Seeking Guidance

Joint project of BullyKilla and neonate
Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Under the glare of bright light shone to our faces and a promise of two bowls of katsudon, we hereby confess that we do not own Naruto. There, are you satisfied, officer?

A/N: Important! We've revised the previous chapters of Seeking Guidance for better clarity. You may find new booby traps, but that's to be expected. All complaints of injury should be directed to our grubby nannies so they'll at least have something to do besides spanking our collective hinds all day.

Because someone asked: Seeking Comfort and Seeking Guidance may contain spoilers up to chapter 246. So, if you don't know where Sasuke went….can't help you there, babe.


Chapter Four: Lee Investigates

It wasn't his intention to spread rumors, really. The situation made him do it. If back then he had not needed the money so badly, he wouldn't have had accepted the offer from Konoha Shinbun. And now—now if Sakura had not threatened to sic an undoubtedly vengeful Hyuuga Neji, whom Shino secretly referred as Mr. Death between the pages of his diary, he wouldn't have found himself here. Here of course was inside the closet, surrounded by his shirts, pants, and chirpy bugs.

Damn chirpy,cheerful, ignorant bugs who didn't know that their lord and master would be dead if he could not deliver an article Haruno Sakura (a.k.a Mrs. Death) had commissioned the day before by twelve o'clock today.

Twelve o'clock. Three hours to go.

Write it, send it, and have it printed. Easy for her to say, Shino thought. There was no doubt that Konoha Shinbun would publish the article without any fuss. The last article had boosted their circulation by an astounding seventy-five percent. He was sure that the public would want more information on Konoha's most popular celebrity couple, especially if it was accompanied with a large, glossy picture he'd managed to take the night before.

In which said large, glossy picture contained an image which would send even the most unromantic slab of stone swooning on its rocky feet.

But Shino didn't have time to elaborate on the image. He had a deadline to catch (and when he said deadline, he took it literally). A full-length article or his intestines out sweeping the dusty street.

He'd go with the first choice any day.

- - - - - - - -

"The Hyuugas are such nice people," the wife said. She put a steaming bowl of miso soup in front of her husband who had both hands on his head.

He didn't answer because he was busy feeling sorry for himself. Fifteen cups of sake were taking their toll on his body. He guessed that he'd pissed half of them out, but the remaining alcohol was stubbornly making his life miserable. In the future, he made a mental note to himself, don't ever challenge a certain silver-eyed demon into a drinking contest. Not only he'd lose, but the aftermath was a slice of hell nobody should ever experience unless he was a masochist.

"Honey, I said the Hyuugas are such nice people," his wife repeated. This time she had that tone which he recognized so well. That tone which spoke of a demand for attention, or else he'd be washing his own underwear for a week.

Uh, not good, he decided.

"You're absolutely right, dear," he managed amidst the crazy dance his brain was doing up there.

"Sakura will be very happy when she marries into their family."

"Uh huh." Ah, his poor head. He thought he heard his wife talking about their daughter marrying, but that was impossible. Sakura was too young. She was still a baby, his little girl. Surely he'd misheard…

"And to think that young Neji is so handsome!"

"Uh huh," he replied with the only response his survival instinct could come up with. Now his eyes were twitching madly. The alcohol effect was too much. He didn't remember much about young Neji being handsome, but he did recall a murderous chakra directed at his drinking buddy's back.

Suddenly his brain was doing another round of tap dancing, and he thought he felt some strain on his neck. Maybe he'd caught a cold. He should've known better not to dance naked on the table last night, even though at that moment it seemed like a very good idea, especially since Hiashi started it. Oh, he must really think of his age. With a shaking hand he reached for the bowl of miso soup in front of him…

"I wonder how their babies will look like!"

And dropped it.

- - - - - - - -

"Nephew, I hope you didn't do anything funny to Sakura-chan last night."

The coy statement delivered by the snake himself halted Neji on his tracks. The young Hyuuga was trying to sneak out the house unnoticed, but apparently Hiashi had a knack of locating his favorite subject of ridicule these days. What made Neji couldn't stop thinking was how his uncle could be so mischievous and serious at the same time. Oh, he'd bet his liver that the commentary just now wasn't just a fleeting admonishment. In one sentence, Hiashi had managed to threaten, inquire, and taunt his nephew. Not to mention that it had made Neji a bit flustered. Now that required real skill.

"I escorted Sakura-san home immediately, since her parents were…occupied." Neji was too polite to say that they were actually dead drunk.

"I see. A proper manner befitting a Hyuuga. You've done as expected," Hiashi said, showing no signs of hangover, unlike some of his guests. He must've made a deal with the devil himself.

"Is that all, Hiashi-sama?"

"Well, yes. Give my regards to Sakura-chan."

Neji tried protesting. "I don't intend—"

"Dismissed."

At that final tone, Neji bit his lips. "Yes, sir."

Seeing his nephew resuming his stealth mission, Hiashi couldn't help smirking. The boy can't wait, he thought with a strange fondness, to meet his girl. So young, so foolish. Neji still had so much to learn about this side of life in his coming years.

But Hiashi had to admit that he'd never seen his nephew being so passionate about anything until last night. Neji had grabbed Sakura out of the room full of adults who were laughing at them—rescuing her from further humiliation—and sent his uncle a fierce, almost disrespectful glare.

Hm.

Maybe it was time for that betrothal talk after all. Apparently Haruno-san, the wife, was a very cooperative woman. And as a like-minded person, Hiashi was certain that she wouldn't mind a spring wedding.

Excellent.

- - - - - - - -

He didn't know where he was going. He had been telling the truth when he'd told his uncle that he had no intention of seeing Sakura. Actually, she was the last person on earth he wanted to see right now. He wasn't sure he could face her after last night's…

The memory came back to him. Neji inhaled sharply, bit his lips, and almost blushed.

That had been his first kiss.

Yep. A kiss on the forehead, but a kiss nonetheless. On a girl's forehead.

A certain girl's forehead.

Neji stopped his wandering around downtown Konoha and braced himself the next line of thoughts.

What on earth had he been thinking? What had made him do those things? Had he been infected by the adults' enthusiasm and got caught in the moment? What a lame excuse. He needed better explanation than that. It wasn't like him to show any signs of affection, so why had he done it?

Because, a little voice supplied the answer, you wanted to.

Because she felt soft against you. Because her warmth comforted you. Because of many, many reasons, but mainly because it was her.

"Shut up," Neji muttered to no one in particular. He had been doing a lot of that lately.

Oh, don't tell me that. You knew what would happen. You knew, didn't you? Remember? Remember how you thought that this damn romance business is…dangerous?

At that little voice's jeer, Neji had no answer. He remembered well what had happened the night before.

Your fault. Your fault for not stopping it.

His fault. His fault for letting her make a crack on the walls surrounding his heart. His fault for letting her make a home inside it. There was no longer any protection there. He felt bare.

Ashamed.

Exposed. Weak.

She'd stripped his layers one by one. She'd put into him strange emotions, unsettling feelings.

Unforgivable.

It's too late, the voice sang. It's too, too, too late!

No.

Not if he could help it.

After all, this whole mess was just pretense, wasn't it?

- - - - - - - -


-10:59 am.-

Finally.

It was done.

Shino held the manuscript with both ink-splattered hands up in the air and admired the finished work. Underneath the sunglasses he constantly wore, his red-rimmed eyes shone with relief.

It was finished an hour before noon. Shino was ecstatic; not only that his neck was saved, this piece of writing could be considered his best yet. Amazing, he thought, I may be a true genius.

Now, he had better not delay. There was still a matter of delivering this manuscript to the Shinbun's main office. The clock struck eleven sharp and he got out of the closet to smell the air of freedom.

Oh, it was sweet and refreshing. The scent of freedom was a welcoming sensation, a change from the musky, cluttered closet. He could almost smell the flowers in a sun-baked meadow. In fact, he thought he could identify the smell. It smelled, it smelled like—

—lavender?

Shino blinked.

All around him the bugs wheezed and collapsed. They hated lavender.

Then it clicked.

Damn.

His mother had just sprayed his room again.

- - - - - - - -

The youthful Rock Lee jumped from roof to roof with his signature agility. Despite the vivid green coloring he preferred, his figure blurred so fast it resembled only a flicker of image. He was in a stealth mission, stalking a very important personage.

His target? Haruno Sakura, chuunin, apprentice of Tsunade—Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure—and most recently, Hyuuga Neji's girlfriend.

The last title irked him. Ironically it was also the cause of his mission.

Lee was extra careful hiding his chakra, putting much of effort on the task. He wasn't very good at it, but he was learning. He realized that this type of mission required more ninjutsu than it would ever be expected from him, the taijutsu specialist. Not for the first time he wished that he had more talent.

Sakura-san looked so pretty, he thought, so sweet. A girl as remarkable as her doesn't deserve an ogre like Neji.

Lee sighed with admiration. Why couldn't he be her boyfriend? He'd lavish her with attention, buy her little trinkets, hold her hands, and maybe—

—oh, kiss her?

It took all of Lee's self-control to not burst into hysteric giggles on the top of somebody's roof. Putting both hands to cover his widely grinning face, Lee leapt from one building to the next. However, despite his best attempt to stay quiet, he failed miserably as some noises, which sounded suspiciously like happy snorts, escaped him.

Luckily for Lee, Sakura didn't notice anything unusual as she strolled along one of Konoha's busiest street. It was market day. Numerous peddlers and stall owners had occupied the one-mile-long strip of the city. A basket dangling from one arm, she stopped on several different stalls, bargaining and purchasing fresh vegetables and fruits. Some sellers hailed her, recognizing who she was from the recent publicized photograph. Sakura graciously evaded the inquiries on her supposed relationship, only smiling and waving as they continued to offer their hard-earned advices on romance and good housekeeping.

While Lee was keeping a close observation on Sakura, another figure came walking down towards her from the other side of the street. Before she saw him, she had felt his presence and responded to it. With a bright smile on her face, she ran and started waving.

"Neji!"

Lee froze. His rival's coming was unforeseen.

The boy whose name was called only nodded an acknowledgment, but it didn't deter the kunoichi. She approached his side and began to chat with him.

"I didn't expect to see you today," she began.

Lee, being able to move again, found himself a nice hidden position to observe. He was pretty sure that not even Neji could detect his presence in a market full of people. Furthermore, there was no reason for him to be suspicious at all.

Neji didn't reply; he seemed to be preoccupied with something. Noticing this, Sakura stopped talking and took her place beside him. They walked in a companionable silence, the event of last night clearly in their minds.

She tried again. "Thank you for walking me home last night."

Hearing this, Lee lost his grip and almost fell off the roof. His nose bumped the red tiles and he winced. What did she say?

"It's my duty," Neji replied. He wasn't looking at her when he said that.

"Regardless, I just want to say thanks," said Sakura. There is something different about Neji today, she thought.

"You're welcome."

"My parents think highly of you, especially my mother," she admitted. "She thinks that you're a fine young shinobi."

"Thank you."

"They had a lot of fun last night," she continued her chatter.

"Hmm." He still wasn't looking at her.

"I think they got home around three or four. My dad was singing an old ballad on top of his lungs."

"That's nice."

"And I think my mom was his background singer." She giggled.

"Hn."

"The neighbors weren't too happy, I can guarantee that!" she ended.

"Hmm."

"I bet you are ignoring me for a purpose so I'll just take a hike then," said Sakura, walking away from him. Her tone had not even changed.

He reacted too slowly.

He had let her walk a few steps before he realized his mistake and caught up, touching her elbow. "Wait," Neji said to her in a low voice. "We need to talk."

She shook his hands off. "Don't—"

"Listen to me," he persisted.

She kept on walking, trying to break away from his grip. "Let go, Neji."

"No," he said, "Sakura—"

She pushed him back and broke free. Half-running, she distanced herself as far as possible from the boy whose next sentence might be her unhappiness. Oh, how she wished to hit him with the basket!

"Please."

The single word stopped her. She hadn't expected that.

Sakura turned around and stared into his eyes. At least he didn't look away. At least now he didn't ignore her. Even though his face was a careful mask of calm, she knew he was thinking furiously.

"Okay," she said, her voice slightly trembled. "I'll listen."

Neji almost sighed with relief. The last thing he wanted was a scene in the middle of the busy street, in a broad daylight.

He cleared his throat and began walking. "Let's go somewhere else."

"Fine," she replied and said nothing else as she followed him.

All the while, their exchange didn't escape Lee's keen scrutiny. He saw everything. Only one thought came to his mind.

Bingo.

- - - - - - - -

"Kid," the editor of Konoha Shinbun said from behind his desk, "you're the best."

The boy whom he was talking to only adjusted his sunglasses and nodded.

He isn't much a talker, the editor thought, but his stories are gold. He leafed through the final draft of that day's afternoon edition. "I can put your story on the first page."

"And the photo?" Shino asked.

"And the photo," the older man said with a smile. "Believe me when I say that you're gonna get handsomely paid for both."

Shino didn't immediately reply. He took a deep breath and said, "Good."

- - - - - - - -

They reached a clearing near the outskirts of Konoha. Nobody had said anything since they had walked from the center of the city. The tension between them was palpable, but none was willing to make the first move.

Somewhere in the shadows, Rock Lee kept a safe distance from the couple. He hid himself behind a large tree and waited. There was an excitement bubbling in his heart.

There was no wind that day. The air crackled with heat and life slithered, sluggish. Even the branches of trees seemed to droop in defeat. Sun rays entered through the canopy of leaves in a different plane of reality, moving and blinding. Drops of sweat found their way down the skin. Heartbeats thumped rhythmically. They were bathed in light. Everything was painfully clear.

Finally Neji opened his mouth.

"We must end this."

And time stopped.

To be continued

neonate's thoughts:

Hi there, loves. All around apologies for the delay that took forever. The best answer to the question as of why we haven't been updating for months is our running away from the giant question mark. Diplomatic speech is so not our strength. Go figure.

Any complaints, comments, criticisms, and non-life-threatening threats will be appreciated and pondered upon. Thank you for your infinite patience. It means a lot to us.