Author: aFigureOfSpeech

Title: Conflicting Chaos – Chapter 8

Word Count: 2,935

Pairing: NejixSakuraxKiba

Rating: T (for mild swearing, some suggestive situations, minor alcohol)

Summary: When Naruto manages to get Neji mad at him, Sakura helps Naruto, but in the process she hurts Neji's pride. Now he's out for revenge, but it may not turn out how he expected. Especially when Tsunade has plans of her own and Kiba's not going down without a fight. NejiSakuKiba

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to The warmth of the Afterglow. It is her line, used in a review a couple chapters back, that inspired a little scene later on (you remember that Glow? -). It's not a very big part, but I just loved writing it (in fact, it makes me laugh every time I re-read it). I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. The scene came to me in a sudden ingenious brainwave (hehe), and I just HAD to write it. It was too good not to. You'll all know what I part I mean when you get to it (actually, I just realized that it's at the very end).

Disclaimer: I'd say that I do, but that would get all those nasty mean scary people in suits (known to themselves as "lawyers," but we all know better) down on my head faster than I can say "disclaimer." Or "plagiarism."

Chapter 8: Desperate: A Dog's Advice

Neji was avoiding everyone else as much as he could while jumping from branch to branch. The last thing he needed to do was something embarrassing and uncharacteristic of himself, so he remained as far ahead of the others as possible. His strategy worked quite well; at least, until he suddenly found Sakura next to him.

"Neji-san-" she began.

"What?" he said, a little too abruptly. She frowned at him, and he felt his gut twist. Neji liked it much better when she smiled. Only, when she smiled, his body did all sorts of things that he was certain would normally send him to an early grave. But, he would want her to smile anyway, even if his heart skipped enough beats to kill him or he suddenly forgot how to breathe or his brain spontaneously stopped functioning properly and turned to mush.

"Argh, leave me alone, dammit!" he thought. Or, at least, he thought he thought it. Apparently, though, he actually said it aloud. Either that or Sakura had learned to read thoughts. Damn, that would be bad.

"Well, I'm sorry," she said in a sarcastic and hurt voice. "I didn't realize someone apologizing to you would bother you that much."

"What!" Neji yelped. Oh boy, he was in for it now.

"I was just trying to apologize for insulting you and kneeing you in the stomach, but you obviously don't want to hear it!" And with a little "Hmph," she let herself fall behind him.

Neji wished for a rock to crawl under. Unfortunately, you can't crawl under a rock and keep moving at the same time, so he was stuck.

'Nice going, Neji,' he thought (in his head this time). 'You just managed to piss off the one girl you've hopelessly fallen for. Not only that, but she was going to apologize for what she did. She was going to apologize, even though you really started it. If she didn't hate your guts before, she almost definitely does now. And she thinks that you hate her to boot. Way to go, idiot.'

Damn, he really needed to find that rock. Either that or a way to turn off his thoughts.

……………………

Sakura was pissed. That jackass! There she was, trying to apologize for gods' sakes, and he tells her to leave him alone. Sakura would bet that he hadn't even been listening to her, either! His eyes had had that far-away sort of look to them. Then again, it was sort of hard to tell, what with them being that uniform white/silver. Still though, he had been the one who started the fight! Why should she be the one to apologize?

Sakura sighed. She knew exactly why she had tried to apologize (emphasis on tried). Being on bad terms with Neji would make the rest of the mission (at least) a living hell. And since that hell would freeze over before Neji would be the one to apologize, she figured she should do it.

Neji had made it clear however, that he didn't want to hear it. Apparently, he couldn't even stand being near her. Well, that was just fine with her. She didn't give a damn about Neji or his revenge! She would take any hell he dished out, and throw it right back at him.

……………………

After selecting a new campsite, the members of the team prepared for the night. The girls were building a fire, Naruto was gathering food, Neji had disappeared into his tent once building it with astonishing speed (and refused to talk to anyone) and Kiba was preparing his own tent. It was then that Akamaru seemed to decide that Kiba needed a little talk. Sometimes it was very useful that Kiba spoke dog.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" asked Akamaru casually.

"Tell who what?" responded Kiba.

"Tell Sakura that you want to be her mate."

"What makes you think that I-" He was stopped by a snort from Akamaru. "What?"

"Are you really that much in denial?" Akamaru let out a sigh. "I've seen the way you look at her when you think no one else is looking. I've seen the way you act around her, the way you talk to her. You're my master, and I know you better than anyone else." He gave a little dog-chuckle. "Plus, you reek of human hormones."

"Hey!" yelled Kiba indignantly.

"You really do reek," Akamaru said again. "I don't understand why you're trying to deny it, though. Sakura's an excellent choice. She's a wonderful female, for a human. She gives excellent belly rubs, and she smells good. Tastes good, too, as a matter of fact."

"You've been tasting her?" shouted Kiba, then quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed. "You've been tasting her?" he repeated in a quieter voice.

"You've seen me lick her," said the dog as he let his tongue hang out lazily. "I wouldn't keep doing that if she tasted bad. You should try it some time." Kiba went bright red at that.

"Easy for you to say!" he exclaimed. "You're just a big ol' cute dog! Everyone loves you! It's much more complicated for humans than it is for dogs. I can't go and lick her just because I want to!"

"Oh, so you do want to lick her," said Akamaru, giving off a matter-of-fact, smug air and the impression of raised eyebrows, despite the fact that he had none.

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean- Stop trying to mess with my mind you stupid dog!"

"Well, apparently I'm smart enough to out-talk you. And to see that you're, as you humans say, 'head over heels,' whereas you can not seem to accept that one simple fact."

"Shut-up you," Kiba growled, quite angry at being out-witted by a dog, even if he was a dog-nin. "It's not as acceptable for a couple of males to go at it over some female. Especially if it's Sakura. She wouldn't let herself be claimed like some prize. I told you, it's more complicated for us."

"Oh yes, because it's very complicated to tell someone you're interested in them," Akamaru retorted.

"Yes, yes it is! I don't know if she feels the same way, and if she doesn't-"

"Then you 'woo her,' or whatever you call it."

"Well, how do I do that!" he exclaimed in desperation. He must have really been desperate to ask a dog of all things.

"Oh please." Akamaru glanced over to the now-built fire. "Just watch and learn."

Akamaru walked over to where the three kunoichi were sitting. Making sure that Kiba was watching, he plopped himself down and looked up imploringly up at the girls. Who could resist?

"Stupid dog," Kiba muttered as he glowered at said canine. "What would he know?!"

……………………

Akamaru was in his glory. He was lying on his back, and had three sets of hands rubbing him; one pair on his head, one pair on his chest, and one pair on his belly. It was doggy heaven. Every so often, he would check on Kiba, to make sure he could see all of this and learn from it. Meanwhile, above Akamaru's head, the owners of the hands were talking.

"I'm worried about Neji-niisan," said Hinata, looking at the tent which he had yet to emerge from. "He hasn't said anything to anyone since we stopped."

"So?" said Sakura. "Isn't that what he usually does anyway?"

"Well, yes," Hinata replied. "But he generally does something."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was moping about something," Tenten said thoughtfully, also looking at the tent.

"Well, he can mope all he wants," declared Sakura. "He can just sit there and rot for all I care."

"Sakura, how could you say that?" Hinata exclaimed in surprise. Sakura didn't usually say things like that. At least, not about most people.

"Yeah, I thought you said you were going to try to apologize to him and leave that argument behind," said Tenten. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened!" Sakura said angrily. "There I was, swallowing my pride and trying to apologize, when all of the sudden, he shouts to leave him alone. I don't think he was even listening to me!"

"That jerk!" exclaimed Tenten.

"My sentiments exactly," said Sakura.

"Um, maybe we should start making dinner," Hinata said, trying to move away from the dangerous subject she had unwittingly introduced.

"Yeah."

"Alright."

Akamaru rolled over and whined in protest as the three stood up to get to work.

"Don't worry Akamaru," said Sakura with a smile and a last scratch of the head. "We can continue after dinner. You want to eat, don't you?" He grumbled a bit, but then licked her hand, causing her to giggle.

"Hey, I'm back!" came a shout, and everyone (excluding Neji, of course) turned to see Naruto walking towards them with several good-sized rabbits slung over his back.

"Excellent timing, Naruto!" Sakura shouted back. "We were just about to get ready to make dinner. Come on, you can help. You too, Kiba-san!"

……………………

Neji was in desperate need of something with which to hit himself into senseless, peaceful oblivion. He had looked for the frying pan, but then realized that Sakura probably already had it. Thinking of Sakura reminded him of her stick that had once caused his head a lot of grief, but that too was somewhere that he could not get it.

The reason for his much greater grief was Sakura herself. She did hate him! He had heard every word she, Hinata, and Tenten had said, and it had not sounded good. All because of his stupid thoughts! They were so distracting, and they came out at the worst possible moments, from his mouth that seemed to decide that it would no longer remain loyal to him. What was he going to do now? How could he make her forgive him? Or where could he go so he would never have to show his face again? (He would not even think the lowly word 'hide.')

Unfortunately, the Hyuuga prodigy was very inexperienced with the sort of problems he was having. When it came to love, apologizing, backing down, or "running away," he had absolutely no idea what to do. Neji supposed he could ask for help, but who, and how? He was also very inexperienced at that. He couldn't ask Kiba or Naruto (definitely not Naruto) and most certainly not Sakura. Hinata? Maybe, but she was a good friend of Sakura's. Could she keep it to herself?

"Dinner's all ready!" came a voice outside.

He couldn't go out there! Argh, what was he going to do?

……………………

Kiba watched as Sakura ate her food with one hand and reach to pet Akamaru with the other. Said dog was sitting next to her with his head resting against her leg and Sakura would smile happily down at him when she wasn't busy with her food or talking with her friends.

Akamaru had returned to his old game of "Throwing-Smug-Looks-At-Kiba-As-He-Snuggled-Closer-To-Sakura," who would only giggle, unaware of the dog's true motives, and pet him more. Damn, Kiba hadn't known he could be so jealous of a dog…

"You like dog's, Sakura?" he asked suddenly, in a bad attempt to distract himself (and possibly her) with the subject he was best at. Too bad it included the thing he was trying to distract himself from.

"Eh?" she said. "Oh, yes, I love them!" She smiled at Akamaru again. Damn that lucky dog.

"Do you want one?"

"Oh, I'd love one!" she exclaimed as her eyes lit up. Then she hesitated. "But…"

"But what?" Kiba asked.

"Well, I, uh." She gave a nervous little laugh. "I honestly have no idea how to take care of them. I don't know what I'd do."

"Oh, is that all?" Kiba let out one of his bark-like laughs. "If you really want one, then I can help you there. You can come over to my place and pick out a puppy."

"Really?" Sakura said as her eyes lit up again. She smiled, just for him; Kiba swore that at that moment his heart stopped.

"U-uh-huh," he stuttered slightly, but nevertheless continued. "And then, I'll go over to your place," Kiba swallowed as he realized that he now would have legitimate excuse to visit Sakura's house almost every day. "to help you train it, and to teach you how to take care of it."

"Oh, thank you Kiba-kun!" Sakura cried as she stood and flung her arms around him in an embrace. "I can't wait to get back now!"

Kiba felt the blood rush to her face and prayed desperately that no one could see it in the dim firelight. Something suddenly registered in him mind, and his face, if possible, became even redder than before.

"Uh, S-Sakura?" he stuttered.

"Yes?" she answered and let go of him, sitting back on her heels. Kiba relieved and disappointed at the same time.

"D-did you j-just call me Kiba-k-kun?" he asked, embarrassed.

"Oh, um, yeah." Now she looked embarrassed. "You don't mind, do you? I won't if you don't want me to…"

"Oh, n-no, it's okay!" Damn, why couldn't he stop stuttering? He sounded like a fool! "You can call me that!"

"Alright, Kiba-kun," she said, smiling again. "Now I-"

She was interrupted by a bark from Akamaru. He had walked up to them, and seemed to have decided that Sakura's attention had been diverted from him for long enough.

"I'm going to help, too!" he declared. Although to anyone but Kiba it sounded like nothing more than a mess of barks, Sakura seemed to understand just fine.

"Does that mean you'll be helping me, too, Akamaru?" she asked the interfering little furball with a grin as she scratched him on the head again. He responded instantly to her touch, putting a paw on her knee and rubbing against her hand. Sakura laughed and walked back to her former place at the fire.

Kiba thought for a moment that he saw Akamaru throw him another one of his smug looks from his place sprawled over Sakura. No, he wasn't imagining things, the dog had done it again. Damn him.

……………………

Neji was feeling nervous, more nervous than he had ever been. It appeared that he had a rival for Sakura's affections: the Inuzuka. He had used his Byakugan when he heard them talking, and had read stupid mutt like a book. It was obvious that Inuzuka liked the rose-haired medic-nin, maybe as much as Neji himself. This worried Neji quite a bit.

Under normal conditions, Neji would not have been worried at all; he was Hyuuga Neji. Why should he worry? However, these weren't normal conditions: this was Sakura. Even more disturbing than the fact that he had a rival was that, at the moment, that rival was far in the lead. Not only was Inuzuka's name now combined with –kun, but had also won a hug, and would be spending a lot of time with Sakura after the mission. Neji on the other hand, was looked upon with utter disgust, and there seemed to be little hope of redemption. He really needed help.

"Neji?" a voice sounded outside his tent.

"Hn," was his non-descript reply.

"Neji, it's Tenten. You didn't come out to eat, so I brought you some food. Is everything alright?"

Tenten, of course! She would know what to do!

"Tenten, I need to talk to you."

……………………

Tenten tried to keep a straight face as she left Neji's tent. No, she would not do that to him. Not only would that mean instantaneous death at the hands of Neji (no matter how good friends they were), but Tenten did not want to make him feel worse than he already was. He deserved some slack. After all, it was his first time falling for a girl; and man-oh-man, had he ever fallen hard. Poor guy.

Not only that, but the object of his affections thought he was a complete moronic jackass. And, it was because he liked her that she thought this. Just as he had begun to like her, she had begun to hate him. Oh, the cruel, cruel irony.

To top it all off, Neji had a rival. Of course, Tenten had already figured as much; she didn't need the Byakugan to recognize the signs. Well, Sakura had unwittingly cast her spell, and Neji and Kiba had, just as unwittingly, fallen under it. She couldn't even imagine what would happen when Naruto found out. There were some rocky roads ahead.

What amazed and amused her the most, though, was the obliviousness of Sakura. She seemed completely unaware of the effect she had upon the opposite sex. Either that, or Sakura pointedly ignored it. One way or the other, Tenten sure had her work cut out for her.

'Tsunade-sama couldn't have picked some easier puppets to play with…'

……………………

Meanwhile, when she should have been doing her paperwork, Tsunade was drinking sake (the drink of the gods in her, and therefore everyone else's, opinion) imagining wonderfully evil scenarios involving Sakura and those poor, unsuspecting boys.

"Dance, puppets, dance!" she cackled somewhat drunkenly, grinning in a way that would make anyone who didn't know her (and many of those who did) question her sanity.

"Tsunade-sama, is everything alright?" Shizune opened the door and poked her head in.

"Oh, er, yes, of course!" Tsunade said hastily and a little too loudly. "Everything is perfectly dandy!" She heard an exasperated sigh.

"Tsunade-sama, did you smuggle in sake again?"

Damn, she'd been caught.

"Uh, no."

A/N: Hehe, a little KibaSaku goodness in there (and more to come). I'm so proud of myself! I've been feeling like Kiba hasn't been getting enough attention lately. Leave it to Neji-kun to steal the show.