Aha! Well, There is actually gonna be 3 more chapters, including this one! xD Sorry, I just changed my mind! So be happy (only if you actually really liked this fic) =3=;
One thing I also realized was... like... in most fanfics I've read, that are long, always have it where at some point the main couple gets into a fight and drama and everything.
I never really had a fight between Sakura and Neji... Eh, I know their relationship isn't perfect where they don't fight at all, but I'd rather not have drama in this fic xD It's not a drama at all, so I don't feel the need to incorporate some into this fic. I'm not a drama writer anyways... I prefer reading it, rather than writing it =3=;;
Well I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. =3=
Sakura woke up in the arms of Neji after a passionate night of sex. It had only been the second time they've had sex, much to Neji's surprise. He had only expected to have sex once before they married, but he found he couldn't control himself when he was around her sometimes.
The girl leaned down and gave a sleeping Neji a chaste kiss on the forehead, before getting up from the bed and getting dressed. Today she had a shift at the hospital, much to her dismay. It would be her first time back in the hospital for nearly a week.
She took one last look at the Hyuuga's sleeping form before leaving her bedroom and shutting the door softly behind her. Taking a look at the kitchen before she headed out the front door, she decided she wasn't hungry and didn't want breakfast, then left her house with a sigh.
After the mission, Tsunade had given her a few days for recuperating. But unknown to her, Tsunade had also given those days off to spend time with Neji and strengthen their bond. Fortunately for her, Neji and Sakura couldn't be closer.
Sakura smiled as she thought about what her and Neji had been doing in these days off. They had gone out a lot together, in discreet of course, to restaurants and other events in Konoha.
But that brought her to another problem; they both still had to tell all of their friends of their engagement. Their wedding wasn't too far away, after all. At first, they were given two months to court and get to know each other, but once Hiashi saw that they were indeed in the romantic stages in their relationship, he thought it would be best if the wedding would be soon.
Sakura was soon at the hospital entrance and was greeted by the snobby girl at the front desk. The girl didn't like the pink-haired girl much, for some reason unknown to Sakura. The girl's greeting came out as more of a sneer than a respectful one.
Ignoring the girl, Sakura made her way up the stairs to the floor she usually worked on, which was the seventh floor. Once she was up there, she went to the front desk where one of her co-workers was at. Behind the front desk were doctors and nurses all very busy with their work. It seemed busier today, judging by how many people were working.
Bending over, the pink-haired girl propped her elbows on top of the desk. "Who is my first patient for today?" She asked, causing the secretary to look up from her paperwork.
The secretary had had messy blonde hair pulled up into a bun and soft brown eyes. She beamed at Sakura, then pulled a document out of the stack of papers in front of her.
"Here is your patient," she said, handing the document to Sakura's outstretched hand.
Sakura held it in front of her and examined the piece of paper with a thoughtful expression.
Name: Akiko Matsuo
DOB: May 13
Age: 73
Room: E3
Synopsis: Heart problems are evident. Shortness of breath, fatigue from doing the simplest of things, irregular heartbeat, swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet.
Diagnosis: Signs of beginning heart failure.
Doctor Appointed: Haruno Sakura.
Plan for Today: A check up on how the patient's symptoms have been coming along.
The pink-haired girls expression went from thoughtful to sorrowful after she was done reading the report. She lowered her hand down so that it was leaning off the edge of the counter top her elbows were on.
The secretary gently took the document out of her hand and clipped it to a clipboard, then gave it back to a saddened Sakura. Seeing the troubled girl, the blonde covered Sakura's hand with her own and gave it a light squeeze. The pink-haired girl looked from her hand, then to the secretary's face and tried her best to stir up a reassuring smile for the woman.
Without another word from the both of them, the pink-haired kunoichi sluggishly made her way to her patient's room in a rather discomforting mood. Putting her temper and aggressive attitude to the side, Sakura really did have a gentle heart. The patient's report had definitely made her joyful mood turn sour with grief.
Once her patient's room was within view, the girl's dread finally took it's course as she her steps gradually became slower towards the door.
With her clipboard held tightly against her armpit, she reluctantly grabbed the door handle and turned it as she bit her lip.
An old woman with long, white hair came into the pink-haired girl's vision. She couldn't see her face, as she was turned to the window that was on the left side of her bed.
"Hello, Akiko," Sakura's soft voice broke the silence of the plain room. Akiko turned her head to the girl and regarded her with a lazy smile on her wrinkled face. Her eyes blue eyes twinkled in amusement as she saw just how young her doctor was.
"Hello, she croaked out. Her voice cracked a bit as she started coughing into her hand violently, making her breathing turn ragged as she tried to speak.
Sakura hurriedly went over to the small desk that was for doctors as she pulled down a stethoscope that was hanging on the wall near the desk. She went over to Akiko's side as the old woman's coughing ceased, but leaving her almost gasping for breath.
Pressing the stethoscope onto the fabric of the scrubs outfit she was wearing, Sakura listened to her heartbeat and found that it's beating was indeed irregular, just as the report had stated. She went back to the sink and grabbed a plastic cup that sat on the side of the desk and filled it with water. She held Akiko's head up as she gently pressed the cup to her lips, making the old woman open her mouth.
Sakura lightly tipped it so that the water went into her mouth. She made sure Akiko swallowed it without any problems and found that she quickly drained the cup of it's contents. After clearing her throat, Akiko found that she was able to speak clearer than before.
"Thank you, Doctor." The old woman extended her frail hand and patted Sakura gingerly on the shoulder as an act of gratitude towards the young woman.
"Ah! Please, call me Haruno-san." Sakura blushed, as she had forgotten that she had never told her patient her name. Akiko nodded and waited as the pink-haired kunoichi started to get more equipment from the doctor's desk.
"I'll be giving you a check up today on how your condition is coming along," Sakura stated, rummaging through even more equipment in hopes of finding the right tool she would need.
She wouldn't need much, except for her stethoscope, which dealt with most of the old woman's symptoms. But for just in case, Sakura would be getting a reflex hammer to use on her.
With the reflex hammer in her hand, she had Akiko sit on the edge of the bed so that her legs were dangling off. The pink-haired girl tenderly took a hold of her leg and brought the reflex hammer to her knee. She lightly tapped it and saw that her foot went up as a reaction to being tapped.
Sakura then turned her attention to Akiko's foot and grabbed it gingerly. She felt how big it was, and came to the conclusion that it was still severely swollen, that being a symptom of heart failure. She then checked her ankles and legs and also found that they were still swollen as well.
Next, she grabbed her stethoscope once more and pressed it to her chest. Her heart beat was still irregular and her breathing was still just as heavy as it was a few minutes ago. Sakura took the clipboard from underneath her armpit and check marked the boxes that were next to each symptom.
From the previous check up done by another doctor, their results looked the same as Sakura's, meaning Akiko wasn't getting any better. Sakura pressed her lips together in a firm line, and decided that her check up was over with.
"Your check up is done with, Matsuo-san." The pink-haired girl tried to sound at least a little cheerful for the old woman, hoping that it would be of some comfort to her.
Akiko nodded, though she knew that she wasn't getting any better, because Sakura's face clearly told it all. The old woman looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap and grimaced.
Sakura, unsure of what else to say, decided that it was about time she left the room now. She put her hand on the door handle and opened it, then began to walk out of the room.
"I wish I was dead."
The pink-haired girl paused, her eyes widening, then sharply turned around. "What?" Her voice was laced with confusion and shock at her patient's words.
"You don't know what it's like, day after day of suffering from the pain." Her voice steadily became colder as her body began to shake uncontrollably.
Sakura was at her side in heartbeat and tried to get the shaking woman to lay down as she was prepared to get some anesthesia or sterilizer. "I can make the pain go away if you calm down! I'll get some medicine!" She put a hand on Akiko's shoulder, but it was swatted away by the old woman's hand.
"No! I'm not suffering from my condition! In fact, I would be so happy if this condition were to kill me now," She glared, making Sakura step back and observe her with a raised eyebrow.
Akiko had stopped her shaking and sat up even straighter as she started having trouble breathing again. She waited for the girl to start prodding her with questions about why she had so desperately wished for her own demise.
As if Sakura could read her mind, she worked up the courage to ask such a question. "Why... do you wish to die?" She hesitated to ask, because she felt she was invading her privacy. But the old woman did speak up first, so maybe she didn't have to feel like she was intruding.
Akiko hung her head down once more and sighed as she fiddled with the bed sheets she was laying under.
"You don't know the pain of having your lover die before you, and leaving you alone in this world. I wish I would die right now, so that I would be with my beloved Hiro." Her voice came out as hollow as she clenched the bed sheets tighter. No tears came from her eyes though, as she remembered her dear husband.
The pink-haired kunoichi remained silent, still wanting to hear more about Akiko's lover. She was right though, she didn't know what it felt like to lose the person you loved. Neji's face came into her mind, making her shake her head so that her pink locks were flying around.
"My husband always had a small quote that he came up with himself, describing what it felt like to be in love. What he said is still true to this day." Sakura kept her head to the ground as she took the old woman's words into consideration.
Sensing the girl's discomfort, Akiko brought her head up and turned to her. "Haruno-san, have you ever been in love?"
Sakura swiftly brought her head up after hearing her question. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink as she looked down again, embarrassed. "U-um..." She didn't know how to answer the question, because Neji's picture came into her mind again.
Back when she was a genin, she thought she loved Sasuke, but as she grew older she realized it wasn't love at all. But now that she had Neji, she wasn't sure.
"My husband's definition of being in love matched what I felt for him, and I knew I loved him with all my heart." Akiko continued, her voice beginning to get louder as a smile came upon her lips.
"Loving someone is loving them for who they are, and not seeing anything about them as a negative. It's blind and you never know what will happen, but in your eyes the person is perfect and beautiful in every way possible." Akiko shifted in her position, then laid down back on to the pillow as she began to grow weary of sitting up.
"That was what his definition was. Now when I meet a young couple, I always question them based on his quote. If they answer correctly, then I know for sure that they are in love." The old woman's head was turned to Sakura once more as she smiled at her, every trace of anger or depression was erased from her face.
Sakura shifted under her gaze and looked around nervously. Something about the way Akiko was staring at her made her uncomfortable and anxious, but she had already been uncomfortable ever since she announced that she desired her own death.
Akiko couldn't help but smirk at the reaction she got out of the young girl. There seemed to be a man lurking around in her mind, so she would question her as well.
"I know you have a special man, so tell me, is there anything you can think of that is negative about him?" The old woman asked, sitting up against the headboard of the bed.
Sakura's blush deepened at the sudden question. Is there anything about Neji that I do view as a negative? She thought to herself. She knew there had to be something she thought of that wasn't a very good trait in the Hyuuga, but as she continued to think more, she couldn't find anything about him she didn't like.
The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head as a sign of no, and awaited for what her patient would say next. Akiko nodded her head in understanding, then she asked her next question: "Love is blind. You never know what will happen, but you're positive you'll be there and stick together. You're blind to what will happen but you're willing to find out."
Akiko took a deep breath, as she started to become out of breath with such long sentences. "Are you willing to stand by his side no matter what?" That question was normally hard for people, from what Akiko could remember. Usually when she asked them that, it caused them to remain silent and walk away.
Without a moment's hesitation, Sakura nodded her head. She knew for sure that she would stand by Neji's side no matter what! She would even risk her life for him if it came down to it.
Smiling, pleased with the girl's reaction, Akiko sighed from content. Now if she answered the next question correctly, then she would know how the pink-haired girl felt.
"To you, is he perfect?" This question was also hard, as many people took the fact that their partner had many flaws into consideration. It was rare and some what unbelievable for someone to say the other was completely perfect, for most people believed that there was no such thing as the perfect human being.
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed at this question. It was somewhat like the first one, where admitting someone had no negative qualities about them, which would also be called flaws. Saying someone had no negative qualities was basically calling them perfect. Her pearl eyes widened as she finally realized...
Akiko eyed her and smirked as she saw the girl's pearl eyes widen. Ah, so now she knew how this girl felt about a certain man. If only the man they were talking about heard this conversation...
Neji woke up to find that the pink-haired beauty was gone from his arms. With much difficulty, he finally found himself able to get out of bed, despite his body's protests of falling back to sleep.
The Hyuuga staggered as he tried to steady himself on the ground with a hand against the wall. Last night had been wonderful. So wonderful that his body was aching and he felt exhausted from their night of pleasure together.
A growl and pains from his stomach made Neji realize that he was hungry and he hadn't eaten anything for a while. Slipping on a pair of boxers, he went downstairs and into the kitchen to see what Sakura had to eat in her house.
He delved into her refrigerator and found that she didn't have much in it. Only thing in there was spoiled milk and rotting fruit. The scent that leaked from the fridge made him scrunch his face up as he grabbed the two things that were producing the offending odors and threw them away into the trash can. He would take the trash out after he quelled his stomach's rumbling by finding something to eat.
Then he decided to give her cupboard a try as he opened it and found only ramen in there. He smirked, reminded of how Naruto was the same way; only keeping ramen in the house and neglecting everything else. The blonde's eating and storing habits must of rubbed off on the pink-haired kunoichi.
Since the ramen was the only thing to eat in her house and he didn't feel like going out to get food, Neji looked for a pot and soon found one on top of the fridge. He turned on the stove, poured water into the pot, then set the pot on top of the stove to let the water boil.
Neji's face fell as he thought of Sakura. He missed her and wished she was home right now so he could hold her. His heart was aching from the pain of missing her. His hand rose up and pressed itself to where his beating heart was. An empty feeling soon took over as he thought more about the pink-haired girl.
Lately, he found that whenever she was near, his heart would speed up as he could feel a weird tingling feeling in his gut. It was the sort of feeling he would get if he was nervous about something, but he had no idea what he had to be nervous about while around her.
Flashes of her face suddenly popped into his mind, making his breath hitch. His heart started pounding faster as more images and memories of her came into his head. Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to calm down from whatever was happening to him. With a look down towards his hands, he found that his palms were getting quite sweaty.
What the hell was happening to him?
A couple hours later, Sakura was surprised to find that her shift at the hospital was over for the day. After visiting a few more patients, she checked in with her secretary and found that she was no longer needed for the day. As busy as the hospital was, there were already too many people taking care of their patients, so Sakura had the rest of the day off.
With a sigh of disappointment, Sakura left the hospital and was on her way home. Even though she didn't look forward to working today, she was still disheartened at the fact that the hospital had no need for her for the rest of the day.
Pushing her feelings aside, the pink-haired kunoichi resolved that she needed to be more optimistic about the situation. She held her head up high as she let a smile grace her features. She could always think of this as a day of spending more time with a certain Hyuuga.
She could feel a blush creep up from her neck and up into her cheeks as she remembered last night with Neji. The blushed deepened when she also thought of her conversation with Akiko and what she had said.
Sakura broke out of her thoughts as she glanced over to the side of her.
She stopped suddenly as she found herself in front of the Yamanaka flower shop. The pink-haired kunoichi had almost forgotten about her contemplation from earlier that day! She still had to announce to all of her friends that Neji and her were engaged!
Turning on her heel, she hurried back to her home to tell the Hyuuga what they needed to do soon and ask when they should. Her home was not that far away from the Yamanaka flower shop, so it didn't take her long to reach her front door.
She opened it and ran in to the house energetically. She huffed as she tried to regain her breath from running to her house so frantically.
Neji was sitting on the couch reading a book when she came in. He looked up from the book and raised a questioning eyebrow at her actions.
"What happened to you?" He asked simply, but curiously at the same time.
He was excited and perplexed as to why she was home earlier than usual, and the fact that she ran into her own home so vigorously made him question her actions.
Neji placed his book on the coffee table, stood up, then went over to a panting Sakura and tilted her chin up with his finger so that they were both looking directly into each other's eyes.
Sakura's face flushed again for the umpteenth time that day as she found she couldn't look away from his piercing gaze. Seeing that he had her under his gaze, he leaned down and brushed his lips softly against hers, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
The pink-haired girl couldn't register anything after he kissed her. It was amazing how just the touch of his lips against hers made her mind go completely blank and sent a euphoric shock through her already shaking body.
"So, what was it that made you run in here?" Neji snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest, running his hand through her short pink hair.
He smirked, feeling her heart beat rapidly against his chest. He was pretty sure she could feel his own heart doing the same thing hers was, as he could feel her body go warm. He was fully aware of the effect he was having on her, making him come to the conclusion that he could seduce her if he ever felt like it.
Sakura pushed her hands against his chest, so that she could back away a little so that she could look up into his face. "As I was coming home, I passed by the Yamanaka flower shop," she said, turning her head away and looking through the window that was on the right side of her. "I remembered that we still haven't told our friends that we're engaged, even though our wedding is coming up soon." She looked back to him and stared up at his face, trying to discern what he was feeling and what he would say about this.
Neji's mouth fell open slightly as he too had almost forgotten that they hadn't told their friends yet. The only person among the Konoha Eleven and the Sand Siblings that was aware of their engagement was Hinata, but he knew she wouldn't tell anyone about it.
He looked down at her, ready to ask her what they should do about this problem. "Do you have any idea of how we can tell them?" He was never good with coming up with ideas for things like this. His imagination only came to him when it involved the battlefield, but this situation surely didn't have anything to do with it whatsoever.
Truth be told, Sakura did have an idea that wormed its way into her head earlier, but the only problem with it was that it was very sudden. Sensing Sakura trying to squirm her way out of his tight embrace, he let her go, but she only took one step back away from him. "I do have an idea... it's sudden, but I think it's an okay idea." She was slightly hesitant about the idea, but she decided that it was good enough to pitch out to him.
He nodded, silently telling her to go on and tell him her idea for getting their friends together.
Leaning against the kitchen counter that was to the side of the pair, she responded, "I was thinking that we could ask our friends if they would like to meet up for dinner tonight, but I wouldn't be saying us. It'll be me asking rather than the two of us so that they won't suspect anything before we announce it."
The Hyuuga thought more about the idea, and decided that it was better than anything that he could come up with. There was nothing suspicious about inviting someone and a bunch of others out to dinner, right? She was right on one thing, though. It was a bit sudden to be planning this all for tonight, but it's not like they had time to waste.
Their wedding was in less than two weeks, and if they were all going to come, he was sure that the women would like to pick out kimonos and other feminine things to do for it. Guys on the other hand, didn't waste nearly as much time getting ready or picking out decorations and what not for a special event.
Sakura studied his face, trying to discern what his answer would be to her solution to the problem. She folded her arms across her chest, then tried to come up with other ideas for just in case he declined the idea.
Neji smiled. He was sure that her idea was good. "Alright, let's do it."
"So what's the special occasion, Sakura-chan?" Naruto excitedly asked while scanning the restaurant menu for any signs of ramen.
Sakura and Neji had rented a private room at a fancy restaurant for the announcement. Since the restaurant wasn't that busy that night, it wasn't hard booking a room so suddenly.
Everyone was there, which included; Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Hinata, Lee, Tenten, Gai, Kurenai, Sai, and even the Sand Siblings were still in Konoha to attend the get together.
They all stared at Sakura who was sitting at the very end of the table, waiting to hear what she had to say about this spontaneous dinner with all of them.
Sakura's pearl eyes swept across everyone in the room as she stood up from her seat, getting ready to announce the news.
She put a hand on her hip. "Guess." She simply stated while smiling to herself. They would never get it.
"You're pregnant!" Ino yelled. She waved her hands in the air like a maniac, earning a sigh from Shikamaru who was sitting right next to her.
Sakura's eyes widened, then she blushed. She waved her hands in front of herself frantically in an embarrassed manner. "No! That's not it!" The pink-haired girl glared down at the blonde, making her friend calm down and pout cutely to her boyfriend.
Neji looked down, but looked back up when he felt the blush fade away from his cheeks. Ino could really be annoying and obnoxious sometimes.
Sai, seeing the sudden moment of silence as an opportunity to have his question out in the open, raised his hand as he kept his face emotionless so that his teammate wouldn't know what sort of question he had in mind.
Seeing Sai's hand in the air and thinking it wouldn't be bad if she heard his question, Sakura pointed to him and nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Yes, Sai?"
"You saw a really big penis last night, didn't you?" His tone of voice came out as quiet and innocent, not realizing how astonishing that question was to the girl. Most of the men chuckled at his question, while the women looked annoyed at the perverted question.
With her mouth wide open and the blush continuing to get darker, Sakura shook her head and tried to keep calm. Okay, maybe his question was true... Neji was pretty big, bigger than what she was normally used to seeing when she had to deal with patients at the hospital. His... thing... was bigger than the average male's, so Sai was definitely right on that, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing that he was indeed right.
"Okay, enough with the questions! No more!" She rested both hands on her hips and leaned forward, her temper starting to take control of her. What was with these idiots and thinking of such sexual things? Not every surprise had to deal with sex! Were they really that immature?
Taking this as the time that she was ready to tell them all, Neji stood up from his seat, causing the others to look up at him inquisitively.
Now Sakura's face was turning red from anger at the two questions as she poised her fist in the air, ready to knock out anyone else that dared to say another dirty thing.
"If you all must know and stop with the foul questions..." She began, glaring down at all of them, cracking her knuckles to add another threatening effect. "Neji and I are getting married in two weeks and you're all invited to come!"
The silence was soon broken as most people began asking questions while the others paled in surprise or already had a feeling something was going on between the two. Ino, Naruto, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee were the ones shouting questions at the two. Naruto and Kiba's questions were directed towards Sakura while Tenten and Lee's were aimed at Neji.
Shino, Sai, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kakashi, and the other two sensei's all kept quiet, slowly digesting the news they heard. Hinata was the only one who smiled pleasantly through the whole ordeal.
After a few minutes of calming the shouting people down, both Neji and Sakura finally explained to all of them how their engagement came to be. There were a few attacks on Hinata, all asking her why she hadn't told them, but from threats from both Naruto and Neji, and a loyal explanation from the Hyuuga Heiress, they stopped their attacks and apologized.
After more hounding and questions, the real fun started. The rookie nine all started to eat and drink sake, effectively getting themselves either drunk or slightly tipsy. Neji was one of the few who wasn't drinking, but sitting there listening to everyone else talk in slurred speech.
Sakura was talking to Naruto animatedly, pleased that he handled the news better than she presumed. The sake contributed to his easy going way of thinking of the engagement.
The Hyuuga couldn't help but smile softly as he saw how carefree the pink-haired girl was. Earlier she looked slightly stressed out as they were going to everyone's houses to invite them for dinner, but now she looked as if she never was stressed out.
His good mood soon wavered though as he watched as the waiter came and talked to Sakura about something. He said something that made her laugh, and he blushed that he got the pink-haired girl to laugh at his joke.
Feeling a pang of jealousy in his heart, the Hyuuga took a bottle of sake that was in front of him and poured it into his untouched cup. After pouring himself a generous amount, he set the bottle back down, then brought the cup to his lips and took a hearty swig of the alcohol.
For some reason, drinking his jealousy away really appealed to him right now.
After a few more hours of drinking and effectively getting himself drunk, Neji decided that he needed some fresh air and took a step outside of the restaurant.
It was dark out when he went outside and it was a bit windy, making the Hyuuga shiver slightly as a breeze came by. Like other various parts of Konoha, there was a bench outside that he decided to sit down on.
The bench was cold against his butt, but he pushed that feeling aside as a pounding headache started to come on. Clenching his head, he hung head down as he took a deep breath.
Even though he wasn't thinking clearly, the only thing that kept popping into his constantly was the image of Sakura with that waiter from a few hours ago. His heart screamed in agony whenever his mind continued to dwell on that image.
Why did he feel like this? This was worse than the jealousy he normally felt when ever another male tried to make a move on her. This was... horrible, the feeling.
He looked up at the night sky and took another breath, trying to calm himself down. It had been at least an hour since he had another drop of alcohol, so he found himself being able to think clearly after basking in the silence of the outdoors.
Her name was in Neji's head once more, making him sigh and look around him. Seeing that nobody was around, he relaxed his tense self and fell back into the seat of the bench to get more comfortable.
He couldn't stop himself from pondering about everything has happened in these past few weeks. When he first met Sakura when they were genin, he dismissed her, thinking that there was nothing special about her. The only thing he associated her with back then was her being obsessed with the traitor Sasuke, nothing more.
As they grew older, he noticed that she had risen to become the most powerful kunoichi of their year, even surpassing Hinata in skills. He still didn't think too much of her, only that she had gotten stronger and more mature. Sure, he respected her and how much she had grown, but he still had never given her any more thought.
But once Hiashi had told them that they were to be married, he had to spend more time with her. As he was already aware of, the pink-haired girl had a fierce temper and the power to match it. But he never thought she would change him for the better. Even though they've only been together for a few weeks, he had already known that she changed him.
Once they had gotten to know each other a little better, he started noticing things about her that he never thought he would notice in her or in any other woman. She grew even more beautiful to him as the days went by, and her personality started to grow on him. It never really bothered him that she had quite the temper, he just thought it was a unique trait in her that should be embraced, rather than ignoring and shunning it.
She had proven herself to be loyal, just by the way she acted. She didn't flirt constantly with men like other women would, she stayed true to him even though their engagement wasn't their choice.
All of the negative things about her that he noticed when they were more acquaintances started disappearing as he saw past them and really got to know her. Now there wasn't really anything that irked him or he could easily point out as being wrong.
While taking all of these thoughts and thinking even more about them, the Hyuuga finally came to see what was wrong with him earlier while fixing the ramen.
I'm in love.
His heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest as the sentence repeated itself in his head over and over again. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of him as he came to terms with this new found feeling he felt for the pink-haired kunoichi.
Then out of no where, Sakura walked out of the building and saw him sitting at the bench. She ran over to him, then stood in front of him. She was neither drunk nor tipsy, as she refrained from consuming any alcohol, the reason being she couldn't handle it well, nostalgically similar to the way Tsunade couldn't handle it either.
Neji looked up at her, making his heart beat impossibly faster than it already was. Sakura made perfect timing, as she came to him as soon as he realized what he felt for her.
He swallowed apprehensively and decided that he should tell her of his new found feelings for her. If she didn't return them, well, it certainly would be an awkward marriage for the both of them.
"Neji, what are you doing out here by yourself?" She looked concerned, and became even more worried as he didn't say anything, but he patted the seat next to him in a welcoming gesture.
"Sit, we need to talk." He made sure that his voice was devoid of emotion so that she wouldn't be able to tell beforehand what their conversation would be about.
Following his order, Sakura sat down and timidly fondled the edge of her medic skirt, unsure of what to say to him. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and caught him staring at her. Blushing, she looked away and focused on her skirt which seemed so much more interesting at the moment.
"Sakura, look at me." She flinched at his tone, and slowly brought herself to look at him, Did she do something wrong, she couldn't help but wonder. Was it a mistake telling everyone that they were to be married? No, she didn't think that was the problem.
He hesitated for a moment, but decided he had to tell her, or else he wouldn't ever be able to speak to her normally again. "I need to know... What do you feel for me?"
The Hyuuga's question came as a sudden shock to Sakura, but she quickly regained herself as she was finding it quite difficult to explain how she felt in words. She wanted so desperately for her to tell him how she felt, but it was quite nerve-wrecking to say the least.
She had come to terms with how she felt about him at the hospital, thanks to her patient Akiko. If it wasn't for the old woman, it might of taken her a lot more time to figure these feelings out. But she of course had put more thought into these emotions during her check ups with the other patients. It was actually the reason why she looked so distant today to the other staff at the hospital.
"I...I... um..." The pink-haired girl was having a hard time trying to tell him how she felt, and he could easily spot it from the way her body was behaving and the way she was stuttering and trying to find the right words to say.
Neji understood how she felt though. Thinking it would be easier on the girl to express it through actions rather than through verbal communication, he pulled her closer to him, and had it so that she sitting on his lap. With his arms wrapped securely around her slim waist, he pressed his lips against hers and waited for her reaction.
Sakura got that what he was doing for her, and gratefully pressed her lips harder against his. His tongue brushed her bottom lip, wanting to enter her mouth. When she wouldn't let his tongue enter, he softly bit down on her lip, causing her to gasp and moan into his mouth.
Her hands started exploring all over his body as his hands did the same. They had to be careful not to get too carried away, since they were in a public place and one of their friends could easily walk in on them.
Pulling away from each other and staring deeply into each other's identical eyes, they both gave a huge smile. Their foreheads were pressed against each other's while both basked in the comfortable silence.
Taking this as the perfect time to say those words, Neji's hold on her tightened as he took a nervous breath before saying it.
"Sakura... I love you."
Sakura felt a wave of happiness take over her as she could feel tears start to build up in her eyes. Now that he had his feelings out in the open, she felt more confident about admitting hers as well.
"Neji, I love you too."
The Hyuuga's smile grew even wider as he kissed her softly. He pulled his head back as he could feel moisture on his chin and cheeks. Sakura had tears of joy rolling down her face as she kissed him again with even more passion this time.
The moment was so perfect. Everything was content and they both felt complete in both their hearts and minds. They both needed each other, and that's all that mattered.
Holy shit! That is my longest chapter yet! x.x I'm sorry if that was too long, but wow... just wow. That's long for me! xD Ahaha! I apologize for any spelling mistakes I made! It's hard for me to spot them sometimes! :c
But other than that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! D: I hope it wasn't too cliché or disappointing or something! T_T Waaaah!
So yes, once again, after this chapter, there are only 2 more chapters! :O So yeah! xD I feel like I had something else to say, but I'm forgetting it. x.x
Ah... Whatever! Once again, I hope you liked this long ass chapter!
Please r&r! :D