First, I would like to say thank you to Gals Rul, Cherryblossom-Maiden, nejisakura, RedFirePhoenix, Firerose1300, WiShBuRr and paws-bells for reviewing! I really appreciate your reviews and to show my appreciation, I replied to all of you. I hope you don't mind.
Second, please forgive me if this chapter is boring…
Third, please remember what I told you in the first chapter, it does not hurt to write a story (NejiSaku story would be better!).
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…pity me. I have an OC in this chapter.
Perfect Match
Chapter Two- Encounters
Sakura changed from her pajamas into her casual attire, which she was rarely seen in. Her casual outfit consists of a white shirt with a Sakura blossom at the upper-right corner and a khaki capri with her white tennis shoes. Her only accessory was an anklet that Ino gave last year. Her pink hair was tied back while a few strands framed her face. After applying a little lip gloss (A/N: it's strawberry flavor!), Sakura grabbed her wallet and her keys. As she turned to leave, her eyes drifted to the windowsill, where the pictures are. Sasuke… Shaking her head, she quickly exited the bedroom and hurried out the house.
The ever-present ANBU were so much like statues. Never really moving unless necessary. How could they be so still? I honestly wonder what they would do if they sneezed. Every time Sakura visited, the feeling of being scrutinized unnerved her. She knows that it's their job to be like that, but still…
Pushing those thoughts aside, she approached the ANBU right in front of the gate and waited for the usual questions that will be asked. She need not wait long.
"Name?" The stoic ANBU asked automatically, not even flinching the least bit.
It seems like no matter how frequent I come, they still forget my name. "Haruno Sakura."
Obviously having repeated the same procedure repeatedly, he continued, this time looking directly at her, well, it seemed like it. It was hard to tell with their masks on. "What is your purpose here?"
"I came here to talk with Hinata."
The ANBU nodded curtly and gate opened at once. Sakura went in and saw Mika-san, one of the Hyuuga House's servants.
"Mika-san! How are you?" Sakura asked with a smile on her face.
"Sakura-sama! I-" Upon seeing that Sakura still dislikes being addressed with the sama suffix, Mika immediately corrected herself. "Gomen, Sakura-san. I am alright. Arigato for asking. How are you?" Mika always has a tender smile on her face.
"Never better, Mika-san." Sakura replied brightly.
"I shall go fetch Hinata-sama, then." Mika then looked up. "Would you like me to lead you to the receiving area?"
Sakura smiled once again. "I know the way already, Mika-san. It's alright; you fetch Hinata while I go to the receiving area."
Mika seemed unsure to leave a guest. "Are you sure? You might get lost. You know how big this is." Seeing Sakura nod, she relaxed a little. "Would you like me to get you some refreshments?"
"No need, Mika-san." Sakura replied with a soft smile. Mika-san sure loves to make sure that her guests are comfortable. She's very hospitable.
With that, Mika-san slightly bowed and went to get Hinata. Sakura then started walking towards the receiving area. I wonder if Ino's done calling Temari and getting TenTen. Knowing Ino, she'll talk to Temari for a while. While she was deeply immersed in her thoughts, she was startled when someone spoke.
"You should watch where your going, Haruno-san." A deep voice quietly said.
Sakura immediately looked up and knew it was a mistake for she was very near him and she drowned in those silver white eyes of his. Whenever Sakura saw Neji, his eyes affect her most. His eyes appear emotionless, but if you get a good look, you see something else. After recovering from her shock, she proceeded to greet him.
"G-good morning, Ne-Neji-san." Sakura stammered as she looked away.
"Likewise."
Sakura tried to make a light conversation. "So Neji-san, are you going to train?"
"Hn."
"I know a place where you can train without getting interrupted. It's where Team 7 used to train in. It's really secluded and…" Sakura abruptly stopped. What's wrong with me? I must have looked like a blabbering idiot. Sakura immediately tried to correct herself. "If you want, I could show it to you sometime."
"Hn."
So much for a conversation, Sakura thought as she inwardly sighed. Let's try one more time. "So, is your shoulder still causing you discomfort?"
"Iie."
Sakura decided on giving up.She dared to look at Neji once again, trying her hardest NOT to drown in those wonderful eyes of his again. "Alright then, I better get going. See you around, Neji-san."
"Hn." He nodded slightly and started walking away. Sakura stared at his back until he disappeared from her view. Suddenly remembering that she has to rush to the receiving area, she muttered a curse word and rushed towards the said area.
Neji's Side (But not necessarily his thoughts)
As Neji was walking towards the gate, he sensed someone's chakra. It felt familiar. He quickly activated his Byakugan and easily saw the "stranger". She was walking towards his direction. He deactivated his Byakugan as quickly as he activated it.
Neji noticed that Sakura was deeply immersed in her thoughts. Seeing that she would bump into him, he spoke quietly. "You should watch where your going, Haruno-san."
She looked up and much as he hated to admit, he couldn't seem to look away from those emerald green eyes of hers. Of course, being a Hyuuga, he remained impassive.
"G-good morning, Ne-Neji-san." Sakura stammered as she looked away.
She sounds like Hinata-sama. Although he wanted to smirk, he decided against it. Therefore, he remained in his emotionless look. "Likewise."
"So Neji-san, are you going to train?"
"Hn."
"I know a place where you can train without getting interrupted. It's where Team Seven used to train in. It's really secluded and…" She stopped for a moment. "If you want, I could show it to you sometime."
His response was the usual. "Hn."
"So, is your shoulder still causing you discomfort?"
"Iie." Thanks to her healing abilities, that is.
At the mention of his shoulder, he remembered the mission last week that caused it.
Last week, he was on a B-rank mission with Kiba and Lee. They were going to Sand to retrieve a very important scroll. The way to Sand was uneventful, but when they retrieved the scroll and started heading back, they were ambushed 2 times. The first ambush was not so dangerous. Neji easily detected all five of them with his Byakugan. The enemy nins showered Neji's team with kunais and shurikens which Neji deflected by using his Hakkeshou Kaiten. The enemy nins suddenly retreated. No one was hurt in that encounter.
On the second encounter, Neji spotted them again with his Byakugan, while signaling Kiba and Lee; he caught a kunai aimed for his heart. He quickly aimed with deadly accuracy and a muffled groan was heard. At once, around 50 of them got out. They were Sound shinobis. In the end, Neji's team prevailed but not without a price. Lee had a broken leg and a few cuts and bruises while Kiba had a deep gash on his stomach and his chakra level was obviously low. Neji's old wound re-opened and was bleeding profusely. They decided not to rest and go on until they reached Konoha.
Once they reached Konoha, they were immediately sent to the hospital. As usual, Sakura was there. She was the only one he allowed to even get near him. She is the top medic, after all.
"Alright then, I better get going. See you around, Neji-san."
"Hn." He nodded slightly and started walking away.
Sakura burst into the room, relieved that Hinata was not there yet. She crossed the room and sat on the plush white seat. It was a good thing she sat because the door slid open, revealing Hinata.
"Sakura-san! Have I kept you waiting?" Hinata asked while smiling warmly at Sakura.
"Don't worry, I just got here myself." Sakura smiled back.
Hinata's eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't get lost, did you?"
"No, it's a long story, believe me." Sakura sighed and waited for Hinata to sit down before continuing. "Hinata, did you receive an invitation from Tsunade-shishou?"
Hinata's eyes diverted from the coffee table to Sakura. "You did too?"
"Of course. I believe she sent an invitation to all kunoichis in Konoha." After seeing Hinata nod, Sakura continued. "That's basically why I'm here. Ino invited us to go to a café across the Yamanaka Flower Shop so we can talk."
"I see."
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go to the café. We don't want a complaining Ino saying that we're late, now would we?" Sakura stood up and extended a hand towards Hinata.
"I thought that we were the ones who were late." Sakura muttered. "Seems like we were the ones who arrived early."
Sakura and Hinata stepped in the café and went around tables, chairs and people. Finding a corner booth, Sakura and Hinata slid in.
"Sakura! Hinata!"
Sakura and Hinata turned and saw Ino and TenTen making their way towards them. Ino was wearing a purple tank top and black shorts. Her hair was still tied up high and still long. On the other hand, TenTen was wearing her usual pink top but this time she wore brown shorts. Her hair was still in two buns.
Ino slid in next to Sakura and TenTen slid in next to Hinata.
"All that walking made me tired. Let's order!" Ino called a waiter over. The waiter gave all four of them menus. After saying their orders, the waiter hurried away.
Ino turned to Sakura. "Temari got an invitation as well."
Sakura raised a brow. "Really? That's great but do you think she'll come?"
Ino just shrugged. "I asked her but she didn't give me a direct answer. 'Maybe' was all she said."
"I see."
TenTen spoke up. "Are we going to go?"
Sakura answered. "No harm in going, right? We might actually learn something new."
Ino nodded. "But why can't we tell the shinobis about this? I wonder if it concerns them."
Hinata spoke quietly. "They won't teach us how to seduce, will they?"
Sakura froze. "I don't think so. Well, I hope not."
Everyone was silent for a while, thinking of what they would learn in the special class. Ino decided to change the topic.
"You know what? On the way here with TenTen, guess who bumped into." Ino had a weird grin on her face.
Sakura knew this smile. "Shikamaru?"
Ino smiled more brightly. "Yep! We bumped into someone else too. Guess who?" This time, TenTen was blushing lightly.
This time, Hinata guessed. "Lee-san?"
TenTen blushed a little more. Ino grinned. "Yes! Talk about coincidences!"
Sakura turned her head in time to see a waiter coming towards them. "Looks like our orders have arrived."
Ino turned. Her eyes slightly glazed over. "He looks hot."
Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Excuse me." The waiter stopped at their table and placed Hinata's order in front her, which was a warm Mocha Latte, the mildest. Sakura's order, which was a Cappuccino, was placed before her. Ino's order, a Coffee Americano, was set down and TenTen's Irish coffee was placed in front of her as well.
All the girls drank their coffees quietly. After a minute of silence, Ino broke it.
"So, let's talk about something."
"Like what?" TenTen inquired.
Ino's eyes momentarily glazed over. "Like…Boys!"
Sakura sighed…Here we go again.
"Let's see…" Ino said while tapping the table with her periwinkle nails. "I know! TenTen, what do you see in Lee?"
TenTen accidentally dropped her cup but thanks to Hinata's fast reflexes, the cup was caught, spilling only a few of the contents.
"What do you mean?" TenTen managed to sputter out.
Ino grinned. "You know what I mean."
TenTen sighed. "I don't really know what I see in him but I …I just like him. I guess it's because of…of our constant togetherness that brought us closer." TenTen looked up and continued. "I have to admit, I liked Neji at first." Before Ino could speak, TenTen beat her to it. "I stopped liking him because I don't think that it would work. I mean, he just treated me like a sister." Before Ino could even open her mouth, once again TenTen beat her to it. "I'm not disappointed. Well, maybe or a while. But that event caused me to get to know Lee better… but I don't know if he feels the same way about me or…or if he thinks of me as a sister to him as well."
Silence caught up with them once more.
Halfway into her Cappuccino, Sakura tried this time.
"How about Shikamaru, Ino?"
Ino placed her cup down. "Well, I like him…a lot. I obviously can't tell if he likes me back since he is a lazy bum. All he cares for is sleep and cloud-watching."
Sakura turned to Hinata. "Hinata?"
Hinata looked up from her cup. She looked startled. "Me?"
Ino spoke up this time. "What do you see in Naruto?"
Hinata turned a very deep shade of red. "We-well, I ummmm… I like h-him… a lot. He's ve-very de-determined a-and-" Hinata was getting redder and she looked like she was going to faint.
"That's alright, Hinata. You don't need to say everything." TenTen interrupted.
"Your turn, Sakura."
All eyes were on her. "My turn?"
Ino nodded. "Fine, I'll rephrase the question. Is there any guy in Konoha whom you like?"
Sakura pondered over the question. Was there anyone? "I don't think so."
Ino frowned. "Come on! There must be someone out th-"
Kurenai suddenly appeared. "Sorry for disturbing you but the Hokage has sent me." Focusing on Ino and Hinata, Kurenai continued. "Hyuuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, you have a mission. Please go to the Hokage's office to get the details for the mission." With that, she disappeared.
Ino and Hinata stood up at once, abandoning their drinks. Ino spoke up.
"I might be busy with the mission so goodbye in advance." A small smile was on her face as she hastily pulled out a few bills for her coffee.
Hinata also bid goodbye while placing some money on the table for her coffee.
Before disappearing, Ino winked and said, "See you guys at the 'meeting'!"
TenTen and Sakura did not stay long afterwards. They talked a little more about the new jutsus and skills that they learned and after a while, they decided to just go home.
After paying and bidding each other goodbye, they went on their separate ways.
While walking home, Sakura contemplated on the question that Ino asked her a while back. Do I like anyone at all? Sakura started to mentally list down all the possible candidates. Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino are good friends, none of them were more than that. She racked her brain for more names ad remembered some, but she was not interested in them in "that" way. It's just that she felt that she forgot someone.
When Sakura reached her home, she decided to re-organize her living room. After re-organizing, Sakura picked up a box full of stuff that she did not really need. She decided to give them to Konoha's Local Orphanage.
A happy Sakura reached her home, glad that she made the kids happy with stuff that proved to be useful to them. Sakura fixed a sandwich as her dinner, all the while humming. After eating, Sakura changed into matching pink sleeveless top and shorts. Lying on the bed, it suddenly dawned onto her; it's as if she was splashed with ice water. How could she forget him? Neji. What's the use of remembering his name? He's just a friend, right? Suddenly, Sakura was unsure. He doesn't even like me.
After a while of Is-Neji-More-Than-A-Friend pondering, Sakura decided to just sleep. When she closed her eyes, all she could see were those silver white eyes of his. She opened her eyes once again. What's wrong with me? Shouldn't I still be pining over Sasuke? Shouldn't I close my eyes just to see those onyx eyes?
Finally tired from her inner debate, Sakura fell asleep-dreaming of those eyes
Those pearl eyes.
Little does Sakura know, in the Hyuuga House, someone was having trouble taking those emerald eyes out of his mind.
Neji inhaled sharply. This was the umpteenth time he closed his eyes and saw those eyes. Why was this happening to him anyway? He barely knew the girl. They only talked whenever he was admitted in the hospital. After all, Sakura was the only medic that he actually allowed to even get near him.
After meditating a while, he finally was able to fall asleep.
He was able to fall asleep dreaming.
Dreaming of those eyes.
Those deep emerald eyes.
To be Continued…
Phew! That was tiring, but fun. It may be boring and a bit rushed, especially on their emotions and all.
Q and A Portion:
Q: Will Hinata and Ino make it to the "meeting"?
A: Yes.
Q: Will you make this a ShikamaruxIno because I read the part where Ino says that she likes him?
A: I wrote the pairings on the first chapter and I don't intend to change it.
If you have other questions, please leave a message.
I know that Neji and Sakura's feelings are a bit rushed and for that, I am sorry. Long chapter, ne? It was supposed to be half of all this but I thought, "Why not just combine two chapters together?" I hope it is enough for now. The "meeting" will be on the third chapter.
On my birthday, I will post a NejiSaku one-shot so be ready.
I would really love to hear from you. Go on…
Sincerely Yours,
Pearl-chan
P.S. Always remember that NejiSaku rocks!!!