Note: Hey there everyone, I'm so sorry that this update took so long. I've worked long for it as I took a long time in editing and there are times where I was not satisfied with the words I've written and the process is prolonged. Do review and let me know what you all think.

Chapter 2 is completed, please refer back to the newly uploaded chapter.

Chapter 3

Neji lay on the floor, panting heavily. He was beginning to realize that something was wrong. His body wasn't reacting right and cold sweat was dripping from his temples. This was the first time that something like this was happening to him, usually, his body would be able to withstand the extreme and long training he had lined up for himself after discharging from the hospital. And yet, this time, it was different. Maybe he had overdone it; maybe he had crossed the limit without even realizing it.

Shit, Neji cursed in his mind.

It was already night fall and the Hyuuga mansion was silent. Even the sounds of footsteps had ceased. His room's external sliding door to the garden outside was still opened; he did not close it when he stumbled in. He had started training late afternoon, when it became obvious that meditating did not work for him.

He had trained himself hard and Neji knew very well himself that he had tortured himself, and now here he was, lying helplessly in his room, the white moonlight glinting off his figure and his panting breaths becoming softer. Neji had figured out that he somehow had to calm down first and perhaps, gather some energy and get help.

Then, Neji turned his face to the sky and looked at the round, white moon hanging in the dark sky, wondering what Sakura is doing now. It was already late, he supposed that she must have gone home after her date with Kiba or perhaps, Kiba had sent her home…

And just at that moment, Neji put a quick stop to his thoughts before it became a snowball and went out of control.

"So, Sakura, what do you think?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura shrugged, "I'm not sure, shishou. Now, I'm just really tired and I want to go home and rest."

"But tell me first Sakura, what do you think of Kiba? What happened during the date and what did he do to impress you?" Tsunade persisted.

Sakura shrugged again, thinking about the way Kiba keep smiling at her warmly and being the most polite and respectful to her through out the evening. At exactly seven p.m. sharp , he came to pick her up at her house, bearing flowers. And she was in a beautiful white simple dress, her hair curled and let down about her shoulders gracefully. Kiba was looking at her with awe, and it was the first time Sakura had received a glance like that. Which was why Sakura was not used to it and through out the evening, Kiba continued looking at her like that and it made her uneasy. She didn't like the feeling of being worshipped.

Kiba was sweet, he came dressed in a pinstriped shirt and long black trousers and Sakura had to admit it, Kiba actually looked quite dashing…yeah, quite dashing except for the fact that he still brought his dog everywhere.

"I think Kiba is really nice, he is such a gentleman. But there is just something missing there, shishou. Chemistry?"

Tsunade nodded knowingly, "Hmm…chemistry."

"Yeah," Sakura continued, "he is not bad looking, he is nice, he is kind but there is just something not there. Something that didn't click when we were together this evening."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, if that's what you say. But don't despair, Sakura, you still have many more dates to come. There's bound to be someone who clicks with you."

Sakura smiled and laughed, "Don't be so serious, shishou! I'm not used to seeing you like this. When is the next date?"

But before Tsunade could answer, a medic rushed into the office and both Sakura and Tsunade turned to looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at such a time, Hokage-sama, but we need Haruno-sempai to go to the Hyuuga mansion now." He said.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"A messenger from the Hyuuga house had asked for Sakura's assistance. It seems like Hyuuga Neji had opened his wounds again due to his severe training, his condition is not good. We need Haruno-sempai there right now."

Sakura frowned and said, "I'll go with you now." Then, she turned to Tsunade, "Shishou, I'll take my leave now. Thank you so much for everything, Good night!"

Then, Sakura disappeared together with the medic nin.

When Sakura arrived at the Hyuuga's mansion, it was dark and silent, except for the few footsteps of the servants rushing about to bring her clean clothes and water. She was brought straight to Neji's room, where Hinata was sitting beside an unconscious Neji who was lying on the tatami on the floor. His room was colder than all the other areas of the house and Sakura shivered.

"He didn't close the sliding door on the outside when he came back from training, I think." Hinata said, as if she could read Sakura's thoughts.

The room was lit up by candles and even in dimness of the room, Sakura could see how clean and neat Neji's room was.

"Who found him?" Sakura asked.

"I found him." Hinata answered. "It was a coincidence, really. He was behaving weirdly this afternoon, and so I decided to come see how he is after I came back. He didn't answer when I called his name and so I entered and found him lying on the floor."

Sakura nodded grimly and walked towards Neji, putting a hand on his forehead.

"He's having a high fever." Sakura said, "And he has opened his wounds again which is why he is bleeding internally now."

Just then, several maids rushed in with all the medical equipments they can offer, one of them approached Sakura, "Is there anything else you need? We would try our best to help."

Sakura smiled at them and shook her head, "Don't worry. That's all I need. Neji's condition is not as bad as it looked. If all goes well, he'll be fine in a few days time."

"Does he need to be admitted into the hospital again?" Hinata asked.

"No, we shouldn't move him now, moving him might worsen his internal wounds. Which is why our medic nins did not move him when you sent for help to the hospital."

Sakura walked to one of the medic nins who was standing dutifully at the door, awaiting orders.

"I would need you to get some medicine and herbs for me at the hospital," she said, "take the bottles lying on the second row of my cupboard in my office."

The medic nin nodded and asked, "Do you need any assistance from us? We are the most willing to help."

Sakura shook her head and smiled gratefully, "It's all right, I can handle it here myself. You guys can go home now."

The other medic nins bowed and left the room.

Sakura turned back to Neji and asked Hinata, "So far what had been done for Hyuuga-san before the medic nins got here?"

"We've changed his clothes for him, as it was drenched with his sweat, other than that, we didn't do anything else."

Sakura nodded and proceeded to work her chakra over Neji's, checking his exact conditions. Once she detected the newly opened wounds, she proceeded to heal them and morph them back with her chakra. What she really needed to do now was to stop his internal bleeding.

Hinata watched her work, and widened her eyes in awe as she saw Neji's chakra directing and moving through his body correctly again. His originally very mixed up and panicky chakra had now became a smooth, peaceful flow through his body.

This whole process took full two hours and before that, all the servants and Hinata and retired to go back to their rooms. Sakura assured them that Neji was in good hands and that they shouldn't sacrifice their sleep for this.

In between, the medic nin whom Sakura had sent came back to give her the medicine and herbs and then, off he went again.

Sakura was feeling very tired and yet, she knew that she couldn't put Neji in anyone else care other than her own or her shishou's. She was so scared that someone would mess up something as complicated as healing internal wounds with chakra and cause even more damage onto Neji.

As she concentrated on healing Neji, with her healing chakra enveloping his, she thought about what she had done the whole day. It was funny how differently her day turned out, she had never expected seeing Neji like this again, at least not as soon as this. She had just set her foot down on forgetting about him and finding a new focus this morning and yet, now she was now looking at his pale face, listening to his soft breathing, and not forgetting to mention, staring and observing the green mark on his forehead once again.

She had not had the chance of seeing his cursed mark for a long time and now seeing it again made him look even more so vulnerable than ever. It was a good thing that she was tired and slowly losing more energy as her chakra flow out steadily and over to Neji's, or else her thoughts might run wild, she would not want to think about things that she had already decided not to think about.

After she was sure that all of Neji's wounds were healed, she reached over to the medicine and pour water into a glass. She lifted Neji's head carefully onto her lap and proceeded to pour an amount of medicine into his mouth and feeding him water as she saw him frown and cough slightly at the bitterness of the medicine. Sakura smiled because she knew very well how bitter the medicine was, she was the person who created this special medicine which help the healing of internal damages and she herself didn't like it one bit, even though it was very effective.

She put his head back down onto the pillow once she was sure he swallowed the contents that she fed him and let out a relief sigh. It was finally over.

Sakur looked lifted her wrist and tried very hard to look at her watch, only to find her vision very blurry, not able to see what time it was at all.

Then, her mind just went black.

Neji woke up to the aroma of warm green tea, his eye lids were so heavy that he struggled to open them. His head was still a bit painful, but his heart was no longer thumping wildly. There was someone moving about in his room and yet he found it so hard to sit up.

That was when the elderly Susuzaki-san gasped and rushed towards him.

"Neji-sama, let me help you to sit up!" she exclaimed, "You do not want to open your wounds once again. This time you will wait for them to heal fully before you start training."

And thus, he was lifted up into a sitting position, his pillow resting against the wall and him leaning against it.

That was when he realized that there was another person inside the room.

Not far away him to the right was another tatami bed, and there lay a pink-haired woman who looked very familiar. Neji squinted his misty eyes to look closely.

Susuzaki-san smiled, "Yeah, that is Haruno-san. When we found you here unconscious last night, all we could do was to send someone to get help from the hospital. She came last night and which is why you are fine and up again. Poor girl, I heard that she had to rush here after her date too."

Neji just stared.

Sakura was in his room and it was her who saved him again. It was always her, over and over again.

He watched her turn to face him, her brows furrowing, and showing the signs of waking up very soon.

And just like he predicted, she sat up perfectly by herself and Neji watched her pink hair flow down to her shoulders in perfect curls. She stretched herself, spreading her hands high into the air and turned her eyes to face him. And, Neji saw her eyes go from unfocused to being very surprised.

She jumped out from under the blankets and smacked herself hard on the forehead.

Neji just watched, not uttering a word. Seeing a Sakura who just woke up was a new thing for him.

She was dressed in a beautiful, simple white dress and for a while, he thought he might have made up an illusion with his delirious condition now.

But thanks to Susuzaki-san's presence here, Neji was made very aware that the Sakura standing in front of him was not an illusion.

"Good morning, Haruno-san!" Susuzaki-san chirped cheerily, "Would you like some tea and breakfast?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled politely in response, "No, it's all right. Thank you for being so nice."

Then, she walked over and picked up the bottle of medicine from the floor and passed it to Susuzaki-san. "Hyuuga-san has to take this medicine twice a day to ensure that his wounds would heal. Could you make sure that he gets his daily medicine?"

Susuzaki-san nodded firmly and said, "Of course, I will do that. But are you sure that you don't want to stay for not even tea?"

"Yean, I'm sure." Sakura said, "I'm suppose to be at work at the hospital now and yet I fell asleep here last night. I think that it's better that I get back now. Thank you so much for your hospitality."

She bowed at both Susuzaki-san and Neji and was ready to dash out of the sliding door when Neji spoke.

"Please, stay for tea at least," he said simply.

And yet, to Sakura, these words echoed loudly in her head.

She turned around slowly and acknowledged Neji, smiling at him politely.

"Please," he added, "I would like you to stay for tea. At least let me offer you some thanks for saving me last night."

Susuzaki-san beamed and nodded her head energetically, clearly pleased at how the whole situation was progressing.

Sakura nodded and allowed Sususaki to lead her to sit down next to Neji.

Neji looked across from his position and felt so helpless. He was in his plain white long sleeve shirt, simple long white pants, and a pathetic white band around his head. Neji was sure that he looked like an invalid to her now, even without looking at a mirror, he could imagine very well that his face was pale and that his eyes are not as focus like normal.

She sat in front of him quietly, her back straight, sipping peacefully at her green tea, her brilliant green eyes were casted downwards and even from where he was sitting, he could tell that she had build a defense against him, an invisible wall that separates herself from him.

He did not know what made her behave this way, she wasn't like this before; she was more opened, more cheerful and warmer towards him. What was it that made everything between them so awkward?

He proceeded to sip at his tea as well, and they sat in an uncomfortable silence. Only until Susuzaki-san left the room, Neji started a conversation.

"Thank you so much for coming here last now and I apologize for the trouble I caused you." He began.

Sakura finally looked up from her cup and looked at him bravely in the eye and shook her head in denial, "You don't have to thank me, and it's my duty, Hyuuga-san. I'm glad that you're well again. But you should really take care the next time though, it's not good to inflict this kind of condition onto your body over and over again."

Neji nodded in agreement and continued to say, "Nevetheless, I would still like to thank you. And I heard that you had to rush here after a date as well. I'm sorry about that."

He looked at her carefully; ready to catch whatever emotion she was going to show on her face.

Sakura's eyes widened and then her opened mouth quickly dissolved into a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, I rushed here right after a date and which is why I am now dressed like this and this," she tugged at her hair, "was in better form last night. Now, the curls seemed to have died down a lot."

She said all these good-humoredly; amusement in her eyes and Neji's mood lightened a little. Their awkward situation wasn't so awkward anymore.

"Well, it's good that you've decided to start dating," he said, "it's a change."

Sakura smiled at him again and said, "Yeah, it is. My shishou was the one who set this whole thing up. She said that I have a boring life and that I should start dating again. I was really against this idea initially, but now, I think I'm getting more and more used to it."

"That's good." Neji said simply.

Sakura reached down for her cup again only to find it empty.

Neji noticed that and immediately asked, "Would you like more tea?"

"No, thank you." Sakura said, getting up from where she was sitting, "I really should get going now, I need to get out of this dress and get to work. Thank you for the tea."

But before Sakura could turn and leave, Neji grabbed her hand.

Sakura looked down at him questioningly and saw the same confusion in Neji's eyes. It was an emotion that she could not identify, he opened his mouth to say something and then he closed his mouth again. He let go of her hand and then time resumed, Sakura turned and then walked across to the sliding door.

"Could you join me for dinner tonight?"

Sakura turned back and then looked at him in disbelief; did she hear the right thing? She just froze there, not knowing what to say, it was all too unexpected and the brain cells in her brain seemed to have numbed as well.

"I mean, I would like you to have dinner with me tonight." Neji said again, clarifying very clearly what he wanted to say.

Sakura finally came to her senses and nodded, "All right. Where would you like to have dinner?"

Neji gestured at his room, "Since it's better that I don't move around now, it's best that we have dinner here. What do you think?"

"All right," Sakura said again, "at what time should I appear in front of the gates of the almighty Hyuuga mansion?"

Neji smiled inwardly at her quirky remark and said, "At about 6.30?"

Sakura nodded and smiled at him, "I'll see you tonight then. Meanwhile, take care of yourself and do not try to attempt at anything too hard for yourself."

Neji nodded and Sakura just disappeared through the sliding door.

Sakura wasn't sure what exactly happened in there. When Neji asked her to have dinner with him, the most natural thing to do was to say 'yes' but now that Sakura think about it, she had made yet another mistake.

She shouldn't have agreed because it would only mean that everything would become more complicated than she think. However, she shouldn't think too much about it just yet. Perhaps, to Neji, inviting her to dinner at his house was a form of gratitude, not anything else. But yet, something was telling her that there was something different about the way Neji looked at her just now.

When he grabbed her hand and just looked at her, Sakura saw his eyes and it was the first time that she felt like it wasn't guarded. Neji's eyes were always guarded, so straight and so icy that even she found it hard to predict his emotions. But yet, today, she saw confusion, insecurity and a bit of sadness in those dreamy slivery eyes of his.

Why did he always have to do such things to her? Just simple interactions with him would inflict such strong and anxious feelings in her. Sometimes, she felt like as if he actually felt something for her as well, and yet, at the same time she was afraid that she was reading too much into his actions, as someone like Hyuuga Neji to have feelings for her was something she found very hard to believe.

And unknowingly, she found herself in front of Ino's flower shop. She walked in and saw Ino looked up from her work of arranging flowers.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Sakura smiled at her and sat down at a free stool next to Ino. "Hi." She said simply.

"I thought you are supposed to be somewhere? You don't have work at the hospital today?"

Sakura shook her head and said, "You are so eager to get rid of me, huh?"

Ino raised her eyebrows in feigned indignation and said, "Hn! Well, I thought that you are so busy that you can't even visit your poor friend at the florist. Let me remind you, this is the first time in six months that you paid a visit here."

"All right, all right. I'm sorry, and just to let you know, I'm free today. No work or whatsoever at the hospital."

Ino went back to her work and asked, "So, what brings you here? I thought that you may still be at the Hyuuga mansion."

"You know about that?"

"Of course I do. I heard about it from the hokage when I visited her at her office. So, how's Hyuuga now?"

Sakura hesitated before answering, "He's fine now. He just has to rest for a while."

Ino raised her eye brows at her and then asked, "So, what do you think about Kiba?"

"Well, he's nice but we didn't exactly click."

"Nevermind, your next date is this Friday and you will have more choices to choose from."

"Who is it this Friday?"

"Lee."

"Lee? First Kiba and now, Lee? Why did you guys include him in the first place? I was never interested in him that way. He is a good friend but what I feel for him is just…"

"Hey, at least he really likes you okay? He is passionate, affectionate, honest, loyal and a good ninja. He will be good to you and he is not like Sasuke, cold and reserved all the time."

"Don't mention Sasuke, Ino. He has nothing to do with anything that we are talking about."

"All right, I won't talk about him. But don't pretend that he hasn't affected you. So, how about a girl's night out tonight?"

Sakura shook her head apologetically, "Sorry Ino, I'm not free tonight."

"What? I thought you have no duties today?"

"Well…"

"Well, what?"

"Well…Hyuuga-san invited me to dinner tonight."

"WHAT?"

Sakura cringed at Ino's surprised scream. "Hey, it is nothing okay? Just a gratitude dinner that's all."

Ino's face twisted into an evil mischievous smile and then her eyebrows were raised so high that Sakura was sure that they had reached her hair line.

"Gratitude dinner? Is there such a thing? Since when are you so acquainted with the other ice box of Konoha?"

"Stop it, Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, "It's not what you think!"

"Fine, I won't say anymore." Ino said, "So, since you can't accompany me tonight, how about lunch now?"

Hearing Ino's suggestion, Sakura realized how hungry she was, she hadn't eaten anything since morning, since she was so desperate to get out of the Hyuuga's mansion.

"Yeah, let's go for lunch. I'm starving!"

Night came quickly and Sakura found herself more and more agitated than ever. She had never felt like this before. Sure, she had gone on dates, and men had taken her out to dinner, but this time, it was different. She was going to see Hyuuga Neji, someone that she liked. She couldn't say that it was love yet, as even now, she did not know what love was.

Love is a mysterious thing. It is so confusing and at times Sakura did not know how to identify with love. It was something that she had not experienced and at times, she doubted if even love really existed. It is something beyond her understanding.

She started fiddling with her wardrobe at about five in the afternoon. And by, 'fiddling', it meant that she had taken out all her clothes, tried on all the possible outfits for uncountable times that even now she was beginning to feel very frustrated. If Ino was here, this decision making would be so much easier, but she wouldn't want anyone to know that she was stressing so much on just a 'gratitude' dinner with the genius of Konoha.

In the end, she decided upon simple collared white blouse and white polka-dotted black knee length skirt. She allowed her hair to be let down naturally, straight and combed neatly. She did not put any make-up on, only a dab of lip gloss on her lips. She did not want to look like she was there to impress him.

She rang the bell at the Hyuuga mansion at exactly half past six and she was led in by a kind elderly woman, who couldn't stop chattering with her. And then, finally, she was brought to Hyuugs Neji's room where she was seated.

Hyuuga Neji was no where in sight. Sakura frowned, she had given him and the others the orders that he should not be moved.

Then, she saw the sliding door open again as a calm Neji walked in. She could see that he was slightly struggling with his steps.

"What are you doing?" Sakura said, standing up and rushing to his side. She was still frowning; she wouldn't like it if he opens any of his wounds again. But for now, she held her anger in and put an arm around Neji's waist to help him to his seat.

She set him down carefully and Neji just pushed her away slightly, with an amused smile on his face. "I'm fine, Sakura. Don't worry."

Sakura was so shocked at his calm demeanor that she didn't notice that he called her 'Sakura'.

"You're fine?" Sakura said, hearing her own voice go up several syllables. "Don't say that to me. You don't know how scared I am about the damages you have done to yourself when I am not around this afternoon. Didn't I tell you that you should really just rest and not walk around so much?"

Neji smiled again and Sakura got more annoyed at that. She didn't need him smiling that charming smile when she was hot on her head.

"My injuries healed faster than usual and so I was able to walk about a bit," Neji explained, "and sitting in my room was not very productive, don't you think?"

Sakura just sighed, looking at his handsome face and not believing that she was here with him now. "You're impossible."

Neji chuckled and it was a delightful sound. Sakura just watched him, she had never seen him smile so much in one day before and now, he actually chuckled. Sakura felt like she had missed something but she did not know what, so she just went back to her seat and remained silent. Neji seemed like he wanted to play games with her and she was not about to just play along with him.

Neji looked at the confused and angry Sakura across him and inwardly, he was laughing gleefully to himself. She sat there, silent and calm but Neji knew her better, he knew that her mind was storming inside, probably cursing him for not following her orders. He felt bad as well, because he had made her worry so much and yet he had just went along and walked around. The afternoon spent at home without urgent matters or training sessions set his mind into a very different direction.

He analyzed his reaction when he first found out about Tsunade's dating plans for Sakura, he was afraid, angry and in denial. He was afraid that he might lose her, he was angry at himself for not letting her know that he cared for her more that she knew and at the same time he was telling himself that it was just a temporary confusing emotion that will pass very soon. And that he would soon forget about Sakura.

Then, he went ahead and put himself in danger with his life again and then, Sakura appeared in front of him again.

He now realized how much he was used to her presence and how much he needed her around and most important of all, he realized now that his feelings for her wasn't just temporary.

He was to let her go along with her plans with her shishou but at the same time he was going to continue to invite her to dinners or to spend time with her in any way. He wouldn't make it so obvious that he was courting her, because he wanted to be sure that she wanted this as well, and so that she had the choice to choose the others.

Hyuuga Neji was not about to let things go so easily, he had always been insistent and persistent in the things he want since young and he was not about to change.

The food came and they started their meal, he watched her reactions carefully, he wanted her to be pleased, it was a menu that he selected especially for today. Together with some simple dishes, there were also unique dishes that only the Hyuuga clan knows how to prepare.

He saw her widened her eyes and waited patiently for her to give her comment.

"This tastes really good!" Sakura said, "What dish is this?"

Neji smiled, it seemed like she was distracted from her annoyance with him. "It's a special dish, my ancestors created this secret recipe and only the Hyuugas know how to make it."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully and continue chewing. She looked at him with huge green eyes and asked, "So I guess that it's not possible for me to learn how to make this right?"

Neji smiled at her and said, "Not unless you become a Hyuuga, Sakura."

At this, Sakura lowered her eyes and continued eating quietly and Neji was afraid that he had gone too far with his words then, it was only nearing the end of the meal that Sakura spoke again.

"Hyuuga-san, are your headaches still bothering you?" she asked.

Neji nodded, "It hurts sometimes still, especially at night. But, I think you have a way with it, when you are around, my head doesn't seem to hurt that much anymore."

Sakura smiled at him. "Of course, I was using my chakra to calm down yours in your head. So there will be less pain."

"Thank you."

Sakura shook her head, "No, no, don't thank me. I should really thank you for such a nice meal, though."

Neji smiled, "You're the most welcomed. And I would like you to know that the Hyuuga springs and training ground would be open for you whenever you like."

"Really? Thank you so much." Sakura said, surprised at his overwhelming generosity. Hyuugas were known for keeping to themselves.

"We could have sparring sessions together too, if you like," Neji suggested, "sometimes it is so hard to find sparring partners when everyone is so busy with their own lifes. We all have different missions and different duties."

"Well, I'm very busy too with my work at the hospital and my research work. And I still train under the Hokage-sama sometimes. But, I hardly spar these days as well. So yeah, maybe we can spar together sometime."

"When will I be able to start training?" Neji asked.

"Maybe next week. But go easy on your body though, don't jump into intensive training like you did last time."

Neji nodded and they resumed to their meals. When they finished their meals, their trays were collected and dessert was brought in.

"Hyuuga-san, I'm already so full." Sakura said.

"Oh, but you have to try the desert, or you might regret it." Neji replied. He poured more tea into Sakura's cup and urged her to eat the hot, milky and sweet smelling substance in the small bowl.

Sakura did as what she was told and began eating the desert. As they ate their deserts, they talked to each other about their interests and about their lives.

"Hyuuga-san, to tell you the truth, I always thought that you were cold and emotionless before. But now I know that it is not true, because, I consider us as friends." Sakura said.

Neji smiled at that, "I consider us as friends as well. You've healed me so many times the past few years and fate has it that you are always the medic nin assigned to me. And if not for that, I don't think we would know each other as we do now. But I have noticed something, you've changed over the years."

"Yes, I think I have too. I didn't like who I was before and so I decided that I should change. I've realized that I have to put some things into priority above anything else and yet, even now, there are things that I cannot let go of completely."

"And about the dating plans your shishou had for you, mind if I ask you about them?"

Sakura laughed, "You shouldn't have the need to ask. Just go out on the streets and ask any passer by, they know all about it."

"But I would like to hear about it from you."

"Tsunade-sama thinks that I don't have a life other than my work and that she thinks I should start living and start behaving like a girl. She is scared that I would never marry."

"Ahh, I see." Neji said, "And you agreed with her?"

"I was against this whole thing in the beginning. But now that it had all started, I might as well go along with it. I think that I really ought to be more relaxed."

Neji nodded, he had wanted to ask about Sasuke and yet he dared not to. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask her, so many things that he wanted to say and yet, now was not the right time. For now, he was just going to take things slowly, keep her in his sight and at the same time, he was afraid, afraid that after all this planning and struggle, he was still going to lose her.

Which was why, when he walked her out of his room after dinner he told her, "Sakura, please call me Neji next time. Hyuuga-san makes me feel old."

Sakura widened her eyes at this and nodded. "All right. Thank you so much for dinner, Neji."

Neji smiled at her appreciatively, "You're welcomed and good night."

Sakura bowed politely and walked away. And Neji watched her, until her figure was out of sight in the long corridor. Then, he walked back to his room, closing the sliding door shut, thinking to himself that he liked how his name sounded with her voice.