AN: I'm back and for real this time! I finished my oneshot Bathed in Moonlight (sasusaku) and I'm going to finish my nutcracker story after I finish with this one so there will be no more distractions! I'm glad to be back! So read and enjoy! Please review!

Ambushed

Cool morning air chilled Sakura's porcelain skin as their little troop of travelers leapt stealthily from the cover of one tree to the next. Occasionally, the patter of small drops of dew collided with her body due to the intensity with which their bodies shook the branches as they jumped. You'd think that the kunoichi's mind was filled with thoughts of the precarious mission that she was currently on, or the fact that she had just received knowledge that she wasn't even part of the human race, important taxing things that gave one a heavy mind. But no, all she could feel right now was a giddy yet warm bliss. Last night had been one of the best nights of her entire life. And it was all because of Neji…

Flashback:

"Come on, I think it's time I taught you how to swim," he chuckled holding her close.

A light pink blush colored Sakura's cheeks as she held onto her new found lover. Trust shone in her eyes and she was completely pliant as he swam with her out into the middle of the lagoon. All the while she gazed downward at his muscular tail and how he barely stroked it in order to move forward. He was so graceful in the water, like he was merely drifting through the air. Surely, she could not possess the same elegance when it would become time to swim on her own.

An intentional clearing of her white eyed beau's throat alerted her that although he was extremely amused and quite pleased with the fact that she found pleasure in gazing at his tail, it was time for her lesson.

"Oh! Heh heh, sorry," Sakura muttered as her embarrassment enveloped her. Neji smiled.

"Sakura, you should never be sorry for anything," he whispered as he lifted her hand and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles. Sakura blushed. She was not used to his thoughtful affection. She prayed that she never would. Tonight, Neji was making her feel like she was a princess, a person who was to be cherished and cared for. He really was Prince Charming.

Slowly, he released his arm from around her waist while holding on to the hand that he had kissed. At first, the lack of support caused the pink haired mermaid to panic. Frantically, she pumped her tail back and forth as she began to sink, forgetful of the fact that mermaids naturally lived underwater. The only consequence of this action was that she surged forward and Neji was caught of guard when he caught her in his arms. However, his surprise shifted in his countenance to that of a sexy grin. He leaned down and Sakura shivered involuntarily when she felt his hot breath on her delicately pointed ear.

"It seems you can't stay out of my arms…" Sakura's cheeks flamed, but she managed the courage to keep his gaze when their eyes met. Before she knew it, she was caught up in another mind-blowing kiss. Her senses became so hazy due to his touch that she didn't realize that they were sinking slowly until they were completely submerged underneath the cool waters.

When Sakura pulled away for air she inhaled without thinking or opening her eyes. So when she finally did lift the lids, she was startled.

"Whoa! It's ok Sakura, it's ok. Remember Sakura, you're a mermaid, you can breathe underwater. For a moment, she didn't seem to believe him, but when she saw that he was speaking to her without any problems she relaxed and started to realize all of the new possibilities that this form held for her. Her face lit with excitement.

"You're right! I can!" A small contented smile placed itself on Neji's lips. How easily amused she was!

"Yes, we can, and if you'd let me, I'd love to show you this world," he replied and once again moving away from her only this time keeping both of her hands. He was attempting to teach her how to swim once again.

"Ok, this time, just move your tail softly," he instructed gently. Neji found Sakura to be extremely cute as she bit her lip tying to concentrate on the task at hand. Uncertainly, she did as she was told and found to her delight that she gracefully glided right back into his strong arms.

"I did it!" she exclaimed in excited wonder. Maybe Neji's grace in the water wasn't so unattainable after all.

"So you did," Neji chuckled placing a playful kiss on her nose to which Sakura blushed. After another five minutes, Sakura could swim almost perfectly on her own. This led to the enjoyable exploration of the lagoon and the marine life that it possessed. Hours of fun and play exhausted the couple and soon Neji led her back up to the surface to rest. Kakashi would not be pleased if the two of them were not where he had left them. That didn't mean that Neji wasn't tempted to simply stay with his love on the lagoon floor.

He simply loved being with Sakura. It was almost like she was her old self. Except now, they were together. With the exception of being home, everything was alright in his world. As long as he had Sakura, he was content. He was content just being in her presence and basked in the feeling of showing his affection for her and knowing that she would reciprocate those feelings.

Still, he swam with her to the shallows of the lagoon where she had first discovered her true form. Finally, he found a large smooth rock upon which he could lean against. As soon as he seated himself, Sakura swam right up and curled up against his side. Neji chuckled and wrapped his arms protectively around her. How long did he wish for this to happen? Then something happened which shocked him. Shyly, she had rested her fins on top of his. Neji tensed. She didn't know this, but the touching of tails was extremely affectionate and if proved, could lead on to more intimate of activities. But when Neji saw that the young princess was already fast asleep, he knew that sort of thing was not her intention. Smiling he rested his head upon hers, and let the peace filled wonders of sleep overtake him unaware of the onyx eyes that were about to behold them.

The next morning, Neji woke to the warm sunlight gently prodding him away from the land of dreams. Feeling something shift against him, he looked down to see Sakura snuggled up comfortably against his side wrapped possessively in his arms. A small smile escaped. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, but he had very good reason to. Sakura was in love with him and not that frigid emotionally challenged snake Sasuke. Life was good. She was in his arms and that was all that mattered. He wished that time would just freeze on this moment so that she would be in his arms forever.

However, it was not to be because the bright morning rays were having the same effect on his beloved cherry blossom. Slowly, she shifted and stirred in his arms trying to hang on desperately to her dream land. Eventually, she surrendered when her eyes sleepily opened greeting the new day.

"Good morning," Neji whispered in her ear. It pleased him to watch as she shivered before gazing up at him. A tired crooked smile graced her features before she reached up, pecked him on the cheek and whispered her morning welcome as well.

Neji could really have stayed with Sakura in that lagoon for so much longer, but they needed to rejoin the others and continue with their journey back to the ocean. The longer they stayed on land, the more danger they brought to themselves.

"But how do I change back?" Sakura had asked when posed with the information that it was time for them to leave. Neji looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"Just picture yourself as a human. Picture your legs and feet and how it felt like when you had them. Sakura nodded. She could do that. It was only since last night that she hadn't had all of those things. However, this thought as well as all others flew out the window when she noticed that Neji had begun the process himself. Hurriedly, she looked away and focused on the scales of her tail. Apparently, he was not familiar with the human anatomy and that certain parts of that anatomy should be covered when in the presence of a female. But she couldn't blame him, as a merman, he wore no clothes. She would have to inform him of these rules later on, when she wasn't blushing furiously.

"Um, could you um, make sure you're turned around?" Sakura felt like an idea for asking this, but despite what her true form was, he had no business seeing her human one partially nude. With a cute exasperated sigh, Neji turned his back to her and crossed hi arms waiting patiently for her to shift and get dressed. Sakura waited for a moment, and when she was sure that the merman wasn't going to peek, she began to concentrate on her human form. In her mind's eye, she saw her legs and feet, and remembered how shoes on her feet felt, or the sensation of her bare feet on the ground. Then, all of a sudden, something stirred from within her, and she could feel the tingling feeling of her legs separating and taking shape into what they once were. When she could feel the shifting cease, Sakura squinted an eye open cautiously, and to her delight, she found that she was back to her old self. Not wasting any time, Sakura put her underwear and skort back on, along with her boots. Looking herself over, it was like last night had never happened. But when she gazed at Neji's back as he waited patiently, she was secretly glad that it did. She had found her prince charming last night, someone who loved her for who she was, human or not. For that, she was eternally grateful.

"Come on, let's get going," Sakura said cheerfully entwining her hand with his, fingers interlaced. Neji looked down at her, smiled and nodded.

The walk back to the camp was filled with comfortable silence. The couple knew they were close to approaching the others when they heard the familiar bantering of Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke…Sakura felt her heart clench of the mere thought of his name. She was still extremely hurt from the crushing comment he gave her yesterday. Unconsciously, she gripped Neji's hand tighter, to which he gave a reassuring squeeze. One look at her withering countenance, and Neji knew exactly who she was thinking about. It made his blood boil all the more. That cursed Uchiha. Well no more, now he was going to be there to protect her from that snake brat and he would hurt her no more. He would make sure of that.

When they walked into the clearing, it was clearly a humorous sight. Naruto was jumping up and down exclaiming something which they couldn't quite hear. Kakashi was leaning down over Sasuke and was motioning toward his precious book while Sasuke himself was red faced and looked absolutely mortified.

Suddenly, for whatever reason, Sasuke was the first to catch sight of them. Luckily, Sakura had caught sight of Hinata and was still unaware of the Uchiha's attention. With a soft squeeze of her hand and a quick peck on the cheek, Sakura left Neji's side and went to talk with her best friend. Neji smiled fondly at her watching her as she went. Soon, the others caught onto their presence as well.

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed. Apparently, he was very excited that Sakura could regain her human form. Hinata as well was entranced with the fact that Sakura was standing on two legs instead of in the water with a long flowing tail. Apparently, Kakashi didn't mind much as he kept reading that novel of his as he sat down. But what about?

Neji quickly scanned the area, and immediately scowled. Sure enough, that stupid Uchiha was staring at his Sakura. And what was that in his gaze? So the snake finally comprehended what he had lost. He was staring at her with the utmost longing. Well, tough. Neji deliberately stepped in front of Sakura, effectively blocking Sasuke's view of her. Neji watched and heard as a low feral growl native to the naga race broke free from the Uchiha. Neji wasn't intimidated in the least. He could growl all he wanted but he would never back down.

The two locked eyes and death glares were exchanged. Sasuke stepped forward in an unspoken challenge. Neji stepped forward answering it in defiance. The two were about to rumble and no one was realizing it. Neji's magical aura flared, and the only ones that could detect the change were Sasuke and Kakashi. The others were oblivious to the bloodshed that potentially was about to be shed. Kakashi rose to his feet when he began to see the familiar wind caused by that of Neji's blue hued chakra.

However, his efforts were all put to rest when seemingly out of no where Sakura stepped back up to Neji's side and placed a small, calm, reassuring hand on Neji's forearm. The teen was disarmed with the mere tiny smile she gave him. She didn't speak a word, and yet he knew exactly what she was trying to convey. She didn't want him to fight with Sasuke. It wasn't worth it. She was his. The battle was over and he had won. It wasn't like she was a prize to be won, but wise women know that men like to have their pride appeased.

With a firm nod, Neji walked over to where Kakashi sat, trying to please Sakura by keeping a safe distance away from his rival.

However, as soon as Neji was out of arm's reach, Sakura felt her heart clench and she could barely breathe when her eyes purposefully locked with Sasuke's. This was the hardest part. Looking at him and her heart letting him go all the while wondering if this was the right decision. Was it right that she was giving up on him? But wait, he already made that decision. He found her revolting in her true form. There was no getting around it. She would never be with Sasuke. In that moment, it felt like that small inner voice cried out.

She could barely keep his gaze. It was so different now. It was like it was hungry and…sad? No, she was hallucinating. Those emotionless orbs would never possess those feelings when he gazed at her. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more than she could read in those eyes. If only she could see past those emotional barriers that he had erected so perfectly against the world, then maybe she could find the answers that she so desperately longed for. But no, that time was over. The pain and heartache weren't worth it anymore. And now, in order to be faithful to Neji she had to make this much needed goodbye to the idea that she would ever be with Sasuke. Still, it hurt like nothing she had ever felt before as she turned away from him without a word.

Sasuke had stopped growling the second he locked gazes with Sakura. The very sight of her stilled his breath. Even more so, the heartbreaking gaze she sent him. It was so unsure, so questioning and scared. He hated the way she was looking at him now. Where had her trusting, warm glances gone? "Probably to Neji," he thought bitterly. Why had he lost her affections? Maybe because he had treated her like discarded trash? Mentally, he cringed. How he wished he could take back all of the ill will he showed her. And now, she was letting him go. He could see it in her eyes. The silent goodbye that would haunt his dreams. And now, he would have to find some way to deal with that. But why, couldn't she see what he was trying so desperately to show her now. Maybe, it just didn't matter at this point to her. Whatever the case, when she turned away from him in what seemed like slow motion, Sasuke felt his heart ache. How he wanted to scream out to her, but his pride would never allow him such a luxury. It was bittersweet when he heard Kakashi's voice calling them to pack up because they were heading out in five minutes

End Flashback

Sakura felt her give a small ache when she remembered that moment she had with Sasuke. Immediately she squashed the feeling, and forced herself to not look back at him. How she wanted to, and she cursed her heart for being so fickle.

Really, she should have been more aware of her surroundings and not so involved with thoughts of the Uchiha, because she barely dodged the large shuriken that came zooming at her out of nowhere. In order to dodge the incoming projectile, she was forced to leap down out of the trees.

"SAKURA!" everyone except for Kakashi seemed to scream. It was an ambush and they were caught in it. Without a second's hesitation, Kakashi and Neji leaped down after her knowing that one of their assailants was surely gunning for her. Sasuke as well as Naruto and Hinata also tried to follow but another massive shuriken was hurled at them coming from that direction and so they were forced to retreat. Countless numbers of razor sharp needles torpedoed after them in waves causing them to backtrack even farther. Sasuke cursed under his breath. Their opponents were purposely trying to separate them from Sakura and the others. "Sakura…no…"

The three Konoha ninjas were forced to regroup in a marshy area. The very ground sank a few centimeters when weight was placed upon it. Immediately, the three grouped against each other back to back, kunai drawn and poised for battle.

"What are we doing! We can't just sit here, we have to help Sakura and Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled irritated that his former crush was facing unknown danger. Sasuke growled.

"I know that you idiot, but we can't just…" Sasuke's words were cut off when the hooded figure stepped out of the tree line. Nonchalantly, he removed the cloak and revealed himself.

The next chapter is called Rage so the question is whose battle should be first, Naruto/Sasuke/Hinata or Kakashi/Neji/Sakura. You decide! Please review!