Chapter VIII
The week flew by before they noticed it.
Neji and Sakura were together most of the time she wasn't at work. As a result neither had been much seen by their friends and family, all of whom were beginning to worry.
Well, almost all of them.
Ino was extremely suspicious of her friend's absence. In fact, she was starting to get frustrated. She had devised multiple plans to force Sakura and Neji together in public so she could see for herself what kind of relationship they were having.
She didn't succeed. The two of them had simply vanished.
Haruno Sakura made her way fo Ichiraku per Naruto's request. She had tried to decline, but he had been adamant. He needed to talk to her so she was to meet him at Ichiraku for dinner.
When she arrived she was surprised to find the place crowded by many of her friends.
After greeting them she took her assigned place by the Kitsune's side. On his other side was a glowing Hinata, smiling brightly at everyone.
"What did you want to talk about?" She said as quietly as she could in the loud environment.
Naruto grinned mischievously and pointed to an empty seat at Hinata's other side.
"I'll tell you when everyone's here."
She looked surprised. What could be so important that he had to share it with everyone at the same time?
Since Naruto refused to say anything else she was forced to make conversation with her other friends. Ino saw that as an opportunity and settled near her friend, just in case a certain pearl-eyed shinobi arrived.
Everyone ate and talked animatedly for about an hour. Even Sakura felt warm inside as she observed her best male friend happily chatting away. She hadn't seen much of him lately, on the count of her being always elsewhere engaged. She was happy, or as close to it as she could be, in seeing him so obviously in a good mood.
Sasuke's death, as well as Jiraiya's, had taken their toll on him, but he now seemed somewhat restored to his usual self.
Her happiness increased at the arrival of their former sensei, Kakashi.
Naruto looked astonished. He had invited the man, but he had been almost certain he wouldn't show up. He had said he had to leave for a mission.
Sakura was also surprised as she saw that the empty place by the Hyuuga heiress wasn't meant for him. Puzzled she looked around, trying to figure out who else was missing.
A few moments later she realized that the only one not present was...
"Neji!" Naruto shouted close to her ear, making her jump.
Said man nodded in agreement and sat at his designated place, greeting his cousin. He looked startled as she found Sakura there, so close to him.
"Haruno-san." He greeted politely.
Sakura was shocked and hurt as she nodded in acknowledgement. They hadn't been together in public since their little arrangement. She wasn't expecting him to ravage her in public, but she was not prepared for the coldness with which he addressed her.
Sure, they hadn't talked much during their time together, but they had been acquaintances before. Surely there was no need to be that formal.
Unless... unless he meant to distance himself from her. After all, he had made it perfectly clear from the very first night, that it was only a physical connection he wanted.
And she had agreed, knowing she could never love anyone ever again.
So why was her heart so crushed right now?
She dared not examine her own feelings, afraid to know the answers.
Ino was also surprised, brows furrowed in confusion. Neji had been coldly polite at her friend, even more so than before.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Naruto asked for everyone's attention.
He looked around at all of his friends. Well, most of them. Tenten and Lee still had not returned from their mission.
He smiled as he saw the curiosity in every single face present.
"So, I guess you want to know why I called you all here tonight." He paused for a moment, building suspense. "I see no one guessed. So... yesterday I proposed to Hinata-chan and she has accepted. We are engaged!"
A loud boast was the answer he got. Most of them had guessed it.
Sakura hadn't. She was astonished. She hadn't even known they were officially dating. Judging from Neji's face, neither did he.
They were surprised, but not sorry. Both were very happy for the couple and gave them their warmest congratulations.
Hinata surprised them even more as she spoke in a soft but firm voice, inviting Sakura to be her Maid of Honour. Hanabi was beyond pissed. Sure they weren't close, but she WAS her sister!
Sakura was extremely touched and gladly accepted, as Naruto knew she would. He then turned to Neji and asked him to be his Best Man.
Now it was his turn to be surprised and honored as he accepted. He had no idea the blonde thought so highly of him. He had always expected the Uchiha to be the man.
'But he is dead.' He suddenly recollected, with a glance at a certain kunoichi. She was thinking the same. Sasuke should have been there. Sasuke should have been the Best Man.
There was laughter and merriment (and a lot of alcohol) for the remainder of the night.
Almost a week had passed since that night. Neji walked out of the hospital, extremely annoyed. Not only had he been without a mission during that time, but he also hadn't seen Sakura not even once. If he didn't know any better he'd think she was avoiding him.
That was ludicrous, he knew she enjoyed their time together as much as he did.
Sill, he could not find her.
She had even changed her shift, as he had just found out. What on earth could be happening?
Sakura observed, from her hiding spot, the byakugan wielder exiting the building.
She WAS avoiding him, waiting for him to leave before she went to work.
She knew it was childish but she thought it best to avoid him for the present.
She was still hurt by his coldness during the engagement party, but is was not because of that she was avoiding him. She was terrified as she realized she had begun to get attached to him.
She liked him and feared that, if they continued as they were, she would fall in love with him.
That in itself was bad enough, but after seeing that she was nothing more than a warm body to him, she decided to keep her distance.
About an hour before her shift was due to end an urgent patient was rushed in. She didn't know who it was, only that it was serious.
Quickly she made her way to the emergency room and was horrified to find Hatake Kakashi there, completely covered in blood. His blood.
For the next few hours, she treated the man, staying with him even after the Hokage came to help.
He had lost too much blood and depleted all of his chakra.
Hyuuga Neji rushed to the hospital as soon as news reached him of the copy nin's situation. He heard that it was bad, that he probably wouldn't survive.
He relived the memories of his own pain when Gai had died, and wished only to be able to comfort his friend if the same happened to her teacher.
As soon as he arrived he was directed to the right room.
Kakashi laid on the bed as Sakura sat on a chair by his side, her face buried in her hands. Although he couldn't see it he knew she was crying. She was still covered in his blood.
"Sakura."
She was startled as she heard Neji's voice, she didn't notice his presence.
"Hyuuga-san!" Neji felt a pang as he heard that name, yet he did not know why.
"Sakura." He repeated, stubbornly using her given name. Said girl sighed as she wiped every trace of her tears.
"What do you want?"
"You're tired. Go get some rest."
The girl shook her head and turned her back to her sensei's unconscious form. Although she had seen his face before she had shielded it from the others. She knew he wouldn't have liked it.
"Sakura, please." She was amazed at the gentleness in his voice.
"I-I can't! I can't lose him too. I can't lose anyone else."
He understood her and pressed no more. Without a word, he pulled a chair and sat by her side.
He stayed the entire night.
Sakura woke up feeling groggy and with a sharp pain on her back. It took her a few seconds to realize she had fallen asleep on her chair, holding Kakashi's hand.
As she stretched her arms she felt something fall to the floor. Surprised, she picked it up. Whose jacket was that?
Neji woke up with the sound of her yawn and watched as Sakura stood there, her mouth wide open. He had covered with his jacket when she fell asleep and had stayed with her.
She hugged the jacket tightly against her chest as he watched her silently.
A few moments later Tsunade entered the room and persuaded her to go home, take a shower and eat something.
Reluctantly, she did.
When she returned Neji was there waiting for her.
By the end of the following day, Sakura was terrified. Kakashi was still unconscious and they were beginning to fear he would never wake up.
Neji held her as she cried, comforting her as best as he could.
It took Kakashi three more days to finally wake up.
When he did Sakura decided it was time to sleep in her own bed. When Neji discovered that her parents were away, he decided to keep her company. He didn't want her to be alone.
Therefore he settled himself on her couch, listening to the water running as she took her shower. He had been thinking about why he had been so worried for her. If he was starting to like her, then maybe he should keep his distance.
He listened as she finished and laid on her bed. She needed the rest. He did too, but his mind would not allow it.
Sakura's wouldn't either. She was also thinking about it. Now that Kakashi was not in immediate danger she finally took notice of the coffee-haired boy's behavior.
Clearly he did feel something for her, otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed by her side.
They continued that way for a few hours. Both unable to sleep, both deep in reflection.
Sakura got up to use the bathroom and noticed the young prodigy was also awake.
"Can't sleep?"
He shook his head as he sat up.
She sighed and sat next to him, not really sure what she was hoping for.
He put his arms around her in a tight embrace. He definitely should stop doing that, she was affecting him far too much.
She turned to him in search of comfort, kissing him.
He gave her all he had.
Before the night was over, she gave herself to him.
