Hey, everyone. Chapter 4 is here…and it will be interesting.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine in any way, shape, or form …damn it.

Note: Yaoi-yes, OOC-no, AU-no, unless you think that Neji being gay is an alternate universe…which I don't.

And a now word for my reviewers:

Sherlockian Slytherin: Yeah, I hate those Sasukes. Neji is with Team 10, because I need him to be for the upcoming plot. I probably should have explained that Chouji is no longer on Team 10 and now Neji is, but I didn't. Meh.

sylver rain: Oh, have no fear. Neji still has a bit of convincing to do before Sasuke comes around. It will go on longer…have no fear.

All you other awesome reviewers: Glad you guys liked the chapter. See if this one holds the line…

Chapter 4- "Noon Sun"

"Ai-yah!"

Sasuke let the kunai fly, watching calmly as it sliced the string holding Naruto's bell to his belt.

"Sasuke, you idiot! You ripped my shirt!" Naruto yelled at him from across the practice yard.

Sasuke let a smirk creep onto his face, "It's not my fault you suck at shinobi tag."

Kakashi chuckled from his perch high on a tree branch. He was reading Icha Icha Paradise but listening to the game played below. Shinobi tag was an entertaining way to hone the skill of stealing something from another shinobi. Sasuke had set his sights on Naruto early on, as always. Consequently, Naruto retaliated by stealing Sasuke's shuriken from its holder. Sakura finally just sat down next to her sensei and watched the two rivals hunt each other in an attempt to recover stolen articles.

She sighed, "Sometimes I think I'd like a team that is composed of three people."

Kakashi turned to look at her, "You feel left out?"

She shrugged, "Not out of the team, no. But in training, they always target each other. I guess I'm not that much of a challenge for either."

Kakashi's hand was trapped between Sakura's first and middle finger behind her back.

"But that doesn't mean you can steal my bell without me noticing," she glared at him. "You should be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of a girl's emoting."

Kakashi chuckled again, "See, Sakura? I'd say watch out to either of them who wanted to come after you."

She smiled happily, "Well then…maybe I'll just drop in and see what kind of damage I can do."

As Sasuke avoided Naruto's shadow clones, Sakura dropped to the ground, scooping up Naruto's fallen bell.

"Thanks for getting it for me, Sasuke-kun!" she called, vaulting back into the treetops.

Sasuke's eye twitched. Blowing the last shadow clone away with a TaiJutsu, he leapt after the pink-haired kunoichi to find himself tackled by an orange blur.

"HAHAHA! GOT YOU, SASUKE-TEME!" shouted Naruto happily as he snatched Sasuke's bell from his belt.

Sasuke rolled back to the ground, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!"

His Fire Dragon Blast roared towards the blonde-haired shinobi, who yelped and dodged away. Sasuke leapt in synchronization with him, catching hold of the bell still in his hand and slinging the Kyuubi-holder off. Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Alright, you two. Training's over now. You can go home."

Naruto, whose hands were about to perform the seals for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, sighed unhappily, "Hmph. You two pick on me, and you know it too."

Sasuke flipped the bell casually in his hand, "Of course we do, dobe."

Naruto made a face at him, "Yeah, don't be so flippant, Uchiha-san. Cause I know where you're going right now…and it isn't home!"

Sasuke turned away disinterestedly. Pulling on his jacket with the Uchiha symbol on the back, he started walking back to the village. Sakura appeared next to him.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun…are you alright?"

"Hn."

"You're not being very communicative, you know?" she complained.

"Hn."

"Where are you going now? Naruto was blabbing about some secret meeting."

Sasuke just kept walking down to the village. Sakura stopped in frustration. He'd been getting more and more difficult since Neji was hurt. After since that fiasco in the hospital, he'd treated her with more indifference. She was no longer the lovestruck genin, but she had liked it when Sasuke had actually talked to her like a person. Naruto popped up beside her.

"Hey, Sakura-chaaaaaaan, wanna go get some ramen?"

"Naruto, has Sasuke seemed…different to you?" she asked.

He scratched his head, "Eh…well, I think Neji getting out of the hospital today has kinda preoccupied him. He's been weird ever since Neji got hurt."

Sasuke shoved open the hospital doors and started to head towards Neji's room.

"Sasuke, would you mind taking these to Neji on your way? They're his fresh clothes," the nurse at the desk in front asked.

Sasuke grunted and took the clothes from her. As he entered the boy's room, the Hyuuga turned his head.

"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun. What are you doing here?"

"The nurse told me to bring you your clothes," Sasuke said, throwing the bundle on the bed.

"So you came all the way to the hospital to give me my clothes?" Neji asked with his annoying half-smile.

Sasuke stayed expressionless, "Put them on. They want you out of here in an hour."

Neji sighed dramatically, "Very well. Once you get well, there's no sympathy."

He pushed the covers back and lifted himself to a sitting position. Stepping out of bed, he grabbed the bundle, unrolling the white tunic and pants. Sasuke's throat tightened a bit. The Hyuuga had his back to Sasuke, pulling on the white pants over the white boxers that were his only other clothing. With the light through the window framing him, Neji looked…Sasuke shook his head a bit, What am I thinking? He turned his head so he was looking at the medical chart up on the wall. As much as he wanted to stay looking at the chart, his eyes shifted a bit until he could see the tan-skinned shinobi pulling his tunic on. As the Hyuuga turned, Sasuke looked back…to see Neji's Byakugan activated. He briefly wondered why he hadn't felt the chakra being used.

"What?" Neji asked, that same half-smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Sasuke looked indifferent, "What?"

"You were staring at me," it wasn't a question.

Sasuke returned a blank stare.

"And you still are," Neji said, his Byakugan looking smug.

Sasuke just stood there. Damn his advanced bloodline. He can read my eyes.

Neji chuckled under breath, "I don't mind. I've been waiting for a week for that stare."

Sasuke growled beneath his breath, "You truly are annoying."

Neji's Byakugan faded to his normal, white eyes, "That's why you like me."

Sasuke turned and opened the door, "I don't like you. Now, move. And stop smiling at me."

Neji's smile disappeared, but still twitched at the corner of his mouth. As the two shinobi walked through the corridors, a silence fell over them. Sasuke felt uncomfortable all of a sudden, uneasy with those damned butterflies in his stomach again. Neji, on the other hand, looked cool and collected as he usually did, impervious to any discomfort the silence generated. The hospital staff gave Neji smiles and wishes for good luck and happiness. The nurses that had seen Sasuke visiting wished him the same. Sasuke just nodded to every comment. He was too busy trying to figure out why he came here to see Neji and then felt uncomfortable around him.

As they exited the hospital, Sasuke cleared his throat, "I said it before, but you were unconscious."

Neji looked over, looking innocent, "What?"

Sasuke turned his head away, "Thank you…for that mission."

Neji leaned closer, still smooth as ice, "What?"

Sasuke glared at him, "I said thank you."

The Uchiha turned his head away again. Damn him…what is going on? He felt something touch his hand. Neji had snuck his own hand into it.

"You're welcome," said the Hyuuga. "And thank you for coming to visit me."

Sasuke removed his hand from Neji's, although it was hard to do it vehemently when he was being thanked. It came out more like a removal from discomfort, not one of anger.

"Get off me, Hyuuga," Sasuke growled, trying to regain his control.

"Sure, Sasu-chan," Neji said.

Sasuke turned and glared at the white-eyed boy. His voice when he used that pet name was…attractive, damn it. He's got to stop messing with my mind like that.

"Stop calling me that, you bastard," Sasuke hissed at him.

That infuriating smile returned to Neji's lips, "So you still like it too much to handle it? Fine, I'll stop until you get more comfortable."

Sasuke growled again. It's so damn hard to yell at him when he's being so damn accommodating. They walked on in silence a little more. They had taken a shortcut to Neji's house and found themselves in a deserted alley.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Sasuke demanded suddenly, stopping in his tracks.

The Hyuuga stopped as well and faced him, "You don't know?"

Sasuke shook his head fractionally. Neji's smile grew a little more intense. Before Sasuke could react, Neji stepped in, placing both his arms around Sasuke's waist. His mouth came faster than Sasuke anticipated…and caught him. Sasuke growled against the heat of Neji's breath on his lips. Breaking the Hyuuga's hold, he punched him in the stomach.

"Damn it, just stop."

Neji straightened himself, shrugging off the attack, "I can't help it."

The seriousness of his tone caught Sasuke by surprise. There was no more flirting, no more sultry shimmer, no more teasing.

"What?" was all that came out.

"I can't help it. I think…I'm in love with you."

Sasuke shook his head, "Well, get over it. I'm going home."

As he turned around and walked away, he willed himself not to turn around again. Bastard. Damn him. Why did it have to feel like that? His mind remembered the feel of Neji's arms around him, the feel of his lips, and the smell of him as well. The kiss had been like an explosion of light in his head, brighter than the noon sun. He growled again. Neji was not going to do this to him, damn it. He wasn't.

Wow, little longer than expected. Neji's escalating things just a bit, but Sasuke isn't budging. I wonder if the next chapter will mix it up a little…Yes, I am officially evil.