Nascence

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V: Philandering Spotlight

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"Er… you two should be resting," Neji said rather lamely.

Sai stared.

Naruto glared.

Neji cowered.

The blonde in the room narrowed cerulean-blue eyes. "We saw what you did to our Sakura-chan outside of the building, Hyuuga. Windows are marvelous things."

Neji thought it was a bit out-of-character for Naruto to be using words like 'marvelous', but then, it was out-of-character for him to be frightened out of his wits, as well.

He decided not to mention it.

Instead, he cleared his throat, something he'd been doing a lot lately in awkward situations. Of which he was becoming very prone. "What exactly did you see me do to your Sakura-chan?" he inquired calmly.

"We saw you kiss her," Sai deadpanned.

Neji rolled his eyes. "I kissed her on the forehead. I do the same to Hinata, and other female relatives."

Naruto's eyes didn't waver. "She's not a relative of yours."

"She's a good friend," he protested soothingly. "I've seen you kiss her on the lips."

Sai stood in front of him, hands on hips in a frighteningly Sakura-like manner. "We're her brothers," he said, with no hint of a smile. "We can do that. You've only really started talking to her during this mission."

Neji frowned. "She is easy to make friends with."

They were silent for a long time, and Neji feared he'd said something terribly wrong. He could picture his gravestone now: Hyuuga Neji. Pissed off two older brothers. "Never go near Haruno Sakura".

With a mutual glance of understanding, the two faced him again. "Alright, Hyuuga," Naruto began, "we've decided to let you off with a warning. But we'll be watching you."

"Wonderful," Neji rasped, pushing past them. "Now get to sleep or I'll demote you to genin again."

As he closed the door, Naruto's voice boomed at him: "You hurt Sakura-chan and I'll break your neck!"

Neji slid down the door and mentally rehearsed a quick prayer of thanks.

--

Fact: Hyuuga Neji does not scare easily.

And yet Sakura noted with mixed curiosity and amusement that as the group exited the Kazekage's building later the next afternoon to go to their respective duties, he distinctly shied away from Sai and Naruto. Why? She had no idea. But it was a funny thing to see, and she resolved to ask him about it later… if she could work up the courage.

Sakura pondered about the night before as he, Temari, and herself scuffed through the dusty streets of Sunakagure. He kissed me on the forehead. Like a brother. But then, when he whispered to me… 'what do you want it to become'… great gods, my knees went to jelly. It's insane. I haven't done that since Sasuke complimented me on the way I threw shuriken. Sakura felt frightened. If her woman's intuition wasn't leading her astray and was telling her the truth: that she had a tiny crush on her tall, broad-shouldered companion-- then she was heading down a road she had long ago stuck a stop sign on. There was absolutely no way she would let herself turn into another sniveling, obsessive fan girl.

But those eyes…

Temari interrupted her train of thought with a wave of her hand. "This is the autopsy building," she announced gravely, leading them inside. She spoke quietly with someone behind the counter of the sterilized white room for a moment, then directed them towards the stairwell. "I don't want to be a burden to either of you-- I'm as much a coroner as Gaara's a stripper. It's the fourth floor, room five-oh-two. Come down with your results when you're finished."

Sakura smiled thinly at Temari's stripper comment, but her stomach churned as she and Neji silently mounted the stairs. She was going to see the actual corpses of her and Naruto's look-alikes. Bracing herself as they climbed the final set of stairs and pushing away thoughts of weak knees and strong shoulders, Sakura took a deep breath.

Neji glanced at her, frowning, but led her down the hallway until they reached the right room. He pushed open the door for her, and she walked under his arm, heading towards the sheet-covered forms on beds in the middle of the room.

Sakura took a moment to compose herself, waited for Neji to stand next to her. They both pushed their masks to the top of their heads, and then unveiled the first body.

She gasped; it was Naruto.

Or, rather, Naruto's look-alike.

But the sight was disconcerting, nonetheless-- clear blue eyes, blonde hair, tanned skin, whisker marks cut by kunai into the poor boy's cheeks. On his chest, deep gashes spread the length of his torso, one going from next to mid-thigh. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment while Neji activated his Byakugan, looking over the body with nary an expression on his face.

Willing herself to draw from his vast stores of courage, Sakura opened her eyes again and began examining the cadaver. The face was normal but for the kunai whisker marks-- nothing seemed to have been done to him above that or below the torso cuts. She focused on the middle of the chuunin's body, where all the cuts were. "This," she said slowly, "was done by a fire-charged katana."

"Hm?" Neji walked to face her. "How do you know?"

Sakura pointed to the edges of the wounds. "It's obviously Katon-charged… look at the sides of the cuts. They're all burnt and blistered. And I know it's a katana because of how the cuts are made. You hold a katana like this, right?" She demonstrated the familiar grip. "When you slash it down" -she did so- "you're moving your wrist in a rather awkward motion. It takes an expert swordsman to do it for a long time, like this one cut is, from neck to thigh. Any other sword or weapon would give out or not go that deep."

Neji nodded. "So we'll need a list of anyone that uses fire, and is a master swordsman."

Sakura groaned. "There are hundreds of those."

Her companion's lips twisted in a grimace. "True. Move on to the next body-- we may be able to find something there." Sakura, nodding, hardly thinking, pulled the sheet off the next bed.

The next moment, she was turned around, one hand on her mouth and another on her stomach.

Seeing herself, even a poorly-done look-alike of herself, in that condition… disemboweled. Lifeless. Staring. It was horrifying. Bile welled in her throat, and she forced to keep from vomiting, rocking herself on her heels. To her horror, a dry sob escaped her throat. Unbelievable.

Warm arms encircled her from behind.

Sakura immediately turned and wrapped her arms around Neji's shoulders, pressing her face into his chest. She wasn't crying, but her body was shaking, convulsing in frightful tremors. Neji held her tight, both to calm her and to mask his own jitters-- he was shivering, he felt it. Those green eyes, so like but so unlike Sakura's own… just staring up at him, without the usual sparkle. Without life. He buried his face into her rose tresses and inhaled deeply, her citrus scent anchoring him back to the real world. He put his chin lightly on her head and held her there for a long time, stroking her hair, gently moving his body from side to side.

Gradually, her tremors slowed and stilled. She lifted shaken eyes to him and nodded slightly, her face paler than normal. No roses bloomed at her cheeks today. She took a breath. "I can do this."

Neji hesitated. "Sakura-san, if you-"

She shook her head. "I can do this."

And he nodded.

Padding carefully towards the corpse, Sakura inhaled through her mouth and focused her eyes on below the late chuunin's head, focusing on her body. There were no unusual marks except for her disembowelment, and even that was done perfectly… surgically, in fact. "Whoever did this had a basic knowledge of surgical procedures," she murmured.

"And, apparently, some kind of a heart," Neji added.

Sakura looked up. "What makes you say that? This is a brutal murder."

The Byakugan chakra veins throbbed slightly. "You were avoiding the head. She has significant bruising at the back of her neck, and an almost fractured skull. Someone used a pressure point at first. She probably woke after that, and then the killer had to use a permanent painkiller… he or she knocked her out with a blunt object. The hilt of a katana, according to these indents… and the way the cracks throughout her skull spread." He tilted his own head, getting a better look. "Judging from the direction of the fracture, the person must have hit her-- from the murderer's standpoint-- with the motion from the top right to bottom left. A direct hit." Neji looked up. "Whoever it was didn't want this woman in any pain."

Sakura frowned. "But those rogues…"

"I know," Neji agreed, deactivating the Byakugan. "None of them had katana, or any type of long, thin sword. And none of them probably had mercy, either."

Sakura nodded. "Exactly. But why did they have the photos on them, and all that money, unless they were the murderers?"

Neji covered the bodies back up and led Sakura out of the room, gratefully closing the door behind him. "Maybe as bait," he suggested.

"But why would they accept to be bait if it meant their lives?"

He gave a halfhearted shrug. "They probably didn't know. The person in charge, whoever he or she is, probably posed as someone and gave it to them, or gave them a simpler job to do as an excuse for giving it to them. There are plenty of ways, and he or she probably just wanted to distract us. It doesn't get us any closer to finding out who the lead criminal is, though."

They walked down the steps in a thoughtful, fearful silence. Sakura shivered involuntarily, trying to force a particular image out of her head. She was a medic… she had seen the most gruesome sights of battle, and then some. But seeing her own likeness like that, dead, unmoving, forever still… it gave her the chills. Beyond chills, actually-- it made her head spin and her stomach clench. She felt physically ill.

As if sensing this (which, she later realized, he probably had), Neji took her arm. "Relax."

Sakura nodded, thankful as all get-out for his help and hoping that it conveyed to him somehow.

At their approaching footsteps, Temari stood from her chair and greeted them. "Did you find anything?" she asked. "You were in there a long time."

Neji hesitated. "Nothing of much importance," he replied honestly. "But we will need to discuss something with Kazekage-sama right away."

Temari sighed. "It must have been something of importance, then," she muttered to Sakura with a wink, but led them outside without another word.

As the two put their masks back on, Sakura looked around the city. In the streets of Suna, the after-lunch crowd was coming back out. Carts of food sellers lined the streets, and regular boutiques were interspersed between them. Children wound in between Sakura's legs, and a stray dog bounded next to Neji, closely followed by a pregnant woman and two young boys.

Overwhelmed with a sudden sense of déjà vu, the pink-haired kunoichi shook her head. She had felt the same saddening bliss in Konoha not five days ago. Feeling slightly dizzy, Sakura quickened her step, walking next to Temari instead of after her. The street spun, and she fell back. She looked at Neji for a moment, as if not quite sure what to do next. "It's hot," she whispered.

So hot.

She fell, her body doing a graceful curve as it dropped to the ground.

Neji caught her and very nearly dropped her. Shifting her weight so he was holding her upright, he looked up towards their guide. "Temari-san!" he called.

The fan-wielder turned. "Sakura!" Temari ran back and pushed up Sakura's mask just enough to see her face. "She's fainted," she whispered. "Can you support her?"

Neji nodded. "I can. Why did she faint?" He slung one arm around her back and the other under her knees, pulling her up bridal-style.

Temari gave a worried half-shrug, her pace increasing. "The heat? Dehydration? Maybe a combination of both? I don't know. But hurry; the last thing we need is for civilians to think there's a battle going on. These people draw to death scenes like bees to honey."

Neji felt like snapping "she didn't die" but refrained, not quite sure why he'd even thought of saying so. They reached the Kazekage's building and stormed up the stairs, going two by two, then three by three. Sakura stirred slightly in his arms, and he stopped, fearing the excess of movement had jolted her. Tenderly, he shifted her, cradling her like a child. "Sakura? Temari-san, wait."

Jade eyes blinked open, pink lips rolled together. "Neji-san." She lifted her head. "Oh, gomen… I didn't mean to…" She tried to release herself from his grasp but failed spectacularly. "Neji, let me go."

Temari flicked her dark eyes to Neji's pale ones. "Let her go, Hyuuga, she can walk." Ever so reluctantly, Neji stood her up on her own, and Sakura clambered up the remaining stairs with them. Temari put an arm around her. "Let's get you some water, Sakura. Hyuuga, you go on ahead-- we'll meet you there."

Sakura watched as Neji turned to the other direction. She noted (with a vindictive satisfaction of some sort) that he looked back about every ten seconds to make sure she was okay.

She groaned.

What a day.

---

In a lounge of some sort, Temari handed her the glass cup of water and watched as she drank it all. "Better?"

Sakura nodded wordlessly, gulping the rest of the cool liquid down, feeling it slide down her throat and settle her stomach. "Much. My body automatically begins a waking and healing process after I go down."

"Useful." Temari set her fan down behind her and clasped Sakura's hand. Clammy and shivering, Temari observed silently. Signs of dehydration. But she's not dehydrated… "You're shaking, sweetie. What happened to you?"

Sakura's lips pressed thinly together. "It… Temari, this is just the worst mission." She breathed in through her nose, pouring herself some more water from the pitcher on the glass table, and took a slow draught of it. "Seeing myself, a replica of myself-- like that, all unmoving and stiff… it was horrifying. I'm ANBU, and Neji is ANBU, and even he was shaking. It's worse than, say, seeing yourself die-- which, by the way, I've seen, as well-- it's seeing the aftereffect." Her lips twisted in a sour smile. "Plus, there are all these weird feelings I've been having… I feel like everything in this mission is familiar, like I've done it or seen it all before somehow. My inner persona is coming out in full bloom, which she usually doesn't do unless in really dangerous situations. And as though that isn't scary enough, there's Neji…"

"Neji?"

Sakura flushed. "Never mind. He scares me."

Temari sent her an inquisitive look.

"Temari, you know I've long since sworn off men. It scares me that now of all times and with Neji of all people, I'm breaking that oath." Her words stumbled over each other as they came out. "It's just hard to cope right now."

The blonde woman nodded slowly. "I get where you're coming from," she said softly, "but you're ANBU, and you're on a mission. You can't let this get to you… if you get into a fight, you could lose your life, especially with a criminal like this. He-- or she-- is vicious."

Sakura refilled her water cup again. "I know, I know," she answered, "but it's so hard. Everything good that's happened throughout the past couple weeks is becoming undone." She stood heavily, balancing herself with Temari's arm. "I'm going into the meeting," she muttered, still holding the cup. "I'll be okay. Just promise me you won't tell anyone about this, especially Naruto or Sai. They're worried enough as it is."

Temari nodded. "Alright. Go ahead."

Sakura embraced the older woman softly and made her way down the hall. As she reached the familiar dark-wood double doors, Gaara's voice filtered through the cracks. "Where is Sakura-san?"

"She had some problems," Neji answered, voice muffled by the wood. "She fainted after seeing the copy of herself."

Gaara sighed. "I realize it must be hard for her. But, Hyuuga-- she's always been rather emotionally weak, hasn't she?"

Neji let out a stifled groan. "Kazekage-sama. With all due respect, it was she that found the most clues from the bodies. Even I felt squeamish looking at them."

"But she has proved herself before to be not the most adequate of-"

"She helped save your life, did she not?"

The curtness of Neji's voice surprised her, and she pushed open the door a little bit, stepping inside. The two men faced away from her, looking out the window.

"…yes, she did."

"Then there shouldn't be a question on her toughness. She killed an Akatsuki member; I have not accomplished that. You have not accomplished that." He paused. "I'm sorry, I'm speaking rudely."

"No, no, I understand," Gaara said tiredly, with a weak sigh trailing at the end. "And I apologize. Childhood judgments are hard to destroy. I used to think she was pityingly weak."

There was a cracking sound, and the chink of glass hitting wood.

The men turned.

Sakura looked down at her hand and found it cut, bleeding, and streaming with water. Shards of glass from her cup fell to the floor. "Sakura," they said simultaneously.

The pink-haired medic calmly clenched her fist. Green chakra encircled her hand, and when she opened it, the cuts were gone, as if they'd never been there in the first place. She knelt, picked up the shards of glass, and crossed the room swiftly, depositing them in the Kazekage's trash can. She turned to Gaara. "Gomen. I didn't realize my grip was that tight."

Whether Gaara was ashamed, angry, or noncommittal was yet to be determined, but Neji saw with some amusement that the Kazekage's eyes reflected the realization that he was talking weakness about a girl that could break down buildings with one punch.

The Sand's ruler sat at his desk. "It's fine," he said quietly.

A look of understanding passed between them.

Gaara looked down for a moment, then at Neji. "What did you find on the bodies?"

"The injures were all done by katana," Neji answered, trying to restore normality, "and very well-handled. The use of a katana, however, rules out the rogues as the murderers-- none of them had one. Also, there were burn marks on the edge of every cut, which suggests that the sword used was fire-charged."

The Kazekage frowned, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "But the rogues had money."

"We think the may have involuntarily been used as bait for us," Neji replied solemnly.

"The girl's disembowelment was done perfectly," Sakura voiced quietly, "which suggests a basic use of surgical procedure. I'm not sure I could have done better if I'd had to. Also, there was bruising and fracture on the neck and skull of the girl, a pressure point and a sharp blow to the head to put her out of her pain. In short, Kazekage-sama, this criminal is not ordinary in the least. This case is getting more dangerous by the day."

Gaara sighed, rubbing his temples.

Sakura frowned suddenly. "Wait-- the letter you mailed to Tsunade-shishou…"

"What about it?"

Neji caught on in a flash. "You said the bodies had been stolen, and that the thief or thieves had left pictures behind. You sent us those photos. One was of the two murdered chuunin, the other of some dark red substance."

Gaara stood swiftly, frowning. "The only letter I sent the Godaime Hokage was the one asking for ANBU Black Ops to come and investigate. I sent no other message."

Sakura gasped. "So that means that the criminal wanted us to have those pictures."

"TenTen was right," Neji announced grimly. "Whoever is behind this is leading us on some grotesque treasure hunt. Everywhere we go gives us a new clue that brings us no further to the answer than we were in the first place."

Gaara let out a sound much like a stifled roar of anger and pressed a button on his desk. "Temari, get Kankurou and the rest of the Konoha ANBU down here now. It's nearly five o'clock anyway." He looked up at the two jounin. "Stay here. I have to meet with an elder about this; I'll be back by five."

Sakura sighed, willing herself not to collapse as the Kazekage stormed out of the room. Showing weakness now was inconceivable. But the whole damned thing was just so tiring…

Neji moved closer to her and gently squeezed her wrist, bringing her back to the real world. She shot him a grateful smile and fingered her ANBU mask in her hands, index finger running over the grooves and molds that marked the cat's facial features. Every mask, she realized, had characteristics of the person behind it, just like fighting style or chakra signature. Every move this killer made revealed a little bit about him, even if it was cryptic enough to drive the entire squad insane. The trick was to put together the small parts… like a ten-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, impossible to figure out until laid out in front of you.

Sakura moved towards the window, staring out at the sandy city below her. What did she know about this murderer? He or she-- she was pretty sure it was a he-- was calculating, cruel, with a stomach of cast iron.

That's obvious. Focus on the littler things…

He/she was brilliant, to distract them with the rogues and keep the answers he gave unreachable.

He/she was risky, to forge a note from the Kazekage and threaten the Godaime Hokage's two favorite jounin, plus the Hokage herself.

He/she had enough of a heart to knock out his victim before disemboweling her.

He/she had knowledge enough of Sakura and Naruto's features to replicate them almost exactly. (But then, after their extended missions across the globe, so did many.)

Add it all together, and she got…

Nothing.

Nearly throwing her mask in frustration, Sakura shut her eyes hard, trying to picture the photographs. One obvious: the two murdered chuunin. Two blisteringly obvious: the chuunin alive and the chuunin murdered. One completely cryptic: the shining pool of red. But they all added up somehow.

She thought back to the beginning.

"Nascence," she whispered to herself. It had always been her favorite word.

"Hm?"

Sakura started; she'd forgotten Neji was still in the room. She turned on the spot, pivoting on her toes, and smiled slightly at him. "Nascence," Sakura said, "means 'beginning'. A beginning of war, pain, betrayal. A beginning of a year, a love, a life. The beginning of everything in the world, Neji... everything good and bad and in between. The beginning of me and you. Of everything." Her smile faded. "It was my favorite word… I was trying to think back to the beginning. But right now, all the beginning points to is muddled, bloody murder."

When had she taken the -san suffix off of his name?

No matter.

Neji approached her slowly. "That's a nice word," he said softly, "and that's not the right way to look at this case. It didn't start with the murder. It started when you wrote on that cocktail napkin not a week ago. Isn't that a better beginning than blood?"

Sakura looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. A smile gradually broke out on her face. "Yes," she conceded, "I guess it is. Is it really not only a week since then? It seems like forever."

"Time flies."

Sakura snorted in a most unladylike way and threw her mask in the air, catching it with her hand. "I guess you could say that."

"Sakura."

"Mm."

Neji frowned. How to say it? "I'm sorry about last night."

Sakura stiffened. Honestly, she had to teach this boy some tact. On the unwritten List of When Not to Mention an Impromptu Kiss, number one had to be 'while investigating two bloody murders'. But she smiled at him anyway… the fact that he had almost no social skills whatsoever was rather cute. "It's okay," she said softly. "Naruto and Sai do that all the time. It was kind of… brotherly, I'd think. I'm glad you think I'm close enough to you-- worthy enough of you-- for you to do that. I was just kind of surprised."

In her head, Inner Sakura was rolling her eyes. Yeah, yeah, that manly whisper was real 'brotherly'. Unless you're into incest, in which case… why not?

Sakura firmly told her to shut up.

Neji smiled, as if somehow hearing her internal conflict himself. "So was I."

And as Gaara, Kankurou, Temari, and the rest of their ANBU squad filed in one by one, solemn looks on their faces that showed they'd been told all about the autopsy, Neji and Sakura couldn't look away from one another's eyes.

---

A series of sharp raps on the door roused Sakura and TenTen from a deep sleep. The weapons mistress turned on the light and ran to the door, opening it to face a breathless Shikamaru. "There's been another-- just hurry up and get out here!"

TenTen turned, but Sakura was already suited up, tightening her ANBU mask around her head. TenTen put on her black outfit and tied her mask as they ran, two slim figures flashing out the door. Sakura's heart pounded as they followed Shikamaru… where were they going? What had happened?

They ran towards a figure slumped in the sands of Suna… it was writhing in pain, moaning chaotically.

Neji turned to them from ahead and stopped, clasping Sakura's hand in his with a tender motion. "It's Naruto," he said breathlessly, his face pained. "He's been harmed badly."

Sakura's heart fairly stopped. "Let me get to him! I can heal him!"

Neji grabbed her other hand and kissed her neck ever so gently. "He's lashing out at anyone that gets near him, Sakura-chan. It's not safe."

And then Sakura knew.

Angrily, she slammed her foot down, pulled out a kunai, and stabbed Neji in the chest.

"KAI!"

The brown-haired man dissolved from her sight, as did the rest of the world, everything sliding into each other like paint thrown on a wall. Sakura looked around, getting her bearings.

She was sitting on her window ledge.

She shrieked, backing up immediately as she felt TenTen stir behind her. "Sakura?"

The genjutsu expert was panting. "TenTen… genjutsu! Somebody put me in a genjutsu-- I was halfway out the window! If I'd fallen, I could have died!"

TenTen hurried out of bed, putting an arm around the smaller woman. "Are you serious?"

"I was sitting on the windowsill." As much as she tried to control it, Sakura's voice trembled. "Somebody's really trying to kill me…"

TenTen frowned as they heard voices from the other side of the hallway. The bun-haired girl opened the door and knocked on Sai and Naruto's. As Sakura went to join her, Sai opened it. "What happened?" TenTen asked curiously.

Behind Sai, Naruto was wild-eyed and in a cold sweat. "I was in a genjutsu," he said breathlessly. "I nearly fell out the window."

Sakura felt a cold chill run down her spine as she grasped Naruto's arm. "I… I was in the same genjutsu," she told him slowly.

Behind her, TenTen stiffened. "I'm getting Neji. Sai, watch over them!"

The ink-jutsu user nodded, and the brown-haired ANBU crossed the hall, knocking on Neji and Lee's door frantically. Neji opened it almost at once and, once briefed on the situation by TenTen, he crossed swiftly to Sakura and Naruto. Shikamaru opened his door with a usual "yare, yare… what's with the troublesome noise? Can't sleep with you all pounding on doors…"

Neji faced them. "You were both put in the same genjutsu?" he asked in a low voice, putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

Was it Naruto's imagination, or was there an undertone of actual fright in there? And not the comical cowering he'd shown at last night's interrogation-- but real, blood-curdling fear?

Sakura nodded numbly, a hand at her mouth. "It was so… so realistic. It was like I was actually there, none of that fizzy feeling you sometimes get when you're in a genjutsu. Whoever did this was… amazing."

Neji turned. "Shikamaru, Sai, Lee, TenTen-- go outside. See if whoever did this is still there."

The group of four nodded and disappeared almost into thin air, hopping out windows and onto the roof. Sakura shook her head as Naruto loudly voiced his outrage. "I should go with them."

Neji tightened his grip on her shoulder. "No. You're a genjutsu expert-- try to analyze this. Was there anything unusual about it? A signature mark of some sort?"

"No," she whispered, "it was just a normal genjutsu. Just advanced. And genjutsu don't have signature marks, like a fighting style or a ninjutsu specialty. It's just genjutsu. I'd say it was a way-upgraded version of a basic jutsu."

Naruto nodded from next to Sakura, knocking Neji's hand off her shoulder with a warning glare. "It wasn't anything special, but really well done. I don't know anyone but Kurenai-sensei or Sakura-chan that could put up a genjutsu like that."

Neji scowled. "If it was so good, how did you break out of it?"

Sakura flushed slightly, her mouth open for a bit before she replied. "In the genjutsu, you called me Sakura-chan, and you refused to let me treat a wounded Naruto."

"So?"

"You never call me Sakura-chan, Neji-san, and you know better than to get in the way of me and healing someone." She flashed him her trademark, cheeky grin.

Neji didn't smile back.

Her beaming grin was forced, he could tell-- her eyes didn't sparkle with it as they usually did, and her hands were cold and shaking slightly. The whole day had obviously greatly unnerved her. Naruto was looking a bit worse for the wear, too. They had, after all, almost died around five minutes ago. Why is the killer so obviously targeting them? A personal grudge? Or just coincidence?

ANBU training had taught him years earlier that there was no such thing as coincidence.

Neji sighed, running a hand through his hair and focusing on the two faces in front of him. He glanced at Naruto. "Do you two want to talk privately? You've had little chance to do so, and it might help to collaborate ideas."

Sakura shot him a grateful half-smile as Naruto led her a bit down the hallway. They sat together, Naruto holding her hand, in silence until the blonde, whiskered boy broke it. "Sakura-chan?"

"Aa?"

"Are you scared?"

Sakura didn't answer for a moment, but twisted her upper body and hugged him hard. "Yes."

Naruto smiled slightly, patting her back, running callused fingers through her pink hair. "Good. I am, too." He shot another glare at Neji for good measure, then poked the object of his embrace on the forehead. "Hey."

"What?"

"What d'you think of Hyuuga, eh?"

Sakura scowled into his shirt. "Is this really the time to be the overprotective brother, Naruto?"

He shot her a foxy grin that wavered only slightly. "I'm serious, Sakura-chan. Sai and I would like to know what degree glare to give him."

She chuckled. "He's nice, Naruto. He's a good friend."

"That's all?" he prompted.

Sakura socked him in the stomach. "Yes, that's all."

Liar.

Sakura made a face that didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. "Hey, you talking to yourself again?"

She sighed. "I'd been hoping you wouldn't notice that, actually. She's flaring up again. I didn't want to worry you."

Naruto was remarkably quiet for a moment as Sakura sat up, brushing the bangs away from her forehead at Neji's watchful, careful, protective gaze.

"She only comes up during dangerous fights, doesn't she?" Naruto murmured.

Sakura hesitated.

"Hai. But I'm pretty stressed-- that's probably a part of it, too."

Naruto looked at her, concerned, as the group of four filed in one by one, panting and luckless. Lee shook his head at Neji. "Whoever it was left nothing… he has left our glorious hunt unfinished. The scoundrel."

Neji gave another look towards Naruto and Sakura and sighed. "Alright. Bed. But I want Sai and TenTen to be extra sensitive for the rest of the night-- tune your chakra if need be. We don't want something else like that happening."

Sakura and Naruto stood and walked over to the group. As they prepared to go to their rooms, however, Neji's hand once again clasped Sakura's shoulder. She turned. "Aa, Captain?"

His grip relaxed, and he frowned slightly, as if he didn't know quite what he stopped her for.

"I'm glad you're good at genjutsu," he said finally, lamely, horribly.

She smiled at him again, and it was a bit stronger this time.

"Me, too."

---

Author's Note: Wow, that has to be one of the fastest updates I've ever done… I was just really excited about this chapter. A lot happens, so it's one of the most important chapters in the whole story. We've got some NejiSaku interaction here, a little bloodiness, a little drama, a bit of humor, a little NaruSaku bonding time… I promise that this'll have action, though. I haven't really put much in, but there will be A BUCKETLOAD O' FIGHTING going on in the next couple chapters.

By the way, my e-mail is getting rather funky, so I didn't get a chance to reply to the latest reviews. To all of you-- thank you EVER so much, and I'll be sure to read them all as soon as I can.

Hope you liked-- and whether you did or didn't, that review button would like to hear why!

--Dejeuner