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I Luv U guys!

Oh yeah, the first bit of SakuxMulti starts here.

Prepare yourself to be blown away!

~::~

Is this really Umi?

Sakura and Shiso were down and running to Umi before Genma even finished the announcement.

They saw as she wobbled unsteadily and just as she was about to fall down from exhaustion Shiso managed to catch her.

Umi sent him a grateful smile, though her eyes were still milky white. "Still think Earth Release is like playing with mud, Shi-kun?" she managed weakly.

Shiso chuckled. "If she can manage to be sarcastic that means that no permanent damage was done." He stated.

"So, no more brooding Umi?" Sakura asked.

"Hell no. I'm randomly awesome by nature, and remember, comedians can't be depressed. Shiso can fill that up all on his own."

"Hey!" Shiso whined. "I'm not depressed. I'm just slightly more down-to-earth than you."

"No harm done, Shi-kun, Umi-chan." Sakura joked.

"Well, apart from my eyes." The red-head pointed sadly. Then, her expression was once again serious as her unseeing eyes turned to the pinkette. "Am I strong enough, Sakura?"

Don't grow attached. Don't grow attached. Don't grow-

Too late.

"Yes, Umi-chan. I apologise if you ever felt looked down upon, or underestimated. I am also sorry if I never gave you the friendly support when you most needed it. But I didn't want to make any friends until I was sure I could protect them."

Smooth. You just blabbed out the truth. What about secrecy?

Screw secrecy.

Shiso stared at her with a shocked expression. "That was the reason? Sakura-chan…" he sighed.

Umi smiled. "That's so like you it hurts, Saku-chan."

"Now, now, since you've had your two minutes to laugh at me, can I finally heal your optic nerve?"

At once Umi's face turned from its happy cheerfulness to disbelief. "Y-You could do that…?"

"Of course. I'm a medic-nin, remember?"

"Aa. I trust you, Sakura-chan."

"Good to know. Now, close your eyes."

~::~

Sakura sighed. She was slightly better after she had a couple of minutes to rest and a chakra pill, but healing Umi's eyes left her feeling drained and exhausted.

Again.

It turned out that Umi's left eye couldn't be fully healed – whatever damage Orochimaru done to it was so strong that Umi still couldn't use her eye properly.

But her right eye was as good as new after Sakura let her chakra flow through the nerves and worked her magic. The only thing stopping Umi from using her eye now was exhaustion – she was sleeping at the temporary hospital which was organised right next to the arena.

She walked out of Umi's room, leaving the red-head alone with Shiso.

I swear, those two have some unfinished business. I'm surprised I didn't see them snogging their faces off.

Too true…

As Sakura walked by one room, she saw a silhouette of a boy with long hair tied loosely at the nape of his neck. Her first thought was Itachi! but after realising how ridiculous that must've sounded, she almost slapped her forehead, marvelling at her own stupidity.

The boy behind the door was Neji.

For a moment, Sakura considered just walking away, leaving the past behind her, but then she had another feeling.

Without any further ado, she put her hand on the door knob and entered.

She couldn't just leave the past unexplained. If she did, none of them would be able to embrace the future.

Tch. Poetic much?

Fuck off.

Ooh, harsh.

I think I told you to sod off!

Sakura walked into the room, and immediately froze.

There, in the corner, on the bed that was farthest away from the door, sat the crumbled, shaking figure of a boy with chestnut brown hair, his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped and shaking.

Is he… Is he crying?

Without raising his head, Neji spoke. "Did you come here to tell me that everything I've always believed in was fake, too?"

The anguish in his voice jerked Sakura out of her daydream, her eyes turning to look at him. Tears run freely down his face, a scroll clutched tightly in his hand.

Sakura hung her head. "No. I came here to apologise for my unforgivable behaviour towards you. We might have been enemies on the battlefield, but truly, I have nothing against you. You are, in many ways, the same as me; always striving for acknowledgement, powerful, you don't let people in easily. I'm the same."

Neji looked up at her. "I know that you've been training with Hinata." He spoke quietly. "So I also know that she'd told you why I despise the Main Branch of the Hyuuga Clan so much."

Sakura did know. She found it cruel.

"For my entire life I'd been told that my father was murdered for the better of the Clan, a doppelganger for my uncle if you wish to call it so. The name of the Hyuuga had been frowned upon for years, the villagers and shinobi pitied the Branch Family. They pitied me. I loathed it. I hated their fucking pity. It made me look weak." Sakura was shocked. The boy was shaking, his knuckles were white. She almost missed the scroll that was thrust at her. "Read it." Neji spat.

Sakura scanned the scroll, her eyes widening with each sentence.

'…Wanted to kill Hiashi… Couldn't let them… Volunteered… Found freedom… Escaped destiny…'

The rosette's eyes began to water as she looked up at the older boy. She wanted to tell him that it will be OK, that what happened was the past, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

So, she offered comfort in the only way she knew how; she sat on the hospital bed next to him and gently wrapped her thin arms around Neji's shoulders, tucking his head under her chin. She could feel the boy stiffen up at her actions, but he soon relaxed. Sakura started rubbing soothing, but meaningless patterns up and down his back.

"I won't lie to you." She whispered in his ear. "I will not tell you that it will all be OK, that the Hyuuga name will be cleared, or whatnot. I won't sympathise with you either; none of my family members died. But I will tell you this – your father sacrificed himself to escape destiny. He was told to stay and help out your uncle, and yet he disobeyed him and saved him. You see, our destiny isn't carved into stone the moment we're born. We have a choice. And it's entirely our decision to make."

For a moment, Neji sat still, as if pondering over what the rosette told him, before he lifted his head to look straight at her, and Sakura was shocked at the glistening sadness she saw in his beautiful lavender eyes.

"Thank you." Was his whispered response.

Sakura smiled sadly and lifted a hand to caress his left cheek, her hand lingering there before moving to the back of his head and burying her fingers into his chestnut hair to rub calming circles into his scalp.

"You're welcome." She replied just as quietly.

At that moment, Neji knew. He knew what Sakura felt. He realised why he found her mere presence comforting.

She saw him for who he really was – the quiet, emotional, misunderstood teen, who craved acknowledgement and care.

Something no one was able to give to him.

No one apart from her.

So when their noses touched softly, then followed by a delicate brush of lips against lips, it wasn't awkward. It didn't feel strange. It was soft and comforting.

Their lips met for a second time, this time feeling more passionate than before, the movement a bit more demanding, seeking, needing.

Both of Sakura's hands found their way into Neji's magnificent hair, tugging, twisting and massaging. It was a fight neither have experienced before; not battling for life or death, but for dominance and who would come on top.

Neji's hands had settled on the rosette's petite waist, holding her close to him as if his life depended on the small touch.

When the need for air became apparent, the duo pulled back, both slightly panting.

"I didn't realise you forgave so easily, Hyuuga." The rosette teased.

He smirked. "I am neither stupid nor am I naïve." He responded.

Sakura frowned. "What does you being stupid or naïve have to do with forgiving me for my less than acceptable behaviour?"

The smirk widened. "The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. I am wise, and therefore I can easily forgive you, but that doesn't mean I will forget."

Sakura studied the boy for a few seconds before grinning. "Just what I would expect from you, Neji. You little ever-cocky bastard."

"I was under the impression that you were kissing me no more than a few minutes ago. You change tunes quickly, Sakura-chan."

Sakura was about to say something else, but an colossal explosion interrupted her, making both her and Neji jump up to look out of the window, just in time to see an enormous purple shield envelop the Hokage's balcony.

"Crap." Sakura hissed.

The two run out of the make-shift hospital and onto the arena only to see black silhouettes jumping around, as ninja clashed against ninja, blood staining the ground. Sakura gazed up at the stands and saw that all the civilians and lower-rank ninja were sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to what was going on around them.

"Genjutsu." Neji muttered.

"Yeah. Listen, Neji, out of ten, how good are you at releasing genjutsu from a large number of people? Be honest please."

Neji stared right into those bright emerald orbs as he let the question sink in before answering. "Around 7."

Sakura sighed. "That will have to do. Could you go up to the stands and release any and all chuunin or above from the genjutsu? Civilians and genin should stay asleep, we don't want them getting in the way."

Normally, Neji would have scoffed or downright ignored the girl, as he was Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Neji refused to be ordered around, but seeing the begging, pleading gaze of the rosette, he gave in.

"Alright."

"Oh, and Neji? Take this as well." Sakura called back, unsealing something from a scroll and tossing it to the boy.

Neji stood still for a moment, admiring the sleek, 4 foot long katana, before turning to Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"It will broaden your range when you preform Hakkesho Kaiten."

At his questioning stare Sakura scoffed. ""Please Neji, I am neither blind nor stupid. I know you can do it. Now, go!"

Neji smiled and with a last "Good luck, Sakura-san." he jumped over to the stands and began his duty.

"My, my, isn't that just sweet?" a mocking voice called out from the shadows. "I'm afraid you're becoming soft…Sakura-chan."

Sakura's head snapped in the direction the voice was coming from, her jaw clenching when she saw her opponent.

"Kabuto."

"Let's see if you're worth the effort Orochimaru-sama spent trying to locate you five years ago. What do you say, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura smirked. "Bring it on."

~::~