I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME SEXUAL SITUATIONS, LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED :)
A CHANGE OF PACE
CHAPTER 4: INFERNO
Halfway to Minohana, the driver opened the little window to the passenger cab and explained to the silent and tense cargo the impending need to stop and camp for the night. Neji and Sakura, still in a daze from their brand-new emotions, nodded with a glance from their peripheral toward the driver in acknowledgement. After all they had been riding for over four hours, and they started late.
The disguised ANBU driver opened the door to the cab and pulled down the small step. Neji was first to descend through the small opening, and once feet were planted on solid ground; he lifted his hand, beckoning Sakura to join him back on earth. She poked a curled and tired head out the opening and reached for his hand. The warmth of his palm felt strangely comforting to Sakura as she placed her weight into her hand and into his. A slight smile brushed across her face only to fade once she noticed the hand holding hers lingered more than was needed, and the blood rushed to her cheeks yet again. Maybe this was blush number twenty, she had lost count. She looked down at her fancy clothes, and looked over at Neji still wriggling in his clothes from the ever-present discomfort he felt in them. Why are we wearing these clothes if we are only going to ruin them by sleeping on the ground? Didn't Shizune know we wouldn't make it to town on the first day? Sakura wrinkled her nose as she looked at the clearing that was to be their campsite, and back down at her dress (which she was falling in love with more and more as the minutes ticked by). Neji seemed to have caught her grimace and inquired politely about her present well being. Sakura shook her head knowingly, leaving Neji content enough to drop it, although his face still held the signs of a little concern. She still couldn't seem to get used to his non stoic expressions.
The driver made his way to the back of the carriage and pulled out two cylindrical lumps of cloth wrapped in twine. Sakura watched as he, with blinding speed, unwrapped each of them and laid them out in the clearing; revealing the fact that they were tents. Neji quickly went to his side to offer assistance. The ANBU shook his head and smiled, and said something to the effect that it was the Hokage's orders not to let him or Sakura get involved with his job. Neji just shrugged and sauntered over to Sakura's side to watch as the man made short work of setting up camp. Sakura enjoyed just standing next to the Jounin in the dark with only lamp light splashing across her face, the busy-body across the way, and the two tents.
Wait. Two tents. Surely Neji and the Driver will be tenting together.
Sakura was a bit unsure about the situation. Just to be safe she walked over to the ANBU.
"Excuse me, driver sir" she began, "How many camping futons do we have for tonight?"
The man in front of her, in a brown suit and glasses, shot a quick glance at her as if he was surprised by her intrusion.
"Please, ma'am, call me Ginra." He responded politely with a polite nod and smile-filled arch of his eyelids. "To answer your question, there are two futons, one for each tent." He smiled again politely and went back to work.
Sakura gasped wide eyed, and slowly walked back toward Neji, avoiding eye contact. A heated blush filled her cheeks and she was grateful for the dim light of the lamps on the carriage not revealing her color. She knew what this entailed, but maybe Neji could sleep with Ginra. It would be the proper thing to do in this situation anyway.
Ginra finally finished with the preparations. The tents weren't a five star setup, but they looked comfortable enough. They were set on either side of the clearing and a stack of kindling and small logs were set in the middle; obviously items Ginra had picked up around the clearing while he was working on the tents. He looked at the couple still standing by the carriage, and waved his hand in a 'come here' manner.
"We will sleep here until sun-up. So you should get as much sleep as you can. We won't stop again until we reach Minohana." He explained as he headed for the carriage. He began to unhook the horse and tie it off at a small tree. He patted the beast on the neck, and whispered reassuring words to the horse. He was about to form hand seals to perform a concealing jutsu when he suddenly stopped and shot a look at Neji. Sakura felt Neji tense, and look in the same direction as Ginra. Neji placed a finger to his lips in a silent "shhh", and laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder as he walked toward Ginra.
What's going on? Sakura wondered to herself, watching the man Hyuuga walk away, slowly. Then she felt it. It was faint, but a chakra signature was present in the wooded area to the right of the clearing. She whipped her gaze in that direction, but she couldn't see anything. She instinctively reached behind to feel for her kunai pouch, but it wasn't there. All she felt was a handful of silky fabric and bare flesh. "Dammit" she muttered.
Neji, concentrating on the chakra signature, finally reached Ginra.
"Do you feel that?" Ginra asked, still comforting the horse at his side. "I can't tell if it's threatening, but I feel we are being watched." He motioned his head toward the right, where the signature was slowly getting stronger. Neji nodded, and jerked his head toward the left as another signature, more faint than the first, made an appearance. "Another one. Ginra, can you follow my lead?" Neji asked, as he was obviously formulating a plan. Ginra nodded and knowingly added, "There's a small door on the side of the carriage hiding small weapons, if it comes to that," and watched Neji as he made his way back toward Sakura.
Sakura watched as Neji and Ginra talked, briefly, and Neji made his way back toward her direction. Neji scooped his hand through the air beckoning her to meet him halfway. She made her way towards him and he grabbed her shoulders firmly and pushed her against the side of carriage. Sakura gasped and stiffened as she felt Neji press himself against her and nestle his face between her neck and shoulder. She could feel his hot breath against her skin, and she shivered and placed her hand against his chest in preparation of pushing him away.
"We're being watched right now," Neji whispered against her neck, "It wouldn't be wise to be shy right now." Sakura looked to her left, where Ginra was back to brushing the horse and talking to it, calmly. She realized that this was a clever act, to make it look like they didn't recognize the threat in the area. Her mind completely emptied of any coherent thought as Neji placed his hand on her waist and pressed his face deeper into her neck. "I don't know if they are threatening or not…" Neji began. He placed his other hand against the carriage and his right leg between Sakuras, moving her knees further apart. Sakura arched into his hot breath. "But Ginra and I detected chakra signatures in the trees around us." He continued, moving his head to the other side of her neck. She could feel his hair sliding across her bare shoulders and the upper curve of her breasts. "You have to loosen up Sakura, " He breathed hotly again, "We don't know if they are spies for Kabuto, and frankly we can't blow our cover." He set his lips against her boiling skin. Sakura gasped and arched her back again, feeling her inner thigh move against his knee. "Byakugan" Neji whispered, lips barely brushing against Sakura's neck, thus activating his Bloodline Limit. Sakura could feel the shift in his chakra, as all his energy was being poured into his eyes. Sakura placed her hands on his hips and drew him closer to her, feeling his leg press harder against her. "That's good" Neji whispered. He moved the hand occupying her waist down to her thigh and brought her leg up against his as he pressed his hip against hers. Sakura's breathing became quicker. She felt her pulse quickening as well, and a fire started rolling around in her lower abdomen, and her head bent back as she pressed his hips against her harder with her hands. "Mmm. You are really getting into it." He whispered, smiling against her neck. "I see two of them. Don't look, but there is one to the right of the clearing and one just moved directly behind it." He breathed into her ear, and began to drag his lips down her neck and across her throat. He let his lips touch her clavicle before he spoke again. "Ginra is closest to the more powerful one. The one behind us is less powerful, but only slightly." He brought his face nose to nose with Sakura's. Sakura looked into his eyes, knowing that he wasn't focused on hers, but on the threats behind and the right of him. She stared into them regardless; she watched as they pulsed. She could see the veins in his temples protruding in strain, and his brow furrowed in intense concentration. "I'm sorry" he whispered against her lips. Sakura saw his focus switch to her momentarily as he tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips against hers. Her once hooded eyes shot open like saucers, as she felt Neji press amazingly soft and moist lips against hers. She relaxed into his kiss, knowing that she couldn't be showing shock like this. She felt heat course through her already boiling belly as he gently moved his hand up her leg to her thigh. She hooked her leg around his bent leg as he continued moving upwards. His hand now on her hip moved around to the back of her, resting on her lower back. The heat of his hand felt like fire against her bare skin. She bucked against him slightly at his touch. While his lips continued to massage hers, he moved his hand once again to her middle back and to the little door he had her pressed against. She moved against him, tightening the hold her leg had around him, allowing him a little more space to work with. He opened the tiny door and pulled out a kunai, concealing it against Sakura's left buttock. Sakura gave a tiny gasp against his mouth as she felt the cold metal against her dress and it chilled the skin beneath it. Neji pulled his lips away and gave her a "get ready" look. With seamless, fluid movements, Neji slid his kunai-clutching hand down the back of her thigh and grasped her leg again to lift it higher, and like a dancer, shifted his weight to his bent leg and pivoted on his foot as he brought his other foot around in a wide arc twirling himself and Sakura around until his back was against the carriage now and Sakura was leaning against him, straddling his thigh. He quickly slid his hand and kunai from the back of her leg to her outer thigh, and quickly wedged the hand and weapon between their nearly touching abdomens. His eyes were no longer in their focused state, and he looked a little more normal. The chakra signatures were no longer faint, and were right on the edge of the clearing. Sakura could feel them clearly now, and she focused all her attention on the one far behind her. "They're closing in." Sakura whispered to Neji, as she began to move her hips against his thigh, trying to maintain the act. "I know" He replied temporarily distracted by the movement she was making. "Mmm" he moaned softly. "Don't get distracted, Hyuuga" Sakura whispered as she leaned in toward his neck and set her hands against the kunai he was still holding. She placed her lips on the cartilage of his ear and nibbled softly. "Give me the kunai" She whispered. Neji bucked up against her still moving hips, and Sakura gasped softly. Neji transferred the once cold now hot steel to her open hand. He was amazed at how quickly she took over. This was his plan, and she seemed to know more about it than he did. Why isn't she a Jounin yet? He shook his head slightly. "You know what you're doing?" He asked. Sakura, her lips now resting against the pulse point on his neck, whispered "without a doubt" against him. Neji swallowed, hard. Sakura could feel the movement of his throat. She moved her head to the other side of his, and discreetly looked toward Ginra. He caught her gaze, and he tapped his pocket and rubbed his hand across his throat inconspicuously and separated his pointer and middle finger into the shape of a v . She caught the signal. That was the code for dangerous thief times two.
Thieves? "They're thieves, Neji." Sakura whispered, her attention back toward the Hyuuga between her legs. "I know." He replied, having seen the same hand signal that she had. "They are also enjoying the show, fortunately for us, or they would've already attacked. They've been watching from the same position for the last ten minutes." He smirked in his reply, "Let's not disappoint them."
Sakura smiled, but hesitantly. What does he have in mind?
"FOLLOW MY LEAD" Neji whispered emphasizing the importance of her compliance.
Sakura nodded slightly.
He hoisted her up, both legs now wrapped around his hips, kunai-in-hand nestled between their stomachs, his hands cupped her buttocks, her other hand grasped the back of his neck, and he began to stagger toward the tent. He barraged her neck with passionate kisses as he walked. Sakura tilted her head back, exposing her throat invitingly, letting out tiny moans as his hot and moist lips massaged the soft hollow above her sternum. Sakura's breathing became more rapid as she heard Neji once again whisper, "Byakugan", allowing all his chakra to be focused on his eyes, just in time to be hidden by the tent they had finally reached.
Neji set Sakura on her feet and laid down face up beside her. "Get on me" he whispered and held out a hand. Sakura blushed, and reached her hand toward his, still clutching the weapon to her stomach with the other. He pulled her down, slowly steadying her with his other hand, until she was straddling his hips. "Make some noise" He said, as he turned his head toward the thief's direction, able to see him clearly through the fabric of the tent with his ability.
Sakura let out a loud moan, and she felt something firm twitch beneath her. She could tell he was enjoying this more than he let on. She pressed her hand to his chest and readied her kunai and planted her stiletto clad feet on either side of Neji's hips, muscles tightened ready to spring forward. "Mmmmm, you feel so good baby" Neji said out loud, still looking intently through the tent. Sakura felt her muscles spasm inside as he called out, and a tiny moan escaped her lips, as she squeezed her eyes shut and involuntarily rocked her pelvis forward. Neji groaned, and looked toward her with a raised eyebrow. She opened her eyes and caught his eyes with hers, and she blushed fiercely, but it was too dark for him to tell.
"It's coming" he whispered and jerked his head toward the tent. Sakura nodded knowingly and readied herself once more. "Oh, god, I can't hold out, Oh – my – god." He called. "Trust me" he whispered. Sakura nodded again and focused her attention forward as she heard a slight rustling come toward the tent. "It's coming, now!" he yelled and he thrust his hips up in time with the second word. Using the momentum of his thrust, Sakura concentrated a controlled amount of chakra into her bent legs and lunged forward, kunai outstretched before her. She felt weightless for a split second as she glided forward, blade slicing through the air ahead of her. Just as she felt she was going to fly past the edge of the tent, the blade sunk to the hilt into a warm chest with a loud "thud".
"What the fuck!" A gargled scream vibrated the blade Sakura still held.
Now on her feet, and blood beginning to run down the hilt of the blade and onto her hand, she stood wide eyed staring at a large man with broad shoulders breathing laboriously. His hand reached up and wrapped fully around her throat and began to squeeze, cutting off Sakura's air supply.
"Ne-ji" she managed to squeak out.
Neji, already on his feet, watched breathlessly as the man clenched his large hand around Sakura's throat. Indignant, he widened his stance and molded extra chakra into his hands and cried out, "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou" which activated an ability unique to the Hyuuga family.
He lunged toward Sakura's assailant, and called out " two strikes!" as he hit the chakra points in thief's forearm, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the woman.
"Four strikes," and Neji hit more sensitive chakra points in the man's neck and shoulders, causing further cries of pain.
"Eight strikes," more pain.
"Sixteen Strikes" he cried again, with a growl and hit points in his chest, stomach and kidneys.
"Thirty-two strikes" Neji moaned through clenched teeth as he rammed his chakra through the man's knees, calves and lower abdomen.
The man began to bleed profusely from his wound and whimper like a dog.
"Sixty-four strikes" Neji called out with a rasping scream, and growled like a devil as he hit vital points in the enemy's throat, back, stomach, and with one final hit, he pounded the kunai embedded in his chest further into his body with a chakra imbued strike.
The man collapsed on his back with a loud thud. Neji stood over him, breathing heavily, with clenched fists.
Sakura looked at the man standing over her attacker wide eyed and slack jawed. She couldn't believe the ferocity with which Neji had just attacked. She had never seen him loose his control over his emotions like that during a fight, granted she had only seen a few including the chuunin exams a couple years ago.
"Sakura!" Neji called to her. "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine" she coughed still trying to regain her voice since the thief nearly crushed her trachea with his brute strength. She rubbed a now cold hand over her throat and focused her chakra into her palm.
She closed her eyes and focused all her attention on her bruised wind-pipe, and the green glow of healing chakra warmed her vocal chords and restored proper blood flow. Unfortunately, she cannot heal bruises with her abilities being it is only discoloration from crushed capillaries, but she can restore those capillaries, and that is exactly what she did to herself.
Neji watched as Sakura healed herself in seconds flat. He then focused his attention to Ginra across the way, who was fighting valiantly against a very fast opponent.
"Sakura, can you make sure he doesn't bleed to death? I have eliminated his ability to move or use chakra, so you are safe, but could you heal him enough not to die?" He requested.
"Why?" Sakura asked.
"I'll explain later, but for now, could you just do it, I have to go help Ginra." He explained hurriedly;
Sakura nodded, and watched as Neji darted past her to go help the ANBU driver.
She made her way towards the man lying helpless on the ground and leaned her head toward his chest.
His heart was beating, but very faintly. She gripped the hilt of the kunai, and warned the man that it was going to hurt like hell before she pulled it out with a fast and smooth motion. The man gave a gargled moan and spit up a little blood as his eyes began to roll back in his head.
"No you don't!" Sakura cried out, and gave him a swift slap across the face.
This effectively brought the man back to consciousness, and she ripped his shirt apart where the kunai had been thrust and Sakura concentrated her chakra again into her palm as she hovered her glowing hand over his chest wound. The man grunted in complaint at the feeling of foreign chakra invading his system. "Don't move!" she commanded. She concentrated as she envisioned tissue and cells weaving together like twine on a loom. She felt each cell meld with its neighboring cell and each muscle fiber rent by the blade began to mend like a zipper between two pieces of fabric. She watched as the once torn skin began to don the pink color of new skin. She released the jutsu and laid her head again on his chest. No sound.
His heart had stopped.
She quickly concentrated the chakra in her hand again, and instead of focusing on the torn fabric of his flesh, she focused deeper. She regulated her breathing and screwed her eyes shut as she put all her strength and energy into the palm of her hand. With one thrust to his solar-plexus she released all of the chakra she had gathered. This sent the invading force straight to his heart, giving him a jolt, and she listened to his chest again, this time a faint 'thum-thump' was detected.
Sakura let out a long sigh and collapsed beside the living enemy.
She turned her head toward Neji and Ginra, only to see them engaged in a heated battle.
She realized the only reason they had so easily defeated the idiot beside her was the element of surprise which Ginra did not have.
She closed her eyes, meaning only to rest them momentarily before getting up to go help her comrades, but she fell into an exhausted sleep, beside an unconscious enemy, with faint noises of struggle in the background.
Neji, reluctant to leave Sakura with that asshole that had attacked her, knew the lump of flesh could do her no harm and hastened to Ginra's side. Byakugan still activated, he saw that the thief was very efficient in his chakra control, and realized that this would be no walk in the park.
"Ginra!" Neji called out as he lept into the air blocking an attack from above that the enemy was about to drop on the very disheveled ANBU member.
The young man, tall and muscular, moved very quickly and fluidly; making Neji realize that he was too skilled to be a match for just one ninja. Neji evaluated the situation and realized that speed against speed would only end in stalemate, and he needed to think for a moment to formulate a proper approach. He watched how he fought and watched each move he made with scrutiny. He dodged, a little too late, as a shiruken flew towards his face and sliced through his cheek then whizzed past his ear with an audible hiss. Neji lowered his body closer to the ground, touching his face with a slight wince and ,with one fluid motion, lunged toward the enemy as he was landing from an airborne attack on Ginra. The idiot acrobat dodged Neji's charge, landed on one foot, scissor stepped toward the side, and fell on his outstretched palm—placing all his weight on that one hand and arm, and lifted his legs into the air. He spun on the heel of his palm and brought his legs down with a crash, aiming for Neji's exposed back that he had just dodged. Neji, fully aware of what the thief was about to do, pivoted on his left foot spinning his body around one-eighty degrees in an instant. Neji planted his feet and concentrated his chakra again into his hands as he cried, "Hakkeshou Kaiten!"
He began to spin like a top, creating a blur of blue and red, and emitting chakra from his body. He was creating a steel-like shield around him as the thief's feet made contact with his powerful chakra. The force of the impact created a loud 'crack' as Neji heard and saw the thief's foot bend in an unnatural angle. The man cried out in pain as he flew through the air in the direction of the carriage.
"Ginra! Quickly, intercept his fall!" Neji cried out
In a flash. Ginra was underneath the falling man, and with lighting speed formed a series of hand seals and stamped his foot firmly against the ground. Two large boulders rose from the ground and slammed against one another, pinning the enemy between their solid surfaces. The man and rock fell to the ground with a giant thud and crumble. The very resilient thief began to rise again, shaking his head. While favoring his broken foot, still preparing to attack again, he gasped in surprise when Neji, like a ghost, glided beside the assailant and, with amazing speed and control, concentrated even more chakra into his fingertips and crushed the chakra points in the thief's knees.
The man gave a shrill cry as he fell to the ground holding his knees to his chest. Still writhing in pain, he began to form a series of hand seals, but Neji anticipated his moves and, with the same chakra tipped fingers, disabled his chakra points in his elbows, wrists and all but crushed his carpals.
The thief cried out once more before passing out from the intense pain in his extremities.
Ginra lumbered toward the carriage and rummaged around the back. He returned to the passed out man and Neji standing over him with a bundle of rope. "Go ahead and tie him up against a tree" Neji instructed, "I'm going to get the other asshole." Neji began making his way toward Sakura and her enemy-patient. When he arrived he saw her collapsed beside the unconscious man, and he felt panic flood through his chest, causing it to tighten with a pain he could only describe as fear.
"Sakura!" he cried as he landed on his knees beside her and lifted her into his arms, resting her head against his chest, heaving with heavy breathing and racing heartbeat.
"N-Neji?" She yawned.
Neji frowned, clutched his chest, sighed, and set her down again in the seated position, regarding her closely looking for any injuries. Satisfied that she was ok, he turned his attention to the man laying beside him. His chakra system was still disabled, and he was still unconscious, but he was very much alive. He looked back toward the ruffled kunoichi.
"Don't do that to me." Neji said through a giant sigh.
Sakura rubbed her eye. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to collapse like that, but I used a lot of chakra to keep this jackass alive. Excuse me for following orders." She quipped, immediately realizing that she had spoken too harshly by the expression on her companion's face. "I'm sorry" she mumbled looking down at her now filthy and blood stained dress.
Neji placed a hand on her chin, forcing her gaze up towards his now placid face. "Thank you." He whispered, and he laid a soft kiss on her forehead. "But don't scare me like that. I thought he had done something to you, and I would have undone everything you worked so hard for." He explained tenderly as he jerked his head in the unconscious fool's direction. "I would've killed him."
He stood up, not paying attention to Sakura's incredulous expression, and hoisted the man onto his shoulders. "I need you." He coolly stated.
"Neji." Sakura whispered. "What do you…"
"Over there, the other man broke his foot on my jutsu. It needs mending. I need you to heal it. Do you have the strength?" He finished.
"Oh, of course." Sakura giggled nervously at herself for thinking he meant something else. "I think I slept enough to regain some strength." She moved a piece of hair behind her ear and stood to her feet to follow Neji and his cargo to the edge of the clearing.
She reached the man in question, and he was unconscious as well.
"What did you do to him?" she asked not looking up, but running her hands across his disfigured foot feeling for the extent of the injury.
"Nothing really. He did it to himself." Neji replied calmly, as he tied the other man to a tree next to the one Sakura's new patient was secured to.
"And why am I healing him again?" she asked. "It isn't life threatening, and I should heal your injuries, not some asshole that attacked you."
Neji placed a hand over the now dried blood on his face, and winced slightly at the sting in his touch.
"I'll be fine. Ginra might need some attention, though. He took a bit of a beating before I showed up." He said motioning toward the ANBU resting against a tree, holding his side.
"You didn't answer my question" Sakura demanded, "Why should I heal this ass?"
"Because it's the right thing to do" Neji sighed. "We're leaving them here, letting them sleep peacefully in the woods. Since thieves in this area only travel in two's, so we don't have to worry about any others showing up unexpectedly. They'll wake up completely healed, with one hell of a headache, and go on their merry way."
"How do you know they won't come after us again?" Sakura asked.
Neji looked at her with a sly grin.
"Because you're going to create a serum that will make them forget everything about this incident." He replied.
Sakura grinned toothily; glad that someone actually noticed that she was second only to Tsunade-Sama when it came to mixing chemicals, drugs, and poisons. She knew the poisonous mushrooms and plants, and she could make a concoction out of flower nectar and fungus in a matter of minutes if given the chance.
Sakura concentrated, yet again, all her chakra into mending the broken foot, and repairing the carpal-tunnels (which Neji explained how and why it happened. It was pure genius what he did).
She lifted herself up and walked over to Ginra. He was still holding his side, and breathing shallow.
"Let me take a look" she probed.
Ginra let down his arms and Sakura unbuttoned his shirt, and placed a warm hand over his chest.
"You have two broken ribs. This may feel uncomfortable, but bear with me, it won't take long." She explained.
She placed a glowing hand on his ribs, and he winced as he felt the chakra being forced into his system, and felt it like tiny tendrils of silk were wrapping around his ribs. The tingle was a warm tingle, and he felt the bones move beneath his skin as the chakra seeping into his body realigned and mended them in minutes flat.
"Thank you" he said, as he buttoned up his own shirt. Sakura smiled in reply and made her way toward Neji. "Let me see your face" she said as she reached for his lacerated cheek.
Neji pushed her hand away, and held it gently. "Later, ok? Right now I need you to find ingredients for your miracle serum." He said looking intently at her tired eyes.
Sakura nodded and went back to Ginra, eliciting his help in finding a specific variety of plant.
Ginra went back to the carriage and removed one of the lanterns and he along with Sakura went into the wooded blackness to search for a plant. He felt like it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but he didn't know Sakura well enough to not believe that for a second. Sakura had one of the keenest eyes for herbs and fungi. After searching for nearly an hour, Sakura gasped.
"What is it?" Ginra quickly asked.
"I found it. Right here." She said as she bent down and moved a few leaves aside, to reveal a green and red plant that looked like it belonged on another planet.
She dug her fingers into the dirt below it, and pulled it up from the ground , roots still intact.
"It's the root from this plant that I will use to make the drug." She explained. "The starches from this plant's roots causes the synapses in the brain to temporarily shut down and stop firing. Too much could cause permanent brain damage, but with the right dosage, the only problem they will have is not remembering their last few days." She further explained, obviously impressing Ginra from the look of awe on his face.
They made their way back to the camp, and Neji was leaning against the carriage, looking in their direction.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he called out expectantly.
Sakura nodded fervently and brought the plant over to him.
" I need a fire, some water and some kind of container to boil it in. They will have to drink it. " she instructed.
Ginra hastened to the campfire and lit it with some matches. Neji rummaged around the carriage and found a bamboo cylinder used for making tea. "Will this work?" he asked showing the object to Sakura.
She nodded, and took a small canteen from the driver's seat of the carriage and poured some over the roots of the plant to wash the dirt off. She then filled the cylinder half way with water and broke the root into three parts and dropped them in.
She brought the root and water over to the fire and placed the cylinder into the coals. While it was heating, she poured water over her hands and rubbed them vigorously washing any trace of the root off her hands, taking care not to have an unfortunate accident and forget all the wonderful things that have happened lately.
As soon as the root had boiled for the right amount of time, Sakura pulled the concoction out of the fire and set it carefully on the ground to cool.
"Am I giving this to them while their still unconscious?" She asked.
"If you can, yes." Neji replied. "We can't really risk them waking up and it being that much more difficult to force it down their throats."
Sakura nodded in compliance. "Let's let it cool first. It will kill their throats, and I don't want to use up anymore chakra to heal the idiots." She begged.
Neji smiled.
She really did love his smile. She let her eyes linger on his stretched lips, and moved up his face to land on a nasty gash on his face.
He noticed her object of attention, and he lifted his hand to touch it. He grimaced and hissed. It stung.
He can't escape me attending to his wound. I will heal him whether he likes it or not.
After an awkward silence, filled with sounds of the surrounding forest, Sakura walked away from Neji, to check the bamboo vial of liquid she had set on the ground. She felt the sides of the tube, and was satisfied that it had cooled enough to force it down their throats. She didn't mind them having a little pain when they woke up besides a headache. That's wicked. I know. I like it. They're assholes who deserve it
Neji followed her over to the two thieves, and he held their mouths open while Sakura poured a portioned amount into their mouth. Neji held their noses, closed their mouth, and Sakura rubbed their throat from the base of their chin down to their clavicle repetitively until she was sure they had swallowed.
"This will keep them unconscious as well, for a long time. Probably a good 8 hours, if not more. They will wake up remembering only the very, very strange dreams from the synapses in their brains misfiring." She explained. "We should be safe to sleep, without any worries."
Neji nodded. And headed for the tent.
Sakura followed, no longer thinking of the awkward situation of having to share a tent with him. She was too tired to care.
Ginra walked back to the horse, formed a series of handseals to perform a concealing jutsu, and the carriage and horse disappeared from the naked eye. He stretched and yawned, clumsily scratched his lower back, and stumbled into his tent.
Neji bent low into his tent, and Sakura followed him, while he held the flap open for her.
He collapsed on the futon and rolled onto his side, his back to Sakura.
"You can't go to sleep on me now" Sakura whined.
Neji jerked his head toward her direction, with a very startled look on his face.
"Sakura, I…" He began.
Sakura placed a finger on his lips to quiet him.
He swallowed, and she could feel the heat flood to his lips.
She let her finger slide across is bottom lip and up the side of his face.
Her finger began to glow as she gently ran it across the gash on his face.
Neji let out a sigh and closed his eyes. In a matter of minutes, one could not tell that a blade had ever touched his perfect face.
Neji reached his hand up and moved a strand of pink hair away from Sakura's face, and he grabbed her hand that was still resting on his warm face.
"Thank you" he whispered through a very weak smile.
"Go to sleep" Sakura replied.
He laid down and turned toward her, and closed his eyes and let his hand fall limp by his side.
Sakura searched his face carefully, and noted how peaceful and beautiful he looked as he slept.
She laid down, her back to him, and closed her eyes. She fell into a deep sleep before she could think anything else.
Neji opened his eyes as soon as he heard her breathing even out. He moved closer to her and reached his hand out to gently stroke her hair. It felt so silky to his touch.
He let his eyes trail down her naked back, and he smiled. He could get used to having such a beautiful thing in his bed. Just so he could feel her presence and smell her lavender shampoo.
With that thought, he closed his eyes, too heavy to stay open, and drifted into blackness as dreams of cherry blossoms kept him occupied through the night.
THAT'S THE END OF THIS CHAPTER. I KNOW IT WAS LONGER THAN THE OTHERS, I HOPE THAT'S A GOOD THING. PLEASE READ AND COMMENT. I HAVE ENJOYED YOUR COMMENTS SO FAR. THANK YOU! NEXT 'CHAPPIE' COMING SOON. :)