She had thought it odd when they had called her and her mother to a formal dinner at the main branch. She had thought it strange when as she sat in a traditional kimono around a traditional table surrounded by traditional people or that they seemed to have any interest in her future at all. She couldn't understand it when they asked her of her fathers recent death, her clans bloodlines and members. But after a while things had started to fall into place while she sat next to her mother facing Hyuuga Hiashi over a seemingly normal dinner.
"Are you an only child, Sakura-san?" Sakura frowned not sure what he was getting at. The absence of Hinata and Neji scared her slightly as well, but she did her best to remain polite. She looked to her mother for a moment and the dark haired woman nudged her. Before they had left their home, Sakura recalled her mother being adamant about making a good impression with the "Shinobi Family" as she like to call them, not being a shinobi herself. Her mother gave her that same look now, the one that said 'don't screw this up for me.' as her mother had said the same thing moments before their departure. Sakura still didn't understand her meaning, but felt she would only too soon.
"Yes Hiashi-sama, its just me and my mother now." The man nodded as well as a few other members of the prestigious clan settled around the table. Sakura poked at her food for a moment as a few people excused themselves with some kind of unspoken agreement. Soon it was just the two Harunos and the Hyuuga clan leader.
"You must be very worried for your clan's survival in the future Haruno-san. Her mother nodded gravely.
"That is why i agreed to come tonight shinobi-sama." Sakura felt confused; what was going on? Hiashi turned to her and set about what they were invited here for.
"Sakura, we have a problem of our own.. you see, one of our branch members, i believe he was in your class, Neji?" At Sakura's nod he continued.
"As of recently he has been.. out of our control, " His eyes darted about the room almost nervously at this.
"We have come up with a solution as a family, and find it best that he wed, and start a family of his own within the next year or so." He took a deep breath here and Sakura could almost tangibly feel her freedom slip through her fingers and slid along the wind away from her and into the young white eyed Neji Hyuuga's hands that, by same twist of fate wasn't even there, and Sakura doubted was even aware of his position.
"For the past three months we have reviewed many konochi, and have deemed you the most applicable for the position, having been trained under Tsunade-sama and being the top medic in all of konoha. Do you accept?"
Sakura felt herself forming the words she longed to scream at this man to tell him she was the wrong person to tell him she wasn't ready to have children let alone be married, and to none other than Neji? Was this man insane? She had things to accomplish, Sasuke to bring home, Orochimaru to defeat, Naruto to train with, Ino to make-up with, Shikamaru to play shogi with, Kakashi to annoy; the list keep going on in her mind until she realized she hadn't even seen half the people she had listed in almost three years.
Sasuke was gone, it was Naruto's mission to bring him home.. Naruto himself was gone as well training out in the middle of only kami knows where with the perverted nin. Kakashi never came around anymore only a fleeting "yo" was said in passing. She hadn't played Shogi with Shikamaru sense he and Ino had been married last fall..
Was her life really this lonely..? Had she really spent the last three years of her life submersed so far into her training that she hadn't had time for anything else..?
When Sakura had expected the 'no' to fall from her lips with finality, she found herself saying the wrong thing.
"I accept.." Her voice sounded small and forlorn even to herself. If she had said no, she would spend the rest of her life alone and she knew this. So did Hiashi it seemed. Her mother looked over joyed at the thought and the man in front of her called for a maid to retrieve the Hyuuga prodigy himself.
Sakura felt the weakest she had ever been the moment Neji walked through the door and sat across from her. He looked questionably from her, to her mother then to his uncle.
"Yes Hiashi-sama?"
"We have come to a solution for your recent insubordinate, Neji."
-----
There was something dangerously addicting about the man in front of her, Sakura decided. Her Fiance of one year, and finally her husband of one week. They had come to know each other well, and as the man she had come to love pressed himself hard between her thighs; she knew she had made the right decision that night so long ago.
"Sakura" He whimpered her name to the hot air of their room.
"Neji" she answered his call.
Sakura felt him press harder into her as their night of passion came to a close and he held her fast beneath him. Their backs arched in unison and their final cry echoed through out the empty branch house hallways. It was then she decided she had the most wonderful man in the world for her husband as he rested atop her carefully.
-----
"Sakura-chan? is that you?" A voice Sakura thought she would never hear again interrupted her musings of what grocerise to get. She turned slowly, accommodating for her large amount of gained mass.
"N-Naruto?" she almost didn't trust herself to speak, but the man who had been gone from her life for almost four full years now stood before her, all grown. She dropped the basket and launched herself at him as well and any 9 month pregnant woman could, and hugged him as well just the same.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" she wailed causing many people to turn and look curiously. He patted her back awkwardly not sure was to do. When she finally did let go, he proceeded to help her pick her things up and tell her of his trip away.
"I brought Sasuke back with me.. He has spoken little of anything else but you for our journey home, i don't know what I'm going to tell him about this" he gestured to her wedding band and swollen state.
"Who's the lucky guy anyways?" Sakura smiled broadly, proud of her husband. Naruto could tell, he was happy for her now.
"Neji Hyuuga." But that's not what he expected and promptly fell on the ground in a classic face-fault.
"Oh kami Naruto are you OK! Can you hear me!" Sakura panicked wildly flailing about in circles.
"Fine fine." he said off-handily getting up.
"So Neji huh?" he added. She shrugged in answering as if to say 'Its a long story.'
"I've got time." was his answer to her unspoken answer.
"Over dinner than? Ichiraku?" she suggested.
"DATTEBAYO! RAMEN!" she chuckled some things never change..
Sakura sat at the ramen bar awkwardly sitting atop a stool between Naruto and Neji when Kakashi had stuck his head through the door. He then looked taken aback by something.
"Sakura?" he said still staring at her rounded-ness. That seemed to be happening alot today she noted dully.
"Yes Kakashi-sensei?" His eye got comically bigger.
"You- your- what...?" Sakura couldn't help herself she burst out laughing and almost fell off her stool if it hadn't been Neji to the rescue.
Unfortunately Neji couldn't do much but rush her to the hospital, Naruto and Kakashi in toe, when the contractions hit.
"PUSH SAKURA!" Tsunade encouraged her from her place between Sakura's stirrups.
"I'M PUSHING DAMN IT!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs almost breaking all the bones in Hinata and Ino's hands.
"SHES NOT DILATED ENOUGH TSUNADE-SAMA!" a nurse tried to yell over all the screaming in the small white room.
Neji paced the halls left to right, right to left, left to right, right to left,
"Hyuuga sit down." The recently joined member to the waiting-on-sakura-to-give-birth-even-though-its-been-twenty two-hours-already club; Sasuke grouched. Naruto snorted from his waiting chair.
"Sakura's having a baby and all you can do is be grumpy teme?"
"It's not my child why should i care." he said while shoving his hands deeper into his pockets and making his way through a door labeled "Cafeteria"
Naruto frowned and turned to Kakashi who just turned the page in his Icha Icha paradise book. Neji growled.
"You just need to give him time.. he'll come around eventually" Naruto tried to placate the wired Hyuuga.
"I don't care what he thinks its my wife that will, therefore i have to care." He growled again.
A child's cry filled the now deadly silent room. Ino passed the child to Sakura, now wrapped in a soft blue blanket. The child seemed content to be silent once he made touchdown into his mothers arms.
"Its a boy" Ino whispered as they all crowed around and looked at the small child. The baby has black hair, and the characteristic white-eyes of the Hyuuga, giving the facade that the child was blind, but really all-seeing. The child grasped at Sakura's hair and squealed in delight at the touch of it.
"My little boy." She whispered with all the love she held for her family.
"What are you going to name him?" Hinata also whispered, trying not to break the spell that held the room.
"Hizashi. My little Hizashi." she decided. Hinata looked at her with surprise.
"After Neji's father?" Hinata smiled softly then added.
"He would of been honored."
-----
"Sakura?" Neji whispered to her.
"Yes?" she asked from the other side of a soundly sleeping 5 year old Hizashi. Neji grabbed her hand and squeezed lightly.
"I love you." he said using his other hand to fold back a small tendril of pink hair from their two year old daughter's face.
"I love you too Neji-kun."
OWARI.