AN:/ I know it's been too long and I'm so sorry. -weeps for hours- Hell came and found me by killing my laptop and erasing all my work for most of my other stories. It's been tough since I don't have a place to work or a bunch of stuff that has been saved, but I working on it. For all of you who wanted more Neji Sakura ness, the first part of this chapter it for you guys! ...And a small Gaara part at the end for me, cuz I love the Gaara Sakura fluff.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...
Recap:
For the longest time Sasuke didn't reply. But eventually his lips parted and he began to speak."She is the girl I am going to marry," he replied sternly, turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd.
Karin stopped dead in her tracks and growled in anger. There was no way she was loosing her Sasuke kun to that weal pink haired hoe. "It's time I called a friend and had her taken care of. No holding back."
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Chapter Nine
A Memory of You and Me
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To join in the worship
Of the light that never dies
In a moment's reflection
Of two moths spinning in her eyes.
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"Okay, I can see you are not concentrating on your sparring and you missed you mouth when you went to take a drink from your water bottle-"
"Not all of it didn't missed!"
"And you tripped over a tree root that was clearly visible, and to top it all off you have banged some portion of your body on a tree seven times this morning. It doesn't take a Hokage to know something is on your mind, Neji," Sakura finished racking her nails through her light pink locks in an effort to comb the bangs out of her eyes.
"It was six times, falling against a tree trunk doesn't count."
"It does when you have eyes in the back of your head."
Neji turned his head away in defeat. Continuing the argument was pointless when you had someone as smart and cough-attractive-cough as Sakura questioning you. "Nothing important is wrong with me, Sakura. You should not concern yourself with such petty worry. I am...just a bit out of it this morning."
"It's about Lee and Tenten and the way the act in public isn't it?"
"It's so annoying being the only one standing there with a sane mind! Have you seen those two? And then Guy sensei is all for the fiery passions of youth to be made known and- gosh Sakura, I'm right there. How can they act like such morons in public without feeling embarrassed? I am a Hyuga and so I don't get embarrassed easily-"
"Yes, you do."
"But it's just so hard with these guys in public! I feel as if I want the earth to open up and swallow me whole, am I so mortified by my teammates behavior. You would think Tenten would have enough brain cells to know that there is a time for privacy and a time for public affection. I just wish they wouldn't suck each other's brains out in front of me with Guy in the background preaching about the fires of youth all the time. I can't go anywhere with them anymore! I don't even want to be seen with them in public anymore!"
"...Neji, that's the longest I ever heard a man rant about something," Sakura calmly stated, staring at her dear friend blankly.
Neji gave her the evil eye at a sideways glance. "Gee, thanks for your support, Sakura."
The medic giggled leaning against the trunk of a tree with her water bottle in hand. "Okay, enough kidding aside, have you ever told them about how you felt? Like the way you just told me?"
"Yes! Okay,...maybe a little less direct. Maybe a surreptitious hint here and there...no, ...not really."
"Well, there is your problem, right there."
Neji sighed and slouched against the tree's trunk next to Sakura in a very relaxed manner that he wouldn't be caught dead in with anyone other than Sakura. The pink haired medic was the only one he acted anything close to normal around. You would think she would pick up on the hint that he liked her as more than a friend, but she was always dense when it came to matters of love concerning herself as the main affection. She couldn't even see the true nature of Gaara's extra attention towards her.
"Gosh Sakura, this is Tenten and Lee we are talking about. It's like telling Naruto to stop eating ramen or Sasuke to give up on revenge-" Neji instantly halted in his words when he realized what he had just said. Speaking about Sasuke was like a word taboo around Sakura. "Sakura- I didn't mean that!"
"No...no...it's...it's okay Neji. I know you didn't mean it in a bad way so it's okay. It's something I have to get used to. I know it's pretty much died down and all but, it's hard seeing Sai where Sasuke should be and forget that your teammate isn't an Uchiha."
Sakura nodded, not trusting her voice to carry the message without betraying her feeling on the betrayal of her treasured teammate. Trusting was something she didn't do too much now a days.
Neji sighed standing up and grabbing Sakura by the wrist. "Come on, you're coming with me."
"Wh-N-Neji, where are you taking me?"
"Just follow me."
"Neji!"
"I'm not kidnapping you or anything, just trust me this one time, okay?"
Sakura frowned at the other taboo word Neji used, but nodded knowing Neji wasn't anything like Sasuke in that manner. He was someone she could trust. As far as she could see, there was nothing that would drive him to such insane length like Sasuke, and betray her and the village. "Fine, but there better be sugar involved."
"I'm pretty sure ice cream has sugar in it, Sakura."
Sakura seemed to light up at the mention of the icy goodness that was worse than crack. "Ice cream! Oh my gosh, I love you Neji!"
"Oph..." Neji huffed as Sakura launched herself onto his back and hugged him tight.
Even though she was acting childishly, Neji would never dream of telling her to let him go, he was enjoying it so much.
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Sakura's eyes were heavy as she watched the young girl take her ice cream and run with it, her boyfriend right behind her. He laughed at her and she giggled back with a coy smile, before linking arms.
"What a weird dream,"she whispered to herself as she struggled to pull herself up from the relaxed position under an oak tree and it's shade.
She hadn't been sleeping really, but rather meditating. The moths anti poison kept her from falling into a sub conscious level that many would call sleep. She didn't know you could dream while meditating, and was surprised that the flashback had entered her mind.
Her attention bristled like a thorned vine as she felt the undesirable sensation of spiders crawling up and down her back, underneath her skin. While most people sneeze, Sakura just had to be stuck with the stupid, creepy feeling that was really starting to tick her off.
She didn't know what it was really, but the feeling gave her a sense that someone was talking bad about her behind her back. Most likely someone hiring someone else to kill her. She wasn't very well liked with some of the people she ruined, so it was understandable.
Lifting a finger she breathed softly over the poisoned flesh and waited for the mouth she sent scouting, hours before, to return it it's perch. A light yellow moth lined with green freckles floated out of nowhere and rested it's self softly on her finger.
"What news do you bring, my darling?" she asked, her lips parting only slightly.
The cooing sound of it's singing translated into words before entering Sakura's ear. In this language, she could not only hear and know, but see and feel, even smell what her moths were trying to tell her. She faintly wondered if this was how Shino felt when talking to his beetles. She would have to aske him once she got back to Leaf.
With a soft breath and a nod of her head the moth raised it's wings and fluttered behind Sakura's head and rested into Sakura's hair. It sounded weirder that it really was, but there were moths hidden all over her body, however, she drew the line when it came to entering her body. She just couldn't see, nor understand how Shino could handle it.
It certainly wasn't for her.
"I know what I felt, someone is talking about me. But I can't help but feel as it's a bit more personal than my business. Like...something I did as Sakura, not as an assassins for hire," she mused softly to herself, letting the cool, calming wind come and play through her uneven pink locks as they fell around her shoulders in a whipped style.
"Sakura...I almost forgot about her..."
The setting of the sun drew her eyes towards the sky for a moment, before the green orbs fell downward.
Deciding it was time she headed out, the pink haired kunoichi dropped her hood over her head and let it's shadow fall over her face, concealing it from the rest of the world. The black material of her Gothic looking outfit melted against the insides of her cloak as she sprang into the air, taking care to not let anyone see her departing form.
"Sakura... do I know her anymore?"
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An inky blackness hugged her like a cold hand, choking out her sight till it was no longer in existence. Karin shivered as the wind blew right through her and chilled her to the bone. The darkness around her didn't prove a comfort in any way as she stumbled forward in dead blindness.
There had always been a fear of the dark that existed in the back of Karin's mind, ever since she was a little girl it had taunted her with hauntings and surprises she didn't like. Like a ghost it was always there to nag her, even when she existed in the darkness, that fear never left her side. After a few years she learned to tolerate it more so. She lost the flashlight or candle she always had be her side, and traveled blindly with only the layout of the passageways to guide her steep.
She hated coming here, but for Sasuke kun, she would do just about anything to please him. This wasn't something Sasuke asked for. This wasn't even something Sasuke wanted. In fact, the red haired female was quite certain that this would be something that angered her dearest Sasuke greatly.
"You've gone far enough, you may stop now."
She couldn't see it, but all of a sudden she felt those eyes burning into her flesh from behind. Karin couldn't help but stiffened at the silky soft tone that sent shivers up and down her spin without the help of the cold. It felt like millions of tiny spiders crawling underneath her skin.
Not something she liked.
Taking a deep breath she began to speak, "I'm here for-"
"I know what you're here for. You hate me as much as I hate you so there is only on reason you could possibly possess for seeking out my efforts, Karin chan," the sightless substance chuckled making the red eyed girl tremble yet again.
Masking her fear she activated her favorite tactics for persuasion in her arsenal. It was something that worked only half of the time, but required little effort. For Karin, this tactic was called sucking up. "You are correct in you assumption, as always."
"Tch!" she hissedquickly making Karin stop before kalling her by name. "Abondon your flater child, it will get you no where with me. Who is it?"
"Her name is Sakura. You would probably know her as Ga, the moth mercenary-"
A shriek of hissing made Karin gasp out in surprise and stand back, for fear of being struck. She could feel the woman's chakra, almost anyone could, but aside from that one ability, Karin was virtually defenseless. The one before her was so much more powerful than the young girl could ever hope and dream to be. "You wish the demise of a brethren?"
"She's not like you! She's shorter than I am with green eyes and pink hair. She's not like you. She wasn't born like you were, she just uses that name!" Karin quickly explain hoping not to anger the being before her more and seal the deal to her death.
The air tasted stale as Karin breathed heavily in labored fear. It felt old like a quick death and yet like a life not worth living. The red haired youth didn't doubt the idea that a killing had taken place not to long ago. She was known for killing her husbands, after all.
There was a long silence before anything more was said. "...You speak as if I were one to cherish my kind. Do you know my namesake foolish little girl? I have nothing but hate and spite for those in my own breed. Even those who profess to be of my kind I will devour. I have compassion for no one, including you."
Karin took another steep back and gulped. Fear was racing madly through her blood by now. She was frightened from the beginning, but there were always levels of fear, and she just reached a whole new one with that threat. "H-hai. Yes, of course, of course."
The lover of the dark ticked in fault of Karin's shivering words and replied in a tired tone, obviously tired of speaking to the red haired girl with scarlet eyes that could see noting in the inky blackness that some loved. "Don't stutter young fool. Give me her location and remove your filth from my chambers. I won't eat you this time, but if you continue to linger when you are not wanted, I will not swear by it."
"Hai!"Karin chimed dropping the papers in her hand on the floor before she turned and ran blindly through the darkness, not caring if she was stumbling over every divit and bump in the rocky, grounded earth.
She didn't need to be told twice.
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Crash
"I can't take any more of this!" Garra hised knocking over a small hourglass with the back of his hand. The hit object clattered to the floor, no harm, no crack, no dent made. "Who was the fool that told me this would work?"
Kankoro trembled in the seat next to his younger brother. "Gaara...I know you're really worried, we all are, but you have to remember that Sakura wouldn't want you getting mad like this. She's say somthing like it's bad for your health or something else nurses tell you."
aara turned towards Kankoro and fixed his narrowed jade orbs on the trembling male, furthering the anxious fear he was feeling. Those eyes lined with black looked to be sharpened into daggers, gleaming with a thirst for blood.
Kankoro hated that look and how it always mad him nearly wet his pants.
"Do you know how ill-logical that sounded, just now? I will be the first one to tell you that Sakura is a extremely skilled and able bodied fighter, but going off on her own for so many months without a word or contact is too vexing for my taste. I can understand her reasons for leaving Leaf, but she could have come to Suna for a break."
"Well you know how her team is. She probably thought they would be here spying on you, waiting for her or something of that matter."
"I can't blame her for thinking like that..."
"No you can't."
Insert Gaara's death glare
"However, that fails to put me at ease."
Kankoro laughed nervously under the glare of his younger brother. He would never admit this to anyone, but he always hated how his younger brother could act like he was the older one around his siblings.
Being the Kazekage and all.
"Well that's Sakura for you, she's like the wind. You can't catch her or hold her or try to hold her in place. It's one of the things everyone loves about her. Leafing Leaf just proved that."
Kankoro was right, and they both knew it.
Gaara sighed deeply and looked down at his folded hands, letting his fingers play with one another as his mind drifted to other matters. It was so frustrating knowing you couldn't do something for a cause you really wanted.
He desired to see Sakura again. It had been months since he last saw her silky pink locks dancing in the wind and her bright emerald orbs shining with glee. He wanted her at the dinner table teasing his brother and lying through her teeth about his sister's good home cooking. He wanted to sit next to her on the roof tops and talk about life as the stars overhead glimmered over the two. He wanted to hear her voice, see her smile, listen to her words. He just wanted her. Hell, her aura was the most soothing he had ever come across, and he would kill just to be able to feel it again.
God, what he would give to have her back again. "I just want to see her again. Is that to much for me to ask?"
"We all want to see her again. Sakura used to come every month and cheek up on us as head medic, so going so long without her presence has worn us away more than a bit. For some, the damage is double what it is to others," the dark eyed male sighed with a downcast expression. The young male missed the pink haired kunoichi just as much as his sister did. Maybe not as much as Gaara, but then again, no one that he knew missed her as much as Gaara missed her.
"Isn't there some way we can contact her? Ask her to visit while telling her that her team is not here." Gaara asked.
Kankoro though for a moment, closing his eyes and tapping his thumb against his lip, while the rest of his hand wrapped around his chin. Contacting someone when you didn't know where they were wasn't unheard of, but it was pretty tricky, and there was no way to know if the message would go through.
Temari had a few ideas about something like this a long time ago, but there was no reason to look into the matter so she gave it up. Kankoro however, clearly remembered one method that might work with Gaara.
"Do you remember Sakura's chakra signature?"
"Better than any other, why?"
"I'm going to have to talk to Tamari about this but I think I have an idea."
Gaara's eyes were alight with hope as he followed his younger brother out of the office.
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Skidding to a shaky stop, Sakura halted her footfalls under a rather large elm tree, or at least it looked like an elm tree. Her wispy, pink locks that were once streaming out behind her ears, now settled gently around her shoulders.
The leather straps and dark fabric of her costume shifted positions on her body as she straightened her back out from a leaning position. She smirked as she felt a few bones in her spinal column crack back into place.
She had not been traveling that long. Only three or four hours, but when you travel alone, the time seems so much longer than it really is. So, for her, it seemed like she had been traveling past trees and shrubbery for hours upon hours upon hours.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was lonely. Don't misjudge her. She was glad to get away from the chaos and havoc of her village work, as well as a few less than trusting males who shall not be named. However, after being out and away from a friendly face for so long (No, Sasuke does not count) the feeling of being alone became more and more apparent in her life.
Taking another steep forward, a cloud of moths lifted from the ground and rose up all around her. She seated herself down and laid her back against the largest tree. A few of the more colorful moths settled back down right away, setting themselves along the side of the trunk. The gray and brown ones drifted on the wind for a bit longer before doing anything more than that.
"I'm going home. Soon I'll be back," she whispered to no one.
It was for that reason, that the large, marvelous green gates into her home village stood less than Twenty two miles away.
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Dum dumda dum dum.
Yes, this is an update. I know, shocking.
So, it's not as long as I wanted it to be, and I know it should be a whole lot long for how much time I have been away, but I'm really running out of muse for this one. (Ideas are always loved and appreciated.) I know what I want in the end, but getting to the end is a -to use the words of a much loved Nara- such a drag.
I hope you liked the chapter, please review!
Ja ne people