Author's Note: Hell yeah! Another one-shot! And this time, it's NejiSaku! I love that pair. And GaaSaku and SasuSaku. Ahaha! Well, this fic is dedicated to SKY who asked me to make a NejiSaku fic for him/her. Oh well, anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, enough said.
Italics-flashback
My Cherry Blossom Swirled Fate
He was sitting by a huge window, his foot up and arm perched upon it, staring at the deep blue night sky above him. He was tired but he could not fall asleep. Post-mission side-effects. He always had them. That never changed…
But there were so many changes now. For one thing, he was not that innocent 13-year old boy that fought Naruto in the Chuunin Finals. He was 29 now. Yep, 29. Such a big number isn't it?
But age is just another thing. One major change came when he was 21. The age that he was appointed head of the Hyuuga clan…
"Sickness has overcome me..." Hiashi spoke, in his famous hushed tone. Hinata, Hanabi, and he were the only ones in the room.
"Father…" both daughters whispered. Hiashi shook his head, touching Hinata's face, "Daughter, I am sorry. Forgive me for treating you so harshly when you were just a genin."
Hinata did not find any words to speak. Hiashi motioned him to come near. As he always did, he obeyed…
"Neji, my nephew, to you I leave the clan." Oh-ho! This was weird. He stared at his uncle, "But, what about Hinata-sama?"
"She stepped down. You will have to take over." He nodded, he knew his uncle was dying. "Take this, it is from your father. He told me to give it to you when I die."
He sighed. He remembered that scroll. It was blue and had his name printed on it by his father's hand. There his responsibilities were laid out. You know, take care of his family and all that jazz. And there he found out he was betrothed and to marry.
Which he did, of course. He turned to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. There slept his wife, beautiful as always. Her wavy, long locks were all around her, making her look ethereal. But trust him, he didn't think of her in that way at first.
It was an arranged marriage. Hyuugas go through with it as if it's some sort of religion, which Hinata broke by marrying the Kyuubi carrier, Uzumaki Naruto…
He really couldn't complain, you know. But that was the number one thing on top of his father's list, to marry off. Of course, with a certain lady. But not just any lady, he had to marry Konoha's sweetheart.
Haruno Sakura…
He had expected her to go shriek and scream about her unrequited love for the Uchiha but instead, she faced him seriously…
"Are you sure about this?" Her green eyes bore into him. He nodded, "It is my father's wish. It is written in his will." And so is his job to destroy the Main and Branch house ruling when he did become the Hyuuga clan leader…
"My mother told me about this when I was a child. She said I might marry into a prestigious clan. I didn't think it would really happen." She whispered.
"What about the Uchiha?" he asked her. She looked up and smiled at him, her eyes belying her smile, "That's long over. I grew out of it."
And that was that. They never talked about him again. She complied and they were married a year after. It seemed that her mother and his father were in the same cell block when they were genins. Wasn't that convenient...
It was hard. For both of them. She was the ultimate in emotions while he was a human popsicle. Minus the flavor. They clashed and fought. He never knew a woman could be so stubborn. And he never knew that she was that smart.
He smirked a bit, remembering when she'd exchange snide remarks with him and vice-versa. It was amusing to see a fleet of emotions on her face…
"Neji!" she shouted, more like screeched. He winced. He turned around and faced her, "What do you want now, woman?"
"There it is again! Stop calling me that! It's rude!" her eyes were blazing. She pointed an accusing finger at him, "Why won't you talk to me? We're going to live together until one of us dies, you know. You're just like… like…"
She hung her head and he knew who she was thinking of. And he felt a pang of guilt. He heard from his cousin, who was Naruto's wife that she had gone through hell because of the man-who-should-not-be-named.
"Sakura…" He began. She looked up at him, teary-eyed. He sighed, "I'm sorry…"
She smiled then. And they sort of got into better terms after that. But no intimacy, nope, none at all.
He watched her deep breathing and stared at her figure. She was pregnant with their second child. But before that, there's the first child, right? Their son. Who wasn't exactly born out of love.
It's kind of embarrassing for him, really. Stupid Lee had gotten drunk, he and Tenten had a fight and he got thrown out. And as a loyal friend should, he stuck with the drunken green beast.
"Come on, Neji! You need to try some of this sake, it's amazing!" Lee slurred at him. He stared at his "best friend" in disgust. He ignored the green-clothed guy.
"You really have attitude problems, man. Is Sakura pregnant yet? You've been married for, like, 2 years already!" He felt his eyebrow twitch. He cleared his throat. Lee ignored him…
"I know why you're all uptight! Ya haven't gotten ya'self-" and with that, Lee got himself bonked on the head. Lee groaned and shoved a sake bottle in front of Neji. "C'mon, I know ya'd like a little sip!"
To get his friend to shut up, he took a swig. And another. And another. Until he was that intoxicated. But he was still a bit sober to notice that Lee had gone. So he went home…
Just one look at her face in the moonlight, he lunged at her. And the rest, as they say, is history…
He shuddered at the memory. But he couldn't blame anybody but himself. Well, he really couldn't blame himself, now could he? He'd have to do it sooner or later. And she didn't seem to mind at all.
"You wouldn't want the Hyuuga clan to die with you, now, do you, Neji?"
She had said that, teasingly. He was amazed at her frankness. So that's how he got Sakura, at the age of 23, pregnant. The pregnancy was a breeze. Unlike Ino's or Hinata's former pregnancies. Now THAT was hell.
Did he mention that Naruto and Hinata had a kid by the time Sakura had gotten pregnant? And that Ino and Shikamaru were also raising a family? Oh yeah, Lee and Tenten had children too. Yeah, strange, isn't it?
Sakura didn't have too many mood swings or any bizarre cravings. He could say that she was still a normal person. And he was glad for that, he didn't want to watch a chick flick and see her bawl her eyes out like the three unfortunate men he mentioned.
And he didn't have to worry about her. She was the one who delivered Hinata, Ino, Tenten, and practically all women in Konoha's babies, so she knew what to deal with. She was an apprentice of the Legendary Sannin, so that gave him a lot less to worry about.
But… One thing happened when she was almost due…
He entered the house and noticed at once the blood around. He raised an eyebrow. 'What the hell is going on!'
He heard scuffling in the kitchen. He walked rapidly towards it and there he saw her… And 6 more bodies…
No, she wasn't dead. In fact, she looked fine. She was sitting there, holding her hand over some gash in her arm, trying to heal it. Her body was covered in cuts and gashes.
"Sakura? What the hell happened here?" He asked her, squatting to check the bodies. Three were dead and three were unconscious, twitching and convulsing. He turned to her. She glanced up at him, and grinned. YES, GRINNED…
"Well, Neji, they tried to kill me." Her smile wasn't a regular smile, it was… wicked. Her eyes were darker and narrower. Her chakra flow was fading and unstable, he noted.
He turned back to one of the bodies. He glanced closely at one of the corpses, he saw nothing abnormal. Just long black hair, white complexion, and pearly white Hyuuga eyes. Wait… Wait!
He did a double-take. Hyuuga eyes! He turned back to his wife who was still grinning maniacally, "Now you know why someone would want to hurt me and the baby."
And as soon as she finished saying those words, she stood up too fast and fell. And he caught her…
He brought her to the hospital after that. Naruto came as fast as he could and so did their jounin sensei. The Hokage immediately sent ANBU to investigate. She was very fond of her apprentice. Man, seeing the Fifth all worked up was scary, really scary. And did he mention scary?
But, unfortunately, that wasn't all. He sighed again and looked back up at the sky. No, that was just the start of all her pain…
"She what!" Naruto screamed in his ear. He nodded, "Yes, she killed three of them and put the other three under some jutsu."
"Did she have this really wicked look on her face?" Kakashi asked. He nodded, recalling the former incident. Student and teacher exchanged looks. Naruto whistled, "Man, you should be glad you're still alive."
He raised an eyebrow and stared at Naruto, silently demanding an explanation. Naruto shrugged, "Well, you see, Sakura has this split personality thing. She only shows her inner personality when she's extremely terrified or angry. And boy, if you ever crossed her, you're dead. Just like the six people who tried to attack her."
"Yeah, like the time Naruto pissed her off so much. Although I could say that was funny." Kakashi said, smiling under his mask. Naruto protested, "Hey! It wasn't my fault, I swear."
He wasn't listening to them. Inner Sakura? You've got to be kidding him. He turned to his wife and saw her sleep. She didn't look like she could kill. In fact, she was the type of person to save lives, which she did, right?
She opened her eyes then. And stood up, holding her belly. She went to the rest of team 7, and they hugged her. He watched them, he did not feel jealous, he did NOT…
Okay, okay, fine… He did… Just a little bit. Okay, not a little bit, a whole lot. And then she started making funny faces. And he immediately called the Fifth.
Well, the labor part was pretty hazy. After all, it was 5 years ago. She wasn't screaming or anything. But she demanded that he stay there and hold her hand. Which he did. And sort of regrets doing so. His hand was so swollen after 7 hours of labor.
She gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Score! He was sure that his son would be the next clan leader. Internally, he was dancing like mad. Externally, he was smirking like mad.
"What'll we name him?" She asked him, cuddling the bundle. She smiled. He looked down and saw a head and two small hands with five fingers each, and a small tuft of dark red hair.
Hold on, red hair? That was, uh, different… He smirked,"Akairu…"
She nodded and smiled. She looked down at the bundle and gave a little gasp. "Neji! Come look!"
He did and stared at two little white eyes with veins around them. HOLY… His 30-minute old son is already using the Byakugan. Sakura panicked…
"No, Kai-kun, stop it. Don't use it. Stop." She began to talk to him softly. He knew why. His little body did not hold enough chakra to use the technique and therefore might kill him. She softly kissed his forehead.
And only then did the veins disappear. And color was brought into those eyes. Pale, pale green eyes. Sakura motioned him to come nearer. He did. And she heaved the bundle into his arms.
His eyes widened. He didn't know how to carry a baby. He might drop him and break his neck. Sakura whispered, touching his arm "It's okay. Relax…"
He glanced at her. She was smiling so softly at him. Her eyes were shining. And in that moment, he let out a real smile…
He shifted in the window seat. It was a happy moment, that time. But it was short-lived. Extremely short-lived. He shivered. It was starting to feel drafty…
"I cannot believe you tried to murder my wife!" He practically yelled at them. He was in the Hyuuga compound's conference room the day after Sakura gave birth. They were all looking at him, scared.
"Neji-sama… We didn't-" one of them began. To hell with them. "The hell you didn't! I find my wife injured by my own relatives! The hell you didn't!"
They were silent. And in that silence, he knew they were lying. He glared at all of them, hard. "What caused you to go on this little quest, huh!"
They shifted in their seats under his critical eye. One decided to speak up. One of his uncle's enemies. Coldly, he spoke, "You destroyed the Branch House ruling. That is why we decided to give your wife a little scare."
"Ah… But you didn't." He smirked. They stared at him, baffled. He guessed they didn't know. "She killed three of them. And the other three, well, let's just say, I wouldn't want to be them right now."
"What did she do to them!" they asked him. He shrugged, "She put them under some genjutsu, and only she can break it. I didn't tell her that. So, they'll die if she doesn't release it."
"Wha-?" They were dumbfounded. He turned towards the door, "You, see, gentlemen, my family is very important to me. And if you ever try to pull something off again, I swear I will kill all of you."
He walked out on them. And found Hinata frowning, using the phone. She saw him and ran to him. She was scared, "Neji-nii-chan! It's about Sakura-chan, her mother just died!"
Sakura was crying like hell when he got home that afternoon. She was clutching the blanket and he had to pry it off to get her to the funeral. She didn't want to go, she said. But he made her go. They brought Akairu along with them…
"Neji… Don't make me go. Please." She pleaded with him. He shook his head and hoisted her up from the bed. "You're coming and that's final."
It was raining. She trudged beside him, holding Akairu like there was no tomorrow. She was so silent. So different from the happy and chirpy woman he thought of.
"We're here." She nodded, still carrying their son. People came to her, offering condolence. She ignored them and walked straight to the coffin. She looked down at it…
"Hello, Okaa-san…" he heard her coldly whisper as he walked up beside her. He expected her to cry more. But her eyes were dry. He touched her arm, "Sakura…"
She looked up at him, and her eyes displayed an emotion he didn't recognize. She walked back and watched as people cried over her mother. She didn't…
He was so confused at that time. She cried a whole lot when she was at home but she stopped when she was at the funeral. What the hell was that all about?
He turned to face her yet again. She was sleeping so peacefully. It made him feel peaceful too. Nights after her mother's death were sleepless…
He opened his eyes to the shuffling beside him. Sakura was restless yet again. He sighed and whispered, "Go to sleep, Sakura."
He didn't hear a reply, thinking that she had fallen asleep now. He was mistaken. She sat up and sighed, "I'm sorry, Neji."
He gave a small grunt. She didn't lie down again. He sat up. He turned to her. He saw how she tried in vain to stop the tears…
"Are you… alright?" he never was good in consoling. Like the time he accidentally made his son cry. He really didn't know how to console, since not many people did that to him when he was a child…
She shook her head, not answering. He sat up and faced her. She held on to the blankets, knuckles white with tension…
He smirked, "We're gonna live together until one of us dies, you know. You'd better tell me. Better if sooner not later."
She looked up at him, letting out a watery giggle. But her emerald eyes defied her seemingly happy humor. She stopped suddenly, as if laughing was forbidden…
"What's wrong? Why can't you sleep?" He asked her. He saw the same emotion in her eyes. Hurt. She mouthed "nightmares" to him…
Nightmares, huh? He didn't have those often. But when he did, it was often about his father and that time when he died. But other than that, he didn't recall any.
"My father…" She began. He raised an eyebrow. She glanced at him and looked down. He asked, "What about him? I heard he died a few years back?"
She nodded. Her lips were drawn in a thin line. "I see him in my nightmares. Doing the same thing he's been doing to me since I was a child. I feel his fist all over my body, all over again."
He gawked at her. Well, not literally. He just did, you know, in his mind. She continued, staring still at the sheets, "Everyone would make fun of me and beat me up. Because I was always beat up, my father would beat me up more."
He let her continue, she gripped the sheets tighter, "He never loved me. I knew it from the first moment he hit me… My mother didn't do anything. She loved him too much to notice that her daughter was being abused."
She let out a humorless laugh. "Team seven is the closest thing I've got next to a family. Although I would never call my biological family a family."
He was silent. Her eyes started to water again, "Suicide was one of my many choices. I isolated myself. Until I met Ino and Team 7."
There was nothing he could say. He sort of understood her now. They always thought that she had a happy childhood. Well, they thought wrong.
Her face was streaked in tears, she started to wipe them away, "And now that my mother died, I didn't need to cry anymore. Because I know I lost her long before her body gave up on her."
"Sakura…" He whispered. She smiled softly, "I'm sorry if I bothered you, I don't really talk about-"
He pulled her to him, causing her eyes to grow wide. He started to stroke her hair. He whispered, "It's okay…"
And only then, did she let the tears fall freely…
That moment, he made a decision. He finally understood what Naruto and Kakashi were talking about. She was strong on the outside but seemingly dying on the inside. He felt a strong urge to protect her, to spare her from any kind of pain…
And for once in his life, he was going to do what he wanted…
He felt the wind start to blow softly now. He heard sliding doors open. He turned and saw his five-year old son walk sleepily into the room. He smiled to himself as the boy didn't see him and walked straight to his mother…
He climbed up to the bed, and put his mother's arms around him. His son would do this every night at this hour to soothe his nightmares or just to feel safe and warm…
Sakura always had that warm and loving aura about her. And that's one of the few things that took him so many years to realize…
He was sure it was nothing. He said to himself as he pulled his backpack from the bed. He was so confused and he didn't dare tell anyone. He walked out of the room and into the front door.
"Neji, wait!" He heard her call and something inside of him stirred. He didn't know what the hell was going on with him. He turned around and faced her…
She had this silly smile on her face. She was holding their year-old son in her arms. She held out a small paper bag, "This is my special first-aid kit. I want you to have it, be sure to use it in your mission okay?"
With that, she stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. His heart was racing. And she smiled. Her smile made his heart race faster…
With a cough, he turned to the door, "I will. Be safe, Sakura."
She nodded and waved goodbye before she closed the door. He poofed his way to his mission's meeting place, thinking of how his wife's daily "take care kisses" would have this effect on him NOW…
He arrived and there he met Naruto and Shikamaru…
"Yo, Neji! I know something you don't know!" Naruto chided. He raised an eyebrow. Shikamaru drawled, "Naruto, don't bother Neji."
"But I know something that dear cousin-in-law hasn't realized yet." The blonde continued. He ignored him. Naruto grinned, his usual foxy grin…
And the entire duration of the mission, he ignored Naruto. He was so irritated. But there was a voice in his head, telling him to go and ask Naruto when their mission ended.
"What is it, Naruto?" He growled under his breath. There, he finally asked he told his nagging inner voice. Sheesh, he was so confused right now and here comes Naruto tickling his curiosity. Naruto looked confused, "Huh?"
"What is it that you know that I don't Naruto?" He spat out vehemently, impatiently. Naruto grinned yet again. And this time it was bigger…
"That you've fallen in love with my best friend."
He smiled at the memory. It took him the whole duration of 3 years to realize that. Trust him, he had hated living with her at first but that day he realized why his friends all loved her.
She was kind, beautiful, and smart. She loved to help people. And to him, she seemed to have fallen out of heaven. He fell in love and is still in love.
He didn't show it right away, he was after all, THE Hyuuga Neji…
He was walking down the market lane when he spotted her. He was surprised, she had a mission today, he knew. He walked up to her…
"How much per bag, Oji-san?" She asked gaily, pointing to a box of red apples. He knew she meant it for Akairu who was at the Uzumaki house…
"Sakura…" he whispered her name. A name that fitted her personality. She looked up to the direction of his voice. She smiled, "Neji! I thought you were on a mission still?"
"It ended early." He told her, she nodded. The man handed her a brown paper bag filled with apples. She paid and thanked him. And they walked together.
"I'm going to pick up Akairu now, wanna come?" she asked, looking straight. He nodded and raised an eyebrow at her, "And you? Your mission?"
"It went okay. Just had a few rough spots in taking out the assassin of our charge. Hinata-chan was so worried about her children the entire time." She replied. He let out a little smirk…
"Yes, I heard that Ryo and Kaori were sick." She nodded. "I'm glad Akairu's a healthy boy. He's so energetic, too."
They walked again in silence. Sakura shifted with the bag. He took it from her, "Let me carry that for you."
She smiled, "Thank you, Neji."
He shook his head, "No, thank you."
With that, he took her hand and pulled towards the Uzumaki house…
Yeah, that was a moment to remember. She was blushing so much, looking up at him ever so shyly. If he wasn't worried about keeping his reputation intact, he would have laughed at her.
"Neji!" her voice called from inside the house as he was stepping out the front door. He had another ANBU mission. She, again was carrying their year-old son in her arms.
"Yes?" He asked, knowing she'd go and give him one of her "take care kisses" again. But he had another idea…
"Well…" She blushed, "I just wanted to say take care. Don't come home all hurt again."
He smirked mischieviously. And as she stepped up on her tiptoes to kiss him goodbye, he turned his head…
And caught her lips in his…
Basically, that was the start of it all. He smiled again. Something he had been doing a lot since that time he really kissed her 4 years ago. So, if you did the math, you'd end up with 7, yes, 7 years of marriage…
He felt his hair fall across his forehead. Without as much as a second thought, he brushed it back with his hand. His white forehead gleamed in the moonlight. Not a smudge or a scar there…
How did it happen? Where was the green seal that bonded him to the Branch house?
It was gone. No, it didn't disappear all of a sudden. Well, maybe it did, you know.
Courtesy of his wife…
"Tou-chan! Tou-chan!" Akairu shouted out to him as he stepped into the house. He toddled his three-year old self to him and tugged on his pant leg. "Tou-chan!"
He picked him up and carried him on his shoulders. He smirked up at his son, "So, Kai-chan, what did you learn today?"
"Kaa-chan taught me how to hold my pwastic shuwiken." He exclaimed, producing the black plastic toy from his pocket. His pale green eyes were blazing, "And she taught me how to thwow it, like this!"
And he saw the toy fly and hit a blue vase. It teetered. They both held their breaths…
"Kai-kun? Where are you? Your snacks are ready." He heard Sakura call. They looked at each other, father and son. And glanced at the teetering vase…
"Coming, Kaa-chan!" He let his son down from his shoulders as he carefully walked over to the vase…
It teetered faster until it fell…
He dove…
And caught it.
"Neji-kun?" She stepped out into the living room, Akairu behind her, holding a bagel in his little hands. He stood up, "Got it."
"Got what?" She asked. He held up the vase. Akairu looked up at him, eyes begging him not to tell. He reached over and patted his son's red head…
"Heh, almost made this vase fall. I was playing with Kai-chan's plastic shuriken." He replied. Akairu smiled at him. He winked down at him…
"Kai-kun, Ryo-nii-chan and Kaori-nee-chan are coming over to play, why don't you go and get changed?" He raised an eyebrow at Sakura. She watched her son walk towards his room…
"Neji-kun, I have to tell you something." She'd been calling him that more often now.
Especially when she got mad, which, he might say, is a very scary experience. He was surprised Naruto was still alive.
He turned to her, "What is it?"
"Well, you see, I've been working on this jutsu for the past three years." She stopped, hesitating. He sighed, "Go on."
"And then, when I was attacked before Akairu was born, I found a scroll," she continued, "It completed the jutsu I created."
"What kind of jutsu, Sakura?" He asked her. And she smiled softly, as if realizing something herself. She looked up at him, her eyes shining, "I found it Neji-kun, the unbinding jutsu."
"Unbinding jutsu?" he echoed. He so wasn't getting it at all. And she was standing there, smiling strangely to herself. She nodded, "Yes. The ultimate unbinding jutsu. It's supposed to be a kinjutsu, but I altered it."
"Okay… I'm not getting what you're saying Sakura." His saying of her name snapped her out of her whispering, "Oh yes, how could I forget to say it in simpler terms. Neji-kun, I found the jutsu that'll remove your forehead seal."
He had gaped at her then. He couldn't believe it. He knew that the forehead seal was not removable. How could she figure it out?
But as he touched his clear forehead now, he smiled. It was true…
"Here, this is the scroll I found in one of the people who attacked me." He took the scroll she held out to him. He opened it, it was full of sentences that he could not understand.
"What does it say?" He asked her. She took it from him again. She looked up at him, "You don't understand it?"
He shook his head. She smiled, "Well, it must be too medical for you, then."
He glared at her. He saw her stifle her giggle, "Okay, sorry Neji-kun. The scroll contains the information about removing your forehead seal, it was, after all, held by a Hyuuga."
"Yes, so, how did you manage to finish the jutsu in such a short time?" He inquired, she tilted her head to one side, "Well, I said I've been working on it for the past 3 years, right? But no matter how much I thought about it, it couldn't jive, the jutsu, I mean."
"Uh-huh…" He took this to thought. She continued, "I finished it, Neji-kun! I can remove your forehead seal!"
He stared down at her. She was smiling so happily. But he didn't feel at all sure if he should go through with it…
"Wait, would you mind telling me how it'll work?" She nodded, still dazed at her success, "I just have to give you almost all my chakra, excluding the chakra I have to use to do the jutsu."
"What! You'll endanger your life!" He cried out. She shook her head stubbornly, "I don't care. I worked hard on this and I don't want all my effort to go to waste."
He shook his head too. "No, I will not go through with it, if it means hurting you. This stupid seal can stay in my forehead until I die, I don't care."
"But I know you do, Neji-kun." She said softly. He glanced at her. She didn't stop there, "I know it hurts, and I want your hurting to stop."
She touched his face. He sighed. She knew what she was talking about. Damn! He shouldn't have told her that it hurt. But if he didn't, he'd suffer his headaches alone…
Damn, tough choice…
"Please, Neji-kun?" She pleaded. He should stop making her say his name that way. It was chilling. Well, in a good sense. "C'mon, I did this for you!"
There she goes again. With her guilt trip and mood swings. He sighed again, "Fine, but if something happens to you during the jutsu activation, we won't try it again."
He was firm, but he was glad. He was glad that she created that jutsu…
For him…
He was apprehensive during the preparation time. Sakura had gotten permission from the Fifth to use him as her guinea pig. Which was fine with him…
He was worried, too. Wouldn't you be? His wife would endanger her own life just to remove a seal, which isn't so significant.
Okay, fine, it was significant. Because he hated it. He hated that green seal because it showed that no matter how strong he was, he would still be under someone weaker…
So, maybe he did sound like the Uchiha a bit. Of course, who wouldn't want power. But, he isn't that hungry for it…
Wait, where was he? Oh yeah, the unbinding part…
He lay down in their bed. The king-sized one. His wife stepped into the room, her hands behind her. He raised his head…
"What's that behind you?" She sat down beside the bed and held out her hands. An empty scroll, huh? She smiled, "I need this."
"For what?" He settled his head back down into the fluffy pillows. Funny, they smelled a lot like her. She tilted her head to one side, "To place the secret of your seal in."
"What?" He raised an eyebrow. She shook her head, "Don't worry, I know just what to do. I created the jutsu, after all."
He grunted in return. And the process started…
He felt a strange sensation all over him. He felt the heat of his wife's hands over his forehead. He heard the humming of the chakra running through her.
Then, he fell asleep…
Strange, huh? He fell asleep all throughout the process. His wife told him it took four hours. It was a weird feeling, it seemed as if he was lulled to sleep by the humming of chakra…
But when he woke up, he felt fine, no really, fine…
He opened his eyes and stared at the beige ceiling. He sighed and was glad that he wasn't in the hospital. He breathed in and felt a weight on his chest. His eyes went over a head with pink hair…
He sat up, making her head fall into his lap. He touched her hair. How could someone have a child with pink hair? Is it even genetically possible? What's up with that?
He shook his head. The drowsiness that made him think random thoughts disappeared. He laughed inwardly. How could he think like that?
She was affecting him too much. Her cheery countenance and seemingly-stupid-but-only-to-make-you-smile questions were already starting to take their place in his mind. He shook his head again…
She mumbled something, he strained to hear, "Neji-kun… Jutsu… Complete?"
This time he let out a real laugh. Long and deep. It felt good, really. To laugh again. His rustling caused Sakura to wake up, but oh so slowly…
He sighed impatiently. He wanted to shake her silly. He wanted to know if the jutsu worked. Wait, he could always get a mirror. But she was in the way, and he didn't want to disturb her!
Or didn't he?
Okay, enough stupid thoughts…
"Neji-kun?" She whispered. He sighed. Finally. He forced a small smile as she looked at him, "Sleep okay?"
She glanced at him, her eyes glazed over, and then cleared up, "Neji-kun! The seal, it's gone!"
She handed him a mirror and he took it, his hand shaking. Dub dub, dub dub. He could hear his heart in his head. He slowly raised the mirror…
What the heck, his life already had too much drama.
And he lifted it up and stared. And stared. And stared. Until Sakura stood up.
And he did too, still looking at the mirror. He smiled and turned to her, "Sakura-"
"Ooh, I feel woozy." She whispered as she swayed. He immediately steadied her, "When did you complete the jutsu?"
"Huh? Oh, just now. Or maybe five minutes ago." She whispered, her face real pale. Crap. She still hasn't recovered her chakra. "Damn, Sakura, why do you have to be so nice!"
But she was too dizzy to hear what he said. He knew she thought he was annoyed because she asked, worriedly, "What's wrong, Neji-kun?"
He groaned as she fell unconscious. He carried her and jumped out the window. "Nothing, Sakura, you're just too kind for your own good."
He rushed her to the hospital that time. Naruto and Hinata came running over, bringing Akairu with them. During the entire rush, he had forgotten to put back his forehead protector…
This, of course, caused surprise and a small havoc to ensue…
He watched the Fifth as she worked around his wife. Sakura was deathly pale as the Fifth told him that her chakra supply is nearly depleted.
"It's a good thing Sakura-chan has perfect chakra control. Or else she might have died." The blond woman told him. He was silent, watching over his wife.
"Neji! How is she?" Naruto asked, popping out from behind the door. Hinata held a giggling Akairu in her arms. Behind them were their children, ages 6 and 5…
Akairu immediately saw Sakura on the bed. He jumped down and toddled to the bed, "Kaa-chan!"
"Kai-chan…" he whispered as he picked up his son. His son struggled away from him, and stared at Sakura. The bed was level with his eyes…
"Kaa-chan, d-daijobu desu ka?" He whispered. He put a hand on top his son's head. Akairu didn't budge, he just stared at her, "Kaa-chan, when you wake up, let's go get ice cweam okay?"
"Akairu." He said more firmly this time. His son looked up. Tears were in those pale eyes. He sighed, and picked up the boy once more, "She'll be okay, don't worry."
The red head nodded. He knew that his son believed always in what he said. That's why he had to watch his words around the boy. Sakura suddenly shifted in the bed…
"Sakura." He thought out loud. She opened her eyes. She turned to him and her eyes lay on their sniffling son, "Kai-kun."
He let down their son. Akairu placed his little hand over hers. He let out a sniffle and a small smile, "We'll go eat ice cweam with Tou-chan when you'we better, okay?"
She smiled softly and nodded. Then, Naruto noticed him, "Hey Neji, I can see something's new with you!"
Hinata looked at him closely, and smiled, "Oh my gosh! Neji-nii-chan, I can't believe it!"
"I can't believe you finally cut your hair Neji!" Naruto exclaimed, slapping him in the back. He choked back a laugh. Hair cut, huh?
"Naruto-kun!" His cousin exclaimed. Naruto looked at her, puzzled, "But Hinata-chan! He did cut his hair, right? See?"
Naruto lifted a lock of his hair. He felt veins throb. Stupid Naruto. He fought the urge to bop the blonde in the head. That was Sakura's job…
"Naruto." Sakura started out, her voice violent. Naruto immediately shut up from all his whining, he turned to her, "Uh… H-hehe, h-hi Sakura-chan. F-feeling b-better?"
She stood up. He stood by, watching in silent amazement. He noted that Hinata was shaking her head and leading the kids out of the room. He smirked, Naruto was so getting it…
"Are you that stupid to not see that Neji doesn't have his forehead seal anymore!" She boomed. The blonde winced. He smirked, Hinata flinched and tittered behind her hand. The children were with Shizune and the Fifth's pet pig…
"W-what? Really?" The blonde immediately positioned himself in front of him. This was so a violation of his private space. Comprehension dawned on the blonde's face, "Oh yeah! Cool! Neji, you look so hot without your forehead protector."
He saw another wave of anger flow through his wife. This was amusing him to no end. She exploded, "Of all the things to say, Naruto, to say my husband's hot! I would think you're gay if you're not married to Hinata-chan!"
It went on like that for a while. He saw that Sakura had fully recovered her lost chakra, seeing as how she yelled at Naruto like that. He felt glad that she was okay.
So, yeah, that's basically their love story, if you could call it that. Now, about his second child, you don't really need to know that, now do you?
It's called privacy, man, deal with it. Besides, you don't want to know all about his, ehem, "love" life. It'd shock you to death.
But hey, you are, after all getting a look inside the mind of the ultimately powerful, extremely handsome, hot-ass, clan leading, butt-kicking Hyuuga Neji, so consider yourself a very privileged person.
He smirked and stood up. Feeling tired after his short walk down memory lane, he walked towards the king-sized bed. There are still a lot of memories, some of which completely skipped his mind…
Like the time Akairu was teething and bit him in the hand. That made Sakura laugh, real hard, though he didn't think it was funny at the time. That damn hurt. Yeah, and when the cake Sakura made was obliterated by Naruto's stray kunai…
Man, he couldn't stop thinking about that for a week. The cake was supposed to be her gift to him. He was sort of sad, since she makes awesome sweets. But Naruto had a few, no wait, a lot of fractured bones when she finished with him, and that made it all worthwhile…
He learned never to cross her when she was PMSing. That was scary. It took him almost 3 years to learn that. One word describes it all. Hell.
He sat down on the bed, causing it to shift in his weight. He saw Sakura shuffle and wake up, "Neji-kun? You're home."
He nodded. She sat up, not even moving their son from her arms. She was always good at that, he noted. Well, must've come from being a mother. But how can she carry so much weight?
Imagine him having a belly as big as hers. Wait, don't, stop. Don't imagine. STOP!
He shivered and she noticed. She put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it, "You must be tired, you should get some rest."
He nodded yet again. How can she make him obey like one lost and lovesick puppy? It's unfair! He shouldn't be manipulated by a woman!
But he let himself be manipulated. It was crazy, this life of his.
They lay down together and he put his arms around her, much like she did with their son. He sighed contentedly. He wouldn't have it any other way…
At one time in his life, he was obsessed by the thought of fate, destiny as others may call it. He had a certain fate and he would abide by it. No questions asked. Naruto made him change his thinking of that.
But no one ever made him change his own fate than his own wife. His coral-haired, emerald-eyed, pregnant wife…
So, as he closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her hair. There were only a few thoughts running in his head, as he fell into the deep darkness of sleep…
His fate…
His annoying, fulfilling, confusing, wonderful, amazing, irritating, ridiculous, tiresome, amusing, cherished, sinister, experimental, experiential, forbidding, simple-yet-complicated, lovable-at-the-same-time-not-lovable, boring-but-so-amazingly-interesting, hated-and-loved fate.
In shorter terms…
His cherry blossom swirled fate.
Owari
Author's Note: There we go. It's long, isn't it? But I find it real nice. It's cute, very cute. Well, what are you doing there? Click the button down below to start reviewing, tell me what you think about it.
PS. I think akai in Japanese is red. So, putting two and two together. I thought of Akairu. Yeah, because his hair is red. Yeah, there.