The Heart's Desire

by river of the sand

The heart's desire to protect someone precious… that was all she needed to change his fate. This other world hadn't done what hers had done: the people who had died to save her were still alive and this time, she would save them all. NejiSaku one-shot.

Author's Notes: Okay, so I was supposed to be working on the next chapter of my series of one-shots (not far away now…) but I couldn't focus on writing it. That's where The Heart's Desire comes in. It's relatively new in my head, but I found myself on a roll while writing it this evenin', which is why it's beaten an update that will only have 1000-2000 words, lol. ;P
Also, this is not your ordinary one-shot, so don't take anything at face value. There are two Sakura's: canon Sakura and Saku, the mysterious girl who appears in the middle of, well… you'll read about it soon enough.

^_^ Read and review. :)

–
The Heart's Desire
–

"Neji Hyuuga, stand still so I can shoot you!"

The brown haired man raised an elegant eyebrow at the woman's choice of words. Sakura Haruno had offered to take the team photo for his squad when the usual photographer had fallen sick and contagious. She was currently standing behind the camera, her hands on her hips and frowning at him. The last time he'd stood still for a photo was when he'd had to have one done for his ninja I.D. and needless to say, that photo was by far out of date now. Somehow, he'd been able to avoid taking a new picture upon becoming a Chunin, and now as a Jounin, it was still an unresolved issue.

His current photo was of a Genin boy wearing absolutely no expression, though he remembered feeling more humiliated that day than any since… exceptions go to the "antics" of his spandex clad teammates in his company.

So Sakura was disguising his need to update his photo with a team picture, followed by individual shots of every member. Gai and Lee had readily agreed to help her and Tenten had smiled, nodded her head, and wished the pinkette good luck.

The last time someone had stared him down like this, Gai was "urging" him to join in another round of team pride – which was open to interpretation, really…

Sakura could be one of the sweetest people he knew, right up until she wanted something from you that you weren't willing to give. She was smiling sweetly, with only a hint to the intention underneath; she fully intended on waiting for him to give in or chase him down (with his team mate's help) if he tried to run away. Thinking about those fists of hers, Neji weighed his options.

It wasn't pretty.

Sighing wistfully, he gave in. Tenten pushed him gently forward and Sakura gave the brunette the thumbs up before everyone except for Neji moved swiftly out of frame.

"Now smile for the birdie," Sakura said enthusiastically.

"What bird?"

"It's a figure of speech." She rolled her eyes. "Just smile 'mister destiny'."

He tried – he really did. Neji knew how to smile: he wasn't Sai. But Sakura wasn't happy with it.

"No, no, no, no!" She snapped. "You have to feel the smile."

Off to her right, Tenten rolled her eyes. Gai and Lee however, looked absolutely thrilled by her statement.

"You tell him Sakura!"

"That's it! That's the power of youth!"

Now it was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes. "Just think of something that makes you happy," she said.

Neji shook his head. "Nothing makes me happy."

"Sure it does." She bit her bottom lip. "Oh, I know! You like training and meditating, right?"

"Neither of those things ever brings a smile to Neji," Tenten said.

"Uh… Oh! How about family and friends?"

Tenten nodded. "Yeah Neji, try that."

He stared at the pinkette, ignoring his team mate. "Please, just take the picture."

"Oh, alright." Sakura shook her head. "Has anyone ever told you you're a pain, Neji-san?"

"Only everyone."

"Tenten, that wasn't very youthful," Gai scolded.

She grinned. "Truth hurts."

"Sakura…" Neji growled out, drawing her attention.

"Alright, alright," she growled back.

The flash went off as she pressed the button, but it didn't go away. Sakura groaned, shielding her eyes. It was an explosion of light; her corneas felt like they were on fire.

"Neji!" She stumbled forward and the Hyuuga was in front of her in an instant, grabbing her before she could fall. Sakura felt the warmth of his touch, even through the heat of what was now clearly a chakra explosion.

"What the hell was that?" Gai cried out.

Neji activated his Byakugan as the light began to fade (his hands still clinging to the pinkette), tilting his head as the familiar background of Konoha gave way to the streams of chakra invading the sight of his kekkei genkai. It was difficult to tell exactly what had just happened. A burst of chakra broke through the treetops, coming from the direction of the Hyuuga estate. So he wasn't the only Hyuuga who had just realised there was an uninvited guest in the village.

He deactivated his Byakugan and glanced at his Sensei. "Trouble."

– The Heart's Desire –

The world stood still. It literally stopped to her eyes, and for a moment, she wasn't sure if she was alive or dead – the former was preferred by not necessarily a good thing. There was no pain, no sensation of any kind.

'Did it go wrong?'

But as these thoughts crossed her mind, she suddenly felt the full force of the explosion. The blast was pure chakra, knocking her off of her feet and slamming her into a wall she could've sworn wasn't behind her a moment ago. The girl fell to her knees, trembling and bleeding, her eyes closed tightly to block out the implosion of light accompanying the explosion of chakra. It would've blinded her had she not protected her corneas in time.

She gasped out at a sudden pain in her abdomen, terrified of the implications and shuddered. She was surrounded by Hyuuga. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at their faces. She'd made it! The jutsu seemed to have gone awry though – she was supposed to come out somewhere closer to the Hokage Monument. It was important… which meant something had gone wrong.

Voices called out and more people rushed toward the injured girl – their guards were up, but more than anything, they were curious. It seemed she'd accidentally come through into the wings of the Hyuuga estate inhabited by the side branch families.

"Sakura?"

'I know that voice.'

She struggled to her feet, her vision blurry, but still able to make out the indistinct shape in front of her. "Neji?" She fell forward, collapsing into his arms.

Neji glanced at Sakura, who had followed him to the source of the strange light, confused. The unconscious girl in his arms was no clone – neither girl was – his Byakugan could tell this. So what the hell was going on?

– The Heart's Desire –

All of Konoha was abuzz with news of the stranger. Of course Hiashi got a handle on the rumours before the general public could suspect that the guest had pink hair. A woman matching Sakura Haruno's description had teleported into the confines of his clan's estate, so the Hokage didn't object to him controlling what people did or didn't know about it.

And as odd as this was, he was more concerned for what would become of the girl. Upon her arrival, every Hyuuga in the vicinity had activated their Byakugan and confirmed that this woman was identical to the one who had followed Neji into the estate to see the source of the light.

Two Sakura Harunos…

There was only one explanation he could think of to explain that.

"She has to be a spy."

"Danzou Shimura, you will hold your tongue."

Tsunade rubbed her temples as the elderly advisors argued with Danzou on what to do with their new guest. They were standing in her office, but thankfully, their arguing was not as loud as it would be if Naruto was here. She didn't want him here anyway, though she knew from experience that this was not something that would escape his notice for very long. He would find out what had happened soon enough and she wasn't looking forward to that argument.

The council was not present, but Hiashi Hyuuga had been given permission to set up suitable accommodations for their visitor. He was not a cruel man, having had something arranged in the Hyuuga medical core. They had their own healers, so at least this way, the Konoha Medical Core didn't spread the rumours even further with this debacle.

Tsunade was glad Hiashi was not a cruel man.

She sighed, shaking these thoughts away and tuning back in as the advisors and Danzou fell silent around her.

Koharu Utatane didn't want to imprison and torture the young woman based solely on Danzou's barbaric ideals. This strange woman, whoever she really was, was no threat to anyone at this moment. She turned to Tsunade, silently showing she needed her support. Her stubbornness and desire not to appear weak and whinny kept her from voicing the need – it wasn't like she was on the best of terms with the Hokage either.

But Tsunade nodded. "Samples were extracted from the new arrival," she said, interrupting Danzou's newest attempt to rant on about foreign Shinobi. "She is unconscious, so no threat to anyone, and when the tests are complete, we will have a better idea of what we're dealing with."

Homura Mitokado frowned at her. "Do we yet have any idea on how this person came to arrive in the Hyuuga compound on a beam of light?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Whatever jutsu was used, it was incredibly powerful. The person who cast it had to have had a power not unlike the Sharingan, or Rinnegan."

"It was that strong?" Koharu asked.

"Yes. The only people who saw through the blast of chakra to the person inside were Hyuuga, so I've asked them to supply the guards for the young woman, just in case."

"Is that really necessary, considering she couldn't possibly have the power to create that jutsu?"

"I'm just covering all the bases Utatane-san."

Koharu scoffed at the formal honorific. "Well, that's all well and good, but do you really think guard duty is an assignment worthy of their members? I'm not sure Hiashi will like it."

"He's already agreed," Tsunade said. "And I'm assigning Neji Hyuuga to the personal guarding of the prisoner."

"Oh, why him?"

"Circumstance." Tsunade stood up. "Is that all? I should check on Shizune, in case the test results have come back early."

Shizune had been given leniency by the Hyuuga medics to tend to the young woman who looked like Sakura – Tsunade still wasn't convinced, like the Hyuuga were, that she was one and the same.

She didn't wait for a response and shunshined out, glad to be away from them. She was desperate to talk to their visitor and had no intention of letting the elders, let alone Danzou, anywhere near her when she woke up.

– The Heart's Desire –

It was funny: waking up after being hit by a wall of chakra was supposed to hurt. She didn't feel too bad – in fact, she hadn't felt this good in years… well, if she didn't take into account the slight feeling of weakness in her limbs. Still, her chakra was a little crazy, and even though it made sense to her, it was probably making her "hosts" very suspicious.

She'd woken up only moments ago, to an unfamiliar bed, but quickly realised she was in a hospital. Judging by the staff, it was clearly the clinic she knew from the Hyuuga estate. It had a lot of resources for a place so small, but didn't quite compare to the official Konoha Medical Core.

"It's Sakura, isn't it?" Tsunade asked, scepticism lacing her voice.

And that was how she knew she wasn't alone – the fifth Hokage, Shizune, Neji Hyuuga... and Sakura Haruno.

The girl nodded, her eyes lingering on both Neji and the pinkette less than a foot away from him. "I am Sakura Haruno."

"Can't be," Neji whispered. He had arrived just in time as this strange young woman woke up, not oblivious to the way her eyes widened at his approach. She'd been just as surprised to see him upon her arrival in the Bunke gardens of the estate, but at least she knew who he was.

"Where are you from?" Sakura asked… the real Sakura.

Neji frowned at her. This had the potential to become incredibly confusing if it kept on like this. "You're Sakura," he told her, and then indicated to the pink haired duplicate lying on the hospital bed before them. "We should call you something else."

The girl smiled weakly. "Call me Saku."

Tsunade frowned at her, the way she was looking at Neji and Sakura, and the weird fluctuation in her chakra. "Where did you come from?"

The girl lowered her eyes, losing her smile. She wasn't sure how to explain it. "A Konoha where everyone I know and love is either dead or soon will be."

She ignored their collective gasps. Standard procedure dictated that someone from the Intelligence Core questioned her, and Tsunade had sent for Ibiki. When he arrived, the Hokage ushered everyone out of the room and ordered Neji to stand guard outside the room. Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune left then, probably to talk privately, and Neji listened in (he wasn't supposed to, but wanted to) as Saku was questioned. Her answers to his questions were vague but not abrupt.

Half an hour later, Ibiki left the room, dissatisfied.

"Inform the Hokage I'll be at my office," he told Neji and shunshined away.

It was only a few minutes before all three woman returned: he relayed Ibiki's words and Tsunade grunted.

"Typical."

Neji wasn't sure what he was doing.

The next twenty-four hours passed quickly, considering he spent it on guard duty – alternating shifts with several other Hyuuga – and he was the one at the door when the results from Saku's tests came back.

Neji stood impatiently, listening in on the conversation being had on the other side… as usual.

Sakura's gasp of surprise was very audible.

"Are you sure Shizune?"

"Yes Lady Tsunade: Saku is definitely six weeks pregnant."

– The Heart's Desire –

Sasuke Uchiha was a missing-nin. With Tobi defeated and the rest of the Akatsuki members imprisoned, dead or in what the daimyo was calling "protective custody", Sasuke was the only one unaccounted for. He'd disappeared almost a year ago, with only one indistinct report that placed him somewhere in the land of birds at the time.

The manhunts to track him down were coming up empty, and even Naruto Uzumaki had realised the futility of going after the teme.

But with all the confusion and unknowns, there was one thing many people were still sure of.

"Everyone knows Sakura Haruno is in love with Sasuke Uchiha," Danzou said. "Who else could be the father?"

"There are hundreds of men of mating age in Konoha," Homura said, the casual air in his tone making Tsunade cringe. "I'm sure many of them would–"

Tsunade groaned. She was beginning to wish she hadn't told the elders about Saku's condition. With her identity confirmed, the Hokage felt guilty about her initial reluctance toward her, but it went away quickly when Saku refused to offer up anything of use to explain where she'd come from. The running theory was an alternate universe – it was the only one that made any kind of sense.

"Okay," Tsunade snapped, interrupting Danzou. "That's enough about the potential sex life of my apprentice–"

"She isn't your apprentice Hokage-sama," he replied, clearly enjoying this more than he should. "She's a Sakura Haruno from another world."

"And?"

"And she's not your responsibility."

"Nor is she yours, Shimura."

"If she is indeed carrying the next Uchiha, then–"

"You're assuming her world is anything like ours," she interrupted. "You're basing your findings on circumstantial theories and ignoring all other possibilities, and for what, the slim chance that you might actually be right for once?"

She knew of his interest in wiping out all evidence of the Uchiha clan, from what she could learn from Sai (even unable to spill the old man's secrets, he had his ways of giving subtle hints that had led to this hypothesis). The newest member of Team Kakashi hadn't tried to join Orochimaru for "personal" reasons after all.

"If you have another theory, I'm all ears," he said, ignoring her jab. "Who, other than the Uchiha, would Haruno even give the time of day?"

"This is getting us nowhere," Homura said, noting the Hokage was close to punching the man's lights out. "We don't need to guess, theorise, or throw around useless conjecture: let's just ask the girl."

Tsunade inwardly sighed with relief that she hadn't told them her suspicions. She'd seen the way Saku looked at Neji: he wasn't so easy to read normally, but the presence of two Sakura's was definitely having some sort of affect on him. She made a mental note to ask Sakura if there was anything going on between her and the Hyuuga heir later and then shrugged, pretending to have been contemplating Homura's "suggestion".

"She's already been questioned, and a pregnancy is a private thing: it really isn't any of our business."

"What are you suggesting?" Koharu asked.

"To leave her alone about it, at least for now."

Danzou snorted. "No wonder you're the last Senju – reckless fool."

– The Heart's Desire –

Saku woke up in a small suite in the Bunke of the Hyuuga estate – she knew that the Hokage would not agree to put her in a dungeon, no matter how weirded out she was by her presence. But the suite was still a prison, as she'd anticipated. She was an unknown, having arrived here upon a bright light they couldn't explain: they couldn't just let her roam freely. DNA testing had confirmed she was Sakura, but they were still wary of her.

Neji was outside the door again and she had to control the hammering in her heart at his closeness. He had understandably been shocked to see her at first, but over the past few days, she could've sworn he was itching to ask her something. He didn't say anything, but she could tell there was something bothering him. Where she came from, he couldn't hide anything from her for long, and she just needed to figure this Neji out long enough to get answers from him.

Inoichi Yamanaka had come in and asked her questions this time: she told them that in her world, there was a civil war in the land of fire and the other nations were either trying to take advantage of it or (for example, the land of wind) were working with the Hokage there to try to restore order. Their friends in Suna had become invaluable, but their efforts were still slow going. When Inoichi asked her who was opposing the Hokage, Saku fell silent, her eyes drifting to the window before closing; she refused to answer that, so he assumed it was personal.

That was before he'd asked her about her pregnancy.

It became clear to her – they thought it was Sasuke's. So, short of telling them the name of her lover, she indulged them.

"He's dead."

Inoichi offered his condolences and left her alone. Apparently, the Sasuke he knew, was alive and well… and planning some sort of attack on the leaf.

Saku wanted to dwell on her thoughts, figure out her next move, and sleep again. But Neji Hyuuga had other ideas. Once Inoichi's chakra was no longer in the ground level building complex, he opened the door, staring at her like she was a universal question: the answer to which would bring him untold knowledge… a daunting thought.

He seemed wary of her, yet still intrigued. "Why were you so stunned to see me?" He asked.

Saku inhaled deeply. "I was just surprised to find you alive."

– The Heart's Desire –

The next few days were… interesting. Naruto finally figured out what was going on and came to see her. He smiled at the sight of her, like he knew who she was without having the Byakugan, or knowing anything about biology.

Saku had come here on a whim – less premeditated and more about convenience. But this was the perfect opportunity to try something that had been bugging her since the first time Sasuke's name was mentioned.

"You'll be going to get him," she said once Naruto had finished unpacking the Ichiraku ramen he'd brought for them to eat.

"Sasuke-teme?"

She nodded.

"Well," he scratched his chin. "Yeah, soon. There's a report that he was seen in the land of rivers, but granny's just confirming the source of the information. Team Kakashi heads out tomorrow, or the next – don't know yet."

She lowered her eyes to her ramen, frowning. "And she'll be going with you?"

"Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah."

"Of course! I left her behind once and she punched me straight through Konoha." Naruto mimed; a fist hitting open palm. "I sailed from one side of the village to the other." He chuckled. "I was in the hospital for three days – she made sure it would last."

Saku forced a giggle. "I'm sure you deserved it."

"Ah, why am I even looking for your sympathy?" Naruto poked his tongue at her and then dug into his meal.

"Ittadakimasu," she mumbled, and then followed suit.

It was a comfortable silence, but she kept trying to think about what to say. This Sakura had yet to lose Sasuke – it all went downhill from there. He was as good as dead, and as far as she was concerned, there was no stopping that. But Saku remembered the time that followed the death of her Sasuke. It had been the worst experience of her life… until recently.

Inhaling deeply, she decided to try to stop it this time.

"Naruto please," Saku said, taking his hand in hers. "Don't let her go out there: she's not going to be strong enough to handle that."

"But she loves him," he said. "She should be there when we save him."

"I know, but–"

"I'll be there," he insisted, "and so will Kakashi-Sensei, and Sai's coming, and–"

"Please!"

Naruto frowned at her. "If you really are Sakura, you would understand."

She was on the verge of tears – he noticed this, but was confused nonetheless. What was wrong with saving Sasuke?

"O-of course Naruto..." She drifted off, her eyes catching the edge of the door and holding it, afraid of the supportive grin Naruto was offering her.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't let anything happen to her."

Saku nodded. "I-I know you won't, Naruto-kun."

She sighed. "Can you at least pass something on to her for me?"

He grinned. "Of course!"

Saku had forgotten just how stubbornly optimistic Naruto was… it was something she hadn't realised she would miss until he was gone.

– The Heart's Desire –

Saku was in tears by the time Naruto had left and Neji heard her soft sobs through the door. There was no-one scheduled to come for awhile, so he entered the small but elegant suite she'd been placed in.

"Saku?" He asked.

She looked up at him from her curled up position on the two person couch, but said nothing. The streaks running down her face indicated she wasn't one to wear excessive makeup – for which he was grateful – and although her sobs had stopped at his entrance, she still looked like she needed a good cry. She sniffled, pulling herself into an upright position.

"You're in love with her," she said.

There was no context and it wasn't a question, but Neji wasn't stupid: he heard the conviction in her words. Sitting down next to her, he nodded his head silently and she smiled at him.

"Tell her," Saku said, holding Neji's hand tightly. "Don't let her give up just because of some stupid childhood crush."

He looked down at their entwined hands. "Are you telling me she doesn't love him?"

Again, without naming names, they both knew who they were talking about.

"I'm telling you she's not going out there to profess her love. She'll accept the fact that she can't save him very soon, but when she does, she'll fall, and you need to be there to catch her."

Neji looked up at Saku, frowning. "How do you know all of this?"

"Because I am her," she said, and moved Neji's hand to her baby bump – it wasn't obvious through her clothes, but the moment his hand rested on her stomach, he could feel it. "And this is yours."

– The Heart's Desire –

She couldn't find him anywhere.

Sakura was avoiding visiting her counterpart, so she decided to go see Neji instead. He wasn't at any of the training grounds, his usual places around the village – his team hadn't seen him for days – and the Hyuuga estate was eerily quiet for this time of day.

What the hell was going on? Was he somehow involved in what was going on with… Saku?

Sakura scoffed. Like that person was her.

'Of course she's us.'

Sakura sighed. 'Shut up inner.'

She knew it was true, but that didn't mean she had to admit it, even to herself. The girl was pregnant for Kami's sake! What kind of irresponsible Kunoichi would risk that?

Sakura gave up looking for Neji, figuring she'd run into him sooner or later. The fact that her first thought was to look for him and not the rest of her team was not lost on her. But that inevitable conundrum could wait. Tomorrow, she would find out if they could go after Sasuke. One problem at a time.

– The Heart's Desire –

Neji couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You lied?"

Saku shook her head. "No, everything I said was the truth, or at least not a complete lie." She sighed. "It's just very different in the future I come from."

'The future.'

How was he supposed to take that? Saku came from the future… the baby growing inside of her was his, not some counterpart's… and she'd taken liberties with her testimony to everyone who had spoken to her since her arrival. As a ninja, he was shocked at this, but… the more he thought about it, it made sense. She was questioned intensely enough when people thought she was just from an alternate world. He could only imagine how worse it would've been if someone like Danzou knew she was from the future.

It was certainly giving him ideas.

Neji nodded his head slowly at her comment. He wanted to know how long it would be before Sakura turned to him, how long before he could hold her, but he didn't want to appear rude. Odds were that Saku knew how he was feeling. Her hand went to her stomach absentmindedly and he couldn't help the soft smile that graced his features. That was his child, his heir, not the Uchiha's. Neji reached out without thinking and touched Saku's stomach gently. His smile was infectious, and she responded by placing her hand on his.

The quiet that often fell between them was like a blanket: warm, inviting and useful. It gave them time to think and when Saku spoke, breaking the silence, it was as though they hadn't missed a beat in the conversation.

"I never got over it," she said. "Being there with him didn't change anything – I hated it for years, and that kept me from you."

Neji instinctively knew she was talking about the upcoming mission to seek out Sasuke.

"For years?" He hardly believed that was true – after all, she didn't look any older than the Sakura he knew. Neji peered at her for a moment, remembering something. "Lady Hokage's vanity jutsu?"

Saku smiled. "Yes. Don't look at me like that, I'm not a fifty year old woman – I'm not even thirty yet. But I couldn't tell everyone I was from the future, so I just took a few years off to throw them off." She shrugged. "It's harmless."

He wanted to ask her what her age was. Neji shifted, uncomfortable.

Saku laughed. "Calm down, it's no big deal."

"But why did you come back?"

"It wasn't premeditated, I assure you."

"How?"

"I took advantage of a jutsu."

Neji frowned. "What jutsu?"

Saku shrugged her shoulders. "He was trying to go back, to change things so he could change things – to stop the attack on Konoha from ever happening. But I have no idea what jutsu it was that he cast."

"Who?" Neji's hand inched toward her again, as though emphasising his interest in her answer. If someone was planning an attack on Konoha, he needed to know – the Hokage needed to prepare. And more than that, why hadn't Saku said something before now?

"You have time," she said, correctly interpreting the mixture of curiosity and confusion on his face and ignoring his question. He was easier to read the longer someone spoke with him – and Neji Hyuuga was not known for his conversational skills.

She took his hand quickly, gripping tightly. He had been a source of comfort for her for years before that jutsu. She frowned, staring into those pale eyes of his. "I only have now, but it doesn't matter. I tried to talk to Naruto, but he wouldn't listen. Neji, I need to ask you a favour."

He raised an elegant eyebrow. "What is it?"

She inhaled deeply. "I need you to stop her from going."

Her words were clear as day. But Neji wasn't sure he heard her right.

"You want me to stop Sakura from going after Sasuke?"

"Yes." She nodded. "He's going to die Neji – not because some other rogue turns up and kills him or Naruto gets a brain transplant and just decides to take him out. He's going to die because he would rather die than come back to Konoha. Nothing and no-one will be able to convince him. She's… she's not strong enough–"

Neji held up a hand to stop her. "You look at that day with regret because you couldn't save Sasuke. But what if you hadn't been there to see him before he died? I may not know you very well, yet, but I don't think you'd ever forgive yourself for not trying."

The truth hit her hard. Saku nodded, leaning into him as his arms instinctively encircled her. She cried lightly, trying not to sob. Naruto's optimism hadn't worked on her, but somehow, Neji's logic had.

How?

"Saku," Neji said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

She shook her head. "I'm okay."

"It's too late anyway."

She looked up at him. "They've already left?" She asked.

"Not yet, but soon. I'm sorry Saku, but I won't try to stop them."

She sighed, wiping at her tears. "I know Neji. You're better than that."

Neji fought the smile creeping onto his face. It was such an amusing comment, despite the seriousness of the situation. And the smile came anyway.

"Don't get cocky," she said, pushing him playfully. "I'm still better than you."

He chuckled. "I know." He kissed her forehead. "I feel like I can relax around you – around the both of you. If it honestly wasn't for Sakura, I think I really would be the ice cube people see me as."

Saku just nodded.

The silence came again. Except this time, Neji asked a question she'd been refusing to answer for days.

"Who is planning on taking over Konoha?"

She hesitated. "Danzou."

'Why am I surprised?'

Neji tried to absorb that. "Danzou Shimura…"

She didn't respond, just waiting. Neji knew the man was ambitious, having been in the room when the last five council meetings were held – as the official Hyuuga heir, he was now expected to sit through said meetings: to be seen and not heard… until he formally replaced Hiashi. And Danzou was definitely ruthless. He was offensive toward Tsunade and anyone who happened to agree with her on something – he made no effort to hide his distaste for her.

But was he capable of attacking his own village?

"He didn't do it for the reasons you might be thinking," Saku said, interrupting his thoughts. "Danzou's one of those idiots who thinks he knows better than anyone else, so in his mind, he was just making Konoha stronger."

"By attacking it?" Neji asked, letting his newfound fury slip through his normally well guarded tone of voice.

"I just said he was an idiot, Neji," she patronized. "But my point is that this was just his initial reason: over time, he changed his mind. Danzou decided that the strength belonging to Konoha was his and his alone – he grew more and more vicious, and by the end, he believed everyone wanted him dead. They probably did, but the proof was never there. So he started looking for enemies and taking out everyone who didn't bow down before him."

Neji clenched his fists. He was having trouble keeping that Hyuuga mask up, and the thought of some tyrannical ruler marching through the streets of Konoha and taking people out for not worshipping him… it was unconscionable.

"He went mad," he said softly.

Saku nodded, frowning at Neji's response. She understood his feelings, but this wasn't the calm, collected Hyuuga heir she knew better than herself. She debated now, whether or not to tell him the next part – he would probably storm after Danzou right now and take him out, ally or not.

Neji took some time to calm down, allowing Saku to pull him into her one arm hug and feeling his breath deepen as she rested her head on his shoulder. He couldn't get his head around it, and he needed to know more.

"Tell me," he said. "I need to know."

Saku shivered involuntarily. "Neji, I–"

"Saku, please." Acting very un-Neji like, he twisted around to face her, the look on his face worrying her. "What is he planning?"

She lifted a hand to caress the side of his face. "I'll tell you what he did in my time, if you promise me you won't take this information and become some kind of lone assassin. I'll tell you what you need to do to stop him – I've already seen his plan coming to fruition, so my information will be invaluable."

Neji hesitated, and then nodded, staring fixedly into her sorrowful orbs. This knowledge was killing her too – he could see it in her eyes. She had witnessed, whatever it was, and it hurt her more than Sasuke's death.

She smiled, trying not to tear up: she could feel the stinging building up in the corner of her eyes but forced herself to calm down and not cry as she answered his question.

"He used his Root agents in surprise attacks that systematically wiped out the Shinobi clans."

– The Heart's Desire –

The gates to Konoha had never looked larger to her. Sakura wanted to go find Sasuke, really she did, but she was getting a bad feeling. She couldn't explain it. Standing behind the rest of Team Kakashi, she felt a sudden urge to run in the opposite direction.

"Are you ready Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked warily, interrupting her thoughts.

Pushing down her fears, she nodded. "Let's do it."

"Alright," Kakashi motioned to the rest of the team.

They all nodded to him; there was no need to respond verbally to their taichou's tacit commands. But before they could move out, Sai glanced back at the village – this move was immediately mirrored by his team mates. The Hokage Monument drew his attention and, for a moment, he wondered if he would ever see it again. It was a sentimental thought and a surprise, even to himself.

After a moment, Yamato cleared his throat and all eyes instead faced the woods outside the entrance to the village.

"Let's move," Kakashi said, his jaw set, his voice calm and his thoughts unconcerned.

He was always good at lying, especially to himself.

They'd gone after Sasuke before; he'd tried to kill all of them at least once already. But this was different. This was the last time. It could never happen again. And as Kakashi led his team into the waiting forest, he couldn't stop thinking about the intelligence that had set them on this course: Sasuke's old team mate Jūgo, had been seen in the land of rivers with what the reports stated was an unconscious form. That form had to be Sasuke.

They were banking on it.

But even the best laid plan was doomed to fail when the enemy wasn't where they were supposed to be.

Kakashi sensed him first. Sasuke was alone, standing on a tree branch and waiting to ambush them. He'd come in close to Konoha, knowing it would be Team Kakashi that went to go get him. Not waiting for them to prepare themselves, Sasuke darted forward, activating his Sharingan and Chidori, he ran straight for Sakura…

– The Heart's Desire –

Neji stared incredulously at Saku. He was in shock. The anger seemed gone however, with the stoic ice cube expression that was rumoured to reflect his personality, back in place. But she knew better than to think he didn't care. A slight twitch of his eyebrows told her of the internal battle. He'd promised not to go running off and just kill Danzou. But why wouldn't Saku want the ugly man killed? It didn't make any sense. She was distraught, he could tell: why wasn't she gunning for some violence?

Swallowing heavily, Neji did the only thing he could think of: he fell back onto his ninja training.

"I should tell the Hokage," he said evenly, and moved to stand up.

Saku grabbed his arm. "No."

"She should know," Neji said, sounding calmer than he felt.

"And she will," she said. "Please, Neji, just stay with me for now."

"How–"

"There is plenty of time left for that," she insisted. "But you and I don't have that luxury."

Neji relented, caving into the barely controlled anguish on her face. There was something else about him she wasn't saying.

Saku tried to smile but failed: she tilted her head away from him. "You were there when I fell through the jutsu to get here… I remember an explosion, and…" She trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud. Her Neji had been killed instantly in that explosion – she'd seen him fall before the jutsu fully encompassed her: the last of the Hyuuga. She'd already told him once that she was surprised to see him alive, so the words weren't necessary this time.

"Who cast the jutsu to go back in time?"

Saku smiled. "Naruto."

She cuddled up against him, her right hand moving instinctively to her stomach. Saku knew what was going to happen soon, what with her past self on her way out to fail to bring Sasuke back. Well, she estimated that he'd found them by now.

"Promise me you won't push her away."

"Sakura?"

"Mm hm. She'll need you. The first time around… you avoided me. You thought I didn't love you: you never were very good with understanding human interactions." She gripped the front of his shirt and spoke desperately, without looking up at him. "Promise me, Neji."

"I promise, Saku."

"Good."

He needed to know the details of Danzou's planned coup d'état. Saku asked for pen and paper and got to work. It took her over an hour to write down everything she knew. It wasn't proof, but it would lead Tsunade to the things she needed to find said proof. The Root leader hid his shady dealings well: it was perfect. The man was involved with enemies of Konoha (they didn't really know who they were dealing with) as well as working with underground movements in other ninja villages. His reach extended far and wide, but it had little to no paper trail, guarded heavily and flawlessly.

Neji moved to the window as Saku worked, and another hour passed: Saku was beginning to feel, weird. Neji had made her a promise, she gave him what they needed to take down Danzou… it would appear she was changing this for the better after all.

She just wished she could stick around long enough to see it come to fruition. The suite was warm, but she shivered, standing up from her position at the writing desk. She sighed and stretched.

"Are you okay?"

She turned and smiled at Neji. "Sure. It's not every day I get to set things straight." She chuckled. "And it's not every day Neji Hyuuga gets emotional either. All in all, I'd say it was worth it."

"Worth what?"

"Oh come on Neji, you're smart. I don't belong here – this was a one way trip. It may have not been my intention to come back with my own body, but what's done is done."

Neji inhaled sharply and strode over to her. "You're leaving."

"Of course. The future is changing, I can feel it. Naruto really knew what he was doing with this jutsu – even if he did need the Kyuubi to make it work, and couldn't ultimately come through himself." She smiled. "It's time for me to go."

He stared at her. How was he supposed to respond? He wanted to hold her, so Neji pulled her into a hug. "I'll miss you," he whispered, hoping this was enough.

"Now don't go getting teary on me Neji," she joked. "How will anyone take you seriously?" Saku looked up at him. "I love you Neji Hyuuga – don't you ever dare doubt that."

She lowered his face to hers, kissing him as she started to fade: her form left him, the feel of her body pressed against his becoming air in her place – the air felt warm in the aftermath of her disappearance. Neji fought the tears that threatened to spill (it wasn't right). He just stood there, more angry and distraught than he could ever remember feeling in his life.

It was like losing little pieces of himself… and he didn't even realise he was whole to begin with.

– The Heart's Desire –

She wasn't a Genin anymore dammit!

Sakura spun out of the way of Sasuke's attack, clenching her fists tightly in preparation to retaliate. But he disappeared.

What the hell?

She turned around, realising she wasn't even in the woods anymore. The world wasn't red and black, so it wasn't Tsukiyomi, right?

'Genjutsu.'

She tried to dispel it, thinking it was just a normal illusion. But something conjured by the Sharingan was clearly not so easily broken.

"Sakura!"

Naruto's voice rang in her head, but she still couldn't see him, or Kakashi, Sai or Yamato. But she could hear them. They were fighting. Was Sasuke toying with her?

"You're too weak."

That slippery voice made her shudder. He was in her head, taunting her.

"Why?" She asked, refusing to give in and cower, even though every fibre of her body was screaming to be let free. "Because I'm not you?"

"Because you're Sakura Haruno: everyone knows the stupid fan girl is weak and pathetic."

She opened her mouth to retaliate and stopped at the sound of kunai hitting kunai. Another thought occurred to her. "If I'm so weak, why did you bother putting me in this genjutsu? Shouldn't I have just keeled over the moment you attacked me?"

A bitter laugh. He was never going to sound sincere when he laughed. The curse of being Sasuke Uchiha.

"Sakura… you know the reason."

"Dammit! Let me out and start treating me like an equal!" She snarled. "I'll kill you myself Uchiha!"

He laughed again. "You couldn't kill yourself."

And then she was falling. The strange world (a painted landscape that reminded her of one of Sai's most recent pieces) disappeared around her and from underneath her. She blinked heavily, feeling herself coming out of the genjutsu.

'Is he letting me go?"

No, that didn't sound right.

And then it was obvious: Sasuke was falling, not her. But he was trying to take her with him.

Someone had torn a nasty gash in his side and he was bleeding out. Sasuke had a grip on Sakura with several snakes – there was a cliff, a deep chasm that looked like it's been caused by Gamabunta or one of Naruto's other summoning toads.

Naruto, for his part, was attempting to put out a wall of black flames while Kakashi was unconscious – Sai was high above them, on an ink bird, Yamato with him. They'd clearly split into two teams to deal with what sounded like multiple of Sasuke's summoning creatures.

How could one ninja cause so much trouble?

Sakura redirected her attention to her own problem. Sasuke looked half dead, with no expression and a weird, half hearted continuous tugging on her arm. She pulled out a kunai, wincing at some unseen injury (what the fuck?) and lashed out at Sasuke, focusing her chakra scalpel to cut through him. Even barely conscious, he evaded her attack.

"Sasuke," she muttered, groaning with pain as her stomach bent over the edge of the crevasse. "Just let go."

He grinned at her, the twisted smirk not remotely attractive. "Come with me."

The old Sakura might've been tempted…

"Sakura, no!"

What was it about Naruto's voice?

Sakura shook her head as the blonde finally made it over to them. Sasuke spotted Naruto, and their eyes locked. The knucklehead still wanted to save him. The Uchiha shook his head.

"Fool," he mumbled, and let go of Sakura.

Her scream echoed down after his falling body; Naruto prevented the rest of her from following.

Sakura sobbed into Naruto's shirt, clutching him so tightly she could feel herself going numb. Sasuke was gone. Somehow, Saku's words (via Naruto) rang true in her head: "Go to him, cry over him, but don't fall with him."

She had known.

Anger replaced sorrow. She growled, pushing away from Naruto and standing up shakily.

She needed answers.

– The Heart's Desire –

The return to Konoha was not as happy as they'd hoped, but they were in one piece... for the most part. Sakura left her team at the gate (having healed the mysterious gash in her side) and headed straight for the Hyuuga estate. Aware of her frightful post-battle look, she ignored the stares she was attracting: the compound was lively again, but she found the suite her counterpart was being held in quickly. She could feel her inner coming apart and was holding her grief in…

Sakura didn't want to start balling her eyes out. She could do that later. Right now, she had a bone to pick with herself.

But a surprise awaited her. The only people standing just in the doorway were Tsunade and Neji.

"Sakura!"

Sakura shook her head at the Hokage, but accepted the hug from her shishou. Neji looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. He turned to Tsunade. "Saku is gone, Lady Tsunade."

"She's gone?" Tsunade asked, letting go of Sakura. "Where?"

"She vanished into thin air Lady Hokage," Neji said, ignoring the small sound of surprise from the pinkette next to him. Her sudden arrival was threatening to unravel him. He needed to get this over and done with.

"How is that possible?" Sakura asked. "Did she fall into some inter-dimensional portal or something?"

"No." Neji turned his body to look directly at her. "She wasn't from another world." He took in her confused face and the way she bit her bottom lip – it was becoming dangerously intoxicating. "She was you."

Sakura's jaw dropped and he smiled at the sight. "She was… from the future?" She asked quietly.

He nodded.

"Neji, why didn't you say anything before now?" Tsunade asked, drawing his attention back to her.

"It was too dangerous," he said. "Saku asked me not to say anything until she left."

"But why tell you?"

"Someone had to know, and you assigned me to keep an eye on her."

"Hm. Makes sense."

Tsunade was convinced, but Sakura was looking at him thoughtfully, biting her lip again. His mind was torn between wondering what had happened with Sasuke and what she was feeling right now for him.

Kami, this was hard.

And that was when the flood gates released. Sakura broke down, sobbing and shaking. Tsunade was the one to hold her – it just seemed right. They both stood and waited out her emotional outburst. She was entitled to it. She had earned it. And somewhere deep inside, she welcomed it.

– The Heart's Desire –

The months seemed to be dragging on. Neji was keeping his promise to Saku: he offered his help when Sakura was moving out of her parent's place and into a new apartment, "accidentally" bumped into her while buying groceries, and pointed out Naruto in a crowd when the blonde idiot was able to hide from everything except for the Byakugan. Naruto had come so far in his training, but still didn't know how not to anger Sakura.

When Hinata was supposed to meet Sakura to help her with her training but got inconveniently called away to a new mission with her new team, Neji "happened" upon their usual training ground, but didn't have to offer, as the pinkette was looking to blow off some steam with the first able bodied ninja that wandered into her personal space.

Apparently, the first time round, he'd avoided her even at the cost of leaving her alone when what she needed the most was company. It sounded like him: making someone's pain worse while thinking he was actually doing them a favour. He wasn't a social creature, so the ins and outs of doing the right thing in this situation was out of his league. But for right now, he seemed to be doing okay. Sakura was responding, and even started going out of her way to talk to him.

Three months after Saku's disappearance and Danzou's incarceration, the date of his impending execution was announced. Neji had taken pleasure in personally escorting the prisoner to the dais where he was to be publically executed. The man was arrogant and stubborn, never renouncing his belief that Konoha was doomed without him and they were making a grave mistake by killing him. He wore that conceited scowl on his face until it was torn away from him. He did not die in peace.

It was another month before Neji saw Sakura again – her team was out of the village on some S rank mission that no-one other than them, the Hokage, and elders were supposed to know about.

He would've gone looking for her, but it seemed great minds thought alike – they ran into each other on top of the Hokage Residence – where they'd taken his picture.

"It didn't come out," she said, having come up behind him as he looked out over the village. "There was a blast of chakra – it interfered with the picture."

Neji smiled at that. "Well, I guess I still need to take it then."

Sakura smiled back at him as he turned to face her. "You know, I only insisted on taking that photo because I knew it would annoy you."

Neji shook his head. "It didn't annoy me."

"Could've fooled me."

He chuckled softly and she smirked. "Neji Hyuuga can laugh," she mocked. "Well I'll be. Anything else you can do that I should know about?"

"I was nervous," he said. "But not because of the photo."

"Hm… because of me?" She asked innocently. "Oh, I know I'm intimidating. Everyone says so."

Neji brushed strand of pink hair off of her face. "You don't scare me Haruno."

"Well, it's only the beginning of our ninja careers, or so I've heard," she said cheekily, winking. "I've got plenty of time to find out what scares you."

He thought about that. "I think I fear not knowing where I'm going."

"Naaw!" She pouted. "You just took the fun right out of that!"

He chuckled again. "And another thing, Sakura: it's time to come clean about that photo session."

She frowned. "I like you Neji, a lot, and I wanted to–"

"To take my picture?" He asked, confused. "The photographer was sick, how could you–"

She mumbled something incoherently.

"What was that?"

Sakura blushed. "H-he wasn't s-sick…"

"The photographer… wasn't sick?" She shook her head and Neji lowered his head to touch hers. "You conniving Kunoichi."

"Well how else was I going to get you to have your picture taken?" She asked heatedly, her warm breath tickling his mouth. "That task was delicate enough, so–"

"So you were fully intending on physically restraining me if I didn't behave?"

She nodded. "You are troublesome Neji Hyuuga."

"Ditto."

Sakura smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him into her kiss. It was everything they had both hoped for – a perfect blend of sweet, passion, and delight. She pulled away first, thinking about everything that had happened. Saku had apparently told Neji to follow his heart's desire. Sakura decided it was time she grabbed hers as well.

She kissed him again. This time, she shunshined them away – to her apartment. Their future started in the here and now…

X X X

A/N: Nah hah hah, tricked you, lol. She wasn't an alternate version.
Well, it had it's depressing moments, but all's well that ends well, ne? Eh. Time for bed… got an early start and should've gone to bed an hour ago. :)

Thanx for reading, now review. ;)