Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, check. Own Sorano, check. Bunker door secured and barricaded, check. Shinobi army as back up, check.

Okay, now you can start reading.

Breathe For a Moment

Chapter 36

"We need to get out of this rain," Neji yelled over the roar of thunder as they ran along the forest floor.

He and Naruto had doubled back to retrieve their supplies and weapons before meeting up with Sasuke and Sorano. Seeing Sasuke had burned up the last of his chakra to save Sorano, Naruto muttered, "Show-off," and slung his unconscious friend onto his back.

Sorano was awake and coherent, to their relief, but very weak and equally reserved. She didn't say a word, but submissively complied when Neji pulled her onto his back. Shortly after they started moving, the heavens opened up and they were all drenched to the bone inside a minute. The only thing to remain dry was his pack sandwiched between his and Sorano's body. Her own was slung over her shoulders while she clung to him and Naruto had done the same with Sasuke.

They had no idea where they were and had simply picked a direction to put distance between them and the enemy's stronghold. Neji couldn't pick up anything with his Byakugan and he didn't have enough chakra to extend it beyond a short radius.

"I smell smoke," Naruto paused and sniffed the air. "I think there's a town to the east of us."

Neji quickly changed direction. If there was one thing he had learned to never question, it was Naruto's nose. His sense of smell was as strong as Kiba's and where there was smoke there was warmth and likely shelter. Sorano was shivering badly now and he squeezed her leg gently in silent reassurance.

I'll get you out of this, get you warm again.

After an hour's hard run, they finally broke through the trees into a small village already huddled down to weather the storm. It wasn't big enough to boast an inn, but there was a tavern with a few rooms to spare for an ostentatious price. Neji was in no mood to haggle with the owner with Sorano's violent shaking vibrating through his body. The small dingy rooms were warm and dry and that's all he could ask for at the moment.

"Naruto…"

"No worries," the blonde grinned as he shifted Sasuke's unconscious form on his back. "Hinata loaded me up on ointment and stuff, so I'll patch him up good as new. You just worry about Sorano-chan."

Neji nodded sharply and stepped into his room, closing the door to create a small oasis from the world outside. Kneeling on the stain splattered floor, he carefully eased Sorano off his back and was relieved to see she was wide awake, not that one could have slept through an icy downpour. Her body shook uncontrollably, teeth chattering while water dripped from her hair and clothes to pool on the floor. Even still he couldn't help thinking that she was so very beautiful.

"We have to get you out of those clothes," he said as he tossed his pack on the bed and strode into the bathroom. There were two towels of undistinguishable color and the place was about as clean as the forest they just left, but if it had hot water it would beat any palace. He turned on the spout and water shot and sputtered through the shower nozzle before falling in a semi-steady stream. Within seconds, steam was curling up from the tub. Leaving it to run, he hurried back to Sorano who had remained exactly where he left her.

"I th-think m-my c-c-clothes are w-w-wet," she chattered as she stared over her shoulder at her sopping backpack.

Trying not to show his amusement over her unintentional Hinata impression, Neji forced her to uncurl her arms from around her body and helped her slip the pack off. It might as well have been dropped in a river and he didn't even bother to check to see if her clothes were usable.

"My pack is still dry," he said as he pulled it toward him and quickly fished out his spare clothes.

"W-what w-will you w-wear," she asked.

"I'll take the pants, you take the shirt," he said. It would have to do for now. Grasping her arm, he led her into the bathroom and set his neatly folded black jonin shirt on the sink (which in his mind looked only slightly safer than the toilet).

Now, the Hyuuga prodigy had dealt with many challenges throughout his life. He had defied his own fate as a member of the Branch Family and gained unmitigated respect within the clan, killed his first jonin rank enemy when he was fourteen (spiders still gave him the heebie jeebies), endured countless lectures on the "spring-time of youth", claimed jonin at sixteen, Anbu Captain at seventeen, and had numerous A-rank and S-rank missions on his record.

But he had never ever undressed a woman.

Despite the heat emanating from the steam of the shower, Sorano continued to shiver violently and she was looking up at him with the most vulnerable, trusting eyes he had ever seen.

Swallowing hard, Neji lifted his hand towards her and then immediately dropped it. It had been a while since she had tensed at his touch, they had shared one sweet kiss in front of the monument, and he had graced her skin with a few more, but there had been no time for their relationship, whatever it might be, to progress further.

He was not a coward who would hide from his own feelings. He knew he loved her as he had never loved anyone, but her feelings were still largely unknown. She trusted him and found comfort in his presence, but this could also be said of Sasuke and Naruto.

A particularly violent shiver racked her body and he scowled. Here he was feeling insecure and contemplating the nuances of their relationship while she was freezing before his eyes. It was obvious she was too cold to even move.

Narrowing his eyes with fixed determination, he reached for the first button with a steady hand. He held her gaze with his own, never once looking away as his dexterous fingers worked down the row of buttons on the front of her shirt, occasionally brushing against soft, icy skin. It was so very tempting to stare at the delicious curves being revealed, but he remained focus solely on her eyes. Sorano had suffered enough indignity throughout the day. The last thing she needed was a hormonal male taking advantage of her in a most fragile state.

Her eyes softened as they stared into his, appreciating his efforts to preserve her dignity. Each time his fingers brushed against her skin, heat shot straight through her. She felt like an ice cube and he radiated warmth despite being soaked as badly as her.

Finally his soft touch slipped away from her. "Can you handle the rest on your own?" he asked quietly and she nodded jerkily, amused with the gentle pink glow in his cheeks. She never considered that he just might be as innocent as her when it came to these things. It was sweet and comforting.

Neji marched himself out of the bathroom, closed the door and let out a long, low, weary sigh. She really was going to be the death of him.

While he waited his turn with the shower, he emptied her pack and laid her clothes out to dry. When he and Naruto retrieved their belongings, he had stored Sorano's weapons in his own pack to keep her load light, so they remained dry and undamaged. He was setting them beside the rest of her things when the bathroom door opened.

Glancing up, Neji froze like a deer in the crosshairs. He had seen her in everyday wear, a skirt and blouse, a formal kimono, and a silken sleeping gown that left little to the imagination. All of them paled in comparison to seeing her standing there wearing nothing but his jonin shirt. It was large on her, falling to about mid-thigh, the dark color contrasting sharply with her pale skin and exposing miles of finely muscled leg. It was impossible to keep his eyes from roving over her and he was struck with a fiercely possessive desire to make certain she never wore any other man's clothes as she was now wearing his.

She curled her hands up in the long sleeves and held them close to her chest as she crossed the small room to the shabby bed.

"There isn't anything living in there, is there?" she asked as she warily eyed the worn blankets.

Neji smirked and activated his Byakugan. "It's clear."

She shot him a tired, but grateful look and crawled under the covers while he took his portion of dry clothing and entered the bathroom. He wasn't so sure he needed a hot shower anymore…

Sorano listened to the sound of running water and tried to relax into the musty pillows.

They had come for her. Even now, hours after being pulled from Raidon's genjutsu by the one she though would never forgive her, she had trouble believing it. Weren't they supposed to hate her for concealing the truth?

"Traitor."

"Liar."

No, that was Raidon's illusion. There had been no hate or betrayal in Sasuke's eyes when she woke up in his arms, Naruto's smile was just as warm, if not warmer, and Neji's touch remained gentle and caring. They understood the depths of her pain, the betrayal she suffered at the hands of her own clan, and the justice she had wrought back on them.

"You were never alone."

Sorano tucked her face down into the shirt she wore and breathed deeply of Neji's familiar masculine scent, feeling an intense sense of calm and peace wash over her. Never again did she want to experience the suffocation of isolation, alone in pain and joy. She longed for the fire smoldering behind quicksilver eyes to consume the remnants of her barriers and make her a whole living person once more. If her fear remained a cold, lonely thing, then she would embrace all that was warm and wild and banish it from her heart to bear the burden of solitude no more.

The door to the bathroom opened and she listened to Neji's near silent steps pad around to the opposite side of the bed. The light clicked off and the bed and blankets shifted with his added weight.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked quietly.

"No," she said as a tremor shook her.

Neji wrapped his arms securely around her, draped a leg across hers, and buried his face against her neck. "Better?" he asked, his breath tickling her skin.

The man radiated heat like an oven and she pressed back into him eagerly. "Yes."

Neji sighed, finally able to relax now that she was back in his arms where he could keep her safe. He was beginning to think the woman had a propensity for trouble, much like Sakura did. Poor Sasuke had his work cut out keeping that bull-headed woman safe.

"How did you escape," Sorano broke the silence with her growing curiosity. When she was taken from them, they were all chakra bound and confined in a chakra draining cell. It shouldn't have been possible.

"Sasuke," Neji said and smirked with amusement when she started.

"Sasuke?" she echoed. "But he was barely conscious!"

"People really should know better than to piss him off," Neji murmured. "He blasted his chakra bindings with Chidori. It really did a number on his chakra pathways, but it worked. Naruto and Sasuke took out the guards and we came to find you." It was a rather concise version of what happened. Naruto would happily give her the blow by blow later.

"Is he going to be all right?"

"He's too stubborn to die from a couple wounds and chakra exhaustion," he said with absolute confidence. "Naruto will patch him up."

Sorano mulled this over for a while before asking the question he anticipated most.

"And Raidon?"

Hugging her tighter, he nuzzled her neck and softly kissed her skin. "Don't worry about him anymore."

Sorano released a shaky breath of mixed relief and pain. Raidon's betrayal had left an indelible scar on her heart. At a time when she had been weak and despairing, he had been there with kind words and soft touches. Even knowing now that he was only manipulating her, she could still remember with crystal clarity the comfort she found in his arms when the nightmares were too much. As long as he was alive he would be a danger she would never possess the courage or power to stop.

Her fingers curled around his bare arm, reveling in the strength that exceeded her own. "Thank you."

Neji eyes softened and he kissed her once more on the neck. "Go to sleep, Sorano. We're going home tomorrow."

Home. It was there, waiting for her with smiling eyes, kind laughter, smirking arrogance, and warm embraces. Home, with him, with them. There was nothing she wanted more than to surrender to Neji's protection and guidance, to rest forever in his loving arms and forget all the pain and hatred the world had dealt her. She was weary of fighting, but the unspoken promises hidden in tender kisses were not yet within her reach.

Sorano lay awake for hours listening to Neji's soft, even breaths and soaking in the feel of his lean strength pressed against her back, memorizing the scent of forest rain and the fire he lit inside her each time skin brushed against skin. Each passing minute chained her more securely to him and in the end she knew the path had been carved in her heart long before she ever decided to walk it.

When Hyuuga Neji woke up the next morning, he was alone. His jonin shirt was folded neatly beside him and when he picked it up, he could still smell her.

A quick glance around the room confirmed his worst fears. Her pack and her weapons were gone.

Dressing quickly and grabbing up his pack, he walked across the hall and pounded on the door. A very pale Uchiha answered with a raised brow.

"Sorano's gone," Neji said as he pushed past him.

"What!" Naruto shot up in bed and blinked his bleary eyes frantically. "What do you mean gone?"

Neji paced the room like a caged panther. "I mean she took her pack and weapons and left!"

"Where did she go?" Naruto wondered as he jumped out of bed and quickly put his sandals on.

"You tell me."

Naruto didn't like to be compared to a tracking dog, but he was as good as one. Sorano had almost an hour's lead on them, but her distinguished scent was easy to follow for someone with his heightened sense of smell.

Sasuke refused to be left behind, saying he was tired but battle ready. Neji didn't want to waste time arguing, so he didn't.

"It looks like she's heading Northeast," Naruto said after they had been following her trail for several miles. "Why would she—." Something flew through the corner of his vision and he jerked back as a kunai missed him by inches, sinking deep into the tree beside him.

Neji activated his Byakugan, but saw no one.

"You triggered a trap."

"Some trap," Naruto snorted. "Only one kunai? It didn't even come close to hitting me."

"It wasn't suppose to," Sasuke said as he yanked the kunai loose and held it up for them to see. Tied to the end was a white feather.

"Why would Sorano set a trap for us?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

"Because she doesn't want us to follow, moron," Sasuke said.

"She's going back to Earth Country," Neji said with dawning realization.

"What!" Naruto shrieked and the prodigies winced. "After all we went through to keep her safe? Why would she go there now?"

Sasuke twirled the kunai around his finger then tossed it to Neji as he walked past, back the way they had come. "Unfinished business."

Naruto turned worried eyes on Neji who stared blankly at the kunai. She didn't stay to say goodbye because she knew they would not have left her go. Once the Daimyo learned of the failure of the Hidden Rock's attempt to retrieve her, he would take the easier and safer path and have her hunted and killed.

She would never be safe, those close to her would never be safe, and Sorano would never rest knowing this. Looking up into the forest stretching off towards the Land of Earth, Neji caught sight of a flurry of movement, a familiar eagle stretching its wings up into the sky.

A deeply ingrained sense of duty stayed his feet when he wanted nothing more than to charge after her. They could go no further without the Hokage's consent for the Land of Earth was not their ally and traversing the borders could instigate war if they were caught or seen, but Sorano retained no allegiance and could move between borders as freely as the birds of the heavens.

All Neji could do was watch helplessly as she flew beyond his reach and wonder if she would ever come back.

To my kind, generous, forgiving readers:

Wertyit- A ninja can die from chakra exhaustion, but only in rare cases. The body will typically shut down when chakra levels reach a certain point and the person passes out, therefore eliminating the chance for them to completely extinguish their chakra. It's an instinctive reaction for self-preservation because all people have chakra but only ninja actively use it. Someone who can die from chakra exhaustion is Kakashi because his Sharingan eye is always open and unless covered, will continuously use his chakra until there is none left, thus the reason why he keeps it covered. Also anyone with the cursed seal like what Sasuke has in the manga can die of chakra exhaustion while using it because the seals are designed to forcefully draw chakra from the user exceeding their natural limits and bypassing the body's instinctive safety measures. In short, though, Sasuke is not dead in this story.

VixentheHellraizer- When Raidon said he was the only one who could break Sorano free, Neji looked to Sasuke first who told him that he could deal with it, thus eliminating the need to keep Raidon alive for any reason.

Also thanks to lovefatedestiny, Sesshy'sChic23, Mattchew, xtraenergy266, lil'rockgirl, TeenAnimeLover, -Asa-Hoshi-, AvidReaderAlso, moogle in paradaisu, FoxLuvr, Mistress Persephone, SaphirePhoenix, Darkangelsdevil, SilverMononoke, pixiedust8831, Bloody-Moon-Rose, KinKitsune01, eternalwings15, star, xKillerxShinobix, Neji4me, and Satta Kurosama for your reviews.