Author's Note: I tried to approximate the time that Neji and Sakura have been together as best I could but it was hard. So if anyone notices if I made a mistake let me know so I can fix it. A year has passed since the last chapter.
Summary: When dealing with the mystery that is life Sakura finds that it is best to experiment with what you have and look forward to the gifts that lie ahead. NejiXSakura.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Her summon to the Hokage's office had been unexpected and so Sakura had left her training session early that afternoon. Naruto had something he wanted to talk about no doubt. Hopefully it would be something on the trivial side of life as she'd had plenty stressful things to think about lately. And knowing Naruto he just wanted to see her. He often summoned her just to talk or to help him figure out some problem he was having.
And while things had been relatively relaxed since the battle, Konoha was still ready for war. It would take Otogakure some time to build up its forces again but no one expected them to just give up. So the past year and a half had been quiet, as it had been in her childhood. The calm after the storm is what Tsunade-shishou called it. Kakashi-sensei called it the calm before the storm. Perhaps they were both right.
And a storm was coming. But she wasn't sure what type of storm it was.
As Sakura thought back on the previous year and a bit she realized it was probably the happiest of her life thus far. They had gone about their lives, as they usually would have done; training, missions, hospital shifts, and time together. And it was wonderful. She could have spent the rest of her life just like this.
But time was marching forward and she could feel a change was heading her way. A big change.
Neji had accepted the title of clan heir and was waiting for his uncle to officially retire. His schedule didn't change much. He just had to attend the occasional clan meeting. But there was one thing he still had trouble with. Hiashi-sama had expressed his wish for Neji to show his now almost mark free forehead. The remnants of an extremely faded green mark were just barely visible if one looked closely enough. The imprint of the curse had been there so long that it would take some time to completely fade away.
The problem wasn't that Neji didn't want everyone to see he was no longer a caged bird. It was that he simply forgot to show it most of the time. And it wasn't as if everyone didn't know already. The buzz around Konoha had been centered on Neji and Sakura for sometime. The talk had been both personal and professional.
And with out realizing it the two were now in a pickle. Well, she figured it would be a pickle. Depending on Neji's thoughts on the matter it might not be a pickle. Neji was of age. There had been talk before of finding him a wife but thankfully Hiashi-sama had removed the idea of an arranged marriage.
But there was one tradition the Hyuuga clan lord could not veto for them. When a new Hyuuga clan lord was instated he must be married for the sake of the clans future. It was sensible. A clan lord needed heirs and shinobi often died young.
Hiashi-sama had tried to buy as much time as he could but the council was pushing. Sakura had turned twenty and Neji was already twenty-one going on twenty-two in the very near future. Hinata would have been getting married this year had she still been the heir but the title had been passed to Neji which allowed Hinata to start dating Naruto.
Kakashi had been the one to inform Sakura of the approaching problem. He explained everything. It meant that she would have to make a decision and soon. She knew what she wanted but she had never thought it to be possible for her. Active kunoichi did not usually get married or have children. When a kunoichi become pregnant they went on leave and often never returned to the profession.
But in the Hyuuga clan it would be possible to return to active duty. There were enough Hyuuga around to watch over any children she would have. She was both excited and nervous about the prospect.
But Neji still had yet to ask and so her ultimate decision was put on hold for a time, which was fine. Admittedly she wasn't sure if they were ready to get married. It was true that they had been with each other for over a year and a half but it was not something that she had really thought about. Until Kakashi-sensei and Hiashi-sama brought it up.
And if that wasn't stressful enough, her one and only prized student was taking the chuunin exams this week. Hanabi's team was at this very moment being sent through the first stages of the exam with Ibiki.
Sakura was extremely proud of her student who had made excellent progress in her studies. With a few years and diligent practice Hanabi would make a wonderful field medic. But it was becoming obvious that the hospital was not the place for Hanabi. The young girl, rather like her sister, was very shy in one-on-one situations and thus did not do well in the hospital.
Now that she thought about it the chuunin exams was probably what Naruto wanted to talk to her about. He always hated planning things.
Speaking of her blonde friend she was at the hokage's door. She knocked and was allowed in.
"Sakura-chan! Thanks so much for coming. Sit down please." Naruto was fidgeting and sounded nervous. So she sat down across form his desk.
"So what's up Naruto-kun?" She watched her friend's face contort and finally when it looked like he was about to burst he started talking.
"I want to take Hinata-chan out on a date and show her that I'm serious about being her. I need your advise as a woman. You know I'm not really romantic and I need to know what to do. Please Sakura-chan?"
Sakura began to laugh. "Of course Naruto. You might want to write this down."
The hokage pulled out a notepad and concentrated as Sakura told him how to make Hinata's heart melt and knees go weak with flowers, chocolate, expensive diners and heartfelt declarations of love.
Neji was absolutely confused for possibly the first time in his entire life.
He'd been approached by the Hyuuga council earlier in the week and been informed that according to Hyuuga by laws a clan leader must be wed when he (or she) entered the post. In other words he needed to officially announce who would be bearing the future clan heirs very soon.
But he hadn't told Sakura yet. Actually he wasn't even sure she would agree. They had talked about their futures but all they knew was that they wanted to be together for as long as they could be. Marriage and kids had never been discussed.
But the council had put the screws on him. Hiashi-sama was to retire in the near future. The heir had come of age and it was now time for Neji to become the clan leader. But in order to do so he needed to find a wife. And he'd found her but now he needed to ask her.
He knew that if Sakura agreed it would be huge step for both of them. And he hoped she would, because if she didn't the council had decided to find one for him despite Hiashi-sama's objections. During the transition between leaders the power resided with the council and it was causing Neji and Hiashi-sama quite a bit of grief.
The two had managed to strike a bargain. Hiashi-sama argued that because Neji was only capable of becoming clan leader a year ago, he should be given extra time to complete the unexpected task before him. The council had agreed that they would give him extra time. If Sakura agreed to marry him in one years time the couple would be engaged for the extra year they had been granted. If in that time the couple decided against marriage the council would be allowed to choose his wife.
It was a large concession on the council's part. Something like this had never been done. His grandfather had been against it but the elderly man had been out voted by his peers.
A year and a half had passed since they got together and he knew that Sakura loved him but he wasn't sure if she was ready for this yet. But he wouldn't find out unless he asked.
He had been waiting in her office at the hospital for about thirty minutes now. And the longer he waited the more nervous he got, though on the outside he seemed normal.
He had a plan. But he was sure something was going to go wrong. He wasn't sure what it was yet but it was going to happen.
He heard the door handle turn and watched as his girlfriend entered. She was wearing her medical coat and was looking at a medical file. When she looked up from her papers she grinned and walked over and kissed him.
"Hey you! I thought we were meeting up later." When he didn't respond to her she moved closer and grabbed his face. "What's going on? You've been acting strange since that meeting you had with the Hyuuga council. Is everything ok?"
"…I can't tell you right now…" That was something he had never said to her before. And after he said it he realized that it probably wasn't the best way to throw her off the trail. And Sakura had clearly misunderstood his meaning.
"There is no one else here. My walls don't have ears. Hyuuga Neji, are you hiding something from me? You tell me what's going on right now!" Her eyes were penetrating his and as was usually the case when she gave him that look he couldn't keep the information to himself.
With a sigh and a small smile he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "I wanted to take you out for a romantic date tonight and ask you then but you know I can't deny you. Sakura, will you become my wife?" He flipped open the black velvet box to show an elegant and subtly beautiful diamond ring.
She just stared. And the longer she stared the more nervous he got. "Sakura?"
A number of expressions crossed her face in a matter of seconds. She was confused, then happy and then unsure.
"Do you think we're ready?" He leaned his forehead to hers.
"I only want to be with you. I want you to stand by me. I want my partner for life to be a woman I love and trust. We've already talked about wanting to be together and this is the next step. I'm positive that if we are together everything will be fine. I love you Sakura and I will have no one else as my wife." There were tears in her eyes and for a second he was extremely worried until she smiled.
"Sweetheart, I would love to give you an answer but there is something I want to know and something you have to do." He nodded.
"Ok." She inhaled deeply and held her head up high.
"First, are you asking me to marry you just because you need a wife?" He chuckled, knowing she was asking just to set the ground straight.
"You know that's not why. I'm marrying you because I want to. I've been thinking about it for a while and when the council approached me I already knew that when the time came I would ask you." She kissed him and wrapped her arms around her neck. When she let go of him she looked a little abashed. He raised one chocolate eyebrow and she blushed.
"The thing you should know is that technically you're not supposed to ask me." When the eyebrow rose higher she began fidgeting with the hem of her mesh shirt. "It never came up and I forgot to tell you because I figured that most people already knew. I was adopted when my parents died." All the sudden it hit him and he finished the explanation for her.
"By Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-sensei." Now their over protectiveness made sense. He smiled and kissed her softly. "Sakura, out of curiosity and necessity whose name did you take?"
She tilted her head to the side as if it was obvious. "Kaka-sensei's name; Hatake. He was the one who brought the idea to Tsunade-shishou so naturally I took his name. And shishou still has Shizune. Kakashi-sensei just has me." He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers.
"Well then, let's go find him."
"Sakura, is this what you want?" Kakashi asked with both hands on her shoulders.
"Yes it is Kaka-sensei." The copy-nin pulled her in the tightest hug he'd ever given her.
"Then I give you my blessing and my full support." He rested his mask on the top of her head. When he finally let go he bowed to Neji. "I leave her in your hands Neji-san. And don't worry, I'll always be around if you need me Sakura-chan." Then a female voice rang out, strong and sassy and full of mirth.
"And when was someone going to tell us what was going on?" Sakura, Neji and Kakashi turned to find Tsunade and Hiashi standing in the doorway.
"Yes, I would have liked to know. We would have planned a small celebration." The older Hyuuga was letting a cheeky smirk play on his features. His efforts had not been in vain. Neji would marry the woman he loved and Hiashi couldn't be happier about it. He had given his nephew the choice he had never had.
"Well, technically uncle she hasn't given me a formal answer yet." Tsunade pushed her towards the Hyuuga prodigy.
"Now, that is simply unacceptable. Go on Sakura, don't keep the man waiting."
Sakura smiled and blushed a bit before lifting herself on to her tip-toes and kissing Neji lightly on the lips.
"Yes, I would love to marry you Hyuuga Neji."
End Comments: So from here on out things are going to get more interesting. We're bringing in some characters from before and ideas that I haven't touched on in a while. More research and more fighting ahead. And we're bringing in some new concepts and a character I have never mentioned before but I think you'll like it. Review if you want to; I would appreciate it.