Chapter 9

Wrapped in warm clothes from generous villagers, Neji and Sakura left the village at the early afternoon on the same day. The sun warmed the air a little, but the snow was by now reaching up to Sakuras hips. They were going to take a lot longer for the way home than they would have on a summer day.

As soon as the village was out of sight, Neji calmly asked: "What did he tell you?" She eyed him questioningly and he added: "Itachi. What did he say?"

She avoided his gaze. "He said that their final battle was yet to come. And that Sasuke is with Orochimaru at the moment."

"What makes you so sure that he told you the truth?"

"He has no reason to lie. Even if he killed Sasuke, I surely am not strong enough to take revenge. I was no threat to him, so why would he lie to me?"

Neji nodded. That's what he had expected. "So he did not hurt you."

She shook her head no. "I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but still I was more scared than ever before in my life."

"Why?"

Sakura shrugged. "It's hard to explain. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. At first I thought that he wasn't able to feel anyhing at all, but then, when he was close to me, I saw something in his eyes… I think he still feels pain. Maybe even regret, maybe he is sorry for what he did."

"Strange…", Neji mused.

She eyed him curiously. "What's strange? Is there something I should know?"

"Yes… well, I remember how I found you. You were already covered in snow. It would have taken a lot longer to find you there if it hadn't been for that sword… It was stuck in the snow right next to you."

"Sword? As in a katana?", she questioned surprisedly. "I didn't have that kind of weapon with me."

"But Itachi did, right?"

She nodded dumbfoundedly. This meant… no! Impossible. "Are you trying to say that he…"

Neji shrugged. "I can't find any other explanation. Maybe he put that sword there to show me where to look for you. If I could feel him, he must have felt my presence too."

"That doesn't make any sense. He killed his clan, why would he care about me?" None of them could find an answer to that. It was a mystery. But then again… "There is something else…", Sakura muttered. "Before I fainted… I could swear I heard him say something… something like I promise he will return to you alive. But I can't say for sure if it wasn't just a dream of if he really said that."

"Hmm…"

They spent the rest of the way quietly, brooding over what had happened.

***

Tsunade was furious. Sakura and Neji were standing in front of her desk like little kids while the Hokage paced up and down in her room. "I cannot believe that you would do something so stupid! You could have killed yourself! Is that what you wanted? I thought they tought you some responsibility at the academy!"

Sakura bit her lower lip, feeling extremely guilty. Neji listened to Tsunade with clenched fists. He knew very well that it wasn't healthy to talk back to Tsunade if she was angry, but it was obvious that he wouldn't put up with her telling-off for much longer.

Tsunade stopped in front of Sakura and pointed at her accusingly. "You! You recently passed the chuunin exam, Sakura! I was told that you're one of konoha's most intelligent shinobi. And yet you leave the hidden leaf village just for a chance to find Sasuke. I'm disappointed. I would have expected that kind of irresponsible behaviour from a lot of people, but not from you!"

Sakura lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama."

The Hokage moved over to Neji. "And you! You're almost seventeen years old, Neji-kun! Gai registered you for the next jounin exam because he thought you were ready. But I have serious doubts about that. You disobeyed my direct order and risked your life!"

"It's not Neji's fault!", Sakura said. "He saved my life, it's all my f…"

"Quiet!", Tsunade hissed. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Very well. When I found out that you both left, I was ready to kill you with my own hands. But it's good to have you two back in one piece. We know now that Sasuke-kun is with Orochimaru, and Neji, you rescued Sakura." Neji just nodded. Tsunade paused for a moment, thinking of a punishment. And then, with a huge grin on her lips, she said: "You're both grounded for two weeks."

Neji and Sakura stared at the Hokage unbelievingly. "Grounded?!", they muttered in unison.

"Yes indeed. I will cancel all assigned missions and you are not allowed to leave the village."

That was too much. "This is ridiculous!", Neji hissed. "I'm not a child! My team cannot complete missions without me."

"I'm sure they'll do fine without you, Neji-kun," Tsunade announced, obviously pleased with her idea. "You better be glad that I didn't take back your registration for the jounin exams!"

His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white, but he kept quiet. Sakura felt extremely guilty. She deserved every kind of punishment for being so selfish (Neji's words at the hospital had had the desired impact on her). But Neji didn't. But it wouldn't change anything if she provoked Tsunade now, it would just make things worse.

They turned around quietly, attempting to leave the office. "Oh, wait a second!", Tsunade chirped. "I forgot to tell you… you'll make yourself useful during the next two weeks. You two will help the villagers cleaning the streets off the snow. Got that?"

Neji flinched but he took it quietly, leaving the office followed by Sakura.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Sakura muttered: "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Neji-kun."

He glared at her and she fell silent. Without saying a word, her turned his back on her and walked away. Sakura lowered her head. Neji would never talk to her again.

...tbc...