Author's Note: longer chapter coming up. I don't know when but I'll be writing when I have breaks from my dissertation. And… that's all for now.

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 own nothing pertaining to Naruto.


The ANBU mission had taken the life right out of him. Never had he been teamed up with such brooding silent men. On the up side, they had infiltrated Sound and had not only discovered Oroachimaru's newest hideout and taken a sound nin as a hostage, but they'd had a run in with Zetsu on the way home.

The Akatsuki member attacked them and Neji had given him permission to go all out. And he had not hesitated. It felt so good to get all that bundled up energy out. Everything in his life had been about chaos before he met Tenten. She brought out his sanity but they were both aware that the chaos would always be there. She didn't seem to mind at all and he had realized that he could control the urge to blow things up and use his art for good things. Protecting the woman he loved from future harm was definitely a good thing.

He had pushed Zetsu back with a number of strategic explosions but there were so many of the man it was damn near impossible to kill him. So the woods were filled with his artful creations that detonated every time a Zetsu got too close and the team waited for his clay eagle to be finished before making a speedy escape.

And now, after detonating his eagle a mile away from the village, they were trekking through the gate with the hostage in tow.

"Itachi and Deidara, take the hostage to be interrogated. After he has been taken into an interrogation squads custody you are off duty." Neji said, with his hand raised to signal his dismissal, as he made his way to the hokage building.

Deidara was finding that the more he was around Neji the more comfortable they became. But there seemed to be a big difference between the Neji that was on a mission and the Neji that was off duty at home. Neji's silent stoicism was far less suffocating when he was off duty and almost completely erased when Sakura was near. But perhaps Deidara was being a bit harsh. Neji had seemed to be in a bad mood but that could easily be chalked up to having to leave his new bride for a mission that involved babysitting a prideful Uchiha.

Deidara noticed the determination in the man's gait and realized that he must have been right. Neji just wanted to go home. And Deidara didn't blame him.

The whole setup felt a bit ridiculous. After all each member of this team would be far more effective as a team captaining. They were each a master of something, they were all well known, if not famous, nins and, each one of them had been deemed a genius at a young age. But if that's what it took for people to be comfortable with Itachi around then that's what they would do.

Deidara looked around to see if Kakashi would be accompanying them and thus aiding him in the removal of Sasuke's restraints, but the man was no where to be found. Deidara let out a sigh before signaling Itachi, and the prisoner being dragged by Itachi, to follow him towards the interrogation squad.

A few silent minutes later they entered the dungeons but Ibiki was not within sight and therefore Deidara assumed he must have been busy with another lucky guest. So he went to the next best team. They walked down the hallway to the staff room and Deidara called out loudly.

"Tenten! I'm back!" The words were barely out of his mouth when he was tackled by the woman in question. He let out a laugh has he fell on the ground. "You missed me then, un?" he asked as one arm kept her close.

She slapped his arm playfully. "Of course I did. How'd it go?"

He pointed behind him. "Very well, as you can see."

Her eyes got a glint in them every time she had a new victim it wasn't cruelty per say, because Tenten was not cruel, but there was excitement there. She was always interested in using her weapons to gain new knowledge.

"Fantastic! Lets head to room three. Ibiki and Anko-sensei are busy in rooms one and two." Deidara let her pull him to his feet and the two strode into the hallway with Itachi following.

When room three was in sight Tenten rushed forward to open the door. Deidara stood to the side and allowed Itachi and the prisoner to go in first. Itachi grinned inwardly at the sight set out before him. Yamanaka Ino was sitting in a chair with her legs propped up on the interrogation table and her arms behind her head.

"Something for you." Itachi said in his deep but flat voice as he watched Ino remove her feet from the table.

Ino looked the prisoner over and then stood. "You sure know how to charm a girl." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. She took the prisoner from him and laid the man out on the table, latching chains to his arms and legs.

Itachi was confused though it did not show. Perhaps he had upset her or maybe presenting the man as a gift had not come off as witty. She had seemed receptive enough to his presence at the Hyuuga reception party but now she seemed cold. He would have to think about this before he approached her again.

Tenten giggled as she gave Deidara a kiss on the cheek and shuffled them out the door. As Itachi made his way out he heard Tenten's voice. "Try something more romantic next time." He turned around just in time to catch a pair of blue eyes watching him before the door closed in his face.


Neji couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He'd been hoping to go straight to see Sakura who was reportedly having a relaxing day in the garden but as per usual his grandfather had ruined his plans.

"… an heir is of vital importance now. You must procreate, Neji." He had just finished listening to at least ten minutes of ramblings from his grandfather about the importance of mating as often as possible to procure the best possible heir to the Hyuuga line. But instead of being submissive, as was usually his manner of dealing with the old coot, he decided that perhaps this time a different approach would get him to go away faster.

A smirk, full of ego and superiority, that Neji would have been proud of in his genin years, formed on his face. "Hyuuga-sama, trust me when I say that we don't have a problem when it comes to sex."

Hyuuga-sama blinked and pulled away from him as if Neji had just committed some horrible taboo. "Excuse me." It was obvious that talking about babies was permitted but the word 'sex' was clearly off limits. His grandfather had clearly meant mating in the sense of straightforward acts only meant for the purpose of having a baby afterwards. Nothing hot, heavy, fun, kinky, or emotionally compromising, which was a shame cause if you took the attraction and the love out of sex then it didn't mean anything, at least not to him.

Neji pursed his lips. By the look he was getting, his grandfather wanted him to feel bad about his actions and words but he refused to be sorry for his relationship with Sakura. "We will inform you when our acts of 'procreation' have born fruit. I hope you have not approached Sakura with this."

Hyuuga stubbornness was notorious and Neji imagined that this was not the last standoff that he would have with the infamously cross and traditional Hyuuga-sama. "I had contemplated doing just that." His voice was matter of fact and gave off the impression that he thought he was always right and fully justified in his actions.

Neji shook his head. "That is ill advised, grandfather."

The older mans eyes narrowed. He hated being addressed so informally by his kin. "Why?"

"Because if you ask her about our sex life, which we both deem a private subject, she will most likely punch you through a wall." Neji turned and made his way down the hall leaving a slightly shocked elderly man in his wake; Hyuuga-sama had only just realized that it was a fully viable outcome.

The walk to the garden was a short one and Neji was please with the sight that was laid out in front of him. Sakura was still in a long light green silk bathrobe, laid out on the grass, taking a catnap.

We walked over and sat down just above her with is legs crossed. She must have heard him because she looked up at him with a smile. He lifted his hand to shield her eyes from the pleasantly warm rays of sun. She pulled up and rested her head in his lap before closing her eyes again.

He lowered his hand and gently began to stroke her cheek in a rhythmic manner while settling in for some much needed meditation. She would rouse him when she was ready to go in.


Itachi was anxious. After Sasuke had been freed from his bonds, Itachi had deposited his younger brother with the hokage. After all it wouldn't do for Sasuke to be present when Itachi underwent his surgery.

And that was the reason he found himself climbing through windows and sneaking into the godaime's home in the middle of the day. He was surprised to find the woman he was looking for staring back at him from a chair at the other end of the room.

"Breaking and entering is not a good way to start off your parole." She swirled her sake before taking a shallow sip. She was completely relaxed which made him feel more at ease. When most people saw him they initially reacted with extreme caution or fear. But they both knew she had nothing to fear from him.

"You didn't answer," he said as he crossed him arms over his chest accusingly.

She placed her sake down on the table and continued to watch him. "That normally means someone isn't home."

"But you were." She snorted at his statement of truth and stood up.

She cracked her knuckles and placed her hands on her hip. "What do you want you brat?"

He just stared at her. She knew what he wanted but after a few moments of silence he realized that she wanted him to say it. "My new eyes."

She let out a heavy sigh. "You haven't changed your mind about that, have you?" When her question met silence, she shook her head and put on her shoes. "Alright, let me fetch Shizune and we'll get started."

"Here?" He looked around her home skeptically. It didn't seem like the best place to undergo surgery but then again it was Tsunade-sama. But he didn't want to take any chances either way. His musings were cut off by a humph from the busty woman who then grabbed her coat and made her way to the door.

"Of course not. I figured you'd be stubborn and impatient so I have a room at the hospital waiting." He waited for a second before slowly following her. "Hurry up you punk. I don't have all day!" Her shouts didn't make him move any faster, which annoyed her to no end.


Sasuke had waited for Itachi to get home after Naruto had dropped him off in pursuit of better company, but after what he had assumed was hours, based on the temperature drop, Itachi was no where to be found.

Dinner had been difficult to manage. All he knew was that there were plenty of tomatoes in the kitchen, but finding them had been quite a feat, as had been the process of cutting them up. But the more he practiced the better he got.

There was no sign of Itachi's presence yet and so he decided it was time to sleep. He stubbed his toe in the bath and was having the worst time finding suitable sleeping clothes so he grabbed what he assumed was a t-shirt and threw it on. He struggled with the futon for a time but eventually got it right.

The whole process had wound him up a bit and so it took some time for him to fall asleep. Just before his mind drifted off he thought he heard a noise. It happened again and he identified it as scurrying. The mice would have to be dealt with soon.

The pair of eyes watched him from the corner of the room. Cautiously, it approached him. After all he could have been awake. Those damn mice had made so much noise running away that eating them had been the only option. And he did hate eating rodents. Somehow they always tasted foul.

He moved closer, close enough to see that Sasuke was actually sleeping quite peacefully. This would be the perfect time.

He moved to strike fangs bared and ready to impale the skin of Sasuke's neck but something stopped him.

He struggled for a moment but he couldn't move his head. What ever had him went into the hall and then slowly turned his captive around.

"Orochimaru." The white snakes mouth closed in recognition. The complex pattern of a perfected sharingan blazed in the night and bore into his own. The white snake under Orochimaru's possession struggled against the possession and the power in front of it, realizing it was in danger.

A hiss of a voice echoed in the hall. "What have you done!"

Itachi squeezed the snake in his hands. "What was necessary to keep him safe from you." The snake was dying and Orochimaru was loosing the connection. As his mind was thrown into his own body he heard Itachi's farewell.

"Expect to see me soon." Orochimaru fell back into his bed clutching his neck where a bruise was forming. He let out a number of strangled coughs before his new medic came in attempting to heal him. He could feel Itachi's new power and he knew what had happened. The sharingan was out of his grasp now but he had something more important to worry about. He had to worry about his own life.

Itachi was coming.


End Comments: I know it's a short chapter but I did just put out a longer one the other day. Anyway all sorts of things coming up. More battles, more love, and more fun. Till next time!