Tsuyoku: Hey guys, business sent me away for an entire week, but my laptop didn't make it out with me, so I wrote down at least half of this chapter while I was away... you should be excited about that. I know I am. It's going to be an eventful next couple of chapters... so get ready for some plot emotional roller coasters as we really get into the NejiSaku part of the story. KTHX, R&R guys!

CopyCat Chapter 4

--

Sakura paused for a moment, standing still as if her life depended on her placid muscles. If there had been any forewarning to Neji's sudden affections, Sakura doubted that she's have even then been prepared to receive them. Nevertheless it was confusing... the impulse to return such favors was almost overpowering her senses. Neji Hyuuga or not, he was still a man and she a woman. There was definitely a deep attraction from the center of her id, but Sakura wouldn't lie to herself -- those feelings weren't all originating from some of her more primal instincts. Her mind flashed back to what Ino had said; he was more than just an egotistical bastard. In fact when his mouth was shut and his nose wasn't so much in the air, she would dare to say that his more attractive qualities showed through.

She wanted to push on his chest -- make him stop right then and there and leave her be, but that wouldn't be enough for her in the end. Sakura knew that. She first relaxed into his touch, placing her hands upon him, but not to push away. Neji noticed this; he had been equally surprised about what he'd done in the heat of the moment. It felt so good to relieve this pent up energy that had built and increased in him every time he saw this woman; that did not, however, condone what he was currently doing to the girl. If she motioned for it, he would stop; should she encourage him though, what was he going to do?

In a stroke of courage, Sakura finally curved her arms around the back of his neck careful not to tug on his long hair, which was pressed between them. Her mouth timidly pushed more firm against his own as she didn't pretend it was Neji -- Sakura didn't pretend it was anyone. All she could muster in her mind was that there was a man even slightly attracted to her enough to kiss her, and because of the feelings it sent to the pleasure center of her brain the pinkette was not about to back away for such human contact. Neji's thought mirrored her own as his hand, which had been migrating to her hips, clasped tightly about her waist, and in a flurry of pink and brown he backed her up against the nearest tree and kissed her like he'd never kissed a woman before. Sakura, mind almost blank except to control her roaming hands, returned the kiss as best she could -- never quite forgetting just who she was getting suddenly intimate with.

And just like that the two parted in mutual confusion and merely looked at each other. This just hadto remain a secret, "It has to-"

"I know," he stated, leaning down with the intent to continue their meeting with the knowledge that this would forever stay between them. "But I can't just walk away and pretend that this never happened."

'Neither can I,' her mind replied silently. Neji tried to focus on anything but their touching figures while mentally scratching his mind for something to say. "Where do we go from here then, Neji?" Her emerald eyes searched his face for some waver, a hint that might warn her if he was about to let her down after their almost tryst in the woods just minutes previously.

But after a short while his white eyes barely softened, "my estate." This statement of his warranted the gasp she'd been holding the whole evening to fly out of her mouth. Was the cold Neji Hyuuga asking her back to his place to... to sleep with him? In all honesty Sakura's lower half was pulsing, heating at the very tempting thought of following the young man home, and Neji was banking on that urge to win if only to put an end to this aching for her inside his mind and body. Her face slowly evolved from shock to blank, which served to enerve Neji's anxiety even more.

"Neji, what you're asking -- it's too much. I barely even know you, nor do you know me. No matter the moment, or how you're made me feel, I can't bring myself to give in like that when I'm not sure of how it will effect our actions toward each other or the coming mission. I'm sorry." She did this time push him with a slight touch to move out of her way, but her hand lingered just a little longer than it needed to. His face remained stoic until her attention was on the path back to town; only then did he allow it to drop into a creasing, familiar Hyuuga frown.

He hadn't found but one flaw in her tonight: she was imperceptible to his Hyuuga persuasion -- he would have had this woman had it not been for her defiance. His body leaned on the tree he'd pinned her to, which stilled held her warmth in it's rough bark. Had it not been so out of character, Neji would have groaned in frustration, but even though many of his actions tonight were unlike his usual self, he refused to add to that list.

That one flaw, the mark in her persona that he'd come to discover now urged his desire further toward the front of his mind. He wanted Haruno even more so that his obsession was going to be the end of him should she not say a final yes or no to his actions. Yet Sakura still walked off with an unspoken promise that this wasn't the last of such a conversation between them, and Neji Hyuuga could only covet their next meeting with the slightest appetite that their tryst had created.

--

Sakura faintly wondered to herself just what exactly had happened between her and Neji; what had transpired in just this one day was enough to confuse her for a lifetime. She'd screwed up Ino's Mind Transfer, became Ino for the day, and when she returned to her own body it was in quite a position with Neji. "What did you do, Ino? I told you nothing stupid -- just let him know that my mission comes first and nothing else. What the heck did you start?" She leapt from the rooftop toward her own window, unlatched it silently, and slipped into the dark unknown of her bedroom. She sighed, tired of such a long day with so many decisions and even more consequences. Neji was so much greater an enigma than he had been before, thought what this meant for their current situation Sakura couldn't imagine at the moment. As if they hadn't permeated the air with a thick, awkward attraction just days ago.

She shivered in the warm air of her apartment, remembering now the imprint his body had left upon hers. How could he have gotten the nerve to ask her back to his place? The rosette rolled into her bed with all her gear on, a kunai beating into her leg, but Sakura was thankful for the pain to take her mind off today's events and soon lulled into a dull sleep.

--

" What the hell did you do with Neji last night?" Sakura burst into Ino's quarters without so much as an announcement. The blonde looked up from her morning flakes, spoon poised to enter her open mouth, but she thought better than trying to talk to Sakura with a mouth full of food.

"Well, hello to you too, my friend. Actually I should be the one asking you that. Did I miss a moment or was there an anticlimax after all?" The redhead gaped.

"You set me up?"

"Dear Haruno, you know I would never set you up like that. Now I'll admit, it was more like setting myself up for something. You can't refuse that the moonlight was enamoring enough -- so romantic."

"Let me get this straight; you decided for some reason that it was a good idea to hit on Neji Hyuuga while in mybody? Didn't I tell you precisely 'no funny business'? I should have known better than to send you to do my work." She sighed in exasperation and threw herself into the seat across Ino's table.

"He was already very strongly hitting on you... with his eyes that is. I just moved things along. The fact that fate chose that exact moment to trade our souls back was just cruel." She spooned the food into her mouth, spitting some milk in a very unladylike way as she tried to continue her speal. "Besides, you haven't told me what happened after I left you two alone."

"I can't believe you. Setting me.. you... whatever up in the first place, then you expect me to spill the beans about the whole ordeal? I don't think so." It was Ino's turn to gape.

"What? I give you Neji on a platter; I haven't had any man in months... the least you could do would be to let me know if my best friend was at least getting some."

"Getting some? Psh, like I'd tell you on the off chance that Neji and I did anything at all," Sakura paused to raise her finger. "Which it didn't; so what's your sudden obsession with Neji and I these days?"

"Who says I'm obsessing? I'm just curious that's all. You can't really blame me -- especially not when it comes to the very handsome Neji Hyuuga. He's finally showing some attraction toward a woman: the Hyuuga genius whose only interest has ever been fighting." Sakura looked unconvinced, one eyebrow in the air just staring at her 'best friend'.

"So, you're sure you didn't stick around to see the whole thing?"

"I was very tempted to, but given the circumstances I thought you might be mad at me enough. So I went home, thought what I wouldn't have given to see you and Neji make out."

"You were there!"

"You mean you actually did make out with Neji?" Sakura's face blurred with her hair. "I knew you couldn't hold it in for long." Ino pointed her finger across the table for emphasis.

"But you said you were there--"

"I never said so; I just pulled out the truth with some editing of my words. It worked perfectly didn't it?" Sakura glared at her with fear and anger mixed in, as if she felt like punching her but would end up failing and crying instead. "Sakura, I... I didn't mean it like that. I'm just curious... Are you alright?"

Are you alright... it was funny how you can compose your features so that a statue would be envious, but as soon as someone asks the inevitable question you're going to spill something. Mainly tears, which slid down Sakura's cheek in small dosages in her silent anger for her friend, her co-worker, her situation.

"I just-- I'm so confused," the young woman threw her hands into her hair in a blubbery attempt to straighted out racing thoughts in her mind. "I don't know what to think anymore. Neji has made it obvious that he wants me, but to what extent? And even thought I know that it wouldn't be anything but sleeping together, am I to still follow him like my body compels me to?" Ino just looked at her; she hadn't expected her friend to spill this much, but the confidence Sakura was showing in her was very empowering. "Ino, it took everything I had not to accept the offer he made."

Ino's eyebrow rose, "offer?" Sakura just nodded. "That's serious; this kind of behavior isn't Neji. Either he's finally getting to that 'experimental' stage that he apparently missed in puberty, or you've got some kind of special power over this man because he doesn't seem to focus on anyone but you. He could quite possibly have any woman in this village if he wanted to. So what about you does he like? Maybe you need to focus on that for now, and before you let the man get any farther maybe you need to make the situation clear."

"And what situation is that? We're going on a mission in just days; there's no time to get into anything. What if it doesn't work out? Are we going to have to ride that out during our time," she gulped," alone together?"

"It seems that you have until then to decide, yet don't take too long. Let him know before he jumps your bones anyway." Ino winked; even her sarcasm, however, wasn't going to penetrate the dull expression of dread on her friend's face. "Go on. Do something today, and if you just happen to run into Neji, you're going to just follow your instincts. Don't let it get awkward; heck, it might make the mission with him more bearable if you're helping each other along." Sakura blushed as she opened the door to leave.

"You don't have to be so blunt about it, Ino... sigh. But I swear, if you gossip about this to even one soul there will be consequences. Give me your word." Ino nodded, knowing that Sakura would promise lots of pain if she told anyone.

"Fine."

--

In a bare moment, the atmosphere thick and floating in slow motion as she contacted with the rough bark of another tree. It's predecessors had met quite similar fates, one by one pounded in a fury of attacks and punches lined with enough chakra to vent her vexation at the images plaguing her thoughts. There wasn't enough air to supply her lungs with the deep breaths Sakura needed, but she reveled in the feeling of being so on edge of suffocation that her movements were almost ethereal in the experience.

'I can't even think about it anymore; I lose concentration on my goals every time Neji invades my cognizance, yet he has always been my light at the end of the tunnel for improvement. Neji Hyuuga has been the beacon to outshine ever since that embarrassing incident when my weaknesses were all but lain out in front of him when he rescued me.' She split the tree bark again, again until it was threatening to follow the others in disintegration. At least this was boosting her will power. She was ready to get out there on the mission, begging almost for some kind of combat where the fruits of her obsession could be displayed in front of a most scrutable audience.

It was clear around her, save the trees Sakura had chosen to take out her anger on; the area behind the Hokage's office was her escape... from him, from everything. It was notably a surprise when she felt more than heard the steps of a familiar presence. How was she going to face him? Sakura hadn't even thought about their next meeting let alone how soon it would be; instead her first thoughts were to ignore him while she conjured up something to say that would break the ice.

Her swift punches and kicks to the trees were as strong as the tears burning her eyes in confusion. With every blink her limbs attacked the plant, which was close to giving way. The silent spectator stood back watching her spectacle in admiration and trepidation. He too was confronted with the battle of what to say. Had it not been hours since he had held her close, slammed her body into every crevice of his? The best words to follow that were not always the most readily accessible -- and he opened and closed his mouth uniformly many times before watching the dust clear around her.

The timber, her barrier between ignorance and approaching the inevitable conversation had toppled into pieces on the hard dirt below her boots. Neji still had not come closer, but behind her back his unmoving form seemed as inarticulate as her own. "Neji, I--"

"I don't know what this feeling is quite yet," his baritone voice cut off her timid tone, of which she was thankful. Sakura's sentence had been heading nowhere in particular. "I can't explain what this is, but I can't take it any longer. The more I'm in your presence, I can sense something calming about the sensation, yet no matter what I do it's not going to break the beating in my chest to just be near you casually." She finally crossed her legs and swiveled to meet his eyes. This was a hard conversation to endure. Was he trying to confess something much deeper than lust to her... could he have developed the more than platonic emotion in their so little time together?

That's what Sakura feared. That it was all temporary. For her emerald eyes darted the area sensing that some pressure had built up in her chest as well. Had she grown infatuation of some sort for him in just weeks like she prayed Neji had?

"I can't take rejection, Neji." She threw courage to the wind and held up her head to his eyes, "so I'm just going to make this clear. If we start something, or anything at all happens between us, know that I'm in it for the long haul. I can't take being used again and again for satiation and then thrown aside. Can you respond to that -- because if you can't then I'm going to ask you to kindly turn on your heel and let this fall back into something less intimate." She pleaded with his to turn back anyway, to save her the time and hurt should he ever change his mind.

"I can't walk away," noisy steps on the solid ground lessoned the distance between the would-be couple until he was close enough to reach out and caress her arms. His temptation was overthrown by the comment at hand. Neji now understood that he was going to have to earn it before Sakura would let him get close to her physically or emotionally. "I can't make a promise, either, but what I will allow is my word. On my given name, whatever actions I take in the future will never be to hurt you in any way. I don't know how it will proceed, but what I am certain of is that everything stops," his hand reached out, one finger nudging her bottom lip, "when I touch you, kiss you." He leaned in slowly.

Much like the night before, Neji never took his eyes from the girl as he approached her flushed and worried face. It was his goal to wipe the anguish from her mind, and no matter how long that took Neji was certain he could prevail.

If the woman had made him feel, made him change so much in this small time he was more than secure there would never be a need for anything more in the forthcoming. He met lips with her, only then closing his white eyes. She returned the motion and let his kiss slide over her mouth will the utmost gentle respect as Neji cupped her chin in his hand. It was brief, fleeting in the moment, but enough that she was assured for the time being there was no reason to continue her uncertainty now.

--

A blonde woman watched the sun floating into the mid sky through a southeast window in her office. The clutter at her desk had banished the Hokage to the sill where an orchard of trees greeted her view. Sakura, the famed apprentice of the Godaime, flashed from stance to stance ignoring everything but the immobile opponent in her front. There wasn't a more devoted student around, save maybe Lee, but Tsunade doubted that his spirit for commitment and self improvement could outshine her surrogate daughter's at the moment. Inside, a beam of pride gleamed at the sight.

Until another stepped into view.

A dark figure, opposite her Sakura in position, color, attitude, everything, approached from the west entrance. She shook the bottle of sake in her hand slightly before lathering her lips with it's bare flavor. The warmth coating her throat wasn't enough to sate the curiosity at Neji Hyuuga seeking out Sakura so fervently.

He waited for the demise of the wood before making a comment, though the leader knew Sakura had been aware of his subsistence from the start.

And in the coming minutes, Tsunade could only gaze more intently at the pair as their exchanged words pronounced ardent expressions on Sakura's visible face. Neji's was turned from her, but in experience the blonde figured it remained as stoic as normal albeit the slightest animation. He hadn't shown body language like that since she'd known him, and now his posture countered the Hyuuga bearing in a more human-like, affectionate almost, motion as he closed in on the cherry blossom.

If he hurt her then and there, Tsunade could promise the window to shatter with rage as she leapt from it and tore him limb to limb. Damn the Hyuuga clan; Sakura was family.

But when Sakura practically welcomed his touch, she relaxed. The Hokage stood for another tight look and was intending on giving them privacy had Neji Hyuuga not laid lips onto her apprentice. The scene splayed before her as the two shared an intimate moment under cover of the remaining trees, "Sakura, what are you doing?"

Not more than a week ago Sakura had been in that very office ranting about the clan member in question -- and to find this exhibition taking place in her own backyard Tsunade was more confused than angry, though that was in the forefront of current emotions as well. Sakura was getting into something that could possibly prove to be awkward for the entire system in the long term. Would there be any convincing her differently?

The Godaime threw one last glance at the parted couple and flopped into her desk chair almost at a loss of what to do now. Shizune, however, took that moment to enter with another round of drinks and papers for the next few hours. Tsunade rubbed her temples and threw Sakura's rendezvous to the back for now.

--

As the lithe young man finally made his way into her office Tsunade resisted the urge to slam her hands onto the table before her and demand to know what was going on between them. Instead the Hyuuga was met with a stare that could rival some of his clan (save Hinata of course). With her hands clasped in the air supporting her chin she did all she could to control her fixation until one of them broke, but the long haired Neji Hyuuga was not impressed in the slightest. Though he might say that Godaime could intimidate the right person easily this wasn't one of those situations, "you're wasting both of our times. You of all people should know that after a lifetime of enduring my place in the Branch family your attempt at interrogation falls short. Lady Hokage, what have you summoned me for?"

She pursed her lips, brown eyes glowering even though Neji's words were the truth. It was entirely no use for her to stare the information out of him; asking was going to have to do," what exactly is going on between you and my protege, Sakura Haruno?" For a moment Tsunade was hoping his facade would falter in the slightest, but the straight look he'd sent her from the other side of a roughly covered desk said that he'd expected as much. "But you already knew what I was going to inquire about." The brunette nodded once.

"Does my answer have anything to do with a mission or affairs of state?"

"Quite possibly it might. Depending on the situation you two are in, it could effect your missions greatly. How you act as a ninja is key to everything, and I don't want you two screwing this up for yourselves."

"With all do respect -- are you saying this as the Hokage of Konoha of the master of a most favored apprentice?" He turned to leave, "see emotionsmake all the difference, and using them to achieve your goals is key to being a ninja. I've missed out on that experience, and concerning her I will no longer conceal what I want." The Hokage was more than shocked, but she knew better than to show it. Neji left without so much as another utterance.

'Am I just being too protective of her?' she thought scooting to the side and brushing past the desk to the window. In the woods, a vision of the young Sakura she'd met years ago appeared sitting on the grass trying to repair a log for the first time. Beside her a much older specter pounded her small chakra infused fists at a tree that no longer stood tall. Tsunade smiled slightly at the memory -- Sakura had worked all day at her chakra to build enough backing in her punches to shatter that thing. Maybe Neji was right; the brown eyed leader was truly aware of her apprentice's abilities to take care of herself on the battlefields... or in love. Whatever her and Neji would get themselves into they could probably handle it.

--

Where were they going to go from there? Sakura put her fingers up to her temples for the fifth time trying to blot out the insecurities that arose in her mind from her and Neji's talk earlier. She sat quietly on a bench inside the Hyuuga estate, having been lead there by Neji so they could talk more privately. 'But does he expect me to just jump straight in bed with him now that he's made his intentions clear?' Sure, he said he was in it for the long haul for certain (if these feelings went anywhere at all) but what now? She leaned back, uncomfortable slightly at being inside the estate walls without Neji there.

He'd been summoned to the Hokage's office. Sakura had many scenarios as to what that might mean: she knew about them, something happened with the mission they would begin in just days, Tsunade was giving him some sort of beating for even coming close to her... there were just too many options when it came to the Hokage. If it did pertain to their would-be relationship could Tsunade give them her blessing? 'No,' she said to herself as she noticed Neji entering the grounds. 'I don't know if we are official now, much less letting the entire village know. They can't find out until I'm sure.' And with that thought she rose from the bench and stood waiting for Neji to cross to her.

Without another word Neji scooped her up in his arms and gave her a full in kiss, pausing in the passion for moments to caress her nose with his and wrap arms fully around her figure. Where this had come from Sakura was unsure, but even as the members of the estate were sure to notice Neji's affections she realized that he was probably doing this for that reason. "I'm never going to give up on us."

Sakura took aback after Neji whispered that into her ear. A blush spread over her face as she turned to follow him into the estate. A maze of rooms and hallways ensued as Sakura had never seen a domestic establishment so big in her life. Was he leading her to his chambers? Shouldn't she say something!!!

He knelt down in front of a doorway, Sakura following suit, and rapt slightly on the door frame. "Yes," echoed a deep voice from inside. Sakura resisted the urge to turn her head and inquire at Neji for he slid the door open to reveal a traditional study. In the center of it all sat a fearful man: Hiashi Hyuuga.

"I have someone to formally introduce to you, Lord Hiashi."

Sakura sat unmoving, wondering why Neji was going to far... 'he's serious, isn't he? Even about what he said in the garden...'

"Come in."

--

Tsuyoku: Hey guys! This one took me a little time to put together since I wanted a few different views on Sakura and Neji's 'situation'. Plus you can be positive that not only will the mission (next chapter) be up to par, but there will be a little hurdle for them to overcome in more ways than one. I will be working on it and Sound Sleep, so expect a new update soon and I hope and plead that you will Review and let me know your thoughts on the story's track so far. As always, thank you for returning, R&R!