Hello all again! Hope you enjoy this next chapter :) I've introduced more of the rookie 12 here and would love to get your guys votes on what couples I should include next besides the obvious NejixSakura !
xox
Sakura sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes as she trudged along behind Temari. She glanced over at her Hyuuga partner, smiling lightly as he obviously ignored Kiba's rants and continuous up roar over Neji's blatant corrections of his spellings in his most recent anbu report.
"I mean, really Neji you could of just ignored it and looked over the specifics of the mission! I wasn't asking for a fucking lesson in english grammar!"
"At your level, Kiba, you should be paying attention to every detail you put in the report, including the spelling. It's a part of your job." He mumbled the last part, clearing growing agitated with the dog user's constant stream of shouting and abuse.
"But the spelling isn't whats important, its the contents of the report!" Kiba wasn't letting up and Sakura could feel her nerve beginning to snap.
"Spelling makes it easier for the recipient to interpret your report, especially when that recipient is the Hokage." Neji argued back, turning to face Sakura for help. She merely shook her head and chuckled; he was on his own in this one.
Kiba looked at him shocked. "Have you met the Hokage?! Its Naruto! The guy can't even spell his own name, for fucks sake."
It wasn't Sakura but Temari that turned round and stormed back towards the group of male nin. She barged straight past Sakura, pushing Neji aside much to Sakura's agitation; he was still very much healing. She grabbed Kiba by the collar and pushed her face up into his.
"Do you have any idea where we are, dog breath?" She snarled, her golden orbs steaming with anger. Kiba stumbled over his words, trying to form something coherent under the sudden attack.
"We're in no mans land you dick-head! Do you know what that means? It means this place is crawling with thieves, missing-nin and murderers and your constant shouting about some fucking spelling mistake is going to get us all killed!"
"Sorry..." He mumbled, turning his head away and blushing fiercely at being told off in front of everyone.
"Thats enough, Temari." Shikamaru gave her a stern look, pulling on her shoulder to force her to let go of Kiba. She dropped him to the floor, turning away and heading to the front of the group again.
"Listen up!" She addressed the group. "Im in charge here, which means you follow by my rules. I know that half of you aren't used to it but you had better find a way to deal with it because I made a promise to Naruto that I would get you there and back again in one piece. Understand?"
"Hai, Temari-san." Sakura nodded at her companion; being a woman in charge of three testosterone filled Anbu was never easy. Temari nodded in return, accepting Sakura's show of appreciation. The three men merely nodded, turning their heads to avoid eye contact with the sand-nin's glare.
"Good, Then lets move on. We don't stop until we reach our destination."
Sakura rose her eyebrows at this and cast a concerned look to Neji. He was beginning to pale already under the exhaustion and they'd only been traveling for a day. She quickly caught up to Temari, leaving the bickering men behind her.
"Temari, I don't mean to undermine your command." Golden orbs shifted their attention to hazel ones. "But Neji's still healing and he needs to rest." Sakura glanced back at the Hyuuga, catching Temari's attention. He was currently pushing off Shikamaru's offer to help him walk and hissing at Kiba to shut up about the 'stupid spelling mistakes'; his pale complexion didn't go unnoticed by the sand nin.
Temari narrowed her eyes at the pink haired woman next to her. "Sakura, you do realize the danger you are putting all of us in by asking to camp for the night?"
"I know and I'm sorry for that. Please Temari? Naruto must of given you information on an Anbu station near by where we could stay for the night?" Temari scoffed and rolled her eyes at Sakura's blatant knowledge of the mission briefing only she had been given. She sighed and gave in to the glittering emeralds staring up at her.
"Fine. Theres a station not but an hour away. We'll make camp there." She gave Sakura a sly smile.
"Thank you, Temari-san! I will keep watch all night if I have to!" She watched in surprise as she bounded back to the trailing men to give them the good news; most ninja enjoy a break between travels, especially lazy ones like Shikamaru. Turning her back on the ruckus she eyed the forest ahead, beginning her decent into the near valley and toward the local anbu station.
She wondered, absentmindedly, if there was something more to the medic and her patient then first meets the eye.
xox
"Anything to report?" Naruto stared at the two masked Anbu in front of him. They were decked out in full Anbu gear, including weapons, but the tell tale signs of short, fluffy pink hair and long, full brown hair gave away their 'identities'.
"Nothing, Hokage. There has been no sign of forced entry in the compound since we were stationed last night."
Naruto nodded and dismissed them back to their posts. He had taken two of his most skilled transformation Anbu's out of service and placed them in the Hyuuga compound to replace and act as a decoy for Sakura and Neji whilst they escaped to his private house up on the outskirts of no mans land. It was safe and excluded from prying eyes; designed the keep the Hokage safe if he ever felt the need to take a 'vacation'. He sighed and rubbed his temples; sleep had not come very easy last night. He wasn't at ease in the compound anymore, despite having Hinata next to him. He felt that she was also now in danger of being attacked, as well as the the rest of the Hyuuga family.
They had really done a number on him by keeping this all quiet.
xox
Neji watched in mild amusement as Sakura pushed and shoved Shikamaru around the campsite. Making him set up fires and bedrolls and food and anything else she could rope him into helping her with. Temari stood on the outskirts of the camp, keeping a strict vigil on the surrounding area; Kiba was off scouting with Akamaru in the direction they had just come, checking to make sure they hadn't been followed and setting traps around the camp just in case an attack was imminent.
"Shikamaru, could you just go and-"
"No!" Shikamaru shouted, turning and pointing an angry finger in her direction. "No, no, no, no, just NO!" He stomped over to his bedroll, unclipping his boots and arm bands he promptly slipped under the blanket and fell asleep; his back turned stubbornly towards her. She huffed, her hands on her hips and she looked at Neji for back up.
"I mean really, I was only asking for a bit of help!"
It was then that Neji thanked the gods he was still injured otherwise he would be under the wraith of his object of affections demands and apparent need of 'help'. He watched as she walked over to him, kneeling down and slapping her hand onto his forehead.
"How are you feeling? I was a bit worried, we were walking for quite a way today and you haven't-"
"Sakura. Im fine. Just tired is all." He smiled reassuringly.
She smiled shyly. "Im sorry, I just don't feel safe out in the open like this after everything thats happened. I felt safer back at the compound in all honesty. Despite the attacks..." She trailed off, not knowing what more to say. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, goose bumps beginning to show. A hand on her cheek stopped her and she looked up into the pale lilac eyes and the beautiful rare smile of the man who had become the centre of her world in the past few weeks.
"I'll keep you safe, Sakura, don't worry." He trailed his hand down her cheek and cupped her face gently. She smiled, blushing as she spotted Temari eyeing the moment between the pair from the corner of her eye.
"Im going out to scout." She said suddenly, jumping into the nearby branches and off into the forest, her fan soon out of sight and out of mind. Sakura looked back at Neji and smiled behind her hands.
"Perhaps we should be more careful from now on." She smiled, briefly eyeing the sleeping nin to their left before leaning up and capturing his lips in a light kiss. He smiled against her, his hands bringing her into his chest as she hugged him tightly.
With reassurance in place she all but dragged him to his neatly made bedroll and promptly started to help him out of his Anbu armor. She immediately stopped when she caught a glint of green around his neck. She stared in shock as the trinket that had caused the trouble they were currently in was sitting tucked beneath his black vest.
"What have you done?!" She hissed, trying to pull it off his neck. "Why did you bring it with you? Naruto told you to specifically leave it behind to reduce the risk of attack!"
He pushed her arms away, holding them at her sides. "Just let me explain-" He started.
"Neji, you've put us all in a lot of danger!" Her voice was beginning to rise and he cast a nervous glance at Shikamaru as he shifted in his sleep, pulling the blanket further over his head.
"Just ssshhh!" He hissed back, clamping a hand over her mouth. "I left a decoy back in the compound. This is one of the only things I have left of my parents so im not just going to leave it behind!"
His eyes were beginning to glow under the soft blanket of darkness that veiled the forest and the trinket was starting to burn in her palm as a soft green light trickled out of its centre. Sakura suddenly realized her mistake in making him angry and dropped her hold on the necklace, placing her hands on either side of his face, cupping his jaw tightly.
"Im sorry, ok? Just calm down, Neji." She said softly, her eyes searching his as his brows slackened and his breathing returned to normal. He shut his pearly orbs and sighed softly as she sent some of her healing chakra through his temples to help him relax.
"What are you two doing?"
Neji's eyes snapped open at the sound of Shikamaru's voice. He could see him out the corner of his eyes as he sat up in his bedroll. Rubbing his eyes sleepily he stared at the pair, waiting for an answer. He was about to open his mouth to try and give the shadow user a reasonable reply when Sakura beat him to it.
"Neji has a headache, im just taking the edge off of it for him." She didn't even turn her attention to him, simply stared straight ahead at Neji, her eyebrows seemingly furrowed in concentration on her healing when Neji knew full well from past experiences that she was a very good actress.
Shikamaru grunted something in response before rolling over and presuming to snore softly as he drifted in and out of sleep. Neji sighed audibly, a nervous laugh slipping past his lips as he sat back onto his sleeping mat. He looked up at Sakura as she cast a concerned look over his features, her eyes still focusing on the necklace around his neck. She leant down and carefully pulled the blanket up and over his body as he lay his head back on to his pillow.
"If you think this is the best idea, then I trust you." She smiled sweetly at him, her hand pressing gently over the trinket that lay innocently over the centre of his chest. He smiled back at her and merely nodded, words escaping him as weakness and tiredness took over.
"Goodnight Neji..." was the last thing he heard before his eyes shut peacefully and the world of sleep consumed him.
xox
The next day was relatively uneventful as the group set off again. Occasionally Temari would direct them around a group of missing-nin, skirting far enough past them to avoid any confrontation, but apart from the occasional traveller, they arrived later that day at their destination without so much of a whiff of trouble.
"That seemed almost a bit too easy.." Temari murmured as they crested the rise of a hill, casting her golden stare to the shadow-nin that stood beside her.
"Hn, lets hope it was just a coincidence." Shikamaru replied, starting forward again as the roof of Naruto's 'holiday' home came into view. Relief flooded through Temari as she spotted their destination, her shoulders began to relax under the knowledge that she had done what the Hokage had asked and delivered his friends safely.
"Wow, look at this!" Kiba jumped in the air, punching his fist as his eyes settled on the vast expanse of the building in front of them. The ocean stretched out into the horizon as the sun began to set, casting orange and pink rays shooting across the cerulean blue sky. The one story compound, despite its size, oozed comfort and stability; smoke rose from its chimney it soft puffs and the smell of food grew stronger as they approached.
"Wait, is someone there?!" Sakura stopped, her hand to her kunai on reflex.
"Its ok Sakura, don't worry. Ino was also asked to join me and the others on this mission; she was already tracking missing-nin through this area when she received word from Naruto to meet us here. Thats probably your dinner waiting for you." Temari smiled, watching Kiba bound toward the compound with Akamaru.
"This feels more like a holiday than a mission." Neji said softly as he walked up behind Sakura. She turned to him and took his arm, helping him the last mile to their new home for the next couple of weeks. He didn't push her away or dismiss the help; his legs were weak from the exertion and the tiredness that washed over him was almost too much to bear.
"Hey! Shikamaru! Give me a hand!" Sakura shouted to him as Neji began to topple forwards. He landed on his knees with a dull thud as Sakura tried to haul him back to his feet without much success. In a second, Shikamaru was there, wrapping Neji's arms around his shoulders he lifted him with ease and carried him on his back the last few steps into the warmth of the compound hallway. Embarrassment flooded through Neji as his weakness showed.
"Im sorry." He mumbled into Shikamaru's shoulder. "Im just so tired..."
"Its ok buddy, you don't need to apologize to us. We're gonna look after ya." Shikamaru winked at the worried Sakura as he gently placed Neji on one of the plush sofa's of the open plan kitchen. He sat, staring at his hands, his eyes half lidded as he sulked to himself about his condition. He felt the cushion bend as Sakura sat next to him, her healing hands already on his head to ease his symptoms.
"I thought I was getting better?" He mumbled and for the first time since his breakdown, he felt like crying.
"You are. These things take time Neji-san, but don't worry, I will get you there." She smiled softly. "Now, are you hungry? It smells like Ino's made stew."
Neji looked up and saw the blonde kunoichi whack Kiba upside the head as he dipped his finger into the bubbling pot, screaming at him to wash his dog hands before he went near any food let alone their dinner. Shikamaru was currently placing a glass of water in front of him which Neji took gratefully and downed almost in one go. The shadow nin smiled softly before taking it and filling it again. Temari had dumped her fan and travel bag unceremoniously on the floor and was already sat at the table waiting for food to arrive in her waiting hands. Neji smiled softly as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.
"Well, this will be interesting." Sakura laughed softly as she stood to help Ino serve.
Neji smiled; she had taken the words straight out of his mouth.
xox
So a short one this time im afraid! I just wanted to get them to the Hokage's compound really so i could get back into the heart of the story again which is to do with Neji's curse mark and the trinket etcc
I just want to say a massive thank you yo everyone who has reviewed and any recent followers; I have had some really nice comments and some seriously great feedback and if it wasn't for the people that i knew were reading and enjoying this then I wouldn't keep writing.
So thank you guys :)
As always, R+R! I love to hear any constructive criticism or idea that you may have!