Under her desk Sakura squeezed her legs together harder, guilt ravaged her appetite. Here Neji was, in her office literally less than hour of Kakashi. This must be karma for accepting Neji as a suitor and then going behind his back and sleeping with her sensei, which if that was ever let out, a scandal would be unavoidable and Naruto probably wouldn't be able to save her from the backlash. She would be crucified, not in the literal sense, but in the rumors aspect.
Inner Sakura saw things just slightly different, "so what if we had sex with Kakashi. It's not like Neji proposed marriage to you and you accepted and THEN slept with Kakashi-sensei. You are a single woman, and can sleep with whomever. Neji only offered to be a suitor and you accepted that. No harm no foul." Inner Sakura finished crossing her arms over her chest.
Feeling a little better Sakura opened her lunch boxes and was surprised to find a feast. She looked up at Neji who was patiently waiting on her. "You brought enough food to feed a group of people," Sakura joked as she opened the top right hand drawer in her desk and pulled out 2 sets of metal chopsticks. She handed a pair to Neji and then put her hands together, Neji followed suit and then they started to eat. Sakura was delighted that the pork was cooked perfectly, it was full of flavor and moist. The sauce it was cooked with had wonderful taste, a sweet tangy barbeque sauce.
Sakura's appetite seemed to come back in full force and she had to restrain herself from stuffing her face full of food.
"Please, eat comfortably Sakura," Neji's voice caressed her ears and she looked up at him. He had a small smile and was moved his hand in a gesture that indicate she eat more.
"Ahaha well you see, as much as I would like to eat comfortably I'm afraid you would see a very unflattering side of me," Sakura laughed nervously as she grabbed the thermos and poured them both a cup of the sweet rose tea.
"It cannot be worse than Naruto or Choji," Neji chuckled and even Sakura chuckled at that.
Feeling as if they were comfortable Sakura started to eat her rice balls as if it as the last meal of her life. Everything tasted so good and even though she knew Neji didn't make it, it was the thought that he knew she worked hard and most likely didn't have the time to eat. Which was the case more often than not.
Neji was taken aback by how the woman could throw food back. In a sense she reminded him of Naruto and Choji just more polite. Neji only looked down at his meal and he too started to eat.
They ate in relative silence and once they were done Sakura sat back in her chair and sighed, "thank you so much Neji. That was delicious."
"It was my pleasure. I am curious about something. Why did you accept my offer to be your suitor," Neji questioned. He was genuinely curious as she was known for turning down suitors left and right. "Not that I am ungrateful, but I have heard from our mutual friends that you tend to turn down suitors."
Sakura grimaced at his question only because she knew the reason why she had accepted Neji. He was to be her rebound so she can get over Sasuke. Sad but true, and she knew very well she couldn't say that to him. "I was receiving a lot of pressure from everyone to settle down, and I didn't want to be with someone who would force me to give up my life here. And I knew that I needed to be with someone who was patient and could handle my crazy work schedule," she concluded. Sakura was not one to lie and she felt bad about lying but it was the right thing to do. She honestly hoped that she would come to like Neji or even love.
"Hm, I see," Neji provided as he looked down at his hands that were folded neatly in his lap. "I feel that we may be a poor match. As a woman of the Hyuga clan has many responsibilities at the clan house. Planning dinners, doing chores, hosting events. I don't know if you would could remain director of the hospital and be my wife. You would need to make a clone of yourself," Neji said despairingly.
"I think you forget that I can make a clone of myself," Sakura said with renewed spirits. She weaved the hand sign and a clone of herself appeared. "Did you forget what the final exam was at the academy?"
Neji looked her the pair of them and then threw his head back and laughed a real laugh. He had only laughed like this only a few times in his life. Though her answer was so simple he knew that reality wouldn't be. Neji composed themselves and the clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Though that seems to be a relative clever idea, I don't think it will be that simple. We might not be a good match," Neji finished in a somber tone looking down in his lap.
Time seemed to slow and the room seemed to get be sucked of all oxygen. It was stifling awkward and Neji folded his hands together. When he looked up he was taken back to a smiling Sakura. "Well, I think we should pursue forward anyway. I'm not one to give up so easily, let's just go with the flow," she said moving her hand in a fluid wave motion.
"You don't think you would be wasting your time? Pursuing something that might not work," Neji asked confused. He may be a genius when it came to the Bakyugan but was a complete fool when it came to navigating relationships and affairs of the heart.
Sakura poured another cup of tea and shook her head, "No, I think that you'll never really know what happens if you don't go for it. I don't want to have a life of what if. You?"
Neji looked back down at his hands and thought hard. Up until now he didn't have a lot of regrets. But something deep inside of him told him that if he let this opportunity go, he would regret it the rest of his life. Clenching his hands together tighter Neji looked up and slightly nodded his head. "I don't want to have regret. I will be announcing to my family that I am courting you and petition your father as well."
Sakura almost did a spit take into her cup. Her eyes widened in surprise that he was so blunt about it. Seeing her reaction made Neji smile. It was nice to be with someone who was as expressive as Sakura. "You don't have to make any formal announcements or anything. I please don't go to my dad. He is…well he is a little goofy. Very charismatic and my parents are an intense couple," Sakura bantered on. She could feel her cheeks getting warm. The thought of Neji in her home announcing that he was going to court her to her parents embarrassed her. They would embarrass her in front of him.
"You don't think your parents will like me," Neji asked confused as to why she was acting strange. She seemed fidgety.
"No, no I'm sure they will like you. It's just that…" she sighed and struggled to find the words. "They'll probably make a big deal about this and embarrass me. I'm sure they will be thrilled that I will be dating again after so long," Sakura dropped her head in her hands thinking of the embarrassing situation of pristine Neji in her home and her parents dancing around him in a circle.
Chuckling made Sakura look up from her hands. "You're laughing at me," she asked offended.
"I'm not laughing at you, but I think that it's endearing. You're so worried about being embarrassed by your parents. I think you forget just how intense my family is. A prestigious clan in the Hidden Leaf, my family has high expectations of me. But you are a great match. A legend in the village, I don't think my family would disapprove of this match," Neji offered up as condolences.
Sakura pursed her lips and felt her dread melt away. He was right, though Sakura had to dread her parents embarrassing her, Neji had a whole clan that were hoping he settle with someone wonderful and could fit into the clan. From what she heard from TenTen, they were a tough crowd to please. Sakura gasped. She could believe she had forgotten about TenTen. It was practically taboo to date a friends' ex no matter how long they had been broken up. "Tenten," she whispered and she saw Neji cringe at the word. She assumed it was because he had not considered her either. At least that was what she wanted to tell herself. "It would crush her to have her friend date her ex-boyfriend. And of all people to be, me. We should probably tell her," Sakura said wrapping her hands around her cup. She looked into the light pink liquid and felt guilt. She didn't want to be a bad friend or even possibly lose a friend or friends. Depending on who took sides.
"No. I will tell her myself. I don't want her to think that you plotted behind her back. I will tell her myself. Please do not worry about her," Neji said and for the first time tonight he leaned forward and reached for her hand. Sakura smiled and put her hand in his and felt him give a soft squeeze. "I am happy you have accepted me."
"I'm happy you chose me," Sakura said with delightful tone in her voice. A knock came on her office door and then arubtly opened.
A panicked nurse was breathing heavy. "Patient 2-30A is threatening to jump out of the window," Komi exclaimed.
Sakura sprung form her chair and fled from the romance in her office her brain switching over to doctor mode instantly. "How did he even get to the ledge? The man is paralyzed," Sakura asked the nurse as they retreated down the hall leaving Neji to sit awkwardly alone in her office.
"He crawled out of bed and across the floor to the window, from there he climbed up on a chair by the window and unlocked the window. He's demanding that you fix him or he'll end his life," Komi panicked. Sakura could tell the nurse was visibly shaken, she had just been promoted to the Anbu Wing and probably had never dealt with something like this. Sakura however was unperturbed, her previous experience as a doctor has made her somewhat immune to the erratic behavior of patients.
Sakura pushed her way through the small crowd of injured Anbu and nurses that had gathered around his door. Upon entering inside there was another man in the room with a broken arm trying to talk the man down.
"Izawaki what are you doing," the man asked the patient on the ledge. Sakura slowly made her way next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as not to startle him. When he looked over at her, she motioned her head for him to exit the room so she could handle this. The man nodded and moved back to the crowd by the door.
Sakura then moved forward loudly making sure her heels clicked loudly on the tiled floor. She placed her right hand on her hip and shifted her weight so she looked like she was relaxed and cool. "Patient, what do you think you are doing," she asked in bored tone. With these kinds of patients, they were seeking attention and she wasn't about to give it to him.
The man, Izawaki, stared her down and scoffed, "Oh look it's the famous doctor of the village. I will kill myself if you don't perform surgery on me. I'm sure you don't want that on your record," he threatened. Sakura gave him a once over with her eyes, the look in his eyes was similar to a crazed animal.
"Ah, you want me to perform a surgery that wouldn't work on you. That seems like a waste of both of our time. I cannot perform surgery on someone who is in a state like this. The mind needs to be in a calm state so that the body will start repairing itself while I perform the surgery. With you acting like a scared rabbit the surgery would be unsuccessful," Sakura explained in a blunt way.
"Then give me medicine to make me calm," the man screamed at her.
"It's not that simple. I can sedate you every day all day, but your emotional state would only work against me. If there is no hope, there is no point. I'm sure everyone remembers when Tsunade-sama performed a very difficult surgery on Rock Lee. Someone who was written off to never be a ninja after a battle with chunnin exams. Lee believed he in hard work, he believed in the skills of Tsunade-sama and underwent the surgery even though the chances were risky. But because he had hope, the surgery was a success. And now he's one of the Leaf's greatest teachers. I suggest you come down from the ledge of your window," Sakura finished up giving the man an angry glare.
Izawaki lowered his head in defeat and Sakura motioned for nurses. They laid him back in his bed and started to reconnect sensors to his body. Sakura sighed and turned to the very large crowd that had gathered, "alright, the show is over. Everyone back to your rooms and beds."
And with the command, they all dispersed. Sakura too made her exit and was happy to see Neji waiting for her outside of her office. She smiled, "sorry about that. Duty called."
Neji felt a slight tug on his heart, Sakura was a doctor first and foremost and most likely her job would come before him and everything else. Though now he felt crappy for being upset that she was so engrossed with her job. There have been times where Neji put his job of being on Naruto's counsel before everything else.
"What's wrong, you look like I just told you your puppy died," Sakura said in a joking manner. In a way, Neji almost wished she had.
"Sakura, would you ever give up your job here," he questioned her. The mood instantly went sour.
"Never. I can't. Not only do I love my work, but I also know the village needs skilled doctors on hand. Plus, Tsunade herself left the position of Director to me and all that comes with that. I couldn't give up my life here. It is too important to me and the village," Sakura said. Neji tried to place the look on her face, she had a very peaceful look on her face but her voice was filled with pride. Neji knew that feeling as well. He wouldn't be able to give up his position on either Naruto's or the Hyuga counsels.
"I see. I think it will be hard for us, if we continue this relationship. A woman of the Hyuga house has many duties, and I am a very difficult man sometimes," Neji reached out and grabbed Sakura's hands in his. "But I will try my best to make sure you can continue your work here if you promise to be patient with me. Hyuga men are known for their prideful ways and that might sometimes be irritating. So I ask that you take it easy on me."
Sakura smiled up at him and Neji smiled back at her.
"You fool, I should be the one saying that," she whispered and leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek.
