A Last Request
Written by: Mikami
Warnings: Profanity, sexuality, main character death.
He made sure she didn't know he was watching her. It's had become an unconscious habit for him ever since the night where he chose to go against his better judgment.
Sakura was having a talk with Shikamaru a few meters away and a few strands of their conversation was made audible to Neji's ears. It was something about their earlier argument concerning the squad's sub-groups. Neji shut it out again and walked towards Naruto who was fishing through his bag. The blonde pulled out a chocolate bar and heartily began to peel the wrapping away.
They were within area of the enemy encampment after traveling the entire day without fear of losing their stamina. Red and orange scorched the sky during the sunset, providing time for them to rest a little before the mission commenced. Neji looked above through the waving branches of trees. A few minutes more and they'd have to separate into two groups.
It bothered him how his eyes would automatically fall on Sakura; he brought them down again. Neji's jaw tightened when he saw her fastening the wire of the earpiece to her neck and covering it with the black garment she wore. She quickly pulled back her glossy pink locks into a low ponytail and concealed her face from the nose down with a mask of cloth.
It was a battle to ignore the tension between them. After he kissed her it was too much of an inner shock for him to handle and Neji found himself wishing he declined his urges. He couldn't understand the strange ache that came with being with her and as well as close contact. It was a glorious kind of ache; the scent of her skin, the teasing brush of her hair and the sound of her breathing…
But Neji had pushed her away. Their 'relationship' was cracking due to their arguments and neither him nor Sakura were putting any effort in to save it. However, Neji was painfully aware that the majority of the problem was his fault.
If he had just stopped himself……if he had not been so hypnotized by her……
Hey Neji, do me a favor and don't fall in love with her.
A crinkling noise brought Neji out of the black hole of his dilemmas. Naruto had finished the chocolate bar and was licking his thumb.
" Now I can go wreak some havoc." He said cheerily.
The corner of Neji's mouth lifted slightly; he was thankful for the interruption. Pushing Sakura and the rest of his problems aside, he secured his own earpiece and pulled his mask down.
The end of sunset was upon them when they made the last few adjustments to the equipment before leaving their prep area. The group was swift when moving out among the trees and they traveled until one hundred yards from the enemy encampment, where Neji issued the division of Alpha and Beta.
Byakugan
As the team moved into their respective groups, Naruto invoked two of his shadow clones to add to Alpha. Once complete, Neji silently gestured for Alpha to move on ahead of him to the right as Naruto led Beta to the left. Before leaving with his group, Neji had the tiny urge to look back at Sakura. As a reply, Sakura tapped her earpiece, reminding him spitefully of their earlier argument. At that moment, Neji leapt away into the trees with a renewed rush of resentment.
The height of their disagreement had simmered during the day but Sakura felt she pissed him off quite a bit before entering into the mission. The better side of her was scolding, telling her that it wasn't a smart move to irritate the captain of the squad the second before the mission commenced. However, the other side took a haughty stand and was glad to hamper him in any way possible.
Sakura shook her head vigorously and put her thoughts and instincts to the task at hand. The group closed in on the enemy encampment and Naruto stopped behind a thick brush of undergrowth. From behind the cover of large leaves and foliage they were able to look in on the oppositional activities.
The enemy camp appeared to be divided into two sections. Both sections had an arrangement of various sized tents. Between them were two large tables with a canopy overhead, ruffling with the blowing wind. A group of enemy ninjas were there, discussing a topic among huge, table-sized scrolls. Amid the group of tents on the right side peeked the top of the largest tent where allegedly the original copy of Grass' defense system resided.
A voice came through on Beta's earpieces. At first it was fuzzy but then it straightened itself out.
" Fifty meters from Alpha target," Shikamaru said. " What is Beta's position ?"
" Beta stands on the outskirts of the enemy camp. Mobile enemy count on the west side numbers at least seven, including one enemy official, that makes it eight," replied Tenten.
" In other words these guys are slacking off," Naruto muttered.
" Watch our backs," said Lee.
In response, Naruto silently motioned his group more to the left in the undergrowth to provide them with a clearer view to the entrance of the large tent. There were two guards standing around near the opening flap, having a smoke and were engaged in conversation.
Nearby, perched high and out of sight in the branches of the trees, Neji's veined gaze looked down upon the tent. With his unwavering vision he was able to see inside and all that lay within. There was actually another layer of covering within the tent—a wood frame complete with walls to make the tent stood properly. A desk and chair was situated near the end of the room, making the area appear to function like an office. Notably, due to the wood frame, the only quiet way in was through the front entrance.
" We're moving in," Shikamaru said quietly. " The attention of the guards is only thirty to fifty percent on their task."
Neji nodded at Shikamaru and put his hands together to convert a portion of chakra into a powerful wave of genjutsu. Facing the position of the guards near the tent's opening, the illusion was projected directly into their heads.
Alpha watched as the talking stopped and was replaced with unsavory expressions of alarm, and then sickness. One guard had to put a hand on his partner's shoulder to steady himself on his feet. They turned pale and deathly ill within a few seconds and began to shudder with growing faces of nausea. Sweat poured down the sides of their foreheads as they stopped paying attention to one another and busied themselves with their own dilemma.
Neji motioned to Naruto's two clones and they responded by transforming into exact duplicates of the hacking guards below. The clones jumped to the ground and quickly rushed at the oblivious men, knocking them out cleanly. On signal, Neji, Lee and Shikamaru leapt down swiftly, grabbed the two unconscious bodies and entered into the tent while Naruto's clones replaced the guards outside.
" Beta, do you copy ?" Neji asked, testing the transmission.
" We're holding the fort outside," Naruto replied, boredom slipping into his voice.
" Good."
Behind Naruto, Sakura squatted between the grass and bushes alongside Tenten. If the document was really in the tent, the mission was about to be over in a minute or two. But Sakura wasn't about to give into the inhibition that Neji was right at all costs. Aside from the grudge she was holding against him, there was still the inkling at the back of her head telling her the situation wasn't the way it seemed.
She received a look from Tenten as if to say that she knew what her teammate was thinking. In Tenten's eyes there was a definite promise to stop Sakura from doing anything rash. Sakura didn't hold it against the brunette but if need be, she was planning to plow her over to look for the document herself.
Inside, Alpha was immediate in their search for the document. After securing restraints and gags over the unconscious guards and stuffing them in a far corner of the tent, the team was quick to go through the desk.
Shikamaru opened the drawers on the right side and found nothing but useless papers and writing materials. A few scrolls were scattered at the bottom drawer with various labels and colors along with an endless supply of parchment.
To the left side, Lee was rapidly brushing through stacks of paper and envelopes. He held one between his hands and found it was still opened.
" This is a directory of Grass' enemies. I had no idea there were that many criminal organizations and groups that want Grass to fall," he said, engrossed.
" What they want is the land," Neji replied as his hands checked under the desk for secret compartments. " If an oppositional power, even a criminal one, can be stalwart enough to overthrow Grass' form of government, the land and all its resources can be taken quickly."
" I guess they were tired of squatting below buildings, alleys and hostile territories; they figured it would be better to steal someone else's home," Shikamaru said.
Lee shrugged and kept looking through the papers. He passed a few more useless articles and more enemy correspondence letters. In the process the drawer came loose and he checked inside for additional compartments.
Behind the desk, Neji was looking at the four drawers when Lee called him over.
" I found something," he said, sifting through the scrolls in the very bottom drawer. He picked one out and tossed it to Neji.
The Hyuga opened it carefully and examined its contents. " It's a copy of the plans."
Instantly after Neji's declaration, Lee and Shikamaru dove into the drawer to unlock any scroll that provided a sign that it was the original. The drawer was deep but their fingers hurried over each one; every time they checked a scroll as a duplicate, they threw it back.
" No good. This is a drawer full of copies," Lee said, shaking his head.
" Did you find any hidden drawers or compartments ?" Neji asked, urgently.
" Yeah, but there was nothing."
At his reply, Neji pulled out the entire drawer of duplicate scrolls. The three of them peered slowly into the dust and darkness of the desk. Shikamaru reached in the hole and his hands brushed a few dust webs and filth before his fingers closed around a cylindrical object. Pulling it out hurriedly, Alpha become anxious as he began to open it.
" Naughty, naughty," whispered a slippery voice from above them.
Neji was true to his reflexes when he automatically shot a kunai from where the voice wafted. The kunai hit the ceiling with a sharp noise and it was followed by a rasping chuckle from an invisible enemy.
" It's rude to touch other people's things, or did your mothers not teach you that ?"
Lee, Shikamaru and Neji eyed each other briefly before leaping out of the way of a huge bladed weapon in the shape of a sickle. Dirt and grass on the tent floor burst into the air as team Alpha rolled away to avoid the attack.
" You're not Grass-nin," the voice said, moving around them. " Who are you ?"
Neji smirked while reaching into his kunai holster.
" Why don't you find out ?"
Alpha got to its feet and readied for battle.
Just then all the shadows inside the tent began to waver and shake. In front of their eyes, the shadows of the desk, chair and drawers began to deform on the ground and slide up the wooden wall in dark, thick strands. Once they converged to form a mass of black, the bladed sickle came flying directly out from its depths.
Lee crouched low just in time before the weapon took his head off. Immediately after the release of the weapon, its owner's lean body lunged out from the throng of shadows.
Shikamaru's mouth dropped open in alarm, as he was getting ready to subdue the enemy with the kagemane. But to his plight, the enemy delighted in moving in and out of shadows, joining with them and using them as cover from attacks.
Moving quickly, Shikamaru dodged the sickle and let fly two handfuls of shuriken. A pained moan escaped his mouth the moment he received a hard kick to the back. The scroll in his hand soared across the room, out of reach.
" Pathetic," the enemy tittered mockingly and launched himself toward Lee.
" I'll show you who's pathetic," Lee uttered under his breath.
The high-speed rate of the enemy's body launch was within seconds but Lee countered quickly with a bone-shattering uppercut to his jaw. It caught the enemy by surprise, making his eyes almost bulge out of his skull as he crashed to the ground like a limber rag doll.
His back hit the desk hard with an audible bang and left him sputtering. A second later he turned vicious eyes to Alpha and slowly got to his feet. Lee, Shikamaru and Neji looked at him with slightly widened eyes as he rose to his full height of over six feet. The enemy's pale skin appeared even whiter against the shadows and his tall, lean, muscular frame towered over theirs. His gray bodysuit was stretched taut over his arms and legs, which were long and gangly.
The angered look on the enemy's face faded into a maniacal grin and he revealed rows upon rows of yellow pointed teeth below a sharp, hawk-like nose and beady red eyes. His long fingers toyed with his sickle anxiously as he stared at them with a passion for blood.
He hurled his sickle once again and this time a spray of blood polluted the air.
Outside within the undergrowth, Naruto tapped at his earpiece furiously to gain back the lost connection.
" Shit," he swore. " Alpha's not responding. There's too much damn interference."
A loud buzzing sound also infiltrated Sakura and Tenten's ears as their eyes darted to the tent. Outside the door flap, everything looked perfectly normal with Naruto's clones standing in for the guards.
" Something's wrong," Tenten said. " The transmission can't be hindered this long."
" I'll go take a peek."
Naruto stared at the door flap and one of his clones ventured inside.
While Tenten and Naruto were occupied with the tent, Sakura's attention had strayed away from the situation and was investigating an enemy discussion to her left. With growing suspicion, she shifted her position and tried to grasp the shreds of their conversation.
" Our last correspondence has finally given a reply after two weeks. We've also finished establishing all meeting points for the safe delivery of the document copies."
" That's good. Then there's a guarantee of no intrusion from any nearby government ?"
" Completely positive. As long as we have the original document, it's checkmate."
" How about the production rate of copies ?"
" It's going well. The first batch of copies is in the master office inside the Superior's desk. They're ready to be delivered tomorrow morning at the first light of dawn to the organizations in the Rain Country. As for the production rate at this moment, we have people readying the next batch to those in Wind."
" Are they almost done ? The original document should be taken back to the Superior's tent soon for safe keeping."
" About seventy-five percent. It should take until midnight, more or less."
" Alright. I'll be needing to survey the rest of their progress."
" Right this way then."
The two enemy ninja walked away as their voices disappeared with the distance. Sakura sat back with a fervent feeling bubbling beneath her skin when her eyes followed the men to the left. The anxious feeling in her gut grew tenfold when they passed the tents and strolled right into an opening in the rock wall.
A realization burned on Sakura's face. The enemy conversation had confirmed her suspicions that the document was not present in the alleged location but was still in use for making the copies. And through the rock wall was where the copies were being produced.
Sakura turned back to Naruto and Tenten when they exploded in a flurry of worry and desperation. Suddenly, a deafening screech from the earpiece almost shattered their eardrums. Then it was followed by the sound of crashing and the roar of battle.
Looking up, Beta saw a couple of nearby ninja notice the commotion that was going on inside the tent.
" Oh great the more, the merrier," Naruto griped after he sent in his second clone to aid Alpha in their fight for the scroll.
" Looks like this mission's going to be open combat real soon," said Tenten, pulling out two handfuls of kunai.
Sakura put her hands on their shoulders, " I know where the document is."
" Don't we all ?"
Naruto stood up and prepared for another round of kage bunshin but Sakura pulled him back down.
" No, it's not in the tent. Those are just a bunch of copies," she said urgently and pointed to the rock wall. " I overheard something and it turns out that I was right earlier. They're making the copies in there."
" Sakura, this isn't the time to vent about how much of a bastard Neji is. You can do that later for all I care but right now Alpha has their hands full with a surprise security measure !" Tenten said, aggravated.
The petal-haired Jounin roared back at her.
" Right now, Alpha is getting their asses whipped for no damn reason because the document isn't there !"
" Of course it is ! They've been trying to get a hold of the scroll for the past five minutes !"
" You know what ?" Sakura said angrily, getting to her feet. " You and Naruto go back them up. At least a greater commotion around the tent will cause some heads to turn so I can get the document myself."
" What ! Are you fucking ludicrous !" Naruto looked at her incredulously. " That's suicide, Sakura. I'm not letting you go."
He grabbed her arm but she shoved him off. Sakura backed away and took out both her kodachi.
" Either come with me or don't. It's your choice, but it's also the difference between completing this mission and failing it. Remember that."
Naruto and Tenten watched in dismay as Sakura leapt from the undergrowth's confines and into the tent area, where she was able to dodge the sights of a few enemy ninja.
Clamping his eyes shut, Naruto's fingers wound their way into his blonde tresses and grasped them hard in frustration.
" Dammit !" He cursed. " It's one thing to want to get back at Neji because he's a bloody asshole but committing suicide is going a bit overboard."
" Beta…" a fuzzy voice suddenly came through on transmission.
" Lee ?" Tenten asked hopefully, tapping in.
" …tied up……right…now……scroll…a……copy." Another crashing noise interrupted Lee's voice.
" What ? Lee !"
Then Shikamaru's voice blared through clearly, " We need backup NOW."
Tenten observed the crooked, newfound grin on Naruto's face and it spread through every one of his features like a growing shadow. The blonde quickly put his hands together as a barrage of shadow clones appeared, surrounding him.
" Tenten, I'll go help Alpha," he said. " Sakura will need you. Go."
Naruto jumped high in the air and all his clones followed him like a glorious flock of birds. The clones headed after him toward the tent where Tenten could see waves of blue chakra being emitted from underneath.
" Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou !"
Inside the tent, the gangly enemy ninja could barely stifle a gasp of pain as he was hurled down into the ground. He didn't understand. After he had destroyed the two guard clones and thrown his sickle for what seemed like the tenth time, he expected the same amount of blood damage as before. However, the ninja with the strange pale eyes had evaded him and performed a mind-blowing stunt of his own.
The pain was excruciating; it was like having every part of his body stabbed all at once with a million daggers. Once he was on his back, stationary but with a few agonizing twitches, the enemy looked up at his opponent as a trickle of blood dripped from the side of his mouth.
" If you're curious to know how many times I hit you, it was only sixty-four," The Hyuga said flatly.
The enemy moaned on the ground and forced himself to sit up. A small cry escaped him and he felt as if all his muscles tore simultaneously.
Shikamaru and Lee came up behind Neji as a loud roar from outside the tent caught their ears. They recognized it immediately as the cavalry.
" He's late," Shikamaru lamented dryly.
" Beta has intercepted !" Naruto's eager voice came through.
The last light of the sunset cast warring shadows upon the door flap and the silhouette of Naruto and his clones could be seen entangling with the enemy ninja on the outside. Neji saw through the tent's wooden walls and discovered in frenzy that Sakura and Tenten were missing. Beta had broken up without his authorization.
" Naruto, where is Sakura !" He shouted angrily.
" She located the real position of the document. She and Tenten went to retrieve it !"
The news hit Neji like a harpoon that aimed to split his head open.
" FUCK."
He raked an infuriated hand through his long dark locks and gritted his teeth tightly as a rush of rage and worry created a horribly vile combination inside his stomach. Deep inside, Neji knew this would happen; after all she was unbelievably stubborn and headstrong—qualities they shared. Beginning the mission, Neji had hoped at the back of his mind that she would be smart and consider not going against orders. But the wiser part of him knew she would.
A slippery laugh came from the gangly enemy on the ground. He wheezed and coughed up blood in between his outrageous cackles. He slapped his knee in enjoyment and peered up at Neji through red, beady eyes.
" Looks like something precious to you is going to perish," He said with sick mirth. " I foresee her death as slow, torturous and extremely acrimonious."
Neji grabbed his neck violently, lifting him partially off the ground and increasing the pain he felt from having all sixty-four of his tenketsu closed. A cold fire smoldered in his pale gaze with a piercing hatred.
" Let me tell you what I foresee," his voice was low and undeniably menacing. " You're going to die."
A kunai circled Neji's finger briefly before he plunged it deep within his enemy's gut. His unfeeling gaze stayed stationary after the enemy ninja's yellow eyes widened in shock as his breath gave way into quick, short gasps. He gave a few last violent coughs, splattering crimson stripes of blood across Neji's emotionless face.
To make sure his enemy was completely dead, Neji had grasped the handle of the kunai tightly and dragged it upward until his chest and then shoved the weapon inside the flesh until it could be seen no more. A river of blood coursed to the ground, staining the dirt and blades of grass.
Lee and Shikamaru peered at their squad leader, perplexed. Normally, the enemy would have been killed quickly because of the situation but for Neji to take time in taking the enemy's life was a little unusual for the moment.
Neji put a bloody hand to his earpiece, " Naruto, where's the location of the document ?"
" Through the rock wall on the other side of the encampment," He said, huffing between punches.
The Hyuga turned to Shikamaru and Lee.
" Help Naruto outside. I need you to clear the place up so we can leave, then rendezvous back at the prep area."
His comrades nodded quickly and they all left the tent, each going their separate ways.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp, Sakura had managed to sneak to the opening of a cave in the rock wall without any problem. Most of the enemy's attention was being subdued by Naruto's commotion on the other side. Peering through the hole, she saw the coast was clear and she prepared to venture in. A hand came from behind and grabbed her shoulder.
Sakura whirled around frantically to find Tenten. She exhaled heavily with a hand on her chest.
" You scared me," she said. " What are you doing here ? I thought you went off with Naruto."
Tenten shrugged and gave her a smile. " I won't let you do anything crazy without me."
Grinning shortly, the two female ninja crept into the cave with their weapons out. The new moonlight from outside died at the entrance when they walked deeper into the light of torches that lined against the rock wall.
The pathway through the cave became narrower as the number of torches increased. The sounds of voices also became louder when they reached the end of the path. Sakura and Tenten crept low between large boulders until they entered into a large rock cavern. They peered downward and found eighteen ninja among small groups of machinery, all of which were humming with life as they pumped out scroll copies. The ninja were in an assembly line, rolling and tightening each scroll and putting them in groups for later distribution.
" There," Sakura whispered, gesturing to the two ninja she saw before. They were weaving in and out through the workers and surveying them two at a time. After they were done, they walked to the far end of the rock cavern and departed through another passage.
" There's a bad number of odds down there. We'll never get past them unnoticed," Tenten said, fiddling with her kunai.
" I know and two of them just left. The original document has to be through that passage."
The brunette beside Sakura sighed and she flipped the kunai twice between her fingers.
" I'll cover for you," she said matter-of-factly.
Sakura's mouth opened to protest but Tenten shook her head.
" I…thanks, Tenten."
" Hey, we've already gone against orders and virtually placed ourselves in a state of suspension. We might as well go the whole nine yards," Tenten smiled warmly at her comrade.
She calmly stepped back and pulled out two red trimmed scrolls from her pouch. Standing them vertically on either side of her, Tenten performed a sequence of seals before crossing her arms together.
" Soushouryu !"
Sakura jumped down to the cavern below as an enormous eruption of smoke billowed out from their rock platform. The ninjas in the assembly line were dumbfounded at the sudden explosion and shocked gasps and cries echoed off the cavern walls when they struggled desperately to see what was going on.
The blinded enemy lingered about, bumping into desks, machinery and the arranged batches of scrolls as Sakura was kept concealed by the smoke. Just as she made it to the other side of the rock cavern, two roaring dragons of smog shot up toward the cavern ceiling and transformed into an arrangement of twisting scrolls.
The smoke was beginning to clear and Tenten had revealed herself to the enemy by launching multiple weapons of any blade imaginable down below. A few enemy ninja were killed instantly but the rest had hid behind the rocks and were scrambling around with their own weapons to counter her assault.
Thrusting her kodachi ahead of her, Sakura found her way through the rock passage to where she found the two ninja from earlier. The passage led to a small rock chamber where a few tables were set up to form another office. Stacks of papers were piled on top of the furniture as a few torches lit the room brightly. The two ninja were looking through the document of Grass' defense system when Sakura walked in.
" We were expecting company," one of the ninjas said. " With all that racket outside, there's bound to be somebody lurking around while the companion distracts the others."
Sakura held up her kodachi and pursed her lips together. They both had known. But when did the enemy sense their presence ? Maybe it had been when she and Tenten had first walked into the rock cavern.
" I've gone through a little bit of trouble to get here, so why don't you just make it worth my while ?" Sakura said contemptuously.
The two ninja glanced at each other temporarily while sharing a smile, and then put down the document on one of the desks.
" Murase Shigeko was a fool. He didn't realize that sending a third party to retrieve the defense system blueprints is absolutely folly in the utmost."
They eyed Sakura with a hunger for combat and with outstretched arms and fingers, they began to circle her like a pair of ferocious wolves. Sakura bent her legs slowly and at the same time she kept a look out for their footwork. One foot crossed over the other with an almost dazzling rhythm as the two ninja brandished an iron claw on one hand.
" What are you in the mood to see ?" One ninja said to his partner.
The other one grinned toothily and licked the end of his claw. " How about her insides ?"
Both of them charged at Sakura from the left and right, claws ahead of them in a rapid motion. Sakura quickly dodged the first ninja and clashed blades with the other. She brought her leg up immediately after to plant a swift kick to his side. He was stunned by the attack but came back to his senses when he pummeled her in the stomach with his free hand.
Sakura gasped as the air flew from her body. The torches on the walls flashed blindly by her eyes as she disentangled her kodachi and jumped back. The ninja didn't give her that luxury of space as they leapt toward her again. This time, only one attacked while the other moved below Sakura's eyesight and slashed her thigh with his four-bladed claw.
The pain forced her hands to move lightning quick and she performed a seal.
" Kage bunshin no jutsu !"
Five clones appeared behind the two ninja, all wielding kodachi. Sakura jumped away for cover as the clones began their attack. She heaved from the hot-white pain on her thigh and she had time to glance down. Four jagged gashes gaped open at her, from which blood was streaming down her leg.
Biting her lip tightly, Sakura rejoined the fight and blended in with her clones. For a while the enemy seemed confused as they received an onslaught of taijutsu attacks from every side.
The real Sakura gave one ninja a powerful kick to the hand and disarmed his claw by cleanly slashing off his hand. However, the ninja hardly cried in pain as he looked upon his loss of limb by simply looking down. It was the opportunity to catch Sakura off-guard and his body twisted rapidly through the air. She countered by crossing her kodachi together and she held her ground when the impact of his body crashed upon her blades.
Another slash opened the flesh of Sakura's shoulder, thwarting the iron defense of her kodachi. Her arm loosened from the burning sting of the attack and her second enemy was about to run her through when she ducked and his partner received the blow instead. His comrade fell to the floor, dead.
Maddened by rage, the enemy ninja wasted no time in taking revenge. The claw on his hand dripped with her blood and he put a finger to the blade, taking some off and putting it into his mouth.
" You taste good," he said, before rushing at her dead on.
Her clones went to stop him but he flew through them like a piercing arrow. They disappeared in puffs of smoke as he aimed for Sakura's chest.
Neji sprinted down the narrow hallway of the rock cave, and quickly but deftly examined his surroundings and the destination. He reached the end of the hall in a matter of seconds and the sounds of battle were brought to his ears. With the byakugan, he could see clearly through the rock walls and the uproar that was making them shake furiously.
He entered into a huge rock cavern and found Tenten busy with five enemy ninja. The bodies of the other thirteen were dead and scattered over boulders and other parts of the area—all had some kind of weapon embedded in them.
Tenten was currently fighting with strings of chakra attached to her fingers. A torrent of blades swept the area dangerously since they were connected to each hand. She whipped them accurately and killed two more enemies.
With a battle cry, she was just about to finish off the other remaining ninja when two kunai came from above her and struck her enemies in the forehead. With grave shock on each of their faces, they slumped lifelessly to the ground.
Tenten turned on her heel with surprise and found Neji right behind her. She was heaving for air to catch her breath and she managed a smirk.
" As you can see, we found the real location."
" Let's not start that," Neji replied.
" Sakura's gone through there," Tenten mentioned, pointing to the next rock chamber and saving Neji the trouble of asking. She knew the prime reason why the Hyuga had risked the rest of the mission to come to Sakura's aid. The brunette bit her lip furiously in an attempt not to look smug.
Neji caught on quickly to her reaction to his arrival and he briefly looked annoyed.
" Lee, Shikamaru and Naruto are cleaning up outside. Join them and we'll meet back at the prep area," He said quickly. " Leave Sakura to me."
Tenten gave a nod and leapt up to the upper hallway passage. However, before turning her back to leave, she watched Neji race toward the opening of the rock wall. She shook her head with a grin and went to join the rest of her team.
Inside the rock chamber, Sakura was practically kneeling on the ground, exhausted from the lack of air and the loss of blood. Her pink hair was matted with red and her arms were shaking in an effort to keep herself from collapsing. Clamping her teeth together, she raised her kodachi against the cruel laugh of her enemy.
" Shall we end this charade ?" He suggested mockingly. " I'm getting awfully tired by your lack of enthusiasm."
" Bastard," she spat. " I won't stop until I've run you through three times."
" That's quite ambitious of you since you can barely stand up, let alone dodge my next attack."
" Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much ?"
" On occasion, yes. But the people who say that usually die," He grinned and pointed his claw toward her threateningly.
While Sakura heaved on the floor, she was more realistic about her situation on the inside. Her enemy was right and she could hardly move without feeling an excruciating amount of pain. At that moment she prepared for a last stand.
The enemy sensed her bluff and it made him grin all the more. He was about to charge in for the final blow when a dangerous instinct kicked in, letting him know of another presence. He swiftly whirled around and blocked a handful of shuriken that unexpectedly came from behind. Sakura's emerald eyes widened in unmistakable alarm; the pulse in her neck had almost stopped beating.
" Run," Neji told the clawed ninja derisively.
" On the contrary," The enemy said shortly, ignoring Sakura. " This makes it all the more intriguing since you've unwittingly restocked my supply of weapons."
" How enlightening."
The cynicism in Nej's voice was as malicious as an acid bite, full of emotionless cruelty and severe disdain.
A lift from the corner of the enemy's mouth shifted into a crafty grin. He stretched his arms outward and instantly all shuriken in the room flew to his fingertips. The bladed handfuls of weapons hovered close to his palms as he pointed them spitefully at Neji. He gave a harsh bark of laughter and then forcing his chakra outward, he shot them directly at his opponent at a damaging high speed.
They flew through the air like bullets but Neji seemed unaffected by the enemy's show of skill. A blue aura of chakra burst around the Hyuga as he gave off a pitiless smile.
" Hakke," he said. " Shou Kaiten !"
Immediately the enemy became confused. The flying shuriken had barely hit Neji and the growing field of chakra was so increasingly powerful the ninja was able to see it light up the rock chamber to a shade of blue. Before his eyes, Neji's figure transformed into a blur and spun so hastily, all the shuriken were instantly deflected away. But what knocked the sense out of him was the fact that the shuriken were suddenly directed at him.
The vigorous shockwave from Nej's high-speed assault threw the enemy hard against the rock wall. The shuriken quickly followed suit and shot at him simultaneously and pinned him agonizingly to the rock. It was a messy display of blood and horror as the enemy ninja died instantly at Neji's will.
When Neji stopped spinning, the sounds of enemy cavalry reached his ears and with the byakugan he saw them coming to investigate the cave.
On the ground, Sakura stood torn between surprise and a painful gasp for air as Neji wordlessly ran over to her. He glanced at her briefly and bent down to scoop her up in his arms. As the Hyuga held her tightly against his chest to secure her back and injured legs, Sakura stared at him completely flabbergasted.
He didn't return her gaze but carried her out of the rock chamber and burst into a run.
Neji's legs pumped hard beneath him. The enemy was on the rise again and he and Sakura desperately needed to escape. She was in no condition for another battle and his combat ability was limited due to the task of carrying her.
They fled through the rock cavern quickly without being seen. When the upper rock passage was clear, Neji leapt up high to reach it.
Neji…
Sakura's arms unconsciously tightened around him as they soared upward into the air. Her head had also unwittingly found its way between his shoulder and neck; Neji's familiar, musky scent filled her nostrils and reminded her fleetingly about what it was like to be close to him.
Burying her face in his long dark tresses, Sakura clamped her eyes shut when she felt a dangerous wave of chakra being expelled from all over Neji's body. Two additional enemy ninjas found them trying to escape and he had killed them instantly with their own weapons without lifting a finger off her.
" Most of the riffraff have been cleared off but don't get too comfortable," Lee's voice said through Neji's transmission. " Tenten's joined us and we're off the to the prep area. See you in fifteen."
As a reaction to the message, Neji's sprint increased rapidly and soon he and Sakura left the cave and were outside under a dark blanket of stars. The moon above shone brightly over the combat-ridden landscape of the enemy encampment as the last two Konoha Jounins escaped unnoticed into the woods.
The light from the camp vanished when Neji and Sakura headed deep through the forest. The trees grew closer together and the branches entangled with each other to block out the sky, leaving the area almost in darkness.
Sakura felt the wind blow against her face as Neji bounded from branch to branch. The refreshing feeling was only temporary when she started to feel the tension rise within their wordless silence. The last event in which she and Neji talked was a heated argument that stemmed from an earlier problem—the night when he had supposedly kissed her.
Neji's arms stiffened considerably when he leapt off his hundredth branch. A flash-work of a million, unnamed emotions were swarming inside him and Sakura's presence was just feeding the fire. Back in the tent when Naruto had told him that Sakura went to retrieve the scroll herself, he almost lost it despite the calm and cool demeanor he projected on the outside. His speed increased while hurling distraughtly toward the rock cave. All Neji could remember thinking was how his worry had fueled his anger tenfold.
How dare she…how dare she lead him to believe that she might have perished. Neji cursed Sakura to the ends of the earth and damned her for giving him a fear that she might have……
Died…
But Neji wouldn't let her. He'd begin a war with fate just to keep her alive. If Sakura left him, he'd be totally, utterly lost and alone. Neji couldn't bare the thought of surrendering her to the cold, cruel hands of death.
Sakura was startled when Neji's pace slowed down. He jumped down from the tree branches and landed in a moonlight-filled clearing of the forest. They were only ten minutes from the prep area and the clearing was virtually deserted.
Neji's arms were tense and awkward from the rage boiling beneath his skin and he put Sakura down with a lack of gentleness.
A small fear stirred in the pit of Sakura's stomach when he broke contact with her. She made a bold effort to stand on her feet as he turned away with the moonlight on his back.
" What the FUCK were you thinking !" He shouted explosively.
Sakura was stunned when Neji turned back around. Anger had fully animated his face and he was almost bearing his teeth at her in a monstrous way of ferocity. All earlier feelings of a possible reconciliation disappeared into throes of darkness inside Sakura. His rage had suddenly consumed her entirely and brought back her inner wall of stone.
" I didn't need your help," she said indignantly. " I can take of myself."
" If I didn't know better, I'd say you were on this mission for the sole purpose of committing SUICIDE ! And for WHAT ! To join Sasuke six feet under !"
Her mouth dropped open and Sakura's temper hit boiling point at the words he used.
" How…how DARE you say that to me !" she screamed. " You would think that after two years I'd have merited a tiny percent of your respect but OBVIOUSLY I've been a fucking fool !"
" I WARNED you to NOT disregard orders and yet you still insisted on a creative way to die !"
" The only reason why we're standing here with the mission complete is because I saved all your asses ! If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have this damn thing !"
Sakura whipped the document scroll out of her pouch and flung it at Neji's feet.
" Don't you FUCKING talk to me about how the mission was completed !" He snarled venomously. " I'm responsible for the lives of my squad and if ONE of them ever turns to mutiny, not only do they pay the price, I also get penalized for their fucking mistakes !"
" Oh, so now it's all about your pride Neji ! When ISN'T it about your pride ! If you didn't spend half your time not listening to anyone else, we would have gone through this mission problem-free !"
Neji gave her a cruel and spiteful look. " You were CARELESS since this morning. I can't believe that you'd expect me to even consider a plan that leads the whole operation to shit."
" Ignoring me…" Sakura laughed bitterly. " That isn't something new is it ? For the past two weeks, you've tried your best to push me away. Well, CONGRATULATIONS, you've SUCCEEDED !"
" And for the past year, all I've been doing is watching you drown in self pity and it disgusts me to the point where I regret all affiliation with you," He sneered heartlessly. " You're pathetic."
The Hyuga's words carried so much malice and repulsion, they hit Sakura like a fatal blow and thrust at her rapidly, tearing her to pieces. The defensive wall of stone around Sakura began to crumble helplessly, shattering her to hell.
A wave of dizziness struck her like a sickness when Neji's words destroyed her defense. Sakura inhaled a sharp, painful wisp of air and tried to dislodge the large aching lump in her throat. Her cheeks were on fire as a hot, moist sensation began to sting her eyelids when she tried to maintain her infuriated glare at him.
It didn't work. The emotions she was so desperately trying to fight against were leaking through the cracks in her angry mask. Then, without a moment to spare, Sakura turned on her heel and leapt away into the trees.
The incident left Neji feeling empty as his anger still swirled inside him. He shot his glare downward after Sakura left. Only when she did was when Neji collapsed on the ground and covered his face in his hands, cursing loudly. The full weight of the incident started to sink in.
He couldn't stop the anger. The ferocity seemed surreal and it was as if he was watching himself rip Sakura apart piece by piece until there was nothing left. Neji's control slipped and he had inadvertently punished her for making him feel the way he did. He loved her……and it scared him.
A few minutes away, Sakura plunged recklessly through the trees. Branches and leaves tore at her tangled hair but she couldn't care less. All she wanted was to get away from Neji—far, far away; to put as much distance between them as physically possible.
The ache from her wounds vanished a long time ago because it was replaced with a vast amount of inner grief. The tension in her back spread to her shoulders and affected her speed. A prickling feeling bit the corners of Sakura's eyes and her vision started to blur horribly from the onslaught of hot tears. Her lips trembled and Sakura tried to gasp for air in order to calm her chaotic emotions.
She was panting when she stopped five minutes before the prep area. Sakura came to rest on a thick tree branch that was high up from the ground. Gasping half from tiredness and half from the beginning of sobs, she leaned against the tree and furiously attempted to master herself.
Her deep breaths turned into full sobs and the petal-haired Jounin had lost the fight. Sliding down to sit, Sakura's shoulders shook wretchedly as she began to cry. The tears came nonstop and as she choked on them despairingly, her arms wound around her torso in an effort to stop shaking.
She couldn't understand Hyuga Neji.