The Clan Lord's Chosen Wife

By Zetnnik

Summary: Between a rock and a hard place -- that was where Neji found himself. When it came down to it, which one would you choose -- your lifelong ambition to lead your clan and change it for the better or the woman you love? NejiSaku

Disclaimer: Not mine… just borrowing.

A/N: Chapter 1 -- beta'd & revised.

Chapter 1:

'Where am I? Sakura asked herself silently, not making any overt moves, her ninja training coming to the fore. Faintly flaring her chakra, she made a quick, cursory check of her physical condition; Sakura checked for injuries or any sign of poison in her system, and whether she was restrained in any way. Sakura breathed an internal sigh of relief in finding none. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, but once more not making any other overt moves.

Sakura tried to remember what happened and at the same time figure out exactly where was, besides the fact that where entailed being in a rather large, plush room. Heavy drapes covered one wall. Sakura noted the fine fabrics as well as the possibility that they might be covering escape routes. A night stand stood on each side of the king size bed where she was currently laying on. To the left of the bed were two armchairs, the quality of the workmanship once again screamed wealth. There were two doors – one across from her and another one on her right. The furnishing was simple, but with an understated elegance. All of these observations still did not tell her where she was or what happened. As helpful as her detail-oriented ninja trained observations were in determining that she was in a place of wealth, they did not help trigger her memory as to where or, perhaps most importantly, why she was in a room fit to host a hokage. (Is it OK if I use the following sentences? They're yours.)

Sakura remembered… she remembered walking. She was walking on her way back to Sunagakure.

'On a rescue mission? No...'

No, that was not right… she had been there for a while, as some part of program for her medical training. She'd been there a year and a half as part of the exchange medic-nin program between Suna and Konoha.

She left the safety of Suna to check out a report on a special herb purported to have special healing abilities. After traveling half the day, she finally arrived at the tiny village where the "miracle" herb is supposed to have been discovered. The village healer was more than happy to show her and give her a sample of said herb. She stayed in the tiny village for a couple of hours before deciding to make her way back to Suna.

Unfortunately, those kind last words were fading rapidly and past the old woman's weather worn face she could recall nothing more than passing a stone configuration that was her own personal half-way marker to Suna. Sakura knew that she had been a little distracted lately. She knew that perhaps it had not been the best time for her to take the trip back to Suna, she had been emotionally distracted and knew she would not be able to fully focus on her surroundings. She had come to a decision, but it was a painful one, and it had not been easy. Her heart began to ache again just thinking about the issue. She just hoped she would not regret it… but that was no excuse for her to allow herself to lose focus to the point where she had been attacked or captured or who knows what and stuck in this room.

She was a trained shinobi, for god's sake! Being constantly aware of one's surroundings was one of the first rules taught at any ninja academy. She could not believe that she was in this mess! If it was a mess…was it a mess? 'Gah! What would Tsunade-shishou say? Or Naruto? Or maybe I'm taking this the wrong way? I'm not injured and I don't think I'm a prisoner…? Maybe it's all a misunderstanding? Could it be nothing nefarious is going on? Could it all just been an innocent mistake? But why can't I remember…?'

Sakura glanced forlornly about, curling her toes in the bedspread. Someone had taken off her sandals. Would enemy do that? Maybe she had been trapped in a genjutsu… she had been so distracted… what if she was still in the stupid genjutsu! She brought her fingers together and murmured a soft 'kai!' No…nothing. This was reality.

Sakura was pretty sure that her absence would have been noted by Kankurou and Ibiki by now. She just hoped that she had not caused too much of an international incident. They both encouraged her to take at least one escort, but she had declined as the trip should have only lasted a day at the most. She hated troubling the Kazekage, especially since she was under his protection, as a guest of their village and more specifically of his family. She had been staying at the Sabaku mansion with the three siblings. However, she had spent more time with just him and Kankurou since Temari was serving as Suna's ambassador to Kirigakure. Temari's mission, which was supposed to take only a couple of weeks, has now turned to almost two months.

Sakura was roughly jolted out of her musings as the door softly clicked open. Her head snapped up to assess her intruder, inwardly cursing herself for being so distacted again that she had failed to notice the approaching chakra signature.

The door widened and Sakura's shoulders stiffened at the familiar form standing on the threshold.

"Sakura," Neji said. He stood there after uttering just her name in his usual stoic manner.

Sakura sat up, too shocked to speak. She had not seen him for almost two years. Their last encounter was not exactly what one would call friendly. Different emotions assailed Sakura all at once – happiness, regret, longing, hope, sorrow…

"N-Neji," his name was all she could say. For the moment, it was all she could do not to run up to him and throw her arms around him. Her eyes eagerly soaked in his features. Her memories did not do justice to the reality of him.

Neji took several steps into the room, but stopped and just stared at her. He took in her delicate features. Her pink hair was longer than how she used to wear it in Konoha, it was now just past her waist. He noticed she was a little thinner, giving her a fragile look, as if a gust of wind could blow her away. She also had dark rings around her eyes. Neji's visage got grimmer as he took in Sakura's fragile appearance. "You must be hungry. I've already sent in for food and should be here soon," was all he said though as he took the remaining steps to where Sakura was sitting on the bed.

Sakura continued to sit on the bed, unable to do anything but mutely gape at Neji while shaking her head slowly. Whether she's shaking her head denying she's hungry or denying the situation she found herself in, Sakura was not sure.

"But you must eat. You've lost weight. You look like a strong wind would blow you away. You should take better care of yourself…" Neji's stern words were gentled by his soft tone as his hand reached up and brushed a stray hair back into its place behind Sakura's ear. "What have you been doing to yourself?" Neji asked Sakura as he sat on the bed, reaching with his right hand, tilting her chin to look into her eyes.

Sakura closed her eyes, unable to hold Neji's gaze, and started to feel herself tremble. She had missed him. He had always looked out for her. Stopped her whenever she was pushing herself too hard, as she was wont to do, especially when it came to her true calling – healing. Even when their relationship started to crumble, he was always there looking out for her. It was not fair for him to have to look out for her in addition to himself and his clan. She hated having to be one more burden for him to bear, she hated….

Her thoughts were halted as Neji drew her to him in a harsh embrace, crushing her to his chest. She felt the air leave her lungs, and stiffened. Neji relaxed slightly, and her arms twined tentatively around him in return as they sat, silent in close proximity on the bed. Her head rested between his shoulder and chin. She hated the way her heart pounded so loudly in her chest, she was sure he could feel it, though he said noting. He simply held her, and she fought back a distressing tightening of her eyes, her heart screamed at her for the decision her head had already made.

After a while, minutes or hours Sakura could not tell, Neji's voice broke the silence, "I brought you here because this situation cannot continue the way it has been," he pulled back from her slowly and watched her with empty eyes.

Sakura lowered her own eyes and folded her hands on her lap, bracing her shoulders as if expecting a blow.

"You're right. It can't," she agreed. "Will you file for a divorce or shall I?"