Chapter 9 ---- The Camp II
Sakura was carried to the school nurse's tent. Since the rafting was in the upper stream and the water was clean, there was no need for Sakura to be sent to the hospital for check-ups of the lungs.
She took a bath in the cabin where some of the teachers stayed. She got into a fresh set of clothing.
"Sakura, I am really sorry about what happened..," Ino said to Sakura with a guilty expression on her face.
"It's ok. I just panicked in the water because it was pulling me down," Sakura answered and smiled.
Sakura turned to Sasuke who was also present in the cabin and said, "Thanks for saving me in the water, Sasuke-kun, " Sakura had a sweet smile on her face.
It made Sasuke feel better. He just nodded.
The three went back to the tents. Sakura went to bed in her tent and Sasuke and Ino stayed outside.
"What was Neji doing there, anyway?" Ino asked casually.
Sasuke froze. He did not know what to say.
"He gave Sakura CPR..," Sasuke heard his own voice in his head.
"Sasuke-kun, a…are you ok?" Ino asked Sasuke as she looked into his face. "You look terribly vexed."
"I am," he said. Sasuke left the place and went by the river and sat down on a rock. He put his elbows on his lap and held his hands together. He stared at the clear water. As he traced the water down stream, the water turned foamy and white. With cold, inanimate eyes Sakura stared into the space. He was zoning out.
"She needs CPR!" Neji's voice echoed in his head.
"Sasuke. Yo, Sasuke!" someone was calling his name.
Sasuke came back to reality and looked up. Naruto was standing in front of him. Sasuke dropped his head.
"I heard about it," Naruto said softly. "He had to do it, though," he went on, "Neji really is not the right person."
Sasuke's eyes were colder than ever. It seemed like he had no desire in the world but to be soaked in hatred and grudge.
"Hey!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar and pulled him up. "Uchiha Sasuke! I'm losing you, Sasuke!"
Sasuke's eyes softened.
"You're not that kind of person."
"…"
"If you like Sakura…If you want to change…If you want to prove that you can love…Do it!" Naruto was almost shouting. His eyes were firmly fixed on Sasuke's and the intensity made Sasuke unable to speak.
Sasuke quietly nodded.
Naruto and Sasuke walked back to Sasuke's tent. When they were coming back to the tent, they spotted Neji coming out of the woods from the other side. The two hid behind the bushes and saw Neji approach Sakura, who was outside thinking of something.
Sakura noticed the footsteps behind her and turned around.
Neji was standing there. Sakura was taken by surprise.
"Neji..," his name dropped from her lips.
"I---"
"I---" they both said at the same time.
"Thanks for …saving me," Sakura looked at Neji and blushed.
"It's fine. I came to tell you something," Neji said.
"Tell me something..?" Sakura asked Neji with an uncontrollable curiosity and expectation.
"I'm sorry about the other day. I could've spoken nicer. It seems like you've been misunderstanding something," Neji said.
Sakura did not say anything.
"I don't think anything of you..," Neji said simply.
"You don't? Is that true?" Sakura asked with hope in her eyes.
"It's just like what I said," Neji looked into Sakura's eyes. There seemed to be kindness in his eyes that made Sakura think that the words belied his true feelings.
"But I've always liked you!" Sakura retaliated with more energy.
"No you haven't," Neji shook his head.
"What?" Sakura said.
"I've done nothing for you, Sakura. We knew each other a long time ago. That's all. You've been directing your feelings at the wrong person," Neji said with a straight face.
It was absolutely true. Neji had not done anything for Sakura. She thought for a while and said, "Do you remember when we used to play with each other in my room?"
Neji said, "Yeah, I do."
Sakura went on, "Remember when we sneaked out of my room and explored the attic?" You tried to scare me but I screamed right into your ear and you had the ringing in your ear for a while." Sakura giggled.
Neji no longer had his stern face on. Kindness returned to his expression.
"And…And when you were hiding under my bed for the whole time when my mom came and gave me a long talk about my math test?" Sakura started laughing.
Neji was laughing, too. It felt like they were twelve years old again. Tears started dropping from Sakura's eyes but Sakura wiped them off and kept laughing. Sakura looked at Neji with her face angled at the ground.
"Neji..," Naruto said to himself.
Sasuke just watched the two laugh.
"Sakura," Neji said.
"Hmm?"
"I think there is someone who really cares about you," Neji said.
"Who?" Sakura asked.
"You have to find it out yourself," Neji replied. "That's all I have to say…"
"Oh…"
"I'm moving to another city," Neji said.
"You're moving?" Sakura asked surprised.
"I'm leaving after the camp," Neji answered.
"Why so sudden?" Sakura asked.
"It's been decided for a long time. I guess I really wanted to talk to you before I left," Neji looked at Sakura.
"Well, have fun there!" Sakura smiled.
Neji was not expecting to hear Sakura say that, but he smiled and said, "Thanks." He turned around and left. Sakura no longer felt sad or confused. She was clear about what she was feeling at that moment. It was same as Neji. It was a special friendship.
Sasuke and Naruto came out of the woods pretending like they were just coming back from a walk.
"Sakura-chan! Are you ok?" Naruto came over and asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's boring to be inside the tent alone, so I came out.
"Where is Ino?" Sasuke asked as he looked around.
"I don't know. I think she went for a walk," Sakura answered.
"Well, I actually have something to ask her, so I have to get going! I'll see you guys later!" Naruto waved and left.
"Neji is moving," Sakura said looking up at the sky.
"He is?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Sakura's face.
"Yeah. He didn't tell me where he was going but I hadn't really talked to him for a long time. I thought he had changed but he was still the same person inside. I thought I liked him but I think I was just missing the friendship we had…" Sakura said. "I think there is someone who really cares about you….you have to find it out yourself," Sakura heard Neji's voice in her head. "I hope he likes his new home," Sakura smiled and looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke blushed and looked away.
"I'm hungry," Sakura said.
"I have some snack bars in my backpack. I'll get some out for you," Sasuke said without looking at Sakura.
"Really? Thanks," Sakura said to Sasuke.
Sasuke went into the tent and came out with four snack bars. He gave two of them to Sakura.
"Protein Bars?" Sakura laughed.
"You don't have to eat it if you don't want," Sasuke said.
"No, I"ll eat it!" Sakura patted Sasuke's shoulder.
They sat down together and ate the snack bars. They were both hungry from the incident.
"I'm tired," Sakura sighed.
"Me, too," Sakura put his head down on his knees.
"We should get some rest," Sakura suggested.
They stood up and agreed to rest in their respective tent. Sakura looked at Sasuke before going into her tent. She saw a long scratch on Sasuke's arm. He had gotten it from the rocks in the river.
"Sasuke-kun...Your arm is bleeding," Sakura pointed at his arm.
Sasuke looked at his arm and said, "Oh …" He looked at Sakura and said, "It's nothing."
"No, you have to treat it or it may be infected! I have a first-aid kit in my back pack," Sakura went into her tent and came back swiftly with the first-aid kit. She came to Sasuke and gently treated the cut. Then, she wrapped gauze around his arm. Sasuke watched her concentrate on her work.
"Thanks," Sasuke said to Sakura.
"No problem. It's what I can do for you," Sakura smiled. Sasuke was happy.
They both went into their tent to get some rest. Sakura fell asleep immediately.
She opened her eyes and was surprised to see darkness. She looked at her watch. It was midnight. She could not sleep anymore. Ino was sound asleep. Sakura came out of her tent and breathed in the fresh air. She heard the crickets and frogs. She could hear the water from the stream. She thought about what happened earlier that day. When she fell off the raft, she saw Sasuke reach his hand out to her. She remembered Sasuke holding her tightly not to let her go. Sakura thought some more and returned to her tent.
The next day, the camp was called off because of the sudden weather change. All the students were driven back to school. Naruto and Sakura walked back home together.
"That was some camping experience," Sakura said to Naruto as she widened her eyes a little and sighed.
"Yeah, it was. Too bad you fell off your raft," Naruto said.
"It's ok…It happened. It actually wasn't too scary because Sasuke-kun was holding me for the whole time," Sakura said.
Naruto looked at Sakura. Sakura looked at Naruto.
"What?" Sakura asked.
"Nothing," Naruto grinned.
Author Note: I hope you liked the chapter. I think it's the longest I've written in this story. I'll appreciate any comments and reviews! Thanks!
