AN:
This is my second fic so far, it's been sitting on my PC for far too long already. Haha! Anyway, just a few quick points:
1. Setting is, during the "lapse" in the series when Naruto went training. Nothing much was said there anyway, so everything is fuzzy. Perfect for me. Weeee!
2. Neji is currently a Chuunin.
3. I'm not a huge Sakura fan, it's just that she has the most exposure therefore it's pretty easy to portray her. No offense to Sakura fans, she's ok for me though.
4. Thoughts are italicized, same goes with some of the flashbacks.
5. If you see these -----, it signifies time lapse or flashbacks.
6. I love Neji to bits, but he doesn't belong to me. Same goes for the other characters in this fic. None of them belongs to me. Ah, the frustration!
Now, on with the fic.
Chapter 1
It wasn't supposed to end up like this.., the pearl-eyed chuunin thought as he kept chasing his comrade's captor.
Everything was going well, they have acquired the scroll and were on their way back. However, at the break of dawn, an ambush stained the beautiful sunrise. Everyone was taken by surprise by the unexpected attack. They were already quite a distance away from the country of rain, it was just about time for them to wake up. But an explosion pierced the morning sky. It would have killed the sleeping shinobis if not for the pearl-eyed chuunin. Even before the sun graced the sky, he was already awake, trying to understand the uncanny pang of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach.
Something is very wrong...
His suspicions were confirmed when he felt the presence of other shinobis approaching their camp.
'Byakugan!'
One to the left, One to the right, Three behind..
Being the independent guy that he was, he tried to tackle them on his own, but they were at an advantage, the shinobi to the left knocked out his female comrade before she even registered that they're being attacked and he and took her away while the other three shinobis attacked him. The shinobi from the right, on the other hand, is trying to affix bomb notes all over the place, but the pearl-eyed ninja realized this a little too late. Using his kaiten, he unleashed kunais and shurikens to distract the shinobi causing some of the notes to explode, waking his two other comrades. That's when everything went very wrong.
They have her! THEY HAVE HER! Panic surged the pearl-eyed chuunin's heart. I have to get to her!
The risen shinobis of Konoha battled it out with the pearl-eyed chuunin.
'Oi Neji, why didn't you wake us?' Kiba asked when Akamaru bit one of the enemy shinobis.
'I didn't have time, Kiba take care of this I have to get to Sakura!' Neji, the pearl-eyed shinobi, replied after successfully killing the attacker who was bothering him.
'I guess it's just the two of us then... Naruto.'
'Yeah..' the blonde ninja replied as his opponent flew swirling into the air to crash on the side of the mountain '..and there's only one trash left.' he said as a foxy grin graced his face.
Neji finally caught up with Sakura and her captor, the female medic-nin is still unconscious from the blow that her captor gave her.
Just a little more, hold on..., Neji thought desperately.
Then all of a sudden, the shinobi stopped. It would've been the perfect opportunity to launch an attack, if not for one complication, the shinobi used Sakura as his shield and attached an exploding note on her chest. Neji felt like as if time stopped, and he found a part of himself panicking like it never had before.
'Let her go.', he said. He was still thinking of the many ways this situation could go wrong when suddenly the shinobi smirked. Then a blur, tree branches were shattered into tiny smithereens, after which another explosion filled the air. When the dust settled, Sakura's captor was lying in a heap on the ground below. The medic-nin surprised her captor when she ripped her shirt and punched him in the gut. She inherited her sensei's monstrous strength.
'Ooops, did I overdo it?', the kunoichi said jokingly.
She looked at the slightly surprised look on Neji's face.
'Hn...' Neji, narrowed his eyes at the grinning pink-haired medic-nin, and she laughed at the response.
'Well, well, well, it seems like I missed the fun, eh?'
'Let's go back.'
sigh Can't he be NOT too stiff for once?
'Sakura, what's taking you so long?', Neji asked impatiently.
The kunoichi sighed again, then leapt towards the nearest tree branch. 'Nothing... I'm coming.'
Nothing was said on their way back to camp. As usual, Neji had an unreadable mask of a face. Sakura looked towards the Hyuuga, then smiled.
'Hey Neji, thanks for coming for me.'
Neji was surprised at the statement, it took him a while to reply.
'Next time, try not to get knocked out.'
Sakura smiled. That sure is a weird way to say 'You're welcome'. But that will do.
'Oi, what took you two so long?', Naruto inquired the two.
'Ah, gomen ne Naruto, Kiba. I overslept.' The smiling kunoichi replied to the blonde ninja while scratching her head.
'Let's pack-up and leave before they launch another attack.'
'Hai, Neji-kun.', Sakura replied.
And once again, he was surprised at her reply.
Neji-kun, she most certainly have not called me that before. No one has ever called me that before.
-----
The four shinobis jumped from tree to tree in silence. Their journey back after the ambush was uneventful And as they walked towards the gates of Konoha, Kiba walked beside Neji and whispered.
'Neji, why do you think did they take Sakura instead of the scroll?'
That same question has been bothering the Hyuuga all morning.
'I've been thinking about that too. And I can't get a clear answer yet, I'll ask the Hokage about it when we report about the mission.' Neji chanced a glance at Sakura who stopped walking and had a blank faraway look in her face.
Kiba nodded and walked towards Akamaru and Naruto. Akamaru barked and Naruto is running around and around while screaming 'Yatta!'.
'We're home...', said a soft, melodious voice.
Neji looked to his left, and saw a smiling Sakura. But she didn't look happy at all. She still has that faraway look. She looks.. pained.
Why do you have to smile if you don't mean it?
Sensing his gaze upon her, Sakura looked towards Neji. Neji faced the gates of Konoha and started walking.
'Let's report to Tsunade-sama already, I'm tired.'.
Sakura nodded and followed their leader.
What is this feeling? Why do I even care about her? He glanced again to his left, then thought.. And why do you have to smile like that?
. fireblend .