Author's Note: I decided to do a one-shot while taking a break from my HinaSasu, so here it is! I don't care much for this pairing, but a certain friend of mine has been a big help lately and I would like to thank him by doing a one-shot of his favorite pairing, NejiSaku. Sooooo, here it is Darkconfidantesconfidant! And if you're okay with lemons, please read his stories, even if I'm too freaked out to. ) Now onward!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…..though I would love to own Gaara!! Hehe so cuuuuuute!! -spazzes- Whoops! I'm back! Kay sooooo, lets move on shall we?
-A Cherry Blossom and Her Prodigy-
It was late afternoon, and the wind whistled through the woods, whispering quietly to its friends. The tall trees stood nobly and regally, looking down on the scene below them. Mosses and rocks lay scattered along the ground, and green covered every square inch. The sun shone lightly on the world in a good mood, deciding not to scorch the land. Chipmunks and other creatures lay nestled in their homes, napping peacefully and comfortably. A nearby brook bubbled, and the wind blew a shhhh sound as if telling it to quiet down, and for good reason.
A pretty kunoichi lay on the forest floor, back against a large oak. The breeze played with her waist-length bubblegum-pink locks, attempting to get them out of her forehead protector. Her nicely curved body was in a complete resting stage, and her short red outfit was wrinkled and slightly soiled. Her breaths came slowly and deeply; she was asleep. Had her eyes been open their jade green would have been alive and darting, quickly taking in her surroundings. But sixteen-year-old Sakura Haruno was exhausted after a day of training with her hyperactive friend Naruto Uzumaki, who after their sparring session had declared his intense hunger and asked her if she wanted to go get some ramen. She had declined and he ran off without a second glance. She sighed and lay down to rest, which resulted in her succumbing to sleep.
"SAKURA-CHAN!! MY FAIR BLOSSOM WHERE ARE YOU??" A green-spandex clad Rock Lee burst into the clearing where Sakura lay sleeping and promptly began to dance around the tree she slept against.
"SAKURA-CHAN, SAKURA-CHAN, WAKE UP!! SLEEPING IS NOT YOUTHFUL!!"
Sakura was rudely jerked out of her slumber. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! Lee!! What the HELL are you doing here? You… just… woke… me… up…" Sakura got a dangerous glint in her eye and she slowly pulled herself up from the ground and clenched her fists. Lee cowered on the floor. He almost peed his pants.
"I-I am sorry Sakura! I just wanted to ask you to go on a youthful date with me! Please??"
Sakura sighed. Here we go again.
Inner: ARGH! Can we kick his butt? Please? He totally woke us up!!
Sakura: NO! He's a nice guy, we can't do that! Though I must admit I really want to…..
Inner: Fine…… -sulks-
"Lee, you do this every week. Please, you know I don't like rejecting you. I see you as my friend, and my friend alone. Can you please accept that?"
"Old habits die hard, Sakura-chan. I think it's just become a habit now. I offer you my youthful apologies, my blossom. But I didn't come here to ask you out again. My dear teammate Tenten asked me to tell you she wants you to come over if I saw you."
"Oh. Well, I'll go right over, then."
"Would you like me to accompany you my dear Sakura-chan??"
Inner: NO! NONONONONO!
"N-No thank you, Lee…"
Sakura bolted out of the forest before Lee could rain any more conversation on her head. She and Tenten had become good friends after Sasuke left, seeing as Sakura had really need a girl- friend at that time. Now they were practically sisters, and loved to spend time together.
The streets were crowded today and there were many people walking determinedly in and out of the shops, like busy ants. A little girl sat crying on the streets with a scraped knee and Sakura, feeling bad for the girl, walked up to her, smiled, and used her medical jutsu to heal the girl's knee. The little girl jumped up happily, gave Sakura a big hug and a 'thank you', and ran off to play. Sakura smiled to herself and continued to walk. She passed the ramen shop where she caught a glimpse of Naruto stuffing his face, and passed the Uchiha building, where she gave a sigh. She soon reached Tenten's apartment complex, a grayish, slightly weathered building, but still charming in its own way. Sakura was quite familiar with this path by now. She walked into the complex, went up two flights of stairs, and knocked at Tenten's door.
"Tenten! Hey, I missed you! So what's up?" said Sakura as she hugged her friend and walked into the apartment.
"Sakura, I have big news. Huge news. I can't even believe it." Tenten brought two cups of tea to the coffee table, and she and Sakura sat on the couch.
"What happened, Tenten? Haha, this sounds GOOD."
"Sakura, don't laugh. I mean it."
"Of course I won't laugh. You can tell me anything; you know that, Tenten."
"I know, I know. Sakura…..IthinkIlikeLee."
"Eh?"
Tenten took a deep breath. "I think I like Rock Lee. There, I said it. I like a spandex-wearing, youth-raving lunatic." She buried her face in her hands.
Inner: HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Are you kidding me? LOLOLOL. No way! –rofl-
Sakura did her best not to follow the example of her inner and burst out laughing. She took a deep breath and decided to say only the positives.
"Aw, Tenten, I kinda guess I get what you mean. He's nice, and devoted, and if you look past the eyebrows and the youth obsession, he is a really great guy."
"Thanks, sooooo much Sakura. I was really scared about what you would think."
"Well, I think you should go for it."
Inner: Sakura, you are such a bad friend.
Sakura: SHUTUP! For all we know, they could end up happily married! Give them a chance!
Inner: If you say so……
"And I think you should go for Neji."
"Wh-What??"
"You heard me, Sakura." Tenten smirked. "I don't like him anymore. It was just a crush, and I've gotten over it. I've seen the way you look at him and I know you haven't gone for him just because I liked him. And I love you for it. But now I'm telling you to go for it."
Inner: Mmmmm, Neji. Now that boy is hot! And Tenten just said we could go for him. Cha! Let's go show him how totally sexy we are!
Sakura: Behave! Sheesh! But YES YES YES! I LOVE YOU TENTEN!
Sakura composed herself and decided to admit her feelings for Neji.
"Fine, I guess I do like him. A lot."
"Haha, I've noticed. But when did that start anyway?"
Sakura began her whole sad story. She was depressed after Sasuke had just left her, but she finally came to terms that he just didn't care about her as much as he did his revenge. So she realized that she needed to find someone who did care. But as she and Tenten became friends and she became happier, she found herself drawn to the Hyuuga. She began to hang out a lot more with Tenten's team, and her feelings became deeper. She just seemed to be attracted to the impassive prodigies. What luck! But Sakura began to see that the boy really did care about certain things. She noticed the little things: the way his long silky hair moved as he did, the way his mouth twitched when Lee said something that annoyed him, and his protective ways around Tenten, whom he saw as his sister. The injuries he sustained after he had returned from the attempt to rescue Sasuke really made her feel guilty. She talked with him at times, and learned some of his thoughts and feelings. He opened up to her a little bit, and she did her best to prove herself worthy of his trust. Sometimes they even went out to eat, or hang out alone, but just as friends. Neji seemed to like her company, and she enjoyed his, too. She became fonder and fonder of him. He comforted her about Sasuke and listened to her talk. He really seemed to care. Once, Lee got injured, and Neji swiftly picked him up and ran to the hospital. That touched her. She was sixteen, and she wasn't sure if she knew what love was or not. But these feelings she had for Neji were really strong, and it didn't help that he was gorgeous. But through all of that, she had never made a move. She didn't want to hurt Tenten.
"Wow, Sakura. If I had known you liked him that much, I would have totally let you have him. But now, I want you to leave."
"What? Why?"
"So you can go get your man! Go! Now! I have to figure out what to do about mine, now. Haha, have fun!" Tenten winked and shoved Sakura out the door.
Inner: Cha! Let's go find that hot Hyuuga! –drools-!
Sakura: -smacks Inner- Okay, okay, relax. Let's go find Neji.
Sakura walked out of Tenten's apartment and went to the training grounds. She knew she'd find Neji there. In the meantime, Tenten went and picked up her phone, smirked and dialed a number.
"Neji? Yeah, she totally fell for it. She actually thought that I liked LEE? Can you believe that? Haha yeah. But she feels the same way. She's going to the training grounds to find you so make sure you're there. Good luck, buddy. Take care of my best friend, you hear? I mean it. Make her happy. Bye."
Tenten sighed and sat on the couch. Neji was like her brother now, and Sakura was her best friend. She really was happy for the two of them. Now she just needed to find someone. She decided to go find Lee after all, but just for some company. At least, that's what she told herself…..
Sakura, on the other hand, was at the training grounds, which were deserted.
Huh. I really thought I'd find him here….. She turned around and her face hit something hard. That something happened to be Neji's chest.
Inner: OMGOMG so hot….
Sakura: I KNOW! But we have to let go now or he'll think we're weird….
Sakura resisted the urge to put her arms around him and stepped away, giving Neji a sheepish smile.
"Um, hi…"
"What are you doing here, Sakura?"
" I, um. I wanted to train?"
"You look like you just finished training."
"Oh. Well. I. Uh. I. Truth is, I, uh wanted to tell you something, Neji…." Sakura looked down at her feet and her cheeks turned rosy.
Neji: She is so darn cute when she does that….
"Well, then go ahead and tell me Sakura."
"Well, I, uh. Neji, I'm glad we're friends, and I, uh….."
Inner Neji: This is going nowhere, dude. Kiss her! You know you've liked her since she was twelve and you finally got to know her. DO NOT CHICKEN. KISS HER!
Neji: You're right! This is getting nowhere! But wait, when did you get here?
Inner Neji: Not important. Just kiss her!!
Neji decided to interrupt Sakura's stuttering and muttering to herself.
"Sakura. You sound like my cousin. And I want to tell you something too."
Neji bent down and cupped Sakura's face in his hand. He caressed her cheek and smiled at her. Her wide green eyes opened in shock, but fluttered closed as his lips met hers. She reluctantly broke away after a few seconds and began to stutter again.
"How? Wait! You know?"
"Sakura, I love you. And you talk too much."
He put his arms around her waist and brought his lips to hers again. She smiled against his kiss, and he deepened it. In a rush of energy, Neji pushed her against the nearest tree, his chest pressed to hers. They kissed passionately, for both had wanted this for a long time. Neji softly bit her lip, and she moaned, but allowed him entrance. She didn't even bother to fight for dominance; she just let him explore. His tongue caressed hers and her knees began to go weak; Neji was a damned good kisser! And she wasn't going to let him win! She pulled her lips from his, and began to kiss up and down his neck. The Hyuuga moaned, and Sakura smirked. He stiffened, obviously irritated with his show of weakness and brought her mouth back to meet his. She moaned again, and her knees finally gave way. Sakura ended up on the ground, with Neji on top of her. She flipped him over, so she would be on top, and kept kissing him, smirking. He growled. He rolled over again, on top of her, and she sighed, never breaking the kiss.
Men and their need for dominance….fine…
They kissed for a long time, and though Sakura was content, Neji was fighting the urge to do very naughty things to this girl, who he had liked for such a long time.
Inner Neji: Take her to your room! ;)
Neji: What! NO! Go be perverted somewhere else! Sheesh…..
Inner Neji: You know you want to…..
Neji: -blush- Shutup….
But the boy couldn't help himself. He was seventeen, after all, and he had hormones. His hands happened to stray to Sakura's errrrm, assets, at the front of her shirt. She moaned, but then gave a start and slapped his hands away. He pretended to ignore this and put his hands down lower, at her errrrm, back assets. Sakura's eyes grew wide, but she gave up, thinking His hands kinda do feel good there...Fine. He does have hormones after all... One of her hands strayed to his chest, where she stroked it, and the other hand tangled itself in his long, silky hair. She happened to grind against him as she kissed him and Neji felt a shock go up and down his body. Crap...I will not rape her...I can't do that...How does she not know what shes DOING? He moaned and did his best to control himself.
Thankfully, Neji won against his animalistic desires, though Sakura did notice the bulge in his pants. She smirked, but decided not to say anything, though she was inwardly satisfied that she had that effect on him. Finally, the two parted and laid down against a large tree. Neji put his arms around her and they sat, neither of them saying anything. Finally, Sakura spoke.
"Neji, how did you know I liked you?"
"It wasn't that hard to see, you know"
Sakura frowned at him.
"I'm kidding. Tenten told me."
"I'll kill her….."
"No, this was a good thing. Because I would have never had the guts to do this if I hadn't known."
He kissed her again, quickly, and she blushed.
"You know I've liked you just as long as you've liked me, Sakura."
She smiled and the two began to talk, just enjoying each other's company. Soon Sakura put her head down on Neji's chest and began to drift off again.
"Mmm, love you, Neji."
"I love you too, Sakura."
And they fell into dreamless slumber together, because no dreams could come close to their happy reality.
"Tenten, my youthful flower, are you asking me out on a date?"
"NO, LEE! I just, I uh, wanted some company tomorrow night..."
Crap, maybe I do like him...
"Yes! I must tell Gai-sensei! My first date! And with my beautiful teammate who I have adored for some time! How youthful!!"
Lee scampered off and Tenten sighed.
How the hell do these things happen...wait. He adores me?
A small smile appeared on her face and she walked home .
Hope things worked out for you too, Sakura...
-The End-
Endnote: Young love. Cute, eh? xD Hey I'm sorry if this is a bit fluffy but I couldn't help it. I love happy endings. Soooo, if anybody feels this is worth it to comment, please do. I'd really appreciate it. This is my first oneshot and all so, please go easy. And Darkconfidantesconfidant, I tried and this is for you, so I hope you like it! Bye everyone!
Love,
-the hybrid :)
