Chapter 5

"Sakura? Are you sure you want to do this?", Hinata asked worriedly. Sakura nodded bravely. After taking over a week to think about Neji's word, she had finally made her decision. She had to talk to him. Now. Hinata placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you want to think it over? I'm sure Neji-niisan understands if you take some more time to…"

"No," Sakura interrupted her, "No matter how often I think this over, it won't change my decision. It's not fair to make him wait. Hinata, thanks for your support, but I have to talk to your cousin alone."

"Okay, Sakura. I hope that you do the right thing."

She lowered her head and secretly she thought, I hope so too. Hinata left and Sakura knocked on Neji's door. There was no immediate reply but eventually he asked her in. Hesitantly she entered the room.

Neji was seated on his bed, wearing only his black shorts. At the moment he was tieing white bandages around his arm. Sakura decided that maybe she should have come later, it was a Sunday morning. She had assumed that someone like him would wake up early even on a Sunday morning, but obviously, she was wrong. As she could see, he had gotten up not long ago.

When he saw her, he untied the unfinished bandages around his arm and got up. "Sakura."

She had decided to make this as quick as possible, because if she didn't say it now, she would probably never find the courage. Sakura closed the door and went up to him. "Neji-kun. You… you wanted an answer. I'm sorry for taking so long." She took a deep breath. It hurt a lot more than she had expected. "I can't forget about Sasuke-kun. The… the answer is no."

For the first time she could tell what Neji felt just from the look in his eyes. He was hurt. Sad. Angry. His hands clenched into fists and for a moment he just stared at her with these silver eyes. And then he said: "Very well. I guess that's it." He turned away from her. "You better leave."

"Neji, I…" Sakura realized that there was nothing more to say. Holding back the tears she silently left the room, leaving Neji behind.

He walked over to the window and watched her as she ran through the garden and away from the Hyuga estate. His brows furrowed and he murmured: "So I've lost to you, Uchiha Sasuke."

***

Days passed and both Neji and Sakura spent their time brooding over what had happened. There were no current missions because it kept snowing. Konoha was already covered in a blanket of snow that reached up to one's knee. A huge snowstorm was expected when they heard about a near-by village being almost destroyed by that storm. Konohas Shinobi stayed at home, working with the civilists to secure their homes and prepare them to face a storm.

Even though she knew she was stuck in Konoha, Sakura visited Tsunade every day, asking for a mission that would bring her out of the village. Every once in a while she would see Neji, who was busy helping people with his team. It hurt to see him. He always greeted her with a court nod of his head, but nothing more. Any emotion had disappeared from his eyes. Once again, she was only "Hinata's friend" to him, someone he knew but not someone he cared for.

And then, one day, Sakura overheard a conversation between Tsunade and an informant. She had once again gone to the Hokage's office to ask for a mission. The door was half-open and she attempted to enter the room, when she heard one word that made her freeze in place. The word was Sharingan.

Desperately she pressed herself against the wall and hid any sign of her presence, eavesdropping on Tsunade and the shinobi.

The Hokage's voice sounded worried. "Are you sure? If you're right, the situation is really serious."

„There is no mistaking it," the man replied. "I saw him with my own eyes. A tall man with dark hair. Chakra was flowing around him like an aura. And his eyes, it was like they could look into my soul. They were sharingan. I've seen the sharingan once, there is no doubt about it. He was an Uchiha."

Sakura had to force herself to breathe. Finally, after all these months of desperate waiting, there was a sign of life.

"This is bad. Especially now that we have all of our shinobi prepare the village for the storm. Going out to search for him would be too dangerous right now." The Hokage sighed. "I know that a lot of people from Konoha are waiting for Sasuke's return. But I cannot risk lifes just for a chance to find him. It's dangerous to leave the village as long as the weather is like that. And furthermore, this man might as well be Uchiha Itachi. He's a danger even to our strongest men. No, I cannot take that risk. Where exactly did you see him? I'll make sure that NONE of my men meets up with him."

Sakura listened determinedly as the informant described the place he had met the Uchiha. When he had finished, Tsunade said: "Alright. I will take care of this issue as soon as possible. Until then, keep quiet about this."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Sakura had heard everything she needed to know. When she hurried out of the building, making sure not to be seen, her thoughts were a mess. But she knew one thing: she had to go and find that man, that Uchiha. From what the informant had said it was likely that it wasn't Sasuke but his brother Itachi, but that made no difference. Even if it was Itachi, then Sasuke had to be somewhere near him. Unless Itachi had killed him. Sakura was afraid that she'd find out that, but what was worse than knowing that Sasuke was dead, was not knowing anything at all.

That's why she had to go. Against all orders, against reason or sanity. She had to know.

Quickly, she returned home and got her things packed. Then she wrote two letters, to her best friends, Ino and Hinata. If she was going to meet Itachi, chances were that she was going to be killed. And if she'd meet Sasuke… then she'd follow him, if he wanted her to or not. Either way, most likely she was not going to return home. When she had finished the letters, she attempted to write one more. To Neji. But she could not even write down one whole sentence. There were no words. Neji would never forgive her for choosing Sasuke over him. He probably didn't care about her fate anyway.

On her way, she delivered the letters, making sure neither Ino nor Hinata would read them too soon. She threw one last glance at her home village, then she turned her back on it and followed her heart.

...tbc...