Reading Ahead of the Lines: Chapter 12
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A low murmuring pulled Neji from the comfortable haze of sleep. He rolled over and yanked the blanket over his head in an attempt to get back to dreaming. He and Sakura were sparring in the stream again, but things were just taking a turn for the better. Much better.
Something pressed against his back, and he sat up in surprise. To his chagrin, he was greeted by a pair of groggy green eyes blinking up at him.
He leaned down to kiss her nose and said, "Good morning."
She smiled at him and rubbed her eyes. "Good morning."
Someone cleared his throat across the room and added, "Actually, it's past noon."
Neji and Sakura nearly banged heads as they sat bolt upright. Kakashi just gave them an amused smile, but Uzuki couldn't hold it in and turned away to laugh. Two more blanket-covered lumps sat up from the noise, and the previous days' events came rushing back in an instant.
To cover his embarrassment, Neji asked, "How is the situation?"
"Everything's taken care of," Uzuki said. "Yamato and the rest of the group got back this morning, but they're sleeping now."
"You're free to go home and wash up, but be back here in four hours," Kakashi finished.
Gathering their packs, the four younger shinobi said their goodbyes and trudged out of the room. Neji still felt like he'd been trampled by an elephant.
Sakura seemed fidgety as they walked down the stairs, and once out in the bright afternoon sun, she asked, "Sasuke-kun, do you have a place to stay?"
"I can just stay in one of the houses that still belongs to my clan," he said to the ground.
"No way!" Naruto said cheerfully. "There are plenty of open rooms in my apartment building. You should just rent one there so we can be neighbors!"
Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but Sakura cut him off, "I think that's a great idea. Fixing up a house is a big deal. We can help you do that once you're settled."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically, "Sakura-chan is right. But let's go get something to eat first. I'm starving!"
"I'm going home first," Sakura told him. "I need to shower and change. We can all go out to eat after the meeting tonight."
Neji found himself strangely annoyed at the dreamy look Naruto got when Sakura mentioned showering, but he had to settle for feeling inwardly smug as they turned away from the other two and headed towards her house.
"You don't have to walk me home if you have other things to do," Sakura said as they wound through the busy street.
Neji didn't reply except to take her dirty hand in his and continue walking. Once back in front of her house, he found it hard to believe that it had been just over three days since he had walked away from her on this very spot.
Sakura must have been thinking the same thing, because she turned to him and said, "I'm sorry for everything that has happened since we came back from Suna."
"I'm sorry for leaving you so abruptly," he replied. "I'm sorry for running away." There was an awkward silence before he spoke again, "What I should have done was told you how much I love you."
The smile that danced across her lips made him forget about how hot his cheeks were getting. She brushed the loose hair from his face and stood on her toes to tangle her fingers behind his neck. "I love you too, Hyuuga Neji," she said, brushing his lips with her own as she spoke.
"Ahhhhhhh!" screamed a voice from the street. "Neji's kissing Sakura-chan!"
Neji froze and began contemplating if he had regained enough energy overnight to do violence. He decided to leave it to Sakura since it was very obvious that she most definitely had enough energy to do violence.
"Baka! Why are you following us?!" she shouted at the fox-eyed blond. Standing just behind Naruto was Sasuke, who had a puzzled look on his face.
"I didn't think it was appropriate to let you be alone with Neji, and I was right! He's taking advantage of you!" Naruto said accusingly.
"Neji-kun, you go on home. I can take care of this," Sakura said sweetly to him. "I'll see you tonight at the meeting." She very deliberately kissed him again before pushing him away and turning to face her teammates.
Neji leaped onto the roof and hesitated when Naruto yelled, "Rival!!" and pointed a finger at him. Great… another one…
Again he felt a wave of smugness as Sakura sent his newest rival flying head first into the building across from her house. "Don't be stupid!!" she shouted. Satisfied, Neji turned and continued towards his own home and the promise of hot food and hot water.
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Sakura stayed in the shower long after the hot water had run out. Looking at her pruned fingers, she decided she probably looked like a Council member and turned off the water. She toweled off and got dressed in her street clothes only to flop face down onto her bed. It had never felt so soft or inviting in all her life.
Fifteen hours of sleep had given her better perspective on the whirlwind events of the past few days, but even still she had never been so emotionally and physically drained in her life.
Suddenly she jumped back to her feet. How could she have forgotten?! Opening her window, she leaped back out to the street and retraced her steps from earlier that day. She searched through the Hokage Tower to no avail and was just about to head towards the hospital when she spotted a hunched figure clutching a pink pig to her chest.
"Shizune!" Sakura called. The two women just stared numbly at each other before falling into each other's arms in a heap of sobbing and hugging. After several minutes, they managed to regain their composure.
"I was just –hic- just about to arrange the plans for tomorrow," Shizune said, wiping her face with her sleeve.
"I'll come, too," Sakura told her with a loud sniff. Together, they walked back towards their mentor's office.
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By the time Kakashi's meeting rolled around, Sakura felt like she could use another 15 hours of sleep. She and Shizune were the last ones to arrive, and Uzuki hurried right over to them.
"Sakura-chan, Shizune-san, we need your help opening the Godaime's desk. We believe it has some important information, but it seems to have been sealed," the ANBU woman explained.
Sakura looked around the room for Neji while the older woman guided her towards the desk. She was surprised to see that he was wearing a plain light kimono, which spoke volumes about his intent to take it easy that night. He gave her a brief nod before she focused her attention on the bottom drawer of the desk. Tilting her head one way and then another, she made a few hand seals and placed her fingertips over the seal while muttering under her breath. Black writing wiggled out from beneath her hand, and she repeated the process twice more. "Five-point seal… two-point seal… four-point seal."
With a loud click, the file drawer rattled open to display an empty sake bottle and a few tiny cups beneath several scrolls covered in sloppy handwriting.
"Sakura-chan," Kakashi said with surprise, "I'm impressed with your seal techniques. How did you know…?"
"It was her lucky lottery number," Sakura explained sadly. "5, 2, 4."
"Okay," Kakashi said, turning towards the gathered shinobi. "Let's catch each other up to speed while Uzuki goes through these scrolls." Sakura thought it was strange to see her laid-back sensei asserting control over more than just her little team. She supposed there were many sides to that man that she still had never seen before.
Sakura crossed the office to stand with her teammates while Yamato began recounting the rest of the group's return to Konoha. They hadn't encountered any trouble, but travel had been hindered by the two captives. Also, they had decided to bring back the two Mist swords, and Kiba still wasn't at full strength and had to rely on Akamaru for transport. After Yamato was finished, attention shifted to Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, what do you think we should do with your remaining teammates?" Kakashi asked. "Will they cause trouble?"
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, and Sakura said encouragingly, "I'm sure we can work out any misunderstandings."
Saskue turned his black eyes towards her, and Inner Sakura instinctually braced for a scathing remark about keeping out of his business, but instead the Uchiha just nodded slightly and said, "I don't think Juugo or Karin will cause any problems. I just need to talk to them and explain the situation."
The conversation switched to whether or not they should return the two greatswords to Kirigakure, but Sakura was barely listening. She was busy contemplating how strange it was to finally have Sasuke back. Part of her felt like things had never changed, but another part felt like there was entirely different person standing beside them. She hadn't really had a chance to speak with him since he had saved her from the Root ambush except for his brief expression of gratitude. Did that mean he had forgiven her?
Inner Sakura jolted her out of her reverie as Sasuke's obsidian eyes met hers again. Hastily turning her attention towards Kakashi, she wracked her brain to recall what they were talking about.
There had been one scroll left unprotected on the Godaime's desk the previous morning, though the Sannin herself hadn't been seen since the night before. Shizune's face turned bright scarlet as Kakashi matter-of-factly informed them of how she had found the scroll and then immediately made the mistake of leaking it to Danzou, though his single dark eye made no accusations. She had later redeemed herself by reclaiming the scroll and calling the Jounin to attention.
That scroll had foretold her death in a battle against the leader of Akatsuki - a man going by the name of Pein who had killed Jiraiya. She also gave a few cursory instructions like the one that nominated Kakashi as her successor. Another directed them towards the sealed drawer of her desk. Sakura felt another stab in her chest when she heard the last line written by the Godaime: if Katsuya was summoned with their bodies then her mission was successful.
At last they had a reason for her death, and what an incredible reason it was. Jiraiya had lost and been killed, which meant that he had probably hoped to survive the encounter. The Godaime, on the other hand, had entered the battle with every intention of dying, and that made all the difference. To not heal her fatal wounds meant she must have used all her chakra for offensive attacks with no regard for herself.
Kakashi finally fell silent, and Uzuki handed out a few scrolls from the unsealed drawer. One to Shizune, one to Sakura, one to Naruto, one to Yamato. The rest, Sakura assumed, were for others or for Kakashi himself.
When no one made a motion to open their scroll, she tucked hers away in her pouch. She had a feeling the content was personal, and she wanted to be alone when she read it. That done, Kakashi dismissed the group, and they all turned to file out the door one by one.
"Ah, Sakura-chan," Kakashi called. "There's one more thing I want to mention to you."
"Yes?" she replied, stopping halfway across the office. Naruto and Sasuke hesitated as well, and she could see Sai pause near the door.
"I know I'm not official yet, but the first thing I plan on doing is promoting you and one other to the rank of Jounin," Kakashi said with his usual bored voice.
"EH?!" Sakura choked. "What?!"
"Congrats, Sakura-chan!!" Naruto exclaimed, coming over to slap her on the back.
She stared disbelievingly at her teammates as she tried to digest what Kakashi had just said. Her? A Jounin?
"I spoke with Neji earlier about how you conducted yourself on our mission," Kakashi explained, carefully avoiding mentioning Itachi directly. "You have demonstrated your skill as an elite shinobi beyond any shadow of a doubt."
The rush of pride, happiness, satisfaction, and surprise completely overwhelmed her already-exhausted emotions. It was like riding a roller coaster. She scooted around the desk and threw her arms around her sensei, who flailed as if he didn't know what to do. As if to complete the spectrum of emotions, she noticed Uzuki giving her a wary look and had to bite back the urge to stick out her tongue.
"Oy, oy, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto interjected once Sakura released her strangle-hold on the silver-haired man. "Who's the other shinobi being promoted?"
"You'll find out later," Kakashi said with a smile. "I want to tell him in person before I inform others."
"Don't you think Sasuke and I deserve to be Chuunin at least?" Naruto pressed.
"Sorry, Naruto-kun," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "But the promotion to Chuunin depends entirely on performance during the exam."
Naruto deflated momentarily, but as always he rebounded with a grin. "Sakura-chan, I'll treat you to dinner tonight. Let's get ramen!"
"I'll come, too, if Naruto is treating," Sai said with an huge smile. "Congrats, Hag. I didn't think you were good for anything."
Sasuke didn't say anything, but nodded to Kakashi and followed Naruto out of the room. He gave Sakura an appraising look as he passed, and she wondered if he was angry at her for surpassing him in rank. She remembered the first, and perhaps only, time she had performed better than the Uchiha genius. It was back in Water Country when Kakashi had taught them how to climb trees, and she still remembered the sulky glower that he had given her.
Following them down the hallway, she tuned out Naruto and Sai bickering and tried to wrap her mind around the news. Three years ago, who would have ever thought that she'd be the first of the Rookie Nine to become a Jounin? In fact, including the three Academy classes before theirs, it was just her and…
There at the bottom of the staircase was the other Jounin. His hair was tied back neatly again, but loose strands still framed his face as he turned his silver eyes towards the noisy group. From the smirk touching his lips, she knew that he had already known about her promotion.
"Neji!" she hollered, launching herself from halfway down the stairs. He caught her easily, but she felt his muscles tense as he wrapped his arms around her waist and skidded back a few steps. Maybe she was a little too giddy tonight, but goddamn it felt good. "You knew!" she said accusingly.
He let her drop to her feet in front of him with the same smug smirk. "I had a hunch," he said, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers. He had his hitai-ate again despite the casual clothing, and the metal was cool against her excited skin. "You deserve it," he whispered.
She blushed at the compliment, but pulled away a bit as the other three arrived at the bottom of the steps. "Neji, come to dinner with us. Naruto is treating," she suggested, tugging on his sleeve.
He glanced at the spluttering blond before telling her, "Sorry, but I'm eating at the Main House tonight. If you're interested, Hinata-sama invited her team to the onsen later this evening. You and your team are welcome as well."
Sakura brightened even more at the prospect of soaking her weary bones. "Is it alright if invite Ino, too?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course," Neji replied. "Later, then."
He didn't make any other public display of affection, but the smile he gave her as he turned and stated walking away was enough to set her heart racing all over again. How could she have ever taken him for granted?
Naruto had gone from surly to chipper in an instant after Neji mentioned the onsen, though as they left the building and started off towards Ichiraku, the blond fell unusually silent. 'He must be thinking of Jiraiya,' Sakura thought to herself. She got the feeling that they would have these moments of sad reflection often in the days to come.
Whether intentional or not, Sai was able to shake the somber mood by adding, "Hopefully you'll have grown a penis since the last time we were at an onsen," which of course resulted in a loud and prolonged outburst from Naruto. Sakura studied Sasuke as he watched the antics and wondered what he thought of it all.
Dinner at Ichiraku was more of the same, though there was some serious conversation about their lazy sensei becoming the next Hokage. "It makes sense," Sakura pointed out, "since he's one of the strongest Jounin in the village. And he was trained by the Yondaime."
"Does that mean that you'll be a Hokage, too, Ugly, since you were trained by the Godaime and the Rokudaime?"
She choked on her ramen and had to gulp a glass of water to clear her throat. "No, Sai, I will definitely leave that role up to Naruto," she said weakly.
Naruto beamed at her and launched into his usual rant about becoming Hokage. A faint hint of the old smirk touched Sasuke's lips and caught Sakura's attention, and when he noticed her watching he gave a tiny shrug. "Some things never change," he said quietly, and Sakura had to laugh out loud.
She remembered their first meeting with Sasuke after he had disappeared with Orochimaru. Outside the ruined Sound hideout, Sasuke had insulted Naruto by questioning his competence as Hokage when he couldn't even save his friend. Well, he was eating those words now, she thought happily to herself.
After watching Naruto pack away his tenth bowl, she led the group towards Ino's house to see if she wanted to join them at the Hyuuga onsen. Throwing the front door open, the pretty blonde had immediately latched onto Sakura's shoulders and began demanding details about everything that had happened. Shikamaru and Chouji appeared behind her, Chouji with a sandwich still in hand, and the three of them joined Team Kakashi as they redirected themselves towards the Hyuuga estate.
"Sakura-chan, have you ever been to the onsen there before?" Naruto asked. Ino looked equally interested in her answer.
"Once, a while ago," Sakura told them. Her face heated slightly at the memory of her first and only visit after she and Neji had spent the day sparring in the stream. She had left almost as soon as she had arrived, though, because…
She shot a quick glance at Sasuke and felt her face redden even more. 'This time we will stay and enjoy ourselves,' Inner Sakura said firmly.
Their conversation quieted down into hushed tones as they passed through the gate into the Hyuuga estate. Sakura led the way away from the main complex towards the small building next to the onsen. The boys and girls went their different ways, and Ino and Sakura ducked through the noren into the changing rooms.
An excited squeal told them that the room was already occupied, and Tenten rushed over to greet them. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened, but I'm so glad you're back and safe," the brunette said breathlessly. "Hinata told me all about the mission and finding Akatsuki and..." The older girl hesitated as if unsure if it was a sore topic.
"And Sasuke-kun came back to Konoha," Sakura finished for her.
"And what about what we spoke about," Tenten prompted, suddenly serious. Ino looked confused, but didn't interrupt.
"And I'm here, aren't I?" Sakura said just as vaguely. Tenten looked thoughtful for a moment before breaking into a huge grin.
Finally Ino decided to ask for clarification, but a small voice piped up from across the room. Hinata turned off the shower head that she had been rinsing off with and said, "I-I'm glad you and Neji-nii-san worked everything out."
"Ohh, I get it now," Ino said, snapping her finger.
Sakura wrapped a towel around herself and headed for the door leading outside, "Well I'm just glad he's back. If not for him or me, then for Naruto's sake."
Suddenly, Hinata swayed and fell against the wall clutching her towel tightly. "Is… is… Naruto-kun… here?!"
"Yeah, I hope you don't mind, but Neji invited my team over," Sakura told her innocently, though a wicked grin was a hair's width from plastering itself across her face.
"May…Maybe I shouldn't go in the hot spring tonight. I-I'm still a little tired from the mission," Hinata said faintly.
"Nonsense!" Sakura said happily, wrapping an arm around Hinata. "This will help you relax and loosen your muscles." She peeked over her shoulder and nodded for Ino and Tenten to help out.
"That's right!" Ino chimed in. "Hot springs are known for their healing properties." Tenten just put her hands over her face and smothered her laughter.
The three of them shepherded Hinata out into the crisp night air, and already they could hear a commotion from the other side of the bamboo fence that separated the men's bathing area from the women's. Naruto could clearly be heard shouting, "Stop looking at my penis!"
Hinata tried to run again, but her knees gave out, and Sakura pretty much hauled her the rest of the way to the water's edge. "Naruto! Stop causing a fuss at someone else's house!" Sakura reprimanded out loud.
"But, Sakura-chan…," Naruto whined.
"Don't make me come over there!" she fired back threateningly.
"Keep going as you see fit, Naruto," came Neji's smooth voice. "I wouldn't mind if she came over here."
Sakura felt herself blush as red as Hinata and quickly splashed into the hot spring in the hopes that the others attributed her flush to the hot water. She busied herself making sure her towel was tucked tightly around her torso, but she could see Tenten nearly doubled over with silent laughter.
"Lee, get out if you're going to bleed everywhere," came Neji's voice again, this time tinged with annoyance, and a they heard someone splash out of the water and hurry back into the men's changing room.
Tenten lost it for good and started gasping out loud as her laughter echoed through the night. Sakura and Ino couldn't help but join in, and even Hinata seemed to relax a little.
"Oy, Sakura-chan, congrats on your promotion," Kiba called over the fence. A low bark that was probably Akamaru's agreement followed his words.
"Thanks Kiba, but it's not official yet. You never know with Kakashi-sensei. He might forget," Sakura said with an eye roll.
"So Naruto, are you going to participate in the next Chuunin Exam?" Shikamaru asked. "The winter testing is in three months."
"Yeah, Sasuke and I will enter for sure!" Naruto replied enthusiastically with a lot of splashing.
"Who will be your third?" Ino asked. "You should start looking now cause a bad teammate can ruin everything." Chouji grunted in agreement.
"I'll be your third," Sai offered, and Sakura could envision the smile on his face.
"What?! No way!" Naruto spluttered.
"You're already ANBU," Sakura added. "And you're not allowed to take the exam if you already passed."
"Actually I never took the Chuunin Exam," Sai said cheerily. "Many in Root were chosen as children and trained with no regard to village standards."
Sakura thought about that a moment before saying, "You three are going to be the most over-qualified team of Genin in the history of Chuunin Exams."
"They'll have to go on missions and learn to work with each other first," Neji said blithely. "I suppose three months as Team Sakura should do the trick."
"EHH?!" Sakura blurted. "Team what?!"
"Well you can't expect Kakashi to lead you on missions once he becomes Hokage, right?" Neji pointed out.
"And you are the highest-ranking member after him," Tenten mused innocently, though Sakura could swear she could see the brunette and Neji giving each other mental high fives.
"And that way you'll still have a four-man cell," Neji concluded with satisfaction.
Silence descended over the area. Ino was staring at Sakura as if she had never seen her before, and Tenten was resting her head on the edge of the hot spring with a small smile twitching the corners of her mouth. The good news was that silence meant that Sasuke wasn't trying to drown himself all over again. The idea of her being their captain was probably rocking their entire perception of the world. 'Good,' she thought smugly.
Again, Sai blindly broke the silence with an inappropriate comment, "Well if we're going to take this exam together, at least Sasuke has a penis even if you don't."
There was a strange hurking noise, which was probably Sasuke, followed immediately by Naruto's protests. "Stop talking about things like that!!"
"I thought that's what men talk about together," Sai said in confusion. "I read that it fosters bonding."
"Not like that!!" Naruto howled. "Not in front of girls!!"
"Oh I see," Sai said brightly, "You don't want them to know how sm… blrgh hrfftt… what did you dunk me for?"
Meanwhile, Sakura was staring at Ino, who was staring at Tenten, who was staring at Sakura. "I think I just bust an ovary," Tenten whispered to them, and they burst out in uncontrollable giggles.
Suddenly, Sakura worried that her ovary might have exploded, too, when Sai said, "Then is it proper to tell them how large Ne…"
She was saved by Ino who let out a strangled cry of "Hinata!" The dark-haired girl had passed out and was currently sinking into the steaming water. Reassuring the guys that everything was alright, they carried Hinata back into the changing room and found a cold washcloth for her forehead.
Sakura went back outside to tell the others that she and the other girls were done for the night, but it sounded like the men's spring had emptied as well. The continued shouts from Naruto were cut off as the door to the other changing room slid shut.
Suddenly she felt a presence behind her and whirled around just as Neji appeared from nowhere and forced her backwards against the fence. The bamboo scratched the backs of her legs, but she paid it no attention as Neji caught her lips quickly and leaned in close with one thigh between her legs. His kiss was hard and deep, and all she could think about were the two thin, wet towels currently separating them. The tips of his hair were wet and tickled her bare arms as his hands pressed against her lower back.
And then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared, and Sakura was left panting against the fence. Once she was sure her face was a reasonable shade of pink, she returned to the changing room to find a cold washcloth for herself, too. She most definitely just busted an ovary.
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Could-Careless::hugs:: Thanks for your constant support!
xXHyuugaSakuraXx: You got it
nejisakura: Hopefully I'm back on track with updates (though that sounds familiar, ne?)
Dakishimeru: Haha, I'm glad you liked the elders. Truth be told I didn't want the Danzou part to be really long and drawn out, but I also didn't think it was realistic for Kakashi to just waltz back to the village and don the Hokage hat without any obstacles.
KunoichiruleALL: Ack, I'm sorry. I killed Suigetsu a few chapters ago Gomen ne!
Kinomi-chan: Poor Naruto – had to watch Sakura fawn all over Sasuke and now she's with Neji. Ah well, maybe I'll throw him a bone or two ;)
Jay95: Naruto was pouting that Sakura was cuddling up next to Neji to go to sleep. In my head, I imagined Naruto with his eyes narrowed and his whisker-marks mirroring his pout.
seguha: As always, thanks for coming to check out my update right away
.'Sabaku No Annie'.: I really appreciate your compliment! I first became a NejiSaku fan after reading an awesome fanfic (at first I was like "who and WHO?"), so I'm glad I can contribute to the pairing in the same way.
Da Cute Snowbunny: I have to admit, this chapter came out so quickly because I was getting all happy and sappy about the NejiSaku cuteness in the last chap.
AngelWing1138: Good to know I can still do cute fluff scenes I was worried all the fighting replaced my fluff abilities with too much action.
xnguyen: I'm so glad new readers are still finding this fic! Hopefully this chap had enough fluff, and the next will probably have some more
Lady Light: Poor Naruto never had a chance ;) I have something in mind for him, though, so don't worry
Mayumi Crescent Moon: Hopefully this chap is taking them back to how it all began in Reading Beneath.
