Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Naruto, though the plot in this fic
is entirely my own.
A/N: Dunnnuunuu I'm back! And at the risk of being hated on and having a giant toad eat me, I'm continuing the story! Here it is, fifth chapter. You will finally get a glimpse of Sakura's "surpeme and ancient" bloodline. Hope you like it, and please review! Please! Please! Please! It's what keeps me going :)
-
You people know you liked hearing about Sakura's world famous massages. ;)
-
The clock by the bedside read 9:00. Neji was, like always, the first to wake. He grumbled a few words and pulled himself off of the bed and into the shower. Quickly he was done and got out. And like always, Sakura woke up soon after he was done.
"Eh..morning Neji"
"Morning."
Sakura flung herself off of the bed and also into the shower. Her groggy state left unaware of the event that occured last night. In the middle of her shower she remembered. She tried to brush the thoughts away, but she couldn't forget the way her hands felt when they rubbed the muscular curves of his back. She found herself laughing nervously outloud, and knew that if Neji heard this he would think she was a freak. She finished up soon and got out. Neji was eating breakfast, which consisted of cold cereal, when she got out. Not the most nutritious breakfast but hey, what are you going to do.
"So...what're we doing today Neji?"
"Hmm...Well, I'll be training again today."
"Oh.." [Great, I'm gonna be alone again all day, unless..]
"Hey Neji?"
"Hm?"
"Do..do you think I can train with you today?"
Neji gazed at her for a few moments then finally gave a brief nod. Sakura smiled and was glad to be getting out of the hotel room.
-
After breakfast they had left the room to the same spot Neji was using yesterday. Kunai and Shuriken still lay about, and numerous trees with wholes in them. It looked like a miniature war just took place there, and Sakura glanced around. She wondered how far Neji pushed his body yesterday.
"Ok Sakura..are you ready?"
Sakura nodded. Before she could blink, Neji had disappeared. She frantically looked about, and out of habit, raised a kunai infront of her for defense.
Soon after, Neji materalized again right before her eyes. There was a brief 'clang' as their kunai met. Neji jumped back and reached into his holster. He withdrew two shurikens, and without another thought, he flung them at her with intense preciscion. Luckily Sakura was able to dodge in time, but just barely.
Sakura formed her hands into a seal and cried out "Kage Bushin" as two clones formed around her. A smirk played across each one of their faces as they rushed towards Neji, kunai and shuriken at hand. Two of them ran to his sides, and one jumped above him in the air. With a swift motion, all three let fly four shuriken each with a nice amount of chakra stored into each one.
Neji closed his eyes, and as he opened them, veins emerged around his sockets. The Byakugan. The Hyuuga lineage of 360 vision. They even allowed the user to see the Tenketsu, pin sized holes in an attacker which are used to release chakra. The Byakugan made it possible to close up these wholes with the user's own chakra, so that the attacker wouldn't have a chance.
A small smirk appeared on his face as the weapons grew closer. At about an inch from his body, the weapons stopped in mid-motion. Neji's chakra flew out of him and stopped the weapons. After that, Neji uttered the word 'Kaiten' as he spinned violently. With that, the chakra pushed all the weapons back to whence they came. The two replications disappeared in a puff of smoke as they were each struck solidly with a few shuriken. Luckily, the real sakura was only grazed over the shoulder by a kunai and nothing more.
Sakura let out a short yelp of pain before she disappeared into the trees.
[You can't hide] though Neji.
[Hm..what should I do. His Kaiten is a defense that blocks all weapon attacks, and if I get too close he'll surely close up my Tenketsu and it'll be over.]
A kunai flew in her direction, missing her by only one meter.
[Shit! He knows where I am..not good.]
"You can't hide from me Sakura, I can see through anything with my eyes."
Sakura felt a sudden pang of nervousness, then jumped out from where she was trying to hide. She cautiously jumped down and readied herself for another charge at him. She knew it was futile, and that Neji was much stronger and quicker than her. So she did what she always did, just stood her guard there with her kunai.
Before she could think about it Neji appeared infront of her and sent a palm of chakra into her stomach. Sakura flew backwards into a tree, her stomach hurting terribly. She knew he hit a chakra hole, and her stomach would be bruised now. She grudgingly tried to stand on her feet, but to no avail. He legs we're weak because the shock spread through her lower half, making her legs almost immobile. [Damn..I'm so weak]
To her surprise, Neji walked up to her and extended a hand. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and was shocked. She blushed a bit and took his hand.
"Sorry Sakura..I guess I used a bit too much force." Neji said while looking down at his feet.
"It's ok Neji-kun." Sakura shocked face grew more intense as she realized what she just said. Neji caught it too, and also looked up at her with a good deal of surprise. Sakura tried to act like it was nothing, and just smiled. Neji felt his heart skip a beat as he gazed at her beautiful face. Before he knew what he was doing, a small smile spread across his cheeks and Sakura thought he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen when he smiled.
[Wow..it's a smile from Neji. That's gotta be the first time I've ever seen that on him.]
[What the hell am I doing?]
"I guess that's enough training for now..I don't want to hurt you anymore."
"It's ok, I'm just a little exhausted." Neji nodded, and he helped her walk. It was taking a long time for her to walk even a few feet, so Neji picked her up in his arms. They both couldn't believe it happened, but just like Sakura, Neji tried to pretend it was just a mandatory thing.
Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck as Neji's arms were wrapped around her shoulders and legs. She smiled a heart-warming smile at him as he leapt off into the trees. They hadn't known it, but a dark and mysterious figure had been watching them. The man jumped after them through the trees, and followed closely.
-
"Hey Ino! Shikamaru!" Naruto called out.
Shikamaru and Ino had been eating lunch at the Ichiraku ramen and of course, now so was Naruto.
"Hey Naruto" said Ino. Shikamaru just nodded, acknowledging that he burst in.
Before Naruto even ordered a large miso ramen had been handed to him. It was pretty much Naruto's second home, and the staff there knew what he ordered everyday by heart. So it was usual that it was handed to him that fast.
"Arigato" Naruto said before plunging into his ramen.
"Hey Naruto, have you heard anything about Sakura and Neji from Hokage-sama yet?" Ino said hopefully.
Naruto shook his head sadly.
"The old bat won't tell me anything."
"Oh.." Ino said with a now sullen look on her face.
"Don't worry Ino. She told me that Neji would protect her."
"What do you mean? Neji's way too evil for that."
"Not lately. Since he's been with Sakura, he's lightened up considerably. Hokage-sama told me so. She said that Neji even loves Sakura."
"He what!!?" Ino exclaimed.
"Shh" Shikamaru said as customers and staff turned to look at them.
"Oh..yeah..but, he loves her?"
"Hai, she told me Neji would even give his life to protect her."
"Oh wow...that's so romantic of Neji. Shikamaru why don't you ever put your life on the line for me huh!???"
Shikamaru groaned as Ino yelled at him.
[Women..their so troublesome.] (I love when he says that :P)
-
Neji was gradually jumping up higher to taller trees. The height they were at now was probably about 50 feet off the ground. The ninja had been following them for about 100 meters now. He had kept a cool pace behind them so as to not be detected by either one. It worked, Neji nor Sakura could sense the mans presence before he could attack. Out of nowhere, a few kunai hit the branch that Neji just landed on. He lost his footing, and because he was carrying sakura (though she wasnt heavy) he wasnt able to keep his balance.
Before they realized it, both we're plunging to the ground through the air.
"Sakura!" Neji called.
"Neji!" Sakura cried.
They couldn't do anything now. They were falling down headfirst and rapidly. This fall was going to kill them. [No! We can't die here..no..no!] thought a very frustrated Sakura.
[No! I won't let us!]
Neji and Sakura had been expecting death, but instead we're caught by something. Something that was like string..it was thin and rough to lay on. It had wholes inbetweem crossed line. It was..a net?
Yes, a giant net. Somehow..a giant net materialized underneath of their bodies? How? How is this possible?
Neji, Sakura, and the mysterious shinobi were all staring in awe. What's going on?
[No..this is not good. I have to go tell Saito, quick!]
With that, the shinobi disappeared before being sighted by Neji or Sakura, and they loosened up a bit once he left. They both sensed that there was someone evil in hiding, and that the person had caused Neji to fall. They didn't think twice about the man, as they were too awestruck by how they were saved.
Neji picked Sakura up in his arms once again, and jumped to the ground. He sat her down gently and said "..What just happened?"
"I don't know..I just remember thinking that we couldn't die there...and before I could do anything else that net caught us. ..Weird."
Neji nodded. It certainly was weird. How could a giant net just appear, and float in mid-air. And why did it? They we're both stopped in their trail of thought as the net disappeared with a 'poof'. Neji was about to say something to Sakura but he looked over at her. She was now lying back on the ground, passed out. Neji checked for a pulse. [Still there..just unconcious right now. She's terribly exhausted.]
He picked her up and swiftly pushed through the brush and the trees. Soon enough, he was back into the village part of the hidden village of sand. He searched the streets frantically until he finally found a hospital.
-
Sakura woke up. She looked up and saw a white ceiling and alot of white around her. [Where am I?]
When she looked over, she was slightly startled to see Neji sleeping in a chair at her bedside. She looked around again and finally came to the conclusion that she was in a hospital.
Neji woke up a few minutes later. He gazed up at her.
"So, your finally awake." said Neji.
Sakura just nodded and thought about something, then looked up at Neji. Before she could ask him the question, he answered.
"You've been sleeping for two days."
Sakura looked at him stunned.
"That long!?"
"Yes."
"..how long have you been here?"
"I haven't left." Neji said. "Well, except of course to get showers." he said kinda embarssingly.
Sakura giggled at his turmoil and Neji's heart skipped a beat. He changed the subject.
"Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"
"Yes..pretty much. I remember that net catching us and disappearing..then just darkness."
Neji nodded. He still couldn't come up with a logical explanation to how the hell that happened. All he could do was thank god that they hadn't died. They surely would have, since they were falling headfirst with no balance what so ever.
Sakura had been thinking the same thing, and also couldn't come up with any reasoning. There was none, I mean, how does something just materialize out of thin air? That was impossible!
-
"Saito-sama! Saito-sama!" said a considerably yound black haired shinobi.
"What is it Koji?" said a gruff voice from within the darkness.
"It's that girl! The Haruno girl with that bloodline!"
"Tell me already" spat Saito, each word dripping with venom.
"She..she..she! She used her bloodlimit technique! I saw it with my own eyes! A net came out of thin air and caught her and that Hyuuga boy before they fell."
Saito sat there for a few moments in the darkness, taking in everything he was just told. [So..she finally unlocked it huh? I doubt she did it purposely though. If she was about to die it probably came out from her will to stay alive. Nothing more. No big deal, she doesn't know how to use it, and she probably doesn't even know that it was her who did it. They are probably just wondering how the hell it happened.]
He dismissed the shinobi. Koji walked away but was stopped once more by Saito.
"Koji..one more thing..."
"Yes Saito-sama?"
Koji never had a chance. A kunai flew out of the darkness and penetrated his skull like it was nothing. He lay on the floor, dead.
"Be quicker about it next time, won't you?" Saito said, with an evil little sneer spreading across his face.
-
It was getting late. It was about 11 P.M. The doctors said Sakura was rested enough to take home, so Neji brought her back to the hotel room. She immediately fell asleep on the bed when they arrived. Even though she was physically able to leave, she was told to stay off of her feet for the next 24 hours. She had greatly over used her chakra somehow. Neji never saw her do it. Sure, he saw her fight with MOST of her chakra...but he didn't remember a great usage of it. The doctor said she used every single bit, except for just one tiny drop, which is what kept her alive.
Neji sat next to her sleeping form on the bed. He knew he loved Sakura, and nothing could change that now. She was beautiful, she was intelligent, and most all, she's the first person to ever open up Neji's heart. Sure..he always had a strong friendship with TenTen, but he never wanted to break the bonds of just teammates and he finally just thought of her as that. But Sakura was the first person that made Neji openly admit it to himself. Love was a new thing to him. It was quite scary. Especially when he was watching her near dead form in the hospital. He even cursed himself for not being able to steady himself, and if that net hadn't appeared, he would've ended both of their lives! [What kind of bodyguard am I? I just froze up there...]
He sighed, and brushed some hair away from her face. He knew that she felt the same towards him, but he couldn't tell her back. If he did, he wouldn't be able to get through this mission without worrying to death about her. They, together, would have to go and defeat this monster Saito. If anything happened to her there, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. [So..this is what it feels like to love someone. An ultimate bond shared between two people that pretty much link them..it's hurts so much, yet feels so great. What an odd emotion.]
He looked down at her. Well..I could show her unconcious form that I love her. There's no harm in that. So..just like she did to him, Neji bent his face over hers. Before he could stop himself, he gently pressed his lips against her soft rose colored ones. They were so beautiful in contrast to her lovely face..she was definitely the most beautiful girl he had ever met. He held the kiss for a few moments, and realized if he held it any longer she would wake up. And that's not what he wants right now. It would mess everything up between them.
Neji decided that tonight he would let Sakura have the bed to herself. So he laid down beside the bed, only this time, he laid down next to her side. He didn't think about it, he just did it. He turned his body facing the bed now thinking about Saito.
[I need to get strong..I –must- get stronger. There's no way I can lose her to him. No way..I would die before I see that happen.]
With those thoughts, Neji was out like a light. It didn't take long, since he too was pretty exhausted from sleeping on a hospital chair two nights in a row. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing, but nothing would have taken him away from her then. And nothing it going to tear them apart now. Not Saito, not anyone. Not even death itself.
-
A/N: Done! Sorry if there's any typos, please forgive me. And sorry that it's a little short, It just gets harder and harder to put these things out. I hope your content with it. I'll update as soon as I can, and also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Til next time!
Nalio Keeper of Shadows (You know you like that name)
She
A/N: Dunnnuunuu I'm back! And at the risk of being hated on and having a giant toad eat me, I'm continuing the story! Here it is, fifth chapter. You will finally get a glimpse of Sakura's "surpeme and ancient" bloodline. Hope you like it, and please review! Please! Please! Please! It's what keeps me going :)
-
You people know you liked hearing about Sakura's world famous massages. ;)
-
The clock by the bedside read 9:00. Neji was, like always, the first to wake. He grumbled a few words and pulled himself off of the bed and into the shower. Quickly he was done and got out. And like always, Sakura woke up soon after he was done.
"Eh..morning Neji"
"Morning."
Sakura flung herself off of the bed and also into the shower. Her groggy state left unaware of the event that occured last night. In the middle of her shower she remembered. She tried to brush the thoughts away, but she couldn't forget the way her hands felt when they rubbed the muscular curves of his back. She found herself laughing nervously outloud, and knew that if Neji heard this he would think she was a freak. She finished up soon and got out. Neji was eating breakfast, which consisted of cold cereal, when she got out. Not the most nutritious breakfast but hey, what are you going to do.
"So...what're we doing today Neji?"
"Hmm...Well, I'll be training again today."
"Oh.." [Great, I'm gonna be alone again all day, unless..]
"Hey Neji?"
"Hm?"
"Do..do you think I can train with you today?"
Neji gazed at her for a few moments then finally gave a brief nod. Sakura smiled and was glad to be getting out of the hotel room.
-
After breakfast they had left the room to the same spot Neji was using yesterday. Kunai and Shuriken still lay about, and numerous trees with wholes in them. It looked like a miniature war just took place there, and Sakura glanced around. She wondered how far Neji pushed his body yesterday.
"Ok Sakura..are you ready?"
Sakura nodded. Before she could blink, Neji had disappeared. She frantically looked about, and out of habit, raised a kunai infront of her for defense.
Soon after, Neji materalized again right before her eyes. There was a brief 'clang' as their kunai met. Neji jumped back and reached into his holster. He withdrew two shurikens, and without another thought, he flung them at her with intense preciscion. Luckily Sakura was able to dodge in time, but just barely.
Sakura formed her hands into a seal and cried out "Kage Bushin" as two clones formed around her. A smirk played across each one of their faces as they rushed towards Neji, kunai and shuriken at hand. Two of them ran to his sides, and one jumped above him in the air. With a swift motion, all three let fly four shuriken each with a nice amount of chakra stored into each one.
Neji closed his eyes, and as he opened them, veins emerged around his sockets. The Byakugan. The Hyuuga lineage of 360 vision. They even allowed the user to see the Tenketsu, pin sized holes in an attacker which are used to release chakra. The Byakugan made it possible to close up these wholes with the user's own chakra, so that the attacker wouldn't have a chance.
A small smirk appeared on his face as the weapons grew closer. At about an inch from his body, the weapons stopped in mid-motion. Neji's chakra flew out of him and stopped the weapons. After that, Neji uttered the word 'Kaiten' as he spinned violently. With that, the chakra pushed all the weapons back to whence they came. The two replications disappeared in a puff of smoke as they were each struck solidly with a few shuriken. Luckily, the real sakura was only grazed over the shoulder by a kunai and nothing more.
Sakura let out a short yelp of pain before she disappeared into the trees.
[You can't hide] though Neji.
[Hm..what should I do. His Kaiten is a defense that blocks all weapon attacks, and if I get too close he'll surely close up my Tenketsu and it'll be over.]
A kunai flew in her direction, missing her by only one meter.
[Shit! He knows where I am..not good.]
"You can't hide from me Sakura, I can see through anything with my eyes."
Sakura felt a sudden pang of nervousness, then jumped out from where she was trying to hide. She cautiously jumped down and readied herself for another charge at him. She knew it was futile, and that Neji was much stronger and quicker than her. So she did what she always did, just stood her guard there with her kunai.
Before she could think about it Neji appeared infront of her and sent a palm of chakra into her stomach. Sakura flew backwards into a tree, her stomach hurting terribly. She knew he hit a chakra hole, and her stomach would be bruised now. She grudgingly tried to stand on her feet, but to no avail. He legs we're weak because the shock spread through her lower half, making her legs almost immobile. [Damn..I'm so weak]
To her surprise, Neji walked up to her and extended a hand. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and was shocked. She blushed a bit and took his hand.
"Sorry Sakura..I guess I used a bit too much force." Neji said while looking down at his feet.
"It's ok Neji-kun." Sakura shocked face grew more intense as she realized what she just said. Neji caught it too, and also looked up at her with a good deal of surprise. Sakura tried to act like it was nothing, and just smiled. Neji felt his heart skip a beat as he gazed at her beautiful face. Before he knew what he was doing, a small smile spread across his cheeks and Sakura thought he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen when he smiled.
[Wow..it's a smile from Neji. That's gotta be the first time I've ever seen that on him.]
[What the hell am I doing?]
"I guess that's enough training for now..I don't want to hurt you anymore."
"It's ok, I'm just a little exhausted." Neji nodded, and he helped her walk. It was taking a long time for her to walk even a few feet, so Neji picked her up in his arms. They both couldn't believe it happened, but just like Sakura, Neji tried to pretend it was just a mandatory thing.
Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck as Neji's arms were wrapped around her shoulders and legs. She smiled a heart-warming smile at him as he leapt off into the trees. They hadn't known it, but a dark and mysterious figure had been watching them. The man jumped after them through the trees, and followed closely.
-
"Hey Ino! Shikamaru!" Naruto called out.
Shikamaru and Ino had been eating lunch at the Ichiraku ramen and of course, now so was Naruto.
"Hey Naruto" said Ino. Shikamaru just nodded, acknowledging that he burst in.
Before Naruto even ordered a large miso ramen had been handed to him. It was pretty much Naruto's second home, and the staff there knew what he ordered everyday by heart. So it was usual that it was handed to him that fast.
"Arigato" Naruto said before plunging into his ramen.
"Hey Naruto, have you heard anything about Sakura and Neji from Hokage-sama yet?" Ino said hopefully.
Naruto shook his head sadly.
"The old bat won't tell me anything."
"Oh.." Ino said with a now sullen look on her face.
"Don't worry Ino. She told me that Neji would protect her."
"What do you mean? Neji's way too evil for that."
"Not lately. Since he's been with Sakura, he's lightened up considerably. Hokage-sama told me so. She said that Neji even loves Sakura."
"He what!!?" Ino exclaimed.
"Shh" Shikamaru said as customers and staff turned to look at them.
"Oh..yeah..but, he loves her?"
"Hai, she told me Neji would even give his life to protect her."
"Oh wow...that's so romantic of Neji. Shikamaru why don't you ever put your life on the line for me huh!???"
Shikamaru groaned as Ino yelled at him.
[Women..their so troublesome.] (I love when he says that :P)
-
Neji was gradually jumping up higher to taller trees. The height they were at now was probably about 50 feet off the ground. The ninja had been following them for about 100 meters now. He had kept a cool pace behind them so as to not be detected by either one. It worked, Neji nor Sakura could sense the mans presence before he could attack. Out of nowhere, a few kunai hit the branch that Neji just landed on. He lost his footing, and because he was carrying sakura (though she wasnt heavy) he wasnt able to keep his balance.
Before they realized it, both we're plunging to the ground through the air.
"Sakura!" Neji called.
"Neji!" Sakura cried.
They couldn't do anything now. They were falling down headfirst and rapidly. This fall was going to kill them. [No! We can't die here..no..no!] thought a very frustrated Sakura.
[No! I won't let us!]
Neji and Sakura had been expecting death, but instead we're caught by something. Something that was like string..it was thin and rough to lay on. It had wholes inbetweem crossed line. It was..a net?
Yes, a giant net. Somehow..a giant net materialized underneath of their bodies? How? How is this possible?
Neji, Sakura, and the mysterious shinobi were all staring in awe. What's going on?
[No..this is not good. I have to go tell Saito, quick!]
With that, the shinobi disappeared before being sighted by Neji or Sakura, and they loosened up a bit once he left. They both sensed that there was someone evil in hiding, and that the person had caused Neji to fall. They didn't think twice about the man, as they were too awestruck by how they were saved.
Neji picked Sakura up in his arms once again, and jumped to the ground. He sat her down gently and said "..What just happened?"
"I don't know..I just remember thinking that we couldn't die there...and before I could do anything else that net caught us. ..Weird."
Neji nodded. It certainly was weird. How could a giant net just appear, and float in mid-air. And why did it? They we're both stopped in their trail of thought as the net disappeared with a 'poof'. Neji was about to say something to Sakura but he looked over at her. She was now lying back on the ground, passed out. Neji checked for a pulse. [Still there..just unconcious right now. She's terribly exhausted.]
He picked her up and swiftly pushed through the brush and the trees. Soon enough, he was back into the village part of the hidden village of sand. He searched the streets frantically until he finally found a hospital.
-
Sakura woke up. She looked up and saw a white ceiling and alot of white around her. [Where am I?]
When she looked over, she was slightly startled to see Neji sleeping in a chair at her bedside. She looked around again and finally came to the conclusion that she was in a hospital.
Neji woke up a few minutes later. He gazed up at her.
"So, your finally awake." said Neji.
Sakura just nodded and thought about something, then looked up at Neji. Before she could ask him the question, he answered.
"You've been sleeping for two days."
Sakura looked at him stunned.
"That long!?"
"Yes."
"..how long have you been here?"
"I haven't left." Neji said. "Well, except of course to get showers." he said kinda embarssingly.
Sakura giggled at his turmoil and Neji's heart skipped a beat. He changed the subject.
"Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"
"Yes..pretty much. I remember that net catching us and disappearing..then just darkness."
Neji nodded. He still couldn't come up with a logical explanation to how the hell that happened. All he could do was thank god that they hadn't died. They surely would have, since they were falling headfirst with no balance what so ever.
Sakura had been thinking the same thing, and also couldn't come up with any reasoning. There was none, I mean, how does something just materialize out of thin air? That was impossible!
-
"Saito-sama! Saito-sama!" said a considerably yound black haired shinobi.
"What is it Koji?" said a gruff voice from within the darkness.
"It's that girl! The Haruno girl with that bloodline!"
"Tell me already" spat Saito, each word dripping with venom.
"She..she..she! She used her bloodlimit technique! I saw it with my own eyes! A net came out of thin air and caught her and that Hyuuga boy before they fell."
Saito sat there for a few moments in the darkness, taking in everything he was just told. [So..she finally unlocked it huh? I doubt she did it purposely though. If she was about to die it probably came out from her will to stay alive. Nothing more. No big deal, she doesn't know how to use it, and she probably doesn't even know that it was her who did it. They are probably just wondering how the hell it happened.]
He dismissed the shinobi. Koji walked away but was stopped once more by Saito.
"Koji..one more thing..."
"Yes Saito-sama?"
Koji never had a chance. A kunai flew out of the darkness and penetrated his skull like it was nothing. He lay on the floor, dead.
"Be quicker about it next time, won't you?" Saito said, with an evil little sneer spreading across his face.
-
It was getting late. It was about 11 P.M. The doctors said Sakura was rested enough to take home, so Neji brought her back to the hotel room. She immediately fell asleep on the bed when they arrived. Even though she was physically able to leave, she was told to stay off of her feet for the next 24 hours. She had greatly over used her chakra somehow. Neji never saw her do it. Sure, he saw her fight with MOST of her chakra...but he didn't remember a great usage of it. The doctor said she used every single bit, except for just one tiny drop, which is what kept her alive.
Neji sat next to her sleeping form on the bed. He knew he loved Sakura, and nothing could change that now. She was beautiful, she was intelligent, and most all, she's the first person to ever open up Neji's heart. Sure..he always had a strong friendship with TenTen, but he never wanted to break the bonds of just teammates and he finally just thought of her as that. But Sakura was the first person that made Neji openly admit it to himself. Love was a new thing to him. It was quite scary. Especially when he was watching her near dead form in the hospital. He even cursed himself for not being able to steady himself, and if that net hadn't appeared, he would've ended both of their lives! [What kind of bodyguard am I? I just froze up there...]
He sighed, and brushed some hair away from her face. He knew that she felt the same towards him, but he couldn't tell her back. If he did, he wouldn't be able to get through this mission without worrying to death about her. They, together, would have to go and defeat this monster Saito. If anything happened to her there, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. [So..this is what it feels like to love someone. An ultimate bond shared between two people that pretty much link them..it's hurts so much, yet feels so great. What an odd emotion.]
He looked down at her. Well..I could show her unconcious form that I love her. There's no harm in that. So..just like she did to him, Neji bent his face over hers. Before he could stop himself, he gently pressed his lips against her soft rose colored ones. They were so beautiful in contrast to her lovely face..she was definitely the most beautiful girl he had ever met. He held the kiss for a few moments, and realized if he held it any longer she would wake up. And that's not what he wants right now. It would mess everything up between them.
Neji decided that tonight he would let Sakura have the bed to herself. So he laid down beside the bed, only this time, he laid down next to her side. He didn't think about it, he just did it. He turned his body facing the bed now thinking about Saito.
[I need to get strong..I –must- get stronger. There's no way I can lose her to him. No way..I would die before I see that happen.]
With those thoughts, Neji was out like a light. It didn't take long, since he too was pretty exhausted from sleeping on a hospital chair two nights in a row. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing, but nothing would have taken him away from her then. And nothing it going to tear them apart now. Not Saito, not anyone. Not even death itself.
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A/N: Done! Sorry if there's any typos, please forgive me. And sorry that it's a little short, It just gets harder and harder to put these things out. I hope your content with it. I'll update as soon as I can, and also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Til next time!
Nalio Keeper of Shadows (You know you like that name)
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