The Art of Deception
---
Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Thanks for the reviews! On a quick side note, I realized that my latest fic, Aishiteru, Cherry Blossom, has annoying spacing mistakes that make two words look like one. I'm really sorry that I didn't catch that... it must have made it so hard to read! -sweatdrop- I promise that I'll try and make sure that this fic won't have those annoying little mistakes!
---
Scroll II: A Little Less
So say, what are you waiting for,
Kiss her, kiss her
I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late.
--Fall Out Boy; A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"
---
Jade eyes blinked open and a halfway-open mouth issued a soft, groggy groan. Sakura woke up slowly, looking blearily around before turning her digital clock so she could see the time. She stretched luxuriously and cracked her back and neck before turning to look at the clock, yawning widely. 7:45. Okay.
"SEVEN FORTY-! Nani?" the pink-haired kunoichi leapt out of bed and tossed off her tank top and short shorts that she slept in, turning on the water in her shower with a flick of her wrist and jumping in before it even warmed up. I only have fifteen minutes! I thought I set my alarm last night! she thought hastily, scrubbing shampoo into her hair. Two minutes later, she was back out, brushing her teeth and drying her hair at the same time. I can't believe this... I'm late to my own engagement!
She ran into her bedroom and slipped on a pair of white shorts and a tight blue T-shirt, remembering Tsunade's warning about looking inconspicuous. She looked at the clock quickly (7: 54) and cursed under her breath, tying her hair into a messy ponytail. She grabbed her flip flops, putting them on as she stuffed her ninja gear into an extra backpack. Sakura took that and her dented suitcase, slinging them both over her shoulder, and almost literally flew down the stairs, bypassing breakfast. She did a quick recap: three more minutes left, and, of course, the Hokage's Tower was across the village.
Sakura groaned for the second time that morning and pushed chakra into her feet, sprinting down the streets of Konoha. Passersby stopped and stared at the pink-haired apparition, moving with a speed unknown to more than ninety percent of them, and shook their heads, realizing that Haruno Sakura must be late again. The kunoichi gave a final push of her feet and kicked open the door to Tsunade's office. "I am NOT late!" she shouted triumphantly.
Neji and Tsunade stared at her, then at each other. "Two seconds over," Neji said triumphantly with a smirk to the Hokage. "You owe me ten."
The Godaime scowled. I can't even win a bet on whether or not Sakura will be late... but two seconds isn't even late! Damn him and his technicalities! "Are you two lovebirds ready?" she asked, grabbing her sake and chugging some to make herself feel better about this new loss.
"Hai," Sakura said with a small smile as Neji stood. She looked at his outfit- a pair of khaki shorts and a blue polo shirt with white stripes- in surprise. I've never seen him in anything but his regular shinobi outfit or his ANBU uniform. Not bad.
Tsunade smiled smugly as she noticed her apprentice looking at her new teammate with surprise... and a small blush unnoticable to anyone without a trained eye. "Hyuuga? Your new name is Sato Natsuhito. Sakura, yours is Watanabe Kane, soon-to-be Sato Kane. Get it? Good." She smiled and sipped some more sake, feeling the familiar lightness come to her. This was what she lived for: embarrassing her students while drinking sake. It didn't get any better than this, even if she did just lose yet another bet... this one to a kid. But still."Your mission starts now." The two stood up and made for the door and Tsunade chuckled. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she shouted, echoing Naruto's words from yesterday.
Sakura growled. "What is that, the joke of the week?" she muttered to herself, clutching her stuff. "Well, Neji-kun, let's go. It's a long way, ne?"
He nodded. "Hai, it's a long way, Kane-chan." Neji looked at her pointedly, and she nodded in understanding. In case someone was listening, and also just to practice using them, they would have to call each other by their fake names.Without another word, the two were off, pumping chakra into their legs to go faster.
"Ne-- er, Natsu-kun, you know Naruto proposed to Hinata-chan yesterday, don't you?" she asked, looking at him.
He let a small smile grow on his handsome features. "Hai. Hinata came home, told me, and then almost fainted. She was so happy." He was silent for a moment. "It was good to see her like that."
Sakura laughed. "You should have seen Naruto. He was so nervous, but so determined... I was so proud of him." She smiled. "But at the same time, surprised. I mean, Naruto getting married? He wasn't really one for commitment before, was he? But I know that he'll take good care of your cousin, Natsu-kun. Don't worry."
Neji looked at her for a moment, taking in the sight of her so carefree and happy, then turned his head back to the front to avoid the blush that was surely going to come, damn his hormones. "You two are really close, aren't you?"
Sakura was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "Hai, very close. Even when Sasuke was here, we always talked to each other. Told secrets, had fun together. He was the first real friend I ever had after Ino-chan and I had our little falling out." She smiled wryly. "He helped me a lot when Sasuke left."
"Why did you love that Uchiha, anyway?" Neji asked, speeding up slightly. Was that a tinge of anger in his voice? He winced mentally. The last thing he needed to do now was remind her of that traitor.
"I didn't," she answered without hesitation, keeping pace easily. "I thought I did, but I didn't. It was just a girly crush I had... and partly because I felt I was too deep into it to give up. I mean, I'd been so stupid... giving up a perfectly good friendship with Ino-chan over a boy that wouldn't even look my way when I asked him how he was." She laughed cynically. "It was the first time that I ever really felt like I was so totally... unlikeable. Unlovable."
"You're not either," he said with a frown. "Why did you think that?"
She bit her lip. "It's hard to explain," she replied after a while, "but I'll try. I think that because Sasuke would keep belittling me at every opportunity, I started to believe it. I've always had low self-confidence, Natsu-kun. It's getting better now, but it was horrible for the longest time. All of his insults just made it worse, and because I thought I loved him, thought he was perfect-" here she sputtered with mirthless laughter and muttered a "how stupid was I" under her breath, "-I started to believe it myself. And because Sasuke, naturally, doesn't like people that are either weak or useless, I believed myself unlikeable, because in my eyes, Sasuke was the only thing that mattered."
Neji looked at her warily and stumbled guiltily in seeing that she was glaring, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and leaving silvery trails down her cheeks. "I was such a fool," she said softly, never slacking in speed, "to believe him. To like him at all. A fucking fool."
Neji frowned. "Maybe so," he said simply, trying to help, "but you're not anymore. You've changed a lot, Kane-chan. I don't think you've realized how much, but you're not the same Kane that pined after Uchiha Sasuke. You're different now, and the part of you that was buried under that 'love' for the Uchiha has come alive again. You're definitely not as weak as you were back then... though, as you said, you weren't actually weak at all. Everyone's proud of you." I know I am. The unspoken words reverberated through the forest, and he didn't look at her. He wasn't sure he would like what he'd see.
Sakura stared at him, scrubbing her cheeks with the back of her hand. Hyuuga Neji was definitely a man of little words, but when they came, they were short, to the point, and deliciously refreshing. Lovingly caring. The green-eyed girl smiled slightly. "Arigato, Natsu-kun."
He only shrugged, but his white eyes showed satisfaction.
---
Sakura put her hands on her knees, panting lightly. "How long have we been traveling? Where are we?" she asked Neji, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and sitting down heavily, leaning back against a tree.
"Byakugan!" Chakra veins puffed from his pearl-white eyes as Neji scanned the area, blinking a couple times. After a minute, he deactivated it. "We're in uncharted territory, halfway across the west side of Sound. We'll have to be careful," he added in an undertone, "in case we come across Sound shinobi."
Sakura nodded, getting up slowly. "I'm going to get some water. I'll be right back." Neji nodded, watching as she sauntered into the trees where they could here a small stream going. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the way her hips moved so gracefully, the way her legs brushed against each other as she stepped down, the way her pink hair moved to the right in the breeze, giving him a surprisingly exciting view of her neck.
Neji quickly ducked his head back to the ground, cursing himself soundly. What the hell am I thinking? She's just a teammate... just a friend... and we're only pretending to be engaged. He couldn't help realizing, though, that she had extremely attractive features. He was only human, or close enough to it to notice the opposite sex. He smirked to himself, stretching his legs out and folding his arms across his stomach. At least I can look at her like that without being killed... it's part of the mission. Oh, Kami-sama, now what? Hyuuga Neji was not supposed to think like that. That was hentai thining, Jiraiya thinking-- not Neji thinking.
Damn, he had to stop hanging around that blonde fox-holder. He was the one that turned his mind into... well... not-so-pure.
"Natsu-kun?" A cool hand was on his shoulder. "Are you okay? You look... ano, you look angry."
Neji looked up and found Sakura's jade orbs. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
Sakura laughed. The sound was wonderful: like bells clinging together. "Don't tell me Natsu-kun has gone soft! The very idea!"
Neji tried to look angry, but smiled slightly instead. "Eh, be quiet. Are you hungry?" As she opened her mouth, her stomach rumbled, and Neji chuckled. "Never mind." He shifted around in his pack for some food as Sakura built up a fire, secretly using a fire jutsu to get it going. They chatted (or rather, Sakura chatted while Neji listened) aimlessly as they cooked the food, about memories and funny stories. They talked for a while about Sasuke's departure, and the Hokage's death, and even about Shikamaru and Ino's engagement.
They were silent for a while as they ate, chewing contentedly. The silence wasn't tense, but rather loose and calming. Sakura swallowed. "Natsu-kun?"
"Hai?"
"Why haven't you found someone to love?" she asked, getting the last of a dumpling off her fingers.
He looked at her, surprised. "Found someone to love?"
"Hai. You know, Shikamaru-kun and Ino-chan, Lee-kun and Tenten-chan, Hinata-chan and Naruto... I mean, even Shino-san is with someone." Sakura rubbed her hands on a cloth and sat back against a tree, waiting for his answer. "Gomen nasai if you're uncomfortable. You don't have to answer."
"No, I will." Neji paused. "I don't think it's a question of why, really. I just haven't found anyone yet. Besides, love takes up my time. I need to train." He bit off a piece of fish and chewed thoughtfully, white eyes turning on her. "And what about you? Why haven't you 'found someone to love'?"
Sakura didn't say anything for a moment. The way he said 'I need to train'... it sounded just like what Sasuke would have said. "I... don't want to," she replied finally, looking at the sky. "Not after him. I'm... you'll think this is stupid, but I'm afraid that I'll make another mistake. I'm afraid that I'll think I love someone when I really don't."
The Hyuuga next to her stretched and leaned against the tree opposite her. "No."
She looked up. "Nani?"
"No. I don't think that's stupid."
The pink-haired kunoichi smiled slightly, turning her head to the side and looking at the ground. "Arigato."
Neji grunted.
---
"The team has left Konoha and are heading to Lightning," a low voice reported. The man it belonged to knelt, his eyes directed towards the floor. This was his first mission for Lord Orochimaru's favorite, and he couldn't fail. Failure here meant instant death... or so he had been told.
The man in front of him smirked slightly. "How many are there?"
"Two, Sir. Male and female.They'll probably be acting as a couple of some sort."
The figure shifted slightly, his hands in front of him in a brooding position. "Who are they?"
The subordinate cleared his throat nervously. "One is a Hyuuga with brown hair. Jounin with the Byakugan eyes. The other is unknown; a girl jounin with pink hair and green eyes. They both have the ANBU tattoo on their shoulders, and are using the names Natsu and Kane."
The man's eyes flicked open briefly in surprise before settling back down. "I see. Tell me when they arrive in Lightning. For now, I don't want them attacked."
"Sir?" the kneeling man looked up in shock. "Why not?"
"I don't believe you have the right to question that." He glared. "I don't want them attacked. That's all you need to know."
The man gulped. "Yes, Sir. Of course. Gomen nasai."
"Don't let it happen again." He waved his hand dismissively, and his informer backed away from the room, shutting the door behind him with an obvious relief. "So..." The man's smirk grew as he examined his hand, "she's ANBU now. That's a surprise." His eyes glimmered, a shimmer of red behind them. "This will be interesting."
---
Sakura woke up to sun streaming through the canopy of the trees above her, their differing shades of green edged with pure gold. She smiled slightly and sat up slowly, stretching languidly. "Natsu-kun?" she looked around, frowning slightly. Where was Neji? She got up and looked behind a wide oak, yawning, and suddenly broke into a grin. Her teammate was sleeeping lightly, his pearl eyes closed as he leaned against the sturdy tree. His head was up, as if he was looking at the sky, and his hands were folded in the typical Hyuuga Neji fashion.
She knelt next to him, smiling slightly at his peaceful face. He always looked so strict and confined in real life... in sleep, though, he looked something close to angelic. The kunoichi couldn't help but blush as she noticed the ripples of his muscles through his shirt... the muscles that you couldn't see under his bulky uniform. She reached out a hand and lightly touched the bandages he wore over his curse mark, making the lines of the X she knew was there. She remembered her poking him in the forehead while he was injured (more to annoy him than anything else) and asking him why he flinched and got so angry. She remembered him slowly unwrapping the bandages and explaining the curse, telling her why it was there, why it hurt him.
She remembered herself gently squeezing his hand and saying that she understood. "I don't need your pity", he'd said, and she had smiled and laughed softly and protested that she wasn't giving him pity.
"I'm showing that I care", she'd said, and he had looked at her strangely, as if he'd never heard of such a thing before.
"What are you doing?"
Neji's eyes were open now, and Sakura blushed some morewhen she realized that she was still running her hand over the bandages. "Showing that I care," she replied with a smile.
Her companion's eyebrows raised, but he smirked. "You've said that before."
"I know. I was just reminding you." On an impulse, Sakura leaned over and kissed his forehead, in the middle of the bandages. "Natsu-kun."
Neji sat up, a bit of a smile on his face. "Arigato." They stared at each other for a moment, green into white, and an invisible, unvoiced communication flew between them. Then Neji stood up, holding out his hand."Come on, Kane-chan. We should get going."
Sakura blinked, smiled, and took his hand, pulling herself up. "Right. Let's go."