This is a Neji x Sakura one-shot fan fiction!
She was the one who came and left like a flash of memory in my head…Yes, I was in love with her.
Yes, I fell deeply in love with her.
Yes, I admit I couldn't live without her.
But then…she left and I was alone.
It was a year ago when I started to notice that bubblegum-haired girl with big pair of green eyes. At first we were aloof towards each other. In all truth, it was I who was aloof towards her. It was I after all, the distant me who would never, ever want to be attached with somebody especially her.
I slowly discovered that deep-seated kindness in her heart, which nobody, nobody ever cared to recognize. She was just simple-minded yet compassionate. She was always at the background, but it was just too easy to distinguish her from others. She was that lighthearted and high-spirited pink-haired girl I never thought that would actually make a great impact on me. She was just herself, I guess.
I don't need a very powerful kunoichi or a woman with nice curves. I just wanted her. That kind-hearted person was all I needed.
Yes, I am from a powerful clan. Yet I still don't think I need someone who was invulnerable and invincible like me. I guess, I just wanted someone who would need me. I need someone who would feel lost and helpless without me. It just makes me feel like I am part of that person, a part of her.
I just realized one day that she was the one I was looking for. But it was the stupid me after all. It was I, full of pride. I couldn't say my feelings towards her. I am a genius and idiot at the same time.
And then, it all happened like a wonderful dream, just a wonderful fantasy. I didn't say a word but she understood. She accepted my non-verbal confession and then it happened. We were together, for real.
It was one fateful night and our last night together before she left for mission.
Their skin touched and all of their sweet declarations of love could be heard in the middle of deafening silence.
It was dark and only the full moon give brightness to the dim world when Neji first told her the only words his pride could ever allow. Her head was on his bare arm while he stroked her hair gently. He felt tears on his skin, her tears.
"Sakura…don't cry…"
No answer came from that pink-haired angel.
"Please don't make me regret this…"
Silence took over them for a while and then, Sakura started to talk with her weak, little voice.
"I gave myself once to that person and all I got in return was a goodbye…I was ready to give up everything for him. I was not expecting any affection from him. All I wanted, back then, was to feel that he cared…but he left…" She said while trying to suppress the sobs like that of a little girl. The sobs that made my heart ache so much.
"I don't want to repeat the same mistake ever again, Neji…"
"I won't allow you to make the same mistake," he said in the best way he could.
"Don't leave me the way he did…please," she pleaded as tears flowed even more.
"I won't leave you." Neji said it in his emotionless tone. That was the only thing he could say anyway. That was the first thing that came into his mind that would not hurt his pride severely.
"Please don't make me regret making love with you…" she said in her soft voice.
Neji put his arms around Sakura's body and embraced her lovingly. "Neji, I love you…"
The only respond he could give was to kiss Sakura's head. He stayed that way for a while as he breath in the sweet aroma of Sakura's pink hair. The sweet scent, which would make him remember that pink-haired girl forever.
Sakura raised her upper body and gazed at her lover's pale, emotionless eyes. She smiled gently at him and kissed his lips. Neji cupped her face and kissed her deeply, making the girl melt in his warm but unspoken love.
The next day, she went to an S-class mission. I was assigned to a different squad to avoid any emotional distractions. It all occurred so fast.
We received a report that the squad she belonged to was ambushed and no one was able to survive. She died. Yes. She died just like that.
That endearing girl died. That girl who would love without expecting anything in return died in the most inevitable way.
She was special in her own way. She was beautiful inside and out. She was unique and inimitable. She was she, just that affectionate and kind her.
I guess I failed her in many ways. But I know she didn't anticipate anything from me. I know she just want to be with me without expecting something from me. I also failed myself. I didn't make the most out of my time with her. I let her slip away without telling her the way I truly feel about her.
I was not able to tell her the three words I know she was desperate to hear.
She was gone…just like that, like a flash of wonderful memory in my head…But then…I do, Sakura…
I love you…
End.
Thanks for reading!