Theme 15. - Supporting the other
When Neji's finely tuned senses perceived that his approaching significant other's chakra signature promised hell, he knew that something was wrong.
Somehow, the door slamming that ensued and proclaimed her entrance to their humble abode, the clatter of thrown keys and thumping sandals on her way in supported his theory.
Opening his eyes from his meditation, the ANBU Captain witnessed how his pink-haired lover scowled hard at the floor of their bedroom while she started to unwrap her leg-holster and pull off her gloves.
Neji knew she was mad, but he needed to know how much. "Taika," he murmured, making her snap into attention.
From the way she started, he concluded that she hadn't even realized he was in the room. Sakura sighed deeply, padding to the balcony where he was sitting. This allowed Neji to see her clearly under the afternoon sunlight: her eyes showed a little puffiness around them. She had been crying.
He was about to ask her what was wrong when she dropped to the floor and crawled to his lap, surprising his senses.
Something was really wrong if she wanted him to comfort her like a little girl. This had happened only once, when she'd gotten into a nasty fight with Naruto. They had argued about her choice of a life partner in Neji, and the blond, being the overprotective moron he was, all but whined about how haughty the Hyuuga was and what the hell he had done to her that she wasn't waiting for Sasuke anymore.
She encountered Neji that night and demanded for him to come clean or else. He had no qualms to comply and told her he loved her, only to see her breaking down in breath-wrenching sobs, explaining between her tears about Naruto's sudden outburst and how she could not wait for the Uchiha anymore, because she was madly and hopelessly in love with the Ice Prince of Konoha.
This argument between her and her brother served for the strengthening of their bond, accepting their feelings and finally expressing what they had in their hearts. But according to the village's gossips, it took a porn-loving seasoned Jounin and his bowl-hair styled rival to detain an incensed Hyuuga ANBU Operative, who had reprimanded a Kyuubi-wielder shinobi rather severely while he had also been restrained and who defused his anger and asked to be let out of the wooden, inked ties in a subdued voice.
A little later, Sakura had been tackled by a mass of orange, black and yellow, who begged for forgiveness in a rather emotional display. Neji, hidden in a tree, watched them crying and pardoning each other, almost getting out of his lookout post when the blond idiot threatened to kick his very own backside into next century if he dared to hurt the giggling pink-haired female that was at his side.
Sakura had laughed at him when he admitted his spying stunt a few months later, on a rainy night with no electricity, making the two ninjas huddle in their bed with a few candles and a warm quilt.
Now, patiently awaiting for her to calm herself enough to speak, he merely threaded his fingers on her roseate-colored hair with one hand, while the other rubbed repeatedly across her back, in a motion he had seen her use when she consoled a very distressed Hinata when they were waiting for news on Naruto's condition after a vicious mission.
Her sobs subsided for a moment, and Neji took the opportunity to voice his concern with a soothing whisper.
"What's wrong?" a perfect, simple question that made her shudder for a moment because of the effect his deep voice had on her. It was something that would never wane, those little tickles that swirled in her stomach and made her lightheaded enough to spill everything he wanted to know.
And now, he wanted to know what was wrong. She sighed, trying to put her distress into words.
"I fought with Sasuke," she said brokenly. "He was flirting with Hanabi and I got mad."
He lifted a brow. "Jealous?"
"No!" she almost shouted, revolving herself in his arms to glare at him. "I don't want him near Hanabi, she's too young for him... and he's too dark for her!"
He made a mental note to reward his lover when she had calmed for displaying such caring loyalty to his family, but also, he promised himself to punt the Uchiha's ass through the Hokage Mountain for his underhanded attempts to woo his little cousin.
"So Uchiha got angry at you?"
She nodded, sniffling. "He said that he needed someone to restore his clan, but I snapped and yelled at him about how stupid he was if he got together with someone he didn't love..."
She trailed off and he waited, knowing that her explanation was incomplete.
"He... told me that the person he loved wasn't available anymore..."
Neji's chin tensed due to the clenching of his teeth.
Surely, he knew that Sasuke's intentions with Sakura were less than innocuous. Since the Uchiha's return, he had been prodding his former teammate about a liaison with him.
Sadly for him, Neji had claimed the pink-haired medic for himself for almost two years and a half at the moment, fact that he enjoyed seeing thrown into the Sharingan Master's face by none other than Sakura herself.
She had punched Sasuke through three walls, refusing to heal him afterwards and stomping her way to her office, where she dissolved her anger into bitter tears between the arms of her silver-eyed lover, who embraced her, giving his silent support once more.
All in all, Sasuke had become a sore topic among them, not only because of his badly concealed intentions towards the ANBU Medic, but also for having created a horrible reputation on his behalf throughout Konoha: that of a womanizer, giving all the sought bachelors –even Genma!– a run for their money.
Sakura had been clear with Naruto and Sai about the Uchiha's new habit: she wasn't above kicking his ass if he all but got close to her female friends. Tenten had been circumspectly steered away from his presence by Lee, who had to request a mission to Suna in order to get a chance to get his girlfriend back. Hinata had been carefully avoided by Sasuke –and she was the only one of their age range that was pardoned by his stalking customs–, seeing that she was Naruto's significant other.
Ino, on the other half, fell almost immediately into the Uchiha's clutches. Sakura had been most distressed during their affair, mostly because she knew –despite the blonde's scathing remarks of Sakura being the sore loser of their rivalry from years ago–, that Ino was going to be sorely dumped in a matter of days.
After the accomplished moment of doom, Ino had camped in Neji and Sakura's couch, engrossed in a deep bout of depression. Sakura had had the tact to avoid rubbing all the warnings she had given into her friend's face, but Neji wasn't above reprimanding the blonde for her complete disregard of self-respect. Despite Sakura's ire, he told Ino, in no sugar-coated terms, about the smooth subtleties of the dark womanizer, concluding that she had to stand back up from her blunder, otherwise the Uchiha would win.
The inverse psychology worked wonders on the Yamanaka girl, much to Sakura's surprise. Ino had accepted Chouji's affections a few weeks later, leaving Sasuke tasting a spoon of his own medicine when she appeared at Kiba's birthday party wearing a trinket that showed her engagement to the young Akimichi.
Sakura was happier than anyone for her friend's bliss, fingering the white-gold ring she wore everyday on her finger, a gift from her Hyuuga ANBU lover, now fiancé. The news about her engagement with Neji had been perfectly sorted, avoiding the explosion of emotion from their friends until they got clearance from his uncle, the Hyuuga Clan Head.
Neji, at this point, discerned that the Uchiha hadn't taken the news very well.
Sakura had been looking at his eyes anxiously, as he remembered how much of a nuisance the prodigal ninja had been in their lives. Blinking, he focused his silver colored orbs into distressed emerald ones, which were at the point of a nervous breakdown if he didn't start speaking soon.
"Sakura," he sighed. "I know how you feel about Sasuke. However, I am afraid he needs to be reminded of his position within our group."
"I know," she responded with a hint of strain in her tone. "He's going too far. I heard from Shikamaru that he had been hitting on Kurenai-sempai, of all people."
"Uchiha has a death wish," the silver-eyed man sentenced sternly. "He won't gain any favor for his cause if he doesn't start behaving with honor."
"Neji..." the medic whispered, at a loss concerning his ambiguous posture.
"Do you really want to be my wife, Sakura?" he asked suddenly, watching her reaction closely. Her dumbstruck face said how little she had been expecting his question, but her eyes flooded with an emotion he had not been expecting either. Anger!
"Are you mad, Hyuuga?" she demanded, brows knitting in annoyance. "Don't you dare give me that lenient exit, buddy, you're goddamn stuck with me for the rest of your sorry life! Damn right I want to be your wife, you foolish man! How can your Byakugan not see how much you mean to me, Neji?!"
"Fair enough, Taika, calm yourself," he said smoothly, wrapping his arms around her waist. She wiggled stubbornly, showing her displeasure about the implications of his words. "Listen to me, Sakura," he added, tightening his embrace. "I know that Uchiha's behavior has been taking an emotional toll on you. No, do not interrupt me, dear," he admonished gently when he saw she was about to protest. "Sasuke needs to understand that you are not going to get together with him. He needs to see he's sorely mistaken if he expects every woman in Konoha to fall for his charms – that is why I spoke to Ino like that, remember?"
Sakura nodded obediently. "I kind of object to your tactics, but in the end everything worked out fine."
"I was too harsh, I admit you that. However, Ino needed to see for herself that she was merely a trophy for that idiot," Neji concluded, eyes shining with mischief. She blinked in surprise when his regal features lighted with a wicked smirk. "That brings me to the best course of action: we will set Uchiha up with someone who teaches him the proper manner to treat a lady."
The pink-haired medic stared at her lover, mouth agape. "You're kidding."
"No, I am not joking, Taika," he said curtly. "I find encountering that moron every single time I go to the hospital to see you extremely displeasing. He needs to understand that you are about to be a Hyuuga, and Hyuuga females are to be treated with respect."
Sakura's face changed, showing disbelief through a one-eyed side glare. "You're going to flaunt in front of him, aren't you? Is this going to be a pissing contest again?"
"I do not know what are you talking about, woman," he said with a blank face, which made her let out an incredulous laugh. "Besides..." he trailed off as his bandaged forehead leaned to rest on hers. "Uchiha needs to understand once and for all that you are mine."
His husky remark made her flush furiously, earning a smug smirk from her lover.
"What if Hanabi is his true love?" she asked innocently, seeing his smirk transforming into a thunderous scowl.
"Over my dead body," he growled. "I rather see her dating the mutt."
She squeaked in surprise again. "You knew?!"
"Oh, please. Hanabi always reeks of dog when she comes back from training and her clothes sport white hair. Hiashi-sama is not pleased of her rebellion, but I believe he will approve of her liaison when he finds out who is attempting to woo her."
She laughed. "You are an evil, evil man, love."
"Says the woman that loves punching people through a wall," he shot back sarcastically, listening to her giggles with a contented face.
A while of silence was broke because of a snort from Sakura. "What if I ask Anko-san to help us with Sasuke?"
Neji blinked. "Again, Taika, who is the evil one in this relationship?"
Her gleeful laughter filled the balcony, and Neji, inwardly, felt really sorry for the oblivious Uchiha.
- Tenna' ento lye
omenta -AN: Thank you for your time! I hope you had enjoyed it!. :D