Thank you to everyone who has read this work of fiction. This may very well be the last chapter (2 installments actually, it would be too long if I cram them up in a single post.) and I appreciate each review I have received for this story as well as the others.
To Kayowyn: er I'm not actually planning on marrying him, hehhee, and I was kinda buried by my schoolwork.. Oh is that pocky? GIMMMEE
Many thanks to those who reviewed:
Marise-chan, Hyyuga-Neji-Sama (I like your name!hehhe), EnV, BloodRuby, razslover1, KatsunoCZ, bLaCk-Faia-nEkO, Blooty, Hao'sAnjul, LadyInu, Sakura13pisces, Noyesgirl, Atredies, LovesMiroku, mksanime, shi-sha hariken, Bwolfy and Kayowyn my lifetime supplier of pocky!
And to Akuma no Tenshi, hey you still owe me a ficcie! Where's my oneshot! Oh is that pocky? (reverts to angel mode) Hai, onee-sama! Where's the fic that you owe me? You're gonna write it right? Right? RIGHT?
Let's welcome a special guest! (NYAHAHHAHAH)
Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue. You give me pocky.
The Talk
Chapter V-Part I
The Talk
It was near midnight when she had arrived at the inn her other teammates were staying at. She opened one of the glass windows and stealthily jumped inside, the front door wasn't an option, she wasn't exactly dressed properly anyway.
"Took you long enough!"
Tenten was smiling at her good naturedly as always and Shikamaru seemed to sigh in relief at her arrival. Sakura collapsed on the bed Tenten was sitting at and grumbled.
"Geez, you guys probably arrived 30 minutes earlier. Big deal…"
Maybe that was what Sakura was trying to say but her statement was said with a long yawn, hence making it incomprehensible.
"I didn't know you knew another language! Hey Sakura-chan, mind if I take a picture? Your demented fan boys would pay a staggering amount for a picture of you, especially since you are wearing special attire."
Immediately a pair of emeralds fluttered open and mock tackled Tenten, tickling the other woman.
"Yo kids, it's bed time. I'll be staying with Shino and Tenten tonight, Sakura. Neji is in the other room, probably showering."
Obviously Sakura wasn't the only tired person in the group.
Wait.
Neji and her in one room!
"But Shika-kun…"
"No. Go and sleep Sakura, or better yet, take a shower first, you smell like booze."
She looked at Tenten, pleading for help but the woman made a gesture with her hands shooing her off. Shino was no help either, he remained passive as ever. With a sigh she got up and headed towards the door.
"Night guys.."
And with a soft click, the door closed behind her.
Tenten looked at the door, worry evident in her brown eyes.
"Do you think she'll be all right? That they'll be all right?"
Shino pushed himself of the wall he was leaning and placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder. He nodded and so did Shikamaru. After a few moments of silence..
"Now back to the crazier problem at hand. There's only one futon in this room since only the two of you stayed here first right?"
Tenten and Shino looked at Shikamaru wearily.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
And that was how Tenten, poor unfortunate Tenten ended up sleeping on the floor.
Meanwhile
Sakura was standing in front of the room she was supposed to share with Neji.
'What if he couldn't even bring himself to look at you?'
'What if he doesn't want to come near you again?'
'I really can't do anything about that, can I?'
She twisted the doorknob slowly, anxiety building inside her chest, like a dull knife piercing her flesh. It was a bit dark inside, only the lamp was turned on illuminating the center of the room. One futon, nearest the window was occupied, while the two other futon were upturned, like an invitation to a tired person.
'Neji.. Good thing he's asleep. You won't have to look him in the eye or speak to him..'
She pulled out a towel and a change of clothes from her backpack and headed towards the bathroom. The shower was turned on and a pair of pearl eyes fluttered open.
'Sakura…'
After a few minutes, she was finished. She didn't even bother drying her hair and she stumbled on the futon. Neji after gathering his thoughts during her shower sat up, fully intent on speaking to Sakura, he wasn't sure where he'd start but he could do this, he was a man, a shinobi.
"Sakura…"
He looked closer and noticed that she was asleep.
"Maybe later.."
With one last look at the pink haired woman, he closed his eyes, begging for sleep to come.
3:30 am.
Neji looked at the numbers of the desk clock and muttered a soft curse. It was too damn early, he had at least three more hours of sleep and.. and..
Why was Sakura's bed empty again?
'Maybe she's in the bathroom'
But the door to the bathroom was opened, no one was there.
He frowned and in a few quick strides he was standing in front her futon. His hand came down on the mattress and it didn't feel that warm.
'Which means, she may have left an hour ago at least. Shit, what if she's been kidnapped!'
He looked around the room for any sign of a struggle but found none, everything was like how it was before he slept.
'Maybe she's in Tenten's room..'
He was about to leave the room when he saw a flash of pink in his peripheral vision. He looked outside the window and found her there, sitting under a huge oak tree. A dark figure was standing beside her and with his keen eyesight; he was able to note that he was not one of their companions.
"Damn!"
With adrenaline rushing in his body he jumped from the bedroom window and directly in front of them. What he saw was definitely something he hadn't been expecting.
Sakura was sleeping peacefully under the tree, her chest rising and falling with each breath. A man was crouched beside her, stroking her lustrous pink hair. Ebony locks hid the man's eyes but Hyuuga Neji knew who that chakra signature could only belong to. Rage, jealousy, fear in him had mixed together; he couldn't tell what he was feeling at the exact moment. It was fear for her life that made him conscious of his actions; the man he was facing is known to be dangerous missing shinobi. Jealousy because he knew that this man used to have all the love, devotion and affection from the woman who was before him; he was witness to all of that, ever since they were genin. Rage because he, at the moment, couldn't do a single damn thing to protect her.
"What are you doing here, Uchiha?"
His voice was merely above a whisper but had certain viciousness in it. However, the man did not cease his ministrations, but simply paid no heed to the Hyuuga prodigy. Veins were starting to appear around Neji's eyes obviously in preparation for an attack.
"You've made her cry, Hyuuga."
It wasn't that there was no emotion in his voice, it wasn't that his ebony eyes had a swirling scarlet on them, no it wasn't that. It was the mere words themselves that had somehow paralyzed him. His fathomless silver eyes followed Sasuke's fingertips as they brushed the path of shining tears from her closed eyes.
'He's not lying..'
"Stay with her. She needs you."
After the statement, Sasuke brushed his lips on the top of Sakura's head, a sad, almost apologetic smile on his lips that Neji nearly didn't see. He then stood up and with one last look at Sakura started walking off towards the darkness.
"Why didn't you come back to Konoha? She waited for you! She cried for you! She fucking loved you!"
Hyuuga Neji was angry. In all his life, he never even thought Uchiha Sasuke gave a damn about Sakura but after seeing this, his thoughts have turned against him. And this revelation may change every single thing in his miserable life. Maybe fate really did hate him. He looked at the sleeping figure and he could almost feel his anger dissipating.
'He loves you. After all this time he loves you.'
Even if he felt that a part of his soul was wretched from him, it didn't matter.
'As long as she's happy..'
If I end this here will you guys kill me? HHmmm.. Okay, put that knife down, I was kidding.
A snort brought him out of his thoughts, and he saw that the missing nin hasn't taken a single step since he spoke.
"Because I don't want to see her."
He would have been angry and confused if not for the softly whispered word that was blown by the wind.
"-sad"
And just like how he came, he disappeared into the darkness, leaving Neji alone with her. He sighed heavily before placing an arm around her shoulders and another under her knees. He stood up with her tucked safely in his arms and he silently walked towards their room.
--------------------
A few rays of sunlight warmed her face and a single emerald eye fluttered open. She stretched her arms towards the ceiling and..
Ceiling?
Whoever heard of a tree with a ceiling?
'The last thing I remember was I went out for a walk and then I felt sleepy.. So.. I sat under the tree and then.. then.. That's weird..'
She sat up and looked around her surroundings. The lamp was turned off and the sun had already risen to the sky. The futon beside her was empty and so was Neji's..
'They couldn't have possibly gone home without me..'
She felt that she was being watched and she turned to look. Neji was leaning against the wall, pale eyes boring unto hers. He hadn't moved and was watching her intently, possibly waiting for her to speak. She almost couldn't look at him, with all the shame burning inside her.
'What do I say to him? What if he ignores me?'
She finally thought of something to say but he beat her to it.
"Why were you outside last night?"
Neji wasn't exactly the most expressive person she knew but he was not like this with her; no, never, when he spoke to her there was at least an emotion, even a tiny spark of it. But now there was none.
'He's angry at me..'
She could feel the tears burning at the corner of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She was strong.
She had to be strong.
"I woke up last night and went out for a walk. I must have fallen asleep under the tree."
He was still looking at her but he didn't speak. It was silent. Too silent. She could feel her wall crumbling; like a dam about to burst. So before she lost control, it would be better to save face, even if it meant that.. that..
"Anou, we really should be going back to Konoha.. I mean.."
"Tenten, Shino and Shikamaru left already. They said you were too tired and didn't want to wake you up; so they said that we should just follow them when you were ready."
'He said they, not us.. He probably doesn't care about me anymore so..'
"Maybe we should head back.. So I won't be a burden to you anymore.. So you won't be bothered by my presence anymore.. And you could get me out of your hair..and.. and.."
A tear fell.. then another.. A warm hand brushed them away but she refused to look up. She bit her lip to prevent it from quivering; that and blurting out something that she never thought she'd say to someone again, not after one fateful night when her first love was about to leave the village.
"Sakura.. I.."
She still won't look up, her eyes were tightly fluttered shut, as if it she never opened her eyes, the tears would stop falling. Neji never felt so pained in his life. It was so difficult to see her cry like that, it's hard because he didn't know how to stop them from falling, but what hurt the most was that the reason for those drops were meant for no one else but him.
How he could be so sure, one may ask. But he felt it; there was no need for explanation. Now how can he make it better? He wasn't that good with words but this sight, in front of him, he couldn't stand it. She might kill him for this later but it didn't matter, this was killing him now.
She didn't know what was happening but the next thing she knew was that arms were wrapped around her waist and her face was resting on something warm. And breathing. She was being hugged. Not only that, she was being hugged by Neji. The dam had burst and she had cried tears of embarrassment, frustration, longing, happiness everything that she had bottled up all these years. And he held her, soothed her back as if she was a child. The sobs had become softer as she had tired herself out. She heard him sigh, and realized amongst all other things that she did something she was trying to avoid.
'Great drama queen.. And look what you did to his shirt! It's soaking wet! Sigh.. But at least he's not angry.. He's so nice to you, maybe he really thinks of you as a younger sister. I mean you should be happy right? He's a good guy, maybe too good, even for you..'
"Neji.."
Her voice sounded hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken in ages. She tilted her head upwards, to meet his eyes for what could only be counted as the second time that morning. He looked at her imploringly, silently telling her to continue.
"I'm sorry for being too emotional. And I've wanted to tell you something ever since, I just really didn't have the opportunity to say so.."
'You're stalling now.. Get to the point.. Wait.. Are you telling him? No, but if you do he'd –"
Neji was looking at her like she was the only thing in the world now, his fingers felt cold in anticipation of what she was about to say.
'This could be it! She may have feelings for you! But what if she doesn't? But what if—"
After quelling down their inner thoughts, both looked at each other.
'SAY IT'
"Thank you.."
'What? You were gonna tell him thank you! Of all the------'
"You've always, always remained by my side Neji. I know that I may be a nuisance sometimes and that you are doing it because you promised it to Lee-san, but nevertheless, I'm glad you're here. Your friendship is really important to me."
'Friendship? Do you really want to end that there? I mean, honestly, we both know you love him. Maybe, you should tell him. Not because you want him to feel that way about you to, but just because you do. It might take a load off your chest. Then if he tells you he doesn't feel that way, we can always get drunk then pound those stupid dummies in Area 24…'
She had smiled at him brightly, and he felt like the burden of fate on him, has finally been lifted.
'It's okay. If she's happy with this, so am I. But I want to tell her. She may never speak to me again but at least, she knows right?'
He took a deep breath, because he knew, nothing, nothing on earth could stop him from saying it this time.
"Sakura.. I've been meaning to tell you that.."
Emerald eyes looked up to him, waiting for him to continue. A small, soft smile graced his features, making it known why he was known as Konoha's number one most eligible bachelor. Poor Inner Sakura fainted from the overdrive.
"I lo
"YYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Two pairs of startled eyes moved to look at the door which was slammed open by none other than..
"Kiba! What are you doing here!"
A/N:
Angsty part of the fic officially over! Next up, hilarity again!
AAAAAACCKKK! Please, no sharp objects! Come on guys, it was too long to put everything in a single chapter, you guys may get bored! Besides, knowing my incredibly annoying and otherwise slave driving professor's whose goal in life is to make me suffer, I won't be able to finish the second installment immediately!
The chapter had a TRACE (lang?) of angst. I couldn't resist but put Sasuke on the fic, but he is so fricking hard to characterize, hence the huge author's block that seems to be stopping me from continuing When the Snow Melts. He is a bit frustrating actually. Besides, I still haven't seen him again in the manga but rumor has it that he'd show up at chapter 295 or 296. Kishimoto is so bloody twisted, I can't take the cliffhanger anymore!
Oh and how was the chapter's cliffy? Not too frustrating I hope.
The next chapter wont be as depressing, you see, Neji will (makes lots of whispering noises..) .. All I can say is that, it is definitely more laughable. Especially the part where..
Okay, nuff said..
Thanks for reading! Reviews are welcome!
Salamat ng marami sa mga nagbasa at inuulit ko, lalaki po si Sasuke, hindi bading.
Review!