A/N: I am officially on a roll with this thing! YES! I've actually had this chapter for a few days, but since was down, I couldn't put it up. But apart from that, it's actually amazing how easy it was for me to write these two first chapters… I just couldn't stop myself and I actually wrote them almost completely at work. Shhhh, don't tell my boss!

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Your reviews mean a lot to me. I'll try to keep posting chapters quickly, but I'm afraid I won't be able to continue to write at work without getting caught. Damn! Hehe.

So, here's the next installment, it came out a bit longer than the last one. Hope you like it.

By the way, I just couldn't resist giving the pub in the story a "classic" pub name… LOL.

Chapter II – Eyes across the room

'The Flying Shuriken' was a small pub located on a corner of one of Konoha's busiest streets. It had always been a favorite shinobi spot, where everyone would come and have a few drinks, talk about their missions and relieve their stress in general. A long bar was located to the right of the main room while small niches had been carved into the walls, nestling comfortable booths all around the place.

As Neji, Naruto, Lee, Kiba and Sasuke walked in, there was a small crowd scattered around the place. It was still relatively early, so more people would probably be coming in soon. Choosing a table on the far wall, the group made its way directly towards it while Lee went to the bar to order their drinks.

"So Neji, was your mission so bad after all?" Kiba asked, looking around the room as if trying to spot someone.

"To tell you the truth, it wasn't," the raven haired ninja replied. "It was just too wearisome and the bastard nin evaded me longer than I would have liked. I just wanted to get the whole thing over with and go home."

"I know the feeling," Naruto added loudly. "It's like sometimes you just want the mission to go smoothly and quickly, you know? No complications, no stupid decoys for you to track… just a straightforward task you can get done before nightfall."

Neji nodded his agreement.

"Well dobe, if that's what you're looking for, then I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong profession," Sasuke said mockingly.

Kiba snickered at the statement.

"That's not what I meant!" the blond replied defensively. "I'm just saying that sometimes it would be nice for missions to go smoothly for a change."

"I think you're just slacking," Sasuke insisted, a smirk on his lips.

"No, I'm not!"

At that moment, Lee chose to make an appearance at the table. In an amazing feat of balance, he had walked across the room balancing five beer bugs in his arms.

"Here you are, gentlemen!" he announced proudly as he sat down.

Grabbing his mug quickly, Kiba lifted it slightly above the table. "To your health," he said in salute.

"Cheers!" all the others responded in unison as they lifted their mugs and clanked them together before gulping down a considerable quantity of beer in one go.

As the drink washed down his throat, Neji felt the rest of the tension leave his body. This was exactly what he needed to clear his mind of any stupid thoughts.

"Urrgh, she's not here!" Kiba exclaimed in frustration after another few moments of looking around.

"Who's not here?" Lee asked, looking around the pub himself.

"Nariko," Kiba stated simply.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, "that's the cute little chuunin we had a mission with last week. Haha, I didn't know you had a thing for her Kiba, you sly dog!"

"It's not a thing," the Canine Master replied defensively, "I just happen to like her a bit and I was hoping I would find her here tonight."

Sasuke chuckled darkly but kept quiet.

"What's so funny?" Kiba asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing," the dark haired shinobi replied, humor in his voice "it's just funny to think that the little stray dog thinks he can come into a pub and pick up a girl when he's smelling like he just rolled on the grass with the rest of the pack."

There was a burst of laughter all around the table.

"I don't smell!" Kiba exclaimed defensively, lifting his sleeve to his nose and sniffing experimentally.

This made Naruto and Lee laugh all the harder.

"Hey, it's not like the rest of you are experts on the subject!"

"Speak for yourself, little puppy," Sasuke replied with an air of superiority.

"Having a fan club when you were a kid doesn't count as experience, baka," Naruto told him pointedly.

Neji let out a loud snort, trying to fight back a wave of laughter.

Sasuke turned to glare at him slightly. "You're one to talk, Hyuuga."

"I never claimed to be a ladies man," the ANBU Captain replied calmly.

"Oh, and all of a sudden he's modest!" Kiba exclaimed sarcastically. "I've seen you around with a couple of girls so don't pretend you're innocent!"

"I never said I was innocent, either," Neji replied without missing a beat, the implied meaning of his words hanging in the air. "And a small tip for you Kiba… the next time to go out to try and talk to a girl, take a shower first."

Naruto almost choked with his beer as the raven haired prodigy finished his sentence.

Another fit of laughter washed through the table and even Kiba joined in a little.

Conversation turned to other matters as the night progressed and beers came and went as the time passed. After a couple of hours, Ino and Hinata showed up, accompanied by Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Ah, there she is!" Naruto shouted as they entered the room, getting up to greet the Hyuuga heiress with a kiss on the cheek.

"Konnichawa, Naruto-kun," she replied, a small blush covering her cheeks.

"Come sit with me," he told her as he took her hand in his.

"I think we need another table," Lee said as he was standing up to get some extra chairs. In a blink of an eye, another table was adjoined and the whole group was able to sit comfortably.

More drinks were ordered and the laughter and shouts around the tables rose as the young group of ninjas enjoyed their free time together. More people were steadily coming into the pub, but it never became excessively crowded. Light-hearted banter flowed freely across the room and a number of people would stand up constantly, going over to talk with acquaintances at other tables or at the bar. Overall, it was a friendly night of pleasant exchanges between fellow shinobi.

At some point during the night, Tenten walked in with Genma, her current love interest. They came over to say hello but went over to sit down at another table of older shinobi after a few words. But after a while, the weapon specialist came over again and sat down to talk next to Neji, who was by that time sitting at the end of the table.

As they discussed their current life situations, the Hyuuga prodigy smiled at his friend. Tenten had always been like a sister to him and through all their experiences, Neji found he could talk to her about absolutely anything. This feeling was also returned in kind, and the Captain had found a weeping kunoichi in his arms more than a few times when she would come over to his place while suffering from a broken heart. Both of them had always had a very close relationship and had known each other since they were very little. No matter how long the distance or how much time passed, their bond would never break.

After a bit, Tenten stood up and went back to Genma's side, leaving the chair next to Neji empty. He looked around the table, listening in to the different conversations which were going on, chuckling at all the different comments. As he laughed out loud at an incredibly stupid remark coming from Naruto while he discussed certain nutritional habits with Chouji, Neji was once more glad he had decided to go out this night.

As he sat there surrounded by his friends, the feeling of dissatisfaction he had experienced earlier seemed like a faraway memory. Shaking his head at himself, he knew it had probably been a small case of paranoia due to his tiredness from the mission. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Just as this last thought crossed his mind, for no reason whatsoever, Neji found himself looking up suddenly towards the pub's entrance.

There, standing in the middle of the open double doors, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.

She had shinning emerald eyes and the shade of her short tresses would put the most colorful cherry blossoms to shame. Her skin was flawless in every aspect and the low lighting only helped to enhance her already stunning features.

The Captain could do nothing but stare at her graceful form as if in a trance, completely lost in the shock of her unexpected appearance. Looking around as she stood there at the entrance, she made no move to enter the pub, and Neji could easily tell she was hesitant to do so.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, and by the will of some capricious deity, her emerald orbs met his silver eyes and their gazes locked for the slightest of seconds.

As this goddess looked at him, Neji was surprised to find that she was smiling at him in recognition. Smiling back at her in an automatic response, he saw her take a tentative step into the crowded room and as she walked forward, the raven haired ninja realized there was something extremely familiar about her…

"SAKURA!" Naruto's bellow thrummed all around the small pub. "YOU'RE BACK!"

As the blond lounged himself across the room at the advancing kunoichi, Neji shook himself out of his reverie.

'Sakura! Of course!' he thought, completely disgusted with his stupidity. 'I have officially had too much to drink.' How he had failed to recognize her immediately was beyond his current comprehension.

Naruto was spinning the pink haired medic round and round in the middle of the pub, both of them laughing in glee all the while. Everyone stood up from the table, waiting for Sakura to approach so they would have a chance to greet her.

"Hi everybody!" she said with a wide smile, as Naruto finally allowed her to go up to the rest of the group.

Ino came forward and hugged her tightly, followed by Lee and Hinata. Everyone crowded around her, as she answered their questions concerning her trip amidst laughter and exclamations.

She went round her friends exchanging pleasantries, but as she arrived at the other end of the table, Neji clearly saw Sasuke's dark eyes catch hers and Sakura nodded back in greeting, a rueful half-smile on her lips. If anyone else had been watching, they would not have found anything wrong with the small exchange… but for Neji, it brought sudden understanding.

A couple of months after Sasuke had been brought back to Konoha, Haruno Sakura had unexpectedly accepted a long-term mission. She volunteered for it one day, out of the blue, saying that it was a task which had been pending for some time and needed to be done eventually. It implied for her to undertake an extensive journey through all of their allied villages, exchanging medical jutsus with the best of the best, so that in this way, Konoha's medic records would have the latest and most advanced compilation of techniques coming from all around the realms. She would be gone for four months and would be traveling on her own the whole time.

There was lots of speculation concerning her sudden desire to take up the mission and most people agreed it was fairly strange from her part, but completely understandable. Sakura was the Hokage's former apprentice, it was obvious that she would worry about updating Konoha's medical records, and if you thought about it really well, who else was qualified to take up such a task?

But as Neji saw Sakura casually turn her back on Sasuke, he knew there was something else behind her sudden departure.

Her infatuation with the Uchiha prodigy had been common knowledge through the whole village for many years. Naruto and Sakura had suffered greatly when Sasuke had left and they had fought together many times to try and bring him back. Hence, it was extremely curious to find that once the Sharingan Master had been brought back and pardoned by the village, Sakura had decided to keep a prudent distance through the whole process and had even decided to leave Konoha for some time.

Knowing this was none of his business, Neji decided to stop his train of thought as everyone started settling back into their seats. He knew this was a private issue between Sakura and Sasuke, and he had no right to butt his nose where it wasn't wanted. But as he watched her walk around the table, he had a sudden urge to know more about what had happened between them… had the urge to know more about her.

Before he had the chance to contemplate the bizarre feelings he was experiencing, Neji found the pink haired kunoichi sitting next to him, filling the empty spot to his right.

"Neji-san," she greeted with a beautiful smile, green eyes sparkling.

Momentarily, the raven haired Captain forgot how to breathe.

But outwardly, his calm façade didn't reveal any of his internal conflicts.

"Haruno-san," he replied formally, returning her smile.

"Please, call me Sakura," she said.

"Only if you call me Neji… no honorifics."

Her smile widened impossibly. "Alright, it's a deal then."

"Sakura-chan, would like something to drink?" Naruto asked, coming up behind her.

"Errmm, I don't know. I'm really tired and if I drink a beer I will probably crash on the table."

"Aww, come one. A little cocktail won't hurt. My treat!" the blond said enthusiastically.

"Fine, but something small. Make sure it doesn't have too much booze in it!" she shouted as Naruto made his way towards the bar, but the blond didn't appear to hear her.

Shaking her head, Sakura turned back towards the table, only to find Neji's intense gaze on her.

There was something strange about him tonight, something elusive she had never noticed about him before. But it was probably all in her head… she hadn't seen any of them for a really long time and it was probably due to all the sudden emotion at finding all of her friends together on the night of her return.

But the look they had exchanged when she was standing on the doorway couldn't be ignored and Sakura knew that if she thought about it too much, her heart would threaten to skip a beat.

Silver eyes across the room…

She came back down to earth suddenly when she realized he was speaking to her.

"So, I take it that you're worn-out from your journey," he was saying.

"Yes, a little bit," she replied without giving any hint of her momentary distraction. "I arrived around an hour ago after traveling back from Cloud all day. But when I got home, I just couldn't stay put and I needed to go out and see everybody."

"I know the feeling," he replied smiling. "I just got back too."

"Really, how long were you gone?"

"Around two weeks. It was supposed to be a quick elimination mission, but unfortunately it turned out to be longer than that. But it was nothing compared to the time you've been gone."

"Yeah, it was a long time, wasn't it? It actually passed by really quickly for me."

At that moment, Naruto came back to the table with Sakura's drink: a light green cocktail with a little straw hat. She thanked him but didn't even ask what the drink was, absentmindedly sipping from it every so often. Neji was too absorbed with their whole interaction that he didn't even notice the kunoichi's distraction.

"I'd ask you about your trip, but I'm sure you're already tired of talking about it," he told her.

"No, not at all. Honestly, everyone's just asked me lots of small details about it but I haven't really had the chance to truly get into the telling," she replied laughing.

"So start at the beginning then," he said, inviting her openly to talk to him for as long as she wanted.

Sakura jumped into her story with a flourish, going into all the details of all the places she had been, all the people she had met. Even though other people crowded around to listen to her anecdotes, especially Lee who would look at her with sparkling admiration in his dark eyes, her attention was always directed at Neji. Both of them would laugh at each other's comments and would come up with some smart remark or other during the conversation.

In one instance, Sakura interrupted her chronicle momentarily when she saw Tenten and Genma give each other a quick kiss across the room. Leaning towards Neji, she grabbed his arm unconsciously, shock in her voice as she spoke.

"Neji! Since when is Tenten seeing Genma-san?" she asked in a harsh whisper.

Silver eyes looked over casually towards the unlikely couple, smiling at Sakura's reaction and more than noticing the contact of her palm upon his forearm.

"Well, they've been going out for around a month or so…"

"Really?" she asked, curiosity filtering through her voice. "I'm going to have to corner her one of these days and force it out of her."

"She's always had something for older men, you know," Neji replied chuckling.

Sakura eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she digested this juicy bit of information before she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

The pink haired kunoichi's musical laugh contrasted perfectly with the raven haired Captain's deep baritone chuckles and it was clear to see that they were enjoying each other's company immensely.

A few seats away, Kiba leaned towards Naruto. "If I didn't know him any better, I would say that Hyuuga Neji is attempting to flirt with our newly arrived blossom," he said behind his hand.

Lifting his beer mug up for a drink, the blond glanced at the animated couple over the rim of his glass.

"If I didn't know him any better, I would say he is," he replied with a knowing snigger, placing his drink back on the table.

Kiba laughed with him before turning back to Shikamaru and Chouji.

Behind them, a dark look flew across a pair of shadowed eyes. Leaning back into his chair, Sasuke clearly heard the exchange between the blond and the Canine Master. Silently, he stayed in his corner, hearing bits and pieces of conversation from all over the room, his penetrating gaze never leaving the lively figures of Neji and Sakura throughout the long hours.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was around 3am when they finally decided it was time to call it a night. Naruto was more than a little tipsy, and was counting on Lee to see him safely to his house. Kissing her lover goodbye on the cheek before he was half-carried away, Hinata made her way home accompanied by Ino and Kiba, who waved farewell to everyone as they walked away. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"Would you like to me to walk you home?" Neji offered as he stood with Sakura outside the pub's door.

"Quite the gentleman, aren't you?" Sakura asked teasingly, raising an elegant pink eyebrow.

"A lady should be treated with nothing less than respect," he answered.

She had to laugh at that.

"Hyuuga, I'd change that point of view if I were you," Shikamaru remarked as he came out of the pub with Chouji in tow. "Women are nothing but trouble."

"I'll tell Ino you said that!" Sakura replied in mock irritation, a fist on her hip.

"She already knows!" Shikamaru answered as he started walking away.

"See you guys," Chouji said to them, rolling his eyes at his best friend's antics. Stepping up next to Shikamaru, the two of them walked down the street.

Giggling as she watched them stroll away, the pink haired medic turned back towards Neji, who was once more looking at her with an intense expression in his eyes. Sakura's skin threatened to erupt in goose bumps of anticipation.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she inquired, honest concern in her voice.

"Of course not, my apartment is near enough to yours for me to make a small detour. Besides, who wouldn't want to spend some extra time in your delightful company?"

Raising both her eyebrows in surprise at the compliment, Sakura giggled unbelievingly as she shook her head.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" she asked, starting to walk in the direction of her home.

"Not if I can help it," he replied without missing a beat, stepping up to walk beside her.

Laughing quietly as they walked, Sakura could easily see how any woman would fall for him in a matter of seconds. He said all the right things, he had all the right moves, he had the right attitude… and his gorgeous looks were something no female could avoid. As he walked next to her, the pink haired medic contemplated his well-built figure out of the corner of her eye, not being able to overlook the tight corded muscles running all through his arms. She didn't even want to begin to think of what he was hiding beneath that shirt of his…

Oh yes, Hyuuga Neji was quite a catch in every aspect and any woman would die to have a chance to find bliss in his arms.

But not this woman.

As she quietly reflected over the possibilities of what 'might be', she knew an amorous relationship between the two of them would was most likely not to succeed. She was too scarred, emotionally and mentally, to be involved with someone at the moment and deep down inside, she knew Neji deserved someone who would love him with no restraints… with no emotional traumas of suffered neglect in their past. She preferred to save him the trouble of finding out how truly screwed up she was.

Yeah, all you ever do is run from your past, Inner Sakura remarked.

Silencing her inner persona with intense anger, the pink haired kunoichi shook her head slightly. She had not run from her past… she had just needed some time away to get her troubled mind and broken heart back in working order. It had not been easy to leave, but it had been a necessary move to keep her mental health in check. In truth, her journey had given her time to think things over calmly and had allowed her to see the bigger picture, something she would have not been able to do if she had stayed cocooned inside the village she had lived all her life.

"I don't mean to intrude, but, what are you thinking about?" Neji asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise, a slight blush covering her cheeks. "I'm sorry Neji, I didn't mean to space out on you. When I start thinking really deeply I just sort of tune out from the rest of the world. It's a habit I haven't been able to break."

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with that. I just saw a really intense look cross your face and I was wondering what you were thinking."

"Oh, not much really," she said, as her brain worked furiously for a cover up. As was usually the case in this type of situations, her neurons never failed her.

"I was just thinking about how nice it is to be back and how much all of us have grown up. It's amazing to think how far we've come. But in essence, if you really think about it, if anyone sat down to talk to any of us, we're still the same kids we used to be. I mean, like tonight. We may have been in a completely different setting from when we were younger, at a pub, having some drinks late at night, but the dynamics between us will always remain the same. I think that's actually great, how we can grow and be ourselves while keeping our friendships intact."

She congratulated herself with that one. She had not only managed to cover up her true feelings, but had also managed to sound slightly intelligent while doing so.

How nice Haruno, her inner voice piped in, you've been with him for only a few hours and you're already lying to him.

An intense pang of guilt swam across her chest and she felt ashamed of what she had just done. But she honestly knew she had no choice… she was not about to bring him into her screwed up inner conflict without even giving him a decent warning. Some things were just better left hidden.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It really is great," he said to her. Little did Sakura know that thanks to his Byakugan, Neji was an expert chakra reader. When he was at close proximity, he did not even need to activate his bloodline technique to be able to read it clearly. As they walked together, he knew there was something she wasn't telling him and it was easy to see that she was experiencing some very conflicting emotions.

But he respected her privacy and he wasn't about to push her into telling him anything she didn't want. Besides, there would be enough time for that later on…

As they strolled together beneath the starry Konoha night, Hyuuga Neji openly admitted to himself that he had officially set his sight on this pretty pink haired kunoichi. There was so much more behind that sweet façade and he would find out exactly what it was. All he needed was time.

A couple of minutes afterwards, they arrived at Sakura's doorstep.

"Thank you Neji, for walking me." Sakura said as she stepped up to her door.

"It was my pleasure," he replied with a smile. "You should get inside and get some rest."

"You too, you arrived from a mission tonight as well."

"I promise I will," he said, bowing slightly towards her. As he looked back up at her, silver met emerald in a breath-taking gaze and this time, Sakura could do nothing to prevent the goose bumps from emerging on her skin.

"Good night, Sakura," Neji said with a charming smile, and with that, he turned around and started walking in the direction of his apartment.

"Good night, Neji!" Sakura called after him. He turned momentarily and waved back at her before continuing down the street.

Slightly breathless, the pink haired medic unlocked her door, stepping inside her home. Deep down inside, she knew that, despite her tiredness, sleep would be extremely hard to attain this night.

A few minutes later, Hyuuga Neji walked into own his living room, stopping momentarily to survey his surroundings, a triumphant smile on his lips.

Suddenly, the whole place didn't seem so empty anymore.

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