras feeding it energy; Hinata's own chakra and the chakra it gained from the Kyuubi." Hinata and the Rokudaime stiffened, looking at her as she opened her eyes, looking at them with a frown. "Because of the two chakras, the baby's developed faster than most fetuses ever will, and so it's trying to come out now; this is why I said you had a high chance of a premature birth."
Hinata looked at her with confused eyes. "So…?" She asked; her voice breathy, almost pained.
"…You're going through labour." Sakura stated simply, before pushing back her sleeves. "And we're having a home delivery. Naruto! Go get me hot water and a cloth; you! ANBU! I need you to stay when I need something quick." She then walked over to Hinata, smiling at her and helping her position herself on her bed properly, asking all males to look away as they changed the poor woman.
Once Hinata was situated on the bed, the pillows holding her head, neck and shoulders up, Sakura had gotten a bandana from the ANBU and pulled her hair back, getting a chair to sit on for the birth. Hinata's water had broken when they were changing her into easier clothes to give birth in, so Sakura was just waiting for the actual birth to start, which would start in about fifteen minutes.
"Just think, Hinata; once your baby is born, you won't have to worry about cravings and not seeing your feet…You'll just get no sleep." The pinkette said brightly, smiling. Hinata laughed weakly, which turned to a pathetic mewl before she squeezed her eyes tightly. "Push when you feel a contraction."
"Okay."
An hour and a half of painful labour brought the satisfying cries of a young baby girl as Sakura held the bloody bundle carefully, going over to the warm water that Naruto had prepared for her earlier, dipping the cloth in and wiping the blood away, snipping off the umbilical cord with a pair of clippers she got the ANBU to retrieve for her. The babe had dark strands of hair on her partially bald head, and her face was a bright red from her crying; but if she were calm it would be a pale colour like her mother's. Once she had calmed down, her eyes opened for the first time as Sakura showed her to her parents, and the two smiled as they saw bright blue orbs looking at them in curiousity.
"I think baby's hungry," she said simply as the baby sucked in a deep breath, her little chest rising before she let out a wail. Naruto winced and Hinata laughed softly, sitting up and with the help of Sakura, who hid her from view of the males in the room, they situated new mother and daughter so that the baby was happily feeding herself.
Sakura then sighed, wiping sweat off her broad forehead and smiled at them happily. "Congratulations," she said simply before sighing, untying the bandana. "I need to file in this birth and put it in the hospital medical files. First I want to check the baby while she's calm. Hinata my hand's going to be kind of close your boob."
"We're both women; it's not like the part's new." Hinata said, smiling tiredly. Sakura nodded, walking to her side and with a chakra covered left hand, placed her calm gently on the baby girl's back, closing her eyes as she swept her chakra through her tiny body before she smiled. "She's healthy; the Kyuubi's chakra barely affected her, too, which is a good thing." She nodded before sighing tiredly. "Now you two get some rest…Especially Hinata. She did the work."
The three laughed, the ANBU silent behind them, before Sakura and the ANBU disappeared in a teleportation jutsu, leaving the new family alone together.
Neji sighed as he leaned his back against the harsh trunk of the tree he was in, his feet firmly planted on the thick branch as he looked up at the night sky; the moon shining bright down on him. His pale eyes looked up freely from the confinements of his ANBU mask, the bird mask hanging loose around his neck; his hair freed from its usual ponytail as he relaxed on the tree branch. It had been a few weeks since he had been sent on this year long mission, and he knew he'd miss Sakura immensely.
He had gotten a letter a few days ago from the pinkette medic explaining Hinata's labour and the birth of Uzumaki Sakuko, the young girl that Hinata had gone through an hour of pain to give birth to. He had been happy for his cousin, glad that the birth had been safe and nothing had gone wrong; but his Sakura was the one delivering, so how could anything go wrong?
Probably a lot of things truthfully, because birth was never an easy thing; not on the mother nor the doctor, but still, Neji liked to think Sakura was the best medic of Konoha just after Tsunade.
The blonde woman would then tell him she was the best, because she had long ago surpassed her. Neji wouldn't doubt it either, but still, that wasn't the point at the moment.
He sighed as he listened to a few of his fellow ANBU joking around together; Shikamaru was talking to Lee about something, and the exuberant bowl-cut bushy eyebrow ninja was making a big deal out of it; injecting the words 'youth' 'flower' and 'eternal' every two or three words. How any of them could understand him was a mystery…But there was a theory that Neji had a secret decoder implanted into everyone's heads in their sleep. Though Neji didn't know where the hell that rumour came from.
Finally, he heard his name, and looked down to see Shino to see the usually silent ANBU looking up at him through his dark sunglasses, a slight frown on his lips. "What is it, Aburame?"
"Just wondering if you sense anyone near by that we'll need to watch." He asked as he walked up the trunk of the tree to Neji's branch. Neji looked at him before he shook his head, looking out at the foliage where he knew the Akatsuki were supposedly residing. "Nothing at all?"
"Nothing," Neji confirmed, looking at him again before he smiled a little. "Relax a bit, Shino," he said calmly. "Nothing's going to happen for the first few weeks."
"Of course."
Sakura gently bounced the wide eyed babe in her lap, holding Sakuko's body carefully in her delicate hands as she smiled and listened to Hinata who was making hot chocolate. The dark haired girl looked around curiously, looking at her Auntie Sakura with wide blue eyes, causing Sakura to scrunch up her nose and smile at her brightly. The little month old child squealed in delight as the medic gently tickled her sides, before looking up at Hinata as she placed the mug in front of her. "Thanks,"
"Mm," Hinata smiled, sitting down and pushing back her dark hair, sipping her drink as she watched Sakura situate Sakuko so that she was sitting on her lap securely and out-of-the-way, reaching over and grabbing her hot chocolate, sipping it quietly. "Thanks for coming over; I needed company."
"Completely understandable; Naruto's been busy lately so he needs to go to work, leaving you with baby." She smiled as Sakuko cooed at being mentioned, before she looked at Hinata again. "I need the company as well; since Neji's gone, all I have to do is go to the hospital, do tiny missions like bodyguard, and then go home and realize just how alone I am." She frowned, sighing tiredly, before smiling at her. "We both win this way."
"It's been around a month and a half now, right?" Hinata asked, looking at her. Sakura sighed, nodding a little as she put down her mug and shifted Sakuko in her lap, tickling her tummy as the baby giggled. The Uzumaki smiled softly at the pinkette's tenderness towards the child. She would make a wonderful mother when the time came. She then stood, taking the fussing baby from Sakura and soothed her, situating herself and Sakuko so that she could breast feed her. Sakura smiled; looking away to respect she before looking back once Hinata gave the okay.
"It's been around there, yeah; I got a letter from him the other day. Haven't opened it yet." Hinata looked at her with a raised eyebrow, shaking her head a little. "What?"
"Get to that." Sakura smiled.
"Alright."
She closed her apartment door later that day near early evening, slipping out of her sandals before hanging up her coat; the spring chill was around now, so a light coat was needed. She walked over to the coffee table after smoothing out her hair and removing her headband, picking up the carefully folded letter; she could tell just from the creasing it was Neji's careful hands that did this. She smiled a little, sitting down on her couch and curling up on it, carefully unfolding the bends and folded until she smoothed the letter on the coffee table, looking at the neat calligraphy, before holding it up, reading it silently.
Her lips slowly curved up in a smile, her eyes warm as she read the words, before she closed her eyes and hugged the letter to her chest.
'I miss you too…'
"Captain!"
Neji looked down at Shikamaru and Shino, before he slipped down the tree branch, standing in front of them stiffly. "I've already seen them." He said simply, walking away from them as he pulled his sword from his back slowly, holding it in front of him carefully. "They are minions of Akatsuki; don't expect too much of a challenge. These are the guys they usually kill to make their clones from."
The other nodded, taking out shuriken or kunai as they prepared themselves for the onslaught.
They came suddenly, surrounding the small group but the Konoha ANBU held their own. Neji sliced through many of them with his sword, his blade swiping through flesh and tearing through nerves and muscle, blood spilling onto the steel. He could hear the cries of pain from both parties before he sheathed his sword, and got into position. His comrades noticed it right away, and all of them jumped back, seemingly disappearing from the area. The minions looked around, before a large green diagram below their feet caught their sight, and their eyes widened.
"See you in hell," Neji said with a smirk, before all they could see was darkness.
As the last body fell limply to the ground, Neji walked over to one terrified young man whom he had spared, jerking his head to the side. The man stopped moving as two ANBU came up and restrained him while he was in the chokehold of Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu. After he was restrained, Shikamaru let go of the jutsu, and Neji kneeled in front of the male, looking at him calmly through the mask. He wore upon his face hiding his identity.
"Your name."
"Eat me."
There was a resounding smack and the other ANBU jumped as they saw Neji backhand their captive. "Let me ask this again," Neji stated calmly; though there was an edge now that sent shivers down everyone's spines. "Your name."
"…Yokohana Yuuta…" He whispered, looking at Neji with careful eyes. Neji nodded, placing an arm over his knee as he kneeled comfortably.
"You're association with Akatsuki."
"I'm one of the underlings; we fight when they think the enemy is just a waste of their time." Neji nodded again, looking over to the side before looking towards Yuuta again.
"Do you know any valuable information on Akatsuki?"
"None; they don't trust the underdogs." Yuuta glared at him angrily. "Can I go?"
"…Sorry," Neji muttered, before he pressed a point in his temple and Yokohana Yuuta slumped against the tree dead. "But you hold information on us." He then looked at his team, frowning as he stood up.
"Pick up the bodies, dispose of them; we can't sleep around the smell of dead, can we?"
"Hai,"
Sakura looked over the charts of the sleeping patient, smiling softly as she smoothed out the small girl's blankets before she put the clipboard down and went about her daily business. She looked at the calendar that the little girl's mother had brought her a week ago, and smiled a little.
Another month had passed by smoothly, and Neji sent word to her that they had found barely anything; this was classified information that she had to keep to herself, of course. But their lack of information was driving the entire team mad; there were men and women who wanted to see their loved ones or spouses, mothers or fathers longing to hold their children again in their arms. Neji himself confessed that he missed seeing her smiling face that brightened his day.
She sighed softly as she walked out of the room, down the halls of the children hall before she walked to the elevator, pressing the button. The door opened immediately and she went in, pressing the ground floor before the doors slid closed and she had that lifting feeling that everyone got in elevators before she started to go down. She leaned against the wall as she sighed softly, eyes closed as she thought of her life so far.
It hadn't been too exciting. Chouji and Ino had gotten engaged before Chouji was sent to Mizugakure for some sort of alliance treaty they'd be signing that month. Other than that, nothing had really changed. Hiashi had started to request Sakura's presence at the Complex so that she would learn some of the customs in the Hyuuga Clan that she would need to have a concept before she entered the family. Like the amount of family gatherings they had. She'd be the first outsider to join the Hyuuga Clan, and she'd stick out like a sore thumb because of her bright pink hair and sharp green eyes.
He had also just wanted to get to know the young woman he would be calling 'daughter-in-law' soon enough because Neji was like the son he had never had the chance to have. It was pleasant spending time with Hiashi, though; she had gotten used to calling him 'Uncle' the past couple months, and she considered him and the rest of the Hyuugas part of her family since she didn't have anyone left. They accepted her easily enough, of course, and she seemed to spend many nights in the Hyuuga Complex; she stole Neji's room whenever she slept there, and had memorized the room by then.
The elevator opened, and she walked out, waving to nurses and other medics as she bid them goodnight before stepping out into the cold night. She smiled, letting her head fall back as she let the cool breeze brush past her; it was pleasant because that chill from before was already disappearing. Now that summer was approaching and school was almost at an end, graduations soon, the weather had begun to change with the season and it was usually unbearably hot outside.
To pass the time, Sakura had trained with Sasuke, Sai and Kakashi on many occasions, showing the Uchiha how much she had grown over the years, beating Sai to the ground whenever he pissed her off, and learning new ninjutsu and perfecting them with the help of Kakashi.
As she walked down the moonlit sky, Sakura sighed softly, wondering how Neji was doing. Was he safe? Did they find out anything new yet?
She blinked as a shooting star rushed by, before smiling and closing her eyes. 'Bring him back safe to me.'
The rest of the year had gone by as smoothly as one can go. Sakura has sent Neji a small gift at Christmas and received one from him a few days later; she had also sent him something for New Years and had received a return. She had gotten a necklace and a bracelet that she wore everywhere now unless she was on missions. She guessed he must've been holding onto them, or they had been near a village where he could buy her something quickly before they resumed their hunt down of Akatsuki.
Nothing had been found on this mission, and plenty of girlfriends, boyfriends and spouses declared it useless; though Naruto handled it carefully and told them all that it was needed because they at least knew where Akatsuki was located.
Sakuko had turned a year old a few days before Neji returned home, and Hinata was upset that her cousin couldn't be at the celebration. Though a note had appeared later that evening after the party wishing his niece a happy birthday; Hinata had been content with that.
Now it was the day of their return, and Sakura was among the many waiting at the gates for the one they had been separated from for a year. There was a guard on duty watching the edge of the forest for the small crowd, and as soon as he spotted them, he shouted down, 'Here they come!' and a loud crowd cheered.
Sakura hopped onto the wall of the village, looking down at the group coming towards them; many of the men in need of haircuts and shaves, the women clearly wanting to have a proper bath for the first time in a year. In front of them all was a straight, proud back and determined, but tired pale eyes and a wide grin spread across Sakura's face.
As soon as the team came close enough to them, Sakura jumped down from the wall and ran to Neji, throwing her arms around him and holding onto him tightly as she felt those familiar, missed strong arms wrap around her and hold her tightly, kissing her forehead. "I missed you…" She whispered softly, eyes closed tightly as she smiled.
"Aishiteru…"
That night, Sakura was laying down with Neji on his bed, head and hand resting on his chest over his heart, her eyes closed as she took in the warmth of the Hyuuga Prodigy. His arm was wrapped securely wrapped around her, trailing small circles on his back as they lay together, him looking at the ceiling and her looking at the wall opposite of her.
Finally, after an hour, Neji sat up and took Sakura's left hand, looking at the promise ring she still wore fatefully. He smiled at her, playing around with the ring, before looking up at her. "When I get my pay for this mission…We'll go look for an engagement ring." He said softly, kissing her knuckles quietly. "How's that sound?"
"Perfect," Sakura said, smiling at him before gripping his hand tightly. "But right now I think I want to sleep."
"Should I get a maid to prepare a room for you?"
Sakura smiled, shaking her head. "Nope. I've been sleeping in here a lot for the past year; anywhere else would feel wrong."
Neji smiled, and nodded, pulling the covers over them and laying them down, holding her close to his chest before he turned off his lamp and they fell into darkness.
Two days later, one could find Hyuuga Neji and Haruno Sakura in a jewelry store, Sakura looking at the engagement rings with wide, interested eyes; bent over to see them in their casing. Neji stood beside her, watching her look through the selections, carefully seeing which ring made her eyes light up before she noticed the price and looked away; she was always so conscious of the price of things.
He placed a hand on the small of her back, and she looked up at him, raising an eyebrow before he smiled and pointed out to a ring that had made a smile briefly appear on her lips before she had looked away. "How about that one?"
Her eyes widened, looking at the one he was pointing to with her mouth slightly dropped open. "Neji! That one's so expensive…"
"Do you like it?"
"Well…Yeah…"
"Alright," Neji ignored her as he turned to the clerk, pointing to the ring. The clerk happily smiled, taking the ring out and holding it out for them to see. "You'll need to get it fitted to her ring finger, right?"
"Of course, sir," the woman said, smiling at him kindly. She then turned to Sakura, motioning for her to follow her. "We'll take your measurements in the back."
"Uhh…Kay…"
Neji watched as she followed the woman to the back, and smirked, leaning against the glass counter carefully as he waited for them.
The ring that he had picked out was made of white gold, and had a slight curve pattern that surrounded a single diamond in the middle; little diamond dust and tiny diamonds surrounding the slightly bigger stone in the middle decoratively. It looked kind of Celtic, which Neji knew Sakura loved, and so he thought the ring fit her well.
Sakura came back after a while, and walked up to Neji, smiling at him brightly as he took out a credit card and rang it through the slid, pressing in his code before selecting the things he needed to do and paid the price; he wouldn't let Sakura see the total price because he didn't want her to feel bad. The clerk smiled at him kindly, telling him that her ring would be ready in three days, and he nodded, thanking her before they left.
"You didn't have to buy me that ring." Sakura stated as they left the store, walking down the street hand in hand. Neji looked at her, smirking before he shrugged.
"I wanted to."
"Whooo-whee he loves you!" Ino exclaimed as she looked at Sakura's engagement ring, which the pinkette was showing off to her friends. Tenten looked appreciatively at the ring, smiling and nodding while Temari inspected it carefully, announcing the diamond was from Suna ground. "It must be great marrying into such a rich family!"
"They're really nice to me; they treat me like one of their own." Sakura said, smiling. "I don't care that they're rich."
"But you must admit, it does have its benefits. The ring is proof of that." Sakura snickered, but nodded in agreement to her blonde haired friend. Finally, she looked over at Hinata who smiled at her, holding Sakuko carefully in her arms.
"Lemme see baby," Sakura said, reaching over and Hinata gently passed the year old into her auntie's arms, watching as Sakura lifted her as if going to toss her before she steadied her and pulled her against her chest. "Such a sweetie…You guys planning on having a second any time soon?"
Hinata blushed, looking down at her lap before she smiled a little. "Uhm…Actually…I'm three weeks in." Hinata said, looking up with a slight smile. "We just found out yesterday."
"Yaay! Another little Uzumaki kid! Okay, let's hope this one's a boy, with blonde hair and the Hyuuga eyes." Ino said, smiling at her. "Sakuko is adorable, but she needs a brother." Sakura laughed with Hinata and Temari, Tenten shaking her head at the girl. Ino shrugged a little, grinning. "What? It's true." She then looked over at Sakura, smirking evilly. "So when are you guys getting hitched?"
"Neji wants to have a summer wedding, so soon." She said, smiling. "Probably…After his birthday."
"So, wait a second. You're 21 now…Neji's turning 22 right?"
"Yeah." Sakura said, smiling. "A year did pass; he sadly missed my birthday." She shrugged a little. "Happens in our profession."
"Mm," Temari agreed, eyes closed. "Shikamaru has missed a lot of mine. And I know he doesn't do it purposefully, since Shikamaru doesn't avoid me anymore." She sighed tiredly. "He always makes up for it, though."
"Neji did, too." Sakura said, smiling before she sighed. "So the wedding it probably going to be in August."
"That's in three months!" Tenten exclaimed, eyes wide. "Girl, have you been preparing?"
"Well…We've got Maya cooking and baking us a cake…"
"We need to find your DRESS!" Sakura eyes widened as all the girls said this, even Hinata, before she shrank away slightly frightened.
"Don't hurt me…"
After being dragged for about three weeks straight to five different wedding dress shops, Sakura finally got to decide on a dress that she liked, and the others agreed with it.
She looked at herself in the shop's full length runway mirror, looking at herself at all angles as the clerk placed a shirt veil on, a small tiara resting on top of her head. She placed a hand on the tiara smiling a little as she looked at herself; wiggling in her bare feet.
"Do you want shoes?"
"Sure," Sakura smiled and nodded to the clerk, before looking back at herself, running her hands over the cloth as her friends cooed at her.
The dress was a floor length, with a meter long train. It was a strapless gown, diamond white like Hinata's had been. There were three strands of beads across her torso, and the waist was tapered in such a way that it made it look like she had the perfect hourglass figure. On the side of the dress, there are diamond buttons, which keep the dress together. It was a simple thing, made out of smooth silk—imported from Mizugakure—and it was soft to the touch, pleasant on her skin.
The clerk returned with a pair of one inch slip on sandals, white, and she slipped them on carefully, rising up so that she was slightly taller. The clerk went up onto the podium with her, bending down. "We'll need to hem the dress a little; I think you might be a petite. Other than that, the bust and waist fit you perfectly." She smiled at her. "Are you happy with it?"
"Mm," Sakura placed a hand on the tiara again; silver flowers with diamonds in the middle, slightly crooked in the lining. It rested comfortably on her head, though; and the veil fell to her shoulders with no blush veil in front; Sakura knew Neji wouldn't want her to have that sort of veil.
"Well, girls?" Sakura asked, turning to look at them, posing. "How do I look?"
"Like a girl!" Ino exclaimed. She ducked, avoiding a flying shoe and all the girls laughed, even the clerk even though Sakura apologized for throwing the shoe.
"You look wonderful, Sakura."
"Neji's going to drop dead when he sees you."
"…I don't want to be widowed!"
Weddings, top ANBU Captain, Hyuuga Prodigy, master of the Byakugen Hyuuga Neji decided, were troublesome. And yes, he had stolen Shikamaru's word, but it was the only thing that would describe weddings to the fullest.
He didn't understand why Sakura had to pour over prices, decorations and such when the Hyuuga Clan had volunteered to do it for them. The stubborn Haruno has said that she wanted to design her own wedding in her way and so Neji let her have her way. But he didn't see the point; photographers, a priest…Everything was so weird.
One night, though, he found Sakura sleeping on the couch of her apartment when he came to check up on her, and decided that she needed a break. He handed the task over to Temari, Tenten, Hinata and Ino.
Of course, when Sakura found out, she first flipped out, before she had thanked her fiancée for saving her sanity, and Neji took it forever as a debt of gratitude.
The day was warm—hot actually—and the sun shone brightly down on them. And Sakura was freaking out in the changing room.
The couple had decided on an outdoors wedding, because it would be so warm out in August. Ino and the girls had set up an archway for them to get married under so they had some shading, and the guests would be sitting on fold-out chairs on the lawn; there would be a white carpet marked as the aisle that Sakura would walk down with Hyuuga Hiashi representing her father.
The colours of the wedding were pink and green; pink for Sakura's hair and green for Neji's juin mark. It suited the couple well enough, and Sakura had been happy with the flower selections, table centerpieces and bouquets that her best friends had gotten her. In fact, she held her bouquet now as Ino fixed up her hair so that it looked nice. There wasn't much to do with short hair, but somehow the blonde had managed to pull off a distinctive look for the girl.
"Wedding starts in five minutes," Ino reminded, patting the girl's shoulder comfortingly. "You excited?"
"Kind of scared," Sakura admitted, smiling a little. "Thanks for being here with me, Ino."
"Anytime girl; you'll be there when I marry Chouji, right?"
"Well duh!" Sakura laughed and Ino smirked, rubbing her shoulder before she left to go check on how things were progressing. Sighing, the woman stood up, looking at herself in the mirror, before smiling a little.
"Hyuuga Sakura…I like the sound of that."
There was a knock on the door, and she jumped, looking towards it before she sighed. "Yes?"
Hiashi peeked into the room, looking at her curiously before his eyes widened and he opened the door fully stepping in and smiling. "You look beautiful, Sakura."
"Thank you, Uncle." Sakura said, smiling happily to the Clan head. "Is it time for the procession to start?"
"Mm," Hiashi nodded, offering his arm and Sakura smiled, taking it and walking out of the room with him confidently, going to the back of the wedding procession.
The music started, and the line started to walk outside, Sakura following slowly as she took in deep, calming breaths before walking outside into the bright sun; almost immediately blinded. She looked up as the guests—her friends and family—all stood up on either side of the aisle, smiling as they saw Sakura walking down. Sakura smiled brightly at them all, before she looked up to see Neji standing next to Tsunade, who would be performing Sakura's wedding as well.
Hiashi stopped at the end, and bent down, kissing her temple softly. "Welcome to the family, Sakura," he said softly. Sakura smiled at him, and Neji took his place, the two of them walking up to Tsunade who smiled at them.
"You look beautiful," Neji whispered to her. Sakura smiled.
"And you're looking handsome."
The reception was formal, but everyone acted informal as they laughed and joked, dancing to the songs that were being played. Sakura had just twirled out of a dance with Lee, and was caught in Sasuke's arms when he stopped them, pulling her away from everyone else. Sakura blinked in confusion, walking with him as Neji watched her carefully.
I'll be right back she mouthed and he nodded, turning back to see Hinata smiling at him, asking for a dance.
Once the two of them were out of earshot, near a garden of white roses, Sasuke stopped, and turned, looking at her quietly. "You look beautiful Sakura."
Sakura smiled softly, squeezing his hand. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She said, looking at him curiously. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"….Yeah," Sasuke looked to the side, before he stepped up, kissing her forehead quietly. Sakura's eyes widened as the much taller Uchiha pressed his lips on her broad forehead before he stepped back, smiling softly. "I've always loved you."
"Sasuke-kun…" He placed his hand on her lips and she blinked.
"Let me finish." He said softly. She nodded, and he removed his hand. "I've always loved you, Sakura; even though I didn't act it, I always loved you. I knew you'd be there for me when I needed someone to fall back on. But when…When Neji asked for my permission to marry you…When the two of you even started dating…I felt like something was being stolen from me."
He laughed a little bitterly; something familiar to Sakura's ears from the boy. "It was childish of me…But I just thought I should tell you that I've always loved you, and I think I always will; now you'll just be my little/big sister." He looked at her quietly.
Sakura looked at him, before she grinned and nodded, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you."
That night, Sakura was carried into the room of Neji and her new house that the Hyuuga Clan had given them next to the Main Branch household. She was set on her feet carefully, and she flicked on the light switch, looking around the room before he eyes landed on a large bed in the middle. She squealed in delight, rushing over to it and flopping on top of it, snuggling into the warmth of the bed. "It's so soft! Way better than mine at the apartment."
"We'll be getting your things moved out tomorrow, right?" Neji asked, closing the door quietly and loosening his tie and hair, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. Sakura nodded, watching him quietly, and he looked at her. "What?"
"Nothing; I just like looking at ya. Is that alright?" She grinned and he smirked, shaking his head before he walked over to her, sitting on the bed, and tracing her cheek with the tips of his fingers. She closed her eyes, leaning against his touch, and he leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips. Sakura pressed back, eyes closed before they both pulled back and smiled.
It unnerved her.
It unnerved her how easily he could read her; know exactly what she was thinking like she was some sort of book that he could open at any time and know what the text on the pages were. Why she looked to the side or bit her bottom lip as she sat in front of him, hands on her lap. He was kneeling in front of her, looking at her with wondering eyes, and she looked up at him, smiling a little weakly.
"You're pregnant?"
It had only been a month since they had been married, which told one a lot about the two of them. Sakura smiled a little again, nodding quickly, before looking down at her lap. "…You went by yourself?"
"You were training with Lee and Tenten," Sakura said, looking to the side. "I wanted to see why I was sick every morning. Tsunade-shishou called me a dork before she told me I was pregnant. How was I supposed to know?"
"You're a medic, Sakura." Neji teased, and Sakura slapped his arm, smirking at him. "What? It's true."
"So? Doesn't mean I'll know my own symptoms, does it?" She countered, and he nodded, admitted that that was true. Sakura then sighed, looking back into her lap. "I don't know if I can handle being a mom…"
Neji smiled at her, touching her cheek again before kissing her nose. "You're wonderful with Sakuko, and you helped Hinata give birth to her. You know the process; you deal with children every day." He looked at her with a gentle smile. "I think you'll be fine."
She smiled, and nodded, leaning into him as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently.
She could handle it…She knew she could…
Under the cracks.