This is the tenth in a series of stories that were created from my previous fic, "Twenty Men." The theme number can be explained once you read it. I am proud to dedicate "Project: Twenty Men" to Aloha Laney. She's a dear friend.
Title: Meditation
Author: Ita-ta
Pairings: NejiSaku
Theme: 7
Rating: T for teens.
Disclaimer: All Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Note: Please review; they fuel my drive for writing.
Summary: There was to be no meditating under a Sakura tree ever again.
Meditation
"There, that should be good for you then, Hyuuga-san." The young medic smiled nervously at him and she turned to her superior who met her nervous gaze with an approving look. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Alright, Ami-san, thank-you for that," Sakura nodded at her, stepping aside to allow the poor girl an escape from the intimidating Hyuuga currently sitting on his bed, poking at the newly applied bandages that Ami had meticulously put together.
Sakura was to see how well the youngest nurses could keep in their professional mood around the more, ah, impassive patients. She'd dragged Neji to the hospital on a promise of a long and rigorous training session afterwards and there really wasn't any choice for the poor Hyuuga.
"Well that should be the last one for today. How did you get that injury so bad, anyway?" She'd had to take care of the most gruesome part of the wound, when it was fresh and streaming blood down his torso. Needless to say, his pristine white shirt was seriously ruined.
"Inuzuka was rougher than intended today." Kiba wasn't normally a practise partner for the Hyuuga and the two men gave each other a run for their money.
"Ah," She nodded in enlightenment. She smiled and offered her hand to him, which he took and together they set off out of the hospital, quickly taking to the roofs toward their training ground. After they'd tussled around in a few of them, Tsunade had finally caved and closed off a space specifically for them. Amusingly enough, there was a single Sakura tree by the training area and it marked the place well.
"Ready?" He asked her monotonously and all he got in answer was her foot tapping the ground and hair-line cracks fissuring out after him. Ten minutes later, Neji had lost his shirt in the rubble and Sakura's hair was loose, having had the tie ripped childishly out by Neji after a particularly rough shove.
They stood five feet away from each other, catching their breath. Neji recovered first and used it to his advantage, choosing to engage her in close combat. Due to their fighting styles, this was equally dangerous to them. If either took a hit, it would be crippling. Sakura twisted and twirled and took her own shots. Neji narrowly dodged, ducked and jabbed at her.
A particular moment stood out as Neji shot his arm out to catch her collar bone but she bent backwards and twisted out of the way, sliding against his side with her front as they continued their match. She danced around him like a cat, stretching and brushing against him as he tried to catch her. It was very distracting and it wasn't helping that Neji was allowing it to be distracting.
She noticed the slower reaction times and took advantage, getting in a particularly nasty blow that dislocated his shoulder. Sakura heard the familiar popping sound as his arm came out of its socket and Neji cussed in pain.
"Dammit Sakura," He groaned, trying not to move the arm and his vision blanked by the pain searing like a hot-iron through his arm to the back of his eyes. Sakura grabbed his uninjured wrist and led him to the Sakura tree, gently making him sit down.
"Guess I put a little more into that than I meant to," She chuckled, and she grinned apologetically at the pained glare that he shot her. "Okay, Neji, this is going to hurt but I have to realign it." She stated, looking to him for permission.
He inclined his head in a slight nod, eyes shut as a jolt of pain attacked him again. He could feel her feather light touch travel the length of his arm, raising hairs as she went. He felt her warm chakra enter his system as her right hand settled lightly on his shoulder and her left held his arm securely. He couldn't stop the sigh of relief that escaped him as she numbed the pain.
Unfortunately, without the pain distracting him, he became painfully aware of how close she actually was. Her scent of peaches and cream enveloped him, the warmth of her body heat radiating off of her in waves. Unbidden, his head leaned a little closer to her, but he kept his eyes shut. He winced only minutely as she popped his arm back in place, it was replaced by a sigh as she numbed the pain very quickly. He relaxed fully against the tree, feeling the effects of Sakura's chakra making him fall into a meditative state.
He could faintly hear her now, the calm making it hard to concentrate on her words. "I've made you a little sedated because I didn't want you jarring your arm so quickly after I'd healed it. It'll need a few minutes to recover." He only caught wisps of this as his other senses took over, feeling that she'd settled beside him and that they were leaning on each other. Her scent overwhelmed him again and instinctively, his head lolled to rest on her shoulder, settling comfortably in the hollow nook, his nose brushing against the soft skin and taking it in. He shouldn't be doing this, he knew, but his guards were down and everything was instinctual in this state of mind.
When he spoke her name, it was in a roughened sleepy voice. "Sakura," He felt her shift, showing that he had her attention. His other senses noted that her heartbeat had quickened under the pulse point his ear was rested upon. "…You smell good." He felt almost reluctant to impart that opinion to her but he appreciated her reaction.
She chuckled, the vibrations shooting pleasant sensations through his senses. "Yes, I've been told that my scent is apparently edible." She commented, unknowingly sending a rush of unbidden impulses and images into Neji's mind.
For some reason, he decided that he could act of some of them and slowly he turned his head inward, his lips brushing along the sensitive pulse point his ear was previously over. He heard her sharp intake of breath but she didn't stop him. Taking that as encouragement, he opened his mouth and lolled his tongue out, tasting the skin that did very much have a peach tang to it.
"Mmm," he hummed in masculine satisfaction and his eyes slowly opened, taking in her slightly shocked expression but not missing the very endearing blush that had ignited in her cheeks. She looked like she was starting to recover, to start distancing herself to him but he was having nothing of it. Before she could move away, his arms shot out and pulled her to him, dragging her onto his lap and holding her securely there. She wasn't yelling or screaming at him so he knew that she'd liked it, even if she'd tried to pull away.
"Don't go," He rumbled, the vibrations from his chest to her back was giving her shivers. She gasped, only just now processing his words. Her eyes flew to meet his languid lavender gaze. "I want to…" For some reason, his usually brilliant mind wasn't willing to help him articulate his desire for her.
She got the message though, as she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his in a soft, chaste kiss. It was enough to get him to respond more strongly, his arms around her tightening and pulling her closer for a deeper, longer kiss.
His calculative mind did give him the fact that they were deep into the woods where nobody would see them. They'd sense it if anyone came as well. With that decision made, he broke off to trail steady wet kisses down the column of her neck, her hands reaching up to tangle in his hair.
Doing things with senses and instincts was so much better in this case. He let his mind disappear into that meditative state again, only letting the sensations take over and haze his mind into bliss.
She let her hands wander over his torso, the same feather light touch as before that sent tremors through him. She let out a giggle at his response and took the upper-hand as he'd paused. She leaned forward, kissing along his jaw line and down his neck, just skirting the edges of his pulse point. His breathing quickened, body instinctively allowing her more room by tilting his head to the side. Carefully, and feather light, she scraped her teeth along the pulse point and earned a sharp intake of breath. His hand travelled up into her hair, tangling in the silky pink tresses. Then she bit down playfully on it and he let a deep moan escape him as he finally started to retaliate.
Their escapades lasted well into the afternoon until both were completely satisfied and Sakura had to go for dinner that she promised Naruto and Sasuke. She gave him a quick butterfly kiss and danced away from him before he could drag her back. Then she disappeared into the foliage with a whispered farewell.
The young Hyuuga straightened himself up to lean properly against the Sakura tree and tried to slip into a meditative state to properly think of what he'd done. Unfortunately, every time he did, he'd just get distracted by ghostly sensations. He groaned, realizing that he'd never be able to meditate under a Sakura tree again. Perhaps not at all.
Then he laughed, a deep rumbling laugh, as he realized that all he had to do to meditate was get a hold of a certain pink-haired pixie of his. He smiled, letting the last rays of the sun soak into his skin before getting up and setting off for Ichiraku. Maybe she could ease the headache that was starting to form behind his eyelids…
