That Stupid Dream
Chapter 2
She fainted.
She goddamned fainted on him.
Hyuuga Neji sported a look of faint masculine disgruntlement on his aristocratic face as he carried the unconscious form of Haruno Sakura across the threshold of her home and right into her tidy little apartment. The powerful Konoha shinobi handled the light weight of the petite kunoichi with no trouble at all, and located her bedroom immediately with the help of Byakugan.
Closing the main door noiselessly behind him, the ANBU started to make his way into the private sanctuary of her room. Silently he noted the gentle muted earth tones that she had used to decorate her modest home, and had to admit that it certainly appeared cozier than his own private quarters in the large Hyuuga compound, which he had, in all honesty, regarded only as a place to sleep as well as somewhere to return to after all his missions.
I agree that the huge boring house of ours requires a feminine touch. Hers perhaps?
Neji ignored that irritating voice that had forced him to this circumstance and transferred his attention to the sleeping female in his arms instead, quietly reveling in the pleasantness of the feel of her soft feminine curves against his lean physique. Her long, fan-like lashes brushed her smooth cheeks as she slept peacefully in his embrace, her breathing slow and even and her entire countenance relaxed and trusting. For some reason that made him feel ridiculously pleased.
He scowled immediately at his own treacherous thoughts.
For god's sake this was Haruno Sakura, his medic-nin! Sure, she was the one whom he would see the first thing he returned to Konoha each time from an assignment, she was the one who would tease him mercilessly while healing him when no one else had dared to, she was the one who never seemed to be bothered by his bad tempered and anti-social tendencies. But still, she was Haruno Sakura!
The weakest link in Team Seven, the ever faithful fangirl of the Uchiha traitor, the irritatingly cheerful female who talked way too much, who possessed an insanely volatile temper, whose lips-
Tasted like a slice heaven.
The ANBU captain's scowl intensified as he tried but failed to push away the recollection of that split five seconds when their lips touched. Her pink flesh was expectedly soft and succulent, and there and then he had learned that the intoxicating scent of apples had emanated from her lip gloss, the only hint of make-up that he could detect on her. Her bewitching emerald eyes had been wide open with shock when he had covered his mouth with hers, and then-
She had fainted.
A faint tic borne of wounded masculine pride appeared on his forehead.
Was his kiss so horrible that she had to succumb to the darkness of unconsciousness to escape him?
Granted that she was already lightheaded from exhaustion, and that he shouldn't even be caught dead kissing her in the first place, but damn it, his pride stung.
Not to mention that he definitely wanted to experience again that spine-tingling sensation that her proximity seemed to bring.
The Hyuuga nudged open the door to her room silently and approached her canopied king-sized bed. His brow rose slightly at the sheer opulence of the dark teakwood bed frame, as well as the magnificent woodwork of frolicking fayes and sylphs. His brow rose even higher when he got closer to see what exactly the cavorting creatures were depicted to be doing.
Neji could not help himself; his lips quirked in a small masculine smirk at the sight, or rather, the very suggestive positions, that the woodland beings were in. Then he glanced down at the innocently sleeping face of the pink-haired kunoichi in his arms and felt the tilt at the corner of his lips lift even more.
Haruno Sakura wasn't at all what he had thought her to be; especially not so now that he had seen her bedroom, which literally resembled a set stolen from some exotic Arabian palace. He would never have thought that the practical female medic-nin would possess a secret side like this, and it made him wonder if there was anything else that she was hiding from the world.
The tall Hyuuga pushed aside the gauzy curtains that surrounded her bed, slightly startled when the soft tinkles of bells rang from the movement. He approved of that little precaution immediately; it would make it harder for anyone to get to her without her knowledge. Quickly ignoring the soft chimes, he maneuvered Sakura under the lavish silk canopy and laid her sleeping form among the many gilded cushions with their colorful tassels. The pink-haired female settled into the comfort of her bed immediately, snuggling deeper against the cool cream silk of the bed linen and emitting a little sigh as she slept on, completely oblivious to the presence of the male who had brought her home.
It was odd, but watching her ensconced safely and sleeping peacefully in bed gave him a sense of contentment that he had never felt before, and Neji wasn't stupid, in fact the Hyuuga genius had a pretty good idea what was going on.
It was that damned dream.
Neji growled to himself. It was just a stupid dream, and it had succeeded in turning his thoughts upside down. And now, apparently, it was going after his life as well.
Aren't you a big believer in Fate? Is it that hard to believe that she's your future?
It was totally unthinkable.
The ANBU didn't even have to use his calculating mind to know that the loud kunoichi would definitely bring chaos and bedlam into his neat and orderly life, and that was the last thing he needed, thank you very much. What future? As beautiful as Haruno Sakura had become now, there was no way that he was going to sacrifice his peaceful existence for her.
Yes, so it was just lust speaking.
It was all the hormones that were sending out all the mixed signals.
It had to be.
Coolly, Hyuuga Neji stepped away from the bed, pale-colored eyes still trained steadily upon the sleeping form of Sakura. Then resolutely, the tall male turned from the calming sight before him and left the apartment just as quietly as he had entered in the first place, his movements steady and sinuous like a hunting panther.
The ANBU captain knew exactly what he had to do.
He had to keep away from her.
Sakura did not see Hyuuga Neji for nearly a month.
The pink-haired kunoichi had woken up alone in her bedroom that faithful morning almost four weeks ago, and she had remembered clearly everything that had happened from the Hyuuga's injury in the hospital to his kissing her later on. Sakura had been utterly embarrassed, and also infinitely relieved that the powerful Byakugan-user had already left her apartment. She had blushed many a time at the memory of that short kiss since then, and for some reason could never seem to get the potent feel of his lips slanting erotically against hers out of her mind for long.
Five seconds, and that was all it took to tilt Sakura's world sideways.
The pink-haired medic-nin had been initially unsure as to where they now stood with each other, but now it was starting to become obviously clear.
Hyuuga Neji was avoiding her like the plague.
Sakura had not noticed at first, of course. In fact, she had felt utterly relieved when she had learnt the next morning that the ANBU captain and his crack team had taken up a one week scouting mission in Otogakure. One week later, however, the medic-nin wasn't feeling at all relieved anymore. Having had so many questions in her head for the Hyuuga's actions that night, she was now anxious for the man to return to Konoha to answer them. Confident that her queries would find their answers soon, the pink-haired female had made sure to put herself in the shift when Neji and his team were expected to return only to learn later that the group of ANBU had returned successfully one shift before hers.
That was perfectly alright however, but Sakura was still determined to corner the Hyuuga for her own questionings. The medic-nin took herself off to the huge Hyuuga compound the very next morning only to learn from Hinata that Neji had gone on a solo assignment that would take him away from Konohagakure for the next few days.
That, was when Sakura started to suspect.
The suspicion revealed itself to be the truth when Sakura realized that for some reason or another she never could see hide nor tail of the slippery Hyuuga no matter how hard she tried, and it did not take her long to deduce that he was purposely avoiding her, and was so successful at it no doubt thanks to his bloodline limit, that cheater. In between accepting as many missions as humanly possible and utilizing the Byakugan that could probably see her coming from as far as a kilometer away, it was no wonder that all her attempts to look for Neji had been utterly and completely foiled.
Needless to say, the pink-haired kunoichi was not very pleased by it all. She only wanted some answers, so why was the detached brunette acting as if she was threatening his life or something?
"Haruno-sempai! We have a casualty!"
If the nurse found the notion of the top medic of the hospital standing in the middle of the hallway sporting a very disgruntled look on her pretty face odd, she did not comment on it. After all, it had been three weeks since the pink-haired female had started exhibiting such tendencies, and they were already long used to the odd behaviors of the genius medic.
Sakura snapped out of her 'very irritated at a certain Hyuuga' mood and left with the nurse immediately, her emerald eyes quickly turning from annoyed to seriousness.
"Brief me on the condition of the patient."
Hyuuga Neji was an absolute failure.
The Konoha prodigy who was renowned for his ninety-five percent success rate in all missions, who was well known for his powerful Byakugan, for his deadly taijutsu moves on the battlefield-
Failed completely to keep her out of his head.
And those dreams weren't helping the least.
Neji scowled at the disgraceful memory. He was from the proud clan of Hyuuga; he was supposed to be above such acts of perversion, but now all he could see whenever he slept was an inviting Sakura with her slumberous bedroom eyes, and that fantasy four poster behemoth that was her bed. The ANBU's frown deepened.
The avoidance tactic was not working at all. Quite the opposite actually, it was making those dreams even more vivid then before, and thus indirectly causing him to be grumpier than usual.
Damn it. He wanted his sleep back.
Sakura rolled her shoulder muscles lazily and stretched unselfconsciously as she slowly made her way away from the hospital grounds.
Her shift for the day had ended, and as usual she had been utterly drained of chakra but still that vulnerable feeling of emptiness could not completely mask away her personal triumph at having saved the life of a young Genin who had fallen into a trap that should have by rights killed him on the spot. The boy had fought tenaciously for his life, and she had fought alongside with him, pulling him back from Death's Door thrice all the while racing against time to heal his badly mangled internal organs. It had taken all her chakra and nearly six hours of intense concentration and precision control, but the young Genin would live to accept another mission, once he had fully recovered from his traumatic experience of course.
A small smile flitted across the powerful medic-nin's lips. She loved her job so much-
"You are going to be an open target for ambush if you continue to push yourself to such extremes."
Sakura froze at the soft voice coming from above her. She had not sensed him at all, and slowly she lifted her head to the branches above her and emerald met pale lavender in the darkness. He had been crouched silently on one of the thick limbs of the tall tree, and leapt down nimbly onto the ground before her, silent as a cat. She started to frown. The arrogant showoff.
And how dare he show his face so easily after making her chase after him up and down the streets of Konoha for that past month?
Sakura started to simmer with anger, her pleasant exhaustion quickly disappearing to be replaced by ire and indignation. She marched up to the taller male a few feet away of her before she even knew what she was doing, right index finger extended outwards to poke him in the chest.
"Hyuuga Neji." The petite kunoichi growled, her eyes all but shooting emerald fire at him. "How dare you-"
Sakura broke off her long-planned tirade when the coffee-haired male grabbed her offending hand and tugged her easily to him. She gasped as she teetered towards him, then fell against him with a soft oomph.
"What are you doin-"
The Hyuuga snaked his arms around her waist, anchoring her to him, plastering them together from chest to thigh. Sakura squeaked, and stumped emerald eyes lifted up immediately to clash with intense pale-colored ones.
Neji tightened his hold on the kunoichi standing before him, eyes hardening as he glimpsed the confused look in her eyes.
"I want you out of my head."
Of all the things that the she had expected him to say, that clearly wasn't it.
Sakura gaped at the aggrieved male that was still holding her captive, and in all honestly did not know what to say to his odd demand.
"What sort of genjutsu have you used on me, woman?"
Sakura's brows furrowed at the accusing tone Neji had used on her, and forgot temporarily about their close proximity.
"Genjutsu?" She echoed.
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Do not pretend to be oblivious. What have you used on me to make me dream of you thusly?"
Sakura was openly gawking at the ANBU now. She still had some trouble following what was disturbing the cantankerous male, and did she hear wrongly or-
"You dreamt of me? How?"
He was glaring at her now. "I would like to know that as well, Haruno Sakura. Remove your spell on me immediately, I wish to have a decent rest and no longer wish to see you and your bed in my dreams. "
Sakura was utterly bewildered. What did he mean by-
Realization dawned, and emerald eyes widened with shock.
He was having that kind of dreams…about her!!
And he still had the gall to corner her to demand that she stop appearing in his mind; that pervert!
Feminine indignation flared through her body like a shot of pure adrenaline. Sakura had to force herself to keep calm and not act irrationally when all she wanted to do was to roar at the arrogant Hyuuga for treating her like that. So that explained why he was avoiding her, but she could not believe that he had thought her shameless enough to do something like that to him. What was she, some desperate slut?
Oh just you wait Hyuuga, you are so going to get it.
"Neji." It took all of Sakura's efforts to keep that slightly amused smile on her face. Casually, she reached behind her to pry the male's hands from her waist, exerting a little of the inhuman strength as she did so. "Have you ever been punched so hard that you see stars?"
Neji was instantly on the alert when she smiled prettily at him. It was thanks to the inherent instincts that were screaming at him that he managed to dodge the flying fist that the kunoichi had sent his way. One moment he was but inches away from her, and the next he had disappeared and reappeared right behind her. Sakura growled furiously when her chakra-infused hand met air and turned around quickly, only to be forcibly restrained by the faster male. Despite her apparent chakra exhaustion Neji was not one to take any chances. He quickly immobilized her dangerous flailing arms and just for added precaution he backed her firmly against a tree trunk and quickly covered her body with his, preventing her use of all her limbs.
She struggled violently against his taut body, hissing and spouting profanities that would make a sailor blush. Her furious eyes spat emerald sparks at him, and through it all he waited patiently for her to realize the futility of her actions.
"Are you quite done?" He asked mildly when she was slightly out of breath and red-faced from her exertions. She glared at him.
"Let go of me, pervert!"
He frowned at her. "Aren't you a little too old to be calling people names?"
Her glare increased in intensity.
"Hyuuga! Let. Go. Of. Me. Now!"
His gaze sharpened.
"I will when you remove whatever it was that you had used on me."
Sakura's eyes widened. He still thought that she was the one…ailing him! She turned even redder, and unfortunately for Neji it was more from anger than anything else.
"Listen here, you pompous ass," The kunoichi hissed angrily. "I did not use any form of jutsu on you to make you….dream of me…that way! Everything that had happened to you is purely a product of your own dirty little mind, ok? Why would I want to attract the attention of an ice cube like you, anyway?"
There was a long silence as the ANBU weighed her words carefully. Try as he might he could not detect any form of deception behind her embarrassed anger and now that she had laid out everything neatly for him analyze her words did make sense in a way. She was after all, the Uchiha Sasuke's number one fangirl, not his, and even though the Uchiha had turned traitor and left for almost seven years now, he was quite sure that old habits die hard. Besides, judging by the way that she was still rapidly switching between fury and mortification, he had to grudgingly admit to himself that it was unlikely that the pretty medic would go about implanting images of herself frolicking about half-naked in bed into his head.
Belatedly Neji realized that he had just made a huge mistake, and the distracting feminine curves that were pressed against him weren't helping matters much. He stepped away from her and retreated a quick distance away.
She was on him the next second, attacking wildly and trying to get a hit on him. He dodged her easily, moving backwards fluidly and avoiding her angry moves with ease.
"You will calm yourself down before I do it for you."
She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to get a swipe at him despite her rapidly tiring body. "Calm myself down?" The pink-haired kunoichi muttered disbelievingly as he continued foiling her attempts so casually that it made her grit her teeth. "Stop moving, damn it!"
"Fine."
He stopped suddenly and unprepared Sakura crashed straight into him. She staggered back and woozily swung a fist at the tall ANBU. Neji made no move to stop her and bewilderedly Sakura watched as her now chakra-depleted arm smacked and bounced off his chest harmlessly. She scowled.
"That's not fair! I demand that you do this again when I am recovered- mmmph!!"
Neji knew that he shouldn't have kissed her again. He knew that doing so would definitely not help the situation at all, but there was something about the way she looked at that moment that all but enticed him to press his lips against hers. She was chaotic and so very loud, and had been flailing about and making so much noise but when he kissed her-
It was perfect.
Sakura's eyes slipped shut as the male that she had been fighting with not a few seconds ago leaned down and sealed her lips with his. Her knees went weak as his sharp scent of cold icy wind inundated her senses and he pressed down against her even harder, slanting his lips against hers erotically and igniting a sweet fire within Sakura. The pink-haired female whimpered. Kami, she hadn't been hallucinating that month ago after all! The Hyuuga might behave like an insensitive block of ice most of the time but boy can he really kiss!
She gasped when he nipped at the succulent flesh and quivered when he sucked hard on them, eliciting a pleasure so intense that she could not help but let out a small moan of need. It was apparently what the powerful shinobi was waiting for, and he slipped his tongue into her honeyed depths immediately, purring loudly with masculine approval when her small pink tongue darted out almost shyly to meet his. The tall male snaked his arms quickly around her trim waist and dragged her nearer towards him, forcing her on her tiptoes. Distracted by the sudden shift, Sakura tried to break the kiss but a soft growl and a warning nip from the Hyuuga discouraged the action immediately.
He explored her mouth thoroughly, and she let him, her own fleshy appendage sliding cautiously against his, and when he made a sound that indicated his consent of her action, she grew bolder, running her soft tongue against his teeth with utmost curiosity. It was utterly exhilarating, being kissed by a powerful and virile male, and Sakura was sure that the two of them would still have been locked in this intimate position had the need to breath not interfered with their passionate encounter.
Sakura was panting slightly when their lips parted, and she reluctantly opened her eyes, flushing slightly when she glimpsed of the Hyuuga's darkened gaze. Her blush deepened when she realized that her arms had somehow found their way around Neji's neck and were still looped neatly around him as if unwilling to let him go. She dropped her hold on him immediately and stepped back quickly.
She moved too fast, and the familiar blood rush to her head reminded her not so subtly of her dangerously low chakra levels. She clutched at her head immediately and waited for the nauseating sensation to end, muttering softly to herself as she did so.
"You are not fainting on me again."
Sakura lifted her head just in time to catch the slightly displeased expression on the Hyuuga's face, and before she could return with a suitable retort he took her into his arms bridal style and leapt onto a tree branch in one smooth move. Sakura shrieked softly and only had time to grab hold of the Hyuuga as he started to move nimbly from tree to tree. She gaped at the intent face of the male as he focused his attention on getting her home safely.
"What are you doing, Neji?" Sakura sputtered when she finally recovered from the shock of being swept off her feet, in all sense of the word.
He shifted his attention to the indignant female currently ensconced in his arms. She was huffing and muttering indignities under her breath, her slightly swollen and well-kissed lips pouting a little as she complained unhappily about her current situation. His eyes darkened at the sight. She appeared so at ease with him and that made him so ridiculously pleased that he did not know what to make of it.
"…let me down now, Neji, I can walk by myself!"
"No." Neji tightened his arms around the bundle of wriggling female. "And stop squirming about, woman."
She gasped loudly at his condescending tone. He swore that her eyes shot emerald fire at him then, and it was only thanks to his rigid upbringing that he hadn't burst into laughter at the disgruntled look she sported on her adorable face. He managed to keep his stoic mask on, but the pale eyes were lightened with obvious amusement.
Sakura's glare intensified; she certainly did not see anything amusing about this.
"Hyuuga, you-"
"Sakura." Sakura's anger diminished somewhat at his soft and almost affectionate tone. Now she was getting confused. Why was he acting this way? "Your chakra level is almost nonexistent. Would you like to return to your house at the other end of the village on foot instead?"
Sakura's mouth snapped shut. It hadn't occurred to her that she was going to have to make a three kilometer hike back home. Normally the distance would be insignificant when she had chakra to speed up her traveling. But now that her energy was nearly depleted and that she herself was tired and weary to the bone, it suddenly seemed ridiculous for her to walk such a long distance in the darkness. She might as well be a sitting dark for robbers and the such.
Sakura growled inwardly to herself. Damn. Neji had predicted correctly again. Damn irritating geniuses.
"No, I don't." The pink-haired kunoichi murmured reluctantly.
His lips twitched. Barely.
"You are welcome, Sakura."
Sakura growled out loud this time.
"Don't push it, Hyuuga."
He smirked outright, and it was all Sakura could do not to deliver a sharp punch to his smug face. Her sulkiness amused him even further, but Neji was smart enough not to show it.
They reached her apartment in fifteen minutes time.
"Keys."
Sakura looked disbelievingly at him. "Excuse me?"
He let her down easily and shot her a mild look.
"Your keys."
"Oh, but I don't need you to-"
"Sakura."
The pink-haired kunoichi scowled. She didn't need his babysitting! Sakura dug around in the pouch strapped to her thigh all the same. She knew better than to think that the stubborn Hyuuga would just leave if she said no. Her fingers closed around the ring of keys and he took it from her the moment she lifted it out from the pouch. Her irritation intensified.
Neji slipped the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door with one smooth flick of his wrist. He pushed open the door before stepping back and handing the key mockingly back to its owner. Sakura glared at him.
"I can open my own door myself." She snapped irritably. He merely looked at her.
"A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed, Sakura." The fact that he didn't seem affected by her annoyance inflamed her further. She narrowed her eyes at the ridiculously expressionless male before brushing past him rudely and stomping across the threshold of her home, muttering indignities under her breath as she did so. The exasperated kunoichi appeared as if she was going to slam the door in his face but seemed to remember something else before she could do so. She stalked back out of her house to stop right in front of Neji.
"Why are you doing all these suddenly?" She demanded. He cocked a brow.
"What do you mean?"
"You!" Sakura poked him in the chest. "You aren't supposed to be acting…like this!" She gesticulated wildly in the air as if for him to understand, which unfortunately for her, he did not.
"And exactly how am I acting like?"
Sakura turned red. Oh, she should have known that he would have her neatly boxed in like that, but she was just too fired up to back down now.
"You aren't supposed to kiss me!" She blurted out in accusation. "And…and…and you…you…"
His eyes gleamed.
"And I what?"
Sakura deflated. Her ears burned with mortification. "You are making me feel funny things." She whispered. Then just as quickly she stiffened, and directed sharp emerald eyes at him. "But at least I don't dream of you!"
The corner of his lips tilted, and Sakura trembled at the small enigmatic smile.
"Do you want to?"
Sakura sputtered. "Wha- No!!"
He cocked his head slightly then, silvery eyes reflecting traces of masculine amusement and such unguarded tenderness that Sakura's breath caught in her throat. No one had ever directed that look at her before, and it quickly made her into a mass of quivering Sakura-flavored jello. Her emerald eyes grew huge; she really did not understand why she was feeling this way, and it was scaring her.
"I- Nevermind." Sakura muttered quickly. She nearly tripped over her own feet as she hurried into the safety of her home. "Thank you for bringing me home; it's pretty late and I would like to rest now." She was about to slip the door shut when he stopped her with one word.
"Sakura."
She paused, and looked at him. His implacable mask was firmly in place again, and a part of her protested against it.
"Y-yes?"
He smiled at her, the lazy curl of his lips making her insides fill with jittery butterflies. Alarm bells went off in her head. She had never seen the stoic Hyuuga looking like that before; playful and dangerous, and the predatory smile on his face had all but declared that he was going to be the hunter in this little game that they were playing, and she, the prey. Sakura was dismayed to find herself shivering inwardly with excitement- and anticipation.
"I don't give up easily."
Sakura knew there and then that she was in deep trouble.
::tsuzuku::