Without a Doubt by lilmisssushi
A/N: So…it's been awhile. –attempts to dodge tomatoes-
I'm really sorry about how long this took. Really, I am. I hope this extra long chapter makes up for the absence somewhat. No excuses, though.
As always, thank you for the lovely reviews! They've been an absolute pleasure XD.
Summary: For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?
For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)
Disclaimer: Nope still don't own.
Recap from last chapter – Sakura walks in on Sasuke making out with a random girl and stumbles back out, broken-hearted, with Neji accompanying her.
Sasuke is also pretty stuffed-up because of his jealousy concerning Naruto and Hinata's relationship, and tries to prove he doesn't need Naruto, with lousy results.
Sakura and Sasuke both drink themselves under the table, and havoc ensues when Neji is forced to take Sasuke home and mistakes his drunken ramblings for a confession of love.
Please enjoy!
Chapter VI – Awakening
Sakura blearily cracked an eye open the next morning at some ungodly hour to find sunshine glaring directly in her face. Jack-hammering upright in search of her alarm clock, she paid the severe price for her sudden movement when a wave of intense nausea passed momentarily over her system. She clapped a hand over her mouth, staggered out of her bed, tripped on the clothes scattered about her floor and only just made it to her ensuite bathroom in time to throw herself across the toilet, dry-retching.
She was still at it a couple of minutes later when a glass of water and some medicinal pills miraculously appeared, dangling before her eyes. She grasped at it and downed it all in a single gulp. Blinking groggily, she swiped a hand across her eyes in hopes of clearing her vision.
"Sai?" she asked tiredly, when her brain finally clicked into place and determined the identity of the shadowy figure hovering above her. "What are you doing in my house?"
He crouched down beside her, where she had made herself comfortable on the cold tiles.
"Short-term memory lapse much, ugly? If it weren't for me, you'd be passed out right now in some shady alleyway or other. Or worse, Hyuuga would have had his twisted way with you and you'd have woken up none-the-wiser. Come to think of it, he always did have bad taste."
Clutching at her pounding head, she moaned at the sound of his loud, abrasive voice. "Not so loud, please. Tell me again, what exactly happened last night and why are you still here?"
He sighed, stood up and turned around so his back was facing her. Then, cryptically, he muttered; "Maybe you should count it as a blessing that you can't remember much."
"Huh?"
"I said, you got your ass so thoroughly drunk that I was forced to carry your staggering weight on my back all the way home." He paused and pointed gratuitously at his shoulder, "and you drooled on my favourite shirt."
Too tired to come up with a witty response, Sakura let his slight on her character go with a single scathing look and slowly got to her feet, stretching. The pills were finally starting to kick in and her own healing predisposition would do the rest of the work.
For the first time that morning, she chanced a glance downwards – only to find herself inexplicably donned in only her fuzzy white robe with a lacy singlet and pink silk boxer shorts.
…She did not remember changing out of her clothes.
(In fact, as her imbecile of a teammate had pointed out earlier, she did not remember much of anything at all.)
Slowly raising her head at the realization (he had changed her clothes! How dare he? The bastard!) to glare daggers at her teammate, she watched with a barely concealed rage as she stared him down. But before she could open her mouth and start screaming obscenities at him ('pervert' and 'creep' instantly came to mind), he had held up his hands in mock defense and chuckled.
"Take it like a man, ugly, there wasn't much to see. You had vomit all over you. And no, I did not take advantage of you, if that's what you were hoping."
She paused, fuming. "If I didn't already know you were as asexual as they come, I would've decapitated you in fifteen different ways by now."
"And here I thought you'd be grateful."
"Whatever Sai. I owe you one, happy?"
"You owe me a lot more than that. I demand payment for services rendered."
"What. Do. You. Want?"
A pause.
"You have to do all my mission reports for a month."
"A week," she haggled half-heartedly.
"Two."
"Done and done. Go away now, I need more sleep."
"Gladly."
Sakura gave him a helpful shove out of the window on his way out and she couldn't help but smile slightly when he yelped, jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and turned around to make a rude finger gesture back at her.
He really was an idiot, but she couldn't even imagine life without his retarded personality and back-handed compliments to keep her on her toes anymore.
After she finally got rid of Sai, Sakura hadn't taken a further two steps towards the bed again before sensing another person's presence on her porch. A second later, the doorbell trilled and confirmed her suspicions.
Stumbling across the kitchen, still slightly disoriented, she muttered a curse as she stubbed her big toe on a slight fissure between the tiles. Aware that she probably looked like crap 'cause she hadn't had a chance to smarten up in the bathroom yet, she yawned and pulled her fingers lightly through her hair, hoping to untangle some of the unruly knots.
She opened the door to find the Hyuuga standing stoically at her doorstep, with his back facing her and his clothes whispering in the slight breeze. Somewhat surprised to see him, she called out uncertainly;
"So…what brings you here, Neji?"
For all the years they had known each other, he had never once called upon her at home. That was just the way it had always been, and there was just something so personal about having him standing right there, as if it was perfectly normal for him to be visiting her on the weekend, and so early in the day.
Slowly, he turned around to face her and there was a flicker of uncertainty in his lavender-tinted eyes as they caught hers and held. There was a tentativeness in his posture as he stepped forward to meet her, which struck Sakura as odd for the Hyuuga's attitude was usually the furtherest away from any such emotion. Running her eyes over him in a quick perfunctory check-up, she thought she saw the tiniest hint of a cut on his forearm, though he appeared to be otherwise unharmed.
Absently, Sakura reached out to touch the arm which held the cut and he solemnly watched as she traced her finger along its length and it closed up in a matter of seconds under the greenish glow of her chakra. His gaze was unassuming as it rested on her, taking note of the slight bags under her eyes.
"Did you…sleep well?"
Neji wasn't one to be so vague, and they hardly ever exchanged such meaningless pleasantries either. She sensed that there was much more meaning underlying the simple question. Something was up, and she felt as if her answer mattered greatly to him. There was an expectant look in his eyes, and for some reason, they made her slightly uneasy, like there was something she was missing…
"I-"
And suddenly she was immersed back into the suffocating atmosphere that was Genma's party, and it was hot; unbearably so.
Again, she was turning that corner with Neji's warning lingering in her ears, and again, she felt the despair that encompassed her as she unknowingly walked in on Sasuke's tête-à-tête with that girl.
Her blood-red stilettos, her crumpled shirt and saccharine smile, Sasuke's wandering hands and closed eyes, all these little details served to make her feel weak, and sickened to her very bones. It was like she was seeing it all again for the very first time.
The unpleasant memories burned their way down her throat and curled to settle uncomfortably somewhere in her stomach, and by the end of it, she felt as battered and bruised as she had ever been after a particularly horrible mission.
Slumping bonelessly against the doorframe, she felt the weariness set in. She could feel the slight prickle of tears behind her eyelids, and alarmed, she kept her eyes closed until they went away. The shock soon left them dry.
She didn't think she could ever forgive herself for the weakness if she fell apart in front of Neji; she wouldn't, because she'd promised herself that she would try to be strong in the face of all adversity and this was her chance to prove her words, wasn't it?
It wasn't until she felt a warm hand place itself under her elbow and a strong body steer hers back into her house and towards the kitchen to settle her on a stool that she realized that Neji was still there. He was still there.
To his credit, it was done without affectation and Sakura was grateful for the wordless support.
"Drink."
He placed a mug of some warm beverage or other in her hands and she sipped at it obediently, all the while faintly wondering how the Hyuuga managed to maneuver himself about her kitchen so efficiently. Then, she berated herself for such a worthless observation and to her horror, she could feel a hysterical chuckle bubbling up in her throat. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she risked a quick glance over at Neji to see if he'd noticed her slip. He had.
Saying nothing, he regarded her calmly before gently picking up her wrists and started chafing them. She watched in slight amazement as his long fingers and skilled hands warmed her, made her eyes slowly droop.
"Neji, I…-"
"Don't."
Quieting, she waited for a sign from him, but all of a sudden she felt sleepy and she tried to fight the wave of tiredness washing over her but it was too hard, it was impossible and somehow she was slipping into bed with the aid of another and her sheets were soothing as they enveloped her and everything was fuzzing out and the last thing she remembered were the fingers resting lightly at her temple, warm and supple and tender.
---------
When she awoke again, a slow regaining of the senses, it was dark and Sakura realized belatedly that she'd slept the whole day away.
Neji had left.
She should have expected it but somehow, Sakura was still a little disappointed. She resolved to thank him for his help the next time she saw him, and with any luck, it would be soon.
Trying not to think too much about Sasuke – the brooding dark-haired boy who had stolen her heart from such an early age - Sakura sighed and delved further into the warmth of her blankets. She resolved to figure out where exactly everything stood, in the light of a new day.
As she made her decision, she felt fatigue wash over her and she allowed it to carry her away.
…But just as she was about to drift into sleep, memories from the previous night again invaded her senses.
Unbidden, a close-up image of Neji procured itself in her mind's eye. Inexplicably, she felt herself leaning towards him, her eyes slipping shut and his warm breath puffing across her whetted lips…almost as if…as if--
Wrenching herself out of the memory, Sakura shook her head, startled. She could feel her heart pounding all over again.
Dimly, Sakura realized, that last night, she had been about to kiss him.
Over the next week, Sakura spent what felt like every waking moment in the Hyuuga's company, and she had no idea how it came to pass.
It was like he was quietly guiding her, a hand on her back, offering his support, and she was left feeling a little puzzled by the fact that he cared so much.
(They spent so much time together, in fact, that she imagined that she could still see him when she closed her eyes at night, long after he'd left. She could hear the rustle of his robes a mile away, and she could recall the musky, slightly sweet smell that she had come to recognize as Neji's natural masculine scent. She could hear his deep, silky-timbred voice speak in her ear at the oddest moments of the day. In short, she was amazed by the fact that neither of them had tried to kill each other from sensory overload yet.)
Sakura wondered at her distinct lack of further heartbreak over the predicament with Sasuke. After the first initial shock the day after she'd witnessed the Incident, she felt oddly calm. Maybe, since she had faithfully kept up the pretense of not being affected for the whole week, it had somehow become the truth. Maybe she had been too distracted by the combination of work, Tsunade-sama's stern concern, Ino's relentless chattering and pep talks, Sai's sparring and Neji's constant, soothing presence to have noticed the time pass her by.
Or maybe, it was the calm before the storm. Whichever way it was, Sakura wanted to make the most of things before the proverbial shit hit the fan.
A rather conspicuous detail that was apparently missing in all of this as of late was Naruto's presence – or lack thereof.
She had come to adore him over the years, for he had earned her respect and regard through his own blood, sweat, tears and innocent smile, and now, he, along with Ino, were her two bestest blonde friends. True to form, their combined forces had driven her insane on a daily basis in their younger days, but Sakura found that she missed his cheerful smile and upbeat attitude very much, now that he'd all but disappeared.
Sakura turned slightly to the left to see Neji staring disdainfully down at his bowl of ramen.
Earlier that day, she had felt that it was finally time to venture out into public and risk the fallout of the Sasuke Incident, and Neji was acting as her resident bodyguard and companion, so to speak. Hiding behind Neji every time she saw anyone she knew, they had slowly made their way over to the Ichiraku for lunch.
"Stop scowling at your food and eat already, Hyuuga."
He continued to stare at the bowl noncommittally, and there was nothing in his expression that showed he'd even heard her except for the slight twitch above his left eyebrow.
"Oh come on, your Highness," she teased, aware of his reluctance to eat what he termed 'The Trash that Naruto Likes.' "It's my treat, so you better appreciate it."
"No," he replied, point-blank, as he carefully placed his wooden chopsticks down.
"No?"
He coughed lightly before saying (rather sweetly, she thought later), "I've already paid."
"You always beat me to it!"
"Hn. I wouldn't let you pay for me."
(She'd always suspected him of being a somewhat stunted, pseudo-gentleman.)
"I've never known you to treat anyone before. Tenten-san said you're probably the second stingiest bastard in all of Konoha, apart from my sensei, that is." A pause. "Are you trying to tell me something, Hyuuga?" She gave him an exaggerated wink.
The corners of his mouth curled up, and his smirk was intensely familiar. "Don't get too comfortable. It won't last."
"I knew there'd be a catch in there somewhere. I guess I should just cut my losses and be glad that it's lasted this long, ne, Neji-kun?"
"Your words, Haruno, not mine."
She laughed, and they lapsed into a companionable silence. After awhile, she thought to ask him about whether he'd seen any sign of Naruto around lately, since he and Hinata were now in a relationship.
"Hey Neji," she poked him lightly in the shoulder to get his attention, and he swung around to focus his lavender-tinted gaze on her. She had no idea why, but she always seemed to forget the effect his eyes had on her. Shaking her head lightly, she continued.
"Do you know what's happening with Naruto and Hinata at the moment? I haven't seen either one of them in ages, and that's pretty weird considering the fact that it's Naruto we're talking about. Have you… seen him around?"
The Hyuuga considered her question for a moment before speaking, almost as if he was weighing up what he should say and what he shouldn't. Finally, he reluctantly answered;
"Naruto has stayed overnight in a guest room at the Hyuuga compound twice. He and Hinata appear to be close, and train with each other quite a bit. They seem to be happy."
Perceptively, Sakura sensed a slight undercurrent of something, she didn't know what, in Neji's voice. Was it something to do with the Main House? Risking his displeasure, she tentatively asked if his family 'approved.'
"Hiashi has not said it outright, but I sense that he gives them his blessing."
Sakura paused to digest this, but before anything further could be said between them, Sakura's eyes had caught onto movement by the glass door of the restaurant, which opened to accept a figure clad in blue.
Her heart gave a surprised little jolt at the instant recognition and she eyed the person warily.
It was Sasuke.
Sakura sighed. She'd come out of hiding for a reason, she supposed, and it was time to face the music.
Here it was, the moment of truth.
Sakura shifted slightly on her seat, making eye contact with the Uchiha. She stifled the uneasy flutterings that stirred in her lower abdomen as they locked gazes and prayed to whatever deities were looking over her at that moment to lend her strength.
Forcing a smile onto her face, she waved him over.
"Sasuke-kuuun! Over here!"
For a heart-stopping second she thought he would ignore her and walk out, but he didn't. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he meandered over to their table slowly.
She thought she saw Neji tense after she had called out the name, a muscle jumping visibly at his jaw, but his expression was carefully bland and after a moment or two, she dismissed it as her imagination. Sasuke and Neji had never really gotten along, but it was easy to forget until moments like these.
As Sasuke paused by their table, Sakura promptly forgot her line of thought. His eyebrows were already set into an irritable expression and Sakura could tell without looking that he was gritting his teeth.
Before she could even open her mouth to speak, he had curtly cut her off.
"Sakura. Have you seen Naruto?"
Slightly startled at his blunt manner, she guessed that Sasuke probably hadn't seen any of the blonde recently either, and that was saying something because they were usually joined at the hip.
"Not since the party, no. Is there something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"
Ignoring her, he abruptly turned to stalk away, but he seemed to midjudge his closeness to their table and swung his hand a little too close to Neji.
Neji, who had been stiffly sitting still up until that point, leapt backwards off his seat to avoid the contact as if he'd been burned--
…And not a moment too soon, because the Uchiha's hand had knocked Neji's (mostly uneaten) bowl of ramen, and sent it toppling over the edge of the table, falling end over end until it went splat! on the ground.
The bowl clattered onto the tiles, spilling its contents and causing the Uchiha to turn back, to mutter an apology.
He seemed to catch the Hyuuga's eye, and gave him an inscrutable look, which Neji returned in kind.
Then, he turned and walked right off again, leaving Sakura and Neji bewildered and alone.
"That was…strange," Sakura managed, risking a sidelong glance at the Hyuuga. He had been as skittish as a horse, just then.
They book looked at the mess that the bowl of ramen had become, and Sakura could distinctly see the slow relaxing of the Hyuuga's tensed shoulders as he let out a deep breath, out of the corner of her eye.
"Yeah," he agreed, "it was."
A couple of days later, Neji was beating up the last practice dummy left in the Hyuuga training grounds – all the other ones had been utterly destroyed in his wake.
He would have asked his uncle Hiashi or Hanabi to spar with him, but they had long since figured out that it was best to stay out of his way when he was in one of his 'moods'. Frankly, he would have done the same, if he were in their shoes.
Hinata was also somewhere in the compound, and he would have gone to her as a last resort if she did not already have a guest over (he still felt funny about sparring with Hinata after that first time in the Chuunin exam all those years ago). Incidentally, the guest was the one-and-only Naruto.
The blonde had looked rather pale and drawn from what Neji could observe. His hair had lost a little of its golden luster and Hinata seemed slightly worried.
He couldn't really read Naruto, which was what he was most apprehensive about. The blonde was usually as blunt and open about his thoughts and emotions as the clear blue sky. He was perfectly attentive to Hinata, but there was just something…missing.
To Neji, it seemed as if the couple weren't actually all that…cohesive, although it pained him greatly to say it. There was just something off between them, something not quite right, and he didn't want Hinata to get hurt, but he just didn't know how to intervene. Neji had his suspicions about the relationship from that start, but his cousin had just admired Naruto from afar for so long that he was reluctant to undermine her fragile and newly formed bond with him.
He could always be wrong, he'd been mistaken in his judgment before, and for her sake, he hoped that that would be the case for this time as well.
Snapping the dummy's head off with a last roundhouse kick and flip to finish, he shook his head, disgusted. He had not been concentrating on the task at hand, to be honest. Instead, his thoughts kept creeping back to a certain inscrutable Avenger.
He sighed.
Stripping off his sweaty training shirt, he made his way to the baths. Maybe a long, hot soak would soothe his muscles and allow him to forget about…what he had witnessed the night of Genma's party. And the unreadable look that the Uchiha had sent him at Ichiraku the other day, the way the bowl of ramen had been knocked over and would've landed in his lap had he not jumped out of the way in time. And then there was that time where…
Groaning slightly, Neji slammed open the door of the bathhouse. It was deserted at that time of day, for which he was very glad. He wondered if it would reflect badly on him if he were to repeatedly smack his forehead against the wall in his frustration at the predicament at hand. Surely, if he put enough force into it, he would knock himself out and relieve himself of the disturbing memories of the Uchiha for the rest of the day. He could always get Sakura to heal him later, although there were bound to be a few awkward questions asked…
He sighed again.
What was wrong with him?
The truth was, Hyuuga Neji was very scared.
And confused - over the fact that he had somehow managed to unwittingly steal Sakura's beloved's affections, and now he would have to pay the price. Had he done something in a past life that warranted such torture? Was he bound to be screwed over by fate for the rest of his life? Would the gods never have pity on his poor soul?
Oh, it was a cruel, cruel irony.
Slipping into the hot water after divesting himself of the rest of his clothes, Neji rubbed his face, let the water wash over his skin and drain away his troubles. The steam purified him, gave him an escape in its foggy density. He then slipped into a light meditative state that reached out and allowed him to become aware of every little detail within a twenty-feet radius, and remained that way for some time, before suddenly –
--He felt a foreign chakra edging along the barriers he had erected in his consciousness to alert him of a person's presence before they could surprise him. He sensed no ill intent, but quickly he rose, wrapping a towel about his waist, putting his hands together in a seal and instantly teleporting outside to where his consciousness had been triggered by the stranger.
What he found froze him in his tracks.
You are a ninja. Forbearance is your friend.
"Uchiha," he said.
---------
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Sasuke stared at Neji as if he were the one who was trespassing on private property, and not the other way around. He stood there, wordless, and Neji took the opportunity to sweep their surroundings. They were on the roof of a building near the Main House, and there were trees directly above, shading them from view from the other side of the bordering wall that went all the way around the compound. Sasuke was slightly stooped, as if he had been in the middle of jumping in when the Hyuuga had intercepted him.
"Explain yourself," Neji demanded, taking a threatening step towards the passive Avenger.
The Uchiha completely disregarded him, and instead, had looked around, as if he were expecting something or someone to appear.
Reaching instinctively for a kunai of some sort, Neji subtly patted at his right thigh, only for his fingers to be met with nothing but his soft towel.
Suddenly Neji was all too aware of what he was wearing – or what he wasn't.
'Way to be dressed appropriately when engaging your enemies,' he thought bitterly. 'Especially this one.' His teammate Tenten would have a field day if she ever heard about this.
Frustrated at the Uchiha's silence, Neji narrowed his eyes and dropped into the jyuuken stance, fluidly shifting his feet on the roof tiles and gesturing at the Uchiha to come forward.
He didn't count on the fact that Sasuke merely turned tail, leaping off the side wall and back into the thick brush surrounding the Hyuuga estate, and altogether making a disappearing act worthy of any hunter-nin and with a speed that rivaled Lee's.
Straightening up and fixing his damn towel (it had slipped a little as he'd prepared to fight), he scowled.
This…thing with Uchiha Sasuke had gone way too far. He would fear for his sanity and peace of mind for the rest of his life if he didn't do something about it, and soon.
That 'soon' turned out to be the next day. (What could he say? He was really, really desperate.)
He found his former-sensei Gai, the Original Green Beast of Konoha, practicing his tai-jutsu alone, by a stream, on the other side of Konoha.
Having no idea what he intended to do, it was a testament to his extreme anxiety about the Sasuke Question that he left no time to second-guess himself and strode up to where his sensei was yelling encouragements to himself ("If I don't finish at least a thousand more round-house kicks in the next twenty-minutes, I shall have to circle Konoha five times doing a three-fingered handstand!") and making his presence known.
"Sensei," he called out stiffly.
Gai turned at the sound of the familiar voice, and his face scrunched up as he instantly recognized one of his youthful students (sure, it wasn't his absolute favourite, the beautiful Lee, but that was okay) standing about ten feet away from him.
For a moment, Neji thought Gai was going to weep. This was a bad idea, he thought, inwardly groaning, a VERY bad idea.
Thankfully, Gai did no such thing.
"Neji, oh-youthful-student of mine! What brings you to this side of town on this lovely day?"
For a second, the Hyuuga contemplated ditching his plans to seek advice from his sensei (what had he been thinking!) and just making a run for it. But his pride kept his feet glued to the spot – he wasn't a coward, and nor would he run away from something he feared.
Steeling himself, he looked up to find Gai studying him.
"My boy, you're looking distinctly green. Shall you join me in my exercises and work up a healthy, youthful sweat?"
Not waiting for a response, Gai grabbed his arm and he allowed himself to be pulled towards the stream. It was his last chance to escape. Instead --
"Gai-sensei," he called out awkwardly. "I need your help."
The pulling on his sleeve instantly ceased and he was left winded when something instantly slammed against his chest, arms covered in something remarkably like spandex wrapping around him in a suffocating embrace. When he was finally let go and allowed to resume his breathing, he looked up and was almost blinded by the glaring shine of teeth and hair. Gai was smiling broadly at him, and it was truly a frightening scene to behold.
"Neji-son! I never thought it would happen! You were always such a lonesome boy! I'm so honoured that you would think to come to your former-sensei for advice! Never fear, for I am here!"
At this point, he swung his arm out and did the good-guy pose, almost whacking Neji's shoulder in the process. He definitely managed to clip the Hyuuga on the arm though, and smiled sheepishly in apology. Neji tried not to glare. It wouldn't do to scare his sensei and only chance at redemption away, even if he was rather eccentric.
"Tell me, my boy, was it women troubles you were having?"
"Not exactly-"
"Oh, how I have waited for this day! I always thought Lee would be the one to bear the troubling fruits of romance first, but it seems he is utterly in heaven with Tenten!"
"I-"
"I always thought that you would be the one to end up with my favourite female student, but alas! Lee has stolen her from under you!"
"No-"
"But my beautiful green beast always DID have more charming determination and youthful passion than you, son! So don't feel too bad!"
"Sensei," Neji said, quietly and rather threateningly. Gai paused in his tirade. It seemed he had gotten carried away with the joy of the moment again.
"Yes, Neji, my beloved student?"
"I don't know what to d-"
"Alas! That's what I'm here for! Tell me your troubles, boy, and I shall do my best to render them nay! You need only-"
That was when Neji snapped. Charging forwards, he grabbed Gai by the front of his spandex leotard and pulled him close, so close that he could see his own image in Gai's glassy dark eyes.
"The Uchiha is in love with me," he hissed, nose-to-nose with his stunned sensei.
He waited for it to sink in, and the clearing was left unnaturally quiet.
It was quite some time later when Gai finally managed to blink. Left utterly flabbergasted, he opened his mouth to say something, but Neji instantly clapped a hand over it.
"Don't tell anyone." he growled, panic starting to slowly quicken his heartbeat. He hadn't really meant to blurt it out like that. He'd been aiming for more of a subtle 'what the shit do I do now' approach, without actually telling his sensei who the problems were about – but somehow, it had just come out all wrong.
"Not a soul, do you hear me?"
Gai started nodding vigorously and it was only then that Neji removed his hand. He glowered a little at his ex-sensei for good measure.
"Ah", Gai said, when he had recovered his powers of speech, "I can assure you that I am totally dedicated to your confidentiality."
--------
Little did Gai and Neji know, but about a hundred yards away, Kakashi sat, hidden in the upper branches of a tree.
He grinned.
He had always been rather adept in the art of lip-reading.
It only took a couple of hours for the news to spread like wildfire about the village.
If a person were to chance a visit into town, all they would see were females collapsed in ragged piles, bawling their eyes out, everywhere.
It was like a widespread epidemic - one that didn't show any signs of evaporating any time soon.
-------
"I always thought there was something weird about him" Chouji nodded, munching on his chips. He was sitting with his legs crossed on the hill, utterly content with the world with his friends around him. Plus, he had three more packets of super-sized barbeque chips up his sleeve. They would last him for awhile.
"Yeah, he never did give any of his fan girls the time of day," Kiba non-commitedly replied. The dog-lover was in the midst of stroking Akamaru's fur with a thick-bristled brush, ignoring his dog's mournful whining from the constant tugging at his shaggy fur.
"Sit still," he said to Akamaru. "You're making it worse."
"Makes sense now," Shikamaru added, chewing on a blade of grass. He was lying on his back, slightly elevated by his elbows as he soaked up the dying rays of the sun. The clouds were rather scarce that day, but that was okay. Weather was predictable, weather was nice. Not like women, and not like the angsty prodigies that they knew.
"Dunno what Ino will make of it though. She used to be in love with him, just like the rest of the female population in Konoha."
"Poor Sakura," Kiba suddenly thought out loud. The others all nodded their agreement.
"…" Shino put in.
(Akamaru howled his assent.)
"So, he's after Neji?"
"Apparently so."
They all paused, looking at each other. Shikamaru was the one to lazily put it into words.
"This is so weird."
Sakura could've sworn that something weird was going on when she went into town several days later.
Many females were wearing white, as if they were mourning. Some had cut their hair short, some had just plain shaved it all off.
And all of them looked pale and spent from crying.
Doing her grocery shopping as slowly as she plausibly could, she managed to hear little snippets of conversation that piqued her curiosity greatly.
"It's such a shame really…"
"Fine young man…"
"…no wonder he always looked like he had a stick up his butt…"
"…too pretty for his own good…"
"…doesn't he want to carry on the family line?"
She tried edging closer to the sources of conversation but each and every time, as if through some divine intervention, the speakers always got interrupted just as she was getting a good gist of what they were saying or was finally near enough to hear.
It frustrated her to no end.
She was still thinking about the strange events of that morning later as she went home to change into her training clothes.
Sneaking up on Sai at their preferred training grounds, she whacked him one on the back of the head as hard as she could before sprinting away.
As predicted, his clone poof!ed into white smoke and then disappeared.
"Sai, you wiseass, you can come out now."
He dropped out of the tree he'd been sleeping in.
"You caught me. What gave it away? I thought that one was rather good."
"He looked too passive. Too nice. It was obviously not you."
"Touché."
"Close-range hand-to-hand combat today? I feel like beating something up."
"You're on."
They settled into battle stances and slowly began to circle each other. He was the first to attack with a roundhouse kick and she dodged fluidly, bringing her hands up to trap his legs but he flipped and kicked her away. Locking her arms with his, they punched and dodged back and forth for awhile, until he managed to twist one of her arms to the back.
"So," Sai said conversationally as they struggled against each other's bonds, "How are you feeling about the news?"
Sakura swiped at Sai's legs, twisting her body for access which resulted in him dodging and jumping away.
"What news?"
She launched another attack on his upper torso, disappearing from sight for a moment to appear above his head, snapping her leg down to slam him into the ground.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said.
He dodged at the very last moment, but suffered damage to his left arm. He watched warily as the foot that would have been planted in his head smashed into the ground, cracking it and causing a mini inwards-collapsing of the earth. Grasping his forearm, he shifted away from sight, but his disembodied voice still floated over to where Sakura was standing.
"Yeah you keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, old hag."
Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated on extending her senses until the critical moment where she would feel Sai strike at her again and she would be able to dodge.
"No, seriously. Tell me. Everyone's been doing that to me today."
He appeared behind her, scissoring his legs to catch her shoulders, but she leapt away, falling into a safe roll.
"Doing what?" he asked as he flipped off the ground and lunged at her again, renewing his punches and kicks.
"That. It feels like everybody else knows something that I don't."
Suddenly, he stopped, and straightened up from his formerly crouched position. Sakura eyed him suspiciously as he absent-mindedly brought up a hand to brush at his dirtied clothes. Sai narrowed his eyes at her as he crossed his arms.
"Are you serious? Have you been hiding under a rock or something? How could you not know?"
"I just don't," she snapped, finally running out of patience. "Are you going to enlighten me now? What is this groundbreaking 'news' of yours? It better not be some lame rumour about Jiraiya and Tsunade-sama being seen making out again 'coz otherwise I'll kick your ass."
Sai looked at her strangely, brought up a hand to run it through his hair. It was a gesture he had picked up from Naruto, as unbelievable as that sounded.
"Well, if you don't already know, then I'm not sure I'm the one who should tell you."
Sighing irritably, she turned to walk away- "Well if you're not going to tell me, then I'll find someone who will," – but Sai grabbed her wrist, and held her fast.
"The rumour mill in Konoha's been going crazy, Sakura. Surely you must've noticed all the miserable fan girls lying about in the street?"
She thought back to that morning. So it seemed like everything was sort of connected, but somehow, she was still missing the biggest link.
Sai was the one to finally spell it out for her.
"Uchiha Sasuke is gay, Sakura. And apparently, there's something going on between him and Hyuuga Neji."
A/N: Er…thoughts, anyone? XD.
This chapter was originally going to be even longer but I thought I might back off a little to give you guys some breathing space. I'm sorry that it's mostly a transition-y sort of chapter.
I'll probably end up rewriting this story in part by the end of it...mostly because I want it to flow better. Just so you know!
Please do expect another update in less than a month. I'll try my best not to disappoint this time!
Next time, 'Confrontations!'