Nascence

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II: Rivers of Wine

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Something was wrong… very, incredibly, indisputably wrong.

She felt it in a dreamless sleep that started out easy but then merged into a night of fitful tossing and turning. Something was bothering her, probing at her mind, but every time she got close, it was like a door slammed right in front of her. She didn't understand. Lying still with her eyes turned towards the ceiling and Sai's arm still around her waist, she drew what comfort she could from the warm bed and pressed her hands to her eyes, trying to force the thought of murdered chuunin in her likeness, disturbing conversations of death, and unexplainable loneliness from her brain.

After a while, finally, Sakura felt herself trying to drift off. The door was there again, right in front of her in her half-sleep, and when she reached out for it, it slammed again. Tired and frustrated and awake again, Sakura rolled over, facing Sai's gently breathing and fighting tears of irritation, an exercise that finally, after a time, caused her to drift into a deep, dreamless rest.

If only I could open the door…

---

Sakura awoke with a start the next morning to a rumbling snore passing the room in the hallway. Sitting up too fast, she sat for a moment to let the stars in her eyes disappear before checking that Sai was still asleep. Scowling, she leapt out of bed, ran out of the door to Sai's room, and caught Naruto by one tanned, muscular arm just before he went flying down the stairway. "Oh, Naruto," she whispered, concern creasing her brow as her friend gradually woke up.

With a disgruntled snort, the blonde shook his head blearily, stepping back from the edge of the stairs. "Not again," Naruto muttered, gently banging his head against the wall in frustration.

"Naruto," Sakura started irritably, rubbing sleep out of her eyes to mask the small shock of adrenaline that was coursing through her system from saving her friend from a nasty fall, "you've got to stop sleepwalking. That's the third time this week you've nearly fallen. If I didn't wake you up every time, you'd probably go flying down and break a leg."

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," her blue-eyed friend apologized sleepily, looking forlornly down the stairs. "I can't help it. I have nightmares." About him. It wasn't said, and yet the two of them both heard it clear as day, echoing almost forebodingly in their heads.

Sakura shook her head, pushing petal-pink bangs away from her face with a tired hand. "I'll look into something to give you a dreamless sleep when I work today. I'll be hanging out at the hospital, so I'll look through the medical scrolls. I know I've seen something like that in there. They should help with the, ah… the nightmares."

Naruto nodded and started down the stairwell, his hand safely grasping the rail. "Thanks. I sure could use it. I'm not sure how I'd tell everyone I broke my leg because I fell down the stairs. Hey-- why were you in Sai's room?" he asked suddenly, turning his head.

"I couldn't sleep," Sakura answered simply, making a smaller deal out of it than it had felt last night. It felt horrible last night, she added mentally, following him down. "I felt kind of lonely."

"Aww, you could have slept in my room, Sakura-chan!"

She whacked him on the head nonchalantly and in an attempt at normality, padding towards the kitchen with a yawn that cracked her jaw. "You snore too loud. Why d'you think you wake me up when you pass by? I pity the woman that marries you." Grinning and happy for the change in topic, Sakura approached the stove, trying to start a burner without any success.

Naruto rubbed his head, giving her an exaggerated pout as he took four eggs and a carton of orange juice from the small refrigerator. In a practiced gesture, he tossed them at her one at a time, and she caught each egg between her fingers and the juice with her other hand, not even looking. Naruto filled up a small saucepan of water and she put the eggs in whole, setting them on their old, rickety, temperamental oven. It was easy to see it had been thoroughly used… they got so frustrated with it sometimes that evidence of Katon jutsu nearly covered the body of the appliance.

Sakura frowned lightly. "Why haven't we bought a new oven yet? We've got money."

Naruto gave his trademark fox-like grin. "Sentimental value. Half those Katon jutsu are mine, those ink stains come from Sai, and those dents in the side are most definitely from your 'fists of fury'. Why should we get rid of it?"

The pink-haired woman looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "It doesn't work," she said pointedly, trying in vain to get the flames to come up.

"Oh."

Sakura gave a triumphant grin as flames finally popped from the burner and put the saucepan on top of it, scratching her head. "What are you doing today?"

The blonde, currently disabling their trap, shrugged absently. "Nothing, unless Granny Tsunade has a job for me. I thought I'd take Hinata out or something."

Sakura grinned at him. "It's about time you took on her a real date. Enjoy ramen yesterday?"

Naruto blushed noticeably, reddening under his perpetual tan. "Yeah. She's really nice. And… and really pretty."

Sakura's giggles were barely stifled as she trotted up the stairs. "Of course she is, you dolt. Watch the eggs; I'm going to get ready."

After a quick shower, Sakura changed into the white, high-collared tunic, black skirt, and black belt that signified her as a professional medic, beyond a nurse's or even doctor's ability. That had been a moment of pride, too… her very first medic-nin uniform, so different from the nurse or doctor uniforms. So much simpler, so much nicer, so much more professional. She was of the highest rank in the hospital… everyone, younger and older, reported to her and only her, unless Tsunade was around. Plus, I don't have to wear that godforsaken nurse's hat anymore, Sakura reflected with a small, inward smile as she jogged downstairs again.

Sai was in the kitchen already, swapping insults with Naruto and chewing on his hard-boiled egg casually while peering over the blonde Kyuubi-container's shoulder to read the Konoha newspaper. "Morning, Ugly," he said cheerfully, his signature half-smile carefully pasted on.

Sakura patted him on the head a little harder than necessary at the ritual nickname and grabbed her own egg, leaving the customary two for Naruto's huge appetite. "Okay, guys. I'm going to be at the hospital till about five P.M. I'm having lunch with Shizune and Tsunade-shishou at twelve, and I'll stop at the store on the way home… what d'you want for dinner?" she asked as an afterthought, packing her bag with various scrolls and supplies, tossing in a rice ball wrapped in paper for a snack.

"Fish," Sai said, just as Naruto told her "ramen".

Sakura sighed. "Fine, chicken, then." Smiling sweetly, she slung the pack of her shoulder and kissed both their foreheads, standing on tiptoe. When did they all get this tall? "Naruto, don't upset Hinata in any way, Sai, I want those kunai in the yard cleaned up by the time I'm back, and both of you, don't blow up the house." Giving a wave, she cleared the space from the front door to the edge of the lawn in two steps and flew down the street, a pink, black, and white blur.

Naruto felt the spot on his forehead where she'd kissed it and scowled. "Y'know, she's getting more like both a freaking mother and a little kid every day."

Sai shrugged and stole Naruto's egg, taking a huge bite amid vehement protests. "Whatever. I kind of like it that way."

Naruto would never admit it, of course, but he did, too.

---

Sakura whistled low between her teeth as she examined her former sensei, beat up and bloodied after a tough mission. "Kakashi-sensei, really. You're slipping. This was only A-rank!"

"Only A-rank, she says," the Copycat Ninja muttered, shaking his masked head wearily, "as if she's been on so many S-ranks as semi-daughter to the Hokage she gets to critique her former sensei. Oh, this new generation… they're all so disrespectful."

"Talking to yourself, too? You are getting old." Grinning cheekily, Sakura moved a green glowing hand from his bicep to his stomach, sealing a kunai wound. "I'm just kidding, sensei. You're perfectly fit, and these are relatively minor wounds. You'll need about a half an hour to recuperate, and then you can get out of here to read your precious book."

"It's a new edition," Kakashi explained excitedly while Sakura rolled her eyes. "Jiraiya published it just for me. It features a whole new cast of characters, but it's so past the Mature rating that the hospital confiscated it. Damn officials."

Sakura giggled and crossed over to the sink, washing her hands. "Poor Kaka-sensei. The hospital's the only place you can't read your perverted book." She dried her hands on a paper towel and tossed the dirty paper away, packing up her medical supplies and smiling at her silver-haired teacher. "I'll see you later. I need to get to the next patient. Do not sneak out early like last time, or I'll take you to Tsunade-shishou. Understood?"

Sighing, Kakashi nodded in defeat, and Sakura left the room, still smiling. As she entered the next one, though, and saw who was in it, she had to fight to press down fits of giggles that fought in her throat.

Hyuuga Neji, in all his regal, Hyuuga-robed glory, was sitting petulantly on the bed with a black eye blooming spectacularly over his cheekbone. His head was resting on a tightly clenched fist, and he was glaring at nothing in particular, looking very much like a spoiled child who hadn't gotten his own way.

"Neji-san?" Sakura ventured carefully, trying valiantly to swallow a grin.

He turned his smoldering glare to her.

Composing herself, Sakura walked briskly to her newest patient, grabbing her clipboard and a pen. "So… what happened to you?"

Neji scowled at her. "What does it matter how I got it so long as it's fixed?"

She smiled sweetly at him, waving the clipboard. "Hospital regulations, so sorry. It's required, otherwise I can't treat you. Kind of like a mission report."

He huffed for a moment, then turned his head away from her so that she was staring at his profile from the side. Pale purple eyes narrowed as he mumbled something.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that, Neji-san."

He shot a glance at her, realizing that she was dearly enjoying this, and gritted his teeth. "Lee surprised me."

Sakura wasn't strong enough to keep back the snort that came in a most unladylike manner from her mouth. Rearranging her features into those of business, she turned away from his death glare and rummaged through a cupboard, Neji watching with ever-narrowed eyes as she grabbed a cream of some sort and scribbled something rapidly on the clipboard. "Well, Neji-san," she started, her voice strained as she sat next to him, "I'm happy to know you two are sparring together. But really, you have to be more careful. You didn't see him coming with Byakugan?" she asked innocently, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

Neji growled as she started dabbing the cream onto his cheek. "Haruno, if you don't shut the fuck up and treat this thing, I'm walking out."

"In plain view of all those that would tease you… ano… mercilessly?" She chuckled. "I don't think so. Besides, you're my patient; I'm obligated to treat you."

Neji said nothing as she pressed a warm hand to his cheek, green chakra spreading throughout her fingers and onto the wound. The pain disappeared completely, though he'd been ignoring it anyway, and he resumed his glaring when she finished. "Arigatou," he said stiffly.

"Oh, Neji-san, I was only teasing," Sakura said from over her shoulder as she washed her hands. "What are you doing today?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Why?" he asked, pulling on his vest again and tying his long hair back in a mid-length ponytail.

Sakura sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "Goodness, can't I just ask you a question? Just trying to be friendly."

Neji felt a twinge of guilt and shook it off quickly, sighing. "If I must. I'm going to lunch, and then visiting Hinata so we can train." He stood. "How are you spending the day?" he shot back, staring at her.

She grinned perkily and complied, grabbing a mirror from her pocket and checking her hair quickly while she answered. "Lunch with Shizune and Tsunade-shishou, then probably coming back here, unless they don't need me. If they don't, I'll probably go to the Academy."

"The Academy?" he echoed, quirking a slim brown eyebrow. "You teach?"

She nodded, putting the mirror back in her dress pocket and leading the way out, putting her arms behind her back in a stretch. "At times, yeah: chakra control. And sometimes minor-injury healing for the students that want to be a medic, part-time or otherwise. But right now I'm trying to demolish the separation in some of the lessons."

"Why?" Neji asked, following her out. His mind flashed back to his Academy days, when sometimes the girls would leave the classroom for private lessons.

Sakura frowned. "Technically, you're not supposed to know this, but those private lessons were basically on how to be a prostitute, or fake being a prostitute. It's a horrible thing to know, especially when you're just twelve years old, but it comes in useful during missions. No offense, but it's easy to distract a man, even a shinobi, when your shirt's dipping to your navel," she added blithely, ignoring the light blush that skirted across Neji's cheeks. "But because the male shinobi of Konoha don't go to that class, they're entirely unprepared for a rival kunoichi seducing them. If they don't know the telltale signs of a fake prostitute, some can be easily led astray. So Tsunade and I are asking the elders for permission to merge the classes, but they're stubborn as anything."

Neji nodded as they exited the hospital, sticking his hands casually into his pockets. "Yes, I see the logic in that. It's a good idea."

She smiled easily at him. "Arigatou."

The brown-haired shinobi stopped suddenly, alert. "The Hokage wants you, Sakura-san."

Sakura looked at him in amazement, sea foam eyes widened slightly. "How d'you know that?"

"I can hear her shoes clacking fast towards us," he answered.

Sakura concentrated for a moment, then grinned as a faint clicking, growing steadily louder, echoed in her own ears. "Wow. You really know how to use your senses, don't you? That's amazing." Sure enough, the busty blonde Hokage was walking towards them briskly, heels clicking audibly on the pavement.

"Hokage-sama," Neji greeted, nodding his head, as Sakura waved at her teacher.

Tsunade nodded her own greeting, but he noticed that she seemed distracted. A light frown creased her brow, and her crimson lips were rolled together in a gesture of anxiety. "Sakura, I'd like to speak to you now. I've told Shizune that lunch is off." She hesitated, then glanced at Neji. "Actually, you, too, Hyuuga. Meet me at my office." Without another word uttered, the Godaime leapt into the air, disappearing on sight.

Neji glanced at Sakura, who shrugged, and they followed suit, leaping and vanishing to the naked eye to follow their leader.

---

"The situation has gotten worse."

Tsunade sat sternly across from them at her desk, hands folded, face set in a grim mask. In front of her laid a scroll decorated in the Kazekage's handwriting, with two pictures face-down on top of it.

Sakura immediately paled at her words, but Neji merely frowned. "Situation?"

Tsunade sighed. "There have been threats to Sakura, Naruto, and me by way of murders in Suna. Gaara sent a message about it to me yesterday, and I showed Sakura. Two chuunin, male and female, were disguised to look like Naruto and Sakura and killed violently, and a threatening picture of me was found on the female shinobi." She paused, turning her chair to face the windows. "It was troubling, yes, but I had dismissed it from my mind, in a way. Until this came." She motioned towards the scroll, and Sakura picked it up, reading aloud.

"'Tsunade-sama-- In regards to the most recent message I sent, I send you more troubling news. We took the two late chuunin in for examination, but they have disappeared from our holdings, and the guards we posted to protect the bodies murdered gruesomely. We suspect someone on the inside of our government, but our investigations have lent us no clues. However, one thing the thieve(s) left were two photographs, which are enclosed in this message as well. It seems like this person or organization wants us to find out who they are, but they are leaving a very, very hard trail to pick up. Please lend us some of your ANBU Black Ops as soon as possible-- I don't want any more deaths. --Gaara," Sakura finished, face white.

Neji's face was creased in a concerned frown as Tsunade nodded. "It is, indeed, very troubling. But even more so are the pictures the criminal left." She handed them to Neji first.

The Hyuuga prodigy stifled a gasp and passed them onto Sakura, his face equally pale.

The first picture was one of the murdered chuunin. The male's blue eyes, so like and yet so unlike Naruto's, were open, his mouth agape in a silent scream of pain. Blood seeped into the ground from multiple chest wounds. The female, though, was the most horrible looking. From her navel to the beginning of her thighs, she had been completely cut open. Organs spilled from her stomach.

The sight of a girl with pink hair and light green eyes, made to look like her, made Sakura's head spin and bile well up in her throat. She quickly grabbed the next photograph, trying to compose herself.

This one was more mysterious, and more than a little strange… it was all red. That was it. Deep, dark shades of red with a glimmering shine. "Blood?" she asked aloud.

Tsunade took the photographs from her, lips pursed. "Maybe. It's nearly impossible to tell, though. They'll have to be analyzed in a further inspection." She put the stomach-churning pictures face-down on the desk again and rolled up the scroll smartly, returning to her former position. "Now, for why I called you both here. Sakura, I wanted you to know to begin with, since you're involved, and I'd like you to tell Naruto, as well. And Hyuuga, you were somewhat of an afterthought, actually-- but I'd like you to organize and lead Gaara's requested ANBU team."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Neji accepted in his low baritone voice, soft with the aftereffects of shock. "What will my team do there?"

"You will do whatever Gaara commands you to do," Tsunade replied, "which I'm thinking will revolve around reconnaissance, guard duty, and protection. I want you to select only the best; these killers are obviously ruthless and extremely dangerous, most likely S-rank or missing nin. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do. How much time do I have?"

Tsunade looked out the window at the sun for the time, forehead puckering in thought. "I'd like the team assembled at nightfall for my instructions and on their way to Suna directly after that."

Sakura stood and walked numbly to the door, her role in the conversation over.

"Sakura, where are you going? You're not finished here."

She whipped her pink head back at her former teacher, frowning. "Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade gazed into her green eyes with an expression akin to maternal pride. "You will undoubtedly be a part of Hyuuga's team."

"Nani?"

Sakura sat down again in absolute shock, her mouth agape. "Wh-- why?"

The Hokage smiled dryly. "Because, out of all the ANBU jounin, you're our best medic, our second-best strategist, and an expert at reconnaissance and guard jobs. Is that reason enough?"

The pink-haired teen flushed the same color as the dress she'd worn when she was twelve. "…oh. Arigatou."

Neji nodded. "It's a good choice, Hokage-sama." Why'd I say that? he wondered suddenly, but all misgivings dissipated immediately as Sakura shot him a grateful smile. Oh. That's why.

Tsunade smirked. "I know it's a good decision; I trained her, didn't I?" She gazed at them both for a series of long moments before sighing and sliding the scroll and enclosed photographs into a drawer of her desk and made a series of hand signs, creating a chakra lock to prevent thieves of any sort from stealing the important information. "You're dismissed," she added to the both of them, hazel eyes glancing up. "Get a team together. I want all of you at the gates at eight o'clock sharp. Pack light necessities and heavy weaponry."

The two jounin nodded and stood stoically, exiting the room with an air of solemnity. Once outside the office, Sakura let out a breath she hadn't know she'd been holding in an audible whoosh. "Neji-san?"

He turned his head to her. She looked smaller than usual. "Yes?"

"That picture, the one that was all red and glimmering. What do you suppose it was?" she asked quietly as they strode through the main street. People bustled around them happily, arguing over prices and laughing over jokes. A group of young, teenage, chuunin girls giggled and 'ooh'-ed over a sparkling necklace in a jewelry shop. An academy-student-age group of laughing children, vaguely reminiscent of Konohamaru and his friends when they were younger, darted between them, laughing and tagging each other. All were completely unaware of the dangers that loomed over them like thunderclouds, threatening lightning and heavy rain.

Sakura realized that might just be a good thing. Ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately, she mused, shinobi couldn't be ignorant. Ignorance could cost you your life as a ninja.

Neji was silent for a moment, contemplating, his face typically blank, and then sighed softly. "I really couldn't tell you, Sakura-san. It could be blood, as is my first impression, or it could be something entirely different. I'm as lost as you are, and, frankly, I'm not used to that. The sooner we get to Suna and figure all this out, the better."

Sakura smiled slightly at his honest statement and re-gripped the strap of her bag. "This is my street… I'll see you tonight, ne?"

She was halfway down the street, about to pad onto the walkway in front of her home, when Neji stopped to think, a frown etched on his normally calm face. Turning suddenly, he yelled in a very un-Hyuuga-like way: "Sakura-san! Wait!"

Sakura turned quickly on the spot, toes pointed slightly in the style of a shinobi, an unmistakable reflex. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to gather the team now," he started, his voice calm once more and eyes blank, "and I'd value your opinion and aid."

The kunoichi blinked once, then grinned at him again. "I'd love nothing more than to help." She started off again, this time after him, and Neji had to hide a small smile at her enthusiasm. "Who were you thinking of taking?" she asked, voice casual. But Neji saw the smallest flicker of worry in those deep eyes… she was thinking about the photographs, he knew.

Perception was sometimes such a pain.

Going with her light choice of topics, the prized shinobi answered her truthfully. "Inuzuka, Akimichi, Aburame, and Yamanaka are, I believe, out in Mist for the remainder of the week… well, besides, Yamanaka and Aburame aren't ANBU. They're simply jounin, correct?"

Sakura nodded, indicating that he was correct. "Ino never did want to be ANBU. I don't know much about Shino-san, though."

"Uzumaki should be included. And Nara is always good to have on a team." Neji gazed at the sun, lowering slightly, and judged the time to be about two o'clock. His stomach growled. Tsunade's interruption, though important, had cost them both their lunches.

"True." Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "We might need taijutsu and weapons experts for the guard duty or protection, and another Byakugan for reconnaissance. Too bad Kiba's gone-- his nose would be perfect for that." The medic kunoichi paused. "I highly recommend Lee-san and TenTen for guard duty and Sai for reconnaissance. That makes a team of seven."

Neji nodded at her choices. "When they get back, I'd also like Yamanaka, Inuzuka, and Akimichi for backup. Aburame could scout, if we need him later."

Sakura bit her lower lip, frowning as she pondered. "Are you splitting us up into teams?"

"Maybe," Neji answered. "I'm not sure. It depends on how the mission is going once we get to Suna, and the Kazekage's wishes." He was silent for a while, and they both walked in a comfortable quiet, gazing at the people sitting in outdoor restaurants or munching on a snack from a street vendor. "Sakura-san, may I ask you something?"

"'Course," she replied with a flash of a smile, leading him to a dango vendor and ordering a plate. "Do you want one?"

"Ah… sure." He got out some coins, but Sakura put her own money down first, shaking her head.

"My treat," the pink-haired kunoichi insisted, handing him his stick of dango. "So, go on. What was your question?"

Neji bit into his lunch, tasting the unusual but not fully unpleasant texture of the snack, and swallowed slowly. "Will you be able to handle this? Not a question of your integrity, really, but those chuunin-"

Sakura cut him off by waving the stick of dango in front of his face, her cheeks bulging as she chewed ravenously. Gulping the food down hard, she shook her head at him adamantly. "I'm a kunoichi, Neji-san. We're not so easily frightened off." But her smile was pained.

"If you're going to have emotional conflicts with this mission, you shouldn't go," he remarked bluntly. "I have to know now."

Sakura looked lost for a moment, as if this was something she'd never expected he'd ask so brusquely. Lowering the stick of dango, she licked her lips to get the crumbs off, frowning. "I won't let it distract me, if that's what you're asking." She shot him a disappointed glare. "You don't seem afraid of Naruto being distracted, and it was a likeness of him that was murdered, too."

Neji suddenly realized how terribly sexist he'd probably sounded, and how Sakura's old reputation of being somewhat of an emotionally weak little girl was probably a point that probably still wasn't easily discussed without a show of her infamous temper. "My apologies," he conceded, running a hand through his hair in the largest display of sheepishness he'd probably ever publicly shown. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just…"

"I understand," she said quietly, chucking her empty dango stick at the trash can as Neji started on his final one. "Naruto handles himself by expressing any complicated emotions through anger."

"You don't?" he asked, slightly amused as he recalled recounts of her horrible temper, rumored to be matched only by the Hokage's. Hokage only knew how many times he'd seen Naruto wobble into Ichiraku with a bruise on his cheek, compliments of the petite kunoichi next to him.

She punched him lightly on the arm, a friendly gesture he wasn't really used to. Frowning slightly, he stepped away, but she either didn't notice or care. "Hey, I know stories of my short temper circulate almost daily, don't try to hide it. I'm just better at concealing it now. Naruto's kind of my living punching bag."

Neji chuckled, surprising both himself and Sakura, and the latter was pleased to notice that his laugh wasn't reined in, as she'd supposed it was. He dumped his trash into the nearest can as she had done and formed his face back into the usual stoic mask. "I imagine that would be useful."

"Extremely so," she agreed, checking her nails in a show of nonchalance. "I'd suggest you try it on Lee-san, but considering that black eye I healed this morning…"

Neji growled at her. "Haruno, you tell anyone about that and…"

"And?" she inquired sweetly.

"I'll tell Lee you're smitten with him."

Sakura gasped and glared at his sickeningly smug face, his lips turned up at one corner in an undeniable smirk. "You wouldn't dare."

"Would I?"

She punched him again, and he didn't step back. "Meanie. I should just refuse the mission."

"Oh, what a loss," he replied sarcastically, all pretense of emotionless-ness banished from his mocking face.

Sakura pretended to look hurt as they crossed the cobbled streets to her street, having done a full loop around the main square of Konoha. "You wound me deeply, Hyuuga-sama. Just wait till you come back, half-dead with Lee carrying you on his back, bleeding over the gates. You'll wish I was there, you ungrateful genius."

His pale lavender eyes quirked up as he smirked at her again, stopping in front of her house. "'Genius' being the operative word, Haruno, I don't think I'll be defeated so easily. I probably won't have need of your services at all."

She made a face at him and put her hands on her waist, cocking one hip arrogantly. "We'll see about that, you pompous prodigy." Giggling, she started up the walkway to the townhouse, noting with satisfaction that there were no kunai on the lawn. "I'll tell Naruto and Sai about the mission, and we'll meet you by the gates at eight."

Neji nodded. "Ja ne. Arigatou for your company and advice."

"Oh, it was no problem. Anything for a friend, eh? Ja!"

A friend? Since when? As he walked away, fully intent on finding the ideal members for his newest team, Neji looked over his shoulder just in time to see Sakura looking after him. Rolling his eyes as she stuck her tongue out at him, he continued, purposefully ignoring the small smile that was fighting at his cheeks.

A Hyuuga seen smiling in public just wouldn't do.

---

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but life's been pretty busy. I have an ankle injury that tied me up for a while, and now I'm sick, so I haven't had much time to write... I hope you all like this chapter, though. I know I do!

By the way-- if you're wondering why I reply to your comments, here's your answer: I find that author/reviewer communication works best if I actually send notes to each of you personally. I'm not sure if you appreciate it or if you just find it annoying, but I kind of like responding to you guys.

Thanks for your patience and your comments-- I'm always open to constructive critique and other comments!

--Dejeuner