"There are not many women with chivalrous spirits matching those of men…"

-Chiyo to Sakura Chapter 279 page 10 of "Naruto"

A/N:For those of you that mentioned you didn't get the idea of the dress I tried my best to describe (describing fashion/clothes is not my forte sadly) if you go to my author's profile you'll see a link to the pic of Saber from Fate/Stay Night at the bottom. Just imagine it in black with amber trim, hairstyle and all. As always thanks for reading! Also I had someone ask what Neji looks like in this, he looks like his Shippūden human (but a bit older)self unless I describe otherwise. I figured pointed ears were overdone, so I just decided the character model should be the same as the anime except he does have clawed fingers, much like Sesshomaru's from Inuyasha. On a side note I'm honestly a bit overwhelmed by the response to this story, especially because not only is it… very AU… but also it's also a couple that is not nearly as popular as others. Thank you for your support, criticism, and kind words.

Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto or any of the characters there in. I just borrow them to torture them for my own amusement from time to time.

Summery: There once was a pink haired woman who was nothing more than a simple blacksmith's daughter. Yet none could match the ferocity of her spirit once the hilt of a blade was held within her grasp. An arrogant, cocky, self-assured dragon prince was certainly no exception.

- Sakura/Neji - -AU –

Rated -M- Because there will be lots of blood, violence, gore, and swearing. Ect. Ect. And possibly some erotic scenes here and there.

Chapter 8

The Hyuuga prince, first heir to the throne sat in the plush mahogany chair that faced the only window of his room. The moonlight cast an eerie glow to his eyes, giving the usually pearl hued orbs a nearly lilac tint. The dragon's thoughts were drawn inwards that night. The spiral of his emotions and his deep ruminations had kept him awake into the wee hours of the night. His pride still stung and yet the more and more he contemplated and dissected the events of that evening, the more a strange, unexplainable warmth that he hadn't known that had existed in himself had invaded and created a home for itself within in the confines of the area in his chest.

Neji had long known that because of his position in life, he could never allow emotion to dictate his actions, especially if wanted to live a long, well-managed life. Not only that, but simply because he also desired to be a good ruler when the time for him to take on the mantle of leadership, which at the best of times would be overwhelming. Emotions to his mind equaled weakness. It had taken many years to subdue the more irrational and oftentimes much too emotionally sensitive inner beast within himself to a manageable level. Or at least so he had thought, until a certain pink haired woman had entered his life.

Careful planning, critical thinking, and deducing all possible outcomes had not only been drilled into him by his many, well paid tutors but also through the numerous life lessons that had occurred throughout the seemingly short duration of his existence. The pale-eyed male had always been prideful of the knowledge that he, Neji Hyuuga didn't need anyone. He didn't mind that he had no so-called friends. The prince had always believed that having trust in another person was ridiculous foolishness.

Yet, there was a human woman, laying just one wing away from his in critical condition on his behalf that had totally screwed up the seemingly unshakeable equation in his head. He had returned to his room after taking her to the ward, doing his best to quiet his unhappy inner beast that threatened to rear his head due to the circumstances. The prince had planned on retiring for much needed rest from that evening, and yet after he had stripped down and bathed, his eyes had followed the traces of blood, her human blood flowing down the drain of the pristine, porcelain fancy clawed foot tub, he could not relax enough to even contemplate laying in bed to sleep.

At first, he had believed that the emotion he felt was guilt but then as he had deliberated through the usual critical thought process to evaluate himself, he had realized that was not the correct emotion. In fact, what he did feel was disturbing him to say the least. He could have dealt with the attraction that his inner beast held for the pink haired, self-proclaimed human warrior. The prince had at first tried to keep her at more than an arm's length. He had fobbed her off on Hatake to keep her busy once he'd come to terms with the fact that his inner beast was more than just a little fascinated by her.

Eventually, she had come to him, demanding that he allow her to follow him out of some strange sense of duty that she held in terms to him. Out of amusement at her bold actions he had allowed it to see how it would all pan out. He had been suitably impressed by her actions in the war room that day. The quick thinking and courage on her part had not only saved his family a lot of trouble but then she had gone against his direct orders charging headlong into the battlefield the moment she believed he was in danger.

The woman had come to him out of nothing but a foolish bet, clearly not one of his better moments. He had known without a doubt at the time, that he would win. Even so, the person he had believed to be a loud-mouthed fourteen year old boy would have to serve him for life as a blatant mockery to the Grasslanders. It had evolved to something that in a state of arrogance that he had perceived through what he believed to be his superior critical thinking into the unexpected. In his wildest preconceptions the situation had arrived at a conclusion that he could not fathom.

The pink haired woman, the human from the Grassland's, a person who had been a faceless enemy just months prior had somehow garnered trust, from him. This, was saying quite a bit for a dragon like himself, who did not even trust his uncle, who Neji had oftentimes believed held a grudge against him for merely being born. Hiashi Hyuuga had failed to produce a proper male heir, and had only daughters that could only be used as bargaining chips to enforce honor amongst his alliances.

It had been no secret that his father and his uncle had held no love for one another. Every so often, he could see the mask his uncle kept so tightly over his emotions slip when he watched Neji from the corner of his eyes. The prince was no fool, he didn't even trust Kakashi Hatake, though he held respect for the man's obvious skills. His uncle could order Hatake to assassinate him, and the fox yokai would have to abide by the king's orders regardless of his emotional ties to the crown prince.

Even his father, though he remembered him only vaguely that even as a child, through his precocious nature he had perceived that his father had only thought of his son as a triumph over his twin brother. Perhaps it had been something as simple as hatred for being born the second son, Neji would never know because the man had died in a battle years ago. As far as his mother went, he couldn't recall the woman and honestly he had never truly cared to pry into the shady events surrounding his birth. Things were as they were, and since he believed that fate couldn't be changed, or tailored to one's desires, he hadn't wasted much thought on it.

Then the anomaly to all his carefully thought out equations, Sakura Haruno, had upset the tightly reigned balance that was his life. She had gone and saved his life. She had fought for him and had bled for him, without question, without regard for her own safety and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. It went against all normal common sense. From the first moment he had clashed swords with her, he realized in hindsight, that his inner beast had accepted her and had decided that she belonged to him. He was still not proud of his lapse of control at the hot spring caused by his inner beast's emotions. His inner beast stirred within him at the memory of the intimacy they had shared.

She was a woman of complexity and simplicity all in one. There had been times that he had decided that he had figured her but then she would do something that forced him to reevaluate her all over again. He had kept her for the sheer entertainment value, but somewhere along the way, her presence had become too entangled with his senses. Even during that span of months where he had tried to avoid her, send her off to deliver messages, train with Kakashi, he had always been aware of her. He'd caught his eyes following her, studying her, trying to understand that strange sense of honor she held.

His top lip furled upwards in agitation, revealing a sharp fang. But in the end she was nothing more than a mere blacksmith's daughter. A human, weak and fallible. Yet, even despite what should have been normal and easy to understand. Her complete, unshakeable devotion mystified him. He was the very person who had led an army that had conquered her nation between iron jaws. By all rights, she should loathe him, detest who he was, and plot behind his back. But not once, did he ever sense hatred aimed at him from her. She had accepted her failure, her loss in stride, with a level honor and chivalry that even some of the top warriors of his nation didn't have.

Rising to his feet, he ran a pale, clawed hand through his loose coffee hued hair. Opal eyes shut into irritated slits when he noticed that sunlight was beginning to kiss the horizon. The dragon went ahead and dressed for the day, and forgoing the usual cream-colored attire he normally wore, he followed his mood deciding to wear unrelenting black. He didn't even bother to put his hair in its usual low riding ponytail. He wasn't going to wait any longer. His inner beast wasn't going to quiet until he laid his eyes on the damn woman, dead or alive. Something within him clenched at the thought of never seeing those vibrant green eyes, or hearing her determined voice again. He relentlessly shook off the feeling.

The servants passing by sensed his dark mood and gave him a wide berth as he strode past. Once he reached the door of the infimary, despite his state of mind, good manners won out and he knocked firmly on the pine door. His sensitive ears heard the scraping of chair legs against the wooden floor followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.

The door creaked open and watery gray eyes met his emotionless visage. The elderly doctor opened the door wider and said, "I was about to send for you."

Wordlessly the prince strode past him, the heavy scent of herbs assaulting his nose. Immediately his eyes sought out the source of his thoughts and narrowed in perusal of the very still form. He squashed the relief that welled up inside him as the telltale signs of the rise and fall of her chest met his scrutiny. Neji asked without turning to look at the doctor, "Her life is out of danger?"

The medic ambled past him, while nodding his graying head, "Yes my liege. I almost lost her but it seems that fighting spirit of hers won out in the end," the doctor released an audible sigh, "but her recovery will not be an easy for one such as her…"

"Hn," the prince's eyes never left the woman's pale heart shaped face.

The doctor took this as a desire to hear the rest of the prognosis, "That poison… was meant to take down a dragon, and the dosage amount nearly stopped her heart. It was even worse because… her wound was on the left side and closer to her heart than if she had taken it in the right. It didn't help that she seemed to have exerted herself before she collapsed. I could tell by the amount of blood she lost, that she had physically pushed herself beyond what she should have and forced the tainted blood to move through her system faster…"

Neji finally asked, "Will she recover?"

The doctor seemed to mull over this a moment before responding sagely, "I believe that it's quite possible for her to recover fully. However for her to be able to heal properly, she has to allow her wound enough time to mend itself. She can't be allowed to agitate the injury by moving her left arm much. The wound was thankfully only three to four inches deep and I was able to stitch it back up and stave off the internal bleeding. Fortunately the blade didn't hit anything vital, nor did it crack bone, which is a blessing in itself. I was able to neutralize the poison before it did irreparable damage to the nerves in that region. I know she loves that sword of hers but she shouldn't do anything extraneous for at least three months. With her being human, it's going to take her a lot longer time to heal then it would you or I."

"I understand," the prince tried not to grimace. Keeping her obedient and out of trouble for that amount of time was going to be quite bothersome at best.

"I'm sorry to request this of you my liege… but would you mind staying with her for a little while? The other doctor that is contracted by the royal family is not around today to take over. I need to make my morning rounds and…" the doctor's cheeks were flushed as if he was shocked by his own audacity of asking the stern prince to do such a mundane thing.

The prince's lips firmed a moment but he quickly conceded to the doctor's unprecedented request, his voice cool and clipped, "I will stay with her. Just be swift."

The doctor's pinched features smoothed out with relief, "Forgive me… but thank you liege. I assure you that you will not have to wait long."

The Hyuuga waved a dismissive hand at the bustling doctor watching with bemusement as the door clipped shut behind him. Turning his attention back to the unconscious woman, he quickly closed in the distance between them in a few short strides. Sharp eyes roamed over her neatly bandaged shoulder and the sling that encased her arm. After a moment's hesitation, his hand reached out, and callused, war-hardened fingertips traced an achingly slow path over the surprisingly soft and tender skin of her cheek while assuring to be cautious with his claws so that they didn't damage the delicate epidermis.

The appendage roamed down the side of her chin and onto her neck pausing for a breath of a second. Then ever so slightly, he touched the black edge seal he'd given her. She stirred slightly and he felt his inner beast purr with contentment. A muscle jumped in his jaw when he realized what he was doing and slowly, reluctantly he withdrew his touch. With an audible sigh, he sat in a simple wooden chair situated next to her bed.

For a while he watched the soothing rise and fall of her chest. With his inner beast finally thrumming with contentment he relaxed and before he knew it he was asleep. The soothing scent of apples and vanilla intertwined with the aroma of the medicinal herbs followed him into his dreamless slumber.

-o-

Pain was the first thing her hazy mind was aware of. Her vision swam as her eyes slowly fluttered open. It was several moments before she was able to focus on the white ceiling above her. Ever so slowly she turned her head to the side to get a reading on her bearings. She was shocked to see the prince asleep in a chair next to her bed. What was he doing in her room? She thought to herself confused. For a moment, she studied him openly while listening to the soft hum of his breathing.

As memory began to trickle back to her, she realized that she wasn't in her room, but in the infirmary. She remembered the masquerade, dancing with the prince, and being struck in the shoulder with a dagger. She glanced at her bandaged arm and winced at the sight. The wound must have been worse than she first thought.

Turning her face back towards the direction of the prince. Concern for his comfort filled her when she noticed that his head was veering off into an odd angle. Surely he couldn't be comfortable like that. Pulling her right arm out from under the blankets she reached out to touch his knee in an attempt to wake him. When her fingers missed his black-clad knee by mere inches she decided it would probably be wiser to use her voice. She croaked out weakly, "My liege…"

Immediately his eyes snapped open and focused on her after glancing quickly at the clock. She was grateful for his acute hearing because she didn't think she could speak much louder than she had the first time. His head cocked to the side as he surveyed her more intently than she'd ever seen him do; his expression was shuttered as his intense gaze bore into hers with far more intensity than she found comfortable.

Sakura opened her mouth to break the silence, saying the first thing that came to mind, her tone was hoarse at best, "I apologize for all the trouble I must have caused you, my liege"

Her eyes widened with confusion when he stood to his feet to glower down at her. Swallowing hard beneath the hard disapproving look he was giving her, she wished she could shrink further down into her blankets. Warrior she may be, but she understood that she was as helpless as a newborn kitten at the moment, and having a dragon glaring down at a person with slit, almost cat-like pupils was unnerving to say the least. She wanted to apologize again for whatever it was that she did, but she had the uncanny feeling that it would only serve to anger him further. Sakura followed her instincts and clamped her mouth shut, and did her best to meet his gaze head on.

His words were clipped as he asked her in a deceptively emotionless voice, "Please enlighten me to as why you believe that you need to apologize to me?"

Biting on her lip nervously she contemplated her answer, ever so tempted to avert her eyes from his, "That… I should have been quicker. I… reacted on instinct and caused…"

The prince interrupted her tersely, "You saved my life Haruno…"

Sakura's eyes widened shocked that he admitted such a thing out loud, "But… that's my…"

"Your what?" the Hyuuga male tilted his head to the side, his fangs glinting in the brightly lit room.

"It was my responsibility. I made an oath to serve you did I not?" she replied softly, hardly able to stifle the yawn threatening to spill from her lips. The last was a statement more than a question but she posed it as the latter.

She watched him curiously, noting that her vision was beginning to grow hazy as exhaustion was starting to take over. His jaw had firmed and it was obvious to her that he wasn't going to respond to her comment. Her green eyes traced the tense line in his shoulders and she felt something inside of her desiring to soothe him.

"My liege… to you... um..." she paused a moment and then, "How would you define 'serve'?" she queried softly.

His opal-hued eyes snapped down to her face once more, his jaw worked a moment before he replied, "It is merely to follow the instruction of one's master…" the dry look he sent in her direction put her in no doubt that he was recalling the instances of her disobedience.

"That's only partially correct," her lips tugged upwards into a weak smile as she struggled to stay awake long enough to prove her point, "I understand that you know little about the Grassland culture but to my people… we believe that to serve is not merely following the instructions of one's master. It goes far deeper than that…"

His lips thinned but he didn't admonish her for correcting him. He would humor her if only to gain some sort of understanding about the way her mysterious human brain worked.

"My liege, to serve is not only to work at becoming one of reliance and trust but … it is to give one's self fully in any way that one can to the one that you serve. Otherwise it becomes nothing but a hollow endeavor. It is a position of honor in many respects…" her eyes shut half way as she continued to struggle with the sleepiness threatening to pull her under, "Why do you think the tribal leaders tried to talk you out of the blood oath you made to me once you won the duel? It was more than because they just … wanted to take me as a wife as you so put it… In my people's eyes, the moment I lost was the moment I became apart of you, for the lack of a better description. That is why… I had explained to you that first night, that I served you and you alone. My fealty, my life is yours until I take my last breath. I soon realized that you believed that it had merely been a game, possibly simply amusement to you. But to my people it is not so… you by your own oath before my nation's leaders, made a life bond…"

The prince was stunned by the time she finished speaking. He watched as her pink eyelashes fanned out against her cheeks and Neji realized that she was fighting sleep just to tell him all this. He watched as her breathing began to deepen into that of slumber. He sat down in the chair and ran his hands through his hair over his scalp with agitation. The puzzle that was Sakura Haruno was beginning to click into place. Her actions, the strange honorable notions that he hadn't quite understood now made perfect sense.

The reason behind her disobedience in the battle with General Zabuza and her actions yesterday evening was now all clarified. It was as if a shutter had been opened in front of his eyes, allowing him to see the whole picture. The blood oath that he had made with her on the battlefield that day had been as binding if not more than marriage in the eyes of her people. Her courage was truly something to be reckoned with, he conceded in the safe recesses of his mind. She had not only challenged a dragon to a duel, but she had agreed to serve for life tied to a blood oath if she lost, a truly hefty price to pay.

Even still, it didn't explain why she could so easily draw forth emotion in him. He had been quick to anger that day on the battlefield, something he never succumbed to in front of enemies. She had drawn passion from his inner beast. She had brought his humor to surface, something that many believed he was incapable of. Though it was obvious she had never intended to do so in the first place. In the end, she had caused him to not only be shocked by her explanation but he felt a small sense of humility burn in him as well.

With some of his more pressing questions answered more just took their place. Groaning out loud he drew a hand over his face. His lips firmed, blood oath or not, he wasn't going to hide behind a female for protection. It was beneath his dignity to do so. His inner beast demanded that he protected what was his. The streak of possessiveness that coursed through him as his eyes drifted back to her was too strong to be denied. His lips firmed, perhaps it wasn't just the locked away emotions of his inner beast. Immediately he squashed the thought as soon as it surfaced ruthlessly. Neji wasn't ready to deal with the implications of accepting that thought.

His head swerved as the door behind him opened with a sharp click, with the stately old doctor stepping into the room, his visage tired and wan. The elf immediately started to explain, "I apologize for leaving you here for so long… I had returned to check up on her earlier and relieve you… but you were so sound asleep that I didn't wish to disturb your rest."

The prince merely nodded coolly, "Do not concern yourself…What's done is done…" pausing for a moment, he continued on an after thought, "Once she is ready to be moved back to her room… send word to me. I'll make certain that her room is prepared…" For some reason he didn't bother to mention that she had woke up for a bit just minutes prior to the medic's arrival.

"Of course my prince," the doctor dipped his head respectfully. By the time he lifted his head, the prince was already gone, the corners of the dragon's whirling black cloak a blur as he exited.

The doctor shook his head, grumbling about dragons in general before turning to check on his patient.

-o-

A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter. Lots of thinking and talking. Hopefully it wasn't too boring, but a bit insightful and interesting. A note on the inner beast. So it's not too confusing, I want you to understand, that the beast is not actually a seperate entity, or persona of himself but rather, it is not only the manifestation of his bestial side but also of his true emotions whether he wants to accept the truth or not.