-Sigh- Here's another multi-chaptered story, except I think this one's gonna be a LOT more than four chapters... I'm contemplating whether I'll post this or not... if I do, then I'll have to write ALL THE WAY TO THE END, and if I don't, I won't get that accomplished feeling I always get when I post a new NejiSaku ficlet... o.O
I've decided to post it; for the sake of all my hungry NejiSaku readers out there... Yay for you, boooooooooooohoooooooooooo for me... XD
Summary: Neji is a basketball player in his small community. Everyone knows him in town; even his science teacher knows that he plays basketball! But he prefers to keep to himself when he practices in his private court, out in the woods. One day, he decides- on a whim- to watch a baseball game, and one of the two competing teams announces that they recruited a girl! Neji watches her move, and decides that he would like to teach her some of his own skills in basketball...
Disclaimer: Naruto still belongs to Masashi Kishimoto... shuddup shuddup shuddup, I'm working on it!!
--Sanded Silk-- ♥
Neji couldn't believe that he had gotten himself into this mess. He had planned fully on spending the quiet, summer Saturday by himself on his private basketball court, which he found on one of his roaming adventures, deep in the woods that surrounded Konoha. But nooo, his friend- Naruto- had invited him to a baseball game, and his uncle had said that the poor boy had gone through all that trouble to organize the game, wouldn't it be a shame if Neji missed it too?
And so here Hyuuga Neji was, the star of basketball in his community, sitting on a white-hot bleacher, watching baseball.
The only reason why he had somewhat agreed to come was the rumor that one of the two all-boy teams playing in this game had recruited a girl. She wasn't just any girl, though; word also had it that her movements were like water, and her body seemed to be in harmony with the rest of her surroundings whenever she played the sport. She also had wild pink hair that barely brushed her shoulders and sharp, sharp emerald green eyes.
Naruto had confirmed the truth of this rumor with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "She's the best I've ever seen," He'd said. Then, he'd leaned in really close to Neji and motioned for Neji to lean in too. "I'll let you in on a secret, 'kay?" Naruto had said in a comically mysterious way. "She'll be keeping her hair hidden in a hat, and making a grand appearance when I give her the cue. It'll be awesome!"
But Neji still didn't really know what to expect when he stepped into the bleachers to take a seat. He took a swig of his water bottle, slightly fazed by the heat of the summer day, as he sat, waiting for the game to begin.
One team seemed stupid. Its players wore black shirts- perfect for a hot, sunny day- and long jeans. Although their players were all tall and strong-looking, their choice of apparel really didn't help their reputation.
The other team seemed a bit better. They wore t-shirts that looked like they were home-designed. Every player had a number, 1-16. The t-shirts themselves were pale yellow- not too sharp to the eye under the sun- and the writing was in blue. Every player also wore a dark blue baseball cap and dark blue shorts. People around Neji were whispering. "Do you see the girl?" "I think she's that one..."
Finally, the game started. The pitching team- the one that wore the bad choice of clothes- seemed pretty good at their job. They hit the ball pretty far out into the field, and dirt sprung from the ground as they dashed for the bases. Neji still couldn't tell which player was the girl.
A player from the pitching team walked up to the base, swaggering cockily. He picked up the bat, spat on the ground at his feet, and gave the pitcher an evil eye. The pitcher didn't react, and pitched the ball hard.
The batter lashed the ball with the bat. The crack shot out in painful sound waves like lightning into everyone's ears, and everyone flinched and turned to pay attention to the game. The batter dropped the bat and ran almost immediately after he hit the ball. The speed of the ball was amazing. It was nothing but a white flash in the air, whizzing by everyone's heads. It seemed hopeless for the jerseys team.
But then, to Neji's flabbergastment, a short, lithe player from the field team dashed into play from nowhere. He was as light as air on his feet as he dashed down the field after the ball, his feet barely grazing the grass, flying as fast as the ball itself. Then, he leaped up into the air, and for a moment, it seemed like he was flying as he threw and stretched his liquid body out two feet into the air above the ground.
SNAP! He caught the ball in his mitt easily, and before he landed that bird-like landing on his toes, he had thrown the ball to the second-base player, and the batter- to everyone's surprise- got out.
But no one was watching the batter or the second-base player. Everyone was, instead, watching the agile baseball player. His hat had fallen off from the speed of his dash after the ball, and a wild streak of pink hair had unfolded, escaping from the cap. As soon as the player realized his hat was off, which was after he had landed from his gymnast leap, he snapped his face up to glare at the audience with defiant emerald eyes.
It was that girl.
The whole crowd was silent. The girl stood up to her full height. Now, Neji could tell that the player really was a girl. Her body, clothed in baggy and boyish clothes as it was, still held the small, delicate figure of a girl, and her face had much softer curves than that possible of a boy. Her eyes, narrowed and slanted as they were, still held a feminine shape and appearance to them. Her lips, thin and parched, were dipped into a knowing smirk.
Suddenly, the whole crowd burst into applause. The batter looked around, confused, as though he thought everyone were clapping for him. The girl, not bothering to bow, replaced her cap, allowing random strands of pink hair to show now, and walked swiftly, evenly, to the baseball diamond. Her teammates high-fived her and gave her quick compliments. She nodded civilly to each player that congratulated her, not being the least cocky. She could have plastered the most smug smirk on her pretty face and swaggered around like the queen of the field, but she didn't.
This attracted Neji.
As the game continued, the girl continued also to make awesome moves on the field. She proved to be a pretty good batter as well, hitting the ball with just the right amount of force at just the right time, sending it flying out deep into the field.
When the game ended, the girl had emerged and lead the team to a stark winning score, 19-2.
After everyone had filed out of the stadium, there were refreshment stands set up around the stadium, selling a variety of food. People began to mill around, talking and laughing, mostly about the recruited girl. Neji cought a simple hamburger and a random soda pop, mainly looking around for the mysterious girl. He had something to ask of her.
When he finally saw her, he wormed his way through the crowd that had gathered around her. He could tell that she was getting slightly annoyed at the crowd, which mostly consisted of proud adults that she probably knew and a whole bunch of little kids with notebooks and pencils, waiting for her autograph.
When he finally reached her, he pointed to a far-off hot dog stand and hollered, "HEY, THE HOT DOG MAN THERE IS OFFERING TWO HOT DOGS FPR 50 CENTS EACH!" The crowd immediately disbanded, everyone heading for the hot dog stand.
The girl gasped a deep breath, while Neji waited in front of her. She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, smiling at him breathlessly. "Thanks a lot," She said, in the light voice of hers. She stuck her other hand out to shake his. "Haruno Sakura."
Neji glanced at her hand, and shook it for a few moments. "Hyuuga Neji."
She let go first. "I know you have something to say, so say it. I still have yet to eat."
Neji beckoned to the multiple food stands available. "By all means, go ahead," He said. "I'll talk to you as we walk."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You have something important to ask of me, don't you," She said, and turned away to buy her hot dog and soda.
As they walked along, Neji explained, as concisely as possible- which turned out to be in one simple sentence- what he wanted exactly of her. "I want to offer you a chance to learn basketball," He said. Sakura stopped in mid-bite of her hot dog, and something flickered in her clear emerald eyes. "Basketball?" She lowered the hot dog. "Are there any other fields of talent you can offer?"
Neji shook his head slowly.
Sakura turned back to her hot dog. "No," She said simply before biting into the bread and sauce-covered meat.
Neji's jaw nearly hit the ground. "What?!"
Sakura sighed, and swallowed before she continued talking, looking troubled. "I can't take basketball. I'm sorry."
And before Neji could ask why, she had turned away and melded into the crowd.
A/N: How am I doing? Please REVIEW!!!
--Sanded Silk--