Hmm. Something bad just happened, so I'm taking this opportunity to take out my feelings on my poor keyboard. Here is the NejiSaku ficlet that had been tugging at my mind for the past few WEEKS... XD

Neji is lost in the woods on a blizzaring day, and just when he thinks all is lost, he meets an angel...

Disclaimer: Don't own anything...I can't think of anything funnier to say, so I'll leave it at that...

--Sanded Silk-- ♥ (heehee, I finally learned how to do this heart thing!)

Neji blamed this all on Tsunade. After all, if Tsunade hadn't sent him on a LONE mission, at least he wouldn't have been suffering this alone! And maybe he would have finished the mission in time to return home, and to MISS the blizzard that was hitting him full in the face right now!

Neji was racing- more like walking- home, from a long mission that he had been sent to do by Tsunade. It had been in the dead of winter, but snow hadn't fallen yet. However, anyone could have been able to tell from the signs that there would be a huge snow storm coming up soon; the sheet-white clouds, the still air, the silent birds. Neji was stupid enough to forget his winter woolens when he set out for his mission. Now, he was paying the price.

He trudged through the snow, against the howling wind and fist-size snow flakes, trying to hide as much of his face from the cold as he could without totally blinding himself. He couldn't feel any of his body, and parts that he COULD feel were extremely cold.

Neji couldn't help but to feel bad for himself as he forced his racked body through the snow, toward Konoha. His fingers and toes felt like they would fall off, and pretty soon, his body would probably start feeling like it was one big frost bite. His breath, ragged and uneven, blew out in uneven puffs of white smoke, and froze in tiny droplets, before blowing backwards into its creator.

Neji blew out a hard, long breath, emptying his lungs, and bracing himself against the hard ice droplets that his breath formed. He reached up with his cold, feelingless fingers to rub his cold nose, before retracting his hands to tuck them in his sleeves.

Neji felt his hair whip violently around him. Screw his stupid hair band for falling out so quickly, and screw himself for allowing his hair to grow long. Neji forced his byakugan to work. He scanned the area weakly for any signs of life, but saw none. He closed his eyes, deactivating his byakugan.

Finally, a huge gust of howling wind encircled him, whipping his hair around him, slapping against his skin, and slammed him into a nearby tree. Neji felt the tree crack behind him, despite his numbness, and he fell into the icy snow. He lay there, motionless, allowing the cold to sink into his chest, his legs, his arms, his cheek. He grabbed a handful in one hand and clenched it into a ball.

This was it.

He was going to die here.

Neji lay there, not moving a muscle, and waited for the darkness and numbness to close in.

Suddenly, just as he was on the verge of his doom, something white and pink flashed in the tail of his eye. Neji's eyes flew open, and he glanced around.

Nothing.

He closed his eyes again, this time more tightly. He was hallucinating now. Wonderful.

"Neji."

The voice, silky smooth and sweet, called to him from a far-away place. And yet, at the same time, it was demanding, firm. It felt like, for a moment to Neji, that the voice could help him stand and make his way back to Konoha. Neji's eyes flew open again. This time, an ethereal feeling washed over him, and for a moment, he forgot the pain that the cold brought him.

Then he saw her.

It was a young woman; probably his age. She had stark pink hair, snowy-pale skin, and soft emerald eyes. She wore nothing but a long, sleeved gown that hung gracefully over her perfect frame. The gown brushed the edges of the snow around her feet, and the collar was a wide V-shape that parted a few inches below the dip in her collar bone and sprouted out over her delicate shoulder bones. She glowed slightly, probably from the spiritual warmth that Neji lacked so dramatically. The wind didn't seem to be affecting her, because her hair and garments were completely still, and even though her skin was pale, it wasn't from the cold. Her hands were clasped in front of her, her perfect fingers intertwined into each other. The most beautiful, peaceful smile Neji had ever seen graced her petite facial features.

Somehow, he found the strength to stand and to brace himself against a tree trunk. He couldn't take his eyes off the lovely young woman before him as he stood there, the wind whipping his hair sideways, his breath coming out slightly more evenly and not as painfully.

The young woman walked toward him, stretching her arms open into a welcoming embrace as she did. Neji didn't want to move, didn't want to prove her another hallucination, and stood still, fearful that she would be a fake hope, as she approached, her arms still in a questioning embrace.

When her cold-hot skin touched his, and her body pressed slightly against his, Neji let go of the tree in shock. She was real! was all he could think of as he stood there in the embrace of an angel. Her arms were wrapped lightly around his neck, her face snuggled between his rugged cheek and her own perfect arm.

"Sleep, Neji," She murmured into his ear. Already, Neji felt tired and sluggish. "No... can't sleep... I'll die..." She laughed, a sound that rang like bells. "Sleep," She repeated. Neji felt himself fall forward, bracing his weight fully against the smaller woman before her, too tired to think of her well-being as she stood there, supporting his stronger, bigger body.

All he last remembered was a flash of pink, a surge of emerald, and a sense of peace, before his eyelids drooped and his senses numbed.

When Neji woke up, his eyes didn't wake up along with the rest of his body. Although he was fully concious and feeling fine, his eyes refused to open. He didn't want to be proven that his hallucination of the pink-haired angel was un-real.

He did open his eyes, however, when the voices around him began to get too annoying. "...Found him lying by the front gates..." "...Could have frost bite..." "... Don't know how he made it back alive..." Neji opened his silvery eyes half-way, and when everyone saw that he had awaken, they crowded his bed, bombarding him with questions. "Are you all right?" "Do you need a drink of water?" "I'll move the heater by your bed, all right?"

Neji blinked at his visitors. "Yes. No. Whatever you wish." A few people laughed lightly. "Same old, same old..." Others looked extremely relieved.

Suddenly, much to Neji's relief, a nurse came rushing in. "My goodness! Leave the poor young man alone! Everyone, OUT!" She pointed her finger at the door. The murmuring crowd left. The nurse turned to face Neji. "Your doctor will be right here, all right?" She hurried out the door before Neji had a chance to reply.

Neji sighed and turned his face to the window.

He heard the door quietly open and close, and soft footsteps approach his bed side. "Neji," A voice said gently.

Neji snapped his head around, eyes wide. For a moment, he felt the presence of the angel, and heard her voice. But what he saw was the pink-haired, emerald-eyed doctor that everyone knew as Haruno Sakura. A knowing glint glowed in the depths of her eyes as she ignored his questioning stare.

"So, how do you feel?"

A/N: Done! Yay! I don't know if you'd say that the ending was good or not... which is EXACTLY why I want you to REVIEW!!

... :D

But seriously. Tell me what you think!

--Sanded Silk--