Chapter 11
With a cup of tea in her hand, Sakura was sitting on her bed, staring absent-mindedly out of the window. It was around 11:00 pm but she couldn't find any sleep. Her punishment was officially over, from now on she no longer had an excuse to see Neji. She didn't even know if that was a good thing or not. It had hurt a lot to be so close to him and yet not being able to talk to him. But at least she could watch him and be near him. Now it was over and she had missed the opportunity to apologize.
Her gaze fell upon the frame on her nightstand. She placed the cup next to it and then picked it up. It was that single photo Kakashi had forced them to take, a picture of Team 7 with their sensei. She sighed as she brushed her fingers tenderly over the part that showed Sasuke.
Slowly she took the picture out of the frame. It was indeed time to let go, even if things didn't look so good with Neji. With the photo in her hand she stood up and picked up the christmas gift she had bought for Sasuke years ago. She couldn't bring herself to throw it away because she still believed that he would return to the hidden leaf village someday. Then she would give it to him, but no longer as a prove of her love but as a reminder of their friendship. She missed him, she missed the days when Naruto, Sasuke and she had been a team.
She opened the cabinet and placed both the gift and the photo on the highest shelf, hiding them behind her clothes. Tears filled her eyes when she closed the cabinet door. It was still hurtful and she cried because her heart had forgotten about Sasuke. She wandered over to the window and stared at the sky. I wish you luck Sasuke. And I hope that one day you will come back safely. But I have to move on.
Suddenly she felt lonely in her apartment. She wouldn't want to go back to her parents, they rarely were at home anyways, and she needed some private sphere. But on days like this she longed for someone to comfort her. She considered calling Ino or Hinata, but they were probably asleep already, or, in Ino's case, out with Shikamaru.
The doorbell rang and startled her out of her thoughts. She wiped her eyes quickly and went over to open the door. When she saw the unexpected visitor, she was more than surprised. It was Neji. He was leaning against the doorframe, clutching his side. He had bruises and some light cuts on his face and his arms, he looked like he just returned from a harsh fight. "Neji-kun, you're injured! What happened?"
"May I… come in?"
"Oh! Of course, come and sit down…" She placed an arm around his waist and helped him over to her bed where she sat him down. He never removed his hand from his side. "Are you wounded?", Sakura inquired, totally forgetting about the awkward situation. "Let me see this." She shove his hand away and pulled his ruined shirt over his head. A really huge bruise on his left side was revealed. Sakura winced. That had to hurt a lot. "God, how did that happen? Were you attacked on a mission?", she whispered. She had returned with bruises from missions too and she knew that these things could hurt quite a lot. In any case, they were nasty.
"No," he said and raised his head to look at her. And with an exhausted smile that made him even more handsome than he already was, he told her, "I'm officially a jounin now."
Sakura stared at him, dumbfounded. It took a moment before his words sunk in. "You… you passed the jounin exam?!" Without thinking, she threw her arms around him for a tight embrace. "That's great!!!" He winced but didn't push her away.
At first he was taken aback, but then he placed his hand on her back and pulled her closer to him. In fact, he buried his face in her hair and sighed in relief. Sakura felt her cheeks heaten up and her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. It felt so good to embrace him, she never wanted to let go. She inhaled the scent of his hair, tried to memorize it. She probably wouldn't have the chance to be this close to him again.
Seconds passed, then their arms loosened and Sakura reluctantly pulled back. With a faint smile, she muttered: "Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you." He just shook his head no and she said, "Congratulations, Neji-kun. I knew you'd pass."
"Thank you." He paused for a moment and then added, "It came kinda unexpected, today morning I was told that I was to take the exam today, I didn't even have time to train." That was not what he wanted to say, nor what she wanted to hear. From what he looked like, he came directly to her after passing the exam. An unspoken question hung in the air and Sakura didn't dare to ask. After about a minute of silence, Neji reached out for his shirt and said: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go home and…"
"No!", she exclaimed before she could think about it. "I mean, you don't have to go. I'm glad that you are here."
She was about to offer him something to drink when his eyes narrowed and he asked, "Were you crying?"
Surprised, she wiped over her eyes and muttered: "No, I was just…" It was useless. Neji was a good observer, she couldn't lie to him anyway. "Yeah. Sometimes I get a little lonely in here."
"Then I'm glad that I came. You shouldn't cry by yourself."
Gathering up her courage, Sakura asked the question she had wanted to ask from the beginning: "Why did you come? You're injured, you should be at home and get some rest."
"I had to talk to you first." His face softened. "The exam was a little different from what I expected. They did not only test my physical strength. Moreno Ibiki held the second part of the exam to test my mental strength. I saw someone very precious to me die and for a moment I thought it was real."
"Who was it?", Sakura whispered.
"You."
Once again, Sakura was speechless. Neji had just admitted that she was precious to him. Precious enough that Ibiki had used his feelings against him. "Neji, I…." She couldn't bring herself to speak. Too many thoughts were running through her head, she was confused.
"He taught me that life is short," Neji explained. His hand found hers and their fingers intertwined. "We are both shinobi. The next mission could be our last. I was stupid to treat you that way just because you injured my pride. Forgive me, Sakura. You're very important for me and I don't want to lose you because of false pride."
Something rolled down her cheek and she realized that it was a tear. "I thought you hated me…"
His hands reached out to take her face into them, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Sakura, I love you."
It was like a dream but the feel of his hands on her face reminded her that this was real. "I love you too," she muttered. He leaned in to kiss her passionately and when they pulled apart, Sakura asked: "Does that mean we're officially together now?"
He placed his forehead against hers. "You know… I'm not used to this relationship thing. I might hurt you."
Sakura laughed in delight. "I'll take that risk."
With a smile, Neji placed his hands on her hips and lifted her onto his lap so that she was stradling him. "What if Sasuke comes home?"
Sakura sighed. "He still means a lot to me… but as a friend. You're the one I love and that won't change."
"Good," Neji muttered and placed a hand on the back of her head. "I'd hate having to kill him."
…tbc…