Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to some dude in Japan…. Yeah.

qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp

Chapter 3

"Where could that bastard BE!" Sakura exploded, causing a few remaining birds to scatter and fly away. Ever since they had left Hinata's house a few hours before, Sakura had been searching far and wide for Hyuuga Neji. It was evening now, and she still had no luck. Due to the fact that he was injured, Sakura was rather concerned for his welfare. In fact, she would even dare to call him a friend, and knowing him, he would probably bleed to death before seeking medical help. Damn his pride.

Just as she was about to say 'Fuck it. Let the bastard die', she spotted him leaning against a tree by the river with his head lolled to one side, seemingly sleeping. His eyes were closed, anyway, and his breathing even. That meant he was sleeping, right? Right. Ahem.

Kneeling next to him, she took in the injuries she could see. It really wasn't as bad as she expected. He had many lacerations, but they had already stopped bleeding. His clothes and arm and leg wrappings were ripped and bloodstained. All minor, non-life threatening injuries. In fact, pretty much the only thing that worried her was the fact that a small amount of blood had dribbled from his temple, indicating that he could have suffered from a head injury. She suddenly blinked in surprise.

Something was wrong.

He looked to be covered in a cold sweat and, if it were possible for the already fair-skinned Hyuuga to be any paler, he was. He also seemed to have a fever. All of this could be signs of one thing… poison.

She reached out to touch the side of his face so that she could check his temperature, but gasped as a hand shot out and gripped her wrist. Her eyes met with a pair of white ones.

"Don't touch me." Neji said icily. He shoved her hand away and scowled at her.

"Neji-san." Sakura said, seeming unfazed by his rough gesture. "I think you may have been poisoned."

"Well, that's perceptive of you." he meant for it to sound sarcastic, but it came out more weary than anything.

"You idiot, you need a hospital or you could die!" she tried to sound angry but her voice betrayed some of the desperation she felt.

"It's only a minor poison with a small trace of paralysis powder in it." Neji replied irritably. He held up his left arm, which had a long gash just beneath the bicep, indicating that he had drained the poison from his system. "All that's left to do is wait for the effects to subside."

Sakura blinked in surprise and upon seeing his arm. Still, she wasn't about to lose in a battle of words. She NEVER lost at this game.

"But how do you know the poison isn't fatal?" she questioned.

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"…" Sakura sweat dropped.

He's got you there… Inner Sakura sighed.

"Well, I'm going to heal you." It was more of a statement that a question. "Even if the poison doesn't kill you, one of your wounds could become infected."

"No."

"Alright, that's it! This macho badass act is going to stop right now!" Sakura shouted, taking Neji by surprise. "In the state you are in now, I could easily kick your ass. Unless you want that dealt to your ego, I suggest you let me heal you."

"Just leave." Neji replied, rolling his eyes. To his surprise, a fist came flying at his face and he was barely able to block it.

"You think I was kidding?" the pink haired chuunin said lowly, glaring at him with her blazing green eyes, scowl in place. A breeze came and blew a few strands of pink hair into her face. He literally had to fight the urge to brush the offending strands away as he gazed into her emerald eyes. Her pushy attitude and willpower fascinated him to no end and he found it strangely… enticing.

"Fine." Neji said abruptly as Sakura lowered her fist.

"W-What?" she asked in wonderment.

"I don't like repeating myself, Haruno. I said I'd let you heal me now get it over with."

"You mean it?"

"Hn."

She couldn't believe it! Hyuuga Neji, THE Hyuuga Neji, the one who would sooner glare a hole into a medic before letting them touch him, was allowing her to heal him. It gave her a sense of pride. Could he finally be starting to trust her?

"Take off your shirt." She said, turning slightly pink. "Your forehead protector too, so that I can get to your head injury easily."

Pulling his shirt over his head and discarding it on the ground beside him, he hesitated before removing his forehead protector. He didn't like having his curse seal out in the open, but she already knew about it, so it didn't matter. He then resumed to removing the wrappings from his arm and chest, a tedious feat which took a good five minutes.

Sakura visibly flushed upon seeing Neji's bare chest and stomach, but forced herself to focus on the matter at hand.

Gathering Chakra into her fingers, she placed her hand so that it was hovering over on of the many cuts on his arms and began the long healing process. As she worked, she could feel his eyes bore into hers and it made her feel uneasy.

"I really wish you wouldn't stare at me, Neji-san." she finally said, not looking up from her task. "If not, then say something, already!"

"Why?" he asked, slight amusement in his voice.

"It makes me nervous."

"In other words, I make you nervous."

"N-No!" she flushed at his comment. "That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean?" For some odd reason, he found it amusing to make her angry and flustered.

"I meant-- ARG! Just shut up!" she fumed.

"I though you wanted me to speak." He replied, only frustrating her more.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." It was a childish thing to say, but Sakura could think of nothing else. Just talking to the Hyuuga left her mind drained.

"Good."

"…"

"…"

"…You're a bastard."

"I thought you weren't talking to me anymore."

She lost. There was no denying it. It left her feeling bitter because she had never lost in a war of words before. What was even stranger was the fact that she had lost to Hyuuga Neji, who rarely spoke in the first place.

Damn him! she thought angrily.

CHA! added inner Sakura.

As Sakura reached up to heal his head injury, she gazed curiously at the 'bird in a cage' seal engraved on his forehead. It was such an interesting design, and it looked innocent enough, but the pink-haired kunoichi knew what it was capable of doing.

Neji, meanwhile, was completely off guard. Well… as far as a Hyuuga like him is capable of being… Let's just say he was unusually relaxed, for lack of a better word. Her soothing chakra felt like warm water flowing underneath his skin, and it wiped any pain he felt from his wounds away, leaving him in a state of repose. His eyes drooped closed and he lost himself in the feeling.

He wasn't entirely sure why he had let Sakura heal him. He would never admit it, but he trusted her, even if it was just a little bit. It was rather strange due to the fact that they hadn't had very much contact in the past. As for the whole 'not letting a medic heal him' thing, it wasn't that he didn't want to be healed. He just wasn't too fond of the idea of people seeing him in a vulnerable state. He would often just heal himself to the best of his abilities using ointment and bandages.

"Did it hurt?"

Neji blinked upon hearing her question and looked at her as if she were insane.

What the hell is she rambling about? he thought. She can't be referring to the healing, can she?

"Don't look at me like that! It's just a question!" said Sakura.

"What were you referring to then?" Neji asked, frown in place. He recoiled abruptly and scowled when he felt her cool fingers touch the seal on his forehead. What the hell did she think she was doing?

"This." she replied softly. "Did it hurt when you first got it?"

"…no." he averted his gaze and instead looked at the river. Well, in the general direction of the river, at least.

"Are you lying?" She asked with a small smile. "I've read otherwise."

"And where is this information contained?" asked the pearl-eyed jounin. "The curse seal is supposed to be a Hyuuga family secret." Sakura's reply was to smile mischievously.

"Let's just say that if you are willing to look long and hard enough, you can uncover any mystery."

"And that brings me to my next question." said Neji. "Why go through all that trouble to find out about my clan?"

"Uh… um… you see, I…" she sputtered. "I was just curious is all, and… you seem to be a very interesting person. I sort of hoped that we could be… friends." There. She'd said it.

"Hn." Neji replaced his forehead protector over the seal. Friends? Someone actually wanted friendship with him? It was ludicrous.

Once Sakura had finished with his wounds, she was almost completely drained of chakra. In fact, she was hovering between consciousness and oblivion. A few bruises and cuts were left, but she didn't think she could spend any more of her energy. Losing balance, she ended up leaning her head on his shoulder. She felt him tense, but he made no move of objecting. Unable to move anymore, she merely stayed in that strangely comfortable position and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

He smells… good…she thought in half wonderment. He didn't seem the type who would bother using manly fragrances, so the smell was all him. It was quite relaxing.

They sat in silence for a long while, neither making a move to leave or speak. Neji had a feeling that it was approximately midnight, but was tired himself and didn't want to stand just yet. The paralysis powder was almost worn off, but he still felt the heaviness of it. Closing his eyes, his drowned himself in his thoughts.

----------

"Um… I don't think we should be here…" Shikamaru said, crouching next to Ino from their hidden position in the bushes. "Haven't you ever heard of personal space? We are completely evading their privacy. It's getting late and I'm tired."

"Shut up, Shikamaru! They'll hear us!" Ino exclaimed, looking through the binoculars at her current couple of interest.

When it came to Ino, meddling in people's love lives, whether the relationships are existent or not, was her hobby. She had an obsession with matchmaking and Shikamaru knew that it would probably be her downfall one day… especially if she tries to hook people like Haruno and Hyuuga up. Aside from being some of the most loveless people in Konoha, they didn't have much in common. Sakura was still hung up on Sasuke and Neji was just… well… Neji.

"Aww… Look Shikamaru! They are so cute together!" she squealed, shoving the binoculars in Shikamaru's face.

Trying to ignore the fact that her squeal had put him in a state of being half deaf, he took the object from the over excited blonde and looked at the two she was indicating. His jaw dropped. No… way…he thought. This is too troublesome…

Wonders never cease. Upon looking through the binoculars, he was faced with a most peculiar sight. Haruno was leaning against the Hyuuga with her head resting on his shoulder and he wasn't objecting. In fact, they both seemed to be sleeping.

"Who would have thought!" Ino continued, whipping out a camera. "I am so getting on her case tomorrow! Why didn't she tell me that she and Hyuuga were dating?"

"Ino, you shouldn't jump to conclusions." Shikamaru warned. "Maybe they both fell asleep and accidentally ended up in that position…"

But Ino, who was currently taking pictures of the oblivious pair, was hearing none of it.

----------

Finally, after a long while of silence, Neji spoke.

"It did hurt." he said quietly. Sakura opened her eyes in shock.

"What?" she asked, surprised that he was the first to speak. Usually, she was the one who would have to force a conversation out of him. This was quite a turn of events.

"You heard me, Haruno." He stayed in silence for a good few minutes before continuing. "I was four when they carved it into my head. I didn't understand what they were doing at the time. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life, but all I remember was my father being so angry and helpless, screaming obscenities at Hiashi about how foolish he was to think that Hinata could ever make a better clan leader than I."

Sakura watched in amazement as the Hyuuga spoke. She had never seen him talk so much, about something so personal, no less.

"The next day, I watched them carry my father's corpse from the house. I was so angry. I charged at Hiashi with a Kunai but was stopped by one of his guards and hit across the face. If not for my age, I would have been killed for daring to land a finger on him."

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two. Most of the tenseness came from Neji, for he was not used to speaking of things like this. It made him feel uneasy, and a little irritated with himself for letting his guard down so easily. He had never had an urge to feely speak before now. In fact, unless it was necessary, he preferred to have no human contact at all. What was it about her that made him want to open up?

"I'm sorry." Sakura finally said.

She blinked as Neji abruptly stood up and turned to leave. Feeling better already?

"Neji…?" she questioned. He stopped walking but didn't turn to face her.

"Just shut up." he said, voice not betraying any emotion, aside from slight anger. "I don't need your pity. So just keep this 'friendship' to yourself and leave me alone. I don't want it, nor do I need it. I need no one."

"Everyone needs someone. It's what makes us human."

"..." He began to walk away again as Sakura wearily stood up.

"Neji!" she said loudly. "Where are you going?"

Neji ignored her, which only pissed her off. Who the hell does he think he is? Before he could get any further, a very peeved girl with shoulder length pink hair appeared in front of him, scowl in place on her pretty features.

"What the hell is your problem, you fuck face!" she screamed, causing the Hyuuga to raised one of his perfect eyebrows in shock at her vulgar use of words. "Did something crawl up you ass and die? All I've done is try to be your friend and possibly pull you out of this God-damned permanent state of fucking depression and moodiness and all you do is blow me off or ignore me! Dammit, I'm not about to take this! AND WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUCKING FUNNY, YOU PRICK?"

Neji had at one point started smirking at the Kunoichi before him in amusement. He had never known a woman with such a foul mouth as her and to use so many curse words all at once. It rather amused him.

"You know what? Screw you. You're hopeless." she turned and began to walk away with the full intention of getting home to the comfort of her bed. It was, after all, quite late.

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine and she leapt to the side, barely dodging a thrown kunai. Shocked, frightened, and angry, she whipped around to face Neji, who stood there as if nothing had happened. ((author's note: I was so going to end this chapter right here!))

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Are you trying to kill me!"

"Fight me." he simply said.

"Wha--- But--" she stammered. "Fine!" she finished angrily, pulling a kunai from the hoister at her side.

"Good."

"Wait a minute, what if I hadn't dodged?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"Simple. You would be dead."

She face-faulted. Is he serious? she thought.

As they both got into battle stances, Sakura finally realized how tired she really was. Damn, I'm screwed. she thought. He's crazy to want to spar at a time like this. As luck would have it, Neji noticed also.

"You're not at your best." he said.

"Neither are you." Sakura replied, gazing at his also exhausted state.

Sighing, Neji relaxed his posture and stood up strait, causing Sakura to raise an eyebrow at him in question.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Your chakra, as well as mine, are far too low. Meet me back here tomorrow evening around eight." with that said, he walked back towards the village, leaving a dumbfounded kunoichi behind. She blinked in mild surprise.

What a prick. she thought with a smile.

----------

Sasuke sat in the dark, candle lit room while looking out the window. It was raining at the moment. He'd always liked rain, because it was relaxing to him. When he was a child, his parents never allowed him to play in the rain, for fear of him getting sick. He used to sneak out in the middle of the night and just stand there as the uncountable drops soaked into his clothing and matted his dark hair against his forehead. He was, of course, always scolded by his mother as she greeted him at the door with a towel, but he'd always thought it was worth it.

Pushing the window open, he stretched his hand out and allowed the chilling drops to hit it and run down over his fingers. He half wanted to go outside just for old times sake, but decided against it.

His thoughts, then, turned to Konoha as her remembered a certain time when Naruto had foolishly gotten himself caught in a trap during one of their training exercises and ended up staying there the whole night in the rain.

Dobe. Sasuke thought with a smirk. I wonder what they're doing at this very moment. Naruto, Kakashi… Sakura…

Sakura. Ever since he'd left Konoha to join Orochimaru, the last encounter he had with her constantly plagued his mind. He could still see her tearful green eyes as she pleaded, no, begged him to stay.

He wouldn't deny that he missed them… hell, he missed Konoha in general… but he knew he could never return. He had gotten his revenge, but the fact still remained that he betrayed Konoha.

qpqp FLASHBACK qpqp

"Why…?" he questioned.

Sasuke slowly pulled the kunai from the chest of his brother, the one he was always so desperate to kill, and stared in disbelief at the crimson liquid on his hands as it flowed in torrents from Uchiha Itachi's chest. Ten years. Ten long years as an avenger in which he had abandoned his home and betrayed his friends for the power to defeat the man before him and, just like that, it's over.

"Why…?" Sasuke asked again as Itachi slumped to the ground. "Why did you let me kill you? You could have dodged!"

Itachi merely smiled as a trail of blood flowed from his lips and down his chin. His blood red Sharingan eyes faded back to their natural onyx. The eyes he was born with. He was obviously dying.

"Dammit, answer me, you bastard!" Sasuke exclaimed in anger, grabbing Itachi by the front of his shirt and shaking him vigorously. "Why did you just stand there and let me kill you? This wasn't how it was supposed to go!"

"You were everything to me…" he continued when the older Uchiha didn't reply.

"You were my idol. I wanted to be just like you…" he paused before continuing. "Why did you do it? Why did you kill them? WHY DID YOU KEEP ME ALIVE!"

Itachi's reply was the furthest from what he was expecting.

A low rumble, beginning low in his chest quickly became a chuckle and rose in volume until it was all out mirth. Sasuke stared in shock at his laughing brother, wondering if the Uchiha really had lost his mind.

"Foolish brother." Itachi said once the laughter had died down, coughing up more blood as he spoke. "It's been ten… ten years and you still… don't get it. You disappoint me."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked numbly.

"I… loved my… little brother…" Itachi's voice was starting to get raspy as he found that the pain was making it difficult to breathe. He gave a sneering smile upon seeing the look of genuine surprise on the younger Uchiha's face. "Did you… never notice? I had always… always hoped… to die one day… by your hand. I got my wish…"

I just wanted to be free…

"Aniki…" Sasuke mumbled before he could stop himself. This wasn't how he envisioned that he would get his revenge. He'd always thought that he would be filled with triumph and relief… not sadness and regret. His anger rose to its peak as he realized that, deep inside, he had never actually wanted his brother dead.

"Well…" Itachi said with a smirk. "I haven't been called… that in years."

Growling in fury, he clenched a kunai in his hand and charged at Itachi with the full intent of finally silencing him, but froze upon seeing the look on his brother's face.

It was a smile.

Not a smirk, a sneer, or even a grin.

It was the first genuine smile he had ever seen on the face of Uchiha Itachi.

"I'm… sorry, Sasuke." he said. "I… never… took you… for shuriken …practice like I… like I promised…"

There was a moment of silence. Then--

"Aniki?' said Sasuke quietly. Itachi didn't reply. He only stared at Sasuke non blinkingly with lifeless eyes.

"ANIKI!" He said more desperately. No reply. Pushing down the feelings of sadness that rose in his chest when he realised that he was the last Uchiha, he approached his brother's dead body and passed his hand over Itachi's eyes, closing them in the process. Goodbye, you bastard… Aniki…

It was over.

He had gotten his revenge.

But now what?

Where does he go now?

To Konoha?

The idea was laughable. There was no way that Konoha would accept him after everything he had done. During the time he had been in sound, he had killed quite a few ninja from the village and had been working against it alongside Orochimaru for the past 6 years. Returning to Konoha was out of the question.

But that meant there was only one place to go…

"Hello, Sasuke."

"Orochimaru-sama…" Sasuke mumbled, turning slightly to gaze at the man who had taught him power. The man whom he had betrayed Konoha to join. The man who had given him the strength to finally kill Itachi.

The man he had recently broken free from to do the task he had just completed. Orochimaru was obviously here to retrieve Sasuke.

Realizing that there was really nowhere else he could go, the raven-haired man deactivated his Sharingan and turned to follow the smirking Sannin.

qpqp END FLASHBACK qpqp

A sudden, unwanted voice pulled Sasuke from his thoughts.

"What is wrong, Sasuke?" it said.

Blinking in mild shock, he snapped back to reality and realised that he was still in Orochimaru's office and that the voice belonged to none other then the legendary Sannin himself, who sat at his desk. Ever since he had returned to sound after getting his revenge, he had been Orochimaru's top killer.

"Nothing." replied Sasuke in monotone. He clenched his hand over the puddle of water that formed in his hand before bringing his arm back inside and closing the window.

"You can't fool me, Sasuke." the creepy snake dude said, smirk in place. "What were you thinking about?"

"…just a memory." the Uchiha replied in a faraway voice. "Not important anymore."

This seemed to be a good enough answer for Orochimaru, for he didn't press the matter any further. Instead, he handed Sasuke a scroll.

"This is your new assignment." said Orochimaru. Sasuke took the scroll without a word and unraveled it. His eyes widened in shock. "I thought you'd be surprised. You have three weeks to get prepared."

qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp

Author's note: Okay, to clear things up, that wasn't a weird brotherly incest part. I didn't think it sounded like one, but you never know. Sorry for the cliffy! I just couldn't help it. It's in my nature to cause pain. I feel so depressed, though! I don't wanna kill off Itachi! He's my favorite character! I intended this to be another humorous fic, but it's turning out not to be a funny as I originally thought... Ah, well. Anyways, don't forget to leave a review. It motivates me to write.

Aniki- Big brother