Second chappie. Read and REVIEW, plz, and fank you.

...Seriously. I appreciate the millions of story alerts and favorite alerts I've been getting with this story, but some reviews would be REALLY nice. -hint hint nudge nudge wink wink-

Disclaimer: ... -turns around and walks away-

--Sanded Silk--

The next morning, which was- thankfully- a Saturday morning, Sakura got up a few minutes before the prison opened. She dressed carefully; a red turtleneck sweater that almost reached her mid-thigh, long tan slacks, and black heeled boots that nearly reached her knees. She tucked the hems of her pants over the hems of the boots, so she wouldn't look like an army officer. After eating breakfast and brushing her teeth, she threw on a black coat and left her apartment, preferring to go by foot.

Sakura slowly entered the large, grey building, the clack of her boots making an echoing racket. She walked slowly to the front desk, where a female officer was sitting. The officer peered up at her curiously. "May I help you...?" The woman asked, surveying Sakura scrutinizingly.

Sakura moistened her lips. "I'm here to... visit someone."

The officer nearly spilled her cup of coffee. "What?"

Sakura sighed. "You heard right. I'm here to visit someone who was taken here last night. The criminal that haunted the northern parts of Konoha, correct?"

The officer looked at her closely. "I don't know what sort of business you have with him," She said, "but I'll let you see him. You're just in time; we have orders to ship him to the elite interrogators, not far from here, at night."

Sakura breathed a small sigh of relief, and followed the reluctant officer into the dark hallways.

They passed millions of doors, all hiding a different criminal from their sight. Sakura shivered as she walked into and out of different auras. Then, finally, she walked into the aura she recognized so well from last night.

The officer sighed deepy, grabbed her ring of keys, and unlocked the door. "Go on in," She said. "I'll be out here if you need me. Just scream if he breaks out, or something; I'm armed. OK?" Sakura looked a bit bewildered. 'Wow,' She thought as she nodded, smiling. 'These people really are afraid of the dude I danced with last night...'

Slowly, hesitantly, she stepped into the dark room. It was a small, dark hallway of its own. To her left was a small corner of the room, surrounded by thick, closely-spaced bars. She squinted into the small corner, and saw, to her shock, a pair of silver eyes staring back. She turned around, in time to see the door close, and to hear the click of the lock falling into place. Too late to turn back now.

With a deep breath, she turned around and walked boldly to the young man barred from her reach.

"Why are you here?" He asked in his cold, emotionless voice when she reached the bars. Sakura, her eyes adjusting to the dark, finally saw the criminal in a little more detail. His ponytail was let down, his long hair draping over his shoulders and hanging down his back. He was wearing exactly what he had been wearing last night. His face was smudged with dust and grime, and though there was a bed and a table nearby, he was sitting on the floor, looking surprisingly comfortable.

Sakura wrapped her fingers around the bar in front of her, and continued staring at him for a moment, before she spoke. "I thought you would be... lonely," She said, her voice stronger and more confident than how she really felt. "And I wanted to see you again."

The young man stood up and walked over to her. He placed his larger hands over hers, keeping them firmly in place. Sakura managed not to flinch as he brought his face down to hers. If it weren't for the bars, he would have been in perfect proximity to kiss her.

"Really?"

Sakura felt a blush beginning to well up in her cheeks. It took almost all of her strength and willpower to supress the sudden surge.

"Yes," She said, nodding once. "Why, do you want me to leave?"

He seemed to be caught off by the question. He abruptly released her hands and turned his back on her. "You," He murmured softly, almost in an inaudible voice. "Last night, I hadn't planned on even attending the party. I don't know what possessed me to step into that Hall last night."

He turned around suddenly, his hands covering hers again roughly, his silver eyes boring into her. Sakura flinched this time.

He continued in his low voice. "When I saw you, standing there, in that dress of yours, with your pink hair and green, green eyes... I felt something, like a feeling before I kill someone." He paused, watching her shudder. "Except... this feeling was... different. It burned into my heart. Inflamed me. I couldn't keep myself away from you, no matter how hard I tried."

He narrowed his eyes. "And when I was dancing with you, I could easily have lured you away and hurt you, killed you. But I didn't. I couldn't. What was it? What was it that stopped me?!"

He banged his forehead against the bar directly between him and Sakura. "You..." He panted shakily, and Sakura shuddered even more violently at the intense fervour in his eyes when he finally lifted his head to face her. He released her hands roughly and turned away from her, his face in his hands. "You..." He murmured softly.

Sakura wanted, suddenly and desperately, to change the subject. Her hands were still clamped onto the bar before her, her knuckles subconciously getting whiter and whiter as she clenched harder and harder.

"Do you plan to escape?" She blurted.

The young man turned around slowly to face her again, removing his hands from his face. He had put his poker-face mask back on, and his eyes were as emotionless as ever. "Yes," He said flatly. He grapsed the bars around the bar she was holding, clenching it tightly, as though he wanted to break them and throw them out of the way. His breath tickled her chin.

"When you leave..." Sakura gulped before continuing. "When you leave, will you come tell me before you do?" He looked skeptical, and slightly surprised. "You don't need to tell me where you plan to go. Just... come by before you leave. You know, to say good-bye..." He stared at her, scrutinizing every detail of her face. "My apartment is out the police station, to the right, and past five blocks," She continued eagerly. "It's this big, white-and-red building, with a blue roof. My room is on the fourth floor."

He nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll try."

Sakura almost smiled. "Ok." She glanced at her watch. "Oh my gosh! I need to GO! My boss told me I had extra work to do..." She unclenched the bar, her fingers aching, and turned around to hurry away. A hand flashed out and caught her wrist, drawing her back to the barred corner of the dark room. Sakura gasped and whirled her head around.

He was staring at her intently. "One last look..."

Sakura was confused. "Aren't you... didn't you... weren't you going to stop by my apartment before you leave?" He slowly shook his head. "I don't know if I surely will. The police will be on my tail, and I don't want them bothering you." He traced every curve, every valley of her face with his eyes, as though he were looking notes over before a big test. He stopped his gaze-wandering at her eyes, memorizing the exact shade and hue of her pupils.

Finally, he turned away. "You can go now."

She stared at his back silently for a few moments. Suddenly, something struck in the back of her mind. "You never told me your name."

He slowly turned around, staring at her with unblinking eyes. She gazed back, no longer afraid of his intimidating stare.

"Hyuuga Neji."

She smiled and bowed slightly.

"Haruno Sakura."

Then, in perfect unison, the two people- the pink-haired young woman and the chestnut-haired criminal- turned around, and Neji continued to stare at the blank wall before him as Sakura grabbed the knob of the door and let herself out.

The officer was extremely surprised to see Sakura in one piece. "How did it go? Did he try to come after you? I didn't hear any yelling; I thought he would try to kill you!"

Sakura smiled calmly. She was in a strangely calm mood. "He didn't do anything." She said calmly, simply, and turned around to walk toward the door of the police station. The female officer watched her back for a moment, completely flabbergasted, before she followed Sakura toward the front office, still bemused.

A/N: Meh. This chappie was ok, but that's only because it'll be continued, so I don't need to worry about choppy endings... XD

Plz REVIEW!! And to quote myself from the beginning of the chapter: "

...Seriously. I appreciate the millions of story alerts and favorite alerts I've been getting with this story, but some reviews would be REALLY nice. -hint hint nudge nudge wink wink-"

XD

--Sanded Silk--