twenty minutes
the first meeting
"So is she to no longer take missions then?"
"She will continue to work under the hokage, as her apprenticeship is not yet complete."
"And once it ends?"
"Then she will continue to serve as the hokage's personal assistant, to be sent on any assignment Tsunade-sama deems appropriate."
"But – you would lay affairs of the clan into someone else's hands?"
"With all due respect, Sakura-san is not an inherent part of the clan. Her duties are, and have always been, first and foremost to the godaime. If that is not something you are comfortable with, I invite you to take it up with the hokage herself."
"I – no, that will not be necessary. But if she is sent on missions, what about the danger? Surely you realise the need to produce an heir –"
Sakura only sits and stares at her knees, letting the chatter of the Hyuga clansmen wash over her. As far as Tsunade is concerned, her apprenticeship is finished, of that she's sure. The hokage has made it quite clear Sakura is not to show her face in her office ever, after an explosion of temper that took on almost epic proportions.
That night, Sakura cried herself to sleep.
If she thought getting her heart broken feels terrible, it is nothing compared to the gaping emptiness that threatened to swallow her the moment the woman Sakura had come to think of as almost a mother told her to never bother her again.
The need to curl in on herself and cry rushes back violently; she squashes it down and instead focuses on the people in front of her. The elders are accosting Neji ceaselessly, and he seems determined to face them down at every turn. Why he insists on bending his clan's traditions for her sake, she doesn't know. She's grateful nevertheless.
"So what about the wedding ceremony? Should we begin sending out invitations?"
Next to her, Neji shifts. Sakura peeks up to see him looking at her from the corner of his eye before turning his attention back on his family.
"No. A small wedding will do fine for us, thank you."
"But Neji-sama, surely you realise the representational –"
"There is," Neji interrupts, seemingly beyond caring, "the distinct possibility that another wedding might take place in the near future. If experience serves well, it would be best not to strain our finances before that. I somewhat expect half the world to attend."
The last bit is delivered with a dry humour that in any other circumstance would make Sakura laugh. As it is, she merely frowns. It is clear that Neji is alluding to Naruto and Hinata, and Sakura does not think his estimate at the number of wedding guests is so far off the mark. Her loudmouthed teammate makes friends wherever he goes, after all.
"Now, if that is all for today…" Murmurs of assent sound, and a general shuffling picks up. Neji rises to his feet, and after a moments hesitation Sakura follows.
She realises that Hiashi has not uttered a single word throughout the entirety of the meeting and slants him a curious glance, only to find that he is watching them both thoughtfully from where he is still seated on the floor.
"Come," Neji says to her, the firm tone of his voice belying the gentle hand he lays on her shoulder as he guides her out of the room.
"I will walk you home."
A/N: Happy Christmas, everyone! Here's a little update to give you something more than the measly few lines that were the last chapter.
I'm really not sure where this story is headed. While and the scarry skies above seems to go over fairly well with the general crowd and I like writing it, out of the two of them this story kind of feels like the ugly stepchild. It's awkward and you don't quite know what to do with it, but you love it nevertheless and won't give up on it. Also, it's fun to word-vomit all over.
So, yeah...
I hope you're still along for this fairly planless ride! (I have some ideas of what to do with this, and they all have to do with raising this story on a different level. So it wont remain all useless drivel forever. If you care to stick around that long.)
Lots of love and happy holidays!
planless