CHAPTER IV

(Warning: Mature-content)

August 5th
Present Year...

It was dawn when Neji left the compound. He was on his way to her apartment, wanting to be with her for the last time. With him he carried that hope that he might force his lover to reconsider, which will bring about a tremendous change in their lives. He was already on her apartment door. His hair hang loose on his back and his face was hidden in the shadows. He searched for his pocket for the spare key, with a sense of urgency making his presence unnoticed. He then inserted it to the knob, clicked it open and gently opened the door. He crept in carefully not to create any sound. Then he directly walked to her room, and saw her. Her room was dim lit by a night light on her bedside. She had white drapes covering her windows on the farthest end of the room. Her room was neat and clean and it was surrounded with a sweet scent of vanilla.

There she was sleeping soundly on her bed with white cottony sheets. She was wearing a deep red laced night tank and laced underwear to match. Her short pink hair laid restlessly on her pillow as she was laying flat on the bed. He shuddered at the sight of her marveling at her beauty, feeling his manly urges. Then he walked towards the bed and moved closer to her. He sat on the bed beside her as his body positioned facing her. He brushed off her fringe from her forehead and kissed it. Then he kissed her nose, her cheeks and then pressed his lips against hers. This made her wake up.

"Neji!" She gasped.

"What the hell are you doing here? It's still..." while she struggled reaching for her alarm clock on the side table.

"It's still... 4:00 in the morning!" she finished her sentence.

Neji kissed her soft-pink lips,

"Sshh... I know. There's still time Sakura."

After having said this, his palm cupped her face as he kissed her again. Sakura's other hand did the same to his making him kiss her harder while her other hand was on her strong chest. Then she whispered, "Ne..ji.." as they continued to kiss passionately. Then Neji nibbled on his ear and kissed hard on her neck which made her body twitch in satisfaction while caressing his back. Then Neji said

"You look irresitably seductive in these, by the way..." referring to her deep red-laced top and he smiled teasingly.

"...But it would be much sexier if I were to remove it from your body." as he slowly lifted up her shirt exposing her porcelain-white skin and her fine breasts.

Sakura giggled as he lifted up his shirt as well and carressed on his chest and abs. Then she pulled him closer again and they kissed, their tongues went wildly in and out as Neji fondled her breasts. His mouth then settled on her pink nipples and nibbled it gently which made her release soft moans. Then his open-mouthed kisses made his way near to her intimate part. She raised her legs and placed it on his shoulders, while Neji licked her down. Then he slowly removed her undies. His tongue played with her clit like he was licking an ice cream in a cone. Her body arched in delight as she began to pant and moaned louder. Then Neji inserted a finger and gradually adding another one as he kissed her lips back again. She was now panting heavily. "Aahh.. Ne..ji..!" He enjoys watching her moan so loud and saying his name, so he continued inserting his fingers with a faster pace this time.

"You're now soaking wet my love." He said in a very seductive manner.

"Ahhh.. Ne..ji.. Please!" She said with a slurry voice, feeling drunk with the sensation she felt.

"Please what?" He continued to play with her intimate part with his fingers.

"Do it!" She said, panting heavily.

"Do what?" Neji continued as he purposefully acted dumb in a teasing manner.

She bit her lip as her body shuddered at the intense feeling in her lovers arms.

"Say it Sakura! Say it!" He said while he whispered tauntingly in her ear.

"Ahhh! Ne..jii... Fuck me! Fuck me!" She said this with a sound of exhaustion in between her heavy breathing.

Then Sakura removed his hands from down below and hastily ripped off his pants. Both of them were now naked. Neji positioned himself on top of her. He then thrusted in to her gently and gradually harder and deeper. She raked her fingernails on his back as she made soft and loud moans which added to her lovers delight. They enjoyed this lustful pleasure as they devoured every scent, every sweat and every fiery kiss. They did several positions in different areas of her apartment and for the last time, he whispered in her ear

"I love you Sakura!" in a deep voice.

Gasping for air with her heavy breathing she managed to reply, "I love you too!" and then they both came.

A few hours later the sun already peeked it's way up on the horizon. Neji was picking up his clothes on the floor while his lover wrapped her white sheets around her body. She sat up as and looked at him busy getting dressed. As soon as he was done, she stood up and moved closer to her. Her blanket moved along like drapes, and she stood an inch away from him

"Are you ready for later?" she asked.

"I don't know..." Neji answered coldly.

"Well, you should be. I know you'll be fine." She said wearing a fake smile.

"How would you know that?" His brows narrowed sounding a bit annoyed.

"I just know because you've always wanted to rise above anything else other than remaining as a member of the branch family in your clan..." she paused.

"... and this is a necessary part of that goal."she explained, assuming she understood him.

Neji fell silent at this. Then later on he said,

"Aren't you going to stop me?" He held her hands as he looked at her with sad eyes hoping he'd hear what he wanted to hear... hoping that she would change her mind.

"Neji, this discussion is long over. We're not going to argue about it again." She replied, forcing herself to sound more convincing.

Then Neji turned his back and clenched his fist. His bright eyes that weilded one of the most powerful eye prowess were now filled with tears. Then Sakura reached out and embraced him from behind,

"You know how much I love you Neji! You've changed my whole life...but I don't want to drag you down from your ambitions."

She said in a trembling voice as she was about to cry.

"I don't give a fuck about those things anymore! All I want is you, and I want you in my life..." He answered as he held back his tears.

"... But I guess you would rather want it to end this way." His voice trailed off.

He searched for his pockets and held a key.

"I guess I won't be needing this anymore."

He turned around to face her and placed the key in her hands. Then he kissed her forehead and kissed her lips passionately for one last time,

"Goodbye my Sakura!" Then Neji left.

She was still holding the key when she saw him leave the room. It took a moment for her to realize that he really was gone for good. Then she opened her palm and gasped at what she saw.

It was the spare key to her apartment.

She gasped.

She opened her eyes and instantly sat right up. She was panting heavily as she was drenched in a pool of sweat on what she thought was a dream. Her fists were clenched as she pressed her chest, wanting to calm her breathing.

But then a realization struck her,

"No...It wasn't a dream..

It did happen, earlier this morning." She was sure that she hasn't lost her sense of time.

"Oi! Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" Naruto exclaimed as he walked towards her.

She stared at him confused as to why they were there, and then she looked around. The room was unfamiliar to her. It's walls are painted with green and their stood a plant near the door placed in huge pot about waist high. She realized she was still wearing her pink silk-chiffon dress from earlier's ceremony.

"Yeah. What happened? Where am I" Her voice was rather low.

"You passed out during the ceremony and we're in the clinic, still inside the Hyuga compound." Sai answered as he stood beside Naruto.

"Now that he'd mention it, I remember that scene when Neji was about to say his vows." Sakura thought.

"Where is Neji?" She asked which made the two men didn't expect.

"He went back to the ballroom to attend to his guests." Sai said.

Sakura's face turned into a frown, "Is the wedding ceremony over?" she asked trying to maintain a non-suspicious tone.

"Nah! Everyone was whimsical when you collapsed, that Neji darted in and carried you out here." Naruto explained to her.

"He did what?" she was now confused.

"What Naruto meant was Neji was in the middle of saying his vows when you passed out, he stopped and rushed towards our pew."
Sai described the event further.

Sakura couldn't believe that Neji would do such a thing, not on his own wedding that is.

"So aren't they going to finish what they've started?" Sakura asked again.

"I don't think so. I heard someone from the elders saying that the wedding got cancelled." Naruto answered.

"Cancelled... This surely means trouble!" She thought to herself.

At this point she was worried that her inability to control her emotions thus affecting her body to respond negatively, would result into something like this. She thought about how Neji was coping with this unexpected trouble. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, it was Hinata. Hinata blushed at the sight of Naruto but nevertheless, approached her and asked,

"Can I have a word with you Sakura-san?"

"Yes, sure.. Guys, can you please leave us for a moment?"

Her two friends nodded without hesitation and went outside.

"Are you alright now, Sakura-san?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"Sakura, about you..."

"I'm sorry Hinata the I've caused so much trouble that your cousin's wedding got cancelled." She apoligized before Hinata could even finish.

"No, it's totally understandable?"

"Understandable?" Sakura was confused.

"I knew about you and Neji from the start but we kept it as a secret from everyone especially with my father."

Sakura's eyes widened at this for Neji hadn't said a word that his cousin knew about them.

"In fact, I'm glad the wedding didn't push through." Hinata continued and saw the slight smile on her face.

"What?! Why?" She was now more confused.

"I never approved of this arranged marriage because I truly believe you and Neji-nisan deserves to be happy... Neji
deserves to be happy..." Hinata's voice trailed off.

"What do you mean Hinata?"

"You see, Life was cruel for him from the begining. Neji was very uptight, headstrong, strict and all that you couldn't
get a glimpse of him smile at all. This was due to the lost of his parents especially his father who he looked up to, whom he loved so much."

Sakura recalled the story of Neji's father who was killed by another village in exchange for Hiashi-sama's life so as to
protect the secrets of the byakugan, for Neji's father had the seal. The seal that would lock away the byakugan once the weilder dies. She listened intently as Hinata continued,

"But since you came to his life, I've never seen him changed so much... I could see it in his eyes, that for the first time in the longest time he is happy."

Sakura was drifted away with Hinata's observations on Neji. She herself have witnessed the drastic change in Neji's demeanor but she owed it to his young team of genin's who probably changed his outlook in life. She never thought she would have a certain effect on Neji.

"I have a plan." Hinata said.

"What is it?"

"Later before the meeting with the other family starts, I will talk to my father."

"Hinata, please spare yourself from this. You don't have to indulge yourself in something you weren't involved with in the first place." Sakura pleaded to her friend.

"No... This isn't just about you Sakura-san. I wanted to do something for Neji-nisan. I feel like I owe him my abilities as a shinobi and it was him who convinced my father to value my hardwork in training despite my short-comings. It's because of his help, I've gained my father's respect." Her lilac eyes were now gleaming into the light as if she was about to cry reminiscing her once painful struggles.

On the other hand, Sakura was carried away with her friend's will to his cousin but she still doesn't want her to be involved.

"Hinata, please stay out of this mess. There is nothing between me and Neji, anymore. I do understand how important is your relationship with your father, therefore you must not place it at risk." She said gritting her teeth.

"I know... But I at least I could try." Hinata replied with her soft voice.

Sakura felt silent of a sudden as she closed her eyes in deep thought. Then she responded.

"I still do not approve of this Hinata, but if you feel strongly about it then there's nothing I can do."

"Arigatou, Sakura-san!" She exclaimed.

"No, thank you... Hinata..." Sakura, replied in a friendly smile.

NEJI'S POV

"Phew! That was the last batch of guests." The girl in a white wedding dress said this in relief.

"Yeah, I'm going ahead and take some rest. We still have a few hours til dinner." He said coldly.

"Wait!"

She grabbed his hand, asking for him to stop. Her fiancee bore eyes like his', soft lilac eyes. Her hair was styled in a spiraling bun with an attached veil at the back. She was beautiful but his eyes and heart already belonged to someone else, and no one could change that.

"What is it, Anya?"

"Can we talk for a minute?"

He nodded in response. They walked outside the ballroom and sat on a nearby bench.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Neji asked.

"Is she the one?" She asked, referring to the pink-haired kunoichi who collapsed earlier.

Neji nodded, as he closed his eyes as if it was a form of defeat arguing with an interrogator.

"I see. Uhmm... Do you love her?" Anya asked timidly.

"That's not even important now." He answered icily and then he stood up.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

"No.. That is all." Her face turned into a frown and was looking down on her lap.

"Very well, I'll see you later then." Then he walked away.

"Forgive me Anya, for my utterly rude behavior. I do not intend on treating you this way, but I honestly disapprove of our fate that it is so sickening to pretend that everything's fine."

He said to himself as he was walking feeling guilty of his ill treatment with her.

Sakura was now alone in the clinic. She didn't get out of the bed yet either since Naruto and Sai hasn't come back yet. Then she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" she called out.

The knob clicked open, and a brown long-haired lad, in a white tuxedo came in. It was him. Her emerald eyes widened in shock, not expecting his visit. He closed the door and locked it making it impossible for any entrance.

"Neji... What are you doing here? Why did you locked the door?" Her voice was now rather shaky.

He grabbed her shoulders that made her jolt in shock.

"You should never do that again!"

He said this as his eyes now locked unto hers. She couldn't quite understand what he meant 'not doing that again'.

"Please Sakura, do not attempt to have me worry about you! I couldn't stand if anything bad happened to you again!"

He sounded sincere yet sad at the same time. His arms were now wrapped around her bare shoulders, as his head rested on her hair. She couldn't understand what Neji meant about what he said about 'anything bad happened to her again. She thought hard and recalled about times where he had caught her in a practically 'bad'situation. She was still engulfed by his lovers arms, when she remembered... Her fall from the cliff. She then, returned the embrace and wrapped her arms around his body and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Neji."

"Forgive me as well, my cherry blossom."

He cupped her face in his hand, and stared at her with a lovingly face. Then he pressed his lips unto his. He kissed her long and sweet with a feeling of longingness. She kissed him back clinging her arms unto his shoulders. For a moment they forgot what had happened or the fact that they were in an unsafe territory. Their kiss turned into a fiery one as they both breathed heavily in unison. His arms were now supporting her back as he made open kisses down to her neck, and exposed shoulder blades. She made little soft moans that only he could hear. Then, his fingers made it's way to her dresses' zipper and slowly unzipped it. Half of her body was now exposed and Neji continued his open kisses going down across her chest. He forcefully lifted her bra and gently fondled her breasts. She was again in hysteria for this pleasure alone, as her hands were at the back of his head pulling him closer for another shot of kiss.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. They instantly stopped and fixed themselves. Neji, opened the door. It was a young lady dressed in casual dress. It was Anya, behind her was Naruto and Sai.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked her.

"I've come to fetch you... It is time."

Neji almost forgot they have a meeting with her family for dinner. His face turned into a frown. Sakura was observing them from her bed. Neji turned his head to her with one last look, and Sakura simply nodded her head.

"Who knew it would end up like this. Neji, I'm letting you go now... For good.

She winced at this thought at the back of her mind, as Neji and Anya left.

"Sakura-san are able to walk now?" Sai asked.

"Yes, I am fine now."

"Let's go get some ramen! I'm sooooo freakin' hungry already!" Naruto cheerfully said while scratching his belly.

"... My treat!" He continued as he flashed a huge grin.

Sakura and Sai were suspicious as to what had gotten into him and made ridiculous assumptions that maybe he has a fever or bumped his head somewhere. He rarely treats them for anything, not unless he's feeling utterly rich this time.

So the three of them left the room, while Naruto closed the door he grabbed Sakura's arm and whispered.

"You better tell us what's going on between you and Neji."

She froze. She didn't expect they would notice. Perhaps it was pretty obvious since the wedding. She didn't want to tell them but deep down she knew she owed something to them and for this, she should just trust them with the truth. "Now that Neji's and I are over, I have nothing to lose now if I tell them, have I?" She thought to herself. So she thought of a plan thought might somehow ease her pain from a breakup.

"Yes, I will... but I gonna need a whole lot of booze for me to do that."

~ end ~

It took me a while to finish this chapter. Something came up that I couldn't think quite straight. Well I hope you'd still like it and will patiently wait for the other chapters. :)

NOTE: I do not own the characters of this story. They are from Masashi Kishimoto's 'Naruto' series.