EG: Okay! So here's chapter 2 of Defining Love!
SB: Yeah! Here it is! Lights, camera, action!
Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto.
Defining Love
Chapter II - Assignment
Hokage's Tower…
Tsunade nodded. "Hyuuga Neji, I'm assigning you to…"
"Sakura-chan!" A certain hyperactive blond yelled as he barged in the office of the Hokage.
"Get. Out." Tsunade growled dangerously.
"Hey there, old hag!" Naruto yelled in greeting as he noticed Tsunade. And the next part was a bit full of violence so let's better not discuss it. After the incident that proved Tsunade's sadism, the Godaime dusted her hands and sat back on her chair.
"So…Let's get down to business. Hyuuga Neji, I'm assigning you to be Haruno Sakura's bodyguard until I tell you to stop being so."
Instantly, there was an uproar. Neji stood up, walked towards Tsunade, and banged his fist on the mahogany (and expensive!) desk. "Repeat what you said, woman!" He snarled.
"I said, be Sakura's bodyguard until I tell you to stop being so." Tsunade replied quite calmly although a few veins popped in her head for the Hyuuga's rudeness. Neji walked to a corner and sulked there after confirming what he was told to do.
"But Hokage-sama…" Sakura argued.
"Sakura, do you want to keep on being my apprentice?" Tsunade questioned the young Haruno.
Sakura nodded meekly. "Yes, Hokage-sama." She replied in a tiny voice.
Tsunade smirked a little. "Good. Neji and Sakura, this is an A-class mission. If you don't do this one, I'm going to remove you from your current positions right now and suspend you from being a ninja for a year. That includes no training." Tsunade added as Neji smirked but then frowned.
"Hai." Both the Hyuuga and Haruno answered.
"Excellent. Neji, I want you to transfer to Sakura's apartment after this small talk. Right away. I want you to guard her for twenty-four hours. Non-stop. Go with her everywhere. Never loose her. Always keep an eye on her. Except for going to the bathrooms of course. Sakura's my apprentice. I know what she can do." Tsunade explained.
Sakura blushed at Tsunade's comment. "May I ask why he should guard me, Hokage-sama? And…why my apartment?"
"Your mansion is getting more and more dangerous, Sakura. I assume you have an apartment. Transfer to that apartment right away. Your mansion is going to be checked for any signs of danger." Tsunade responded.
That got Neji's attention. "What happened in the Haruno mansion?" He questioned.
"I believe that a maid's dead body was found there. Apparently, the maid was passing by Sakura's room. The attacker, mistaking her for Sakura, murdered the poor unfortunate soul." The Hokage murmured apologetically.
Sakura placed a hand on her mouth. "They…They never told me…"
"They didn't want to worry their Haruno-sama for they saw her looking very apprehensive and always deep in thought. Anyway, enough of this chitchat. Neji and Sakura, collect your things and transfer to the apartment right away."
Sakura's apartment…
Neji and Sakura had completely transported their most valuable stuff the Sakura's apartment minutes ago. Sakura sat wearily on one of her beanbags while Neji roamed her apartment.
The place turned out a little bit cramped but not that restricted. It was definitely fit for only a person. But…yeah. Maybe two people. It had wallpapered beige walls and brightly lit hallways. At first, Neji admitted, he thought the apartment was colored pink. But to his great surprise, it wasn't. Good thing though. Neji wasn't prepared to live in a pink apartment.
"Hyuuga-san," He heard Sakura call from a room. Grudgingly, he walked towards the said place to answer her needs.
"What, woman?" He asked as he leaned on the doorway and started to study the female Haruno's bedroom.
Again, Sakura surprised him by having creamy white surroundings. He expected it was pink. But maybe Sakura was tired of pinks? The room was down-to-earth and not that big. A normal sized bed covered with pallid comforters occupied most of the room. Two wooden night tables were at the either sides of it. A simple wooden closet and dresser were situated near a door, which Neji guessed, led to her bathroom.
Sakura's faced turned stern at what Neji called her. "Manners, Hyuuga. My name is not woman. My name is Sakura. Sa-ku-ra. Get it?"
Neji rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll call you Sakura."
Sakura's face softened. "Thanks. Neji-san, where are you going to sleep? Are we still going to follow Tsunade-sama's rule? Are you going to stay here with me as I rest?" She asked as her cheeks reddened. She began fixing her already fixed bed so the Byakugan holder won't notice.
Neji's face flushed too. "What do you expect, woman-I mean-Sakura?"
"It's your decision." Sakura answered as she shrugged.
"Then I'll sleep here with you." Neji replied simply.
"But there isn't much space. Are you going to fit in here?"
"We have to follow orders."
"Where are you going to sleep? I mean, if you sleep on the floor, you would get frozen and catch a cold. Mind you. It begins to get very cold, as in negative two hundred seventy-five and fifteen hundredths (absolute zero if you listen to your classes), in here by the time the sun disappears. Besides, you wouldn't rest comfortably there. I assure you of that."
"Then I will sleep beside you."
Sakura's head snapped up. "We're going to sleep side-by-side, as in like, sleeping in a bed together?"
Neji mentally slapped himself. He glared at the pink-haired girl before him. She's making it sound like he's going to try something on her. But there was no backing out. Suddenly getting a devilish idea, he smirked at her evilly.
"Well, yeah. Don't you want that, Sakura?" He mocked.
"NO!" Sakura yelled as she blushed furiously.
Neji watched television as Sakura went to her kitchen to cook supper. He dug the remote from the Haruno's sofa and turned the flat screen TV (Wow!) on. The programs turned out to be none too interesting. They were just dumb kiddie shows. Did this woman even have cable?
Beep…A channel up…
"I love you, you love me. We're a happy family…"
Beep…Another channel up…
"Blues Clues, Blues Clues. You gotta find the last paw print, that's the third clue. You put it in your notebook…"
Beep…Yet another channel up…
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above…"
Smash!Neji stood up threw the remote to the other side of the room making it explode into bits. He sat down on the couch. What did this woman do for entertainment? Watch TV? Nah. Her television was a capital B-O-R-I-N-G (emphasized a million times)
"I hope you aren't destroying my apartment. It would be a sorrow to find this place into bits. Anyway, dinner's ready."
Sakura's head popped out of the kitchen as she invited the Hyuuga member to eat with her. A vein or two popped in Neji's head while he gritted his teeth. This girl…no…this woman was so annoying. How on earth was he going to last in an apartment with an irritating lady around?
Stare…
Stare back…
Glare…
Glare back…
"What the hell is your problem, Sakura?" Neji roared as he stood up from the kitchen table and banged his knuckles on its surface.
Sakura raised an eyebrow at the angry Hyuuga. Who said that Hyuuga people were tolerant, proactive, quiet, and clam? Because they were certainly WRONG! Neji wasn't tolerant. He was close-minded. Neji wasn't proactive. He was passive. Neji wasn't quiet. He was always shouting at her. And most certainly was Hyuuga Neji not calm. He was always throwing fits and tantrums.
"Thank you for finally calling me by my wonderful name." She replied calmly.
More veins popped in Neji's head. "Don't mention it. Just stop staring and everything will be fine." He said through gritted teeth.
It was now time for the veins in Sakura's beautiful pink head to start popping. There he was, threatening her again. "You aren't threatening me, are you?" She asked angrily.
Neji smirked, conscious of heating Sakura's head. "What do you think, dumb b(censored) h?"
Without warning, Sakura jumped across the table and tackled Neji resulting to both of them falling down the floor. Neji, not wanting to lose to a girl, rolled to be on top of the angry woman. Sakura, not up to losing, hooked Neji's ankle and flipped. In the end, Neji won and sat Indian-style on top of Sakura's back. Sakura hmphed madly and blew a short pink strand away from her face.
"I hope you don't try to fight me again, Haruno." Neji warned as he stood up, extending a hand to help Sakura.
Sakura accepted Neji's hand and pulled herself into a standing position. "No, I won't." She answered while scowling.
"It isn't fit for a beautiful girl like you to be scowling." Neji reprimanded her. At once, he bit his tongue. Where on earth did that come from? But there was no point denying…there was a huge point denying that Sakura was beautiful! Really!
Fortunately, Sakura didn't notice and instead walked back to her place and continued to eat. Following her lead, Neji slumped in his seat and consumed his food.
Nighttime… It was finally time to go to bed. Neji entered Sakura's simple bedroom and rested his strained body on the Haruno girl's bed, facing the door that led to the bathroom. Neji was about to close his tired eyes and catch forty winks when a door opened revealing the pink-haired medic-nin.
Neji inwardly gaped at Sakura. The girl was wearing a knee-length black nightgown with spaghetti straps. Her nightgown was a bordered with flower designs. It was a bit see-through but the floral patters made it look decent and cute. Neji inwardly cringed. Cute wasn't in his vocabulary. Nope it wasn't. Oh yeah it wasn't. Sakura wasn't cute so he was staring at her. Right.
"Hey. Stop staring. It's making me conscious." Sakura said as a light red blush graced her cheeks. Neji scoffed angrily before closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. Sakura, thinking that Neji was in his dreamland, climbed up her bed and covered herself with the white comforters, immediately falling asleep.
Neji, meanwhile, was wrestling with his…erm…humanity. He stopped himself from looking at the innocent and sleeping Sakura. But just a peek at her sleeping form would do. Just a tiny little peek. A teeny bit peek won't hurt, right?
Neji turned around and looked at Sakura. Maybe peeking was wrong. Now he can't take his eyes off her. Sakura stirred a little and a strap of her dress fell down from her shoulders exposing a tiny bit of…
Neji immediately resumed his previous position. Eyes away from Sakura. Neji was only Sakura's bodyguard and not lover. Neji's role in Sakura's life was only a protector. Nothing more, nothing less. It burned Neji's insides, anger bubbling in him. Sakura can never be more than a friend for him.
Why was he thinking those thoughts anyway?
Maybe, just maybe, Hyuuga Neji was falling for Haruno Sakura.
EG: There it was!
SB: Was it nice? Huh? Huh? HUH?
EG: (sweat drops) Ha ha. Just don't mind her. Anyway, please review this fic. It's for us to continue writing it.
SB: Ja ne!
